Chapter Two
Night
NIGHT
I had my fangs pressed to the girl’s neck. Willow had everyone distracted, so no one would notice when the girl went missing. But then my mind flashed back to my first ride on the Haunted Mansion. The lights were out…. Cold overwhelmed me… Two, cold, sharp things pressing against my neck… Then I woke up. I woke up in the attic of the Haunted Mansion, forever trapped as a vampire.
I let the girl go. I brushed my hand against her cheek to let her know that she was safe for now. I leapt away. I saw Willow’s face. He was furious that I had let our meal for tonight go. But I couldn’t have taken her… I watched as she stumbled down the stairs, holding her lanyard to her chest. Her lanyard! On her lanyard was the final vampire pin!
I drew in a good scent of her, and then ran off to the attic to tell Willow, Tweedy, Feather, and Storm. I got up there and cried, “That girl has the last pin!”
Willow stood there, pale face furious and his fangs out to prove it. I drew back against the wall. He rushed towards me, his cape billowing out as he closed his cold fingers around my neck.
“Night, this was your chance to prove yourself. We need at least one human every two months. If we don’t get one by the end of this month, we’ll all die! We need blood!” Willow roared.
I twisted his hand away from my neck and looked out the window, brooding. I saw the girl whom I had spared. She was looking at me.
I ducked behind the window sill, hoping she hadn’t seen me.
I watched through the attic window the rest of the day, our chances for a good meal spoiled because of me. Near the end of the day, Willow came over to me and tied my hands behind my back with chains. I knew what was coming next and I braced myself.
Chains slapped hard against my hand, and I cried out. Even though I was a vampire, I was still a young one, therefore not as strong as a grown one. Again, the chains hit my wrists. I cried out again. I tried to rip out of the chains, but they were too strong.
After Willow was done beating me twenty times, he untied me and I huddled in my corner, my curtain pulled around me, nursing my wrists. They hurt really badly. Tweedy usually beat me, and I had thought his had been the worst. But Willow was stronger than Tweedy.
Feather pulled aside my curtain and sat on her knees in front of me. Feather had grown up a vampire. She had been bitten when she was five. She was the only female vampire living up here. She gently took my wrists in her cold hands and put ice packs on top of them. She stroked my black hair until I was calm again. I soon slumped against the wall to sleep.
*(**)*
I woke up. My stomach was growling at me. I got up to get dinner. Everyone was just getting their cups. I walked over, looking at my wrists. They were red, but they weren’t bleeding anymore. I started to take a cup when Tweedy slapped my sore wrist.
“OW!” I yelped, holding my wrist.
“No dinner for you tonight,” Tweedy growled. I glared at him and went over to the window, looking out at Magic Kingdom after dark.
No one was there. Even the security guards weren’t here. It was the twilight hour. I crawled up onto the window sill and crouched, still searching for any straggling security guards. I tasted Storm next to me. He looked out at Magic Kingdom.
“Be careful. You know the rules.” He mumbled. I nodded.
“Don’t suck any security guards or anyone else important, no stealing anything expensive, and don’t get seen. Got it,” I replied.
Storm was nineteen, only six years older than me, and he still got beatings. I snuck a peek at his wrists and saw the scars that still remained from his beating two weeks ago. I crouched lower in the window and leaned out a bit.
“Go, now. Before Willow sees you,” Storm urged. I pushed on the window sill with my legs and went flying out the window.
I was falling. I spread my arms as if I was about to do a belly flop in the concrete. Two inches from hitting the ground, I pointing my chin upward and I went swooping up. I flew over Magic Kingdom, happy for the freedom and getting out of that dusty old mansion.
I followed the girl’s scent. It led to the condo I had known she’d be in. It was on the third floor, though. I flew onto the balcony and pried open the sliding glass doors. My wrists were still sore, but I could deal with tiny pinpricks of pain. I slowly walked in, my footsteps silent as an owl’s wings. I saw the vampire pin clipped to the lanyard that hung on the wall.
I pulled off the vampire pin and set twenty dollars on the bedside table. I was about to leave when I heard shifting. I turned slowly and looked at the girl. She was sitting up, light brown hair falling around her shoulders and face.
“Why are you taking my pin?” She asked me. It wasn’t an angry voice, it was more of a ‘why me?’ voice.
“I need it,” I whispered. My voice had a hiss to it, as all vampires had. I had to whisper so it didn’t sound so hissy.
“But I found it,” The girl said. She got out of bed. She was wearing a black T-shirt that was too big for her and some black cotton pants. I backed away from her.
“But I need it. You only want it. I have to have it!” I pleaded.
“Why?” the girl asked. I froze. I couldn’t tell her!
“I have to go,” I murmured, walking out onto the balcony.
“Take me with you,” The girl said, following me.
“I can’t,” I replied. I climbed up onto the window sill and crouched, waiting. The girl stepped forward.
“Take me with you,” She repeated.
“My parents don’t like visitors.” I said nervously.
“I can stand it.” She told me. I sighed. Then I thought, dinner.
“Okay,” I said doubtfully. I hoped she couldn’t see my eyes flash red. I grabbed her hand and pulled her up on the window sill. She sat there, looking over the sleeping world.
“You seem really comfortable up here,” I commented.
“I like to sit up here sometimes and look out at things,” She replied. I crouched and leaned over a bit.
“Come on,” I said, pulling on her arm. She stared wide-eyed at the ground.
“I hope you don’t have a suicide wish,” The girl said nervously.
“I don’t. You’re not going to believe me, so I’ll have to show you.” I said.
“Jump on three,” She suggested.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “One, two…” The girl started.
“Three!” I said, springing out into the air. The girl grabbed my arm and held herself close to me. Her skin was warm. It felt so good to my eternally cold skin. She breathed warm breath on my arm. Her skin was a dark tan against my pale white skin. I felt sickened with myself at what I was about to do. Maybe I didn’t have to.
“Look,” I encouraged. Slowly, the girl opened her eyes and looked down. I felt fear and panic shoot through her.
“I’m flying!” She cried.
“Yeah,” I said gently. As we flew back towards Disney World, I decided to say something to her.
“Um… My name’s Night,” I said.
“I’m Flight,” The girl said shyly.
Suddenly, she shuddered and rubbed her arm with her free hand. “What?” I asked.
“How can you stand it up here?! It’s freezing!” Flight cried.
“Well, I’m not that warm, but you can have my shirt,” I offered. Flight blushed and looked down, nodding. I slipped my shirt off, still holding onto Flight’s hand so she wouldn’t go plummeting to her death. I draped my warm wool shirt around her shoulders. She held it tight against her, keeping close to me.
We flew all the way to the Haunted Mansion without talking. When we started to descend, she breathed, “You were that boy I saw in the attic window!” I nodded gently. I realized that this was my last chance. I could turn around and keep Flight alive, or I could bring her to four other hungry vampires.
“We have to go back,” I said suddenly.
“Why?” Flight asked. Her voice sounded serene, peaceful.
“We have to go!” I said urgently, starting to turn.
“Night!” I heard the dreadful voice of Tweedy in the dark night.
“No!” I groaned as Tweedy and Willow came out to greet me. They took me in, along with Flight. “Who’s your friend?” Willow asked. Feather looked sad. She knew what was going to happen.
“Um… Her name’s Flight. She had the last vampire pin.” I said. “Put it with the others,” Willow motioned to a small wooden box that was kept hidden. “I put it back on my lanyard.” Flight said firmly. Willow looked at her.
“Spunky little thing, isn’t she?” Storm muttered to Tweedy. Flight stood with her chin held high. Tweedy showed his fangs. “Not for long,” He hissed.
“Tuck you chin to your neck and hold on tight,” I told Flight. Flight closed her eyes and hunched her shoulders up. I grabbed her to my bare chest and ran out the window. I flew her home, silent. I landed on her balcony and set her down on her feet. She was silent.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were a vampire?” She whispered.
“I…” I started. I stopped. “I have to go,” I mumbled, and flew off before she could object. I saw her take my shirt off and hold it close to her chest. She turned back into the condo, my shirt pressed against her lips.
I looked back to the sky ahead of me. I couldn’t fall in love with a human.
That life no longer belonged to me.
