Chapter Seven: Help
Over the next several days, I continue to meet Mia at the gym in the morning to swim. We've shared things with each other. She told me about her parents and her younger brother; Charlie. I've told her about my life before school. Obviously not the magical fairy stuff but about how I was raised in the woods and slowly introduced to society. She understands why people found me a little strange, but she also seemed mad that they chose to judge me and leave without giving me a chance. I was touched that she cared.
But something was different about today's session. Mia seemed distracted the whole time. Her mind seemed to be somewhere else. I'm worried about what might be bothering her, but I don't want to pry. After showering and getting dressed, we make our way out of the gym.
"I'll see you tomorrow." I smile.
Mia grimaces. "About that…"
"Yeah?"
"Have you been…skipping class to meet me here?"
How does she know that? "I, uh…"
She must see the answer on my face and sighs. "Trinity, you shouldn't do that."
"It's fine." I assure, not wanting to miss time with my mate. "I'm already ahead of everything."
"When does your class start?"
"Mia, it's nothing-"
"When?"
"7 o'clock." I sigh.
"Why didn't you just tell me that you had a class?"
"Because we were hanging out, and besides it's just math, since I can easily take care of everything-"
"You shouldn't hack your grades or attendance Trinity. We could've just found another time to get together."
So I wanted to spend as much time with my mate as possible; sue me. "How did you find out?"
"One of the girls on the swim team was talking about how 'the chick from the terror dorm wasn't showing up'." She explains. "Trinity, I know you're not use to having friends but it's okay to say no to me. You shouldn't put aside important things just to spend time with me."
What kind of mate would I be if I said no to you? "So we won't be able to hang out anymore?"
Her brows furrow in confusion. "What? No, it just means that we have to find time in our schedules to meet up. Like…what are you doing tonight?"
I shrug. "Nothing, I'm usually in my dorm room after classes end."
"Well, why don't we meet in the caf for dinner?"
I nod. "Sure. I'd like that."
She smiles. "So I'll see you tonight?"
"Yeah." I smile.
She begins to back away. "No more skipping classes." She says before continuing onto class.
I anxiously wait for my classes to end. This is the first time I'll be able to spend time with my mate more than once a day. What makes it even worse is that dinner isn't served until 6 o'clock. Should I show up at right away or wait a little while for the crowd to fill in? We didn't set a time. How do I know when to meet her when we didn't set a time? My leg bounces up and down as I count the seconds on the clock. I bite my lip as the red hand ticks closer to the twelve. Finally, the bell rings and I quickly gather my things before rushing out of the class.
Once I'm in my dorm room, I begin to search through my clothes before freezing. Should I change my clothes? It's just dinner in the cafeteria. What if I change my clothes and she thinks that I'm weird for dressing up for different meals? I'd have to lie and tell her that I spilled something on myself. I groan. Then she'll think I'm a messy person, who's she's about to share dinner with. I continue to debate on whether or not to change clothes before finally settling with staying dressed. Instead, I remove the clothes I'm wearing and iron the wrinkles out of them. Once I'm finished, I redress and brush my hair. Checking the time, I'm shocked to see the clock read 5:50. I check my appearance in the mirror one last time before heading to the cafeteria.
I walk into the cafeteria and the scan the few faces around the room. Mia's not here. I showed up to early. Should I wait by the door or at a table? Should I get food for her? What if it's cold by the time she gets here? I panic. This is so much more difficult than our morning swim sessions. What do I talk to her about? I have to admit, I feel a lot more confident in the water. What if she doesn't like how I am on normal basis?
I wait by the entrance of the cafeteria, scanning the passing faces and check my phone; 6:10. It's still early. What if she wanted to catch a late dinner? Should I leave? I put my phone away.
"Trinity!" I hear an angelic voice call. I look up and see Mia lightly jogging towards me. She reaches me and fixes the purse on her shoulder. "Sorry I'm late; I got caught up with a few girls from the swim team."
"It's okay, I haven't been waiting long." I assure her. "There are still a lot of tables free."
"Great." She smiles and we walk in. "So should we see what they're serving today, stick to the salad bar, or just raid the deserts table?"
"I usually eat from the salad bar and buy a drink from the vending machine."
"Me too." She says. "I don't really want to chance trying whatever's in the mystery meat."
"Why does the meat have to be a mystery? What's wrong with revealing what animal it came from?" I ask.
"I know, right!" She agrees as we grab our trays and dining utensils. "Either we try it and are pleasantly surprised that it's just beef, or find out it's some new species created by the alchemy club."
I pile fruit into my bowl and place a container of salad beside it. "It's strange how no one seems to monitor their experiments."
"It's strange that the university still funds the department after how many accidents they have." After swiping our meal cards, we find a secluded table by a wall and set our things down.
"Do you want anything from the vending machine?" I ask.
"Oh, I can get it mys-"
"I don't mind." I interrupt her.
"I'll take a lemonade." She gives in.
I nod. "I'll be right back." I make my way across the room to one of the many vending machines. I buy myself an ice tea and Mia's lemonade. I begin to return to our spot but stop at the desert table, scanning their choices. Maybe we can share something? Should I get a brownie or a chocolate cake? Does she even like chocolate? Not wanting to take too long, I quickly grab a slice of cake and two forks. I walk back to our table and set the items down.
"Cake?" Mia asks.
"I got two forks if you want to share."
"Sure."
I smile and take my seat. When spend the next few minutes in silence, awkwardly picking at out meals, not knowing what to talk about. Come on, say something. I scold myself.
"So are you a vegetarian?"
The question snaps me out of my thoughts? "Hmm?"
"You didn't choose any meat options for your salad. Are you a vegetarian?" Mia asks.
"No." I shake my head. "I'm still getting used to eating something that's not my mother's cooking."
"What does she usually cook?"
"She makes great smoked venison. People loved it at the town potluck."
"Did she buy the meat or did you guys…" She trails off.
"What?"
"Um, did you hunt it?" She asks.
"My father did." I answer. Earth fae hunting techniques are very different from humans. Instead of tracking them down and slaughtering them, the fae use their powers to lure them to a ritual sacrifice. It sounds dark, but it's actually quite beautiful.
The Earth fae don't trick their prey or influence their emotions; they use their ability to communicate to explain what their sacrifice would mean to the world and the place they take in nature. Once convinced, the animal will walk to the ritual sight and lie down in the circle. They agree to give their meat to us, feeding our hungry stomachs, to provide us with the warmth of their fur and hide. To let their remains feed the earth and its creatures; knowing that they are not truly gone, because they are now a part of everyone.
Mia and I continue to make conversation through our meal. She picks up a fork and takes a bite of the chocolate cake. "Mmm." She closes her eyes for a moment and opens them. "This is better than I expected." She breaks off another piece with her fork and holds it out to me. "Try."
She wants to share forks too? I lean forward and accept the bite. Hmm, it seems I've finally found something to enjoy in the Silas cafeteria. "It's good." I smile. "If you like that, you should try the sweets my mother sends in her care packages."
"You'll have to invite me over to your dorm sometime." She smiles, leaning forward in her seat.
I can't make out the look in her eyes. Before I am able to say anything, my cellphone rings. I startle slightly, not expecting anyone to contact me. The look in Mia's eyes fade and she leans back in her seat. "I'm sorry." I apologize and check my phone, surprised to see a text message from LaFontaine.
Me and Laura trapped in library. Danny on her way. Bring a weapon. –LaF
I glance out a window, my eyes widen when I see that it's just after sunset. I jump up from my seat.
"What is it?" Mia asks in concern.
I look at her. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go." With no time to explain, I rush out of the cafeteria and towards the library. On my way there, I spot a tall red headed figure sprinting across campus with a fire extinguisher in her hand. I follow after Danny, grabbing a metal baseball bat sticking out of a boy's bag.
"Hey!" He cries out.
"I'm sorry!" I yell as I pass him. "I'll return it later!"
Later that night, I sit on Laura's bed while Danny paces back and forth, scolding the sheepish duo and Perry treats their scraped skin.
"You should've never gone out that late!" Danny chides.
"I know." Laura bashfully agrees.
"And without telling anyone!"
"I know! We're sorry, we're sorry!" Laura looks at the camera. "For everyone just catching up at home, it's been an…exciting evening. LaFontaine and I crashed the Faculty Club."
"Brilliantly disguised as a young visiting professor and research assistant." LaFontaine adds.
"Sadly, our cover was blown before we could get to the dean because somebody," She glares at LaF and turns back to the camera. "decided to get into an argument with the head of gnostic mathematics about the long-term strategic plan for the Illuminati."
"It was a chance to raise awareness." They defend.
Laura leans forward. "But as we were being bodily dragged from the Club, I snatched victory from the jaws of total failure by snatching this," She holds up a framed picture of six women. "off the wall. This is the dean's special council meeting in 1954. So," She points to the image of Carmilla. "is that Carmilla's grandmother, great aunt…? There's no names on the back of the photo. But there was one way to find out…"
"Oh, sure." Danny cuts in, walking forward and bending down to look into the camera. "You know, tell it like this insane plan that the pair of you hatched was the next logical step. You know what this girl did? At 6:48 PM?" She gestures and looks between Laura and Lafontaine. "These two geniuses decided to hit up the library."
"Which I admit, in retrospect, was not the most brilliant idea." The blonde says. Perry comes from behind her and hands her a mug of got chocolate. "Thanks."
"Everything in your fridge is made of glucose and palm oil." She hands a mug to LaFontaine. "I'm surprised you don't have scurvy." The Floor Don says, taking a seat on Carmilla's bed.
"I know, but delicious cookies?" Laura tells her before turning back to the camera. "Everything was fine! At first…" She trails off. "As soon as we got there, everyone was leaving the building… And yes, as the sun went down, we started to hear something…"
"Skittering?" LaF offers.
"Yeah, skittering in the stacks, you know? Just beyond your periphery. But we made it into the first subbasement just fine." She gestures and looks at her partner in crime.
They nod. "The online system was really helpful. It gave us a cross reference before I even started typing."
"So we found most of the textbooks before, uh, between 19-"
"Before you realized the staircase wasn't in the same place anymore?" Danny interrupts the journalist.
Laura sighs. "Before we realized we might have gotten a little turned around." She turns to Danny, only to be met with a hard glare. She turns back to the camera with a guilty look on her face. "And that most of the computer monitors we could see were warning us to 'Run. Run now'. And the skittering was getting closer."
"Which is when it became apparent that some of the books were, well, airborne. And," they drag out the word. "that the card catalogue was attacking us. A copy of 'Absalom, Absalom!' tried to slice open my left wrist. Ruined Faulkner for me." They notice the flapping page pinned to a book and hits the butt of the knife. The paper stops moving.
"So, we did what any normal person would do if they were caught in a flying vortex of modern literature and index cards from the 1970s." Laura nods.
"We created a flamethrower using a lighter and some mace Laura's dad gave her."
"Which left us trapped in a flaming vortex."
"Yeah…" LaF says.
"I get a text that says: Come quick. Stuck in library. Bring fire extinguisher." Danny cuts in.
I nod and speak up. "I got one from LaF saying: me and Laura trapped in library. Danny on her way. Bring a weapon."
"Why did you text her anyway?" Danny asks the shorter redhead.
"I thought her wilderness skills would come in handy." They say and look at the camera. "Which they did. Forest girl here," They gesture back at me. "shows up with a baseball bat and goes wild on the flying books. Nothing could get close to us."
"But the fire was still spreading." Danny tells them.
"Okay, yes, but it turned out fine." Laura says. "The sprinklers came on and we snuck out a basement window."
"Oh, yeah, with god knows what on your heels…"
"Okay, yes! It was stupid, and we're lucky that you didn't have to save our souls. Now, can we please skip to the part where once every twenty years, like clockwork, this girl shows up at Silas." She brings up a black and white picture of Carmilla in the middle of a group of girls. "Mircalla Karnstein." She brings up another picture of Carmilla at a party. "Arcillma Karnstein." She brings up another picture. "Mircalla-" She groans. "Ugh, seriously, she just keeps switching around the letters in her name like nobody's ever heard of an anagram. And every time she does, a bunch of girls go missing. Poof. Vanish. Never seen again. I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but she's nocturnal. She's so strong. She's at least 80 years old and she drinks blood-"
"Well, yeah. We know she's a vampire. I mean, we've known that since the blood in the milk container, right?" LaFontaine says, looking at the rest of us. "Vampire, vampire, vampire, yeah?"
Laura looks at us in disbelief. "You all knew I was living with a vampire and nobody said anything?"
"You really didn't know?" LaF asks.
"I knew." I say. I'm surprised that Laura didn't know all this time, with all the shows she watches and books she reads, I thought it would've been obvious after finding the blood in the milk container.
"See." LaF gestures towards me. "Even the girl who doesn't understand sarcasm knew that your roommate was a vampire."
Before I can correct LaFontaine, Danny speaks. "I didn't know!"
"I thought you were just playing it cool, you know? Didn't wanna seem all speciesist." LaFontaine says.
"Speciesist?" Laura asks, not even sure if that's a word. She turns to look at me. "And what about you?"
I shrug. "I figured that she was just attending school here. She's immortal and the world keeps changing, maybe she came so she can stay up to date."
"She's not a vampire." Perry says. "There's no such thing as vampires. She's a light averse octogenarian with extreme hemoglobin deficiency and really good skin." She sees our looks of skepticism. "I'm gonna go and make some more hot chocolate." She stands up and walks over to the kitchen area.
"So, something is taking girls and the ones that have come back have gone full on Lucy from Dracula and you don't think my roommate being a vampire is, I don't know, pertinent information?" Laura asks.
"Well, when you put it that way…" LaF says.
"And I'm next! She's making with the creepy dreams and the charms…"
"And the seduction eyes…"
That seems to get Danny's attention. "Seduction eyes?"
"I am totally next!" Laura continues, not hearing Danny. She moves her hair to the side. "Quick, check my neck! Is there anything on my neck?!" LaF looks at the skin.
Perry looks as well and pats her shoulder. "There's nothing on your neck, Laura. You're fine."
"Oh my gosh. She's a vampire. My roommate is an honest to Lestat vampire. How do we stop a vampire?" The blond asks.
Danny quickly finds on her phone. "Staking, decapitation, immolation. Uh, there's something here about driving an iron needle through her heart." She looks up. "You know, normally I'm not into this kind of stuff, but in the case of 'seduction eyes' I could definitely warm up to the thought."
I look at my friends. What will they do if they find out about me?
Perry stands up. "No! n-n-n-n-n-n-no! We can't immolate everyone that Su-" She cuts herself off. "LaFontaine thinks is a supernatural creature."
"Just the ones that are flammable." LaF says.
"Because only nutbars make plans to set people on fire without proof of anything. Does Salem ring a bell?"
"We have plenty of proof. Do you wanna put some soy milk into my cocoa? I'm feeling a little anaemic."
Laura shakes her head. "No, she's right. Perry. Even if we can turn Carmilla into a vampire bonfire, we still wouldn't be able to figure out what she's done with Betty or the other missing girls. We don't need her dead!" She rolls her eyes. "Or, deader. We need her trapped. We need a way to get some answers."
"Okay, so how do we trap a vampire?" Danny asks, hands on her waist.
After a moment, LaFontaine speaks up. "Well, I have an idea." They turn to Danny. "But you're not gonna like it."
"What?"
"Well, we use something she wants to lure her into a rope net or a room full of garlic. We'll have to figure out that second part."
"Okay, so what do you…what do we use as bait in this case?"
"Well, uh…" They grimace before looking at the blond. "Laura."
Unsurprisingly, Laura agrees to be used as bait for Carmilla.
I watch LaFontaine begin handing possible weapons to Laura, wondering what they'd be able to do with a wooden spoon, a stapler, and a frosting spreader.
Danny gathers her long hair into a ponytail. "Okay, explain to me again how offering yourself as bait is to your bloodsucking roommate is not the worst plan ever devised by womankind."
"You think I'm excited about it? We have been following her for a week and we still have no idea how or where she is taking these girls. And LaFontaine's plan is the only one that we've got." Laura tells her.
"Well, the fact that a terrible plan is our only plan is not really a selling point."
"I'm sorry. Are we still really talking about all of this as though a vampire is really more likely than, I don't know, just some guy putting something in girls' drinks?" Perry offers.
"We don't know she isn't doing that too." LaFontaine says.
"You guys know that I can hear you, right? Maybe instead of peanut gallery-ing you can help me figure out how we trap a vampire." Laura pulls out a bag full of spray cans. "How do we feel about bear spray?"
"Probably not." LaF says. "Side note: you planning on invading a bear sanctuary?"
"My dad's really into personal protection."
"I can see that."
I tune the discussion out. They're reacting this way about Carmilla, what would they do if they were to ever find out about me? What would Mia do if she found out about me?
I don't realize that I've become so immersed in thoughts about my mate, that I missed the Zeta's coming by and agreeing to aid Laura in capturing Carmilla. It took Perry touching my shoulder to snap me out of my worries and telling me that it's time to return to our dorms.
With a plan to capture Carmilla in the works, I decide to head to the gym and check to see if grandmother has any information for me. If Laura's wrong and Carmilla isn't the one taking the girls, then who is?
I perform the contact spell and my grandmother's face appears in the water.
"Grandmother." I greet with a smile. "Have you found anything?"
Coventina shakes her head. "Unfortunately no. But I do want you to have these." She begins chanting and the water begins to bubble and glow harshly. A satchel begins to appear and I take it from the pool. My grandmother stops chanting and catches her breath.
I open the satchel, finding a thick book, a water skin, and a solid blue water crystal. I open the book and flip through it, seeing the symbols of the fae.
"I've given you a book of Fae spells. I've taught you enough that you should be able to make use of them. Some are more complicated than others, so study them well." Coventina explains. I set the book aside and pick up the ring. "That is the ring of the southern water warriors. All you need to do is send a bit of power into it and it will turn into a sword." I set the ring down and pick up the water skin. My grandmother sighs. "I hope that you never have to use that; it is filled with the healing waters from the oasis of the northern water kingdom. It can bring one back from the brink of death."
"Thank you Grandmother."
"I need no thanks. I only ask that you stay safe.
I nod. "I will."
"And Trinity? If you will not tell your parents of your predicament, at least tell them of your mate. They worry about you."
"I will Grandmother." I forgot about my parents. Between Mia and the missing girls, I haven't been keeping in contact as much as I promised.
"Until next time." My grandmother says and her image dissipates.
I make my way back to my dorm and place the satchel under my bed. I collapse onto the mattress and close my eyes, thinking of the days to come.
