Journal of the Undead (Book 1): Littleville Uprising (4 page)

While introductions were being made, Emma noticed a pair of sapphire eyes peering around the corner under a fringe of golden hair. The youngest of the Stone family remained at a safe distance, making Emma wish she had the same luxury. The mere presence of Major Stone made her feel like a frightened child. He towered over her own father and was tight and toned whereas Dr. Wexley was soft and slack. His commanding tone and penetrating steel-blue eyes made Emma feel as though he could see right through her. In stark contrast, his wife, Kate, emitted an aura of warmth and love with her kind brown eyes and soothing smile.

“Lucy, it’s rude to lurk in doorways. Come greet our guests.”

Emma jumped, fearing for the little girl, but Lucy ran into her daddy’s arms and he lifted her, snuggling her to his cheek.

“I hope you brought your appetites. Kate’s been cooking to feed a small army.”

He wrapped his free arm around his wife and tenderly kissed her cheek. Emma was surprised to see such affection from a man who embodied intimidation.

Throughout the meal, the adults talked while Lucy edged closer and closer to her mother. Matt and Evan were engaged in their own conversation, leaving Emma the odd man out. Ever the attentive hostess, Kate nudged her husband under the table and covertly motioned toward their slighted guest. To Emma’s horror, the adult conversation shifted to her.

“Emma, your father said you’re planning to go to medical school. Do you have a specialty in mind?”

Again, Major Stone’s voice made her jump. Emma’s face burned red as she answered, “I was thinking about specializing in infectious diseases or maybe diagnostic medicine, but I’m also interested in Genetic Research and Bioengineering. I’m kinda hoping Matt will get a full athletic scholarship so I can use some of his college fund.”

Emma hoped her reference to Matt’s athletic ability would steer the conversation in his direction. Instead, her twin sabotaged her plan and kept the focus on her.

“Ever since Emma read
The Stand
she’s been convinced that the government is creating a super flu. All I know is, if you’re using my college fund I’d better be the first one you save!”

Emma kicked Matt from under the table, attempting to silence him. Jillian’s face paled and she glared at her husband’s children with a look that said, ‘You two are in trouble’ Dr. Wexley’s research facility was on a military base. They were all living comfortably on the government’s dime and foolish talk like that, especially in front of strangers, could get them into trouble.

“That Stephen King gives me nightmares,” Jillian chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood. “Besides, no one really believes that nonsense about our government developing deadly viruses. That’s why they call it fiction.”

With an unexpected urge to defend Emma, Evan voiced his opinion. “It’s entirely plausible that our government is developing different forms of biological warfare even as we speak. I’m positive others are too. I guess Emma is our only hope.” He smiled at her and whispered, “
The
Stand
is one of my favorite books too.”

Emma was surprised that he could look so sincere while mocking her.

Creating a much needed diversion, Kate steered the conversation back to safer topics by asking if anyone wanted coffee with their dessert. Emma picked at her slice of cake as she watched the clock on the wall. The boys had devoured their cake and disappeared upstairs. Unnoticed, Emma gathered their dishes and took them into the kitchen. At Kate’s suggestion, Lucy timidly trailed behind Emma.

“Do you wanna see my room?”

Lucy’s eyes remained fixed on the floor. Emma could appreciate how hard it was for Lucy to ask.

“Sure, lead the way.”

She dutifully followed Lucy toward the staircase but slowed as they passed one of the most beautiful rooms Emma had ever seen.

“That’s my mommy’s music room. Her piano used to be my great-grandmother’s.”

Enchanted by the elegant décor, Emma followed Lucy inside. The room had been designed with excellent acoustics so even Lucy’s soft voice carried clearly. Kate’s antique, upright piano took center stage; the satin-smooth, mahogany finish and intricate carvings were of superior craftsmanship. Even though it had been years since Emma had last touched the baby grand in her house, her heart ached to hear its rich tones and to feel the bittersweet memories she associated with her mother. She only needed to close her eyes to capture the sheer delight of listening to her mother play or learning to pick out simple tunes with her mother’s help. Music and love became synonymous to her.

As if under a spell, Emma crossed the room and her fingertips lightly caressed the keys. Lucy begged Emma to play something. Mesmerized by the piano’s ornate beauty, she closed her eyes and Beethoven’s
Sonata Pathetique
filled the room. Since the door was left open, the soothing melody drifted out to envelope the rest of the house. Alan recognized his first wife’s favorite piece immediately and his heart ached. Enraptured, Kate followed the music to its source while the other adults trailed along behind her. As the sound floated upstairs, Matt paused their video game.

“Oh my God! Is Emma playing?”

Evan’s curiosity was piqued; he had assumed his mother was at the piano. He and Matt crept down the stairs to join the others as they hovered by the door. Anxious for the impromptu concert to end, and enraged by the weepy look on her husband’s face, Jillian cleared her throat loudly. Startled, Emma realized that she and Lucy were no longer alone. Everyone was standing in the room listening.

“She looks so much like your mother,” Alan whispered to Matt. “I used to come home to find Emma sitting on the bench next to your mom, listening to her play, just like Lucy was.”

With tears in her eyes, Emma jumped up from the piano, nearly toppling the bench and Lucy along with it.

“You play beautifully, Emma. Won’t you please continue?” Kate gently requested.

“I don’t remember the rest anyway. I’m sorry, Mrs. Stone. I shouldn’t have touched your piano. It’s just, Lucy was about to show me her room and we got sidetracked.”

Emma took Lucy’s hand and tugged her toward the doorway. As they climbed the stairs, Emma heard her father attempt to explain her odd reaction, as well as Kate’s reply of ‘Poor dear.’

Desperate for a distraction, Emma asked Lucy about school. The young girl’s nose wrinkled as she made a gagging sound.

“I hate it here. I don’t know anyone. That’s not the worst part. We have to do a presentation in front of the whole class.”

Lucy’s face paled at the thought. Emma remembered having a teacher like Lucy’s; one who believed that humiliating students would teach them verbalization skills. Her teacher had made them memorize poetry then stand in the front of the room to recite it.

“Do you know what you’re going to do?”

Lucy looked close to tears as she shook her head no.

“Well, let’s see if we can think up something together, okay?”

***

Muffled voices and dull thuds coming from across the hall had Evan wondering what was going on in Lucy’s room. Trusting Matt’s word that Emma was actually good with children was much harder than Evan let on, especially since he was overprotective when it came to his baby sister.

“Lucy’s in good hands; I promise. Emma’s really not as bad as you think. It’s kind of her defense mechanism, you know, like if she doesn’t let anyone get close then they can’t really hurt her.”

Evan had learned quite a bit about Emma; mostly that his first impressions had been completely wrong. His thoughts were interrupted when Lucy shouted his name. Evan shot Matt a stern look as he ran from the room to defend his sister. Matt followed, right on his heels.

“Lucy? Are you okay?”

Lucy nodded and told Evan she needed an audience. Matt hovered at the doorway until Emma ordered him to join Evan and take a seat.

“Emma taught me a magic trick for my presentation, so …” Lucy cleared her throat loudly, “Ladies and gentlemen.”

Her voice wavered at first but, as she focused on the trick, her nervousness abated. To Emma’s delight, Lucy performed the trick flawlessly. Showered in enthusiastic applause, Lucy took a bow before she launched herself into Emma’s arms, hugging her new friend. Ecstatic, Evan lifted his sister in the air and twirled her around.

“You did great, Lucy!”

“Thanks! Emma said I should use something shiny to distract my audience.”

“Real nice, Em,” Matt groaned with exasperation.

“Maybe you should keep that part to yourself. A real magician never reveals all of her secrets.” Evan threw a conspiratorial wink at Emma and smiled.

Emma helped her new protégé practice until it was Lucy’s bedtime. With nowhere else to go, Emma joined the adults as she longed for the evening to end. It wasn’t until Kate returned from tucking Lucy in that anyone noticed Emma was there.

“Lucy’s quite taken with you, Emma. I’ve never seen her open up so quickly to anyone. But I got a sneak peak at her presentation and, for the first time, she might actually be looking forward to school. I can’t thank you enough; you’re a Godsend!”

“It’s no big deal. Lucy’s a great kid.”

“If you’d like, there’s a TV and a computer in the family room. You’re welcome to both. I’m sure you don’t want to sit in here with us old folks.”

Before Emma could thank Kate or offer a reason to decline, Jillian interjected that Emma was grounded so television and computers were off-limits. Mortified, Emma mumbled that she had a book in the car before she dashed out of the room.
Next time, I really will throw myself down the stairs. The E/R would be less humiliating.

Emma curled up on the family room sofa and tried to focus on her book instead of plotting ways to rid herself of her wicked stepmother. Minutes later, Evan appeared. His attempt to invite Emma to join him and Matt upstairs hadn’t gone as smoothly as he’d planned. He fumbled for words and sputtered incoherent sentence fragments until Emma’s puzzled look faded into understanding.

“Ah, good little soldiers always follow orders, huh? Well, you can report to your Commanding Officer that I’ve respectfully declined. Dismissed,” she said with a wave of her hand.

Evan’s jaw clenched and he held back a scathing retort. Convinced that Emma must suffer from multiple personality disorder, he went back upstairs.

That evening, after everyone else had gone to sleep, Evan wrestled with his conflicting perceptions of Emma. At school she was snide and conceited, yet her kindness and compassion toward Lucy seemed so natural. He was still trying to puzzle it out when sleep finally claimed him.

Across town, Jillian was pacing the floors waiting for her sleeping pills to take effect. Between Alan’s snoring and his ill-mannered children, she was too upset to sleep. Jillian gave her husband a shove but his snoring didn’t stop. Knowing he’d sleep through anything, she vented her feelings to him out loud.

“I can’t believe Major Stone and his wife were so easily fooled by your vicious little brat. Using the piano trick to dredge up images of
her
and you fell for it! I saw you get all weepy. Your kids may think they can keep the memory of their mother alive, but I’m here and
she
isn’t.” Jillian swallowed another pill then crawled into bed. “But I’ll get the last laugh; just you wait and see. Emma is going to pay for her little performance. The Stones were so captivated by her so why shouldn’t we use it to our advantage? They need a sitter for their little Goldilocks so I volunteered Emma for the job. I think it’s about time I send my prisoner out on work release. And here’s the best part: since Emma is grounded, she’s not allowed to be paid. What do you think of that, dear?”

Jillian’s question was answered with a resounding snort. The next day, Emma’s response was louder and more coherent than her father’s had been.

“In case you haven’t heard, Jillian, slavery was abolished in 1865.”

As always, Alan sided with Jillian. Emma was positive her father didn’t even listen to what his wife had done; he just wanted silence.

By Monday, Evan had decided to make amends with Emma. He’d been plotting how to approach her all weekend but didn’t manage to catch up with her in the halls. He hurried upstairs to Biology, a class he, Matt, and Emma had together. Whitney, or ‘queen sycophant’ as he liked to call her, was also in their class and she was seeking Matt’s attention.

“I heard we’re picking lab partners today.” She winked at Matt while one of the Jessicas tried to make eye contact with Evan.

After a stern lecture about choosing a lab partner they would be able to work with for the entire year and how it wasn’t a popularity contest, Mr. Raybach told the class to pair up. Emma had assumed Matt would be her partner since she was much stronger in science. Instead, he crossed the room to Whitney. Outraged, Emma vowed to let Matt fail before lifting a finger to help Whitney.
Whatever, I work better alone anyway. I don’t need a partner holding me back.

Most of the students had scrambled around to find their partners. The only two that remained in their seats were Emma and Evan. Noticing that most of the matching had been completed, Mr. Raybach called for everyone to settle down.

“Listen up! If you don’t have a partner, get one.”