Benny's Grandmother
There was several more screams at Vampire HQ that night. That was when Erica realized she was no longer a vampire. She spared a scream for the skeletons of Anastasia and Jesse, but it was mostly no longer being a vampire that concerned her.
"There's got to be some mistake" Erica told Sarah. "I'm not going to have my dream life destroyed so easily. NOBODY gets un-undead. It's a rule. It's not that way in Dusk, it's not that way here. As soon as this negative energy shortage disappears, we'll be back to our immortal selves. Maybe even Anastasia and Jesse will return. It'll show you that a couple of geeks can't ruin our lives.
"I don't want to be a vampire" said Sarah. "And I've never wanted to be a vampire. Remember?"
"Besides" said Rory. "All that Ethan and Benny were trying to do was to stop Vice Principal Stern.
"Well, they didn't really succeed, not the way we wanted" said Erica. "Did they, Rory? You still believe in the power of immortality. You know, rocking the big V?"
"Yeah, I want my super powers back!" said Rory, as Benny and Ethan rolled their eyes. "You think this dark energy thing is like kryptonite? Once it's gone I've got my vampire powers back?"
"No, Rory" said Benny exasperated. "It's like Superman and the whole yellow sun power thing. Dark energy is the yellow sun for your vampire powers. Besides, it may not be your yellow sun and there might be nothing that'll bring it back."
"Frack" said Rory, kicking the dirt.
"Look," said Ethan "we know who to ask."
Benny's grandmother had recovered from her Stern-induced blackout by this time. She confirmed what Ethan had already speculated.
"You can't power up again, Rory" said Benny's grandmother kindly, although she had a very low opinion of bloodsuckers and considered the boy crazy to actually want to be one. "A lack of dark energy starves the curse of vampirism. But not in quite the same way the lack of blood or a reasonable blood substitute. The lack of negative energy doesn't harm the mortal body, but starves the curse. Once the curse is starved to death, it's as if you were never a bloodsucker in the first place."
Erica bit her lip and turned red.
"Why didn't you tell me that this was a cure?" asked Sarah.
"Because I had no way of carrying it out" said the old woman. "The dark energy drain is more of a side effect of Stern mishandling the lucifractor than anything else."
"So there'll be no more monsters in Whitechapel?" asked Benny, in a sort of disappointed tone.
"Really?" said Ethan, who liked the idea of things turning back to normal.
"Oh, most monsters will show up around here. Like the way they've always done" said Benny's grandmother. "But no vampires for the next four or five years. Not until dark energy builds up. Evil has a way of returning, through very simple means. Normal crimes like theft, robbery, assault. All those produce negative energy. Then the bloodsuckers can return without their curse being destroyed."
"And when they do I'll be waiting with open arms" said Erica furiously, "ready to be one of them again."
She stood up pridefully. But as Erica too had once needed glasses, her exit was marred when she walked into an end table. Erica responded by angrily smashing some of Ethan's mom's best china before making her way outside.
Benny's grandmother fixed the dishes with a wave of her finger.
"Removing dark energy is near impossible" she said. "But this is child's play."
"I'll speak to Erica tomorrow, Ethan" observed Sarah. "I'm sure she'll listen to reason. Oh, Ethan?"
"Yeah, Sarah?"
"When you have a girlfriend, you usually like to put your arm around her like this"
Sarah put Ethan's arm around her atop the sofa.
"Well, I'll be going home" said Rory bitterly. "I guess I need a good night's sleep again."
"Hey, Rory" said Benny. "I remember how you were always eating carrots so you'd be able to see at night. And how you always kept walking into things."
"Laugh at the ex-vampire" said Rory angrily. "The helpless nearsighted non-flying guy wearing the clothes that don't fit."
"This isn't like you" observed Benny's grandmother.
"No, it isn't" Rory said angrily, as he slammed the door and stumbled near-sightedly off into the night.