Sci Fi & Fantasy / Spider's Kiss, Chapter 1
No one would ever believe me. I didn’t believe it, and I was there. And since all I had for proof was a ferret and a missing best friend…
Unbidden, the night began to replay itself.
“Come on, Mom, please? It’s the last time I’ll see them again for the whole summer!”
“It’s the last time you’ll see us, too,” Mom retorted, but with a teasing tone that let me know my battle was half won.
“You’re just going to go to bed, you know you are. And we’ll have tomorrow morning before I get on the plane. I’m all packed, there’s nothing left to do.”
“Except sleep, so you’ll be ready to start your camp thing.”
“I can sleep on the plane. We won’t do any real work tomorrow anyway; everyone will still be settling in. Come on, please?”
They looked at each other and sighed, and I knew I was home free. Excitement bubbled up; I threw my arms around my parents, jumping and laughing. “Thanks Mamma, Daddy!”
“Jessica, don’t stay out too late!” Dad called as I grabbed my phone and my keys. I yelled from the front yard “I won’t!”, already pressing the button on my speed dial that meant Jake.
We had gone out for green chile cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries at Monroe’s. I knew Canada would have pizza and Chinese and all that, but good green chile is hard to come by, and I was going to have some serious withdrawls before the end of my science camp. Shana had brought her brother and his girlfriend, and Jake had brought his new friend, Lamont, who didn’t go to our school. Once upon a time it would have been just the three of us on a night like this, but it was starting to get more and more awkward when we hung out alone. I was going to have to get used to being a third wheel, I guess, even if they never did get around to admitting they liked each other. They were my best friends, and I was trying really hard to just be happy for them and not imagine Jake and I spending a bunch of time alone together…
I stroked the ferret. This was not what I had pictured.
Shana had hugged me and said goodbye in the parking lot; even though we hadn’t talked about it, I think she knew how I felt, and wanted to give Jake and I some time. She’s like that. It’s one of the reasons I could never fight her for him, even if we weren’t best friends. She’s just too nice; even I think she’s better for him. It stinks, but that’s life.
I wasn’t going to argue with her about it, that’s for sure. Jake had ridden over with Lamont, who was in a hurry to go do something unspecified, so I told him I’d take Jake home. We’d driven to our talking spot, a parking lot that served an office building that had once been a Korean Baptist church. It was close enough to both our houses that we could walk there, but out of the way enough that nothing disturbed us if we didn’t want to be disturbed.
“What am I going to do without you for a whole summer?” Even the memory of him saying that, even knowing exactly how he did and did not mean it, made my heart pound in triple time. We were slumped back to back in my car, my head on his shoulder, his head on mine, both with our feet out our respective windows. Not the most comfortable position in the world, unless you have the center armrest down and you take the blanket from the backseat and wad it up on top of the arm rest. Yes, I have a blanket in my back seat. Albuquerque gets cold in the winter, and my heater takes a while to warm up.
“You and Shana will be having so much fun you won’t even notice I’m gone.” I hoped that hadn’t sounded as transparently pathetic as I thought it did. I really hadn’t been fishing for sympathy or reassurance. Much. I think. Sometimes my subconscious gets ahead of me. It’s devious that way.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Jake had scoffed. ”You’ve been the cornerstone for us this whole last year.” (Well, at least I’m shooting my love life in the head efficiently.) “We’ll be miserable without you.”
“I guess you’ll just have to call me every day, then.”
“Of course!”
Beside me on the bed, the ferret stretched and nuzzled my hand, sending my recap into fast forward.
It was late. I had to get home. I had driven Jake to his house, and hugged him goodbye about twenty times, and then he’d gotten out and started for his front door, only to realize he’d left his keys and his phone in Lamont’s car. Desperate for any excuse to spend a little more time with him, I’d volunteered to drive him over to get them, so he wouldn’t have to wake up his parents.
Lamont’s house had been dark in front. We’d gone around back, trying to see if the light was still on in his room. Jake said Lamont lived with his Dad, who worked nights and was probably gone, but we didn’t want to take any chance of waking him. We couldn’t tell if the light was on in Lamont’s room through his curtains, but the living room was lit, and the sliding door was unlocked. We’d let ourselves in and Jake had called softly down the hall. Lamont’s bedroom door was ajar…
He’d been bent over the girl. At first I thought they were just making out, but when he turned to us I could see the bruises on her neck; big black ones. Not a hickie. Her clothes looked dirty and old…
And then he lunged at us.
Back in the present I grabbed a pillow from my bed and held it tight against my chest, to protect me. Not that it would do squat, of course, but it did make me feel better. It’s daylight, I reminded myself. He can’t come after me now. As long as that sunlight thing is for real, anyway. I really, really hoped it was.
He shouldn’t be able to come after me at all. He shouldn’t exist.
But that was the one thing I couldn’t get myself to doubt. The memory was too vivid: the furious, predatory look, the ridiculously fast movement, the impossible strength, the blood stained mouth and razor fangs… vampire. Vampire. I had seen a vampire. I had almost been killed by a vampire.
That was what he had in mind, I had no doubt. When he jumped at us Jake pulled the door shut (something I would never have thought of) and we ran like hell for the backdoor. We heard a horrible crashing noise and glanced back to see Lamont come straight through the door. I was just wrenching the back door open when he caught up to us. Jake was in front of me, guarding me; he was tossed aside like the proverbial ragdoll. Lamont grinned at me, a really nasty, evil, sickening grin. He grabbed me by the shoulders, ignoring my kicking and my flailing hands. He leaned in.
After that, it gets fuzzy. Jake hit him over the head with something, that I remember. And he threw me down, and I saw his body move in front of Jake’s… and then Jake wasn’t there anymore. There was just a ferret. No blood, no clothes, nothing but a small carnivorous mammal. The ferret darted for the open back door.
I stumbled out after it, scooping it up as I ran, screaming bloody murder the whole time. I wanted every person in a one mile radius awake and coming outside, preferably with guns. I saw lights flicking on in the neighboring houses, but I didn’t slow down. I kept right on screaming, all the way to my car. He hadn’t followed me yet when I plunged my key in the lock and climbed in, but I laid on the horn as I drove away, just for good measure. I was panting and my mouth tasted like copper. I could feel my heartbeat in my toes. The whole drive home I was looking in my rear view mirror and thanking God that I had never told Lamont where I lived. I only saw one other car on the road in my subdivision, and it was one I recognized. I watched out the window for a few minutes after I locked the front door, but no cars passed. It looked like we had made it out.
I managed not to break down until the ferret and I were safely locked in my room, house alarm armed and lights on. Then I cried for what felt like hours, buried in my pillows so my parents wouldn’t hear.
At sunrise I got brave enough to sneak out and get a drink, and turn off the ringer on the house phone. I didn’t want contact with Jake’s parents before I got on the plane, and they were sure to call. I’d figure out what to say to them after I’d had time to calm down.
At 7 am I got a text from Shana, asking me if anything had happened last night with Jake. His parents had called her. He hadn’t come home. I lied.
I didn’t know what to make of the ferret, but after standing face to face with a vampire it seemed silly to draw the line at transfiguration. At the very least I was sure that pretending it didn’t happen was no way to get my friend back. And since telling anyone that my best friend was now a ferret was a sure way to spend my summer locked up alone in a mental hospital, I did a little research online instead I slipped out of the house again just before 8, and by 9 am Jake had his vaccinations, food, a carrier, and approval from the airline. I had no idea how I would explain that to my parents, but that was really the least of my problems.
My parents ended up being easier to handle than I had feared; one of the advantages of being the only child is that you have a tendency to get your way, and now that I’m almost an adult my parents are both proud of themselves and tired. They don’t ask too many questions as long as I present things right. I also had the fact that I was leaving as a distraction. I could tell it was hard for them to say goodbye, even though I was only going to be gone a few weeks. My Mom is going to die when I move away to college.
By the time the plane was in the air I had run out of things to feel. I was way beyond tired. In the last 24 hours I had been anxious, content, elated, terrified… my nervous system was totally freaked. I did have a dull sense of relief that I had to have my phone off; Shana had texted me 5 more times before I turned it off. I didn’t like avoiding her, but I didn’t know what to say, and I felt weird lying to my best friend.
My complete distraction also meant I couldn’t hyperventilate over science camp. A day ago it had been a big deal: a few select students chosen from applicants all over the Western hemisphere, weeks of training at a university, and the chance to do biology—real biology, not that school science fair crap. I had been on cloud nine for months over this, and now I could barely force myself to think about it. I sighed. As my grandmother always said, do your work now and the future will take care of itself. I would have time to plan and fret and exult and experiment plenty in the coming weeks; right now what I needed more than anything was sleep. I wadded up my sweatshirt to use as an awkward sort of pillow and let exhaustion carry me away.
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This 71 word review has not been unlocked.
“and since telling anyone that my best friend was now a ferret was a sure way to spend my summer locked up alone in a mental hospital,” <- great line
1. the narative flows naturally, i get a good sense of the charater’s voice.
2. the flash backs were not confusing, you handled them well
3. the style was alright, not incredibly engaging but bearable.
-my main problem with this piece is that other than the fantastic things going on like his friend turning into a ferret, i don’t really know much more about WHY? I looking for answers as the reader. I guess i’d just like to hear more about the story.
Good luck!
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