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Chapter 12

Katelina followed Jorick across the motel parking lot to the sidewalk. Under the odd colored streetlights, her skin glowed pasty white and the sidewalk seethed in a thick boiling black; a surreal scene after so much confusion.

The pair didn't speak as they headed towards the gas station. Only the eerie sound of the rustling cornfield broke the silence.

The convenience store was a typical concrete building, decorated with a grinning turtle. Taped to the large glass windows was an assortment of signs advertising hay rides, houses for lease, and a two for one sale on cigarettes. It was the arrangement beyond that caught her attention, though. There was a rack of maps and sunglasses, a stand of motor oil and anti-freeze, and an array of junk food in appealing multi-colored packaging.

The door chimed as they walked in, and the clerk behind the counter, a boy who might have been eighteen, gave them an alarmed look.

Jorick went to the drink coolers and Katelina headed straight for the Twinkies. The employee watched them suspiciously, and she wanted to glare at him. Though, to the boys' credit she supposed they made an interesting pair. She looked wet and wrinkled while Jorick looked brilliant - so brilliant that she found herself glancing towards him more than once.

She picked out a handful of junk food and dumped it on the counter in an unceremonious heap. However, the clerk was more interested in watching Jorick than ringing up her purchases.

She cleared her throat and he muttered, "Will that be all?"

A snappy reply rose to her lips, but her attention was drawn to the cigarette display behind him. Two for one was a good deal, and right now she could use something good. Just two packs and then she'd go back to not smoking. Or maybe not. Maybe she'd stick to it again. After all, now was as good a time as any to start back up. Mutilated fun buddies were one thing, but she needed nicotine to deal with vampires.

"Give me two packs of Marlboro Ultra-Light 100s."

"There's a, uh, special..." the clerk stuttered without looking at her.

"I know. That's why I asked for two." She pulled the crumpled bill out of her pocket and stared at the kid expectantly. When he didn't move she snapped, "He's not going to rob the place or date you, so get over it."

The kid gaped, but she'd finally gotten his attention. He blinked, no doubt working on a suitable reply, but she repeated her request and he reluctantly grabbed the cigarettes and tossed them on the counter with her collection.

Jorick reached her side, a bottle of fruit juice in his hand. He eyed the heap on the counter, one eyebrow raised disapprovingly. "A smoker?"

"I quit," she offered by way of explanation.

"Then maybe you should stay that way?"

She ignored him and directed the kid to ring up the juice and a lighter as well. With her paltry change in her pocket and the bag of goodies balanced on her hip, she followed Jorick outside.

She fished the juice out and offered it to him, but he shook his head and nodded towards a payphone near the corner of the building. "Let me make a call first." He took a couple of steps then added, "Wait here."

She started to ask why, but let it go. She didn't really want to stand there and watch him on the phone, anyway.

She plopped down on the curb and eyed the bag of food. It was weird that he'd just gotten juice, but then maybe he was out of money. He'd paid for the room, after all.

Her eyes strayed from the bag to Jorick. He leaned casually against the phone's rusty metal shroud, his face enveloped in darkness. Multiple shadows stretched out behind him, long and black. It reminded her of the multiple complications she was facing; shadowy wraiths of half memories and weird stories.

The idea was unsettling so she reached into her bag of treasures and soon had a smoking cigarette between her lips. A feeling of calm and peace spread through her as she inhaled and then exhaled slowly. Now she felt she could deal with anything that life threw at her, including monsters from her worst nightmares.

She took another puff and imagined Sarah's lecture. The guilt was instant, but she didn't put the cigarette out. Sure, Sarah would be disappointed, but maybe she'd understand. After all, it was vampires! God, could she even tell Sarah about all of this? Would she believe her or just think she'd cracked?

"She'll send me to the damn therapist for sure," Katelina muttered to herself. How would that look in her work file? That she was seeing a shrink - "Work!"

Jorick seemed to materialize in front of her, a questioning look on his face. "What?"

"I missed work. And I didn't even call in!" She looked at the payphone. "Maybe I could leave a message-"

Jorick shrugged. "We'll have a ride in a couple of hours."

She felt a small measure of relief at his words. "Good. I guess I can wait until I get home, though I don't know what I'm going to tell them."

"If you need to tell them anything then I suggest you do it now."

"It'll be easier from home-" she cut herself off. "Why?"

He spoke with exaggerated emphasis. "I told you last night, going home after dark isn't a good idea."

"I have to go home. I need to change and get things sorted out - I have a job! I have a life!"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I told you things would change once you found out the truth. I gave you a chance to turn and run from it, and you chose not to. You can't just go back to being what you were before; not now. You're involved. Claudius will want your blood as much as mine." He dropped to the curb next to her and leaned his elbows on his knees.

"But.... I'll tell him it's a mistake! If I explain it..." she trailed off, sure it wasn't true. The kind of people that could make you tear out your brother's throat didn't understand the word 'mistake'. "Shit!"

"I'm sorry," Jorick said simply. He met her eyes and shrugged. "I did give you a chance, though." He plucked the cigarette from her fingers and took a long drag off of it, exhaling a thin stream of smoke that writhed towards the sky like a white, ethereal ladder to heaven.

He handed it back and she puffed on it numbly. Her mind worked overtime, trying to think of a way out of this. The best thing to do was assume Jorick was telling the truth and that he wasn't just deranged and insane. After all, she'd seen the thing in the basement and she had a weird bite mark on her shoulder. Both of those things were real, so there had to be truth in his story. In that case his advice was probably sound, whether she wanted to follow it or not.

She sighed heavily and wished that the smoke truly was a ladder to some celestial utopia. But, even if it was, she wouldn't know how to climb it. No, she told herself, she needed to think about practical things. If 'they' knew where she lived, she'd have to get a new apartment. Okay, she could do that. She hated to, but she could. As for the job, if she didn't show up she'd find herself unemployed, and that would be a big problem.

While she sat there, trying to reason out a new life, all around her the world continued to exist. Humanity continued to carry on as if nothing was amiss. A car pulled in and parked. Six teenagers piled out and headed into the gas station. Katelina felt a deep isolation between herself and the happy kids, as though an invisible rift of nightmares separated her from their carefree world.

"All right, fine," she agreed reluctantly. "But, I need to go to work tomorrow."

"I wouldn't," he commented casually as he took the cigarette again.

She glared as he took another puff. "You know, for someone who thinks I should 'stay quit'-"

"Yeah, well." He handed it back. "As I was saying, I wouldn't go if I were you. I'm sure they know where you work, and they're not above recruiting humans when they need something done in the daytime."

"But what have I done?" Her eyes were drawn to one of the teenagers who came slamming out the door. That was her, she thought suddenly: The one alone and no longer smiling.

"Nothing, but try telling that to Claudius. They've been looking for Michael and I for quite some time, and when they found us you were there. Michael knows who you are, and I guarantee he's been rescued so Claudius can punish him. If you don't think Michael will sell you out, you're sadly mistaken."

Katelina turned her attention to Jorick. His eyes were on the unhappy teen, his expression filled with a passive curiosity, like a kid watching ants scurry around on the pavement.

"But..." she started and stopped. She had nothing to say.

He took a deep breath and forsook his amusement, his voice calm and over patient. "There is no 'but', no magic way out. It's cut and dried: Claudius has been interested in you for quite some time, first as a weapon to use against Michael and then Patrick. Even with Patrick dead you were still a suspect and, now that Michael can confirm your involvement, your capture can be guaranteed. They'll be sure that you know."

"Know what?" She was tired of these stupid half hints!

"Where 'it' is, of course." Jorick's posture radiated annoyance, as though he expected her to already know.

"Where what is?" she cried. A man pumping gas glanced towards them and she dropped her voice, though her eyes blazed and her hands balled into fists at her sides. "I'm getting tired of the runaround, so I suggest you just spit it out!"

Jorick's dark eyes snapped with annoyance, but he refused to yell. Instead his voice was weary. "His lover of course."