Let the Right One In:ROOTS

A Prequel Story to Let the Old Dreams Die:Retold.

Eleanor let go of Naomi's neck, her mouth covered in blood. She did it. At least, she hoped. She bit Naomi, turning her into a vampire, and…infecting her with the curse that plagued her. But she had to. She had no other choice. Naomi had been fatally wounded and she was gonna die if nothing was done. So, to make sure her boyfrien- I mean best friend didn't lose his mother like how she lost hers. Naomi blacked out, but was still alive, when they were in the clear, Naomi would be bandaged up, and given the news…news that Both She and her father Mark dreaded giving. "Ellie, we got to go now, help me pick her up!" Mark yelled. Eleanor snapped out of her trance and quickly helped her father place the now knocked-out Naomi into the back of the car. Mark jumped into the car and motioned Eleanor to get into the car. Eleanor nodded and ran in. Mark slammed on the gas and began driving as fast as he could, away from the Mansion. A figure stepped out of the doorway. "...This might be a problem." The figure said.

Isaiah was sleeping in his bed when his phone began to ring. He woke up and looked. It was Eleanor. He smiled and quickly answered the phone. "Hi, Eleanor!" Isaiah said, tiredly but also enthusiastically. Eleanor didn't say anything. The other end of the phone was…completely silent. "Eleanor..?" Isaiah asked again. "...Isaiah?" Eleanor asked. She sounded sad. "Yeah…what's wrong are you ok?" Isaiah asked. "...I don't know what to tell you. I don't know…how to tell you this…" Eleanor said. She sounded like she was gonna cry. "What's wrong?" Isaiah asked. "... Something bad happened. Something really bad happened." Eleanor said. Isaiah grew fearful. He was scared to ask what happened but…he had to. "What happened…?" Isaiah asked. Before Eleanor could respond, Mark shouted something at her. "I'll tell you in a minute, we are pulling up now. Be ready." Eleanor said. "Be ready? For what?" Isaiah asked. Eleanor hung up.

Mark pulled into the parking lot and told Eleanor to go in and get Isaiah. She obliged and ran in. Mark stepped out, he was stressed out. They would be checking here, of course, they would. There is nowhere else to go, not to mention Naomi. Oh god, what is he going to tell Naomi? "If you're gonna make a getaway you gotta do better than that." A voice called. Mark began to look around, where was that voice coming from? "Who's there?!" Mark asked. "Come on, just look up!" The voice called. Mark looked up and saw a crow, but it wasn't the size of a normal crow, it was more of an anthropomorphic creature, it had a red scarf and wings. "What the hell are you?!" Mark asked. The Crow cackled. "A Gargoyle! What, have you never seen Goliath and his Clan? Oh, that's right, you're new, probably never seen a Gargoyle in your life." The Crow said. "A Gargoyle…? But I thought.." Mark began to say, but the crow cut him off. "We weren't real, just stone statues? We are stone by day, but Warriors by night. Look, I'm gonna help you, but only once. The Sun is on the horizon, meaning that they got to go into the shade soon, and I will turn to stone. Naomi is heavy, right? I'll help you get her into your apartment and I will stand guard outside. Normal people would think I'm just a Package. Also, if you let me help….I could help you out on where else you can live." The Crow said. That got Mark's attention. "You…Can..?" Mark asked. The Crow nodded and turned towards the skyline, the sun was coming up. "Alright, Chop Chop! We don't have all night, we should begin as soon as possible." The Crow said, jumping down from its perch. Now that it was standing upright, Mark could see it more. Its eyes were…pure red, not like its iris is red, it's the eyes. Pure glowing red. The Hands and Fingers looked like Feathers too. The Crow Pointed at the car. "Let's get started already!" The Crow said.

Isaiah heard the front door being knocked on, it must be Eleanor, except she was pounding on the door. Isaiah, cautiously- wait, why was he nervous? It was just Eleanor…his Partner…So why was he nervous? Nevertheless, Isaiah opened the door, only for Eleanor to run in and hug him, she looked like she was…crying. Isaiah embraced the hug. "Eleanor what's wrong..?" Isaiah said. Eleanor didn't respond and hugged tighter. "Your mom got hurt, Isaiah…" Eleanor said. Now Isaiah was scared. "Wh- What?" Isaiah said. Eleanor shook her head. "Come on, we got to go to my apartment. We will figure it out from there…" Eleanor said. She stopped hugging Isaiah and took his hand, leading him out of his apartment. "...Is she ok..?" Isaiah asked. Eleanor stopped and stared at the ground. "...I hope so, after what I've done," Eleanor said. "What did you do?" Isaiah asked. "...I'll tell you when we get into my apartment," Eleanor said.

The Crow and Mark managed to get Naomi into the Elevator and onto Mark's floor without any suspicion. It was early in the morning so mostly everyone in the building was still sleeping. When they got to the room, the sun was rising. "It's rising, go in, I'll guard out here." The Crow said. "Thank you…what is your name?" Mark asked. "Stone." The Crow said. Mark nodded, Dragged Naomi into the apartment, and locked the door behind him. The Crow turned around and perched in front of the door as He turned to stone.

Naomi woke up with a start a few hours later. She felt her body. The wounds she had were bandaged up, but she felt like they weren't there anymore. She felt her neck. There's a bandage on her neck. She looked at the window only to see it had been boarded up and blocked, even the blinds were down. She noticed a photo on the dresser and she picked it up and looked. It was a photo of 3 People. Mark, Eleanor, and another woman. Perhaps Mark's wife before she passed away. Then, it all came back to her. She was in Mark's apartment. She figured out Mark murdered her Ex-husband and went down to... Long Island, that big mansion…she was attacked, and then…when she thought she was gonna die, she heard Eleanor say something before she… She bit her. But why? What is going on? She needed answers. And she also…felt hungry. Naomi got up from the bed and began making her way to the door until she noticed another door in the room. "What's that…?" She thought. She slowly walked towards the door and was about to open it when she heard voices from inside, two of them. It sounded like Eleanor and Isaiah. "...I'll leave them alone." She thought to herself. She opened the door to find Mark sitting in the living room. "You're awake!" Mark said. "What…what did you do?!" Naomi asked. "Now wait, calm down, I'll explain everything!" Mark said. But Naomi wasn't having any of it. She rushed for the front door. "WAIT NO, ITS DAYLIGHT!" Mark yelled. Naomi opened the door, only to see it be blocked by the Stone Crow Gargoyle outside. "...I can't leave can I?" Naomi asked. Mark shook his head. "Not until nightfall. I'll explain everything when Ellie and Isaiah come out." Mark said.

Nightfall came as quickly as daylight left. Roaring could be heard as Stone broke out of his rock-hard slumber. But he didn't enter the apartment, instead, he left for somewhere else. Naomi sat on the couch as she processed all the information given to her. "...So…10 years ago Eleanor was bitten and since then…Eleanor has been a vampire?" Naomi asked. Eleanor nodded. "Yeah…I wish we could have told you sooner." Eleanor said. She placed an arm around Isaiah, who was sitting next to her. "How long have you been doing this Mark? Killing people." Naomi asked. "...10 damn years. If I didn't, Ellie would die." Mark said. "Isaiah..why didn't you tell me Eleanor was a vampire?" Naomi asked. "Would have you believed me? Plus, I love Eleanor." Isaiah said, placing an arm around Eleanor. Mark shook his head. "I need a minute," Mark said, walking out of the room. Naomi groans as she places her hands on her head, still processing this new…life.

"Hello again Mark." Stone said. Mark was startled and looked up and saw Stone perched up on a stone falcon connected to the building. "What do you want?" Mark asked. "Remember when I said that I can find you and the others a place to live?" Stone asked. Stone pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to Mark. It had a phone number on it. "Call the number. The owner of the house has a basement available for rent." Mark stared at the paper. "How do you know about this?" Mark asked. "Gargoyles Honor. Now call it, you might be just in time." Stone said. Mark put the number in his phone and began to call the number.

Connecting…Connecting…The connection was successful.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm interested in the basement you have for rent."

"Who is this?"

"My name is Mark [REDACTED]"

"Hello, Mark. You said you're interested in renting the basement?"

"Yes, me and my family need it ASAP."

"How many members?"

"Excuse me?"

"How many members of your family?"

"4, including me."

"Should be enough room, alright. Would you like to know how much the rent is?"

"We can discuss it later, when can we move in?"

"A week might need time to prep-"

"Please, Asap. How about tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night? Why during the night?"

"Uh my wife and daughter have a skin condition, sunlight is a son of a bitch to them."

"Ah, I understand. Oh, you said you had a daughter. I have a Son, maybe they could be friends."

"Heh…"

"What?"

"Nothing, is tomorrow night OK?"

"Yes, but I won't be there to help you, I got a side business, I clean floors so I'm gonna be gone that night. If you need any help just ask my son, he's gonna be here for a while."

"Alright, thank you."

"No problem, the keys will be under the potted plant. Remember to close the gate behind you, we don't want our dogs getting out."

"Thank you, we will. See you the day after tomorrow."

"No problem. Goodbye."

Mark got off the phone and looked back up only to see the Gargoyle was gone. It probably went back into the building. He placed his phone in his pocket and went back inside.

Mark opened the door, to quickly notice something. Naomi wasn't in the room. "Where is Naomi?" Mark asked. "She left, she couldn't process all of it so she just…left," Eleanor said. Mark was about to leave the apartment again when Eleanor stopped him. Isaiah is in my room, he said he just needed some..time alone… I'm gonna go check on him in a minute." Mark nodded and walked out of the apartment. He didn't know where she went, but he had an idea of where.

Naomi was on a bridge, staring out into the distance. Her mind processed almost all the information, except for the idea that she was now a vampire. She looked into the water, she had a reflection. Maybe that was a myth, the idea that vampires didn't have a reflection. But then she thought about it. What if Mark is lying? She didn't know how to prove that she was a vampire. Sure there's always sunlight, but that could have disastrous consequences, especially if she actually- no, she would just try not to bite Isaiah that all. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, she quickly turned around only to find Mark behind her. "Mark…?" Naomi asked. "Where have you been? I was worried about you." Mark said. "...I had to get away for a while," Naomi said. Mark sighed. "Look, I know you don't like this life, and I know you're still…mad at me, but we are all you have right now. You got to trust me." Mark said. Naomi thought about it before giving in. "...Fine," Naomi said. "Good, come on, let's get back, I found a place for us to stay," Mark said.

Mark and Naomi got back to the apartment, just as the sun was beginning to rise. Mark heard the Gargoyle turn to stone outside. "We are going to move tonight," Mark said. "...Tonight? Where?" Eleanor asked. "I called someone in Long Island, he has a basement available for rent. We can stay there for the time being." Mark said. "Wait…Are we coming too?" Isaiah asked. "Of course, you are, pack your things," Mark said. "Are you sure..this is a good idea?" Naomi asked. "Yes, we'll get everything set up once we get there," Mark said.

A Man walked into the apartment complex that they stayed in. It was one of Clarie's men. It didn't take him too long to find Mark's apartment. "I found it, but there is a stone statue in the way of the door." The man said. "Just break it." A voice on the phone says. The man takes a sledgehammer out of his pocket and readies it. He takes a swing only for an arm to grab it mid-air. "What the f*ck?" he asked. The Stone gargoyle turns to look at him before his eyes glow a bright red. The stone texture disappears as Wiring and plastic appear in its place. It looks more like an Animatronic now. The Animatronic lunges at him, screaming. Afterward, it's a stone statue again, but this time there is blood on its beak.

Later that night Mark, Eleanor, Isaiah, and Naomi left their apartment in New York. They didn't have time to collect everything but Mark said he'd get it at a later time. When they drove away, Stone watched them leave. "...They are heading down to the house now." Stone said. A voice spoke in his head. "Affirmative, heading home now," Stone said, jumping off the roof and gliding back to Long Island.

It was 10pm when they reached Long Island and to the house, they would be staying at. It was a medium-sized house. The lights were on in the living room, probably the son was home. Mark stepped out. "Alright, come on, let's get started," Mark said. The others got out as someone watched from the windows of the house.

To be continued in:Let the Old Dreams Die:Retold.