Chapter 3 – Preparations
I open an eye of mine, slowly, but I immediately shut it again, sinking my face against the cushion again, and pressing close to it with a groan of pleasure. Even just only opening an eye seems to have required an incredible effort…and what sleepiness! It's so good indulging against something so soft and relaxing! Am I really so tired yet? How much time did pass since I fell asleep?
During that short instant, I had glimpsed some dark shadows around me, grey and confused, like if they were shrouded in the mist of a dream. Maybe there was someone beside the hammock? Or it was just a dream?
I'd like to sleep a little more, the warmth of the cushion and the cloak I got entangled in during the night is marvellous, but what time is it? And who was there (or still is) near me?
So, fighting against the weight of my eyelid, I open again my eye, even more slowly than before.
But, as soon as I start to see something again, I open it wide, with my other.
And I immediately let out a scream of fear!
Something of shapeless, with an unreal phosphorescent green colour and bright was a little less than two centimetres far from me!
- Aaaaaah! – I shout, pulling back by instinct, pushing behind frenzily with my feet and wriggling among the folds of the cloak. My eyes staring, the stare terrorized, the back against the rough and rocky wall. My feet are still moving, in the attempt to make me move away even more, even if I'm already with my back against the wall, and they can't pushing me behind more. Unless I'm a ghost…and so I'm able to pass through walls like if they didn't exist…but unfortunately half vampires can't do it! But neither adult vampires can, to tell the truth!
I hold tightly the cloak with my nails, like if thrusting them in it could be useful somehow to defend myself from that mysterious assailant.
My sight is still blurred, and I realize with dread that I'm totally defenceless, in my aggressor's mercy!!! I feel the panic starting to clamp me in his vice, my heart hammering at my ribs.
- Aaaaaah!! – the mysterious thing says, with a surprised tone, and I glimpse it running away from me.
Hey…wait a moment. – I think. – If that thing wanted really to hurt me, why did it shout? Why did it run away? For the surprise, maybe? Didn't it expect I react? Or…
I start to breathe again. I blink again, making an effort to bring into focus what I see. And, as it becomes more distinct, I let slowly go the cloak, and I open my mouth in a smile of amazement and relief.
- You are…always…on the alert…like all…the vampires, eh…Darren? – Harkat says, peeping out from behind a brown rock, not much far from here.
It was only Harkat!!! How could I not think about it? After all...how many phosphorescent green things I had seen since that moment, apart from his eyes? Not many...or rather, none!
I sigh with relief.
- You gave me a start!!! - I answer without drawing breath, giggling like silly, a little because of the relief, a little for relieving the fear. My heart's beat start to slow down, my breath is returning slowly to its normal rhythm.
I run an hand of mine on a naked arm, but I'm still having the creeps!
- Me?!? - Harkat says. - You...in case! Have you...any idea...about...how long...have you...slept? - he adds.
- Actually...no - I admit. - How long? - I ask, even already guessing the answer.
- I'd say...so!...More...than a day! - Harkat says, panting. - I had came...near...to look at...you...and check...if you were...still...breathing...I was...very worried. I had also...told Larten...and Kurda...they...know a little about...medicine...to come...immediately and... - he adds, by now out of breath.
What?!? Did I really sleep so much? What the hell I did I do to get tired that way?
I sit on my bed, trying to remember. I strolled out of the Mountain while all the others vampires were sleeping...Larten had came to look for me...and...the holidays at the sea!
Thinking about them, a happy smile appears on my face.
Was it only a dream? It was too wonderful to be true.
Yes, it must be necessarily so. How can it be otherwise? The smile of a while ago turns to a disappointed and sad expression, resigned to the harsh reality.
I'm going to get up, helping myself my arms, when I feel the cloak, still humid, rubbing against my skin. Humid? So...I've been really outside! And if I've been really outside, probably...
Only the thought is enough to wake me up completely, to make me realize that in reality I'm more rested than ever!
I leap to my feet, euphoric. I take the cloak and I fold it, putting it near the flame of a torch so that it gets dry faster.
- I'm sorry I made you worried. - I say, with a sorry tone, turning my head to look at Harkat. - But...the fact is that...wow, if only you knew! - I add, changing totally the tone of my voice, beside myself with joy, and turning round.
- What...? Can I know...too? - Harkat adds, coming up to me with his step slow but decided, curious.
- It's incredible, you will never believe it! Larten told me that...
And I tell him everything. When I've finished, he's literally beside himself with amazement, too.
- A tropical...beach...just a few...steps from...here! Who would ever...have imagined...that? - he comments on.
- Maybe, a good climatologist! - someone says, with a cheerful tone, behind me.
I make a jump, so high that I almost touch the ceiling, still afraid for before. Harkat has the same, natural, reaction, even if his jump isn't as high as mine.
We both suddenly turn round.
- Kurda! The doooors! - I say, shouting, seeing him just a few steps from me, smiling like usual. Harkat smiles too, displaying his irregular and sharp teeth.
- You're alright, then! - Kurda answers, with a relieved tone. - Listening to what Harkat had told me, it appeared that you had fallen in a state of lethargy or kinda of!...
- Darren has always liked sleeping...is not that so, sluggard? - Larten adds, behind him, with an allusive tone.
I cast a withering look to him, pretending to had taken offence of it. If there is someone really lazy, that one is he! I perfectly remember how he mumbled when he had to get up before the sunset and how much he would have liked continuing to sleep all the night!
But I smile, glad to see him again, passing wisely over it.
- Good morning! - I say, cheerful.
- Good night, in reality...but for we vampires it's like it were day, don't forget about it! - Larten corrects me.
- Phew, what a pedantic! - I rebut. - As far as I know, when you get up you always say "Good morning", or I am wrong?
- Yeah, but if you could have a glance outside, you certainly would not see the sun shining high in the sky! - he insists.
- So...I said it properly... or not? - I say, confused.
- Yes, you did. - he answers.
- And then...why did you correct me? - I add, even more perplexed than before.
- To see if you were paying attention. - Larten says, smiling with an astute expression. - And to see if the thought of that great trip is already keeping you miles away from here.
- Hey!!! - I say, resentful. - But what...!
- What was the matter with you? - Kurda says, interrupting me and nipping a possible back answer of mine in the bud. - Harkat was very very worried, he told me that despite he has shaken and called you repeatedly, there was no way to wake you up and...
- I've always been an heavy sleeper... - I say, blushing.
- Heavy sleeper...is an...euphemism! I believe that...neither...an atomic bomb...would have woken...you up! - Harkat says, intervening playful.
- And I know something about that... - Larten says, with a subtle tone. - If only you knew what a hard work waking him up to go round at night, sometimes!
- Erm...nothing of more interesting to talk about? - I say, trying to change the subject, blushing more and more.
- Wait a moment, thinking about it better, there is something. Did I hear well, before? Beach? - Kurda says, looking at Larten with a perplexed expression, opening his light blue eyes wide, that shine with perplexity in the gentle light of the torches.
- Yes, you did. You know what I mean, right? - he answers, blinking.
- What? That one...? - Kurda says, beside himself with surprise.
- Do you know another ones?
- You'd like to bring Darren there? But it's impossible! As far as I know, nobody has ever attempted to get it by here, everybody has always bypassed the mountain, even at the cost of losing weeks and...
- Are you not the expert of maps, alternative ways, roads and so on?- Larten says, pulling his leg.
- Yes... - Kurda says. - but I...
- You have understood well...would you like to come with us? How would we do without your guidance and your incomparable experience? We would ended up by getting lost though the snow-covered steppes or by slipping in precipices hidden by the snow! Or who knows what else! - Larten adds, flattering him.
I can't help a silly smile. Kurda smiles too, and he answers:
- I know you're only pulling my leg, but I don't know...I've been rather busy recently, you know. The ceremony...and all the rest...
- Ceremony? - I say, without managing to hold back my usual curiosity.
- Yes...Kurda will be soon one of our leaders, a Prince! Didn't he tell you? - Larten answers me.
- Now that I think about it...yes, he did, but I forgot. - I admit. - So...you can't come with us? - I say, looking at him with a sad expression.
- Mmmmh...thinking about it better. - he says. - It might be one of my last opportunities to have a great time, before to become a Prince. It's a big honour, but it isn't certainly the greatest of the fun! Many years may pass before I get out of here again, and before I put away the crown and the royal cloak for a while! - he adds, smiling.
- Hooray! - I say, tripping round him. - I bet you know a short way to get it, isn't that so? You must know it! - I add, more euphoric than ever.
- Maybe... - Kurda answers me, smiling at my enthusiasm.
- What about you, Harkat? The sun isn't a problem for you, right?
- No...if you want...I can come...too...if I don't...disturb you... - he answers me.
- But...are you joking? Disturbing? Quite the opposite! - I say, bending to hold him in a warm hug.
- He is really happy. And how blaming him? - Larten says, turning to Kurda.
- I know how he feels...believe me, at that age a little is enough to get carried away. We went through it too, do you remember? - he answers.
- Of course...even if it seems that centuries has passed! - Larten laughs.
- Isn't that so, maybe? - Kurda smiles!
- He, you are right! The time flies!
- I was wondering if Gavner would fancy to come with us, too...can I go to ask him? - I interrupt them.
- Go, if you want...but be careful, he's even lazier than you! He gets violent if you wake up in a bad way...and too early! - Larten warns me, blinking.
- Hey...!
- Go on, Darren, don't take it badly! You know he isn't serious! In the meantime, I'll try to find the map we need for the journey. OK? Who knows where I've put it...actually, I haven't the faintest idea, but I suppose that digging it up is only a question of patience! And we vampires' patience is proverbial, but it will take me for a while anyway, I fear.
- Hurry doesn't help! - I answer him, happy, and I run to look for Gavner.
- I'm starting to talk using proverbs too, like Larten does? - I ask myself, perplexed.
My steps resound in a sinister way in the almost desert corridors, it must be still early, but I don't mind it. At that moment, I feel like if the Mountain were always my home, nothing seems to me strange or abnormal anymore. Neither the bats that every now and then flit above my head, nor their shrill cries or the webs as thick as curtains in the corners. After some minutes, here I am at Gavner's. I peep inside his room.
The lid of his coffin, dark and shiny, is open, and he's already awake. He's stretching, yawning soundly.
- Hey, good morning! - I say, joyful.
- Hello Darren! Is it alright? - he says, with his mouth still wide open because of the yawn and his eyes shut.
- Of course! What would you say to a trip at the sea? - I say.
Gavner open his eyes wide, and he glances at me in a strange way, like if he thought I went crazy.
- At the sea ? Are you sure you're fine, Darren? - he answers, perplexed.
I expected that, so I get my breath and I start to tell him:
- Yeah, let me explain you...me, Larten, Kurda and Harkat had decided to pay a brief visit to the beach near the Mountain, before the Council begins.
Then I add, with a sadder tone:
- You know...I miss a lot the world of humans, and even if for Kurda and Larten facing up to the sunlight definitely won't easy, they decided to do it anyway, just to not let me down...and to see me smiling again. - I say, thinking again with emotion about the huge sacrifice that my friends were going to make for me.
- Do you know about the beach? - he interrupts me.
- Sure! So...do you fancy that? - I say, impatient.
- And...there is need to ask it? Of course! - he says, smiling with pleasure and getting up.
- It's just what is needed, after all this intense cold. And for the sun...well, we'll try to do something. You can't get everything from the life!
I smile, and I hug him tight, leaving him out of breath.
- Hey...go on, Darren, it isn't necessary...
- Well, let's prepare! I can't wait! - I say, very excited, tripping round him and coming back to the cave that is supposed to act as my bedroom. Gavner follows me, infected by my enthusiasm.
For all the rest of the night, we see to the preparations for the journey, and also to obtain everything is necessary, not only for me, but also for the vampires. Larten and Kurda offer to help us, and we agree with enthusiasm. Harkat gives an hand as he can, too. While I was at Gavner's, Kurda came back, with a heap of maps held in hand.
- Here they are, the damn! - he says. - They slided behind a piece of furniture, I almost went mad to find them!
- Your studio looks like a bazaar, sometimes! - I giggle, thinking again about that little room with rolled up maps placed everywhere, and with pens, white sheets and instruments abandoned all over the place. The first impression you had when you enter there, was that someone had turned a fan on at the greatest power, and he had created that mess on purpose, making the sheets fly all over the room!
- He, being tidy has never been my forte! - Kurda says, giggling too.
Larten, in the meantime, has got five small haversacks, similar to bags, to bring on our shoulders. He has also some mats and coloured towels, a bit worn-out, but big enough to be able to wrap oneself up in them or lying down on them comfortably.
- Where did you find them? - I ask him, curious.
- I've my resources - he smiles. - Or rather, Seba has them.
- Is it a crowded beach? - I ask Larten, while he's thrusting a coloured towel in a bag.
- Not really. - he answers. - But someone will be there, no doubt about that. It's better trying to go unnoticed, then.
- And don't forget about these! Without them...it will be a mass barbecue! - Gavner says, laughing, entering the room suddenly. He holds in his hands a couple of white little bottles. I take one, and I read the label, curious.
- "High protection solar lotion, for newborns with sensitive skin. 50." I read.
- You can never be too careful, right? - Gavner says.
- And where did you find those, Gav? - Kurda says, amazed.
- Eh, God forbid that only because I'm a vampire in the human world I remain all the day shut up in a coffin to sleep! I've never accepted this slavery of ours! So, when I felt like going out, I smeared little of it all over myself, and I ventured outside. Of course, you're a bit in a pain anyway, but for a short time it's perfect...
- You've always enjoyed impossible ventures, you daring! - comments on Larten.
- Why, this one isn't? - Kurda says, bended down on his bag.
- I'd say...not - Harkat adds, while he pulls the little lace of his haversack.
- But we vampires are born for challenges, right? - I say, smiling and looking ad them, happy.
- I see you start to understand thoroughly our lifestyle, Darren. - Larten adds. - Of course, as a rule, when we say "challenges", we mean much more than that, but also this one might be considered like a venture to not undervalue.
- And what about these ones? - Gavner says, flourishing something under your noses.
He has in his hands five pairs of sunglasses, all very dark, and as smooth as glass. In the latest fashion!
- Cool! - I say.
- Gavner, you're a strolling bazaar, or what? - Kurda says, more and more astonished.
- He he, I stocked up on them. It's better if we vampires are never lack tha sorts of things, right? - he smile, with a sly expression.
- I imagine so! - I smile.
Knowing that Harkat and me are the only ones that don't suffer at all from the sunlight gives me a strange feeling. The worst thing may happen to me is burning myself a little or fainting because of a sunstroke, like everybody else, even if I've never had a sensitive skin, while on the contrary vampires would even risk to die if they stayed at the sun too long, and the direct light is a terrible pain for their eyes, too. Form the expression of his green eyes, I understand that Harkat agrees with me, and he feels sorry for them.
We continue to prepare ourselves, playing and making jokes, till everything is ready. I check again the haversacks, making me sure to not have forgot anything. Towels, caps, solar lotions with a very high protection power, sunglasses, even a inflatable ball that Kurda had found abandoned in a store, that now sticks out with a bulge from my bag.
- What about the beach umbrella? And the clothes? And the swimsuits? Won't we need all these things? - I point out...
- Sure. But it's better buying them there. We certainly aren't the only "tourists", if we can be called this way. It isn't the first time I go there, and, if my memory serves me well, there is a little store that sells all these things. Let's try only to not look too eccentric. - Larten says, taking off the red cloak he cares about so much. I do the same with mine, even if grudgingly, and Kurda imitates us. I take a glance at what we're wearing: me a sandy long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of jeans a bit worn-out and full of stains, Larten a checked white shirt and dark trousers, Kurda a shirt with a blue tie and light purple trousers, Gavner a yellow shirt and a pair of trousers at least two sizes bigger than his. Harkat, that before had on his usual tunic, has put on a shirt Gavner gave him, a cape completely let down on his face, and a pair of shorts. He looks almost normal, only if someone had looked closely at him he would have noticed the strange colour of his skin.
We all have open sandals, and we all wear the peaked cups (that Gavner had given us)
- I'd say we look all right! - I say. - If we get changed there, nobody should notice how we look a bit...like foreigners. - I giggle.
- May the luck of the vampire's be on our side! - Kurda says, playful.
- Let's go, then! - Gavner says, eager, slapping Kurda on the back and throwing the bag on his shoulders.
We're off!
We set off towards the exit of the Mountain. Larten ahead, Gavner by his side, Kurda and Harkat follow them, with a slower step, whistling cheerful. I'm the last, skipping happy behind them, and reaching Larten with one leap, casting once more at him a glance full of thankfulness and enthusiasm, that he turns back with a warm smile and ruffling my hair jokingly.