Green Eyes

The ride back to the guy’s house was tough. I could tell Kaylee and Matt were still shocked about what had happened, and I, well, I was too.

I sat in the back with Johnny, holding his hand comfortingly. I didn’t know how the others would react to what had happened. I didn’t know what to tell them about it, or how to explain it. But I knew I had to protect Johnny from whatever was coming. This was one of the most confusing and scary experiences I have had, right up there with being kidnapped by vampires. Because this time – I had almost lost a friend. And that was as bad as going through all the pain in the world.

We pulled up outside the familiar house and I smiled grimly before turning to look at Johnny. ‘You ok?’

Johnny smiled slightly and slowly nodded. I smiled and followed Johnny out of the car, reattaching my hand to his once we had gotten out. We followed Kaylee and Matt to the front door, who occasionally glanced back at us to make sure we were ok.

Before we reached it, the door opened. Standing there was a tired looking Zacky. ‘Guys I was thinking….’

He stopped talking when he saw Johnny and I. He smiled widely before looking down, and noticing our hands attached, growled. Matt stepped forward and stood in front of Zacky, blocking him from walking out. ‘Zacky, drop it. Johnny’s had a hard time.’

Zacky sighed and nodded. He looked sad and tired, and when he looked at me his expression was pained. It hurt me to see him look like that.

Still holding onto Johnny’s hand, I walked forwards and pecked him on the cheek. I felt Johnny’s grip on me tighten and I rubbed his hand with my thumb soothingly, while I smiled at Zacky. Zacky smiled at me, immediately looking less sad.

Zacky turned to look at Johnny. ‘So are you going to tell me what’s going on?’

Johnny looked down at his feet and Zacky sighed. ‘Johnny, I’m not mad at you. You’re one of my best friends, and no matter what, you’re part of this clan.’

Johnny looked up at Zacky and smiled weakly. Zacky stepped forward and held his arms out for a hug, which Johnny stepped into. Jimmy, noticing that we were outside, stepped out. ‘Awww you guys!’

He threw himself into the hug, causing both Johnny and Zacky to groan. They all pulled away. ‘And why we keep him, I don’t know.’

Jimmy pouted and we all laughed, and I walked over to hug him. ‘I want to keep you Jimmy.’

Jimmy grinned and hugged me, lifting me off the ground. He set me down and I walked back over to the others, lacing my fingers with Zacky and grabbing onto Johnny’s hand. I turned to look at Johnny. ‘Ready?’

Johnny nodded and we all walked inside, although it was awkward as I was holding onto two people’s hands. We all walked into the living room and sat down, me in between Zacky and Johnny. Brian walked in and smiled at all of us, and when he noticed Johnny he walked over and patted his back. ‘Good to see you Christ.’

Johnny smiled and everyone turned to look at him, anticipating his speech. Johnny sighed. He turned to look at me and I smiled, before turning back to look at everyone. ‘I…umm… after I left you guys I went to the beach and I, well I…. lit a fire and tried to step into it but Kayla stopped me.’

The guys sat there, their mouths wide open. Brian was the first to speak up. ‘You mean, you were going to kill yourself?’

Johnny sighed and nodded. The others continued to sit there, shocked. ‘But why Johnny?’

Johnny looked down at his feet. ‘It’s just too hard. I feel like I’ve been alive for too long and I don’t have anyone to share it with. And then Kayla – well I thought she was my soulmate and now that she’s Zacky’s it hurts.’

The others looked at him in understanding. Jimmy sighed, placing his head in his hands. ‘I know it’s hard. But you’ve got all of us too. Me and Gates don’t have anyone either, so we know how you feel. But you will find her. Or him. Whatever floats your boat.’

Matt slapped Jimmy across the head and Jimmy yelped. ‘Well I was trying not to be discriminatory.’

Johnny looked up at them and smiled. ‘Thanks guys.’

The others continued to chat while I tried to stop myself from falling asleep. Well, it was only 5 in the morning and I hadn’t been asleep for 4 hours. I stifled a yawn and tried to stop my eyes from drooping. Zacky smiled at me. ‘Tired babe?’

I shook my head stubbornly. Zacky chuckled. ‘Hey everyone, I’m taking Kayla to bed.’

The others muttered replies and Zacky picked me up in his arms, carrying me away. ‘But Zacky I’ve got school soon.’ I said, yawning.

Zacky smiled down at me. ‘I think maybe you should skip it for today.’

I opened my mouth to argue but was stopped by a yawn.

Zacky chuckled and laid me down on the bed, pulling the covers up around me. He kissed my head and I mumbled a goodnight. ‘Goodnight Kayla. Thanks for saving Johnny.’

I sighed and snuggled into the covers, allowing myself to fall asleep.

A blood curling scream filled the air as I began to run, clueless as to where I was going. ‘KAYLA! HELP!’ I began to cry as the continuous screams of my mother filled the air and I forced myself to run faster in a desperate attempt to find her. I knew they had her. The vampires. And they were going to hurt her. ‘Mum! Where are you!’ I screamed, running through the darkness, ignoring the pain that soared through my body. ‘KAYLA!! HELP ME!’ she screamed and I yelled in frustration. I had to get to her before something happened. I knew I did. ‘KAYLA! COME HELP ME!’

I woke up sweating. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, not bothering to put on a coat. My mum was in trouble and I had to get to her. I knew it wasn’t just a dream. It was a warning. It had to be. Something was going to happen if I didn’t get there fast.

Zacky ran in from the other room and stood in front of me, concern in his green eyes. ‘Kayla what’s happening?’

I ran past him, allowing the tears to fall down my face. ‘My mum. They’re going to hurt her.’

Zacky took me in his arms and I tried to push away, desperate to get to my mum. ‘Kayla it’s just a dream. Your mum’s ok.’

I struggled against his grip and I saw the others enter the room. ‘No it’s not! Something’s going to happen! We have to get there!’

Brian stepped forward and pulled Zacky away. ‘Maybe we should check. To make her feel better. Just in case.’

Zacky sighed and nodded. I ran past him and they followed quickly, all of us jumping into a car. ‘Faster!’ I yelled. ‘They’re going to get her!’

Brian sped up and Zacky wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. ‘We’re going to get there. There’s nothing to be worried about.’

I began to relax at the feel of his touch but I was still worried. The closer we got to my house, the more danger I felt coming.

Soon we stopped outside my house and I ran inside, ignoring the yells coming from the car. I opened the door and ran into the house, screaming for my mum.

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and I looked up to see my mum. She looked confused. ‘Kayla?’

I ran past her and into her bedroom, closely followed by Zacky and Matt. When I got in there I began searching around for any hint of a vampire, going through every cupboard and searching under her bed. Zacky came up and stood behind me. ‘Maybe they didn’t come.’

I sighed and shook my head. They had come. I could feel it. I looked up at the window when I noticed a breeze on my back. I could see something sitting in the windowsill, on the inside. I ran over and picked it up, opening up the piece of paper.

Let this be a warning. We will get you princess. If not, then we’ll settle for your parents.
Layton

I began to cry as I read it. Was my life not hard enough already? It was either I get taken or my parents.

Zacky came over and quickly read the letter before looking at Matt and jumping out of the window. Brian ran up the stairs and into my room, and when he saw me ran over and hugged me. I handed him the letter and he read it, his eyes going red in anger. ‘We won’t let them get you Kayla. I promise.’

He picked me up in his arms and I cried onto him. ‘But if I don’t, they’ll hurt my parents. I can’t let that happen.’

Brian sighed and rubbed my back soothingly. ‘We won’t let that happen either. We’ll protect all of you.’

Matt and Zacky jumped back through the window. Zacky ran over and took me from Brian, cradling me while I cried. I couldn’t deal with this. It was too much.

Matt sighed and turned to Brian. ‘We couldn’t find them. They must have gotten away quicker than we thought they would.’

Brian nodded and turned to look at me, his eyes full of sympathy. Zacky kissed my head and whispered in my ears. ‘We won’t let that happen Kayla.’

I nodded and looked up, determined not to look like a wuss. Johnny and Jimmy came into the room and the others silently told them what had happened. Zacky turned to look at Johnny. ‘What I don’t get is how Kayla knew what was going to happen.’

They all turned to look at me. ‘Sometimes I can tell when something bad is going to happen. Or if someone can’t be trusted. And I also can tell where is a bad place to go. I’ve always been able to do that. I guess it’s my instinct. Today I dreamt that my mum was in trouble and the dream felt so real that I had to come.’

The guys all looked confused, before turning to look at Johnny. ‘Sometimes, there are humans who have connections with their powers before they’re turned into vampires. They’re not as strong as vampire’s powers but once they’re turned they get stronger. It’s very uncommon, I’ve only met one human who had it before. But I’ve heard stories about them.’

Wait, so my instinct was actually power? Cool! Zacky smiled at me. ‘See I knew you were special. That’s going to be very useful.’

I smiled, proud of myself. We all went downstairs to tell my mum what had happened and to tell her to let us know if something was happening. Mum hugged me and thanked me for helping, before I headed back with the boys and Kaylee to their house. I’d decided I would stay there tonight.

When we got back, we all went into the living room and sat down, chatting peacefully. Suddenly, Zacky furrowed his eyebrows and growled. We all turned to look at him. ‘There’s a vampire nearby. Not one of us. I can smell it.’

The others all sniffed the air before growling too. They all got up and ran to the door, Zacky holding me behind him. Matt opened the door and immediately started growling at what he saw. I peered around Zacky to see who was standing there. There, with her long blond hair blowing in the wind, was Sammi.