AN: This is an EDITED VERSION of Chapter 2. Read on. Please. Refrain from Twilight comments
Well people, here's Chapter Two. Thanks for the subscriptions to favorites and such. They're lovely, really. But seriously, guys, I need REVIEWS. I need to know if this is even worthy enough to continue. Thanks!
Chapter Two
Next morning, Angela lounged around in bed, her eyes red and puffy. Her mother had gone down to the station to see over the details of her sister's death and Angela had flatly refused to go. Seeing her usually free spirited aunt lying on a cold metal slab… it sent shivers up Angela's spine. Her room, which was furnished with a king-size bed, a large bathroom, -complete with a huge bathtub that sunk into the floor and a shower- a smooth desk and a laptop computer on top, was- for no reason- depressingly dismal. Finally, she got up and slipped into the shower, letting the hottest water she could take run over her skin. Despite the heat however, Angela found herself shivering and felt liquid on her cheeks that had nothing to do with the water pouring across her face. She frantically wiped at her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself to keep from shaking. Finally, an hour later, she shut off the water and dressed simply in jeans and a black tank top, pulling her hair back into a simple ponytail and stumbled, almost blindly, down the stairs to the kitchen. She tried to eat a sandwich, but found that the stuff scratched her throat like sandpaper and eventually just threw it away. As she did so, her cell phone rang. Angela jumped at it, glad to have something to take her mind off of what had happened. The screen said there was a text message from Nayan. Angela flipped the phone open to read:
How are you doing?
Nayan always had to spell everything out. Angela sighed and after a moment, replied:
OK, I think. How bout you?
The reply came back less than 30 seconds later:
Uh, ok. Kerra wants to say hi.
HI!! How r u? Where r u? Aftr skewl we're coming ovr, k? Chrly 2. We'll
The message cut off there. In her minds eye, Angela could see Kerra fighting Nayan for the phone. She smiled slightly, the expression feeling harsh and awkward on her face. She put her phone in her pocket and headed upstairs, not sure of how she would occupy herself until they arrived.
By the time the doorbell rang a few hours later, Angela had cleaned the entire house spotless, down to the last speck of dust. It had kept her busy and, because she'd been listening to her iPod, the volume on almost full blast, she had kept her mind off the current situation. Pulling her gloves off, she opened the door to see EVERYONE standing on her doorstep- Nayan, Kerra, Brandon, Gabrielle, Jade, Jezebel, Gabrielle, Kye, and Charlie. Each person greeted her in their own way, Nayan slinging one arm around her for a second, muttering his condolences. Brandon shook her hand and put a hand momentarily on her shoulder. Kye crushed her in a bear hug. The girls were a little tender. They all swarmed on her at once, holding chocolates, movies and boxes of tissues. When she was finally able to ward them off, her eyes found Charlie, who was taking great care in shutting the door. Angela approached him, unsure of what to say. Charlie turned to see her. He didn't smile. He handed her a single rose and mumbled, "I'm so…so sorry." Angela started to laugh. Charlie frowned.
"What's so funny?" Angela wiped tears of laughter from her eyes.
"Oh Charlie, sorry, I'm not laughing at you, I'm just…you act like this is your fault, when it's really not. You have nothing to be sorry for." She took his hand and led him to the living room, where she plopped down on the couch, which was full of cooing girls. Nayan was busy slipping Angela's favorite action movie, Strike, into the DVD player. Angela snuggled down amongst the mass of women as Kye went to dim the lights. Charlie settled down on the floor as the trailers began rolling. No one moved, absorbed in the TV screen. That is, until about halfway through the movie, when Angela stood up and said, "I'll be right back." Everyone was too absorbed in the movie to pay her much attention. But Charlie noticed. He waited a minute or so before getting up and going into the kitchen.
The kitchen was large, with a huge, tan, tile floor. The marble counters gleamed with Angela's recent cleaning. In the middle was a great island with a stainless steel sink. Above the island, there hung cooking utensils galore. Directly opposite the swinging kitchen door was a large, alcove-like window, which sat above another stainless steel sink. Through the window, one could see the entire backyard, which consisted of a swimming pool, a fire pit, a Jacuzzi, and an enormous balcony. Charlie saw Angela standing at the edge of the balcony, overlooking the swimming pool. Charlie opened the sliding glass door and stepped out into the cool night air. Angela whipped around, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.
"Oh," she said, her voice shaking, "It's just you." Charlie had no idea how to respond to this so said, "I wasn't sure if you wanted company or not, but I figured I'd give it a try." Angela smiled half-heartedly.
"Charlie, that's so sweet. Thank-you," she said. She turned around again to face the pool and sighed. Charlie stood next to her.
"I just, can't believe she's gone." Charlie's stomach churned. What had he done? Angela continued talking as if letting it all go.
"Did you know that she could run an entire marathon without breaking a sweat? She was just so full of energy that as soon as she was done, she would come home and bake us a cake to celebrate, whether or not she won." She let out a shaky laugh and Charlie could see tears spilling over onto Angela's cheeks. This stirred feelings in Charlie that he could not understand or bear. Taking Angela in his arms, he whispered, "I'm so sorry Angela." Angela broke down, her tears soaking the shoulder of his black T-shirt. He held her until she finished and wrapped her arms around his neck. Lifting herself onto the tips of her toes, she kissed him on the cheek and whispered, "Thank-you." Charlie's eyes closed, ashamed of hearing the words he didn't deserve.
The sliding glass door flew open and both Charlie and Angela flew apart. Angela's mother was back from the station. Her eyes were rimmed with red and she held a box of tissues in her hand. She was looking at Charlie with a strange expression on her face.
"I think it would be best if you said goodnight to your friend, Angela," she said. "I've already sent the others off. We need to spend some time together right now." Angela hung her head. Charlie sighed.
"It's okay. I'll see you later, Angela," he said and slipped around Mrs. Daniels, through the kitchen door, and was gone.
Saturday. Charlie was busy watching a TV show in his apartment when Aiden walked through the door. Charlie, already accustomed to Aiden's manners, made no move to say hello, but merely put his feet up on the coffee table, making himself more comfortable. Aiden gave a jubilant, "Hello!" before going off to raid Charlie's refrigerator. He reentered the living room a moment later, holding a fat slice of chocolate cake that Charlie had made last night as a midnight snack, and a glass of wine. Plopping down on the couch next to Charlie, he munched on the cake without proper utensils and slurped his wine. Charlie made a pained expression as he wiped the crumbs from his nice leather couch.
"Do you mind?" he asked.
"Of course not!" and slid onto the floor, continuing to shove pieces of cake into his mouth. Charlie recorded the TV show and hit the power button. He got up and went into the kitchen for a glass of lemonade and took a grateful gulp. It was sweet and tangy, swirling down his throat. He took the glass back to the living room just as the phone rang. Aiden eagerly reached for it, but Charlie, seeing Angela's number on the caller id from across the room, pounced on it before Aiden's hand had so much as grazed it.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Um, hey Charlie, it's Angela." She wasn't sounding much better than a week ago. She had been out of school all week as well.
"Angela, hey. How're you feeling?" He waved Aiden away. Aiden traded a look of indignation for a fake- dreamy one and said, "Aw, Charwie's in wuv."
"I'm fine. Well, we're having a funeral for my Aunt and I…" her voice trailed off and Charlie was hit with another wave of guilt. She must have gone through this a few times today already.
"You want me to go?" Angela sighed gratefully.
"Yes. That is, if you're not busy or anything."
"No, I'll be there. When?" He at least owed it to the woman to go to her funeral and be there for her niece.
"It's next Saturday at the First Church of San Francisco. Five o'clock."
"All right. I'll see you then."
"Ok, bye."
"Oh, and Ang?" Angela paused.
"Yes?" Charlie took a moment to gather the emotions flooding through him.
"You take care of yourself."
"I will. See you Saturday." Charlie put the phone down and whacked Aiden over the head. Aiden yelped and, rubbing the back of his skull, moaned, "What was that for?" Charlie rolled his eyes as there was a knock on the door. Charlie stood up and went to answer it. It was Becky, the owner of the apartment building. Well, not really. It really belonged to the Order, who were a bunch of the oldest vampires known to man, and who reigned over the other, younger, usually more naive vampires. They were among the first vampires to ever exist, and felt it completely in their rights to give tasks to whomever they pleased. They didn't get out much either. Becky, first transformed by a member of the Order, was just a cover story.
"Hello Becky."
"Heya Charles. I was told to give this to you." Charlie took the paper from Becky and opened it, noticing the familiar handwriting at once.
Charlie,
We have a new task for you. As it is of the utmost importance, please report to the Task Room immediately to receive your assignment.
Yours Sincerely,
The Order
Charlie sighed and folded the note and slid it into his back pocket.
"Thanks Becky." He turned back into the room long enough to say, "Aiden, if you make a mess like last time, you'd better sleep with both your eyes open." Aiden, who's eyes were now glued to the TV and was spooning ice cream from the carton and into his mouth, yelled, "Will do!" and Charlie left, not at all confident with Aiden's promise.
The Task Room was deep underground. The room itself was vast and the ceiling was so high it was hard to make it out. The Task Room was the only room in the whole apartment building made of stone. When you entered the door, you were immediately standing in a lowered floor. In front of you stood a huge semi-circular row where the Order sat in stone desks that seemed to have grown out of the stone floor. There was little else except for a small door that no one had ever seen open. And so, as Charlie stepped through the door and closed it behind him, he found himself, once again, on the lowered floor, looking up at the semi-circular row, whereupon the Order sat, stern looks on their faces. You would not think them old to look at them. They were all in their twenties, thirties max. But after a while, you learned to look upon them with respect. They had always taken great care in their charges, supplying all the funds they could need. They also did most of the dirty work.
Anyways, as Charlie stood in the middle of the floor, the man in the middle stood up. He was a tall man with thick black hair and hazel eyes. His presence commanded the silence of everyone present. Looking down on Charlie, he said, "Charlie, I assume you know of the balance?" Charlie frowned.
"Yes sir, of course. The balance between vampires and werewolves."
"Precisely, and when the balance slips, what happens?"
"Well, sir, if the balance between us and the wolves slip, then we are losing advantage. In such a case, we must transform humans or perish…why?"
"Charlie, I'm afraid to say that the balance is indeed in danger. We have news that a rogue vampire is killing off vampires and any humans in their path. So your task is quite simple. We need you to help us restore the balance by turning a human."
Charlie blinked at these words. The balance was slipping. He had heard about it happening, but never like this, and he had never been recruited before.
"But sir, why-"
"Never you mind about the why. Think about the who. We hear you're making fast friends in your new high school. We also hear of a girl there that you seem to have grown close to. What was her name? Angela Daniels, I presume." Charlie's fists tightened, his jaw clenched. He was going to kill Aiden. The man in the middle of the row continued as if he had been talking about the weather.
"Anyways Charlie, we were curious when we heard this. So we sent Bradley after you the day you went to her house. He said hers was by far the most delicious blood he had ever encountered.
"Therefore, we have come to the decision that we would be delighted to have Angela as one of us. We have all agreed. All you have to do is turn her and your task is finished." He smiled as if this were the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. But Charlie shook his head.
"No," he said. The man's smile faltered.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I'm sorry sir, but I won't do it."
"Charlie, Charlie, Charlie, of course you will. But I suppose, if you wish, we shall give you a choice. You may choose to turn Ms. Daniels for us, or we will do it for you. Make sure you understand that we make no guarantees on behalf of her comfort. Charlie's metallic eyes flashed and he glared up at the Order. His thoughts were everywhere at once, but the thought of Angela being handled with less care made the choice for him.
"All right. I'll do it." The man sat down.
"Good man. You may go." Charlie turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
I'm completely iffy on this chapter. Tell me what you think.