LITMIR.BIZ

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house. She was sick. It wasn’t like she had a destination.”

      “Do it,” an officer said. “Contact all of them. It’s the best place to start.”

      “I have to say, from everything I’m hearing,” Officer Hardy concluded, ready to wrap things up, “this sounds like drugs. I think Bob’s right. Sounds like a bad trip. In the meantime, we’ll keep patrolling the streets. The best thing you two can do is stay put. Wait for her here. She’ll be back.”

      The officers looked at each other, then all at once they stood. Caitlin could see they were impatient to leave.

      Caleb, Sam and Polly stood, and slowly, Caitlin stood, too, feeling weak in her knees. As she shook their hands, as they all prepared to leave, suddenly, something came over her. She couldn’t remain silent any longer. She could no longer contain the burning desire inside her to tell these people what she knew. To tell them that they weren’t thinking about this the right way.

      “What if it’s something else?” Caitlin suddenly called out, as the cops were about to leave.

      They all stopped, in the midst of putting on their coats, and slowly, they turned back to her.

      “What do you mean?” Officer Hardy asked.

      Caitlin, heart pounding in her chest, cleared her throat. She knew she shouldn’t tell them; she would just seem crazy. But she couldn’t hold it inside any longer.

      “What if my daughter is possessed?” she asked.

      They all stood there and stared back at her as if she were absolutely crazy.

      “Possessed?” one of them asked.

      “What if she’s not herself anymore?” Caitlin asked. “What if she’s changing? Into something else?”

      A thick, heavy silence filled the room, and Caitlin felt everyone, including Caleb and Sam and Polly, turning and staring at her. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. But she couldn’t stop. Not now. She had to plunge forward. And she knew, even as she did it, that this would be the turning point, the moment when the entire town no longer looked at her as a normal person, when her life here would change forever.

      “What if my daughter is becoming a vampire?”

      Chapter Two

      After Caleb had seen the policemen out, he closed the door and marched back into the room, scowling at Caitlin. She had never seen him look at her with such anger before, and her heart sank. She felt as if her whole life were unraveling before her eyes.

      “You can’t go speaking like that in public!” he snapped. “You sound like a crazy person! They’re going to think we’re all crazy. They’re not going to take us seriously.”

      “I’m NOT crazy!” Caitlin snapped back. “And you should be taking my side, not theirs, and stop pretending like everything is normal. You were in that room with me. You know what you saw. Scarlet threw you across the room. Would a seizure cause that? A sickness?”

      “So what are you saying?” Caleb retorted, his voice rising. “That means she’s a monster? A vampire? That’s ridiculous. You sound as if you’re losing touch with reality.”

      Caitlin’s voice rose right back at him. “Then how do you explain it?”

      “There are a lot of explanations,” he said.

      “Like what?”

      “Maybe it has something to do with her sickness. Or maybe, like they said, she was on some kind of drug. Maybe that kid Blake – ”

      “That’s ridiculous,” Caitlin spat. “Blake is a good kid. He’s not a drug pusher. And besides, you saw how she outran us. We didn’t even stand a chance. That wasn’t normal. Don’t pretend you didn’t see what you did.”

      “I’m not going to listen to any more of this,” Caleb said.

      He turned and marched across the room, yanked his army coat off the hook, put it on and quickly zipped it up.

      “Where are you going?” Caitlin asked.

      “I’m going to find her. I can’t just sit here. It’s driving me crazy. I have to look.”

      “The cops said the best place to be is here. What if she comes home while you’re out there?” Caitlin asked.

      “Then you can stay here and call me,” Caleb snapped. “I’m going out.”

      With that, he crossed the room, opened the door, and slammed it behind him. Caitlin listened to the sound of his boots quickly descending the porch steps, crunching across the gravel, then heard him get into their car and take off.

      Caitlin felt like crying. She didn’t want to fight with Caleb – especially now. But she couldn’t let him convince her she was losing touch with reality. She knew what she saw. And she knew that she was right. She wasn’t going to let others convince her she was losing her mind.

      Caitlin turned to Sam and Polly, who stood there, very still, eyes opened wide in surprise. They had never seen Caitlin and Caleb fight before. Caitlin herself had never seen them fight before – up until this moment, their relationship had never been anything but harmonious. Sam and Polly both looked stunned, afraid to interfere. They also looked at her as if she were a bit crazy, not in her right mind. She wondered if maybe they sided with Caleb.

      “I feel like maybe I should be out there searching, too,” Sam said tentatively. “Two cars searching the streets is better than one. And I’m pretty useless in here. Is that okay?” he asked Caitlin.

      Caitlin nodded back, afraid to open her mouth for fear she would cry. Sam was right; he wouldn’t be much use here in the house. And she had Polly. Sam came over and gave her a quick hug, then turned and left.

      “I’ll be on my cell,” he said, as he left. “Call me if you hear anything.”

      Sam closed the door behind him and Polly came over to Caitlin and gave her a long hug. Caitlin hugged her back. It felt so good to have her best friend here, by her side. She didn’t know what she would do without her.

      The two of them sat side-by-side on the couch, as Caitlin wiped away a tear forming at the corner of her eyes. Her eyes were already red and raw from all the hours of crying. Now, she just felt hollowed out.

      “I’m so so so sorry,” Polly said. “This is a nightmare. Just awful. There are no words. I don’t understand what happened. None of it makes any sense. I know that Scarlet didn’t do drugs. She wouldn’t. And you’re right: Blake seems like a good kid.”

      Caitlin sat there, looking out the window at the falling night, and nodded blankly. She wanted to talk, but she felt so shaky, she was afraid she would burst into tears again if she did.

      “What do you think about what the police said?” Polly asked. “About contacting her friends? Do you think that’s a good idea?”

      As Polly said it, Caitlin suddenly remembered it, and realized it was the perfect thing to do. She racked her brain, wondering how to get in touch with her friends.

      Then it hit her: Scarlet’s phone. She’d burst out of here without even pausing to grab it. Her phone must be somewhere in the house. Maybe in her bag. Probably in her bedroom.

      Caitlin jumped up from the couch.

      “You’re right,” she said. “Her phone. It must be in her bedroom.”

      Caitlin ran across the room and up the steps, Polly and Ruth on her heels.

      She hurried into Scarlet’s bedroom, saw the upturned sheets and pillows, saw the dent in the sheetrock where Caleb had been thrown, where her own head had hit, and remembered. It brought it all back, and made her feel queasy as she relived it again. It looked like the scene of a disaster.

      Caitlin felt a surge of determination as she scoured the room. She rifled through the mess on her desk, on her dresser – then spotted her bag, hanging on a chair. She rummaged through it, feeling a bit guilty, and felt for her phone. She pulled it out, victorious.

      “You

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