Taken (Page 22)

She picked up all the dirty clothes on the floor, and emptied out her purse from last night, going through the heaping mess on the floor. She sat there looking around her room, when all of a sudden she looked back at her nightstand and sitting there, untouched, was the kaleidoscope, right where she had left it.

She walked over and touched it with one finger. It didn’t move. She grabbed it with her whole hand and held it up to her eye. All she could see was blackness.

She turned on her lamp and then looked inside again. To her surprise, the blackness turned to bright, vibrant colors swirling around and around. Then, as if by magic, the kaleidoscope began to change.

The image inside parted and as she sat there looking into it, she saw an image of two people. She couldn’t make out who they were at first, and then she shook the kaleidoscope and looked again.

In it, she could see herself and Benji, wearing their old fashioned clothing, on the cobblestone streets of historic Paris. As she turned the kaleidoscope, she could see them walking, hand-in-hand together down the street. She kept turning it and she could see them smiling at each other, and then, all of a sudden, the kaleidoscope went black. The image was gone.

Rachel put down the kaleidoscope and sat on her bed in complete shock. He was telling me the truth, she thought to herself. She had to go find him.

Chapter Fourteen

Rachel jumped up from her bed, threw on her clothes that lay on the floor from the night before, and ran into Sarah’s room to tell her what she was about to do. Sarah was startled when Rachel burst into her room, and let out a scream. Rachel quickly shushed her and put her fingers to her lips. She started whispering to Sarah about her dream and the kaleidoscope without telling her what exactly she was talking about. She wanted to let her sister know she was in love, but she wouldn’t dare bring up that she was in love with a vampire. Rachel would take that secret with her to her grave before ever telling anyone, especially now, now that she knew it wasn’t a lie.

“I have to go find him,” Rachel said, still whispering.

“Find who?” Sarah asked.

“Benji. Haven’t you been listening?”

“Ok, but what’s the urgency? It’s Saturday morning.”

“I just have to see him,” Rachel said. “Can you cover for me again if M & D come looking for me? Tell them I’m still sick in bed.”

“Err, I can try,” Sarah, said back with uncertainty.

“That’s good enough,” Rachel, said as she ran back through the bathroom and tiptoed downstairs and out the front door.

As she got outside she felt the cold, fall air hit her face. She was surprised how cold it had gotten and realized she should have worn a heavier jacket; but there was no time to go back, she had to find Benji.

As Rachel walked out of her driveway, she headed into town. She knew there were always taxis waiting at the Bedford train station.

It was about a fifteen-minute walk, but to Rachel it felt like hours. Her heart was pounding out of her chest, as she was so anxious and excited to see Benji. She couldn’t wait to see his face when she told him what happened with the kaleidoscope. It was all coming together for her. She was finally starting to see the real Benji, and she couldn’t wait to tell him she believes in him now.

As she got into town she could see the bustle of people going into the stores in town. The bagel store had a line out the door and the there were many grownups and kids walking along the sidewalks. Rachel saw Liv standing on line at the bagel store but didn’t stop to say hi. She walked quickly, to avoid making eye contact with her, and turned down the road towards the train station. She could see a train entering the station, the loud horn blowing as it approached. She continued walking and saw the line of taxis waiting for passengers to arrive.

Her pace quickened as she raced over to one of the taxis in line. She motioned to him to see if she could get in, and he waved her in and smiled.

“Where you headed Miss?” the cabby asked, and started to drive out of the station.

“I’m heading to Tarrytown,” Rachel said.

“Where about?” asked the cabby.

“Lyndvia Castle, please,” Rachel, replied.

“Lyndvia Castle?” the cabby shouted with worry.

“Yes, that’s what I said,” Rachel answered suddenly feeling unsure about her decision.

“Listen Miss,” the cabby said, looking at her through his rear view mirror. “What do you plan on doing at Lyndvia Castle? That place has been shut down for years now. It’s condemned.”

Rachel began to feel scared as she sat there in the back of the taxi. She couldn’t turn back now, not after her dream and seeing the kaleidoscope. She tried to think of something to tell the driver, but then realized she did not owe him any explanation on why she was going or who she was heading to see.

“Just take me there, OK?” Rachel said back firmly.

“All right, I take you to the entrance of the driveway, but I can’t go any further.” The cabby said.

“That’s fine.”

As she sat there, she wondered what Lyndvia would be like. Would it really be as bad as the cab driver was making it out to be? She took into account that he was clearly unaware that vampires lived at the castle— let alone her one true love, Benji.

The ride felt like days as the taxi crawled off the highway exit ramp. She looked down at her watch and realized that she’d been in the car for twenty minutes already. She didn’t realize it would take this long in the car to get to Lyndvia. She hoped this taxi was actually taking her to Lyndvia and wasn’t kidnapping her. She’d heard horror stories about kids getting kidnapped from taking taxis in NYC, but she prayed that wouldn’t happen to her.

“We’re almost there,” the cabby said as he stopped at a red light.

“How much longer?” Rachel asked.

“It’s just at the end of this road.”

Rachel looked out the window. The sky was cloudy and grey and the cool breeze was making the branches sway on the trees. She could feel the car slowing down as it approached a dirt road. She began to regret her decision as she felt her body jolt up and down on the gravel road. She didn’t see a soul around her and there were no other cars on the road. She debated whether or not to turn around, but she’d gotten this far, she couldn’t turn back now.

The car came to a sudden stop at the end of the road. Rachel looked out and saw a tall rusted gate, covered in ivy. It was a grand entrance, but was completely run down and overgrown with shrubs and weeds. Rachel looked up at the meter to see what she owed the cab driver.