Chapter 7

T he soft summer breeze whipped my hair around my face as I lay in the grass next to their headstone. The dirt was still fresh, and the grass had yet to grow over it.

Pushing a few wayward strands of orange hair behind my ear, I squinted up at the sun, wondering how the hell it was still shining while everything else was falling apart. Sitting up, I twirled a piece of grass between my fingertips as my eyes traced over the two names carved into the granite, realizing that this was all we had to look forward to when we died. Just our names stamped on cold granite as our loved ones stayed behind, talking to nobody. It wasn't like they could hear me anymore. At least, I hoped they were somewhere else.

"Why did you have to leave me behind? " I rasped . "I was supposed to go with you. Right by your side like always, remember? But I'm still here." My voice carried on the wind, traveling through the empty graveyard. Nobody was around to hear me. "What am I supposed to do now, Mom?"

Maybe I hoped for her to show me some kind of sign that she was still around in spirit, but all I ever got in return was dead silence. The sun suddenly disappeared, leaving my once-overheated, pale skin chilled. Looking up in confusion, all I could see were strange black clouds rolling in from the east .

That was odd; summer was still in full swing. With a heavy heart, I kissed my fingertips and placed them against their stone for the hundredth time this month as I climbed to my feet.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as the wind picked up in earnest, blowing me back a step in the process. My loose coat picked up and flapped in the breeze.

The ground under my boots started to shake. It felt like the beginning of an earthquake, but as I tried to not topple into the dirt, I noticed that the leaves on the trees weren't moving an inch. The trees should have been swaying with the force. Everything was frozen , not even the sound of crows calling out in surprise.

The only movement was where my feet were planted — right above my parents' caskets. The sound of wood splintering reached my ears, and all I could do was stare down in horror at where the soil was now shifting. Stumbling backwards, my foot got caught on a gnarled root sticking up from the ground, and the moment my butt made contact with the grass, I started crawling on hands and knees to get away.

Two horrifying, greying hands tore through the dirt in front of my mother and father's graves, bracing itself on the solid part of the soil to move up from the hole it was buried in. A scream was stuck in my throat, and all I could do was stare in absolute panic when the soil next to it moved. Dad's wedding band was recognizable on the one hand, tearing through the next. That was what got me moving.

Twisting, I crawled on my hands and knees, scrambling through the dirt and grass. I jumped to my feet but still kept glancing over my shoulder. This couldn't be real. I have to be dreaming right now. I looked back against my better judgment as I got closer to the entrance, only to find my dad staring me down as he dragged himself out of his grave.

Rotten, disfigured flesh was hanging off his exposed bones, but it was unmistakably him. The same clothes we buried him in were now covered in dirt. Needing to get away before I threw up and curled into a little ball, I turned my head to see where I was going but skidded on the slick grass to a stop as more sobs racked my body.

"You di-did this to u-us." Mom's sunken eyes stared straight ahead, her mouth gaping open, her cheekbones peeling and deteriorating. Her mouth was a torn mess of yellowed teeth.

"No! You're not real. This isn't real!" I cried as my legs collapsed under me. I stared up at her through my hazy tears as my dad shuffled slowly to her side, pointing his boney finger at me.

"Join u-us, October. W-we can be a-a famil-y again." His words came out disjointed and breathy as they stepped closer. Soon, both of their rotting corpses were towering over me. There was no love left in those sunken eyes.

"Time to wake up," Mom said. Her voice sounded suddenly normal, but she was smiling at me with her head cocked to the side. "Wake up, October!"

I woke up gasping and clutching at my chest as my heart thundered. I was a sweaty mess and disoriented.

"Bad dream?" someone asked as the bed dipped at my side.

I was startled so badly that I ended up getting the sheets tangled around my ankles as I scrambled to move away. I somehow found myself spread eagle with my legs sticking up in the air after I fell to the hardwood floor with a soft thud. "Shit!"

"You just can't help spreading those legs, can you?" Jason peeked over the edge of the bed, grinning wickedly. I hated the way those wide lips made my stomach flip.

"Only in your dreams. I promised myself a long time ago that I'd only spread my legs for...," I grunted as I picked myself up off the floor, gripping the bed sheet. Then I closed the space between us, secretly enjoying the way his gray eyes darkened when my breath fanned his face. "A man who knows his alphabet."

I tried to control a grin at his confusion but waited for him to ask because Jason just had to know the answer to everything.

"What the fuck does that even mean?"

He'd caved quicker than I thought, then sat back against the headboard with his arms crossed over his muscular pecs before taking a look around. My room still had all my belongings—from the standing wardrobe in the corner full of black clothing to the shelves lining my dark walls adorned with little trinkets I'd collected over the years. What my parents allowed me to own, that is. They didn't exactly approve of my macabre taste in collectibles. Definitely not my collection of skulls, framed insects, and candles.

The only thing I could immediately see that wasn't there before was the honest-to-god cluster of cobwebs hanging from my ceiling and a gigantic tree branch spreading across my whole room, originating from my opened stained glass window. The tree branch was thick and black, and it was covered in cobwebs. Looking closer, I realized Jessica had suddenly taken up residence in the highest branch and was currently snoozing away.

"Earth to Carrie! I asked you a question." Jason snapped his fingers, rolling his eyes, when I just stood there looking around like an idiot.

What were we talking about? Something to do with the—Oh right, now I remember.

"Honey, if you don't know your ABC's by now, I'm not sure I'm the right person to ask. Sometimes, it's good to play with your food." I winked, feeling abnormally cheeky. Having him in my bedroom again after a year was doing all kinds of things to my body. Speaking of… "What were you doing in my bedroom, Jason?"

I could tell I caught him off guard, as he was still digesting my alphabet comment, and then his eyes filled with realization. I started to giggle, but before I could so much as squeak, he was off my bed, grabbing me by the waist with a snarl and tossing me on the mattress. Landing with a bounce, I moved my messy orange locks out of my eyes and gaped in shock as he prowled closer, kneeling on the bed over my prone body. He grabbed both my wrists and shoved them up, holding them above my head with surprising strength.

"I'd be happy to show you how well I can spell. I know my letters backwards and forwards, and maybe if you're really nice to me, upside down." He was inches away from my face, his lips curling upward.

It was hard to breathe, and the room felt at least ten degrees hotter. I could feel something hard digging into my pelvis, and it took all my strength not to grind against it. He knew exactly what he was doing. The way his eyes darkened to a gunmetal gray and the way his heavy breathing matched my own told me all I needed to know—he was just as turned on as I was. His heaving chest grazed my pebbled nipples, which he no doubt could feel through my thin dress.

" I love when ... eyes ... color of icicles ...

His lips weren't moving, not in the slightest, but I heard his voice in my head like a soft whisper. He'd been talking about my eyes... But why weren't his lips moving? It was just like on the road—breathy voices and words they'd never say to my face .

"I wasn't watching you sleep," he whispered, his breath washing over my lips. "After you fainted like the drama queen you are, the aunties assigned us the guest rooms, but I couldn't sleep with all the screaming going on in here." His palm skimmed down my arm while the other hand held my wrists. "So shut the hell up so I can sleep." His lips grazed mine, and my head spun, delaying my rational thought process. It took me a moment to realize what he'd said.

"Get off me," I gritted out, pulling my wrists against his vice grip. "You lost the right to touch me a long time ago." I twisted in his grip, but he wasn't budging.

"No, I'm not going to fucking kiss her!" he said with his eyes narrowed, leaving me confused because I didn't say anything about kissing me. But if he wanted to... I didn't think I'd actually stop him. "She got us into this mess in the first place—shut the hell up!" he spat as he turned his head to the side, whisper-yelling at absolutely nobody.

I glanced around my empty room in confusion, seeing nobody but a still-sleeping Jessica in the tree. Was he arguing with himself?

"I have no idea what kind of acid trip you're on right now, Jason, but you need to get your hands off of me. Stop blaming me for everything." I struggled once more to get free of him. "I had a choice to leave you dead or alive, and I don't care what you think about it. I didn't know what I was doing, but I'm glad I fucking did it!"

He squeezed his eyes shut as he ground his molars together, and it wasn't just anger I saw on his face. It was also a sort of bone-deep pain. If I could reverse time, I would do it all over again, because the memory of them lying there cold and sightless would play in my mind for years to come. I couldn't go through that pain again, and I wouldn't let it happen on my watch. I saved them, and they could hate me for it all they wanted.

"I had plans, you know," he whispered, his face sobering. "Plans that didn't involve getting stuck in a town full of nightmares and you were never supposed to get hurt." His voice was so quiet, I could hear the creaks and groans of the old manor over each word. It was like he didn't want to say it, but this moment was real and raw.

"I'm not in danger, babe," I said with a small smile, breezing past the endearment. "And I'm not hurt. I have everything I could possibly need right here." I didn't mean to spill my guts right now, but watching the bone-deep worry flicker in his eyes had it all spilling out.

Taking a chance, I hesitantly lifted my hand and stroked over his short five o'clock shadow, the bristles tickling my fingertips as he leaned into my touch. It suddenly felt like old times, where we could just b e. Tears pricked my eyes, but I fought them. I wanted to savor this moment—just him and me, without all the hatred and memories.

"You don't understand," he breathed wearily, shaking his head. "This wasn't just some freak accident. Can't you feel that? Someone or something caused our bus to crash on Halloween night, at exactly midnight. It's too much of a damn coincidence!"

He shoved up on his forearms, holding himself over me. I stared up into his eyes but drew back, hissing a breath through my teeth. Those weren't Jason's eyes anymore—not the stormy grays I knew. They were bright yellow and slitted like a cat's eyes. He stared down at me without blinking, observing my every heavy breath.

"Jason?" I asked shakily, afraid to move or even exhale. "Jason, what's going on?"

His whole body started trembling and shaking, while his head whipped left and right rapidly. He was only a blur, almost to the point that I couldn't see his features at all anymore. I tried to scream, but it was like my voice was stuck in my throat. I just watched him with wide eyes as he spazzed out, wondering if I needed to punch him or hit him over the head with the candlestick by my bed.

He stopped moving in an instant, chuckling darkly, making my skin crawl with unease. He looked like himself, but didn't. A completely transformed Jason was gazing down at me. Two small, black horns grew from his forehead at his hairline, and his wide lips stretched into a devious grin that I'd never seen on him before. As if that wasn't enough, my eyes bugged nearly out of my head as a forked tongue slithered out and licked my cheek.

"My, my, you are divine." Jason clicked his tongue seductively. "I can see why your man can't stop thinking about you."

I watched in stunned silence as Jason's lips moved, but a British accent came out instead. He still sounded like him, but again, not at the same time. What the fuck was going on?

My hand had a mind of its own as I drew back and swung until the slap echoed off his cheek and my bedroom walls. Laughing yellow eyes stared down at me in amusement. He was utterly unfazed by the admittedly hard slap. A part of me felt guilty, but then again, he did look like Satan right now.

I slipped out from between his body and the bed and kept my back towards the wall, my hand reaching behind me for the doorknob. I was so out of here.

"Where are you going, beautiful? Let's have a chat, yeah?" he purred, gracefully moving his big body off the bed. A little too gracefully for a basketball player his size, all six feet four of pure muscle.

My back hit the wooden part of the door as I fumbled for the handle, but he moved fast—so inhumanly fast that his body was covering mine before I could stop him.

It's not Jason. Ignore the hot demon. Ignore the muscles rubbing against your body like a slip and slide. Snap the fuck out of it, October!

"Wha-what do you want?" I squeaked out, hating to show any sign of weakness. But hello, a freaking demon took over my enemy's sexy body! If anyone was going to take over Jason's body, it was going to be me!

Wow, where did that come from?

"Just a tiny favor, luv. First, tell lover boy his new roommate is real. No, he's not losing his mind, and yes, he should really listen to me when I'm talking. I've been telling him for over two hours to wake you with a kiss and then ravish that delectable body, but nope. He had to argue with himself, something about morals and such. Anywho, name is Damon. I'm his familiar. This is going to be so much fun. More entertaining than Hell, that's for sure." He grinned knowingly at my blank stare.

Honestly, at this point, nothing should surprise me, but the fact that Jason was possessed by an actual demon, whose name was Damon , really did a number on me. Christ…

Oh my god... Can I even say the word ‘Christ' in his presence? Will he poof away into smoke and ashes if I let that slip out? I need to make a list of demon no-nos. Wait, what the fuck am I thinking?!

"Yeah…" I swallowed hard as he cocked his head to the side, his eyes flickering between mine as he leaned closer, until all I could do was stare at the forked tongue that was really close to my lips. "I'll let him know. No worries." I tried to pl ay it cool, like it was an everyday occurrence to have a demon cage me against a door, trying to lick me. What was with the licking?

I know I'm delicious and all, but damn, ask a girl before you start with the tongue action. Whatever, no biggie.

"Lovely. I'm going to kiss you now. We have to wake up your man. It's time he got his head out of his ass, yes?" He chuckled and dove in just as my lips parted on a gasp, his long tongue immediately stroking against mine, worshipful in a way that made my knees weak.

I stood on my toes, placing my hands on his shoulders to either push him away or pull him closer. I wasn't entirely sure, but it felt really good. He groaned deeply, wrapping his strong arms around my waist to drag me even closer.

The moment a moan left my parted lips and I ground my heated core along the hard erection, he shoved me away. Wide, gray eyes were staring back at me in bewilderment until they hardened, and I felt the sudden chill of his hatred down to my bones.

"What the fuck, freak?! Molesting people now, really?" He reached up to wipe off the smeared black lipstick from his bottom lip.

"Right, like you didn't enjoy that?" I nodded pointly at his hard dick straining against his jeans, and he only scowled harder. I swore he wanted to tear me to pieces, but not in the way I wanted him to.

"That would happen with anyone; don't kid yourself. My cock could dip into any wet pus—" I slapped my hand over his mouth as the small chandelier over my bed shook. There was a loud thump overhead, followed by a male shout.

"That poor guy. If he doesn't stop shouting, it's only going to scare poor Alfred," Jessica muttered from her tree branch before shaking her head and closing all her eyes with a yawn.

Jason and I stared at each other for half a beat before struggling to open the door so we both could slip through, but of course, he had to go at the same time as me, leaving us both stuck against each other in the door frame and glaring at one another.

"Move!" he snarled, accidentally grabbing my boob in the process of physically moving me out of his way, but I didn't think it was an accident at all.

"No, you move! I'd rather be dealing with Damon right now," I grumbled under my breath as his arm shot out to grip the door frame, blocking me from leaving.

I watched his bicep flex in front of my eyes, and his veins popped out as the wooden frame creaked under his tight, knuckled grip.

"Who. Is. Damon?" he growled, his eyes flashing a laughing yellow before turning back to a cold steel gray.

"Just the fucking demon living inside you that had his, or should I say, your tongue shoved down my throat earlier!" I leaned in close and whispered, "It's the forked tongue for me; I never knew I'd like that." Then I licked my lips, which only drew his gaze there.

His stunned expression gave me the opening I needed to slip past him and out the door.

I took off running down the hall, looking over the banister to see the rest of the guys appear from the bottom level at the exact same time before they started racing up the stairs on thundering feet. The only one missing was Michael. Ignoring the frustrated growl coming up fast behind me, I started running up the burgundy carpeted steps, gripping the old wooden banister to help keep me steady as the top floor came into view .

"What is going on?" Freddy asked at my back as he came up behind me, suddenly very out of breath.

"What's with all the noise?" His twin asked on the other side of me as he stared at the last door on the right side of the hall.

Norman didn't look so good. His lips were tinted a pale, almost colorless blue, and his skin was ghostly white. His gaze wasn't on the door anymore like Freddy's, but instead, it was aimed right at the pulse in my neck, pumping fast and frantic after racing up the stairs.

Jason shoved us aside, breaking Norman's intense concentration on my pulse. He gulped roughly and went to stand behind us. Jason paused at the door, placing his left ear against it, but nothing came from the other side as we gathered at his back. He glanced over his shoulder in annoyance, but that only caused me to move closer because we had to know what was going on inside the room.

"Let's just open the damn door already!" Freddy demanded as he snagged my hand and squeezed it, just as Jason slowly twisted the doorknob and sent the door flying open with a bang.

My mouth dropped open the moment I spotted Michael. His frantic, horrified eyes swung our way, and he started shouting as he pointed at the foot of his bed. "Don't just stand there! Kill the fucking zombie snake!" He had a lamp in his hands, which he used to swing at the snake trying to slither its way up the bedpost.

I honestly didn't know where to look first—how the ceiling of his room appeared to be wide open to the night sky, a shooting star moving across the expanse, how the air crackled with static electricity that made my hair stand on end, or how Michael's veins were turning black the way they had back on the bus. The ink-like substance crawled up his arms, up his neck, and down to his six-pack of delicious abs, which I couldn't stop glancing at. I mean, come on, who wouldn't stare at that?

Focus, October!

I realized belatedly how quiet it was and glanced up from Michael's abs, slowly realizing everyone was glaring at me. Except for Michael. He wore a satisfied, cocky smirk for about half a second, until his attention was once again on the decaying black python at his feet. Its tiny bones peaked through its shedding snake skin, and its red beady eyes were staring up at him with, dare I say, love? Affection?

"Don't move, man. Let's just figure this out," Jason said. "What's the deal with this place?" Jason ran a hand through his mocha hair as he glanced around the room until he met my eyes. "And why do I get the feeling this is your fault?"

"My fault?!" I screeched but was interrupted by Jessica, who skittered into the room and took a flying leap onto my shoulder.

"Holy pumpkin, people! Can't an arachnid get some decent shut-eye around here?" She perched on my shoulder and faced Michael. "You'd think you'd be able to recognize your familiar when you see him. Honestly, what did Alfred ever do to you?"

I snorted and covered it up when the guys shot me a glare, but I could have sworn Norman looked a little smug. I noticed belatedly that he still had the little bat on his shoulder.

"Leave Billie out of this," Norman hissed, inching away from me as he noticed me staring.

"Billie?" I asked in disbelief. "You named him?"

Norman rolled his eyes. "Jessica told me his name was Billie," he said, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "Kind of rude not to use it, right?"

"I mean…" I shuffled on my feet under his intense stare .

"Guys!" Michael shouted. "I don't want a fucking familiar! Get this thing out of my room right now!" Alfred slithered over the mattress, and Michael had no more room to back up. He was plastered against the wall now. "Holy shit, holy shit!"

"Stop being a baby," Jessica drawled. "You're going to feel really stupid about this later."

Alfred didn't hesitate. The snake slithered right up Michael's leg, twisting upward until it wrapped around his torso. Michael froze completely, his bright blue eyes going wide. Before any of us could do a thing, the snake reared back and sunk its fangs into Michael's flesh, and he cried out in shock at the pain. "Fuck! Get it off!"

"Just give it a second," Jessica said with a laugh. Apparently, she found all of this incredibly amusing. Honestly, I kind of did too. It was sort of nice seeing my tormentors out of their element for once.

"What the hell is it doing?" Freddy asked, taking a hesitant step forward. Michael, are you okay, man?"

Michael's eyes had gone completely black, and his whole body seemed to be calming down as the snake began to absorb into his skin. I blinked a couple of times, shaking my head. The snake faded like smoke, leaving behind what appeared to be a tattoo-type mark that wound around Michael's entire torso. Michael glanced down, his shoulders losing all of their tension. I watched in disbelief as his lips tilted upward.

A black flame flickered over his fingertips as his fingers morphed into sharp claws. We stared in disbelief, and I stumbled, tripping over my feet and into a hard chest. A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, catching my fall. I was too wrapped up in Michael to realize what was happening .

Freddy's grip on my waist tightened as he seemed to force me back a step, as if protecting me from one of his best friends. Freddy's muscles bunched, and something poked me in the side, causing me to yelp, but Freddy only shoved me towards his brother. Norman caught me and pulled me so close that I could feel him sniffing my neck. My pulse raced for many reasons.

Bro, are you good?" Jason asked hesitantly, stepping into the room.

Michael's head popped up, and the black began to recede from his eyes and disappear from his hands and arms. "I'm good. Alfred won't hurt me; we have a mutual understanding. Jessica was right.

"Of course I was," she sniffed. "I told you I'd be your official tour guide, but did you listen? Nope!"

There was a hiss, right before a massive cloud of white filled the room, covering Michael in foam. It was only then that he finally snapped out of his trance and backed into the wall, sinking down and sitting in a daze on top of his mattress. That snake tattoo was still there, but the claws and fire were gone.

"Goodie, you kids are up!" Pip said, holding a fire extinguisher on her hip as the foam began to dissipate. I stared at the red canister in disbelief. Where the hell did that even come from? Pip continued before I could ask. "Chop, chop, lazy bones. It's time to head into town."

"What the hell for?" Norman grumbled, staring at my neck with a hungry look in his eyes.

At the same time, I asked, "How come?" I gave him a glare, pulling away slightly.

"Places to be, creatures to see," Pip sang, clapping her hands to get us to move. "We said we'd give you a week to figure everything out, but that doesn't mean we should let ourselves become idle, now does it? Besides, you need supplies if you're going to be staying here forever."

My stomach dropped, but in the next heartbeat, I felt a cold breath on the skin of my neck.

"Dude, again?" Freddy grumbled, glaring at his brother, who still had a hold of my waist. "Stop sniffing her, or you'll catch some kind of freaky disease."

I jerked away from Norman, who was indeed sniffing my neck. "Both of you stay the hell away from me!" I spat, shaking out my hair and shivering. "Seriously, I'm going to start rubbing myself in garlic."

"Morning, guys." Maddie peeked around the corner, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What did I miss?"

I went to her immediately, latching onto her like a lifeline. With a narrow-eyed glare tossed over my shoulder at the four hulking assholes staring at my back, I whispered, "Trust me, you don't want to fucking know."