The Whispers Underneath Her Skin (3)
Summary: Mary is at her first trial with the vampires of Crimson Beech. Let's see what happens here, yes?
Author's Note: Here is part three! Thank you so much to @aria-ashryver for letting me use her version of the Clement and the Venandi elders' names!
Tagging: @aria-ashryver @rjschoicesstuff @choicesmc @cassiusadalhard @loreofyore @averyrealhumanunfortunately @choicesficwriterscreations
Part One
Part Two
Cas was angry at how the night went.
Firstly, Seth messed up the hunt and the human got away, running into the town boundaries. So, as the mentor, he had to clean up the mess Seth had made.
Secondly, the New Girl.
Cas' hand throbbed with pain because of the bite wound the girl left on him.
What exactly was she? Some kind of werewolf? Or a monster? When he attacked her, he didn't expect her to fight back and actually attack him herself.
Cas stomped back into the direction of the Nexus, with Seth following nervously behind him.
"Cas... what are we going to do? And what was that girl?" Seth asked.
"Just shut up a second!" Cas snapped, irritated at the situation at hand. Literally.
Seth obeyed, looking worried.
Cas sighed deeply, thinking. He had to take the blame for the hunting mishap. If the council found out what Seth had done, they would banish him or worse, kill him. It would be fine, Cas was a rulebreaker after all.
As for the New Girl... she would get what was coming to her.
~~~
Wake up. We're in enemy territory. The creature woke up her up.
Mary's head was throbbing with pain, but she sat up in the darkness. Where was she?
In some kind of dungeon.
Mary allowed the creature to take over for a moment, allowing her eyes to glow red. She needed to see in the darkness.
The place looked to be some kind of dingy prison cell. There were bars locking her in, the place smell of dirt, vomit and dried blood. There was even some dried blood caked across from where she sat.
"Ugh, I need to disinfect myself after this! Ew!" Mary gagged. "Do they even clean this place?!"
Will you stop being a prissy princess and look at the bigger picture right now?!
Alright, alright, Mary thought, grumbling. So obviously, the vampires kidnapped us and took us to some underground prison. We have to get out of here. And definitely no more parties.
Aw, even if a cute boy asks us out? Because that's why we're here in the first place.
Mary sighed. Gabriel being so foine is the reason why she even said yes to going to this party, despite her reservations and her mother's warnings about staying away from those woods. But she had to say yes. Never again though.
Gabriel was so fine though. She could see why Libby was so down bad.
Forget that. She needed to get out of here and out of this nasty town.
But before she and the creature could devise an escape route, a vampire came over to the front of her prison cell.
"Hey human, you're up," the man said.
Mary stood up confidently and nodded. "Lead the way, vampire."
The vampire seemed impressed that she was so composed. He unlocked the cell gate and Mary walked out of it, head high.
The vampire grabbed her arm roughly and Mary hissed at him, the creature at the forefront of her mind now.
"Watch it!" She snarled.
The vampire looked shocked for a moment before continuing grabbing her arm, albeit more gently now. He lead her over through some big black doors, into some kind of council chamber, full of vampires. The creature was fully alert now, assessing everything.
"We wait here until the council is ready for your trial," the man said.
"And what am I being accused of?" Mary asked diplomatically.
"You are a human that knows we vampires exist. That's a danger to our society. Most likely you will be killed. Who knows, you could be my dinner right now," the vampire grinned maliciously.
Not if I can help it, the monster underneath her skin barked.
"I can't wait," Mary sighed sarcastically.
The vampire seemed confused yet again but Mary ignored him, trying to get her bearings.
How many?
About sixty of them. The seven vampires on the council, this one here next to us and many hidden ones in the area.
So we're trapped.
Yes.
How many can we take down?
About twenty at least.
Mary groaned quietly, The odds are not on our favor.
No, they are not. A group of crazy, racist humans and one vampire are one thing. But a whole coven of vampires? Another thing.
That's true, Mary had to think strategically here in order to survive this.
Right now, at the center of the chaos, was Cas.
Mary watched as Cas stood in front of the vampire council and Principal Yao - the Principal Yao - stepped to unto the podium next to the council of vampires. She wore a red crest on the collar of her black top.
"Principal Yao???" Mary gasped.
It's not that shocking girl. The creature grumbled.
That was true. Like with Cas, Mary and the creature had felt uneasy around Principal Yao everytime they had to interact. Although, the creature seemed less aggressive with Principal Yao though.
"Indeed." The vampire grinned. "Astoria Yao is the leader of the Venandi family - the most ferocious coven in Crimson Beech."
The doors opened and a man walked in. He was white, had dark-hair and tannish skin. He was the definition of the 'tall, dark and handsome' type of white guy that most girls swooned over. He wore a different crest from Principal Yao's on his shirt collar - a blue one - also signifying his importance.
"Who is that?" Mary asked. She had never seen him before.
"That's Lewyn. The leader of the Clement family," The vampire sneered.
"Wait, there's two covens here?" Mary looked confused.
"Yes. Long story. We Venandis aren't cowardly human lovers like the Clements though. Those Clements act like they're above everyone else and Lewyn is the worst of them all."
Mary stared at this Lewyn guy and yeah, something about that man gave her the creeps.
The creature growled menacingly, echoing her sentiments.
Anyways - Mary needed to get to the bottom of whatever this is and survive it.
"Your name, vampire," She demanded.
"Clyde," The vampire smiled broadly. "At your service."
"Where am I exactly? Since I'm going to die anyway."
"This is The Nexus. The hub of this town's vampire business and where Cas has been called to stand trial for illegal hunting."
"So... am I witness to this case or a liability?" What? She watched Legally Blonde.
"A liability. That's why I had to bring you in. And if Astoria gets her way, you won't be leaving."
Of course. "And what does she have on me? We barely spoke and she's my school principal."
"She's a coven leader, human. She has to protect her own."
"What about that Lewyn guy? What does he have on me?"
Clyde opened his mouth, about to answer when that Lewyn guy clapped his hands, his face smug.
"Let's get started, shall we? Some of us have things to do," He stated.
"What's the rush, Lewyn?" Cas sneered. "Hot date?"
Principal Yao - Astoria - hissed, "For your sake, I suggest you watch your mouth. Illegal hunting is a serious offense."
"For once, I agree with Astoria," Lewyn's face was calm but Mary could sense the contempt beneath his smooth facade. "Banishment is still on the table and the life of a solitary vampire... 'tis an awful fate really."
Cas's arrogant smile faded and he looked worried for just a moment before he looked resigned.
"Do your worst," He said.
One of the vampire elders, who wore the same blue crest as Lewyn, snarled, "He clearly has no respect! Let us dole out his punishment so we can move on to the human!"
Another vampire elder, who was a black woman and wore the same red crest as Astoria, looked at the other elder with anger, "You'd like that, wouldn't you human lover? But would you say the same if he belonged to your coven?"
An older white woman, who wore the same blue crest as Lewyn, barked, "Our coven members have self-control, you bloodthirsty brute!"
The black woman looked enraged and Mary was enraged with her because huh?! That was a macroaggressive insult!
But before anymore argument could continue, Lewyn snapped everyone back into attention.
"Silence! Elders, this trial is as much part of our governance as the law, and it will proceed as ordered."
The elders quiet down, though the black female elder still looked upset. Mary needed to talk that lady definitely. If she survived this of course.
Clyde leaned forward and whispered, "When a vampire breaks one of our laws, Astoria and Lewyn both take turns questioning them. But the final decision is left up to the elders of both covens. Their rulings can only be rejected by an unanimous vote by the coven leaders."
Astoria and Lewyn are the coven leaders, Mary nodded soberly. "So I have to get Astoria and Lewyn to both agree not to kill me right?"
Clyde nodded, impressed, "Yes. But good luck with that. The only thing Astoria and Lewyn ever agree on is how to deal with humans who know too much."
"Of course. Just my luck," Mary sighed.
"Come on, human. Being my dinner isn't so bad."
"Huh... I mean I do taste good. If you know, you know," Mary winked at him.
Clyde licked his lips - he definitely knew what she was implying.
Really? Flirting with a vampire that's trying to kill us? The creature sounded aggravated.
What? I can't help that I'm hot.
He's telling us all this so he could kill and eat us! Focus!
Clyde bared his teeth, showing his fangs, proving that the creature was correct in her assessment.
Okay, okay. Fine. I lost my head for a second. Ovulation, you know.
But Mary needed Clyde to keep talking. Maybe she could get him to reveal things that could help her survive this trial.
"All that aside, this is intriguing. And if you vampires are gonna kill me anyway, what's the harm in me knowing everything then?"
"Your funeral."
Mary ignored the quip and zeroed in Lewyn and Astoria, as they took turns interrogating Cas.
"Cas, you know it's against the rules of this coven to hunt inside the town's boundaries, especially to kill citizens of Crimson Beech," Astoria's voice was firm.
"Thing is, the 'victim' wasn't a townperson, just some tourist passing through," Cas stated.
"Be that as it may, she was indeed within Crimson Beech's boundaries, was she not?" Lewyn asked cryptically.
Cas grinned, "Oops."
Mary was pissed off all over again. That poor girl. Oh, she should've killed Cas when she had the chance.
Astoria was looking through some files in front of her, her face puzzled, "Coven records show that you hunted very recently. You shouldn't have needed to drink blood tonight. So, why did you?"
Lewyn looked disgusted, "It doesn't matter. While Cas is young, he should have better control! The violence he inflicted on that human was completely unnecessary!"
That we can agree on, Mary thought. She looked over to Clyde and whispered, "That Lewyn guy seems like a stickler for following the rules. Is he always like this?"
Clyde rolled his eyes, "A human got eaten while awaiting trial one time, and Lewyn went on and on about that 'miscarriage of justice' for decades. He's all about order and thinks vampires should behave 'respectfully towards the humans they live with. One big, happy community."
Wouldn't that make sense though? But he's a vampire still so that makes him a danger to humans anyway. "So, he doesn't dislike humans. How dangerous is he?"
"He works with humans so perhaps not really. Although, the humans who should fear him are the ones who know what he is."
He gave her a wicked smile but Mary was unfazed.
"Of course. If a human knows what he is, then his show of caring so much for humans would fall apart. Am I right, Mr. Vampire?" She raised an eyebrow.
Clyde grinned, "Smart human."
It takes a monster to know another monster, the creature chortled.
Clyde went on, amused by her 'human' intellect, "Personally, I believe Lewyn is fascinated by human logic. Making a solid argument is always good way to impress him." He then shook his head sadly. "But Harlow here is making a mess of things."
Sure enough, Cas looked at Lewyn and rolled his eyes. "Look what happened happened. Have you not gotten 'hangry' before?"
Astoria squeezed Cas's arm with such strength and ferocity that he winced in pain. Being the same arm that she had bitten a piece out of. Mary was glad to know that at least her efforts had paid off in some way.
"You broke a core law," She hissed. "You are lucky that you are still alive to tell your side of the story."
But that girl isn't though, Mary thought sadly.
"And if you wish to remain a part of this coven, you are going to need to give us something other than attitude!" Astoria snapped.
"Okay, okay!" Cas gasped, grimacing in pain. "The hunt did start outside of Crimson Beech, but the human got away! She would've gone screaming into town and blown our entire cover if I didn't stop her! I didn't have a choice, alright?!"
Suddenly he looked over at Mary.
"That human can tell you! She was there, she saw it happen!" His eyes gleamed with vengeance. "Might've have possibly been involved...." He had a hint of a smirk on face.
All these vampires' eyes turn to her, predatory gleams in their eyes.
The creature growled angrily while Mary's eyes narrowed. That fool was really using her secret as leverage to get off scotfree! She didn't want to think about what these people might do to her if they knew what she really was.
She should've killed this fool when she had the chance. Truly.
Luckily, Mary knew how to play this game - courtesy of her grandmother teaching her respectability politics.
Lewyn shot her a calm smile, "You don't have to be afraid. Just tell us... is what Cas saying the truth?"
Mary put on her best heartbroken expression, "What Cas states is true. He and the victim were heading into town, close to a party in the woods."
Lewyn looked shocked while confused murmurs went across the room of vampires. Astoria looked relieved.
Cas looked smug, "See, even the human backs me up! I told-"
"But," Mary wasn't finished yet. She needed to sell this performance. At her interruption, Lewyn looked interested, Astoria looked alarmed while Cas's smile faltered. Y'all will know who you're dealing with today. Mary's eyes teared up, thinking of that girl. "It was so horrible. That poor girl... I can still hear her screams. It was harrowing, watching her get torn apart. And for no reason at all apparently. And she screamed-"
Cas looked positively enraged, "That's not true! I-"
"Enough!" Lewyn snapped, looking at Cas with open contempt. He glanced over at Mary, pleased. "Thank you, Miss. That's all we need."
Mary nodded tearfully and sat down. Cas looked pissed off, ready to rip her into shreds. Mary smirked at him, I win.
The Clement elders of the council looked at Cas with disgust while the Venandi elders looked at Cas with annoyance.
"Look, who cares about some girl!" Astoria glared at Mary and then turned to Lewyn. "It's clear that Cas was just protecting the covens. I say we end this ridiculous trial at once!"
Lewyn looked unmoved. "That may be. But it still stands that he broke an essential coven law, Astoria. Whether the girl's life was valued or not. Not to mention... those murders in the woods... you wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that, wouldn't you Cassius?"
Cas looked offended, "That has nothing to do with me!"
Astoria looked enraged as well, "Junius. I'd rather you not accuse my coven members without consulting me first!"
With the attention now back on the coven leaders and Cas, Clyde leaned over to Mary, smirking.
"Good performance by the way. Who knew a human could be so conniving?"
Mary raised an eyebrow, "If you think I'm conniving Mr. Clyde, then you haven't met or spent much time with humans at all."
"True."
"Also, it seems to me that Astoria doesn't like Lewyn at all."
"Yep. The only thing keeping the peace between those two are the rules they wrote down when they first settled down here. Without those rules, heads would be rolling for ages," Clyde grinned.
"So... from what I see, Cas is a Venandi, correct? Astoria's coven?"
"Yes. So she's trying to get this trial to end without any bloodshed," Clyde stated. He then smirked at her. "You have hindered that possibility, unfortunately."
Mary shrugged, "Harlow shouldn't have tried to use me as his alibi then. Not my fault he dug his own grave."
Clyde sniggered, "So conniving. I love it. I'll actually be sad when I have to eat you."
Mary sighed dramatically, "We all have to die someday, chile."
Clyde went on, "With Astoria, the best bet is to stand up for yourself and show that you're not afraid. No crying and being conniving, human. That stuff only works on Lewyn." He winked at her.
Mary blinked. Was he actually giving her information willingly? She was confused. She thought that he wanted her to die.
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind?" Mary blinked.
That was an unexpected twist, the creature sounded shocked.
I know.
"Elders, it's time to deliberate," Lewyn stated.
And as these vampire elders deliberated or whatever, Cas held his head in his hands in sorrow, pain and fear. And for a moment, Mary felt sorry for him.
Sorry for what? For killing that girl? For trying to kill us?
Mary ignored the creature as she felt her empathy washed her over for a bit. She might be callous sometimes but she knew when to have empathy. (Sometimes.)
Lewyn's voice burst through the tension, "Has the elders made a decision?"
"Yes." One of the elders stood up to the podium. He looked young and he wore a red Venandi crest.
"Of course," Another elder who wore the blue Clement crest stood up and walked over to the podium as well.
"Joel," Lewyn nodded at the Clement elder. "Nathaniel." He nodded at the Venandi elder. "You both may proceed with the verdict."
"In the case of Cassius Harlow and his action of illegal hunting, we find the defendant guilty," Joel decreed. "Punishment by the way of the Silver Brand."
Nathaniel looked devastated, as of course Cas was his coven member. "Every crime has its Punishment."
Cas looked horrified, "Wait- But-!"
Lewyn nodded at the two guards at the shadows of the room.
The guards grabbed Cas by the arms and dragged him away, Cas kicking and screaming the whole time. Astoria's hand was on her face in agony, not even looking at the whole scene.
Mary was disturbed as well. What were these people on?!
Stop. It's us now! The creature brought her back to the reality of her situation.
"You're up, human!" Clyde grabbed her arm, not as roughly as before but still with conviction, as he dragged her to center stage. Mary's eyes burned with ferocity as the creature was alert and ready.
One of the Venandi elders, a young woman with a black hat, chuckled, "This should be fun."
The older female Clement elder looked worried, "That poor child."
"Is there any need of talking?!" Astoria moved - faster than Mary anticipated - and grabbed Mary by back of her braided hair angrily and twisted her head so that her neck was now visible. "Let's kill this human, here and now!"
"No!" Mary cried out, her talisman burning into her skin. The creature within her tried to take over her entire being but she pushed her back.
Let me do this.
I HAVE TO STOP HER-! The creature taking over her consciousness now and Mary didn't want that at all.
LET ME DO THIS-! She took the control fully, though the creature was taking over the corners of her mind.
"If you even think that I was going to let Cas kill me in those woods, then you're mistaken!" Mary snarled, her voice deeper and more gravelly - making her be heard. Everyone was stunned silent as she made her plea. "I have done nothing to you people! You people kidnapped me and dragged me over here for some trial that has NOTHING to do with me! And if you think I'm going to just lay here and die just to keep your dirty little secrets, THEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER THING COMING!"
Mary panted, her eyes glowing red and her teeth sharpening. If she was going to die, then she would take some people down with her. Mainly, this vampire shrew that was trying to kill her now!
Suddenly, Astoria released her and Mary pulled her teeth back and willed her eyes to be normal. She couldn't let these people know or suspect that she wasn't entirely human.
She turned around as calmly as she could, to see Astoria looking... impressed?
"Fine, human pest," Astoria sneered, looking down at her the same way those racists looked down at her that night. "Just stop groveling."
The creature roared with anger and Mary's entire being burned with rage.
She glared viciously at Astoria, her eyes shifting as she and the creature fought for dominance. "You are going to let me speak my piece, Principal Yao. Before you look down on me and make your judgments! Because unlike most people, I'm not stupid enough to say about any of this!"
Astoria blinked in confusion and anger but before she could get suspicious, Mary turned to Lewyn indignantly.
"You want to protect your secret?! Fine. I'm not saying a word about this. Who would believe me anyway?! Even if I said anything, people would think I'm insane! And I'm not trying to get institutionalized out here!"
Lewyn nodded, pleased.
She turned to the elders. "So there! I said my piece! I want nothing to do with you people so I won't say nothing!"
She then bent over in exhaustion, panting loudly. If these people still killed her after all that, she would be killing some of them before she would fall. She wasn't going down like a coward.
"Elders, it's time to deliberate," Lewyn nodded.
I'm ready. I'm so ready. I will rip throats out. Cut off their hands. Gouge their eyes out. Crush their spines-
"Elders, have you made a decision?" Lewyn's cool voice interrupted the creature's promises of violence.
Mary stood up straight, ready to fight to the death.
"Yes," the older female Clement elder stepped forward.
"Sure," the black female Venandi elder stepped forward, her eyes darting towards Mary with interest.
"Genevieve," Lewyn nodded at the Clement elder. "Ramona." He then nodded at the Venandi elder. "You may both proceed with the verdict."
"In the case of Mary Lawrence and her involvement with the illegal hunting debacle, we find the defendant.... not guilty," Genevieve decreed. "The girl has made a valid case for herself and killing her would be unfair."
"Yes, this human - this woman - has resolve and grit. Impressive," Ramona smiled at Mary, much to her and everyone else's surprise.
Astoria looked pissed, "This is an absurdity!"
"No Astoria. This is the best outcome. Especially with that mother of hers," Lewyn now turned to Mary with a cold glint in his eyes.
Mary was confused now. What did her mother have to do with this?!
"Your mother has been... unusually interested in the murders going on in the woods. Poking in places she shouldn't be. Asking questions," Lewyn stated, looking smug.
Mary facepalmed angrily. That stupid woman!
"Well, what do you want me to do about it then?!" She hissed, having enough of these people's games.
"Stop her. Get her to cease her investigation. Or else... well... you know what happens to humans who know too much right?" Astoria smirked.
Mary glared viciously at the shrew. "Fine." She was tempted to let her know that she could kill her if she wanted to, but she knew that her grandparents and her aunt Rachelle would be heartbroken at her mother's death, and her involvement in that.
"We're done here. Remember our deal, Mary," Lewyn nodded.
Mary knew that Clyde was going to knock her out so she said nothing else.
She then felt a cloth come over her mouth and nose, knocking her out completely.
~~~
As a child, Mary didn't understand why she didn't have parents the way other kids did. Most kids in her class had two parents. She had none. Her mother was alive as far as she knew, but didn't live with her. She only had her grandparents.
Her grandmother tried to soothe her but the seeds of resentment towards her mother were already growing in Mary's pysche.
"Granny, why does Mummy hate me?" She asked one day after getting home from kindergarten. She was confused and hurt as she believed her mother didn't want her unlike other Mummies wanted their children.
"No, baby. Your mother doesn't hate you. It's- it's complicated. But we will tell you everything when you're big enough. Okay?"
~~~
Wake up.
Mary sat up quickly. She was in the woods and it was still dark, the sunrise peeking through the dark sky. She survived! She actually survived!
"Finally, you're up, loser," Mary jumped up to see that idiot Cas sitting across from her. His silver vampiric eyes shone in the early morning darkness but Mary felt no fear.
"Oh, you're still alive," Mary grumbled. "That's a pity."
Cas smirked arrogantly, "I'm hard to kill, New Girl."
"Ain't that the truth."
Cas studied her for a moment, "What are you exactly?"
Mary raised an eyebrow, "What am I?"
"You're not a werewolf, are you?"
Nope. "That's for me to know and for you to find out."
"I can tell people about you, you know."
Mary shrugged, "And who would believe you? And I can do the same for you as well, Mr. Vampire," She looked into his eyes. "You have your secrets and I have mine."
Cas rolled his eyes, "Whatever."
"Besides, what happened to you? You disappeared and I didn't see you again during the trial."
Cas's face darkened and he turned away from her, "I don't want to talk about it."
Mary sneered, "Talk about how you murdered an innocent girl in the woods? Sure."
"You don't know the full story. Besides that girl isn't so innocent, I can tell you that."
"Okay then." Mary didn't believe him one bit. She sniffed the air, smelling blood coming from Cas's hands. "Hold on."
She grabbed Cas's hands, much to his protest, to see... burn marks?!
"What in the world?! Did they do this?!" Mary was gagged. She shouldn't be surprised but she was.
Cas pulled his hands away angrily, "Just some punishment. Nothing to see here. It's none of your concern!"
Mary sighed, shaking her head, "True. Sorry to you." She stood up and looked around. It was dawn and she needed to get home.
"So, you're not going to ask about it? Or be concerned?" Cas asked in annoyance.
"Nope. Don't care. You probably deserved it."
Cas's eyes glowed silver, "I could kill you now."
Mary's eyes glowed red just as easily, "Or I can kill you first. Finish the job, weirdo."
The two stared at each other for a moment. Mary's teeth sharpened and her nails slowly turned into claws. She could kill him. Sure, the other vampires might suspect obviously but this guy has killed people before so at least she would be doing the world a favor anyway.
To her surprise, Cas broke eye contact first. He looked exasperated.
"I can't kill you now. Astoria will kill me if I do. And I have to actually attend classes now, ugh!" He groaned.
Mary rolled her eyes which were back to normal again, "The horror."
"Right?!"
She sighed, dusting her hands which were returning back to normal. "Yeah, don't care. Just stay out of my way, weirdo," She snapped.
Cas glared at her viciously but she ignored him entirely, walking away. She didn't have the time to entertain him. She needed to get home before her mother did.
~~~
Luckily for her, her mother wasn't home yet so Mary showered quickly and got dressed. She had cheerleading tryouts today so she needed to get her head in the game:
1.) Stay away from those vampires
2.) Act like a normal human
3.) Survive the school year
4.) Get out of this hellhole after graduation.
Mary was eating some fry bake that she made herself when her mother came home, looking tired.
"Boy, work was long!" Her mother panted. "Look, another murder in the woods!" She slammed some newspapers onto the dining room table. "I can't believe it."
Mary shrugged, eating her bake quietly.
"Can I get some of those?" Her mother asked.
Mary pointed at the left over bake that she had set aside. She could be nice... sometimes.
"Thanks," Her mother grabbed some bake and starting eating some. "By the way, your grandmother called last night. Why didn't you pick up?"
Mary blinked, not believing that she actually missed a call from her beloved Granny, "She called me?"
Shot. Granny must've called during her trial at those vampires' den!
"Yes. But she couldn't reach you. Why?"
Mary sighed, "I was asleep probably. Long day at school," She hated lying but Astoria and Lewyn's warnings rang in her mind. "I'll call her later."
"Please do. I do not need her nagging me again."
Mary rolled her eyes inwardly. "I have to go."
She picked up her school bag and walked out the door.
~~~
When she got to school, Mary was immediately accosted by the people from the bonfire last night. To her surprise. Are these people okay?
"Oh thank goodness!" The girl (Drishti was it?) hugged her. "You're okay! Gabriel said that he found you and took you home but I needed to be sure."
The black guy (the one who almost killed her with a football) stepped forward, dragging Tyler with him. He glared at Tyler, "Well?"
Tyler glared at him before turning to Mary, shame in his eyes. "I'm sorry. For making you to go into the woods last night."
Mary nodded, "It's fine."
"No, it's not fine! You could have been killed, Mary!" Drishti looked teary-eyed. "They found another body in the woods this morning. A girl about our age. It was so close to where we were partying last night. So we're all banned from going into the woods now. Principal Yao just announced it."
Of course 'Principal Yao' would do that, Mary scoffed inwardly. The she said, "Fine by me. I'm not going into those woods again anytime soon."
"Same. I'm grounded anyway," Tyler sighed, before walking off.
Mary looked at Drishti in confusion, "Why?"
"His parents heard about what he did to you and about the body that was found this morning so they punished him. It could have been you, Mary. Thank goodness for Gabriel."
"Thank God indeed." The school bell rang and Mary was over this day already.
~~~
There was an assembly; 'Principal Yao' had all the students assemble in the gym and gave this speech about her concerns with their safety and for them to be careful out here. And of course everyone believed this woman's act.
Mary was disgusted. Maybe because she now knew that 'Principal Yao' was actually an ancient bloodsucking demon so she was privy to the fact that Yao didn't actually care about these people at all.
'Principal Yao' even invited the sheriff, Frank Rogers, to speak to them, with the sheriff giving a PSA about stranger danger and not to trust anyone.
"Remember to be careful out there. And if you need anything or know something, please come down to the police station. Or you can speak to my daughter, Libby Rogers and she can relay your message back to me," The sheriff said.
'Wait, Libby is the sheriff's daughter?!' Mary gasped. 'That's so Twilight-coded, I can't.'
Libby looked embarrassed and horrified that her father would even mention her in front of the entire school.
"Dad!" She squeaked.
Mary almost felt sorry for her. Almost.
~~~
Classes went by quickly. The creature within her skin was restless and Mary was tired.
She could feel eyes on her and the creature was agitated by this. Those vampires were so annoying!
After her Social Studies class, Mary hurried out, feeling overwhelmed by everything.
"Hey! Mary, wait!"
She turned around to see Gabriel running after her.
Ugh, leave me alone, The creature within her skin grumbled in irritation.
Ugh indeed.
~~~
Terri was at her desk, looking through files and reports. The pattern of these murders was very similar to the ones he did.
There was no way that he could know about Mary. She had her daughter hidden away, living with her parents. Her mother's shield and her father's shadow ability hindered any tracking from him.
Her sister Rachelle did say that she hadn't heard anything but Terri had to be sure that Mary wasn't been tracked. Especially with her condition.
If he was truly behind these murders, then she and Mary would have to leave Crimson Beech as soon as they could. But right now, Terri wasn't sure if it was him, which was why she was obsessing over this.
There was a knock on her office door.
"Doctor Lawrence?"
"Come in," Terri called, fixing the papers on her desk.
A blonde, white woman walked in, looking nervous.
"Hello Nurse Petrov, what can I do for you?" Terri asked politely.
"I just wanted to apologize for what my son Tyler did, well almost did to your daughter," the nurse looked worried.
"Excuse me?!" Terri was immediately alarmed. "Did your son hurt my child?!" Was that why Mary was so moody this morning?! Why hadn't she caught that?! Was Mary rap-?
"No! He didn't physically do anything - I'm sorry, let me start over-" The nurse looked horrified. "So my son was at this party last night at the woods and your daughter was there-"
"There was a party in the woods? The same woods where people are being murdered in?!" Terri was aghast.
"Yes - but the kids have this party every year so I thought it was fine - Crimson Beech tradition. So at the party, my son dared your daughter to go into the woods and-"
"What?!" Terri was now pissed. At this woman's child and at her child too. Why was Mary in those woods when she told her specifically not to go into those woods??
"But luckily, this kid Gabriel, he's their class President, found her and took her back home. I'm so sorry. My son was raised better than that."
"Yes. Well, thank you for telling me this information," Terri nodded coolly. "I will deal with my daughter when she gets home from school."
The woman nodded once and left.
Terri now knew that her daughter was up to her shenanigans again.
And that these people in Crimson Beech are weird.
