With Love & Life
Chrissy sighed blissfully. It was Friday & she was home for the weekend. She had spent a good two-hour drive from New York University (where she is a freshman) to her family home in Vermont.
But, there would be time to think about school later. Her family was packing for a camping trip & she needed to get her gear into the car. Grabbing her pillow, sleeping bag, & a duffel bag, she went downstairs & outside to the car.
"Thanks Chrissy," her father, Don Walker said as his daughter put her stuff into the trunk.
"No problem dad." Chrissy climbed into the backseat with her younger sister, Melody (15) & her younger brother James (10). Her mother, Nicole sat in the front passenger seat of the family station wagon as Don got into the driver's seat & shut the door.
"Well, everyone. We're out of here until Sunday afternoon." Don & his family buckled up & then Mr. Walker put the key in the ignition. The engine came on & he drove the car onto the road & toward the nearest camping grounds.
It was nearly dark when the Walker family finished setting up camp. It had been a memorable car ride. This is what transpired:
Nicole: How's college, Chrissy?
Chrissy: Great, mom. I plan to major in law enforcement.
James (teasing): Any sign of gargoyles?
Melody (scolding): James! You know live gargoyles don't exist.
Chrissy: I believe they do exist.
Melody: How would you know?
Chrissy: I saw the news report & I saw shapes pass over the moon.
James: That doesn't prove anything.
Melody: Yeah.
Don: That's enough, you two. Your sister has a right to believe what she wants. I've seen the news report, too & I believe gargoyles are real also.
Nicole: Besides, we're here at the camp site, Camp Nightfall.
"Well, we're set up, but we need wood, so I can cook dinner & have light," Don said. "Dear, why don't you & the kids gather some wood, huh?"
"Sure, honey. We'll be back in no time." Grabbing a couple flashlights, Nicole led her children into the woods, where she gave Chrissy the second flashlight.
"Chrissy, you & Melody go that way. Your brother & I will go this way." Nicole pointed in tow different directions. "We'll meet back here in about an hour." The four of them split into the two designated teams & began their search.
Chrissy shined her flashlight on the ground, occasionally collecting dry sticks & twigs. Melody had stopped a few feet behind to collect some more sticks. She should have caught up by now. Turning around, she pointed her light at the spot where Melody was at but saw…nothing. Melody was gone!
"Melody? Melody!" Chrissy cried, hoping her sister could hear her & answer. She saw some disturbed branches that she knew no forest creature could reach. Melody had passed this way. Following the obscured path, she pointed her flashlight this way & that, looking for some clue of her sister.
Movement to her right caught her eye. "Melody?" She could make out shadows near a tree. Moving her flashlight in that direction, she saw one of the shadows dash off into the woods. Judging by the height, it wasn't her sister. A second shadow leaning against the tree, however, was her sister. Coming up to her sister & crouching down, she saw Melody was unconscious. She vigorously shook her sister, trying to wake her. "Melody, wake up. Please, wake up."
"Chrissy?" Melody's voice said weakly. She opened her eyes & saw her sister looking at her concerned. "What happened?"
"That's what I want to know."
"I was gathering that pile of wood we saw earlier when someone grabbed me & dragged me here. I think it was a homeless person who lives here."
"Well, he's gone now. Let's finish collecting the wood."
"Sure. But could you keep the flashlight trained on the ground? It hurts my eyes."
"Okay." Chrissy & Melody continued to collect wood until it was time to meet up with their mom & James. As they reached the meeting spot, Melody was lagging behind, which irritated Chrissy. She hated it when people slowed her down.
"Melody, hurry up." Chrissy turned around, forgetting to keep her flashlight down as she focused it on Melody. Her sister dropped the wood as she threw an arm up to cover her eyes.
"Chrissy!" she exclaimed. Chrissy gasped & the collected wood tumbled to the ground. For years it was rumored that Camp Nightfall was home to a group of vampires. Chrissy never believed in vampires. Even after seeing the news report of gargoyles living in Manhattan. She believed in gargoyles, but not vampires. The entire Walker family likewise didn't believe in vampires, but Chrissy was a believer now, because Melody had fangs! A flash of insight came to Chrissy: it wasn't a homeless person that grabbed Melody, it had been a vampire!
"Melody! You're…a vampire!"
"Yes, mortal. You're next!"
"Chrissy."
The college girl whirled around & saw her mother & brother behind her. Her flashlight was pointed down, but she could still see them. Their eyes glowed a menacing red as they flashed fanged smiles.
"You're vampires, too!"
"Yes, we are," Nicole said. "We were ambushed by the local group that lives here. We tried to escape, but fortunately we didn't. Now, we're a part of the most superior race on earth."
"Join us, sis," James added.
"No," Chrissy begged, backing away from her family. "I don't want to be a vampire."
"Why not? Don't you like our fangs?" James flashed his fangs at her.
Chrissy tried to calm down. Maybe if she flattered them slightly, them wouldn't bite her. "Sure, I do. But not the price they come at." Chrissy could now see the puncture holes on her mother's neck.
"How come? Gargoyles have fangs too, you know."
When James said that, Chrissy doubled over as a sharp pain hit her abdomen. This confused her. Why would a simple line cause her pain?
"Yeah," Melody chimed in. "Gargoyles have fangs, too."
Chrissy doubled over again. The sharp pain she felt before came back & worse this time. It felt like the pain was tearing her apart from the inside out. A howl of pain escaped her throat as she heard something ripping out of the back of her shirt.
From her bent over position, she could make out the silhouette of a pair of wings attached to her back. Gargoyle wings! She was changing into a gargoyle! But how? Chrissy saw her second & third fingers on both hands meld together & become claws as did the rest of her fingers.
"Get her! Bite her!" Nicole ordered.
James & Melody leaped at their sister. Something inside Chrissy snapped & she slashed at her attackers, sending them backwards. The redheaded girl felt a tail punch through the seat of her pants & the pain receded. She knew then that she was completely changed & could escape. Jumping onto a tree branch, she opened her new wings & successfully glided into the air, leaving her attackers howling & hissing at her from the ground, probably because their haven't mastered all their vampire abilities.
Now that she was safe, her thoughts began to run through the events that just recently happened. Apparently, the rumor about vampires was real. But what about her transformation? Did her siblings cast some sort of spell on her? It sounded like it from the way they spoke. Did they plan to turn her into a gargoyle in order to turn her? They must of thought that if she asked them to change her back, they would agree in exchange for her becoming a vampire. Well, she knew she wasn't going to go in that direction. Chrissy also knew that she had to save her dad from the vampire family as she called her former family now.
"Dad!" she cried as she landed at the campsite. "Dad, we need to leave. Now!"
Don looked up from the cooler he was digging around in. He gasped when he saw a gargoyle before him. "Who are you? Does a clan live here?" he asked, excitedly.
"Dad, it's me. Chrissy."
"Chrissy? But, how?" Don clasped his daughter's claws in his hands.
"I think James & Melody cast a spell on me."
Don laughed. "They don't know magic, sweetheart."
"They do now. They're vampires. And so is mom."
"Nonsense. Okay, I believe that a spell was cast on you, but vampires don't exist."
Chrissy shook her head as she grabbed a pink satchel off the picnic table & began to put fresh fruits & two bottles of water into it. She was going to save her dad even if he didn't think he needed it. She snapped the satchel closed & draped it over her head & shoulder like a sash.
She turned around & saw her dad surrounded by the vampire family! She had to save him! Jumping onto the table, she glided upward & over the family. Gliding down, she grabbed her dad & lifted him up & into the sky.
"Do you believe me now, dad?"
Don looked at his daughter. "I do now."
Chrissy gasped. Her dad's eyes glowed red & he had fangs. He was a vampire too. Horrified she dropped him & began to soar upward to get to the treetops. A beam of red light flashed by her. She looked down. Her former family was firing eye beams at her, trying to stun her so they could make her one of them. Chrissy angled her wings, the wind carrying her above the trees & out of her enemies' eyesight.
Now, she was above the trees with a slight wind blowing. From the south, if she remembered from watching the weather report before leaving home. The wind, however, was the farthest thing from her mind. Her major concern was staying safe & hidden from the vampires. If she remembered correctly, vampires & gargoyles sleep during the day. But, where could she go to be safe?
'Wait a minute!' she realized. 'There are gargoyles in Manhattan. That's where I'll go. I just hope the vampire family doesn't decide to go there in order to find me.' Her decision made, Chrissy turned north & glided toward Manhattan.
It would have taken Chrissy two hours to drive to Manhattan, but it took her an hour & a half to reach the island. She made it. Being a gargoyle definitely had its advantages. Now, she had to find a gargoyle in order to be sure that she'll be safe.
A burglar alarm sounded nearby, startling her in mid-flight. Curious about the break-in, she followed the sound of the alarm. She saw two men breaking into a jewelry store. Chrissy's eyes glowed bright red. What they were doing was wrong, anyone could see that. She was about to go & stop them when she saw tow shadowy figures. Figures that had wings. Her heart hammered in her chest. They were gargoyles. Chrissy stayed on the rooftop that was right next to the jewelry store & watched.
Brooklyn & Broadway landed in the alley beside the jewelry store. The alarm they heard earlier was silent now. Obviously the wires had been cut.
"Broadway, you stand near the back in case our friends use the back door. I'll take the front."
Broadway grumbled slightly as he ambled toward the exit door. Whenever he & Brooklyn were together to stop a crime, Brooklyn always took the front. Lex told him that was the same way when he was with the clan's second-in-command. 'His rank must be inflating his ego,' Broadway thought. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the back door being kicked down. He turned his attention to the open doorway.
Slowly, a man emerged from the building, a sack slung over his shoulder. A second man followed the first, another sack over his shoulder. Broadway blocked the criminals' escape, his eyes glowing. The two men stopped short & gasped.
"It's one of those gargoyle monsters!" the first one exclaimed. That was all he got to say before Broadway grabbed him by the shirt & hoisted him up into the air.
The second man found an opening to one side of the green gargoyle & slipped through it, only to run into a brick-red gargoyle.
"And where are you going?" the gargoyle growled as it lifted him upward. The criminal was not strong of heart & fainted away. Brooklyn put the human down as Broadway brought the other human & the sack of jewelry over to him. The white-haired gargoyle dug around a trash can until he found a steel cable & used it to tie up the two crooks. Then Broadway used a quarter Elisa gave them to call the police. Luckily, Matt answered & Broadway gave him all the information needed to find the criminals. As Broadway hung up, the two gargoyles heard a female scream. A female gargoyle scream.
"It came from up there." Broadway pointed to the top of the building next to the jewelry store.
"Let's see if we can help a fellow gargoyle." Brooklyn began his ascent up the building. Broadway paused for a second before following.
Brooklyn reached the ledge & peered over the top. A female gargoyle with royal purple skin & red hair was being threatened by four humans. The humans didn't see him because their backs were to him. The female was too frightened by the humans to notice him. Brooklyn leaped at the nearest human, which was an adult male.
Chrissy watched the two gargoyles take care of the jewelry thieves. She felt a thrill well up inside her. They helped protect the city, like a police force with wings.
"Thought you could get away from us, did you?" an evil voice said.
Chrissy whirled around. Behind her, was the vampire family. They had found her. Chrissy let out a scream as she pushed past them, but suddenly she found herself on the ground. James had tripped her. She quickly scrambled to her feet & faced the four of them. All of them glared at her with those menacing red eyes. The young gargress felt that this was it. Her life was over. Suddenly, a male gargoyle tackled Don. Don hit his head on the roof & passed out. This sudden attack gave Chrissy the chance to take out one of the others. Using her newfound tail, she whipped it across the ground & knocked James & Melody off their feet. They hit the roof & likewise passed out. That just left them with Nicole.
The lady vampire faced the two gargoyles, fangs bared. Brooklyn's skin paled. This wasn't an ordinary human. What was she? Nicole lunged for the gargoyles. Brooklyn planted a swift kick to her midsection. Chrissy followed with a hard punch that knocked the vampire out. With the fight over, Brooklyn turned to the new gargoyle. "Are you okay?"
The female looked at him with delight. "I knew there were gargoyles living here!"
"Huh?" Brooklyn gave her a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?"
"Brooklyn, who's your friend?" Broadway asked as he approached his rookery brother.
"I don't know."
"My name's Chrissy Walker, a freshman at New York University. I'm really from Vermont."
"You were human, weren't you?" Broadway asked.
"Yes." At this point, the full impact of the whole night hit Chrissy & she began to shake with racking sobs.
"Hey, it's okay," Brooklyn held her comfortingly. "Listen, I'm Brooklyn & this is Broadway. Why were you being attacked?"
Chrissy explained to her new friends what happened at camp grounds in every detail that she knew. Brooklyn & Broadway listened in horrified wonder. When she finished, Brooklyn was the first to speak.
"Let's head back home before these vampires wake up."
"I agree, Brooklyn."
"You better come with us, Chrissy. You'll be safe with us."
Chrissy nodded. He was right. She would be safer with her friends than her vampire enemies. She followed Brooklyn & Broadway into the sky & upward into the clouds.
"Brooklyn, where are we going?"
"To our home. It's a castle atop the Eerie Building."
The three gargoyles cleared the clouds & there was Castle Wyvern. Chrissy gasped. It was magnificent. Chrissy followed the others & landed in the courtyard.
"Wait here. I'll tell Goliath." Brooklyn went into the castle.
"Who's Goliath?" Chrissy looked at Broadway.
"Our leader. Don't let his size frighten you. He's a fair gargoyle."
"Broadway speaks the truth." Chrissy turned to the courtyard doorway & saw a large gargoyle standing there. He must have been seven feet tall with light lavender skin & dark hair.
"Brooklyn has told me of your story. You are welcomed to stay with us. We'll protect you from your enemies."
"I would be honored to stay here." Chrissy smiled inwardly. At last, she was safe. The vampire family would never find her now.
