The Immortal Pact 2

“I’m so horny,” Alex sighed.

“So horn dog, horny?” Miranda guessed, a small grin crossing over the girl’s face as she glimpsed sideways to her traveling companion. To her amusement, he was now sending her the bird. “Oh come on!” She laughed, her hazel eyes gliding back to her window, where she noticed an old woman glaring at the both of them.

“The fuck is her problem?” Alex scoffed. He lowered his offending hand and used it to snag his milkshake from the cup carrier. “This town badly needs a stick removed from up its ass.”

Miranda nodded in agreement but knew this stop was incredibly necessary… It was the first one on the list, nearest to them, that had an open burger joint passed 10 p.m. (a saving grace). “Let’s find somewhere to crash for the night and then we can hit the road first thing.” Early first thing, the girl promised herself, peering back at her personal ‘mean mugger’. With a shutter, she brought the car back to life and began reversing away from the cute ‘70s diner’ that had blessed the vehicle with a decent meal. The dog-faced woman continued to glare until they managed to put some distance between her olds-mobile and them.

Relieved, Alex snagged one of Miranda’s fries.

“I knew it!” The girl shot back at him.

“What?” The gay looked around in surprise.

The driver squinted her eyes, “You l-i-ar! I knew you wanted french fries!”

Alex scoffed, “Of course you knew it! That was why you ordered the large, you fake heifer! The ‘Miranda’ I know would never get anything larger than a medium, and that’s only if they are curly.” With his nose in the air, the boy took a loud bite and chewed with precision.

Shaking her head to the point that her precious brown curls were now bouncing with life, Miranda silently cheered when a motel came into view. So far their trip had mostly consisted of car sleeping, with the occasional stops where they could get a shower. Tonight she planned on treating them to a comfy bed and some continental breakfast. It wasn’t as if money were a huge issue, her Father had left a big life insurance check and quite a bit in other sources. The problem was that neither she nor Alex knew how long they were going to be on the road.

It had been almost two months on the move for them. Two months of chasing stories about strange deaths and ‘monster’ sightings. Two months of Miranda feeling as if she had been dropped into a paranormal television show. The girl had once loved her share of monster stories, but now…

Pulling into an almost empty parking lot, the car was brought close to the check-in office and the engine quickly killed.

“I’m so excited!” Alex cheered, his door opening before the car came to a full stop. Despite the obvious fact that this place was far from five-star, the boy was not deterred and was overjoyed when it came to the thought of a shower.

Moving in from the cold, both friends had to stop to remove their glasses when the heated room hit them square in the face. They approached a desk that had more Christmas decorations than surface and waited to be noticed. That was when shuffling from the back revealed a charming set of pearly teeth and a mop of brown hair.

Alex, once more remembering just how sexually deprived he had been over the last few weeks, straightened up. Quickly running a hand over his blonde spikes, the boy managed to go from looking travel-worn to 100% in seconds. “Hello,” He called to the approaching figure, a male who didn’t appear that much older than them.

“Hi,” The check-in attendant muttered by way of greeting but said no more.

“One room please,” Miranda requested, holding up her ID and Bank Card. The boy, without further word, handed her a clipboard and a small sign-in card. Rushing through the information, the girl instantly felt bad for her best friend, who was blatantly eye-fucking the other male. She waited until her information was scanned before accepting the room key and pulling him back out into the cold with her. It was better to get the boy out of that situation, than letting Alex continue to tug at strings that needed staying in place… Like them having a room for the night.

“God damn it!” The boy moaned, following Miranda to their door - 7 - his green eyes on the ground.

“I know, sweetheart,” she sympathized. It had been a long trip and so far didn’t appear anywhere near done. Sticking the key card into the lock, she let them into a room that felt like Heaven following hours in Hell. There was only one bed, however, after years of being friends neither of them minded that fact. Praising the look of the soft carpet, the girl quickly kicked off her shoes and began padding around. “This feels amazing!” She praised.

Alex, still looking a bit let down, hadn’t yet taken his shoes off. “Hey,” He ‘suddenly’ thought, “We should get some ice…”

“For what?” Miranda mused, plopping down on the bed.

“For the… sodas I am about to buy us,” he continued with a nod.

The girl’s grin grew, “As delightful as a soda sounds, baby, I couldn’t help noticing that the only icemaker in this place happens to be back in the check-in office.”

Alex’s eyes raised in fake shock, “Is it? I hadn’t noticed.”

Miranda threw her hands up into the air. “Honey, I love you, but you stink. Go take a shower before trying round 2.”

Alex raised his right arm and gave his pit a small sniff. “Oh god!” The boy coughed, “How the Hell have you managed to put up with that odor? Gurl! You must have a stomach of steel - I fucking reek!” With a gag, he grabbed at his backpack and retreated to the bathroom.

Miranda slipped off her socks and propped a chair by the front door so that she could, barefoot, get the rest of their travel bags - including Alex’s new laptop. It had been a dark day when the boy realized it was better to trade in his prized computer, one he had built himself, for a more portable electronic. They had managed to get a pretty penny at a pawn shop but Miranda had still thrown in a bit more so that he could get the best. So far it had been thanks to Alex’s computer skills that they had managed to keep behind the nightmare they were pursuing.

With a sigh, the girl closed up the hotel room and double-locked the door. She wasn’t sure if Alex actually intended to go back out that evening but she hoped that the sight of his laptop would distract him. Nights, as far as Miranda was concerned, were far more dangerous now that she knew that monsters existed in them. Once upon a time, she had been quite the night owl herself, now… Shuttering, she clicked on the computer and set it up on the small desk in the corner.

When Alex finally emerged from the bathroom, squeaky clean and humming with joy, his gaze automatically fell on the buzzing screen, just as Miranda had hoped. “Hello gorgeous,” the boy called to his favorite ‘toy’. He appeared in front of it and began clicking away, despite standing in the middle of the room in nothing but a towel.

Satisfied that she wouldn’t come out to find him gone, Miranda went to take her shower next. She quickly stripped down and padded under the stream, which Alex had left running at a perfect temperature. Breathing against the comforting water, the girl tried to picture herself away to somewhere, anywhere, to get some much-needed mental rest. It had been months since the last time she had tried this - her second favorite game - make-believe. The last time had also been in a shower located in a college apartment, and she had been dreaming about a pair of sexy blue eyes attached to the perfect face of a charming man…

“Darius,” The girl sighed, her heart instantly aching.

Darius Ryder had been Miranda’s knight in shining armor, rescuing her from the dark woods that had controlled her life for too long. His home had been a castle that now lay in ruins back in Ravenfalls, the town that had once been her home. He had promised her a life - One that she wouldn’t regret… And then he was killed before he could act on it.

Taking another pained breath, Miranda remembered their last encounter. He had just committed a federal crime for her, and then told her that he would be taking the girl on a date. He had said he wouldn’t keep her waiting long…

Fire exploded behind Miranda’s eyes and they shot open with a start. For as long as she lived, the girl doubted she would ever be able to erase that explosion from her mind.

Attempting to distract herself once more, she was just reaching for the tiny ‘complimentary’ shampoo bottle, when Alex’s voice carried from the next room.

“Bitch! Get your ass in here!”

Knowing the urgency in which they had been living their last few weeks, Miranda bolted from the bathroom, not even bothering to shut the water off. “What?” The girl screamed, sprinting to Alex’s side.

The boy gaped, his gaze shifting over her naked body, “Um?”

“You took the only big towel, jackass!”

Shrugging, he returned his attention to the screen. “So, remember that time we were being dumb motherfuckers and studying vampires in the middle of the damn public library?”

Miranda rolled her eyes, how could she forget?

“Well,” He turned the screen so that she could get a better look, “It turns out someone found it, and over two months ago at that. Shit, if only I had thought to look back on all of this sooner. I only just remembered…”

The girl’s hazel eyes skimmed over the slightly familiar document that Alex had shown her in, what felt like, another lifetime. “What am I looking at?”

The boy pointed to the bottom, “Whoever found it left us a message.”

Finally seeing what it was that had Alex so excited, Miranda gaped at the few words that had been left behind - 149 Evermore Lane, Hollow TX. “Where the Hell is that?”

Alex was already looking into it on his phone. “It looks like it’s off the beaten path a bit. I can’t find too much about it.”

Shaking her head, Miranda turned back toward the bathroom.

“Oh come on,” Alex called to his friend’s retreating form. “We’ve been on the road for months and haven’t had any bites. What if this helps?”

Stepping back under the stream, the girl set about getting her hair washed. “Alex,” She altered her voice slightly so as to sound less annoyed, “We’re chasing vampires, remember? What if this is a trap that Morgan left behind?”

Alex scoffed, plopping down on the toilet seat. “Girl, he had already left town with Trisha by that point. Why would he double back? And how would he have even known to leave us a message? We never even showed Trisha the computer.” Reaching into his backpack, the boy found a fresh pair of boxers and began to dress, which helped make things slightly less awkward for the both of them. “Someone clearly found the computer and wanted to get this message to us.”

Miranda rinsed her hair. “There were other ways to do that,” She informed her best friend. “It was no secret that I left the rest of our crap in the O’Gary’s shed. Whoever is renting their house could have passed along Mr. O’Gary’s number and then he could have reached me. Easy!”

“Unless…,” Alex continued without even taking a second to think, “This could be a very secret location in which certain vampire hunters, by the last name Ryder, could be hiding.”

“That’s stupid,” Miranda fought, “How would they have known about the computer?”

Alex had an answer for that too. “Don’t you remember how good Darius was at figuring things out? He found the computer all on his own and probably relayed it back to headquarters, or whatever! He had mentioned family and considering that he knew all about vampires… He had to have learned it from somewhere! There could be a whole network of them.”

“Or,” Miranda shut the water off and accepted the damp towel from her friend, “He could have just read Dracula like the rest of the weirdos in the world.”

Alex gave the girl a look that usually meant that he was silently thinking about how stupid she was currently being. Instead, his voice took a more gentle approach, “Baby, I know how badly you miss him.”

“We barely knew each other,” Miranda protested, marching passed her friend so that she could hunt down some clothes.

“That doesn’t mean shit,” Alex called after her. “You were two people who found each other in a dark and dangerous place. You sparked almost instantly and that is fucking romantic. Have you even given yourself a chance to mourn him?”

Not bothering with a bra, the girl slipped a huge sweater over her head. She knew that Alex was trying to be kind but at that moment she really wanted to hit him. “Don’t you have some hottie behind a check-in desk that you want to take to Pound Town? Go fuck your brains out already!”

Alex opened his mouth as if he planned to argue, but thought better of it and finished getting dressed. Sliding back into his shoes, the boy eyed his friend with concern. “You know, a little stop wouldn’t hurt us, trap or not, it could help us find Trisha faster. That and… No offense, my love, you are putting on a shit ton of weight. We desperately need to take a small break from traveling.”

Miranda’s hazel eyes filled with fire, though she really couldn’t argue. Watching the boy retreat back out into the night, the girl glared down at her belly. Last month she did have to trade in some of her jeans for a pair of sweats, compliments of no longer having a school gym to run off to during stress eating season. Falling back onto the bed, she turned to glare at the screen that Alex had ‘conveniently’ left open. Darius had indeed mentioned living family, a fact that had shocked Miranda because she had spent her entire life hearing about the Ryder family’s demise. It had been a local ghost story that had turned out to be false. She had to admit, with how impressive Darius had been at keeping tabs on her and her friends, his family would probably also be that good.

Rolling onto her back, she mulled over the possibility of getting a little help with her vampire problem… A problem that shouldn’t even exist.

Despite having just eaten a large burger and ‘most’ of her fries (ALEX), Miranda suddenly had the munchies and desire for some crunchy snacks. There was a gas station across the way and, judging by its lights, was still open. Springing into some pants and back into her boots, Miranda slipped out the door toward the glowing promise of chips - 2 for $3.

Despite having a feeling that Alex would give her a nice lecture later, she didn’t bother stopping by the main office on her way across the street. Miranda skipped right up to the double doors and let herself in. Though the older man behind the counter looked incredibly displeased over finally having a customer, nothing could pop the content bubble growing inside Miranda’s tummy. She rapidly pranced up to her favorite display, the one that held timeless snacks, and began scooping up the few that she knew Alex would enjoy as well. Sex always made him hungry and she had a feeling tonight would be a good one for the both of them. Gliding into the soda section next, the girl grabbed a few bottles before making her way to the counter.

Halfway back to the ogre man who was watching her with an annoyed expression, one that plainly indicated he would have liked to get back to his book rather than wait for her, Miranda’s feet came to a very sudden stop. Naturally, it was her hazel eyes that told them to, but this was long before her brain could fully register why it was that her body was acting without proper command. Menacingly aligned along the shelves before her were a row of small boxes Miranda had only ever glimpsed out of the corner of her eye. Now, taunting, they reminded the girl of a harrowing fact - How long had it been since she had her period? Gaping, she stared at the neon pictures of small (penciled in) stick figure children… Pregnancy tests.

Alex had indeed been correct when he stated she was gaining weight, but was that really because of the long hours behind the wheel? Heart in her throat, Miranda thought back to the very erotic night with Darius - The one that had rocked her world. He had been everything she had dreamed of and then morning came all too soon. With it, a strange party, her arrest, and more dead bodies than Miranda would have ever liked to know. With a shaking hand, the girl grabbed at the box at the end of the row and quickly stuffed it on top of her pile of ‘goodies’. It would be a nightmare, but she would rather know now than find out later.

The grumpy man scanned everything without looking, gave the girl her total, and then glared her back out the door.

Miranda would have normally made a retort for her own amusement, she hated naturally unpleasant people, but urgency was now pressing into every single one of her steps. Out of desperation, she quickly glimpsed into the lobby but wasn’t surprised to find it empty. Alex was nowhere to be seen. Knowing she would have to face the music alone, Miranda bolted for her hotel room and didn’t pause until she was back in the bathroom. All the snacks had been haphazardly tossed onto the bed, plenty of which bounced off and onto the floor.

Dropping her pants, the girl didn’t see a flaw in her race until her bladder reminded Miranda that she was currently running on empty. Growling, the desperate woman rushed back to the snack pile and scooped up a bottle of soda. Chugging as if her life depended on it, and in several ways it did, she had the bottle empty in just over a minute. Impressed with her new set of skills, the girl began her anxious pacing that she hoped would speed up the need to pee.

Back and forth she went, her gaze drifting over the room in a fit of anxiety. It had been one night - ONE NIGHT! True, she had been stupid enough to not ask about protection, but… ONE NIGHT! Tossing her hands into the air, Miranda paused as her eyes fell back on the laptop. It was still buzzing with life, the hidden message at the center of the screen. If it was left by someone who could help…

Alex came bursting into the room looking just as grumpy as the cashier. “What a bust!” He roared, “That bum was a two-pump! He was barely in before he was out again... Oh, snacks!” Never one to turn down a tasty treat, the adorable boy sprang at the pile of munchies, knocking more to the floor. He ripped open a bag of chips with the same exuberance as a child in front of Birthday presents. Only when his mouth was full did he spy the small parcel Miranda was clenching tightly between her hands. “Whaz dat?”

Fighting back nausea, the girl made a happy noise when she felt the tingling sensation that typically indicated pee time. She shot back into the bathroom and pounced onto the toilet. Always one for reading instructions, no matter how obvious the task, the girl quickly skimmed over the box before stuffing the stick in between her legs. Just a few drops was all she needed and then the accursed piece of plastic was slammed down onto the side of the bathtub.

When Miranda threw open the bathroom door so that she could wash her hands, she found Alex waiting just outside.

“So… Something’s up,” The boy’s gaze zeroed in on the stick.

“Oh fuck do I hope not,” She snapped back, meticulously working the cheap bar of soap through her fingers. It quickly became almost erotic, but she had her reasons for being slow… Having not actually set a timer, Miranda was counting off the seconds in her head… One… One again… One a third time… Two… Two and a half… Maybe Three… Now Three…

“For fuck sake!” Alex growled, lunging at the pregnancy test. He lifted it with a frown that quickly slid into a smile.

“Negative?” Miranda breathed in relief.

“Positive!” The boy cheered, holding it up into her face. “We’re having a baby!”

“NO!” The anxious girl roared, glaring down at the double stripes. “NO! NO! NO!” With an annoyed cry, she buried her face into her wet hands and screeched.

Alex’s jaw dropped, “Damn! I haven’t heard that noise before.” He did a small happy dance on his tiptoes, which he continued as the boy followed Miranda away from the bathroom.

“WHHHHHY!” The girl cried, falling onto the bed sheets without care if she was landing on any of their snacks.

“YESSSSS!” Alex cheered again, “Baby! We’re having a baby! It’s going to be a baby!” The boy let his chant go on for a bit longer, giving a huge sweep to get everything off of the bed now. He plopped down next to his friend and made another happy sound. “Imma be an Uncle, I’mma be an Uncle!”

Sighing in frustration, Miranda rolled onto her backside and glared up at her excited friend “How the hell am I supposed to have a baby when we live on the road?”

“Erm,” On a roll with answers for the night, Alex gave a sassy point in the direction of the laptop. “Clearly we don’t need to be on the road for a little bit.” When it looked like Miranda was going to argue with him for the second time that evening, the boy raised a finger in her face. “Missy! We have tried it your way and so far keep falling behind. Now get some fucking sleep! Stopping worrying yourself sick - Bad for Baby… And get ready to meet the in-laws!”

“We don’t even know if it’s Darius’s family!” Miranda shot back, “And what if it is? What are we going to tell them? Hey, sorry we got your son blown up, mind if we crash with you while we learn your mighty vampire-hunting ways?”

Alex shrugged, “Well, that and ‘Guess whose carrying a baby Ryder?’”

Miranda felt sick again.

As for Alex, his face shifted to serene. “Wouldn’t it be great if the baby had his eyes? Darius had great eyes.”

“They were pretty,” Miranda admitted.

The boy nodded, “You know when I liked them best?”

It seemed like an odd question but Miranda played along, “When did you like his eyes best?”

Alex’s smile grew, “Whenever they were looking at you…”

A sudden drop in Miranda’s stomach brought her barreling passed the weeks on the road. The Halloween night that they had slipped into a bar to enjoy their favorite season among strangers… The Diner opened on Thanksgiving in which they were able to get a decent turkey dinner… The appearance of Christmas decorations popping up in yards as they continued cruising through random neighborhoods… The times they pulled Darius’s car to the side of the road in order to get some sleep, even in the rain. It all went back to that night in front of the fire…

“Don't be long," She jokingly ordered, turning to go.

“I'd never keep you waiting long,” Darius Ryder promised her.

“Goddamn it!” Miranda sobbed, “FINE! We’ll go Texas!” She didn’t realize she had started crying but now the tears were burning trails down her face, hurting almost as much as her heart was.

“Shit,” Alex breathed, reaching out to stroke his friend’s cheeks. He was attempting to wipe her tears away but they continued to fall rather quickly. Finally, he just settled into a mix between soothing sounds and soft words.

It was in that moment that they both knew exactly where it was their next stop would be…

“149 Evermore Lane, Hollow, Texas,” Miranda repeated.

When they woke that morning, Alex had insisted on driving and she hadn’t objected. Still groggy from a night of tossing and turning, the girl was having a hard time coming to terms with her new reality. Not only was she still currently hunting down a vampire in hopes of saving her other best friend, but now she was also going to be a mother. In another life, Miranda would have been wrapping up her Fall Semester in college and getting ready to celebrate Christmas with her Dad. They would have been prepping up for her last semester and for her to finish what she needed in order to start working at the library. Just as her Dad and so many of her past family members had done. In that life, Miranda would have pretended to hate the idea - Now she wished for nothing else.

Placing a hand on her belly, the girl pictured telling her mother about all of this. It would only be a single phone call but she was certain it would do m