Decay Read online

  His jaw tightened. “Not the point. You clearly have issues, and it's my job to look out for you since Mom and Dad can't always see what you're up to.”

  “I haven't been doing anything wrong since all of this started. Even before, I just hung out with my friends. I didn't drink or swear or sleep around.” She looked pointedly at her brother. Who was he to judge her lifestyle choices, when he had his own unhealthy hobbies? “So what if my friends like to do stupid things. That doesn't mean I do them too! I haven't even had a real boyfriend. Just a couple of guys I held hands with in the hallway, for like, two weeks? Big whoop!”

  “But I could have lost you,” he whispered. “We don't always get along, but you're still my sister okay? I need to make sure you're safe. Orlando is...”

  “Not safe?” She raised an eyebrow, waiting to see just how her brother was going to explain that one to her.

  JD shook his head. “I wouldn't say that. But I know you and guys. You get into a guy easily. Don't do that with him, okay? For everyone's sake.”

  As much as she wanted to tell him how nothing she felt for Orlando was like what she'd felt for anyone else, she didn't. She kept all of her thoughts to herself, and just nodded. There was no point in picking a fight with him. The insinuation that she didn't understand the consequences of what a relationship with Orlando might do to the group, insulted her. Did he think about that when he started to date Cadence? She doubted it. He's always full of double standards. It's stupid.

  “I'm still taking the bus home,” she said and made her way to the secret entrance of The Apartment that connected it to the main part of Orlando's house.

  JD followed, staying close. “Don't. I'll wait, and you can do what you need to here. His sister isn't even home now, for the record, so if you wanna sneak over through the tunnel and just drop off your present, you can.”

  “You don't think there are motion detectors and stuff in the house?” she asked. Setting off an alarm system in a mansion the size of Orlando's would not be a good idea. She was pretty sure the place would blow up or a S.W.A.T. team would show.

  “Why would she put on an alarm if her brother was missing?” He winked. “I mean, just saying, I wouldn't want to do anything that might freak him out and make him run again when he decides to come back.”

  “He didn't run away,” she muttered.

  “Not the point.”

  “Fine,” she said. “I'll sneak over and meet you out in the car in about ten or fifteen minutes okay?”

  JD nodded and finally moved away from her. She felt like she could breathe again. Angela continued down the spiraling staircase of The Apartment until she reached the bottom floor, otherwise known as their practice room. Many nights had been spent there by her already as she tried to practice her fire abilities. Fond memories of her and Orlando doing it together, coursed through her mind. It was there he had taught her how to turn her fire powers on and off, how to harness and control it. He was the one who had been there through it all.

  Slowly, she opened the door that led to the secret passage that would take her into the main building of Orlando's mansion. The Apartment was a separate, secret wing to the enormous house, and nobody but the group knew how to get inside. There were doors from the outside as well, which made for easy entry for everyone who wasn't Orlando.

  The secret hallway was tight. Angela rushed through it, her claustrophobia getting the better of her rather quickly. Usually she could get through it just fine, but usually she wasn't alone. The sounds of her feet echoing through the cement brick walls made her shiver. Once she got to the other side, she quietly shut the door, paranoid that maybe Orlando's sister had come back home after all.

  Angela crept out of the storage closet where the secret passage entrance was hidden, and looked around, and found nothing but darkness. She was tempted to turn on one of the lights, but instead waited for her eyes to adjust to the built-in nightlights, and then continued on her way. Finding the staircase, she took it up to the main floor. Once more she searched for any signs of life upon opening the door, found none, not even his cats, and made her way to the upper floor where his room was. The door creaked slightly when she opened it.

  So this is where he sleeps, she observed, taking in the sight of the plain navy comforter on his bed and the wooden furniture. His room was indeed large, probably the size of her entire house, and she was dying to see the closet space, but decided it best to not snoop too much. What surprised her was how undecorated the room was. No posters were on the walls, just shelves upon shelves of video games and books. A few articles of clothing could be seen strewn across the floor, but otherwise the room itself was clean.

  The temptation to snoop was great, but she had gone there on a mission, and she would stay true to her motives. Walking over to his dresser, she reached into her back pack to grab the small white box containing his gift. She placed it on top of the dresser counter along with the card she'd made the night before.

  “There,” she said, admiring the placement of the card. Angela took one last look around the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Orlando's school bag sat on a desk chair, zipped up. The bed was made, and overall the room looked like it was still being lived in. His being gone didn't feel right. She noticed his dresser drawers were slightly askew, as if someone had closed them in a hurry. That was when she noticed the rim of a black, smart phone hiding in the top drawer. Looks an awful lot like Orly's phone. Frowning, she reached inside and pulled the phone out. It's off. If he ran away, or left on a vacation, would he really leave it behind? If so, then he was going to a lot of trouble to not be found, or being incredibly stupid. From JD she'd expect stupid, but not Orlando.

  She stared down at the phone. Did she dare take it with her to search for clues? Or would it be a better idea to give it to his sister and the proper authorities? If this is involving the war on Altura though, would they be any help? She had to trust her gut. Cadence will be able to crack this a lot faster than the police, and I'm not buying JD's theories. Orly's in trouble. I can feel it.

  Angela slipped the phone into her pocket for the time being and moved toward the door, only stopping briefly so she could admire a small collection of stuffed animals. Another thing she wouldn't have expected someone like Orlando to have, but with the way the critters were carefully placed on a chair tucked into the corner, she got the impression they must have been important to him. So many things she'd have to ask him about some day.

  Her hand froze on the door handle when she heard footsteps from downstairs. A soft female voice spoke, but she couldn't make out the words. There was no reply, so the woman must have been on the phone. Angela pulled out her cell phone and shot her brother a text.

  “I think his sister is home. I'm stuck in his room.”

  A few seconds passed, and JD's reply arrived on her phone, making a loud beep. She silenced her phone immediately and prayed Orlando's sister didn't hear it too.

  “Go 2 the linen closet next door.”

  She frowned as she read it. “Next door?” Did he mean the door next to Orlando's room? She peaked her head out to make sure the coast was clear before running to the next one over. When she opened the door, she found a linen closet about the size of a typical walk in closet. Bed sheets and towels filled the shelves. Angela couldn't imagine what they would need all of them for, but she did get a big kick out of seeing green turtle sheets that she could only assume were once Orlando's back in the day. Why did JD send me here? Am I supposed to camp out inside until she leaves again? That wasn't going to happen. Not only was Angela hungry, but she had to use the bathroom.

  Her phone had another message on it. “Did I find the ladder?” An eyebrow raised as she read over the text a number of times trying to figure out just what JD meant by that. There was a ladder in the closet? He'd told her once that Orlando's house was littered with secret passages that went to all sorts of places within the mansion. She figured he'd over-exaggerated, as he was prone to do. But sure enough, tucked
into the back corner of the closet was a metal ladder that went down into a rather dark looking hole.

  “Is he serious?” she whispered. But her options were limited. The chances of being caught were much higher if she tried to go down the stairs. Offering up a silent prayer for protection, she grabbed hold of the ladder and climbed down.

  Lights turned on overhead automatically, illuminating the way. The ladder went down about ten feet to a landing. There she found a door, and then another ladder going down. She grabbed hold of that one, and continued her descent. After climbing two more sets of ladders, she reached the basement. Quickly, she snuck out of the storage room and made her way back to the secret door leading to The Apartment. From there, she went out the side exit to meet JD at the car.

  He let out a deep breath, as if relieved. “Took you long enough.”

  “Sorry, I got a little distracted,” she said.

  “Don't wanna know what crazy stalker crush things you did up there,” he mumbled.

  She scoffed and pulled out the cellphone she'd found. “For your information, I was being productive. It's his phone, and once Cadence cracks into it, I'm pretty sure we'll have another lead on where he really went.”

  “What was it doing in his room?” JD asked, starting up the car.

  “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Nia quietly entered the mausoleum, not wanting to disturb Dallas in case he was asleep. He'd been doing that a lot more since Orlando came around. In fact, he'd been doing a lot of normal, living things. Eating was one of them. When she'd first resurrected him, he had little interest since he couldn't taste anything or digest anything he ingested. Any food he ordered was only for show. Over the past couple of days alone, he'd gained an appetite, and a rather monstrous one at that. All he did was eat and sleep. Not like he could do much else for the time being except for maybe read. Orlando was still tied to him.

  “Still not done?” she asked.

  Dallas shook his head. “Every day we're closer, but it seems to be slowing down. I feel like I'm living again, like my body is living but...” He frowned. “Come here, and see if you notice anything.”

  She walked over. He wiggled a finger at her to come even closer to him, and when she did, he grabbed her hand and placed it over his chest. Nia swallowed, his body was still fairly cold, but there was more muscle definition there than the last time she'd touched him.

  “Um, what exactly am I looking for?” she asked.

  “A heartbeat,” he whispered. “I'm pretty sure there isn't one. If I disconnect from him, I'm worried it'll end everything, and I'll revert. Kind of like how I slowly started to decay every time you left my side. Same thing here.”

  With a sigh, Nia sat across from him. Her gaze wandered toward Orlando, who was asleep on his side. Dallas slept a lot, Orlando doubly so. She could count the number of times he was awake to talk to her on one hand. Still, not once did he complain about it. He must have understood, and she wasn't about to complain. The guy had a mouth on him that bordered on irritating. He did have his nice moments, she'd give him that. Life at school became a little more tolerable once he came around. She almost felt guilty. Almost, until she remembered what he'd put Dallas through.

  Dallas must have noticed where she was looking because he sighed as well. “I'm not sure I can keep doing this. It's painful.”

  “It shouldn't hurt you,” she pointed out.

  “No, that's not what I mean by painful. I'm saying, it's hard to watch. He's my best friend, and I get that he wants to help me, to make up for everything that happened, but it sucks to see him suffer. Yeah, he thinks he deserves it, but I haven't had a chance to tell him that's not true. I was never mad. I... I just wish he'd wake up, so we could talk before it all ends all over again.”

  “So you're having second thoughts, basically.” Nia's body stiffened. If Dallas changed his mind, she'd be alone all over again. Nobody knew her like him. She needed him.

  He frowned. “You're mad. But it's my life. Shouldn't I get to decide what to do with it? Maybe it's better to let us all live with our consequences. Do-overs aren't possible. What makes my life more important than someone else's to get a retry at it? There are more worthy candidates for a full resurrection, don't you think?”

  “Right, take your life into your own hands like you did last time, huh? But who makes you the end all, be all decision maker in the matter? You're being selfish, did you know that? Just like you were when you first made up your mind that your life wasn't worth it.” The words flew out of her mouth without her even thinking, and the instant they left, she wanted to take them back. Who was she to boss him around? Anger seethed inside of her, however, and she couldn't push the feeling aside. Nia had never been good at containing her emotions.

  For a moment, all he did was stare at her with large dark eyes. “Maybe I had the right idea before.”

  “The world isn't better off without you just because you can't handle your emotional problems. There's always going to be something going on that's going to make life difficult. Quitting life might be an easy way out for you, but it's still quitting, and you're still hurting everyone else in the process.”

  “I know, but I also made my bed, and I should lie in it, right? Or rather, my coffin. What about what I'm going to be doing to his family? His friends? I'm murdering him for selfishness too. It doesn't matter if he's okay with it or not, it's still murder! And no one is ever going to know the truth of what happened.”

  Tears filled Nia's eyes. “Give me more time. I'll figure something out. There has to be a way.”

  “We've tried for months to figure something out. It's not easy being a reanimated corpse.” He flashed her a coy smile. “Not being able to do anything but sit here, is boring. The only peace I have is when I leave my body and go back to being a floating spirit. Only I can't go to all of the places I used to because I'm tethered to my body. If I can't fully live again, it doesn't seem worth the effort. How can I be everything you want from me if I'm not fully alive?”

  “How can you be if you're completely dead?”

  “Why do you want me around so badly, anyway?”

  His question pierced her heart in a way she hadn't been expecting. Truthfully, she didn't know why his being alive was so important to her. His companionship was special, the way she desired his companionship like she breathed air frightened her, and no one had ever been constantly on her mind like he was. But could she tell him all of those things? Would he understand? Did he even feel the same way?

  She bit back her tears. There was no way he would get to see her cry. “You're my best friend. You saved me. I want to save you too and be able to do real, friend things.”

  “I'm glad I've been able to help you so much.” He placed one of his hands on her knee. “The day we met, I had been so worried about you. I still worry about you. Every night you leave to go back home, I pray you aren't going to people who will hurt you. I'm especially glad you didn't make the same mistake I did. Because you're right, it's not worth it. Running away from your problems isn't going to do any good. It doesn't teach anyone a lesson either. Just leaves a lot of unanswered questions and heartbreak. I get that now. I regret it all. Talking it out and being honest would have been a lot easier and productive.”

  “So, why are you quitting again?” she whispered.

  “Again, I made my mistakes. I have to accept them. There are few things that once done, you can't take back. This is one of them.”

  “But you can, you are−”

  “At a price I don't want to pay anymore, even if the will is there.” He glanced down at Orlando. “It's been a week, and it's just too much for me to handle. I thought it'd be quick and painless, but it's not. You don't have to hear him whispering all of his questions that I'm scared to answer, or watch him fight it as his natural instinct to survive starts to kick in.”

  She shook her head. “You know I'm going away this weekend to help my tribe. The yellow tribe is
searching for something that will give them a lot of leverage over their enemies. They were even able to get help from the red tribe. I don't want to come here again after all of that and have you be gone. I'm going to need a lot longer than a handful of hours to say goodbye. I'd like to be able to take you to all those places I promised I would when you were living again. Just hold on for a couple more days. Then if you really want to end it, I'll...I'll let you go...” She sniffled.

  Dallas reached out and brushed away the tears trickling down her cheeks. “That I can do, but I need you to help me break this. I'm only going to take enough from him to keep me around sufficiently. He needs to be conscious. We both need closure.”

  “I'm sure,” she mumbled. Nia stood, moving away from his touch. His hands had a faint heat to them. What would they have felt like when filled with the full warmth of life? I can't entertain the thought anymore. It's not going to happen. I'm back to being alone, all over again. She glared down at Orlando's sleeping body. He doesn't deserve it. Why is he being picked over me? All he's done is hurt and betray Dallas. I actually offer the guy something real, and it's rejected? This is so stupid.

  “Are you okay?” Dallas asked, gazing up at her from the floor.

  “Fine. I'll see you again Sunday night when I get back. Don't expect me to stop in before I go. I'll be busy tomorrow with school and then driving up, you know how it goes. If I can make it back early, of course I will.” She spoke fast and short, wanting nothing more than to leave, so she could go cry in peace. “I have a meeting with my alien boss, otherwise I'd stick around longer.” It wasn't a complete lie. She did have a brief meeting with the strange Alturan, Nehihe. It wouldn't be something too time consuming, though.

  “O...kay,” he said, and she could sense the doubt in his soft tone. His gaze went downward, and his jaw tightened. “See you Sunday.”

  Nia left quietly without another word. Anything else she had to say would be out of anger. Breathe, just remember to breathe. Count to ten, take a walk, do something your therapist recommended, before you blow up. She walked through the snow, letting the cold air fill and calm her. Her car wasn't parked far from the mausoleum, but she wasn't ready to return to it either. So she locked the door to the mausoleum so the boys wouldn't have any unwanted company, and took a stroll down the dark paths of the cemetery.