Devils Roses 01 - Cursed

myself hours from home at a random bus stop. I locked myself in a bathroom stall, where I sat and ate my granola bar slowly. I didn’t feel hungry, but I wasn’t sure how I was getting home or when I would eat again.

Chapter Thirteen
    Am I a believer or a wanderer, does it matter?

    According to Google Maps, a person can drive from the bus stop I was stranded at, to my town in around three hours, and walk it in about two days. I, however, reacted rather well to Dorian's demon blood and was able to do it in one day. I shaved a bit of time off by running as much as I could. I rarely sweat. I never got hungry and I didn’t have to use the bathroom. My feet never really hurt, wearing shoes half a size too small, and I didn’t need to sleep, not even a little. I didn’t know what to say about that. I felt like one of the terminators. I walked past the sign for our town and felt a small sigh of relief.
    Port Mackenzie was my safe haven in that crazy moment. I walked into town seeing the gas station and knew I would have to be very careful, everyone in town knew me. I didn’t know where to go, but decided my own house would be a great place to start.
    I crept along backyards and kept my head down, until finally reaching our street. I snuck through the backyards of my neighbors, until I reached our fence. I climbed over it, again surprised by the strength I seemed to be able to muster. I climbed up and over with little or no problems. I landed in the backyard just as the sky turned dark. Our house was black.
    I wondered where my sister was, where my dad was, and mostly, where Dorian was.
    Would he sit in my house and wait for me to come home?
    Did he know where I lived?
    Would he have held my dad and Shane hostage until I came to them?
    Would he tell them what I had become?
    Would they be dangling from a bridge somewhere, expecting me to save them with my new super strength?
    I moved stealthily across the grass to the backdoor where the hidden key was. I unlocked it and crept inside. I didn’t turn any lights on. I stood there and smelled the air for a second, I was home. My heart was racing, but I couldn’t help but enjoy the moment.
    I grabbed a drink of water, not realizing I was desperately thirsty. I gulped back three huge glasses and instantly had to pee. I ran to the toilet, assuming it was what life was like for Aleks, doing what he needed when he got the chance. I flushed and ran upstairs to my room. I opened the bag with my mom’s nightgown and took deep breaths. I savored the smell and then put the bag back, I would be back for it.
    “ Mom,” I whispered looking around, and wished Aleks would show up. Then I could get the answers I needed about my mom's death.
    I cursed Dorian under my breath.
    I grabbed a crayon from my art set and opened the window to my bedroom. In light yellow crayon, I wrote on the outside windowpane. ‘I need to see you. Come find me! Check at the beach.’
    I knew he would see it and know I needed him. I grabbed two changes of my usual black clothes and stuffed them into my beach backpack. I put in a few key items I knew no one would know were missing. I jumped into the shower and rinsed myself in the dark, not turning any lights on. It was, by far, the scariest shower I'd ever had. I was clean and dressed and ready to go fifteen minutes from arriving home.
    I grabbed my ball cap my Gran had bought me a few summers before and stuffed it on my head. I tucked my long hair through the back, and made a ponytail.
    I didn’t know what to do or where to go, when I slipped out the back door. I locked the house and ran out to the back fence. Night had fully set in and enveloped the world in black. I was grateful for the moonless night, running through the woods at the back of our property. I ran until I reached Shane’s house.
    His truck was there but that meant nothing. My dad had taken his truck to Portland with Shane. I slipped in around the back of the house. Shane’s house was as dark as my own. Frustrated, I didn’t know what to do. My energy levels were high and I was feeling fine, but how long did I have? I didn’t feel the change yet. I didn’t know anything.
    I looked at the forest where Shane had carried me from many times and shook my head. It had only been a few days since I was on my deathbed, and there I was, feeling stronger than I ever had and yet still dying. Or was I? I wondered if maybe my body reacted badly to the demon blood, and instead of immortality, I