CAVERS: A VAMPIRE TALE
By
R.G. Richards
*****
PUBLISHED BY
Copyright © 2013 by R.G. Richards
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This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental and unintended. This is a production of the author’s imagination.
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CAVERS: A VAMPIRE TALE
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Chapter 1
Huddled high on a branch outside a small house, dark figures closely watched the people inside. The first figure spread its arms and glided as if an eagle onto the roof of the small two-story house. A second followed, then a third. Together they crept to the first window to peer inside. There, lying in bed, was a woman reading a book.
The first figure was a man who, with deep concentration, stared at the woman, and before long she yawned, put her book down, and went to sleep. His thin lips curled in a smile as he nodded to his comrades.
They leaped to the next window to have a look at the sleeping child that lie in the bed. One of the figures, a green-eyed brunette, had something in the palm of her hand that reflected off the moonlight as she raised the window with small, delicate fingers. Her hair was long, dark-brown, but the top portion was a long-flowing red with dark brown highlights at the tips. She wore a necklace with a large red-jeweled crest emblem. She was accompanied by an older woman who watched her pulled out some type of medical device. This device she ran over the sleeping girl’s body, consulting its screen when she had done so. She then put it away and carefully took a sample of the child’s blood.
The other woman tapped her: a signal. The younger reached into her bag and withdrew a camera. After snapping a picture of the sleeping child, she replaced the camera.
Their mission was successful, but before leaving, the older woman was driven by curiosity to the sleeping child. She brushed a few strands of the child’s brown hair from her face, and leaned down to look closer at her. The angelic face made her scowl. How could something that sweet and innocent have the potential to destroy an entire kingdom? If not for her queen’s orders, the woman would have killed the child in its sleep. But she could not, and so instead she left to rejoin her comrades on the roof. Together they leapt as one, and were back in the trees and out of sight.
The brunette was conducting tests on the collected blood when the older woman came into her laboratory to get the child’s photo. The old woman took the picture to a pale-skinned woman with red hair, who in turn fixed it with a morbidly curious look before handing it back.
“We are testing the blood now. She will attend the local school with Shelby.”
“Don’t tell Shelby; she will kill her,” said the red-haired woman. “We don’t know which direction her future will take. Watch over her and assign a Caver to her. Use Sara; she can bond with her and test her in secret. I have plans for this one. She will serve our cause nicely.”
It was three days later that young Allie Carter reached for her favorite hairbrush with an odd look on her face. She plopped her thin frame at her little desk and looked in the mirror while combing through her shoulder length brown hair.
Allie was not overly confident with her looks, but she was sure her personality would make her popular. “Kill them with kindness,” her mother always said, and that would be today’s secret weapon.
Allie stood to assess her outfit. In the tenth grade, she had gone through as many schools as grades so far in her short life. Each time her father came home with the exciting news of a promotion she would be the only one of her small family to cringe. Letting go of old friends and embracing new ones took skills she had not mastered.
“You are going to like me if it kills you! I am worth getting to know and you will all like me!” She repeated the phrases in the mirror before going downstairs to breakfast. Today was Thursday and it was the first day of a short week. With a brave smile, she bounced down the stairs.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Ready, Kitten?”
The timeless Kay Carter gave Allie her strong anchor. She was the only constant in Allie’s world and her pulling back her daughter’s chair brought a smile to the young girl’s face.
“Almost.” Allie poured milk over her bowl of cereal and ate quickly. She grabbed her backpack and met her mother at the door. “Dad left already?”
“Yes; there was an accident with one of the oil workers; possibly a bear attack near the pipeline. He left this for you.”
Allie lit up when she took the gift, even though the accompanying smile on her mother’s face meant trouble. Her mother tapped her wristwatch, reminding her of the time, but she didn’t care: the present was her entire focus and she opened it with careful fingers.
Her mother tried to nudge her along. “Hurry up, slowpoke, school is waiting.”
“Okay, here goes!” She ripped the corner off the box – and out popped a compressed rubber snake. She yelped. “Argh! Oh my God!” Allie looked at her mother; now her earlier whimsical smile made sense. “Daddy has got serious issues.”
Her mother was laughing with her and agreed. “What a joker! Come on, let’s get going.” Her mother put the wrap in a drawer and they walked out the door to the car. The two of them had developed a routine where Allie was always driven to school on the first day and her mother would lecture her on the drive while she rolled her eyes.
Kay would remind Allie not to talk to strangers and reaffirm that all adults they didn’t know were strangers. She prepared her daughter in every way she knew how. Her baby was growing up and the world was a frightening place for someone so young and vulnerable. Kay gave as much information and advice as possible – even more than that, really. So much the young Allie felt stifled.
Allie was far different from her mother: she was an adventurer. She moved so much that her basic strategy was to make one friend, no deep commitments. She just wanted people not to give her a hard time so the time would pass quickly. Allie loved animals and nature and being in parts of the country with more animals than people she felt at home. Her deepest desire was to develop a power that let her talk to the animals. Though she listened to her mother’s endless warnings, she wished that she could be a bird: then she would fly to school, land and transform back into herself and go to class. Her mother kept a tight watch on her, and she was only allowed in the backyard – which was always fenced – so Allie was always on mind adventures.
When they finally arrived at the school, Allie opened the door before the car stopped.
“Allie!”
“Sorry!”
She closed the door and waited. Her mother gave her last advice and Allie said goodbye and bolted from the car. Kay sighed as she watched her baby running toward the school. She drove back home slowly, wondering if she had forgotten to mention something and feeling the emptiness of her life, imagining Allie gone for good.
For the first time, Allie entered school without her mother at her side. She was amazed at how dark the inside was: there were no windows, not even in the cafeteria.
“What a depressing place this is.”
She walked into the Principal’s office to present herself and update her family information contact list. Yet this room was just as dark – and filled with shouting students and teachers. With second thoughts about this school and the year she would have here, Allie took a seat on a bench and after being noticed by the secretary came forward and gave her name. She turned in her paperwork and walked back out, depressed by the scenery, but hoping with all her heart that
the classes would be interesting, because the school wasn’t.
“Oh well, there is always next year and a new school to look forward to. Lucky me.”
In her homeroom class, her teacher, Mrs. Taylor, kept staring at her for no earthly reason Allie could think of. She was glad to go to the gym for an assembly meeting two hours later to get away from her constant glare and scowl. Her class marched in one long boring line and sat on bleachers near the door. Something banged against the wall and she jumped. Allie looked at the other end of the gym and saw a group of upperclassmen walking through the door. Each wore an impressive gray jacket with a patch on the left side. The boys wore blue slacks while the girls donned a checkered blue skirt with various length black stockings and black shoes. All wore a white shirt and blue tie.
The young man on the end grabbed her attention; he had short brown hair and a head more round than oval, which pleased her. In her mind she gave him a perfect five as they marched by her class, carrying a banner in front of them, and took a position on the stage behind the Principal. Allie’s fascination with this first group mounted; she turned to the girl sitting beside her who had long black hair with pink highlights and a single strand of green braided tightly on the right side. She whispered, “Who are they?”
“Double E Club, Excellence in Education. You have to be upperclassmen to get in. They are kind of like FBLA back home in Philly.”
“What is FBLA?”
“Future Business Leaders of America. They dress like them and travel and stuff.”
Sara Johnson set behind Allie and was the only one to talk to her in class. Sara was a year older and was one of a few black students in the entire school – not surprising for a small town named Barlon in North Dakota. Sara recognized the look of always being on the move in Allie’s eyes.
According to Sara’s explanations back in class, she was the only black student in the tenth grade. The eleventh grade had a set of twin girls and the twelfth grade had two black students, all of which had parents that worked for Lucient Oil Company. Allie had watched her count out the number of students on her hand and her eyes widened as Sara told her about each of them. She wanted to hear more but Mrs. Taylor was talking and walked by and drummed her desk to end their conversation. Allie knew the woman hated her and looked around for her before asking her next question.
“What about the other, um ... W-D-E?” Allie tried remembering the initials on the banner they carried.
“World Dominance through Education. You have to be at least seventeen with a high-grade point average to get in. They take trips, have secret meetings with business professionals and college recruiters and stuff like that. Most of them get scholarships to the college of their choice.”
The Principal became background noise as Allie focused on the handsome young man. She took in his face, then let her eyes drop to his jacket’s patch. It was mostly black and resembled a family crest. She leaned in and whispered to Sara, “What does the patch mean?”
This was Sara’s second year at the school and she averaged a move of every two years instead of the one like Allie. The patch was a large bird like an eagle that held a crest in its wings. The crest was triangular in shape and divided into unequal sections. The largest section on top was a picture of the earth and a man. Then there was a yellow sash like section that cut the crest diagonally. This section held blue Latin writing that said, ‘erudio sceptrum orbis terrarum’. The smallest section in the lower right contained a picture of the sun and stars, and beneath was a small banner with EE in the center.
Before Sara could respond, Allie had another question, “What does the writing say?”
“I think it means education rules the world. I’m sure their parents are proud.” Sara giggled quietly.
Allie smiled but tried to hold in her laughter with mixed results. She tried listening to the Principal but her attention wandered back to the crest and these people. Joining these people would be a waste of time; she’d be elsewhere next year. Her future would consist of a new home, new school, and a new friend.
After assembly they were handed pamphlets and flyers about the various groups they could join and the rewards for long-term involvement in extracurricular activities. They were dismissed and went back to class.
School went on in the same manner for the remainder of the week. The students attended meetings and were introduced to various groups and organizations and given information on how to join their clubs.
Chapter 2
Cavers: A Vampire Tale Page 1