KETLIN

Fastly, my hand slipped into my purse. I grabbed the small plastic bag and tore it open, throwing the powder at the blond girl in front of me. At first she didn't do anything about it. That was till she understood what that was. With a light scream she pounced back, but the powder still hit her. Just before falling she managed to hit my neck with her sharp nails. I heard a snap and felt a light pain on my neck.

With panic, my hand searched for the stake in my purse. In the corner of my eye I saw the girl making a new attempt to attack me. But sudden fast movement confused me, as I didn't understand anymore, what was going on around me. I found the stake and tried to defend myself. Blindly I felt hitting something. The movement stopped. I raised my eyes, just to feel a strong shiver as I saw Adam standing just few steps away from me, right shoulder covered with blood. He was leaning against a tree to hold his balance, meanwhile I saw his wound heal. And it healed fast! Adam was looking directly into my eyes.

I noticed blood on the tip of the stake that was in my hand. Just now I understood that I held it ready for next hit. This material probably made him weaker, as granny had said. And Adam was close enaugh for me to strike.

I was in a shock, I felt ill. My hand was shivering. Recommended through the heart, had granny said. But I just stood there. I couldn't do it.

Again I heard a snap, when my necklace fell of. Blond girl had damaged it before. That necklace had been the only thing that could really protect me, as I couldn't use the stake. I felt even more ill. My hand fell down and I retreated. But my legs were weak and also shivering, so I fell to my knees. Why can't I do it? Should I scream for help? Granny told me that this stone would make them powerless only for a while. Could I flee and take Sara with me? Was she even alive?

I noticed Adam move. His shoulder was healed.

"Adam!" yelled the girl angrily. "You must kill her! She almost killed you. And thanks to you maybe even me!" Just now I saw that the girl was tied to a tree, holding her back from escaping, or attacking. The powder was also still on her.

"I'd happily stab it through your heart myself," said Adam, sounding very serious. Then he looked at me and Sara. I was still on my knees, shivering all over and waiting for whatever he was going to do.

"Ketlin?" he asked gently.

I raised my head to look into his grey eyes.

Then he turned to Sara. "She must be taken to the hospital. Can you carry her?" he asked me.

He confused me, but I limped next to Sara. The stake was still in my hand. I wiped it clean on the ground and put it back to my purse. Then, in hope of getting away, I tried to grab Sara onto my arms. The need for escape gave me some strength.

My sense of direction was completely out of place, but I tried to go the same way where I had come. Soon I saw the trail, by which we came with the car. It was completely quiet and empty, except one single dark-blue car that was parked on the side of the road. I recognized it immediately. It belonged to Adam.

I tried to understand, which way should I go. I was also tired. And plus the weight of Sara, I had to rest. So I fell to my knees again. Then I heard someone getting closer which made me flinch.

"I'll take Sara to the hospital. I think you should come with," said Adam, who now stood only a few meters from me, crossing his arms.

I tried to get up fast, which was pretty hard. After a short silence, I whispered: "How can I trust you?"

Slowly he stepped closer, making me back down a little. He reached out his arm, where he held my necklace, holding his fingers as far from the small heart as possible. Slowly and hesitatingly I grabbed the necklace, then backed down fast again.

"As long as you keep it with you, I can't touch you. And as fast as your friend gets to hospital, that sooner will she come to herself."

His tone and acting surprised me. As much as I knew, deemotays didn't care about people, just killed them to get our energy. But Adam didn't look like he was up to no good. It looked like he really wanted to help me.

I thought about it and nodded. Then he came closer and took Sara from my arms, which made me flinch again.

He had no trouble opening the door of his car while holding Sara. I followed slowly and carefully sat on the backseat, next to Sara. When Adam had sat in, he pulled on his jacket, which covered his bloody shoulder. Then he turned the car around, heading back to town. All this time I held my hand on the stake in my purse. Just in case. Sara was totally unconscious, but I felt her weak pulse and breathing. I also watched the road, in case Adam decided to take us somewhere else. But soon we made it to the hospital parking lot. As soon as the car stopped, I stepped outside. Adam took Sara and we headed to the front doors.

Nurse told us to wait, till they were checking her.

"Should I take you home after that?" Adam asked, when we were lone.

"You can go," I answered.

"Your bag is still in my car."

"You can bring it here and then leave," I said.

"I can't. It's full of sugarra." I didn't know how to answer to that. "This is how we call that stone. It's aura is burning," he explained.

For a while there was silence. "How is Sara doing?" I asked finally.

"With her it went better than Kairi. She should wake up about in three days. Maybe even two."

I took the necklace from my pocket and looked at it. "Who was that girl?" I asked. "In those woods."

"Lucy, my sister."

I didn't know Adam had a sister. "And you just left her there? It's not far from where the party was..."

"I took care of it. And besides, thanks to sugarra she'll be unable to take energy for a while."

Took care? "Does that mean that you also can't...?" I didn't finish it.

He thought about it for a sec. "I think I could now."

I squeezed the small heart in my hand. "This is why you didn't kill me?" I asked quietly.

"I don't kill people," he said.

"But all those dead bodies near our town...?"

"That was Lucy."

Then we saw Sara's parents coming towards us. They asked us a few questions, till the nurse came. And as it was late, we went back to the car to get home. I took my purse from the backseat.

"You sure you don't want me to take you home?" Adam asked, leaning against his car.

Hospital was actually pretty far from my home. Wouldn't like to go by foot. "I'll take the bus."

"Next one comes in two hours."

I thought about it. I also didn't have any money for taxi. So I gave in and opened the passenger door. "Car it is then," I mumbled.

While we headed towards my home, I again took out my necklace. I looked at it's broken chain and wondered if it could be fixed. There was also a question, that had been haunting me for a while. Finally I decided to ask it.

"If you don't... kill people, how do you live then?" I asked slowly.

"All other kind of animals work as well."

"Then why do some of you kill people at all?"

He sighted. "Human energy is like a drug. It's almost impossible to go over to the animals."

"So you haven't always been like this?"

The car stopped, which confused me at first. But then I noticed my house. And I have no idea how he knew where I lived.

"My past was inescapable. I'm not proud of it," he said. "But keep the necklace with you. I'll hold Lucy back as well as I can."

I looked at him, trying to imagine him different, not so caring, but a killer. He didn't look like that at all.

"Sorry about stabbing you," I said then.

"No need to apologize."

I left the car, and only after few steps it drove away. When I went inside, I tried to look calm, as nothing was wrong. Luckily mum didn't ask much either. And I didn't want to tell her, what had really happened.

When I got to my room, I took out the stake which was still a bit bloody. I cleaned it and put it back to the box. Then I laid down on the bed. It was all too much for one day. Adam seemed to regret whatever he had done in his past, but I can't say I trust him.