Dead By 14





Amy Kent was a normal 14-year-old girl, with green eyes and dark hair. She had a normal life. She had lots of friends, was failing math and liked a guy named Pete. On this particular Monday afternoon, Amy wasn't up yet. It was the middle of summer so it didn't matter much. She stumbled out of bed, rubbing her eyes. She didn't know what time it was so she guessed it was about eight. She was entirely wrong. When she had finally gotten dressed and walked out of her room, the chickens were starving. She lived with her grandfather who was in a wheelchair and had terrible dementia. He remembered key points like which Amy was and that he was on a farm. Even though her grandpa had some chores, like making super and feeding the cats inside, Amy did most of the work. She didn't mind this so bad for she had no where else to go and she just accepted it as the way that things were. She had to do things like feeding the chickens, horses and the goats. She also had to make sure her grandpa was healthy and took his medication. She always did a very good job of this even though she didn't like her grandfather very much. He always tried to tell Amy a story and would get lost halfway through. She didn't really hate him it was more that she felt sorry for him and this made her mad. She ran down the hall, grabbed a piece of toast that was sitting on the counter, turned the corner and ran out the door. She threw the chickens their feed sloppily and with no care what so ever. She then ran to the goats and chucked their bucket of food so harshly so that the bucket almost tipped over. She had done this so many times that she had mastered the art of tilting it slightly so that she rarely spilt any. She then threw the horses their hay sloppily and almost hit one of them that was standing in the way. She ran into the house, saw that it was actually 1:30, swore a little then turned to the kitchen to get her grandpa's pills out of the cupboard. She grabbed a glass of water and brought it over to him while he was watching football. He took the pill and went back to watching the screen. Amy watched the little people running around stupidly then left. she didn’t understand the point of football at all. The rest of the day she rode the horses, cleaned her room and read a little. She liked to read as long as she could find a good book and if she had time. It was like her national pass time. She could get lost quite easily into the plot of a story and never get out for hours with her overactive imagination. This was what she did almost all of summer until school came around in which time she would complain that it should be summer again and that school should be canceled. Nothing really interesting happened until that night at the farm. It was about 10:30 and just starting to get dark when Amy decided to go for a walk through the forest at the far side of her property. She told her grandfather that she would be back in about an hour, grabbed a flashlight and then was off. She usually wasn't afraid out here because she had walked this way many times before but it was different tonight. Somehow the forest seemed darker and more eerie. About half an hour into the forest, she stepped on something that cracked. She shone the light down at it and she noticed it was a rabbit lying in a pool of blood, She stepped back and that’s when the flashlight went out. She tried to hit it but it wasn't working. She began to hear whispering all around her. There was a gust of wind and she fell over on a log. The whispering got louder and louder until it was filling her head. She called out into the darkness, "Who are you. What do you want." nothing happened. She called again and a low voice from somewhere up above called out "I am death, I am life I have come to show you the way." This scared Amy a bit and she tried to run. A man jumped in front of her "please, won't you listen." Amy ran as fast as she could back to her house, She ran in and locked the door. No one was up so she locked herself in her room. She fell into a tense sleep but was awaken by a strange scratching noise on her window. It was the man again. He called out again, "Please, I am try9ing to help. Your grandfather is dead in his bed and you have no purpose here anymore. Amy didn't want to believe this deranged psychopath so she ran to her grandpa’s room. He was cold as ice, and peaceful as an angel in his bed. "Please come with me,” the man said. Amy turned around ad took a good look at him. He was a tall young man about 21, wearing a cuffed, red satin shirt and a long coat over it. He had fangs and pasty white skin that seemed to glimmer in the darkness. His short spike hair was covered by a chocolate brown bowler and his red eyes were staring at Amy with the courtesy and understanding of centuries. "What are you? Who are you?" Amy asked. "I am Dimitri Walter VonLictenstein and I am a vampire. I have come to take the pain away if you would like me to." "All pain? "Amy asked. "Yes," replied the vampire, "of death and sorrow loss and fear, loneliness and fear but it will come at a price. You will neither is dead or alive and you must stay hidden in darkness at al times. You will be dead to the world and depend mostly on yourself. I will give you a choice, will you take it?" Amy thought for a while then replied, "I will accept your offer but I must ask, what will you do? Will you bite me?" Dimitri looked straight at Amy and explained "I will bite you and drink your blood first, until you hardly have any left. Then you will drink my blood and become what I am." Dimitri sighed and there was a moment of silence before he added, "when you drink my blood there will be a slight pain in your throat and then every ting will go blank as your body dies and you change. When you wake up, you may feel a little empty inside and may crave blood. This feeling will soon grow weaker and you will learn how to control it." Dimitri explained the finer details for the next five minutes and then asked Amy if she was sure she wanted to do this. "Yes, I'm ready whenever you are." Amy replied. "We better be starting this soon then or it will get light. Do you have any other family that will miss you?" "No he was the only family I’ve had sense my parents died. Lets do this now." The pain inside from remembering al of this was terrible. She couldn't wait to get rid of it. Dimitri guided her outside, into a large field where the moon shone its white light brightly over both of them. Dimitri held her tightly in his arms and bent her body down, holding her body tightly. He closed his fangs around her neck and began to drink. At first there was an immense flow of pain and agony that flowed through her veins, it then turned to complete numbness. After a while the pain began again but more immense. Dimitri lent down and bit his wrist. He held this to Amy’s lips as the dark blood oozed down his arm. She drank and at first she felt peace and extreme hunger. All of a sudden it felt like her skin was tearing apart and she was shedding it like a snake. She felt that she had lost all of her flesh yet it was somehow growing back rapidly. She felt weak and dizzy and wanted to stop drinking but her body wouldn't let her. Every think went black and she felt herself being bushed off of the vampire and the hunger beginning to fade. When she awoke, She was in a dark, murky, wet tunnel underground. She sat up to find out where she was and she saw Dimitri sitting in the corner of the tunnel. Despite the darkness of the tunnel she could see perfectly. She could see more than perfectly, Some how things that were still seemed to move and things that should move were much slower. The flesh of the vampire was like white silk against a black canvas. Things that you or me would never notice like cracks or tiny ants seemed to jump right out at Amy. She could now see the wind and hear the dirt and yet none of it was really there at all. Next to Dimitri was a young boy, about Amy’s age sitting against the wall. He had bright red short hair and was wearing a dark red T-shirt. If it weren't for the red eyes and fangs, Amy could have never told he was a vampire. The freckles on his pale skin seemed to standout like the stars in the sky and yet they mixed in with the white and were barely visible. "Oh good your awake." Dimitri said, "there's someone I want you to meet Amy, this is Cedric. He lives here with me and now you will live here with us too." Amy looked around. She barely considered this a home but didn't feel like arguing with Dimitri. She felt like pouncing on the young vampire and draining him of his blood but she was too tired. Her head was spinning around, out of control and her jawbone felt like it was stabbed with a large nail. Her fingers were stiff and her entire body was shaking. Her eyes hurt like she had never used them before and she was still amazed with the back of her hand. It was as if she could look at it all day and still be amused. The other half of her felt like crawling into the corner and sleeping for all of eternity. She hated this feeling of two lives but was forced to live with the facts. All of a sudden, Cedric and Dimitri stood up and told Amy to follow them. They walked for about 5 minutes when Amy stopped, "Where are we going anyway?" "Why we are going home my dear. You didn't think we were going to stay in this tunnel did you?" Amy didn't answer. They kept on walking for about 20 minutes when they reached a door. Cedric pulled it open and they stepped inside. They were standing in a large room in which there was 2 large, black coffins, an old couch, an arm chair, a bookshelf covered in dusty, old books and a chest which was locked. There was also a large chessboard in the middle of the room, propped up on a table. This set was hand carved with very intricate designs on the pieces. On the roof was a trap door, which Dimitri explained was a quick exit that they used for hunting. Dimitri sat down on the armchair and Cedric and Amy sat on the couch. "So first things first, We do not have a coffin for you so we shall have to go pick one out soon but for tonight would you mind sleeping in one with Cedric?" "Well I suppose not but why do I have to sleep in a coffin any way?" Dimitri chuckled quietly, "oh my dear, you must always sleep in a coffin or you will be caught by the sun and die a most dramatic death." "Umm...but I’m claustrophobic and that coffin is tiny." Amy stammered. "Oh Amy, that is your human instincts and emotions. we will have to teach you the vampire ways. There is no fear for us, just extreme discomfort. Try to sleep in the coffin and I guarantee you, you will not be afraid. Now I think we should learn a bit about each other." Dimitri said, "for we shall be living with each other for quite some time. How about I start then Cedric and you ca go." This seemed like a good idea and everyone agreed so Dimitri began his story. "I was born in the year of 1897, in a small town in Belgium. I drank blood for the first time when I was 23 on April 4th, 1920 and have been a vampire for 84 years. I traveled alone for many years until I snack onto a ship from Belgium to Canada. I traveled around this area for about 8 years until I found Cedric. I took him in, in the year of 1998. We traveled together for 2 years until we found this place. That eventually led to now." After Dimitri's story, Cedric began his. "I was born in 1984, in Cranbrook, BC. I became a vampire in the late winter of 1998. And Dimitri found me in the spring of that year. I traveled with him as he said. Then we found this place. We moved in and have been living here ever sense." It was now Amy's turn to talk. " I was born in 1989 and have lived there my entire life. Yesterday my grandpa died and I oddly feel nothing for him. Dimitri changed me into a vampire and I have been one for less than a day. I now live in a hole in the ground with you two. This place is miraculously well furnished, and I don't even know where we are." "Well my dear, you feel no remorse for your deceased family because you are now a vampire we don’t dwell on human emotions and rarely feel. We are about 10 minutes out of the town of Cranbrook, in a lovely, little forest. . I’m glad you like this place for it shall be our home for a very long time. That is if conditions don't change. Well any ways... we should go to bed before day break." "Why, what will happen at daybreak?" Amy asked Cedric. "The sun will rise. If a vampire is in the sun then they will turn to dust. Dimitri's right we should go to bed. My coffin is over here." Dimitri got in his coffin and shut the lid. Cedric led Amy over to his, "now I will get in first sand hold open the lid for you to get in ok?" He didn't wait for Amy's answer. "Now this might be a little cramped but it's only for a short time so I think we'll be fine." He stepped in and laid down on his side. Amy crawled in and laid beside him on her side so that they were face to face. Cedric was about 9 inches taller than Amy and her feet were at his shins. "Now I’m gonna shut the lid so it's going to be very dark." He shut the lid with a small bang. He then reached around Amy and latched something. "What did you do that for?" "Well if someone gets in here somehow they can’t get into our coffin and burn us to death. Also it can't open so were caught in the sun." "Oh your such an optimistic boy Cedric, what with the death and the annihilation." "Hey I’m not a boy, I am a MAN! So there." "Right, you look like your 12...except taller." "For your information, I died when I was 14 and now I’m turning 18 next month so I am a MAN! Ha." "Well it doesn't matter how old you are. If you act like a 10 year old then you might as well be a 10 year old." Oh so now I've gone down to a 10 year old have I? Fine be that way! I was going to ask you to go on an adventure with me but never mind now!" "I'm sorry Cedric. What was this adventure you were talking about?" "It's something I've been planning for months. I'll tell you tomorrow night before we go hunting ok? Right now you need your rest. Good night." Amy gradually fell asleep to the sound of Cedric's breathing and the pumping of his heart. This made Amy hungry. As hungry as she had been when she was drinking from Dimitri. It was a nice sort of hunger, the kind that assured Amy that she was indeed still alive. Cedric noticed Amy was asleep and he wrapped his arms around her then and fell asleep too. Amy awoke to the quiet sounds of Cedric breathing. "Oh good your awake I’ve been trying to get the latch and get out of here for 10 and a half minutes. Could you reach behind you and get it?" "Um sure." Amy reached backwards and got her hand on the wall of the coffin. She couldn't reach the latch though because Cedric was in the way. "Ok that's not working maybe if I..." Cedric put his arms around Amy and tried to stretch and reach the latch. He ended up grabbing Amy's hand that was reaching for it too and bent her finger backwards. "Ouch that’s my finger. Ok what if I just turn and...Ouch let go of my hand!" "Um sorry. How about you turn... and if I move to the side like this...then you turn a little more. AHA I've got it now lets see..." Cedric tried to bush the latch and hit Amy in the head with his arm. They were now entirely entangled. Cedric used his other arm, which was wrapped around Amy's neck to push the latch the other way. "Umm Amy...it's stuck." "Wha oo oo meam itf ftuk." Amy flustered out as she was squished next to Cedric’s chest. "I don't know it won’t open! It doesn't matter which way I move it cause it won't work. " Cedric tried a few more fatal attempts until he gave up and laid still for a minute. He then began to shift around until he was flat on his back, looking up at the ravenous lock between them and fresh air and Amy was on top of him. "Give me that rock down there." "What you have a rock in here?" "Ya it was my coffin mate before you were here, I named him wilbert." "You are a sick, sick person. Where is it." "Wilbert is a HE and he’s by your foot." Amy tried to push "wilbert" up to Cedric with her foot but it didn't work. "Ok I'm going to have to go down there just a sec." Amy wriggled down to the foot of the coffin where she found a large grayish rock with the devil's star painted on it with gold. Amy grabbed this and tried to get up again. She was stuck! She was wedged between the lid, the end and Cedric's legs. "Cedric help I'm stuck!" "Um here grab onto me and pull your way up." Amy tried this and amazingly, it worked. She finally grabbed Cedric's hand and he pulled her up the rest of the way. He was amazingly strong, She just realized that he had pulled her 3 feet up the coffin without even trying. "Oh good you got wilbert, thanks." "What are you going to do with that Cedric?" "HIM, he’s a HIM. I’m gonna break the latch with him so look out." Cedric violently smashed his rock against the side of the coffin. He was at it for (according to him) exactly 97 seconds. Finally Cedric took one last swing and broke the latch clean off. He pushed open the lid and they sat there, breathing in the cool air deeply. Amy got up and climbed out of the coffin. She stood up and helped Cedric out of the coffin too. "How do you know the precise amount of time that everything takes?" "Well when you’re a vampire for a while, all you have is free time. Back when Dimitri was away and I was alone I used to spend my days counting the time. That and playing chess by myself. It's a good thing Dimitri isn't up yet I don't think he’d approve of my plan. Come sit and I will explain it to you." They sat down on the couch and just stared off into space for a minute or two. Cedric started rubbing his rock wilbert and began to talk to "him". "Oh, Wilbert now that Amy is here I am no longer alone. I don’t need you any more Oh don't worry I wont ever get rid of you." "Uh Cedric have you entirely lost your mind or am I just imagining that. Now are you going to tell me your plan or not." "Oh right, well when I was still a human, me and my friends planned this big party in a meadow about 10 minutes from here. Well you see this party was going to be a grad party for after we were out of school. This was going to be held on July 3rd, after Canada day. As you might not know, that is two nights from tonight. I was planning to go to that party and I was wondering if you would go with me. Kind of like an alibi so that Dimitri won't get too suspicious. I've planned it all out. Humans are quite stupid and don’t seem to notice our white skin, they just assume that were pale or something so we should be fine there. I have color contacts, enough for both of us so no one will see our red eyes. I also have a hat for me so that no one will recognize me as their old friend that they think is dead. I'm quite sure they will go ahead with this party because they had half of the student body of my school knowing of this. We spent 6 months together organizing this and I’m sure they'd remember this. And now for the most important part that until recently, I was stumped on, the alibi. Now, thanks to the incident with our latch in the coffin, we have one. We will tell Dimitri exactly what happened with the latch, I'm sure he’ll think it's quite funny. Then he will worry because it is unsafe for us without being able to shut the coffin and lock it. I will tell him that I can go get a new one at the 24-hour hardware store down in town. I will do this because I need some fresh air, I am going insane being so cooped up. I will then say that I want to show you around town so you know the place better. He will wonder about this for a while, I will then tell him in secret how lonely I have been lately and how I want to spend some alone time with you. This will be a complete lie but he will buy it anyway. He will the say it is all right out of sheer sympathy. We will then have an alibi for being very late because I am showing you around the town. We will then be home free!" "That sounds like a great idea you must have been thinking of it for a long time." "Well actually I have but I didn't know how to tie in the lateness and where to say I am going. We will actually have to go and get a latch for this to work though. Now we sit and wait for Dimitri." So Amy and Cedric sat there waiting, and waiting, and waiting. According to Cedric it took Dimitri exactly 23 minutes and 19 seconds from when they stopped talking to when Dimitri opened his lid. "Oh Cedric what are you doing up at this hour. You usually don't get up for hours. You see Amy, Cedric is a very lazy person who doesn't get up early on any count that I am aware of. Except perhaps today." "I'm not THAT lazy Dimitri. Anyway me and Amy had some..." "Amy and I!" "What? Oh right grammar. Amy and I had some difficulties with our coffin this morning. The latch got stuck and I had to break it to get out. And so I..." "Why?!? The latch broke but you need a latch! What if some one broke in? You two would be found out! And..." "As I was saying Dimitri, I was thinking we could go out tomorrow night to the hardware store and I could bring Amy and..." "And you could show her around. Cedric I think that’s a great idea but is that really why you want Amy there." "Dimitri! of course, what are you suggesting." "I was just thinking that maybe you want..." "SHUT UP! she’s standing right there you idiot. Are you trying to get me caught!" Cedric whispered in a hurried voice to Dimitri. "Right sorry old chum, wouldn't want to blow your cover now. Yes, I think that would be a good idea but right now we need to go feed. Come follow me Amy." Dimitri opened the door in the roof, pulled a chair under it and climbed out. Once they were all out in the fresh air, Dimitri guided Amy over to tell her what to do. "It's really quite simple all you do is squat down and stay completely still. You wait until you see a rabbit then you..." You pounce on it and tear it's neck apart until all the blood has drizzled into your mouth." "Cedric you are a terrible teacher! You don't want to tear it apart, You just bite into it nicely and suck the blood out. There is no drizzling it into your mouth!" "Well I suppose I should stop that then. Anyway you only drink until right before the animal is dead or you will be poisoned with their death. You will shrivel up and die! Mwa hahahahaha." "CEDRIC! Stand over there and shut your infernal trap! Now Amy it’s not as bad as he tells it. It's almost as bad and you don't want to drink dead blood because it will KILL you." Now do you have any questions." "well why don't we just kill Humans instead of animals." "Well Amy Dimitri is just mean!" "SHUT IT! That is a very good question. First it is not nice to kill anything but animals have shorter life spans so it is a little kinder." "Also Dimitri, If there is a human missing or a dead body, There will be a search! then they will chase with pitch forks and fire and behead us and stab sticks through our hearts and..." "CEDRIC! It's not that bad really. The police will first have to research the kill for a year then get a permit. Then they will actually do something. You remember how slow these police are around here. but Cedric is right, there will eventually be a search. Now lets get this going, I'm starving." Amy started to think of all the bad stuff that could happen if she drank dead blood. She immediately stopped because this was just too gruesome. They started on their hunt and it wasn't as hard as Amy thought it was. She lost the first two mice she tried to get but ended up catching a rabbit, Two field mice and a rat. She held the rabbit up to her lips. At first it disgusted her it was nothing like Dimitri's blood. The warmth and rich flavor was gone. She drank it anyway though. It still dwindled her thirst and soothed her feeling to kill. She was just finishing her last mouse when Dimitri called her over. "we will go inside now and finish eating in there." Amy didn't understand why they had to go in so soon. "The other vampires will come out soon so lets go. I'll explain inside." When they were all sitting down, Dimitri began to explain. "The other vampires are very dangerous. You see, us three are peaceful vampires and the others don’t like that because, well..." Dimitri stopped talking and Cedric picked up where he left off. "They think that we are a discrace to the name 'vampire' because we don't kill mortals. they are much stronger than us and will kill us if we give them the chance. There fore, we run from them." Amy still didn't understand the point of their hatred. "That’s the thing, there is no point! It's just hopeless fighting and killing." "Cedric there is always reason to a problem. It's not very sensible though, you’re right. In the beginning there was one kind of vampire, bloodsucking murderers. But as the vampire race grew and time went on, Some thought we would be more civilized. The murderers of our kind hated this and managed to kill off most of us. There is only a small group that is still nice now. Most actually live in this area." Amy was amazed that one race could have so many issues with the rest of their kind. Of course it wasn't much different from the human race, they might even be worse. It was not very late but Dimitri still went to his coffin and slept. Amy and Cedric stayed up a bit and planned for tomorrow night. "Well the first thing we will need to plan is our disguises. Well now lets see Dimitri has here that we could use. We should use a bit of makeup to lessen the shine of our skin I guess." Cedric picked the lock on Dimitri's trunk with a hairpin and pushed up the lid. This was full of many different miscellaneous things. Cedric dug to the bottom and pulled out a large wooden box. He opened this on the floor and spread out the contents. " Ok we've got pink powder, lip color, peach goop, darker peach goop, a pencil crayon and some skin colored shiny powder." "That's blush, lipstick, foundations, eye liner and eye shadow." "Oh right, I knew that. Now we don’t need that. Here’s the color contacts over here and here's a good hat. ok do you want your eyes green or blue?" "UM I guess green and then you can have blue." "Ok do you think you need a hat pr are you fine just like that." "I don’t know anyone in Cranbrook so I think I’ll be fine without one." "Here’s the shiny stuff. I just don’t understand how something shiny gets rid of shininess, whatever. Ok we're all set for tomorrow night. Are you ready to go to bed or do you want to stay up a little longer. Do you want to play chess?" "Sure, Chess sounds fun. You can be white." Cedric and Amy stayed up until 3 until the sun started to come up. Amy won 4 out of 5 games. In Cedric's defense, He claimed his mind was too incompetent and small to process good moves. They climbed into the coffin the same as the last night. Cedric thought Amy was asleep and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Cedric, what are you doing and why?" "Oh you're awake. I was just...making sure you um...don't umm...your asleep. This is a dream. Yes its all figment of your imagination!" "That's the saddest excuse I've herd. I'm not asleep!" "Ok then I’m asleep, I can't be held accountable for what my subconches mind does when I'm sleeping. It's not my fault!" "what ever, I'm going to sleep." "Ok good night Amy. I love you" "What!?!?!?!" "Nothing you didn't hear anything now go to sleep." Amy slowly fell asleep and Cedric did the same quickly after. Amy awoke early the next night and pushed Cedric's limp body off of hers. He made a moan like an elephant then went back to silence. Amy pushed up the lid, this time with no problem at all. She got out and Dimitri was sprawled out on the couch. "I see you are up, that's good. Here is the money for a new latch, five should be enough. You can go out and hunt now if you like, I already have. When you’re full, come in. Cedric should be up by then and then you two may be on your way. Amy went out and snagged two rabbits. When she came back, Cedric was slowly moving across the floor like a zombie. "Don't worry, he’s always like that. Here smear this on you, It will hide your shininess." Dimitri threw Amy the powder and she covered face and neck with it. Amy then put in the contacts. Cedric slowly slunk in the room again from feeding. He had blood drizzling down his chin and his eyes were dark with sleepiness. "Isn't he handsome in the evenings?" "Shut up Dimitri. I'm almost ready to go just a sec." Cedric almost threw on his make up and contacts. He grabbed a chocolate brown bowler and they were off. "Amy's got the money and you’ve got the keys. I'll lock the door after you." Finally Amy and Cedric were on their own. Cedric had been dreaming of going out on his own more often sense he moved in with Dimitri. "Ah the fresh air of being on your own. It's kind of like before I met Dimitri. Except now I can remember what I did! Anyway we should go to the store soon so we'll make it to the party on time." "Are you sure this party is happening. I mean it's been 4 years sense you saw your friends. What if they gave up on their idea." "Listen, I'm sure they'd stick to it, Besides what’s the worst that would happen if it wasn't there. I mean, We'd go back and sleep. We would still get a night out wouldn't we?" "Ya I suppose your right. What's with you and Dimitri anyway? You seem like your always fighting with him. Don't you like him?" "Of course I like him. We've just known each other too long. We can finish each other’s thoughts without even trying. He just likes to bother me about my sarcasm that’s all. It's kind of hard to explain any way lets go now." Cedric walked into the hardware store and picked up a latch and bought it. Amy began to think how different Cedric looked in the light. He actually looked human! His bright red hair peeking from under his tattered hat, The florescent lights shining on his no longer white face. The clerk took their money and looked up at Cedric. "Excuse me, do I know you from somewhere?" "No I don't think so. I just moved here. Unless perhaps you have lived in Nelson. That’s where I'm from!" "Oh no I haven't sorry you just looked familiar, well have a nice night." Cedric practically ran out the door. He ran beside the building and leant against the cool, hard brick. "Whoa, That was close! Lets get going now." "Who was that?" "That was my old best friends little sister. Wow, she’s grown up. Well come on" Cedric began to walk in the direction of a large forest. As they got closer, they could hear the sound of drums and what seemed to be a guitar solo. "Ah ha I knew they would be here! So just lay low and lets have a good time." They slowly walked over into a clearing. Amy could see the hundreds of people compacted into this small meadow. She could smell the sweat, see the flashing strobe lights that were set up and hear the pounding beat of the music in her skull. "...I'm sitting in my room with a needle in my hand, Waiting for the tomb of some old dying man..." System of a down, Amy thought. A band she used to listen to while she was still alive. The lyrics made a lot more scenic to her now. "Stop!" some odd stranger said, "Who are you? Where you invited?" "Uh ya I'm Ced...Ch...Chad ya...And this is Amy, My sister. We heard about this from...Alex." "Alex? He doesn't live here anymore. Well if your friends with him then I guess your ok." "Great, So how long have you been planning this?" "Oh I guess it started four years ago but sense then we've lost a lot of the team." "Oh really what happened to all of them?" "Well first Cedric died. Did you know him?" "Uh ya I met him once or twice." "Ya really nice guy, they never did find his body. Well then Sean and Andrew decided to get some girls pregnant and we haven't seen them sense. Alex moved away and Marisa did after him. Our numbers are lower than planned but we still pulled off a bitchin' party." "Ya it's great! well we better be getting to the partying! see you later." Amy and Cedric walked on through the huge crowd when they were stopped again. "Hey, you haven't come here without saying hi to me! Luke told me you were Alex's friends. That’s great. You got time to talk for a bit?" "Uh sure Matt what about?" "Did Alex mention me? Well anyway I was just wondering about how Alex was doing. I mean with the signs and all?" "What do you mean 'signs'?" "You mean he stopped seeing Cedric everywhere?" "He saw Cedric? But he’s dead!" "Ya that’s what we thought until Alex swore he kept seeing him. I'm a little curious myself. I mean they never did find his body and Alex isn't one to go insane and imagine things." "Uh ya...I think I got to go now." Cedric quickly walked past his former friend but he grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into the light for a minute. "Holly shit! It's you!" "NO it really isn't!" Matt pulled Cedric into the near trees and pinned him against a trunk. "What the hell are you!? Are you some ghost thing come to warn us or something?" Matt looked like he was about to fall over with fright or strangle Cedric with rage. He wrapped his fingers around Cedric's throat and pushed him further into the forest. Amy followed, trying to pry his fingers off. Cedric wrapped his fingers around Matt's neck and began to shake him. "You don't want me to do what I feel like doing do you!" Cedric pinned Matt to the ground and then let go of his throat. "Do you believe in concous death Matt? Do you believe in evil giving mercy? Do you believe in me letting you go and you never saying anything ever? Would you believe that once in a while, death just wants to have fun and go to a party? You better or else we might have to teach you." "Fine, fine just tell me what the hell you are! Who turned you into this monster." "Your right I am a monster!" Cedric opened his mouth and showed Matt his large, white fangs. With the light glinting off of them, Cedric looked more like a monster than he did with blood down his chin. "And a handsome one at that! We must go now, we have a party to attend." Cedric walked off with Amy under his arm, Leaving Matt on the ground. "Shall we dance?" "Sure why not?" Amy and Cedric twirled around and mixed themselves in the crowd until Amy suddenly stopped. "What's wrong Amy? Are you dizzy or something? I can go slower." Amy was staring right past Cedric, into a crowd of younger guys by a table. Cedric looked over at the group and then to Amy. "Why are you crying? What's wrong? Come on tell me!" "Pete..." "What? Who’s Pete?" "him, over there." Amy pointed in the direction of the group. "Just keep dancing, I'm fine." Amy mumbled, more to herself than Cedric. "Ok. Are you sure." Amy didn't answer. "I take that as a yes." They kept dancing until Amy stopped again. "What is it now?" "He’s walking over here!" It was too late though, Pete was already there. "Hi Amy, I never knew you were going to be here." "Uh ya I’m here with my cousin, Ce...Chad. What are you doing here. I'm visiting my mom so my brother dragged me along to this. So do you want to dance or something?" "Oh... Uh.. sure I guess." Amy took one last glance at Cedric then went to dance with Pete. "So uh Pete, what have you been doing this summer." "I've been here all this summer, I was supposed to go back tomorrow but my mom heard about some murder at home and doesn't want me to." "Oh ya the murder. I heard it was pretty gruesome. Anyway I got to go pretty soon, It's getting pretty close to dawn. I've got to be home before the sun." "Oh well maybe I can see you again some time later, Are you busy tomorrow at all?" "Ya I'm really busy during the day but I could meet you after dark." "Ok how about tomorrow at 11, at the park down the street from here?" "Sure that sounds good, Well I've got to go now bye Pete." "Bye Amy, I'll see you tomorrow then." Amy walked off into the forest to find Cedric there, Leaning on a tree and waiting for her. Come on we have to go!" They got home just at 4. You sure did show her around didn't you Cedric?" "Uh what? Oh right ya, ya I did!" "You better get that latch on and go to bed now. The sun will be up soon." They screwed on the latch and got into the coffin. Once the door was shut and Dimitri was definitely in his coffin, Cedric began to ask questions. "So this Pete guy, you like him or something?" "Only for the last year and a half!" "So what, He doesn't know your dead?" "No, he was here all summer, he heard about the murder but didn't know it was me." "So how do you like that? Ya got a boyfriend and your not even living! Are you going to see him tomorrow, I heard him ask you." "Ya I'm going to try to." "Good we can at least go together cause I've got to go meet Matt and explain this whole deal to him. Well good night" In the evening, once again Cedric slept in so Amy decided to explain to Dimitri the plan. "Cedric asked me if I'd like to go to this park downtown and I said yes but we didn't have time to ask you that last night so I'm asking you now. So do you think we could go?" "Amy, Amy, Amy, I'm not your father! As long as your back before dawn, don’t get caught and I don't get a notice from the police, I don't care! Go be free have fun just remember to drink." Cedric stumbled out of the coffin got half across the floor, Tripped and fell flat on his face. "Damn...Ok Amy did you ask him?" "I said yes. So Cedric, did you have a nice night with Amy. Thought you’d repeat it eh, eh." "Oh shut up, I'm going to eat." "Amy, go get your makeup on and if Cedric doesn't remember that no means no, Slap him! I think that will remind him." "Uh thanks for the advice I guess." Cedric came back in and put on his makeup, "Ok were off and Dimitri, go to hell." "Sorry I've been there, It's too hot for me." On the way Amy grabbed a rabbit and bit into it. "I never thought there would be a day where a girl sucking the life out of a helpless animal and having blood drip down their face would be considered hot by me. It's time I depart, I'll meet you here at 4:00 AM exactly. Good luck with your new boyfriend!" "Shut up." Amy walked on alone until she came to the park and found Pete sitting on a swing. She walked over and sat next to him. "Hey, hope I'm not ate." "no. Sorry but this can only be a short visit. I hope you have a fun summer though." "O Thanks. Why can't you stay longer?" "I can't actually tell you. It's kind of on a need to know basis. Sorry." "Ok then, do you not trust me or something? Is it something I said?" "No, not at all, It's all my fault. I do trust you it's just this is a little too big, even I don't understand it entirely. I've got to get going before it gets too dark out so ya." "Well before you go I just wanted to tell you...uhm...In case I don't see you again...I just really like you and your a really nice guy and uh..." "Thanks I like you a lot too but I think I'll see you again. Well it's getting pretty dark. Bye." Pete lent over the swing and kissed Amy on the cheek then walked into the distance. He looked almost like he wasn't there. Just a lonely shadow in the light of the full moon. "Bye." Amy whispered in to the lonely dark, thinking how he would soon be entirely confused with her death three days before he saw her last. How she would never see his shining face ever again. It was not as if she was attracted to him, It was more that she was internally combined to him. That if she gave up, he would die. She mourned for his heart, Next to hers. Both combined in the ancient art of sucking the life out of a victim. He would not be a victim, no. He would be the very elixir of life, holding up Amy's life with the sacrifice of his own. This seemed a silly thought, to kill one for ones own life to flourish. Amy began to walk back to meet Cedric back at the trail. She would sit and wait until he came back. Yes that is what she must do. Meanwhile, Cedric was having some problems himself. "No you listen to me, It's not my fault I am what I am. I didn't want to leave you guys and make Alex almost go insane. Some loser creep attacked me one night and he almost killed me! It's amazing I am still here so just chill for a second and stop yelling." "I'll stop yelling when you tell me why you never came to visit us!" "Oh come on, If I ever came to visit all of you, Half would think they were hallucinating and the rest would strangle me for pulling such a stupid prank on you guys. Besides, When would I visit you?" "I don't know. You could drop by after school or something." "Hello! Vampires disintegrate in sunlight! Thanks for trying to kill me." "Well how am I supposed to know about REAL vampires. You’re the first one I've met." "Sorry, I didn't know you missed me so much. Next time someone dies and turns into some horrible, deadly monster, I'll tell them to go visit you so you wont wonder too much!" "Oh come on Cedric! Calm down your not actually that bad. It's not like you actually kill people...Is it?" "No, I actually live off of small animals like bunnies and chipmunks. Does that make this life of mine sound any better?" "Ok I'm sorry for calling you a bloodsucking zombie and I'm sorry for then under exaggerating your way of life. Can't we just for once sit here like we used to when you were alive?" "Ya I guess you are right. It would be nice to have a conversation with someone from the outside for once. So anything really important I should know about?" "Well Jackie’s a really good kisser and she’s also good at breaking hearts. It turned out you were right and Staci from grade 9 didn't really like me. My little brother is sadly more popular than me. Caity as we figured, is going on to the best drama school on this continent. Your little sister has turned really, really hot and I was actually thinking of asking her out. The rest of your family is pretty much the same except your aunt and uncle split up. The ones that lived in trail. Other than that, It's all the same. Oh except now we have a new movie theatre and the old one is still not gone. They also demolished that old building on baker and gerics moved. Shouldn't you be going now, It's almost dawn." "Oh right, Well this was a lovely chat after we stopped threatening each others lives. Don't you dare touch my sister and if there's ever any animal you want dead, you know who to call. Bye!" "Ya hopefully I'll see you again and don't worry I won't tell anyone about this little meeting." Cedric walked into the distance to meet Amy. He found her leaning against a large tree, "Are you ready to go now?" "Of course, I take it your meeting with Pete didn't go so well." "I don't want to talk about it, let’s just go." “You’ve been crying again, havent you? You’ve still got the blood stains on your face. Did you even notice that when we cry or sweat, blood comes out instead? Oh well it doesn’t matter.” Cedric put his arm around Amy and they walked home. When they arrived home, Dimitri was already asleep in his coffin, Snoring. The two of them fell asleep quickly, awaiting a new night and new feasts. The next night, both Amy and Cedric woke up late. When they finally got up Dimitri was gone and there was a note on his coffin. "I left to go meet an old friend. I will most likely be home late. Don't worry and have a splendid night. Your companion of the night, Dimitri" "Wow his letters are getting even more dramatic every week. So you want to play chess after diner?" "Sure but right now I'm starved let’s go!" They hurriedly climbed out the door and walked on the newly wetted grass. It was raining for a change and the animals were out in the night with them. Amy discovered that Squirrel tasted better than mouse and that Cedric is very clumsy. He slipped in the mud three times while sucking on a weasel. Cedric soon got cleaned up and sat next to Amy. They spent the next few hours talking while they played chess. Cedric said he would ask Dimitri if they could get Amy some new clothes, Her old ones were dirty and had blood stains on them. They spent half an hour talking about clothes and what food they used to eat. Suddenly Cedric blurted out, "I don't think you like me as much as I like you." Amy was shocked by this sudden out break of emotion. "How much do you like me then?" "Well I mean I like you a lot...Butt hat could be because I haven’t been on a date for 4 years...or the fact that I haven't met a girl younger than 107 in that long either...Anyway just answer the question. I mean its not that I really care or anything it's just that I...Uh...I'm curious. I mean I'm just wondering for future knowledge. No that sounds stupid...Oh just answer the stupid Question. If you don't like me well that’s fine...I guess." "Well I mean you’re a nice guy and all. I like you I guess but you know. I just like you as a friend though. Its not like I'm in love with you, Were just friends. Don't be mad." Cedric looked crushed at these words and Amy felt horrible. "Are you ok, I mean I'm sorry if I.." "No I'm fine, Lets just play some chess. They played for a few hours and Dimitri never got home so they decided to go to bed. Cedric never put his arms around Amy that night. He never said good night to her. Amy felt so miserable, It was one of those days she just wanted to curl up and sleep forever. Cedric faced against the wall that night, He didn't want to even go near Amy now for fear she would tear his heart out and stomp on it. He felt like he was bleeding inside and yet he would never die. In the morning he got up extra early to talk to Dimitri about getting another coffin. "But I thought you loved sharing a coffin with her?" "Ya well she just wants to be friends, I asked her last night. We also feel she needs a new wardrobe because hers is covered with blood stains." "What? I thought she was entirely in love with you. Have you seen the way she looks when she’s with you?" "Ya I know but she said she just wanted to be friends." "Oh that’s a tough one." I know, It's like saying I don't mind you as a friend but I don't want you that close to me. I've got other plans besides you. So do you think we could get a new coffin soon?" "Ya I'll do my best to get one, We can go and get one tomorrow night I guess. Too bad about you and Amy though I really thought you would be such a cute couple." "Anyway, I'm going to go and eat, Maybe I'll just read tonight. Cedric went outside and just sat for a while. He wasn't hungry and didn't want to go back inside in case Amy got up and wanted to talk. Cedric thought it was amazing how girls could want to talk about their problems so much. He would much rather bottle them up and just let them erode away in the back of his mind. He grabbed a passing by rodent and sunk his fangs into it. Somehow blood never tasted as god when you were worrying about your problems. Cedric stood up and pulled a pen out of his pocket. We then wrote on a small piece of paper, "Went to think. Be back later.-Cedric" "He laid this beside the trap door and ran through the forest in the opposite direction of town. He didn't know where he was running but his feet automatically carried him there. He ended up about 3 kilometers away from the trap door. He stopped right before a large tree with his initials carved in it. Suddenly all of his memories came flowing back to him. Sunny days of him as a child swinging on the limbs of this tree. Falling and cutting his knees. Sitting near the base with his friends. Cedric wiped the tears that were streaming down his face away, He remembered. He never could remember things from his first life, nothing other than random pointless facts. He quickly climbed half way up and sat on a rather large limb. He was home, Finally for over four years he felt like he truly belonged. He sat on that branch for the entire night, until he could see the peak of the sun rising over the hill. He then remembered the real truth. He could never stay here forever. He would never see the sun rise or set. He would never see his family again, he would always be alone. Empty inside with no real feelings. He carved into the tree with his pen, Never forget where you belong. He knew a part of him would always sit under this tree in the sun. He could see the glow of the sun and he ran from it. He ran like a child running from death, He hated to run like this. He almost stopped and let the sun touch his face one last time. When he got into the room, He went past the coffin and lied on the floor. He waited for a while and when the cracks of light shone on the floor beside him, he moved further away then laid down to sleep behind the coffin. In the early dusk of the next night he was awoken by Dimitri shaking him hurriedly. "Where have you been, I was worried sick and didn't know where you were at 5. Are you insane staying out there that long! What happened to not sleeping in our coffin. So what? Now that a girl rejected you the laws of sunlight don’t apply to you and you don’t need to stay out of them?" "I'm sorry Dimitri but I've got in touch with my former life for the first real time. I saw the sun coming over the horizon and I slept soundly being able to breathe freely. Don't you ever wonder what would happen if you were less afraid of things." "No Cedric, I have never wished to die. Unlike you obviously, I like it here on earth." "In case you haven’t noticed you are dead! Besides I wasn't turned to dust and I wasn't found out by the media and for once I feel like I can do something with my time!" "You’re going to get yourself found and you will bring down the demise of us all! I have big plans and those plans require me to still be breathing." "Well if you have such big plans then why don't I just leave?" "Cedric I was over reacting. I don't want you to leave ok, I just don't want to see you get hurt or disemboweled or something." "Thanks Dimitri, for your sake I will try to stay out of disembowelment but you've got to give me some space to do what I want." "Ok deal just try to be back a little sooner then last time." "Ya sorry about that, I don't know what happened to me. I got really emotional then I got mad then I sort of just drifted into a trance or something." "Well that usually happens when you remember you’re past life and you get really caught up in it at times. Just don't let it take you over." "Ya I wont, Shouldn't we be going soon?" "You go outside and eat and I'll go wake up Amy." Cedric walked slowly out to the open air and quickly drank his serving. When they had all ate and they were ready to go Amy burst out, don't we have to put on makeup and all that?" "Oh my dear, We are going to the vampirish part of town." "There's a vampirish place in this town?" "Oh yes but only late at night, There's a small dark street that not many people know about that is full of old houses that are shops and bars for night creatures after dark." They went o their way very quickly until they finally emerged on a dark corner . It looked like a normal street full of normal, old houses and small yellowish lawns. When they came to a larger, dark house where all the lights were out, Dimitri knocked 5 times then opened the door with a creek and walked in. It was entirely quiet as they walked down to the basement and Dimitri knocked 5 times at another door. It opened without anyone touching it and they stepped inside. The entire room was full of different coffins of different sizes and colors. "Now I have come up with the idea that Cedric will get the new coffin. Before anyone argues I would just like to say that Cedric is cramped in the one now and Amy has lots of room in it. Now there is a lovely seeder one over here that I thought would be perfect for you." Cedric went to look at it. It was varnished not stained so it had the lovely color of the wood shining through. Cedric pushed off the lid to find there was green velvet inside. "I love it and it even has a slide off lid so it would be easier." "Yes and you could even slide it over a bit so you could get some fresh air." "Will you take that one then?" A strangely low voice came from the corner in the shadows. "Yes Eric, Just let him try it out to make sure he fits." Cedric climbed in and laid his arms on his sides. "It's perfect, I could even make a silk angel in this!" He started to move his arms and legs apart then together in a more flailing motion then one of creating something. "That will be 35 dollars. Would you like us to drop it off in your regular spot Dimitri?" "Here you are and yes please. we would be very grateful." Dimitri handed the vampire named Eric 35 dollars then turned and walked back up the stairs. Now to get you’re clothing Amy, That is across the street then I think we will be done." they walked back outside into the clear moonlight and began to walk across the street. At this house, when Dimitri knocked 5 times someone answered the door. There was a tall woman standing there dressed completely in black with one large pink flower in her black hair. Amy looked around the large room; it was filled to the rafters with clothing of any kind in almost any color. Amy purchased a pair of jeans and an orange shirt. When Dimitri had paid the lady, They were on their way again. Back at their home, Dimitri explained that this coffin had lead in the lid so that a normal vampire could easily lift it but not a mortal. Vampires afterall are much stronger than men. They had a generally normal night after that and slept soundly. The next few weeks flew by like nothing had happened at all. It was now the middle of the summer and it was getting very hot. Dimitri would walk around with his jacket off and his bottom shirt unbuttoned or sometimes with no shirt at all. It was odd to think that someone in their hundreds could look so good. He was now less of a parent to Amy as a close friend that just knew more than she did. He looked almost like Gordon Woolvett just with older clothing. Many nights he would just spend sitting and looking at the walls as if he was having a very important conversation with them. Cedric just sat there and played chess with himself. Amy read every book she could get her hands on and played chess with Cedric the odd time. Amy almost completely stopped dwelling on most of her human life now and the feelings had almost completely vanished. There was now no hatred in her life there wasn't extreme sorrow or embarrassment and yet everything felt much more real and alive then when she was alive. Dimitri explained to Amy that when she died, so did almost all of her emotions. Cedric called it conchious death. That is how he summed up how they were here without being alive. Cedric was on his way out to drink now when he came in looking like he had seen some gruesome massacre. "What's wrong Cedric, Did you finally look in a mirror?" "Dimitri, there are people out there. Their taking soil samples and looking at the tree bark. What the hell is happening to our forest?" "I don't know, I'll go check it out and you two go find something to eat in the tunnel. There’s bound to be things living in the moistness down there. Amy and Cedric went to eat and had an actual conversation for the first time in three weeks. "So what do you think they're doing here, Do you thing they'll stay?" "No they're probably just doing some stupid environment check. They're bound to not stay here very long." "Well what are we supposed to do until then? We can't eat down here the entire time, that could be weeks." "I know, I know but what else are we supposed to do? Dimitri won’t let us scare them off and he definitely wont let us kill them." "Are you suggesting you WANT to kill someone? You cannibal!" "Oh come on. Do you know how good it feels to suck the life out of a human being? Some times I miss it so much." "You actually killed someone? Dimitri would never allow that and we both know that." "It's not like I was always with Dimitri unlike you. I stayed with the man who tore my life away from me for a bit and then I headed out on my own. Have you ever just been left alone to do whatever you feel like? You know, having free time with no jobs to do what you like. The only one stopping you was your own conscience. It's great! Then I agreed to stay with Dimitri for a while, I never thought it would be this long." "So you want to get rid of Dimitri or something? " "No of course not. I just wish I were back out there on my own again. It's too cramped in here for me. I'm like a stallion, If you keep me cooped up in a place like this there's gonna be problems. I need wide-open spaces and meadows for me to run and play in. My original idea was to travel with Dimitri a bit and then go travel the world. Secretly I hate this place. I hate the rats and rabbits, I hate the rules, I hate the coffins and I especially hate living underground." "Why don't you just tell Dimitri you want to leave, I'm sure he'll understand." "No he wont. He'll ask so many questions and point out things so that I feel guilty and I won’t leave. I also have no where to g. Besides, I have to stay and help with you and teaching you and stuff." "I don't need your help Cedric. I'm quite fine on my own." "I'm sure you are. Anyway, will you tell me what the hell happened between you and Pete? You finally spend time with your true love and then you just stop talking about it all together. That’s not normal. Why wont you just tell me what happened between you two?" "Fine, I didn’t think it was that important. He came there and I told him I liked him and id miss him, He said he liked me too then left." "Then there really isn't that much to say is there? Maybe he had something to do. Or maybe he didn't want to get caught by his girl friend." "I don't think he had a girl friend. I was the only one crazy enough to actually like him." " So you mean he’s not some star football player or something? I was so sure you'd go for the popular and good looking types." "Won’t you just shut up about this. It's not important ok." "Well sorry I didn't know you were so bothered by it." Let’s just wait for Dimitri." Cedric tried to apologize for the next half an hour but failed miserably. Dimitri walked in, sweating like a hot pig. “So it turns out those people are environmentalists and they are researching on the decline of small animal population in this area.” “So they’re investigating us? What are we going to do? They’re going to find us out.” “actually they think it’s a wolf but they wont find us out if we move.” “No way I’m moving away from this place. If you’re leaving, you can go without me.” “Fine we won’t leave Cedric. Do you have any plans to get them out of here?” “We could kill them and make it look like a wolf. They think it’s that anyway.” “Oh good idea, Get the entire animal conservation group on our tails.” “It’s not my fault that they’re here.” “Actually it’s all of our faults because we’ve been eating the animals.” “What ever, I’m just saying it would be a hell of a lot easier if you would let us get rid of them.” “I’m not stopping you from doing that. If you do that though I’m kicking you out of my home so it’s your choice so decide.” “Fine, I won’t kill anyone but we have to find some way to get rid of them.” Cedric and Dimitri argued between many different stupid ideas which all had some major problem with them. Amy thought of many ideas and ran them through her head before saying them but they all sounded stupid. “I think I’ve got it.” “What? Amy the quiet, thinking vampire has an idea? Oh my dear god!” “Shut up Cedric, What is it Amy.” “What if we went out at night and killed away from this place? We’d keep our home and they would think the wolf or something left to another place.” ”That’s actually not a bad idea. It’s better than Cedric killing everyone. We can go out the tunnel tomorrow night and try it out.” “What if it doesn’t work though?” “What if it does?” Dimitri ate a few rats and went to go read while Cedric and Amy played chess. The next night, Dimitri and Amy set out to eat while Cedric went on his own to feast. “Does Cedric usually want to be so alone all the time?” “Yes he does usually try to be on his own but he’s definitely gotten more intolerant of us in the last few months. I know a lovely little abandoned barn not far from here. It should still be full of mice. Let us travel there tonight.” “Ok I guess, but why is he so determined to be alone and all that?” “ Well I’m not sure he’s never told me. I do know that when I found him, he was alone though, I’ve never met the one who made him but I’m quite sure he wasn’t a good man. I don’t think Cedric truly trusted anyone from then on. He also doesn’t remember much of his past like us two. You can remember what it felt like to be alive, can’t you?” “Ya, of course, all the emotions and sites and all that, why?” “Well it’s just for some reason, Cedric can’t. He can barley remembers what he did in his life. Our lessons and thoughts from are past life have changed our personal thoughts now. Cedric is trying to relearn all of his most inner emotions and right now he is confused and barley has any except his raw instincts. Most of which are to kill and seek solitude. We will just have to bare with him as he learns to adapt to civilization.” “Wow that’s complicated. Oh hey, is that the barn you’d been talking about?” “Yes, I suppose it is. I didn’t think we’d get here this fast. I guess I was talking longer that I thought.” Amy stopped in front of a barb wire fence and raised her eyes up to a large, red barn. One of the walls was falling down and the paint was all chipped. This was their sanctuary, their food source if you will. They ran across the field like young school children running to a candy store. Meanwhile, Cedric was walking aimlessly in the grass, beside the road. He had already eaten a deer and was pretty full. He figured if he walked for a few more hours, he would be able to get back before sunrise and after the “pests” as he called them, had left. This was his plan and as usual, he was sticking to it. Cedric had absolutely no problem being bored. He had spent his last few years being bored and hey, at least this time he’s outside. Boredom was more of a way of life really. It was nice to think that after you have lost your friends, your family and your entire life, you’d always have your same old boredom. This was just too much for Cedric to think about in one night though. He began to think about what he had remembered that night when he was by that tree. It seemed so far away now. That one point in time so distant and passed by that there was no real reason for pondering on it so far gone. Yet Cedric still thought of this moment as if he didn’t know or care. He wandered far from the tunnel until his feet began to slow. He stopped and sat on the bank beside the road for a bit, He got up after a while and began to walk back. Cedric got into the tunnel and decided to just sit again. He could still make out the marks he had made when Dimitri first tried to haul him into their new home. He had been kicking and screaming that the place was damned and evil. He was eventually knocked out though. He fell to the ground harshly and hit his head on a rock. That night was still fresh in his mind and Dimitri’s voice was still ringing like a bell in his ears. “Cedric you’re being silly. If you don’t like it then leave or forever hold your peace!” He should have left at that time he thought. The only problem was that then he would have never met Amy. Dimitri was still in the barn with Amy. “One thing I still don’t understand Amy, Exactly how and why does Cedric love you?” Dimitri was staring past Amy, His face completely still. It was as if his lips never even moved as he talked. “I’m not quite sure. I don’t understand it either. Human emotions are so much more tricky than human emotions.” ”Ah yes…I suppose it is how I love you too. You are my daughter, my savior, my lover. The first one I have ever drunken from and then, given my own life back to. You are a sister of the darkness. We belong together yet we are always alone.” “OK then…so you’ve never made anyone else a vampire before?” “You sure do ask a lot of questions. If you must know, there has only been one more but that was a long time ago. It was not meant to be and I admit now that it was a huge mistake.” “Why isn’t he here now? Why was making him a huge mistake?” “Well you see Alfred…Alfred was his name by the way…Alfred was a man about my age back in Belgium 1921. He saw me one night while I was drinking and I decided to kill him before he told anyone my secret. I was very troubled that night, almost as if I was drunk. When I had realized what I had done, I freaked out. I quickly gave him my blood before he died. I knew it was a mistake as soon as I had done it so I dug a hole and buried him there and ran. I figured he would die and I would be safe but in a few months, I heard of an endless darkness, killing entire towns. The humans called it the red plague, vampires called it Alfred. I fled then, leaving my maker and only companion behind. I haven’t heard of either of them sense. Let us go now, Cedric will be getting worried. Umm OK...can I just ask you why you did make me?" "Of course my dear. I was quite lonely you see and Cedric was quite lonely too. I've been searching for months until I found you, once your grandfather had died, I thought it would be easier this way. It's high time I had my own legacy." They began to walk back slowly, talking of the old times. Dimitri fell in the dark, landed face first in the mud and yelled, "Oh shit, what the hello...It's a deer carcass! Why must Cedric always leave his waste everywhere?" "Because he's thoughtless when it comes to cleanliness and proper order." "Uh that was a rhetorical question but...thank you anyway." "Are we going to go to the same barn tomorrow night?" "You may go where ever you like tomorrow night. I am older so I can last a few weeks without drinking before I will dry up. Cedric will probably go out by him self so you will be alone. " "I thought vampires had to drink every night. So why does Cedric still drink every night then or does he still have to?" "Only you need to drink every night because you still don’t have enough blood in you yet. Cedric doesn't have to drink every night so he usually just goes and sits or he goes more for the kill than the blood." "If Cedric is such a problem then why do you keep trying to help him and all of that?" "Well you see it's my fault that Alfred went insane like he did. It's the fault of Cedric's maker that he's a little crazy so I figure if I help Cedric, someone might help Alfred. It's also a sort of way from saving myself from over powering guilt." "Did you just think that up now because it's pretty good." "Oh no I have been trying to find a way to free my guilty mind for decades. I suppose that's why I didn't make another vampire sooner. I was afraid of what might happen. I suppose the humans went to bed by now. Let us go home." Dimitri and Amy were in the forest just near the trap door. It was amazing that humans couldn't see this for if you asked a vampire, it was in clear sight. They got in and sat but Cedric was no where to be seen He was slowly walking back down the tunnel, running his fingers over the moist, cold dirt and thinking about Alex. Had he really been so obvious to be seen by one of his old friends? He must have been trickier than that? What did Matt mean when he said he had seen things? Had he moved because of him? Did he actually believe that he was alive? These questions raced through Cedric's mind as he stumbled through the dirt. He opened the door and slowly slouched in. "Oh hello Cedric. Did you have a good night, I..." "I don't feel like talking Dimitri. I'm going to bed." Cedric slunk into his coffin and shut the lid. "All right then, I suppose it's just you and me tonight then Amy." "Sorry, I'm going to bed too. Good night." "All right Dimitri I suppose your alone then. Shall we go to bed as well, yes I do believe we shall." Amy was up the next night, ready for her first night alone sence that fateful night she had become what she was now. Dimitri had already spent 15 minutes explaining to Amy the dangers of the outside world and Cedric had left quite a while ago. Finally she was out on the road and walking fast. Perhaps if she walked along the road long enough she could find some animal to eat. She was beginning to get hungrier over the hours, there seemed to be a shortage of animals tonight. "Amy, get over here!" Came the sound of Cedric's voice from the forest. He was crouching over a large deer that was struggling in his arms. "Come on, There's enough for you. I'm full." Amy got down on her knees and drank from the deer. The blood was somehow a lot warmer than a mouse’s. "Damn you look terrible, didn’t you eat anything yet tonight? OK stop it's going to die soon." They got up and began to walk together. "So I finally think I understand you." Cedric was looking down at Amy with a large smirk on his face. "You do? Even I don't understand myself some times." "Sure I figures it out yesterday while I was sleeping. You still feel like you should be a human and when you don't feel like one then you try to hide it. Your afraid...I don't know of what but I know you are. You need to let out the vampire in you and I'm willing to help." "Oh really and how are you going to do that?" "Simple, What do you wonder about? I'll answer your questions. Just don't go deep into your soul or anything, Just ask me the first thing that pops into your mind!" "Um...why do you and Dimitri love me?" "Dimitri loves you?" Cedric had an astonished look on his face as if he just found out a disgusting secret. Like what is in hot dogs. "Never mind, that was too deep just off the top of your mind, even if it doesn't really make sense, it doesn't really matter." "What would happen if...you gave an animal your blood?" "You know, I don't really know, let’s try." Cedric managed to scrounge up a chipmunk. "Ok I'll drink it until it's almost dead, you cut your wrist and we’ll see what happens. Cedric already had it in his mouth so Amy decided to go along with this. "Ok, feed it while I hold it." The Chipmunk began to go limp in Cedric's hand while Amy fed it. "You’re dripping blood everywhere! Hold onto this." Cedric gave Amy the animal while he got down and began to lap up the dripping blood from Amy’s wrist. Amy took her arm away from the chipmunk as it began to die. Cedric however latched onto Amy's arm now and began to sink his fangs into her flesh. "Cedric, Get off!" Amy slapped him and he go off of her immediately. "Sorry, it just tastes so good I got carried away. Here pass me that." Cedric took a hold of the rodent just before it began to go ravenous. It was biting and ripping apart Cedric's hand. "Oh shit!" Cedric yelled and began to suck on the chipmunk until it was dead. "OK so that's what a vampire chipmunk does, Let's not do that again Amy...Amy, are you alright?" Amy was leaning from side to side, about to fall over. She was entirely pale and you could see her veins through her skin. "I don't feel good." "Damn you've lost too much blood, here." Cedric passed her his hand that was dripping in blood. "Suck on that for a while. I've got tons of blood. "Amy was leaning on Cedric’s shoulder as he held her and made her drink. She was soon back to her normal color and stood up on her own. "Note to self, losing blood is bad, ravenous rodents are bad and Cedric tastes really good." "Why thank you Amy, I try very hard to make sure I please the ones who drink from me!" "It's getting late, shouldn't we be going soon?" "Ya I suppose. We better get back before Dimitri kills us. This was fun though; you've gone through your first sign of being a vampire. Just keep asking stupid ideas and you'll be just fine." "So being a vampire is al about being stupid. That sounds stupid even by itself." "It's not the stupidity that makes you a vampire. The stupidity just brings out the vampire in you. Humans are always thinking deep, contemptful thoughts and vampires sort of just act on what they think is good at the time. The incomplexity is what makes us suck a complex race." "Your making even less sense than you did last time." "And that is why I'm a true vampire, inside and out. Oh crap, there's still one of them there." There was a young woman standing in the field, on her hands and knees, almost touching the trap door. "We've got to stop her before she finds the trap door." "But I thought humans couldn't see it because they don't have good enough eye sight?" "They can't see it but I sure as hell doubt they couldn't feel it. You stay here and watch this." Cedric went running out of the woods that the human didn't even see him. He stopped in front of her and there was a loud scream. "OOHA BOOHA! I am the ghost of these woods! IF YOU DON'T LEAVE I WILL KILL YOU!" There was a terrible amount of screaming and then total silence as the woman ran out of sight. "Well I don't think she'll come back." "What is the racket out here" Dimitri looked utterly disgusted as he stared at Cedric through the trap door. "Where did that woman go? Cedric, if you killed her you can just leave right now!" "I didn't kill her, I just scared her away." "All I asked of you was to leave them alone. You’d think that would be a simple enough job but you managed to screw that up too!" "What was I supposed to do? She was about to find the door!" "Did your mind turn to mush, That door is locked so it wouldn't have mattered if she found it or not!" "Sorry Dimitri, I just didn't think of that." "I realize you didn't now go to bed before I decide to lock you out!" "But Dimitri...oh ok." Cedric hung his head and walked slowly to his coffin. "I really am sorry." He was gone beneath his lid now. "Sometimes I just can't understand him, come on in Amy it's getting late." They spent the rest of the night arguing about if what Cedric had done was right. Somehow Amy was defending Cedric without even realizing it. Her idea had changed this night. She now saw him in a completely new light. As less of a rebel and more of a man trying to find his way. She finally understood what he had meant when he said he loved her. The next night Dimitri was up before anyone else as usual. He sat there for an hour or two, reading a thousand leagues under the sea before Cedric got up. "You’re a lucky little so-and-so aren’t you?" "What..." "I just went outside, it turned out the mortal you scared yesterday was their sort of leader. When she claimed there were ghosts here, they thought she was a lunatic and dropped the entire plan. Somehow you turned being a complete moron into saving the day...or should I say night...Anyway the point is that you some how did good. I'm proud of you Cedric, you can go out the trap door tonight." Cedric was flabbergasted at this new news. "So um...so I get an award or something?" "Don't push it." "I would like to thank the academy, and my mom and dad and, oh now I've started to cry! WAAAAAAAAAA." "What the..." Amy was out of her coffin looking at Cedric as she always did when he was an idiot. "...And I would like to thank Amy whom without her this wouldn't be possible!" "What?" "It turns out Cedric made the environmentalists leave." "...And Dimitri who is my inspiration and..." "Shut up already, we get the point." "Sorry." "So does this mean we can go outside Dimitri?" "Sure just look out for Cedric's ego out there. It might have taken over the whole forest by now." "I don't have THAT big of an ego, but Dimitri's sarcasm might be that big." "Your way more sarcastic than me." "I'm not sarcastic, I'm just skeptical in a funny way." "Ya cause being skeptical is really better than sarcastic. By funny you mean funny looking right?" "Only if were talking about you!" "Shut up!" "You shut up." "I asked you first." "I'll be quiet when you are first!" "Would you six year olds PLEASE stop bickering." "I'm not six, I'm almost 18 for your information." "Hey!...Cedric started it!" "I'm the most mature out of all of us and I'm the youngest by at least 4 years. Does anyone else find that a little sad?" "Well it doesn't matter how immature I am cause I've got forever to grow up. Unless the sun explodes or something." "Cedric you're being pessimistic again." "Oh so now I'm a pessimistic, childish dead guy? Well ain’t that a good pick up line." "Like you’ll be picking anyone up within the next millenium." the rest of the night was spent laughing and arguing weather Cedric was more of a discrace than Dimitri was. It turns out that no; the guy who hasn’t kissed anyone in over 50 years was more despicable after all. A few nights after, Dimitri decided to bring the group to some club and meet some of his friends. This place was called the black dragon. Cedric explained that the black dragon was a bar where vampires could hang out and meet other hot girl vamps and make out in the dark for a while. "Little does he know that they all leave as soon as he walks in the door. No, it is just a bar where we can all socialize together with our old friends." "By socialize, he means make out by the way." "Lets just go." It was a 10-minute walk to the black dragon. The bar was on a dark street on the oppisite side of town from the other vampire shops. it was in an old brick building that was painted black. the address on the door said "666 mcGregor lane" and below that, it said "Closed for demolition, do not trespass." dimitri opened the door and walked down the coridor to a large room full of shifty characters and the smell of blood. the sat down at a table near the3 back and waited for a waitress. a scrawny blonde woman came and they all ordered fresh rabit blood. when they were all finished, Dimitri pulled amy over to some vampires named daryl, marcy and kelsey. daryl was deffinately older than Dimitri and so was kelsey but marcy looked a bit olderthen Cedric. "So I see you've found a new renagade to mingle with, Dimitri?" "Actually, she is my own." "She's yours? I don't believe it, Dimitri did something worth while in his life." "I Almost didn't believe it myself. So, getting back to business, how are the plans going?" "It's always about business with yoiu" kelsey exclaimed quite sarcasticaly, "They are doing quite fine at the moment actually." They began to talk about something called the "revolution" for a long time, then marcy stood up and said, "I do believe we are done, you may keep talking if you'd like." She began to walk towards Cedric who was sitting with his head propped up on his hand, staring at the group sitting at the table. Dimitri and the others conversation took a turn for the boringer so amy tuned them out and listened to Cedric and Marcy. "So I havent seen you here for quite a while, have you been busy with the new one?" "Who, Amy? Oh ya, but she almost ready to be aloneand then I can come here more often." "Did you ask Dimitri about...you know." "Uh ya, he said we'd talk about it later, then he went and made Amy. I think hes trying to keep me with him by making her." "Or getting ready for when hes alone so he won't be so lonely." "I never thought of it like that, It could be that too. I'll try to ask him again but I couldn't leave for a while. Not until after the fight at least. Did you ask?" "They said they didn't care as long as I'm with them at the fight." Amy had no idea what they were talking about and so many questions rushed through her head at that moment. Was Cedric going to leave them? What was this fight? Didn't he say he hadn't talked to anyone under 100 for years? Was she younger than 100? Why would Cedric lie to her? "Were going to go now, OK?" "Wha...Oh ya sure Dimitri." "...Come on cedric." When they were back, they al decided to go to bed early. "Don't worry Amy I'll explain all of this to you tomorrow." Dimitri said before he got into his coffin.Amy was in her coffin for an hour and still thinking of her questions when she stepped out of her coffin. She opened Cedric's coffin and got in. His arms emediately wrapped around her body. "What are you doing in here, I thought you hated me?" "What!?! I could never hate you...I just have some questions to ask you." "Alright, ask away." "First of all, I thought you said you haven't talked to any girl under 100 in 4 years, why did you lie to me? What's this revollution thing? Are you going to leave us?" "Well...Um...Well, Marcy is not really a girl she just a friend and all and TECHNICALLY, she is older than 100, she's like 150. Dimitri will explain about all the revolution stuff tomorrow and you already knew that I wanted to leave, don't worry we'll still keep in touch though, I'll make sure of it. What did I tell you before about being a vampire, your thinking too much!" "Oh so you don't like that girl?" "Of course not, why are you jelous?" "No I just...I..." "Poor little Amy's so mad cause I've got a girl friend! So maybe you do like me after all." "I don't. I'm just going to go back to my coffin." "No, your going to stay here with me tonight, anyways, isn't this one was comfier." "Ya it really is." "Besides you've got anything you'd ever want in here, lots of room, squishy walls, lots of leg room and your lover." "Shut up cedric." "Fine, just stay here tonight. I really want you to. I swear I’m not lying. "Cedric woke up, for the first time in a long time, with Amy in his arms. He held onto the sleeping vampire girl for a long time. He hummed a sweet melody to her as she slept. Nothing could ruin this peace. Nothing, except those three little words, "get off me." "I thought you were asleep." "Well I’m not, how long have you been groping me?" "I'm not groping you! And sence about 3 o'clock last afternoon." "I'm leaving before you maul me. I have to go feast." "No your not, it's only six, you'll get burned." "Why are you up at this hour then." "I'm always up at this hour. I like to see the light on the floor. It soothes me." "What, what light are you talking about?" "Come, sit up." Amy now realized that the lid was off of the coffin. She sat up and looked at the floor. "Do you see the way it shines through the door? Isn’t it beautiful? It looks even cooler when the sun is just beginning to rise." "So, the compulsive, ignorant Cedric is just on the outside, I see." "Just shut up and don't tell Dimitri, if he knew I liked the sun, he’d never let me live it off. And we both know how long that could be." "You really miss being alive, don't you." "Of course I do, it's just that...oh you wouldn’t understand, it was different for you." "What are you talking about, it was the same for both of us." "Are you insane. Lets see, you chose to be a vampire, you knew the guy that made you, you learned what to do by being told and you've never spent any time by yourself. Face it, were nothing alike and we will never be. Maybe I'm insane for liking you, I don't know." “Listen Cedric, I’m tired of always fighting with you, ill just go back into my own coffin and…” “No, I’m sorry I’ve just got a lot to think about right now and I’m a little confused. I don’t know what to do what to do and I’m blaming it on you. I don’t mean to I’ve just got no one else to talk to.” “if you want to leave then you should, don’t let me or Dimitri or this fighting hold you back. If you truly are unhappy then just go for a while to figure things out.” “ you’re right as always. Tomorrow I’ll tell Dimitri that I’m moving away temporarily. I’ll try it out for a while and come back for you when I’m more myself.” I’ll be waiting here for you, don’t worry about that. But where will you go?” “it doesn’t matter where. Ill figure that out when I’m out of here. Don’t worry I’ll be fine, you just make sure Dimitri doesn’t go too insane.” They fell asleep next to each other, Cedric’s arms around Amy’s waist for the first time in weeks. When they finally rose from their sleep, Dimitri began to explain things to Amy as Cedric packed. Dimitri’s tuned vampire sences didn’t pick up what Cedric was doing, or he just didn’t care. He was very excited in his discussion with Amy. “now the ‘revolution’ as we call it is where a large number of us, quote ‘nice vampires’ are tired of being ordered around by the quote ‘evil vampires’ and are planning to fight them. A civil war, if you will between the two halves of the vampire race. This is very complicated stuff and I will tell you more about it later but you get the general idea. Now you should go out and drink, you look terrible.” Cedric was still stuffing things into his coffin so Amy went out on her own. It was raining again that night and the lightning in the sky burned her eyes. She hadn’t seen light in many months. “I can’t do it.” Came a voice from behind her. “Not yet at least. I’ll wait for a while.” “Just go! If you don’t ever tell him, you’ll be stuck here forever.” “I’m just going to finish packing and then I’ll go, that’s all.” THIS IS AS FAR AS I'VE GOTTEN. I'LL ADD MORE AS SOON AS I WRITE IT!