Author's Note: Ta-da! A new (kinda short) chapter! To Nikitangel - My idea to write the story in the present tense was a challenge that I set for myself after I wrote a short fic called 'Goodnight' last May. I think the present tense narrative sets the story apart from others, and also makes it a bit more interesting. Thanks to Faithful, RMA and SlayGal for giving me awesome feedback. I love your reviews!
Chapter 5: That Night
At 9:30 Faith stands in the poorly lit kitchen of her house, staring at the piece of paper she holds in her hand. The paper reads 'Hillman Burying Ground'. Her first thought is Why does she want me to meet her in a cemetery? But her second, and more upsetting thought is That's where my mother is. She crumples up the paper and tosses it over her shoulder. It makes a noise as it falls into the garbage can.
Collapsing into a chair, she wonders what Nick is doing. After the incident at the store, they talked for a while and wondered what Ms. Nelson had been going on about. Faith continued to argue that she must have been insane but Nick seemed interested in the idea and urged Faith to meet with the mysterious woman. She had walked him home, promising to call him and fill him in on the details later, and he told her to watch her back.
Now she sits with her head in her hands as she decides whether or not to go to the cemetery. On one hand, she shouldn't go meeting strangers in the cemetery at night because it is obviously a bad idea. On the other hand, if she doesn't go she will continually wonder what might have been. Something in her gut tells her to go, and instinctively she listens. She grabs her denim jacket from the hook in the hallway and rushes out into the night.
As she hurries across town to Hillman Burying Ground, she has plenty of time to rethink her choice. She imagines all the ways in which this night could end badly. I could be kidnapped, mugged, murdered… Her feet sink into the damp grass of the cemetery before she even realizes she has arrived. She stops, still standing on the outskirts or the graveyard, and looks around for Ms. Nelson.
The gray rock of the headstones reflects the moonlight, giving the entire area an eerie glow. There is no stereotypical fog, though, just freshly cut grass.
She takes a few more cautioned steps and feels as if she is entering forbidden territory. She hears a noise and turns towards the stone archway she has just walked through. A white and red sign states that there should be no trespassing after 8 pm. That explains the forbidden territory theory…
She hears another noise and turns back towards the endless sea of graves. In the distance she sees a figure running, weaving in and out the headstones. The figure trips and falls and a cry for help echoes in Faith's ears. Reacting quickly, she takes off across the grass. The flowers on the graves pass by in a blur as she runs, feeling as fast as the wind itself. As she gets closer she can identify the figure as Ms. Nelson. She hastens her pace but the ground seems to stretch out in front of her, leaving her no closer to her goal.
That's when she notices the second figure that she had missed before. The shadow it casts is menacing and she swears she hears it growling.
Ms. Nelson whimpers helplessly on the ground as the figure looms over her. Snarling, it leans forward, aiming for her neck. As the figure gets closer, she reaches into the bag that lies on the ground beside her. She fumbles for a second but then pulls out a sharp piece of wood, jamming it directly into the chest of her attacker. Before Faith's eyes, the figure disintegrates into dust and the ashes fall to the ground.
Her feet stop suddenly and her momentum carries her forward, causing her to land on her knees. Taking in deep breaths of air, her wide eyes watch as Ms. Nelson picks herself up off the ground and returns the wooden weapon to her bag. Catching her breath, Faith coughs and for the first time Ms. Nelson notices the young girl.
"What the hell was that?" she gasps.
Ms. Nelson offers her hand and Faith takes it. She stands on trembling legs and her eyes have refused to leave the patch of grass where the evidence of the creature lies.
"That," Ms. Nelson explains, "was a vampire."