Chapter 3: Nightmares are real!
I awoke to the sound of heels clicking on the floorboards. When my eyes fluttered open, I saw Maria standing there, in the doorway with her arms crossed over her torso. "Did you not hear me calling you? Get up, now, or you'll be late for school." She stamped out of the room.
I reluctantly, rolled out of bed and headed into my adjoining bathroom to get ready. When I went to take off my clothes, however, I was stunned to find that I had never changed out of my school uniform. Come to think of it, I didn't even remember coming home last night. How did I get here? I wondered. I wrote it off as just another weird thing to happen to me. I undressed and got in the shower. When I lathered my hair, I had to bite my lip to keep from screaming. My scalp stung mercilessly! I rinsed my hair out, carefully, and jumped out of the shower before I could do any more damage to myself. I went to the mirror to take a look at what had stung so badly. There was a small gash, near the back of my skull. "How the hell did that happen?" I asked myself, aloud. Hmm, weird. I got dressed, I wore some of my street clothes today so my uniform could be washed. I had on a pair of jeans, a old "Kiss" Tee-shirt, my mom had bought me, and my favorite red sneakers. I ran out of the house before anyone could ask me about my wardrobe choice this morning.
School was boring, it always is. But that's not important. What you need to know is what happened to me after I returned home that night. When I found out that nightmares really do exist.
After school, I ate some cereal and watched, "Pirates of the Caribbean" for the thousandth time. Annie usually went over to her aunt's house after school, so I had the house to myself all afternoon while dad and Maria were working. During which time, I lounged about the sofa eating junk food and watching television.
Dad and Maria got home around 5:00. We ate dinner together in silence. My dad ate with his head bowed, staring at his plate, while Maria glared at me from across the table. Annie was her usual cheerful self. She was rambling on and on about the fun games she and her cousins played that afternoon. After dinner I went upstairs and laid on my bed, reading a book. Out the corner of my eye, I could see the sun setting through the French doors leading onto my veranda.
I heard a knock on my door, it opened and my dad entered slowly. "Dawn, dear, we need to talk." I didn't look at him, "No we don't. We haven't spoken a word to each other since I got here, and we seem to be getting a long just fine." I glared up at him, from over the pages of my novel. His expression was that of hurt and sadness. My eyes softened at this moment of weakness in my normally stoned-faced father. He sat on the edge of my bed and laid his hand on my back. "Dawn, please listen to me." He whispered, I turned my face away from him. "I realize all this must have come as a shock to you." I shoved at him angrily, "A SHOCK! A SHOCK! You have a wife and kid I never heard about!" he didn't move an inch, his face remained still. "You're mother told me to stay away from you. I was only following her orders. Dawn, you have no idea how many times I've tried to call you, but wasn't able to gather enough courage to do so." I crossed my arms and turned my back to him, I felt his hand clasp over my shoulder. "I loved your mother, I still do, but we were from different worlds, she and I, and she was afraid for you. She was scared of what would become of you if you stayed in my world that's why she left. I never stopped loving your mother or you." He turned me, so that I had to look at him, "Dawn, please understand, that I was only doing what I thought was best for you and your mother." I looked up at him then, our eyes met, "and your affair had nothing to do with it?" He tore his gaze from mine then and walked hastily from the room.
After he left, I decided to take a warm shower to clear my head. I took off my clothes in my bedroom, throwing them on the floor. (I'd get them later) Then I walked into my bathroom and stepped into a hot shower. I stood there, breathing in the steam, as hot water sprayed onto my back. Tears were running down my face, mixing with the bath water.
Dusk has now set in. The vampire appears on the veranda, as the sky darkens behind him. He steps into the girl's bedroom, gracefully pushing away the lace curtains, so that he may pass through the open French doors. "Alucard", he calls in a calm voice. Within moments the cat pops out from under the girl's bed. Alucard saunters over and rubs his side on the vampire's leg. The vampire lifts up the cat, by the scruff of the neck, who makes no effort to free himself from his masters' grasp. His master looks him over, "Alucard, I do believe you've grown fatter since last night." The cat meowed. The vampire dropped his feline companion on the floor.
He walked, elegantly, around the room, taking in his surroundings. He noticed several articles of clothing on the floor. One in particular caught his eye. He picked it up in his fingers and began to examine it more closely.
When all my anger felt washed away, I cut off the water and stepped out of the shower. I dried off with a fuzzy red towel, then I rubbed it violently over my wet hair, until it was dry. Finally, I picked up my necklace and strung it around my neck, letting the key fall between my breasts. Then I threw my wet towel in the hamper as I walked into my bedroom to get dressed for bed.
However, when I opened the door I found that it was occupied. The dead guy from last night was standing there, by my bed! He was holding my bra in his hand, and staring at it, as if he were trying to figure out what it was. My eyes widened until they were as big as dinner plates. I tried to run, but my legs wouldn't cooperate. His brilliant green eyes shifted their attention to me. Seeing me standing there naked caught the dead guy's interest, he turned his face fully towards me.
I screamed at the top of my lungs. He disappeared from my sight and before I knew it, His hand was over my mouth and his other arm was about my waste. I could feel his cold breath on my neck. "Shush, my dear. We mustn't wake the entire household. That would not bode well for you or I." Out of the corner of my eye all I could see was his mouth dangerously close to my neck. He began again, "I mean you no harm. If you promise not to scream, I'll release you now." I nodded. He released his hold on me and I collapsed onto the floor. "You're trembling." He stated, in a concerned tone.
I did not hear him move away from me but for a brisk moment I did not feel his presence near me. When he returned, he draped my silk robe over my shoulders, how he knew where to find it I had no clue. Had he been watching me? That idea made my skin crawl. I pulled the robe around my front and tied the sash tightly. I hesitantly stood up, my knees were shaking badly. When I had watched his mouth out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I had seen fangs. I looked him up and down with frantic eyes. He didn't seem real to me. He was unearthly beautiful, yet horrifying. His skin was the color of moonlight, his hair black as night, and his eyes a piercing green. Those eyes, oh those eyes, they were lustrous. They were as glorious as heaven's gates to me. They shown with their own light, as if there were spotlights behind them. I knew he wasn't human, but then… what was he?
I glared at him, "What the hell are you?" I muttered. He was standing in front of the veranda doors now, the moonlight shining directly on him. He seemed to glow. "I have been called many things, demon, devil, monster, even angel, at times, but the most frequently used term is …vampire." He said this with a somewhat disgusted tone. I sank onto my bed, my mind was reeling with the idea of having a vampire so close to me.
"No, no, no this can't be happening. V-vampires aren't real." I stated openly to myself, trying to persuade myself that what was happening was a figment of my imagination. He smirked, I could see a glimmer of his sharp teeth, "Yet here I am." He was mocking me. "This has to be a dream. A very… very bad dream!" He moved quickly towards me, he was inches from me now. He touched my chin, and bent over so that his face was level with mine, "I am no dream, my lady. A dream can not kill you. I am just as real as you are."
I was silent for a while. His voice was the one to break the silence, "I see you've been caring for my cat in my absence." I then noticed the black cat from the previous night curled up on the floor. "Your cat?" He nodded, "Alucard has been watching over you for me, since our meeting last night in the crypt." I swallowed hard, "Yes about that, you were dead, I mean don't you kill a vampire by staking them through the heart. How are you still alive?" He smiled, I could clearly see his fangs, " The slayer who killed me was an inexperienced fool, he used the wrong type of wood for his stake, so his efforts only put me to sleep." He laughed the sound of it made my skin crawl. "Now I have a question for you." His face took on a stern expression, "What dealings do you have with the Helsing family? This is their house is it not?" He sounded extremely pissed when he said "Helsing". I almost didn't want to answer him, "I-I'm a…my dad's William van Helsing." He hissed and bared his fangs at me. I cringed, bracing my hands in front of my face. I really did think he was going to kill me then, but for some reason he did not. I looked back at him, "Why would you, a Helsing, help a vampire, like me." He asked, I could tell he was confused. "Well me and my dad aren't exactly on good terms right now." I answered truthfully. "Besides, I had no Idea you were down there." He cocked his head to the side, "Hmm, I would have thought they would've told you of me. Then tell me, where did you get that key around your neck that's no Helsing heirloom." I gripped the key in my hand, "No, It was given to me by my mother, I swear I have no idea why she would have the key to your tomb."
His handsome face grew solemn in thought, "Does the name, Night, mean anything to you?" he asked, his voice deep and beautiful. I was shocked by this question, to say the least. "M-my last name, my mother's last name, is Night." I told him, my voice quivering with shock and fear. He looked right at me then, his eyes piercing into the very fiber of my soul. The vampire's eyes grew larger in realization, I believe, "What year is this!" he spoke loudly. He made me nervous when he spoke. I cringed, "It's 2007." I did not recognize that fear drenched whisper of a voice. He drew deathly still. His eyes showed that he was having a hard time with this news. "2007? But…that can not be!" He snarled, sickeningly and lunged at me. Before my eyes could adjust to his movement, he had me by the throat, his body pinning me to the floor.
"That sniveling traitor!" He roared inhumanly in my face. I was struggling to breathe, his grasp was so strong, and my best efforts could not throw him off of me. His strength was astonishing. "What are-you-talking-a-about?" The words were hard to force out of my throbbing throat. "Your ancestor! Lucas Night! Of course! He swore he would awaken me! But instead he left me there to rot! Fucking Back-stabbing Traitor!!!!" His eyes had turned red and vicious. He didn't look the least bit human. "Please- stop! You're hurting- me!" I pleaded. His eyes took back their green tone, and his face was once again lovely; he smiled at me. His grasp loosened around my neck, his other hand came to rest on my face. "I really should kill you as revenge against your family. …But I won't. I could never hurt you, my dear. I can't." He got off of me and took my hand in his. He lifted me to my feet in one quick motion.
I wrapped my arms around myself, "You're a vampire. Killing me would be easy, so why won't you? What's stopping you?" I asked. He gave me a sinister grin, "I was never going to hurt you, Miss Night. If I had wanted to I would've killed you last night, when I had the chance." I gulped, "Yes, but why didn't you?" I asked again. He took my hand again, and stared into my eyes. "Because you're my savior. You reawakened me, you gave me the chance to live again. And for that I owe you everything." He dropped down to his knee, like he was proposing.
"Miss, Night, from this day forward I pledge my allegiance to you. I vow to protect you from all things that go bump in the night. And to serve your' every whim, until my debt is repaid." He kissed my hand, and looked up at me. "Does that put your mind at ease? A vampire' s word is forever. We are bound by honor to serve our masters, vampire or otherwise." His lips curved into a sly smirk, "Of course, you must pledge your allegiance to me, in return." A sickening feeling came over me. I was scared out of my mind of this bloodthirsty creature before me on bended knee, like a lover, his eyes blazing into my own. "Do I have to?" I asked, suppressing the urge to run screaming out of the room.
His smirk etched farther across his face, "Yes if you want to live." I swallowed my better judgement and nodded in agreement, "I promise." Looking into his eyes, something came over me and stole my tongue, "I promise to be your faithful and obedient servant from here on, until my own debt is repaid, my master." Those words flew out of me. I had not meant to say them but they came anyway. He climbed to his feet, making no sound, he leaned into me and took my mouth with his own. I was aware of his hair flopping into my face, but of little else except his mouth devouring mine. I felt his teeth sink into my lip and blood flowed into his mouth. Once again in a trance like state, I bit into his letting his blood flood into my mouth. We were locked together for what felt like centuries but in reality was only minutes. He pulled away from me and I saw his long tongue slip through his lips and lick up the trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth. "Now our treaty is written in blood. There is no turning back now. You and I are now in allegiance with one another. And as such, I can not kill you and you can not kill me." He smiled cunningly. I snapped out of my trance, and found that he was no longer in front of me.
In another vampire motion, he appeared on the veranda. I realized he was about to leave. I ran after him, "Wait! What's your name?" I figured if he was going to recruit me as his new alli, I should at least know that much about him. He turned his head towards me, "I have long forgotten my human name, however in the vampire world, I am called Davion." "Davion," I repeated. "Mine's Dawn, Dawn Night." He smiled, his fangs shimmered in the moonlight, "Dawn". In the second it took me to blink he was gone.