Rise of Midnight Read online

  Last game of the season!

  Friday, February 17th

  Pep Rally @ 2:45 PM

  Home Game Starts @ 6:30 PM

  Go Lions!

  Before I knew it, the clock on the back wall read 1:20 PM. We ran through our routine and sat down against the gym wall. We stretched until the students began filling the stadium. As the basketball players jogged across the gymnasium floor and the entire student body went wild with applause and whistles, I scanned the faces in the crowd. After the pom team performed and the basketball coach introduced the players over the loudspeaker each by name, it was time for our routine.

  “Come on, ladies and gentlemen!” Coach Lacey called for us.

  I was nervous as always before every performance. While we made our way to center court, I forced a fake smile. Students stood here and there in the bleachers, calling to people they knew on the squad. I waited anxiously for the band to begin before I spotted Jericho, Gemma, Marcus and a few others I sat with at lunch in the stands. They were cheering for me, calling out my name. A smile spread across my face, a genuine one.

  The band abruptly began playing our school’s fight song. The first beat made me jump, but I fell into step with the squad as we began our routine. The guys on the squad got in a line behind us and clapped their hands to the drumline. The routine went by in a blur for me until the last few seconds of the finale. I watched as the six guys came around from behind, and each lifted a girl over his head. Nathan and Michael, two of the newest guys on the squad, came to stand on either side of me, preparing for an “elevator”. They each took one of my feet to lift me. As the remaining girls on the floor did their finishing back handsprings, I readied myself.

  Held high, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face in the senior section. It was as if my eyes knew where to look. Out of all the people crowded together on the bleachers, the chances of me spotting him were slim to none, but there Devron sat. But that’s not what caught my attention. Though he wasn’t looking back at me, his new girlfriend glared directly into my eyes. I recognized her. Raquel.

  My stomach lurched. How could I forget the way she’d stared so intensely at me that night at the theater? Her eyes were on me now in the same way, wide with near panic on her face. She swept her choppy hair out of her face with a free hand, the rest of her wrapped around Devron’s left arm like a snake, practically in his lap.

  I stared back, hypnotized into Raquel’s mahogany eyes. They beamed wildly back into mine. Time seemed to slow. The loud noises of the pep rally muffled and lagged, now unrecognizable murmurs. My ears rang. The sound of my heart became louder and louder. My body felt heavy, but at the same time, a floating sensation came over me. All I could think about was her.

  From the corners of my eyes, I could see the girls around me drifting out of the arms of the boys. Alarmed, I realized they were tossed as part of the finale, but it was as if I were watching a slow-motion video. Their bodies gradually flipped and twirled through the air, leaving behind faded bands of color from their cheer outfits. Their hair fanned out around their heads, creating each girl her own halo.

  Nathan said something from below, but his voice sounded drawn out, hardly recognizable. I unintentionally ignored his attempts to get my attention and continued standing there held in the air with my eyes fixed on Raquel.

  And then, something I can hardly explain happened to Raquel’s face. It began with her eyes. They appeared to flash or glow in some way. The color and intensity changed so fast that I didn’t quite register it before her eyes rolled back into her head. Her face stretched and her mouth elongated to reveal salmon-colored gums. Teeth—fangs—sprouted from them.

  I snapped out of it. Time sped up again, and the muted rumbling sounds around me became loud and abrupt. The rhythmical beating of my heart faded away, replaced by the music. I scanned the faces around me, confused and panting for air. Embarrassed, I realized I’d waited there, holding my breath during the finale in front of the entire school.

  “Go, Lions!” everyone on the squad shouted.

  Michael and Nathan tossed me. I wasn’t ready. Up I went, screaming with arms and legs flailing. My pompoms sailed across the gym. I landed awkwardly in the boys’ arms. I couldn’t be positive, but I was sure my leg had hit one of them in the head. They grabbed me, but not tightly enough. I slipped through Michael’s attempt to grasp my arms just as Nathan frantically flung a strong arm out to break my fall. He caught me hard before I hit the ground. His forearm sunk into my stomach and knocked the air out of me. He set me on my hands and knees, and I doubled over barely able to breathe. Right away, my stomach and ribs ached. The fight song came to a curt end, and I laid there, curled in a ball in the middle of the gymnasium floor. Coach ran to center court. Michael and Nathan knelt over me.

  “Damnit, Autumn,” Nathan scolded me after he placed a hand on my shoulder. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

  Silence fell over the gym while I struggled for air. The squeaking of tennis shoes across the polished floor broke the silence while everyone on my squad gathered around me. Coach Lacey briskly made her way from across the gym. If I wasn’t hurt, she would undoubtedly chew me out the minute the pep rally ended.

  Should I play injured? I thought as I regained my breath, trying to convince myself that I needed to see the school nurse—to save myself from her wrath.

  The rest of the squad quieted down as I weakly sat up, rubbing my side. Nathan and Michael helped me to my feet. They guided me to the gym’s side wall. A few students in the bleachers halfheartedly applauded and whistled. Some giggled and talked while pointing at me. I could feel myself blushing with embarrassment while the boys set me down against the wall. Gemma found my pompoms and brought them back to me. I felt self-conscious with all the eyes on me. Thankfully, the basketball coach jumped on the microphone at the front of the auditorium and boasted about the upcoming game. I hoped it would take most of the attention off me for now.

  “Are you okay? Are you okay?” Gemma repeated in a panic.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I half-lied as Raquel’s distorted, shark-like face flashed across my mind. I shook the horrifying image from my head. “I really must be losing my mind,” I said to myself.

  “When I saw you lying there, I thought the worst,” Gemma said. “The entire student section got quiet, and I had a feeling it was because of something you did,” she teased.

  “Thanks,” I groaned sarcastically.

  “Hopefully, someone got it on their phone, and it ends up on one of those fail compilation videos,” one of the guys said loudly.

  A few of the others laughed. I half smiled, too disturbed by what I’d seen to take a joke.

  “That’s not funny,” Gemma scolded them in a hushed voice.

  “Didn’t you almost get dropped at practice, too?” one of the other girls on the squad pointed out through a giggle.

  “Yes, but that was Michael’s fault. This one’s on her,” Coach Lacey spoke up and stepped through the squad.

  Everyone backed out of her way like recruits making way for their drill instructor. They knew what I was in for. The basketball coach wrapped up his speech rather quickly, and then, the band played the fight song again to signal the end of the pep rally. Everyone could go home, everyone except the cheer squad and the basketball players. We all had to stay and warm-up for the game. I envied the students as they filed out of the gymnasium.

  “What the hell happened?” Coach Lacey asked me, crossing her arms. “Were you drinkin’ before you came out here? I mean, come on, Autumn!”

  Her southern accent sounded more apparent as she spoke, and that only happened when she was mad. The team backed away to give us some privacy. The loud band music rang in my ears.

  “No, I'm just not feeling...I'm kind of out of it right now,” I explained as politely as possible.

  “Look, just—” she said and paused as if to think. “I know you’ve been through a lot these past few days. You need to go home and relax before the game. I�
��ll let you leave practice early. Okay?” She patted me on the shoulder and walked away.

  Raquel’s bizarre transformation replayed in my head again. I wanted to cry. Why was I seeing things? Why was this happening to me?

  “What made them drop you?” Gemma asked me.

  “It was my fault. I wasn’t ready,” I admitted. “I saw Devron and his girlfriend in the stands and—”

  “Oh,” she replied. “Don’t worry about him. You can do so much better.”

  Her words did me no good. She should have known I wasn’t upset because of Devron. In fact, the next time I would think about him would be weeks later under completely different circumstances.

  “It’s not that—” I began.

  “Well, I mean, how long did you expect the guy to hang around when you don’t put out?” Marilee, one of my squadmates, spoke up in front of the whole group.

  I had to stop my jaw from falling open. How had she known anything about what had—or hadn’t—happened between Devron and me? I shouldn't have expected any less from Marilee, feeding into gossip and so on. She never had anything nice to say to or about anyone. She seemed to make it her mission at school to make people feel bad about themselves.

  “A guy that respects her will hang around,” Gemma shot back at her with a raised voice.

  “And the ones that don’t are the guys she doesn’t want around, anyway,” Andrea chimed in.

  I didn’t know Andrea well. She was new on the squad, a transfer from another school, but I was thankful she went out of her way to stand up for me.

  Marilee rolled her eyes and said something about how girls were stupid these days.

  “At least you got something right,” Gemma muttered back.

  My eyes floated down to my shoes. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Marilee shoot us a look from under her brow.

  “At least I know what I’m doing,” she said with an attitude.

  “That’s not what I heard,” one of the guys mumbled.

  A few of the guys snickered. Marilee scowled at them.

  “Let’s go, ladies and gentlemen!” Coach Lacey shouted from across the now empty gym. “From what I just saw, we’ve got a lot of work to do before tonight!”

  I shrugged Marilee’s comment off. I knew that’s what Jacoby would’ve told me to do.

  Chapter 5

  After Dark

  After the basketball game, we returned entirely drained to the locker room. Our team won its last game of the season, and I wanted to believe our cheering contributed to the victory that night. I cheered harder than I ever had, focusing on everyone else’s excitement and energy, feeding off it.

  “Alright! Awesome!” Coach Lacey announced. “Nobody got dropped.” She sounded relieved as she looked me dead in the eyes with a grin.

  I winced.

  “Right, Autumn?” she asked.

  “Right,” I replied and smiled back with a nod.

  After changing, I threw on my new black pea coat.

  “I thought I’d try talking you into going with me to that after-party again,” Gemma said with a pitched tone as I gathered my gym bag.

  “What? Oh. Where’s it at?” I asked and considered it while we walked together through the parking lot.

  “It’s at Derrick’s house downtown, remember?” she asked. “He lives close to that coffee shop where we used to hang out, the one by the L station. Since my house is close to it, just meet me there. I’ll drive us.”

  “Okay. Sounds good,” I decided. “I’ll shower at home and text you when I’m on the way.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Wait, really? Wow. That was easier than I thought it was going to be,” she laughed and we parted ways. “See you later tonight!”

  Even I thought it would take more coaxing on her end. The idea of going to the party suddenly intrigued me. I didn’t care to go home and sulk, anyway. And then, an unexpected urge for a cheeseburger erupted inside me. My phone rang on my way to my car. I rummaged frantically through the bottomless pit that was my purse. Each time I had to dig through it, I never felt sure I’d find what I was looking for without being forced to dump its contents all over the place first. I answered my phone after my search was successful.

  It was Mom. “Hey, sweetheart.” She didn’t sound pleased as I explained my plans for the rest of the night, and it took a little persuasion before she caved. “Okay, baby,” she replied as I got in my car. “Don’t make this a habit. You know your dad and I don’t sleep well when you’re out past your curfew. Oh. The reason I called…” The tone of her voice changed completely. “Frank’s parents called tonight. The doctor said he wasn’t sure how much longer Frank had.”

  I felt my stomach sink. More bad news.

  “We should visit him in the hospital this weekend,” she suggested. “They still have him in an induced coma for now.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Mom,” I said after a long pause.

  I knew I couldn’t make it through another funeral. After some small talk and a quick goodbye, I found myself tearing up as I started my car. A few shaky breaths later, I felt calm again but still held back tears and negative thoughts.

  He’s going to be okay, I kept telling myself.

  Driving through the city, I took notice of the skyscrapers lining the streets. They were like giant motionless guardians. I couldn’t help but think of Jacoby after hearing the news about Frank. When the traffic light turned green, I wiped away a stray tear and hit the gas. Down the road, the bright lights of a restaurant caught my eye. I parked in front of the building without hesitation. It hadn’t been very long since the last time I’d eaten at The Red Emerald, but it felt like an eternity. Inside, the music was deafening, the place packed with boisterous college students just like it always was. With every table and booth filled, the hostess offered me a seat at the bar.

  I impatiently waited for the bartender to come my way. I watched him smile at the girls on the other side of the bar. All three girls started blinking more than usual. He was handsome, maybe in his mid-to-late twenties, and I could tell he lifted weights in his spare time. When he broke away from flirting, he halfheartedly glanced in my direction. It was obvious he’d been avoiding me, probably because he could tell I was underage. Little did he know, I wasn’t there to drink. As he strolled over, he took an empty beer bottle from the man a few seats over.

  “Aren’t you a little young to be sitting up here?” he asked me. “We don’t have booster seats for the bar.”

  His blatantly flirtatious inflection made me feel flattered and silly at the same time.

  “Oh, um, I’m not up here for a drink,” I replied.

  “Okay, then. What can I get for you, sweetie?” he asked.

  Stop flirting with me, I thought.

  “A cheeseburger, fries and a soda, please,” I said through a forced grin.

  With that, he walked away, going back through the kitchen door while he shouted my order to the cooks in the back. It wasn’t long before someone emerged with my plate and handed it to the bartender.

  “It's on the house,” the bartender whispered.

  He even winked at me while setting the plate and glass down on the old warped bar. I stared at him with false shock. I wasn't surprised by his gesture. This couldn’t be his first time trying to make a girl feel special. He probably treated all the ladies that came in that way, but that didn’t deter me from taking advantage of a free meal. After all, he didn’t need to know how unimpressed I was by his antics.

  “Oh, wow. Thank you,” I said gratefully, and he stepped away to serve someone else.

  I curiously studied the restaurant while I ate, hoping to find a familiar face. Peering over my left shoulder, I noticed two men—one with long blonde hair wearing a burgundy coat, the other, a brunette wearing a leather jacket. They sat in the corner with their eyes on me. I turned away. The way they looked at me was startling. Over my right shoulder, I noticed another pair of harsh eyes belonging to a man of possibly Hawaiian descent, but he looked away the
second I spotted him. He had held the same, constant stare as the others on his rigid face.

  Through the corner of my eye, I found a woman in a fitted jade green sweater sitting by the door. I only noticed her because I caught her shooting me piercing glances. Our eyes met. Something started to change on her face, her eyes appearing to eerily fog over. Even sitting so far away, I could see it. It began deep inside her pupils and then radiated over her irises. It took me a few seconds to realize they were glowing like two little orbs of light. Taking a sharp breath, I tore my eyes away from her in a panic.

  No, no. Not again, I thought and put my face in my hands.

  I had to be sure. I peered back only to find her face changing, warping. I didn’t watch long enough to see the extent of it. I spun away, got up from the barstool and briskly walked out of that place like I’d dined and dashed. Outside, I had to stop and take a breath. I’d unintentionally held it all the way out the door.

  “I am. I’m going crazy,” I huffed to myself.

  A knot embedded itself in my throat. I felt a warm sweat break out across my face and lower back. I held my head in my hands before swishing my hair out of my face, pacing myself. I felt like I was going to have a panic attack.

  A whisper distracted me.

  Not wanting to wait around any longer, I ignored it and started toward my car. While digging for my car keys, I heard it again. It sounded like “trezma” or some kind of gibberish, only this time, it was more like a hiss and much closer than before.