AN: I initially wrote this story in 2013/2014 but, looking back on it, there are certain things I wanted to change as I feel it could have been better. You do not have to have read my previous story in order to read this rewrite. Thanks to any readers who take the time to give this a read and I hope you enjoy.
Prologue:
The Santa Carla Boardwalk was my least favourite place on Earth. It was always so crowded and loud as floods of people streamed up and down, yelling to each other, cheering on the rare occasion that they managed to win something at a game stall, or screaming as they rode the rollercoasters. The commotion never seemed to end, carrying on all day and through the night.
Perhaps the worst thing about the Boardwalk was the people who-like my family- made a living there. They rarely stayed around for long and most of them were con-artists, running games that no one could win. The man who ran the piercing stall had no training, using a (likely unsanitary) needle and hoping for the best.
My parents had purchased a store on the Boardwalk when I was seven, resulting in a move from the sprawling metropolis of Chicago to the sea-side tourist town of Santa Carla, California. They were ex-hippies but, while the sixties had abandoned them, their clothing indicated that they hadn't quite abandoned the sixties. They were walking anachronisms but they managed to blend in in a town as strange as Santa Carla.
My earliest memory of the Boardwalk was of a night we spent stocking shelves with comic books, just delivered by our supplier, in preparation for our upcoming opening. My brothers (six-year-old Edgar and five-year-old Alan) had been carelessly chasing each other through the half-stocked aisles under the careful watch of my mother. I had been seated near the door, listening to the alien commotion of the midday Boardwalk. As I listened, one of the game stall owners had gotten into an argument with a man who'd called him out for fixing the game. The argument had been broken up before things got physical but some colourful language was thrown around. My father had swept me up, carried me away from the doorway and told me never to repeat anything I'd just heard.
That had been back when my parents cared enough about me and my brothers to bother keeping an eye on us. For the first few years they had run Frog Comics with a watchful eye but, when I was twelve, their past had finally reclaimed them and they'd gotten back into drugs. From that point on they spent most of their time at home or, if they dragged themselves into work, asleep behind the counter. Edgar, Alan and I had learnt to run the store pretty quickly: we had, after all, watched our parents do so for years.
As the oldest, I'd felt like it was my responsibility to take the most active role in running the comic store, even though my brothers clearly knew more about comics than I did. With school, homework and a business to run, I'd grown distant from my friends but that didn't bother me much; I had my brothers and we were a team against the world. Until I started spending time with some new friends.
This new crowd was definitely not the type any normal parents would approve of but my parents didn't ask and I needed a break from managing their business for them. I knew it was wrong to leave Edgar and Alan in charge of the store so much but they insisted that they didn't mind and I had developed a craving for the freedom that came with my new friends.
Until one night when everything changed.
It was New Year's Eve, 1986, and I had arranged to meet my friends on the beach under the Boardwalk after closing the store. They had been laughing, perched on their motorcycles and drinking cheap alcohol. David was sat proud and tall, the undisputed leader of the pack. Star- a girl they'd taken in a few weeks after I'd met them- was sat behind him, sharing space on the motorcycle. With her long, beaded skirt she looked out of place but I probably didn't blend in as well as I thought I did. When she saw me approaching, Star called my name and waved, capturing the attention of Marko who crossed the short distance of sand between us.
'Hey, babe.' He pulled me in for a kiss that tasted mainly of cigarette smoke and beer but with a slightly metallic undertone I couldn't place. I'd grown to hate kissing Marko but if it kept me in with the gang I could bear it; it was a small price to pay for the thrill of being with them.
Marko had been the one to introduce me to his friends. I'd met him at a diner in August, 1986. I'd just turned sixteen and had given myself a rare night off to celebrate the birthday that had happened weeks earlier. There I'd met Marko and, from then on, we'd spend nights running around Santa Carla, gaming in the arcade or driving around on his bike. Being with him was fun then: he'd make me laugh and, while he still tasted of smoke, I enjoyed kissing him. In September he'd introduced me to his friends and he'd begun to change: More often than not he largely ignored me, paying attention only when he wanted a kiss, a hand to hold or someone to show off in front of. When we were alone he was clingier, constantly wrapping his arm around my shoulders or waist. I would have stopped hanging out with him but I liked his friends and I enjoyed the freedom their company promised.
Extricating myself from Marko's arms, I crossed over to Star and we shared a hug.
'Izzy!' Paul's voice called my attention to him, 'You coming to the New Year's party with us?'
'Wouldn't miss it.' I replied as he tossed a can of beer in my direction.
I wasn't a fan of beer and the last thing I wanted was to get drunk before a party so I offered to share my drink with Marko, knowing that he'd consume most of it despite having his own drink in hand.
When the boys had finished the six-packs they'd brought David decided we should be getting to the party. Once I'd mounted Marko's bike and felt him ignite the engine to life I knew that it had been worth agreeing to come with them. The wind in my face sent a surge of adrenaline through my body and the speed gave me a thrill. I clung tighter to Marko as we rounded a corner and I felt his long blonde hair brush my face. I was slightly disappointed when we stopped but the party was in full swing and promised a good time.
'Come on.' Marko instructed, snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me close to his side.
We followed David and Dwayne inside, the six of us staying close together as we surveyed the atmosphere. People were drinking like there was no tomorrow, screaming as they jumped around the dance floor. It was getting late and mothers dragged their overly-excited kids towards the exit.
'See you at midnight, ladies.' David addressed his flock before disappearing into the crowd.
'A dance, Isabelle?' Marko asked.
'Do not call me Isabelle.' I gave him a playful shove, hating the sound of my real name.
'Let's go find something to drink.' I heard Dwayne mutter before he vanished with Paul and Marko.
I shared a look with Star, questioning how we'd ended up abandoned by all four guys. She grinned and led me onto the dance floor, letting the crowd swallow us up. I had always been self-conscious about dancing at parties and that was increased ten-fold by Star who was a great dancer. Sensing my discomfort, Star took my wrists, moving me along with her and my nerves soon evaporated.
As the night moved on, we observed Dwayne at the bar, talking to a girl who stared up at him with longing in her eyes. Paul was jumping around on the dance floor with a girl I knew to be in the grade above me at school. As midnight steadily approached and she became increasingly drunk, she lost her energy and was slumped against Paul, her head buried against his shoulder as he propped her up.
My heart was pounding and I was breathless as people started moving outside for the upcoming fireworks display. Our group was reunited before midnight, just as David had instructed. Paul's dance partner was nowhere to be seen but Dwayne had his arm around the girl from the bar. As the countdown began, a man drunkenly lurched up to Star, his hands falling on her shoulders before David shoved him away.
Cheers erupted as the countdown ended and fireworks painted the canvas of the sky. The promise of a new year and a fresh start stretched out in front of us. This was the time for resolutions and I decided that, from now on, I would devote a fair amount of time to helping my brothers with the store but continue to make time for my friends.
Star pulled me into a hug and wished me a happy new year, a grin plastered across her face. Caught up in my excitement and optimism, I pulled Marko in for a kiss, initiating affection for the first time in weeks.
The party over, we returned to the beach and I decided to head home; it was past two and my brothers would be worried.
'Hold on, Iz.' Dwayne called as I started up the beach, 'We've got something to show you girls.'
'Okay but make it quick.' I was feeling lightheaded after a few drinks and wanted nothing more than a reunion with my bed.
David handed a wine bottle to Star and she took a drink before passing it to me. More alcohol was the last thing I wanted but I took a sip, hoping I'd be able to leave soon. The wine had a strange taste, neither pleasant nor unpleasant.
'Okay?' I was slightly confused, 'I'll see you guys soon.'
'Izzy.' David's tone stopped me. I hadn't had many conversations with him but when we had spoken he'd been nice enough. However, there were times when his authority intimidated me and this was one of them. 'We have something to show you.'
I was becoming increasingly conscious of the time but seated myself on the sand between Star and Marko.
'I'm sorry, girls, but we've been keeping a pretty big secret from you.' David started, 'We're not what you think we are.'
'What do you mean?' Star voiced my thoughts as images of violent gang initiations ran through my head and my heartrate increased.
'You'll understand soon and then you'll be one of us.'
'Stop screwing around, David. I have a home to go to.' I hoped my tone didn't betray the fear I was feeling.
'That wine has changed you into one of us.'
Star was becoming visibly scared and I could feel my hands shaking but I tried to keep my face impassive as David looked to Dwayne for elaboration.
'We party all night, sleep all day and never grow old.' Dwayne began. 'We're vampires.'
'Are you drunk?' I would have laughed if I wasn't so shaky. There was some relief to knowing that David had either had too much to drink or had planned some joke with the guys.
Star screamed and I followed her eyeline to see David staring at us. But it wasn't David, or not the David I'd been used to seeing. His canines had elongated into fangs and his eyes were demonic. Everything was true.
I didn't have time to register my thoughts before my flight response kicked in and I was running up the beach. I didn't make it ten feet before Marko grabbed me around the waist and swung me into the sand. As I lay trapped in Marko's arms, trying to escape their strength, the same thoughts rebounded in my head: I had spent the past five months with monsters; the stories my brothers so strongly believed in were true and I had been pulled into them; the prospect of a happy new year was gone, replaced by a tunnel of bleak uncertainty. David had said that Star and I would become like them and suddenly I knew what had been in that bottle. I knew what that strange metallic taste in Marko's mouth had been…Blood.
