Vitrian Secrets, Dele Andersen [great books for teens TXT] 📗

Their father only smiled at Jason. He turned to Wanda, who was concentrating as intensely as her brother. “Remember when that day comes, Wanda . . . you run!”

Marcus didn't have to explain that the things he said were not ordinary stories. Wanda could see in her father's eyes that he was earnest about the fact that she should run.

Remembering her father’s words, Wanda shook her head to clear her vision of the memory. She turned away from Tutu and looked at Alfred. She was shocked to see Alfred was gone, but the thing in the yellow raincoat was still there. It now stared directly at her. Where his face was supposed to be was only a black hollow space covered by the hood of the raincoat, like whatever was underneath the raincoat had no face or eyes.

“Run!”

Wanda heard her father's voice in her head. She turned and began to rush back up the steps that led to the school entrance. She left her backpack at the bottom of the steps where she had stood while talking to Tutu.

“Wanda! Wanda!” Tutu shouted, rushing after her friend. She raced to catch up with Wanda just as Wanda stepped into the school. “What is it? Why do you look so scared?” Tutu asked in a frightened voice. She grabbed Wanda's arm, pulling her back.

“You—you wouldn't understand, Tutu. I have to find Jason right away.”

Tears gathered behind Wanda’s eyes, collating and ready to drop at any moment. Wanda knew Tutu could see the trepidation on her face, but Tutu could not help her.

“Is it Alfred? He’s gone. I saw him walk away.”

Tutu's words came out in a rush.

“Tutu, let go of me.” Wanda yanked her arm away. “It isn't Alfred—I mean, it's Alfred, but—”

“What are you saying? It’s not Alfred, and then it is. We can call the school authorities.” Tutu watched her confused friend. “I can get help.”

“Tutu.” Wanda wanted to tell her no one could help now, but instead she ignored Tutu and ran farther into the school.

Tutu took a few steps toward Wanda, shouting her name. Like something occurred to her, she abruptly stopped. She changed direction and ran back outside.

Wanda ran the length of the main hallway and took a turn at the corner. She narrowly missed colliding with a boy and girl who were talking, standing remarkably close to each at the edge of the corner. The girl screamed when she saw Wanda racing toward them. They watched as she raced to the end of the hallway.

Wanda got to the classroom where she expected her brother to be, but it was empty. She rushed to the next classroom, knowing the school had two classes for each grade. She stepped into the classroom, but again it was empty.

She panted heavily like her heart was going to drop out of her body. She said to herself, Think, Wanda, think!

Then she remembered Jason wanted to take a look at some books in the library and see if he could borrow them for the summer holidays.

She moved out of the classroom and straight away noticed the most disgusting odor she had ever imagined. With the smell came a very alarming sound, like a rattlesnake signaling its presence to an enemy.

Wanda's entire body paused for a second. She could not fathom what was unfolding. She felt like she was in a dream. Though her faculty fought against her, she couldn't help it; she needed to find out what she was up against. She turned in the direction of the sound.

At the end of the hallway, another three rooms away from her, was the thing she had seen with Alfred, wearing the shiny yellow coat. It now stood in front of an emergency exit door, much closer than when she was outside with Tutu. Without moving her body, she stole a glance behind her. The boy and girl had left, but even if they hadn't, she knew they might not have seen anything at all, because ordinary humans do not see demons.

The demon hissed again, and this time much louder. Wanda jolted in fear, but she didn't move from her position. She calculated her options and planned how to outrun the demon. Wanda turned back to observe the creature, and her eyes revealed more to her. What she had thought was a yellow raincoat was changing; underneath was revealing itself, or maybe her eyes were adjusting. Whichever the case was, Wanda did not wait to find out. She dashed with all the strength back in the direction she had come from.

Her long hair moved from side to side as she ran, and her dark blue skinny jeans molded to her slim body well enough to allow freedom of movement. Wanda turned and saw from the corner of her eyes that the demon had caught up to her. She glimpsed its thin and yellow eyes on the side of its head when it leaped at her. With eyes in that position, she knew it could not see very well except sideways.

She screamed at the sight of the enormous thing about to land on her. She reached the bend in the hallway where the boy and girl had been. She bent down, throwing her knees on the floor to avoid the demon. She slid into the next hallway leading to the main entrance and slammed hard into the wall on the other side. The demon missed, landing on the floor and scrabbling with its talons to get a hold of Wanda as it slid to the other side of the hallway.

Wanda got up quickly, ignoring the pain in her body. She held her left hand to her right elbow. The elbow throbbed, and she knew she had strained her muscles by colliding with the wall.

Three students at the entrance looked back into the hallway. She knew they heard her cry and saw the way she bumped into the wall. She ignored them and hurried to the stairs a few steps from her, knowing the thing would be back at any moment.

She barely stepped into the upper and senior floor of the school building before bumping into the boy called Eric.

“Are you all right?” Eric asked, and she turned to face him with her back against the wall.

The shock of suddenly seeing him and the fear of the thing after her plagued her mind. She froze by the edge of the step and stared at Eric.

“Are you all right?” he shouted again, and his voice brought her back to reality.

She gasped for air, raised her hands, and grabbed at his shoulder as she took in a deep breath. She realized she was gripping him by the arm as she looked back at the stairs, so she released her grip. It was the closest she had been to him, though she had noticed him for a few weeks. His denim jacket was off. He wore a black pair of jeans and a plain blue cotton T-shirt over his slender, muscled body. Wanda could see the veins in his hands, which showed that he had recently exerted himself. Where his T-shirt was tucked into his jeans were several shining, silvery objects. The objects had symbols on them, but Wanda wasn't interested in that at the moment, as the demon flashed back in her memory.

“Yes,” she said, answering him. She gazed directly into Eric's deep blue eyes. Did he wear contact lenses to aid their beauty? For a few seconds, she was lost in his attractive looks, and then she shook her head, forcing her eyes to close and open again. She wasn't going to be carried away by whatever Eric was using to lure her in. Her father had warned her that demons were good at camouflaging as humans, imitating voices and accents when in human form.

Suddenly, she remembered how Eric had stood there staring directly at her and Tutu. Then he was gone, and she saw the man in the yellow coat with Alfred. It made perfect sense to her. There was a connection between Eric and the demon.

At the same moment, she noticed he was panting softly. His chest expanded and contracted, like slowly pumping in and releasing air from a balloon. She guessed he must have had a quick run.

“Who are you?” Wanda asked in a shaky voice, a moment away from crying. She might be standing in front of the demon that had been chasing her.

“That's not the issue now,” Eric replied. His mouth twitched in a funny way, as if shocked she chose to ask that now.

He's only trying to stall you from the truth, she thought.

“You keep following me,” Wanda said, watching him as he looked toward the staircase where she had come from.

He looked back at her while she waited for a response.

“Where is your Praying Méndez?”

“My what?” Wanda said. What was he talking about?

“Your Praying Méndez,” Eric repeated, gazing into her eyes. He continued in a condescending tone, “Or are you planning to tear that demon apart and gain victory with your tiny fingers?”

She pressed on her elbow again, and his eyes followed the gesture.

“How did you know a demon was after me?” Wanda asked. Her voice quivered.

Eric ignored her question and looked down, observing the elbow.

“Did it touch you?” He stretched out his hand to touch her right arm.

She studied him again. He was nothing but a guy, a tough, strong boy that she would let hold her while she wept, making the sudden nightmare she was facing fade away.

She shook her head, cleared the unwanted thoughts away, and pulled her hand back.

“How do you know there is a demon following me? How do you know anything about demons?” she asked.

He ignored her and continued to stare at her like a doctor trying to examine his patient.

“If you don't tell me who you are, I’m going to scream as loud as I can.” A strong feeling told her there was a connection between Eric and the demon after her.

Eric maintained his firm look, his lips dry. He moved his body closer to hers, blocking her on both sides with his hands as his eyes penetrated hers.

She could not believe it, but her heart fluttered at his closeness. She saw his blond hair was actually mixed with brown as he bent, bringing his face closer to hers. His striking features made Wanda's heart throb. The finely sculptured chin looked hard and stern. His lips tightened. Something about his gaze made her uncomfortable, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling; it was more of an affectionate one, which made her even more confused in the mayhem she was in.

He looked rough and ready. His muscles were rigid, revealing he was strong and physically fit. His chest continued to rise and fall in a steady manner that made her feel like placing her hand on it to make sure such a unique and beautiful human was for real.

She was still admiring him when he spoke, this time in a gentle and warning tone.

“Your chances of survival are very slim if any of the demon's talons have touched you.”

For reasons she could not fathom, the warning had an affectionate tone to it, though she could see the seriousness in his blue eyes when he continued.

“Did it touch you?”

His words banished the thought of him having anything to do with the demon chasing her. “No,” she answered, shaking her head while staring at him and not wanting to think about what he meant when he said, Your chances are very slim.

Like two magnetic poles attracted to each other no matter what, they stared at each other. She tried to fight the yearning in her that drew Eric in and the fear of her father's words that pushed him away, warning her he was with the demon that wanted to kill her.

He moved his body closer. Wanda knew she was flushed and hoped she was succeeding in hiding the blushes. Eric moved his head swiftly to the staircase like a spider noticing the faint movement of a fly;