War and Order Page 4

  I parked the car in the driveway and rushed inside the house, then up the stairs, where I found Veronika in my room, packing her suitcase.

  "You're leaving?" I asked, concerned.

  "I’m moving next door, remember?"

  "Ah, right," I said. "Into Adrian's room."

  "Just till he comes back on vacation or for a weekend, then I'll come sleep with you again."

  "Great," I said, still quite overwhelmed and my heart still pounding hard in my chest. "Let me help you pack."

  I grabbed one of her T-shirts, folded it neatly, and put it inside the suitcase. "So, how was school today?"

  She shrugged. "It was okay, I guess. Your dad drove me there and picked me up. He's very talkative; did you know that?"

  I chuckled. "It makes him nervous that you're not talking," I said. "You really should consider starting."

  She shrugged again. "I guess. It's just easier not to, you know?"

  "Because then you don't have to answer any questions, I get it," I said. "Clever. How did the kids treat you?"

  "They all feel very bad for me because I’m an orphan, so I don't think I'll have any trouble with them," she said.

  "Did you…you know…in class?" I asked.

  She nodded. "Only once. Not in class, though. I was in the bathroom."

  "That's good. So, no one noticed?"

  "I don't think so."

  "Good. We really should figure out how to teach you to control it," I said and put a pair of shorts in for her. "Do you know anything about it?"

  She shook her head.

  "Your mom and dad never talked about it?"

  "They did. They told me they could do it and that, once it started for me, I would have to be very careful that no one saw me, that I could get in very serious trouble if anyone saw it."

  "But they didn't tell you how to be careful?" I asked and closed her suitcase. She grabbed her doll, Emily, and held it close to her.

  "No."

  "And they didn't know it had started happening to you?" I asked.

  She shook her head again. "No. I was embarrassed. I didn't want them to worry. They had enough trouble."

  I handed her the suitcase with a smile. "All right. Let's get you installed in my brother's old room. I'll come with you and remove anything disgusting he might have left behind."

  Chapter Seventeen

  They came the next morning. Jayden had just gotten out of the shower and was getting ready for school when he heard the cars drive up the street. He walked to the window and looked out.

  Four cars approached. Four black cars with tinted windows. They parked at the end of the road and men jumped out. Men with long skinny legs, holding handheld vacuum cleaners between their hands, the same as the one Mr. Aran had tried to kill Jayden's friends with.

  "Holy…shoot," he exclaimed.

  Jayden grabbed his phone and texted the others using Snapchat, so Robyn's mom wouldn't see it.

  LOOK OUT THE WINDOW, GUYS!

  He walked back to the window again and spotted Robyn, Jazmine, and Amy each looking out their windows. The long-legged men rushed to Mr. Aran's house at number three and disappeared inside.

  WHAT'S GOING ON? Jazmine replied in the chat.

  DON'T KNOW, Amy wrote.

  Jayden waited for Robyn to write something, but nothing came. He concluded she was just too scared of her mother finding out she was texting him to try and write anything.

  "Jayden! Breakfast! You're gonna be late!"

  Jayden grabbed his shirt and rushed downstairs, where his mom had prepared a huge breakfast for him. Scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes. She seemed to be in a better mood than what he had seen lately. She still had that look in her eyes, but there was something else there too now. A small hint of hope.

  "Thanks," Jayden said and started shoveling in the food. He sipped his coffee while his mother stared at him. At one point, she reached over and caressed his cheek gently.

  "I woke up this morning and remembered something," she said.

  "And what's that?" Jayden asked, mouth full.

  She gave him half a smile. "I still have one son. I might have lost Logan, but you're still here. And you need me."

  He swallowed. He gave her a smile. "I'm fine, Mom. You don't have to worry about me."

  "I know," she said. "You're always fine. But I’ve decided to get back up on the horse. I’m returning to work today."

  Jayden's face lit up. "That's great, Mom."

  He sipped his coffee when there was a knock on the door. They exchanged a look and then his mom walked out to open it.

  "Mrs. Smith?"

  The voice speaking was deep and hoarse. Jayden walked up behind her to see what was going on.

  "Yes?" she asked the spider-like man. This one wasn't as tall as Mr. Aran, but a lot harrier.

  "We're in search of this man," he said and showed her a picture of Mr. Aran.

  Jayden's mom looked at the picture, then shook her head. "I haven't seen him in a very long time."

  "He was here on an assignment, classified. He vanished two weeks ago. We found his pet tarantulas at the house. They hadn't been fed in a very long time. Do you know anything about his sudden disappearance?"

  Jayden's mom shook her head. "No."

  The strange man looked at her with his very close-placed eyes, leaning forward on his skinny legs. He didn't look like he believed her.

  "We have reason to think something has happened to him," he said.

  Jayden's mom handed him the picture back. "Well, whatever it is, it has nothing to do with my family and me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to work, and my son has to get to school."

  Jayden's mom was about to close the door when the man put his foot in the way. "Not so fast, Mrs. Smith."

  He pushed the door open. "You recently lost your son, didn't you?"

  "What…what does that have to do with anything?" Jayden's mom snorted angrily.

  The man tilted his head. "In his records, Mr. Aran noted that Logan Smith was eliminated for—and I quote—revealing himself as a wolf in front of hundreds of people at a circus and for killing several humans by ripping them open."

  "He did no such thing."

  "Really? And you can honestly tell me you haven't wanted revenge for what happened to your son at any point? Say, by getting rid of Mr. Aran, for example?"

  "That's enough," Jayden said. He grabbed the door and slammed it so hard on the man's foot that he let out a shriek and pulled it away. Then Jayden shut the door and locked it. His mom stood back, tears rolling across her cheeks.

  "That guy has some nerve to come here and…who does he think he is anyway?" Jayden stopped and looked at his mother, who stood eerily still, looking almost like she was paralyzed.

  "Mom?"

  She didn't say anything. She just stared at the closed door, her eyes lifeless and distant.

  He grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to look into her eyes. All the hope he had seen in them just a few minutes ago had completely vanished.

  "Mom. Don't let that idiot get to you. He doesn’t know anything."

  She returned and looked into Jayden's eyes. "I know, son."

  "No one knows what happened to Mr. Aran, but he’s gone now, and frankly, we're all pleased about that," he lied while picturing the Yeti in Jazmine's closet and Mr. Aran inside of it, knocking on the sides.

  "He's gone, and that's all we should focus on. We need to get on with our lives," he said. "Let them ask all their stupid questions. They can't touch us, Mom. They can't."

  She nodded, then turned away. "I…I think I'll call in sick today."

  Chapter Eighteen

  I couldn't breathe. When I received the text from Jayden and spotted the spider-men in the street, I felt like my throat was closing up and I was suffocating.

  I rushed downstairs to have my breakfast, where I found my mom looking out the window as well.

  "W-what's going on?" I asked, trying to sound like I hadn't seen them.

&
nbsp; She turned around quickly. She shook her head, forcing a smile. "Nothing. Kale-smoothie?"

  I nodded, not knowing what else to do, and she served me a green substance that I tried to drink. Veronika came down a little later and received hers as well. We hadn't had our little breakfast feast in my room as we usually did since I was in such a rush to get downstairs and figure out what was going on. Of course, my mom wouldn't tell us anything. I couldn't figure out if she wanted to protect me or if she just didn't think it was any of my business.

  I couldn't stop thinking about what Duncan had told me the day before, and the thoughts about Mr. Aran raced in my mind constantly.

  If only we knew where to find him, then we could avoid this war.

  It was about to kill me. I knew where he was. All the kids on the street did. But we couldn't tell anyone.

  There was a knock on the door, and my mom went to open it. Outside stood a man who could have been Mr. Aran's brother or maybe a clone. They looked just like each other, except this guy seemed to be skinnier. Behind him, I spotted another of the same strange-looking men walking up the driveway toward Jayden's house.

  "Yes?" my mom said, putting on her nicest tone.

  The man showed her a picture. "Have you seen this man?"

  "Well, yes," my mom said. Knowing her all my life, I could tell she was putting on a show. "He lives in number three. Keeps mostly to himself. Quiet man. A little strange, if you ask me. No offense."

  "None taken. The reason I’m asking is that he seems to have disappeared, vanished, and we need to find out what happened to him."

  "Oh, my, that's awful," my mom said, laying it on thick. "Do you think something happened to him? This is a very quiet neighborhood, so I doubt anything would have happened here."

  "Oh, really? Quiet, huh? Even with all the murders?"

  My mom was caught off guard. "That was different. That was a wolf. They caught it, though."

  "So they say," the man said, then paused. "And exactly what happened to Mrs. Jefferson in number twenty?"

  "Well…she was…she attacked someone…well, that’s none of my business anyway. She went to jail. What does that have to do with Mr. Aran disappearing?"

  The man paused. "I don't know yet, but I intend to find out."

  "Very well. But please do make sure to waste someone else's time while you do, will ya'? I’m in quite a rush, ta-ta," she said, slammed the door in his face, then returned to the kitchen, forcing another smile.

  "Quinoa? Anyone?"

  Chapter Nineteen

  When are you going to talk to your mom?

  Jazmine closed the curtains again. She had been staring out the window, watching the spider-like men go from house to house and ring the doorbells, and she knew it was only a matter of time before they came to hers. She had a feeling she knew why they were there and what they were asking about, or rather whom.

  "Leave me alone, BamBam," she said and pushed the cat out of her way. Her dad had been bothering her all morning, asking her the same thing over and over again. Jazmine had refused to answer, and that was probably why her dad continued relentlessly.

  You need to hear her side of the story, Jazzy.

  "Well, I don't want to. I’m not going over there just for her to lie to me. I know you don't believe she did those things, but I know she did. I saw it, Dad. With my own eyes."

  Jazmine walked away from the window and into the closet, where the Yeti was still up on the top shelf. It was rattling as Mr. Aran was trying to escape. Jazmine felt her hands get clammy when thinking about the men in the street. Would they know he was here? Would they somehow sense it? How much did Mr. Aran know of what went on outside of the Yeti? Would he be able to communicate with them?

  What would happen to her if they found him?

  Jazmine let out a small shriek when there was a knock on the door downstairs. She swallowed hard, then closed the door to the closet and rushed out. Her aunt had already opened the door, and Jazmine did her best to pretend like she didn't care what was going on. She continued toward the kitchen to grab some coffee when her aunt addressed her.

  "Jazmine? These men want to talk to you."

  "To me?" she said, doing her best to sound surprised and not as terrified as she really felt. "Why?"

  She walked to the door and looked at the two men standing outside. She was close to hyperventilating but did her best to hide it. Sweat sprang from her upper lip. She forced a smile.

  "Yes?"

  One of them showed her a picture. "We're looking for this man."

  "Mr. Aran?" she said, her voice getting pitchy. "He lives in number three. That's just down the street."

  The man smiled and narrowed his eyes. "We know where he lives. But the thing is, he isn't there, and we can't seem to find him anywhere. Now, your aunt told us she just moved in recently, but you’ve lived here longer. Would you happen to know where he could be?"

  Jazmine shook her head. She was certain she could hear the rattling Yeti from upstairs, but it could be something she imagined.

  "I have no idea, really. I…I’m on my way to school. We haven't seen him around here for weeks, right, Aunt Tina?"

  Aunt Tina looked baffled. "I…I’ve never seen him."

  "Okay. Let me ask you something else," the man said, putting the photo away. Jazmine spotted the vacuum machine poking out underneath his long black coat and gasped. She had buried Mr. Aran's machine in her backyard, helped by her friends on the night they had gotten rid of him.

  "Mr. Aran was the man who took your dad, am I correct?"

  Jazmine swallowed and nodded. "If you mean he killed him in cold blood, then, yes."

  At this same moment, BamBam slid in between her legs and started to purr. The spider-man hissed and backed up. The other man did the same.

  "Ew. A cat."

  Jazmine grabbed it in her arms and lifted BamBam up, petting him. "You don't like cats, Mr…?"

  "Mr. Webster," he said. "And, no. Can't stand them. Ugly creatures. And mean."

  Jazmine let the cat go, and it ran back into the house. Mr. Webster looked after it, then continued to look at Jazmine. His eyes were scrutinizing her, and she hid her hands behind her back to make sure he didn't see how badly they were shaking.

  "Anything else I can do for you, Mr. Webster? I have to get to school," she said.

  "There is the matter of your mother," the man said.

  "What about her?" Jazmine asked.

  "Why was she imprisoned again?"

  "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked, sensing herself getting angrier.

  "I’m just puzzled, that's all. And that entire story about the wolf. Something just doesn’t seem to add up about all this."

  Jazmine swallowed again. Jayden's dad had arrested Jazmine's mom for the killing of Sam Walters because of the earring. In his investigation, he hadn't linked her to the killings of the teenagers on Make-Out Mountain or Natalie Jamieson or Blake Fisher or Mrs. Sharpe. Fact was, they couldn't prove it was Jazmine's mom who did any of them, even if they suspected it was her, so they had decided to keep those cases out of it and let the public think those were wolf attacks. Putting her away for killing Sam Walters was enough. Jayden's dad feared that if Mr. Aran found out Jazmine's mom had somehow been able to turn herself into a wolf-like creature, then he would find a way to kill her. He would be allowed to. Jayden's dad had told her that was why he hadn't looked into those killings when handling her case.

  "See…what I don't understand is this: it is quite rare to have two killers living on the same street, isn't it?" Mr. Webster said.

  "I wouldn't know anything about that."

  "Your mother is not a wolf, is she?" the spider-man asked.

  "I don't know what you're talking about," Jazmine said.

  "She's a witch like your dad was, am I right?"

  "It's none of your business," Jazmine said.

  "But witches can pretend to be anything they'd like to be," he said. "Right?"

  Jazmine s
hook her head. It was hard to keep her voice from shaking. "I wouldn't know anything about that."

  "Of course not. You're too young for that sort of thing…aren't you?"

  Jazmine blinked her eyes. She felt a rage so big rise inside of her that it threatened to burst out of her. It was like everything inside of her was boiling.

  "I think you should go now, Mr. Webster," Aunt Tina said, coming up behind her. "Jazmine is late for school."

  The man bent his head and almost bowed. "Naturally. Good day, ladies. I will leave you to your duties…for now."

  Chapter Twenty

  We met up after science class in the common area. I was the one who had passed the note to the others earlier in the day, asking them to meet me.

  "I take it you want to discuss the arrival of the spider-men?" Jayden asked and sat down next to me.

  I nodded. "It's part of it, yes."

  Jazmine sat down across from me on the bench with a deep sigh. "They scared me."

  "They came to all of our houses?" Jayden asked.

  I nodded. "They came to mine."

  "And mine," Jazmine said.

  "Mine too," Jayden said. "And they were so rude to my mom. Completely threw her off. Just when she was doing better and had planned to go back to work."

  "Bastards," I said.

  "Amy?" Jazmine said. "Did they come to your house too?"

  She looked perplexed. "They did, but…I might not have opened the door. I was too scared. Mom and Dad are away these next couple of days. Melanie had already left for school. I didn't dare to. What if they found out what I am? What if I turned in front of them or if I got mad at them and spewed fire accidentally? I simply couldn't risk it."

  "That might have been the smartest move," Jazmine said. "I wish I could go back and just tell them I didn't want to talk to them or just stay in my room and never have come down. They got me so mad; I still…get so angry when I think about it. They were asking all these questions, and I’m not sure I made anything better by trying to answer them. I fear they might be onto my mom and know that she was the killer. I’m angry at my mom, and I’m glad she’s in prison, but I don't want her to die. I don't want her soul to be taken like my dad’s."