The Midnight Within

Chapter 44

Mia's dark eyes were somber behind her gold mask. They had just spent over an hour inside Spirit Halloween and she was not pleased at all by Zakk's joke about not needing a costume with the way they had both looked.

" What the fuck are we doing Zakk? "

" Hoping to get laid? " He flashed them his cheesy grin.

" Im glad you find this so funny." Kate snapped from the back seat. She had decided to wait in the car while they went into the store and was regretting it. The patter of the rain on the roof had sounded like thunder and if she closed her eyes she smelled the mingled scent of Daniel and Britt, a mix of sweat, sex, stale smoke and perfume. Under all that was an older scent...Human blood, and not a small amount either. She wanted to ask Zakk about it but that was the last thing she wanted to know about.

In the drivers seat Zakk shifted to get a better look at them both. His grin was gone as he raked his hands though his blue hair. " Look. Daniel's my best friend but if he wants to be with them then what can any of us really do about it, besides getting our guts spilled all over the floor. "

Mia's green eyes flashed her own annoyance. " And then what?" Daniel doesn't know what he wants. "

" Well I know what I want. " Kate glared openly at them both. " I want to find him and get the hell out of here. "

" Mia glared back at her. " Run away leaving everyone else behind? We all have friends in there and half of them are high school kids...You're kids. If you really want to see people hurt then, fuck it, lets just not even go."

Without a word Zakk pulled out of the parking lot and began to drive, making sure to really soak in the view. He didn't know if this would be the last time he would make this drive out to the farm so he was going to enjoy it. Halloween night had always been special for Zakk and he intended to make the best of it, looming death or not. He slowed before the turn off and looked at the girls.

" I can keep going. We could drive right around the lake. "

Mia smacked his arm, still not seeing how he could find this funny. But that was Zakk, always laughing when he should have been serious. " You can go. Im getting out. "

" Kate? " Zakk glanced into the rearview mirror and didn't like the look on her face either. He was Suddenly, very happy to be gay.

Mia reached into her cloak to make sure she had her stake and knife. She had wanted to keep the gun in the car but both Kate and Zakk made her put it in the trunk. The problem was that no one really knew what to expect. Daniel and the others could be far away by now for all they knew or Daniel could be dead along with a lot of other people.

Finding a parking spot near the back of the lot Zakk was happy not to see a ton of cars but it was early yet, the crashers didn't show up until after midnight. He pulled his bottle from under the seat as a heavy silence filled the small space. He took a long pull from the bottle, surprising himself when he didn't drain it and offered it over to Mia, who gave him a what the hell shrug and took a pull. He knew what Mia wanted to hear and didn't have it in him to give any speeches and

knew by the look on Kate's face that she wanted nothing more than to be out of the car. Anything he said would get him punched.

Mia sighed. " Let's do this. " She got out into the icy drizzle that would soon turn to snow. The haunted house loomed large and spooky in front of them as she headed for the entrance . She flashed the invitation and headed down the green lighted path that wound through the spooky cemetery. Thank god the kids that worked this part of the farm were more interested in smoking their menthols than scaring anyone, although they would occasionally utter a boo as you passed them by. Kate was right on Mia's heels, maybe even a little too close as they exited the cemetery area, coming into the muddy clearing in front of the big barn. She had wanted to leave Kate at her house but they needed her to track Daniel. Of course Zakk had talked non-stop about it. She was surprised he didn't try to draw her blood or something and Mia didn't know what to think. She had seen what the twins were capable of. And Black, those fangs still gave her gooseflesh.

Her face now hot she reached the barn and turned to ask Kate to go ahead of her when she realized that only Zakk was behind her, the shit eating grin still on his face as he bounced up and down like a little kid.

" Where's Kate? "

" Not sure. She was behind me a second ago. "

" That Bitch. " Mia stepped into the barn to escape the rain and let her gaze fall on the room full of people. She had never actually been up here when it was being run as the Haunted Farm, preferring to hide out at home with excuse of a good show or an unfinished painting she had to do. Never letting on that she would rather be at the dentist than visiting a haunt. She was more of a renaissance fair girl than a fright lover. Both boy's always shrugged it off, going alone and never knowing that she was secretly terrified of these types of places.

" Look at that spread." Zakk was impressed and determined to make a beeline for the food.

" Look at that crowd. " Mia was surprised by the amount of BLS members standing around in front of the stage. " Zakk! " She hissed, grabbing for his arm before he could get away." I'm hungry too, but we need to check out the place and find Kate. "

" You go, I'm going to eat. " He flashed her a grin as he snagged them each a glass of champagne. " We can't fight evil on empty stomachs can we? "

Releasing her grip on his arm Mia lifted her shoulders into a slight shrug. How could she say no to the puppy dog look on his face, all they had eaten since noon had been some crackers and spray cheese. What would a small plate of snacks hurt? Besides, the food was paid for by Jack. Laughing she followed him to the buffet, putting the bad stuff to rest for a while.