Vampire Manifesto (20 page)

“
Don’t answer it.” Connors voice overrode Ethan’s in my mind.

“
What?”

“
Don’t answer it.” He repeated.

“
And why wouldn’t I?"

“
Because I asked you not to.” He was sincere in his request and yet, something told me that I shouldn’t…

“
Too late.” He finished.

My cell had stopped ringing, the touchscreen showing one missed call. He didn’t leave a message.

“
You knew that was going to happen.”

“
Like I know how long it takes before your voicemail kicks in.” Connor was sarcastic, yet playful.

“
Whatever. So I met a friend of yours today.” I put the cell on vibrate then placed it in my pocket.

He looked at me skeptically. “I doubt it.”

“
Whys that?”

“
Because I don’t have any friends.”

“
I’m your friend.”

He didn’t reply.

“
You saved my life Connor.” The cityscape was flying past us. “We’ll be friends until the day one of us dies.”

“
Who was it?” He was dodging. It was the first time I’ve seen him even slightly uncomfortable.

“
The guy from the book store, that author dude.” I could just stare at his profile all night. The way his eyes just seemed to glow…

“
You know John Rogers?” Surprise was in his voice, which was something I wasn’t expecting.

“
Yeah, well, sorta of.” How does his eyes glow like…tiny little, amber hued flashlights? How is that even possible? “We met him today. Had a nice little convo.”

“
We?”

“
Yeah, Ethan and me.” Glow in the dark contacts maybe? “He said you knew him.”

Connor let out a chuckle. Just one. Very odd.

“
What?” Did I say something funny?

“
Nothing.”

“
So do you know him?” And I thought it was difficult to get anything out of Ethan.

“
Yeah, I know Rogers.” He finally admitted. “Me and him, we go way back.”

“
Really?”

“
So what did you guys talk about?” Connor pulled off at the next exit. “The weather?”

“
No, not the weather, Mr. I’m really not as funny as I think I am. A bunch of weird, crazy stuff.”

“
Well, that is his forte.” Connor added. “The man has like, a PHD in the impossible. He’s like Mulder, Scully, Dr. Who and Giles rolled up together in a faux British accent and a fondness for Asian strippers.”

We pulled into what appeared to be an airport, though it was smaller than any I’d ever been to. I didn’t even know Palm Coast had an airport. It must be privately owned because none of the planes I saw there were very big to begin with. They were the kind that rock stars crash to their death in.

“
He was telling me and Ethan about alternate dimensions.”

“
Very real. Trust me.”

“
And the Mark of Pandora?”

Connor pulled the car right up to a plane, stopping just before a metal looking staircase that led to the planes open cabin.

“
He told you about that? About the Mark?” He was suddenly serious.

“
Yup.” What the hell were we doing at a private airfield? “So what’s with the airplane?”

“
What exactly did he say to you about the Mark?” Connor had cut the engine off and turned in his seat to look at me directly.

There was a man that peeked his head out of the planes open door, then titled his hat to me before heading towards the cockpit. He must have been the pilot because I could see him through the window fiddling with the controls. I looked around, noticing that the airfield was empty other than of us.

I was getting that feeling again, in the pit of my stomach, that feeling the deer must get just before he gets a chest full of buckshot. “Why are we at an airport? What’s going on?”

The flecks of amber in his eyes began to circulate within his iris as he spoke. “Tell me what John said about the Mark.”

“
Only that he saw the Mark of Pandora on you, me and Ethan. That it was a Nexus in time for him.” I found myself speaking uncontrollably as if I wanted to just volunteer any and every answer to whatever question Connor spoke.

“
Then it has begun.” He whispered to himself.

“
He also said that as well.”

The amber flecks stopped moving in their circular orbit around his iris and I felt somewhat normal again. Less…hypnotized. That was the only way to describe it. Connor got out of the car and began walking towards the plane.

“
Hey!” I yelled, following after him. “Where the hell are you going?”

“
Me?” Connor turned around. “I’m going to San Francisco.”

“
San Francisco?” I repeated.

“
Yes. San Francisco. Have you heard of it? It’s in California.” Connor started up the steps that led into the airplane, stopping midway. “Are you coming?”

“
What are you crazy? I can’t go to California, I’ve got school tomorrow!”

“
You’re defiantly not making school tomorrow.”

“
I’m not going to San Francisco with you Connor.”

“
Then you’ve reached somewhat of a Nexus of your own then, haven’t you?” He said. “You can either come with me, come to California and find out what is going on. Find out why someone is trying to kill you, find out the truth about this Mark of Pandora, or…” Connor tossed me the keys to his half a million dollar sports car. “You can take those, drive home and that’s that.”

“
You can’t be serious?” There was no way I was getting in some plane and flying all the way across the country to some city I’ve never been to, with some guy I just met. I don’t care if he saved my life or not.

“
This is it Madison Amber Rose. This is the moment. This is it right here. Your moment. Your Nexus. Your life before and your life after this choice. This is it. Don’t fool yourself. What you do next will have ramifications. It will define the rest of your existence. I know you’re not ready, but when are we ever?” Connor held his hand out towards me.

“
Dude, you’re crazy. I’m not going to San Francisco with you; I don’t even know you like that. I’m outie five thousand. Peace.”

Connor sighed. “I see this is going to need a little visual stimulation.”

I turned away, intent to open the car door, when Connor suddenly appeared in front of me, just materializing out of thin air, blinking into existence out of nothingness, placing his hand on mine.

“
Holly shit!” I screamed, jumping back. “What the hell! How did you just…”

Connor disappeared again, vanishing from sight. “Everything as you know it is about to change, Madison.”

I spun on my heels at the sound of his voice. He was directly behind me, sitting at the very top of the metal stairs. It was at least twenty five feet from where I was standing, there was no way…

He vanished again, disappearing from the steps, only to materialize directly inside of the car, his hands gripping the steering wheel. This time I didn’t jump back. I just stood my ground. I was too scared to do anything else. Deer in headlights, frozen in my tracks, unmoving, unblinking, unable to do anything other than watch the events unfold before me in morbid curiosity.

“
There is more to this world then just class tomorrow.” He stated. Connor reappeared suddenly, standing at the top of the steps. He stood there for a moment longer then walked inside the plane.

I didn’t know what to do! I was shaking all over, my mind seemingly overwhelmed with possibilities. I couldn’t explain what I just saw, couldn’t even comprehend what my eyes were trying to register as fact. It was like, real life CG, right in front of me. It was crazy.

Everything was crazy!

I jumped into the car, the door auto closing as I put my seatbelt on. I needed to get away from this place. I needed to get as far away from Connor as I possibly could. I couldn’t process what was going on. How did he? How did he move like that? I thought that maybe I was crazy, the way he just vanished when we first met, I thought it was just me putting way too much on it, exaggerating my experience, but now…

I started the engine, then turned the key again, thinking the car wasn’t on. The engine let off a horrifying screech. The car was already on, the engine so low I couldn’t tell. I was bugging out so much I couldn’t even tell if I started the car or not. People just don’t…people just don’t do the things that Connor does. People don’t move the way he moves.

Was he even human…

I wanted to put the car in reverse, just whip it around, hit the highway and not look back. I wanted to do a lot of things, yet I found myself doing absolutely nothing instead. I just sat there; head leaned up against the steering wheel, eyes closed as the music blasted in my ears.

The Bridge is over, the Bridge is over…

He was right about one thing though. This was it. This was the moment. I felt so alive. Despite everything, no matter how scared I was, I’d never felt more alive then in this moment right now. This is the moment. This is my moment. I needed to make a choice. Either leave now and never look back, or board that plane, fly to California and, well, I don’t know what the
and
is, I wouldn’t know until the
and
was upon me.

I turned the engine off.

“
Ride or Die.” I said to no one in particular. I got out of the car. I couldn’t turn back now. Not after witnessing what Connor was able to do. He was right about one thing, that’s for certain.

I see this is going to need a little visual stimulation.

I got out the car and walked up the metal steps into the airplane. As soon as I entered a blonde Stewardess closed the door behind, motioning me to take a seat next to Connor who was resting comfortable on an expensive looking tan leather chair.

“
Nice of you to join us.” He said, a hint of victory in his voice. “Please, take a seat. Would you like some caviar?”

“
What are you?” I demanded.

He shook his head. “No, no of course you wouldn’t. How about a burger?” He motioned to the stewardess. “Mademoiselle, please get my illustrious companion here a burger…a bacon double cheese burger, seasoned home fries and a pink lemonade.”

“
Yes sir.” She answered back in a think French accent, then disappeared towards the rear of the plane, closing the curtain behind her to give us some privacy. I’d never seen a plane like this before, resembling a spacious studio apartment then an aircraft. There were leather couches and chairs, a pool table, multiple flat screen televisions, computer monitors and what could only be a stripper pole. Oh and a kitchen apparently, hidden somewhere in the rear.

Connor just sat there, reclined back comfortably, scooping massive amounts of what looked like black jelly on crackers, sipping red wine. Jimmy Hendrix was playing somewhere in the background. He took a bite of his cracker, then motioned for me to take a seat. I stood my ground, defiantly.

“
We are about to take off my dear, so unless you wanna go bumbling down the aisle on lift off...”

He had a point. Reluctantly I took seat opposite of him, keeping a fair amount of distance between us. “Are you one of those Mutants they’re constantly talking about on TV?”

“
Gods no.” He just laughed the question off like it was the dumbest thing he had heard all week. “Besides that word is derogatory. I do believe they prefer the term Hyper Sensitive or some other irrelevant drivel.”