Chapter Eight

A low moan escaped my horrified lips, but was unheard by the pair. I stumbled backwards out of the room and leaned against the wall, my legs threatening to give out. I heard a cry, followed by a sharp smack, and Emma rushed out, frantically fixing herself. She let out a gasp when she saw me. “Robby!” She saw the state I was in and reached out a hand, placing it on my shoulder, a worried look on her face. At that moment, Tanc left the room and spotted the two of us. His eyes flashed dangerously when I let out a warning growl. Emma glanced nervously between us, looking like she was ready to pull us apart if necessary. Shaking my head clear of murderous thoughts, I ran to the front door, Emma calling my name. I smacked into a scared looking Cordova. Irritated, I looked up to tell him off, but thought better when I saw his expression. “T-t-there’s s-something out there!” he stammered. Jessica ran in behind him, clearly terrified. By now, Emma had reached my side. “What’s going on? What’s wrong, Jess?” Jessica gulped. “There’s some sort of creature outside! We heard it crashing through the trees behind us, so we ran in here.” Closing the door behind her, a red-faced Tancred asked, “What kind of creature?” Cordova snorted humorlessly. “I don’t know. I didn’t stick around to find out.” He was shaking badly, but was trying not to show it. He and Jessica sat on the couch while the rest of us crowded around them. Suddenly, the lights flickered, then went out, plunging us into utter darkness. Emma gasped and grabbed for my hand. Even though I was still upset about what I had seen, I held her hand tightly. Things were getting a little too scary for my liking. She squeezed gratefully, then turned her attention on our small group. She knitted her eyebrows together and was about to say something when she was cut off by a horrific sound. A piercing howl filled the air and seemed to reverberate through the whole cabin. Hearing footsteps behind me, I whipped around in fear, but sighed with relief when I saw it was only Mikey. He looked like a trapped jack-rabbit. His lower lip quivering, he asked in a small voice,“What the hell was that?” “Shhh!” An urgent whisper from Tancred quieted us. “Listen!” Everyone froze, but only an eerie silence could be heard. Whatever had made the fearsome cry was either gone or… I didn’t dare think what the thing, whatever it was, was doing now. Emma shivered. “I’ll go get some candles,” she volunteered. Not wanting to be left alone, I followed her closely, leaning on the wall as not to fall flat on my face (trust me, I’ve done that plenty of times). As if reading my mind, Emma stumbled forward slightly. My hand shot out to steady her. Gripping my forearm with an iron fist, she mumbled her thanks and turned to the cabinets that Chad had mentioned during our brief tour. Reaching into one, she groped around. Frowning, she said, “Do you thing Chad ran into whatever made that noise? I mean, it sounded pretty close to the cabin.” Shrugging, I made an incomprehensible sound. Inspecting another cabinet, Emma turned to face me. “Robby, what’s up with you?” I shrugged again. She dropped her hands to her sides and made a face. “C’mon, Rob. There must be some explanation to why you keep ignoring me.” Sighing heavily, I glanced around the room, looking everywhere and anywhere as not to meet her interrogating gaze. Gritting my teeth, I muttered, “I saw what you and Tanc were doing.” For a second, she just stood there, then sighed as a cute, red blush crept up her neck. Looking at my shuffling feet, she said, “Tanc was in the bathroom when I came in. When he got out, he told me that you liked me, and that he thought you weren’t good enough for me. That’s when he backed me into the corner and started kissing me.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged. “I don’t know how much you saw, but he started touching me, so I slapped him.” I swallowed, and a low growl escaped my throat. Clenching my fists, I said through ground teeth, “You want me to take care of him?” Emma glanced at me, then said, “No.” Leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes and counted to ten, trying to dispel the sudden rush of adrenaline that was pounding through my veins. Opening them again, I looked at Emma, who was staring at me deeply. “What?” I managed to croak. Lips slightly parted, she shook her head. Suddenly, she threw herself at me. Staggering, I tried not to lose my balance as Emma’s lips met mine. It was like we couldn’t get enough of each other. We were so mashed up together that our teeth were grinding together, the need to get close so intensely immense. Lurching dangerously, we toppled backwards over a short staircase that I had never noticed before. Sliding to a stop at the bottom, we kept at it, not caring what came our way. Emma ran one hand down the front of my shirt, sending deliciously spine-tingling shivers down my back. She hoisted herself on top of me, using my belt as a mini-hand ladder. Grabbing my face with both hands, she continued to breathlessly kiss me. I clasped my hands around her waist and pulled her closer to me, limiting the amount of space between the two of us. I don’t know how far things might have gone if there hadn’t been an unexpected thump on the floor above us. Heaving, I managed to keep a quivering smile on my face, while at the same time gasping heavily for breath.Grinning wildly, I held Emma in place while I sat up. Leaning against the wall, I chuckled and said, “One of these days you’re gonna give me an asthma attack.” She laughed and tilted forward, resting her forehead on mine. Meeting my gaze, she said, “Robby, you haven’t had an attack since the fifth grade.” Closing my eyes, I gave her a small, knowing smile. I could feel her looking at me as she said, “What?” Widening my smirk, I said, “Wanna know the reason why I stopped having attacks?” I felt her body shake as she nodded. I bent forward so my lips were directly by her ear. “I would think about holding you as something closer than a friend, and my breathing problems always went away.” Emma turned her head to look at me. “Really, Robby?” I nodded. She blushed and tightened her hold on my neck. I breathed in, immersing myself in her heavenly scent. She let go and got to her feet, saying, “We should get the candles before the others think we were kidnapped or something.” Giggling, we went back into the room we were in before our makeout session. As Emma reached into the drawer, chatting aimlessly, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. Whipping around, I was just in time to see a dark figure slink into the shadows. Suddenly, bright light filled the room. It was empty except for the two of us. Turning to me, lit candle in hand, Emma said, “What’s wrong Rob?” Not wanting to worry her, I shook my head. “Nothing.” Taking one last look to make sure there was no one else around, I followed Emma into the living room.