"ADAM! You're here, finally!" George screamed as she charged towards her brother.
Adam, who was standing awkwardly outside, crouched down and dropped the leather bag his real father had given him. The loud thud from the worn leather made as it collided with the ground barely disguised the clinking of the blood bottles inside. He hoped no one noticed the distinct sound.
George had managed to capture him in his distraction, so she hugged him tightly to secure him in place and whispered in his ear "Happy birthday!"
Usually, Adam would protest her affections. But today he didn't feel the same deep, resentful urge to reject her. He was in a much better mood than he had been in for weeks leading up to his birthday.
George loosened her grip, then grasped Adam's forearm. She tried to pull him inside, but Adam's arm slipped from her grasp as he collided with what felt like an invisible wall. George was too excited to notice her brother's face being squished against seemingly nothing, and ran off, distracted by a bundle of balloons. Adam just about reconfigured himself before Sally noticed him.
"Aren't you coming inside?" She asked, which, unfortunately for him, was not exactly an invite. Adam just looked at her like a deer caught in headlights. With slack shoulders and a defeated look on his face, Adam stood up and looked at his mother. His mouth moved as if he was going to say something, but not a sound managed to escape from his lips.
Sally looked at him and she was confused, but slightly amused at her son's strange behaviour. Her concealed feelings escaped through a smirk and a poorly concealed snort.
"What are you doing just standing there, come inside, mate." His stepfather told him as he put two large, raw steaks in a frying pan.
Adam picked up the bag, slinging it back over his shoulder and finally entered the warmly lit house. He had to stop himself from drooling at the sight of the two bloody, juicy cuts of meat that were sizzling energetically as his stepfather poked at them. He was being surprisingly nice, considering Adam had always assumed his stepfather mildly loathed him. It was doubly surprising since he'd been suspended. Then again, it was his birthday. He'd surely get told off tomorrow.
"Alright! The steaks will be ready in about ten minutes. Go, get yourself changed." Sally announced a little too excitedly, as she nearly knocked the pan off the stove when she took over from her husband.
Adam ran up the stairs a little too quickly for a human. He entered his room and flicked the switch. The light flooded the room that was already partially lit by the setting sun, fully illuminating Adam's mostly black bedroom. Nothing had changed in it, but Adam couldn't help but feel a strange feeling coming over him. He didn't feel quite right. He had this overwhelming feeling that he was suddenly out of place. He tried his best to ignore it and walked over to lightly set down his bag full of blood at the bottom of his bed by his mirror. He needed a distraction. He considered reading the old biology homework on his desk: The Heart and the Lungs. Adam decided against it. Boredom was not a good distraction. He just couldn't shake the feeling of being unwelcome in his room.
Maybe if he changed clothes? Adam undid his tie, and unbuttoned the yellowish shirt, replacing it with a 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' T-Shirt. He hadn't fully realised what he'd done before looking down at the bloody red writing on his chest.
That was his name… His father's name, his family name. He still couldn't quite wrap his head around the concept. He was a Dracula… Dracula was real, and Adam was his son!
He couldn't let himself ponder it too much. He'd drive himself mad with excitement. A cheesy grin widened on his face, but the uneasy feeling hadn't gone away.
More distraction, that's what he needed.
But it felt impossible. He couldn't focus on anything. Any colours in his room had become far too bright and the light was blinding and the humming of the radiator and the buzzing from the lightbulb were unbearable and the heat from the radiator felt as if he was standing next to a fire and- Adam just couldn't take it.
Overwhelmed by his new senses, Adam flung himself back into the cool, dim, comforting corridor.
He took a moment to compose himself, to breathe before he… went… downstairs… But he didn't need to breathe. He hadn't taken a breath, except to talk, for the last few hours. Adam tried to breathe, but it was forced, and it was raspy, and his throat became tight and dry as he inhaled and exhaled without cause. Adam raised his head, in hopes that it would help him breathe better. But, in doing so, he found himself looking at the tall mirror by the staircase. It was then something clicked.
A pure and sickening terror overcame him. A deep-seated dread he had never had the displeasure of experiencing before. An icy chill crept down his body from where his hair crowned and settled like heavy and frigid sediment in his hands and feet. Although his eyes did wander for split seconds to look at the spot on the carpet where his feet made an indent, or the shadow on the wall cast by his body, all Adam could do was fixate on the empty spot where his body should've been. But it wasn't there. Adam felt a wave of grief overcome him as he found himself suddenly missing, no, mourning being human. He hadn't fathomed what was truly happening until now. Amidst all the excitement and anxiety, he'd forgotten he would never cast a reflection again, or that his lungs had a lesser purpose than they had that morning.
Adam fought back a few loose tears. Then he had a dreadful thought… Frantically, he raised his fingers to his neck. He pressed them deep into his skin. False hope at his fingertips, he searched. A throbbing... A heartbeat… Anything at all beneath his skin!
But he felt nothing…
He was dead.
Only to make matters worse, a weak beam of sunlight had been shining in from a window behind him. It had scorched his arm. Adam's body jerked from the searing pain as he hastily stepped out of the way.
He'd never have the chance to be normal ever again, would he? Never again would he be dragged on a silly kayaking or camping trip with his family. He'd never get to see the sun again, at least directly. He, unlike many, had given it a lot of thought, and he never thought he'd miss it, but the reality of being unable to see it ever again… It felt as if a right he never knew he had was taken away.
Severely disheartened, Adam trudged heavily down the stairs. His family were waiting, and they were overtly happy. His mood paled in comparison to their glee.
George and his mother were now sitting in the living room, whilst Adam's stepfather served the stakes. He tried his best to ignore what little blood was left in the meat, oozing out on the plate as his stepfather cut one for George. And then there were the three pulses in the house. It was all so overwhelming, but he couldn't show it to them.
"Adam, finally, what took you so long?" His mother asked as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah! You were taking forever!" George complained. Seconds had turned into minutes in her world.
"I was… Changing." Adam uttered, still very deep in his thoughts.
Sally ushered George away to help her father, sensing that something wasn't quite right with Adam. "I'm sorry about her, You know how excited she gets about these types of things," Sally said in an attempt to ease the strange tension, simultaneously fumbling with a pile of horrendously colourful wrapped gifts. She seemed to be looking for something.
Adam had walked over to the sofa opposite the one where his mother was. He sat or rather fell backwards onto the cream-coloured leather. Half of his body disappeared into the mountain of pillows upon it.
Sally raised a concerned eyebrow at him, but she wouldn't pry just yet, he was obviously in no frame of mind to talk about what was bothering him. To distract both parties from the uneasy air in the room, Sally had turned her attention to an older-looking letter she'd pulled out of the bottom of the birthday gift tower, which promptly turned into a heap. She handed the letter to Adam gently, dodging tumbling boxes as she did. She looked more upset than excited.
Adam leant over to take hold of the letter. "What is it?" He asked, more boredom evident in his voice.
"It's actually something your grandfather left… Before he disappeared. There's a letter for you and George." Sally said as quietly as she could so George wouldn't hear. Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to smile. She couldn't bring herself to admit that her father had most likely died.
"Oh..." Adam admitted in shock and slight regret. He'd thought the letter was nothing, but it was… well, something. Something odd. Who does something like that? Leaving letters and disappearing into thin air. His life wasn't some fantasy! Although, admittedly, in recent hours he couldn't be certain…
"There were instructions for us not to open it, and for you two to open it on your sixteenth birthdays." Sally's voice trembled "Sounds like something out of a film doesn't it?" She continued with a nervous laugh as she held back more of her tears.
A moment passed in which Sally looked hopefully between her son and the letter. Adam looked back at her, unsure of what to do. He could tell she desperately wanted to know the contents of the letter, but he had a feeling he should read it alone. A few seconds later, Sally seemed to catch on. Hesitantly, she got up, smiled, and leaned over to kiss his forehead before turning hurriedly and leaving. Adam saw her wipe away a tear just before she left his view.
He was intrigued. Adam ripped open the letter across the top and pulled out a piece of lined paper. Slowly, he pulled the pages apart to reveal his grandfather's writing inside. The letter had been rushed, the handwriting was all lopsided and messy. Words were scribbled out, the paper was slightly crumpled, and as Adam fully unfolded the paper, a small key fell out.
Adam's eyes shot downwards to look at the key that had bounced off his foot and had landed snuggly underneath the heap of presents. But, curiosity about the letter far exceeded any curiosity Adam harboured for the key. Adam took a forced breath and closed his eyes before his eyes fixed on the first word:
'Dear Adam, before I say anything else, I want to say that I'm sorry. I know, or at least hope It must've been a terrible shock to you and the entire family when you found out that I had gone. The reason I Ieft is much more selfless than you'd think. I'm sure you'll disagree, but I'll try my best to explain. Please believe me, my boy.
'When you recently became ill with those sleeping spells, I was forced to reconsider everything I had risked when I decided to have a family. How I've been risking your lives, not only my own with my activities.
'I'll explain like this, so hopefully, you'll believe me: I'm sure you remember my craft shed. You were so curious when you were young to know what was inside, but I never let you in. Your intrigue gave me a strange sort of hope you might join me one day. To put it plainly, it was full to the brim with weapons. Before you make any assumptions, they weren't anything illegal. It was more like hunting gear. Well, not exactly your typical hunting gear: Stakes, mallets and crossbows. Of course, I'd think you of all people will know where this is headed…'
If Adam's heart still beat, it would've skipped one. The initial relief that his grandfather was alive had completely worn off. He didn't need to read his grandfather's explanation of what he used these weapons on. His grandfather was right, Adam knew exactly what he was talking about. He felt sick. Horribly, disgustingly sick. With trembling hands from the fiery feeling of betrayal that coursed through his body, Adam clutched the paper tighter. He had to finish reading…
'When you arrived in this world to your mother when she was so young, my priorities changed. I gave up 'slaying'. It was unfair on your mother and it was unfair on you if I'd told either of you anything then. It was too much pressure, too much of a risk. But from a young age, you had such a morbid interest in those terrible creatures, the undead, especially vampires. I hoped that the fascination would one day turn into hatred. That you'd join and help me rid this world of the evil undead.
'I'm assuming you're reading this on your sixteenth birthday, and that means you're old enough to make some of your own decisions. Sixteen is when I started slaying vampires, and now the option will be there for you to do the same.
'I know you may still be angry with me, but I didn't leave you for any selfish reason. I've been worried about you ever since you started having those sleeping spells. I don't know whether they're still occurring or not, but I sincerely hope they aren't. Those dreams you had were clearly unnatural, obviously a mark of a vampire from the contents. I tried everything to help you. Garlic as you slept, a close monitoring, I even considered taking you in to live with your grandmother and I for a while. Nothing was physically wrong with you, yet you suffered. I don't know why it happened or perhaps who caused them, but I feared that a vampire was using you to get to me. There was no other plausible explanation. And if I find that it is true, that it was my fault, then I'm sorry, my boy.
'I plan to research it, find a way to stop it so it never happens to you or anyone else again.
'You might think I'm mad, and I don't blame you, but please consider coming to find me. I do hope you do. I know you'll find a way.
'I'll miss you all dearly, and I'm sure I still miss you as you read this. -Grandad'
Adam's mouth was agape with shock. His whole body felt weak and shaky. His eyes felt strange as he glared at the lined piece of paper that was being slowly shredded by his fingertips. They felt hot with anger, and the heat started to rise and rise. His hands burnt as the paper caught fire. Adam threw it to the ground and stomped on it with a passion, not only to stop the living room from catching fire but from channelling his anger into the repeated and violent motion. The paper was cool when Adam stopped.
If he wasn't caught in his own little vampire predicament at the moment, he would've assumed that his grandfather had completely lost it and that he was reading the cruel ramblings of a madman. But vampires did exist, meaning that his grandfather had killed one, killed someone like Adam. But he didn't know that Adam was like that. At least he didn't think so. It was a good thing he supposed…
His face was contorted with disbelief, hatred and heartbreak for himself but for his family too. His grandfather's kindly worded letter told Adam that he kept such a thing a secret, lied and implied his fake death?! Adam was livid and torn. How could he put his own grandson through that, his whole family through that?
"So, what did it say?" A curious and calm voice cut across Adam's thundering emotions being mimicked outside by the weather. It was his mother. She was leaning against the kitchen door frame, her arms crossed and an intrigued look on her face. "I heard you knocking about. You okay?"
Adam panicked and forced his face into an acceptable sad-ish face. "Oh, you know." Adam stumbled over his words, trying to find a believable alternative to the whirlwind of nonsensicalness he'd really read. "Telling me to be good to you, to do A-levels, Uni and other stuff like that, y'know. Nothing else…" Adam hesitated before continuing. "He didn't say where he was, mum."
"Well, okay," Sally replied disappointedly, all the hope in her eyes draining away in her tears. Tears she very efficiently wiped away. She'd hoped for a clue to where her father was. "Dinner's ready though." She said, significantly more cheery yet false.
Adam nodded and followed his mother through to the kitchen. The balloons that had been floating that morning had lost some of their helium and had started to deflate. Their bright colours were still too much for Adam's eyes to handle. At least he knew why he was so sensitive to the colours and lights now.
They all ate and talked. Nothing odd happened, but Adam did request the rarest stake, and he barely touched anything but the meat on his plate. It wasn't necessarily abnormal, but it wasn't exactly his normal behaviour either. Adam's suspension was brought up but was soon dismissed since it was Adam's birthday. Distant relatives had wished him well. Presents in the post. Everything birthday-related thing you could imagine. Anything to avoid the letter.
"Oh, speaking of presents." Adam's stepfather said, food still in his mouth. He took a second to finish before continuing. "Your grandmother's present arrived earlier. It's by the front door. Go open it!"
Unsure how to handle such enthusiasm coming from him of all people, Adam got up silently from the dinner table and went to open the gift.
It was bigger than Adam had expected. He didn't think he'd get more than a ten-pound note. A heavy box was far from it. Whatever this box was, it was wrapped with red wrapping paper, and tied with a golden ribbon. There was a golden name tag hanging out from where the ribbon had been tied. His name was scribed elegantly in his grandmother's writing, 'Happy sweet sixteenth, love' underneath. This box must have some importance if it was this well decorated.
Eagerly, Adam moved the box with ease to the middle of the living room and tore the red away from the heavy object. He undid the ribbon, allowing more of the paper to move out of place. Eventually, the box had been rid of all wrapping materials. Adam's interest increased once he saw 'Giles' on the side of the box.
His last name, buckles and screws were all silver, and the trunk was made out of pitch-black leather. But what stood out most of all was a keyhole right in the middle of the trunk, also silver.
Adam scrambled over to where he'd dropped the key from the letter. He needed to know and dreaded what was inside this mystery box. He searched with his hand underneath the heap to find the key, eventually finding it and grabbing it. But once he'd grasped the key, it burnt his hand!
At first, Adam was extremely confused. But soon, he realised that the key was made out of actual silver. One more thing that he'd learnt about vampirism was correct; silver hurt.
By now, Adam's excitement had dissipated. He was filled with utter dread. If it was lined with real silver, Adam assumed the worst of its content. He took a piece of the red wrapping paper, and held the key between it, before placing the key in the keyhole, gripping the paper around it tightly as he turned the silver underneath. Adam didn't know exactly what to expect, but he certainly imagined something like this. The box was full of stakes. Very sharp-looking stakes at that. They were all lined up perfectly, tucked into little elastic hoops attached to the lid of the box. More stakes were in Individual compartments along the sides of the box. And right in the middle, there was a black leather box to match the rest of the box with a note taped to the top of it.
Adam ripped the paper from underneath the tape and read the messily written note he recognised as his grandfather's writing yet again. It read: 'So you know how to join me -Grandad'. Ink had bled through from the other side making it hard to read the note, but Adam couldn't be bothered to read it. He didn't know what to do. He folded the note, stuffed it in his borrowed trousers and pushed the trunk to the side of the sofa. He was so torn between emotions that he'd circled to numbness. He was relieved, ecstatic that his grandad was okay. Of course, he was. The man was his grandfather. This was proof that he might still be alive! Yet on the other hand… The man was a slayer, a liar, and had been since the day he was born. He felt so conflicted, it felt as if he was being ripped apart.
Not knowing what else to do, Adam decided to look at the other side of the note… Maybe it would be a bit more endearing. Maybe his grandfather would wish him a 'Happy birthday'!
But no, it was an address. Before he had a chance to read it properly, his mother came in to check on him, again. Adam slammed the trunk shut and stuffed the paper back in his pocket. He felt the paper rip and cursed himself silently.
"So? What did she get you? Your father found it hard to-" Sally asked. But Adam had found the perfect opportunity to cut her off so she wouldn't ask more questions.
"Stepfather." He corrected her, sternly, a little colder than his usual correction. Besides, he knew who his real father was now. He'd met him, not that Adam could tell Sally since she didn't know. He also preferred his real father to his 'step' one. Something he would, again, not tell his mother.
Disheartened by Adam's response to her simple question, Sally sighed, tilting her head disappointedly. With that, she left. Adam felt the urge to at least half apologise but stopped himself. He had more pressing things to worry about, and he'd start with the torn note in his pocket.
Oooooh, it's happening, things are happeniiiiiing!
This update was earlier than expected, so ya welcome ;) Hope you're enjoying it and if you've stuck around since I posted the first chapter thank you, I commend you.
-M
