Chapter 9: Chapter 9

"What does it contain?" I ask, darting my eyes from Shade to Mia, before looking at the glass of shot in my hand. We are sitting inside the booth, facing the crowds that are busy dancing and enjoying themselves.

"Something strong like tequila." Mia responds.

"Oh." Is all I manage to say. I used to hear tequila is very alcoholic, no wonder we are going to take something similar to it.

"One, two, three... go, girls." Shade calls for us, and she and Mia take the shot in one draw. Me? I'm an exception. I sip it little by little before holding another shot, after dropping the last glass. I feel like if I drink it once, it will come out through my nose. The stinging sensation burns at my throat, down to warming up my stomach, and making it rumble.

"One, two, three... go again girls."

Again, we take the shots. When I lower my eyes, the tequila burns my insides more — two folds than earlier. My eyes waters, causing my vision to get blurry.

"Rayne, are you doing fine?" Shade ask.

Not so right for her to ask. She does know what must be happening to me.

"I think so. You guys have taken all the shots?" Disbelief etches my tone, making me unconsciously widen my eyes. These girls are tougher than I thought. When I blink up at Shade, through my watery lashes, she looks just fine. Mia, on another account, seems just as disorientated as me, but at least she seems to be able to drink more than I can. And could still continue on the count.

"Yeah. What did you expect?" Shade ask, her voice is huskier, femininely manly. She stares at me with a courageous brown eyes, having all red veins in her balls with waters enclosing them.

Hope they don't kill someone tonight.

Mia hiccups, falling her body onto the booth's wooden counter. She hiccups again, using her hands to cover her mouth.

"I feel on top of the world." She blurt out, her voice almost unrecognizable.

"You feel it too?" Shade yells out, laughing for no reason, and she pats Mia on her back.

"I sure do."

"Are you guys... okay? Maybe I should drive you home. It will not be too late for me to go back and see Mom." I add, more directing my words at Shade, but she doesn't seem to be hearing me.

The song changes, turning the rotating ball too, to blue lights, and suddenly, Shade yells, bolting up from her seat. At first, I thought something bit her, until I come into the realization that it is the alcohol's effect.

Mia whoops after her, both of them, running to the dance floor, and onto the top of the small, circular, dancing stair at the middle where few students are, "getting wild", I suppose.

"Shade." I stand from my seat, but almost trip over my feet. Aren't I going to be spared?

I go on my knees, steadying myself from any abrupt fall. When I think I'm okay, I stand again, wait for some seconds for total balance, before I start to walk to the outside. I have had enough.

With slow, steadying pace, I manage to get outside. The chill air, brushing past my skin. God! I shall not fall for those tricks of Shade's again. Going in back there will just be another bad idea. I had two shots, and I'm behaving this way — hardly being able to control my consciousness. What if I had five? I can't imagine the terrors I would do... or rather, the embarrassment I might adept onto myself. More so, mother needs me.

The chillness eases my warmth stomach, momentarily, but then, the alcohol will come back after a pause, drizzling my stance. I try inhaling heavily than exhaling. I pass by an Audi to Shade's Camry, and hear a muffling grunt from the inside. Before I look over, I already guessed what I will see, which why I even peep in the first place is not clear to me. The couples having their pounding sessions didn't even notice me passing by. And neither could I make up their appearance.

I pick mom's food from Shade's car, preparing to find an uber to take me to the hospital. I pass by many packed cars, directing myself to the street. I turn on the GPS, then search for the main street. Finding it through my gadget, I look at the time; it should take me nothing more than twenty minutes to get there if I walk faster, so I prepare myself towards the lane, leading to the main street.

I had put the blaring music to the back of my mind, but now that I'm at ease of finding my way out of here, it comes back, invading my ears.

I am passing by the house, when the back door opens. The bad boy and Lydia walks out. She's leading, taking his hands, as she's laughing hysterically, putting his hands on her butt, while she turns to her front, her chest against his, and kisses him once, slightly.

She pulls back, wait for his reaction, I guess, but then, he takes her face at either sides with his large hands, and kisses her again. They don't notice me standing just meters away from them, on the clear, open, dark street.

Spotting a tall, decor bush beside the street, I hide myself there, watching them with an emotion breed from discomfort. I disagree with myself to be irked once again, or rather be... jealous? I can not say why I'm doing this — watching them kiss and face-fuck. It irks me anyways, seeing them at such proximity. Don't they align? A perfect couple. They look just so fine together, they understand each other since they are both cruel — Lydia disturbs my life, while he disturbs my mind. They cause me nothing but trouble, discomfort, and... and... pain. I feel sore sober, and somber — the alcohol is a once upon a time thing.

I turn my back to lean against the tree, fuming my mouth, and look heavenwards. The sky is filled with a crescent moon, dense by the clouds that it looks so dim, small tinkles of stars, and thunderous rumblings in the background, as the music that's playing on the inside.

I should go. I say in my own head and grip the polythene bag, when Lydia gasp suffocatingly. I raise my head. Listening closely, I notice it's as if her neck's being strangled by the bad boy's hand, causing her to strain from shrilling.

Quickly I turn, hiding myself from mistakenly getting seen, but watching the scenery unfolds itself before me. Then from what I could really decipher, it seems as though the bad boy is only sucking her neck?

Isn't Lydia such a non-romantic person, grunting over being kissed? Or was he sucking too harsh?

I can't see much, except Lydia's gasping mouth, her expression is like she's in a burning pain. The bad boy's mouth is at her neck...doing whatever he's doing to cause her those expressions? My subconscious is as dumb as I am. We honestly have no clue of what he's doing anymore.

I peer more closer, watching intently when I see some sort of red rays of light on Lydia's neck, likely coming from the bad boy.

Lydia is releasing muffled cries. I don't know what he is doing, but it gives her only pain. Her legs are weakening, giving up, but the guy's arms are holding Lydia up. I can see the weakness in her eyes.

I am preparing myself to help her hopefully, while battling my inner disagreement of uncertainty of what the bad boy could do to me as well— or what if he isn't actually hurting her, that I think wrong? — when the air shifts, emitting another figure.

The guy's sister arrives all of the sudden, from nowhere. She assuredly was not here before, but then, she is now. It's like she came out from the thin air — disappearing abilities, I suppose. What are they? Is this why they keep to themselves? Do they suck necks, or what?

My subconscious is widening her eyes. Maybe they are magician, wait, maybe some kind of weirdo occultist?

Like in the movies. I'm seeing a reality Fright Night stuff, and this evolves round a family.

"The Ryders; they are here." His sister panics. Out of the blue, she's beside him in a flashy gait. She is just there in a second, and then, she's not. "We should leave now." She tells me firmly, but he doesn't take his face off of Lydia's neck.

This is not possible — none of what they are doing should be possible. Only green effects in movies can do all these they are doing. But I don't see any. I'm not sober, not anymore. This isn't any alcohol, controlling me, making me see illusions. This isn't fake, but happening real — Lydia is dying for real. She is his girlfriend, isn't she? They don't seem very humane to me with the way my brain comprehends them. They must be some psycho.

I pick a dried branch up, and run out from behind the bush, holding it up to beat the guy from continuing what he is doing. And then, for the next plan, I would shout to the top of my lungs for help.

As I'm inches away from hitting him, in the fast moment, I watch as his sister shift her attention to me, bares her teeth; her canine, changing shape, elongating before my very eyes.

Christ!

I'm shocked to see something as that — it is like a beast is coming out from her gorgeous features. I freeze, unable to move my body, and turn my face to meet the bad boy's. He is looking at me with those strange eyes, beaming copper this time around. He towers over me with his height. I squirm in fear, his teeth are in the same form as his sister, except that his are more frightening, causing my body to involuntarily fridget. There's...Lydia's blood at the brink of his mouth, streaming down slowly to rest on his chiseled jawline. My eyes shoves out a tear.

He is somewhat controlling my body from being able to move, as he stands opposite from me. Lydia falls down, helplessly, and groan. She's almost comatose.

"You remembered, Rayne." He says. His abnormal eyes are beaming at me, glowing down, intensely. His teeth reverses, lessening a very, tiny, pinky bit of my fear, as they go back to humanly shape.

"I remembered?" I quiver.

"Calm." Is all he says for something to spike in my brain and snatch away all those fear, and I relax. I breath sharply.

"How do you get to do that?"

"No. You don't get to ask the questions. Again, you shall forget. And do not ever try to remember, or else, you will be in so much pain."

Finishing those unclear words of his, I hear a heavy, flapping sound of wings, approaching.

"They are here, brother." The bad boy's sister says, blinking up at the sky. I follow her gaze to see two large, impossible-to-be-in-existence, beast flying. I heave, feeling my heart, wanting to fall out of my chest.

"Is that—" A hand hits my neck, and I hear the bad boy's last words, said in the same accent of that young man in the woods.

"Dragons..."