Chapter 16
'Psst. Ty.'
The tap on the classroom window caught the teacher's attention. I retracted my hand, ducking down against the cold cement wall. I prayed Mr. Stevens didn't decide to investigate. I needed to get Ty out of there.
No one came to the door, so I braved another try, this time, catching Ty's gaze.
'What are you doing?' she mouthed.
I waved my hand for her to join me. The teacher paced by and I ducked back down.
Come on Ty.
The lockers and windows bore down on me like eyes. Aaron could be anywhere. Cold hands of paranoia gripped me.
The classroom door cracked open and I jumped. 'What is this about?' Ty whispered, stepping out, and closing it behind her.
'Shh. Not here,' I said, motioning with my head, down the hall. I took her hand, tugging her along with me towards the exit.
'Charlotte,' she said. 'Where are we going?' She pulled back on my arm, stopping me. 'I have class.'
'Liam was here.'
'What? Where is he?' Her whole body froze. 'Is he going to kill us?'
I shook my head. 'No. I don't think so. But his brother might. It's a long story. We have to get to your house. Liam's going to try to find him and then meet us there.'
'Whoa, wait a minute. Find who? I didn't know Liam even had a brother. What's going on? I don't want Liam at my house, Charlotte.'
Her fingers went for her charm, when I noticed it wasn't there. She fidgeted, dropping her hands.
'Where's your necklace?' I asked. I had never seen her without it.
'Fell off.' She looked uncomfortable. 'Not important. I want to know what's going on.'
I groaned. 'I'll explain in the car. Right now, we need to move. Just trust me.'
The school disappeared behind us, and I filled Ty in on my encounter with Liam. The expression on her face told me she took all of this as well as I did. If I still had any working nerves after all of this, I'd be surprised. Even when pushing fifty on the small single lane road, the woods hovered too near. Anyone could be out there.
Ty seemed to be doing better than me, her heartbeat more slow and steady.
My fingers clenched the steering wheel so hard, white bloomed on my knuckles. Did I hear Ty's heartbeat?
Stress, it had to be. It finally got the better of me.
Still, I tried to listen again. The whoosh of the wind filled my ears, along with several crackles and groans from passing trees, and the car engine - but no heartbeat. I had to have imagined it. Of course I did, yet the nagging suspicion wouldn't let go.
Why couldn't I stay focused on one thing, like saving our lives?
Ty was being too quiet. It didn't help my nerves. Her attention had been fixated out the window since we left, as if waiting for something. The urge to break the silence nipped at me, but instead I tried to listen for her heart.
I became aware of the various hums of the engine as I forced myself to relax. Listening, I reached for more, when a low wet pulsing sound joined the chorus. Startled, yet in awe, I let the sound play in my ears. Thump, thump, it sounded its musical rhythm. Like a drum it beat, steady at first, and then quickened its pace. Faster and faster it pounded, louder and louder.
'Charlotte, the road!'
My trance dissipated at once. The putrid scent of burnt rubber flooded the car as I slammed on the brakes. The tires groaned in protest, screeching at the pavement, and then we stopped.
The stampede in my chest drowned out everything as I starred at the line of stopped traffic in front of us.
'Sorry,' I said.
'It's okay,' Ty said, removing her death grip she had on the seat. 'What do you think is going on?'
'I don't know. It must be an accident.'
Great. No one knew where we were, trapped, with nothing but woods around us. My arms felt cold.
'What should we do?' Ty asked.
'I guess we wait.'
The traffic didn't hint at moving. Claustrophobia set in.
'Right, we wait.' Ty said. Her hand went to her throat and then she dropped it, kneading her hands together instead.
'Maybe there's something on the radio about it,' I said. At least that would be an excuse to break the silence. I thumbed through the dials until I found the local AM station. After a few excruciating minutes of advertisements and announcements, the voice of the local traffic reporter came on.
'I can't believe this. This isn't happening.' Ty shook, her blue eyes wide. 'It's him. He's here. He's going to kill us. He knows we're here.'
'Okay, look.' I tried my best to stay focused. 'Let's calm down. We need to think rationally here. I'll try to turn around.'
I shifted the gears into reverse and started to edge my way closer to the car behind us. If I could get near enough, I might have enough space to veer out from the lane onto the dried grassy edge of the road. The man behind me blasted his horn.
'I'm not going to hit you,' I said, even though I knew he couldn't hear me.
He flashed the bird and then revved his engine, pulling a short, quick movement towards me. 'No. Move back,' I said. I groaned. There had to be another way out of this traffic.
'What are we going to do?' Ty asked.
'I don't know. Look, we'll lock the doors and...'
'He's a werewolf Charlotte! I don't think that's going to stop him.'
'I know!' Stress screamed through my veins. 'I'm sorry. I'm just really stressing here too. Okay?' I took a deep breath, trying to relax, when something moved by my peripheral line of vision from out the side window.
I turned my head; nothing. The cars still sat idle, only the branches lining the forest tussled in the light breeze. It had to have been the wind, a shadow.
Liam, where are you?
Why hadn't he found this guy yet? Didn't he have super wolf-like senses? How hard could it be?
An unsettled feeling crossed my chest. What if it was Liam? What if the brothers planned this together as a trap? It made sense. He'd go to the school and get me to take Ty along this old road. The two of them, could then jump us from the woods.
'What is it?' Ty asked, breaking me from my train of thought.
'It...It's nothing,' I said.
'It's him, isn't it? Did you see him?'
'I didn't see anything. It's just the wind.'
Ty looked a little sick. 'But you thought you saw him, didn't you? What if it was? They can move fast, you
