Chapter 11: Vampire Village
I quickly took off my backpack, and swung it at the werewolf that was about to jump on me, hitting it on the side of its head, knocking the wild animal onto the ground, yelping, looking around all dazed up from the impact. The other werewolves growled, their eyes still glowing red. I quickly put my backpack back on, grabbing a good size stick into my hands. "Get back!" I swung the stick. "Get! Get back!" I repeated, being a tough as possible, swinging the stick at them, until the one in the front grabbed it with its teeth, yanking it. "No!" I kept a tight grip on it. "Let go!" I yelled, tugging the stick from the other end. The werewolf growled, not letting go. It kept on growling and snarling, pulling the stick before snapping it in half.
The werewolf dropped the other half of the stick on the ground. Drool dripped out of its mouth as it came closer, the others doing the same thing. My heart rate went up, and I dropped the other stick that I had right next to me, pressing myself against the gate. I looked around frantically, seeing if there is a way to escape these monsters. I didn't want to get bit by any of them, not wanting to become one of these furry freaks. I didn't want to become... a werewolf. If I had pact anything that is silver, I would've, but I didn't have any at home. Not even silver jewelry. In fact, I don't wear any jewelry at all.
Sweat came to my forehead as I gazed down at the werewolves as they stalked closer, eyes glaring back into my hazel colored eyes. "Please..." I begged, my bold voice being replaced with fear and anxiety. "G-Get away... Get away!" I kinda screamed. They, however, ignored me, coming closer with their razor sharp teeth. And right before I knew what I was doing, I kicked the first werewolf under the chin. It let out a yelp, staggering back, shaking its head as if to get rid of the pain.
At first I thought they'll run off, but that didn't happen. The one that I kicked let out an angry bark. So loud that it shocked me. It even made me scream. Suddenly, right before I knew it, the first one tackled me to the ground. "No!" I cried, covering up the back of my head with my hands and curling my body up into a ball as tight as I could. Luckily, my backpack acted like a shield for my back, but the rest of my body was vulnerable. "No!" I cried out again. I can feel the werewolf's hot breath brush against the back of my neck. "Don't bite me!" I screeched, my voice high and shrill. I felt a drop of drool on my left cheek.
This is it. My life is over. "Help me!" I desperately shouted, even if I didn't care if the people I was with are my friends or not. "Someone, anyone, help me!" I listened for footsteps. None came. It's like... no one knows that I am here. "Help!" I didn't stop calling out. "Help me-" Suddenly, I felt the teeth sink into the top part of my shirt, missing my shoulder.
I grabbed the bottom part of the gate when it began to tug me. One of the other ones grabbed my pant leg right near my shoe with its teeth, helping the other one. I kept a firm grip on the bottom gate as they tried to pull me and drag me away.
I didn't let go, and I began to panic. "Let go of me!" I screamed, my throat becoming raw from the volume I was using. It was like back at my old home, where I get dragged out of bed... I made another attempt for them to release me. "LET GO OF ME!" But my screams didn't scare them off so easily.
Just as I thought they were about to win, I heard shoes pattering on the fairgrounds, along with an angry shout.
"Hey!"
Stine
We stood by the end of the slides, all of us having the same worried look. Where is she...? Did she end up on The Doom Slide? If so... we'll never see again. Even me... It's like I'm treating as my own daughter, just like Hannah.
"Maybe we should look for her?" Champ suggested in a questioning tone of voice.
"For once, Champ, you are right," I answered, raking my fingers through my dark, brown hair. "She probably ended up on the other slides then the ones that we got on. She can't be too far..." I looked around. "Let's start looking for her," I said, and started walking. The others caught up with me, and Hannah was at my right side.
"Dad?" she spoke.
"Hmm?" I replied, keeping my eyes straight ahead, and at the same time looking for Hazel.
"This may sound crazy but... it seems like your treating Hazel like your own daughter... Just like me," she said.
"What made you think of that?" I inquired, lifting a brow at Hannah.
She shrugged her shoulders. "...It just came to me," Hannah answered. "And she did start acting a bit... strange," she then added.
"Strange?" I questioned. "What do you mean by that word?"
"Well... as we were walking...she...um... she didn't seem... right. I asked her, and she told me she's having... flashbacks..."
"Flashbacks?"
She shrugged her shoulders again. "Yeah. I asked her if she was okay, and told me to forget about it," she replied. "I guess she's afraid that I won't believe her."
"Well, I'm no doctor, but if she gets them again, and if it gets worse, she should tell us," I said. "In fact, when we were at the graveyard, I asked if she had foster parents since her biological parents are now... gone. And she was about to answer until Zach yelled us to run away from the ghouls."
"Hey, it wasn't my fault," Zach slightly defended.
"I know," I nodded at him. "Now let's keep look-"
"Help me!" We all stopped when we heard a familiar voice calling out desperately. "Someone, anyone, help me!" the same voice repeated. "Help!" We listened carefully. "Help me-" The same exact voice got cut off for just a second. "Let go of me!" Slowly we walked, not making any sound at first when the voice let out a raw like scream. "LET GO OF ME!"
Our slow walk turned into a full blown run, our shoes pattering on the fairgrounds. As we got closer, I saw someone on the ground, holding onto the bottom part of the gate. My heart went up to my throat when I realize it was Hazel and a bunch of werewolves. Two of them were trying to get her to let go of the gate. "Hey!" I let out an angry shout, to see if I can shoo them away.
By the time I got to the gate, I saw that it was locked. Quickly, I looked around for any key that would unlock it. There wasn't one. I grabbed the gate, shaking it violently. "Get away from her!" I yelled aggressively. One of the werewolves barked at me, causing me to release the gate. "Zach, you're in good shape, jump over the gate, and use anything to get them away from her." God, I'm still treating Hazel as if she were my own daughter. Why though? Maybe because I'm a dad.
"Got it," he responded. He grabbed the gate and climbed, jumping over it. "Hey! Hey!" Picking up a sturdy stick, he smacked one of them on top of its head, forcing to let go of Hazel's shirt. It let out a yelp, staggering backwards. He then hit the other one, and it too, let out a yelping in pain. "Get back!" Zach ordered, swinging the stick around, forcing them back. They growled, their eyes glowing red with evil, their lips curled, showing their sharp teeth.
As Zach kept doing his best to keep the werewolves away, I noticed the part of the gate and the ground are separated, and it looks like she can crawl under it, since she's small enough to fit through.
"Hazel, crawl underneath the gate. Hurry," I told her.
As quickly as she could, she began to drag herself underneath the gate, getting halfway to the other side, until one of the werewolves bit down on the soul of one of her sneakers, and she let out a terrified scream.
Hazel
As I gripped the bottom part of the gate, the shoe pattering stop, and the gate was being shook very violently, that I almost let go of it. "Get away from her!" I knew it was Stine because of his voice, sounding very aggressive towards the werewolves that one of them barked at him, causing him to let go of the gate. "Zach, you're in good shape, jump over the gate, and use anything to get them away from her," Stine instructed.
Actually, now that I think about the way he's acting... He seems like he's treating me as his own... daughter? But... that can't be right. And also, why did I ended up thinking that...?
The sound of Zach's shoes met the ground, landing with perfect ease just like we did at Stine's house where we had to leap over his fence. Me, Zach, and Champ. Well...as for Champ... he didn't do so well by landing on his, well, face...
"Hey! Hey!" I saw him pick up a sturdy stick that was out of reach from me, running towards the werewolves, hitting the first one biting my shirt on the head, and the werewolf let out a yelp as it released me, staggering back. He then hit the other one, forcing it jaws to release my pant leg. "Get back!" Zach swung the stick around, forcing the werewolves back. Growls erupted from their throats, eyes glowing this evil red. They curled their lips, showing their sharp teeth.
"Hazel, crawl underneath the gate. Hurry," Stine urged.
I glanced at the bottom gate, and he was right. Between the ground and the gate, I can actually crawl to the other side since I'm small enough to fit. As quickly as I could, I began to drag myself underneath the gate. I only got halfway to the other side, when one of the werewolves sank its teeth into the soul of one of my sneakers.
I let out a scream, using my other foot to kick its nose. Once it let go, I quickly dragged myself to the other side. I checked my shoe. There are teeth marks, but the werewolf didn't bite through it... thank goodness.
"Zach, Zach, Zach, come on, let's get away from them now," Stine said, gesturing his hands. Zach did one last swing before he dropped the stick. He climbed over the gate again, and landed back to our side. Stine helped me up by taking my hand, and I flinched at the physical contact, almost yanking my hand away. "Are you-"
"Why?" I forced out, interrupting him. "Why did it took you guys this long? Huh?! Why?!" He opened his mouth to answer, but I just kept on going. "Do you realize that I was almost attacked by those...werewolves!" I ranted, my anger taking the toll of its own. "I could've been killed by those...things! I was almost-"
"Hazel!" For the first time that night, Stine used his full volume voice at me. I backed up, my anger slipping back into depression. I couldn't help but stare at his glaring eyes, reminding me of someone else from my childhood... He was... yelling at me. "The reason why it took us awhile because we had to find you," he explained, his angry voice being replaced by his gentle tone. "Since you didn't come down on the other slides, we believed that you ended up on The Doom Slide." He looked at me seriously. "Did you end up on that slide?" Stine asked.
I didn't answer right away, cutting my eyes towards the ground. "...yes," I responded to his question after a few seconds of silence. "And also before I ended up forgetting, I ran into the Boy, and he told me a secret about this... challenge..."
Stine serious look turned into confusion. "...what?" he replied.
"A secret. He lied," I informed. "He told me that if we win, he's gonna keep us in this place forever, and said he's never going into the book." I looked up at Stine, my eyes obscured with water. "However, he, along with Slappy, was right about one thing..." My eyebrows lowered as I switched moods. "You guys aren't my friends..." I spoke.
"Huh?" Hannah gave me the same look as her father.
"Don't lie to me!" I snapped. "I knew you guys were lying right from the start when I met all of you guys. Both the Boy and that evil dummy said that you betrayed me. All of you!" Tears ran down my cheeks as I kept on venting. "I knew I shouldn't trust you guys at all," I cracked. "I've shouldn't... trust you..." My voice broke, and I squeezed my eyes shut, looking away from everybody. "...at all." I opened my eyes again, more watery tears pouring out of my eyes as I gave them a mix of anger and sad emotion. "You guys were just using me so that one day that you guys can all just leave me. In fact, I was about to leave all of you guys once we finish this challenge and after we trap everything in the book that we are looking for. But now... I changed my mind. I changed my damn mind!" I ripped my backpack off of me, throwing it on the ground. "Here! Have my stuff that I brought for survival for all my friends, even though you were NOT!" Everyone had startled looks on their faces. They didn't even move or say anything. Without another word, I stormed off to find the entrance of Horrorland that we came through.
"Hazel, come back here," Hannah called out to me in an almost pleading tone.
I ignored her, walking away faster. I heard her run up to me, not to mention the others, touching my shoulder. "Don't touch me!" I screeched on top of my lungs. "Get lost! All of you! I don't need you guys anyway. Just. Leave. Me. Alone! I've don't want to see you guys anymore for the rest of my life! You guys aren't my friends! So don't follow me, don't talk to me, and most importantly... STAY AWAY FROM ME!" I wiped some tears away. "I know you guys hate me! I know I did mention that I wanted to tell my past life on why I always feel this way... But I don't think it'll make me feel any better. Just..." I gritted my teeth, pulling my hair. "Just forget about it!" I yelled, finding my voice. "I'm never gonna tell you guys my past life at all!"
"...Hazel..." Hannah took a step forward, and I took a step back.
"No... Just...get away from me..." My vision blurred with more water filling up my eyes, backing away from her and everyone else. "I don't need you guys anymore," I repeated.
"Hazel..." Hannah made another attempt to stop me, and when my vision cleared, her eyes brimmed with tears, as well. "Hazel..." She stepped forward.
"No." Stine held out his arm, stopping her from getting too close to me.
"Dad," she argued.
"Let's leave her alone," he suggested, his eyes very sorrow. "And find the book and put everything back in. If she says that we used her...saying that we betrayed her, after believing everything that the Boy and Slappy had said to her... Now let's go." He picked up my backpack and began to walk away. He stopped when the others didn't come with him. "Guys, let's go," he said, gesturing his head towards the direction that he's heading.
Zach and Champ turned and walked away from me, giving me a lot of space. Zach stopped, seeing that Hannah hadn't moved from her spot. He went over to her. "Let's go, Hannah," he said, holding out his hand for her to take it.
With tears in her eyes, she gave me one last glance, and took Zach's hand. But, before she even turned from me, a teardrop leaked out of her eye, landed on the ground, making a small splash...
I stood there, my face becoming wet with tears that forced out of my eyes. I turned and began walking, looking for the entrance so I can get out of this horror and scary amusement park.
Even though I felt guilty for telling them off... that's never gonna change. No one is my friend... At all.
Hannah
I couldn't help but to feel the sadness around me as I followed my friend, my boyfriend, and my dad, looking for the book and the Invisible Boy once Hazel told us his nasty secret. However, the other one truly shocked me. It wasn't a secret, really... It was a lie that Hazel believed after Slappy and the Boy told her that we 'betrayed' her... saying that we aren't her friends. And she thought we were lying when we gave her the same confused looks on our faces. Why did she think we hate her? I even stated that we were... best friends...
I stopped, letting go of Zach's hand, and he stopped as well. "Hannah?" He turned to me.
"I'm going to find Hazel and I want to know why she thinks that we betrayed her, even though that we didn't," I said. "I mean come on. That Boy and that stupid ass dummy told her that lie. And ended up believing them."
"Stine said that we just have to leave her alone," he told me.
"Why?" I raised my voice, loud enough that both dad and Champ came to a halt, their heads turning to glance at us. "Why should we?" I asked, my voice high. "Zach, at the very start of meeting her, she never smiled. Never. She's always sad all the time. And then her mood switched to anger, then back to depression. I even asked if she okay when we were coming to this creepy amusement park. She told me she was having flashbacks, and when I questioned her about it, she told me to like... forget about it."
"Hannah, your dad told us to leave her alone," Zach repeated.
"Listen to me, Zach." My voice lowered a bit. "Did you see how she reacted when my dad yelled at her? It's like she is afraid of him. Something definitely happened to her when she was a young child."
"Yeah, she lost her parents," he answered.
"Yeah that, but she might've had foster parents or god parents." I can tell by the way Zach is looking at me is that he wasn't getting what I was talking about. "Zach... I want to have answers from her... like when you need to know why my dad was overprotective of me, and you found out after I told you before I had to open the book to get Slappy and all his monster gang, including me..." I pointed at myself. "...into that book that you had to help finish since dad's fingers had been broken by the idiot doll." I took a deep breath and let it out. "I need to go find her," I said, making my decision, not backing out.
"What are you going to do?" he questioned. "Just force her to talk about her past life even though she told us to forget about it."
"Not by force," I responded. "By asking her nicely," I grinned.
"Hannah, I don't think that's a good idea," Dad warned, approaching me. "She was very angry and upset. How about you wait until we put everything back in the book?" he suggested me.
"No, dad," I protested, not wanting him to shout at me, and most importantly, not wanting his face to do the red thing. "I'm going to find her. You guys go on ahead, I'll be fine."
"Are you sure...?"
"Yes, dad, I'm sure. Now get going and find that book." I felt something wet drop onto my head. Then another one, until it started to pour down heavily.
"Aw no!" Dad looked around, not happy that it's now raining. "If we don't find that book, it'll be ruined," he exclaimed, brushing his fingers through his hair.
"Will the leather book cover keep the pages from getting wet?" Champ asked.
Dad slid his hand down over his face. "I hope so..." He turned to me. "Go get Hazel, and I hope you brought your phone with you," he said.
I took it out of my hoodie. "Yep, and the battery is only..." I looked at it. I had to wipe off some rain off so I can read the percentage of the battery of my phone. "...seventy-five percent," I stated, putting the phone back in my hoodie pocket.
"Good, call me when you find her," Dad instructed. "Let's go, boys," he added, then took off with the boys right behind him, the rain getting on their hair.
Once they had left, I began jog, the rain making lots of puddles around me. Small one and big ones. I wish we knew it was going to rain, but I guess we didn't bother watching the weather channel, and if I had, I'll be able to bring an umbrella. Oh well...
I kept on jogging, looking for the entrance that we came through. But the time that I got there, it wasn't open. I thought if she had left, it'll be open, or she basically climbed over the gate. Except, there are no shoe prints in the dirt that is now turning into mud.
I walked away from the entrance, shoving my hands into the pockets of my hoodie, getting wetter and wetter. "Where is she?" I asked out loud, before I saw a sign to my left. I went over to it. "Vampire Village..." I read, raising a brow. For some reason, I felt like she went here. Either she went through here to find another entrance, which is basically impossible because there's only one entrance to get into Horrorland, or she made a wrong turn, which is understandable since it kinda raining really hard.
I took a deep breath, entering the village, calling her name. "Hazel. Hazel." As I kept calling out for her, all I can think is about the things she said to us.
Hazel
Looking for the entrance to get out of this park isn't easy when it's raining when it's sort of heavy. My clothes stuck to my skin and the inside of my shoes are getting wet. I know I'll be sick the next day. And my hair is drenched.
I made a left turn, thinking that's where the entrance is due to the harsh rain. Except, I found more rides, along with coffins everywhere I look. Like the ones for vampires to go into like in the movies.
I didn't care, and I decided to take a break from walking, and sat at one of the tables that looks like it was painted with blood. I rested the side of my head onto my arms that I put on the table top, closing my eyes to rest them. And since it's now raining, I couldn't tell if it was a teardrop that leaked out of my eye, or a raindrop, as my mind replayed the moments of my childhood...
I must have dozed off because I began hearing my name being called. "Hazel. Hazel." The person sounded far away, but the voice grew stronger. "Hazel. Hazel." I picked my head up, seeing Hannah. She didn't see me at first, and I thought she'll just walk away, hoping she'll not find me at this table. However, my prediction failed when she actually saw me. "Hazel," she said, her jog picking up into a quick run.
I panicked by the time she got to me. "No!" I cried. "I told you guys to stay from me! Hannah, go away before I start getting angry at you," I warned. She didn't leave. "Hannah, just go, okay?" I said, my voice breaking into a sob. "No one is my friend. Nobody ever want me in the first place. Both the Boy and Slappy are so right about you guys. I can never trust you or anyone again. Because you guys only pretended to my friends..."
"What are you talking about?" she asked, sitting down next to me. "We would never do that to you," she replied. "Now can you please tell me why you ended up believing what those freaks said that to you, and why you are always miserable...?"
"I used to be happy..." I answered, looking down at the table. "But now I'm like... this."
"What made you stop being all happy?" she kept on asking. "Hazel, you won't feel better if you just keep this to yourself," Hannah reasoned. I didn't respond back. "Just tell me about your past life... I won't judge you. I'll listen to every word you have to say."
I sat there, thinking about it. Will she listen to every word I'll tell her? Or is this some kind of trick?
"Fine," I spoke. "I'll tell you... But just to warn you, it isn't a happy story to hear from me." Taking a deep breath and still not looking at her, I began to tell my about my childhood. "Back when I was a kid, I had great parents... They're always there for me when I needed them. My mom works at home, while my dad goes out on business trips every week. And since I was an only child, they let me choose the things I want and the things I didn't want. I was so happy back then. But then..." I took another deep breath, letting out. "...one day, we were in the car, and a huge truck came, smashing the front hood of the car. I didn't remember anything because I blacked out, and found myself in the hospital." I paused for a quick second and continued on. "Luckily... I survived... and as for my parents, that's a different story. Keep in mind that I was actually five when that happened. When I was released, I was hoping that I'll live with my grandparents or my aunt and uncle's place. Except, they live somewhere else, not close to Madison. Instead, I went to live with my mom and dad's friends... They weren't my foster parents... They were...my god parents. A god mother...a god father...and also a god brother who's older than me. Their names were Kelly, Jeff, and Travis... At first I thought it was cool, because I seen pictures of them with my parents before I came around. Only... I was wrong. Very wrong. For some reason, they hated me, always leaving bruises on me. Most of the time both my god parents went out and my god brother will be hanging out with his friends. That's why I prefer them not be in the house. But when they are, they always tortured me... I remember this one day when I saw a vase on the small table of the hallway of the house. I don't know when they got it, and was I memorized by its beauty from its green color. And as I was looking at it, I saw Travis walking out of his room so he can leave the house to see his pals, spotting me, and that's when the horrible ordeal began...
'Move.'
I slowly began to move out of the way, only for him to me push to the table. The table shook from the impact when my shoulder hit it, making it shake. The vase wobbled, losing its balance, falling to the floor. A loud, piercing sound came from the vase as it broke into pieces, revealing the blue color from the inside.
'See what you did?'
I can only stare at the broken vase. I heard Kelly and Jeff coming over to us, asking what had happened. Travis pointed at me.
'This brat broke your precious vase, mom.'
I was afraid to look up at her, but I force myself to do so. She was glaring at me, her face scrunched up with pure anger, and she blew her steam at me.
'Get out of my face, you make me sick!'
'But...'
'I said, GET OUT!'
'You heard mom. Go away, you little freak.'
'But... I didn't do anything...'
'Oh? And you expect me to believe that he did it?'
I didn't say anything...
'Of course it was her, mom. She wrecks everything she sees. I don't know why we had to take her in. She was just a mistake!'
After he said that, I glanced over at Jeff. He looked down at me, sending me angry eyes. He grabbed me, dragging me to another room that we never use, shutting the door behind him, and... well... from the loud slaps... and my painful screams... you know what's happening in there...
Once it was over, I ended up outside on the porch, my body sore all over the place as I cried myself to sleep.
School was the same as home. Nobody liked me. They always teased me and bullied me whenever they get the chance. The only person that never hated me is my teacher. And during that time, we would be reading every morning, reading our favorite books that we really like. I had a favorite series, and I never told anyone about my favorite kind of books, fearing that they would judge me and the books that I liked. I wasn't wrong, though, when the teacher announced something.
'Alright, kids, I hope you enjoyed the books that you are reading. I want to know what you are reading about. How about one of you come up to the class, and tell us the book that you are reading. It doesn't matter if you finished the book or not. Just come up and tell us about it.'
She looked at each of my classmates, before laying her eyes on me. She smiled.
'How about we start off with a good reader? Hazel, can you come up and tell us the book that you are reading?'
She still had her smile on her face. Slowly, I got up from my desk, grabbing my book, walking up in front of the classroom. My teacher had this impressed look on her face.
'You're reading a chapter book?'
I nodded. The impressed look didn't leave her face.
'Wow, you must be a very good reader. What chapter book are you reading?'
'Goosebumps...'
'Goosebumps. That's amazing. And what's the title of that book that you got there?'
I looked at the title of the book.
'The Barking Ghost...'
'Oh, that sounds scary. Do you like scary books?'
'Yeah... my real parents bought me the books last year before I ended up with my god family.'
'Did you bring the books to their place?'
Of course, she never knew what goes on at the household.
'...yeah...'
'Would you like to tell us what the book is about?'
'...no...'
She frowned with concern.
'You don't want to tell us?'
I nodded.
'Why not...?'
I opened my mouth to answer, to tell her that...
'Because those books are awful!'
One kid shouted out, and everyone burst out laughing. A girl giggled.
'Those are the worst books ever! I mean, who likes those kind of books?'
I can only stand there as they kept on laughing. I knew it. I knew this would happen.
'Settle down, settle down. It doesn't matter what anyone reads.'
But they didn't stop laughing when my teacher tried to intervened. Tears came to my eyes, and I ran out the back door of the classroom with the book still my hands. I went underneath the slide, gripping the book, not letting it drop to the ground.
I heard the recess bell go off. Oh no... here they come. My hope is that they won't find me...
'Look what we found...'
One of the kids grabbed me by the shirt, hauling me to the sandbox, and I ended up dropping the book right near it when I got pushed into it.
'Come on, ugly girl! Do something!'
They began kicking sand at me, and all I did was take it. I cried as more sand got into my hair. Then my crying turned to anger, my hands gripping the sand. I can't take it anymore...
'That's it!'
With my hands still clenched together, I sat up and confronted them.
'Go ahead, mock me! I don't understand why you hated me! Is it because I have a god family who doesn't like me, so you can do the same when I'm at school? Huh? Isn't it?! Why?! Why do you guys pick on me and judge me for the things I like?'
A girl made a smug smile and answered.
'You're useless.'
I can feel my face turn bright red, and I swore that I thought smoke came out of my ears like in those cartoon shows.
'How am I useless? I never did anything to you guys. Why can't you guys be nice and be my friends?'
The boy who pulled me to the sandbox gave me a sneer.
'No one wants to be your friend. Besides, who wants to be your friend? Oh, that's right. Nobody.'
That's when my anger took on with itself. I let out an angry scream, throwing the sand that I had in my hands.
'My eyes! My eyes! MY EYES!'
He screamed, brushing his hands onto his face, frantically trying to get the sand that are now burning his eyes.
Now's my chance. I picked up my book and ran off, not looking back until I got to my place. Quickly, I grabbed two suitcases, packing up as much as I could. Including my books.
'Where do you think you're going?'
A voice boomed, startling me. It was Jeff... and my anxiety started to kick in. He was glaring at me through his framed glasses that he always wore.
'Answer me, missy! Where do you think you're going?'
'Away from here.'
'What?!'
'AWAY FROM HERE!'
I screamed at my god father, walking up to him. He was a large man who is in his late twenties or early thirties compared to me since I'm a little girl.
'I don't want to see you nor anyone else ever again! I don't want to get beaten anymore!'
His glare never left his haunting eyes when he grabbed me by the shirt, and was about to drag me to that one room.
'No!'
I yanked myself free from his grasp and ran out the door with suitcases in tow.
'Get back here, right now!'
Jeff hollered out to me angrily, but I didn't stop. I just ran, the suitcases wheeling behind me. I didn't stop until I spotted an empty house. I walked up the porch, opening the front door, and surprise to see sheets on lots of furniture.
And so, I moved in, and cleaned up the place... and made it my home. And as the years went on... I lived there, my happiness being taken away from all the bad things that had happened to me... That's why I will never be happy... because nobody likes me, Hannah. Both Slappy and the Boy are right about you guys..."
I sniffled, tears getting mix in with the rain as they flowed down my face as I put my head down. "There, I told you about my childhood," I spoke in a broken voice. "Now you can just leave me here so I can be miserable forever."
"Hazel... I'm sorry. Really, I am," Hannah spoke with compassion. "But what the Boy and Slappy said to you isn't true at all."
"Maybe your right..." I shrugged my shoulders. "Only I can't trust anyone anymore..."
Hannah didn't say anything for a long while, until she said something that shocked me. "Since you're always living on your own, would you like to live with me and my dad...?" she asked.
I picked my head up, blinking my eyes at her. "What...? No... No, I...I can't. I-"
"Hazel, I'll ask my dad if you can stay with us," she insisted. "Come on, I'm your best friend, right?"
"...I guess..." I responded with another shrug.
"And I'll tell dad what you told me, if that's okay with you."
"Sure... go ahead," I said, and Hannah pulled out her phone. "You're going to call Stine?" I questioned.
"Yeah, he told me to call him when I find you," she explained, dialing Stine's phone number. "He'll come get us and-"
Something smacked the phone out of her hand, landing on the pavement screen first. But our attention was not on Hannah's phone, because we began to look up, and saw a pale, white face vampire. And not just one, at least dozens of them.
And they look thirsty...