The Monster Within

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

GLORIA was coming toward the back door when I stepped inside. She tapped her watch. “Cutting it close.”

“Sorry. The breeze tonight felt amazing. It’s been so hot. I think that’s why I fainted. I’m not used to this heat.” Gloria had no idea I’d spent the last two months of my life in bed in my air-conditioned house. My body had forgotten what heat felt like.

“Well, if you start feeling faint again, you sit that little butt of yours down. You hear me? I don’t care if the place is packed. I’ll manage on my own if I have to.”

“But if it’s packed, where will I sit?” I smiled so she’d know I was kidding. “I’m fine. Really.”

She kept a close eye on me all night, and every so often, she’d hand me a glass of ice water. The first time she did it, I thought it was for a customer, but she said, “Drink up.” I obeyed to keep her off my back. I liked having someone to care about me the way my mom used to, but it was hard, too. I wasn’t a cancer victim anymore. I was…I still had no clue what to call myself.

At about seven-thirty, a crowd of kids from school walked in. Luckily, Shannon wasn’t with them. But as they took a seat in the back, one guy separated from them and sat at the counter. A guy with platinum-blond hair.

My night was about to get a whole lot weirder.

I carried the coffee pot back to the counter. I didn’t make eye contact with him, but I mumbled, “What are you doing here? If Ethan sees you, he’ll kill you.”

Dylan looked around. “I don’t see him anywhere.”

“He works in the kitchen now.”

“Good. Then we don’t have a problem.”

No, we still had a problem. A big problem. “I know who you are,” I said, feeling the irony of being able to use those words on someone else.

“Yeah, I know. I gave you my name.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” I pretended to refill the sugar, keeping my head down so it didn’t look like I was talking to him.

“Oh?” He sounded amused, and it bothered me more than I cared to admit.

“Yeah, and if I were you, I’d stop following me around.”

“Or what?” He leaned across the counter and whispered, “You’ll kill me?”

I slammed the lid back on the sugar and faced him for the first time. “Whatever you’re ordering, we’re out. Don’t come again.”

I turned and walked away, giving the table by the bathroom their check. I busied myself with other customers, not even glancing in Dylan’s direction. He didn’t know who he was messing with. I was dangerous. He might be a witch, but now that I had Nora helping me, there wasn’t much he could do to me. He had no idea Nora had come up with a plan to focus my attacks on people like him. People who hurt others. Witches gone bad. I knew I was putting a lot of faith in Nora with no real proof that what she’d said was true, but the alternative was too horrible. Without her, I was still on my own and hurting innocent people. I had to believe she was telling the truth—for my own sanity.

Gloria walked up to me and handed me a napkin with writing on it. “The guy at the counter left this for you.”

I looked at the counter and saw Dylan was gone. “Thanks.” I took the folded napkin. My name was written on the front. What, no more yellow Post-it notes left? He was losing his touch. I debated throwing the napkin away without reading it, but my curiosity got the better of me. I unfolded it.

Don’t trust her.

He had to be talking about Nora. She knew Dylan. She said he used to be like her, but then he started using evil magic. Something like that. Of course he’d try to turn me against Nora. Dylan was the bad guy. He wanted to hurt me, and I didn’t know why. All I knew was I had to stay away from him.

Or did I? Maybe he was one of the witches Nora was going to have me… My throat constricted. I didn’t want to kill anyone. Not even bad people. But since I didn’t have a choice in the matter, I was going to have to get over this. In the long run, I’d be helping people. Keeping them safe from harmful spells, right?

Gloria handed me a tray of food. “Table nine.”

“Thanks.” I stuffed the napkin into my apron and took the tray. I tried to forget about Dylan and my problems for a while and focused on being polite, making good money in tips. Most of the customers were here on vacation, so they were in good moods. Unless they were on the last leg of their trip and were heading home soon. Those customers were pretty grouchy. I was surprised so many people were still vacationing this late in the season, but I guess if you don’t have kids starting school or you’re retired, you can vacation whenever you want.

By the end of the night, Gloria had managed to make me drink six glasses of water. I must have needed it, because I didn’t take a single bathroom break all night. Apparently I really was dehydrated. With all my other issues, I hadn’t even noticed.

Nine o’clock rolled around, and I started cleaning up. The diner stayed open till 11:00, but Gloria said it was always dead this time of night. There was no need for Ethan and me to work late on a school night when she and Jackson could easily handle things on their own. I wiped down the counter and all the tabletops.

Gloria untied her apron and took the cash drawer out of the register. She only kept a limited amount of money in the register after nine. “Ethan?” She yelled into the kitchen. I waited to see what she wanted.

Ethan came out of the kitchen. His shirt was covered in brown gravy.

“What happened to you?” I asked him.

“Oh, little spill. Nothing major. It’s all cleaned up now.” He turned to Gloria. “What’s up?”

“I know I said you and Sam could leave, but do you think you could stay a little later tonight and help Jackson? He needs to clean the grill and wash the floors. I had to fire the dishwasher and the cleaning guy. They smoked more than they worked. Jackson could use the help, and I figure you can use the cash. I know it’s late and all, so if you don’t want to that’s fine.”

“Um, yeah. I can do it.” He turned to me. “Mind hanging around while I make some extra money?”

What choice did I have? He was the one with the car. “No problem. I’ll do some homework or something.”

“Great.” Gloria carried the drawer into the office to count it. She always counted the money in private. I knew it wasn’t a trust issue or anything. She had counted the money in her office since they opened the diner, and she was a creature of habit. My being here didn’t disrupt her system.

I took a seat at a corner booth with my copy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which had been in Ethan’s car all weekend. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember the story well enough to pass Mr. Ryan’s class without rereading it. I opened up to the page we left off on in class on Friday and read.

“…a qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering… I began to be aware of a change in the temper of my thoughts, a greater boldness, a contempt of danger, a solution of the bonds of obligation. I looked down; my clothes hung formlessly on my shrunken limbs; the hand that lay on my knee was corded and hairy. I was once more Edward Hyde.”

I couldn’t help wondering if Robert Louis Stevenson had been brought back from the dead, too. The way he wrote about the monster and how it overtook Dr. Jekyll hit home with me.

My hand shook as I held the book. My fingernails turned blue with cold. It was happening. I hadn’t started choking yet, but I knew it was coming. Another attack. I reached for the cell phone in my pocket and found Nora’s number. I texted her. Help. Now!

I’d barely put the phone down when it vibrated with a message. Out back.

I got up, using the table to help me in case my legs were wobbly. I looked toward the kitchen, making sure Ethan and Jackson weren’t coming out. Gloria was still in the office counting money, which meant I’d have to walk past her. I placed my hands on the wall in the hallway to guide myself. My knees were weak, and the cold was taking over my body. I heard Gloria talking on the phone, and I sank to my knees. I crawled past her door, well below the window and out of her view.

I reached the back door and struggled to get up off the floor. I used the door handle to pull myself up. My fingers could barely turn the lock, and a cough was threatening to burst from my mouth. I did my best to suppress it. Gloria would hear me if I let it escape my lips. I pushed the door open and fell out onto the parking lot. The door swung back and hit me. I whimpered and coughed at the same time. I tilted my head, checking to see if Gloria had heard me.

I had to get out of the doorway. I had to crawl. I grabbed the edge of the curb, using it to pull my weight forward. If only Nora were here. She could help me. But there wasn’t a car in sight. Would she come in a car? Or would she be bringing the witch to me? I had no idea.

I finally cleared the door and cringed when it clicked back into place. Please, let Gloria still be on the phone. Please, don’t let her have heard that.

A green Ford Focus pulled around the back of the diner, stopping right next to me. The passenger door opened, and Nora leaned over the seat toward me. “Get in.”

“I don’t think I can. I’m too weak.” I coughed again as the air escaped my lungs.

“I can’t touch you. You know that. You have to get in on your own.”

How? I could barely breathe, and my body didn’t have the strength to crawl anymore. How would I pull myself into the seat?

“Look, do you want to live or not?” Nora’s voice was harsh, but I understood she was trying to shock me into reacting. I was giving up, lying on the ground like this. I pulled myself closer to the car, using anything I could grab onto to make this a little easier.

“Please, give me your hand. I won’t kill you. It doesn’t work that way.”

Nora eyed me, not sure if she believed me.

“I won’t kill you,” I said again, coughing as my lungs continued to tighten.

She reached her hand over and pulled me up into the seat. Her hand felt so warm against mine. My breathing relaxed a little at her touch, but she quickly pulled her hand from mine.

“Close your door. I’m not leaning across you. It would be too tempting in your weakened state.”

She was right. Even if she was trying to help me, my body would attack whoever was closest, just to survive. My brain was powerless against it. It didn’t matter what I wanted. It didn’t matter that I didn’t want to kill. My body would do what it had to. I couldn’t help wondering if the cancer victim inside me had anything to do with how much I wanted to live despite what I’d become.

I used the little bit of strength from the breath of air I got while holding Nora’s hand to pull the car door shut. Nora immediately threw the car into gear and tore out of there. I caught a glimpse of Gloria coming out of her office as we pulled away. Just great. She’d figure out I was missing. She’d tell Ethan, and I’d have a whole lot to explain when I got back. If I made it back.

Nora was doing well over the speed limit, but I had no idea how far we had to drive to get to the witch Nora had picked out. It was crazy to think I was driving to someone’s house to kill them. Even crazier that they had no idea I was coming.

“Nora,” I croaked, “I can’t hold on much longer.”

“We’re almost there.” She floored the gas, and we whipped around the corner. The tires screeched as she pulled up a driveway. She was out of the car and mumbling a spell before I could get my door open. I watched her wave her hands and wondered what kind of spell she was doing. She’d said she’d make sure the witches couldn’t hurt me while I…

She opened my door, still mumbling and holding one hand up toward the house. She waved me toward her. I moved one leg out, not sure if I had the strength to get up.

“I can’t.” I choked again, but she waved more frantically as she continued her spell. She couldn’t talk to me because the spell was requiring her attention. She kept repeating a phrase. It sounded like Latin or some other language I didn’t know. I reached for the door and used it to help me out of the car. I’d hoped Nora was going to bring the witch to me. Getting to the house was going to be nearly impossible.

She walked behind me, taking her free hand and placing it on my back. My lungs opened up slightly, and I gasped for air. She was giving me the energy I needed to make it inside the house. We moved up to the front door, while Nora continued with her spell. She reached around me, careful not to get too close, and opened the front door. A staircase stood in front of me, and I prayed we didn’t have to climb it. Nora turned me to the right into a living room.

A girl stood in front of the fireplace, glaring at Nora. She was frozen in place, and the air around her swirled, keeping her imprisoned in a whirlpool of invisible force. “What do you want, Nora?” the girl said through clenched teeth. It was hard to understand her because she couldn’t move her lips. “What is this all about? Who is she?” Then the girl’s eyes widened. “That’s her, isn’t it?”

She knew about me, too? Did Dylan know this witch? Had he told her about me?

Nora continued with her spell, ignoring the girl’s questions. She pushed me forward slightly, and I staggered when her hand left my back. The weakness returned quickly, and my body hungered for life. I swallowed hard as I stepped closer to the witch.

“No!” she yelled. “Please, don’t. I don’t know what she told you, but I don’t deserve to die. Please.”

Another step closer, and my hand reached for her throat. I pressed my cold, lifeless fingers against her carotid artery, feeling the life surging through her.

She gurgled. “Don’t. You don’t have to kill.”

My other hand found her heart, pressing against it. Nora mumbled behind me as I drank in the witch’s life. It was different than the other times. I felt something mixed in with the life force as it filled me. She screamed in pain, and I watched her face shrivel and age. Her long, blonde hair turned gray and straggly. She gave one final gasp as her eyes closed.

I dropped my hands, feeling energized. No, it was more than that. I felt charged up. The witch was still being held up by Nora’s spell. I turned to face her, and she finally stopped chanting. The witch slumped to the ground, hitting my leg on the way down.

“That was—”

“Horrifying to watch?” Even though it wasn’t the first time I’d killed, it wasn’t easy for me to stomach what happened to my victims. The way their bodies shriveled into themselves was truly scary.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Nora said.

“How can I not? I killed her.” I turned to look at the body on the floor. Old, withered.

“She deserved to die.”

“How can you say that? Who are we to determine who should live and who should die? Who says my life is worth more than hers?” I was practically yelling, and tears streamed down my face.

“You didn’t ask to be like this.” Nora nodded toward the body. “She was evil by choice.”

“She didn’t sound evil when she was begging for her life.”

“Not many people do.”

“What was her name?” Not knowing who I was killing was worse. Seeing a nameless face in my nightmares haunted me more than knowing who I’d killed.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me.” I might be a monster, but I still had some humanity left.

She sighed. “Rebecca. Her name was Rebecca.”

“What do we do with her body?”

“Nothing. We leave it. Someone will find her eventually. Right now we need to get you back to the diner and come up with an excuse for why and how you took off.”

She was right. Ethan, Gloria, and Jackson were probably going crazy looking for me. I wasn’t sure how I was going to lie my way out of this one.