Hunter of the Dark (3 page)

Tanitha looked up, snapping from her thoughts, as a shadow moved in front of her. She slanted her eyes from the backdrop of sun and found herself gazing into a familiar face.

“Oh, hi Christian.”

“
Hey,” he said, his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his jeans. He was looking down, his hair falling to cover his face. Finally, after about a minute of scuffing his feet and Tanitha waiting patiently for an explanation, he looked straight at her with his enchanting emerald eyes. “Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to act like I did. There’s just so much pressure at home and everything…”

Tanitha placed a hand gently on his shoulder, trying to be of some comfort to him. He looked to be in need of comforting.

“Look, I understand. Just forget about it.” She changed the subject, flicking her head in the direction of the squad car outside the school property. “Heard about it?”

“
Yeah.” Was it Tanitha’s imagination or was that nervousness that streaked quickly through his eyes? He scratched the back of his head, wrinkling his nose. “Dreadful stuff, ain’t it?”

Tanitha nodded, glancing back at the site. She was glad the body still wasn’t there. She knew she would have thrown up if it were. Christian kept on staring at her, and Tanitha felt uncomfortable under his intense gaze.

“All who are born will eventually die, though.” He said softly. Tanitha shivered as the words chilled her to the bone. There was a mixture of emotion in that one sentence. Hurt. Despair. Hunger. He finally broke the contact of his stare to look through his bag.

A dog approached Tanitha from off the street. Tanitha bent down with a warm smile, glad for the distraction.  The dog was a bulky animal of sled dog descent. It carried its bushy tail like a sickle over its back.

“Hey, it’s my pal, Dusky. Say hello to Dusky, Chris.”

Christian looked up from his rummaging and locked eyes with the dog. Dusky also seemed to notice Christian for the first time too and he lowered his head, eyes glaring at Christian. Tanitha looked at the two of them in turn. Dusky never acted like that. It puzzled her that he would do so now. Christian let out a mock growl and Dusky turned and ran with his ears flat against the back of his head and tail between his legs. Tanitha looked at Christian and apologized profusely.

“I’m so sorry! He’s never acted like that before…” Her sentence trailed off, mingling with her momentary confusion. Christian merely shrugged, his hands sliding into his pockets.

“
Yeah, well, me and dogs. We just don’t mix.”

Tanitha could have told him that herself. She had no time to ponder this thought as the bell rung. She hadn’t yet noticed this habit, which could be hiding crucial evidence. She started walking instinctively towards the classrooms.

A guy was waiting at the gateway between two knee-height poles. He had been leaning on the walls in a carefree manner, chatting to Seleena and her friends. Tanitha watched in her own little reserve as he stepped around Seleena and, much to the amazement of everyone watching, approached Tanitha. Seleena watched intently, maybe even a little too quietly for her usual self. She had her long blonde hair braided to either side of her head today, trying to distribute the innocent schoolgirl look but betraying it by wearing a mid-thigh skirt. Tanitha could feel Seleena’s gaze measuring her up to see if she fitted into the category of competition.

“
Hi.” The guy said, drawing Tanitha’s wandering attention back to him. She didn’t know what Cameron Reynolds was doing talking to someone like her. He was the captain of the first fifteen. It was unnatural for him to even be seen with Tanitha. Tanitha felt shock draw over her slowly and she blushed, and then cursed herself silently as shame replaced the shock.

“
Hello.” She uttered simply, afraid that her mouth might not be able to string together a coherent sentence. Cameron smiled as he was acknowledged. He wore his ebony hair in much the same way as Christian did, parted to either side, but the difference was that Cameron’s was brushed smooth. His blue eyes usually exuded confidence in the fact that he was handsome. For he
was
a complete stunner. But something was over the confidence that day, like a shutter blocking the sunlight.

“
I’m Cam, and this is Seleena.” He waved slightly towards the blonde, though it seemed more a dismissal than a welcome. “I saw you over there talking to Dusky and I just wanted to say hi. Did you know Dusky was our dog?”

“
No, I didn’t. Someone told me his name once but I didn’t know who actually owned him. So you own him?” Tanitha was pleasantly surprised that she was making normal conversation.

“
Yeah, me and my bro, Cheyne. Maybe you’d like to come over and meet Cheyne sometime? He’s quite cool. He doesn’t go to school anymore.”

“
Wow, very subtle.” A voice said in response. Tanitha turned around. Cameron seemed to also notice Christian for the first time and only then did he let his smug superiority show. He cradled his face in one hand, as if thinking, tapping his index finger against his cheek. Then his face seemed to light up. As if mocking Christian, he pointed the same finger at him.

“
You’re on the team, right?” He asked, referring to the first fifteen. “New boy. Chris-topher, was it?”

“
Christian.”

“
Right. Now, Chris, tell me. Was I addressing you in particular?”

Cameron’s eyes held a mean light and he had a smirk on his face. Tanitha could tell that his intentions weren’t at all friendly.

“No. In fact, maybe I shouldn’t bother. Maybe I’m wasting my time because your head is so far up your backside you talk sh…”

“
Hey, guys, come on.”

Both guys looked at Tanitha, who shrugged, feeling her cheeks burning again. Why was it she got easily embarrassed at the worst of times? Seleena cracked up laughing, and her girlie giggle was starting to irritate Tanitha deeply. She walked over, hips visibly swaying, and Tanitha rolled her eyes. She watched as Seleena draped her arms over Christian from behind. Tanitha scowled. Christian was
her
friend. She found herself hoping that Seleena wouldn’t sink her claws into him.

“
I’m Seleena.” Seleena said in his ear. Christian turned around, breaking the contact with a raised eyebrow.

“
I know, you said that in form class.”

“
You know what? So I did. Come. I have to tell you about the party that’s on this weekend. Cam?”

“
Hmmm?”

“
You can invite
her
if you like.”

She said it in such a dismissal tone that Tanitha felt like vapour. Tanitha’s hands instinctively clenched at her sides.

“So, Tanitha.” Cameron interrupted her train of thoughts. “You heard about the party on Friday?”

“
Yeah, just now apparently.”

“
You gonna come?”

She thought about it for a while, listing the pros and cons.

“I’ll think about it.”

“
Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“
But…”

“
See ya then.”

“
What…”

But he had gone, and Tanitha was now infuriated by the way he had acted. She should have known that Cameron would be no different from any other. She was halfway hoping that she would have been able to go with Christian but now it seemed that Seleena had already snagged him. She shrugged to loosen her tense shoulders and started off towards class. She was stopped not long after by a familiar syrupy sweet voice.

“Hey, Tanitha baby, wait up.”

Tanitha stopped and sighed melodramatically. Seleena drew up beside her. She was clutching a couple of books to her chest and smiling that come-to-bed smile of hers.

“It might just be me but it seems like Cam’s smitten.”

She bit her lip through the smile, her body moving suggestibly. Tanitha merely turned on her heel and continued walking.

“I don’t have any intention of doing anything. Not with anyone and especially not with Cameron.”

“
I wouldn’t be so sure of it.” Seleena’s voice called after her. “Cam can be awfully determined. In fact, I bet you that you’ll be all over him by the end of the night.”

Tanitha thought about Seleena’s words as she continued down the corridor. No way could she fall for some hotshot like Cameron Reynolds – could she? Why was he after her? There were much prettier girls than her, like Seleena for example. She shrugged, and then decided to look for Christian.

Christian wandered down the field solemnly after Seleena had seen him. It was obvious she had liked him, but the feeling wasn’t mutual. He just didn’t like girls that acted the way she did. She was pretty and she knew it. And that made Christian feel insecure.

Suddenly he felt stabs of pain shoot through his body. He clutched his stomach wearily.

No, not now. Not now!

His vision blurred, and then amicably sharpened. He yelled out his pain as his shoulder slash screamed, begging to be released from its bandaged prison.

“
Christian? Chris! What’s happening?!”

Tanitha’s voice broke through the fog that surrounded his mind, making it lift and draw back. He was suddenly drained of all his energy and he crumpled to the ground, supporting his splitting head. He looked up after a minute’s composure and Tanitha was there, standing over him.

“What’s wrong?” She asked him worriedly. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Christian slowly shook his head, his brain hurting with even this slight movement.

“Who knows, Tanitha. Maybe I have. Maybe I have.”

Tanitha walked home from school with Christian plaguing her mind. Even though her mother usually drove her to school, Tanitha preferred walking home. It usually took the best part of an hour but it always gave Tanitha time to think. And it seemed she had a lot of that to do. What really happened to Christian out there? He had said it was just a simple headache, but a small migraine wouldn’t have even done that. And what did she really feel about Christian?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all.
She reminded herself. Christian was a friend, nothing more.

Walking up to the building that Tanitha called home, she was worried to find the front door wide open. She struggled to gain some sense. Her mother mustn’t of shut it properly on her way back inside. She quickened her pace and, though she tried to stop it, worry creased her brow. Bursting into her bedroom, she arrived to find the whole thing trashed. Sorsa howled, jumping wildly at the window, and Sadie was inconsolable, pacing up and down like a rabid creature. She knew something was wrong, terribly wrong. That’s when she heard the sobbing of her mother. Before the noise of the two dogs had smothered it, and prevented Tanitha from hearing.

Tanitha ran from her own room. She burst into her mother’s bedroom and took in the sight of her mother crying. The corner bunk lay empty, and it looked so cold like a coffin. Tanitha wrapped her arms around her mother. She calmed her mother enough for her to speak.

“
What happened? Where’s Tabby?”

“
She’s dead, Tanitha.” Dinah wailed. Tanitha’s eyes widened with shock and her lower lip quivered but she couldn’t cry in front of her mother. She merely buried her face in her mother’s shaking shoulder and blocked out the tears.

After a while, Dinah stopped crying and her sobs became hiccups. Finally she gave one last lingering look towards Tabitha’s bed.

“My baby girl is dead.” She whispered with finality.

That night, Tanitha lay awake. Her eyes were flooded with unspoken tears. The dogs, sensing her mood, were edgy as well, and Sorsa nudged her hand, and licked the fingertips. Tanitha trailed a hand through the red and white fur, working out some of the knots which riddled the fur. Her eyes were drawn over to Sadie. The black and white female was sitting underneath the window, staring intently at the moon. Her body was frozen solid, and she seemed to be in a trance.

“
Sadie…” Tanitha called to the dog. This renewed Sorsa’s effort to lick Tanitha’s hand, and Tanitha pulled it back under the covers. Tears filled her eyes once more. They were so kind, so loving, so faithful. She didn’t know what she would have become by now without her dogs by her side.

Sadie flinched at her name, but didn’t move. Tanitha tried again, and Sadie looked over her shoulder reluctantly, staring at Tanitha with soulful dark eyes.

“Come on, girl.”

Finally, the Border Collie left her post slowly, all the time looking back. A whimper bubbled in her throat, and Tanitha petted her head.

“What’s gotten into your lately, girl?”

But Sadie wasn’t paying any attention to her.

Tanitha wasn’t exactly overjoyed when Cameron showed up on her doorstep on Friday night. She wasn’t even ready for him as she still wasn’t sure if she wanted to go or not. Tabitha’s memory was still fresh in her mind but she knew that an outing away from all the mourning would be good for her.

Dinah suddenly appeared in the doorway and leaned against the doorframe. She sniffed slightly, her petite nose wrinkling.

“
How long has it been since you last cleaned up your room?”

“
Not long. Maybe a few years.”

Dinah chucked a stray article of clothing at her daughter, grinning. It was good to see her mother smiling again. Dinah’s voice had a squeaky note, as if she had a sore throat.

“Get out of town.”

Tanitha grinned back before continuing on her search for something to wear. Dinah took a drag at the cigarette that never seemed to be removed from her mouth, except to take another puff.

“If smells like something’s keeled over and died in here.”

“
Knowing my luck, something probably has.”

She may have no money or decent clothing but Tanitha was glad of the stable relationship she held with her mother. She was able to laugh and joke and talk about anything with Dinah and not feel ashamed, like most kids her age did. Dinah was more like a friend than a mother and Tanitha was thankful for that. The two dogs crowded on her mother, and Dinah smiled, petting each of the dogs in turn. At least, for now, Sadie had seemed to have snapped out of her trance.

“So, you’re finally going out and getting a life.”

Tanitha turned to her mum.

“Not really, more like dragged out.” As she said this, she started to get changed.

“
Come on. It won’t be that bad. It will do you good.”

Tanitha rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.

“Anyway, there’s a nice guy waiting for you out front.”

Tanitha’s eyes and mouth flew open and she grabbed her jacket and hurried to the front door. Dinah waved to her departing back.

“Have fun!” She called out after her daughter. Tanitha blew her a kiss before going through the cracked door and Dinah leaned against the wall heavily, exhaling smoke in wispy tendrils. She dabbed at the tears in her eyes.

“
My baby’s growing up so fast.”