The Last Family Road Trip (Vampire Innocent Book 4)

by Matthew S. Cox

  The last mile or so is fairly hilly terrain, the road meandering between them. All three sibs press themselves against the windows to look around. Dad pulls off to the left soon after we pass a sign for the Lewis and Clark Caverns Campground. We make a brief stop in a small parking area by an office on the right before driving back out to the entrance road and hooking a left a little farther down. Dad takes the third left after that into the RV park. The area’s arranged into a bunch of circles with RV-sized spurs sticking out from the ring. Dad drives around the circle twice, having difficulty figuring out which spot he’s supposed to pull into.

  Mom grabs the paper he got at the office and points him at one of the spurs. He drives past it, then backs up onto a gravel strip with a handful of boulders arranged around it.

  “And… we’re here,” says Dad, grinning.

  We all pile out the door and look around at the scenery. It’s way different from home, mostly open grass with sparse trees. A row of hills facing the side of the RV with the door kinda resembles model terrain someone would build for an elaborate toy railroad set, only they did a shoddy job of spray painting on the ‘grass’ texture. It occurs to me after a moment of staring at it that what I think is ‘green fuzz’ are actually trees growing in patches. A few tiny cabins stand a good distance away, directly in front of the RV. The rolling hills continue to the rear and driver’s side (the one without the door) of the RV.

  “Wow,” whispers Sierra, standing beside me. “There’s a whole lot of nothing here. Grass, a couple trees… the land technology forgot.”

  “It’s definitely different,” says Mom.

  Sierra leans around me to stare at Dad. “Remind me again why you drove us to 1865?”

  “The caverns.” Dad smiles. “The main attraction here is a giant limestone cavern underground.”

  “It’s a two mile hike,” says Mom. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

  “Uphill,” mutters Sierra.

  Sophia clamps on to me. “I don’t wanna go into a cave unless Sarah’s with us.”

  A few noises come out of Sierra that my brain translates into ‘this is going to suck,’ ‘this is lame,’ and ‘I want to go home.’ I suppose exploring caves and such can be cool for some kids, but Sierra’s not one of those kids. Unless it involves computers, rides, or interesting science (and sure, cave exploration is somewhat sciency, but it’s not exactly flashy) she’s going to spend the whole time in ‘can’t wait to leave’ mode. Then again, she is still cranky over being pulled away from her friends and PlayStation. She did the same thing last year but got over it in a day or two.

  Dad whips out a Frisbee, and we burn off some energy for a little while. I cheat a little with a few diving (okay, flying) catches, but no one notices. At least, no one outside the family. Eventually, the family calls it a night. Or at least, ‘family minus me’ calls it a night. It’s a little awkward having everyone trying to get ready for bed at the same time. Sophia changes in the tiny bathroom, Sierra goes for the ‘master bedroom.’ Sam simply waits for a moment where Mom and I aren’t looking at him and changes while standing right beside the bunk beds.

  Sierra and Sophia squeeze themselves into the top bunk. Soph’s out in seconds. The ’rents retreat to the bedroom, probably to watch TV for a while. Again, yeah… we’re totally roughing it. With the rest of the family otherwise occupied, and my being quite a few hours away from sleep, I decide to explore a little.

  I head out and around the nose end, walking toward the cabins and the cluster of trees in the middle of the RV park. A sidewalk leads around the trees and cabins, past a little post with a water fountain and a large building with modern bathrooms. It’s kinda surprising how many people are here. The spots hold an assortment of RVs, giant camper trailers, and ordinary cars. A few parking spaces without trailers or RVs have collapsible tents set up on the grass. I never imagined people still, like, did the ‘camping’ thing anymore. Sure, back when Dad was a kid, it happened, but now?

  Ugh. The summer’s halfway over already, more than halfway actually. Why does that bug me like I’m still in grade school? Is it that I don’t want to go back to school (college) in the fall, or am I just not wanting time to pass? Is there still even any point to me going to school? How many vampires work ‘real jobs?’ Aurélie has a ridiculous amount of money, though how she got it, I have no idea. All vampires aren’t from rich families, though. Glim sure seems the opposite of rich. But, what does he really need? Technically, it’s not required to have a house or anything. We can’t die of frostbite. It’s also not like we need money for a grocery bill. Thinking of him sleeping in some dank, underground place puts me in a sad-guilty mood. It passes in a moment when I consider Aurélie’s lavish apartment is really overdoing it. My family’s home is—okay nicer than a lot of people’s—but still not over the top. At least, not compared to some vampires I won’t name with a weird thing for old dolls.

  I don’t need to earn a degree, or to work. Anything I want, I can mentally coerce people to give me. Though, the wandering rogue living off wit and guile may suit Dalton’s tastes, but it’s not who I am. My parents really wanted me to go to college, though they hadn’t been too thrilled with USC purely because of the distance. In some way, I think they’re both much happier that I’m going to a local school. Had I made it into some place really prestigious, they wouldn’t have minded distance so much… but some of those options would’ve had to have come with a scholarship to be possible. My parents are doing fine, but some of those colleges are ridiculously expensive.

  Yeah, okay, I’m kinda smart but not ‘free ride to Ivy League’ smart. Sierra could probably pull that off if she bothered to try, but she’s a slacker. Sophia’s either going to wind up going to an academy to learn professional makeup, or she’s going to follow my friend Ashley’s footsteps and study veterinary medicine, or maybe vet tech.

  Yeah, okay. I’ll keep with the plan and still go to college. Even if I don’t wind up using whatever education I get to find a job, going to college will make me feel reasonably normal. And it’ll make the ’rents happy. Honestly, it’s not like I’m wasting time or anything. Forty years from now I’ll still be an eighteen-year-old. Aurélie once told me something about how she sometimes forgets herself and still thinks it’s the 1700s. Of course, I joked at her that it’s probably because she dresses like it. But, now I’m wondering… decades from now, am I still going to feel like I just graduated high school and don’t know what to do with myself? At least I know I won’t be like Mom and obsess over which of her friends might be six pounds lighter than her or a half-size smaller.

  Ugh.

  Well, I also feel like the future is forever away. And I’m reasonably thin. I won’t ever open the closet and feel like a slob for not being able to fit into the clothes I wore in high school. Oh well. Except for the inevitable somewhere-far-distant-future loss of my family, vampiredom is a big win for me. Maybe I’ll get lucky and the teenage headspace will be permanent so I’ll remain in the ‘eep, I don’t want kids’ mindset. Then again, considering Ashley, maybe that isn’t so much a ‘teen’ mindset as my mindset. Or maybe Ashley’s the weirdo for wanting kids at our age. I mean, she’s in no way going to get herself preggers until she has her life in order, but she’s already made up her mind that she wants to spawn.

  And whatever. If she does wind up with a kid before she’s ready, I got her. Manipulating other people with my powers doesn’t bother me at all if I’m doing it to help someone else. Like, forcing someone to hire me, or making a car dealership guy think I paid for a car I didn’t? yeah… no bueno. But using my abilities to help support a pregnant-way-too-early Ashley? No regrets.

  Anyway. I should stop thinking about that in case I jinx her.

  I pass a small playground and a few more trees before reaching the other side of the campground, as indicated by the loop road going around it. It’s pretty damn dark out, so I take the opportunity to catch an aerial view, flying straight up about a hundred feet. The c
ampground consists of a D-shaped road surrounding five rings with bus-sized parking spaces jutting out from them at angles, making them resemble pinwheels. Big ass hills span along to the north of the campground, speckled with trees. Looks like a few trails lead into actual forests here and there on the far side. Wobbly flashlights here and there suggest people hiking. Cool. If people are dumb enough to go on forest hikes at night, I’ll have no shortage of food.

  And yeah. This place has lots of open nothingness.

  Bored and with nothing better to do, I land again and proceed to wander around the road encircling the campsite. At the northeast, I cut the corner and stroll across the middle of the closest ring road to the street leading away from the parking area.

  A pair of boys hanging out by another RV at the south end of the circle spot me and start walking over. I don’t have Sophia’s ‘ugh, people’ response to new faces, nor am I at all worried about what anyone may or may not do to me. I glance in their direction as they approach. The boys appear to be about fifteen or so, one a little shorter than the other. Both have light brown hair almost to their shoulders with zero effort put into combing it. Their faces are similar enough that I assume they’re brothers. The tall one’s wearing a khaki T-shirt with an eagle on it and green camo pants, the other, a plain navy blue T-shirt and jeans.

  “Hey,” says the taller one. “Your parents drag you out into the boonies, too?”

  His brother manages a weak smile.

  “Yeah.” I hook my thumbs in my jean pockets. “Something like that. Family time.”

  “Right on,” says the taller one. “I’m Cody, this is my bro, Ben.”

  “I’m Sarah.”

  Ben pulls his right hand out of his pocket into a too-casual wave, a streak of glowing purple behind his fingers. “’Sup.” He blinks. “Whoa…” He holds his hand up again, gazing in awe at a fat ring, the source of the light.

  “Holy crap,” says Cody. “Mom was right. They are here.”

  “Damn.” Ben turns in place, holding his hand out, though the glow doesn’t change.

  “How long’s it been glowing like that?” asks Cody.

  Ben shrugs. “It lit up before when I tossed our plates in the trash. I dunno when it started again.” He squints into the darkness. “That means… there’s a fiend of the night around.”

  “Yeah.” Cody nods.

  I raise an eyebrow. “Umm. ‘fiend of the night?’”

  “Vampire,” says Cody, still scanning the hills.

  “Oh.” I whistle. “You guys like seriously believe in that stuff?”

  “Pff,” says Ben. “Umm. Of course not.”

  “Dude.” Cody swats him on the arm. “What are you talking about? Mom came here specifically because she felt a presence.”

  I lean back, pointing at them with a little twirl to my finger. “You two are here to hunt vampires?” It’s all I can do not to laugh. What hits me funny is that I find it ironic to run into a pair of kid vampire hunters and I’m basically the vampire version of a kid, too. The two of them get into a rapid whispering argument. I don’t need mind powers to realize Ben’s developed an instant crush on me and his sudden denial of vampires is a direct response to me laughing at the idea.

  “Look, dude, focus.” Cody pats him on the shoulders with both hands. “Don’t let your guard down. There’s plenty of fangs around here.”

  “Most of them are attached to rattlesnakes,” I mutter. “My father read that in the brochure.”

  “She knows.” Cody points at me. “See? She said ‘most.’”

  “Well, there’s also probably coyotes or mountain lions. They have fangs.” I smile.

  “Where are you from?” asks Ben.

  “Seattle,” I say, since I don’t feel like explaining that Cottage Lake is both an actual body of water as well as the name of the nearby town.

  “Oh, cool. We’re from Oakdale.”

  At my blank expression, both brothers say, “California” at the same time.

  “Wow. You guys had a ride. So… my Dad picked this place because he finds lame things fascinating. Like a six ton ball of twine. I didn’t think this many people still actually went to campgrounds.”

  Ben shrugs. “Mom’s got the sight. Last week, she—”

  “Decided that we needed to come out here,” says Cody.

  “Do you guys do that a lot?” I ask. “Finish each other’s sentences?”

  “Sometimes.” Ben chuckles. “Mostly, it happens.”

  I nod. “So… your mom has ‘the sight.’ You mean, she’s psychic or something?”

  “Yeah, basically.” Cody nods. “I think we might have a little of it. You know.”

  “Psychics,” says Ben. “Sometimes I get ideas or feelings without knowing why. Like, I think you’re pretty cool.”

  I chuckle. “Thanks.”

  Cody elbows him. “Dude, she’s like a sophomore. She’s not going to be interested in a freshman.”

  “One,” says Ben, holding up a finger. “A single year difference isn’t a big deal.”

  I mentally roll my eyes at them mistaking me for fifteen, but somehow manage not to let my frustration show. Could be worse. Could be way worse. I could’ve turned into an Old Guard and become intoxicatingly hot. Or—I suppress a shudder—gone shadow. Hey, I have nothing against Glim, but I look deeper than his appearance. Ninety-eight percent of people in the world are assholes. I’m not sure I could cope with it like he does. No wonder they hide. Though, I suppose it would be cool having so many friends. The Shadows are basically like the vampire version of an assassin’s guild… or something. I mean, not that they run around killing people. Maybe I should think of them more as a guild of spies? Tight knit. Blah.

  “Two,” Ben holds up a second finger, “I’m getting a feeling about her.”

  “I’m sure you are,” says Cody, before giving me a ‘don’t mind him’ look.

  Ben goes scarlet in the face.

  “Well, okay. Maybe I don’t really believe in vampires, but I’ve seen a ghost.” I point at Ben. “And your ring is obviously doing something unexplainable. Mind if I look at it?”

  “Uhh, sure.” He keeps blushing but holds out his hand.

  I clasp it—warm and sweaty, surprise there… not—and pull the ring closer to my eyes. It appears to be made of silver with a Celtic-type pattern on both sides around a black opal. The purple glow is definitely abnormal. It’s not emanating from the metal or the gem as much as it’s a thin sheath of energy shrouding the ring.

  “Wow, that’s pretty. What does the glow mean?”

  “Well…” Ben doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to pull his hand away from me. “Mom says it’s used to detect sources of paranormal energy. Sometimes the light appears only on one side, sometimes the whole ring glows like it is now. I’m not sure what it means… or what the color means.”

  Cody again slaps him on the arm. “Dude. You know what purple means.”

  Ben fidgets.

  “Vampire,” says Cody, eyes narrowing. “Fiends and killers. Sometimes even ghouls, though maybe this weak glow means there’s a ghoul nearby.”

  “It’s not always purple?”

  Cody shakes his head. “Nah. It glowed white when we were in Virginia City. I think that means ghost.”

  “Mom said if it ever turns red or black, we should find her right away.” Ben tilts his hand back and forth, the constant, faint purple light painting his face in stark shadows. “Bet that’s demons but she didn’t say for sure.”

  “Wow. You guys are serious about this stuff, huh?” I smile.

  Cody offers a sharp nod, like a soldier confirming his mission. Ben flashes a weak ‘please don’t think I’m a dork’ smile.

  “Well, I don’t know about the whole vampire thing,” I say, with a barely contained grin. “But that glow is kinda hard to explain.”

  “It’s dark,” says Cody.

  “My brother likes to say random obvious things.” Ben points at him. “Mom dropped him on his head as
a baby.”

  “No, dumbass,” says Cody. “It’s dark and she’s alone. We should walk with her.”

  “Oh, right.” Ben fidgets. “Umm, what time do you have to be back to your tent or RV or whatever?”

  Ugh. These two think I’m fifteen. For now, I figure it’s probably not a bad idea to leave that alone. I’m kinda worried that ring might somehow be authentic and it’s reacting to moi. The boys believe the faint glow means it’s picking up a distant vampire, and if one had been closer, it would’ve been a lot brighter. More likely, it’s sensing my Innocent nature. I’d like to believe it’s because I generally consider myself, you know not evil, but honestly, it’s more likely that my bloodline is pretty much the baby of the vampire world in more ways than physical appearance. Compared to mortals, I’m pretty über, but if a couple-decade-old Fury ever got pissed off at me, I’d be in big trouble.

  “Umm.” I pull out my phone and note the time at 11:18 p.m. “Oh, crap. It’s after eleven. I should already be back.”

  “C’mon.” Cody nods to the left. “We’ll walk you to your camper if you want?”

  “Ehh, sure. Why not?” I pretend to be nervous. “Probably not safe for a girl to be alone in the dark.”

  Ben ever so slightly puffs up his chest, and the boys fall in step on either side of me.

  Great. This is my luck. I can’t even go on vacation without running into a pair of vampire hunters… even if they are kids. I’m not too worried about them, but their parents might be trouble.

  So much for a nice, relaxing road trip.

  5

  Keeping Watch

  It may or may not be smart to lead the brothers right back to our RV, but acting weird and evasive would probably make them suspicious.

  I stop at the door and smile back at them. “Thanks for walking me, uhh, home.”