I saw his eyes change in size and waited for Misty to start asking questions. She stayed behind me out of Dylan’s sight. We don’t want him to be distracted, this can break the concentration between us, and if that happens we’ll have to start all over. If we’re not careful it can cause him to go into a brain coma. I’ve been told that it doesn’t happen often, but when it does happen, if you’re not careful it can cause the vampire to go blind.
Misty barked, “Who sent you?”
“The council sent us, I was told that if we killed Jess and whoever was with him, that our rewards would be huge.”
“Why do they want us killed?”
“The council finds Jess to be a great threat to the plan, and to their daughter.”
“How did you find us?”
“The witches made us a voodoo doll. I found the doll to be a magnificent creation. All I had to do was drop the doll and whichever way it landed was the direction that Jess would be at.”
“How many more are their out here looking for us?”
“Right now none, but if we failed she would send more. We were told that if we weren’t back in town tomorrow that more would come to search for him.”
“Where is the town located from here?”
“About two hours northwest from here.”
“Are there any houses along the way?”
“Two to three, but they are abandoned. The council didn’t want anyone near the town, that couldn’t be trusted. And let’s face it, there’s no one you can trust.”
Misty patted me on the back, once she thought we had enough answers. I reeled out of his mind with a gasp. And fell backwards onto my back. Misty jumped on top of the man and snapped his neck like a thin twig.
“Are you okay Jess?”
“Yeah, I will be in just a minute.”
“Well lets hurry we need to get to the town before they send more troops out to hunt us.”
I nodded at her and jumped up to my feet. I feel like someone has punched me in the lungs and pounded my head in all at the same time.
“He said northwest from here, right?”
“Yes, but how did you know what he said?”
“Well you’ll learn how to do it eventually, once I asked the necessary question I listened to your thoughts. Since you were so intent on reading his mind, you didn’t even notice that I was in yours.”
“Is that why I have a pounding headache, and rasped breathing?”
“I don’t think so; if it is then I’m sorry. You should know that I’m a very impatient person. I wanted to know what he was saying then, not now.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, if there’s a next time.”
Misty just smiled at me, “Well let’s get going.”
5
Misty and I started the long two hour journey to the middle of no where town. The longer we walked the chillier the air began to feel. Dylan was right there are some abandoned houses along the way. I stopped for a moment to gaze at the little battered house. You can tell by looking at the house that once upon a time it was a lovely home but over the years it has began to look so shabby from the lack of care for it. I just couldn’t stop myself from shaking my head in disbelief that someone could easily let someone else run them from their own home. What is this world coming to? I asked myself.
“Do you know the people that use to live here?”
“No, I honestly couldn’t tell you. I’ve never been this way before. I find it to be very heartbreaking that someone was made to leave, what they seemed to have worked so hard to keep.” Misty sighed.
I’ve been in the cave for so long that the thought of things like this happening didn’t even occur to me. Lost in my own selfish ways has made me blind to the world. I’ll make a vow to myself, if things work out today in Deerneck, then I will make it my business to help those that have been done wrong.
“Don’t make promises that you can’t keep, Jess.”
“Stop lurking around in my head like it’s an open book.”
“I wasn’t lurking around in your head. Apparently looking at that battered home has upset you more than you realize. You were more less projecting your thoughts toward me.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get all snappy on you. It just bugs me, when others take it upon themselves to go lurking around in all of my most private thoughts.”
“Apology accepted, and Jess, I will lurk around in your thoughts, if I find it to be extremely necessary.”
“Alright, miss smarty pants.”
Misty giggled at me, and then she stopped and motioned her hand towards me, alerting me to intruders. I stopped and could hear footsteps in the distance. What could it possibly be now? I thought to myself.
Misty looked at me and motioned for me to get down. I lay down in the tall grass and was slightly hidden by the green-brownish color. I looked for Misty and couldn’t see her anywhere. I know she’s still around here, because I can still smell her. It’s weird how every vampire has their own scent, and I’ve found that the sweeter the smell the sweeter the person. The stinky smells are the evilest people you’ll ever meet.
“Hello there, I was hoping you could help me. I’m trying to locate a town known as Deerneck. Do any of you nice looking fellows know where it might be?” Misty said with a flirtatious voice.
“Well hey there to you too darling, and may I ask what your doing out here all by yourself in the middle of these scary woods?” The man said huskily.
“Oh just looking for a special town called Deerneck. One of my once removed cousins informed me all about the place, and I thought that the town would be just perfect for me.” Misty said, twirling her brown hair around her index finger.
“Oh is that right. Well I could have sworn you were a good girl. This pains me that I’m going to have to do this.”
“What in the world are you talking about?”
“If you’re looking for Deerneck, then you’ve got to be one of them.”
“What do you mean one of them? I heard they had a nice community college and I was going to go check it out.”
“Well I’m a little relieved to hear that, but I’m still not going to show you where the town is, or tell you where it is either. If you know what’s good for you then you’ll turn right around and go back to wherever you came from.”
Misty hissed, her fangs popped out and she jumped on the man draining him dry. The man’s buddy pulled out his bow and was struggling with his arrow nervously. Misty tossed the lifeless body to the ground and leaped on the man with the bow and gave his head a swift jerk, and then she released him to plummet to the ground.
I jumped up off of the ground to scowl at her. “Misty, what are you thinking killing those men like that? Yeah, sure, I thought there for a minute that we were going to have to fight, but you had worked that conversation out, what happened?”
“I hate smart ass, so called daddy wannabe’s.”
“Okay, point taken. Let’s get going. Were you able to read that man’s mind?”
“No, he was blocking his thoughts, which tells me we’re getting close to the town. We just need to stay as quiet as possible and camouflage ourselves to the best that we can.”
“Yes boss.”
Misty whipped around and scowled at me with narrowed eyes.
I threw my hands up in surrender, “I’m sorry”, I stuttered.
She just smiled at me wickedly and whirled back around to lead us to the haunted town. I say haunted because if there are more people like her in the town, then it’s going to be a scary place.
Misty and I kept walking farther and farther into the woods. I could tell we’re getting closer to the town, because, the closer we get the eerier the air begins to feel. Along with the airs bitter coldness it’s a frightening feeling, and for a vampire to be frightened then it’s got to be pretty gruesome.
We walked up on another abandoned house, but apparently Misty wanted to go and check things out. She was leading us straight to the door. I panicked, thinking th
at this may be a trick or something, so I froze into place and waited for her to respond.
“What are you doing, Jess?”
“Why are you leading me into an abandoned house?”
“Well the sun will be coming up soon, and I thought that maybe you wanted to put your cloak on. Considering you haven’t already surprised me. I would be freezing if it weren’t for mine, protecting me from the bitter coldness that’s lurking out there.”
“Well that does make sense.”
“What was you thinking, I was doing?”
“I don’t know, but something told me not to go in there.”
“Don’t worry Jess, I just wanted to rest for a moment, and give you the opportunity to rest as well.”
“Okay, then lead the way.”
She nodded at me and turned around to head up the front steps, once she was on the porch she opened the front door, which let out a loud screech.
“Knock, knock, is anybody home?” Misty yelled.
She turned to look at me, “It appears to be safe”, and so we headed into the house. The floors, used to be a gorgeous natural oak floor, but now it’s covered in dust, dirt and mold. Seeing the mold on the floor made me look up at the ceiling. The gutters surrounding the house are overflowing with brush that nature has provided over the years, this caused the water to back up underneath the roof, causing a leak. This has made the water drip onto the floor and then we have mold. I’ve never liked the way it smells, the musty, dampness that it puts off, it’s just like the cave all over again.
“Jess, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you put the cloak on, so we can get going?”
“I thought you wanted to rest?”
“Well I do, but to be honest, I’d rather take my chances against nature any day. I don’t like mold any more than you do.”
I shook my head at Misty and decided better not to argue with her. I don’t know if she’s PMS-ing or what, but she’s one moody woman here lately. I put the black cloak on, and put the hood over my head for protection. The fabric is smooth and long. The sleeves dangle over my hands, covering every inch of my body. The cloaks hood casts a shadow over my face providing me with extra protection. I don’t know why vampires hadn’t thought of this earlier. If they have, then I can’t understand why they don’t wear them.
“Why don’t vampires wear these all of the time? Then that way they can go out into the sunlight and do whatever they need to do.”
“The main reason we don’t wear these all of the time, is because it looks very questioning to the humans. Let’s say it’s a hot summer day in mid September, and don’t you think it’d look funny for someone to come out of their house wearing this. Jess, we have to be as judicious as possible.”
“You make a good point their Misty, but then again I have another question. If humans will find this to be suspicious then what makes you think that the town’s people won’t.”
“Well, I don’t really have the answers to that Jess. All I can say let’s hope for the best. I wasn’t going to go with you into the town, but I’ve changed my mind. I’d like to see what happens exactly to you once we get there.”
“What do you think is going to happen to me?”
“Well if they have it in for you, as bad as every one claims, then you getting in to the town, may be really hard.”
“Well let’s hope for the best.”
“I agree.” Misty said with a fast nod of her head.
6
Misty and I kept on walking in the woods sporting our heavy dark cloaks, when the sun slowly peeped over the horizon. I hissed, when I saw it peeping over the mountain top. Misty stopped and glowered at me.
“Jess, don’t worry you’re okay, as long as the cloak covers you.”
“I know, it’s just hard to get use too. For so many years I’ve been inside the cave, forbidden to go out into the sun, and now I know that if the sun touches me, then I could die. So, it’s hard not to get all worked up.”
“If it makes you feel any better, then let me tell you that I’ve worn this very cloak in the sun many times. How else was I going to give reports about you and Ava?”
“How did that come about anyway?”
“It’s a long story, which I’d rather not get into right now.”
“Okay then, how much longer do you think we’ve got before we reach our destination?”
“Oh, I’d say about ten minutes.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“Well you see the trail we’re walking on right?”
I nodded at her, “Yes I see it.”
“Well over there is another trail that will run into this one. That is the trail that I use to take. So, I can safely estimate that we have about ten more minutes to go. Less than that if you want to use your strength and travel at vampire speed.”
“No, I say we save it for better use. Who knows what we’ll be up against once we get there.”
Misty didn’t have anything else to say, so we kept walking in silence. I couldn’t help but shutter at the bitter chilliness that lurks around in the air. I look up at the sky to find a thick hazy fog looming around, blocking the sunlight from shining through.
“What’s the fog all about? I don’t see any resources of water, and it hasn’t rained here lately. Do you know anything about it?”
“Actually I do, the witches that possess the town have put a spell over the town to protect its people. The fog is to keep the sun from shining through, so that way young vampires won’t be affected by its powers.”
“And what powers are you talking about?”
Misty gave me a look that said you’re stupid, “The suns powers to kill you, of course. What did you think I was referring to?”
“I don’t know, you mentioned witches, so I thought there were other powers that I should be worried about.”
She nodded at me, “There are many things that you should be worried about Jess. There are vampires that live here, that have been around for ages. And the witches hold stronger powers than you could ever imagine. And let’s not forget about your siblings, the alchemists, who’ve gone through great lengths to help the council. And that’s not to mention what other creatures that Patty may have found.”
I swallowed hard at her words. I really didn’t think about all of the dangers that lurk around in the creepy town, and lets not forget that its ran by the most powerful vampires alive. I still say it’s worth it, anything is worth saving Ava. I love her, I refuse to let her stay in a town that she is probably blinded by.
If Misty is right and Patty has a plan for Ava, then Patty probably hasn’t told her much about the town, or the truth about why she has brought her back after so many years. I just hope that luck is on my side today, because I know that getting in the town, is probably going to be impossible, but I’ll find a way sooner or later.
I was so intent on my thoughts, that I hadn’t even noticed Misty had stopped in front of me. I almost walked right into her.
“Why are we stopping?”
Misty pointed a finger towards an iron fence that’s displayed in front of us.
“Well, what’s that?”
“It’s a fence, what else does it look like?”
“I see that it’s a fence, but what is it doing here?”
“I told you Jess, that the town is much protected. Did you think that we could easily walk into the town?”
“I hadn’t thought that getting into the town would be easy. But I didn’t think that the town had an iron fence surrounding it.”
“Well it is, so what do you suggest?”
“Do you think that we could jump over it, or climb it?”
“We could try, but chances are the witches probably put a spell on it so that no one could climb it.”
“Should we give it a try anyways?”
“No, I have another plan. Just follow my lead, and if things get hairy, run for it, is all I can say.”
“Okay, I’ll do my best Misty.”
I f
ollowed Misty around the fence, to a set of gate doors. There’s a man guarding the fence, holding a brown clipboard. He was dressed in a black turtle neck, black slacks and had running shoes on to match. He had bright red hair and green eyes that shone brightly against the pallor of his skin.
“Hello sir, how are you doing today?”
The man jumped at Misty’s voice and studied her intently with his eyes. He looked Misty up and down and licked his lips, like he was intrigued by the cloak.
“Well hello, how may I help you?”
“My name is Jesstine and this is my husband Jason. We’re wearing these silly things so that we don’t get sick,” Misty winked at the man.
“Uh, Huh, and what brings you Jesstine to our little town?”
“Well my grandfather is Dalton the alchemist here in your town, and I needed to see him desperately.”
The man looked down at his clipboard, and flipped through the pages. “Well I don’t have you down, as a visitor today. Is he expecting you?”
“Well not exactly. It’s just been so long since I’ve last seen him; I thought I’d give it a shot. And I’m sure he’ll be very pleased to see me. I’ve been on an expedition for him all of these years. And he’ll be very happy to see that I’ve succeeded with our findings.”
“I see. Well wait right here, and I’ll see if I can find him.”
“Thank you so much. It’s been an extremely long trip, and I would just be so disappointed if I didn’t get to see and talk to him today,” Misty said with a pout.
“Well we wouldn’t want to do that then, now would we?” the man said with a smirk.
“Right now everyone is busy with a big last minute town meeting. How about I show you to his home, and once he gets back you can surprise him?”
“Oh goody!” Misty said with a clap of her hands and a triumph jump up and down, to express her excitement.
For some reason this was angering me, watching the man goggle her body as she jumped up and down. I just wanted to deck him. I know that Misty and I aren’t truly married, but if we were, then this would severely have pissed me off.
The Night Life: Exodus of Evil Page 11