Page 103 of Delinquents Turned Fugitives
“Let me see!” he demanded.
With a huff, I released my shadows and he slowly descended. “Well, that was a disappointing and immediate draw.” I blew a raspberry at him.
He chuckled. “Guess we’re too evenly matched.”
“Guess we’d better stick to pranks,” I retorted.
“Maybe.” He sat down beside me and we stared out at the trees for a minute. I faintly heard the sound of the other guys’ conversation behind us, but just waited until Gray felt like talking, which eventually, he did.
“My cousin, Maddox, tried to go Unnatural. He was interning for my dad and there was all this pressure from everyone in the family for him to do the spell. He was a good guy, but the pressure … in my family, it’s intense. Every second you’re awake, you’re supposed to be working. You have to be just as obsessive as my father in order to make it. He didn’t understand play, or friendship. He doesn’t understand people, which makes it hilarious that he wants a damn Pinnacle seat. It’s all about ego.”
I nodded when he looked over, encouraging him to continue.
Gray licked his lips, chewed them for a second, before he added, “My cousin and aunt ended up living with us after her divorce. And Maddox got sucked in. Fame and fortune and all that shit. He turned into my dad’s lapdog. Dad ran him haggard and started pushing Maddox to go Unnatural early, just like he had. Such bullshit. I told Maddie not to do it.” He shook his head. “We were hanging out one night and he was just pacing, scared. Asked me like ten times if I thought he should. I said no and he nodded, agreeing. We fell asleep. Or I did. Fucker tried it while I slept. I was lucky I woke up while he was still writing the spell. I ran.” Gray’s face took on a haunted quality. “Dad wouldn’t pay for him to be institutionalized after he scratched me. He was furious that Maddie had done the spell outside an official facility. He said he was pissed that Maddie put me in danger. But really? I think he was pissed that Maddie got it wrong.” The silence hangs over us like a looming thunderhead for a moment, before Gray asks, “Did you know the Pinheads won’t keep a vampire in custody for more than twenty-four hours?”
I shook my head. Matthew had gone straight from the spell facility to an Institute. There hadn’t been much pinhead involvement.
“My aunt had to go get him. They let her keep the cuffs on his hands and feet at least. She had to drive out of town to the countryside. And then she had to shoot her own son.”
I grabbed Gray’s hand and held it. But I didn’t say anything. Because there was nothing to say.
Some people magically turned into monsters; others were born that way.
In my opinion, the latter were far more dangerous.
And they were the ones hunting us.
