3 hours earlier
I didn't need to see her to know which direction she was walking. Her scent and the sound of branches breaking under her feet was enough to lead me in the right direction.
The moon hung high in the sky and illuminated the tree branches, creating shadows that danced across the forest floor. I hung back, moving silently in the shadows. Then she stopped. The cracking of twigs under her feet ceased, and everything was silent.
If I listed closely I could hear the thump of her heartbeat, calm and steady. The sound of Sandy's voice breaks the silence of the night.
"I know following behind me silently must bring you some kind of pleasure, but trust me it's not that fun when the person knows they are being followed. It just makes you seem like a stalker."
"How does that make me a stalker?" I ask as I emerge slowly from the shadows.
She starts walking again and I fall in step beside her before she answers. "Well let me see, its two in the morning and your following me deep into the woods without making your presence known" she looks up at me and says "that seems like stalker-ish behavior to me.
A smile plays at the corner of my mouth, but still I change the subject "so, how did you know I was here"
She makes a sound between a laugh and a scoff and says "please, I knew you were going to be following me before I left the house."
"I don't know about you" I say mimicking her "but knowing my exact movements before I make them seems like stalker-ish behavior to me."
She smiles up at me "touché" she says.
I survey the woods and see nothing but trees for as far as I can see. "so" I ask "are you going to tell me where we are going, or am I going to have to wait and see?"
Sandy breaks eye contact with me and stares straight ahead. She is silent for a long time. Finally she answers "Home."
"I didn't know you live around her" I gesture to the woods
"I don't" she says "or at least, I haven't in a long time" her voice is flat, emotionless. I keep quiet and wait for her to go on. It's a long time before she speaks and when she does her voice is just above a whisper.
"12 years" she says "it's been 12 years since I last stepped foot in that house" she tries to keep her words steady and emotionless, but I can hear the fear in her voice.
"What happened? Sandy" I ask her "what is it that has you so terrified"
"You know what happened" she snaps at me "they came in, killed my family I didn't even get there until after the fact and well… you know the rest"
I grab hold of arm and make her look at me. "No Sandy, what really happened?"
She juts out her chin and keeps on walking "that's what happened" she raises her right hand "girl scouts honor"
I stop walking and take hold of her shoulders and when she refuses to look at me I take hold of her chin. "I'm asking you to trust me Sandy"
Her eyes are still cast down at her feet, despite my fingers under her chin. "Please" I say feeling desperate.
She puts her hand over her mouth, closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and begins.
"It was Christmas eve twelve years ago. I was only nine. There had been a huge blizzard the night before and my little sister Julia, my older brother Robert, and I had spent the entire afternoon playing in the snow.
Robert didn't want to, he was almost 13 and said he was too old, but all it took was a snowball down his back and he was hooked. Little Julie and I made snow angels and Robert showed me how to build a fort. It was almost dusk by the time we went back inside." Her face was lit up in a smile as she continued
"We were cold and completely soaked, and the second we stepped foot in the house I could smell the cookies we had made for Santa earlier that morning. Oatmeal raisin, Robby's favorite.
Mom and dad were dancing in front of the fire, "silent night" was playing and they just swayed in each other's' arms. It was so beautiful we just stood in the doorway and watched. When they saw us dad turned on "jingle bell rock" by bobby helms. Still in our coats and dripping all over the carpet we danced. Julia and I with dad; and Robby with mom"
She stopped for a moment her smile gone as a single tear fell down her cheek, after taking a deep breath she continued.
"I was supposed to be asleep, Robert and Julia were but Robert had told me Santa wasn't real and I wanted to prove him wrong so I went downstairs, snuggled under a blanket on the couch and waited.
I was just about to fall asleep when I saw the handle of the front door move; I thought it was Santa trying to get in. I didn't want him to see me so I took my blanket and hid under the stairs, but I made sure the little door was opened a crack so I could see."
Sandy bit her lip and another tear rolled don't her cheek "it wasn't Santa" she said her voice cracking.
I pulled her close to and her face was pressed up against my chest, her voice was muffled but I could still hear her.
"Julia's and Roberts screams woke mom and dad. Daddy came out with a baseball bat but they were so fast, and there was so much blood". She was shaking all over now, I stroked her hair and tried to keep her calm but she was sobbing now.
"I watched the men sink there fangs into mom and daddy's necks, and then they killed them. While I watched, I watched them die"
She looked up at me, her face wet with her tears. "To this day I still hear them, Duncan every time I fall asleep I hear my little sisters screams"
She continued to sob and I just held her, I stroked her back and whispered to her for what felt like forever, which was okay. Holding her just felt right.
"And then, you know what happened next"
"You said you weren't even there that night, that you had spent the night at your friends and the cops broke the news to you in the morning." I said feeling a little hurt "why lie to me?"
"It wasn't a lie" she said "not really"
I gave her a look, and she sighed. "It wasn't really a lie because that what I have been telling myself for the past 12 years.
"I thought that if I told everyone that's what happened, if I told myself that's what happened, that it would make it true."
"But why" I ask, not quite understanding.
"Because" Sandy answers sounding exasperated "I didn't want to remember. I don't want the image of my parents bleeding to death imprinted into my mind. So I told myself I never saw it, that I wasn't even there.
But every time I fall asleep. Every time I close my eyes I see them." she cringes "I hear them".
Neither of us speaks for a long time, not knowing what to say; so we don't say anything.
I pull her to me and kiss her. I taste the salt from her tears on her lips. I pull back a bit and look into her eyes and say softly "I am so sorry". I feel her reply on my lips "so am I"
For the longest time I just hold her. The trees sway around us. An owl hoots in the distance. And I just hold her.
After a while we start walking again and I ask her what I'v been wondering since she told me where we were going. "So why now? Why go home now?"
"For years I'v been running, hiding from them, and I always end up returning to Violet Hill and I have never understood why."
As she talks I'm captivated by the way she brushes a single dark curl away from her face and the delicate way her mouth moves.
"But now I think I get it" she continues a wistful look in her eyes. "Did you know that in the twelve years they have been dead not once have I visited their graves?"
I say nothing and wait for her to continue.
"I'v been haunted by that night for more years than I care to count, but at least it's a memory; as horrible as it is, I still feel like they are still with me.
It took me a while to realize this but those are not the memories I want, when I think of my family I don't want the first thing I think of to be the sound of their screams."
Sandy looks as if she wants to cry but doesn't have any tears left to do it, so she smiles
I want to remember how my dad used to make me laugh, and how my mom used to sing while she made breakfast. I want to remember how my brother used to tell me stories about pirates and fair maidens." Her voice cracks as she adds "and how my little sister used to climb into bed with me when she had a bad dream and couldn't sleep"
More tears were sliding down her face but she doesn't seem to notice "I'v had twelve years of only remembering the horrible things and I guess I want to go home because maybe that will help me remember some of the good things.
She wipes her hand across her face and collects her tears. She looks into my eyes and says "I don't want to forget my family".
"You won't" I say "not if I can help it"
She smiles "good" she says. And I smile with her. It feels good to see her smile after all those tears. Now if only I could keep it there.
Sandy points up ahead "there it is". We had been walking for a while now and I could see we had traveled quite a ways.
We are standing on high ground and below us in the distance I see a small house. It looks more like a log cabin than a house. As soon as Sandy see's it she starts to run, I follow her.
But she is going too fast and because we are on a slope gravity takes hold of her and she falls. I leap and land on top of her and still we continue to roll downhill. I keep her close to my chest and try to absorb most of the fall. Head over heels we tumble down the side of the slope. Finally when we reach the bottom of the hill we stop, she is on top of me.
We are both quiet for a moment before we both laugh, we laugh so hard it has our sides start hurting. We laugh so long we both end up crying, until finally we stop.
We are lying side by side facing each other. Sandy reaches over and pulls a twig from my hair and smiles. I pull a leaf from hers and do the same.
She trails her finger down the side of my jaw and kisses me softly on the lips. We are covered in leaves and twigs. We both smell faintly of dirt and I am sore all over from our fall, but I don't care. Nothing else matters. Nothing but her.
After a while, we get up slowly and head for the house hand in hand, brushing the dirt and leaves off our clothes.
When we get to the door, Sandy hesitates before opening it. A little WD40 wouldn't do any harm since it creaked the whole way open; creating a menacing feeling in the air.
It's darker in the house than it is outside, but you can see the moon outside the window; it creates a sliver of light which illuminates the room.
I look over to see Sandy observing the room. It is completely empty stripped of all character, no couch, No picture frames, even the fireplace looks like it hasn't been lit in years. Sandy walks slowly into the room running her hand along the wall.
"Well, well, well." We hear the voice of a man break the silence. "Look who we have here, Sandra sweetheart. Long time no see."
I move with lightning speed and push Sandy behind me as we see the shadow of a man come from the shadows.
"Christof" Sandy says in a menacing voice close to a growl "what do you want?"
"What no hello for your dear old dad?" the man didn't look old enough to be her father. Strait sandy blond hair hung over a face that didn't look a day over 30.
"You are not my father" Sandy said venomously. This time it was a growl.
The Christof looked thoughtful before answering "no I suppose not although I did have the pleasure of getting a taste of him."
"Shut up" said Sandy voice just above a whisper
"He had a good taste, don't get me wrong he just had a little too much fight in him, if you know what I mean" Christof smiled maliciously.
"Shut up" Sandy repeated voice growing in volume
"Now that I think about it" Christof started "he probably fought so much for you brats, that and to protect your mommy" he was baiting her now, trying to get her riled up, and it was working
"Shut up" Sandy said again. She was almost shouting.
Christof continued "it was your little sister that was the sweetest though" I felt sandy stiffen beside me "she called out for you; you know. While I killed her, it was so cute she thought you could save her." A smirk played on his lips and he started to laugh.
"I SAID SHUT UP" sandy screamed as she lunged for him. Tears of anger were streaming down her cheeks. I held her back, but she fought to get free. A part of me wanted to let her go, so that she could do some real damage to him, but she might get hurt trying. That wasn't something I was willing to risk. But I on the other hand would be more than happy to do it for her.
Christof looked at me as if noticing me for the first time. "Who do we have here?" when we say nothing Christof continues; "oh I see little Sandra has found herself a boyfriend."
"Aww isn't that sweet you think you can protect her don't you? yes well I'm sure you will have a fun time trying." I felt my fangs slide out of my gums angrily. I bare them at him.
"Oh even better, you've found yourself a vampire. Star-crossed lovers; like Romeo and Juliet. A vampire and a human. Another thing I love about Romeo and Juliet; the ending was just wonderful. Christof smiled showing his fangs. I kept a tight grip on Sandy keeping her close while trying to slide my other hand into my boot to get my stake without him noticing.
Christof's smile vanishes. "I wouldn't do that if I were you boy"
"And why not?" I ask sarcastically.
He pulls out a lighter and points to the ground "that is why"
I look to my feet and see that I'm stepping in liquid, I lift up my foot and see that its gasoline. It covers the entire room. When I look up, Christof flips the lighter on. "You move, I drop this, we all go BOOM. You don't believe me? This cabin is wood; it will go up in flames faster than you can say "you suck".
I turn towards the door and see two goons blocking the way, baring their fangs at me.
"You wouldn't" sandy points out "you would die too"
Are you willing to bet your boyfriends life that I'm bluffing? Christof asks. When Sandy doesn't say anything he says "thought so".
"What do you want?" sandy asks
"In short" Christof answers "you"
Now I stiffen, if he thinks he's going touch a hair on her head he is sorely mistaken.
"I'll tell you what, if you come with us and your boyfriend promises not to follow we will let you both live, but if lover boy here tries to pull something, you both die" christof says.
"As tempting as that is…no deal" I say
"Alright" Christof says as the lighter slips from his hands
"Okay" sandy shouts. Christof catches it just before it hits the ground. "Good answer"
"Now why don't you"- Christof was interrupted by a blade slicing through the air and hitting his shoulder" the lighter falls through the air, I lunge and catch it just in time; I close it and shove it in my pocket.
Turns out sandy had it stashed the knife in her pocket for emergencies. Unfortunately she missed the heart. But I was more than happy to finish the job for her. I took great pleasure in shoving my stake through his heart.
When I turned around it looked as if sandy had taken care of the two goons with no problem, considering there were two identical piles of ash on the ground.
That is until I saw the stake.