Shadow Lake Vampire Society - Wendi Wilson Page 0,35
eyes drift across the room.
Harris, the farm hand, sat by himself in a corner, but he seemed happy watching the ruckus. Counselors sat with their assigned groups, smiling as the kids talked and laughed while shoving hot dogs and fries into their mouths. A warm feeling washed over me at everyone so happy to see each other, and I regained some of that positivity I’d felt earlier.
Then my eyes landed on Sarah and Miranda’s table. The blonde sat at one end while Miranda, with her flaming red hair, porcelain skin, and haughty disposition sat at the other. Between them, twelve young girls ate quietly, keeping their eyes downcast with deep frowns marring their faces.
“Poor kids,” True said, nudging me toward our table after I’d stopped moving to stare.
“Was she like this last year?” I asked as we slid onto a bench next to each other.
“Not this bad,” she admitted. “She was bitchy, sure, but this is a whole ‘nother level.”
“I wonder if something happened,” I mused, not really expecting an answer.
“I don’t know,” True said, “but I feel sorry for those poor girls. They’re what? Ten years old? They’re never going to want to come back here after being under Sarah’s thumb for two whole weeks. Miranda’s not much better.”
I let my eyes drift across the faces at our own table. The girls seemed happy, whatever tiffs they’d had back at the cabin long-forgotten. I felt bad for Sarah’s girls, but there was nothing I could do about it. She had seniority, and who was I to try to make her change the way she was behaving? I wanted to help, but I wasn’t suicidal.
Chef Chloe appeared through the swinging doors behind the chow line, her blue eyes surveying her territory before pausing somewhere over on my right. My head tilted as I watched her walk purposely across the crowded hall, stopping next to Sarah and whispering something in her ear. Sarah nodded, then rose and followed Chef Chloe back across the mess hall and through those doors.
“What was that all about?” I wondered aloud.
“What?” True asked, looking around to see what I meant.
“Nothing,” I said, making a decision. I wasn’t just going to sit around and let things happen this time. “You got this for a few minutes? I need to use the bathroom.”
She nodded with a shrug and I rose, heading for the front entrance. Once outside, I cut to the right and skirted the building, looking for a back entrance. The sky was brilliant with shades of orange, pink, and purple, giving me just enough light to see as I picked my way through the rocks and weeds.
I found the back door, and as I wrapped my fingers around the knob, a high-pitched whimper froze me in my tracks. I pressed my ear to the wooden panel, but all I could make out was a light scuffle and the murmur of voices.
Fear lanced through me, as potent as it was unexplainable. I had no concrete reason to be afraid, yet something inside me—some deep-rooted instinct that thrived in my gut—told me I should be terrified. Unable to drown out the internal warning bells, I eased away from the door.
I took a few steps back, my gaze darting from left to right as I tried to decide what to do. I knew I should just leave. I could mind my business, go back to my seat and finish my hot dog while True made inappropriate comments just to see the girls blush. Life would go on, and I would be safe.
I looked back at the door. Somebody on the other side was not safe. That’s what my gut was telling me, and I couldn’t bring myself to ignore it. Taking a few deep breaths, I summoned Badass Piper and stepped forward. As my fingers brushed the doorknob, I saw it.
A little further down, there was a window. I crept away from the door and picked my way through a few weed-infested cinder blocks. The window was too high for me to look through, but there was light filtering through the dirty panes.
Peeking through a window seemed like a safer plan than busting through the door, and the raw fear in my belly eased a little as I made the decision. Grabbing a cinder block, I quietly dragged it to the wall just underneath the window. Stepping onto it, I stretched up slowly to peek inside, but I still wasn’t high enough.