I tried to protest but my mouth was still full of numbing cotton balls. Despite his slight frame and my rather dumpy one, he lifted me with ease. He carried me past the bed, stooping down to pick up his camera from the dresser and then we were out of the room and into the hall. Will’s door was open, as was Sarah’s.
We had made it to the bottom of the stairs when I felt fine enough to walk.
“Please put me down,” I croaked in a pathetic whisper.
He stopped and lowered me. My legs felt like jelly but at least they felt like my own again. He held the camera with one hand and gripped my hand with the other. We walked slowly through the downstairs area. The lights were all off.
“It was a fox,” I said, my tongue feeling unused and awkward. We peeked around into the empty living room.
“What the f**k was it doing?” he asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t know, but I knew what it was going to do. Eat me alive.
We flicked on the lights and saw neither fox, nor Will, nor Sarah. A breeze rustled in through the holes in the kitchen window. The clock on the microwave glowed 3AM.
The front door was wide open, so we walked over to it and cautiously peered around the doorway. I couldn’t see them but I could hear Will, Sarah and Miguel all talking excitedly in the dark.
WHOOSH!
A huge white owl flapped in front of me, inches from my face.
I screamed and ducked as Dex stuck his arm out and thwacked it. He hit the owl square in the chest. I peered up, hands around my head. The owl squawked and flew off into the night. I looked up at Dex. He took back his clenched fist and let out a low breath. He was just as freaked out as I was. He looked down at me and offered his hand.
“What a hoot,” he joked but his voice was pinched with nerves.
Seconds later, Will, Sarah and Miguel came around the corner to see what happened. I explained as much as I could. The owl part of the story paled in comparison to the fox. It turns out that they hadn’t seen either creature. Out of all three of them, I knew Will was the one who believed me whole-heartedly. Sarah had only a few choice words and a couple of poignant sighs but for the most part she didn’t argue with what I said too much. I knew she didn’t want us there at all but I finally saw that she believed what was going on. And Miguel, well Miguel was a sneering, sniveling son of a bitch. But even he walked back to his quarters looking more wary than before.
And that was the end of the night for me. I wasn’t about to go to sleep again and neither was Dex. So we stayed up, sitting on top of the bed and playing games with a bunch of cards we found in one of the drawers. We stayed up until the sun began its quick rise above the mountaintops and the fears of the night were washed away by the desert light. Only then was I finally able to close my eyes for a few minutes.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The next morning was understandably sluggish. Miguel and Will were taking up most of the kitchen, fixing the windows, so our breakfast consisted of dry toast and cereal. Dex and I ate it at the dining room table with a giant pot of coffee. Between two caffeine addicts, it didn’t sustain us very well. I thought he was going to fight me for the last cup but I convinced him I needed it more.
And I did. I was tired and drained from only getting about two hours of sleep and the last thing Dex needed was more stimulants. He was already jittery from the lack of medication and his four cups of the black drug just made it worse.
“So, have you figured out the plan yet?” I asked as he flipped through a bunch of ghost and history books he brought in from the car. His foot was tapping again to a fast, imaginary beat and he was chewing his Nicorette (while drinking coffee, mind you).
“Yes,” he answered quickly, scanning the pages like a speed reader.
“Does it involve a nap?”
He grinned and looked up at me. His eyes were red, his complexion ashy. For once, he didn’t look too good.
“What am I? 80? I don’t need sleep. You worry too much,” he said and went back to reading.
This was true. But considering what happened last night, his withdrawal from medication, and the day ahead of us, lack of sleep wasn’t something to scoff at. I had every reason to worry about him. Besides, it made it easier to forget about what happened to me. I hated seeing those spiteful fox eyes every time I let my mind wander.
“I thought my job was to read the books,” I said, wanting him to relax a little bit.
He shook his head. “I’d like to know what the f**k is going on.”
He glanced at the kitchen. Will and Miguel were busy hammering away at something.
“I think they know a lot more than they’re telling us.”
I nodded. I felt that way too.
“So, how do we get them to spill the beans?” I said, lowering my voice.
He shrugged and went back to his book. “Dunno. But I think Max might be able to help us out with it.”
My Led Zeppelin ringtone went off and I jumped in my seat, my coffee spilling out of the cup.
“Easy there spaz,” he said and tossed a napkin at me. Maybe I didn’t need that extra cup. Maybe I should start putting my phone on vibrate.
I quickly mopped up the table and fished my phone out of my jean pocket. It was my parents. If I didn’t answer it, they’d call every five minutes until I did.
“Hello,” I said and got up. I needed privacy.
I walked outside into the apocalyptic heat and shut the front door behind me. It was hard to believe that this arid yet outstandingly pretty place, with its detailed peaks, ridges of green and dots of sheep, was all so scary last night.
“Perry, it’s your father,” he said from the other end. “Just wanting to make sure everything’s OK. You never called last night.”
“You never called me,” I reasoned.
“Do you want us to call you more often?”
“Hell no.”
“Perry,” he warned me. And then he went off into a big long spiel about how if I was going to be a responsible adult I would have to start acting like one and that meant checking in with the elders every night. If he only knew what I was really up to, he’d be bit more understanding. Actually, he would be a million times more paranoid. Though it felt wrong to lie, the truth would do nothing to help them in this situation.
“How is this Dex fellow, is he treating you well?”
“Sure.”
“You’re not sleeping with him are you?”
My jaw dropped. My dad had never brought up sex with me before.