Page 76 of Dead End

His eyes turned wary as he said, “It’s nothing like that.” Clearing his throat, he shifted on his feet, looking visibly uncomfortable. What the hell is his deal? Where did the suave Calvin go? “My dad wants you to be in this year’s festival portrait for the Society… You know, since your parents aren’t around anymore for it.”

“Why would I want to be in that after the shit Payton pulled?” I demanded, looking at him like he’d lost his mind.

“None of us had anything to do with that,” he pleaded, begging me to trust him as he stepped forward to talk down to me. “Trust me, October, what she did to your familiar was vile. She won’t be coming back; my father made sure of it.”

My eyes widened. “You’re serious? He actually kicked her out of town?”

“Yeah, fuck her. But we still want you to join, and we’d really like it if you came with us for the portrait in front of city hall.” He was really pushing for that portrait as he started walking backwards, nodding his head for me to follow him.

I glanced at Maddie, who looked ready to bolt. Her eyes were flitting to Baen every few seconds as he stood there with his arms crossed, looking like he was about to come over and drag her away from Cal by the hair.

To save her from a jealous tirade on Baen’s part, I said, “Sure, Cal, let’s get this stupid portrait over with.” I gave Maddie an apologetic look. “I’ll be quick, and then I'll come right back here when I’m done. Can you keep an eye out for Jessica while I’m gone? She woke up kind of late after all that shit yesterday.”

Maddie’s face softened, and she smiled. “Of course. Go take a good picture. It’s a good thing you wore your lucky dress.” She stifled a laugh behind her hand, her eyes light with mirth.

“Oh my god,” I groaned, while Cal just looked confused. I tugged him away, while Maddie just winked and turned back to head over to Baen.

“Why is that your lucky dress?” Cal asked, eyeing me up and down as we continued down Main Street.

With a snort and blood rushing to my cheeks, I said, “Trust me, you don’t want to know.” As we got closer to Toil and Trouble’s booth, I suddenly had a hankering for some tea. “Wanna grab a cup?” I pointed to the brewing cauldron.

“We’re already kind of late,” he said, glancing at his wristwatch. His amber eyes were shifting over my shoulder, as if he were looking for someone.

Groaning, I shuffled past the delicious-smelling tea when he said, “Let’s cut through here; we can shave off a few minutes.”

He headed for a side street between two buildings, and I halted. Flashes of my last encounter in this area of town slithered into my brain, making me second-guess taking the long way around. Zombies are everywhere. “I—”

“Come on. It’ll take forever to get through that crowd, and they’re all waiting on us.” He kept walking, so I decided to bite the bullet and catch up after glancing at the hustle of the streets.

It was dark on this side street and quieter than the bustle of the crowd back on Main. My eyes were flitting back and forth, jumping at every shadow. A rat scurried from a trash can onto a drain pipe, and I swore my soul departed my body for a second there. I was walking so fast now that I was overtaking Cal in a powerwalk, and I probably looked like a fucking spaz.

“I swear to the great pumpkin, Cal, if your phone starts playing ‘Thriller,—”

I choked as something was placed over my face from behind. My nose and mouth were immediately filled with something sharp and pungent-smelling. My eyes burned, and I began to cough as a strong arm wrapped around my torso, holding tight. Thrashing from side to side, I tried to shake my head and bite through the scratchy cloth covering my face, but I was losing the battle. Suddenly, my arms felt leaden, and my vision started to swim.

I’m being drugged.

Who would do this?

Who would…

Cal.

That was the last thought that ran through my head before darkness descended.

It was pitch black when I came to. My eyes felt like they were filled with sand, and my mouth was as dry as a desert. It was cold—bone-chillingly cold. I shivered, cringing as my teeth gritted together.

I tried to move, but I was immediately met with resistance, with my right knee slamming into something hard. “Fuck,” I muttered, sticking my hands out in front of me.

Light was beginning to creep in through the blurriness of my vision, and I realized that if I stood on my tiptoes, I could see out of a little rectangular slot fitted with four small iron bars. Panic set in as the sight of the twin orange blood moons shone back at me from behind the bars. I was obviously outside still, and I could feel just a small amount of frigid wind on my cheeks when I pressed my face closer to the bars.

I felt around in front of me, and to my horror, I realized I was completely caged in on every side with about half a foot to move. The walls were made of dark stone, and they smelled like moss and soil. Standing on my toes again, I looked outside and realized exactly where I was.

Midnight Hollow Cemetery. I must have been on the very top of the narrow hillside because I could see the road far below and that arched wrought iron gate past a sea of headstones. Fear coiled in my gut.

How the fuck did I get here?

I thought back to the moments leading up to nothingness and froze. Calvin. He’d done this to me, but why? He drugged me with some kind of potion and brought me to this stone coffin, like some kind of serial killer. He freaking kidnapped me and was probably going to bury me alive! My veins ran ice cold, and I suddenly wished I’d forced Jessica to wake up. She could have fled and alerted someone, telling them what Cal had done.

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