Devious Claws

Chapter Two

"So, you're staying at Lorraine's house?"

Pale streets, geometrical lawns with dead bushes. Nothing grew out of order. Nothing changed without permission.

"Uh, yeah." I tapped my pink fingers against the steering wheel, wondering when the heating had stopped working. I glanced at Luke who seemed deep in thought looking at the houses. "Mom would never let me stay in a hotel. It's crazy how my room looks exactly the same - nothing has changed."

"Oh, a lot has changed. Don't tell me you don't see it." The sudden depth in Luke's voice caught me a bit off guard. I kept my eyes on the road, sensing it was the best move, and wondered if he really had gone completely crazy.

But then I saw it.

Change.

Three cop cars outside of one of the rectangular houses I always used to pass on my way to school. They were empty, the cops probably inside the house, but the disorganized way in which they were stood on the lawn made me shiver. As if they had been in a rush and hadn't had time to properly park.

"What's going on at the Graysons'?"

"They're missing," Luke said without a pause. He watched the house as we slowly drove past. "Since a few days back."

"What? All of them?" My throat was drying up a bit, making my voice vulnerably hoarse.

"Yeah. Well, not Daniel. He's away at college. They advised him not to come home so he's still gone, leaving the work to the police." Luke huffed. "Dummy."

"That's insane. Fred and Diana. What could have happened?"

"The police think they might've been taken for ransom, but no ransom note has come in yet. No trace of them. Cars, wallets and phones still at the house."

First Luke's father and then the Graysons. My knuckles had gone white. Eighteen years in Hillstone and I'd never heard of as much as a mugging. Now this? I dared to look at Luke who was aimlessly going through the CD collection in the glove compartment.

"Cool, your mom has Smash Mouth!"

"How do you know all this, Luke? It's freaky."

"You think she'd let me borrow it?"

"Luke!"

"I have a police radar at home," he admitted. "It helps me in my research."

I swallowed. Once. Twice. "What research?"

"Into the supernatural. I really think I'm onto something, but nobody will believe me. I've seen things, Cindy." He put the CDs down. "They think my dad overdosed. But he was clean."

"I've never met your dad."

"He contacted me about a year ago. He lives not too far from here. We caught up, and he told me he had gone away all those years ago to protect me. He knew he was about to die, and he told me everything."

I was starting to get freaked out. As we rounded a corner onto Luke's street I saw a flash of red and blue. Another squad car, on another lawn. This family I didn't know.

"Jay Cummings," Luke offered. "He disappeared a week ago. Same story there. They're running away, Cindy. They know too much."

"Luke--"

"My dad told me! There's a whole world parallel to ours. It's darker, and dangerous. And it's planted itself in Hillstone."

"Right. The werewolves in the chocolate factory."

Luke sat back. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"No," I lied. My gut was doing jumping jacks. The sight of the cop cars replayed in my mind. I just managed to avoid hitting a small cat rushing across the street.