Succubus

Chapter 10: Let's Get Some Rest

Chapter 10: Let's Get Some Rest

Tara exited out of another online chat room. She wasn't keeping track, but it was around the fiftieth. She had logged on hours ago and began typing quick messages to strangers. Finding men wasn't difficult. After that she screened for those between sixteen and eighteen, and from that group she narrowed it down to the ones who lived nearby. Then she had to make sure they wouldn't kill her. So far there were no good candidates to take her to the dance.

Tara pushed her chair away from the computer and rubbed her eyes. Outside the library windows it was dark. The fluorescent buzz was giving her a headache, so she decided to call it a night. Clear history, log out, ignore the dirty look from the librarian.

Tara wondered if she had any cousins nearby she could ask. It wasn't a great solution, but it might work as long as no one from school recognized them. Tara imagined the look in her mother's eye when she asked for something like that, and decided she'd only use it as a backup plan.

Tara had to pass Bridgeton High on her way back home. Just looking at the building was enough to make her nauseous. Soon the gym would be decorated with streamers and confetti. They'd hire a DJ to play yesterday's hits and ignore any requests the students made. She'd have to go through all of that, alone.

Tara considered hopping on a bus and trying her luck in a different state. The only thing holding her back was a lack of money, but plenty of people hadn't let that stop them. Tara sighed and admitted to herself that she didn't have the guts to run away.

Tara's parents were asleep by the time she got back. She carried her shoes as she walked upstairs and into her room. Once inside she realized how tired she was. She fell face first into the mattress and didn't bother to change out of her clothes. Tara smiled and wondered if that made her cool. It was like she was sneaking home from a party.

Tara dreamed she was falling into water. She fell slow, the water moving from the tips of her outstretched fingers to her head took an hour. Her head hit the surface and she watched as a wall of ripples formed from the impact. Her forehead and eyes slid into the water and she waited for her nose and mouth to be next. She had that awful feeling of holding her breath and waiting to run out of air.

All of a sudden Tara wasn't drowning. She was sitting in the lobby of a mall. The static roar of a fountain was behind her, and she could smell stale water in the air. Crowds of people moved around her, but she couldn't focus on any of the faces. It wasn't a mall she'd ever been to, but she still felt strangely in place.

"Wow, it worked," someone said next to her.

Tara turned and saw a girl sitting next to her. The girl had long white hair, but it didn't look white from aging or dye. The girl was so pretty that she looked photoshopped. Her eyes were a dark maroon color, and they were full of excitement. The most striking thing about her were a pair of horns curling around each ear.

Tara checked over her shoulder to see if the girl was talking to her.

"Who else would I be talking to?" the girl asked.

Tara looked back at the girl, then looked away. It was hard to keep eye contact with her. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

The other girl scooched forward, into Tara's space. "Don't apologize, I need your help."

Tara scooched back. "You should find someone else."

The girl's eyes narrowed. Tara suddenly felt as though she were blowing a job interview.

"Are you from Bridgeton?" the girl asked.

Tara nodded, realizing she was here because the girl wanted something. She wasn't surprised, why else would someone talk to her?