by K. A. Poe
We edged closer to our prey and I felt an overwhelming desire to jump the nearest bear and dig my fangs into its warm inviting flesh, but something stopped me. Salem pushed me aside and stood firmly in front of me. At first I wasn’t sure what was going on and I stared at him with a bewildered expression until I spotted the cause.
I growled quietly as the bears scurried away and two men came walking out of the shadows, both of whom looked dangerous just from a mere glimpse. Both of the men were clad in black trench coats and thick, bulky boots. One of them was a hulking mass of muscles and as bald as could be with tribal tattoos wound around his scalp; his comrade was somewhat shorter with dark spiked hair and a menacing sneer across his lips.
“I thought we heard someone else out here,” the taller man said in what was a surprisingly pleasant and friendly tone. “Are you lost?”
“We are not lost,” Salem said as he eyed them suspiciously. “Are you?”
The man guffawed and shook his bald head. “’course not. We live around these parts. You’d be surprised by how many people get lost out here. And you sound like you sure don’t come from ‘round here with that voice.”
“I am very familiar with this state, regardless of my accent.”
“Well don’t you talk fancy,” the shorter man commented. “What were you doing out here so close to them bears anyway? Trying to get yourselves killed?”
“We were merely observing the animals in their natural habitat,” Salem replied. “What about yourselves?”
“We heard some noises, thought we would check it out,” the taller one said. “This is Dennis, and my name’s Matt.”
I glanced around at the men from behind Salem. “I am Salem,” he replied and looked back at Mitch and me. “This is Alexis and Mitchell.”
“We don’t usually find groups out here,” Matt said, eying the three of us. “Usually just one person gets separated from the herd.”
“And I suppose you direct them back to the road?” I asked.
Matt grinned. “Nah way. What kind of rescuers would we be if we didn’t offer up a little more…hospitality…than that?”
“Yeah,” Dennis agreed with a sly grin. “We like to invite ‘em back home to…eat with us.”
I heard Mitchell gulp from behind me and knew immediately that something was off. I shut my eyes briefly to let the rest of my senses intake their surroundings. I smelled the familiar scent of chamomile coming off of Salem; I smelled diner food and blood wafting off of Mitchell…but these two new comers did not have a scent that I recognized – not even blood. I then listened to the sounds around us: I heard Mitchell breathing; I heard the sound of Mitch’s heart pounding rapidly, but nothing from the other two men. My eyes opened wide as I registered what we were facing.
“Salem, we need to get out of here,” I whispered fiercely – forgetting how easily the two men could hear me.
“Now, now, we don’t want to scare ya off,” Matt said with a false frown. “We just wanted to talk to ya, get to know ya.”
It became clear to me that they weren’t yet aware that we, too, were vampires.
“No really, we should be getting back...we’re already late as is.”
Dennis laughed and stepped nearer to us. “Aw now come on, is that any way to treat your saviors.”
“Do we really look that stupid to you? You could be some kind of murderers for all we know!” Mitchell yelled from behind us. “Besides, you don’t know who you’re dealing with! You’d best just let us go back if you know what’s good for you.”
Matt snorted. “I don’t think we have anything to fear from Mr. Fancy-Talk here and his little girlfriend.”
“For vampires,” I started and the two men stared at me with widening smirks, “you don’t seem to be very aware of your senses.”
“You underestimate us, girly,” Dennis snarled and his eyes shifted from brown to crimson in an instant. “The scent of that boy and the pounding of his heart is pretty intense but I know what you two are. Otherwise he’d already be dead. Makes me wonder just what you two are doing out here with him though.”
Matt laughed beside him. “You think they were going to drink’em dry, Dennis? Nah, I think they are human-lovers. You know what? I bet they were after them bears!” He burst out into laughter.
“You know Matt, I think you’re right. Ah well, I’ve got some ideas for some animal feeders like these two…after we’re done fillin’ up on the boy anyway.”
I was about to question him when I heard something from behind us. Another man stepped out from the shadows, followed by a graceful woman with a blue pixie haircut. Salem kept his eyes focused on the two ahead of us while I rushed to pull Mitchell away from the oncoming couple and stuck him between us. Having him so close to me was dangerous, but not nearly as dangerous as having him exposed to any one of these four.
“Two vampires all buddied up with their food, imagine that,” the girl said in a light voice. “I’ll tell you what...just give him over to us and we’ll forget that you are pathetic wastes of space in this world and let you go. Better yet, why don’t you guys have a drink with us before you go?”
“Never,” I growled. “If you want him, come and get him.”
The man that accompanied the girl went wide-eyed then began laughing loudly. Ginger bangs fell across his ashen face and I could see his long fangs protruding from underneath his pink lips with each chuckle. “There are four of us and two of you, doll…I think you’d better just listen.”
Within seconds three of the four of them were around us, each of them focused solely on Mitchell as though Salem and I were non-existent. They were overcome with bloodlust, something that I was all too familiar with now, but unlike them I was able to prevent myself from hurting another person. Matt stood back, observing his partners and it came to my realization that he must be the ‘pack leader’. Dennis tackled Salem and pushed him away, giving the others a clear shot at Mitchell.
I avoided watching Salem and the other vampire, knowing that he would be fine and I had someone else to protect. The girl was out of sight and the ginger-haired man was on me within seconds. He shoved me hard into the nearest tree and I fought to see Mitchell. I could hear the panicked yelp escape his throat and it gave me the strength to force the vampire off of me. Salem had Dennis pinned down with a hand around his throat and the girl was now nowhere to be seen. For now I had little time to try to help Salem. Their real target was Mitch.
Matt had a clear advantage while Salem and I had been struggling with the other two. He had Mitch in his grasp, dragging him away from the scene by the collar of his shirt. I could hear the sound of the material ripping at the stitches as the vampire pulled him away with his inhuman strength. He was dumbfounded when he turned to find Mitchell’s shirt in his hand and the boy scrambling away. I fought the urge to laugh and swung the ginger-haired vampire into the tree behind me. They might be tough, but they certainly weren’t very bright, which was just what I liked when it came to fighting vampires. Had they been as strong and wise as Raziel or Hannah, there would have been no chance against a group this size.
I felt the back of my shirt tear as the ebony wings burst through my skin. Long, razor-sharp talons emerged from my fingertips. With all the speed I possessed, I crashed into Matt as he grabbed Mitch up from the ground and bent over to bite him, ready to put an end to him and stop his escaping once and for all. The vampire screamed furiously as I knocked him over. I averted my attention from him momentarily to see Jason’s brother collide with the ground; a sudden gasp of air whistled through his lips and his eyes fell shut. My heart sank as I resisted the urge to rush to his side. I prayed he was okay.
“What is this?” Matt laughed as he looked me over and wiped a drop of blood from his mouth – which fortunately was his own and not Mitchell’s. “I think you’ve been eating animals too long, I think you’re turning into one!”
I smirked and shook my head. “Have you never heard of the Waldron’s before?”
“You gotta be f
ooling me. Vampires don’t hunt other vampires.” He laughed again, and I could hear the rest of his gang chuckling as well.
“Wrong,” I said and leapt onto his bulky body, sending him clambering to the ground a few feet away from where Mitch lay. He struggled to force me off, but despite my small size I was immoveable. His eyes widened and I couldn’t fight the grin that spread across my lips. It had been a long time since I had put an end to a vampire, and despite the situation I found some sort of immense satisfaction deep inside me.
I opened my mouth wide and released a shrill cry that caused Matt to throw his thick hands against his ears in attempt to block out the sound. The other vampires were no doubt affected by it as well – including Salem. But I couldn’t consider that right now. A talon slid across Matt’s cheek and a streak of blood trickled down the side of his face. “You’re lucky I don’t drink blood from humans,” I threatened. “Not that you are much of a human anymore anyways.”
The sound of his agonizing scream excited me as I dug my talons into his chest, through his dead heart and twisted them ruefully until his eyes fell –I relished in the fact that one less vampire existed in the world. I only hoped that no one heard him from beyond the woods. As I thought this, I climbed off of Matt’s body and stared into the distance. Another figure was approaching us.
Jason appeared from the darkness and his eyes were wide and terrified. I wanted to run to his side to comfort him but knew that my appearance was probably one of the most frightening sights around him. I then looked to Salem and found his assailant was dead on the ground and the other two vampires were nowhere to be seen. My next target was Mitch. I was afraid to lay eyes on him, fearful that I had lost another friend, but I was relieved to see him sitting up and rubbing his head. My feet remained in place as I ignored the urge to approach him – I would wait until my body returned to normal. Jason was at his brother’s side now anyway, checking his injuries.
“Is he all right?” Salem asked as he walked toward the Banner brothers.
“I’m okay,” Mitch said, coughing noisily. “Think they just knocked the air out of me is all.”
“Nothing is broken?” I asked and felt my body transforming back to normal.
“I don’t think so...” he said as he flexed his arms, fingers and moved his legs and feet. “A little sore but I’ve been worse.”
“Good,” I said with a sigh of relief. “Now do you see why I didn’t want you to come with us? It’s dangerous. Of course, I didn’t think there would be others out here but there is always that chance…there are far more vampires in the world that you realize.”
“Are you kidding me?” Mitchell laughed. “I got to see a fight between vampires! In real life! How many people get to say that?”
“Very few, considering most of them die in those situations,” Salem answered glumly. “You are very fortunate that Alexis possesses her raven abilities, or else you would be as dead as those two – we all would.”
Mitch gulped and then shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, but we’re not.”
Jason helped his brother up from the ground and gave him a worried glance. “As soon as I heard you screaming…” he muttered and shook his head.
“I wouldn’t have let anything happen to him, Jason,” I said and put my arms around them.
“Sure…just like you were able to save Karen…” he replied in a very low voice.
I stepped back away from the Banner brothers, shocked and hurt. He blamed me for Karen? He should have known that I would give nearly anything to have been able to save her. I stared at my friends, stunned and unable to form words to reply to such an unthinkable claim.
“Come on, Mitch, let’s get you back home before anything else happens,” Jason said as he helped his brother up and slowly started walking back towards the car. Mitch gave me an apologetic look before turning and concentrating on the walk back as well.
“He did not mean it, Alex,” Salem said as he put a hand on my shoulder.
“I should have turned her when we visited.”
“You cannot blame yourself; you had nothing to do with Karen’s death. Turning her there in that hospital would have been a mistake. Imagine all that could have gone wrong.”
“Everything has gone wrong!”
“You don’t mean that, Alex.”
“Maybe I do. I’ve lost Janet, my mother, Karen…my friends.”
“All of that would have happened regardless of the paths you have chosen, Alex. None of it is your fault. Jason is just in a really bad place right now due to the situation. Please do not blame yourself for anything.”
“Let’s just find the fountain, Salem, okay? I just want a normal life again. I want to go back. I want my friends back…”
Salem nodded sincerely. “For now we need to drink. I don’t want you crammed in that car with two humans while hungry and in a bad mood – you have to be careful with emotions as a vampire, they can consume you.”
Although I didn’t much feel like doing anything, let alone hunting and killing a bear, he was right. We were still a ways from Willowshire and the smell of their blood would get extremely tempting if I did not feed now.
I silently followed Salem as he crept swiftly through the forestry and descended onto one of the bears. I stayed slightly behind; keeping a lookout for the second but it was nowhere to be seen. This suited me perfectly as I was very much not in the mood to fight anything else right now. One bear would be plenty of nourishment even for two vampires.
After sating our thirsts we headed back to the car as quickly as possible. I half expected it to already be gone after what Jason had said to me, but thankfully I was wrong. Jason sat in the driver’s seat with both hands already on the steering wheel and Mitch was lying back in the passenger’s side. Jason did not even look in our direction as we got in. Before I had time to speak the engine came to life and we were off.
18. A PLACE CALLED HOME
I happily admired the scenery as Willowshire unfolded before us. The further we went, the more excited I grew. I could spot Howard’s convenient store right off, and noticed Kate leaning against the side of the building taking a draw off of a cigarette. Her bright pink hair had faded somewhat from the last time I had seen her but otherwise she looked no different. Next we came across the high school we had attended and I felt somewhat nostalgic. The building was filling up with students that looked reluctant and tired.
“School’s starting already?” I asked in awe as I thought over how much time had passed.
“Yep, school just started last week,” Mitch answered. “I got time off, though, for bereavement.”
We were nearing the elementary school and the trailer park that I had hoped to avoid seeing. Paul was in there somewhere, probably plotting a way to kill Salem and me. I sighed and relaxed some as we finally passed it and came close to the house I had given to Jason and Mitchell to live in. The four of us climbed out of the car and I stared at the familiar red door that I had walked in and out of so many times throughout my life. I wished Janet could have been waiting behind it to welcome me home, but that would never happen again. So many things would never happen again.
“I can barely believe we’re here,” I whispered.
“We have to be cautious while we are here. If Paul hears word of our presence, he will be after us in a heartbeat,” Salem warned. “Do not tell anyone that we are here.”
“We won’t,” Mitch vowed. “Are you going back to your house?”
“You didn’t hear?” I asked. “I guess you wouldn’t have…it burnt down.”
“Oh, wow…” he said in shock. “I’m so sorry, Salem. What are you going to do?”
“We will find someplace else,” Salem said with a surprising smile, “somewhere new and completely our own.”
I felt myself smile as I imagined what our house might look like. It would be a whole new journey for the both of us. After we returned from Florida, we would have a house of our own, a new life, and new beginnings to look forward to.
The happy moment was cut short when I noticed a look of disgust from Jason at the mention of Salem and my life together. He tried to quickly cover his expression but it was too late.
“Jace would probably lend you guys his car for a while if you need. I think I’ll be out of commission for a little while and he can just use mine. Mine’s better anyway, right, bro?” Mitch said nudging his brother in the side jokingly.
“Yeah…sure. Whatever. That works.”
“Thank you so much Jason!” I said with as much excitement as I could muster and gave him a hug. He had hurt me deeply but I knew it was just in the heat of the moment. I would do my best to turn things back around.
“Just bring it back in one piece, okay?”
“Don’t worry, we will,” I laughed and took the keys. “Thanks, Jace…and I’m so sorry, Mitch. I know you might think it was exciting, but you were very lucky to have survived that.”
I exchanged embraces with the boys and kissed them both on the cheek, despite Jason’s reluctance. “We’ll have the car back safe and sound before you know it. I promise!”
Salem and I sat parked in Jason’s car for almost twenty minutes while I browsed for vacant houses for rent or sale on my laptop. I came across several that looked and sounded appealing, but none of them could ever compare to the old Victorian. We would have to make do with something else and turn it into a new perfect home. As I clicked open another page, my phone went off. I pulled it from my pocket and saw that it was a call from Salem’s cell phone.
“Hannah?” I said as I answered the phone.
“Hey! Guess what? I think I found it!” she said excitedly. “You wouldn’t believe how many people I had to ask before someone took me seriously. Most of them thought I was full of crap! Then one guy actually approached me and said he overheard what I was looking for and told me he would take me to it.”
“Wow, that’s surprising…way faster than I thought.”
“Yeah, I know, right? I thought he was a creeper at first but then I thought what do I have to lose? If he is he’s messing with the wrong girl!”