“Maybe one day if you’d like, we could help you strengthen your powers,” Davie said.
“Yes, maybe one day.”
“Do I have any special powers?” Jess asked.
“Not that we know of,” Davie answered.
“I do have some more questions.”
“Well, go ahead,” Kim prompted.
“Okay. Why can’t Jess go outside? If he’s not a vampire, then he shouldn’t be allergic to the sun, right?”
“Well you’re right he shouldn’t be allergic to the sun. But he’s been bitten twice over the years. This has given him some vampire powers such as, stronger smell, strength, hearing, vision, and speed. The chronic migraines he gets while out in the sunlight are his symptoms of being allergic to the sun,” Kim replied.
Davie put his hand on Jess’s shoulder, “I’m so sorry Jess. Had I known this would happen in the results of feeding from you, I would’ve starved.”
Jess looked at Davie, “Don’t be crazy Davie. You think I’d let you starve? Plus, it’s not like I haven’t gotten some excellent results in the process. And we wouldn’t be able to go out in the daytime anyway. Not without you guys to protect us.”
Kim smiled at them, “Well look at you two getting alone. It makes me so happy. I’m also very relieved to see you two, Ava and Jess taking all of this maturely. You two have grown up so quickly over the years. It seems like yesterday that you Ava were only seven and Jess were only nine. Now I have two hormonal teenagers, a seventeen and nineteen year old. Gee, sometimes I feel so old. But, it’s not everyday you’re told that what you’ve always thought of your families has been false. That one of you is a descendant from vampires and the other from alchemists.”
“Well, I’m still trying to absorb all of it actually.”
“I know it’s a lot. If you like Davie and I can give you two some time to think and discuss this,” Kim said.
“Yeah, I’d like some time to talk to Ava, if that’s okay?” Jess said.
Davie let out a breath of air, which isn’t necessary for them but continued, “Well if that’s what you both want or need we’ll give you some space. But, if at any time you have some more questions we’re just a room away.”
“Some time would be nice, thanks.”
Kim and Davie turned to the door they stopped and turned around as if something else was needed to be said, but they thought other wise and left Jess and I alone.
3
Jess sighed, “Ava, I know you have a lot of new information to cipher through, but can I tell you something that may make a difference?”
“Jess you know that you can tell me anything. I’d hope that after all that we’ve been through you’d at least know that much.”
“Well, I don’t know how you’ll take it, that’s all.”
I looked at Jess out of the corner of my left eye. I knew that what ever he needed to say was troubling him. I let out a long breath, “Okay Jess, what is it?”
“Well do you remember when we were little? We use to play out near the woods in a huge oak tree. It was our favorite place to go when we wanted or needed to be alone.” Jess blurted out.
“Yes, Jess I remember. What about it?”
“Well one day we were playing back there and you asked me if I could keep a secret. I told you that I could and you said that I had to no matter what, because your parents would be very upset if they knew you’d told me this secret. Do you remember that secret, Ava?”
“Jess that was a long time ago, I was only seven and you were nine. But I still don’t remember, that was ten years ago. What is it that I told you?”
“You told me that you were a half vampire. And then you flashed me your fangs. It took me a long time to consider the great secret. While I was thinking it over, you asked me if I wanted to touch them. You said that you wouldn’t hurt me. Do you remember now?”
“Oh my God Jess, yes I do remember. After I asked you if you wanted to touch them, you stretched your arm over to my mouth slowly like you were scared that I would hurt you. You touched the tip of my fangs and it pierced your finger bringing a small drop of blood to the surface. That’s when my father yelled for us to come back. You sucked the blood off of your finger and ran back into the house as I followed. What’s so important about this story? Why did you think I’d freak out by it?”
“Well that’s the first day I realized just how much I truly cared about you. I knew that you were very different from me and I didn’t care. Why didn’t your parents want you to tell anyone about your secret? Mostly, why didn’t they want me to know?”
“Jess do you remember going to school, while I stayed at home?”
“Yes, I remember. What about it?”
“Well my parents kept me at home and taught me, because they were afraid that I would slip and tell someone that couldn’t be trusted. The only thing that I can make out of it, were they didn’t want me to tell you, because you went to school everyday. They were afraid that you couldn’t be trusted. You heard Kim and Davie say, that there were always people hunting us. Well I didn’t know that at the time but I do now, why the secrecy was so important. Don’t you?”
“Well I guess so.”
“Don’t get so offended by it Jess. I’m sure if they known you now, they’d see how much you could be trusted.”
“After everything, I sure hope so.”
Jess was quiet for a while. I’m not so sure why he seems so lost. I’m the one that has gotten a lot of messed up news.
“Jess.”
“Yes, Ava.”
“You said that the story may make a difference, how?”
“Well I thought it would help you make a decision on how to decide your future.”
“What are you talking about Jess?”
“Ava. I think something else is going on that Kim and Davie aren’t telling us about.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not really sure. I just have this feeling, this eeriness that’s lurking around, you know the feeling.”
“Yes, I understand that feeling all too well. What do you suggest?”
“Well maybe we could go talk to Kim and Davie and see if there’s something else their not telling us.”
“I suppose we could. I don’t know if they’ll give us any more information than they’ve already provided. We’ve been here a long time and their just now getting around to telling us this.” I couldn’t help but gasp when realization hit me like a ton of bricks.
Jess grabbed my arm tightly. “What’s wrong Ava? Can you see the future now too?”
I jerked my arm free and smacked Jess’s hand, “No I can’t see the future. I just realized the drawing. They must know something. Jess we need to go talk to them now!!”
When I looked at Jess he was looking at me with a smirk on his face. “What are you smiling about?”
“You, sometimes Ava you can be so uptight about things. You do know I was just kidding a minute ago don’t you?”
“Well no, I didn’t think joking about my telepathy skills was funny. I’m serious we need to go see Kim and Davie.”
“Okay, Okay, let’s go see them so you can relax.”
Jess and I picked up our lantern and took off towards Kim and Davies’ room. Their room is just next to ours. So we really don’t have a long way to go, but we still had to be cautious of our surrounding. The last thing, I want to do is run into another vampire. Let’s just say their not to fond of us staying here. Kim and Davie have done really good at protecting us. Not only do we have to worry about that, we have to worry about losing our balance and landing on top of a slag might and ending our lives. I know that once the other’s caught the sent of our blood, whatever hope we had of surviving would be over immediately.
Kim and Davie were standing in the middle of their room hugging one another. Kim I saw was crying on Davies’ shoulder. And Davie was trying to sooth her by patting her on the back and whispering words in her ear that neither Jess nor I could make out. “Excuse us Kim
and Davie, we don’t want to bother you, but we need to talk if it’s okay.”
Kim stepped away from Davie and turned around to wipe the tears from her eyes. I know Kim well or at least I like to think so. And I can say she’s a little embarrassed by us barging in on them and seeing her side of weakness. She has always been the strong one and the responsible one in the group, and no matter how stressed life around here can get, she always remains strong. By observing this, I know something is really wrong. And a small part of me believes it has something to do with the drawing. I just hope that a small part of me is wrong.
Kim turned towards us and gestured with her hands that it was okay to enter. You could tell from the red rimed eyes that she had been crying for sometime.
“What is it darlings that you two need to talk to us about?” Kim whispered, you can tell by her tone she was upset about something.
“Well Jess and I were talking and it hit me. The drawing should be coming up. I was wondering if you two have heard anything about it.”
Kim sighed, “Well, we have heard something. If you’re worried about your names being entered, then don’t. Davie and I made sure that your names weren’t entered. We didn’t see it to be quite fair, considering you both are not vampires yet. Well that is if you two even decided to follow in our foot steps.”
Jess and I both exhaled in relief.
“That’s good news to hear. I would think that would make both of you happy. If that’s not what’s ailing you, then what is?”
“Ava- Jess, please know that it does make us very happy knowing you both are safe, and no that’s not what has gotten me upset.”
“If that’s not it, then what is?”
Davie stepped forward and held up his finger towards us gesturing we give them a minute. I nodded in understanding and turned to look at Jess. I can see in his eyes that he was a little confused and worried all at the same time. Now, I’m worried and beginning to get nauseous, something doesn’t feel right.
Davie turned around and cleared his throat to get our attention. “We have some bad news that we need to discuss with you guys. We’ll come and talk to you two later, once Kim and I have had the opportunity to go over it ourselves. So if you don’t mind, please go to your room and wait for us, we’ll be in later to talk.”
“Okay. Don’t forget about us though.”
They’ve been many nights when we were told they’d be in later and they never came. I know it wasn’t very polite for me to tell them not to forget us, but some things are hard to let go of. And even if they do forget about us, I’ll just come and find them again later.
Jess and I turned and walked to our room to await our answers. I do hope it’s soon. I’ve never liked to be kept waiting. I get very anxious and begin to twitch or even start supplying answers for them, which by all means isn’t a good thing.
Jess sprawled out on the bed and I snuggled up against his side like a cat. We didn’t say anything. I can tell he’s just as exhausted as I am from today’s or tonight’s events. It’s so easy to get them mixed up. I haven’t been out in the daylight hours since I was a little child, and neither has Jess. While lying there thinking about what we’ve discussed earlier and pondering about how my parents would have addressed the situation, but thinking about them still hurts. I could always feel the lump in my throat protesting against my memories. It has always been hard to think about them. I know Davie and Kim have done their best for me. Sometimes it hasn’t been as loving as my parents would have wanted for me. My parents always loved me and I could always tell by the way they looked at me with their eyes, just how much that love was.
Jess has made life here easier. He always holds me close to him. We’ve shared a few stories with one another, but not many; because I could tell that it hurt him just as much as it hurt me to tell them. So most of the time, we just lie here in bed and hold one another, which in its own, is very comforting.
I decided, instead of pondering what it is that Davie and Kim would like to discuss with us I would take a nap and they can wake me up when they come in.
4
He! He! He! Come on Ava, you can’t catch me. I could see Jess running in the distance. The place looked so familiar, we were little and having fun. Jess tempting me to catch him. He made it to the oak tree before me. Once I got there, I had to catch my breath, I was breathing so hard. See I told you- you couldn’t catch me, Jess had said. Come on Ava, give me your hand, I’ll help you climb the tree. No Jess. I pulled my hand away from him. My father told me not to climb the tree. I don’t want to get into any trouble. You’ll be okay Ava, trust me I won’t hurt you. He held out his hand once more and I took it and Jess pulled hard until I was up in the tree beside him. I got you Ava, don’t worry I won’t let you fall. Jess leaned over and brushed a strand of hair that had fallen from my ponytail into my face, behind my ear and then he kissed me on the cheek. I love you Ava. I will never hurt you, or allow you to get hurt, you can trust me. No I can’t, my father said so. Why would he say that? I have a huge secret, and my daddy said, I can’t tell anyone, not even you. You can Ava, you can trust me. What is it Ava that your father doesn’t want me to know? I can’t say Jess, I’m sorry. Why not? Because you’ll hate me, you’ll be scared of me. You’re my best friend Jess; I don’t want to loose you. You want Ava, you can tell me anything. Okay. Do you promise Jess, not to say anything? Yes, Ava I promise. Jess, please understand, if I tell you, you can’t tell anyone, because if you do, your life too will be in danger. Jess paused for a moment. He took my hand and held it into his. That’s when I told him my life’s secret. Something wasn’t right. Jess was shaking, that’s when I realized my fangs were out. He was about to scream, that’s when my hand covered his mouth. Shhh Jess, don’t scream. I won’t hurt you, this is my secret. Please don’t hate me.
Jess just set there beside me in the tree shaking his head in a negative way. This can’t be true, you’re a monster. No, Jess I’m not a monster. I don’t bite people. I eat regular food just like you. I’m different, but not mean. You want to touch my teeth, I won’t bite you, I promise. Jess was being very careful. I could tell he was scared by the way he reached his arm across to touch my fangs. My father yelled for us to come in. He said, kids suppers ready, come in and eat. Jess took his hand away from my mouth, and I could see a small drop of blood form at the tip of his finger. He put his finger in his mouth and sucked the blood from his finger. He made his way down the tree and yelled we’re coming. Jess wait, help me down. You can get down, you’re strong. No Jess, I can’t I’m stuck. That’s when I heard something rumbling in the bushes. I turned my head to look in the direction the noise was coming from, that’s when I saw him. A tall scary man had stepped out long enough for me to see him. He flashed his fangs at me and took off in the opposite direction from me. I turned my head towards the house afraid to move. That’s when I saw my father running towards me. I told you not to climb the tree, but you didn’t listen. You’re too small to be doing what Jess does. Maybe, you’ll listen to me next time.
Ava it’s time to wake up. I felt Jess shaking me awake. “What?”
“Ava, Kim and Davie are here to talk to us.”
I gasped in the realization of my dream. I rose up to a sitting position, ready to partake the conversation that’s about to come. I noted mentally to talk to Jess about what I dreamed about. Too bad, I can’t see the future that would be a little relieving knowing what’s to come. I guess I’ll just have to be happy with what I can do rather than what I can’t do. I find it a little weird that what Jess and I had just discussed, was what I had dreamed about. And the fact of how we discussed it was different. But who was that man in my dream. Oh well, I’ll have to save it for later. Now isn’t the time to ponder about my dream. Kim and Davie are finally here to talk to us.
“Sorry guys. I fell asleep. So, you’re ready to talk to us?”
Kim nodded, “Yes, we’re ready. Is there anything you need to do before we get started?”
�
��Yes. I need to use the restroom. I’ll only be a minute.”
“Take your time. We’re in no hurry to have this conversation,” Davie said.
I walked over to use the restroom thinking in truth I was in no hurry to return to the conversation either. I guess the sooner we get this over with the better. I did my business and washed my hands in the water hole. Jess and I may live in a cave, but we still use proper hygiene. We may have been a strayed from our family at a young age, but Kim made sure we still washed up the way we should. In all reality, I believe she was afraid we would catch a disease and they wouldn’t know it. And even if we did, there’s no way we would survive out here in the middle of no where with no doctors or any medicine to heal us. Well enough pondering lets get this over with, I thought.
“Alright, Kim you can tell me what has got you so upset.”
“Children this isn’t going to be easy to say. I hope you’ll both come to understand in time, our tough decision we had to come to make.”
“Kim, we’ll do our best to understand whatever it is that you’re going to say.”
“Thank you, Oh! My, this isn’t going to be easy,” Kim whispered.
Davie put his hand on her shoulder, “Would you like me to start instead?”
Kim shook her head in a negative way, “No, It’s probably best if they hear it from me. Given you can be blunter than me at times.”
Davie nodded at her given he understood. We all know he’s not the type of man that beats around the bush or puts things lightly.
“You two know that you don’t have to worry about facing doom just yet, right?”
Jess and I nodded in unison.
“Well our names were entered into the drawing as always. And we all know that over the years our group has grown lighter due to the drawing, right?”
The Night Life: Exodus of Evil Page 2