The Neighborhood Watch

Chapter Ten - The Midway House

We all showed up to the party one hour late, all of us stuffed inside my truck, seeing as I would be the designated driver anyways. Rachel's house had cars around the block, the entire school squeezed into one street.

"Pull into Jason's driveway, he won't care," Leo instructed from the passenger seat, pointing at Jason Ortez's driveway a few houses down.

I frowned at him. "You really think that Jason Ortez still lives here? He can't go to our school anymore, and the only other one is twenty miles away in the next town. Wouldn't he have moved?"

"Nope," Leo shook his head. As a new car turned onto the street I listened to my best friend, not wanting to hold up traffic. "He's homeschooled now, his parents pay for a retired teacher to come over every day. Besides, that's his dirt bike next to us, I saw him driving it the other day in a drive-through."

My truck made a noise as I put it into park, making me frown. "What have they done to you?"

"Come on, you can sit under your truck for hours tomorrow," Marrisa told me. "But tonight, we have a party to be late to."

"Fine," I killed the engine and everyone climbed out of the car with me. "So, how sure are we that we'll run into the Light here again?"

Hannah shrugged. "So far, they've been everywhere. They seem to be keeping a close eye on you two," she told Marrisa and me. "How else would they have known to be at the pool? They have no reason not to be here tonight, spiking our drinks or pretending to be classmates we've never spoken to before, or new kids in town. I suggest keeping your guard up. If we are seen with the Darcy's we are a target too." She added to Leo and Sabrina.

Leo nodded and glanced around. "Then maybe we should keep this conversation short. Seeing as we are out in the open and it's dark. They could be anyone anywhere."

"Good point." Marrisa agreed, glancing around. "We should head inside."

The five of us walked together, finding every single light on in Rachel's house. The front door was wide open and music poured out into the street. Everyone in grades nine and up was shoved inside, dancing and talking, and everyone was drinking.

There are a lot of bodies inside of here. I glanced at Marrisa and Hannah, whose shadows were no doubt making the same headcount. One or two could go missing, and no one would notice. MCD's shadow is bigger than mine, but we could quickly change that tonight. I could eat everyone here, and then the Light wouldn't stand a chance. I'd eat them alive.

Sabrina noticed our hesitation and glanced into the crowd. "Everything okay, you guys? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Walking ghosts, yes. People who would die so quickly they'd never know what happened. It would be just fine. Come on, Mika, don't you trust me? No, I don't. "Everything is fine," I took Marrisa and Hannah by the arm and brought them inside, making them snap out of it. "Our shadows sometimes get the better of us in big groups."

Marrisa rubbed her arm in embarrassment. "I'm sorry guys, I thought I'd gotten better about that. It's probably all the stress."

"Oh my god! Marrisa!" Shrill voices cried from the hallway to our left, making our heads turn. A group of Marrisa's cheerleader friends hurried towards us, very much under the influence.

"We were so worried about you today when you and Mika weren't at school. And when we heard Leo wasn't either, we figured something bad had happened! We're so glad to see you all here!" One cheerleader told her, her pixie cut slicked straight back to look fashionable with her blazer. "Besides, you've been missing practice!"

Marrisa smiled at them. "Oh, you know, just some family stuff. Everything is alright though."

Another girl with long braids nodded. "Good! Well then let's go get you a drink!"