Drops of cold water dripped onto his face. Lance sat up. His back was sore from the awkward position in the bathtub. Justin finished wringing out the washcloth. "Gosh, for a sec I thought you�d died. Isn�t this an odd place to sleep?" Lance scrambled out of the bathroom, bewildered. The other four sat on the beds.
"You okay?"
"Why did you sleep in the bathroom?"
"Hurry up and get dressed! I�m starved!"
"But�but�but," Lance sputtered, "How�d you get into the bathroom?" Justin raised his eyes. "Uh, I turned the handle and�" "But I locked the door!" Chris snorted. "You saying you locked yourself in the bathroom?" Lance ran his fingers through his hair. "Those four beasts were back, and they talked, and they broke my door down, and they wanted to murder me, and�" JC shook his shoulders. "Whoa, calm down! You had to have been dreaming. The door�s fine. See?" True, the door was perfectly intact. Lance frowned. Who cleaned up the mess so fast? He dropped the subject since it was obvious no one believed him. Dressed, they descended down stairs. The power was back on. Gregory polished the tables. "Sorry, but we won�t be serving breakfast today. Go to Reese Tavern." Outside, a misty fog rose from the street. The town seemed to be, well, dead. No people or cars were around. Just silence. JC sighed. "I�m beginning to think we are the only living people in Whispers." Reese Tavern was a dimly lit bar and diner. Three other men were eating at the scattered tables. They never looked up from their plates, nor did they make any sounds at all. Nsync sat at the bar. Reese Quinn, the owner, emerged from the kitchen. Lance cringed. The guy�s nose and upper lip were missing. "What do you want?" He growled. "Gee," Chris whispered to Justin, "The folks in the woods sure are friendly." Justin cleared his throat. "What do you serve for breakfast?" Reese pointed to the door. "Get out." Lance stood up. "Look, could we at least be served some coffee?" Reese grunted, but disappeared into the kitchen. 5 minutes later, he served them five steaming cups. Lance swallowed the brew. "So, do you get a lot of tourists?" "No," Reese answered, "In fact, it would be in your best interest if you left." Justin grit his teeth. "Why is everyone so bent on kicking us out? What�s the problem?" Reese flung a towel on the table. "Listen, this isn�t your usual town. Every once in a while some poor soul guy gets winds up here thanks to the Lost Souls, and the results have never been good." Chris finished his coffee. "What are the Lost Souls?" Reese snickered. "Did you happen to notice four strange animals wandering about?" Flashbacks formed in Lance�s mind. "Um, yeah." "Locals call them the Lost Souls. They are the result of a lab experiment gone awry. Awhile back, the deformed animals broke free from the lab and have made their home here. Be careful. They�re dangerous." That was the straw that broke the camel�s back. Nsync quickly left the tavern. Justin systematically voiced the plan. "We get a thing of gas, we fill the tank, check out of the inn, then get the heck outta here." Joey halted in his tracks. "That does not look like a possibility man." The bus was gone! Lance ran into the hotel. Gregory looked up. "Hey, where�s our bus?" Mr. Talbot answered, "I filled it with gas and parked it out of the street." Lance spun him around. "Please go get it." Sighing, Gregory left the lobby. Lance sat down in a chair. And waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, Lance didn�t wait any longer. He walked in the direction Gregory had gone. He entered a dark hallway. Lance retrieved a flashlight from the front desk, then reentered the hall. His foot stepped on something. He screamed in horror. Gregory lay dead. His throat and stomach had been torn apart. Blood splattered the walls. The Lost Souls. Dazed, Lance ran back outside to tell the others. Terror spread quickly. "What�ll we do?" JC cried. Justin paced back and forth restlessly. "We don�t know where our bus is, the phone lines are dead, and there�s absolutely no contact with the outside world!" Howls sounded off in the distance. Joey shivered. "We probably won�t leave Whispers alive." Their mouths fell open. "What makes you say that?" Joey looked down the dark, foreboding street. "There�s more to Whispers than meets the eye. Someone or something murdered Gregory because they didn�t want us to leave. The people here are withholding secrets. And they�ll stop at nothing to keep them hidden."
"There they are�get them�master�s orders�blood�ha ha ha ha!" 2 Lost Souls blocked one end of Briar Ave. The other 2 crept behind the door of the inn. The scent of blood from the first hunt excited them. They sprang out, claws sharpened and teeth glistening. Two of the guys screamed and scrambled out of the way. The ones named Chris and Joey tried running to the end of Briar Ave, only to come across 2 more Lost Souls. The blond, green-eyed one was frozen with fear. The Lost Soul attacked.
CHAPTER FOUR
The Lost Soul knocked Lance to the cobblestone street. Lance�s hands grasped the beast�s neck, desperate to keep the sharp teeth from tearing his throat. Growling, the creature swiped his shirt. Searing pain exploded in Lance�s chest.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! Oh Gosh! Somebody please help me!"
Lance twisted his body hoping the Lost Soul would loosen its grip. No such luck. He could still feel its hot breath on his face. Its red eyes glowed menacingly as bit into Lance�s shoulder. Lance screamed.
Nearby, Joey was gasping for breath while being chased by one of those things. Chris dashed back to the inn for shelter. One Lost Soul followed him. JC took off down Kate Lane. Justin ran toward the forest. Lance was struggling on the street.
"JOEY HELP ME!"
"I�m coming!"
Joey turned down another street and crouched behind a dumpster. The Lost Soul got down on all fours and sniffed its way into a clothes shop. Joey forgot his cover and ran back to Briar Ave. Lance kicked at the beast�s stomach. The Lost Soul continued to keep its mouth firmly clamped on Lance�s shoulder.
Without thinking, Joey tackled the hideous monster, knocking it off his best friend. The Lost Soul howled angrily and tried to tear out Joey�s throat. Joey ducked.
Lance stumbled to his feet, dizzy with pain and fear. Numbness and blood covered his right shoulder. Suddenly, something caught his eye. Shining in the foggy sunlight was a knife blade. Apparently Justin�s pocketknife fell out of his jacket when he made his exit. He heard Joey grunting in effort to rid himself of the Lost Soul.
Lance curled his fingers around the knife handle. It felt comforting to have some kind of weapon. No longer overcome with complete helplessness, he stabbed the Lost Soul directly in the heart. It uttered an ear-piercing shriek. Lance stabbed it again. The beast feebly crawled away from Joey. It collapsed, howled once more, and fell silent.
Lance and Joey hugged each other in unspoken relief.
"Thanks, man."
"Did you think I�d let that thing kill you like it did Gregory?"
They hugged again and stood up. The dead creature writhed. The fur disappeared. The teeth became shorter. Claws reduced to nothing. Eyes no longer red or glowing. The body transformed into that of a girl. Lance and Joey stared in shock. The Lost Soul was Isabella! Blood matted the front of her dress.
Lance choked in horror. "I-I-I killed a little girl."
Joey shook his head. "No. You killed a monster in the body of a little girl."
Joey thought for a moment. He glanced at Lance worriedly. "But this means�"
Lance shivered. "We can�t trust anyone."