Prologue
"Wake up! Taro, wake up you stupid boy!" Taro's eyes slowly awakened from the yelling of his father's voice next to him. Barely seconds had passed since they were open when a sharp pain struck his arm and a loud crack sounded marking a slap.
"Get up you pathetic heap!" Taro rose as fast as he could so he wouldn't get slapped again. His mind reeled with frustration. Today was the move. His father stomped out of his room. Taro sighed with relief. He was going to miss his house and his school. He finished packing. All he needed was just a quaint suitcase for all of his belongings.
Even though he was up and alert, his father came back in angry. Taro received a punch in the head. "Be quick!" As the pain coursed through his skull, he fell onto the dark wood floor, holding the tender bruise.
After about an hour, they were all on their way to the new home. Taro sat by his mother, staring out the window, watching the scenes of his life play as they passed certain locations. His father drove the car in the front. The sharp sound of the huge moving van in front of the car annoyed Taro's ears. Yet still his mind was lost in thought. He had never even wanted to move out of the house that his family used to own. It was an elegant Victorian mansion.
Taro rubbed his shoulder to help sooth the many scars and bruises scattered upon it. Even though his house was a haven, his father was not. It seemed to him that his father's main goal in life was to make his own a living hell. Soon, the noisy engines of the vehicles stopped and they all got out of the car.
Chapter 1
The Meeting
My ears picked up the roaring thunder of the moving van next door. Soon, my mother would call me down to ask me to greet and help the new neighbors. I had never really cared to do that type of thing, but alas I had no choice. Mother would claim that others had helped us when we first moved in, and who could argue with that statement.
"Sarah, come down, the new neighbors are here," she shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Reluctantly I rose and trudged down them, opening the door. My black hair made my neck sweat from the heat of the day. The bleached highlights were not doing much good of reflecting the sun. I made my way across the lush lawn to the house next door. Mother was already talking to the new comers, shaking hands with the woman of the group.
They were such a strange family. All of them were much paler than the average human, and all had exquisite figures. The father of them had slick black hair that had bee gelled backwards, making him look like one of those European movie actors. His wife was a nice height with a perfect shape, and platinum blond hair. Even with the intriguing features the parents held, their son was what caught my eye the most. He appeared to have nicely toned muscles. His hair was black like his fathers, but it was more of a bed-head shag style. Yet the most wondrous feature, were his eyes. One was a gorgeous icy blue color, while the other, a brilliant royal blue. They seemed to hold the sadness of the world among their depths.
He was a "mutant" like me. My own eyes were a green, and honey gold. Like him, I hadn't received my other eye gene from my parents on time. Taking in a deep breath, I approached them.
"Hello," I waved slightly. The boy my age looked up at me when I said this. The mother looked in my direction.
"Hello to you. My name is Lestelle, what is yours?"
"Sarah," I replied quickly. Lestelle held out her hand to me and I shook it. She had lovely eyes. They appeared to be a light purple. She pointed to her son.
"This is Taro, and my husband," she gestured to him, "Vladimeer."
"It's nice to meet you," I said shyly shaking Vladimeer's hand. It was a nice firm shake, yet when I shook Taro's, it seemed limp and shaky. It was strange for he looked as though he were in great shape. Looking onto his eyes made me blush a little.
"Ha-Ha! You have a crush on him!" The shrill voice of my brother made me jump.
"Oh shut up Jack!" Jack was fourteen while my age lay at seventeen. He was normally nice, but every now and then he would get on my nerves immensely. Though my hair was black, his was a dirty blond, and he always had it spiked.
My mother chuckled. "Well, we can help you move things in if you wish."
Vladimeer nodded, "Yes that will be very helpful." Taro flinched at the kind tone in his father's voice. It was quite strange. I thought he seemed polite. Even so, we all began to take furniture and boxes out of the moving van and into the house.
The furniture was gorgeous! All of it was elegant Victorian with the main colors black, and shades of red.
I helped Taro set up his room. The entire time he was silent as the grave. His items were quite lovely though, for his bed was Victorian like the furniture, but it was simple, quaint. Its soft covers held the colors of black and deep red. Above the window clamped to the wall hung serene velvety curtains dyed blood red. The carpet naturally was black. It still held the scent of new fibers barely walked upon.
After setting up his room, I decided to help him with putting his clothes away. To shy to talk to him, I simply pointed to his suitcase as he looked over. A small nod slipped from him letting my hands know they had permission to swing it open. Surprise flooded through me when I saw that it was almost empty.
"Sorry, I don't have much…" He finally spoke! But speaking was not as easy for me.
"Oh, uh, it's ok" was all I could manage. What an idiot I had become! Even so, I began to fold his clothes and set them in the drawers of his dresser. He came sheepishly over and helped as well. I wondered why he was nervous. Then, something screamed at my eye from the suitcase. Looking down at it, I saw what appeared to be a ruby embedded into the statue of a European dragon. It was on top of its forehead. I felt my eyes widen.
"What is that?!" Surprise encased my voice. I couldn't help it. Though, before I could even reach for the dragon, it had disappeared now in Taro's hands.
"This is nothing," he said seriously, "Just a present from an old friend. You'd have no interest."
"On the contrary, I'd love to know about your past and where that came from." Taro didn't answer. He simply set the item on top of the dresser. We kept silent for the rest of the time until I had to leave. I could only guess that the dragon statue came from someone very important to him. Oh well, no use pressing the matter.
Chapter 2
Trouble with Vladimeer
Taro gazed out his window watching Sarah cross the front lawn to her own. If only she could know the truth about his father and know his past. Vladimeer yelled from downstairs.
"Taro get down here and start cooking dammit or I'll burn your arms off!" Taro was down there preparing food instantly. He knew his father literally meant, 'burn his arms off". People with normal fathers didn't have to worry about the threats. They don't realize how lucky they are. He decided to make Gnocchi, one of his favorite Italian foods. Taro loved Italian, it was his favorite, and he always made it exquisite. He decided to put Shrimp Scampi along with it.
After he finished cooking, Taro set the table. It was done so elegantly, even a team of professionals could not have matched him. Everything had to be perfect, or else Vladimeer would go on a rampage. Just as he finished, his father entered, sitting himself down. He picked up his fork, scooping up some of the Gnocchi and Shrimp Scampi. Taro stood in the corner, his heart pounding sending fear coursing through his veins. If Vlad did not like it, even in the least, Taro would pay a vicious price.
He put the piece of food in his mouth and chewed. It was followed by a hard swallow, not a good sign. Within an instant, he was rushing towards his son. Taro's eyes widened helplessly following a large thud. He gasped as Vladimeer's knuckled dug into his stomach.
"You call that food?!" He grabbed Taro by the head, hurling him across the room. A searing pain stretched up his spinal cord as it met the wall. His father was back at him before he could hit the ground. Vlad's hand braced Taro to the wall, curling around his throat. He clawed at his neck as began to choke him.
Taro was loosing air fast. He had to get out, he just had to. But there was no way to escape his fathers grasp. His mind began to panic, making him say the only thing that would get him no where.
"St-stop…father…" he barely got out. Vladimeer simply smirked. It pleased him to see his son in torture. Taro began to loose hope. If nothing happened to end it now, he would go unconscious.
"Stop!" That voice reached Taro's ears like a ray of light from heaven. Vladimeer's head snapped over instantly.
"What are you doing here?!" Vlad screamed. Sarah stared at the scene before her in horror.
"What am I doing here? What are you doing to your son?!" Her voice was
caressed in shock. Vladimeer tossed Taro aside.
"You'll pay for this…" he muttered darkly.
Before his comment could even register in my brain, horrific agony washed over me as Vladimeer's hand enclosed on my throat. Terror gripped my mind as I heard Taro's cry reach my ears. Oxygen was running short. I couldn't do anything. I'm going to die was all I could think. My eyes shifted to Taro's limp body. He was looking at me with desperation coating his wide irises.
"…H-help…please…" I knew it wouldn't do any good. I felt the pressure around my neck increase. Black began to seep into the corners of my vision. Just before I felt I could not hold on any longer, air began to flow back inside my lungs. Vladimeer's hand was gone. The sound waves of a punch and thud reached into my ears. Vibration registered into my nerves as someone fell next to me. Was it Taro, or his father? I couldn't tell, my vision was too blurry.
"Sarah? Sarah?!" it was Taro. So the knocked out man next to me was Vladimeer. I tried to talk, but all that came out was a groan. The hard ground vanished from beneath me as Taro lifted me up into his arms. Within a short amount of time, I felt the comfort of a bed. My vision was gradually becoming clearer. I could see his face now. It looked concerned, and scared.
"Taro?" I rasped.
"Sarah, are you alright?"
"I…I think so." As soon as those words came out of my mouth, memories started flowing back at an overwhelming rate. My body shook slightly. Apparently I was unaware of my expression, for Taro became even more concerned and terrified.
Taro felt like breaking down right here and now, but he knew he couldn't.
Sarah needed him. She was trembling, her eyes huge with the startling event that just took place.
"You're going to be alright. I promise." Her face slowly turned towards him, the terror never leaving her expression.
"…Taro…" she muttered.
"I'm here. I won't let anything hurt you anymore." She didn't show any signs of improvement. The shaking increased as she began to curl up in a ball. Taro didn't know what to do.
"Please…Sarah…" He couldn't say anymore. He shut his eyes tightly. Dammit! He thought, pounding his fist down. Why did she just have to come?! He opened his eyes again. Wait, why did she come back anyway? Taro wanted to leave and see if she had she brought anything, something she forgot perhaps. Sarah was still in horrible condition. He decided to get up, to see what would happen. Not a moment after he had risen, her hand shot out grasping his arm.
"Don't go!" she pleaded. Her eyes were still wide open. Taro felt his eyes become wet.
"Sarah?" She kept shaking. Taro couldn't help it anymore. He embraced her, holding the back of her head with his hand. "Please…please come back to normal…" he pleaded. Taro just held her sitting there for a while.
"…Taro..." He looked down at Sarah.
"Are you ok?"
"Yes…" Taro sighed with relief at her one word. He let go of her.
"I'm glad." He scooted away to see if she could sit up herself. She did.
"I…suppose I have some explaining to do." Sarah nodded. "Well, you see, my father is actually abusive. He only acts nice to people so they don't suspect anything."
His words hit me like a huge Semi truck crushing a rabbit. "He has beaten me ever since I can remember. I've had too much expected out of me. He wants everything I do to be perfect." All I could do was nod my head as he continued. "My mother is afraid to help me when he goes on a rampage, for she might get the same treatment. Infact, I told her not to help me. I don't want her getting injured." He looked down at the bed. I realized it was his.
"I understand Taro." I put my hand comfortingly on his shoulder. It felt strangely cold and stiff. For the fist time in my life, my sight saw that he had many scars on his arms. My eyes widened betraying my astonishment. He noticed.
"Those scars are all over, especially my torso." I didn't even bother with a nod this time. He knew I believed him. Besides, it was obvious for the torso contained some of the tenderest areas on the human body. I felt great empathy, I truly did.
During all of this commotion my skull was processing, I remembered the very reason I had come here.
"Oh Taro," I said loudly, "I just remembered why I had come here in the first place." His face got the look of question with a mixture of remberance as I sprang out of the bed and ran down the stairs. There on the floor, right where I left it was one of Taro's jackets. I had borrowed it for the evening when we set up the back yard. He was behind me quickly. Before I could pick it up, it was in is grip.
"Why do you always do that?"
"Do what?"
"You always pick things up before I get to."
"Oh…sorry."
I sighed, "Its ok." As we walked past the entrance to the dining room on the way to the front door, I held up my hand to the side of my head so I would not see Vladimeer, even of he was unconscious. When the front door's knob came into range, Taro opened for me. I had to say one last thing before I walked out.
"Taro, thank you. And remember, no one can bring you down. Your mother cares about you, and so do I. Never loose hope, friend." With that, I turned and left.
Chapter 3
School
Taro found it hard to get to sleep that night. Lucky for him, his father was too worn out to hurt anymore when he awoke. Though in his mind, Taro knew he wasn't safe. As he lay there in his bed, he heard soft foot steps outside. They were coming towards his room. The door opened revealing his mother. She stepped gracefully to his bed side, sitting down.
"Taro, I am sorry that Sarah got hurt today. I should have been there."
"No mother, you may have gotten strangled too."
"I don't care anymore Taro! Your safety is more important than my life."
"How could you say that?! Your life it just as valuable as mine!"
"I know…I just feel useless…" Lestelle's voice was gentle. She sat Taro up and hugged him lightly. The moment was broken by a loud bang. Fear crept into her son's eyes. He became nervous. Vladimeer was awake, and thriving with energy.
"Mother, get out now." He didn't have to tell her twice. She quickly rose and went out of the room, going into the kitchen downstairs. That way it would look like she simply was up to get a glass of water.
Taro sat in anticipation, anxiety crawling up his arms, spreading through his body. The stomping grew louder, coming closer to his door. A pause. Vlad swung it open violently. The blood raced in Taro's ears as his father ran for him.
As I sat in my bed with no sleep, I suddenly heard a loud crash. Yelling followed. Oh no! Taro is being hurt again! There was nothing I could do but lay my head on the mattress and slam my pillow over it. I didn't want to listen.
The screaming of my alarm woke me up the next morning. I wasn't happy, and for two good reasons; one I hadn't got hardly any sleep that night, and forgotten why, and two, it was Monday, which meant school. I managed to drag myself out of bed. Since tiredness seemed to cover my joints, I simply threw on some jeans and a black T-shirt with Emily from Corpse Bride on the front.
After eating cold cereal, I went up to the bathroom to brush my teeth. As I looked at my face in the mirror, I heard my brother, Jack, being a nuisance again. My mother had to give him a little slap. It was her only choice to get him to shut up. The moment that slap occurred, memories of the previous night came rushing back; me and Taro getting strangled by his father, the yelling making it hard for me to sleep. With those fresh in my head, I brushed quickly, got my things ready, and rushed out the door.
I hope Taro is alright! My mind pushed these frantic thoughts into my realization. What if he never came out? What would I do then? I decided right there to wait for him. As the minutes went by, the anxiety grew more and more. I began to think my fears would become reality. Another five minutes. The door opened and Taro stepped out. That was probably the best moment I'd had in a long time. It was a miracle to see him alright.
I waltzed over to his side as soon as he was on the side walk.
"Are…are you ok?" My tone was a little shaky. It was uncontrollable. He nodded in response, not looking at me.
"Hey, don't worry about me, I'll be alright." I tried to make my voice a little fuller. It worked for he glanced at my face giving a smile that hid his teeth. Even though his smile was light, the rest of his face was dull. Taro's eyes seemed almost blank. I felt a wave of sorrow settle over me. It was silent for the rest of the time.
Soon, the roaring engine of the bus crackled through the air. It skidded to a halt, the brakes screeching. We both got on, sitting together in an open seat. I was by the window. For the first time I noticed there was a gray cloud cover. The sun wasn't showing. That didn't help my sad mood one bit. I didn't even bother looking back at the interior of the bus. I let my body lean against the metal wall; my forehead pressed up to the window's glass. Outside, everything seemed more depressing than ever, even the trees seemed to bend at there gray sheen from the clouds. I began to think about the first time I met Taro. It was so innocent; he was just another young adult like me. We even had the same eye mutation. I remembered how he had flinched at his father's kind tones. Now I knew. I wish I hadn't.
A light tap on the shoulder jerked me back into the presence. When I looked over, I found that it was Taro who had tapped me.
"Uh…yes?"
"You don't look so good."
"I'm just thinking…" My voice was quiet. He made up his mind to leave me alone for the rest of the ride till we got to school. I was sort of happy to return.
The sound of the air break alerted everyone to stand up and depart the bus. Taro and I got off quickly.
"Hey Sarah!" The voice of my best friend Emma made me look up. Normally I would have smiled and said hi back, but today I found I could not. My head simply slunk back down, my eyes averting to the ground. Emma came up next to me.
"Hey what's wrong?" I didn't answer; I just simply did not have the will to speak. Out of the corner of my vision, I saw her look up at Taro. His gaze burned into the side of my head for only a moment. He knew I didn't feel like talking, so he spoke for me. I was relieved.
"Uh…Sarah hasn't felt like talking all morning." Emma looked at Taro confused as he said these words. "Don't worry, I'm a new neighbor, and a friend" he defended politely. Emma nodded.
"I see, so she's been like this for a while?"
"Yes. I decided it would be best to leave her alone for now. She'll talk eventually." Sympathy laid its cloak on his tone. Taro felt bad for Sarah. "What is your name? Mine is Taro Dracul."
"Oh…uh I'm Emma Grey. Nice to meet you. Sarah is my best friend," She gave a warm smile to him. That was a gesture Taro was not used to. He hardly ever got smiled kindly at. He retuned her courtesy by smiling mouth closed.
"So…why won't she talk?"
Taro knew he was in trouble now. He hadn't even thought about that question. He quickly made up an elaborate story in his head.
"Well you see, while we were at my house setting things up, some things happened." Emma was surely interested now, "My mother was in the kitchen making some cake. It was for a celebration of successfully moving in. All was well, but we both heard her scream and a smash from upstairs." He paused; almost looking like he was laughing at what was to come next. "When we rushed down there, Sarah's little brother was standing across from my mom in shock and her face was shocked as well. On the floor in between them lay the cake face down splattered like an explosion. We all burst out laughing. It turned out that Jack had scared her by coming in without her notice. I think she's embarrassed, so I'll just leave her alone for now." Emma nodded, a smile playing with her lips.
Emma Grey had strait light blond hair that reached to the middle of her back. She was in great shape, and ate healthy. Her eyes were an aqua green color. Even though she had wonderful physical condition, she hated athletics completely. She despised even the mention of them.
"Well, you better go get your schedule at the main desk Taro. I suppose I will see you around the school later today." He watched her run off into the halls of the school. Sarah looked at him. "Thanks, I appreciate the help." He smiled shortly.
After seeing Sarah to her class, he went to the front office. There was a short lady with frizzy red hair. It was up in a messy bun. She looked to be about fourty-five years of age. Taro approached her meekly.
"Excuse me Miss?" She looked up when he asked this. Her eyes flew wide open. Must be my appearance he figured. "I'm a n-" she cut him off before could finish.
"A new student? I can tell, for I've never seen you before." Her eyes retuned to their normal bored stare.
"I will get your schedule. Oh and you may call me Miss Frizz. That's what all the students call me for my frizzy hair." She smiled. Taro smiled quickly back. He thought it was a little weird. Miss Frizz pulled out and searched through a stack of papers for a while.
"Ah here it is," she said triumphantly. She handed the paper to Taro. He took it gratefully.
"The school layout really isn't too tough. You should be able to find your classes easily. The hall archways have the numbers of the rooms above them."
Taro nodded, "Thanks." then walked out. Lucky for him, his first class was with Sarah. The only open desk was right in front of her. He took it when he entered the classroom. After explaining to the teacher who he was, the class went on.
Taro noticed the teacher, Mr. Hemway glancing at Sarah every now and then. It was odd, for he seemed to have a look of terror about his eyes, and they seemed directed towards Sarah's neck. With a terrible realization, he noticed that there were marks on her throat left over from the attack by his father! There was nothing he could do about now, unfortunately.
Chapter 4
Counseling
I sat in my seat, bored out of my skull. Mr. Hemway was out of the classroom, and everyone was chatting except me. Some people were bothering Taro about why he was so pale, and why he was so perfect. I heard someone ask him his name, and he replied with, "Taro Dracul." That one caught my attention. Before I could ask any questions, Mr. Hemway came back.
"Sarah, the counseling office wants to see you." That was weird! I never do anything wrong, and am in good psychological condition. Even so, I got up and walked out of the classroom. The whole time I could feel Taro's gaze burning into my back until the door shut. Walking down the long hall, I reached the office of the Counselor. The golden name plate read the same creepy name as always, "Mrs. Faulker" I never liked that name. Slowly reaching for the knob, I opened the wooden door slowly. It creaked on its old hinges. The actual person was worse than her name. She was old, and had long messy black hair in a bun that was barely holding up. Her frame was boney and skinny, yet she was tall. Her clothes were a cotton light pink suit. It had faded from the years. The heavy eye shadow and bright red lipstick did not do her face much justice.
"Sit down" she said in a raspy voice. Reluctantly, my feet carried me to the seat in front of her. I sat as she'd told me.
"Now, your teacher Mr. Hemway tells me you have marks on your neck indicating you were chocked. Is this true?" She didn't sound very concerned. I could tell she was staring at the bruises themselves. I wanted to scream, what do you think freak but I held my tongue.
"Yes Mrs. Faulker it's true." She nodded, scribbling something on a pad of yellow lined paper. One thing I had always thought to be way out of the ordinary about her is how she was even able to obtain the title of Mrs. in the first place. Who would marry that thing?
"Well then sweetie, are you abused?" She called me sweetie! Was she trying to weird me out or something?
"No ma'am I'm not abused. My brother and I were rough housing, and he accidentally got out of hand. You know how boys of his age are." I hoped my excuse would work. Part of me was warning that she might go to my house to talk to my brother bout it. Then the whole family would know.
"Oh I see. That's too bad." It seemed to be working knowing how dull minded she was. "I'll leave you to go back to your class then." My mind shouted hallelujah as I rose quickly and went out of her office. I could have sworn I smelled alcohol on her breath. That was good for she probably wouldn't even remember our conversation.
When I reentered the class room, it appeared that everyone was on a free study hall. Mr. Hemway was reading at his desk. All of the students were chatting out of their seats, except Taro. He didn't really seem very talkative. Then I remembered hearing his last name as I walked out of the room before. I had a lot of questions for him to answer. My brain almost seemed to be on auto pilot as I waltzed over to the empty desk next to him and sat down. He looked at me as soon as my rump hit the chair.
"Uh, yes Sarah?"
"I want to know about your last name." I saw a flash of some unknown emotion flicker past his eyes. It was only for a moment.
"What do you want to know?"
"Isn't Dracul the name of Vladimeer Dracul, who lived in the 1400s? He's the reason why the legend of Dracula exists."
"Well, yeah so what?"
"So then, are you related to him or something?" He looked troubled at my curiosity.
"You could say that."
Even though I didn't want to bother him, I couldn't help but ask more. "But, I though his whole family was killed."
"No, a secret member of the family survived."
"Oh I see. Sorry if I'm bothering you Taro, but I couldn't help it."
"It's alright, but I would appreciate it if you'd stop asking questions right now." I nodded and returned to my own desk behind his. Suddenly, a thought crashed into my mind. Wasn't the name of Taro's father Vladimeer? And why were they so pale? Why did Taro only smile with his mouth closed? Did I miss something?! My trance was interrupted by the bell for next class. I rose quickly and exited with Taro at my side. As I walked, thoughts kept reeling through my skull.
