Darren could feel his heart beating solidly in his chest and it was the only thing reminding him that he was still alive. The air had rushed from his lungs and his legs felt like jello. His eyes were exhausted but he refused to allow himself to go to bed. Because Steve was dying.
He was dying and Darren was the only one who could do something about it. So the teen zipped up his coat, pulled the hood up, and went out his bedroom window as quietly as any vampire.
That Crepsley guy must have a cure. No one kept a spider that dangerous around unless he had some anti-venom on hand in case of accidents. It made common sense but Darren still wasn't sure. He crept through the town, trying to avoid the main roads in order to stay away from the police.
Finally, he found himself in front of the old theatre but he didn't dare go in. Crepsley would most likely kill him the second he stepped inside so he waited until the first light of dawn before he went through the door. It was clear that the Cirque had moved on. Darren wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing but regardless it left the entire place feeling empty and old. Everything creaked. And dust drifted down from the ceiling.
It felt haunted. Or maybe that was just him.
He crept slowly and determinedly down the stairs to the basement to where he had last seen Crepsley's stuff. Luckily, the man was still there even though he'd already taken back his spider. He could see the cage in the corner on a rickety looking table. And next to that was a small box. Darren opened it immediately and began rooting around. There were many clear bottles with different kinds of liquid inside of them. None of them had any labels so he shut the box and grabbed the entire thing.
But he didn't leave the room just yet. There was a good chance that Crepsley had removed the anti-venom in case Darren came back. What would he do if he was Crepsley? He'd keep the anti-venom on him until he left town. Darren glared at the closed coffin and went back upstairs and outside to make a phone call.
00000
Alan had been a little confused as to why Darren was asking for his mother's taser but he responded to his friend's SOS anyway. He grabbed his bike, the taser stuffed into his back pocket, and pedaled to the abandoned theatre as quickly as he could. His friend was standing outside, hands stuffed into a black Dickie's coat, and looking at the pink sky.
"Hey," Alan said, braking hard.
"Hey."
"How's Stevie?" he asked, pushing his glasses back up his nose. Darren looked exhausted.
"Dying," Darren told him coldly.
"Are you going to do something about it?" Alan asked. Steve had told both Alan and Tommy about the spider Darren had lifted from some crazy homeless man. Now Alan was wondering what Darren was going to do about the exotic, deadly, and missing spider.
"Yes," the other boy mumbled. "Taser?"
"Here." Alan snatched it from his pocket and slapped it into Darren's hand firmly. Darren eyed it as if he really didn't want to do whatever it was he was about to do but he was going through with it anyway.
"Thanks," Darren said. "You should go home Alan."
"Okay," Alan said. He'd been friends with Darren too long to bother arguing with him about police and being safe. He just picked up his bike again and prepared to ride back home before his mom woke up and he got in trouble.
"And Alan," Darren said causing him to turn his head towards the other boy. "If you don't hear from me by tomorrow will you send the cops here?"
"Okay," Alan promised, then hopped on his bike and left. Darren was up to something. Probably something really bad. Definitely something illegal. Alan didn't want to be a part of it.
00000
Darren made his way back to where Crepsley was sleeping about as quietly as he had the first time. He'd hidden the box in the bushes out back in case he had to abandon the mission and run. He would be able to circle back later and retrieve it under the safety of the sun.
He took a deep, calming breath that didn't actually do anything and opened the coffin lid before he could chicken out. Crepsley was sleeping, his mouth slightly open, and his hands in loose fists. At least, Darren thought he was sleeping. He didn't give the man the time to realize that something was wrong. He simply opened the coffin lid and stabbed the man's chest with the taser, sending 7 million volts of electricity through the vampire.
Crepsley screamed and jerked so violently that he tipped the coffin off its stand and sent both himself and his creepy bed to the hard concrete floor. Darren jumped out of the way in time to avoid being flattened by both vampire and coffin. Crepsley lay on the floor, his legs pinned, and tried to pull himself back together. He would recover much quicker than a human would, but hopefully it would give Darren enough time.
"Where is the cure?" he snarled, anger bubbling to the forefront of his exhausted and still stunned brain. If he was ever going to hate someone it would be this man.
"What?" Crepsley gasped from the floor still very much in pain.
Darren let rage pour through him and stepped forward. He pressed the taser to the man's arm and sent another round of voltage through him. He only had one, maybe two, shocks left before it died. It would have to be enough.
Crepsley screwed up his face in pain but didn't cry out.
"Anti-venom! Now!" Darren screamed.
"Are you insane?" Crepsley snapped. "What the hell are you doing?"
"That stupid spider bit Steve! How do I save him?" Darren wasn't sure what he looked like but he was sure it was somewhere close to deranged. Because Crepsley didn't seem to want deal with him anymore. He just wanted him to go away.
"Here," he said and slowly reached back into the cloak and pulled out a vial. "Get this into his bloodstream and he will be just fine." The vampire sounded calm but it wasn't a real calm. It was the type of calm someone had when they were talking someone off of a cliff. Darren reached out wondering if Crepsley was going to try something and snatched the vial out of his cold hands.
The second his fingers closed securely around the glass he ran. He ran faster than he ever had before and he didn't feel safe until after he'd managed to sneak into Steve's room with a hypodermic needle and emptied the vial into his friend's IV.
Despite not having slept the night before Darren couldn't even contemplate closing his eyes when he laid in bed that night. He was terrified that Crepsley was going to come through the window, even though it was locked, and kill him. He wondered if this was the stuff phobias were made of.
00000
A week later Darren still wasn't sleeping well and he hadn't worked up the courage to go back to the theatre and pick up the abandoned box. He wasn't sure if Crepsley had moved on and he couldn't bring himself to ask someone else to check. Steve had left the hospital and was due back at school any day now but Darren hadn't managed to see him either. They had talked on the phone but Darren hadn't told him anything substantial. It was probably better if Steve believed that it was the doctors that saved him.
Everything in town seemed to be going smoothly despite the fact that Darren was slowly falling to pieces. Eventually he would just have to go back. He picked a particularly sunny afternoon to go by the theatre and see what was what. The place felt as haunted as ever but Darren knew the quiet was deceiving.
He slowly made his way down the concrete steps but stopped when he heard voices. He didn't dare go closer and he didn't dare retreat either. He even tried to hold his breath but the resulting gasp was s a little loud so he settled on breathing normally.
"I still don't see why you won't just leave with me," said a voice Darren didn't know.
"Because Gavner I am not done here."
"What could you possibly have to still do? The Cirque left weeks ago."
"It was not weeks ago and I told you-"
"You aren't done here."
"If you must know," Crepsley said, "I am still here because I am looking for something I lost."
"Lost?" Gavner asked incredulously. "Since when do you lose things?"
There was a very peculiar silence and Darren wondered if Crepsley was going to answer.
"Unless it's not lost but stolen." Gavner sounded as if he was trying his best not to laugh very hard and very loudly. Darren didn't know what they were talking about. Crepsley already had Octa. He should have already left town. Unless this was all about the box still hidden in the bushes outside.
"Gavner," Crepsley started, a bit of warning in his tone but Darren didn't hear anything after that. He was grabbed roughly from behind and pushed forward so forcefully that he fell down the rest of the stairs and rolled right into the room. Once he had shaken the dizziness from his head he slowly, cautiously, looked up.
"This one belong to you?" The voice came from behind him and Darren whirled around to see a rather tough looking woman in the doorway. Her clothes were too big and she probably hadn't bathed in a long while. Her hair was black and pulled into a ponytail.
He also managed to get a look at the person Crepsley had been talking to. Gavner was a little stocky with brown hair and a lot of scars. Darren believed in that moment that it had been a mistake to come here.
"No Arra," Crepsley said. "He does not."
"Then who is he?" Gavner asked. Crepsley didn't answer for a long moment and it occurred to Darren that he might be embarrassed about what had happened a week ago. Darren didn't blame him. He didn't like to be laughed at either.
"Come to steal something else?" Crepsley asked Darren, ignoring the other two. He didn't sound angry or curious or anything really. He might even be stalling. Darren shook his head.
"No," he said. "Just wanted to see if you were gone."
"Why?" Crepsley pressed. Darren didn't answer. He couldn't think of anything to say so he just sat on the floor trying to seem small. Maybe they'd take pity?
"Where is my box?"
"What box?" Darren asked, instinctively playing dumb. Crepsley's eyes narrowed. Darren couldn't see Arra but Gavner looked as if he was going to start laughing. In fact, he looked downright amused.
"Larten, did the kid steal your box?" he asked teasingly but Crepsley didn't bother to answer. He looked sharply at him. Darren felt Arra grab his shoulder and roughly pulled him from the floor to stand on his feet.
"Did you take it?" she snarled, spinning him around to face her head on.
"What's it to you?" he snarled back, instantly regretting it. This probably wasn't a person to tempt.
"I don't like thieves," she hissed and punched him in the gut. It hurt. He had been punched before but never that hard. He doubled over, his knees buckled, and his eyes watered but he was able to hold back a scream. Alan's taser was still in his jacket pocket, now fully charged, but Arra wasn't close enough. She'd see it coming a mile away.
"Arra!" Crepsley said loudly.
"What? Do you want the box back or not?" she replied, unconcerned about the fact that Darren was both human and a child. She could easily kill him.
"Do not kill him." Crepsley's command didn't comfort Darren all that much. There was so much that could be done to him that wouldn't kill him.
He had to get out of there. If he could just make it to the front door he'd be able to step into the sun and lose them. After that, he had no idea what to do. It was only a few hours until sundown which meant that if he managed to get out of the theatre he would only be safe for a short while. But first: escape.
He sucked in a few deep mouthfuls of air and managed to pull himself to his feet. He stumbled towards the wall and used it to prop himself up. Angling his body away from the vampires he slid his hand into his coat pocket, brought out the taser, and held it close to him, finger on the trigger.
"Well, at least he isn't weak," Arra said a bit snidely. Darren counted her approaching footsteps. After four he whipped around and jammed the taser into her thigh sending the electricity through her. She screamed and fell, twitching on the floor. Darren didn't stick around after that and ran full pelt towards the stairs.
He heard pounding feet on the stairs behind him and whipped around to meet the chasing vampire head on. Gavner managed to tackle him without being hit by the taser. The vampire ripped it from his hand and threw it against the wall so hard that it shattered. He wondered how he would explain that to Alan.
"Let me go!" Darren shouted as Gavner frog marched him back to the room by his neck.
"I don't think so," the man said and pushed him forward. Darren stumbled but kept his feet under him. But he wasn't left alone for long. Crepsley grabbed him by his coat and pinned him to the wall. His twisted face inches from Darren's own. His breath stunk and Darren could see the man's scar much too clearly for his comfort.
"I really do hate that taser," he snarled. Darren's eyes darted around. Arra was still on the ground but she had managed to sit up. She looked incredibly angry.
"I don't," Darren told him. Crepsley eyed him. It was an assessing sort of look that Darren didn't much like. The vampire took his hands off the coat and placed them casually on the wall by Darren's head. Darren was still pinned to the spot just not physically.
"I want my box back Darren," Crepsley said slowly and quietly. "And I am not leaving without it."
"Then I guess you aren't leaving."
Crepsley slammed his fist into the concrete by his left ear so quickly that Darren hadn't seen the man even move his hand. But he felt the wall crack and he felt the dust on his face. He flinched away violently but Crepsley's other hand hadn't moved so he didn't have far to go.
"I can not tell if you are incredibly brave or just tremendously stupid," the vampire said. Darren didn't answer and he was too scared to look at the vampire. "If I do not have my box, soon, you will pay dearly."
"Define soon," Darren said. It came out as a demand and he knew it was a bad idea but Crepsley didn't react.
"Tomorrow night," the vampire responded and his hands lifted as he stepped away. Crepsley pointed towards the door. "Leave."
Darren didn't need to be told twice. He took off and was outside in no time at all. The afternoon sun on his face felt great. He went to the bushes, grabbed the box, and then left as quickly as he could.
He didn't dare take the box to his house so he went to Steve's. His mom wasn't home so the two boys spent the rest of the night in the living room. Darren told Steve everything from the time Madam Octa had bitten him to ringing Steve's doorbell. His friend didn't say much but he didn't seem overly impressed with Darren either.
"You're an idiot," Steve said. "There's only so much you can do to this guy before he decides you're better off dead. Then he'll probably eat you."
"I know," Darren mumbled. "What should I do?"
"Can I see the box?" Steve asked. Darren handed it to him. It wasn't anything special. A simple box: four small pieces of wood and a hinge. The wood wasn't even stained. Darren had made something similar in shop class once. Steve investigated it thoroughly. He took out each and every vial and examined those as well.
"Who is Gavner?" he asked suddenly and Darren started. He hadn't told Steve the names of the two other vampires. He didn't think Steve needed to know.
"What?"
Steve held up the empty box and Darren could see a small etching in the bottom. From Gavner. It was crude writing as if from a child. Was that why Crepsley wanted the box so bad? Sentiment? Darren hadn't thought him the type.
"Who's Gavner?" Steve asked again.
"He was in the room with Crepsley," Darren said. "Maybe they're family?"
"If they are you can use that," Steve told him but Darren just looked at him. "Use it against him."
"There's no reason for that Steve," Darren snapped. "I'll just give him his box back and he'll leave."
"Or you'll give him the box back and he'll kill you."
Darren hadn't considered that. He should have, of course. The thought filled him with dread. Crepsley would definitely have it in him to kill him once he got what he wanted.
"What are these vials?" Steve asked, distracting Darren from his morbid realization.
"I don't know," he shrugged. "Potions maybe. Alcohol. Who cares?"
"They're probably worth something."
"To who? Professor Snape?" Darren snapped. "Just put them back."
"No," Steve insisted, "we should use these as leverage."
"That's stupid."
"Darren, this guy is going to kill you," Steve snapped. There was something dark in his eyes that Darren had never seen before and it worried him a little. Steve was probably still mad at Crepsley for refusing to blood him. They hadn't talked about it even though Steve knew Darren had been there. "We have to get him out of the way."
"You want to hunt a vampire?" Darren asked jokingly but Steve didn't smile. He reached over the side arm of the couch and opened the drawer to the end table. His hand shuffled about and then he placed a gun on the coffee table between them. Darren didn't know how to respond. How had Steve even gotten a gun?
"That's exactly what we're going to do," Steve said. "You should call Tommy and Alan. We're going to need some help."
00000
Alan had been a little angry at the fact that Darren had broken his mother's taser. He would now have to find a way to wiggle out of trouble. Tommy was annoyed that the only thing Alan cared about was the taser and not the vampire. The two of them hadn't questioned Steve and Darren on their claim of an actual vampire camping out in the theatre. They were those kind of friends.
Their plan to take care of Crepsley and his two friends was perhaps a little ambitious but Darren couldn't think of anything better. He didn't want to give Crepsley the opportunity to come back later once he started regretting the decision not to kill the kid who caused all that trouble.
So there he was, standing outside the theatre in the setting sun with the stolen box clutched to his chest. He waited until almost dark and then set the box down on the steps and ran across the street to where Tommy was waiting in his Dad's car. Tommy was two years away from driving legally but that didn't seem to matter to him much. Or to his parents even.
Darren got into the front seat. The two friends watched idly as Gavner came out of the theatre and picked up the box. He went back inside without opening it. Tommy grabbed the two-way radio in the cup holder and pressed down the talk button.
"They took the box inside," he said.
"Good," Steve replied immediately.
A few minutes later the door burst open and Crepsley stood there in a rage. He'd discovered that the box had been emptied. Darren grabbed the root beer bottle by his feet and lit the rag dangling out of the top with a BIC lighter. Tommy started the car, the roar of the engine and the headlights coming to life caught Crepsley's attention instantly. The car whipped onto the road and Darren threw the bottle out of the window as hard as he could. It landed at the side of stairs where the dry weeds instantly went up into flames. Crepsley ran back inside to warn his two friends that the building was on fire.
By the time the car reached the end of the block, the flames were creeping up the wall. Darren took the radio.
"Call the fire department," he said. "It worked."
"Got it," Alan said.
As they travelled out of town, they were passed by two firetrucks and an ambulance going to the other way, sirens screaming, and lights flashing.
"Darren," Tommy said.
"Yeah."
"Are you sure this is the way to go?" he asked. Darren gave him a hard look. He knew his friend wasn't talking about the direction they were driving in but a different kind of direction entirely.
"Little late to be asking that question, isn't it?"
"I know," Tommy said and didn't say anything else until they reached a children's park at the very edge of town. The only redeeming quality about this park was the paintball field in the northern pasture. It wasn't officially for paintball but that's what people used it for. There was even a blind in one tree that they had set up in for the night.
Steve and Alan were both inside. Alan had two laptops open on a couple of overturned crates they used as a table. Steve was in a chair, night vision binoculars pressed to his eyes as he scanned the trees.
"How long to do you think?" Darren asked quietly gazing out into the dark field.
"I'm in the system," Alan told him, typing away. Alan was the hacker of the town. There wasn't a system he hadn't managed to get into yet. But ever since the FBI had shown up one morning he was usually very careful about which systems he actually used. "You guys changed all the lights right?"
"Duh," Steve said. "Cost an arm and a leg too."
"Where'd you get the money?" Tommy asked.
"I've been stealing from my mother for years," Steve said lightly. "You'd be surprised by what I have stashed away." Tommy gave a half-hearted chuckle but Alan and Darren couldn't quite work themselves up to it. It didn't seem right.
"Fire department is reporting that the fire is under control. There appeared to be signs of someone living inside but they can't find anyone," Alan blurted after several minutes of silence, one hand pressing to the ear bud running from his left ear to the computer.
"Perfect," Steve said, looking pleased. He stood and handed the binoculars to Tommy. "Let's go." He and Darren climbed back down from the blind and went to the exact middle of the field. The town had put up field lighting years ago in anticipation of sanctioned night time matches, usually with churches. But they were off for now.
Steve held his gun loosely in his hands and Darren was clutching a small bag filled with Crepsley's vials. It didn't take the vampire and his friends long to figure out where they were. They had purposely not even tried to cover their tracks. Steve said they would do it wrong so it was pointless to try, plus the whole idea was to get Crepsley in the open.
However, Darren was having doubts about this plan. There wasn't really a way for it to end well for them. He was quite certain that Steve hadn't planned for anything past shooting Crepsley in the head. He wondered if there was a way to back out.
When the vampires came into view they didn't appear to be very happy. However, it wasn't until they were standing directly in front of them that Darren could see their actual expressions. Arra looked murderous; Gavner, no longer humorous, looked stoic and a bit blank; Crepsley looked frustrated. Darren had never seen Crepsley look frustrated and he was curious as to why the man wasn't angry instead. If the roles had been reversed Darren would probably be looking more like Arra.
"That was very cute," Crepsley said with a strange calm. "But I am failing to see the point."
"Really?" Steve asked sarcastically. "I think the point is a bit obvious."
"Hardly," Gavner responded. Either Arra was past speaking or she just didn't care. Her eyes were trained on Steve's hands. She probably suspected their motives.
"Well, then we'll spell it out. We take everything and you, well, die." Gavner laughed and Ara snarled taking a step forward as if to grab him. Steve fired the gun without ever moving it away from his body. The bullet slammed into the ground stopping Arra cold and allowing him the time to bring it up and aim. The sound of the gunshot echoed loudly through the field and Darren was starting to regret this. Arra stepped back and Crepsley's mouth pulled into a hard line. Darren felt like peeing. Apparently, he had a nervous bladder.
"That seems like a half-thought out plan," Crepsley told him. Everyone was ignoring Darren and he was sort of okay with that. He even managed to put a good foot of space between him Steve. "We have no quarrel with any of you. I just want what belongs to me." Steve perked an eyebrow. Darren had seen this type of expression before. It was the look he got when he had decided to be fair. It usually meant someone was going to get their head slammed in a locker. He wondered what that look would mean here.
Steve opened his mouth, probably to say something, but Crepsley interrupted him. He moved so fast that Darren wasn't sure if he even had moved but instead simply teleported on top of Steve. Crepsley pinned him to the ground and the gun went flying away into the tall grass by some tires. Darren didn't even get the chance to cry out in concern before Arra was on top of him, knees pressing painfully into his shoulders as she tore the bag from his grasp.
Then the lights came on.
It didn't have an immediate effect but only took a half minute or so before Arra started to look uncomfortable. Another minute and Arra was starting to turn pink. By the third minute she was in pain and then there was screaming. It was hers. Her skin started to turn red. Darren pushed her off easily. Steve managed to do the same to Crepsley and Gavner was trying to crawl his way off the field and out of the light.
Arra ran slamming into a tree when she reached the edge. Gavner stumbled after.
Crepsley was attempting to get his feet under him but Steve simply kicked him back down.
"UV lights," Steve said. "Rigged to have three times the amount of the UV of the sun. Perfect for vampire hunting."
He kicked Crepsley again. Darren sat in the dirt, on his knees wondering what Steve was planning on doing. He watched his friend walk away from the vampire, calm as could be and find his gun. Crepsley looked in pain. His skin was starting to burn. Part of it was even starting to bubble.
The vampire caught Darren's eye. There were tears in his eyes and he would not look away. Darren felt something as he watched the man's skin start to burn off.
"Let's go Steve!" he shouted as he leapt to his feet and started towards his friend.
"One last thing," Steve replied. He held the gun loosely and confidently. And then he shot Crepsley in the leg. Crepsley screamed.
"Larten!" Arra screamed from the side, but there was nothing either of them could do. This wasn't what Darren had envisioned in his head. He had just wanted Crepsley to leave town. But Steve wanted revenge and he wanted it to be slow.
"Steve stop!" Darren shouted and this time Steve actually looked at him.
"Stop what?" he asked. "Stop killing the monster that wanted to kill my best friend."
"We have to go!" Darren pleaded.
"I'm not done yet," Steve snarled and shot Crepsley in the shoulder. The vampire screamed again. He wasn't going to last much longer. Darren made a split second decision and ran towards Steve, flying off the ground and tackling him to the ground. He punched the boy hard in the face, once, twice, and once more unil Steve lay limp. He grabbed at Steve's coat and pulled out the radio.
"Turn off the lights!" he shouted.
"Are you insane?" Tommy shouted back. "Kill him!"
"Turn off the lights!"
The lights went off a split second later and he breathed a small sigh of relief. Until he heard footsteps. He grabbed the gun from Steve's limp fingers and brought it up to meet the fast approaching Gavner and Arra. They halted at Crepsley's side and eyed him. Darren looked down. Crepsley was either unconscious or dead but Darren couldn't tell.
"Leave," he told them. They stared at him a little blankly. "Go!"
Gavner grabbed Crepsley and threw him over one shoulder. And then they were gone.
00000
Darren was pretty sure that he had lost all of his friends. Steve was back in school but he refused to talk him and Tommy was just plain ignoring him. Alan spared him a sad smile or two but Alan had always been a bit anti-social so Darren didn't much notice a change there.
He had gone back to the theatre but it was condemned now that half of it had been burned to a smouldering block of gray ash. Although, he was certain that the vampires had fled town. And even if he did come across one of them they would probably snap his neck before he get out the word, "Sorry".
But there wasn't much else he could do. He felt as if he really needed to talk to Crepsley. Darren still had the vials and for some reason it was pressing on his mind. He should try to give them back. He even called a few hospitals to see if anyone had come in with burns and gunshot wounds. The people on the other end had seemed a little concerned about the nature of his questions but they answered nonetheless. Crepsley wasn't anywhere and he really hadn't expected him to be.
So with that information, Darren spent the next few weeks holed up in his room searching every square centimeter of the county maps on his computer. If he was a mortally wounded vampire, where would he hide?
There were a few places. Abandoned buildings and such but nothing turned up. In between riding his bike to old farms and empty office buildings, Darren researched vampires. Steve had been doing this type of research for years and if he was going to find Crepsley first he was going to have to cram everything Steve knew into his own over exhausted brain. And once it seemed pointless he finally found them.
Some of the older, and perhaps wackier, legends he had dug up seemed to be determined to share one thing in common. Cemeteries. There was legend after legend of vampires rising from the grave at night and returning to the graves before dawn. Perhaps some vampires liked to camp in cemeteries?
The thought was creepy but fitting. So he started to look at cemeteries; particularly those that were less popular and had crypts. Crepsley would likely need a space in order to heal. He finally found Rucker's Cemetery. A place where the town's founders and their families were buried but had not been used since 1902. It had the minimal of care and Darren remembered that it was popular spot on Halloween. He had never been there though. It was only his first year of high school and freshmen were never invited to Rucker's.
"Where are you going?" Annie asked from the doorway just as Darren zipped up his backpack.
"Out," he said. "Will you be okay for a few hours?"
Their parents were out of town for a week or so trying to help some relative he'd never met with a dying husband or brother or something. Darren hadn't cared to listen when his mother had explained.
"I guess," Annie replied. "You know its illegal to leave an eight-year-old at home by herself."
"Oh is it?" Darren questioned playfully. Annie wasn't like most little girls. She was fiercely independent and she was unconcerned with such things as dolls and tea parties. She liked to play war games and had demanded to be put in archery classes over ballet. Their mother had been a little disappointed that Annie wouldn't ever follow in her footsteps but she loved her and so put up with it.
"Yes, it is," the girl smirked. "I may just have to report you to the proper parental authorities."
"Even if I bring back oatmeal cakes?" he asked, knowing she'd give on that. They were her favorite.
She looked at him critically as if thinking it over. Darren wasn't sure what she would be when she grew up. A general or a lawyer seemed a good fit, but Annie had always been one to surprise.
"Deal!" she said brightly. "Can I borrow some of your movies?"
"Nothing over PG-13," he said. "No nightmares tonight."
"That only happened once," she snapped and slapped the hand he ran through her hair. He laughed and left her in the house by herself, making sure everything was locked and the stove and stuff were off. Nobody had used them since yesterday when his parents had left but he wanted to make sure.
Riding his bike through the darkening street didn't fill him with the unease he thought it would. His pack was a little heavy with everything he'd stuffed in there but he ignored it. Rucker's wasn't far from his home. It was actually surrounded by golf courses and tri-levels. The city had grown up around the old bone yard and they had let the trees grow wild around it so they wouldn't have to look at tombstones and crypts as they putted on the 16th green.
Finding it was easy. The problem was that once he went inside, no one would see or hear anything if he got in trouble. Again. This was probably the worst idea he'd ever had. But he had ruined several lifelong friendships for this man. He might as well see the fruit of his work and make sure it hadn't been for nothing.
He walked along the rows towards the back where the crypts were. He had family members here. His mother's family, the Reynolds, had been a founding family of the town. He didn't know much about them other than their family crypt was here, same as all the other founding families. His father's family had come from Ireland during the potato famine. They'd all been poor and never did anything more remarkable than survive.
There were four crypts in the back: one for each family and it didn't take a genius to figure out which one they had holed up in. The flickering of candle light through the open door was a dead giveaway. He marched up to the crypt before he could lose his nerve and looked inside.
Crepsley was on the floor using a single blanket and some coats as bedding. He looked terrible but not as terrible as he had. Gavner was staring directly at Darren. He had probably heard him coming from a mile away. Arra was giving him a blank look. But there was another man there. He was old and dressed almost exactly like Crepsley usually did. He looked up as well.
"Hello," the old man said. "Who are you?"
"I'm Darren," he replied. He didn't dare take a step inside the crypt.
"Come in Darren," the man told him.
"No," Gavner snapped the second Darren's foot started to come off the ground. He froze. "He's the reason Larten is like this in the first place."
"Gavner," Crepsley broke in, his voice broken and hoarse. "It is alright."
"No, it's not," Gavner snapped.
"Gavner," the old man said harshly his voice powerful. Gavner immediately fell quiet. "Let us go wait outside; I believe we could all use a little fresh air." The other two followed the stranger without comment, brushing past Darren without a word. He went inside and watched as Crepsley sat up, leaning against the cool wall of someone's final resting place. He noted with some morose amusement that they had chosen Darren's family's crypt.
Darren took his pack off but didn't set it down. He clutched it to his chest. Crepsley looked at him expectantly.
"Um," he finally said after a few false starts. "Who's the old guy?"
"Seba," Crepsley said, amused. "He was my mentor."
"Oh," Darren said, not entirely sure what that meant. "I've been looking for you."
"Have you now?" Darren was certain he was being laughed at but he couldn't bring himself to feel mad. So he just nodded.
"Yeah," he mumbled. "I'm sorry. About what happened on the field. I didn't know Steve was going to do that. He said he was only going to make sure you went away."
"If you are so averse to being near me, then why did you seek me out?" Crepsley asked. His eyes were hard and Darren knew that if there was ever a time to be honest with Crepsley, this was it.
"Because this was my fault," he said. "I brought you something!" Crepsley watched him as he dug around in his pack. He finally found the thing he was looking for and held out two cans proudly.
"What is that?" the vampire asked.
"Chicken noodle soup," Darren replied enthusiastically. "This stuff makes everything feel better!"
"Thank you," Crepsley said but he sounded as if he was just trying to be polite. He probably thought Darren was insane.
"You're welcome," Darren replied, taking it for what it was. "I also brought your stuff. I still have all your vials."
"Thank you," Crepsley said and this time he sounded relieved. Darren passed them to him one by one and the vampire examined each carefully. He probably wanted to make sure everything was still there. "I would put them away but their proper box was lost in an unfortunate fire."
Darren blushed straight to the tip of his ears.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Did Gavner make that for you?"
"Yes," Crepsley said shortly, eyeing him in a way he hadn't before.
"Is he your son?"
"No."
Crepsley said it with such finality that Darren didn't press. But he did pull out a hand woven blanket his mother had made with yarn. It was simultaneously the itchiest and warmest blanket Darren had ever had. He handed it to the vampire and even pulled out a pillow from the bottom of his backpack.
The man looked grateful and arranged himself into a more comfortable position.
"You must be feeling very guilty," Crepsley said. Darren couldn't bring himself to smile, even a little. Crepsley was still burned, his skin was no longer that horrid red it had been but it was still scabbed and it looked painful. But he was healing fast. With some luck he wouldn't scar too badly, maybe just a patch here and there. "Why did you come here, Darren? Truly?"
"Steve isn't going to give up on killing you," Darren said, the words pouring from his mouth faster than he could truly think about them and then filter them. "He's targeted you and he's furious that I got in the way. You have to leave town the second you can and never come back."
"Steve is just a boy," Crepsley replied.
"He's already done this," Darren replied gesturing the injuries on the vampire. "Trust me when I tell you that the last place you want to be is here."
"And what about you? What is your friend going to do to you?"
"He'll start with my reputation and then he'll try to make me destroy myself. Steve plays games and he can be cruel."
"Why did you want to save this boy at all?" Crepsley asked.
"Because he was my friend," Darren responded without hesitation.
"You need better friends."
"Probably," he said, not offended in the least. "It doesn't really matter now. I can handle Steve."
"You can?" Crepsley asked and he sounded as if he was teasing Darren a little bit.
Darren smiled a little and looked down as if he suddenly had a secret to tell.
"There's a reason Steve used to keep me so close," Darren said. "I've had a few weeks to figure all that out."
"I can not promise you that Gavner will not go after him," Crepsley said.
"Gavner killing him would probably be the best for me," Darren said. "But he should really leave it all alone. You should take him and Arra and the nice old guy and just forget all about us."
"That sounds like a decent plan."
"Keep the blanket," Darren said and stood, grabbing his pack. "Bye, Mr. Crepsley."
"Good-bye Darren. Even in death may you be triumphant."
Darren thought the saying was nice and perhaps a little scary since he didn't actually want to die. He figured it was vampire thing. The other three weren't around when he stepped out. He took a deep breath and he felt so much better. He hoped this was the end to vampires in this town. There was no telling if Crepsley could control Gavner but he hoped he could.
"Reynolds watch over him," he whispered hoping at least one of his ancestors would hear him. After everything he'd done to that man the least he could do was make sure that the dead in his family's crypt would keep him from joining them. It was a bit of a sappy thought but it was nice.