Bound in Blood 1 Clandestine (6 page)

They were in the outskirts of town now, in the heart of the
under classed, where the houses were falling apart. Most of the
yards were knee high with garbage piled outside. A few had old,
dilapidated cars propped up on jacks in the center of their yards,
as if displaying a classic.

At the center of the dead end, there was a brand new house
that had just been built. Emily would have remembered
something like that in this neighborhood. It was a large, two
story house with dark gray, vinyl siding. The yard was
elaborately landscaped, the large picture windows had their
fancy, thick curtains drawn. What was a house like that doing on
a street like this? It was gorgeous and eerie at the same time,
which didn’t fit. It took Emily a few moments to recognize the
home. She remembered attending a birthday party there, when
she was a kid. It wasn’t as nice back then,that’s for sure. The
strange couple must have done a serious overhaul of the place.

The fear stricken passengers followed the couple up the
front walkway. Then onto a large porch that stretched across the
entire front of the house. Without pause, they filed after the
leaders like ducklings. Well, ducklings that looked like they
were about to be punished for stepping out of line.

Emily was frozen with complete and utter bewilderment.
She couldn’t figure out why on earth those people went with the
couple, even though they seemed absolutely terrified of them. It
didn’t make any sense.

Before the last person was lost inside the darkness of the
home, the bus engine growled and moved again. She craned her
neck behind her, trying to see, but the doors to the house were
closed. The people left on the bus looked afraid, but seemed
more relaxed, if a bitshaken. It didn’t seem to matter that the
weirdness was over.

The make out duo was still in the back and
hadn’t resumed
their activity of sucking face. Emily carefully turned her body
towards them, not wanting to come off overly anxious, even
though she was totally chomping at the bit. She wanted everyone
to act like themselves to banish the uneasy feeling in her gut.

“What just happened?” Emily tried to speak low
, but that
was next to impossible over the roar of the engine.
The teenage couple practically jumped out of their seats.
They looked at each other and back at Emily, curiously.
The girl cocked her head to the side, she looked at Emily as
if considering something. “Don’t you know?”
“No,” Emily retorted,perplexed. “I don’t mean to pry… I’m
justconfused.” She really was, but more than that, she was
concerned. Even though what just happened was a mystery,
everything about it was wrong, she was sure of that.
The girl shot her boyfriend a questioning look. He shook his
head furiously. With finality, she insisted, “I don’t know what
you’re talking about.” They turned, looking out the side window
away from Emily. Their rigid posture made it clear that they
weren’t going to budge on the subject. It was also equally clear
they did know what was going on, acting brain washed.
She was going to make a second attempt, when an alarmed
voice sounded in her head.
Leave…it…alone!
Emily shuddered.
The voice said the words slowly with barely suppressed anger.
Confused, she returned to a frontward position. Like before, the
voice wasn’t her own. It was almost like her subconscious, only
the voice was male. Weirder still, she seemed to recognize it,
though she had no memory of ever hearing it. It was filled with
warning.
A picture of deep blue eyes, which reminded her of the sky
on a cloudless day, flashed in her mind. Emily knew those eyes
but she couldn’t place them. Oh great, apparently on top of the
weird bus episode, the development of schizophrenia and
delusions could be added to the list. Part of her wanted to yell
back at the voice. It would have been easy to freak out, if she
hadn’t been occupied, trying to remember whose voice it was.
Maybe it belonged to the same person who owned the gorgeous
eyes?
What a horrible day this was turning out to be. All she
wanted was go to work, take a bus ride to Wal-Mart and pick up
shampoo and razors. This day had been drastically wrong from
the start, which was becoming more of a pattern lately. She
wished she could take a vacation to a heavenly place that was
warm, beautiful and remote. She could really use some R and R.
Unfortunately though, that would never happen. For one, she
didn’t have enough money and even though he wouldn't admit it,
her dad needed her.
The familiar blue, Wal-Mart sign came into view and Emily
breathed a sigh of relief. She was thankful when none of the
remaining passengers got off the bus with her. The trek across
the parking lot would give her time to clear her head; this was
too freaky for Emily. Absently, she longed for days of normalcy.
Well, at least what she classified as normal.
When Emily crossed through the automatic doors, the
greeter cheerfully bombarded her. She was in absolutely no
mood for pleasantries. This was a get in and get out mission. It
would be getting dark soon; she only had so long before the bus
came back.

The sight of twilight approaching was in full view, when
she made her way out of the store with two bags. Crap, she had
taken too long and her cell had died. She had gotten caught up
browsing through the bargain book bin. They were having a two
for one sale, which never seemed to happen, ever. I am such a
trader to George, she thought with a sarcastic smirk. She had
purchased a whole bag of books and was going to Hell for sure.
At least she’d have something to read during her stay in
purgatory. It really wasn’t her fault that she was a book addict.
Besides, George doesn’t even like her. So why should she be
loyal to his greediness? Also, what good old George didn’t know
wouldn’t hurt him… or her.

After asking a nearby man what time it was, she was in a
mild state of panic. It was seven; she needed to hurry, the last
bus of the day would be leaving in like two minutes. Emily
quickly put both shopping bags into her backpack and started off
at a dead run, across the parking lot. She was just behind the
shelter for the bus stop, when she heard the familiar snarl of an
engine.

“No!” Emily called. “Wait!”
As she smacked the doors to
the bus, the driver flipped the gear shift and pulled away from
the curb. She was left feeling angry and abandoned. Damn it!
Why did they have to be so strict? Technically, she had been
there before the doors were closed. Since her passage would
increase their daily profit, they should be more compassionate
for crap’s sake. With a disgruntled sigh, Emily moved to the
crosswalk. There was no point in delaying the inevitable; her
phone was dead, there was no one to call and that meant she
wouldn't have a ride.

As Emily traveled the blocks in record time, an odd sense of
Déjà vu enveloped. Each time she passed a dark alley, her heart
thudded rapidly in her chest. What did this fear stem from? Was
it just her or did the darkness seem clearer than usual?

In her mind's eye, she caught a glimpse of herself lying
stomach down on the gravel. At first, she thought she was
remembering a fall, whichwasn’t that surprising, thanks to her
unfortunate clumsiness. Emily froze at the entrance to the next
alley, when her foot slid slightly across the rocks, carrying the
picture ofsomeone’s boot with it. What was it about these
alleys? She must have blocked out things from that night; the
details were cloudy, but she desperately tried to break through
the memories.

Suddenly, the memories sharpened, like an intense
brightness, lasting a second. Emily squinted against the light, as
if someone snapped a flash bulb at point blank range. However,
there was only her newly formed recollection of her defiance
against death in an alley, similar to the one she now stood in.
The memories were coming in fast bursts of vivid clarity,
leaving her breathless.

She could recall the crushing weight of her attacker, lying
on top of her and his overwhelming scent. Then gorgeous guy
that rescued her, hiding behind the dumpster and the bad guy
vanishing. She remembered thinking the man that had saved her
must be a guardian angel, but then he vanished too.

Her mind quickly processed the events, following with the
look in her father’s eyes, when he told her to stay away from that
thing
. OH MY GOD! She screamed the words in her head or
hoped she had, considering that she couldn't see or hear anything
at the moment. She probablywouldn’t have noticed either way.
The memories were holding her prisoner, as they replayed over
and over again. How could she have repressed something this
horrible?

Emily vaguely remembered hearing about an article, which
explained how people, who experienced a traumatic event would
repress it afterward. At the time, she thought it was kind of
screwy, because all of her traumas had been stored in her
memory bank. They were always ready to be withdrawn in the
event that self torture was needed.

Overwhelmed by an outpouring of emotion, Emily fell to
her knees, tears falling down like rain. The alligator sized tears
had begun to stain her light, blue shirt in big wet blotches.
Without thinking, she brought her hand up to feel her neck,
where she had been bitten. It didn’t feel like anything had been
there; no trace of a puncture wound or anything. Her neck was
smooth and blemish free.

Realizing where she had collapsed in total breakdown
mode, she scrambled to her feet. The last thing she wanted to do
was to hang out in another alley. All she wanted was to go home.
Suddenly, the darkness seemed to be pulsing. Everywhere she
looked shadows lurked. The night pressed down on her, a heavy
weight on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She had to get out
of there.

Emily broke into a run, completely forgetting to pay
attention to her surroundings. She was moving too fast to worry
about where she was going. The air hit her chest, making the
wetness from her tears frost against her skin. Her eyes felt
swollen from cryingand she didn’t care. The wind whipped her
hair behind her, feeling like it was being pulled. As she ran, the
remaining moisture on her cheeks mingled with the wind and
stung like needles. Her heart was violently hammering inside
her. She couldn’t stop. Emily had a long way to go and couldn’t
get passed the fear that now gripped her whole body.

I’m not going to
let anything hurt you
, the voice in her head
assured her. Through her steady pace, she could recall this voice
from the bus and back at Blake’s. With all the memories intact
now, she connected the most recent ones with the one from that
terrifying night. Instead of feeling crazy this time, Emily allowed
herself to be comforted, no matter how irrational that comfort
might be. Somehow, it made her feel less alone.

Emily was running too fast that she
didn’t see the lip in the
sidewalk and her body went down, like a ton of bricks.
Surprisingly, she reacted quickly, catching herself with her
outreached hands. She grunted in pain, as she hit the ground with
a skidding thump. Agony followed; a sharp burning sensation
ripped at her palms and knees, they were on fire. For a second,
she stilled, trying to collect herself. She was grateful that cars
were scarce, since she didn't intend to become the latest speed
bump.

Emily willed her breathing to relax, knowing that it
wouldn’t do her any good to hyperventilate. Getting to the safety
of home was still the top priority and the urgency of that need
could not be ignored. Her mind worked frantically, as she began
pulling herself up from the ground.

A strong hand gripped her arm and hauled her to her feet.
Startled, Emily automatically jumped back, but the grip stayed
firm. She could have sworn she had been the only one on the
darkened street and she hadn't heard footsteps approach. One
minute she was staring at the sidewalk and the next at clusters of
stars in the night sky. Ordinarily, the sight would have comforted
her, but the torrent of memories had left her in a fog.

An unfamiliar voice spoke, with an accent she didn't
recognize,“Don’t be frightened child,” He spoke slow and
careful in an eerie sort of way.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose and goose bumps
formed on her forearms. That awful nagging stomach clenching
was taking over her midsection again. Instinctively, her mind
screamed for her to move, only the call went unanswered. It was
as though her feet were cemented to where she stood. She shook
her head against the unwillingness to move to no avail. The next
course of action was putting on a brave face. The problem with
that was thathe probably wouldn’t buy it.

Emily swallowed. “Um
, thanks.” She hurried, slinging her
fallen backpack over her shoulder. “Have a good night.” She
said, rushing to move pass him.

His hand found purchase on her arm again, clenching a bit
tighter than before. “No need to hurry. I’d be happy to offer a
lovely girl, such as yourself, a ride to anywhere your heart
desired.”