Page 3 of Taste of Forever
Meaning I would not be able to break a window to escape.
Still, I walked along the walls, my mind running on overdrive to find a solution. I was a scientist, goddamn it. If there was one thing I was good at, it was finding solutions.
After roughly an hour, my butt sank to the floor in defeat. There was truly no way out.
I could stack every piece of furniture on top of each other and still not reach a window. There was no chimney or any other type of vent to crawl through. I dug through the couch cushions, tore through every drawer in the desk, and even inspected the floorboards. No sign of a key, or even a tool I could use to break through the drywall.
Or defend myself against these wackos.
I let the back of my head rest against the door, exhaustion settling heavily over me. This morning, I’d been on the verge of breaking up with Justin. Now I would have given anything to see his face. I’d even settle for the back of his head, which was becoming my usual view of him, since he seemed to prefer gaming over spending time with me.
A mirthless laugh escaped my lips. Even now, our arguments were the first thing to pop into my mind. They felt so petty compared to being kidnapped by weirdos. And yet, I couldn’t help but feel like I wouldn’t be in this situation if he had cared enough to listen.
He’ll call the police when I don’t come home. Maybe he already has. If I’m still here by Monday, work will start making calls too.
Someone will find me. It’s only a matter of time.
I must have fallenasleep for a few hours. The next thing I knew, the cabin was dark and something, like a set of keys, was rattling in the door.
My first instinct was to hide. I darted across the room to the desk, only realizing too late that I should have stayed by the door and taken the chance to escape.
“Hello?” A woman’s voice called out as she flicked on a light switch.
A dusty chandelier flickered to life. The woman, in her forties with short brown hair, peppered with gray, scanned the room. When her eyes landed on me, crouched next to the desk like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, she smiled.
“Hi there. I thought you’d be hungry.”
She carried a plate that I realized smelledamazing.Grilled chicken thighs on a bed of rice and vegetables. My stomach growled with an echo that filled the cabin, though I refused to move.
“I’m gonna put this here for you.” The woman set the plate down on one of the tables, along with a knife and fork, a cloth napkin, and a mason jar filled with water.
My gaze went straight to the knife and she immediately clocked it.
“I have no intention of hurting you, so I hope you’ll treat me with the same courtesy.” She began to approach me with slow, careful steps. “What’s your name, hun? I’m Robin.”
“Look, I won’t go for the knife if you promise to let me go.”
Robin gave me a sympathetic look that actually seemed sincere. “I’m really sorry, but we can’t do that. Especially not at night.” She glanced upward at the half moon peeking through clouds in the skylight. “I know this is strange and confusing. I’ll see what our council says about returning you to your world during the daytime.”
“Myworld?” I repeated. “What are you on about, lady?”
“You got lost in the woods, yes?” She perched a hip on the edge of the table. “Thought you knew where you were going, but unable to find your way back?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded knowingly. “We get people like you stumbling upon us every few years. It doesn’t seem like it, I know, but in our world, wandering around alone is far more dangerous than in yours. We lock you in here for your own safety.”
“Safety fromwhat?”
Robin hesitated. “From the vampires.”
Chapter 1
Heather
Present Day
“Ican’t believe I’m actually saying this.” With a glance at myself in my phone screen currently recording video, I let out a big breath. “But I’m going to let a vampire bite me. Let’s hope I’m still alive afterward.”
