Simon stormed off towards the school lab, thinking that Alvin had definitely crossed the line on this one. He might have been right about the werewolf, unbelievable as that was, but this was ridiculous! Him, Simon, a vampire!
He skidded to a stop silently. Except...the sunlight had hurt his eyes. And he had eaten that very, very rare hamburger. But the most frightening thing...Theodore was scared of him. Theodore had never been scared of him.
Noticing the Boys bathroom, he ducked into the lavatory. The mirror across the room was turned so that from this angle he couldn't see his reflection. Simon walked slowly over to the mirror, fearing what he would see more than he wanted to admit to myself. Would he even be there?
He sighed in relief when he saw his reflection in the mirror. It was still there. Alvin had gotten him all worked up for nothing. And then he really looked at himself.
His hair, instead of being in its usual style, was slightly darker and fell naturally into a stylish 'do. His face seemed different somehow, and it wasn't just the glasses...it seemed almost cold. And he looked...cool.
Simon Seville wasn't cool. Simon Seville was smart, Simon Seville was dedicated, Simon Seville was clever – Simon Seville was a geek. The stranger looking back from his reflection was definitely, positively not a geek. He backed away from the mirror, wanting to leave the mirror and its traitorous image.
Simon finished his trip to the lab a lot slower than he had left the lunchroom. He was worried, and he didn't like that. To give Alvin's harebrained idea weight...but the hamburger...the glasses...Theodore....
When he got there, he immediately smelled the garlic, and in a flash forgot everything else. Oh no! Someone must have knocked over Jeannette's and my project!
Except when he halted by their area everything was undisturbed, but the smell of garlic was nearly overpowering. He glanced around, thinking someone else must be using garlic in their project, but couldn't see anything. He had never realized how truly awful garlic smelled, either. A suspicion rose in his mind, and he leaned over the trough, and sniffed.
The awful smell nearly gagged him, and he stumbled away. "Uh-oh." He said aloud to himself. This couldn't be a good sign.
"Simon?" It was Jeannette's voice. He turned around to see her standing beside him, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "Are you all right?"
"I don't think so, Jeannette." He told her honestly. She kept her distance for a moment, and that bothered him. He didn't want Jeannette afraid of him too. Not ever Jeannette.
Her hesitation lasted only a moment and she came nearer. He was very grateful for that move of trust. "Do you...think that Alvin could be right?" She asked tentatively.
"I really don't know." He said in return. "Alvin, right? It has happened before. Just not very often. At all. Less than 5 percent of the time, I'd say. Lots less."
"But he was right about Theodore. And Mr. Talbot. And, well, face it, Simon – your brother is the monster expert. What if he's right?"
He stared at her, seeing every detail in her face without the need for his glasses' assistance. "Then I think that I am in very, very big trouble."
oooooooooooooooo
Dracula waited for darkfall with some eagerness. He was going to take his first new child in this world tonight one more step into darkness. As soon as the sun disappeared into the horizon, he took the form of a bat and soared out into the night. The blood of his new protégé called to him, and he had no trouble finding the Seville house.
Staying in the form of the bat, he hovered outside the window to watch the father and three children eating dinner. The boy – Simon, his name was – was picking at his meal, and no wonder. It seemed that the boys, at least, were served vegetarian fare – and Simon now needed something with more strength to it.
"Come to me, Simon." He whispered into the night, transforming back into his natural form and stepping back into the shadows. "Come to me now."
"Simon, you're barely eating anything. Are you all right?" Dave sounded concerned.
"Fine, Dave." He lied, his stomach growling. "Just not hungry."
"Well, okay. But you're sure you're feeling well? You barely ate any breakfast either."
Simon glanced up. "My stomach does feel a little queasy. Maybe I should go lie down."
"Go ahead, Simon. You're excused."
"Thanks, Dave."
He had made it all the way to the stairs when he paused, glancing at the door. Suddenly the night seemed very inviting, and he changed his path to walk outside, not really knowing why.
He was surprised to see that he could see as well in the dark as if it were day. Everywhere he saw beauty, and for a moment he stood at the foot of the stair, transfixed by the night.
"Simon." A voice just off the porch called to him, and he felt the first stirrings of fear.
"Is someone out here? He called, backing up a little. His back struck someone behind him, and he whirled around in fright.
"Yes, there is definitely someone here." Dracula smiled at him, fangs sharp and angry in his mouth. "Most definitely." And he struck.
oooooooooooooooooo
Alvin watched Simon cautiously as he left the room. He wanted to help his brother, he really did, but after what had happened with Theodore, he was simply scared. He knew he would have to get over it if he wanted to help Simon. But it wasn't easy.
He heard the sound of a door open and shut, but it wasn't the bedroom door. He wouldn't have been able to hear that.
It must have been the front door.
"Simon!" He exclaimed, leaving a very confused looking Dave at the table as he sprinted off to the front door. It was open, the cool wind blowing in. "Oh, no! Simon!"
He ran outside, frantically looking around. What he saw made him scream in fear. "Simon!"
Dracula looked up from where he was, hissing at the chipmunk. Simon was in his arms, looking dazed. "You get away from my brother!" Alvin shouted.
"I will...for one more night." Dracula dropped Simon to the ground. He was still moving, so he was alive. The vampire then jumped into the air, hovering for a moment. "But he is mine now, and tomorrow night shall be mine forever! He will be an important instrument in my plans, and nothing that you say or do can change that!" And he melded into a bat before Alvin's eyes, winging away into the night.
Alvin rushed over to where Simon lay on the ground. "Simon! Are you okay?"
His brother got up slowly. "Fine, I think." He said groggily. Alvin had to support him for a moment. "What happened?"
"Dracula..."Alvin started, and saw the bleeding marks on Simon's neck. He drew his breath in fear. "Oh no! Simon! You've been bitten again!"
Simon's eyes flew open. "What?"
Alvin had to resist the urge to drop his brother. When Simon had yelled out that word, he had seen clearly into his formerly geeky brother's mouth and saw..."And...and...you have fangs!"
His strength suddenly returning, Simon jumped to his feet. He looked terrified. "Oh, no!" And then he took off into the house – at a speed that was much too fast to be mortal. He nearly knocked over Dave in his rush to get into the house.
"Was that Simon?" Dave asked Alvin, questioning in his eyes.
"Um, yeah. He, uh, thought he saw a bat." Alvin searched for a lie. "And I think he's scared of ...bats."
"Well, that's understandable. I'll go check on him." Dave moved to go back inside and check on his surrogate son.
"No!" Alvin yelled out, speeding in front of him. He gave Dave a tremulous smile. "I'll do it. He might be, you know, embarrassed. To be afraid. Of bats, you know."
Dave looked at him a moment, then shrugged. "All right. Take care of him, then."
Alvin felt the weight of those words as he started up the stairs. It was sort of his fault that this had happened. He had been the one to bribe Simon into going to Dracula's castle. He had been the one that didn't leave when the bat had made its first stirrings. He steeled himself as he walked into his, Simon's, and Theodore's room, making a silent vow that he would help his brother – in whatever way was possible.
His will faltered when he saw Simon crouched on the floor in front of their full-length mirror. Simon was shaking, and somehow, even his fur had paled. "S-s-simon?" He called.
Simon looked up at him, and he gasped. Simon eyes were glowing a strange, animal yellow and the fangs were clearly visible.
"Alvin, this isn't good," he said. Even as he spoke, the light in his eyes faded and he looked like his brother again – mostly. The fangs still peeked in his mouth.
"We'll figure it out, Simon." Alvin said. He inched closer to his brother. "Are you...all right?"
"No, most definitely not, Alvin."
"Well, your eyes are normal again, at least." Alvin offered hopefully. "That's gotta be a good sign."
"Yeah, but look at my reflection."
Alvin stifled his fear to stand behind his big brother and look at Simon's reflection.
There wasn't one.
End of part 3