“Mr Carr?”
“Alissa, thank fuck. We’ve all been so worried, where are you?”
“Worried? Why?” Her voice sounds distant, like she’s not focusing on the words she’s saying.
“We woke up and you were gone.” I’m confused as to why she’d be questioning why we’d be worried.
“Oh, sorry, I was going to make breakfast but realised we didn’t have enough food to feed everyone. Sorry to have worried you all, but um, I need your help.”
I pull the phone from my ear, quickly typing out a text to the others and putting the phone on speaker. “Where are you?”
“Well, that’s kind of why I need your help. You see I was walking to the shops when I was grabbed from the side of the road. I’m not sure who they were but um, well, I think I killed them.”
“Where are you?” I practically shout.
“I’m not sure, but it’s not somewhere I’ve been before. They had a car but I kinda blew it up.” There’s real fear in her voice. I’d give anything to be by her side right now. I’d wrap her in my arms and hold her until everything is alright again, but I can’t. Taking a deep breath, I ask, “What can you see around you?”
“There’s a mountain behind me, a dirt track in front of me and what looks like a forest to my left. I tried using my phone’s location but the area I’m in isn’t on the map.”
I hiss under my breath, if she’s where I think she is, there’s only one person who could have tried to kidnap her. “I think I know. Stay where you are. Swear to me you won’t move from that spot.”
“Where would I go? I’m pretty lost right now.”
“Just stay there, I’ll come and get you.” I snap before ending the call. I dial my brother’s number and tell him everything she told me before racing across campus and out the main gate. Thankfully Brax, Princeton, Samuel and Kal meet me at the gate in the buggies I told them to get.
3 hours earlier…
I wake in my own bed and stretch tiredly. I vaguely remember someone carrying me up the stairs last night but I have no idea who it was. All I remember is the sweet scent of vanilla and someone whispering a curse as they almost tripped over something on the floor of my room. I was far too out of it to wake fully, but I felt safe enough to let them tuck me in as I drifted back off into a dreamless sleep.
After a quick shower and a search through the cupboards in the kitchen, I decide to take a walk to the shops to grab some stuff for breakfast. It’s not a long walk, but with the sun only just starting to rise, I feel a little jittery on my own. The roads around here are rarely used by anything other than golf carts, so I walk confidently, if cautiously down the middle, keeping as far away from the morning shadows as I can.
Something doesn’t feel right though. All the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and I feel like there are eyes on me, but I can’t see anyone when I look around. The feeling gets worse the further away from the house I get.
As I’m passing SCU’s main entrance, I almost stop, but that feeling grows stronger. Being in the middle of the street isn’t the best location to use my gifts, but I’m tempted all the same.
A young couple passes me, giggling quietly together and my shoulders droop as I start to relax. Surely if they’re happily walking around, there can’t be any real danger. All the guy’s talk of dangerous stalkers has put me on edge, that’s all it is.Despite my feeble attempt to reassure myself, something still feels off.
It’s not until I’m passing a darker than usual alley that my suspicions are confirmed. Two larger than life thugs step out of the shadows, brandishing guns which is almost enough to make me laugh out loud. I mean seriously, guns against a vampire.How stupid could they be?
That’s the last thought I have before there’s a bang. Something hits me right in the side of the neck and the world goes black.
A rumbling beneath my cheek has my eyes snapping open. I find myself in an enclosed space that smells suspiciously like car fumes. My shoulders and ankles ache letting me know I’m tied up but the bindings they’ve used feel like rope so a quick burst of fire should fix that problem.
I stupidly breath deep trying to remain calm, which only results in me coughing up a lung after breathing in the fumes. Using my chin, teeth and shoulder, I pull my shirt up over my mouth and nose, breathing through the material in an attempt to avoid the fumes.
Whoever is driving hits a bump and my head knocks against the metal above me, making my headache worse. With a bit of effort, I manage to roll onto my side, giving my arms and ankles a bit of much needed relief. I have to get out of here. For all I know my kidnappers could be from one of those anti-Hybrid cults. My thoughts spiral into despair over who could have dobbed me in, but I can’t let my raw emotions rule me. I have to get free.
I can feel my phone digging into my hip, but with my hands still tied, it won’t do me much good. “That’ll teach me for being stupid and wandering off on my own after all the times the guys have warned me.” I mutter. The thought of the guys calms me enough to bring my focus back on the task at hand.
Heat licks up my arms but sputters out when the asshole driver hits another bump. I’ve never been good at control and if I don’t concentrate I’m going to end up blowing up the entire car. Attempt after attempt has my frustration growing. I snarl out as many curses as I can think of as I keep trying. The further away from the guys they take me the more unsafe I feel.
I push more power into the fire licking at the ropes and suddenly the entire rope snaps with a twang as the loose end hits the metal of the car. In my panic, I keep channeling the power and the entire trunk explodes around me; it’s like a tin can exploding; shards of metal slice into my arms and legs, tearing right through my jeans. I don’t have time to feel the pain as the car jerks, sending me flying through the air.
I land with a thud before rolling several times in a spray of sand and rocks. Even after I come to a stop the world continues to spin around me. I’m not sure what happened to the rest of the car but my first thought is to get as far away from it as possible. Without thinking, I leap to my feet and turn back to face the wreckage. There’s what looks like a forest beside me, a sheer cliff leading to the sea on the other side and a mountain casting a huge shadow.
I’ve never seen this place before; it almost looks surreal.
I manage two steps before falling flat on my face, loose sand puffing up all around me. I’m too tired to move. Too injured to even feel the pain of all the injuries I know I have, but I know I can’t stay here. I have to get away.