“Ryan has IDs for us. Well, for me, definitely. He’s working on yours, but don’t worry he’s really good.”
I rolled my eyes. “Like I said.”
I let my head fall back against the headrest again, coaxing the throbbing to cease as I concentrated on the hum of the tires on the asphalt beneath us. I contemplated calling my mom to come pick me up when we arrived at the rave, so I stared out the window in hopes of pinpointing a landmark of some sort, but it was futile. It was too dark and whatever flashed past the window was blurry anyhow. My breath made circular clouds on the glass, and as I lifted my finger to draw a line through the condensation, I realized how cold the car had become. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms.
“It’s freezing in here. Wha’d ya do, rip out the heater to make more room for Soundzilla?” I reached for the dial but stopped short when I saw that the heat was already on. It certainly didn’t feel like it. I could see my breath forming in front of me. I turned to look at Claire and the leather seat crinkled and crunched beneath me as if it were frozen.
Claire stared straight ahead like a good little driver, only…her breath wasn’t escaping her the way mine was. I watched silently in the dim light of the dashboard, waiting for that little puff of carbon dioxide to announce itself, afraid that if I blinked I would miss it.
Okay, that’s weird. I shuddered, wondering if I was just seeing things.
If I knew I was going to be exposed to subzero temperatures, I would have brought my hoodie, but I expected us to be sitting in the cozy back corner of Starbucks with my hands around a warm Grande Caramel Macchiato. I didn’t expect to be freezing my ass off in a car.
Maybe I can call my mom now, tell her to drop off my sweater. That will make Claire turn around. I began fishing around in my bag again and yanked out my cell phone.
“Won’t get service where we’re headed,” Claire said, breaking the silence.
Sure enough, even as I held the phone against the ceiling of the Cabrio there were no service bars.
Hiding my discomfort was agonizing.
“I assume we’re meeting Ryan there with our new identities?” I certainly hoped she could hear my facetious tone over the new CD she had just popped in.
“Nope. We’re making a pit stop first.”
She pulled off onto a deep shoulder of the highway that, by the looks of it, was serving as a makeshift tailgating area. There were scores of people. I recognized no one. I rolled down the window as we sat idling but the cacophony of music outside was no better than the one inside. Strangely, it was warmer outside too.
“I understand you want to spend as much time as possible with Ryan. He’s your boyfriend. I get it. But don’t you want to go back and we’ll get some coffee?
Maybe go back to my house? I know you’ve been dying to watch Napoleon Dynamite.”
She thought about it for all of two seconds. “No.”
“Saturdays used to be our thing,” I mumbled and turned to the window.
“Teagan, this is fun and you don’t look like you’re having fun yet.”
“What’s fun about this? We’re sitting in a car with…” I jabbed my thumb at the window, “With them.”
That was when I saw the car. At first I thought it was Ryan, but as my eyes adjusted, I realized my error and Claire was gleefully jumping out of her seat. By the time I was able to get a better look at the figure stepping from the black car, Claire was halfway out the door, waving her arms and giggling.
It couldn’t possibly get much worse than this, could it?
Claire skipped her way across the shoulder to the small group of girls who greeted her with unmistakable acceptance. Suddenly my head felt worse as I thought of Garreth’s warning of a living hell, and…
NO, NO, NO! Don’t even tell me. I’m right smack in the middle of it already.
I set my jaw and glared back into the angry brown eyes of Brynn Hanson.
Standing in front of Claire’s car, staring at me through the windshield, was the epitome of the evil I knew all too well. I shook my head, truly disbelieving how my night was turning out. I felt the murky coldness pierce the glass, just waiting to suffocate me. Without words, her malevolent, steely stare was a distinct warning. A chill crept across my skin.
I threw the door open and stepped out onto the gravel, the irritating music screaming after me into the unprotected darkness as I stood face to face with a very real, very much alive menace.
“What are you doing here?” I blurted. Finally, I was completely unafraid of her.
She looked me up and down. “I was going to ask you the same thing.” Her cocky presence was mere inches away from me and she continued to stare me down.
But I didn’t falter.
I didn’t waver one bit.
I gave it right back to her this time and it felt good.
I knew the only way to conquer fears was to stand up to them. Claire would be very proud of me, except at this particular moment instead of cheering me on and joining me in my platform on school bullying, Claire was cavorting with the enemy. She was jubilant, enjoying the attention the other girls were lavishing on her. I felt anger and hurt spinning inside me and then I felt my hard-boiled exterior begin to slowly chip away. It wouldn’t be long before Brynn would joyfully see me crumble.
NO! Not now!
I felt my resistance building up again. I felt it strengthen little by little and Brynn saw it too. I could see it in her eyes.
But then, without even the teensiest snide remark, Brynn sauntered lazily over to where the other girls were congregating and slung her long, toned arm over Claire’s shoulders, her skin reflecting an unnatural pallor in the sharp glare of the headlights. She whispered something in Claire’s ear, who was still and attentive, then broke off into a wide grin.
“Come on, Claire. If we’re going then let’s go.” I yelled over to her as my fists instinctively balled at my sides.
Claire looked at me with a glazed expression, her eyes appearing almost milky in the light, which caused me to do a double take.
“What the hell is…?”
But Brynn stepped between us and pulled Claire closer. She slowly trailed a finger down Claire’s pale cheek then kissed it.
“What sort of game are you playing?” I directed at Brynn. “Claire get back in the car, please. We’re leaving.”
But Claire refused to answer me, let alone acknowledge that I was even there. I couldn’t even begin to piece together what was happening. It was so bizarre.
“I believe your boyfriend’s here.” The words slithered past Brynn’s lips.
I quickly looked at Claire, then back at Brynn as a light approached from behind me. In an instant my heart fluttered as I envisioned Garreth coming to steal me away from all this. But I wasn’t the one she was speaking to. I turned to see Ryan approaching with a large high-powered spotlight swinging wildly at his hip, illuminating his distorted shadow on the ground in an almost demonic fashion.
Emily and Sage slinked to Claire’s side, beginning a string of flourished comments about her outfit. They certainly played their parts well in all this and Claire soaked up each and every word like an obedient little sponge. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lauren produce a small flashlight from her tiny beaded purse and walk over to Brynn. They seemed to be examining a small stack of cards Ryan was holding, most likely the fake IDs. In a flash, Ryan was at Claire’s side. His hovering seemed almost protective at first glance, but I instantly understood. There was an undeniable look of control and manipulation in his eyes. Why hadn’t I ever noticed that before? Poor Claire was blind to his superficial adoration, and to my horror, Brynn smiled at them approvingly.
Something felt horribly wrong here tonight.
They filed into the thick woods on silent footsteps toward an obnoxious wall of music, hidden well within the trees, that only a select few, a privileged few, knew about. Claire handed me a small square with a crooked smile. I looked down at the picture and fought against crumpling it in my fist. I suppose in the dark it wasn’t half bad and I reluctantly followed the others into the concealing night.
I lost my footing several times as I did my best to sidestep the roots and crevices of the black forest’s floor. The last time I had been in a setting like this was quite different and I found myself desperately longing for the magical place Garreth had shown me.
Looking back in the direction of the highway, I found the noisy whoosh of tires on asphalt was growing more distant by the second. The music I had heard from the shoulder had definitely been misleading. I assumed we were close to the rave but I was sadly mistaken. This was taking longer than it should have. I became very edgy as I realized we were walking farther and farther away from civilization.