Author's Note: I would like to thank Ralai for their inspiring and kind words. This chapter is dedicated to you. Enjoy.
The walk to school went by in a haze. It wasn't until the bell rang with its shrill, uninviting, wail that Lilith snapped back to reality. She stopped briefly at her locker to retrieve her books for first period English. Like an automated machine, she grabbed what she needed and continued down the hall. Occasionally she was met with peculiar stares from other students, reminding her of her outburst with Kate the other day. She averted her attention from them and slipped into class.
Lilith sunk into her assigned seat. She glanced down at her copy of "The Taming of the Shrew" and traced the cover's ornate design with her index finger. Why the hell was she here? She possibly had a murderous vampire plotting against her at that very moment and she was sitting in English class studying William Shakespeare.
"Just because you won't invite me in, doesn't mean I won't get in." Those vile, menacing words played on repeat in her head. That was a threat. He was coming for her and she needed to prepare.
Lilith's internal banter was seized as the teacher called one particular name on her roll. "Kate Reade?" The teacher looked up from her clipboard. "Kate?" Silence. She marked the board with her pen.
Lilith peeked behind her at Kate's empty seat and was instantly hit with a twinge of guilt. Glancing up, she met a pair of scrutinizing eyes. Just two seats further sat Blair, her stare boring into Lilith with an expression that was unreadable. It made Lilith uncomfortable and she quickly turned away. This day couldn't be over soon enough.
After an unbearably slow hour, Lilith rushed out of the classroom and to her locker. She was mid-switching textbooks when a soft voice spoke her name. "Lilith?"
Lilith spun around to meet face-to-face with Blair, who was clutching her book to her chest and nervously rocking back on her heels. She glanced around momentarily to check whether anyone was watching. That's right. Lilith was the freak of the week after Tuesday's episode and Blair more than likely didn't want to be caught dead talking to her. Lilith grimaced and turned halfway back to her locker to grab her calculus text.
"What do you want, Blair?" She snapped a tad too aggressively.
Blair focused her attention on Lilith, following up with a gentle sigh.
"Kate wasn't in class today…"
"Great observation. Did roll call tip you off?" Lilith slammed her locker door and reluctantly turned back to a stunned Blair. It wasn't like Lilith to be so harsh, especially to someone as timid as Blair. She was still raw from her only friends abandoning and demeaning her. Lilith couldn't help but retaliate a little. Blair, on the other hand, was not one for conflict. She composed herself and chose to ignore the comment.
"I know she went over to your place last night. She hasn't answered any of my texts or calls since then and it's not like her to just ditch class without saying anything. I was uh-wondering if you might know where she is?"
Lilith felt a knot build in the center of her throat. Concealing her underlying anxiety, she put on a defensive stance. With a raised eyebrow, Lilith crossed her arms tightly around her text book and cocked her head.
"Are you implying something?" She hissed. The agitation in her tone wasn't played up. She could feel her anger starting to trickle in.
"No, of course not!" Blair quickly deflected. She cleared her throat, seemingly nervous again. "You were just the last person to see her…"
Lilith forced a smile and leaned in. Blair mirrored her movement by taking a step back.
"She came over last night to collect some shit she left at my house and then she was gone." Lilith's smile faded into a scowl. "Maybe you should ask one of her friends where she is."
On that final note, Lilith brushed past Blair, leaving the shocked redhead to stare after her.
Still fired up from her encounter with Blair, Lilith found herself growing ansty in her seat. The aimless drones of her teacher began to morph into a low hum in the background, driving Lilith's attention toward another insufferable noise. Her eyes hyper-fixated to the clock on the wall. Its ticking grew louder and louder as it thumped angrily against her eardrums. The beat of her heart joined in by matching the pace of the clock hand, snapping abruptly into place with each tick. This internal chorus grew unbearable as it throbbed against the forefront of her skull. Bullets of cool sweat dripped down her forehead, offering little relief to what felt like an oncoming fever. About ready to pass out, she felt herself pulled back to earth with the whisper of her name. Her frantic eyes looked over at the seat next to her where Jerry flashed a menacing grin. Lilith gasped, stiffening in her seat.
"Is there a problem, Ms. Bryne?" Mrs. Anderson huffed with no intent on hiding her impatience.
Lilith blinked at the now empty seat before turning her attention to the teacher.
"Can I be excused to the restroom?" She pleaded in a strained voice.
Mrs. Anderson pursed her lips but dismissed her with a single wave of her hand.
"Just remember to grab a hall pass from-"
Lilith was already up from her seat and flying past the door frame.
"Wait a minute!" Mrs. Anderson yelled after her, only to be met with a slam of the classroom door.
Lilith sped down the hall, her vision tunneling in on the exit. She needed to get out of there. Now.
Home wasn't an option at the time. Returning early meant having to explain to her parents why she was skipping school. That wasn't something Lilith was about to add to her overflowing plate. Instead, she settled with killing a couple of hours at the library, reading and rereading every article she could find on Peter Vincent's website. His vampire-hunting guide only brought an air of dread over her. Crafting wooden stakes and wielding blow-torches sounded great and all, but it only reminded her of the fact that she was a 110 pound girl with poor hand-eye coordination and a lack of self-defense training. Jerry would have her head clean off in the blink of an eye. Every sensible voice in her head told her to run, flee town and never look back. Unfortunately, Jerry's resurrection was all her doing. She'd be responsible for every death to follow Kate's and that kind of guilt would only weigh on her. There was no choice in the matter. She'd have to stare death (or Jerry) in the eye and go down fighting if that's what it took.
On the way home, Lilith utilized her unspent lunch stipend at the hardware store. She acquired a few wood cylinders and some rope before planting herself on a bench outside. Curious looks from passing strangers watched as she brandished a pocket knife and fastened her materials into a wooden stake and a couple of crosses. She concealed them in her backpack and continued the journey home.
By nightfall Lilith had been feeling a little less like her skeleton was trying to rip itself from her skin. The sun sensitivity throughout the day left her with some mild red burns, but at least she didn't combust into flames. She managed to swallow down dinner without any unusual cravings and failed to find protruding fangs when she peeked at her gums in the bathroom mirror. It was safe to say that Lilith hadn't and hopefully wouldn't turn into the very thing that was trying to hunt her.
After dinner, she had excused herself to her room, quick to avoid the storm that would follow Jack's first drink of the night. Once there, she dumped the contents of her backpack onto her bed. She needed to devise a plan. But what? She was one teenage girl faced with a thousand-something year old vampire.
Bzzzzzz.
The side pocket of Lilith's backpack vibrated and the Halloween theme could be faintly heard. She furrowed her brows and retrieved her cell phone from the pocket. He eyes widened at the caller I.D..
Blair.
She stared at the phone's screen until her curiosity got the best of her. Lilith answered.
"Blair?"
"I don't find this funny." She declared, her voice firm for once.
Lilith blinked. She was at a total loss.
"I don't follow..."
"This package you sent me." Blair huffed.
"What package? I never sent you anything.."
"Then why is your dragon necklace in it?"
There was a beat of silence on Lilith's end. She clutched the phone tight and her breath hitched in her throat.
"Hello? Lilith?!" Blair insisted.
Lilith managed to swallow the knot in her vocal chords. Her hand trembled with the phone.
"Blair, listen to me. You need to get out of there now!"
"What?"
Lilith began pacing her floor, finding her way over to the bedroom window. She yanked the blinds open and peeked out at the empty, dark street.
"Come here if you need too, or go somewhere you think you'd be safe...An occupied house preferably."
"Okay, what are you going on about? You're really starting to freak me out, Lil."
"Blair please, you need to get out of your house. You're next. Someone might have invited him in already!"
Lilith froze. She could hear Blair sigh on the other end. "Please, Blair! Listen to me!"
"Whatever game you're trying to play here, I can't do it Lilith. This is just getting too weird for me. I'm sorry.."
"Wait, no! Blair!"
The receiver clicked and Lilith was left alone in her panicked state.
"Shit!" She screamed, hurtling the phone at her bed.
Blair sighed in frustration after hanging up. She set her phone down at her desk and looked at the necklace in her other hand.
"To think that a piece of metal jewelry would have caused so much trouble.'' She thought to herself.
Blair let the dragon slip from her delicate, pale fingers. It planted itself with a - clink - in a metal waste basket. She let her eyes linger a second too long on the trinket, not paying notice to the growing ruckus from downstairs. It wasn't until the thumping of footsteps grew in proximity to her bedroom, that Blair looked up. Her door hurled open and she was met with a pair of small, terrified eyes. Blair's 5 year-old sister gasped for breath and looked pleadingly up at her sibling.
"Delia? What's wrong?!" Blair ran over to her, crouching down in front of the speechless child. She clutched her shoulders and administered a slight shake. The child only responded with an expression of wide-eyed fear.
That's when Blair heard it; a woman's scream. It was accompanied by the shrill shriek of some otherworldly creature. Blair grabbed her sister's hand and ran over to the stairway railing. She peeked down to catch a glimpse of her mother's bloody body being dragged out of sight. Tears welled in her eyes and she felt a rush of adrenaline and bile hit her all at once. Without a second to waste, she yanked her sister away and they sprinted into the next room. She locked the door behind them and released Delia's hand in order to pull the dresser over the door. Delia started to whine and Blair quickly tended to her.
"Shhhhh. Delia, please. You have to be very quiet, okay?" Blair whispered, fighting the shakiness of her voice.
There was a loud - THUMP - , this time right outside the door. Delia cried, only to be ceased by Blair's hand over her mouth. She scooped the child up in her arms and ran to the window, struggling to unlock the latch. The door creaked and rattled, threatening to bust at any moment. Blair gave up with a panicked sob, frantically looking around the room. Her eyes landed on the attic door and the pull-string that was just out of reach. Thinking quick on her feet, she grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and pulled it underneath the attic entrance. Delia looked on as her sister stretched out her arm and managed to grab hold of the string. She gave it a forceful tug and the ladder came flying out, knocking Blair down in the process. She felt the impact of the floor and the swirl of blood rushing to her head. Her vision blurred as she looked up toward the black hole in the ceiling, soon replaced by the bulbous head of her little sister peering down at her.
The dresser continued to clatter and shift from the force behind the door. Delia yanked eagerly at Blair's arm. Even with spotty vision and the threat of passing out, Blair managed to lift her body into an upright sitting position. She put a hand on Delia's shoulder.
"Start climbing. I'm right behind you." Blair said, reassuringly.
The girl did as she was told and made it about half way up before Blair finally found the energy to stand. Although wobbly, she managed to grip the sides of the ladder to support herself. Her eyes blinked rapidly against the black-spotting as she started to climb. Delia struggled above her. Blair reached up to give her sister that final push she needed to reach the attic surface. As Blair gripped the top step, the sound of wood busting bellowed from down below. Her panicked eyes locked with Delia's just before she was ripped from the ladder.
