Night School Book 1: Vampire Awakening

by Alex Dire

  “Felicia, what happened?” said Norman. His mind sealed. Why did she come out of hiding? What provoked her rage? He feared for the rest of his students.

  She looked at Norman’s companions. “Why don’t you ask them?” Her eyes narrowed to deadly slits. “You shouldn’t have left us, Mr. Bernard.”

  “I had to,” he said. However, he wondered if this was true.

  “It’s OK, it doesn’t matter” she said. “I’m going to kill them, too.” She pointed to the four vampires standing behind Norman. “Then…then I’ll fucking stab myself.”

  33

  Retreat

  Felicia Gomez behaved like someone bereft of hope. Norman had given her a second chance, but now he wasn’t sure if he had turned her to save her life or to assuage his own guilt for failing to protect her. This question had gnawed at him ever since he performed the ancient ritual to bring Felicia back in her new, terrible form. At the time, Norman had wondered if, when she’d realized what he’d done, she would thank him or never forgive him.

  In that moment in the freezer room, Norman had instructed her to stay hidden and watch over the other students. She should only act if the two vampires guarding them had been left with dubious instructions from Ian or Rufus.

  Norman felt more and more helpless to protect his class. Having to leave them behind threatened to break him apart. How could he keep them safe and leave them at the same time? He thought keeping Felicia behind as a secret weapon might give them a fighting chance. Apparently, it had not gone well.

  “Felicia, stop. Tell me what happened,” said Norman.

  She just kept breathing and seething without taking her icy stare off the four remnants of the original group. She opened her mouth and an involuntary hiss spewed out past descended fangs. She spat a growl that her human form had never been capable of and rushed one of the survivors.

  Norman leapt to intercept her. He wrapped his arms around her, immobilizing her. She shook and vibrated, biting at his chest and kicking at his legs, trying to wriggle free. Norman winced at the puncture wounds in his pectoral muscles and blows to his shins. She clawed at his flesh with her fingernails. Norman held tight.

  Finally she relaxed, collapsing in a fit of uncontrollable sobs. “They’re murderers. Why did you leave us?”

  Fear and dread shot through Norman’s undead heart. Was his class slaughtered? Did any survive? Was this their plan all along? To use Norman and slaughter his class? Norman pursed his lips with rage. Perhaps Felicia was right. They needed to rid themselves of these ‘survivors.’ He pushed his feelings down with long deep breaths letting the anger’s fire subside to a mere glow.

  He grasped Felicia by the shoulders and eased her off his chest enough so he could see her eyes. “Felicia, who?”

  Her fangs retracted and she wiped her nose with her sleeve. She sobbed a few times and sniffled. Her lips quivered and then began to form words.

  Before the syllables could emerge, Norman heard the sounds of shoes on pavement. A group was running his way. “Underground, now!” Norman shouted.

  Rae pried up the manhole cover and the four of them slipped through the opening, quickly descending the ladder back into the guts of the city.

  Felicia stood, bereft of the urgency that Norman felt.

  “Felicia, let’s go,” said Norman. “You can tell me what happened down below.”

  “I’m not going,” she replied. Her body drooped, all its rage dissipated.

  “Now, Felicia! They’re coming.”

  No response.

  “They’ll kill you!” said Norman, his voice growing more frantic by the second.

  “I don’t care. I’ll take a few of them with me,” she replied.

  Norman put a hand on her shoulders and looked down into Felicia’s eyes. Her gaze remained on the ground.

  “Felicia. Are they… Is everyone dead?”

  Without lifting her eyes, Felicia shook her head.

  “Then I’m going to need you to save them,” said Norman.

  She looked up into Norman’s face and blinked.

  “I need you. You’re powerful. Like me now.” Norman let it sink in. “They need you.”

  Felicia finally nodded.

  Norman sighed and drew her in to his chest, rubbing the top of her head. He glanced down the narrow street. The onrushing group had not rounded the corner yet.

  Rae’s head popped up through the open manhole. “Come on.”

  Norman helped Felicia down the hole and then slipped through himself, sliding the lid back into place over his head. As he climbed down the ladder, he heard the sounds of the pursuing group filtering through the holes in the thick, metal disc above him. At that moment, he remembered Naseem’s backpack and cursed himself for not grabbing the bag of tricks. Who knew what other gadgets he could have put to good use? He hoped the Corps. V above him didn’t find it.

  Felicia and Norman reached the bottom of the ladder and jumped down into the sludge that ran along the floor of the sewer tunnel. The too-familiar smell of refuse filled Norman’s nostrils.

  As they rejoined the other four vampires, Norman could see some of Felicia’s anger return.

  “We need to move,” said Norman.

  “Them first,” said Felicia. “I’m not letting them out of my sight.”

  The four vampires began to walk through the near-black tunnel, but Norman and Felicia lingered behind.

  After what seemed like an eternal silence, Norman finally asked, “What happened back in the chamber? Who…” His question trailed off.

  Felicia looked down at the ground as she walked on. “Declan. They killed Declan.”

  “Jesus,” said Norman. His head spun and his eyes glazed with tears. How could he have failed so badly again? Why did he ask these kids to follow him?

  “I couldn’t save him. I tried. It was too late. By the time I saw what was happening, it was over. I still had the stake you gave me. I killed one of them. Then everyone pulled me off the other. It took the whole class.”

  Norman let the new information swirl around in his mind. Declan had proven a loyal—although unlikely—partner to Felicia. Norman hadn’t realized they had developed such a relationship. After Norman turned her, Felicia’s feelings were certainly amplified along with all her other abilities.

  “It’s not your fault,” he said. “It’s mine.”

  He eyed the backs of the four vampires that walked in front of him. Were they really on his side? Were they using him to defeat Skeete with the intention of discarding him afterwards? It didn’t seem likely given how hard they’d just fought for him and their willingness to accept his leadership.

  Strange. The vampire who wouldn’t take sides leading the last, pathetic hope for vampirekind. Norman promised himself that if he somehow survived this ordeal, he’d hide himself away and never look upon another vampire again.

  For now, he needed to get to the chamber, find out if the rest of his students were OK, and if they could help him figure out the intentions of this little group of survivors.

  Rae looked back at them as she walked. “She’s got it wrong, Norman. We’re on your side.”

  Felicia hissed. Her fangs slid from her gums. Norman had noted her temper that first time she and Declan argued about Shakespeare, of all things. Her initiation into the dark tribe had only magnified that. She’d learn to moderate it over time. Norman had similar issues when he had first changed. However, he’d had mentorship and training. How would Felicia manage in this new vampire reality?

  “Easy, Felicia. Let’s get to the others. There’s plenty of fighting left to do.”

  34

  Homecoming

  The long march back to the cobblestone chamber seemed to take forever. It became impossible to mark time as they wound their way through the tunnels and scum-lined passageways of the sewer system. No words pierced the thick silence. After what might as well have been days, they came upon the breach in the tunnel wall that led into the large chamber where Norman and his c
lass had first encountered this remnant of a war he thought had been fought and done.

  It wasn’t done, though. A few vampires survived by some miracle, but they were determined to destroy themselves, as if to prove one, final point about war. Norman did not doubt it was beyond their abilities.

  A dim, flickering light cast through the opening. The last time Norman approached it, he thought Naseem had led him into a trap. Now, Naseem was dead along with most of the original group. If they had intended to trap him, it had gone horribly wrong for them. Norman cared much less about the casualties amongst this group than he did for what had become of his class, of Declan.

  “Pssst,” he whispered to the four vampires ahead of him.

  They stopped and turned. Norman walked ahead of them. He carefully peered around the corner. His glance was greeted by a thin film of bravery covering a giant pool of fear.

  His whole class stood in a semi-circle around the opening, pointing stakes directly at him, ready to charge if the worst popped through the hole. They gasped with relief when they recognized him. Norman wondered why they were relieved to see the worst thing to ever enter their lives?

  “Mr. Bernard!” shrieked Cindy running to embrace him. Keon walked over and joined. After a long, cathartic squeeze, they released him.

  Norman took a quick head count as he climbed through the asymmetric opening. “Declan?” he asked.

  The students lowered their heads and stared at the floor. Matt kept his eyes on Norman and shook his head.

  It’s true then. Damn it.

  The chamber had changed since Norman left. He saw blood splattered on the side of the circular room to his right, along with several pools of drying blood. One of the pools had a smeared trail leading away from it to the arched opening that led to the freezer room.

  The four vampires stepped through the opening. Then came Felicia, apparently still wary of having them behind her.

  She saw her former classmates. They stopped as they noticed her glance. They became awkward. Of course. How were they supposed to relate to Felicia in this new form? She wasn’t one of them anymore. Felicia’s face held back a torrent of tears that she clearly wanted to let flow. How would she manage in this new world? Norman realized she wouldn’t. He’d created another Richie Taylor—a member of a community that no longer existed.

  Cindy walked over to Felicia and wrapped her arms around her. The embrace squeezed open the gates that held back the water. Tears flowed down Felicia’s sobbing face. The rest of the class gathered around her. Norman was certain this would help. Ultimately, though, Felicia needed the support of more than a group of human teenagers. Somehow, Norman would have to make this right.

  As the class huddled around Felicia, Norman noticed one of the vampires they’d left behind sitting on the ground with ropes tied around his arms and hands. The other four noticed also.

  “Francis, what the hell?” said Saul.

  Francis, seeing his friends, replied, “She killed Octavia.” He nodded at the huddle of teens. “They tore her off and tied me up. I didn’t see another way without fighting them.” Francis then flexed his arms, bursting the ropes and pulling his wrists apart. The rope tore easily and fell to the ground.

  Saul turned to Norman. “You made her? She’s yours?”

  “I didn’t have a choice,” replied Norman. “She was my responsibility.”

  “Well, now Octavia’s your responsibility, too.”

  “Where are the others?” asked Francis, rubbing at his wrists.

  “Why don’t you ask him?” said Saul, pointing a finger at Norman.

  “Easy,” said Rae.

  “And what about Declan?” asked Norman.

  Saul replied, “Another one of your responsibilities? You’re really knocking it out of the park today.”

  Francis interrupted the potential tirade. “He came at us. We tried…” The skin between his eyebrows wrinkled. “Where are the others?”

  “We ran into trouble,” said Rae.

  “It wasn’t his fault,” said Hector.

  Saul crossed his arms “They’re all dead.” His words dripped with malice.

  Norman felt the heat of rage flaming within his chest. He took three breaths before responding. “I’m checking on my students.” With that, he walked over to his class.

  Matt met him halfway. “It wasn’t pretty, Mr. Bernard. After you left, Declan just got angrier and angrier. He kept shouting at them about Felicia. We tried to talk him down.”

  Norman listened to Matt’s story, now certain he should never have left them alone down here.

  “Then he started lashing out at us. We couldn’t even talk to him. He was never exactly my best friend, but I tried.” Matt wiped away the thin layer of sweat that the memory had produced on his forehead. “He just…exploded. He ran at them. He knocked that one’s head into the wall. Out cold.”

  Matt indicated Francis, who was now talking to the remnants of the doomed sortie. “Mr. Bernard, I didn’t even realize he had a stake. I don’t think Octavia did, either. She was fighting him with kid gloves. Before we could reach Declan, it was too late. He’d started jabbing at her with a stake. He got her through the gut. When she stumbled back, he pulled it out and shoved it into her chest. He must have missed the mark, though. She screamed something awful. Francis came to quick. He grabbed Declan’s arms from behind. Octavia lunged at him and bit his neck.” Matt trailed off. “So much blood.”

  Norman could see Matt reliving the event in his head.

  “It happened so fast. We couldn’t get to them in time to pull them apart. Then Felicia came screaming in.” Matt looked into Norman’s eyes. “But she was different. We thought she was dead.” Matt looked at the ground. “Did you do that, Mr. Bernard? Did you…change her?”

  Norman thought he had done the right thing for Felicia. Perhaps his guilt over her death had clouded his judgment. He had attempted to make up for his failure, but he’d just replaced it with more failure. “I did, Matt. I never should have.”

  “Yes, you should have,” said Felicia, interrupting the conversation. “If you hadn’t, then I’d never have been able to kill that bitch.”

  “What did you do, Felicia?”

  “I tore her throat out and then I shoved Declan’s stake into her heart. She screamed her way to Hell…just like those assholes in Headmaster Shapiro’s office. Then I grabbed the map and came to find you…to warn you.” She abruptly stopped talking. Tears began to reform in Felicia’s eyes. Clearly, she struggled hard with her intense emotions. “Take me to him. I want to see his body.”

  Norman looked up at Matt.

  “We moved him into the refrigeration room,” said Matt.

  “We’ll be right back,” said Norman to the rest of the class.

  Ivol lifted his eyes from the ground to meet Norman’s. He hesitated and then spoke. “What happened up there? Where are the others?”

  “Later,” replied Norman.

  35

  Star Crossed

  Declan’s body lay on top of the meat refrigerator where Felicia had been placed when she died. She dropped her stake and ran to him, placing a hand on his cold arm. Tears flowed fast down her face. She had avenged him, but Norman could see it would never satisfy her. She put her head on his chest as if to listen for a heartbeat. She lay there for a long moment.

  Norman placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to go back. Join us when you’re ready.” He slid his hand off her shoulder and walked toward the entrance of the room.

  As he crossed the threshold, Felicia spoke. “Save him.”

  The two words shot through Norman’s heart like a wooden arrow. He stopped, frozen.

  Felicia stood up, resolute. “Please.”

  Norman slowly turned to face her. “I can’t, Felicia.”

  “Why not? You saved me.”

  Norman had begun to see that bringing back Felicia in her current form, may not have been the smartest of ideas. She had little chance of survival. The community th
at Norman had relied on as a new vampire was reduced to the six vampires hiding in the catacombs under the city—seven, counting Felicia. Norman thought they’d have a shot at overcoming the Corps. V remnants and eking out an existence over the millennia.

  However, Norman’s plan had resulted in the near-decimation of this already-small group. His opposition had turned out to be larger than he had been led to believe as well. Without Rufus and Seamus, he didn’t see a way forward from here. Felicia’s vampire existence wouldn’t even last as long as her tragically short human life. Norman hadn’t seen this before their doomed raid. It was clear now. He’d made the same mistake as with Richie. He couldn’t make it again.

  “Please, Mr. Bernard,” she repeated.

  Norman could see the pain on her face, but didn’t want to bring another doomed vampire into this world, into this war. Why recruit another soldier into an unwinnable battle? After the war, Norman’s life was a lonesome one of survival and hiding. He had spent many anguished nights lamenting the near-extinction of his kind, wishing that the war hadn’t happened or at least that there had been more survivors. Now that he found his wish had come true, he regretted it. He yearned for a time when he was alone in the world.

  He looked into Felicia’s pleading eyes. He couldn’t submit to her request. She didn’t deserve to be in this situation, but she did deserve to hear the truth. “I can’t bring him back, Felicia.”

  “Why not?”

  He stood up straight and put on his teacher face: serious, unattached.

  Despite all they’d been through, Felicia straightened up her posture, a pupil again.

  He cleared his throat. “I won’t bring him back because we’re all going to die.” He waited a few seconds for it to sink it. “It’s not going to be a nice death. We won’t pass away in our sleep. We’ll all die with a piece of wood shoved through our hearts.”