He laughed, though I still couldn’t see him.
“You have grown amazingly,” he said, with what I felt to be genuine admiration. “But now for the third major clue. You were supposed to discover information about a portal device that TriFang use for transportation to different planets. Unfortunately, Senator BloodHunt did not tell you what he knew about that. So now I will tell you instead.”
The screen lit up again. Once more I saw the poor human girl who'd been bitten, except this time she was being carried through some sort of circular machine with a vivid transparency. Soon the girl and her kidnappers were gone, and so too was the machine. It simply vanished into thin air.
My messenger took up commentary.
“Scientists and educated vampires knew there was life on some other planets. But these were too distant, so it was impossible to visit. However, one scientist by the name of Dr. John Bloodthirst built a machine that allowed vampires to rapidly transport themselves from one planet to another with ease. TriFang discovered this machine and took it over. They protected its secrecy by threatening to kill anyone who leaked information to non-members. The reason was obvious. They wanted to keep the supply of special human blood to themselves.”
I bought none of this bull. “So I was turned into a vampire, then kidnapped from Earth and brought here?” I laughed. “This sounds like the biggest freakin joke in the world. So what are you gonna tell me next? That my accident was fake?”
“Your accident did not happen. And this is no joke, Marissa.”
I gasped. For some reason that name sounded crazily familiar. I didn’t know why, but it terrified the hell out of me all the same.
“Why did you call me that?” I asked.
“Because that is your real name.”
Now I was even more confused. Stunned in fact, and totally unsure what to make of anything, including my secret messenger.
“Before I reveal to you how you survived TriFang’s attack, allow me to introduce myself.”
“It’s about damn time,” I said, my thoughts still very much in a tangle. “It feels like I've been waiting forever for this.”
The stage light moved again to pick out an enigmatic figure: tall, dark and of medium build. His face was concealed by the familiar black mask. But just as I thought about trying to pull it off in the same way I had with a stubbornly silent Martin, the figure removed it for me.
With long gray hair, scarlet eyes, and jade colored flaky skin that was difficult to look at, my secret messenger was obviously an old vamp. Which came as something of a surprise. Nevertheless, his age didn’t stop the wave of emotion that rushed over me. I’d been through hell trying to get to know him. Now that his little games were over, I should have been furious. But I wasn't.
“So good to see you,” he said in his scratchy voice. “My name is Chris Stake. I am your messenger.”
It was impossible to miss the black X on his forehead. I waited silently for an explanation.
“You already know that I find you incredible,” he complimented. “So let me cut to the chase. I am the leader of a secret organization whose primary mission is to suppress TriFang. We have agents constantly spying on them in order to disrupt their devious plans and protect the innocent. We call ourselves the X-Fang, and that is our emblem you see on my forehead.”
“We?” I said.
“Marissa, when we discovered that you were being targeted by TriFang for your blood, we assigned your rescuer to covertly use their portal in order to save you. He was successful in getting to Earth, but arrived too late. You had already been bitten. However, he was in time to defeat your kidnappers before they could extract your blood. After that, he took you under his protection back into Vampire World.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
“We have allowed your rescuer to carry on caring for you,” Mr. Stake continued. “Since you were already a vampire, we knew it was too late for you ever to go back to Earth. But your human blood would continue to be highly desired. Thus, we had to protect you on a permanent basis.”
“Well, who rescued me then?” I demanded. “Show me dammit!”
“That will come soon. But first you need to know that your rescuer and several other important vampires in X-Fang wanted to avoid telling you the truth about how you got here. They invented a story about an accident, thinking this false background would help keep you safe from TriFang. That was fine as far as it went, but I insisted you had a right to know about your real history. What could be more wise than the truth? But the others wouldn’t agree to this. I persisted in demanding that you be told, and we had many arguments. In the end they threw me out of X-Fang. After that I had to find a different way to lead you to the truth. That's when your masked messenger was born.”
Again, nothing made sense to me. I was really missing something here.
“And now it’s time for you to meet your rescuer. It's someone you know very well.”
The light shifted in the opposite direction, picking out another masked figure. As I approached, I glimpsed many others standing behind him. But I was focused only on the man at the front.
“Martin,” I said deliriously. “I knew it was you. Why didn’t you speak to me at the house?”
He said nothing, which upset me. “And why have you been hiding so much crap from me?”
At last he spoke. “I am not Martin. Martin does not exist.”
The voice was shockingly familiar. Even so, I was still completely unprepared for the face I saw before me when he slipped off the mask.
Absolutely stunned, I stared into the calm, dark eyes of Mr. FreeCut. How could I have missed this? How could I have been so stupid?
THE TRUTH
“Martin never existed?” I said, still flabbergasted by this latest development.
Mr. FreeCut shook his head. “I pretended to be Martin because I needed to protect you. Like Mr. Stake told you, your life was in danger at every moment.”
For the first time, I spotted the black X on his forehead. Why had I never seen that before?
“You thought you'd spoken to Martin after the attack on my house,” Mr. FreeCut said. “But I was there with you, so that’s why my fellow X-Fangers who saved you did not respond. However, when I rescued you in Bloodwood Forest, I simply changed the tone of my voice.”
My caretaker actually had the nerve to smirk. I wasn't finding his gimmicks amusing at all.
“I was with you all along,” he continued. “Even at the beginning. I rescued you after you crashed my car and fell into the canyon. I tried to stop that freak stalker from messing with you, but he was just too quick for me. You did a fine job handling him in the library though.”
He glanced across at Mr. Stake and smiled before continuing.
“You need to know that Mr. Stake and I are back on good terms, just like we were when we first formed X-Fang a long time ago. We settled on our final agreement just before the fireball tournament. I now agree with him that you need to know the truth about your history. I wish I would have come to that conclusion earlier instead of trying to hide it from you. I thought I was keeping you safe, but now it’s a decision I deeply regret. All we care about is you and your safety.”
Mr. Stake cut in. “So we promise you there will be no more games, unknown figures or secret messengers. We’re together now. And we’ll stay together.”
A million words wanted to fly out of my mouth, but they remained stuck where they were.
“I know you must be wondering about this,” Mr. FreeCut said, pointing to his forehead.
I nodded, still too shocked by these revelations to say anything all.
“Because of the dangerous work we do, everyone in X-Fang must keep their membership a secret and hide their tattoo when not with other X-Fangers,” Mr. FreeCut explained. “We have a special lotion that completely fades it away, and another to restore it again when needed.”
He pulled something from his pocket. It was the weird mirror from my room. “Mr. Stake gave you thi
s when we were in disagreement,” he said. “Look into it.”
I trembled when I couldn’t see my face.
“You don't see yourself because vampires can’t see into mirrors that are from your home planet of Earth.”
I gasped. Then I slapped Mr. FreeCut with a brutal stare, wiping away his smile.
“Janice,” he said. “I know that isn't your real name, but I do love you. Please forgive me for what I’ve done. I shouldn’t have lied. You’re the most special person in my world. Even though everything I did was to protect you, it wasn't right. I see that now. I’m so so sorry…”
Tears began falling down his face. But I didn’t care. I finally found my voice again. “You bloody son of a bitch,” I shouted. And he deserved it.
“That’s only what I expected,” he replied in a sad voice. “I can’t hide anything from you any longer. And I promise not to. I’m not your father, Marissa. He is.”
He pointed to the screen and I found myself staring at a family portrait. Then it hit me like a punch in the face. I recognized my real mother and father.
Rapidly, everything that had once been a confusing blur came into life-defining focus. My beautiful home in Centerville! My popularity in High School! My friends! OMG, I could remember it all. The attack in the woods! The horrible bite on my neck! And my boyfriend…not Brett…but Rob….Rob…..not the Rob from this world ……but the other world….Oh!”
“What happened to my boyfriend?” I yelled. “He ran into the woods and I went to find him. Somebody fucking tell me what happened to him!”
“It's bad news I'm afraid, Marissa,” Mr. Stake told me. “He didn't make it. We were too late. His blood was already drained by TriFang and his body discarded. Fortunately, John was able to rescue you, even though you'd been bitten. ”
All I could do was scream.
Mr. Stake grabbed my shoulder. “Marissa, I know you’re going through a lot, but this is not a good time to lose control. You are one of us now, and it's our responsibility to include you in everything. We’re about to embark on a most important mission to destroy the very same portal that you were brought through. After years of spying and research, we strongly believe that once we destroy this, TriFang will no longer have a pathway to Earth.”
While still trying to collect my scrambled thoughts, the ceiling lights slowly turned on and the other figures in the room came into full view. There must have been at least twenty of them. All together they removed their masks and revealed their faces, together with the distinctive Xs on their foreheads. Some were old like Mr. FreeCut and Mr. Stake, while others were young and remarkably handsome. Most were male, though there were a few brave females in the mix. All were holding lethal weapons such as stake guns, sharp blades, or bottles of holy water.
One of them immediately caught my eye more than the others. He was tall, dark and beautiful. And of course, blatantly familiar. My mouth dropped wide open as I gazed at Brett. OMG. How dare he?
“Janice, look, please understand….I…”
“You liar!” I screamed. I couldn’t bear to look at someone who I'd thought was so true, so pure. What the hell was going on with my life? It was crumbling in front of me.
“I’m sorry,” Brett pleaded. “I swear I didn’t know any of this stuff about you when we met. I didn’t know anything until right before we broke up. Mr. Stake did the same thing to me that he did to you.”
“How could you…?” I said, showing more rage than tears.
“I did it to protect you,” Brett responded. “I wanted to tell you the truth, but I thought it would put you in danger! That’s why I tried to break up with you after Mr. Stake and Mr. FreeCut told me everything. I wanted you to be safe! I really had no idea what was going on, I swear!”
He looked like he was about to cry, which was a shame. He was too pretty for tears and being so sad. But he was a liar, and that was just the way it was.
“Please understand me. I still love you!”
“Get the hell out of my face!” I blasted back.
I felt horrible and exhausted. The room spun like I was drunk. I just wanted to get the hell away from all these liars. All these fakes who I'd believed were good people.
I ran to a door, though I had no idea where it led. Yanking it open, I found myself inside a stuffy, pitch-black room. It immediately felt like a safe haven – a protective place from all the lies and heartbreak.
Pressing my teary face into a brick pillow, I thought about my family. My loving mother and kind father who'd been hidden from me for so long. Myfriends. And my real boyfriend who was dead!
How had all these people been erased my mind? Maybe drugs. Or maybe it was the simple fact that I'd forgotten who they were after I was bitten. But now that I’d seen pics of my real family, I remembered everything again.
The door opened. The light shining in from the main room hurt my eyes.
“Please J…Janice,” Brett stuttered.
“Get out of here!” I screamed. “And my name’s not freakin Janice!”
Crushed, he left me alone in the darkness. A million thoughts swarmed around in my head. Anger and hurt slowly became agonizing confusion.
Eventually, I got some control of myself. Any insignificant thoughts disappeared. Only one thing was on my mind now - I was gonna run through that portal. Run away and never see Mr. FreeCut, Brett or any of those lying asses ever again. I was going home. Home to a loving family who told me the truth. But damn, I was a vampire. I was a freak! What the hell would they think of me? And what if I got the urge to drink their blood? Oh geez…
The door opened. I could already sense it was Mr. FreeCut. Time to bash him again.
“Janice…”
He walked closer to me. I didn't move or breathe a word.
“I understand I’ve lost you now, and it’s all my fault. But you know damn well that you mean the world to me. I swear that’s the truth. Like I told you before, my wife died young on me. I could never have any children until I met you. You were a wonderful gift. And you still are. You always will be.”
I was old and wise enough to know things in life didn’t always make sense. But decisions had to be made now. With the little strength I had left after such a severe emotional beating, I stood up and got into Mr. FreeCut’s face. I showed him my fangs.
“You’re a lying, bloody scum ass,” I told him, not flinching. He didn’t move a muscle in response. He remained stone cold still, drowning in a sea of regret. My eyes were less than an inch from his face. I wanted to slap him so hard.
Instead, I threw my arms around him. “But I forgive you,” I said, tearing up.
A DANGEROUS TASK
“You mean the world to me too,” I admitted. “And thanks for saving my life.”
Emotion washed over him, releasing a flood of joyous tears. He also looked a touch confused. But so was I. Had I made the right decision in being be so forgiving? I wasn't sure.
Nevertheless, I ignored the fluff and cut right to the bone. I brought up the idea of jumping through the portal to go home. I asked him if I would be a risk to my loved ones on Earth. He answered without evasiveness.
“You may not be so much of a risk as you think because you haven’t developed a thirst for human blood. It may be possible for you to visit your family. But to actually live with them? I don’t know. But I’m not saying you shouldn't give it a go.”
“It’s okay,” I said. “I know I’m a vampire now, and no longer the perfect little clean teen I thought I was. There’s no going back to that. But I want to see them. I want to try.”
He smiled. I couldn’t believe his reaction.
“Then you have my permission to leap through the portal. In fact, I’ll go with you to Earth and do my best to keep you safe. You’re an X-Fanger now. Our duty to protect people from TriFang is not just limited to Vampire World. We also need to be on Earth to protect the humans they target.”
“That way, I could be with my family, my friends, and you,” I replied excitedly.<
br />
A thought then occurred, cooling my rush of enthusiasm. “But aren't we planning to destroy the portal to stop TriFang members hurting humans?”
“Destroying that portal won’t completely stop them,” Mr. FreeCut explained. “There are others that we know about, but haven't located yet. I’ve argued with Mr. Stake about this, and he knows the truth. Yet he believes destroying this particular portal will help boost X-Fangers' moral and power. It will, but it won’t stop TriFang from getting to Earth.”
“So what do we do then?”
“We don’t tell Mr. Stake anything until we get to the portal. Then, just before he and the rest of the group destroy it, we jump through and you go home.”
I hugged Mr. FreeCut. He was about to go against Mr. Stake again. The first time revolved around keeping me from the truth. Now it was about getting me home.
“Mr. Stake doesn’t want you going back,” Mr. FreeCut said. “He doesn’t believe that you can survive on Earth. And he thinks you’ll be vampire bait. But I disagree. You’ve grown quite strong. You can do it, and you have my help. But we’re going to need Mr. Stake and the team's help to get to the portal.”
We agreed to keep our plans quiet. Meanwhile I asked another essential question.
“Why couldn’t I remember my family until now? Did you drug me?”
“Certainly not,” Mr. FreeCut replied. “When a human is bitten and turned into a vampire, they temporarily lose all memory. But their memory can be restored by simple things like photographs and such. This is what happened to you just now.”
“So how did you keep track of me?” I asked.
He pointed to the necklace he'd gifted me a while back. “Through that,” he said. “You can’t see it, but it has a camera attached.”
I gulped. Mr. FreeCut kept his cool. “I don’t know how Mr. Stake kept track of you. But somehow he did. I do know he got into the house.”
I couldn’t even speak; I was stunned.
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