This chapter isn't very exciting, but I plan on it all picking up very quickly, so don't run away on me :]
I'm also sorry if there's spelling issues or typos. My spell check has decided to fail on me, so I'm doing the best I can :]
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I would say that I couldn’t eat or sleep after what happened, but that would be a lie. I was so nervous about what else I could mess up that I was shoveling food down my throat like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. Sleep took longer to come, but it would eventually come.
Yet every night I was tormented by dreams of the girl I had loved.
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The number of recorded vampire attacks fell dramatically during the week after the incident. No one knew where they were going and why, and they left no clues behind.
I ran to the bathroom during a commercial and hurried, not wanted to miss any of the news. Maybe they find something in the whole minute I was in the bathroom? I didn’t want to risk missing anything. I ran out of the bathroom, but I stopped while passing through the front hall on my way back to the TV.
My mom was standing at the door talking to a girl who looked about my age. The girl looked upset, her blond bangs invading her vision as she wagged a paper in my mom’s face. Her face was red, and I thought I could even see tears in her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help you.” My mom said calmly, trying to close the door. The girl stuck her foot in the way and my mom opened the door again, looking like she was going to lose control. She put a hand on her hip and peered at the girl from above her glasses.
“They’re planning something! We can figure out what it is and why they’re doing it with only a few generous donations!”
“Those things have brains the size of peas, and you’re trying to tell me that they’re planning something?”
“Please, ma’am! Food does the same thing to vampires as it does to us- it powers our body and brain. When they’re full, their brains work at the same level as ours.”
My mom slammed the door closed fast enough that the girl couldn’t stop her.
“Who was that?” I asked, trying to look out the window.
My mom sighed. “Some kid with a crazy theory as to why the attack numbers are decreasing like they are.” She went back into the kitchen to continue making dinner, and I looked at the front door.
“Hey, Mom, I’m going for a walk!” I called.
“Okay, but don’t be too long! Dinner will be ready soon!”
I hurried out the door and zipped up my jacket as I was met with a chilly autumn breeze. I spotted the girl walking in the opposite direction about a block away, papers clutched to her chest and her head down. I hurried yo catch up with her.
“Hey!” I said, tapping her shoulder. She turned and I got a look at the tears flowing down her cheeks. “Woah, what’s wrong?”
She shook her head, avoiding my eyes. “Last week my brother was attacked by a vampire except it wasn’t just a random attack by a hungry vampire. Five of them ganged up on him- there was nothing he could do.” She closed her eyes and made a choking noise. “It was planned. They’re way smarter than everyone is giving them credit for. Who says they haven’t started coming together and planning something? The sudden drop in attacks is suspicious to me.”
I thought about what she had said. “Yeah, it’s a possibility.”
Her eyes lit up. “You really think so? Everyone else seems to think I’m crazy. They just keep denying that anything big could be happening. Everyone is still in their perfect little worlds.”
“Well, my perfect little world left with my girlfriend’s humanity...”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. I really am.” She shook her head. “So many families are being affected by this, yet the general population is still trying to ignore it. It’s the elephant in the room, or however that saying goes.”
I looked down the street to the park. “Why don’t we walk to the park and we can sit down and you can tell em everything you think could be happening.” It was obvious that this girl wanted to share with someone, and after everything I had done, I thought that I should do something good for someone and give her a chance.
Once we were sitting on a bench in the park, she started telling me everything that she thought could possibly be going on. Most of her suspicions were unrealistic and kind of silly- like them taking over the world- but I listened anyway.
She paused for a second to look at her watch, and she stood up suddenly. “Oh no! It’s after curfew! I’ve got to go!”
“Oh-okay.” Her sudden subject change surprised me. “I guess I’ll watch out for you.”
“Yeah.” She turned like she was going to go. “But wait.” She turned back around. “You actually believed me! You listened to everything I had to say, and no one else did. You should help me get the word out! Here, my cell number is on this paper- call me if you think of anything.” And she ran off, leaving me alone in the quickly darkening park. I looked at my watch and swore. It was seven twenty-six, almost half an hour after curfew. My parents were going to kill me if the police didn’t get me first.
I hurried back down the street, trying to keep to the shadows. It would be big trouble if anyone caught me out after curfew. I was passing the 7-11 near my house when I heard a voice. I jumped behind the building and peered around the corner. The 7-11 was dark and quiet, closed early so the employees could make it home before seven.
A girl was on the other side of the small parking lot, talking on the phone. She was hiding in the shadow of a maintenance shed, probably avoiding the police like me. Because she was in the shasows, though, I couldn’t get a good look at her.
She was talking on the phone loud enough that I wondered if she was even scared to get caught. Deciding I should probably go, I stepped out from behind the building, and I managed to hear something she said. I froze, my heart thundering in my chest. It wasn’t what she had said that had shocked me. It was her voice.
It was Bailey.
“Would you just give the phone to someone less incompetent, please? I don’t care if Andrew is busy- I need to talk to him. Damn it, Josh, I understand that you aren’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but there is no way that you don’t understand the importance of what I’m saying.”
Hearing her voice broke my heart, especially hearing the rude and hurtful tone it held. I considered for a minute running to her, but I decided that was a really bad idea. I could take on a hungry vampire easily, mostly because starving vampires acted a lot like drunk people, but Bailey was obviously not very hungry. Plus, I already knew that I wouldn’t be able to harm her.
Deciding that it would be best to leave, I slipped around the 7-11, staying clear of Bailey. I got home just as my family was finishing up dinner. Everyone looked at me when I walked in, and Autumn made a silent laugh in my direction, stood up, and went upstairs, leaving me alone with my parents.
My dad stood up, his face twisted into a horrible frown. “And where were you, Matthew James Brewer?”
I tried to keep my voice casual. “I told mom I was going out for a walk.”
“You told me that an hour ago! And I clearly said not to be too long! Do you know what time it is?! I thought something had gotten you!”
“I’m sorry, mom.” I said, and even I could hear the defeat in my voice. After seeing Bailey again, I wasn’t much in the mood for arguing. My parents obviously heard the tone of my voice, too, because their voices softened.
“Is something wrong?” My mom asked. I just shook my head, because I obviously couldn’t tell them that I had seen my vampire girlfriend. Saying I had seen a vampire on my walk would cause trouble. And I realised that I hadn’t even told my parents about Bailey yet.
“Now, obviously, that isn’t true. Something is wrong.” My mom insisted.
I shook my head. “It’s Bailey...”
“Oh my goodness! Did you have a fight? I’m so sorry, Matt.” My mom’s face turned to one of sorrow.
“No...we didn’t fight. She just...” How could I explained what had happened? “She just had an incident with a vampire and isn’t the same anymore.”
“Oh, Matt!” My mom said, hurrying around the table to give me a hug. I didn’t usually like hugs, but I let her hug me. I needed it. When she was finished, I retreated to my bedroom and fell onto my bed, wiping my eyes. I stayed like that for a while before reaching into my pocket and pulling out the paper the girl had given me.
It looked almost like an advertisement, except it stated that the vampires were up to something and we had to act right away. Then the girl had given an introduction about herself. Her name was Emily and she was one year older than me. At the bottom of the page was her email address and phone number.
I grabbed my cell phone off my bedside table and began dialing, still not exactly why I was calling her back.
