Chapter One: The Prodigal Child
"This way… it's just a little further now. You're going to love it, it's so awesome." The voice of a young girl pierced through the dark space, echoes coming from every direction, distorting in the pitch black hall, to a point where the sound was almost inhuman.
"Man, Ali, it sure is dark in here", quivered the voice of a young boy, very close behind the girl.
"What did you expect? Did you think it would be like a frickin' supermarket? We are here to look at a real-life vampire, after all."
The two children had been wandering through the building, an abandoned military storage complex, for well over four hours. Below the first floor storage hangar was a maze of small storage rooms that went several levels down. The Young girl, Alisyn, had been here many times before showing classmates, and just about anyone she could convince, her "discovery". She knew the layout of the building very well, and could get to the room that her "discovery was in, in less than ten minutes, but she liked the atmosphere she created with taking the long route. She liked knowing that she was in control, and she liked knowing that her companions were in an almost constant state of fear.
After another couple of minutes had passed, and she could here the boy behind her chattering his teeth and gasping in fear at the slightest sound, Alisyn stopped in front of a door way. They had passed this doorway about a dozen times already, but her skills at misdirection and subterfuge were so great, that the boy had no idea where they were.
"This is the place." Alisyn said as she reached one hand toward the door, and outstretched her other facing upward. "But, before I let you in, you gotta give me ten bucks for leading you here."
"Here." The boy reluctantly dug into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled mass of bills. "If there's nothing in there, I'm taking it back!"
"That's fine. But I promise you, you will not be disappointed." Alisyn reached for her back pack and began pulling out several small items. "Here, you might need these to keep you safe… in case he wakes up." She handed him a large flashlight, a necklace of garlic, and a small crucifix, and began to open the door. "He's right behind the desk. Just look, don't touch anything. I don't want to have to save your ass."
The boy slowly crept his way inside the room, and reluctantly made his way toward the large desk in the center of the room. Just as he made it to the middle of the room, the large metal door slammed behind him. On the other side, Alisyn slowly walked away counting the crumpled mass of bills that the boy had paid her.
"Sucker." She whispered, as a brief smiled crossed her face. But her words could not be heard over the screams that escaped from the door behind her.