“Come on, War!” Alonzo called as he turned to leave.
But Warren hesitated, staring at me with that intense look again. “Do we know each other? There’s something familiar about you … Were you at Preston’s big bash last month?”
“No!” I said firmly — though I had no idea if it was true.
“Really? You remind me of this girl I saw there. I’ve got a great memory for faces … hmmm … guess I’m wrong. Bye, Party Girl.” He offered his gloved hand like he wanted to shake good-bye.
But I froze, staring at his glove with its bloody fire dragon design. A horrible suspicion chilled my heart; there was a reason why he’d wear gloves in unseasonably warm weather. What if the gloves were more than a tacky fashion choice? The gloves could be camouflage for glowing gray hands.
Was Warren a Dark Lifer?
Grammy Greta had warned me that Dark Lifers would try to suck my glowing energy by touching me. A brief touch would leave me with a sick, drained feeling like my soul had been violated. I never wanted to go through that. I had to stay away from Warren.
Cars behind us honked as the traffic moved but we remained parked.
“War,” Alonzo said. “We have to leave now.”
Finally, Warren turned to leave.
But Mauve had other ideas.
“Not so fast,” she told Alonzo in a sultry tone. “Aren’t you forgetting someone?”
Alonzo couldn’t take his gaze off Mauve. “Who?”
With a wicked smile she pointed to herself. “Me.”
She clasped Alonzo’s hand and before anyone could protest, the two of them raced back to the convertible — and drove off.
Leaving Warren with nothing else to do but go with us.
He took Mauve’s place in our car.
An arm’s reach from me.
6
How do you make small talk with a creepy guy you suspect is a Dark Lifer?
Well, it wasn’t easy. At least he was in the front with Sadie, not back with me. Still, I lied about my seat belt being stuck and slipped over into the next seat — as far as you could get from someone inside a moving car.
All the while I was thinking of how I wanted to get revenge on Mauve. Didn’t she care about anyone other than herself? Even if Warren wasn’t a Dark Lifer, being stuck traveling with a random guy was all kinds of uncomfortable. How could Mauve do this to her friends?
“Mauve is like the best friend ever!” Sadie exclaimed, her attention focused on driving and Warren. I glimpsed her dopey lovesick expression when she glanced up at the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, sweet trade. Two girls to one guy,” Warren said. From the back seat, I couldn’t see his face but knew he was grinning from his tone.
“I’m just glad to have more time with you,” Sadie practically purred. “On a long drive, we can really get to know each other.”
“And Party Girl, too.” Warren pointed toward me.
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped.
“Ignore the grouch in the back seat. Rayah has been in a bad mood all morning,” Sadie said as if joking, but there was no joking in the glare she shot me through the rearview mirror. “Warren, I think it’s amazing you started your own website business. I want to hear all about it.”
I tuned out while Sadie ooh and awed over everything Warren told her. A few times Warren tried to bring me into the conversation, but Sadie quickly shifted the topic back to her. It was obvious she wanted all of Warren’s attention on her; zero on me.
Did she really think the biggest goal in my immediate life was to steal him? Ha! So far from the truth. I wanted to warn her that Warren might be evil and dead — but she’d never believe me.
I wasn’t sure what I believed myself. I could only see the back of his head and one of his gloves, and had no way of telling if he was a dead guy lurking in a stolen body. He acted ordinary enough — except he seemed unusually interested in me. Was he merely curious or waiting for a chance to suck my energy?
“Sadie, can I borrow your cell phone?” I asked, deciding I had to do something or I’d explode from nerves.
“What for?” she asked.
“To call my boyfriend.”
“Your boyfriend? Oh, sure!” Her tone was all friendly again. “I didn’t realize you were so serious with James.”
“Uh … ” I gnawed my lower lip, thinking fast. “It surprised me, too.”
“Well, I’m thrilled for you. It must be hard going off for a week without him.”
“Miserable.”
“I can’t believe you finally settled on one guy.” She flashed me a huge smile. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and find someone special, too.”
“You never know,” Warren told Sadie.
“It’s a goal,” Sadie said with a significant look at him. “Anyway, Rayah, you can tell James that there’s always room for one more at the condo if he wants to join us.”
“Sure,” I lied.
Sadie reached for her phone, which was propped in a cup holder. But one glance at the phone and she grimaced. “Oh, crap.”
“What?” I asked.
“No signal. Too many hills, I guess.” She returned the phone to its holder. “You can try later.”
How much later? I thought dismally as I glanced out the window. I could see only brown and green hills with occasional oaks or wild scrubs; it was as if we were driving into an infinity of nowhere. A few homes flashed by, but mostly it was empty hills and gravity-defying cows grazing vertically on steep inclines. Traffic continued on sluggishly, slowing then speeding up. We kept to the left, moving swiftly in the fast lane, passing the slow lane where trucks chugged with exhausted effort like out-of-shape joggers. It seemed like we were driving on endless curving ribbons of concrete. Where were the McDonald’s, Taco Bells and gas stations?
I shifted uncomfortably, hoping we’d stop soon so I could use a restroom.
When I mentioned this to Sadie, she held up her empty Starbucks cup plus the Diet Pepsi she’d finished. “Me, too,” she said with a pinched expression. “These hills are going on forever.”
“There’s an exit with fast food and gas stations about thirty miles ahead,” Warren said. “A pit stop sounds great. It’s cramped sitting for a long time.” He lifted his arms for a stretch, his gloved fingers reaching out toward me as if by accident. The fiery dragon design seemed to flame like a predator seeking a victim — and I jerked away.
Warren and Sadie kept talking as if nothing unusual had happened, but my stomach rocked with revulsion. Having my energy sucked by a Dark Lifer was personal, and emotionally invasive. But I wasn’t positive about Warren, so what could I do? The GEM’s advice for dealing with Dark Lifers was to retreat and report.
Unfortunately, in a moving car without the GEM, I couldn’t do either.
Fortunately, Sadie kept Warren’s focus away from me as she flirted on cruise control. She chattered about favorite foods, music and malls. I’d never been so grateful to be shut out of a conversation. While they talked, I stared out the window, aching to be anywhere else and longing for my real life. What were Mom, Dad, Alyce and Dustin doing right now? Were they back at the hospital, still waiting for me to wake up from the coma? I assumed Sharayah was sleeping in my body, but what if she wasn’t? I’d almost been disconnected from life support once already this past week.
How long could I stay away without risking harm to my real body?
