Chelsea Fine - Awry

Scarlet raced toward the darkness where her best friend needed her, trying to ignore the sound of falling footsteps behind her.

“Scarlet!” came Laura’s voice. “Come back here!”

Like hell.

Scarlet moved forward, until she reached the old graveyard and pushed herself through the short gate. She wove in between the tombstones that stood at awkward angles and jutted out of broken earth and shifting soil.

“Scarlet, listen to me!” Laura’s voice was getting closer.

Yeah right.

You don’t get to play your ‘mom’ card anymore, psycho guardian.

Another bat flew past, almost brushing against Scarlet’s hair, and she flapped her hands in the air until the creature darted away from her.

Geez.

Laura’s voice was heavy and loud. “Scarlet, no!”

Scarlet looked back and found Laura sprinting toward her, her red hair flying behind her as she cut through the graveyard and made her way straight to Scarlet.

“Stay away from me!” Scarlet yelled, totally freaked out that her guardian was chasing her down in a cemetery. At night. While her best friend was probably lying in an upturned grave.

Scarlet began to panic. “Heather! Heather!”

A muffled sound from the side had Scarlet turning her head to the right. There, in the shadows, she saw Heather tied to a tree with a gag in her mouth.

Scarlet gasped as she ran to her friend. “Ohmygoodness, Heather!” Scarlet reached Heather and immediately began untying the knots around Heather’s hands.

Heather shook her head violently as she tried to speak, but the sound came out mumbled as her eyes bulged at Scarlet.

Scarlet reached for the gag to set Heather’s mouth free.

“Scarlet!” Laura’s voice was right behind her.

Instinctively, Scarlet spun around and shielded Heather’s body with her own. “What do you want?” Scarlet demanded from Laura, terrified Laura was planning to sacrifice Heather for some magic spell or something.

Panting, Laura’s eyes looked huge. “I want you to leave with me. Now! We need to go back home!”

“Are you crazy ?” Scarlet couldn’t believe her ears. “You are a psychotic, killing, immortal bitch! I’m not going anywhere with you.”

A muffled yell came from behind Scarlet as Heather tried to say something, but Scarlet couldn’t afford to turn around and release Heather’s mouth. Laura could have a weapon on her.

“Scarlet, please!” Laura stepped forward and Scarlet threw her arms out, fully blocking Laura from Heather. “Trust me,” Laura pleaded.

“Never!” Scarlet screamed. “Take one step closer and I swear to God I will claw out your eyes!”

A whoosh .

A thud.

And Laura fell to the dying grass, blood trickling from her mouth.

Scarlet froze in place, not believing her eyes. Her voice came out stunned. “L-Laura?”

“The problem with the living,” said a wicked voice echoing about the old graveyard, “is that they tend to grow a conscience.”

Scarlet watched a shadowed figure walk toward her from behind one of the trees.

“Such a pity,” the voice continued, this time with a British accent. “She was so useful.” Out from the shadows stepped Clare, Heather’s boss, holding a crossbow. “But I can’t very well have her helping you now, can I?”

Scarlet’s throat went dry. She squared her jaw and stood up straight. Narrowing her eyes, she said, “Raven.”

Clare smiled.

Scarlet was looking at her killer.

Panic shot through Tristan like shards of ice slicing up his veins.

“Scarlet’s scared,” Tristan said to Nate as his heart began to race. “I can feel her.”

Without thinking, Tristan hurried away from the dunk tank and followed the pull of Scarlet’s heart.

Nate followed after him as they made his way out of the park and down the street.

The cemetery.

Tristan cursed as another shot of fear sparked Scarlet’s heart. He broke into a run.

When they reached the cemetery, Tristan darted inside, pulling two daggers out to arm each hand. Nate was right behind him, clutching his single knife.

Tristan ran to the back of the cemetery until he neared the ancient graveyard, and came to a halt.

Ashmen— dozens of Ashmen—were coming up from the old cemetery. All of them armed with Bluestone weapons. All of them without a soul or a conscience.

All of them on a suicide mission.

Nate sucked in a breath.

Please, dear god, don’t let Nate pass out. Or cry. Or wet himself.

Without looking at his friend, Tristan said, “Just think of it as a video game, Nate. Those are the zombies. You’re the slayer.”

“I’m the slayer. I’m the slayer,” Nate repeated.

Tristan took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders, raising the daggers in his hands. Throwing was not an option since he was limited on weapons.

So he would have to slice and slash.

The Ashmen charged and Tristan began to slice.

“Laura…?” Scarlet croaked, confused and horrified as she looked down. Laura’s body lay at an unnatural angle and her glazed eyes stared at nothing. Drained of life. Completely dead.

Raven walked over to Laura’s body and callously kicked Laura into one of the empty graves.

Scarlet choked as Laura’s body tumbled into the deep hole, leaving one red high heel planted in the soft graveyard dirt above.

Scarlet stared at Clare in bafflement. “What are you…you just…Laura…?”

Scarlet swallowed, her arms still outstretched around Heather, who was audibly crying.

Raven sighed, looking at Laura’s body with a frown. “Laura was a means to an end.” She gestured around, still holding her crossbow. “They all are.”

Scarlet looked around at the dozens and dozens of broken coffins and dug up holes.

“I don’t understand.” Scarlet looked at Raven.

“I needed access to you in this life and I couldn’t very well adopt you myself on the off-chance that you would remember me. So I hired Laura. Some women are desperate to hold on to their beauty. I paid her well to take you in and I bribed her with the promise of eternal youth if she helped replenish my supply of Liferoot, gain possession of the legendary Bluestone weapons, and retrieve the fountain’s location out of your head.” She shrugged. “Laura got two out of three right.”

“You asked Laura to use a Head Ghost on me?”

Raven nodded. “Yep. Except—surprise, surprise—Head Ghosts don’t work on people with immortal blood inside them.” She rolled her eyes. “So that was a no-go.”

“So you sent the Ashman after Heather’s memories?”

“The Ashman?” Raven looked confused. “Oh, you mean my little dead helpers?” Raven pointed to an empty grave and cocked her head to the side. “Yes, I guess they are somewhat ashy. They’re a pain in the ass to bring back, I’ll tell you that much. Do you know how many spells I had to practice before I found one that would raise the dead?” Raven puckered her lips. “Lots. I was up to my elbows in corpses and that is just not sexy.” She shuddered. “But I found a spell that worked, and I resurrected…” she looked around and pointed to a broken tombstone, “Jonathan Smith, over there. He was a handful and drooled a lot. But he was also obedient, so.” She shrugged again. “It worked.” Raven made a disgusted face. “But it’s like working with animals. They don’t talk. They just grunt and struggle.”

Scarlet was too shocked to speak.

Raven raised the crossbow up and pointed at Scarlet. “I really want to kill you. But since you have what I need, I can’t. Which sucks. So here’s the deal. You give me the map and I’ll give you your friend back.”