Chapter three is finally up! School got canceled, I've spent most of my time typing up the story. Thank you all for your reviews/comments. They really help out a lot, you're all very encouraging. Wouldn't have update without your support and motivation. Hope you all enjoy! If you see any mistakes or anything funky, please don't hesitate to tell me.

CHAPTER 03

Marshall Lee made it to his mobile home, just in time before the sun's rays could reach him. His little abode was well hidden within a cave, sure the environment may be cramped and a little bit musty for his taste, but it was home. Many wouldn't expect a King to crash in such a place, making it a perfect hiding spot from both his crazed ex-girlfriends and unwanted pursuers.

The boy bent down and reached under the doormat with his free hand. His fingers searched blindly for the key, by the time he found it, the boy eagerly opened the door and made his way inside. Upon entering, he was greeted by a faint purr, Marshall smirked at the little zombie feline below him.

"Hey Schwabelle, seems that we have ourselves a new roomie."

The cat merely stared at the girl that was in her master's arms, curiosity took hold of the cat as she approached closer to Marshall. Seeing this, the boy shook his head and hovered over the pet

"Nu-uh girl, you can't meet her just yet."

The boy was unsure of when he last fed his pet. Marshall questioned his cat's taste in food... Considering that his pet could eat almost anything that's dead or alive, then there's a probability that Schwabelle might give in to her curious nature and devour the infant. So with that, he would have to postpone introductions between the two for the moment. Better to be safe than sorry.

The cat, knowing her master too well didn't bother to venture any further. So instead, the fur ball headed over to the couch and made herself comfortable on one of the cushion. Eagerly waiting for Marshall's return, hopefully with a fresh bowl of meat bits and some fish at hand.

Marshall maneuvered his way to his bed room in the darkness casually, with a still resting baby cradled in his arms. The teenager couldn't help but notice how awful the baby smelt, he reminded himself to give the girl a good scrub by the time she wakes up from her sleep…

Sleep, something that the boy has separated from many years ago. Try as Marshall may, he can't really fall into deep unconsciousness like how others do. Nor does he want to. But there is a good reason as to why that is.

Dreaming brings out memories, many unwanted memories. The boy has lived a long, undead life. Throughout his past, Marshall Lee has witnessed many things that are unpleasant for him to even withstand. He received numerous mental scars that he could barely count. To the boy, that is something he would much greatly like to avoid.

So on most days, he would spend his time writing up lyrics and strumming away on his axe bass to keep him occupied while confined in dark solitude. On some occasions, he would even rewatch some classical movies from his VHS tape stash with Schwabelle. But he got the feeling that today will be different.

Marshall pulled out a drawer from his dresser to the point where he best saw fit to be stable. The boy rearranged his clothes until it resembled a bird's nest before laying the infant down on top of it. With that done, he hovered out of his room but halted when his acute nose caught whiff of an oddly familiar stench. He let out a grunt, "Of course." Marshall kicked off his converse, and carried it with him to the kitchen sink.

While Marshall was busy fixing himself some grub, Schwabelle suddenly barged into the kitchen and started pawing at his feet, meowing obnoxiously loud. The creature's actions alone got Marshall Lee tense and overall concerned. Schwabelle never meows that loud, hell she rarely meows. Is she trying to tell him something. If so, then what? That's when it hit him.

"Crap." He abandoned his sandwich, the contents fell down on the kitchen tiled floor. Marshall Lee quickly transported himself to his room, his cabinet drawer empty… The baby was nowhere to be seen.

Marshall has spent about half an hour or so looking for the little rascal nonstop. Sure he could've sniffed her out, but her stench was heavily masked by his own smell since she slept in his clothes. So he relied heavily on his eyes with the help of his bedroom lights. His room is now messy… well messier, what with all his clothes and belongings scattered about on his carpeted floor. Marshall didn't find the girl until he heard a grumbling sound under his bed.

He swooped down to check under his mattress, the girl was caught gnawing on the boy's precious baseball cap. He took it as a sign that the little rascal was hungry. Very hungry. He dragged the baby out and brought her to the kitchen with some struggle. He wasn't able to rescue his hat, that was already half way eaten.

Marshall is beyond frustrated with the little one. Everything that he presented to her, she refused to take a nibble. Heck, not even a whiff of the given delicacies that his kitchen had to offer. It took him a lot of restraint to maintain his mentality and composure.

He eventually found a food that received the infant's approval, strawberries. The vampire noticed that he was running low of the said fruit and planned on venturing out later to gather more, just so that he could avoid getting into another troublesome situation with her. Marshall also offered her a cup of bug milk juice to wash down the fruit, to which the girl happily indulged herself in. But she ended up spilling herself with the drink due to her unsteady grip of the plastic cup.

The boy brought the baby with him to the bathroom to give her a bath. He prepared the water on the sink, since the girl was far too small for the bathtub. He made sure that the water's temperature was well mixed with cold and hot water considering that he had no sense of touch at all. The girl fussed and kicked when the vampire settled her down on the water. He ended up getting his whole upper body drenched during the process of cleaning the troublesome child.

After drying the infant up with his bath towel, the boy couldn't find any clothes small enough for the girl to wear. So he improvised by using one of his clean handkerchiefs to cover her naked, clad butt. But of course the baby fought back and failed to cooperate with the boy by flailing her limbs in defiance. Never had he felt the need to actually strangle the baby, he was tempted but he had restraint.

Marshall rubbed his temples with much vigor. He was having a major migraine that his powers can't inexplicably seem to heal. The vampire would never admit it, but taking care of a human was far harder than he thought, and it's only been one day!

He was relieved to see her sleeping on his couch. With that, Marshall was given the chance to catch a breather. The vampire teen helped himself with some cherry soda and sat down on the floor, he stretched his neck from side to side, making it crack. The boy eased himself against the front of the couch, and happily drank his soda in huge gulps.

He felt the presence of his feline companion nudging him at his arm. Marshall gave the cat an exasperated sigh to express his discontent as he reached over to pat her on the head.

"Taking care of this little runt is harder than it looks Schwabelle." He points at the sleeping girl with his chin. The cat, noticing the distress in his voice leaned closer against his touch in comfort. At this he chuckled.

"I'm glad you weren't as stubborn as the squirt. At least you know how to behave." Marshall recalled when he first met Schwabelle, he found her while he was chilling out in the cemetery a couple of weeks ago. The boy mistook her as a ghost, until he saw her head roll off from her shoulders. He had never met a real zombie before, so of course he took her in as his pet in a heartbeat. Having her as company during the day was enjoyable. Yes, the boy does get lonely at times, living in solitude has that effect on most people. So over time, Marshall grew very attached to the feline.

Taking care of the undead cat held little effort. All he had to do was feed her meat, which he could easily provide from within the small cave. That and she understood Marshall Lee perfectly well, at a level where they both can communicate with each other through small gestures. Which Marshall was very pleased about. If only the infant's cooperation skills are as smooth as Schwabelle's…

The vampire brushed his scalp in utter frustration with his hands and slumped even further against the couch. He tensed when he heard the girl stir in her sleep, Marshall didn't want the girl up and awake just yet. He's not prepared to face another hair jerking situation. Marshall sat stock still and waited until he could see the girl's body lose tension. He let out a sigh or pure relief, thank Glob.

The corners of his lips twitched upwards, the baby was unknowingly suckling on her thumb again. From the boy's point of view, he found it amusing, and somewhat adorable in a way. Hard to believe that this small girl can be a huge pain the arse. Marshall was satisfied to see that the bumps on her forehead are long gone. But that feeling fleeted when he noticed that the bruises were replaced by two large peculiar purple blotches. His hands tentively reached out to the small one's head, his finger tips grazed one of the marks. The baby flinched and let out a small cry, as if in pain.

The boy recoiled his hand, his whole body relaxed as the girl returned to her tranquil state. There was so many things that he has yet to understand about the human girl. The way she acts and behaves… they were all too foreign to the vampire. It was obvious that the boy holds very few knowledge about humans, even though he was one of them once before during his youth. Oh the irony, he chuckled quietly at the sad fact.

Schwabelle loomed over the sleeping girl, sniffing, analyzing, and mentally registering her scent. It didn't took the cat too long to nuzzle its nose against the baby's plush cheeks. The girl's eyelids fluttered open, her whole body regaining conscious. Marshall Lee inwardly cursed at his pet for waking the infant up.

But his thoughts of revenge on his cat stopped when he heard a bubbly giggle erupt out of nowhere. Marshall looked at the two with disbelief. The baby was seen holding the cat in an embrace, whereas Schwabelle returns the girl's affection with a warm purr. The vampire king's jaw hung low in awe, the two girls bonded instantaneously without even an exchange of words. Maybe it's a girl thing? Marshall shrugged it off, he was relieved to see that they got along easily, despite the huge dead and non dead-gap difference.

If only such a thing could've went as effortlessly between him and the girl, minus the snuggling and purring of course. But other than that, he was thrilled to have somebody else to look after the troublesome child. Because he has plans, big plans for tonight involving a certain three headed cyclops…

It has been a few days since the girl moved in with him. It was hell, but he managed to feel accustomed with the girl and her rowdy behavior. Not only that, he even learned a little bit more about the peculiar human.

He found that she was very fond of the game hide and seek. Marshall noted that the girl is an exceptional climber, one time he found her in one of his kitchen cabinets, hiding behind a cereal box of coco flakes.

Her teeth is starting to grow out, much to his surprise and displeasure when the girl nearly bit off his thumb while he was feeding her. Everything that her tubby little palms can grab on has been marked by her little chompers. Which Marshall Lee really disliked, so he was sure to keep any valuables, especially his base guitar out of her reach.

She poops… a lot. Marshall Lee never smelt anything so fowl in his life! When it came to changing her diaper, the boy was sure to use his trusty clothes pin to protect his sensitive nostrils from the stench and a pair of rubber gloves that he rarely uses. Heck he didn't even knew he had such a thing, but he was glad to have stumbled upon it during one of their hide and seek games.

That and he concluded that the baby is in fact a total klutz. Every day, he would find the girl with at least one or two bruises on her body. Particularly her head. The little squirt has a tendency to do stupid stuff when Marshall is out of sight, busy tending to other things. Afraid that the girl might hurt herself into a coma, he went through the trouble on getting her a bunny hat that he personally hunted and skinned himself. It will help protect her scalp from any further damage, plus the girl resembled the rabbit perfectly. She is tiny and fragile sure, but still very energetic despite her small frame.

Feeding the baby became a breeze to him, Marshall had stocked up a bountiful amount of strawberries for both the girl and himself. But the aftermath of the girl's feeding always resulted into one big mess. Oh, and Marshall added that she was also a messy eater.

So technically after every breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there was bath time.

Marshall has spent most days taking care of the kid. At night however, she requires very little attention. Because of that, he would always leave the infant under Schwabelle's care whenever he heads out to do what he normally does. Brawl and feed… and maybe pick up a chick or two on the way when he feels like it.

This continued on until the boy first heard the girl's earth shattering cry echo the halls of his small home. He was just a step away from exiting his home, the boy instantly changed his course of direction and transported himself to his bed room in a nanosecond. He flipped on the light switch. There on his bed, the babywas completely covered under his oversized blanket. He could see the covers shifting with the girl's movement, overpowering her, drowning her even. The teenager hastily tossed the sheet aside. Marshall's eyes immediately took in the sight of a weeping girl, her eyes were shut yet tears continue to stream down her cheeks, soaking his pillows and bed sheet.

He knew right then and there what she was experiencing. She was having a nightmare. Adrenaline rushed through him at the sight of the baby's dismay. He has to wake her up, fast.

He gently shook her arm and spoke to her with hushed words.

"Squirt, wake up. C'mon wake up."

The girl came alive with a jolt, upon seeing the boy she instantly clutched at his sleeve and buried her face into the fabric of his sweater. She looked completely terrified. Marshall gulped, what is he supposed to do now? He hesitantly brought his hand to the top of the girl's head and began the pet her. This sort of gesture was something that Marshall's mother would do to him whenever he had a bad dream. He tried his best to mimic her gentle strokes, apparently it's working judging by the way the human's body relaxed.

He continued on with his petting and uttered more words to the girl. In hopes that doing so would calm her nerves even further.

Like magic, the baby's cries reduced to silence at both his soothing voice and comforting touch. Sleep overtook her once more, the little human was out in just a matter of seconds. Her body lay limp against his cold, dead hands.

Schwabelle came in soon after and eyed at both him and the girl with alarm. She stood far away, not wanting to interrupt the two and watched the scene with observant eyes.

He laid the girl down to rest, her grip on him still firm. It was as if he was her life vest, to help keep her afloat from sinking back into her dark dream. Marshall gazed worriedly at the girl, his eyes grew darker as if he were seeing himself lying on the bed instead of her. He could hear the words resurface from the back of his mind.

Weak. Helpless. Fragile.

He gently pulled himself free from the baby's grasp, he floated back to the door and left without bothering to turn off the light. He let out a shaky groan while his hand went up to comb his messy black locks. Taking care of a human can be so troublesome...

See, I promised that the chapter would be longer didn't I? Ahaha What do you think so far? Did you find anything interesting? Your thoughts of Schwabelle and Marshall?

What do you think the next chapter should be about? ;)