by Dima Zales
“I can hardly believe so many people are flying to Denver,” one of them said in a somewhat hushed tone. She had a very distinct Southern accent. “There’ve been so many murders here lately that you’d think no one would go. You’ve been seein’ the news too, hadn’t ya?”
“Well, Cynthia, we can’t be the only ones just passin’ through to Portland. You have to remember this ain’t a one-stop flight. Most these people are probably headin’ elsewhere and just connectin’ through Denver same as us,” her friend replied.
I tuned out their voices as best as I could and attempted to reflect on the other night at the creek to distract myself. I finally dozed off.
Paul shook me gently as we descended. Why, oh, why couldn't he have waited until after the matter? I was enjoying a pleasant dream that reflected memories of the night at the creek. However, that wasn't what made me unhappy about being woken up; it was the lurching of the plane as it began falling toward the ground. I was almost certain we were going to crash into the runway, but slowly the plane leveled itself. The wheels popped out, and we were safely on land again. The only thing that caused me not to feel relieved was the fact that I was going to have to endure that again on the way home.
14
We rented a simple little copper-colored car that Kim picked out and paid for, then headed to the address Janet had given me after Paul inserted the information into the GPS. We passed a hospital on the way, and I had an uneasy feeling we had been given the wrong address. I gasped.
“Paul...” I mumbled as I stared at the address on the little yellow Post-it note. “I have a bad feeling.”
“What is it?” he asked as he peered back from the passenger-side seat.
“I don't think Janet is in the hospital.”
“What makes you think that?”
“We just passed the hospital, and that wasn’t the address.”
“Denver’s a big place, Alex. There’s bound to be a bunch of hospitals,” he replied calmly. “Let's just follow the directions from the GPS and see where it takes us. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said quietly, crumpling up the note in my hand. I felt around in my pocket for the cell phone Salem had given me. I browsed through the contacts and couldn't find one that said his name – probably just in case Paul got hold of it. I found Jason's number, Janet's, and Paul's among the list. My heart jumped when I saw the word ‘Bat',’ and I laughed out loud.
“What's so funny?” Paul asked as he looked back at me again.
“Nothing...just a text from Jason,” I lied. “I'm going to give him a call really quick, to let him know we landed safely.”
“Is there somethin’ going on with you two?” he said with a grin.
“No!” I said. “We're just friends!”
“Sure, sure.” He laughed. “We'll be quiet so you can talk to your ‘friend’.”
“Thanks…” I grumbled and set the phone to call Salem's number.
“Hello?” My stomach fluttered at the sound of his voice.
“Hey S...Jason,” I quickly corrected myself. “I just wanted to let you know we made it to Denver.”
“Good. I was worried.” He sounded anxious and didn’t question me referring to him by Jason’s name—it had been his plan, after all. “Where are you now?”
“We're on our way to find Janet.”
“Stay at the hospital with her if you can,” he insisted.
“I'm beginning to wonder if she’s even at a hospital.”
“Why do you say that?” The anxiousness increased.
“I'll have to tell you later, Paul’s being snoopy,” I muttered. “Try not to worry too much.”
“You know that's impossible.”
“I know.”
“I miss you.” There were those flutters again.
“I-I miss you, too...” My voice trailed off when Paul glanced at me with an ‘Uh huh, I knew it’ look on his face. “I've got to go; we're almost at the place.”
I hung up the phone and tucked it back into my pocket. The GPS alerted Kim to turn left, that our destination would then be on the right in just three hundred feet. My eyes scanned the area for a hospital, but all I saw was a row of small houses. This had to be the wrong place.
“Where's the hospital?” I said as we cruised down the street.
“You may have been right, Alex,” Kim said gravely as she stopped the car in front of one of the houses. “This is the address.” She pointed out what appeared to be an abandoned house at the very end of the road.
I recalled all of the horror movies I had seen revolving around haunted houses, and this house could have been pulled directly from one of those films. Just looking at it gave me chills. The two-story building was covered in thick layers of ivy; wooden boards crossed over the two lower story windows. The windows above the awning were shattered, and I could have sworn there was a dark figure standing behind the glass, staring out at us.
“Did you see that?” I whispered to my father. I glanced back up at the window, and the figure was gone.
“I didn't see anythin’,” Paul replied. I saw him lean forward in his seat and rummage through his luggage. “I'll go out first, and then you two follow behind me.”
“Okay,” Kim and I replied in unison.
Paul handed something over the back of his seat. I shook my head when I realized what it was—a hand-crossbow identical to the one he gave me for my birthday. I had intentionally left mine behind so I wouldn’t have to use it—so much for having an excuse. “Oh, no...I'm not taking that!” I protested. “How did you even manage to get that on a plane?!”
“It's just in case, Alex. Put it under your sweater,” he instructed and ignored my question. “You have yours, Kimmy?”
“Yep, got it.” She smiled.
I watched as Paul left the car and walked down the cracked sidewalk. He approached the door of the abandoned-looking house and knocked gently on the wooden surface. No one responded. He turned toward us and beckoned us over with a quick gesture. Kim and I climbed out of the car and marched along the concrete. I walked behind her, fumbling with the crossbow as I tucked it under my hoodie.
“I'm going to break down the door if no one answers this time,” Paul grunted and knocked again.
“That's illegal, Dad.”
“See if I care,” he said and slammed his thick shoulder into the rickety door. It crashed loudly against the floor.
Cobwebs clung to the ceiling. The atmosphere surrounding the house gave me the creeps, but I stepped over the threshold regardless and followed them inside. There wasn't a single piece of furniture throughout the entire downstairs. The floorboards creaked noisily beneath us with each wary step. Paul turned around and held up his hand, signaling for us to stop.
“There's someone here,” he whispered. I was about to ask how he knew, but then I heard a muffled voice from upstairs and something crashing into the upper floor. My dad approached the aged staircase and began climbing up it. With each step, I could picture him falling through the rotting old wood and had to force those thoughts away to focus on what was ahead. He made it up safely then we followed quickly behind. I was beyond unprepared for this. I could feel sweat trickling down the side of my face, and my heart felt like it was about to burst through my chest. If that wasn’t bad enough, the butterflies I had felt only minutes before had melted into bile in the pit of my stomach.
“You should have stayed away.” I shut my eyes tightly as I heard Mark’s deep voice reach my ears. I couldn't tell just where it was coming from; it seemed to reverberate off the walls.
“Where’s Janet, you bastard?!” Paul shouted, holding his crossbow cautiously ahead of him as he rounded the corner.
“Janet is not important,” Mark hissed. “I d0 sense that you forgot to bring something with you, however, Alexis.”
I stopped behind Kim as she followed Paul into a room full of sheet-covered furniture. “I don't know what you’re talking about,” I replied in a croaky voice, trying my best not to lose th
e contents of my nervous stomach.
“I had truly hoped you would have brought Salem along with you, that way I could have killed two birds with one stone,” he snickered maliciously. “Or, in this case—a bird and a ‘bat’, right?”
I gulped as I felt Paul's eyes turn towards me. “Salem and I have nothing to do with each other,” I said bitterly, meeting my father and aunt in the room.
“Stupid child!” Mark bellowed. “Don't think that I’m going to fall for your lies. Your father might be daft enough to believe you, but I am far wiser. I know about you and the boy.”
“How? And why would you care?” I asked and ignored the angry glance Paul was directing at me.
“He is a pathetic excuse for a vampire, don't you see? Feasting on animals!” He spat. “He thought he could change me, too. To be ‘strong’ like him, but I can tell you that there is no strength in hiding in the shadows drinking animal blood. The blood of humans…” he paused, making a deep and audible sniff with his nose. “…is just too enticing. Too delicious. Strengthening.”
“You’re a monster!” I yelled, the realization that Janet had been the temptation he was talking about finally sinking in.
“A monster? Now, now…what would Salem think if you called us such names? He and I are no different, don’t you see? I imagine it will be little time at all before he drains you of blood, too.”
“You are wrong about him. He’s different!” What had he meant by ‘too’?
Paul was about to say something to me but Kim shook her head. “This isn't the time or place, Paul,” she said.
“Just tell us where Janet is. Please!” I pleaded.
“Hurting her was a mistake; I will admit that one. At first, anyway.” His voice had grown softer. “She had cut herself with a kitchen knife the morning before the...incident...and I tried to control myself. But once I smelled her blood, oh...it was hard to control my thirst for more. The hunger was far too powerful.”
“How many people have you hurt, Mark?” Paul spat as he spoke, turning out of the room and into the next which was roughly identical. There was only one room left, down the long hallway and at the very end.
“Oh, you know, just a few. Before Janet cut herself, I would slip away now and then and get what I could. It was never quite enough to satisfy, though.” He laughed darkly. “But all three of you should do the trick.”
“So, you admit that you killed all those innocent people...and you put Janet in the bear cage after you...” I gasped; the rest of the words were too difficult to speak.
The wretched laughter came again, sending shivers down my spine. “And I saved the best for last.”
I watched as my father inched closer to the door down the hall, steadily holding his weapon. Why had I agreed to come here? He and Kim were experienced hunters, whereas I was a coward with a shaking crossbow and feelings for a vampire. Feelings for a vampire that for all I knew could lead me to be in this same situation. What the hell was I thinking!
My thoughts of Salem vanished, and I held my breath as Paul wrapped his hand firmly around the wobbly doorknob and pushed the door open. At first, I couldn't see anything, but once my eyes adjusted I saw two red dots floating around amidst the dark void. Red, glowing eyes. The eyes of a vampire that had just eaten.
Paul tripped forward suddenly. I glanced downward and gasped in horror, stumbling backward.
“No! No! No!” I shouted, staring in disbelief at the body sprawled across the floor. Paul gathered himself and tried to ignore what he had tripped over, but I could see the anguish in his eyes.
“I simply couldn't help myself.” I could see Mark's teeth shining in the darkness. I now realized what the crashing sound had been. “This is why you don't let your guard down and fall in love with a vampire.”
Janet's empty, dead eyes stared up at me as I cried—this wasn't happening…it couldn't be happening! I had just spoken to her on the phone less than a day ago. The moisture behind my eyes began to cloud my vision, and the sickness in my stomach churned.
“Oh, Alex...don't cry. She begged for it after all I put her through.” I could see him grinning mockingly.
“Just shoot him already, Paul!” I shrieked.
“Yes, Paul, shoot me,” Mark taunted from his shroud of darkness. I realized he hadn't noticed Kim yet, and she crept noiselessly to the side of us. My father held his crossbow steadily in front of him, but he had no intent of shooting the vampire. He was the bait, the distraction, while his sister inched around the empty room, preparing to strike.
I heard the click of her weapon. Mark flinched as the arrow seared through his skin, and yet he didn't fall over as I had anticipated–Kim had missed her target–his heart. He laughed mockingly at us. Before I had the chance to think, he was out of my line of sight. Paul and Kim turned in search of him in the darkness. My eyes grew wide as his cold hands slithered up my back and around my throat.
“Get your filthy hands off of her!” Paul said through gritted teeth.
“You might as well give up now,” Mark replied, coiling his hands tightly around my neck. I gasped for air, but it was no use. I struggled, wriggling my arm between us, attempting to grasp the arrow that pierced his skin. I felt it with the tips of my fingers and put as much pressure as I could manage against it. He shrieked and pushed me away. I inhaled deeply; the rush of air burned as I consumed it. I dizzily crashed to the floor beside Janet's body.
Paul took his chance, fired an arrow, and I watched Mark stumble backwards. I let my eyes fall shut with relief, knowing that Paul hit his sad excuse for a heart. The screaming agony from the vampire lingered for only a few seconds as I fell unconscious.
15
When I came to I was lying in an unfamiliar room, on a lumpy uncomfortable bed. The walls were covered in drab yellow wallpaper dotted with small white flowers. I groaned as I turned over on the mattress. There was a small flatscreen TV sitting on a dresser covered in flaking paint. I knew immediately that I was in a hotel, and a very cheap one at that. My neck was sore, and my mind was hazy. I leapt up as soon as my memories came rushing back.
There was no one else present in the room, so I carefully stumbled over to the bathroom. I switched on the light and was appalled by what I saw in the small mirror over the pale yellow sink. My wavy brunette hair lay limply against my shoulders, twisted in a mess of knots. There were evident bags under my hazel eyes, and I could faintly see the light line of freckles across my cheeks. This semi-familiar girl in the mirror made me sick–especially thanks to the big black and blue marks along my throat and neck. Shuddering in disgust and anger, I discarded my clothing and headed toward the shower. I twisted the hot water on and climbed in, sitting at the bottom of the tub as the water ran down my back. I sobbed noisily as the image of Janet lying dead on the floor raced through my mind. A sudden knock on the door pulled me away from my thoughts–for which I was thankful.
“Alex? Are you okay in there?” It was Kim.
I turned the water off and draped a towel across myself. “Yeah!” I shouted as I dried off. “I'll be out in a minute!”
“Okay, just making sure,” she said, and I could hear her walk away.
I pulled my clothing back on, dreading that I hadn't brought in something clean to change into. I didn't want to leave the bathroom and face them, especially Paul. I took the hotel towel and ran it along the inside of the tub, drying up as much moisture as I could before curling up inside. I pried the cell phone from my pocket and quickly dialed Salem's number.
“Alex?” His voice was just as anxious as this afternoon, if not more so.
“Salem...” I whispered his name. “I shouldn't have come here.”
“What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?”
“Janet's...Janet's gone,” I mumbled through a rush of sobs.
He didn't respond right away. “I'm so sorry, Alexis.” I knew there wasn't much else he could say. “Are you okay?”
“Not really.”
I could hear him gro
wl; his voice had grown furious. “What did he do to you?!” he demanded.
“It's nothing...I'll be okay,” I muttered, rubbing my fingers gently across my neck. I winced at the pain.
“You are lying.”
“I'll tell you...show you...when I get home,” I mumbled.
“When are you coming home?” The anxiety returned. “I will come get you if I have to.”
“Our flight leaves in the morning.”
He relaxed somewhat. “I will be waiting at your house.”
“I have to go, Salem...” I said as I heard Paul ramming his fist on the bathroom door. “I'll see you tomorrow.”
Exiting the bathroom, I discovered Paul and Kim waiting expectantly for me. They both sat in dull beige armchairs beside a coffee table, each of them sipping from what were obviously beer bottles. I grimaced and sat on the bed. Both their eyes were focused intently on me.
“Are you all right?” Paul said, although I knew there was more he wanted to say.
“I guess, I mean…no,” I mumbled as I lay back on the bed. “What now?
“Now,” he replied angrily, “you explain what that monster was talkin’ about when he said you and Salem have been together.”