Night Children

30

My lungs were going to burst. I'd been running for so long, the dim gray halls zooming past me in bleak, bleeding monochrome. My legs, short and stubby as any four-year-old's, carried me fast, but how fast? Fast enough? I didn't know how much time I had left, just that it was too little.

A large exhale escaped me as I stumbled through the doors, sunlight assaulting me. I let my spirits lift, if only for a moment, glad to feel uneven, earthy ground beneath my feet. Mopping sweat and tears away, I kept running. The terrain was dusty, rocky, a hill sloping down towards a barbed wire fence. Beyond it, I could see the tree line. I didn't know a whole lot, but I knew I had to get there. In the forest, I could hide. In the forest, I'd be safe.

I barreled down the hill, managing to keep myself on my feet. The fence loomed above my head; I took in a heavy breath, knowing there was no escaping without clearing it. I took one last, hesitant glance at the building behind me: a square structure of white brick and dull steel, then clawed my fingers around the fence's wiring—


I was torn to consciousness; quickly, I tried to gather my thoughts, to remember and hold on to what I'd seen. A hill, a forest, a square-shaped, nondescript building. It wasn't an address, but it was something.

My breath a little heavy in my chest, I scrubbed sweat away from my forehead and rolled onto my side, snatching for my phone. I didn't call Cal, not yet, but punched in Reese's number. It rang enough times that I began to wonder if he was going to pick up at all, but he did. "Hey."

"Reese," I began, not having any time for preamble, "I need you to find out where your dad works—where he really works."

There was a moment of silence. "Well, this is awfully sudden."

"I know it's dangerous, but if you really want to help me, then you'll do it," I said, getting to my feet, pressing the phone against my ear. "Check his car, his office, even the basement, I don't care. Whatever you find, bring it to Cal's apartment."

"Cal...the vampire?" Reese questioned. "Is everything okay?"

"I'll text the address to you," I told him. "Now go."

I ended the phone call before he could protest, then exited out into the hallway. I was grabbing my backpack off the coatrack when I heard Alfie call from behind me: "Theo! Hey, wait. I need to talk to you."

I did not need to talk to him. In fact, I did not need to talk to anyone with the last name Dacosta, unless they were Nell. I got the feeling Al knew my priority was our sister right now, so it confused me how he was going to bug me anyway. Did he not care? Did my parents not care? Were they just going to sit there and cry and pray that she came home, but not put in any effort?

I realized it as soon as I thought it: yes, that's what they were going to do. It was what they had done when Pact had abducted me, after all.

My eyes burned into Alfie's. I didn't bother trying to hide my frustration. "I'm busy right now," I hissed. "In case you haven't noticed, Nellie's missing. That's kind of a big deal."

Alfie's eyes slid to the floor. "I don't want you to get hurt, Theo—"

I scoffed. "If that were even a bit true, then you wouldn't have lied to me, Alfie. Maybe you couldn't have saved me back then, but the least you could have done was tell me the truth."

Al's voice sounded croaky. "Come on, Teddy—"

"I might be back tomorrow, and I might not," I said, opening the front door, already beginning to dial Cal's number. "Don't be expecting me."

Richie opened Cal's apartment door when I arrived, his usual scowl on his face. He gave me a brisk once-over, deepened his grimace, then waved me in without so much as a word. I just smiled, striding forward and catching him, ruffling his hair. He let out a squeal so high-pitched and non-Richie sounding that I let out a laugh before I could stop myself, which proved to be my demise when he turned and delivered a hefty kick to my groin.