PART II:
THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT.
Chapter X
The day was slowly coming to an end, and an earth that had once been bathed in sunshine had reached the hour of dusk.
There weren't many houses on Circus Avenue. In fact, there was only one that was still inhabitant. The rest of the houses that had been built beside the road were old, abandoned, and were made up of aged, burnt, wood. The one house, which probably had at least two residents, had a seemingly normal structure. It was mostly covered in chipped, yellow paint, and the rest was brick.
Breaking the silence of the calm, the door to the house opened, and a man stepped out. He quickly walked down the steps of the old veranda, then into the woods behind the house. It was an adult, and he looked like he could be aged anywhere from 30 to 40.
The man's name was Jason. Jason Convery. Back at his house, he had a wife, but that was it. His daughter was in college, and his once fourteen year old son had been killed.
Jason looked around to make sure no one was looking, and then took something out of his pocket.
One thing his family didn't know:
He was a major drug addict.
The needle of a syringe poked the skin of his arm, and just as he was about to drive it deep into his vein-
There was the sound of a twig breaking.
He looked up, scanning the area for anybody watching him. He'd be dead if his wife found out about this. Not a soul could know.
In the shade of the afternoon, the sun made even usually insignificant shadows of the smallest trees stretch to reach out across the woods.
But now he could see an oddly shaped shadow creep through the forest, coming toward him. It was like nothing he had ever seen before- The shadow was big, and had a whole bunch of curly points to it that seemed to curl around. It was.. Dancing. Dancing around in the woods- Like something from a movie written by Steven King.
Jason's heart began to punch the inside of his rib cage.
Thump, Thump, Thump.
He couldn't scream. He couldn't run. All Jason Convery could do was stand there, his eyes glued to the mysterious figure. When it seemed like his heart would finally burst from beating so fast,
It just turned out to be a girl, wearing a fading mini skirt and a guns and roses tee that seemed pretty unclean. A small, blonde, lost and most likely frightened little girl.
Once Jason realized what the shadow was really hiding, he smiled. A cruel, sickening smile snuck up the side of his face, revealed his pointy, cigarette stained teeth.
Another thing his family didn't know:
He was a pedophile.
Ariel twirled around carelessly in the dull light of the afternoon. Yes, she did see the man out of the corner of her eye. And yes, she did realize he possessed drugs. And, why- Yes, she did realize she had just scared the living crap out of him.
Soon Ariel's dance came to an end. She then looked over at the man. At his smile.
Yeah, he's a pedophile all right. Ariel thought to herself. Still, she dared to go closer. Pretending to be the dim-witted, silly little girl, Ariel pulled a girly smile.
"Hey mister," She giggled.
Jason kneeled down a bit, smiling at her. "Why hello," He greeted in a "kind" tone. "Are you lost?"
She just shrugged, thoughtfully. "Well I don't know, I was just hanging out back here, wanna join me?" Ariel asked, digging her toe into the dirt, shifting it around.
Jason's hideous smile grew wider. "I would love to." He stood.
Ariel took his hand, and led him back into the darkness.
This is too easy.. He thought.
Ariel had to hide her smile. This is too easy.
She pulled him back to a small, clear area of land within the forest, then let go of his hand. While Jason looked around to see if anyone else was here, Ariel sat down against a broad tree trunk, tucking her knees under her chin.
Jason turned to Ariel. Once his eyes met hers, he noticed something just now that he hadn't noticed before. Right now, the little girl didn't seem too bubbly and cheery.. She seemed grim, and.. Hungry..?
Ah, whatever. He brushed it aside, then leaned toward the girl. Smiling, he leaned closer. "So, what's your name?" He asked, leaning closer.. closer..
Shit.. Ariel thought in her head. Her plan wasn't going to well. "Um.. Ar..Ariel.."
"What a pretty name you have," He replied with a smirk. Jason leaned in close enough so Ariel could feel his body heat, his breath. Soon his body was pressing up against hers.
Where are they..! Her thoughts screamed.
"What nice legs you have.." He murmured, putting his hands on her ankles, running them up, slowly.
Ariel winced at the stench of his breath. When he felt his hard fingers going up her skin, she couldn't take it anymore.
She spat at him. Screw Mr. Crepsley.
Ariel could see a small fire in Jason's eyes, but just before he could raise a finger-
Mr. Crepsley- Or though it seemed too be him, Ariel had only the blur of red to guess by- Bolted over toward them, grabbed Jason's hair, then slammed his face into the tree, making the whole thing shake. Ariel crawled away, thinking it might fall on her. Mr. Crepsley smashed his face into the trunk of the tree several more times, then left him unconscious on the dirt floor.
Quietly, Ariel sat down a few feet away from the man. She looked at him- his bruised and bleeding face, then up at Mr. Crepsley, who shook her head at her.
"What exactly were you thinking?" He asked.
Ariel looked back at Jason. "I'm sorry; I thought you would be here sooner."
I watched them fight over it for a few minutes. Then, Mr. Crepsley finally decided he had had enough, and then we were discussing blood.
Ariel and I watched closely as Mr. Crepsley cut deep into one of the man's legs with his sharp, red nails. As soon as blood began too flow from the wound, he kneeled down and started to suck it up.
"Ariel," He nodded to her when he was finished.
She shook her head, looking away.
Mr. Crepsley sighed, then turned to me.
"Sorry.. I can't.."
He shook his head angrily. "What is wrong with you two? You are both half vampires now. Especially you, Ariel; you are a vampire princess, for god's sake."
We both stood quietly. Mr. Crepsley sighed, then took to the wound and cleaned it up.
"Hopefully you will both learn.. Before it is too late to be saved.." He murmured, spitting on the wound.
"Why don't you just leave him?" Ariel sighed.
"I suppose it would give the police a clue to find us." He then stood, and took in a breath of the dusk atmosphere. "Come, we will find an animal for you too feed on for the moment."
It was late in the afternoon when I woke up to our hotel room. Three or so was my usual wake-up time, considering there was no school to get up too, and Mr. Crepsley woke at dusk anyway.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Ariel in the small kitchen over the counter besides me. It seemed she was making food or something, but I wasn't sure. After I rubbed my eyes, she looked over toward me, then motioned for me to come over.
Quietly, I jumped out of my bed, quickly fixed the covers, and then walked over.
"How can you sleep so late..?" Ariel asked softly, pulling a plate out from the microwave. Fortunately she hit "Stop" when there was only a second left, so Mr. Crepsley wouldn't be waken by the loud beep.
I just shrugged. "I don't-"
Ariel took the plate and handed it to me. It was an actual breakfast, consisting of eggs, bacon, and two pancakes. I stared down the hot plate that was in my hands. It made me think of Mom.. The mornings where I would get up to that smell of food, and.. I shook the memory off, then smiled at Ariel.
"Thanks,"
She smiled back, then sat on the couch with a roll in her hand. "No prob."
After we finished eating, there was nothing left to do besides bite our nails. Well- I bit my nails. Ariel hated doing it, so she left her nails relatively long. I guess they were about the same size as most girls had theirs.
We talked for a while about vampires. It was great to have Ariel around, because she felt the same way as me.. Well, almost the same way. As of what she's told me about her life back at the orphanage, it didn't seem too great there. In fact, it seemed pretty bad. But, even though I was the only one who had a family to miss, I still felt lucky and bad for Ariel. I mean, at least I had a family.