They're Real

By the time the others left and Cadence continued down the path the parade had followed, she couldn’t even see the end of the chain anymore. In fact, the crowd had filled in the trail so completely she had to push her way through just to continue her search.

Upon reaching the tent at the back of the outer circle, where the parade had begun, she realized Jack and Kash were now far behind her, several groups of people separating them. She sighed in despair, running her hands through her long brown hair and stomping her booted foot on the ground. There, in the dirt, she saw a Guy Fawkes mask and realized it must be Drew’s. Picking it up, and feeling overwhelmed by helplessness, she yelled, “Dammit!” She knew she should wait for the men. They would, most likely, be a far better match for the dark haired man than she was. However, a feeling in her gut told her that, if she didn’t go right now, Drew was going to be in much more trouble than any of them wanted to think about. Glancing over her shoulder, she decided to press on with her search, though she had no plan and no idea where Drew might be. As she turned back around, she bumped directly into someone. At first, she assumed it was just another partygoer, but then she noticed his outfit and realized he was dressed entirely in black leather. He was only there a split second before he disappeared, a flash of black against the white tent beside her. It was almost as if he wanted her to be aware of his presence. There was only one facial feature that caught her attention and that was his piercing blue eyes.

Cadence shook her head violently, attempting to clear her thoughts, and took off toward the band and the area where the dancers continued to revel. She peered through the crowd, mask still in hand, jumping up to see if a different vantage point improved her perspective, which it did not. She became aware that there was a mounting presence of black-garbed persons on the perimeter of the dancers, and this alarmed her a bit. However, she knew she needed to find Drew immediately, and she was unable to let anything distract her from this mission. Jack and Kash were nowhere to be seen. She paused for just a moment to consider where Drew may have gone. Just then, she saw a couple slinking off into the protection of the trees, and she realized that Drew must be in the forest.

She took off into the woods, instinct completely guiding her now. She was moving so quickly, yet she was able to make her way between the twisted branches that reached for her coat and nipped at her hair, hardly making contact with any of them. As she weaved between the obstacles that lay between her and Drew, she began to ponder if this was what it was like to have an out-of-body experience. She was cognizant of what she was doing, but it was all happening so quickly, it seemed surreal. It was as if she was being guided by an internal force that knew exactly where Drew was and which path she must use to reach her the quickest.

Cadence began to hear noises in the trees in front of her. She knew that many couples had ventured off into these woods, and it was possible that she may come across someone else, but as she stepped into a clearing, she realized she had seen this unfold before. She was not at all surprised to see the gray eyes of the dark haired man staring directly at her, his mouth wide, razor sharp teeth exposed. Drew was there, her bare back glistening in the light of the few stars that had made their way through the clouded heavens. He knelt beside her, his hand cupping her head, and even from this distance, Cadence could see she was too late. A thin scarlet line trickled its way down her long, pale neck, dripping off of the back of her shoulder.

She had seen it all before in her dream. She knew what would happen next. The way he was looking at her, as if Cadence would be his next meal. She began to think, perhaps, he had also had a premonition. She wasn’t willing to wait to find out. The anger boiling up inside of her was too much to contain. As he stood to meet her, she ran straight for him, tossing the mask aside. She had no weapon, but she felt she did not need one. He opened his mouth so widely, she could no longer see his eyes, as if baring his teeth would somehow frighten her into submission. It did not. As he stepped toward her, she agilely stepped around him, grabbing his skull from the back. In one complete motion, she cranked his head from one shoulder to the other, ratcheting his neck, causing a popping and cracking sound like nothing she had ever heard before. She continued to pull until she realized she was holding his head in her hands, his severed body tumbling to the ground beside Drew.

If she were to pause and think about what had just happened, Cadence knew she would fall to pieces. Stopping to consider what she had just done or figure out how it was possible would have to wait for later. She tossed the decapitated head aside and knelt to ascertain the condition of her dear friend. She could plainly see that blood was flowing freely from two puncture wounds on her neck. She felt for a pulse and found none. She looked around, hoping to see Jack or Kash, thinking they could help carry her out, get her to a hospital, possibly resuscitate her. They were not there, but she realized she was not alone. There was no time just now to address the man in black with the piercing blue eyes who had suddenly shown up directly to her left. Rather, she turned back to Drew, feeling for a pulse, contemplating whether or not she should go for help or begin CPR. She hurriedly adjusted Drew’s clothing, standing now and peering through the trees, not sure if the noises she heard around her were her friends, or perhaps, more enemies.

“You need to go,” she heard him say as she turned back to Drew. Panic was starting to set in. She noticed that there was no longer a torso next to Drew but didn’t allow herself to contemplate where it might have gone, or, for that matter, how she had just managed to pull the head off of a vampire. She decided to start CPR and began pounding on Drew’s chest, praying her heart would start beating again.

“You really don’t have much time,” he said, taking a step forward.

Cadence began blowing into Drew’s mouth, trying to remember how many counts of each she was supposed to perform when she felt his hand on her shoulder. She continued to pump Drew’s chest, his hand still there and clearly in her way. “I have to save her,” she said as calmly as she could muster.

“If you don’t go now, we might not be able to help you.”

Cadence continued to pound, oblivious to the urgency in his tranquil voice.

The hand on her shoulder suddenly became much firmer, and she was being pulled to her feet. He spun her around to face him. “Cadence, Drew is gone. You must go now!”

She stared at the stranger, not sure what to make of him, the situation, or what he had just said. Suddenly, the sound of branches breaking and heavy breathing drew her attention away from those intense blue eyes and back to reality. She braced herself, afraid that it might be more vampires, but it was not. Jack and Kash came tearing through the trees, clearly out of breath and exhausted from attempting to keep up with Cadence.

“Cadence!” Jack exclaimed. He looked relieved at first until he saw Drew lying on the ground. Then, his expression changed from joy to overwhelming grief. Kash was standing nearby, his eyes locked on Drew, stunned.

Suddenly, the instinct from Cadence’s dream kicked in, and she had an overpowering understanding that they all needed to get away from there immediately. She did not know the relationship between the dark haired man she’d annihilated and the redheaded woman, but she was quite certain that, once the woman realized what she had done, there would be hell to pay.

“We have no time,” she said as calmly as possible to her friends. “We have to get out of here. Now.”

“What about Drew?” Jack asked. Kash was still not moving, but Cadence could clearly see the tears streaming down his face.

Cadence glanced back at the man in black. He nodded.

“Bring her.”