Getting off of the train had been a bit like getting out of prison, and Brandon couldn’t wait to get outside in the fresh air. The last rays of sunlight were visible above them shining through the towering glass windows of the Thirtieth Street Station, and while he wasn’t looking forward to seeing Cadence and Aaron, he was ready to get on with his fate.
“I have to pee,” Cassidy said, actually doing some sort of a potty dance as she spotted a restroom sign down the lengthy hall.
“I’m shocked to hear that,” Brandon said sarcastically. “All right. Go pee. But please give me my phone back while you go.”
“Will you go ahead and call my sister for me?” Cassidy asked, smiling sweetly and batting her eyelashes.
“You really should have to make that call yourself,” he scolded as she fished his phone out of her pocket. “Besides, I don’t have her number.”
“Well, wait for me here, and I’ll be right back. I seriously have to go,” Cassidy spit out as she handed him the phone and ran off.
Brandon couldn’t help but laugh at her, but then, as soon as she was gone, he looked down at his phone and the laughter stopped. This was going to hurt.
The station wasn’t that crowded, but he wanted a little bit of privacy, so he stepped back out of the line of traffic, and dropping his bag on the ground beside him, located Aaron’s number.
He answered on the second ring with, “Brandon? Where are you? Do you know where Cassidy is?”
“Hey,” Brandon said slowly. “She’s fine. We’re both fine.”
“Thank God,” Aaron exclaimed. “Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
“I didn’t have it,” he replied. “Listen, I know you guys are going to be mad, but we kind of did something impulsive.”
“Look, something is going down with Giovani right now, so if you’re about to tell me you eloped, you’re going to have to save the story for later. Are you back in KC or still in Shenandoah?” he asked, clearly in a hurry.
“Neither,” Brandon admitted. “We’re in Philly.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. “Where at in Philly?” Aaron asked.
“We just got here.”
“Please tell me you’re at the airport.”
“No, we just pulled into the Thirtieth Street Station,” Brandon explained, glancing back down the hall toward the bathroom. It sure was taking Cass a long time, but then she had held it forever.
“Brandon, listen to me carefully. I need you and Cassidy to get out of there immediately. You need to find a crowd, stay in it, and do not let go of her hand, no matter what.”
Brandon froze. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“I don’t really have time to explain, but Giovani is on his way to the train station—he may already be there—and you need to keep her safe.”
Without responding, Brandon took off running toward the bathroom, his phone still in his hand. “Cassidy!” he screamed, but it was too late. As he neared the bathroom door, a woman with long honey-blonde hair stepped out of the bathroom, dragging Cassidy with her. As soon as the woman turned her head, he could see that she was no ordinary train passenger; her long, sharp fangs gleamed in the waning sunlight. She was a Vampire.
“Let her go,” Brandon demanded.
Cassidy’s eyes were huge with fear and she had tears in her eyes. The woman had her arm wrapped around her neck, and while Cassidy was doing her best to try to wriggle free, she was getting nowhere against the much stronger creature.
“That won’t be happening,” Zabrina growled. “And you better be careful, or you’ll be next.”
Brandon turned just in time to see the strange looking man from the train lunging at him. He sidestepped and threw out an elbow, sending the man falling to the ground. But the distraction had been enough, and when he turned back around, Cassidy was already being dragged down the hallway. He could see her tennis shoes disappearing around the corner as the Vampire pulled Cassidy behind her.
The stranger wasn’t through, however. He picked himself up off of the ground and came at Brandon again. Dropping his phone, he took a defensive stance, and when the man crashed into him, he punched him in the stomach as hard as he could. The impact sent them both careening into the wall, and Brandon grabbed him by the hair and banged his head into the bricks. He pulled his head up again in an attempt to repeat the process, and realized the man had fangs, and he was trying to use them to defend himself. Brandon remembered what he had seen Cadence do to the beast at Julia’s house. Using the weight of his own body as leverage, he stepped over the man’s sprawled legs, still gripping his head in his hands, and twisting as hard as he could while he held his trunk steady with his knees, he pulled straight up. Within a few seconds, the Vampire’s head came off, and was left standing in the middle of a railroad station holding a severed head. He turned to see a few dozen people cowering in various locations throughout the terminal. He knew he didn’t have much time to explain so he yelled loudly, “Happy Halloween!” dropped the head, and took off running after Cassidy, hoping at least some of them would buy that this was all a charade.
Cadence, Aaron, and the rest of the team had not waited for Brandon to tell them what was happening. As soon as they realized where Brandon and Cassidy were, it all made perfect sense. “The letter wasn’t addressed to you,” Aaron explained to Cadence. “We had the wrong Miss Findley.”
Cadence had already figured that out as well. She and Aaron hurried to waiting motorcycles and began speeding toward the Thirtieth Street Station, Christian, Jamie and some other members of Andrew’s team following in an SUV. Eliza and her team of six, mostly members from the Philly Area, were closer to the scene, and they arrived in time to see Zabrina dragging Cassidy through the glass pedestrian bridge that joined the station to the Cira Center tower, a large skyscraper across the street from the train station.
