Monsters Are Forever: You Were What You Eat, #4

By Stephanie Prochaska

It's finally senior year, and Anna, Mina, and Carmine are hoping for a normal year of high school. But the monsters they've defeated over the years seem to be coming back. Now they have to find out why they're here, and how to stop the demons they thought they'd left behind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephanie Prochaska
• Release date: Aug 13, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370136209

Stephanie Prochaska

Hi! My name is Stephanie. I was born in California, but I currently live in the Czech Republic. I enjoy writing stories almost as much as I love reading them. My favorites have a little bit of the paranormal/magic and a little bit of snark. I tend to write stories set high school stories but with a mythical twist,

Book preview

Chapter 1: The Stalker

Mia walked down the street, looking for no one in particular.  It was almost two in the morning – normally too late for a high school student to be wandering the streets.  But she’d told her parents she was out with her friend Anna, so they weren’t exactly expecting her home for a while.  And after this she probably would go to Anna’s – it wasn’t like Anna’d be sleeping anyway.  Besides, now that Mia was actually a senior, they didn’t worry quite as much about what time she came home on the weekends anyway.

A couple passed by her, but Mia let them go.  They were hanging all over each other anyway – she needed to find someone more willing to pay attention to her if this was going to work.  She looked across the street to where her favorite club was – the Bar None.  She didn’t like actually going to the club.  Besides, she wasn’t old enough to get in anyway, and she looked way too young to try and pretend.  No, what she really liked was waiting outside.  It was one of the most popular late-night places in town, and people were always going in and out.  She figured that’d be a good place to wait tonight.

She leaned casually up against the wall of an alley almost directly across from the doors.  That way, she could watch everyone coming and going.  And it gave her a great chance to monitor all the people wandering around aimlessly out in front.  After all, there was nothing worse than stalking the perfect target into position only to find that there were too many witnesses around to actually carry out the attack.  This way, she could survey the area before she got her hopes up.

Something moved out of the corner of her eye, and Mia turned.  She didn’t see anything, but she knew better than that by now – just because she didn’t see something didn’t mean she could rest easy, especially in this city.  She made a mental note to re-check the shadows on the left side of the building before she did anything drastic.  As a freshman, the person she’d been caught by had been a friend.  Mia knew she probably wouldn’t be so lucky a second time.

A college kid – maybe two years older than Mia herself – walked a little unsteadily out the door of the club.  Perfect.  Mia was already grinning in anticipation.  She glanced around, making sure there was no one else in sight.  When she was satisfied, she casually left the alley, pulling the hood of her jacket up as she went.  It was one thing to be caught loitering across from a club – it would be quite another to be recognized in the middle of what she was about to do.

She kept glancing around, remembering that shadow she’d seen earlier.  But there was nothing there.  She couldn’t hear a sound, and not a thing moved.  It was probably nothing anyway, Mia told herself – a stray dog, or a rat or something.  Whatever it was, it looked like it was gone now.

The guy turned a corner about two blocks up, and Mia tried her best not to run after him; if he turned another corner before she got there, she could lose him.  But as much as she wanted to keep track of her target, she didn’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.  Especially when she couldn’t quite shake that weird feeling of being watched.  So instead, she made do with just quickening her pace.  She still needed it to look like she’d bumped into him accidentally just in case someone else really was loitering around here.

She turned the corner, making a show of glancing at her watch as she did.  Well, her bare wrist anyway.  But it would have been where her watch was if she was the kind of person who actually wore one.  Really, it was mostly to show anyone who happened to be looking at her that she was busy waiting for someone in particular – that she had a semi-legitimate reason to be here.  And it gave her an opportunity to glance over her shoulder as she pretended to look around for whoever she was supposed to be meeting.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move – again.  This time, Mia was sure of it.  She did her best not to react, pretending she hadn’t noticed the figure creeping along only a few yards behind her.  Instead, she continued to walk down the block, still stalking that guy as she ran through her options.  She had to figure out who this was and if they really were following her.  They might not know it yet, but it was too late – Mia had already seen them; she was way too good at this to let someone sneak up on her like that.

Still, she tried not to get ahead of herself.  Maybe it was just a coincidence – maybe they were really following this guy too.  And even if they were following her after all, it might not be because of anything she’d actually done.  Could it be possible that she was just being followed by someone like her?  But whatever was going on, she was going to have to figure it out – right now.

When she was sure that whoever was following her would have turned that corner down into the alley, she dropped casually to her knee, pretending to tie her shoe.  It meant she was almost certainly going to lose the guy she was following herself, but there was nothing she could do about that.

She leaned into the shadows as her fingers worked the air just above her shoelaces.  It might not have been the best excuse, but it gave her a chance to stop without letting anyone know why.  Her eyes scanned quickly around her, waiting to see what her own stalker would do.

Whoever was there was still hugging the corner of the building, trying to remain out of sight.  And when they didn’t make a move to sneak by her, that confirmed it for Mia – they really were after her.  And even if it wasn’t because they thought they knew what Mia was – even if they were stalking her for an attack of their own, Mia couldn’t risk it.  She couldn’t afford to give up any of the hard-earned blood in her own veins to someone else.  Now all she had to do was sneak past whoever was still waiting in the shadows.

She waited a few minutes, but when they didn’t move towards her, Mia was forced to abandon the idea that they could be here to attack her.  So that could mean only one thing: they wanted to see what she was going to do.  Well, if someone was planning on seeing just what she did when she snuck out, they were out of luck.  Now it was time for Mia to get out of there.  And if she was really good, she might even be able to make her sudden change of plans look natural.  If she didn’t alert whoever it was, maybe she could even figure out who they were.

She stood up, glancing down one more time at her nonexistent watch, trying to look worried at whatever time it showed.  She even allowed herself to make a small gasp, just in case that figure could hear her; Mia still hadn’t actually ruled out the possibility that whoever was there wasn’t human – there were just too many other options in this city.

She quickly turned and started heading back in the direction she’d come.  She pretended not to notice the shadow that slipped casually around the corner, back to the main street.  As Mia approached the mouth of the alleyway, she dropped her hood.  Whoever had been stalking her probably already had a good idea of who she was – at least enough to follow her.  And she didn’t see why her peripheral vision had to be obstructed as she tried to figure out their identity.

She saw whoever it was hurrying across the street.  And when their back was turned, that’s when she made her move.  She took a few quick steps to the left, hiding in the entrance to a closed-up shop.  She was pretty sure that she’d actually sprinted fast enough that she’d managed to do it undetected.  Now, it was her turn to watch the person stalking her.

Now that she was safely in the shadows of a broken streetlamp, she peered cautiously around the corner of her little inlet.  She really hoped that whoever had been following her was still getting ready and hadn’t seen where she might have gone.  She wasn’t disappointed.

The figure peeked around the corner of a building, and the movement let Mia figure out where they were.  She made sure to stay perfectly still herself, so as not to make that same mistake.  When Mia didn’t come out of the alleyway like they’d expected, they took a cautious step forward.  Then another.  Finally, they realized she wasn’t there; they’d lost track of her.  Mia grinned to herself.

As soon as the figure realized they didn’t know where she was, their whole demeanor changed.  They started hurrying down the street, back the way they’d come.  Whoever it was tried to look casual, but there was a definite urgency about them.  Now that they’d lost track of Mia, they probably hoped to get away before Mia had a chance to see them.  But it was too late for that.  There was no way Mia was going to let them get away without knowing exactly who this was.  And if Mia could figure out who was  stalking her, it might almost make up for losing that boy.

The figure stopped at the corner, looking around one last time.  Mia could see the confusion in their stance.  Slowly, whoever it was turned around, apparently giving up.  Reluctantly, they headed back the way they’d come as they stalked Mia in the first place; they would pass across the street from where she was hiding in just a few seconds.  And as the streetlamp caught the person, Mia gasped.  She did know who it was – it hadn’t been her imagination after all.  And she was definitely right about them not being human: Rudi Kaelin was walking hurriedly across the street.

Chapter 2: Senior Year

The first day of school , Carmine actually felt pretty great.  Finally, she was a senior; one more year before she would be done with this school and all the weirdness that seemed to come along with it.  As far as Carmine was concerned, graduation couldn’t come soon enough.

You brought lunch today? Luke asked, sitting down next to her.

Luke was currently dating Anna – one of Carmine’s two best friends.  But she’d also known him since she was about nine, and he was on the track team with her, which made him kind of a friend in his own right.

Yeah – my mom made me bring something. Carmine shrugged disinterestedly.  Her mom didn’t know that Carmine didn’t eat anymore, and it wasn’t something she was sure she could really explain.  It was easier to just take something and not argue about it.

What’d you bring? he asked.

Sandwich.  Want it? She usually ended up giving it to whichever of the boys asked first.

What kind?

Ham and cheese. Carmine shrugged.  It was the same thing she brought basically every day since she stopped caring sometime last year.

Sure. Luke said, taking it from her.  As he unwrapped it, he glanced back at her.

Wheat? he asked.

Same as always.

Carmine’s mom was just enough of a health food nut to insist that they never buy white bread.  It used to annoy Carmine – back when she still ate.

At least at school, all of Carmine’s friends knew what she was.  Actually, as it turned out, no one in their group was human anymore.  Last year, she had been the only human in the group, but that had changed in the middle of November.  Now, she was like Anna and Mia – a vampire.  She had to admit, it was a little weird, but she was finally starting to get used to it.  Actually, it wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be.

And of course none of the boys were human either.  Luke, Zev, and Conner were all werewolves – born that way, apparently.  Carmine had to admit, she’d been surprised when she first found out sophomore year.  She’d been so into mythology when she was younger that it sort of hurt her sense of pride to be in their class for years and still not know about them.  But their whole neighborhood was like that – and very good at hiding it.  Carmine figured the girls would have never known at all if Mia hadn’t walked into the woods one night during a full moon.

As the rest of the group sat down, Carmine was only mildly surprised to see that she had the same lunch period as all her friends again this year.  Last year, one of Luke’s group had helped to arrange their schedules for them to make it happen.  And even though that particular girl was now incredibly suspicious of all six of them, it looked like she’d done it again for them this year.  Carmine wondered if Luke had had something to do with that; he seemed to have a lot more say with that group than he let on.

So why did Rudi help with the lunches again? Carmine asked.  She was half expecting Luke to announce he’d used whatever clout he had with the rest of the werewolves to pressure her into it.

Probably to keep an eye on us. Conner said darkly, before Luke had a chance to say anything.  Mia shifted uncomfortably.

You ok? Zev asked her.

I just don’t like Rudi. she mumbled.

Yeah, I can see why. he nodded.

What’s that mean? Mia asked sharply.  She looked suddenly worried.

Well, she was nothing but annoying last year. Zev shrugged.

She’ll be better this year. Luke said confidently.

I really doubt it. Mia mumbled.

Carmine didn’t want to say anything, but she kind of agreed with Mia. Last year Rudi had decided to blackmail Zev.  Then, after the group had finally gotten rid of the incubus Carmine had managed to lead into the school, Rudi had been there to see half the group looking less than their best.  Needless to say, she’d been suspicious; she couldn’t see how the six of them had managed to get rid of a demon without Carmine and her friends finding out exactly what the boys were. Would she really let that go?

Still, she hadn’t actually seen anything that had happened, and she didn’t know about the girls being anything other than human.  It wasn’t much, but it meant that all she really had were suspicions.  And all six members of Carmine’s group were determined to keep it that way.  Fortunately, Carmine figured all the weirdness was behind them; they’d be able to lay low this year, and all their problems with Rudi would sort themselves out.

Chapter 3: My Fair Lady

Anna walked with Luke out to the track field before practice.  She wasn’t on the team or anything – running around like that didn’t seem like something she’d ever want to do.  But he liked it.  So she walked out to the field with him and waited until practice started as often as she could.  Then, she’d walk home on her own.

Do you have any plans for this weekend? Luke asked.

Well, the Crown Theater’s playing a movie I was thinking about going to. Anna said slowly.

She had been pretty excited about the idea herself, but she didn’t really think it was something Luke would want to see.  He always picked movies that had a lot more action in them than Anna was really used to.  Normally, she was happy to see whatever he wanted, but she’d been kind of in the mood for something different for once.

Yeah?  What movie? he asked.

My Fair Lady. Anna replied hesitantly.

It was one of the first movies she’d ever actually seen in a theater, and the fact that it was going to be shown again had made her pretty excited.  The theater was doing some kind of Classic Movie special on Sunday afternoons this month.  Of course, classic movies were Anna’s favorite.  After she’d become a vampire, she’d shut herself up for years, refusing to do anything at all.  But when she finally did decide to do something fun, movies had been her first choice.  That had been over sixty years ago, and those old films had always held a special place in her heart that she figured her friends would never really understand.

She’d been planning on going alone – old movies didn’t really seem like something any of her friends would be interested in.  And she was most definitely used to going to the movies alone; she’d done it for decades before she’d met any of them, after all.

What’s it about? Luke asked.

Anna sighed to herself; it still got to her sometimes when none of her friends remembered things she’d loved for years.

Well, it’s about a man who finds a girl on the street and makes her into a high-society lady.

And I’ll bet he falls in love with her by the end. Luke said knowingly.

...Yeah.

So it’s a love story.

Mostly. she admitted. 

"Romantic comedy?" he asked hopefully.

Kind of, I guess. Anna shrugged.  Still, it probably wasn’t as much comedy as Luke would want.  Anyway, I like it.

You’ve seen it before?

A couple of times.

Anna couldn’t quite bring herself to admit she’d seen it when it first came out.  Luke might know she’d been around for a long time, but she still felt weird actually reminding him of that fact.  And she couldn’t quite remember if he knew she was a little over three hundred anyway.

Well, that could still be ok... Luke told her slowly.

Really?  You’d actually want to see it with me?

You don’t have to sound so surprised. he told her, sounding just the slightest bit offended.  Besides, it’s something different.  So when’s it playing?

12:15 on Sunday. she told him.

Should I pick you up at 12 then?

Well...ok. Anna said.

It was a little hard to believe that he’d really just go.  It was true that Luke seemed happy to do almost anything she suggested, but she still hadn’t expected him to actually offer to go with her.

Are you sure it’s something you’d want to see? she asked again, just to double-check.

Sure, why not? Luke grinned.  Besides, I’ve never seen it – it might be good to see something new once in a while.

"Well, it’s not exactly new." Anna admitted.

Well, new for me. Luke told her, shrugging.  So, I’ll be there at noon.

Eleven forty-five? Anna knew Luke almost never managed to be on time.

Sounds like a plan. he grinned.

At eleven forty-five Anna was ready and waiting.  She didn’t really expect Luke to show up on time, but it still seemed somehow wrong for her to not be ready herself.  She sat down on the couch to wait for him, glad that at least now she had a cell phone.  Anna remembered the first couple of times he’d shown up before she’d bothered to get one; she’d waited for him, wondering vaguely if he was actually going to come.  Now, he at least sent her a message if he was going to be more than ten minutes behind schedule.

When she first started dating Luke, she’d asked him about how he always seemed to be running late.  She’d been surprised he managed to make it to school on time with the way he was.  Luke had been a little reluctant to admit it, but the only reason he was ever actually on time for school was because of Zev.  Apparently, Zev called and woke him up every morning and was practically dragging him out the door twenty minutes before they had to be at school.

Anna was just glad Luke gave Zev and Conner rides to school in the morning.  If he didn’t, there was no way he’d ever be on time.  As it was, they cut it close more often than not.  And if he had to spend any more time in the office for tardiness, Anna wasn’t completely sure he’d be graduating with the rest of them.

At 11:54 there was a knock on her door that pulled Anna from her thoughts.

Sorry I’m late. Luke said, looking apologetic as usual.  I really was going to be on time.  But I had a few...complications.

It’s ok. she told him.  She was used to it by now, after all.  She didn’t even bother to ask him what happened; he probably just lost track of time again.

You ready? he asked, opening her front door wider for her.

Of course. she told him, smiling.

They walked out to his car – a classic Mustang he’d gotten a little over a year ago when he turned sixteen.  Anna smiled when she saw the car.  She remembered when those cars first came out, they’d been almost impossible to get.  Her neighbor had been on the waiting list for months.  When the dealer finally called him, they’d let him know they had one in stock – it would be blue or nothing.  She wondered if Luke knew how hard they’d been to get.  Were they still that popular?  Probably not.

Luke drove like a maniac – probably a side effect of being chronically late.  They got out of the car and hurried across the parking lot.  Anna was just glad she’d told him to pick her up early – otherwise, they’d probably be late to see her favorite movie.  And even though she’d seen it many more times than was probably normal, she couldn’t stand to miss any of it.  She turned to ask Luke something, but a shadow moved just over his shoulder.

What’s that? Anna asked.

What? Luke asked, looking confused.

Nothing – I just thought I saw something.

Didn’t see what it was? Luke asked.  He actually looked somewhat amused.

No. Anna admitted.  What was it?

The complications I ran into earlier. Luke told her.

And what complications would those be? Anna asked, trying not to be annoyed.  She really wished he’d just tell her these kinds of things.

Summer. he said.  If anything, his grin got wider – like he thought the whole thing was funny.

Summer?  Really? Anna peered over his shoulder.  Summer was a girl in their grade at school.  But why would she be following Luke around town?

Yep. Luke told her.  She’s been trying to keep tabs on me.

Really? Anna asked.  She hadn’t noticed before today.

Yeah.  Apparently what I’m doing is really interesting to her. Luke said it like a joke, but if he hoped that would be enough to get Anna to let it go, he was in for a surprise.

Why?

Anna knew that Luke’s and Summer’s groups didn’t exactly get along.  Of course, Summer knew what Luke and his friends really were.  And Summer was part of a group that called themselves fae.  Anna didn’t really know why, but the two groups couldn’t stand each other.  Could that be the reason she was spying on Luke?  But what could he be up to that would make Summer care enough to follow him?

Anna would never have actually said anything bad about Summer, but that didn’t mean she was stupid; she knew Summer wouldn’t have willingly devoted time to stalking Luke unless something important was going on.

Guess she doesn’t have anything better to do. Luke shrugged.

Anna got the feeling he wasn’t saying everything, and she wanted to know.  Besides, he knew practically everything about her – even how old she was.  Or, close to it.  So didn’t that mean she could know a little bit about what was going on in his life?  She decided to try a different tactic.

How long has she been following you?

Couple days.

And you have no idea why?

Nope. Luke shrugged, checking his phone for the time.  Anna couldn’t tell if he was worried about missing the first part of the movie, or if her chronically-late boyfriend was just avoiding eye contact.

She didn’t say anything for a minute.  It was obvious he wasn’t telling her something big.  And while she hated to be nosy, she really didn’t like knowing that he was keeping her in the dark about something.  Especially since he and his friends seemed to be involved every time any of the girls had something big going on.  She must have looked more annoyed than she thought because Luke looked at her thoughtfully for a minute before sighing.

She just wants to find out what’s going on with us – at home, I mean.

But why?  Why does that matter to her? Anna asked again.  She really hated going around in circles like this.  Why couldn’t he just answer her honestly for once?

It’s nothing. Luke told her.  Anna knew she didn’t look convinced, so he continued.  She just wants to make me worried, that’s all.

I’m sorry. Anna told him finally.  She wanted to tell him that everything would be ok, but she how could she when she didn’t even know what was wrong?

It was obvious that she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him today – maybe Zev would tell Mia something.  Anna made a mental note to ask her in the next day or two.  Besides, she knew if she kept asking it would only make him more defensive.  If she pretended to drop it, she’d have a better chance at figuring it out later.

Don’t worry about what Summer’s doing. Luke told her, grinning.  He seemed to be a lot happier now that he thought Anna wouldn’t be asking him any more questions.  Let’s just have fun at the movies.  Eventually, she’ll get bored and leave.

Are you sure?

Definitely. Luke told her.  Now, I want to see what’s so great about this movie you’ve been taking about.

Chapter 4: Not Again

After Mia found Rudi following her, she didn’t know what to do.  Of course, that night there had been nothing to do but go home.  She went out again the next night, and the night after that.  But each time, Rudi was there.

And the longer this went on, the more worried Mia became.  She didn’t know what she was supposed to do; she’d never been stalked like this before.  Even in her hometown, no one had ever trailed her.  They’d suspected her, sure.  But no one ever successfully managed to follow her.  And now, it had been five days since she’d had fresh blood, and it was starting to show.

She thought she’d been holding it together pretty well.  She managed to get through her first three classes without a problem.  Sure, it was a little hard to concentrate, but no one seemed to notice.  She just kept her head down and stared at her desk.  She was feeling a little giddy, but she figured she could hide it if she just didn’t talk to anyone.  Her only real concern was going to be lunch.  Then she was going to have to hold actual conversations with her friends.

The bell rang and Mia slowly pried herself out of her chair, not in any particular hurry.  If she was a little late, it would just mean less time for her friends to figure out something was wrong.

She got to the table about ten minutes late.  At least that meant she only had forty minutes to kill.  She figured maybe she’d try to copy someone’s English homework while she was here.  She had no idea what Mr. Glasco was talking about anyway, and it would give her an excuse not to talk to anyone.  Carmine gave Mia her book, and Mia absentmindedly spent the rest of the time copying the answers down into her own notebook.

She managed to get through the whole period without anyone commenting about how she seemed to be fidgeting a little more than usual, or about how she wasn’t exactly following their conversations.  Anna had looked at her a little closely, but she didn’t say anything.  Mia