Creatus (They Exist), prequel to the Creatus Series

Chapter 13

"But it's prom," Beth cried over the phone. "What do you mean you're not going, Kris? We bought dresses, my dad's letting me use his Cadillac, the cutest guy in school asked you to go with him ... "

Kris sighed. "I'm not going."

"What's going on? You haven't been the same since the night of the party. What happened? Jason won't tell me. He just said that Greg left school. Talk to me, please. I'm your best friend."

"I just don't feel like going, okay? I gotta go. I have homework."

"Since when do you study? You ace your tests without studying."

"If I wanna get out of this dump, I gotta start putting in some extra work."

"Okay ... but, this discussion isn't over."

"Yes, it is, Beth. I'm not going, so don't bug me about it again. Bye." Kris hung up the phone and stared down at the picture she'd been drawing. The eyes, she almost had them right. When she'd seen him when she was eight, she'd thought for sure that it had just been her imagination, but he'd saved her again. She couldn't make him out completely this time, just his eyes and his voice. She could never forget his beautiful voice. Though, she had been drunk, and she suspected that Greg had drugged her too. She didn't even remember Beth taking her home.

At first, she'd thought she'd imagined the entire night, but the welt on the back of her head hadn't happened from falling or tripping. It'd happened when Greg slammed her head against the brick wall.

When she finished the sketch, she did what she did every time, tore it into shreds and flushed it down the toilet so no one could see it and question her sanity. She reached into her purse and pulled out the wad of cash. If she didn't do something with it, some loser in the house would steal it.

She searched the newspaper ads, looking for something she could afford, circling anything in her price range and local. One caught her eye, a Grand Am. She made the phone call and was out the door in minutes. The car had belonged to a woman who'd passed away, and the daughter just wanted rid of it.

Kris handed the woman the cash, took the title, and she was one step closer to freedom. Now to get a job. She'd save every penny, and then she'd head south.

It took all day, but she found a job at a deli, which also meant free food. The food at the foster home sucked. The first night she pocketed forty dollars in tips. By the time she graduated, she'd have enough.

Kris parked her car and scanned the alley behind her apartment building. Her eyes darted to the rooftop. "You're there, aren't you?" she whispered. She squinted at the nighttime sky. Was it her imagination, or had she seen a shadow? "Why won't you show yourself?"

"Kristina, is that you?" Liz called from the window. "Where've you been?"

Kris had to admit, out of all of the foster homes she'd been in, Liz was the one woman who seemed to care. But it was too late. Too late for her to have a mother or father, brothers or sisters. She peeked up at the rooftop again. Beth had been her only family, but now, she realized she had someone else. No one would believe her, of course, so she couldn't tell anyone, but someone was protecting her.

What if she left Massachusetts, though? Would she ever see him again?

"Here," Billy said in the back of the deli. "Try this. You won't be worried about anything anymore."

"Are you sure it's safe?" Kris asked. "What is it?"

"Just pot, babe. I wouldn't hurt you."

Billy had been kind to her. He'd never come on to her as most of her dates did. He'd always just wanted to hang around and watch TV and get high. She'd never done drugs, but she'd heard pot wasn't bad.

She held out her hand and accepted the thin, tightly-wrapped paper. She inhaled and then choked.

"Take it easy, girl. Just inhale and hold it in." He demonstrated again.

Kris inhaled a few more times, but didn't feel anything. He continued to swap with her, but then she backed up as his face distorted.

"What's wrong?" Billy said, sounding like a cartoon character, but not a funny one, an evil one.

She backed up further, her eyes darting around the room. "What did you give me?" she screamed.

"Relax, babe. I smoked the same stuff. It's clean."

Kris fell to the floor and covered her face, wishing the room would stop spinning. Every time she tried to uncover her eyes, Billy's face moved forward and back again, as though growing and shifting in size. "Make it stop," she cried.

His hands touched her shoulders. "Kris, I don't understand."

"Stop it!" Chills rocked her body and her heart raced.

"I'm sorry, babe. I swear. There's nothing in it." He wrapped his arms around her as she shook violently.

"It hurts. My heart hurts. I'm scared," Kris cried.

He continued to rock her back and forth. "I'm sorry."

It took forever, but finally her body stopped quivering. "I don't want to do that again."

Billy held her. "Okay."

Kris got to her feet and stumbled to her car. The deli had closed hours ago, and Liz would be freaking out. She sat in her car while she waited for her head to clear. It didn't take too long. Maybe it was just a fluke because it was her first time. Everyone else seemed to enjoy it.