Taken (Book #2 of the Vampire Legends). Emma Knight

felt like she was on trial. She sat there waiting, tapping her foot and looking at her watch. The minutes moved slowly as she sat there and awaited her fate. She ran the fight over and over in her head trying to come up with a story that would be believable to the police.

      After about fifteen minutes, the principal, Dr. McNery, came out of his office in his crisp navy blue suit with a blue and white striped tie and said in his deep authoritative voice, “Rachel Wood, we’re ready for you.”

      Rachel rose to her feet and walked slowly into Dr. McNery’s office. She saw the two police officers from last night, along with another man wearing a police uniform that said Police Chief. Rachel began to panic and she could feel beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She hoped the police officers didn’t notice the state of panic she was in.

      “Nice to see you again, Rachel,” one of the police officers said.

      “Rachel, I know my associates spoke with you last night, but we need to ask you a few questions, as this has turned into a very serious matter,” the police chief said in a serious tone.

      “Ok,” Rachel said, as she nodded her head.

      The police chief unfolded the Daily Westchester newspaper that was under his arm and placed it down on the table. Rachel took one look at it and was in utter horror. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Was that really a picture of her and Benji on his motorcycle outside of Rye Playland? Rachel grabbed the paper and began to read the article.

       TEEN WITH SUPER POWERS SAVES GIRL’S LIFE AT THE RYE PLAYLAND FERRIS WHEEL:

       A teenage boy saved AHS sophomore, Rachel Wood’s life as she nearly fell to her death on the Rye Playland ferris wheel two days ago. The teen boy is said to be a student at AHS, although he has not been identified at this time.

       Onlookers watched as one of the cars on the popular Playland ride plunged to the ground, shattering in front of their eyes. The crowd looked up to see the boy, miraculously lifting Rachel up with super natural strength into the next car. As the ride stopped, and the two got off, they seemed not to be phased by the incident. When onlookers asked the boy how he did it, and if they were OK, he didn’t respond. The two then briskly walked out of the amusement park and were spotted taking off on his motorcycle (pictured above). There have been no further details on this story.

      Rachel was in shock.

      “Rachel, can you tell us more about this night?” the police chief asked.

      Rachel didn’t know where to begin. She tried to figure out what to say, and then said, “What do you want to know?”

      “What happened that night? How did he save you?”

      “Well,” Rachel took a deep breath. “He grabbed me as the car was falling to the ground and lifted me into another car. He’s a strong guy, and I think his adrenalin was pumping.”

      “Yes, it must have been. That seems pretty incredible if you ask me,” the police chief said.

      “Yeah, he didn’t seem to think it was a big deal,” Rachel added.

      “There is something mysterious about Benji. We don’t have any record of him going to this school, yet we know you said he was a senior at AHS,” the police chief said.

      “Yes, we do not have any student named Benji here at AHS,” Dr. McNery said. “I’m sorry but you seem to have the wrong information.”

      Rachel was confused. She thought for a minute and then began to piece things together in her head. Benji is a vampire; of course he doesn’t go to school. But then why did he say he did? She felt conflicted with all the information she had in her head. She didn’t know what was true and what was false anymore.

      “Where did you meet him?” Dr. McNery asked.

      “Um, I met him when I was walking home one day. He picked me up on his motorcycle,” Rachel replied.

      “Did he tell you anything about where he lives? Where his parents work? His siblings? We need to know everything you know, so we can track him down,” the police chief asked.

      “He said he lived close to school, but that could be a lie, too. I’m sorry, I don’t know what is true anymore,” Rachel answered.

      “We understand,” the police chief said, as he finished writing down everything she’d just told them on his note pad.

      “Can you tell me again, what the nature of your relationship with Benji is?” the police chief asked.

      “We were becoming friends, but now, I’m not speaking to him,” Rachel said.

      “Why not?” the police chief asked.

      Rachel realized she had misspoken. Why did she open up that can of worms? Now Rachel sat there, looking at the four of them, not knowing what to say.

      “We got into a fight,” Rachel answered. “It’s really not a big deal.”

      “A fight?” replied the police chief, “About what?”

      Rachel had officially dug her own grave. She knew she was going to have to tell them something.

      But what?

      Should she tell them that Benji is a vampire, and go against her promise? Or should she make something up?

      Rachel’s mind was racing; she couldn’t just sit there and say nothing. She knew that this wouldn’t end well for her, and that she was going to get in big trouble.

      Each moment she didn’t answer felt like a day. She knew they were probably wondering why it was taking so long for her to answer. Rachel’s panicked state was making her draw a blank. She was speechless.

      “We need to know what this fight was about, Rachel. You need to share everything you know,” the police chief asked again. “This could be our clue to finding this criminal.”

      Rachel nodded and opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. Her mind was racing with ideas. She didn’t want to betray Benji after she had sworn not to tell a soul—but she was being asked to do so.

      She waited another moment and then said, “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

      The policemen looked at each other and then back to the principal.

      “Rachel, you need to tell the police what is going on,” Dr. McNery prodded.

      “It’s personal, and really wouldn’t help you,” Rachel said shyly.

      The police chief looked at his pad of paper and then looked up at Rachel, “Of course it will help us. Any bit of information will gather the clues we need to bring us to Benji.”

      Rachel looked at him and then back at Dr. McNery, who was shaking his head as if to say, go on, tell them. Rachel didn’t say a word. She stood there in an awkward silence, keeping Benji’s secret safe inside of her.

      “Rachel, you can either tell us now, or tell us later. Either way this information is crucial to us,” the police chief said in a stern voice. “What’s it going to be?”

      Rachel looked down at the ground and shook her head.

      “I don’t want to tell you now.”

      “You have twenty four hours to tell us. We will meet with you tomorrow morning at school,” the police chief said coldly. “See you then.”

       Chapter Four

      As Rachel walked out of the principal’s office, she was in shock. She couldn’t believe she would have to spill her secret to the police in twenty-four hours. As she began walking down the hall, she tried to process everything that had happened. She looked down at her watch to see what period it was, the minute hand has just changed and it was now, 11:30am, which meant it was time for lunch.

      She