Some Quiet Place

and his strong scent—blood, darkness, hunger—assails my senses. Our eyes meet, blue against that infinite black, and then I look away, acting as if I can just wish him into oblivion. He turns as he passes to keep those eyes on me. He’s playing a game of cat-and-mouse, toying with me before he makes his final move.
    Yet Nightmare still doesn’t attack. Even when I notice him behind some shelves in the library, watching me and Joshua study, even when he passes the doorway to one of my classes and winks at me.
    It’s one of the slowest days I’ve ever experienced. At the end of it, Joshua kisses me on the cheek. “I have to go home real quick,” he tells me. “But I’ll swing by your place later, okay? Make sure you’re never alone.”
    His concern causes more spasms in my wall, more digging in the hole.
    Sophia, for once, ignores me when I pass her group. She’s been acting this way ever since the town found out about Tim—instead of mockery and pranks, she now pretends I don’t exist. It’s the best she can do, I suppose. Sally doesn’t talk about any of it, of course, but my brother does. Some of Sophia’s friends see me and look away. Most with guilt.
    At the end of the day, I get into my truck with no trouble from Nightmare. Get on the road. On my way home. Back to Charles. Safety is only a few miles away.
    And then he appears in the back of my truck, his eyes gleaming back at me in the rearview mirror. I slam the gas pedal all the way down, intending to knock him off balance and leave him behind in a cloud of billowing gravel.
    Pop . One of the tires explodes beneath me.
    Now I smash on the brakes, open the door, and fly out of the driver’s seat, heading for a field to my left just through a line of trees. I don’t bother checking to see what’s ruined the tire. Nightmare expected it to happen; he’s already disappeared. I’m a blur through the trees. There’s no way he can possibly catch me. Where is he? I turn …
    … and he wraps his hand around my throat.
    “Sleep,” he purrs. His grip tightens, just barely. A fierce desire to curl up and succumb to darkness creeps over me. I fight it but my eyelids are so heavy, as if my eyelashes are made of iron. Somehow, I manage to lurch away from the Element and stumble in the opposite direction, back toward my truck. I hear Nightmare sigh impatiently. “Fine, have it your way.” When I glance back, a gun materializes in his hand. Not real, not real , I tell myself in a daze, staggering.
    A sharp pain billows through my shoulder and down my back. I gasp, faltering, and as I do so he shoots again, another bullet slamming into my lower back. Colors swim before me and unbearable waves of heat spread through my body. I stumble to my knees, rendered helpless. For a shivering instant time stands still. Then I drop, landing face-first into the dirt.
    I watch his shoes approach, all shiny. I’m powerless.
    “You do like to make things harder for yourself,” Nightmare says, squatting beside me. “It’s quite amusing.” He reaches down to grasp my chin, turning my head to the side so he can see my face. I can’t speak; it’s so hard to keep my senses straight with all this pain burning through me. My vision begins to cloud until the face leering down at me is nothing but a blur—all that stands out are those voracious eyes. The whiteness of his shirt.
    “ … please … ” I manage to say, moaning.
    “You’ll be fine. We both know you’ll heal.”
    My head starts to pound and I can’t suppress another moan. A rock is digging into my stomach, but I hardly notice it compared to the agony of the gunshot wounds.
    Lying. It’s all I have left. “ … not one of them … ” I say, tears slipping out the corners of my eyes.
    Nightmare rests the butt of the gun in the dirt, leaning on it. He balances gracefully on the balls of his feet, as if he wants as little dirt touching him as possible. “I beg to differ, my girl,” he replies. “As I said, I’ve been looking for you, and even though you’re wearing a different face, I know. Not to mention the fact you have those abilities. How foolish do you think I am?”
    The pain is consuming. I make a strangled noise. The Element shakes his head, sighing. “Our kind really can be so arrogant. As you’re finding out, we’re not everlasting. I’ve drained more of you than I can count. And we just keep coming back!” He smirks. “It’s a game that never ends. Kill Guilt once, and a new