Page 9 of When Darkness Calls

“Shh.” He cuts me off. My lids begin to grow heavy with the pace of my breathing.

“I’ve got you.”

Before the darkness closes in, I feel the gentle sweeping of lips across my brow, warm breath ghosting my skin, and a whispered promise.

“You’re mine now.”

three

Dani

Present Day...

There is an unknown sixth sense that all the spooky people in the world possess—we know immediately when the first autumn leaf hits the ground. In that moment, clarity falls, and life is just instantly better. It does not matter that today, for some God-awful reason, it’s ninety-four degrees, blaring sun, no clouds, and not a single breeze to be found, but I just know the chilly fall days are near.

A smile forms at the corners of my lips, a real one which has been quite rare for me lately. I understand why most people are huge fans of summer. Don’t get me wrong, I’m cool with summer for the most part. Beach days, no school, campfires, cook outs. I mean, there are lots of great things happening between June and August. But there’s nothing in this world like the chilling bite of a foggy October morning, when the crows caw softly in the distance, and there’s a crunch beneath each step. It’s the only time I come close to truly feeling alive. And given the last few years I’ve had, I could use a bit of living right now.

“Okay, so, there’s gonna be a block party next Friday night after the first football game. And before you say no—” Liz throws a stern glare my way, “No, I’m not saying you have to go, BUT—” she pauses, tossing a fry in her mouth. “I think you should think about coming with us to the game.” Her thumb juts over toward Issac who seems to be half paying attention to Liz and more focused on whatever he’s doing on his laptop.

“I’m fine with the game, I just don’t wanna be in a half mile radius of that party, dude.” I punctuate my statement by leaning forward on my crossed arms. Was I a little quick to jump on the kind of chilly morning we had by wearing a long-sleeve under my t-shirt? Yeah, yeah, I was and pushing up the sleeves has barely made a difference.

The sun shines high overhead, casting the campus in a bright, warm haze. The few people who have been lucky enough to find reprieve from the heated rays beneath the scattered trees across the grounds haven’t moved in hours, leaving me, Liz, and Issac stuck to bake at our table by the water fountain.

“Alright, so that’s settled. We’ll figure out how you’ll get home afterwards, later. And lastly, the final notion I would like to propose to the council,” she declares in a mock-haughty tone, wiggling her brow.

I roll my eyes, breathing out a chuckle. She always does this shit when she’s trying to convince me to do stuff she knows I’d rather eat glass than do.

“The Founder’s Festival is this weekend...”

“No.”

“But—Come onnn,” she draws out the last syllable in a whine.

“Nah.”

She groans, throwing her head back in frustration. Her golden hair, pulled back in a perfectly effortless messy bun, shifts with her movements.

“Why not? Okay, so maybe the rides are kind of shitty, and a bit sketchy, but, like, Cheezy Truck is setting up a booth. I heard they’re launching a new item just for the festival,” Liz sing-songs with a wide grin.

Dammit, really? She’s gonna use Cheezy Truck to bribe me. The audacity.

I motion clutching my pearls. “Gasp! Not Cheezy Truck!”

“Yes, Cheezy Truck. I think the new item is going to be nacho fries. Right, babe?” She turns to Issac, whose head snaps up, a look of pure confusion on his face making him look even younger than he already does.

“Uhh…yeah? Exactly right…What are we talking about?”

I snort as Liz huffs. “You’re hopeless. Ignore him. Either way, I think it could be fun. We can try the fair foods, maybe hit up some games, and check out the vendors. No rides necessary. And at this point, I’m gonna leave his ass at home since he has no clue what I’m saying right now.” She glanced over her shoulder confirming that Issac had indeed tuned us out again. “Yeah, I’m leaving him home.”

I mull over her words as I take in the scene around us. We sit in the midst of organized chaos—aka the Commons Plaza, right in the heart of campus, the one place that everyone has to cross through to get to any point they need to go. It was one of my favorite places to sit with the constant bubbling of the fountain as an undertone to the chattering students and dull hum of cars driving by.

I pick one of the fries off Liz’s basket, taking a slow methodical bite, schooling my features.

“Hmm. You’re driving a hard bargain. How could I not want to go to a half-assed carnival with extremely overpriced food, that’s going to be so crowded it takes me twenty minutes to walk fifteen feet? Of course, I would want to go when my alternative is starting my rewatch of American Horror Story and making my Browniezilla recipe and not wearing pants. Such a great use of my time.”

She glares.

I stare.