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Chapter Twelve

I woke up around nine-thirty the next morning and noticed that mom was still sleeping.

“She must be coming down with something,” I said to Nathan, who was outside sweeping up pieces of the broken video equipment.

He shrugged. “Could be the fresh air.”

“Maybe. So, did you hear anything from Duncan yet?”

“Yeah, he said his cameras were fine and there didn’t appear to be anything unusual going on in the videos.”

“That’s good, I guess. I had a hard time sleeping last night. I felt like something was watching me again.”

He laughed. “Probably me. I checked up on you a couple of times and you were snoring away.”

“I do not snore.”

“How in the hell do you know?”

I raised my chin. “I just do.”

He snorted. “Whatever. Anyway, as soon as mom gets up, we’ll show her the video and see what she thinks.”

Just then, an old red pickup drove up the path and parked next to Nathan’s Mustang.

“It’s our neighbor. I think mom said her name’s Abigail,” said Nathan.

“Hello!” said the older woman, getting out of the truck. “I just wanted to stop by and welcome you. Sorry it took me so long.”

“No problem,” said Nathan. “We should have come over and introduced ourselves.”

“No worries,” she replied, carrying a large pie pan. “I hope you like strawberry rhubarb pie; I made it fresh, early this morning!”

“We love it, thank you,” said Nathan as she handed it to him. “Wow, it looks awesome.”

“My name is Abigail, by the way. I live at the next cabin over.”

“I’m Nathan and that’s Nikki,” said Nathan.

“Hi,” I said.

“Wonderful to meet you both.”

Abigail looked like she was in her seventies or eighties, had reddish-brown hair and watery green eyes.

“I’ll be right back,” said Nathan. “I’ll put the pie in the kitchen. Did you want a piece, Abigail?”

She shook her head and smiled. “No, but thank you. I made it for you folks.”

“Okay, if you change your mind, let me know,” he called, going into the house.

“Um, our mother’s not feeling well,” I explained. “Otherwise she’d be out here greeting you, too. I’m sure she’ll be sad that she missed you.”

She smiled. “That’s all right.”

“I suppose you saw the police here a couple of times,” I said.

Her smile fell. “Yes I did notice that.”

“We found a body the first night we arrived, and last night, someone smashed our video equipment. We’ve been trying to catch the culprit. It’s been pretty crazy.”

“A body?” she said, her eyes widening. “Was it that young girl they mentioned on the news? Tina Johnson?”

I nodded. “Yes. They think she drowned and washed up here.”

“They don’t think it’s… foul play?”

“Well,” I said. “Personally, I think it is, but nobody else seems to believe it.”

She leaned forward. “And why do you think it’s foul play?”

I sighed. “Because we’ve had someone trying to scare us every night since we arrived. Then, the waitress who supposedly killed herself in the woods the other night, Amy? She gave me a warning the same day she died.”

“What do you mean?”

“She slipped me a note at Ruth’s, warning me not to go out at night and not to let any strangers into our home.”

Abigail stared at me for a few seconds and then let out a long sigh. “Nikki, she gave you some good advice. If I were you, I’d stay in and not invite anyone into your cabin. Especially, those you don’t know.”

My heart began to pound. “So, you think it’s dangerous out here at night?”

Her eyes grew misty. “I know it is. My husband was killed by something evil,” she said, looking up at the trees. “There are things in Shore Lake that you don’t know about; things you couldn’t even imagine. In fact, I wanted to come over and warn you myself, before I left town.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, the hair standing up on the back of my neck.

Just then, Nathan walked out. “Okay, I couldn’t resist, Abigail; I had a little piece. And let me tell you, it was the best strawberry rhubarb pie I’d ever tasted.”

She nodded. “Good.”

Noticing her sudden melancholy, he asked, “Are you okay?” 

“Um, Nathan, Abigail was just telling me it’s dangerous here at night and that her husband was murdered.”

Nathan’s stared at her in horror. “Your husband was murdered? Do you know who did it?”

“Vampires,” she stated without hesitation.

“Excuse me?” choked Nathan.

Her face darkened. “Shore Lake is infested with vampires.”

He burst out laughing and clapped his hands. “Okay, very funny, Abigail. Vampires, that’s a good one!”

The look in her eyes was so serious, it made me start to doubt what was real and what wasn’t.

“Don’t mock me,” she said. “I’m not joking, young man.”

The porch door opened up and mom stepped out. She was wearing dark sunglasses and still looked unusually pale.

“Hey, mom,” said Nathan. “This is Abigail.”

Mom nodded. “Yes, I remember seeing you fishing the other day. Nice to meet you, Abigail. I’m Anne.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Say, if you don’t mind my asking, what’s wrong with your neck?”

The swelling on mom’s neck appeared to be getting worse. She touched it and winced. “I don’t know. I think I was bitten by a couple of mosquitos, or maybe even a spider.”

Abigail cleared her throat. “I used to be a nurse, can I take a look?”

“Sure,” replied mom.

Abigail walked up onto the porch and examined the bites. After a few seconds she stepped back. “When did you get those?”

Mom shrugged. “I don’t know, the other night when the sheriff was over for dinner. I didn’t notice it until the next morning.”

“Sheriff Caleb?” asked Abigail.

“Yes, the sheriff,” I said. “I guess you could say they’re dating.”

Abigail backed away from mom and then hurried down the porch. “I have to go. It was nice meeting you folks.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked. First her talk about vampires, and now she appeared to be spooked by the bites on mom’s neck. Then it hit me. “You’re not thinking that the bites on mom’s neck are… vampire bites, are you?” I asked with a wry smile. Even I had a hard time believing her ridiculous talk. Believing in ghosts was bad enough. 

She opened her truck door and turned back to look at us. “Damn right I do.”

Chapter Thirteen

“What?” chuckled mom, staring at her in disbelief.

She pointed towards her neck. “You’ve got the mark and if you don’t get out of town while you still can, you’ll be a threat to your children and everyone else in town.”

All of us watched her in stunned silence as she slammed the door and drove away, kicking up dust in her wake.

“Now
that
was really weird,” I said.

“What a fruitcake,” said mom as she turned around and headed back into the house. “Certifiable nutcase.”

I followed her in and we went into the kitchen.

“So, um… are you feeling, okay?” I asked.

She removed her sunglasses and smiled. “I feel like turning into a vampire and sucking your blood!” she joked.

I snorted. “Yeah, that was one weird old lady. Maybe she’s the one trying to scare us.”

She sighed. “You know, I never thought of that. I should mention it to Caleb when he comes over tonight.”

“Are you guys going on a real date this time, or are you cooking, again?”

“Actually, he’s planning on bringing me to his place. His daughter is making dinner for both of us, I guess.”

“Mom,” said Nathan, coming into the kitchen. “Did Nikki tell you yet?”

“Tell me what?”

Nathan told her about the video and she followed us into the den to watch it.

“Something must be wrong with the camera,” said mom. “There’s no way that video equipment fell to the ground on its own.”

“Or… we have a poltergeist,” I said.

She looked at me and groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding! First all this talk about vampires, and now, you, with the ghosts?”

“Then how do you explain what happened on the film?” said Nathan. “Even I’m having a little trouble with it.”

She closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Seriously, I don’t know. Maybe Duncan didn’t fasten them down tight enough and they fell. Or maybe an animal pulled them down.”

“I think we should show them to the sheriff and see what he thinks,” said Nathan.

“Okay, he’ll be here after nine o’clock to pick me up. I’ll show him.”

“You hungry, mom?” asked Nathan. “I can make you something.”

“Could you? I’m starving,” she said. “I’ll go take a shower and you can make me whatever you want.”

“Okay, how about a hamburger?” he asked.

She yawned. “Oh, now that sounds good.”

“How do you want it prepared?”

Mom turned to him and smiled wickedly. “Bloody rare. I’m turning into a vampire, you know.”

~~~

I spent most of the day watching television and thinking about Duncan. He was coming over tonight when I was finished at the diner, and all three of us were going to try and videotape some more ghost activity. Nathan now believed it was really a poltergeist and was even talking about hiring an expert to help us.

Nathan dropped me off at the diner just before four o’clock. It was busy and the waitress who was supposed to train me, Susan, appeared stressed out.

“Just follow me around for now and when it slows up, I’ll go over the menus and tickets,” she said, stepping around me with a tray full of food.

“Okay.”

I followed her to a busy table while other customers tried getting her attention. She handed out the food and then I followed her back to the counter, where she handed me a coffeepot.

“Better idea, why don’t you just go around and see if any of my tables need coffee or soda refills?” she said, pointing to her section.

Unfortunately, it never did slow down and I spent most of my time following her around or refilling beverages. At the end of the night, my feet were sore, but Susan had shared some of her tips, so I was happy.

“Sorry the training sucked today,” she said, removing her apron. “We’ve been so busy ever since Amy…” she looked away.

I nodded. “I understand.”

She turned back to me and her eyes were moist. “She was a good friend. It’s going to be hard to replace her.”

“I doubt I could ever replace her,” I said. “In fact, she was the one who gave me the application in the first place.”

“Listen, if you can stay a little later tomorrow night, I’ll go over everything else with you that we missed during our shift. Friday evenings are always busy, so plan on being here, late.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Just remember two of the most important rules: the customer is always right, even when they’re wrong, and to always smile, even when you want to slit their throats. Especially the super picky customers.”

I smiled. “Okay.”

She stared at me for a minute.

“What?” I asked.

“You know, you look very similar to Amy. Different color hair, but your features are similar.”

My cell phone began to vibrate.

“It’s my ride,” I told her and answered the phone.

“Hi,” said Nathan. “My car won’t start.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “The battery must be dead or something. I’m trying to get ahold of Duncan, to see if he can give you a ride home.”

“What about mom?”

“I can’t find her keys anywhere. Caleb’s already picked her up, and she forgot her cell phone here on the counter.”

“Great. Okay, let me know if you talk to Duncan. I’ll just hang out here for a while.”

I hung up the phone and Susan tapped me on the shoulder. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to listen in but… do you need a ride?”

“I might.”

“My brother should be here in a half hour. I’m sure he’ll give you one.”

I smiled. “Thanks. I can’t wait until I get my own car. Relying on someone else for a ride all the time is so frustrating.”

“I know. I’m going outside to have a smoke, you want to join me?”

“I don’t smoke but I’ll come out with you”

We both grabbed a couple of sodas and I followed her out the back door of the diner where there was a picnic table. We sat down in the darkness and she cleared her throat. “At least it’s a nice night. The moon is full and there aren’t any clouds.”

It was true; the stars were bright and it was a little cool outside, so we weren’t getting bitten up by mosquitos. It seemed really peaceful, although I kept thinking about Amy and her warnings about how dangerous it was at night in Shore Lake.

Susan lit up a cigarette and took a long drag. “Oh, man, I needed that.”

“So… you were friends with Amy?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said, looking away. “I still can’t believe she’s gone.”

“She seemed really nice when I met her.”

Susan looked at me and nodded. “She
was
a sweetheart. Her boyfriend, though, he was scary. I’m glad she dumped him.”

“She had a boyfriend?”

She blew out another stream of smoke. “Yeah, Ethan. He hangs out here sometimes at night with his crew. They’re all kind of freaky if you ask me.”

“Why, what do you mean?”

Susan shrugged. “I don’t know; there’s just something strange about them. They come in here, hardly saying a word to each other. They just sit and stare at us, sipping their coffee. Ethan is the scariest. He’s cute, but there’s something about him that makes me nervous. He has these penetrating blue eyes that give me the creeps. Anyway, I really hate serving them, but they’re paying customers, so we can’t exactly kick them out.”

I cleared my throat. “Weird. So, why did she break up with this Ethan guy?”

She laughed. “Amy always had quite the imagination. Everyone thought she was a little… nuts, and maybe, she really was. I mean, she did kill herself. Anyway, she once told me she thought he was a vampire.”

“What?” I choked on my diet soda.

“I know, right?” she smirked. “A freakin’ vampire! Although, if I did believe in vampires, he’d be the first on my list of suspects.”

My throat was really dry as I took another sip of soda. First Abigail, and now Amy; both believed there were vampires roaming the town.

“We’d better go back into the diner,” she said, putting out her cigarette. “My brother will be here soon. I’ll see if he can give you a ride.”

My cell phone went off again as we entered the diner.

“It’s Nathan,” said my brother. “Duncan’s coming to pick you up.”

“Great, thanks,” I said.

“Make sure he brings you straight home. Don’t go jumping his bones or anything.”

“Ha-ha. You are such a comedian.”

He laughed and hung up.

“I’m getting a ride from a friend,” I told Susan. “Thanks for the offer, though.”

“No problem. Oh, my brother’s here,” she said, looking at her phone. “He just texted me. I’ll see you tomorrow, at four o’clock again?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

After she left, I sat down at one of the booths, to finish my soda and wait for Duncan. As I watched the front door, a group of kids around my age walked through. One of the other waitresses seated them.

“Same as usual?” asked the older waitress, who I’d met earlier. Her name was Darlene and she was close to retiring.

“Just coffee,” said a broad-shouldered, dark-haired guy, ordering for everyone. He handed her back the menu and our eyes met.

Embarrassed,
I looked away quickly and stared outside at the parking lot, watching for Duncan.

Before I could blink, someone slid into my booth and I was suddenly facing the stranger whose eyes I’d just met.

“Um, hi,” I said, sitting up straighter.

“Um, hi, yourself,” he said with a slow, lazy grin.

Oh wow…

“I’m Nikki,” I replied, feeling myself blush at the intense way he was staring at me. I knew it had to be Amy’s ex-boyfriend, and he was undoubtedly gorgeous. He had thick, dark eyebrows with icy blue eyes; his face was perfectly sculpted with high cheekbones and a strong chin. His lips… they were sensual and even fuller than mine.

“You’re new in town?”

“Yes,” I replied, now studying his face more closely. He was definitely a little pale, which reminded me of the fact that Amy had accused him of being vampire. As I stared at him, I reasoned that most girls my age would have swooned at such a good-looking guy, but after everything that had happened the last few nights, I felt a cold shiver run down my spine.

“Welcome to Shore Lake,” he replied, looking into my eyes again.

“Thanks.”

It was weird, but we sat there and stared at each other for a while without talking. Soon, I started feeling a heat somewhere inside of my belly that turned into an overwhelming ache of desire, further south. 

“I, ah…” My heart was pounding in my chest and I felt a strong urge to touch him. It was almost overwhelming.

“Nikki,” interrupted Duncan, standing next to our table. “Are you ready to go?”

I looked at Duncan and the spell, or whatever it was, was broken. “Yeah,” I said. “I’m ready.”

“Goodbye, Nikki,” said Ethan, with a small grin. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“Goodbye,” I murmured, looking away. I was confused at the intense rush of desire I’d had for Ethan. He was a total stranger. How did that even happen?

“Who was that?” asked Duncan as he followed me out to his truck.

I don’t know how I knew, but there was no doubt in my mind that Ethan was still staring at me through the window. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. “You might think I’m crazy, but I’m pretty sure he was a vampire.”