Succubus

Chapter 24: The Squatter

Many adults in Bridgeton wanted to leave town. Some of them wanted to leave almost as much as the kids did. For a decade, more and more "For Sale" signs appeared in front of houses and never went away. The signs clung to the ground on their wire stands and swayed in the changing seasons. The forced smiles of the realtors peeled and faded until they didn't even look human anymore.

Tara peeped out the second floor window down to one such sign. The sun was almost gone and soon it would be time to move. Tara stepped away from the window. Dust swirled around the room in the sunlight.

Tara had found a new appreciation for all the things in a house. Once a house had been stripped of all its furniture and decorations the building felt vast and naked. Every slight sound echoed down the hallways. Tara considered herself used to loneliness, but staying in the empty house was a new level.

Her feelings were made worse by the fact that she was not sleeping. A few hours after arriving at the house last night she felt the familiar hunger that Adriel had been keeping at bay. There was no one around to give her a hug or take her to the movies, so all the next day she'd grown steadily hungrier. Tara knew that going to sleep would mean feeding on someone.

Feeding now would be a serious problem for Tara. The upperclassman with the sword would realize she was still in town. Tara wanted a few states between her and her hunter before she would even consider feeding on strangers. But that didn't sit right with her either. Tara didn't want people to die because she was hungry. Plus, she wasn't exactly equipped to up and move. She had a few dollars in her pocket and the clothes on her back; anyone would be hard pressed to restart their life with just that.

Tara also thought about her attacker. She'd recognized him from the grade above her, but hadn't bothered to learn his name. He was getting some kind of divine help because that sword had made horns appear on her head. Being near it felt like standing in front of an open oven. Tara wished she could ask Vine who might be after her, but the demon couldn't speak and just twisted nervously in Tara's chest.

Outside it was finally dark. "I guess I should try and eat something," Tara said to herself, her first words all day.

Tara walked through the pitch black house and down the stairs. Vine must have come with night vision, because Tara didn't stumble once. The front door was locked, but the window wasn't. After that all Tara had to do was climb over the chain link fence that was supposed to keep people like her out.

Quick glances down the street did not set Tara's mind at ease while she walked. Her ears strained for the slightest sound of footsteps or the whirr of a bicycle. The walk felt much longer than it was.

White light illuminated the convenience store parking lot. The building was set against the highway that led across the river and into the city.

A small bell jingled as Tara walked in. A squat man with a mustache looked up from his magazine and smiled at her. Tara smiled back, then wondered if it would have been better to ignore him. As she wandered through the aisles she considered if it was more memorable to meet a rude person or a nice person.

At the cash register Tara put a hot dog and six energy shots on the counter. The cashier nodded and began ringing her up.

"Exam season?" he asked.

"You know it," Tara said.

Tara ate her dinner on the way back to the abandoned house. Her human half would be full for a while at least. Tara drank an energy drink and felt her hands begin to twitch. She had that distinct feeling of straddling a panic attack, but not falling all the way in. A few times she pulled her phone out and debated switching it on long enough to text her mom that she was ok. Tara thought better of it. She had no idea what kind of resources heaven might have to find her. For the time being she assumed they were at least on the level of the FBI.

Tara was halfway through the window when a car stopped in front of the house. It was an SUV with a searchlight on the driver's side. "Bridgeton Police Department," was written in big reflective letters on the side. Tara hurried inside.

She waited in the living room as a flashlight beam swung closer to the house. Her first instinct was to hide, but then she realized she had a good opportunity. She took her shoes off and waited in a dark corner by the front door. As the doorknob twisted Tara realized she was doing something extraordinarily stupid. If she was wrong then tonight ended with a bullet wound. No time to do anything else, so Tara put her index fingers in her mouth and wet them with spit.

The door swung open. A police officer stepped inside and began shining a light around the front hall. His hand rested on his holster. Tara stepped out from her hiding spot, quiet as a bat. The officer didn't even flinch as she buried her fingers in each ear.

The cop's hands dropped to his sides. The flashlight rolled into the living room and put a spot on the wall.

"Walk this way," Tara whispered. She could hear Vine's voice underneath her own.

The cop allowed himself to be led into the living room. Tara had him bend down and turn the flashlight off.

"Is anyone searching for Tara Wentworth?" Tara asked.

"The local precinct," the cop mumbled. "If she isn't found in a few weeks then a missing person squad takes over."

Tara let out a sigh of relief. A few weeks dodging the two cop cars in Bridgeton. Not as bad as she first thought.

"How is Lisa Wentworth?"

"Neighbors reported a disturbance yesterday afternoon. They found her unconscious on her sofa with a slight head wound. She had no memory of anything happening so it was dismissed as an accidental fall."

Tara felt some panic at that. Was someone targeting her mom? She thought back to her attacker from the night before. He'd been mad that Tara was feeding on his mother, so he didn't seem like the type to go eye for an eye. Also Tara's mother had been hit in the head, not cut with a sword. Tara wondered if it were a coincidence and her mom actually had just fallen, but that seemed like a stretch given everything else going on.

"Here's what you're going to do," Tara said. "Go back to your car and tell the police station that there's nothing going on in this house. Say it in police speak so they know it's legit." Tara thought for a second. There hadn't been much time to plan. "Also every night swing by here and leave a takeout meal from the convenience store on the front step." Another pause for thought. "And tell me I'm pretty."

"You're pretty," the cop droned like a robot. He hadn't even turned around to look at her.

Tara felt a little less hungry, like she'd just eaten a rice cake.

"You can go," she said and began pulling her fingers out. She jabbed them back in as she realized something. "And you won't remember the last twenty minutes, but you'll still follow all my instructions."

Tara watched as the police officer drowsily shuffled back to his car. She'd bought herself a few days at least. She'd taken care of the human side of her pursuers, but the divine was still out there looking for her.