your list.” Leaving the room, he dabbed some blood off his own face. A red line glided from the back of his neck into the torn shoulder of his shirt. It wasn’t dripping—how odd for a wound so large and recent. It’d already clotted.
Trying to quiet my conscience, I left Kat a note on the bed. I clearly couldn’t say: Hi, Kat. I witnessed that creepy guy from the dining hall burst into a mountain of fur and teeth today, and I was saved by Aaron—you know, Mr. Hot-But-Creepy from work? Yeah so he somehow found me and told me I had to leave with him. See you at school!
Yeah . . . Right.
The excuse I came up with wasn’t much better but at least it sounded more realistic than the truth.
Kat,
The hospital back home called while we were in the woods. I lost reception fast, but I caught enough of the nurse’s words to know: something happened to Mom. Maybe it’s something small, maybe it’s not. I’m scared. I tried to find you, but I couldn’t. I went back to the resort. I’ve got enough money to get a cab or something back home. I’m so sorry I left you like this. Please don’t hate me.
Love you,
Lina
We left the resort out the backdoor, avoiding the lobby again. As we returned to the car, my betrayal complete, I forced the image of Jamie and Kat’s faces aside.
It was time to get down to business.
The Cougar rumbled to life, Aaron zipping out of his parking spot. I hadn’t had this many questions since Mom gave me the birds-and-the-bees talk—and, both then and now, I wasn’t sure if I wanted all the answers. Finally I just settled on something simple, something wide-open.
“Aaron . . . what’s happening?”
Silence. His fingers tapped the steering wheel, eyes tight as he watched the road. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean what do I mean?” My temper came forth out of nowhere. “People are turning into monsters. Cain exploded into fur and claws, his eyes turned yellow— that doesn’t happen to normal people! How does that even happen period ? This is Earth, not Final Fantasy! The world . . . the world is turning upside down or something.”
“There are exceptions to every rule, Lina. Even the rules of the body,” Aaron answered, sounding all professor-like. He sighed. “And trust me: this is no fantasy. Paranormal, yes, to you.”
“Oh, and watching Cain mutate was normal to you ?”
“No, but—well—I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. It’s not weird to me.” He rubbed his face, at the scratches around his jaw. “Look, Lina, you’re not going to believe anything I say. I wasn’t raised around humans like you were . . .”
“Don’t say humans like that!”
“Lina, see? You’re freaking out. Why don’t we just wait to talk about this when . . .”
“Oh, no!” I waved a finger in the air. “You said we were going to talk about this, and we are going to talk about this. Because I was nearly killed today, I don’t need glasses anymore, and—oh!—that stuff on my shoulder you were peeping at? Fur , Aaron! I’ve been sprouting fur! Like leopard-spotted fuzz up my shoulders and you looked pretty confident when . . . What?”
Aaron’s face, besides being three shades redder than usual, had a mixture of expressions going on. Frustration, discomfort, and even sympathy were weaved into his frown and knit eyebrows.
“This is why I am not on the welcoming committee,” he muttered.
My hand splayed over my face. This was too overwhelming. Childishly, I wished for Mom, wished for her warm lap where she would rock me and say it was okay. That’d always helped when I was little, of course that was when I had imagined monsters in the closet . . . What do I do now that the monsters are real and all around me? Obviously, I can’t pull the covers over my head and think, it isn’t real, it isn’t real .
“Lina?” Aaron’s voice was quiet, concerned. “Hey, you’re looking pale again. If you’re going to be sick please do it out the
Trying to quiet my conscience, I left Kat a note on the bed. I clearly couldn’t say: Hi, Kat. I witnessed that creepy guy from the dining hall burst into a mountain of fur and teeth today, and I was saved by Aaron—you know, Mr. Hot-But-Creepy from work? Yeah so he somehow found me and told me I had to leave with him. See you at school!
Yeah . . . Right.
The excuse I came up with wasn’t much better but at least it sounded more realistic than the truth.
Kat,
The hospital back home called while we were in the woods. I lost reception fast, but I caught enough of the nurse’s words to know: something happened to Mom. Maybe it’s something small, maybe it’s not. I’m scared. I tried to find you, but I couldn’t. I went back to the resort. I’ve got enough money to get a cab or something back home. I’m so sorry I left you like this. Please don’t hate me.
Love you,
Lina
We left the resort out the backdoor, avoiding the lobby again. As we returned to the car, my betrayal complete, I forced the image of Jamie and Kat’s faces aside.
It was time to get down to business.
The Cougar rumbled to life, Aaron zipping out of his parking spot. I hadn’t had this many questions since Mom gave me the birds-and-the-bees talk—and, both then and now, I wasn’t sure if I wanted all the answers. Finally I just settled on something simple, something wide-open.
“Aaron . . . what’s happening?”
Silence. His fingers tapped the steering wheel, eyes tight as he watched the road. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean what do I mean?” My temper came forth out of nowhere. “People are turning into monsters. Cain exploded into fur and claws, his eyes turned yellow— that doesn’t happen to normal people! How does that even happen period ? This is Earth, not Final Fantasy! The world . . . the world is turning upside down or something.”
“There are exceptions to every rule, Lina. Even the rules of the body,” Aaron answered, sounding all professor-like. He sighed. “And trust me: this is no fantasy. Paranormal, yes, to you.”
“Oh, and watching Cain mutate was normal to you ?”
“No, but—well—I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. It’s not weird to me.” He rubbed his face, at the scratches around his jaw. “Look, Lina, you’re not going to believe anything I say. I wasn’t raised around humans like you were . . .”
“Don’t say humans like that!”
“Lina, see? You’re freaking out. Why don’t we just wait to talk about this when . . .”
“Oh, no!” I waved a finger in the air. “You said we were going to talk about this, and we are going to talk about this. Because I was nearly killed today, I don’t need glasses anymore, and—oh!—that stuff on my shoulder you were peeping at? Fur , Aaron! I’ve been sprouting fur! Like leopard-spotted fuzz up my shoulders and you looked pretty confident when . . . What?”
Aaron’s face, besides being three shades redder than usual, had a mixture of expressions going on. Frustration, discomfort, and even sympathy were weaved into his frown and knit eyebrows.
“This is why I am not on the welcoming committee,” he muttered.
My hand splayed over my face. This was too overwhelming. Childishly, I wished for Mom, wished for her warm lap where she would rock me and say it was okay. That’d always helped when I was little, of course that was when I had imagined monsters in the closet . . . What do I do now that the monsters are real and all around me? Obviously, I can’t pull the covers over my head and think, it isn’t real, it isn’t real .
“Lina?” Aaron’s voice was quiet, concerned. “Hey, you’re looking pale again. If you’re going to be sick please do it out the
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