Just the Five of Us

I woke up feeling stiff and with my head pounding. I slowly sat up and glanced around trying to understand where I was and why I was sleeping in a car…

Oh yeah.

I looked over to my right to see Shean sprawled out in his seat. His eyes were closed but I could tell by the set of his mouth that he was awake.

I peeked into the back to check on Ray. A smile crossed my face as I realized his chest was rising and falling again. He wasn’t just a still statue anymore. He was going to be alright.

Adrian was mumbling in his sleep. His head rested against the window and Ray’s head was in his lap. Darren was leaning against the opposite window his ears flicked back and forth and his nose wrinkled every couple of seconds.

I smiled slightly and sat up fully. We were parked just off the highway behind large bushes so no one would see us.

“Good morning Kristin,” Shean murmured softly and I smiled at him.

“Morning,” I yawned.

Darren’s eyes flicked open and he slowly sat up.

“For some reason,” he muttered while vigorously scratching at one of his furry ears, “I can’t feel my tail.”

“Ray’s sitting on it,” Shean yawned as well.

Darren’s started yanking at his tail trying to get it out from under Ray’s bulk. I smiled at them before checking the clock on the dash board. I smirked, it was nine thirty. I would have been up two hours ago if we were still at camp…

I went white.

I latched onto Shean’s arm unexpectedly and whipped my head back and forth before slowly looking back up at his confused face.

“Will we get arrested for stealing the car?” I asked going hoarse.

Darren laughed in the back seat and Shean chuckled.

“Probably not,” the reaper said, “Mr. Arty isn’t going to do anything. He’ll send some people out looking for us but try to keep our disappearance on the down low so that his reputation isn’t ruined. I’d be surprised if he even told our parents.”

I went pink and let go of his arm. I pretended to absolutely fascinated by the soft leather seats. I touched him…I’m a moron. He probably thinks I’m some sort of clingy blond type.
Okay, I am blond but I’m not clingy. I hope I’m not at least.

“I say we go find some food before talking about where to go next,” Shean said with a yawn.

“As long as it’s not McDonalds I don’t care where we go,” Darren leaned into the front seat before smirking up at Shean, “Just don’t speed, we don’t want to get stopped.”

Shean nodded and carefully started the car, “Darren, make sure Ray stays flat.” He said softly before pulling the car back onto the highway.

The drive was quiet, even after Adrian woke up, his eyes had gone back to their normal green and his fangs were nonexistent again. He was quietly staring out of the window looking dark and thoughtful. He hand absent mindedly pulled at Ray’s hair. I could tell he was very worried, even after Shean said he would be fine. I wondered exactly how long these boys had been friends.

We drove up an exit and stopped at a Starbucks drive through.

I got a double chocolate coffee and Darren got vanilla, Adrian muttered something about caramel and Shean got himself a double cream toffee. And for when Ray woke up I got him a lemon tea. We all got pancakes to go with our coffees.

Shean pulled out a wad of cash that made my eyes pop from their sockets. I had never seen him with money before and here suddenly was stack even bigger than my mom’s at the beginning of her monthly shopping spree.

“Where did you get that?” I demanded as we got back onto the highway.

He shrugged, “It’s for emergencies. We need fuel…”

“There should be a gas station at the next exit.” Darren said after a slurp of coffee.

When we got there it was one of those creepy gas stations. Men with tattoos and massive motor bikes loitered around the little shop and there was a woman with heels like skyscrapers and jeans that were so tight and a shirt so low that even Madonna would look away in shame.

She had a heart tattooed to her shoulder and her hair was a brilliant blond gold mix with green stripes. She was in heavy black sunglasses but it still seemed like she was watching me as I walked into the convenience store with Adrian.

“Candy,” Adrian said once we were in the store.

I nodded, “I’ll get the water, bread and peanut butter.”

He sighed, “Does it have to be peanut butter?”

“Why not?” I asked.

“It should be cheese.”

I rolled my eyes, “We’ll get some cheese too.”

The faintest flicker of smile crossed his blank angry face. He nodded and went for the candy racks.

Poor guy. Adrian was never this down, no matter what.

Oh well, at least he was still after candy. I went grabbed seven bottles of water and two loaves of bread with a jar of peanut butter and another of cheese spread.

As I stood by the check out a creepy ominous breeze wafted in and made me shiver. I looked back outside to see Shean and Darren leaning against the car. I couldn’t make out their expressions, but their stances told me that they were wary.

Adrian grabbed my hand. His nostrils flared and I could see tell he was worried. He pulled me quickly out of the shop back to the other two. We were half way there when a shout echoed across the gas station.

“Hey blonde,”

I whipped around to see the girl with the massive heels grinning at me. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was chewing gum really fast. A chill crept down my spine.
Adrian growled softly.

“Those are nice looking boys you got there,” she snickered, “Do you mind sharing?”

Shean was next to me all of a sudden. He took my arm and started pulling me back to the car. I obediently followed, casting a glance over my shoulder at her.

She grinned at me and slowly took her glasses off to reveal two brilliant red orbs.
I screamed.

The sound of engines revving filled my ears as the big men were suddenly swinging onto
their bikes. I was yanked hard by Adrian who shoved me into the car and suddenly we were speeding away with seven deadly motorcycles on our tale.

Shean slammed the gas and we flew onto the highway. His face was grim and he looked deeply annoyed. A shredding noise distracted me from my fear for a moment and I glanced into the back. Darren was holding Ray to keep him from being thrown around while Adrian was shredding the seat.

“Adrian,” I snapped, “it’s not our car stop…”

He ripped out a gun and I fell silent as my eyes bugged.

“A-Adrian, I d-don’t know…”

Shean cut across me, “Kill any humans and your fried.”

His voice was low and thick with fury. Adrian simply nodded. His eyes started to go back into that deep shade of red as a small sadistic smile crossed his face.

Shean swerved around a red little car and I was thrown back into my seat. I glanced out the window in time to see the bullet shatter the glass. Shean swerved and I screamed again as I was showered with sharp shards. A motor cycle was suddenly parallel with us. It was the blond with the red eyes. Her smile was wide, wind whipped her hair back and her eyes glowed with hunger.

“Kristin,” she screamed into the wind, “We want your blood, bitch! We won’t stop until we get it!”

I was paralyzed as she raised a gun at me, managing to keep her bike moving in a straight path without even seeming to try. She was going to shoot me. I was going to die…

Shean made an animalistic growl and suddenly we slammed into her motorcycle. I screamed again as the car went out of control and the cars around us beeped and screech swerving to get out of our way as we careened wildly.

Gunshots went off and I heard Adrian roar.

“Get flat!” a voice rang through the car.

I did just that even though I had no idea who said it. I ripped myself out of my seat belt and dropped into the little foot area twisting my ankle in the process. The adrenalin numbed the pain to the point that it was the last thing on my mind as Adrian forced himself into the front of the car. He had two guns now and blood dribbled down his face. His eyes glowed brilliant red and a monstrous grin dominated his face.

He scrunched up in my seat and stuck half his body out the window. More gunshots echoed and I heard what sounded like and explosion.

“Shean!” Darren yelled, “Go left! It’ll put us back into the forest!”

The car swerved again and I heard even angrier beeping of cars. I hated not being able to see what was going on. The only view I was getting was of Adrian’s legs as he dangled the rest of himself out the window.

Something stabbed my hand I yelped in pain. I felt wet stuff suddenly started to soak up my palm and dribble down my fingers. I tried to move it, but pain flashed up my entire arm so fast that I let it go limp again.

“Adrian,” I heard Shean growl, “Kill them!”

“As you wish,” came a sadistic scream from outside.

“Shean, you can’t let him do that,” Darren cut in suddenly, “He’s going to take it too far.”

“No Darren, they need to die,” Shean snapped as we suddenly hit a hard bump. My head hit the dash board above me.

An explosion rocketed through the air. Something hit the roof and made a dent. Shean swore.

“Shean get Adrian back in here,” Darren growled.

“He will kill them,” Shean hissed back jerking the car into a different direction all together.

“No Shean,” Darren’s voice was lined with ice, “He’ll get killed himself.”

“I don’t…”

“Yes you do care Shean!” Darren practically screamed at him, “Get Adrian back in here now before I—”

“Before you what?! Who are you, Darren? Don’t you dare even think you can threaten me,” Shean barked back. His voice was low and I could hear the rasps of his breathing.

“Shean cool down,” Darren said in a calmer voice, “You’re freaking out. We don’t need to kill them to out run them.”

“I am not…”

Blood suddenly hit me in the face. I shrieked as Adrian came crashing down on top of me. Shean slammed the breaks and the car screeched and swerved to a halt. I tried to shimmy out from under Adrian but my arm was bent behind me and the other was bleeding heavily. My legs refused to move and so did Adrian.

“Shean… they are gone.”

Darren’s voice barely came out.

The car started again and we were driving normally. The gunshots ad completely stopped and so had the screeching of wheels and the revving of engines. I felt Adrian’s weight suddenly move and I could breathe again.

Darren came into my view and he gripped my forearms and carefully pulled me back up. iii yelped as my hand was jostled and Darren instantly took it.

“Shean, they are both bleeding,” Darren murmured, “we need to stop.”

I glanced at Shean. His knuckles were white and his face was pinched into an angry and upset scowl. His teeth were gritted and his chest was heaving.

“We need to get away Darren,” he hissed, “they aren’t completely gone. The blonde was still alive and that big man with the horn through his nose.”

“Kristin is bleeding, Shean,” Darren said slowly and forcefully.

Shean looked at me. He stared at me for a full moment before he closed his eyes with a tired sigh and turned the car off leaving a calm silence.

That was when I noticed our surroundings. We had left the highway and we were driving through dense forest on a smooth road. My thoughts were a jumble as I tried to figure out exactly what happened.

“W-what happened to Adrian?” I whispered.

“He got shot in the arm,” Darren said slipping back into the backseat with Adrian and Ray.

Adrian was unconscious now too. His arm was covered in red and a gun sat in his lap while another lay at his feet.

“I’m sorry Darren,” Shean whispered suddenly, “I was just so mad that I couldn’t do it myself. I was thinking of Ray and… I just wanted them to die,” his voice trailed off and he sighed looking down.

“Too much shadow don’t you think?” Darren asked kindly.

Shean laughed bitterly, “Adrian obviously also over dosed on blood, he was going crazy back there. I guess we have all been overdosing. I just can’t help it though, humans have so much shadow in them that I just…”

“Excuse me?” I asked in a squeak.

They both looked at me. Shean’s face was sad and worried and Darren looked kind and understanding.

“What are you talking about?”

Shean chuckled slightly and parked the car as we entered a small clearing.

“I eat shadows remember?” he asked softly, “The shadow I eat is the darkness in people. It’s a metaphysical thing, but it’s real. It's called shadow essence. People need it to fight and be strong. Too much of it and you go bad. Too little and your weak. You have to find the
right balance. And if a reaper takes to much, you die.”

He sighed before launching out of the car before I could ask any questions. He opened the back seat before Darren could and pulled Ray gently out. I crawled out gripping my hand.

The moment my left foot touched the ground I hissed in pain.

Shean looked at me as limped over. His eyes glazed with worry as he watched my leg. He looked back at me and sighed.

“Darren, I’ll get Adrian, you go into the boot and see if the first aid kit made it,” he called.

Darren flitted to the back of the car obediently…obediently.

“Shean why do they all automatically listen to whatever you tell them?” I found myself
asking.

Shean looked up at me and a slight smile crossed his face, “I’m next in line for the status of grim reaper. They are the ones who will be next to me when I reach there. We’ve been together since we were kids.”

“The only person we’re missing is his mate.”

Shean scowled as Adrian suddenly pushed himself out of the car. He was gripping his arm but otherwise looked like he was back to his old self. He stumbled over to us with a cheeky grin.

“He and Ray are the ones in command while Darren and I are the first guardians,” he said with a smirk, “All Shean needs now to get his second scythe is to bond with his mate and he’ll be set to go.”

“Shut Adrian,” Shean hissed softly, “Go fix your arm.”Adrian shrugged and went for the first aid kit.

Darkness settled in and we all huddled around a crackling fire. We had found some beef jerky in the boot and I chewed absentmindedly on a piece while the rest of the boys were silent. A piece of glass had been in my hand but Darren had gotten rid of it. It had hurt like hell, but now it was a little better.

We were finishing up when I realized something was wrong.

Ray’s breathing was fast and shallow. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his lips were looking a little grey.

“Shean,” I said quickly.

He looked up at me as I pointed over to Ray. He nodded and stood up and he kneeled down next to Ray pressing his hand to his forehead.

“He has a fever,” he whispered.

“Oh,” I said not knowing what else to say. I noticed Darren’s ears droop and Adrian went rigid.

“Do you know what that means?” Shean sounded choked up.

I shook my head slowly as ice crept into my chest. Shean looked up at me with glittering eyes.

“He caught an infection.”