by Unknown
I know what will happen next.
I place my hand around Aaron’s waist and draw him closer to me.
Deep groans echo off the trees, seemingly in every direction. Heidi’s head tilts back, and her mouth opens. Are the screams coming from souls escaping Heidi’s body? I can’t let the vampires get me.
I blink rapidly as her body expands to three times her original size and her limbs stick out at odd angles in an inhuman shape, just like the vampire in our motel room. I jerk backward away from the direction of the body as I grab hold of Aaron tightly. He shakes his head.
Blake steps away from her and disappears into the woods.
“What if Blake is coming for us next?” I shudder.
A deafening high-pitched explosion comes from Heidi’s body as her human shell explodes. Gray snowflakes float down into the crimson pool formed by her blood.
Aaron turns to face me, his mouth gaping open, a glimmer of excitement in his eye. His expression calms me.
“We have to go,” he says.
“Yes.”
We carry on running towards the main road.
“How far till we are home?” Aaron asks as he weaves back and forth through the trees, jumping over fallen trunks.
“I guess about twenty minutes if we keep up this pace,” I say. “Have you got your cell phone?”
“No. Back in the motel. Mom’s going to be angry about that.”
I nod in agreement. She gets angry with him over everything. She blames him for his dad leaving, like it had nothing to do with her drinking or the fact that she’s frigging crazy. She dislikes me as much as I dislike her. She treats Aaron like no mom should treat her son.
“It will be quicker if we get a car,” Aaron says.
The abandoned road appears in front of us. Large cracks cover it as far as the eye can see. Pieces of asphalt are flaking off as if they are hanging on for their life.
I glance up and down the street; there are no cars to be seen. The only sign of life is the streetlight. Still, our deserted path home looks eerie.
Our town is small. We don’t get much traffic. There’s just one road in and one road out.
Tall stalks of grass and wild daisies line the edges of the road, blowing in the soft breeze, as if they are planning to take back the land.
“We’ll waste time waiting for a car, and God only knows what will be driving it,” I say, raising my eyebrows. The world has changed—and not for the better. Far from it.
“What’s next, werewolves?” Aaron says, throwing up his hands in disbelief with a smirk.
I let out a sigh. “Only type of werewolf I want to see is Michael J. Fox surfing on top of a van.” A laugh escapes my lips.
“Now, that would be better than the crazies up there. Come on, let’s get out of here before her friends come and, you know—try to finish the job.”
Aaron and I start jogging along the edge of the road, still fearful of being seen out in the open.
“We can run quicker on the road,” I tell Aaron.
He agrees, and we pivot together onto the road, checking behind us once again to make sure no one is following us.
We pound the paved road, avoiding meteor-size potholes. I know I can run faster, but am not sure if Aaron can keep up.
I focus on the sounds around me: the delicate wings of a bird flapping through the night sky and crickets chirping in unison. No one is following us. I never realized how good my hearing was. We also left the smell of death behind in the woods with Blake and Heidi. We are the only people out here.
“I think we are in the clear. I can’t smell them anymore. Can you?” I slow down to a power walk. Aaron does the same.
He turns, raising an eyebrow at me. “What do you mean ‘smell them’?”
“They smell like death,” I say.
“Was that before or after you killed the vampire in our room?”
“What's the difference?”
“I couldn't smell much. Most of the time I was just trying to stay alive. Next time I see one, I’ll be sure to ask him what aftershave he’s wearing.”
There is no way he couldn’t smell them. Their repulsive scent is so potent that it feels like it’s soaked into my skin.
“Did you hear Blake? I could hear his whispers.” My heart races. Please say yes.
Aaron stares at me blankly. “Voices in your head?”
I cross my arms and shrug. Aaron places his finger over my lips. “Maybe you had a bump on the head.”
I shake my head, unsure of what to say. After a long pause, Aaron speaks. “So that’s it? Vampires actually exist?”
“Looks like it, doesn’t it? They cannot be human. They were too frigging strong.”
“Strong? That’s an understatement. That girl threw you up like you were a rag doll,” Aaron says, shaking his head, his eyes wide.
“The vampire in the motel room threw you like a rag doll as well.” I feel like we’re competing. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure if things are twisted, broken, or just badly bruised…” Aaron’s voice trails off, as if he’s still trying to figure out how injured he actually is. No doubt we’ll both be in pain tomorrow, once the adrenaline from the evening’s events leaves our body.
“I’ll be all right. I’m just glad I was not eaten alive.” Aaron puts on a fake smile, trying to make like this is all a joke while we’re trying to comprehend what the hell is going on.
“Aaron, did he bite you?” I stretch out the word bite as if it didn’t want to come out.
Aaron holds out his wrist. There are trails of dried blood across his wrist. I can’t see any puncture holes that you would expect to see if he had been bitten. Well, that's if the movies are correct.
“It felt like...” Aaron starts, then stops for a moment. He holds his stomach like he's stopping himself from being sick.
“Like what?” I push.
“Like he was…licking me clean. Preparing my wrist.” He sticks his tongue out in disgust.
“Yuck.”
“Then he stopped. When you went all crazy and kicked his butt.” Aaron smiles at me warmly. “Thanks for saving my life.” The whites of his eyes shimmer under the moonlit sky.
“What are girlfriends for?” A tear falls from my eyes as I wink at him.
“Come here,” he says, embracing me. “We’ll be home soon. And this nightmare will end.”
“Yeah.” I push away the single tear from my cheek.
We both fall silent for a moment as we catch our breaths, holding one another tightly. Both of us are worn out from tonight’s events.
The main streetlamps are clear now. We’re nearly there.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. Time for a run.” Aaron makes a slight turn and runs into the woods parallel to the road. I follow. The branches on the ground make it hard to keep up the pace we had on the smooth road.
I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with all the smells around me. It's like everything had been enhanced somehow. Why now? What’s different? I can smell the aftershave under the layer of sweat and dirt on Aaron. The sweet perfume of the flowers in the woods. The dampness of the morning dew. I'm grateful I can’t smell death.
“Can you smell them?” Aaron asks as he notices me exhale.
“No.”
“Good.”
We stop at the edge of the woods, the road laid out in front of us. We’ll have to run across it to get to the back alley.
I glance up and down the road. All I can hear is the soft breeze that’s carrying our hot, panting breaths.
“What do you think she meant by hunter?” I ask Aaron as we stop. Biting pain rips up my shins. I don't think the vampires would have allowed me to warm up before they chased me down. The thought brings a vision in front of me of vampires lining up on the edge of the road like a group of cheerleaders, patiently waiting while I stretch.
“I was wondering the same.” Aaron pauses to catch his breath. “The only thing I can think of is a vampire hunter.
You know—a vampire slayer,” he says.
“A vampire slayer?” I reply, puzzled. “How can I be a vampire slayer? Surely you have to have special powers or something like that.”
Aaron shrugs. “No clue.” My eyes drop down to the ground at his response.
His warm, gentle hand rests on my cheek. I gaze up at him. “We’ll work it out together.”
Before I can speak any more, his soft lips rest on mine. My fingers tingle from the contact.
We both pant for air as we break the kiss.
Aaron tangles his fingers around mine.
“I wonder if there are more vampires in town, or if the ones at the motel were a one-off group,” I say.
“No idea, but I don't like the idea of running down Main Street. Let's go down the alleys behind the stores.”
“What time is it?” It's a Friday night, so I was expecting some people falling out of the bars at the least.
The town feels so eerie without anyone around. Only the streetlights give away the fact that it isn’t a total ghost town.
“Have you ever noticed a pay phone in town?” I ask Aaron.
He hesitates for a moment, then replies, “I have a vague memory of one in the movie theater, but the place must be closed.”
“Oh, yeah. I can’t remember seeing one anywhere else.” Dad has always said we rely on new technology too much. I think he’s right.
“We should go to your house first,” I say. I want to go to mine, but Aaron’s is closer. Dread fills my stomach at the thought of getting help from Eileen, Aaron’s mom. It wouldn’t surprise me if she were a vampire.
“We’ll have to call the police from there,” Aaron says.
“What if the police don't believe us? And think we killed the people at the motel?” The words pour out of my mouth before I can stop them…
“We can worry about that when we get to that point, but first we need to get out of here safely.”
Chapter Eleven
“Ready?”
“Ready,” I say.
We sprint out into the open road, minding the potholes, and across the road to the alley behind the store.
The dark alley is pitch-black and seems endless with the brick buildings at either side caving inward, the graffiti barely visible. The alley looks as if it’s a cavernous bear just waiting to gobble up anyone who dares to enter.
We crouch down beside some garbage bins. A rotten smell lingers, mixing with the bitter smell of stale urine. I shudder at the thought of what is under my shoes.
Then we glance up and down the empty street. I want to get out of here, yet the main street is silent… Too silent.
We have no choice but to head down the alleyway, which could easily be straight from a horror-movie set; my heart beats loudly like the opening theme of one.
I wish there were some sunlight. I stare up at the moon as if it can tell me what time it is. It’s moving closer to the horizon, so I’m guessing it's around five in the morning. The sun will be rising soon. “We just have to last till daylight,” I say to Aaron.
“That’s if what we’ve seen in the movies is true, which I’m beginning to question.”
“Well, the stakes worked,” I say proudly.
“Yeah, that bit worked, thank God. But how did he get into the room? I thought... You know—you had to invite vampires in. And I sure as hell didn’t. Did you?” I shake my head in response. “Quicker we get down there,” Aaron says, pointing down the alley, “the faster we can get home.”
I nod in agreement. My heart beats at an unbearable speed as we start to run. Drops of sweat roll down my face as the fear of what will come out of the darkness suffocates me. I suck my lips into my mouth to collect the small drops. It does nothing to add moisture to my dry throat.
“I think it's clear,” Aaron says as the end of the alley comes into sight. “Let’s run to the end and stop at the last dumpsters.”
My eyes dart in the direction of a sound in the near distance, like someone is rummaging through something. I breathe in but there is no smell of death, just the strong smell of rancid, rotting food and urine. I pat Aaron on the shoulder and point towards the sound coming from the dumpster at the end of the street, where we were heading.
Aaron slows his pace, and so do I, easing my breathing. He glances over his shoulder to indicate we go back. I shake my head. We can’t go back. I can make out the whites of his teeth as he grits them. We start to jog instead of sprint. A scrapping metallic sound gets louder. I grip my stake tightly, ready for a fight. We edge towards the opposite wall, away from the sound.
Please don't let it be a vampire that's hiding or feeding. Breathing in deeply, I stare at where the sound is coming from. There is nothing there. Aaron lets out a sigh of relief and lowers his stake. He was holding it high above his head, not very discreetly. Then he wipes a hand across his face, clearing the glistening sweat away.
“This place is frigging creepy, even without the vampires.” Aaron laughs, trying to pretend he wasn't scared.
I step a little closer towards the trash bin to inspect where the sound was coming from.
“Argh!” I jump back in surprise, bumping into Aaron's chest. I place my hand over my mouth.
Red eyes stare at me from the dumpster.
“What was it?” Aaron asks.
“A frigging rat jumped out of the garbage with his devil-red eyes,” I mumble.
Aaron starts to laugh again. “Scared of a little rat?”
I shove his chest and push him away from me, making him stumble back.
His expression immediately changes from joy to confusion. “Since when are you so strong and serious?” He rubs his chest like I hurt him.
“Quit messing around. It’s since frigging vampires exist,” I say.
Aaron rubs his chest again. I’m not sure if it's out of sympathy or because I really hurt him. How could I hurt him? I’m not strong. He must just be playing with me.
He hides by the garbage bins, away from where the rat jumped out, and peers around the wall, glancing down the street off the main road. It has smaller independent stores and a Starbucks on the corner, just like any other town. America has become a cloned nation.
What makes our town different or special to the others? Why did they come here? Sadie, don’t let your mind drift, only think about getting home.
A flickering streetlamp at the end of Main Street catches my attention. It's the one from earlier this evening. There is a something on the ground. Is it a body?
“That’s where I saw the first vampire.” I point towards the flickering light.
“Great. That’s the way we have to go,” Aaron says.
“Frigging typical,” I mutter. I don’t want to go that way, but part of me wants to see what that vampire was leaning over earlier this evening. “Have you ever seen a phone booth anywhere else in town?” I ask Aaron.
He shakes his head. “Think they got rid of them years ago.” I nod in agreement and glance back down the long, dark alley we’re standing in. There is nothing but us down here, yet it feels like we’re not alone.
“Aaron, let’s keep moving. Use the parked cars as a cover.”
We dart down the street with our backs hunched over and our heads lowered to make ourselves as small as possible, though I’m not sure if it’ll help.
We promptly reach the first car. “Keep going,” I say to Aaron.
Moving from one to the next without stopping, we swiftly approach the thing on the corner of the crossroads by the lights. It resembles a pile of black trash bags. Maybe he was just eating trash?
I slow down as we approach and let my curiosity take over. Why do I have to inspect it? Wasn’t tonight’s experience enough for me?
Aaron sprints past the black pile. It's not garbage bags. It’s blankets, like a homeless person would carry to try to stay warm at night.
I come to a halt. Part of a worn tanned-leather shoe is sticking out from the pile of blankets. By the way the shoe is sitting up, it appea
rs as if the owner’s foot is inside of it.
In the pit of my gut, I know there is a person under this pile of old dirty blankets that have dark, reddish-brown marks on them, like dry blood.
Leaning closer to it, I use my stake to push down the top layer of the heavy, dirty blankets. I can hear Aaron’s footsteps pounding the pavement as he sprints back towards me. My heart pounds along with his footsteps, my eyes fixed on the pile of blankets, mesmerized by the thought of what I’ll see beneath them.
A layer of blankets falls forward, revealing what they were trying to conceal. I jump back and wait for signs of life. Instead, I get a whiff of the musty brew of tobacco, body odor, and urine.
I place my hand over my mouth and nose as I try to block out the repulsive smell. Then I lower my head to see the person’s face. His head is tilted down towards the ground, with his matted, greasy, overgrown hair now covering most of his face.
I know this man; I think as I take a step forward.
It's the homeless man that lived by our town. His body is propped up against a wall. Everyone knew him because he was the only one in our town.
Mom said he wasn’t homeless, just didn’t like living in a home. He liked to be free to wander the streets and live anywhere. Poor guy ended up choosing this place, and it cost him his life.
The color had been drained from his normally tanned leathery face, his long, matted white beard crushed beneath it.
I can’t leave him out here if he’s alive. I push my stake into his shoulder, gently jabbing him, but hard enough that if he were alive he would respond to it. Nothing. I push the stake in a little more. Aaron stands by my side, frantically studying the street. I know I’m risking our lives by being out here for this length of time, but I cannot leave him without trying.
I push him one last time, harder—too hard. His body jolts to the side, knocking the blankets completely off him. His hands roll out in front of him, revealing two puncture marks on his wrist. His eyes are open, as if they were like that at the very moment he died.
Chapter Twelve
Aaron slips his warm hand into mine and squeezes it gently.