Chapter 2
Men in the Black
At lunch Sam said he could drive me home again. I took the offer, not wanting to walk home. Only after we started heading toward the old house did I realize that we had abandoned that place. My gut told me to tell them, but my mind told me not too, because it would make them think things that aren’t true about Alex and I.
When we pulled down the street, I scanned the neighborhood for any dangers. I didn’t spot any until we came in view of the house. In the front was the same black car that had showed up in two places now. Zach seemed to have noticed the car, too, and said, “Who’s at your house?”
We couldn’t stop there. “I don’t know, but they have been bugging my house ever once in a while. Can you bring me some where else?”
Sam stopped the car near my neighbors and they both turned to me. “Have you called the cops or something?” Sam asked, sounding worried.
“Every time we think about it, they leave us alone for a while.” I was lying to them about almost everything, but they couldn’t know that I knew who they were, and what they wanted. Also, we couldn’t call the cops because they could disappear in a second. Vampyres are scary like that. Trained vampyes can disappear in about two seconds, not leaving a trace.
“I would suggest that you write down their license plate number but they don’t have one.” Zach looked back at the unmoving car, only to see it had disappeared. He did a double take at the spot were it used to be. “What? What happened to the car?”
Sam turned around and he too saw it was gone. Moments before Zach had turned to look, the car had sped away and into the neighborhood, out of sight. It was almost silent, undetectable to the human ear. Both boys looked very confused.
I tried to act as shocked as they, knowing if I didn’t, they would ask me which way they went.
“Can you…take me somewhere else? My mom won’t be here for a while, and my brother is at a friends house, and I really don’t want to be alone.” I was actually really freaked out about the whole thing; the shake in my voice was real.
“Where can you go?” Sam looked back at me, worried.
“I really don’t know.” And I didn’t. I couldn’t tell them that this wasn’t my real house and instead I was staying in Alex’s basement. Sydney wouldn’t want me to go to her work, because her boss wouldn’t like it if she was working and watching a teenage girl all at the same time.
“You can come over to my house until your mom gets off work.” Zach said this, but then stopped after he thought about what he had just said. “Wait. I mean, if you need a place to go and stay for a while.” His face reddened as he stared down at his hands.
“Uh…” I said, not sure what to say. “I guess as long as I am welcome.”
“Well…I mean…if Sam doesn’t have a place where you could go?” Zach looked at Sam for a way out, or to make things less awkward. For a moment I saw a glimpse of mischief cross his eyes, but only stayed there for a second.
“My parents don’t really like last minute visitors, and it looks like it my rain in a while so we can’t go to a park. I got nothing.” Sam looked at me with an apologetic look, but with the eye that Zach couldn’t see, he winked. My face, for what seemed like the hundredth time today, I felt my face flush.
From the look on Sam’s face, I could tell he really wanted me to go with this. “Well, I guess if my only options is your house, I guess it’s decided.” I hoped that didn’t sound mean or anything, but then I saw Zach smile for one second, before he turned to Sam and said, “Guess it’s off to my house.”
We drove for about ten minutes through town until we came to a gated house surrounded by a forest of trees. Sam pulled up to the gate and Zach got out with his backpack in hand.
“This is your stop, Mae.” He smiled at me and waited for Zach to be out of hearing range. “Have fun with your future lover!” The looked on his face made me laugh out loud and then I climbed out of the car.
“See you guys tomorrow,” Sam called as he pulled back out of the driveway right before the gate. Zach waved at him as he drove away and then turned to open the gate. He punched in the code and the gates rolled to the side.
As he started to walk up the tiled rode, he turned back to see if I was coming. I followed him as I gaped at the beautiful house that stood before me. Before he reached the house, though, he turned down a path that led to a small mini house in the middle of the trees. He knocked on the door, and waited until a thirty-so year old girl with a white apron and her hair in a bun answered the door. She smiled at Zach, and then noticed me behind him, standing there awkwardly.
“Who is this pretty girl behind you?” The woman had a slight Spanish accent and had a voice like a nurturing mother.
“This is Mae and her house is being stalked or something so she didn’t want to go home and be alone, so I said she could stay here until her mother got off of work. Can we hang out in here because I really don’t need my dad harking me about guests in his home or something.” Zach seemed to be rambling out the story as fast as he could. He seemed slightly nervous about me being here, and I didn’t know if I was really invited to be at his house. “Oh, Mae, this is Lynda, our housekeeper, and, as my dad calls her, our maid.” I stared at him for a moment and then turned to her and said “Hi.”
“I’m Mae,” I said, holding out my hand. Lynda took it, smiling at me with kind eyes.
“It is nice to meet you. Zach never brings his friends over, so I never get time to know them.” Lynda looked at Zach with kind, caring eyes.
“Yeah, well. The big man isn’t really big on guests of mine.” Zach looked down at the ground as he said this, and then up to the giant house to our side.
“Well, he’s a different man. Any who, why don’t you two come in. I’ll get you something to eat. Do you like tuna, dear?” She smiled at me, waiting for a reply.
I stood there for a moment, thinking. I’ve never really had tuna before. Since, well, I don’t eat human food. I looked at her again. She was still staring at me, a hoping smile on her face.
“Uh…well, I’ve never really had it.” I looked away from her, turning to Zach. He had left my side, and I found him sitting in the small living room.
“Well, sweetie. Come here and I’ll have you try some.” She took my hand and walked me into the kitchen. I was pushed gently into the chair next to the table as she went into the pantry for what I presumed was the tuna. As she walked out, Zach walked into the kitchen.
“Can I help?” He asked, taking a blue bowl out of the cabinet.
“Of course. Thank you, sweetie.” They moved around the kitchen as a team, knowing exactly what had to be done. I watched in awe at the two old friends.
When they had finished with the concoction, Lynda took out a spoon, scooped up a bite, and handed it to me. I took the spoon and placed the tan substance in my mouth. It tasted fishy, which I expected, and salty. I swished it around in my mouth for a moment, trying to taste it the best that I could. When I swallowed, I nodded and said, “I like it.”
She smiled at me and then turned around and placed the tuna on two pieces of white bread. I took my, said thanks, and followed Zach into the living room. There was a small couch and two wooden rocking chairs. The room didn’t have many windows, and the ones that it did have were covered by trees. All of the furniture was old and rustic, along with the whole room. It was like a cabin room you would see in an old movie. I liked the cozy feel.
Zach sat down on the couch as I sat in the chair on his right. He ate his tuna bread in silence as he stared at the room around him. My eyes were locked on him. All of a sudden, my ears filled with the sound of his blood pumping through his veins toward his neck, into his head, and back down. I could see his main artery in his neck jump in and out of his skin as the blood flowed to his brain, giving it oxygen. My body leaned toward him as I felt my fangs slowly slide out of place.
All of a sudden, he spoke. “Isn’t this place beautiful?” Luckily he hadn’t turn towards me when he said this. Instead he was locked into the room. I jumped back into my normal self and took a bite of the tuna bread, trying to ease my fangs back into place. What the hell just happened? I asked myself. Usually when I get the urge to feed, I go into a trance, but not as bad as that one. I could practically feel his blood pumping into my mouth.
I shook my head to myself and answered him. “Yeah. It is.”
He turned to me with a peaceful look on his face. I could tell he was comfortable here. I smiled at him and he smiled back; his eyes were in a glaze, like he was sleepy. All of a sudden, his head rolled forward, and he was out. I jumped up when I heard a thump like a body falling in the kitchen. It took me only a second to run into the kitchen and find Lynda on the floor, the now clean tuna bowl in her hand. My ears picked up the sound of her heartbeat and I could see her chest rise and fall. I ran back into the living room and found Zach with a heartbeat and was breathe, too. They had just…fallen asleep. But it didn’t make sense; they both didn’t have any signs of tiredness to them.
My eyes wandered around the room for anything unusual. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. My ears searched for a heartbeat, but there was none. Vampyre.
I slowly crept toward the door and looked out the peephole. The person outside the door was wearing dark glasses and a black suit. He looked like a man from the secret service. His face was super pale, like mine, and his lips were as red as blood. As I looked down at him, he just stood there, unmoving, like a statue.
After a moment, he lifted his hand and knocked again. This time, he spoke. “Mae, I know you’re in there. Open the door. I promise not to hurt you. But, if you run, we cannot promise anything. Open the door.” His voice was sharp with the tone of authority. I took two deep breaths, and spoke.
“What did you do to my friends?” I tried to say this without a speck fear, but I don’t think I succeeded.
“They have been gassed. In about thirty minutes, they will awake, not knowing what had happened. I promise they will be fine. Open the door now, please.” When he said please, I almost cracked up laughing. Being nice didn’t match him.
“Who are you?” I didn’t think he would tell me, but to my surprise, he did.
“My name is Aeccestane, meaning Swordsman’s stone. I come from a place you do not know, but should not be scared of. We work against the Institute in every way. We work for good, they work for evil. Sorry if we have scared you; for following you. We needed to know if you were, in fact, the people we have been looking for.” When he was done talking, I stood there, conflicted.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” My voice shook, making me sound scared instead of what I was going for, brave.
“Do you think the Institute would just follow you around? No, they would attack at any moment, not knowing whether you were vampyre or human.” I agreed with him on that one, but still didn’t want to open the door.
“How come you came to me now?” I didn’t expect the answer that came next.
“They have your brother. The Institute has taken him from school. We want what is best for your family, and we noticed he was being tracked. We should have taken action sooner, but we thought everything would be alright, and that he would be safe. We apologize for miscalculating. We are truly sorry.” When I looked out the peephole at him, he had taken off his glasses and I could see a tear fall down his face.
I opened the door to him, knowing he was safe. No vampyre from the Institute would be able to shed a tear, unless they were good.
He looked up in shock when he saw me. The color of his eyes was beautiful; a dark ocean blue shimmering in the shallow light pouring on the porch. I was shocked to see that he was only a bit older than me; about seventeen or eighteen. His face was a soft, sweet face; like an angel’s. We stood there, staring at each other for a moment.
He placed his glasses back on his face, and then offered his hand to me. “Come with me. We are picking up Sydney as we speak.”
I didn’t take his hand. Instead, I said, “What about my friends? They would notice that I’m gone.”
“Leave a note. Say…they fell asleep and you had to go.” Aeccestane didn’t seem very sure of what to do.
“Lynda’s lying on the floor,” I said, pointing toward the kitchen. “She wouldn’t really fall asleep when she was cleaning the dishes.”
Aeccestane thought about this for a moment, and then went into the kitchen at fast speed. I followed him, alarmed at the suddenness of his action. I found him lifting Lynda’s gentle body off the floor. He carried her into the living room and sat her in the chair where I had been sitting. She looked like a rag doll when he placed her hands in a way that made it look like she had fallen asleep.
“There,” He said, seeming proud of his work. I found a piece of paper on the coffee table, along with a pen, and wrote down my message:
Zach and Lynda,
You guys seemed a bit tired, and after a while, you just fell asleep. I needed to go before my mom got worried, so I decided to just leave you two be. You seemed peaceful. Thanks for the tuna. See you at school tomorrow Zach. And see you around, Lynda.
Mae
I sat the letter on the coffee table and followed Aeccestane out the door toward the black car that I had seen following us around.
When I saw him crying, there was something I couldn’t quite shake. That’s why I went with him. He seemed familiar to me, like I have known him forever, but I have never met him before in my life. It could have been the color of his hair; golden blonde with natural highlights. Or, maybe his nose, which was small and perfect, just like mine. But it wasn’t those similarities—they were almost exactly like mine—that caught my eye. It was the intense color of his eyes. Those eyes stared me in the face every time I looked in a mirror. They were my eyes.
Chapter 3
Love of a Brother
As I was walking to the car, I noticed that the place was surrounded. There had to have been at least twenty vampyres around the area, watching me. Eyes stared from me, to Aeccestane, and back again, like they couldn’t believe what their eyes were telling them. They had a right to stare, because we looked almost exactly alike. When we reached the car, Aeccestane turned around and stared at the vampyres around us. The moment he placed his eyes on him, they scattered, like they were scared of him. I just looked at him in awe.
He noticed me staring at him and he smiled. “Can you not believe your eyes like all of them? Or are you in awe of my power over them?”
It took me a minute to respond, but after a few breaths I said, “Both.”
“Get in the car and I will tell you.” He walked around to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door for me. I followed and stepped into the car I once thought might be my doom car. My eyes never left him as he walked back to the driver’s side.
He opened the door with a kind of gentleness and stepped in. The car was silent for a moment and then he turned to me with his deep blue eyes.
He stared at me for a moment, and then said, “I ran away from the Institute right after graduation. They wanted to send me somewhere, but I didn’t know where; I left before I could find out. When I was running, I ran across a group of vampyres on the outskirts of the Institute. Their clothes were different then what I would expect VI police to wear. I stopped for them instead of try and run away.
“They did not try and attack me. Instead, they walked over and offered their services. I took them, like you are taking mine. I was very cautious, ready to run at any moment. The house they took me to was a giant fancy mansion in the middle of nowhere. My senses were all flared and alert for any signs of danger; there was none. Inside the house was a whole hotel looking place. Vampyres were chatting and at ease in this place. I just stood there for a minute, in awe, like you were.” He chuckled for a bit, breaking his somewhat olden speech.
“The vampyres were very welcoming of me. Vampyres in the lobby smiled, the ones behind the desks welcomed me to this place. Nothing around me told what the place was, exactly. One thing I knew for certain was that there were no humans in hearing range. Not a single heartbeat came to my ears.
“The man who took me to that place said his name was Max. He took me around and explained what the place was about. They house runaway vampyres from VI. When they hear that someone has escaped, they look them up and see if they could survive on their own. Apparently, I could not.” He chuckled again and stared at his hands that were folded in his lap.
“He took me up to a room and told me to get some needed rest. The next morning, they handed me a schedule, telling me what was happening around the place. They have never told me what the place was called, if it even has a name. After a couple weeks, they gave me an assignment. Once they see someone has escaped, they keep tabs on them, seeing they could, in fact, go on alone in the world. No vampyre knows about the organization because most vamps can survive on their own. A select few do not have the needed skills, or they are weak from the escape. In your case, you were helped by the coffee shop vamps, who are part of the organization, but don’t bring them to the hotel.
“There are only about two escapees from the Institute a year, and many of them are older, much older than you and Ben. When they heard about you, they sent me after you, but the vamps had already helped you, so my services weren’t needed. Max told me to keep an eye on you and make sure that nothing happened to you. Sydney showed up and helped you, which we were glad of. She is very smart and would help you stay undetected. Then Ben escaped, and that was one hell of a drama he had caused.” He stared out the window, lost in thought. I don’t think he even realized what he was doing. We had been sitting there for at least twenty minutes. Didn’t he say something about Ben being in trouble? I was going to interrupt him a while ago, but I got so engrossed in his story, it escaped my mind.
“I was set to pick him up too, but then you found him first, starved in the woods. I didn’t dare show myself then, because you were, and still are, a very strong, protective vampyre, and I did not want to cross you. You guys took care of him, which I had expected. A couple weeks later, I heard you had plans to just be normal. You and Ben were going to go to school, while Sydney got a job. In my opinion, that was a great idea because they would never expect the vampyres on the run to settle into a town.
“Everything was going great, until the first day of school. While Ben was walking to school, I noticed someone following him. I never really followed you because I know how strong you are, but Ben…I was so worried something would happen. It was a man from the Institute. They were keeping tabs on him, trying to decide the best place to attack. I think they wanted to attack during the thunderstorm. I have no clue why. When Ben got to school, I stayed in the shadows watching him. Apparently, I was not hiding well enough, because he confronted me. It was very brave of me, but also a stupid move if I had not been a runaway myself. I pulled him aside and told him everything, but said he could not tell anyone, even you and Sydney, that he had met me. He took my word and never told you, but he never trusted me.
“I parked in front of your house, looking for the Institute vamps, but then you guys heard me. You guys have very good hearing, I did not realize. Only one thing popped into my mind and that was to pretend that I was the bad guy, watching the house. I was glad that you guys ran because it gave me a chance to escape and also to actually get a good look at the place. When you came back for your stuff, I had no clue where you were going, but I did not dare follow you. In the morning, I went to the one human man who housed vampyres. He was a legend for escaping so young. To my surprise, you were there, and you saw me…again. I was not very stealthy about how I went about things, but it made you guys very cautious of the dangers around you.
“After school was out, I waited for you to come home, but at your house because I didn’t think you wanted your new friends knowing you were staying at Alex’s house.” He turned and smiled at me, seeming to notice my existence next to him for the first time after he had started talking.
“When you went to this house, I looped back around and went to see Ben, but I never found him. That is when I knew he had been captured—“Aeccestane’s eyes got big when he realized what had happened. “BEN!” He looked at me for a moment with huge eyes, and then started the car.
Before he could step on the gas, I said, “Do you have a phone?”
He stared at me with a blank look and said, “Yeah…why?”
“Give it.” He handed it to me, still looking confused. I dialed Ben’s number, just remembering Sydney had given him an emergency phone.
On the third ring, he picked up.
“Hello?” He said, sounding confused.
“It’s Mae, where are you?” I sounded like a worried mother.
“Uh…hanging with Alex. He picked me up at my friend’s house. It was raining and my friend’s mom didn’t want me to walk home. And, plus, we had project to do together. When we were done, I couldn’t call Sydney at work, you don’t have a phone, so I called Alex. His girlfriend and he came to pick me up. Why do you sound so worried? And I should be asking where YOU are. Whose phone are you using?”
“Oh…” It didn’t dawn on me that he would worry about where I was. “Since we no longer live at the old house, I didn’t know where my friends could drop me off. My friend, Zach, said I could stay at his house until Sydney got off. I was just wondering where you were and I was going to tell you that I will be home soon and to hold off on a giant snack. Okay?” Lying was hard to do to Ben because we have only a few people we can trust nowadays.
“Okay, mom,” He said, jokingly. He laughed and said, “See you in a while. Remember to be careful! Use protection!” He quickly hung up before I could say anything else.
My cheeks turned red again when I realized what he had meant.
Aeccestane looked at me with glaring eyes. “Is that boy in there your boyfriend?” He looked like a protective older brother.
“Uh…no…he’s just a good friend. Ben’s stupid and just was making a joke.” I stuttered, still embarrassed about what Ben had said.
His face softened only slightly, and then realized he had missed something in his story. “Do you know your parents’ names?” He stared at me with all seriousness.
“I think its Amy and John Valphum.” Why was he asking me this?
“So it’s true…” He whispered it, meaning it to be just for himself.
“What’s true?” I said this a little too demandingly, but then, I did want answers.
“You’re…you’re my…sister.” His blue eyes stared right into mine.
Men in the Black
At lunch Sam said he could drive me home again. I took the offer, not wanting to walk home. Only after we started heading toward the old house did I realize that we had abandoned that place. My gut told me to tell them, but my mind told me not too, because it would make them think things that aren’t true about Alex and I.
When we pulled down the street, I scanned the neighborhood for any dangers. I didn’t spot any until we came in view of the house. In the front was the same black car that had showed up in two places now. Zach seemed to have noticed the car, too, and said, “Who’s at your house?”
We couldn’t stop there. “I don’t know, but they have been bugging my house ever once in a while. Can you bring me some where else?”
Sam stopped the car near my neighbors and they both turned to me. “Have you called the cops or something?” Sam asked, sounding worried.
“Every time we think about it, they leave us alone for a while.” I was lying to them about almost everything, but they couldn’t know that I knew who they were, and what they wanted. Also, we couldn’t call the cops because they could disappear in a second. Vampyres are scary like that. Trained vampyes can disappear in about two seconds, not leaving a trace.
“I would suggest that you write down their license plate number but they don’t have one.” Zach looked back at the unmoving car, only to see it had disappeared. He did a double take at the spot were it used to be. “What? What happened to the car?”
Sam turned around and he too saw it was gone. Moments before Zach had turned to look, the car had sped away and into the neighborhood, out of sight. It was almost silent, undetectable to the human ear. Both boys looked very confused.
I tried to act as shocked as they, knowing if I didn’t, they would ask me which way they went.
“Can you…take me somewhere else? My mom won’t be here for a while, and my brother is at a friends house, and I really don’t want to be alone.” I was actually really freaked out about the whole thing; the shake in my voice was real.
“Where can you go?” Sam looked back at me, worried.
“I really don’t know.” And I didn’t. I couldn’t tell them that this wasn’t my real house and instead I was staying in Alex’s basement. Sydney wouldn’t want me to go to her work, because her boss wouldn’t like it if she was working and watching a teenage girl all at the same time.
“You can come over to my house until your mom gets off work.” Zach said this, but then stopped after he thought about what he had just said. “Wait. I mean, if you need a place to go and stay for a while.” His face reddened as he stared down at his hands.
“Uh…” I said, not sure what to say. “I guess as long as I am welcome.”
“Well…I mean…if Sam doesn’t have a place where you could go?” Zach looked at Sam for a way out, or to make things less awkward. For a moment I saw a glimpse of mischief cross his eyes, but only stayed there for a second.
“My parents don’t really like last minute visitors, and it looks like it my rain in a while so we can’t go to a park. I got nothing.” Sam looked at me with an apologetic look, but with the eye that Zach couldn’t see, he winked. My face, for what seemed like the hundredth time today, I felt my face flush.
From the look on Sam’s face, I could tell he really wanted me to go with this. “Well, I guess if my only options is your house, I guess it’s decided.” I hoped that didn’t sound mean or anything, but then I saw Zach smile for one second, before he turned to Sam and said, “Guess it’s off to my house.”
We drove for about ten minutes through town until we came to a gated house surrounded by a forest of trees. Sam pulled up to the gate and Zach got out with his backpack in hand.
“This is your stop, Mae.” He smiled at me and waited for Zach to be out of hearing range. “Have fun with your future lover!” The looked on his face made me laugh out loud and then I climbed out of the car.
“See you guys tomorrow,” Sam called as he pulled back out of the driveway right before the gate. Zach waved at him as he drove away and then turned to open the gate. He punched in the code and the gates rolled to the side.
As he started to walk up the tiled rode, he turned back to see if I was coming. I followed him as I gaped at the beautiful house that stood before me. Before he reached the house, though, he turned down a path that led to a small mini house in the middle of the trees. He knocked on the door, and waited until a thirty-so year old girl with a white apron and her hair in a bun answered the door. She smiled at Zach, and then noticed me behind him, standing there awkwardly.
“Who is this pretty girl behind you?” The woman had a slight Spanish accent and had a voice like a nurturing mother.
“This is Mae and her house is being stalked or something so she didn’t want to go home and be alone, so I said she could stay here until her mother got off of work. Can we hang out in here because I really don’t need my dad harking me about guests in his home or something.” Zach seemed to be rambling out the story as fast as he could. He seemed slightly nervous about me being here, and I didn’t know if I was really invited to be at his house. “Oh, Mae, this is Lynda, our housekeeper, and, as my dad calls her, our maid.” I stared at him for a moment and then turned to her and said “Hi.”
“I’m Mae,” I said, holding out my hand. Lynda took it, smiling at me with kind eyes.
“It is nice to meet you. Zach never brings his friends over, so I never get time to know them.” Lynda looked at Zach with kind, caring eyes.
“Yeah, well. The big man isn’t really big on guests of mine.” Zach looked down at the ground as he said this, and then up to the giant house to our side.
“Well, he’s a different man. Any who, why don’t you two come in. I’ll get you something to eat. Do you like tuna, dear?” She smiled at me, waiting for a reply.
I stood there for a moment, thinking. I’ve never really had tuna before. Since, well, I don’t eat human food. I looked at her again. She was still staring at me, a hoping smile on her face.
“Uh…well, I’ve never really had it.” I looked away from her, turning to Zach. He had left my side, and I found him sitting in the small living room.
“Well, sweetie. Come here and I’ll have you try some.” She took my hand and walked me into the kitchen. I was pushed gently into the chair next to the table as she went into the pantry for what I presumed was the tuna. As she walked out, Zach walked into the kitchen.
“Can I help?” He asked, taking a blue bowl out of the cabinet.
“Of course. Thank you, sweetie.” They moved around the kitchen as a team, knowing exactly what had to be done. I watched in awe at the two old friends.
When they had finished with the concoction, Lynda took out a spoon, scooped up a bite, and handed it to me. I took the spoon and placed the tan substance in my mouth. It tasted fishy, which I expected, and salty. I swished it around in my mouth for a moment, trying to taste it the best that I could. When I swallowed, I nodded and said, “I like it.”
She smiled at me and then turned around and placed the tuna on two pieces of white bread. I took my, said thanks, and followed Zach into the living room. There was a small couch and two wooden rocking chairs. The room didn’t have many windows, and the ones that it did have were covered by trees. All of the furniture was old and rustic, along with the whole room. It was like a cabin room you would see in an old movie. I liked the cozy feel.
Zach sat down on the couch as I sat in the chair on his right. He ate his tuna bread in silence as he stared at the room around him. My eyes were locked on him. All of a sudden, my ears filled with the sound of his blood pumping through his veins toward his neck, into his head, and back down. I could see his main artery in his neck jump in and out of his skin as the blood flowed to his brain, giving it oxygen. My body leaned toward him as I felt my fangs slowly slide out of place.
All of a sudden, he spoke. “Isn’t this place beautiful?” Luckily he hadn’t turn towards me when he said this. Instead he was locked into the room. I jumped back into my normal self and took a bite of the tuna bread, trying to ease my fangs back into place. What the hell just happened? I asked myself. Usually when I get the urge to feed, I go into a trance, but not as bad as that one. I could practically feel his blood pumping into my mouth.
I shook my head to myself and answered him. “Yeah. It is.”
He turned to me with a peaceful look on his face. I could tell he was comfortable here. I smiled at him and he smiled back; his eyes were in a glaze, like he was sleepy. All of a sudden, his head rolled forward, and he was out. I jumped up when I heard a thump like a body falling in the kitchen. It took me only a second to run into the kitchen and find Lynda on the floor, the now clean tuna bowl in her hand. My ears picked up the sound of her heartbeat and I could see her chest rise and fall. I ran back into the living room and found Zach with a heartbeat and was breathe, too. They had just…fallen asleep. But it didn’t make sense; they both didn’t have any signs of tiredness to them.
My eyes wandered around the room for anything unusual. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. My ears searched for a heartbeat, but there was none. Vampyre.
I slowly crept toward the door and looked out the peephole. The person outside the door was wearing dark glasses and a black suit. He looked like a man from the secret service. His face was super pale, like mine, and his lips were as red as blood. As I looked down at him, he just stood there, unmoving, like a statue.
After a moment, he lifted his hand and knocked again. This time, he spoke. “Mae, I know you’re in there. Open the door. I promise not to hurt you. But, if you run, we cannot promise anything. Open the door.” His voice was sharp with the tone of authority. I took two deep breaths, and spoke.
“What did you do to my friends?” I tried to say this without a speck fear, but I don’t think I succeeded.
“They have been gassed. In about thirty minutes, they will awake, not knowing what had happened. I promise they will be fine. Open the door now, please.” When he said please, I almost cracked up laughing. Being nice didn’t match him.
“Who are you?” I didn’t think he would tell me, but to my surprise, he did.
“My name is Aeccestane, meaning Swordsman’s stone. I come from a place you do not know, but should not be scared of. We work against the Institute in every way. We work for good, they work for evil. Sorry if we have scared you; for following you. We needed to know if you were, in fact, the people we have been looking for.” When he was done talking, I stood there, conflicted.
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” My voice shook, making me sound scared instead of what I was going for, brave.
“Do you think the Institute would just follow you around? No, they would attack at any moment, not knowing whether you were vampyre or human.” I agreed with him on that one, but still didn’t want to open the door.
“How come you came to me now?” I didn’t expect the answer that came next.
“They have your brother. The Institute has taken him from school. We want what is best for your family, and we noticed he was being tracked. We should have taken action sooner, but we thought everything would be alright, and that he would be safe. We apologize for miscalculating. We are truly sorry.” When I looked out the peephole at him, he had taken off his glasses and I could see a tear fall down his face.
I opened the door to him, knowing he was safe. No vampyre from the Institute would be able to shed a tear, unless they were good.
He looked up in shock when he saw me. The color of his eyes was beautiful; a dark ocean blue shimmering in the shallow light pouring on the porch. I was shocked to see that he was only a bit older than me; about seventeen or eighteen. His face was a soft, sweet face; like an angel’s. We stood there, staring at each other for a moment.
He placed his glasses back on his face, and then offered his hand to me. “Come with me. We are picking up Sydney as we speak.”
I didn’t take his hand. Instead, I said, “What about my friends? They would notice that I’m gone.”
“Leave a note. Say…they fell asleep and you had to go.” Aeccestane didn’t seem very sure of what to do.
“Lynda’s lying on the floor,” I said, pointing toward the kitchen. “She wouldn’t really fall asleep when she was cleaning the dishes.”
Aeccestane thought about this for a moment, and then went into the kitchen at fast speed. I followed him, alarmed at the suddenness of his action. I found him lifting Lynda’s gentle body off the floor. He carried her into the living room and sat her in the chair where I had been sitting. She looked like a rag doll when he placed her hands in a way that made it look like she had fallen asleep.
“There,” He said, seeming proud of his work. I found a piece of paper on the coffee table, along with a pen, and wrote down my message:
Zach and Lynda,
You guys seemed a bit tired, and after a while, you just fell asleep. I needed to go before my mom got worried, so I decided to just leave you two be. You seemed peaceful. Thanks for the tuna. See you at school tomorrow Zach. And see you around, Lynda.
Mae
I sat the letter on the coffee table and followed Aeccestane out the door toward the black car that I had seen following us around.
When I saw him crying, there was something I couldn’t quite shake. That’s why I went with him. He seemed familiar to me, like I have known him forever, but I have never met him before in my life. It could have been the color of his hair; golden blonde with natural highlights. Or, maybe his nose, which was small and perfect, just like mine. But it wasn’t those similarities—they were almost exactly like mine—that caught my eye. It was the intense color of his eyes. Those eyes stared me in the face every time I looked in a mirror. They were my eyes.
Chapter 3
Love of a Brother
As I was walking to the car, I noticed that the place was surrounded. There had to have been at least twenty vampyres around the area, watching me. Eyes stared from me, to Aeccestane, and back again, like they couldn’t believe what their eyes were telling them. They had a right to stare, because we looked almost exactly alike. When we reached the car, Aeccestane turned around and stared at the vampyres around us. The moment he placed his eyes on him, they scattered, like they were scared of him. I just looked at him in awe.
He noticed me staring at him and he smiled. “Can you not believe your eyes like all of them? Or are you in awe of my power over them?”
It took me a minute to respond, but after a few breaths I said, “Both.”
“Get in the car and I will tell you.” He walked around to the other side of the car and opened the passenger door for me. I followed and stepped into the car I once thought might be my doom car. My eyes never left him as he walked back to the driver’s side.
He opened the door with a kind of gentleness and stepped in. The car was silent for a moment and then he turned to me with his deep blue eyes.
He stared at me for a moment, and then said, “I ran away from the Institute right after graduation. They wanted to send me somewhere, but I didn’t know where; I left before I could find out. When I was running, I ran across a group of vampyres on the outskirts of the Institute. Their clothes were different then what I would expect VI police to wear. I stopped for them instead of try and run away.
“They did not try and attack me. Instead, they walked over and offered their services. I took them, like you are taking mine. I was very cautious, ready to run at any moment. The house they took me to was a giant fancy mansion in the middle of nowhere. My senses were all flared and alert for any signs of danger; there was none. Inside the house was a whole hotel looking place. Vampyres were chatting and at ease in this place. I just stood there for a minute, in awe, like you were.” He chuckled for a bit, breaking his somewhat olden speech.
“The vampyres were very welcoming of me. Vampyres in the lobby smiled, the ones behind the desks welcomed me to this place. Nothing around me told what the place was, exactly. One thing I knew for certain was that there were no humans in hearing range. Not a single heartbeat came to my ears.
“The man who took me to that place said his name was Max. He took me around and explained what the place was about. They house runaway vampyres from VI. When they hear that someone has escaped, they look them up and see if they could survive on their own. Apparently, I could not.” He chuckled again and stared at his hands that were folded in his lap.
“He took me up to a room and told me to get some needed rest. The next morning, they handed me a schedule, telling me what was happening around the place. They have never told me what the place was called, if it even has a name. After a couple weeks, they gave me an assignment. Once they see someone has escaped, they keep tabs on them, seeing they could, in fact, go on alone in the world. No vampyre knows about the organization because most vamps can survive on their own. A select few do not have the needed skills, or they are weak from the escape. In your case, you were helped by the coffee shop vamps, who are part of the organization, but don’t bring them to the hotel.
“There are only about two escapees from the Institute a year, and many of them are older, much older than you and Ben. When they heard about you, they sent me after you, but the vamps had already helped you, so my services weren’t needed. Max told me to keep an eye on you and make sure that nothing happened to you. Sydney showed up and helped you, which we were glad of. She is very smart and would help you stay undetected. Then Ben escaped, and that was one hell of a drama he had caused.” He stared out the window, lost in thought. I don’t think he even realized what he was doing. We had been sitting there for at least twenty minutes. Didn’t he say something about Ben being in trouble? I was going to interrupt him a while ago, but I got so engrossed in his story, it escaped my mind.
“I was set to pick him up too, but then you found him first, starved in the woods. I didn’t dare show myself then, because you were, and still are, a very strong, protective vampyre, and I did not want to cross you. You guys took care of him, which I had expected. A couple weeks later, I heard you had plans to just be normal. You and Ben were going to go to school, while Sydney got a job. In my opinion, that was a great idea because they would never expect the vampyres on the run to settle into a town.
“Everything was going great, until the first day of school. While Ben was walking to school, I noticed someone following him. I never really followed you because I know how strong you are, but Ben…I was so worried something would happen. It was a man from the Institute. They were keeping tabs on him, trying to decide the best place to attack. I think they wanted to attack during the thunderstorm. I have no clue why. When Ben got to school, I stayed in the shadows watching him. Apparently, I was not hiding well enough, because he confronted me. It was very brave of me, but also a stupid move if I had not been a runaway myself. I pulled him aside and told him everything, but said he could not tell anyone, even you and Sydney, that he had met me. He took my word and never told you, but he never trusted me.
“I parked in front of your house, looking for the Institute vamps, but then you guys heard me. You guys have very good hearing, I did not realize. Only one thing popped into my mind and that was to pretend that I was the bad guy, watching the house. I was glad that you guys ran because it gave me a chance to escape and also to actually get a good look at the place. When you came back for your stuff, I had no clue where you were going, but I did not dare follow you. In the morning, I went to the one human man who housed vampyres. He was a legend for escaping so young. To my surprise, you were there, and you saw me…again. I was not very stealthy about how I went about things, but it made you guys very cautious of the dangers around you.
“After school was out, I waited for you to come home, but at your house because I didn’t think you wanted your new friends knowing you were staying at Alex’s house.” He turned and smiled at me, seeming to notice my existence next to him for the first time after he had started talking.
“When you went to this house, I looped back around and went to see Ben, but I never found him. That is when I knew he had been captured—“Aeccestane’s eyes got big when he realized what had happened. “BEN!” He looked at me for a moment with huge eyes, and then started the car.
Before he could step on the gas, I said, “Do you have a phone?”
He stared at me with a blank look and said, “Yeah…why?”
“Give it.” He handed it to me, still looking confused. I dialed Ben’s number, just remembering Sydney had given him an emergency phone.
On the third ring, he picked up.
“Hello?” He said, sounding confused.
“It’s Mae, where are you?” I sounded like a worried mother.
“Uh…hanging with Alex. He picked me up at my friend’s house. It was raining and my friend’s mom didn’t want me to walk home. And, plus, we had project to do together. When we were done, I couldn’t call Sydney at work, you don’t have a phone, so I called Alex. His girlfriend and he came to pick me up. Why do you sound so worried? And I should be asking where YOU are. Whose phone are you using?”
“Oh…” It didn’t dawn on me that he would worry about where I was. “Since we no longer live at the old house, I didn’t know where my friends could drop me off. My friend, Zach, said I could stay at his house until Sydney got off. I was just wondering where you were and I was going to tell you that I will be home soon and to hold off on a giant snack. Okay?” Lying was hard to do to Ben because we have only a few people we can trust nowadays.
“Okay, mom,” He said, jokingly. He laughed and said, “See you in a while. Remember to be careful! Use protection!” He quickly hung up before I could say anything else.
My cheeks turned red again when I realized what he had meant.
Aeccestane looked at me with glaring eyes. “Is that boy in there your boyfriend?” He looked like a protective older brother.
“Uh…no…he’s just a good friend. Ben’s stupid and just was making a joke.” I stuttered, still embarrassed about what Ben had said.
His face softened only slightly, and then realized he had missed something in his story. “Do you know your parents’ names?” He stared at me with all seriousness.
“I think its Amy and John Valphum.” Why was he asking me this?
“So it’s true…” He whispered it, meaning it to be just for himself.
“What’s true?” I said this a little too demandingly, but then, I did want answers.
“You’re…you’re my…sister.” His blue eyes stared right into mine.
