Kash’s mom had driven the same Suburban for the last twenty-two years and, even though it was old and had no bells and whistles, it had enough room for all seven of them to ride in one vehicle, so most times, it was their vehicle of choice. When they all piled in at 3:15 in the morning to make the short trip to Villisca, most of the girls did so reluctantly, particularly Taylor, who was actually crying, and Cadence, who had clearly lost her battle with Drew, and once again, given in to the sobs and declarations of attending solo. Cadence hated being late, but she figured for an event such as this it didn’t really make much difference.
Typically, Sydney and Drew sat in the back because they were the most petite. Cadence was shaped more like an athlete, and though she really didn’t have a much bigger footprint, she did have longer legs, so the other girls let her sit in the middle seat with Taylor, who was just a bit curvier than the other girls and Jack, whose position had changed from right next to Cadence to the far side of the seat once they decided to be “just friends.” Despite the fact that Jon had ridden shotgun approximately four thousand consecutive times, he still insisted on yelling “shotgun” as they approached the vehicle, just in case someone decided to challenge his position.
This time, however, the seating changed just a bit. Taylor and Cadence were ordered into the vehicle first so that the others made sure they didn’t try to escape. Though it was possible Taylor may turn and run at any moment, Cadence wasn’t going anywhere without Drew. She was determined to keep her younger friend in her sights the entire time and keep her safe no matter what. She had no reason to suspect that this would be anything other than a wild party, full of costumed drunks attempting to get lucky. Nevertheless, her dream had been enough to inspire a sense of caution, and she was particularly concerned about Drew’s well-being.
Drew was sitting in the middle of the seat in front of her, so excited that she would not even buckle her seatbelt but insisted on leaning up between the two bucket seats, shouting directions. It had not been easy, but she had been able to procure the address for Percy’s Lot through an extensive online search of property records. Luckily for them, there was only one Percy who owned a significant tract of land near Villisca, Iowa.
It was unseasonably warm, and most of them were only wearing light coats or jackets. Drew was wearing a bright red cape and had also brought a Guy Fawkes inspired mask. Drew mentioned that she was disappointed that no one else had decided to wear a costume, but she was so invigorated that they had decided to go, she let her disappointment lie.
Cadence hadn’t been easily convinced to come along. In fact, Drew had been forced to turn on the tears. Cadence had showed up earlier that day, adamant that this was a dangerous idea and that someone could get hurt. They weren’t invited to these festivities; they didn’t know anyone else who was going to be there, and for all they knew, this could be a group of devil worshipers. Drew had snickered at the last remark, which made Cadence angry. She explained what she had dreamt and that it had not ended well and, though she was aware it was just a dream, and no, she didn’t think it was a premonition, per se, it did make her more aware of the fact that what they were doing was potentially hazardous, and they should just find something else to do. By then, however, Drew had already purchased her costume and made arrangements to sneak out of the house. There was no way she was going to change her mind, and if Cadence didn’t want to go, she could just stay home by herself. Drew was going. Period. End statement.
So, Cadence had to go, too, because she was not letting Drew go without her, no matter how many gentleman escorts she may have. If Drew was going to put herself in a vulnerable situation, then Cadence was going to follow. She just wished she hadn’t quit karate lessons in the third grade.
It didn’t seem to Cadence like it took very long at all to reach what Drew was sure must be Percy’s Lot. At first, there didn’t appear to be anything much happening in the open field west of town. In fact, the countryside seemed to be sleeping. Then, Kash pointed out a soft orange glow off in the distance, and they realized there would be some trekking involved in reaching their destination.
They decided to pull into the field and drive in the grass for a bit, an attempt to determine whether or not there was an actual designated parking area or if they were supposed to hoof it from the road. As Kash carefully made his way over the uneven surface, they began to see dark shapes in the distance and realized there were, in fact, other vehicles. The sound of music drifted through the air, and Drew began to sway in time to the beat of the drums.
As they poured out of the vehicle, Cadence paused for a moment to look up at the sky. A soft haze illuminated the night around the festivities, but the rest of the firmament was nothing but ebony, crowned by a full moon sliding below the horizon, its pale orange hue lending an air of foreboding. Cadence knew this scene looked familiar, and she braced herself for what she felt may come.As they approached what seemed to be an entrance, the entire party tensed up. They had no idea if they would be charged a monetary fee, required to show an invitation, or sign over their first-born child. There
Just then, a loud booming began to shake the ground. From the back of the outer circle, a stream of percussionists started to pour out of one of the tents. They began to dance their way down the worn dirt path, banging methodically on their instruments, winding their way around the perimeter of the circle. There were other musicians within the parade as well, but it was the deep vibration of the bass drums that carried the reptilian line along.Most of them wore costumes, almost all in shades of red. It was difficult to see anyone’s full face. Either a half mask, paint, outlandish makeup
By the time the others left and Cadence continued down the path the parade had followed, she couldn’t even see the end of the chain anymore. In fact, the crowd had filled in the trail so completely she had to push her way through just to continue her search.Upon reaching the tent at the back of the outer circle, where the parade had begun, she realized Jack and Kash were now far behind her, several groups of people separating them. She sighed in despair, running her hands through her long brown hair and stomping her booted foot on the ground. There, in the dirt, she saw a Guy Fawkes mas
There had been plenty of chatter on the Intelligence Assistance Communicator, or IAC, recently, so it was no surprise to Aaron McReynolds to see Cadence and her friends arrive at the Eidolon Festival. He believed he had brought enough of his team with him to sufficiently cover anything that might arise, although he was hopeful that Holland and her clan would be particularly careful considering who Cadence was and how obligated he was to provide her with unconditional protection. He was, however, extremely surprised to see Carter pull such a bold move and whisk one of Cadence’s friends away like that. The Vampire should have known that would not be permitted. Nevertheless, he took her, and that livened things up beyond a typical peacekeeping operation.
Jack was terrified. He almost could not fathom what was happening around him, not to mention that he was holding the body of a dear friend. He could see what appeared to be vampires swooping in on them from all directions. He thought that, if he left Drew behind, perhaps they would have a better chance of escaping, but he couldn’t consider leaving her, especially not when he knew how much she meant to Kash and Cadence.As they were exiting the fairgrounds, the bike hesitated just a second. Jack felt an icy cold flick on his shoulder. He glanced down to see that the fabric of his jacket w
The trip back to Shenandoah would have typically taken about forty minutes, but the man steering the bike was flying, and Cadence found herself winding through her own neighborhood in just under twenty minutes. Though she was happy to have the speed of the bike, at this point, she really wished she had been in a car with this person so that she could ask him some questions. The more she thought about all that had just happened, the more surreal it became. By the time she reached her house, she was quite certain she had lost her mind entirely.And yet she knew she had not. As he pulled the bike
With a sigh, Cadence grabbed the last few items she thought she might need and shoved them into her bag, mumbling under her breath the whole time. Who were these people? Were they people? What did they want from her? What kind of ramifications might killing a vampire bring upon her, and where the hell was her lip balm?Eventually, she decided she had everything she needed, and with another glance around her room, she flipped off the lights and cautiously opened her bedroom door, afraid another black clad figure--or worse--might be lurking in the hallway. She saw nothing unusual, so she headed
Jack Cook stumbled through the front door, careful not to wake his parents, who probably wouldn’t be up for another hour or two, and headed for his bedroom. He was exhausted, but thoughts of what had transpired that night flooded his mind.It was quite evident as he carried Drew’s body into the emergency room that there was nothing the doctors could do for her. When the hospital staff began asking questions about what had happened, Jack didn’t know exactly how to respond, nor did any of the rest of Drew's friends. Luckily, their good friend Elliott showed up shortly after the