Music blares from Duncan’s stereo as we fly down the country roads. I start to adjust the music dials in search of something less irritating to my ear drums, eventually settling on a classic rock station playing ACDC’s Highway to Hell. The humidity is killing my hair, and we have to roll the windows down to keep from suffocating in the heat. It’s unnaturally hot for this time of year, and I strip my jacket off and toss it in the backseat. Duncan briefly glances at me as I swing my arm across the seat, “You look nice today.”
The statement throws me off balance, and I scrutinize him to make sure he hasn’t been replaced by an alien surrogate. Duncan raises his eyebrow and gives me a questioning look. I manage to sputter out “Thank you.” The remainder of the ride is silent except for the radio playing in the background. Normandy High School comes into view and we slow down to make the turn into the school’s driveway. The number of students that actually showed up for the carnival surprises me, and cars are parked everywhere. Duncan manages to find a place to park in the very back of the parking lot, which makes me feel like we’re out in the boonies. I hop out of the Civic and make my way to the gymnasium. Duncan falls into an easy stride beside me. “I must say, our school has never looked better.” I nod in agreement and assess the decorations; bales of hay are strewn about near the entrance, orange and black steamers hang down from the ceiling and door frames and are expertly twisted around windows. A scarecrow dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans menacingly guards the entrance to the school. “The Student Council must have had a major fund-raiser to be able to afford all of this. I thought it would be lame at best, but this actually looks promising.” Duncan leads the way through the door and steers us towards the gym. A gaggle of students, giggling and whispering, huddle together in front of the gym door. I loathe immaturity almost as much as I abhor the inability to question authority, which causes me to sneer in the general direction of the group. Duncan sees my facial expression and forcefully exhales. “Control yourself please. It’s hard enough to keep you out of trouble during school hours.” The bluntness of his statement stings, and I manage to look ashamed. “I’m sorry that I’m such a burden to you,” although being ashamed doesn’t curb my habitual sarcasm. “Stormy…” “Save it. Let’s check out the joint.” I storm through the crowd. The students pass easily enough, maybe subconsciously sensing my mood. Duncan follows me until we both see the transformed gymnasium. Booth upon booth line the hardwood floor and reveal the entertainment. The Student Council rented actual carnival game booths for the students; darts, skeeball, and mini-basketball hoops only name a few of the games present. Duncan’s eyes light up when he sees skeeball and meanders in that direction. I follow him for lack of a better place to start and wait as Duncan gets the attendant to start a playable game. The attendants seem to be parents and I laugh silently to myself. Apparently we can rent the booths but not people to run them. Duncan calms himself completely and starts to roll the balls. It’s uncanny how he’s able to get each ball into a high-scoring slot. I’ve seen Duncan score in the 600 and 700’s. Today is no exception. Duncan grins as he sends his last ball up the ramp and ends with a score of 680. The attendant, who was looking bored, perks up when he sees the score. “We have a winner! Would you like a teddy-bear for the lady?” Wait, what lady? Me? Duncan considers this a moment and glances at me. “Can I have the beige one?” The guy gets a beige teddy-bear and hands it to Duncan. My friend hands it to me and I blush ferociously. As far as stuffed animals are concerned, this one is extremely fluffy and cute. I hug the animal close to my body and gaze at Duncan. “Thanks Duncan. It’s really cute.”
…
Rain clutches the teddy-bear endearingly. I watch her out of the corner of my eye as we walk around the carnival. Being amongst humans has its advantages. The game called skeeball can be very enjoyable. It helps clear the mind. I never play to win the prizes, but making Rain happy makes my job less stressful. Being a Guardian to a happy subject is much easier than trying to guard someone from afar, but enjoying my liege’s company isn’t a crime. If the one we have been assigned to rejects our everyday company, it is difficult to keep a close eye on them and keep them safe from the outside world. Rain shows me a glimmer of what it would be like to be a human, and I don’t find it as disturbing as some of my race does. Guardians are animalistic but loyal. It may have something to do with the nature of our creation. Mother Nature has a funny way of responding to the demands of a growing civilization. My theory is that Guardians evolved out of a necessity to survive in this over-populated era, but no one in my race knows for certain. Our scholars study our evolution very closely, but to little avail. My clan developed from the wisest animal in the forest: the owl. There are other subspecies of Guardians, but we do not interact with one another unless it is essential. Guardians stay in their true form until they are needed for duty. We grow up in our natural habitat, and it’s a bit of a culture shock when we are thrown into the lion’s den so to speak. Humans are much more predatory than they like to admit and the Guardian’s nature tends to run towards a docile state until we are needed for protection. Guardians are trained from birth to protect the human they are assigned to. We are taught how to blend in and not bring attention to ourselves. Many world leaders’ most trusted advisors are Guardians, although, we do not try to alter history, only protect it from destruction. Rain leads us to a dubious looking tent that depicts fortune telling with an excited gleam in her eyes. “Hey Duncan, this looks like it’ll be fun.” The idea of human psychics makes me cringe. Maybe the thought that human brains may have evolved enough to exhibit psychic ability undermines the whole purpose of Guardians, therefore making myself a outdated being. I have yet to meet a human who actually possesses psychic ability but that doesn’t mean it will never happen. I shrug my shoulders and follow her into the tent. Immediately the smoky atmosphere and the smell of incense dulls my usually heightened senses. A husky woman’s voice assaults us at every angle, “Welcome young ones. What is it that you seek? A reading of the immediate future perhaps?” “Yeah. I thought it would be fun,” Rain replies to the woman I still could not see. “‘Fun’ is not always how I would describe knowing the inevitable young one, but if you still seek knowledge of the future sit at the table.” Rain reaches for my hand and leads us to the table in the center of the tent. The only light is the glow emanating from the crystal ball on the table. A terrible rendition of an already overused stereotype. The middle-aged woman joins us at the table and stares at me, “You exude an unusual energy young man.” “I’m just an ordinary teenage boy,” I induce a forced laugh for Rain’s sake. “Indeed,” the woman tears her eyes away from me and collectively looks around. “Please join hands as I gaze into the crystal ball.” Reluctantly I reach for the psychic woman’s hand. The action completes our three-man circle, and a jolt of energy greets me as I touch her hand. Rain sharply intakes a breath beside me. The woman throws her head back and her eyes roll. This woman really needs to get some new material. I feel like this is a scene straight out of a human horror movie. The woman’s relaxed gaze finally lands on Rain and she begins her spouting, “Child, you are an extraordinary creature. Many seek the power you possess within you. An evil force may finally win your allegiance when you are separated from your knight. Watch yourself and do not stray from the safety of your Guar…” I vehemently stand from the seat, “What kind of show are you running here? How is this appropriate for high-schoolers?” The blank gaze of the psychic faded as she “brought herself back” onto the Earthly plane. “Come on Stormy. Let’s get out of here.” I grab Rain’s arm and drag her up from her seat. “Duncan…” “Young man! You mustn’t leave her side! Do you hear me? Something very dangerous has set its sights on her…” I break through the tent’s flaps and leave the obnoxious psychic sputtering in my wake.
…
Duncan leaves the tent with my arm in his unrelenting grip. He’s holding on tightly and has a determined expression that screams “I’m going to get us as far away from here as possible, as quickly as possible.” I don’t understand what about the bogus reading set him off so badly, but that psychic must have really freaked him out. Fellow students are curiously watching us race past, but he doesn’t seem to care. I’m having trouble keeping up with his unstable pace and decide this crazy fleeing needs to stop. “Duncan!” I call out. Duncan completely ignores me and continues to pull me out of the gym in the direction of the parking lot. “Duncan!” I brace myself by widening my stance, no longer allowing him to drag me like a limp doll. The recoil of inertia forces Duncan towards me, and he nearly knocks me over. He looks at me with incomprehension, like a feral animal about to strike at an opponent. Duncan blinks a couple of times and tries to grab my arm again. I shake him off this time and stare him square in the eyes. “Stormy we need to go right now!” The panicked look has subsided, but the determination to escape is still apparent, but from what I’m not sure. “No, we don’t. I don’t know what the big idea is, but you are not my babysitter. I’m not going to stand by and allow you to haul me around like some prisoner of war.” I thrust my chin out to make myself look tougher than I already am. “You don’t know what is best for you right now. You need to listen to me. We need to leave this place.” My jaw drops from its authoritative position, but I manage to quickly recover. “How dare you? I think I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and if you think that I’ll listen to you just because you are a ‘man,’ you better think again.” Duncan looks like I punched him in the gut, “That’s not…” “At this point I don’t really care what you have to say in your defense. I came here to enjoy myself for a few hours, to lighten up my mundane existence in this insignificant town. If I have to do so without you, so be it.” I take stock of my surroundings, see a carnival poster on the wall, and make another decision, “I’m going to head out to the soccer field. Apparently there’s a corn stalk maze and that sounds somewhat enjoyable. If you plan on following me keep your mouth shut, do not grab me, and don’t you dare tell me ‘what is best for me.’” Duncan sighs and hangs his head low, the fight leaving him. I kind of feel badly for him, but he didn’t have any right to treat me like a child. I plod towards the soccer field, leading our duo. Duncan must have decided to follow me because I hear his footsteps behind me. I’m glad that he decided to come with me because I would have otherwise been stuck here with no ride home. I suppose I could have charmed someone into taking me home, but that kind of effort makes me feel slimy. I notice I have an uncanny ability to bend people to my will, although, Duncan seems to be immune. Then again, I’ve never known Duncan to completely abandon me. I could tell him to drop off the face of the Earth and he would hang back out of the way, but he’s always there and ready when I want to reconcile. I almost turn back to smile at Duncan when I think of his loyalty, then remember that I’m still angry with him. The soccer field is lit by stadium lights, but the fog that has appeared and the lack of students around gives me goose bumps. If I really wanted to psych myself out I could think of a howling wolf in the background. I slow down as I approach the beginning of the maze and almost fall back into Duncan’s arms, but stubbornness pushes me forward. “Stormy…” He pleads at me, sounding completely defeated. “I said no talking,” That’s not bitchy at all. I run ahead into the corn stalks and don’t wait for Duncan to protest my asinine response. The first couple of turns in the maze I let my feet make my directional decisions but realize I’ve lost my sense of direction. Oh well, I’ll separate the stalks if I absolutely want to get out. Footsteps behind me prod me forward. My anger at Duncan’s earlier outburst fuels the multiple twists and turns I make through down-trodden grass. I reach a dead-end and slow down so I can turn around and back myself out of the corner. The dark figure behind me swoops to my side, and I realize a little too late that it wasn’t Duncan that was following me. Under the hood of the figure’s cloak, a smile with pointed teeth gleams with saliva. “Boo,” it whispers. An otherworldly shriek fills the confined area. Is that me screaming?
…
Rain has already disappeared behind the first juncture of the maze before I realize she is seriously trying to leave my line of sight. I hear her running footsteps in the distance and decide to give her the space she is craving. As long as I can hear her, I should be able to reach her quickly if she needs assistance. I also hear other students’ footsteps in the maze along with Rain. There is a pair that seems to be fairly close to her, and I hope it is someone that she at least tolerates. I do not wish for another student to suffer her wrath because she is upset with my earlier poor choice of words. The two sets of footsteps ahead slow down. They must have reached a dead end. I cringe inwardly as I hear the bloodcurdling scream emitted from Rain. I rush in the direction of the shriek, “Rain?!”
…
I back away from the insidious creature in front of me, intending to bolt through the corn stalks. My back hits the stalks and I realize too late that they are held together with chicken wire. I can’t split them apart like I originally thought. I look past the hooded figure and try to figure out a way to dart past him without him being able to grab me. I don’t think I can make it, but I will not give up without a fight. I inwardly count to three and hear the whoosh of his cloak as I rush past with as much speed as I can muster. The figure emanates a guttural laugh, and I know that I’m not going to live through the night.
…
My instructions were to not harm the girl, but He didn’t say that I couldn’t feed off of her before I fulfill my duty. The longer I allow her to run, the more scared she will be and the more satiated I will become. I am amused at her efforts to escape the inevitable and am surprised that I caught her without her Guardian. It is time to follow her. I levitate, rising off the ground, and follow her aerially. She must be turned before her Guardian ruins everything. The Dark Father believes that she will be detrimental in aiding our efforts take control of the human race. He says she possesses great power that he can use on Earth to spread his influence. The fear she is exuding is exquisite. I will be full for weeks with her particular brand of panic. Humans of power always fill me more than the normals do. I hear her Guardian calling for her, but he will not reach her before I do. She is quickly running out of breath and stamina. It is time to descend upon her.
…
I frantically run around the maze looking for Rain. Why couldn’t I have something useful, like a keen sense of smell to track her better? “Rain!” Another dead end blocks my way, “Damn. Rain! Answer if you can hear me!” More twists and turns lay ahead of me, and my urgency to find Rain grows. I don’t notice the blood-slicked grass and fall flat on my backside. Rain lies in one of the many dead ends covered in what I think is her own blood. “Rain, please be alive,” I scramble towards her limp body. Rain lets a groan escape through her lips and my relief at knowing she’s alive overwhelms me. Sticky, congealed blood has soaked into her clothes, but I don’t see any major wounds on her body that would produce a mass amount of blood. Rain’s lack of response to verbal stimuli worries me. She seems to be groaning from pain, but won’t answer to my voice. The area surrounding us looks like a murder scene. In every regard, it looks as though Rain has been attacked, but I can’t put together a who and why, or even if it actually was an attack on Rain. Perhaps she witnessed a grotesque Halloween scene, and fainted from distress. I find it disconcerting that all the students I heard earlier have managed to leave the maze area without calling for help when Rain started screaming. Regardless of the lack of witnesses, I will find out the truth.
…
I almost didn’t finish the job before the Guardian happened upon her body. The wounds healed nicely, and the only evidence of my infection entering her body are two pin-prick holes on her neck. Cliché I know, but the jugular is the fastest way to introduce an infection into the bloodstream. The virus will lay dormant for a few weeks and it will be too late before he realizes what has occurred tonight. The Dark Father will be most pleased with my work.
…
I hear a car engine and wind blowing past the car. My head is pounding endlessly with pain. I feel as though there is too much pressure behind my eyes and I dread opening them. “Uhhhn.” Even without opening my eyes I feel the car slowing down and pulling over. My stomach wants to revolt in response, and it feels like I’m going to end up falling in the backseat floorboard. “Stormy?” “Duncan? What happened? Where are we going?” The raspy answer doesn’t sound like my voice, but everything is a little fuzzy still. Duncan doesn’t respond for several moments. “I’m not sure, but I was going to take you to the hospital. What do you remember?” “I remember going to the carnival with you, and walking into the school, and then…” I trail off. I can’t focus on what I was about to say. A black fog in my memories prevents me from continuing further with my recount. When I try to remember additional events a sudden, sharp pain stabs behind my eyes, I gasp and finally open my eyelids. “Maybe a hospital isn’t such a bad idea,” and I faint.
