The Lost Savior Read online

  It’s going to be okay. They’re coming.

  Chapter 2

  When I come to, I’m lying on a black leather couch in a small room at the back of the restaurant. My friends are crowded in the congested space, hovering over me with concerned looks on their faces. A man in a black suit, with a white button-down shirt, is on the phone, talking quickly as he keeps his gaze locked on me.

  “Tori?” Kylie asks, reaching out to place her palm on my clammy forehead. “How are you feeling?”

  I pull myself into a more upright position, resting my back against the edge of the couch. “Better,” I rasp, pushing damp strands of my long blonde hair back off my face. And I am feeling better. The erratic thumping of my heart has dissipated, and my blood pressure has returned to normal. My vision is still a little blurry, but I can see, and I’ve never been more grateful. When my vision completely blacked out, it was the most terrifying thing of all. I pull my knees into my chest, stifling a moan. My body aches in a way I’ve never experienced before, as if I’ve just gone ten rounds in the ring with Conor McGregor, but that bizarre tingling, surging sensation has disappeared, and now I just feel exhausted.

  Which is a foreign concept for me.

  I’ve run marathons and felt less tired.

  But I guess this is what illness feels like. I wouldn’t know as I’ve never been sick before.

  “The ambulance will be here shortly,” the man in the suit says, approaching me.

  I shake my head, planting my feet on the ground and standing up. “That won’t be necessary. I’m feeling a lot better. I think it’s just a bug, and all I need is my bed.”

  He looks unconvinced. “You collapsed in my restaurant, and I’d feel more comfortable if a paramedic checked you out.”

  Some innate internal voice tells me that would not be a good idea. I thrust my hand out in the man’s direction. “Thank you so much for helping to take care of me, and I apologize for any disturbance I caused, but I’m really feeling much better, and I’d like to go home. I’m sure my parents are wondering where I am.”

  He shakes my hand while his eyes probe mine. I send him a dazzling smile, the one that usually turns Jensen’s brain to mush, amused when his eyes glaze over a little. He blinks excessively, frowning as he drops my hand and rubs the side of his face. “I can’t let you leave without being checked out.”

  Epic fail.

  Huh.

  I guess my seductive charms only work on my boyfriend.

  Instinctively, I reach out, touching his arm. He jumps a little. I deliberately soften my voice. “I really appreciate your concern, but I need to leave. Trust me, I’m fine.” I eyeball him, watching his eyes glaze over for the second time.

  Slowly, he nods with a slight frown. “Okay, Miss King. You’re free to leave.”

  We are all quiet as we leave the restaurant under the scrutiny of the other diners. I jog toward Kenzie’s SUV, desperate to get out of there before the ambulance shows up. I sit in the passenger seat, while Zara and Kylie hop in the back. Kenzie powers up the engine and drives us out of the mall parking lot and onto the highway.

  “What was that back there?” Zara asks, finally breaching the silence.

  I shrug. “I don’t know.”

  “Are you genuinely feeling better, or did you just say that to get the hell out of there?”

  I look behind at Zara and Kylie. “I’m fine now. Just really, really tired. How long was I out of it for?”

  “About ten minutes. You scared the crap out of me,” Kylie professes. “I was really worried about you.”

  “You had us all worried,” Kenzie adds, taking the next exit off the highway.

  “I’m sorry I worried you, but, honestly, I’m fine now,” I lie, offering them a wide smile, hoping they’re buying this. While all that crazy weird shit has stopped, I’m not feeling fine.

  Far from it.

  I feel strange, like my inner workings are being reorganized, and it’s the oddest sensation. Like this skin I wear isn’t mine. As if I’m an entirely different person on the inside. An imposter in my own body.

  But admitting that wouldn’t help put my friends at ease.

  I shift uncomfortably in my seat, freaking out in silence. I’m not even making sense to myself, but I can’t explain it.

  I just don’t feel like me. At all.

  And it’s scaring the shit out of me.

  “Ho. Lee. Crap!” Kenzie yells, and we all jerk forward as she jams on the brake. Tires skid across the asphalt, emitting a painful screeching sound, and the car careers from side to side as she struggles to control the vehicle.

  I strain toward the windshield, peering out into the dimly lit dark road, and all the blood leaches from my face. While street lighting is virtually nonexistent on this quiet stretch of road, the man’s face is illuminated under the glow of the half moon rising in the nighttime sky, his unnerving smile just as creepy as it was back in the mall.

  The guy I bumped into at the mall is standing in the middle of the road with his arms crossed staring at our SUV as if we’re his next meal.

  “Oh shit. It’s Creepy McCreep,” Kylie exclaims.

  “How the fuck is he here?” Zara asks.

  “He dropped out of the frigging sky!” Kenzie shrieks, still struggling to regain control of the wheel as the car zigzags across the road. “And why the fuck isn’t my brake engaging?!” Hysteria bubbles to the surface as she desperately stamps her foot repeatedly on the brake to no avail. The SUV swerves dangerously from side to side, and I grip the dash, watching in horror as we move closer and closer to the menacing form waiting to confront us.

  “What the hell do you mean he dropped out of the frigging sky?” Zara demands, wrapping her arms around my headrest from behind.

  “He did! I swear. I know it sounds like I’m crazy, but I was watching the road, and he just fell out of the sky. Aaghh!”

  The man lifts his hand up, and the front of the SUV elevates, the tires rising off the road. Zara and Kenzie scream. Kylie has gone as white as a ghost. Butterflies are running wild in my chest, but I know panicking won’t help. A sense of calmness washes over me. “Everyone try to stay calm” I hear myself say in a controlled voice. Kenzie is fumbling with her seatbelt, her fingers trembling as she tries to unbuckle herself. “What are you doing?”

  “Getting the fuck out of here!” she screeches. “What does it look like?!”

  “That’s a surefire way to end up dead,” I reply, reaching over to touch her. “Stop. Take a deep breath and stay calm. It’s going to be okay.” I hear myself speak the words, but it’s almost like I’m outside of myself, watching some alternate version of me attempt to reassure my friends.

  “Tori?” Zara says. “You’re acting weird again.”

  My stomach dips as the car continues to elevate at the front, and my body slumps back in my seat. Keeping my hand on Kenzie’s arm, I turn around to face my friends in the back seat. Zara is screaming again, clutching her arms around her waist as her eyes dart manically from me to Kylie. Kylie’s bottom lip is wobbling, and she’s clearly terrified but holding it together better than our other two friends.

  I know I should be terrified too, but a bizarre confidence has overtaken me, and I don’t feel scared.

  I feel empowered.

  “He won’t hurt you. He only wants me.” I don’t know how I know that, but it’s the truth. It resonates with every part of me.

  Kylie’s brow puckers. “What?”

  Zara’s eyes narrow to slits. “So, you do know him?”

  Refusing to answer, because, in all honesty, I have no clue whether I do actually know him or not, I turn back around just in time to watch the man suddenly lower his arm in one swift downward move. The SUV plummets to the ground, bouncing up and down like a rubber ball, and my three friends emit terrified screams and cries. I lose my hold on Kenzie as I’m jostled about, offering up silent thanks that we all had the foresight to strap ourselves in.

  I lift my chin, drilling
a hole in the guy’s skull as I stare at him out the window. He flicks his wrist, and the SUV flips on its side. A keening, scraping noise pierces my eardrums, mingling with my friends’ petrified screams and roars, as the SUV slides along the road on its side. Kenzie is whimpering and shaking, staring at me with wide-eyed panic.

  The SUV starts veering right, scraping noisily across the asphalt, as if some invisible string is yanking us forward. My friends’ screaming elevates several decibels. Without warning, the car flips upright, and I’m jolted forward in my seat, dazed, as we slam, headfirst, into something solid. I’m thrust about, my body thrown back and forth, up and down, but still protected by my seatbelt. Every bone in my body rattles, but I’m still calm.

  Still not panicking.

  The windshield buckles, shattering into a million pieces, raining glass down on top of us. The screeching of metal mixes with the smell of smoke as the SUV finally comes to a halt.

  I look over at Kenzie. Her head is hanging loose, touching her chin, her hair curtaining her face. She’s clearly unconscious. Pressing my hand to her neck, I sigh in relief as I detect the movement of her pulse under the tips of my fingers. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I twist around, kneeling up and checking on my friends in the backseat. Zara is also unconscious, her body slumped against the door, her eyes shut, and her head resting on the cracked window. Blood trickles down her face from a gash in her forehead.

  Kylie moans, her eyes flickering open and locking on mine.

  “Are you okay?” I whisper.

  She cradles her head in her hands. “I think so,” she whispers.

  I curl my hand around the door handle. “Kenzie’s unconscious but alive. Check on Zara and then see if any of our cells are working. Call for help,” I say, opening the passenger door. “And stay in here. No matter what you hear, don’t get out.”

  “Don’t go out there!” she beseeches, her eyes wild. “That … thing isn’t human!”

  “I don’t know what he is, and I can’t explain it, but I know he’s here for me. If I don’t go to him, he’ll only come looking for me. I can’t risk him hurting any of you anymore than he already has.” I fix steely eyes on my bestie. “I mean it, Kylie. Stay here. Get help.”

  She gulps, tears cascading down her face. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  “I can handle myself.” Again, I hear myself say it and I believe it, even if I can’t understand it.

  “What’s going on, Tori?”

  “I wish I knew, but you’ve got to trust me.”

  We stare silently at one another for a bit. Then she nods. “I always trust you. Be careful.”

  I get out, swaying a little on my feet. Leaning against the side of the battered SUV, I scan my surroundings, looking for the freak. Bile floods my mouth as I inspect the front of the SUV, all scrunched up at the point where it’s embedded in the trunk of a tree. Whispers of smoke slip out from underneath the hood, scaring me. My friends can’t stay in there. It could go up in flames at any stage.

  Time for Plan B.

  I open the door and poke my head back inside the vehicle. “Change of plan, Kylie. You need to get Zara and Kenzie out of the car while I find the creep. Do you think you can manage by yourself?”

  “I’ll do it.” Her voice quivers, but I hear the note of determination in her tone.

  “Try and get as far away as you can in case the car goes on fire. But stay on this side of the road, and use the trees as shelter. I’ll be back to help as soon as I can.”

  I slam the door shut this time and stalk toward the road, to the spot where I last saw the freak.

  Tendrils of awareness creep over me, and that unusual static charge sweeps throughout my body again, but this time it infuses me with strength and confidence. My limbs are steadier and my gait more confident as I stride into the middle of the road.

  “Ah … lin … thia.” The word is enunciated in a ghostly, breathy, low tone of voice that raises all the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. I shiver all over.

  Remember who you are. You know what you need to do.

  The errant thought pops into my mind, renewing my confidence and urging me forward. I still can’t see him, but I sense him. Watching. Waiting. Getting ready to make his move.

  “I’ve been looking all over the galaxy for you.”

  I whip my head around as the same eerie voice swirls around me, the haunting timbre echoing in my ears. I spin left and right, focusing my eyes in the darkness, straining to see him.

  I cry out as an invisible force grips my throat, squeezing tight. I claw at my neck, at the imaginary hands keeping me in a stranglehold, while my lungs desperately fight for air. My feet lift off the ground, and air swirls around my body as I’m elevated higher and higher, up into the sky.

  The man—or whatever the hell he is—steps out from behind a tree, holding his arms in front of him and moving them from left to right as he advances toward me. My body sways in the air, in sync with his arm movements, and adrenaline shoots through my veins, replacing my calm confidence with abject terror.

  The freak stands on the ground below, grinning up at me, his eyes flaring with hunger as his gaze roams over me. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this day,” he says, dropping his arms slowly. My hair falls back down to my shoulders, and my stomach dips as my body is lowered to the ground. The solid grip on my neck doesn’t falter, and my breathing is erratic as I struggle to draw enough air into my lungs.

  He walks to my side, circling me a couple times before his tongue darts out. Licking the side of my neck, he tastes my skin, moaning at the base of his throat. The guttural sound forces all my fears to the surface, and a small whimper escapes my mouth.

  What the actual fuck?

  He sniffed me back at the mall. Now, he’s tasting me? What the hell is going on here? I claw at my neck, grasping for air.

  He presses into me from behind, and his arms wrap around my waist, holding me firmly against him. For the second time today, I’m genuinely sick. Vomit attempts to inch a trail up my constricted throat, and my stomach lurches violently. He nuzzles my neck, inhaling sharply. “You’re delicious and far prettier than I was expecting. What a pity I can’t keep you,” he whispers in my ear, in that same spooky tone. His hand slides under the front of my sweater, and his fingers glide across my sweat-slicked skin. Nausea combines with indignation and rage as he cups my left breast through my bra and squeezes. “But I’m going to make sure we have plenty of time for fun before I hand you over.” His hand slips underneath my bra, and he kneads my cold flesh, his fingers grazing across my nipple.

  Rage explodes in my skull, and I grab onto his arm, digging my nails into his flesh. A primitive roar erupts from my mouth. Power detonates in my chest, and a burst of invisible light thrusts out from my body, flinging the man away, releasing his hold on my neck, and sending a blanket of rippling energy across the land. The force sends me tumbling to the ground, landing flat on my back. Street lights extinguish, popping out one at a time, and, in the distance, I watch as every light fades out, plunging my world into complete darkness.

  Chapter 3

  Movement on my left briefly captures my attention. Even though the road is bathed in total darkness, I can still see Kylie, watching from behind the SUV with her mouth gaping wide open. I hop up, infused with renewed determination. “Pull them to safety,” I instruct, stalking past her in search of the freak. This time, I sense his approach, and I dart to my right, in a lightning-fast move, avoiding the imperceptible tentacles reaching for me.

  “That wasn’t very nice, princess.” A shiver runs up my spine at his chilly, creeptastic voice. He should audition for a part on The Walking Dead—he wouldn’t even need to act.

  “Neither is feeling me up without my permission, perv.” I spin around, lunging at him, but he moves superfast, ducking out of my reach.

  His eyes burn red in the dark, like two creepy glow bugs are embedded in his face.

  “I’m going to make you pay for that. Y
ou’re going to wish you’d never been born.”

  I laugh. “Is that the best you’ve got? Could you be any more unoriginal?”

  He runs at me, creepy bug eyes flaring brighter, and I laugh as I whirl around, faster than humanly possible, appearing behind him before he’s even noticed the movement. Lifting my leg, I shove my foot in his back, and he hurtles across the road as if he’s been shot out of a cannon.

  Holy hell.

  How the heck did I do that?

  The rough hum of an approaching engine reaches my ears, and I turn around. A beat-up truck with peeling red paint draws to a stop in the center of the road. The window is rolled down, and an old man with thinning gray hair and a creased face peers out, squinting at me. “You need help, girlie?”

  I’m at his truck before I’ve even contemplated moving. He jerks back, his eyes widening. “How’d ya …”

  I cup his face with both my hands. “You didn’t see anything. Be on your way.”

  A glazed look coasts over his eyes, and he nods as if in a daze. The truck spits out a column of pungent smoke as he cranks the engine and drives off.

  I exhale loudly, but my relief is premature.

  Kylie’s anguished cry filters through the air, sprouting goose bumps all over my arms.

  The freak reappears in front of me, dragging Kylie with him. His meaty arm is wrapped snuggly around her neck, and she’s scratching at his arm. Her terrified eyes meet mine. “Stay calm.” I barely recognize the sound of my own voice as I urge my friend to keep her composure.

  “You’re coming with me, or I’ll end her,” he snarls.

  “Let her go, and we’ll talk.”

  He barks out a laugh. “I don’t think so.” He tightens his arm around her neck, and Kylie makes a choked, strangled sound.

  My fingers twitch, turning hot, as I stalk toward them.

  “Stay back or I’ll terminate her,” he warns in that exotic cadence of his, taking a few steps back.

  “Don’t hurt her. I’ll go with you.” Inherent knowledge surges forth as another errant thought lands in my mind. I scan my surroundings quickly, searching for something I can use.