AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to update but it's been a hectic few weeks. Thanks to any follows and favourites. Also, thanks to FlowerChild23 and FizzWizz2011 for their reviews and patience. Enjoy.
Chapter 10-
Lying on the floor with my face pressed against the carpet wasn't the most comfortable position in the world, but it did something to help my head that was starting to throb from where Star had rammed it with the door. I was listening hard, trying to hear any signs of David or Michael below us.
"Do you hear anything?" Star asked, as she paced the room (which wasn't helping my hearing).
"Not yet, would you please stay still for two minutes?"
"I can't." Star grumbled, but she stopped in her tracks and took to biting her nails instead.
"And could you three keep it down?" I lifted my head slightly and addressed Sam, Alan and Edgar where they sat mumbling on the bed and keeping an eye on Laddie (who had calmed down a little).
"Sorry." Alan said, before they began whispering.
I pressed my ear back to the floor and listened desperately for any signs of commotion downstairs. The wool of the carpet scratched at my face, but I tried to ignore it. All of a sudden, a sound traveled through the floorboards and into my ear. I couldn't make out what was being said, but it was definitely Michael talking.
"Did you hear that?" I sat up and turned to Star.
"Shh." She hissed, moving to the door and opening it a crack. I crawled over to her, and felt the others move in behind us.
By now, a terrible scream was sounding from downstairs and I grabbed Star's wrist to stop her chasing it down. I couldn't be sure, but I thought it resembled David's voice more than Michael's. Still, I worried for Michael and Star did too because she wrenched her wrist from my grip and raced downstairs.
"Michael!" She yelled.
Sam was also desperate to locate his brother so the four of us followed after Star, leaving Laddie in the room alone where I knew he'd be safe. Sam stopped suddenly with my brothers next to him, forcing me to ground to a halt and almost collide with him. In front of us, David lay impaled on a set of what looked like antlers. Once again, I felt no sadness over a death, and was almost overwhelmed by the sense of freedom from seeing the final vampire- the head vampire- killed.
"Get away, Sam." A voice hissed from the shadows.
"Mike, what's wrong?" Sam asked.
"I said get away!" Michael replied, now with more force.
"What's the big deal? You destroyed the head vampire, it's all over." Edgar said.
"Nothing's changed." Michael replied.
I considered his words and realised, with a stab of pain, that he was right. I still felt the exact same way I had ten minutes ago. All hope of anything returning to normal faded away. My hoped of returning to the store and my family where shattered. Tears rose in my eyes and I only vaguely heard Star voice my thoughts of feeling exactly the same.
"Then there's still one more." Edgar said.
"Who else?" I tried to hide the catch in my throat, "We killed them all. Who else could possibly be the head vampire?"
I was answered only by a female voice frantically calling out Sam and Michael's names.
"I'll handle Mom." Sam told Michael, "Come on, go." He turned to Edgar, Alan and I, leading us towards his mother's voice. "Don't let her see the bodies." He added as an afterthought.
"What happened?" She demanded, placing her hands of Sam's shoulders. I couldn't remember the last time my mother had shown that much concern.
Sam began to explain everything, his voice overpowered by Edgar and Alan who also tried to explain the situation. Soon they became a fountain of nonsense, their words lost over their mother's questions. I suddenly became aware that I recognised this woman. She was the same woman who had let me borrow change for the phone booth outside the video store. I almost pointed out the connection, but it seemed stupid given the circumstances.
Not surprisingly, Mrs Emerson didn't believe the story she was hearing and demanded to speak to Michael. We tried in vain to stop her but she was adamant, and we could only watch as she walked right toward David's body.
"I'm sorry, Lucy." A man's voice said, as he walked forwards I recognised him as Max. "This is all my fault. David and my boys misbehaved."
My boys? What was Max talking about.
"I told you, boys need a mother." He continued.
"Max, what are you talking about?" Lucy was as confused as I was.
Max said nothing, staring into the fireplace which cast an eerie glow onto his face.
"I knew it, you're the head vampire!" Sam exclaimed.
"Sam, don't start this again." Lucy didn't believe him, but I could. Everything suddenly made sense; the way the boys hung out at the video store so much, the way they obeyed when Max ordered them out. Still, I couldn't help but be shocked by the news that Max, of all people, could be the head vampire!
"You're the secret David was protecting." Star said, walking forwards from her former hiding place.
Max only nodded, a grin splitting his face.
"Who's this?" Michael's mother demanded.
"But you passed the test." Alan walked forwards, pointing a stake in Max's direction.
"The test?" I asked, turning to Alan.
"The vampire test." Alan elaborated.
Max turned his attention to Sam as though he had spoken, "Don't ever invite a vampire into your home, you silly boy. It renders you powerless." He finished by raising his eyebrows in an almost condescending manner.
"Did you know that?" Sam asked Edgar in an accusing tone.
"Of course, everyone knows that."
Lucy looked between Sam and Edgar, becoming even more confused and frustrated. "Has everyone gone crazy? What's the matter with all of you?"
"It was you I was after all along, Lucy." Max said.
"What?"
"I knew… that if I could get Sam and Michael into the family there was no way you could say no." Any understanding I had of the situation vanished and I became as confused as Lucy.
"Where's Michael?" Lucy demanded.
"It was all going to be so perfect, Lucy… Just like one, big, happy family."
I tried to make sense of what I'd just heard. Max wanted a family, and he was doing all of this to get Lucy to join that family. It would be cute if it wasn't so messed up.
"Your boys… and my boys." He concluded.
"Great. The bloodsucking Brady Bunch." Trust Edgar to bring humour into things.
When Max turned to us, he had transformed into his true vampire form. I had grown used to seeing this over the past few months, but I could only imagine how poor Lucy felt. It reminded me of that night on the beach when David had first revealed his true form to Star and me. That fear suddenly returned to me and everything felt just like that night.
"But I still want you, Lucy." Max said, sticking his tongue out from behind his fangs.
Everyone screamed, so I knew I wasn't the only one experiencing the fear. Even Star gasped.
"I haven't changed my mind about that."
"I didn't invite you this time Max." A voice said, and we all glanced to see Michael, his fangs out, revealing his vampire form.
"Michael!" Lucy gasped.
Max laughed as Michael lunged at him, only to be thrown aside by the older and stronger vampire. Star grabbed the nearest weapon and took her turn at Max, only to meet the same fate as Michael. I don't know what possessed me to grab the fire poker and take my turn, but I soon found myself landing on a pile of debris from the earlier fighting, with a pounding headache and a pain in my ribs.
"Izzy!" I distinctly heard Edgar and Alan yell before another crash sounded.
I propped myself up on my elbow to see Sam attacking Max, desperate to defend his mother. The fight lasted a mere few seconds before Max had a secure hold on the teenage boy (Sam's efforts still had to be admired). There was no one left to defend Mrs Emerson, and all we could do was watch as Max held out his hand.
"Don't fight, Lucy. It's so much better if you don't fight."
Sam called out in protest, but the will to resist was leaving his mother's eyes. She was stuck: either she lost her boys, or she became a monster. After agonising moments of torturous indecision- and despite Sam begging- she took Max's hand and prepared herself for his fangs. For her life to be shattered.
Then, as if by some miracle, Max stopped. The tune of a car horn was coming from outside and was soon followed by the vehicle that emitted it. Sam and Lucy dived aside as a car came ramming through the wall, and I rolled to the side to ensure I was out of harm's way. When I looked up, it was to see Max flying backwards towards the fireplace with a wooden spike through his chest. A blast of scorching fire emitted from the fireplace, sending heat dancing on my arms. These were immediately followed by a cloud of soot.
It was over. All of it. Over. The head vampire had been staked and I was no longer a half vampire.
I didn't care that I was coughing, that my head still throbbed, or even that the Emerson's poor house was destroyed. I was normal again. Sam had his mother locked in a hug, and Edgar and Alan were celebrating the victory.
"Star, Star!" Laddie's voice sounded and I looked over to see him rushing down the stairs towards Star, who swept him up in a joyful hug.
"Everybody okay?" Michael asked.
"More than okay." I could feel how wide my grin was, and for once it was real.
The Emersons were now reunited, their nightmare over.
"You guys okay?" I asked my brothers.
"Yeah, you?" Alan asked.
"I am now. You guys did good."
Before I knew it, my family was also hugging. And it felt fantastic. I could hardly contain the tears that threatened to spill out. When we were done, Edgar whispered "How much do you think we should charge 'em for this?"
"Dad, are you alright?" I heard Lucy ask, and turned my attention to her, Sam and Michael who were checking up on their grandfather.
After taking a sip of beer from the fridge, he lowered the bottle and said "One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach: All the damn vampires."
From where I sat, I couldn't see the faces of the Emerson family, but I would bet what small money my family had that they were etched with disbelief. I couldn't help the giggles that escaped me, and neither could Edgar and Alan who joined my laughter.
As Mrs Emerson and her sons began demanding answers from the older Emerson, I felt Star approach behind me. I turned to her, and she sank to her knees and pulled me into a tight hug. I could feel her tears on my neck, tears of delight. Laddie joined our hug, wearing a smile I'd never seen before.
…
Sometime later, when Michael was explaining his story to his mother and introducing Star, I sat with my siblings, on a wall in the back yard. The smoke and soot had made it impossible to comfortably stay in the house and we'd moved outside for some much needed fresh air.
"So, you sure you're not a blood sucker anymore?" Edgar asked.
I gave him a slight glare, "I'm sure Edgar so don't start pulling your stakes out."
A few seconds passed in silence, "Speaking of stakes, would you guys really have staked me when you found out about… you know?"
Edgar and Alan looked at each other for a moment, "Difficult to say for certain, but probably not." Alan said, "We wouldn't have been able to, you're our sister."
"Thanks for the honesty, guys… Good thing you didn't, too."
"It's good to have you back, Izzy. We really missed ya." Edgar said.
"Yeah, I missed you guys." I replied.
For the first time in months, everything was as it should be. The Emersons were a family again, and so were the Frogs. Laddie would be able to see his family again (maybe his mother would be as lucky as Terry's after all), and Star would be able to go home, too. I realised how little I knew about Star's family, especially since she knew everything about mine.
"You wanna go home?" Alan asked.
"Yeah, I wanna go home." I never thought I'd hear those words come out of my mouth.
AN: One more chapter to go, hope any readers are enjoying and I'll try to update a lot sooner.