"What is taking so long?" Sarah said to herself. It had been fifteen minutes since they had called me upstairs, and she was starting to feel uneasy. Just then, Benny, Rory, and Liz walked up to her.
"Is Ethan back yet?" Benny asked.
"No, and I'm starting to worry," Sarah told him helplessly.
"I'm sure he's fine," Liz said.
"I don't know," Sarah said doubtfully. "I've texted him three times and he hasn't answered. That's not like him."
"Something's up," Rory agreed.
"Let's go," Benny said. They all rushed up the stairs and down the hall.
"Does anybody remember which room he was supposed to go into?" Benny asked.
"I think it was the first one on the left," Liz said.
"I hope you're right," Sarah said as she turned the doorknob. Once she opened the door, she knew Liz had been right. I was tied to a chair, unconscious, an unfamiliar vampire about to bite my neck.
"Put those away!" Sarah yelled, getting the vamp's attention. She rushed at him with super-speed and kicked him out of the window behind him. Immediately, she started shaking me, trying to wake me up.
"Ethan! Ethan!" she screamed, but I didn't wake up. Then she smelled the intoxicating scent that could only mean one thing.
"He's bleeding," she said breathlessly, stepping away from me.
"What?" Rory yelped.
"I can smell it," she said frantically. "I think that guy hit him over the head with something."
"Oh, no," Benny whispered, picking up the crowbar that was lying on the floor next to his foot. Just then, the vampire Sarah had kicked jumped back in through the window, and another one broke down the door behind them. Rory started fighting the second one, and Sarah started fighting the first one.
Meanwhile, Benny ran over to me and started untying. Liz tried to get clear shots at the evil vampires with fire bolts and I started waking up. "Benny, what happened?" I asked groggily.
"You're gonna be okay, E," Benny assured me as he finished the last knot. "He hit you with a crowbar and knocked you out, then we came looking for you."
"Trap?" I guessed.
"Yeah, I guess it was," Benny said. I suddenly noticed the battle in progress and looked urgently at Benny.
"There's a silver switchblade in my right sock. Throw it to Sarah!" I said quietly. Confused, Benny searched anyway and found the enclosed weapon where I said he would.
"Nice," Benny said impressed. "Sarah!" Without even looking at her, he threw the knife, she caught it, and finished off the vampire.
The vampire Rory was fighting had him in a headlock. Sarah threw the knife to Liz, who caught it and threw it into the second vampire, missing Rory by less than an inch.
"My afterlife just flashed before my eyes!" Rory said fearfully.
"Sorry," Liz said, embarrassed.
"Everybody okay?...Ethan! Oh, thank goodness," she said gratefully as she ran over and hugged me. "I shouldn't have waited so long to start looking for you. I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, I'm fine," I told her, hugging her back.
She pulled away to help me up, since I was a bit unsteady. "I don't think we should go to anymore parties for a long time," I suggested.
"No kidding," Sarah scoffed.
"I can't believe I missed the whole thing!" Erica exclaimed angrily as they drove home.
"And I can't believe the guys who invited us turned out to be vampires!" Rory said in shock.
"Well, believe it," Sarah said from the backseat.
"It definitely happened. Ow," I said cradling the injured spot on the back of my head.
"Don't worry, Ethan. Grandma will have you fixed up in no time," Benny assured me.
"Shouldn't I go to a hospital?" I asked.
"And tell them what? That a vampire hit you over the head with a crowbar so he could have you for dinner?" Liz asked.
"Well, we can leave out the part about vampires," I said.
"Trust me, it'll just be easier to fix you up at Grandma's," Sarah told me.
"Speak of the devil," Benny said, looking at his phone, "I got a text from her.
'Found the turban, Bernardo. You're in big trouble.'…Oh crud."
"Told you," Sarah said to me as Liz started laughing.
Once we were home, Grandma took Benny to the side to tell him off and then fixed me up.
"Ouch!" I exclaimed as she wrapped the bandage around my head.
"Sorry, dear," she said. "You know, your fortunes did warn you all."
"You're telling me," Rory said, sitting at the table across from us.
"We just didn't think it would happen there," I explained.
"Oh, it can happen anywhere," she said. "The world is a more dangerous place for you six kids than for anybody else."
"Well, that's just great," Erica said. "So that's what we get for fighting the forces of evil?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Grandma answered. "But you're all doing the right thing. Except for Benny, of course." She glared at him, causing him to shrink back in his chair. She stood up and left to put the first-aid kit away.
"It's a miracle I didn't have a concussion," I said. "So, what's your punishment Bernardo?"
"She's making me tell Principal Hicks the truth on Monday, and then I'm giving everybody a refund. So, I lose $150 and I get detention for who knows how long," he said glumly.
"At least you tried, bro," Rory said, patting him on the shoulder. We all just shook our heads, which hurt a little for me.
"So, you know how you talked about lying low a few months ago?" Sarah asked me.
"Yeah."
"It sounds pretty good to me right now," she said with a smile, and all we could do was laugh.