Chomp

Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6: 

“What were you doing to Claire?” I was surprised to find that my tone was firm and straight forward. I was trembling on the inside, putting on a brave face regardless of my fight-or-flight senses warning me to flee the scene.

“So that’s her name,” the girl said with a thoughtful grin, “She was lovely.”

My eyes widened and I took another unsure step back. “Was? What do you mean was?” This time, my voice wasn’t so strong. Had she killed Claire? My pulse pounded in my ears at the thought that I could have stopped her.

“I usually don’t take from the same fresh sources. It gets rather bland after a while,” she said with a nonchalant shrug. I watched the tip of her tongue dart out to wet her lips. She was staring at me like prey, closing the distance between us for the most part. 

“Get away from me, you freak!” I gave her a forceful shove, not ready to die. No way was I about to become a snack for some pretty blood-sucking creep. 

The girl hardly stumbled, her expression turning slightly dark. Her eyes were almost completely black the way they had been at Jacey’s party, the whites disappearing in the mix. Reaching out with a hiss, she latched on to my shirt and actually lifted me off of the ground a few inches. My heart was beating so rapidly I thought I’d die of fear. With a gracious single movement, she threw me several feet into the darkness. 

I rolled more times than I can count, my shoulder popping on impacting. There was no doubt in my mind that it was dislocated and I was seeing stars. The girl’s boots crunched over gravel, stopping beside my head. It hurt to move, to breathe, to think. Being eaten was not at all how I’d envisioned my end. Not by a long shot. 

“As much fun as this has been, I really am famished,” she said crouching down and tilting my head to the side. She ran a slender finger over the throbbing pulse in my throat. 

“Please . . . I won’t tell anyone,” I pleaded trying to wiggle out of her reach. 

The girl planted a knee on each side of my body, towering over me menacingly. There was a playful smile on her lips as she delicately exposed my neck, surprisingly gentle about the condition of my burning shoulder. “I know you won’t tell anyone, Leonardo. But you forget— I’m still hungry.”

My head was throbbing and I had the most excruciating burning sensation in my shoulder. The alarm on my phone went off and I groaned, sitting up and taking everything in. I was in my bedroom fully clothed in what I’d worn the day before. Fuzzy images of the night before flooded my mind and I slid out of bed, not surprised to find my window opened all the way and the curtains drawn. My fingers touched at my neck, two grooves sore and fresh. She had fed on me. 

The new revelation made me sick to my stomach and I bolted for the bathroom in the hall. Theo occupied it, singing melodiously to a song playing from his iPod. I couldn’t hold it in much longer, deciding that the kitchen sink would have to do. Uncle Hector watched with a worried glance as I wretched into the sink, dry heaving afterwards. She had fed on me. The room was spinning until a strong arm caught me by the shoulders. A howl escape my lips and I collapsed. My shoulder was still dislocated. 

“What’s going on?” Theo’s voice drifted into the kitchen and he frowned upon seeing me slumped against the sink. “Hey, are you alright, man?” 

When I didn’t respond, Uncle Hector took it upon himself to wake mom up. Her hand clasped over her mouth when she saw me on the floor, a string of puke on my dirty shirt. If her expression was any indication, I probably looked like shit which was no shock considering the way I felt. I knew that she wanted to ask but kept her comments to herself. My shoulder was dislocated, I was throwing my guts up, and there were weird punctures in the neck, but she didn’t comment on any of it. She had never gone after me or waited up whenever I’d gone out for a walk in a fit of rage before, so she was probably thinking the worst had happened. 

“I’m going to relocate it, okay? This is going to hurt,” my mom warned me once Uncle Hector and Theo got me settled into a chair. I nodded my head numbly. 

When she rose my arm, I thought I would bite my tongue off. It was so painful, and then she was setting it back into place in one swift adroit motion. I slumped back in the chair, closing my eyes and trying hard to concentrate on my breathing. The drumming inside of my skull hadn’t gone away and I needed something to get rid of the pain. I probably needed a tetanus shot too just to be safe about the bite on my neck. 

“Would you like to explain to me how you managed to dislocate your shoulder,” my mom asked in an accusing tone, “Look at your clothes! Leo, what the hell’s going on?” 

I cracked my eyes open and gave a shrug. There was no point in explaining something that no one would believe anyhow. Besides, I really just wanted to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, no one would be letting it go this morning.

“That’s it, I’m calling the police,” mom said whipping out her cell, “I’ll look after him and take a day off from work.”

“No!” I exclaimed all too quickly, “I mean . . . you don’t have to. I’ll be fine, mom. Promise.” She gave me a wary look before sighing and I knew she wasn’t going to call the cops. 

“Fine, but I’m still taking the day off. Theo,” she turned to address my brother, “You hurry up and finish getting ready for school. I don’t want you to be late.”