Chp 4

Sam had spent the better part of Saturday drawing and painting. She finished the rough sketch of her brother. It was hard to do without crying her eyes out but she managed. Next, she set up her easel and a blank canvas. Sam stared at the canvas for quite some time before she decided to use the same method as Michael's sketch and just let her hand flow with the brush. She zoned out after a few minutes. Several colors were subconsciously mixed together, dark colors, reds, yellows, some blues, and black.

Sam came back to reality when she dropped her brush. She bent down to pick it up. When she stood up straight Samara focused on the canvas. The painting was of her brother, Michael, and his Harley parked on the wooden planks of the Boardwalk with the brightly lit roller coaster behind him. It was like he has always been there, and this painting looked like a real photo. Too realistic. Sam was torn between keeping the painting or throwing it out. She was pulled from those thoughts when her mother called her downstairs to cook dinner. Sam took one last look at the painting and left her bedroom.

For dinner, Samara made Chicken Alfredo with Garlic Bread. She plated three plates and turned to take Grandpa his plate to him in his workroom. But he was sitting at the table. Her mother came into the kitchen and saw her father sitting there and got upset. In Lucy's mind, Samara was gaining a lot of weight from eating too much all the time. She didn't see the too-thin girl who was starving because of her mother. Lucy sat in her spot and waited for Sam to set down the plates. Sam set her mother's and grandpa's plates down first before grabbing hers and taking a few bites before she even sat at the table knowing her mother would take her food away.

As Sam sat down she heard her mother mumble, "Pig." Sam had her fork mid-way to her mouth when she heard that, and put the fork down. Grandpa heard her too, "Lucy, the girl hasn't eaten all day. Leave her alone." Lucy turned to her father, "No dad. She eats all the time. Look at her, she's so damn fat her stomach has rolls that touch the table! She should stop eating so much!" Lucy swiped Sam's plate away from her, stood up to dump it in the trash. Lucy's wrist was grabbed by Ethan, "That's enough! You're starving your daughter!"

Sam didn't want to listen to the fighting anymore. She got up and left the kitchen, retreating to her bedroom. Sam was so upset and angry at her mother. Sam closed and locked her door, and threw herself onto her bed smothering her face into her pillow to hide the tears. She didn't notice her bedroom window open. If she did, she would have seen the painting of her brother was gone. Sam would have found the Concha shells on her window sill. Four perfectly shaped Concha shells.

First Day

Sam fell asleep from all the crying she did. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up. Reading the clock on her bedside table, 10:35 am. She breathed a sigh of relief. Sam had time to shower and change before her first day of work at the Boardwalk. Sam dressed comfortably but casually in a pair of dark blue jeans, a white tank top, high-top sneakers, and her tye-dye hoodie. Her hair was put in a half ponytail, leaving some strays, and the bottom half of her hair loose.

Samara exited the bathroom to put on her hoodie, she left it on the bed. When she picked it up she looked to her easel and saw her recent painting gone. Sam scanned her room thinking maybe she absentmindedly set it down somewhere. Sam came around her bed to get a clear view of her room. She felt a light breeze coming from her open window that she doesn't remember opening. And on her window sill were these really pretty shells. She picked up the biggest one and put it next to her ear. Sam smiled when she heard the ocean. She moved all four of the shells to the top of her dresser where the scary, dead owl once sat. Then she left her room to make sure she gets to work on time. It would be bad to be late on the first day.

Sam could see that her mother has left for work, so she won't have to deal with her until later tonight. Grandpa had left as well, probably running errands. Sam rode her bike to the Boardwalk, chained it up near the bookstore, and walked in. She was greeted by the owner, "Ah, you made it. You know, we talked about the job but never introduced ourselves. I'm Corbin Knight. And welcome to Enshrined in Spines." Samara giggled a little, "I'm Samara Emerson. You may call Sam or Sammy."

After the introductions, Corbin showed Sam how to work the register since it would take the longest to learn. Then he gave her an extensive tour of the book shop, the labeling system of the shelves, the storeroom, and the office. Corbin had Sam stack books on their proper shelf for the rest of her shift. Of course, she had to fight to keep herself focused whenever she found a book she liked. Stowing away the titles in her head to purchase at a later date.

The five hours of Sam's shift on her first day passed by quickly. Soon she was saying goodbye and heading to where her bike was chained up. Sam unintentionally passed the spot where her bike was. She doubled back and realized the reason she passed it was because her bike was gone. Someone had stolen her bike. The Mongoose BMX bike that Michael gave to her when he got his Harley. Sam stood there numb to her surroundings. She didn't even notice how much time had gone by.

The sun was starting to set before Sam moved. She turned and started walking towards the entrance so she could walk home. Samara moved at a snail's pace. Thoughts of what has happened to her over the last few months run through her head. Everything was so overwhelming, she didn't even bother to stop the tears from falling. Her face held no expression, but the free-flowing tears.

Stalkers

Edgar and Alan Frog are many things. Annoying, childish, imaginative. What teenager who runs a comic shop wouldn't be? They run the shop since their parents spend most of their time high on drugs. However, nobody ever sees the darker side of the brothers. The side they hide behind the annoyance, behind their imagination. They're also obsessed with the supernatural, especially vampires, werewolves, and ghouls. Recently they have begun to follow *cough stalk cough* a new girl in town. Whenever they saw her on the boardwalk after the first time they stalk her.

So when they saw the girl lock up her bike close to the bookstore, Alan got the bright idea to steal it then bring it back. She would thank them for returning it. Before Alan could put his plan in motion, somebody had already stolen it. Both of the brothers were watching the bookstore when it happened or they would have seen a couple of Surf Nazis take off with it. They continued to watch her until she got off work and followed her. What they saw when she reached the parking lot near the entrance by the video store pissed them off.

Meeting Max

Video Max was not so busy this Sunday evening. More customers will come in once it gets darker, for now, it is manageable by the one employee behind the counter. The owner, Max was coming in earlier than his normal 8 pm. He needed to do some paperwork that couldn't wait. Max had hired a nice woman, Lucy, to work the day shift so Maria could have more free time to study. Maria was getting ready to go back to school at the community college. Max had encouraged the young lady to further her education in business management. Maria had been working for Max for a couple of years. She had just achieved her GED, and now she is enrolled for the next semester of college.

Max parked his red sports car in front of Video Max. He let his white German Shepard jump out before closing his door. His dog, Thorn, trotted a little bit in front of Max as they headed into the store. "Hello, Maria. How has the day been?" Max greeted his assistant. She gave him a bright smile, "It went alright. Not very busy right now." They continued to talk about plans for the second store in Los Gatos.

Max stopped talking when Thorn stood up and bolted out of the store. Max yelled as he ran after him, "Thorn! Get back here!" He sent a message to his boys as he chased Thorn, "Thorn just took off. He never does that. I'm chasing him now." Max didn't wait for a reply. He could see that Thorn has stopped running and was standing in front of a young girl, keeping her from walking out into the parking lot. Max slowly approached them.

Samara was not paying attention. She was numb to the world. Sam didn't even realize a beautiful dog was pacing in front of her. The dog stopped her from walking any further. At least the tears stopped. She could hear someone next to her, "Are you alright?" Sam didn't face the voice, she just stared straight ahead. The voice kept talking, "My name is Max, and this is Thorn. Are you alright, miss?" The man asked again. Still no sign of anything.

"Thorn stopped running at the entrance near my store. He's blocking a girl from walking any further. I tried talking to her but she seems catatonic." Again, Max didn't wait or hear a reply. But he did hear their motorcycles coming closer.

The four bikers parked a few feet away from Max and the girl. They could see who it was the moment they got there. Since Dwayne was the first to have any kind of contact with her, he came up to them first. Thorn growled at first but Max, "Thorn, down." Dwayne stood in front of Samara at bent arm's length. He didn't say anything to her, just waited for her to see him.

Samara didn't know what she was doing when she closed the space between herself and the bare-chested biker and started to cry. She kept on crying as the group slowly migrated towards the video store. Sam was brought inside the store still holding onto Dwayne. Max and Thorn had gone ahead of them. Thorn was going to get punished for running off, but seeing his reaction to the girl, Max decided against it.

Dwayne led Sam into Max's office so she could sit down and hopefully come out of this catatonic state. David, Marko, and Paul were explaining to Max who she is. They never got around to telling him yet. David thought it would be best to bring Samara into their friend group before saying anything. Max understood his reasoning. What he didn't understand was why didn't Lucy mention she had a daughter? Lucy only talked about her ex-husband and deceased son. David went into detail about what they have seen over the past couple of nights. Max could always tell when his boys are lying to him, and he knew David wasn't lying.

Max was going to call Lucy and have her pick up Samara, but not now. He went up to the counter to speak with Maria, "Could you stay a little longer? It appears Thorn unintentionally made a new friend and I'd like to see her home safely." Maria agreed, "You're a great guy Max." He gave a tight-lipped smile and retreated to his office, David, Marko, and Paul following close behind. They all wanted to make sure Samara was okay.

The small office felt very crowded with five vampires and one teenage girl. Dwayne was able to get Sam to let go and sit on the sofa. He crouched down in front of her. David crouched next to Dwayne, "How is she?" He asked quietly. Sam kept her eyes forward, staring at the wall behind them. Out of the corner of her eye, Sam could see two of the bikers fighting for the spot next to her. Marko had Paul in a headlock and was giving him a noogie, "Not the hair, dude!"

Max covered his face with his hand and shook his head at the two overgrown children. David was going to tell them to stop, but a sound echoed throughout the office. Samara was laughing. She didn't even realize she's was laughing until all eyes were on her, causing her to blush. Sam's laughter faded as she looked around the office and saw she was surrounded by men she didn't know, not really. "How...How did I get here?" Sam brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself.

Max cleared his throat, "My dog, Thorn, ran off from the store. He stopped you from walking through the parking lot. You were zoned out." They all watched her shoulders sag. Max continued, "Dwayne stood in front of you, and you just clung to him and started to cry. Can I ask what happened?"

Sam rested her chin on top of her knees, it made her look even smaller. "I guess everything just hit all at once. I thought things were getting better, you know. I started working at Enshrined in Spines today. I had locked my bike up on the rack against the wall a couple of doors down from the shop. Didn't think to check on it. My shift was only five hours. When I left, I couldn't find my bike. I know it's just a bike, at least that's what my mother would say, it was who gave it to me." Sam took a shuttering breath, "I um, better get home. I'm sure Grandpa is worried, and mom will want dinner." She unfolded herself and started to get up.

Max spoke up before his boys, "I can take you home. It is getting too dark to e walking alone. But first, let's phone your grandfather and let him know you're on your way home." David and his brothers were fuming. "Too soon to ride on the back of a motorcycle. Let her calm down first. Check on her later." Max linked to his boys. They could see the local in that but they were still to have their time with her cut short. Max led Sam out to the cash register to use the phone.

After three rings Grandpa picked up, "Hello?" "Hi, Grandpa." Sam was glad he answered and not her mother. "Sam? Are you okay?" Grandpa was concerned for his granddaughter. She should have been home by now. "I'm okay now. I was calling to let you know someone is driving me home." Sam was cut off before she can explain. "Who? What about your bike?" Grandpa got even more concerned. Max was standing right there, he gestured for the phone, "Hello, Mr. Hughes. It's Max. I'm bringing her home. There was an incident earlier. Her bike was stolen."

Grandpa Ethan knew who Max and his boys were. He was a retired hunter after all. He knew those boys have visited the house at night since his daughter and granddaughter had arrived. He clenched his jaw and remained civil, Max did give Lucy a job even if she smelt of alcohol. "Thank you, Max. Hopefully, the bike can be found in one piece. If not, I'll get her a new one until she's ready to drive. May I speak with Sammy?" "Yes, of course," Max handed the phone back. "Hey, grandpa," Sam responded. "Alright, Max is going to bring you home. He's a good guy. He's also your mother's boss. Speaking of your mother, she's not here right now. Went to the bar for a few," Grandpa hated that Lucy cared more about her next drink than her own daughter. Sam exhaled a sigh, "Okay, Grandpa. I'll see you soon. Bye Grandpa."

While Max drove Sam home, the Frog brothers were up to no good. They saw the Lost Boys crowd around Sam. "Edgar, we got to get her away from them. We saw her first," Alan ranted to his brother as he paced the shop. Edgar leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, "Maybe if we can prove they're vampires, she'll leave them and come to us for help. She does have one of our comics." "You're right. And if she doesn't listen then we'll make her," Alan gave his brother a devious smile. They huddled over the counter and made their plans.

Found It

Since Max was taking Sam home, the boys thought they would track down her bike. Parking their bikes in the normal spot on the Boardwalk before they started searching. All four of them were smoking, and lost in thought. "I bet it was Peter. He has a thing for BMX bikes." Marko said, thinking about one of the Surf Nazis that tend to steal bicycles. At one point, Marko and Paul overheard Peter talking about how easy it is to 'swipe and flip' a bike. More than likely, Peter and a buddy or two would be trying to sell it after altering it just enough not to resemble the stolen bike.

David stomped out his cigarette, "It doesn't hurt to start there. The dumbass probably has it in the back of his rust-bucket." The four of them mounted their bikes and headed onto the beach. Peter and some of his buddies are the types of guys that start partying as soon as they roll out of bed. Already at a bonfire drinking themselves into a stupor.

It wasn't difficult to find Peter. Their bonfire was always on a more secluded part of the beach. Peter's truck was parked next to a dune, not too far from the bonfire. Peter was sitting on a log, chugging cheap beer with four other guys, who were also drunk.

Marko and Paul went over to the truck and looked in the truck bed. There were six more bikes other than Samara's. They left them alone for now. First, they were going to feed. They rejoined David and Dwayne in the shadows watching the bonfire. "Her bike is there with six others," Paul informed David. "Good. Boys, time to party," David's face shifted into his vampiric visage along with his brothers. Peter and his buddies don't what hit them until it was too late.

The next day, Sam walked out to the front porch and found her bike leaning against the railing.