I don't own the Lost Boys characters. Just thought you should know that.
As soon as I rushed in through the door of the comic book store, I hollered, "My cousin's a vampire!" Of course, I'd forgotten that this was a store and therefore there would be other people there. The people, mostly kids my age or a little older, all looked up with startled looks. I blushed and tried not to meet anyone's gaze in particular- until Edgar and Allan walked over to me quickly.
"Shh, c'mon, in here," Edgar breathed into my ear, placing a hand on my shoulder to steer me toward a door that proclaimed: EMPLOYEES ONLY- I tried not to be too conscious of the heat of his palm against my skin. Once we were safely inside a small, red-hued bedroom of sorts, the two brothers turned to me with their usual serious expressions. "Okay, so what happened?" Edgar asked, knowing that something must have happened for there to be a complete 180˚.
"Okay, well last night- or rather early morning- my cousin snuck in late but I didn't think it was him so I went downstairs and hit him with a baseball bat then found out it was him and he got angry and snarled and his eyes were flaming red and he leaped and I hit him again and he realized what he'd done but I ran upstairs and I haven't seen him since!" I exclaimed, then gasped, out of breathe.
Edgar and Allan exchanged a long, serious (no surprise there) glance and then turned to me. "I'm afraid we have no choice but to kill him," Edgar told me solemnly, emotionlessly. My eyes grew wide with despair and his stoic face softened slightly. "I'm sorry," he added quietly.
I was silent for a moment, contemplating Marko's fate. There was no way I could kill him…was there? What if he hurt me or tried to bite me. What if he tried to hurt my family? What then? Just let him get away with it? Let our family suffer for his nutritional needs? "Isn't there any other way?" I pleaded and the two brothers looked at each other skeptically.
"There is one other solution…" Allan began and I clutched at the opportunity. "What?" "If we kill the head vampire- the one who turned him- then he'd return back to normal," Allan went on but before I could get my hopes too high, Edgar interjected. "But we don't know who the head vampire is."
My heart plummeted into a dark hole of grief. I couldn't kill my cousin, my own flesh and blood! Could I…? "She could ask her cousin, couldn't she?" Allan inquired. I looked at them both hopefully. Edgar remained skeptical. "I don't know…it could be dangerous," he warned.
"Oh, c'mon! I'll be fine!" I insisted. Edgar sighed and I knew I'd won. "Okay. But I want to come with you." I blinked. "Why?" I asked, confused. "Well, if he did happen to attack, at least I'd know how to handle it," he replied with a shrug. "If you're going, then I'm going," Allan announced.
"Is that okay with you?" Edgar asked me and I shrugged. "I'll have to come up with an excuse for my mom, but sure," I replied, remembering that Mom hadn't wanted me to go to the Boardwalk until the killer was caught. I could say I met them on the beach, I thought to myself.
"When?" Edgar asked, breaking into my thoughts. "Tomorrow night, around six?" I suggested and they both nodded at the same time. "That's fine with us. We'll see you then…but if he does attack, then I'll stake him without even thinking twice about it. I hope you understand that," Edgar warned me. My heart fluttered nervously, but I forced myself to nod. If push came to shove, it appeared Marko would have to die.
Damn vampires, I thought grimly to myself, saying good-bye to the two brothers who had so suddenly become my allies and friends.
"Tomorrow night" came fast, so fast that I barely had time to prepare for it. I tried to spend as little time around Marko as possible, which was easy because he seemed to be doing the same. I only saw him once, and his back was turned to me as he was hopping onto his motorcycle.
Edgar and Allan came at six o' clock sharp, as if they were afraid that I would go ahead with the plan if they didn't show up to babysit me. That irked me, but not as much as my mom's response to their appearance. She took one look at them, told them to make themselves at home, and then dragged me into the kitchen, practically pulling my arm out of its socket as she tugged me away. Her eyes pierced into me like daggers- she was furious.
"You didn't tell me they were boys," she growled and I blinked. "But…they're just friends!" I protested. "You just met them! How do you know they aren't just looking for someone to fool around with?" she demanded and my mouth fell wide open. My mom had never been afraid to put things bluntly, but this just appalled me.
"Mom!" I exclaimed in a shocked voice. She looked shocked that I was shocked. "What? You expect me to just let my daughter hang around with a bunch of guys she just met?" I glared back at my mother; I imagined myself with laser vision.
"They're just friends. If they try something, I can handle it. I can take care of myself!" With those parting words, I stalked back out into the living room where Edgar and Allan still were. I almost laughed, but was still too worked up to really be amused. They were standing back to back, as stiff as boards, their eyes flickering around a mile a minute.
"Something you two are expecting?" I drawled. "Yeah, a bloodsucker," Allan replied, acting as if he hadn't heard the sarcasm. I rolled my eyes and grabbed both of their sleeves. "He's still upstairs," I told them and dragged them up the steps. They didn't relax at all. You'd think they'd entered some deadly creature's tomb…well, if you considered our beach house a tomb, then it was pretty true.
I took a deep breathe before knocking on Marko's door. "Who is it?" he called. "Megan," I returned and there was a moment of silence before I heard footsteps. When the door opened, Marko stuck his head out and studied me with cautious eyes. I noticed with relief that they weren't flaming.
And then he saw Edgar and Allan, smelled the garlic and Holy water they had thought to carry with them, and snarled. "Who are they?" he hissed angrily. "Don't worry, they're friends. We just want to talk," I reasoned and Marko glared at me.
"You know, don't you?" he demanded and I nodded hesitantly. He rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Come in. We don't want the rest of the family getting in on our little secret," he ordered, pulling me inside. I noticed that he stayed away from the brothers as if they were lepers. They returned his glares, flanking me protectively, and raised stakes up in the air like knives.
Marko hissed, eyes flaring, and stepped back another foot. He threw his glare in my direction with a huff of fury. "How could you drag them in here? They could kill me, Megan! Don't you care?" he demanded. I gave him a pleading look. "Marko, I just wanted to talk to you. They're just here because they were worried about me," I insisted.
Marko sneered. "So you dragged your little pet boyfriends over here, who are also vampire hunters, to talk to your cousin, the vampire? Good going." I grimaced, trying to ignore the word "boyfriends".
"Look, I know you're mad, but they're not going to hurt you, okay? I tell them-'' I began to say "I tell them what to do" but Edgar and Allan both glowered at me, so I choked it off and began again. "Just hear me out, okay? I just don't want any of our family hurt. You can understand that, right?" Pain filled Marko's eyes and I imagined he was thinking of two nights ago, when he'd attacked me.
"Yeah, I understand. But you don't have to worry, really. I'm under control now. Just stay out of my way," he warned and I blinked, my heart fluttering anxiously in my chest at the very real threat that laced his semi-innocent words.
"Yeah, okay, fine," I muttered, feeling as though the conversation was drawing to a close. My chest filled with panic. No, I have to ask him about the head vampire! But not directly; I wasn't that stupid. If I asked him directly, he most likely wouldn't tell me, brushing it off as "getting in his way" or something stupid like that. No, I'd have to be more subtle.
"Oh, hey, Marko? Who are those guys you were hanging out with the other night? They were talking to me earlier today, and I was just wondering what their names were, in case we talked again," I asked. Edgar glanced at me but I ignored him, waiting patiently for Marko's answer. His eyes were hard.
"Dwayne, Paul, and David," he answered and then glanced at his clock. "Now get out. I have to change." "But-'' I protested, but Marko shoved me out of his room. Edgar and Allan followed, keeping their eyes and their stakes leveled warningly at my cousin, before he slammed the door in our faces.
"Sorry, guys," I apologized. Edgar shrugged, even though Allan looked annoyed. "It's fine. We'll find out sooner or later." "Sooner, rather than later, I hope," his brother muttered.
Edgar ignored him and glanced at his watch. "Oh, Megan? Did you want to come to a concert with us tonight? I heard you liked INXS," he asked casually. "INXS is here?" I asked excitedly and he nodded, smiling- the first time I'd ever seen him really smile.
"When's the concert?" "Well, it starts at 7:30, so we should leave-'' "Now!" I finished, grabbing their sleeves again and towing them downstairs.
"Megan, where are you going?" my mom hollered from the kitchen. "Out!" I replied, still feeling a stir of anger at her overreaction. "Wait!" she called, but I was already flying out the door. Edgar, Allan, and I sped off on our bikes.
Despite the fact that I hadn't found the information I'd wanted or needed, I knew there was still time. That gave me hope. And the fact that I was defying my mom made the freedom sing loudly in my veins.
Woohoo! Fifth chapter! No flames please.