Salt Lake County Fairgrounds

Salt Lake City, Utah

The facility was dressed up beautifully, as were her peers. It was far more than Beth had expected from a high school dance. Still, it wasn’t what she dreamed it would be. Beth thought she would spend her prom night dancing with Anthony until they both dropped from exhaustion. Instead, she found herself the third wheel on Sarah’s date with Patrick. Her only consolation was that Patrick drove an old truck that could only seat two and, therefore, had to drive herself to the dance.

Already, Beth had spent an hour slowly walking along the outside of the festivities, occasionally venturing out of the building to walk out on the grounds, but she hadn’t danced nor had she been tempted in the least by the refreshments. Now, she lingered in a corner, partially hidden by a rigging supporting white linen draperies. From her hiding place, she could see Sarah engaging in some intense eye contact with her date, swaying in time to the slow song being played. Beth’s heart hurt.

She wished Sarah, Carter and her mom hadn’t talked her into attending. They told her she’d always regret it if she didn’t go to her prom. They insisted that prom was about more than high school sweethearts; that it was about friendship, school spirit, and celebrating her upcoming graduation. After all Beth had seen through the evening, though, she knew they were all wrong. Not able to stand it another minute, but not wanting to spoil Sarah’s fun, Beth made her way to the door, and left unnoticed.

The Guardian was surprised Beth had stayed at the dance for as long as she did, and sent a message to his companion letting him know Beth was leaving the Fairgrounds. Using his speed and stealth gifts, he tailed the red crossover as Beth drove away. Sometime later, Beth pulled up to the cemetery, and found the gates locked. The Guardian observed, both amused and saddened, as Beth left the car parked at the gate and proceeded to climb over the low fencing. She took care not to damage her borrowed dress, the shimmery black material glittering softly under the moonlight.

He wished he were surprised that Beth chose to spend part of her senior prom night at Anthony’s grave. As he followed her deeper into the cemetery grounds, keeping his distance, the Guardian felt a wave of guilt crash into him. Quickly, he dismissed it. He knew he’d done the right thing, and was still doing the right thing; he would always do the right thing for her. Finally, she stopped and the Guardian knew she had reached the gravemarker. He crept closer, feeling as though he weren’t the only creature watching Elizabeth in the night.

Beth’s shoulders were rising and falling sharply, her chest was heaving, and her face was mottled red with the fury burning inside her. Her hastily fashioned updo was falling out of its shape and already, there were subtle mascara lines running down her cheeks. The Guardian could hear all the angry and hurt-filled thoughts in Beth’s mind begging for release, but she said nothing. She didn’t sob, she didn’t scream, she didn’t rant or rave. Long moments passed. The Guardian sensed the shift in her stance half a second before Beth’s knees gave out and she crumpled to the sod, finally letting out quiet sobs. It had taken all his self control not to catch her.

The skin of her shoulders and arms looked like porcelain in the dark of the night, and when she reached out and placed one palm against the front of the smooth stone, her head hung low, her dark hair spilling around her shoulders like a veil, she looked like a specter. In an uncanny moment, the Guardian heard Beth think a similar thought, “I’m no better than a ghost in a graveyard.” It startled the Guardian. For a moment, he worried that he might have pushed the comparison into her mind.

Sometime later, Beth was seated, resting her back against Anthony’s headstone. Her tears had passed and she was simply staring off into the starry night. That was when she spoke.

“I don’t know if I believe in heaven or hell. But I’ll tell you this, Toney: I believe in spirits. It just doesn’t feel like you’re gone. Sometimes, it feels like you’re only in the next room. Sometimes, I don’t feel you at all. It’s maddening.” At this, Beth rubbed her hands over her face, smearing what little cosmetics remained. “Like now, I’m talking to you but I can’t feel you. But other times that I’ve come here… I could swear… nevermind.”

The Guardian felt Beth berating herself for behaving so grief-stricken; she thought she’d worked through all of her Anthony issues. She took a few minutes longer to strengthen her resolve, then, with great effort, she heaved herself off the ground. Her body seemed twice as heavy as it had been when she entered the hallowed grounds. Beth trudged back to where she left the car, her shoes in hand, careful not to stub her exposed toes on any flat markers. The Guardian followed all the way. He still felt that they weren’t alone, that they were being watched.

When Elizabeth reached the red crossover, the Guardian took a moment to reach out to the minds of the spies. Once he had a firm grasp on both of them, he flooded them with crippling fear. He sensed their bodies freeze up and their terror at following Beth home. A moment later the pair departed as quickly as they could manage. Satisfied that his charge was out of immediate danger, the Guardian watched Beth maneuver the red crossover back out onto the main thoroughfare, then he began tailing her home.

***

“What the hell, Pops?! Where have you been?!” His companion had barely waited to regain his human form before barking his outrage at the Guardian. “You told me she was leaving the dance hours ago. Hours!” He scrambled to retrieve his clothing before hurrying after the Guardian, chest heaving in outrage.

The Guardian resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and continued to the tree where he would keep watch until Carter went to sleep or left in the night to see to his duties elsewhere. “She needed some time at the cemetery,” he said, not looking at his companion. Despite his averted gaze, he sensed the man wince. Waiting until his companion turned to lance achingly at the Raynar home, the Guardian used lept for a high branch, using his unique gifts to aid his reach. By the time his companion tore his eyes from the house, the Guardian was settled into the crook of the branch as though he’d been there for hours.

Hardly missing a beat, the pup tilted his head up to the vampire’s perch and asked, “How bad was it?” The young man jumped from branch to branch until he gained a perch near enough to the Guardian that they could more easily converse.

The Guardian thought for a long time before he offered his companion an answer. “It was heartbreaking, Kid.” When his companion opened his mouth to press for more details, the Guardian raised his hand to stay him, “Let’s just leave it at that.”

“But-”

“You might be interested to know that we weren’t alone at the cemetery.”

“What?”

“Those two vampires were watching her again.” The Guardian watched the hairs on the back of his companion’s neck rise in alarm. “I scared them off, but I think we’ll need to be more watchful over the coming weeks.”

“Pops, I swear I cross their scents at least once a week. I’ve got a bad feeling about those creeps,” the young man’s words came out on a growl that was more animal than it was human.

“Agreed.” With that, the two fell into their familiar rolls guarding Elizabeth. When Carter finally crept out of the house to attend to his Pack duties, he summoned the young man and departed after issuing his orders. Though the Guardian usually kept personal watch over Beth on his own, he had his counterpart join him after he’d resumed his beast form. Ignoring the wolf’s dislike of his shadows, he cloaked them thickly and passed the night in peace.

***

Beth shifted uncomfortably in the metal folding chair. The lights shining down on her and her fellow graduating classmates were like heat lamps in the arena. She felt grateful that this year, the female graduates were donned in white caps and gowns rather than the yellow the previous graduate class females were forced to endure. She glanced around her, seeing only a haze of her peers in blue and white; she hadn’t spotted Sarah since they were separated to take their seats, though she felt sure she was seated in the first or second row farthest from her.

Ignoring the strange vaguely communist speech the valedictorian was giving at the front of the assembly, Beth turned to seek out familiar faces in the crowd seated in the bleachers around the enclosed arena. But the lights shining on her were blinding and kept her from picking anyone out from the audience cast in shadows. Sitting in the seats waiting for the ceremony to draw to a close, she felt uneasy, exposed. She felt eyes on her.

She’d had the feeling for a few weeks now that she was being watched; it was making her suspicious, paranoid, and jumpy. So, though she knew she was being observed by any and all of the family that had come to support their graduates, the sensation of being watched was a feeling apart from that. She felt threatened, stalked. She felt alone. She just needed to see someone, anyone who made her feel safe, then she could make it through this event. But they were all hidden from her by lights and shadows.

Several more speeches were given before the graduates began to walk. One by one, they were handed their diploma cases (empty, and strictly ceremonial) and returned to their seats. Beth was behind the stage waiting for her turn to walk when she heard “Anthony Larson” called out as a graduate. They’d given him his diploma posthumously. As Beth made her way back to her own seat, she wished she could just run for the door and skip the rest of commencement. It hadn’t even occurred to her that the administration might do such a thing for Toney. She felt the tears stinging her eyes and tried to blink them away.

When the time finally came for the graduates to toss their caps, Elizabeth tucked hers under her arms and made her way to the same door she’d come in through. She pushed and shoved and elbowed a few of her joyous peers, but she felt a sharp tightening in her chest and the air around her was thinning. She needed out. At last she exited through the rear hall of the arena and didn’t stop until she was standing in the warm June sunshine breathing in the smells of the heated asphalt, tar, and paint from the parking lot.

Her restless legs began to carry her south, away from the arena, and Beth forced herself to return to the designated booth where she could turn in her graduation paraphernalia in exchange for her actual diploma. The ladies working the booth were surprised at her arrival as she unzipped the white polyester gown and folded it neatly.

“Oh, is it over already?” The plump, middle-aged woman asked from behind her spectacles.

Beth simply shook her head and set the gown on the table. “It’ll be under Reynar, Elizabeth, please.”

Without delay, the woman made the exchange and there was now nothing left to keep Beth from leaving. She felt the same compulsion that she needed to be in San Francisco that had been plaguing her for months. She was trying to break away from that unaccountable urge when a struggle down the hallway drew her attention. Two tall men were arguing and a curvaceous blonde female was hissing quietly at the two of them, likely telling them to break it up or take it outside. Disturbed by the scene, Beth’s thoughts were no longer on San Francisco, but she still needed to run, to be free. She burst through the doors and let her legs have free reign.

She made her way down from the University campus on the mountain towards the city center. At some point, she decided her ballet flats were slowing her pace, and she paused momentarily to removed them in favor of running barefoot. She knew it was a gamble, given that there is always glass, rocks, and other debris on the roads and sidewalks, but she wouldn’t be confined by the shoes any longer.

In the lower avenues, Beth was bowled over by a large black dog as she was about to cross a residential street. Stunned by the sudden contact, she gained her feet and tried to peer after the dog, but it seemed uninjured as it bolted away from her. The sound of car breaks drew her attention back to the crossing. The driver of the blue sedan was gaping and pale as a sheet. Beth waved them on and then glanced both directions before resuming her run. If the dog hadn’t knocked her over, that car would certainly have hit her. She made a concentrated effort to cross more carefully for the rest of her run.

***

When they caught up with her, Beth was standing in the fountain letting the water streams cool her. Carter turned to her mother and saw the mixed relief and concern behind her eyes. Her chin wobbled a little from holding her emotions in check. She hadn’t noticed Elizabeth’s frantic escape from the throng of teenagers decked out in their graduation regalia, but Carter’s eyes had been trained on her the whole time. Jezebel was alarmed when he stood and began racing for the exit from the observation bleachers, dragging her by the hand a tad more forcefully than he’d meant to. She pulled away from him when they emerged into the halls outside the arena and demanded an explanation. When Carter told her Beth had run, she was in more of a hurry than he had been.

It had taken Carter longer than it should have to find and then track her scent, but he needed to be subtle since he had his fiance in tow. Carter couldn’t have her wondering why he was sniffing her daughter - their daughter out. He hated the moment when Jezebel suggested they get the car and start looking for her while driving around; it meant backtracking. Still, they had found her and since her clothes weren’t entirely soaked, yet, Carter was willing to bet that they arrived just after she had.

Jezebel moved to go in after her little girl, but Carter held her back. She turned furious eyes to him, but Carter just shook his head and whispered, “Let’s give her a minute,” as he led her over to a bench nearby. Jezebel was shaking a bit when they sat and her normally lovely scent was soured by the anxiety pulsing through her. “I think we need a minute, too.”

“I don’t need a minute. I need to hold my baby,” she groused.

Carter began rubbing relaxing circles on her back and spoke in a soothing tone. “She’s working through whatever made her run; she’ll come down from it in a few minutes. Just you wait. And we,” he said, planting a kiss on her flushed cheek, “need to let go of worry we’ve been feeling since she ran. Look there, she is safe, she is whole. Just soak up that image for a minute.”

Jezebel turned to Carter, a soft look in her eyes, “You always know just what to say.” When Carter started to preen under her pronouncement, she amended, “Well, almost always.”

Carter chuckled and tucked her close against his side. “Hey, I’m only human.”

Jezebel turned back to watch Beth, but her eyes grew a little haunted. “She was seven.” Jezebel paused for a long time, and Carter wondered what she was talking about. “I upstairs came after cycling the laundry and Beth was just… gone. I didn’t notice at first. I thought she’d gone to the bathroom or was in her room. It wasn’t until the dryer buzzed forty minutes later that I realized-” Jezebel’s voice failed her and she paused to clear her throat. “I looked everywhere. Finally, I called the Reed’s and learned that Sarah had been missing for an hour. We thought they’d been kidnapped. By the time the police arrived, we, Sarah’s parents and me, were desperate and emotional.”

Carter’s heartbeat picked up just thinking about Beth vanishing like that at such a tender age. His wolf growled, unhappy with the thought, he wanted to sit and hold his family in his arms until all was right again.

“One of the police helping with the search party found them. They were holed up in the attic of that little playhouse-shed in the yard.” Jezebel smiled weakly. “It turned out that Sarah had run to our house in tears. Sarah had overheard her parents discussing how to tell her that they were having a baby boy. I guess she somehow felt rejected by this news and ran to her best friend. The two of them decided to run away and live in the little house together and be their own family.”

Carter waited long enough to be sure Jezebel was done with her story. “How long was she gone for?”

“Three hours,” she whispered. “Somehow, the past half hour has felt far longer than that three hours did.”

Carter knew what she meant. Elizabeth had started lying to them. The first time they noticed it was the morning after Prom. The pair had heard from Sarah that Beth had vanished from the dance at some point and it wasn’t until two hours after Sarah’s call that Beth got home and went straight to bed. That morning, Jezebel asked her about the dance and she told them all about who she spent time with and funny incidents, embarrassing moments, and the eventual end to the evening. But it was all lies. Carter couldn’t be certain where she’d gone, but if he had to guess, he’d say the cemetery.

Elizabeth also started skipping her therapy appointments with Dr. Bowman, not all of them, but a few here and there. Those incidents combined to make Carter and Jezebel worry that Beth was headed for some sort of emotional breakdown. Today, they had worried that Beth had tipped over the precipice she had been flirting with for weeks. But as Carter watched her soak up the sun and let the fountain jets wash her clean, he felt in his bones that she had become overwhelmed and had some kind of anxiety attack.

It was as that thought ebbed through his mind, that he thought he heard Beth’s voice in his mind echoing his thoughts as a question, “Anxiety attack?” His eyes locked on Beth and the hairs on his arms lifted. Beth turned her face down from the sun to face where Carter and Jezebel sat. When she opened her eyes, she was looking right at him.

Next Chapter: Chapter 05