The Slayer, The Lover, and The Vampire[Watty Awards 2012]

Chapter 2 (edited)

Waking up, I was in a new home in a new state. It was one of Jason Howling’s houses. It was big to me, though he had this house before he was a movie star, so I guess it wasn’t as fabulous as it could be. Vlad had moved us from Miami Florida to Fairfield Connecticut. I knew I wasn’t allowed to complain. It was my fault we’d moved.

The house had a basement, main floor, second floor, and an attic. The property had about two acres. Inside it was a quaint suburban home. Entering from the garage you walked into the kitchen, which lead to the Dining room, and also opened to a hall that lead to the library and the foyer. From the foyer, stairs led upstairs. A long hall was at the top of the stairs. Turning right led to the TV room and eventually to the master bedroom. Turning left lead to the laundry room on the left at the beginning of the hall, then continuing down, the bathroom on the left, and a bedroom at the very end. Across from the bathroom was a closet that was between two more bedrooms. I wanted the one on the right. It felt the most like home, whatever that was.

As I sat in the kitchen Vlad was preparing breakfast as always.

“Violet, stop worrying,” Vlad said feeling how tense I was just by looking at me.

“How? My friend Vince is out there, confused, and a Vampire now. I killed whoever he was with, and you know Vampire’s nature!” I exclaimed.

“You have nothing to worry about. Maybe Vince will keep his mouth shut and personally try to find you, but if you see him again, you will kill him without hesitation. I believe in you,” Vlad smiled as he put scrambled eggs on my plate.

            When I was finished eating, I went to the garage, finding a bike with flat tires. I looked around for a pump, and found one in the corner. I wanted to explore, get a feel for the area. Hopping on, I rode out the driveway, to the left down the street. Once at the end of the street I took another left and made my way to a four-way intersection. I looked at my options and I decided to go straight. To the left there was a church, I decided to go into the parking lot, and rode behind the church to find a playground. I parked my bike and walked over to the swings and sat down.

            I felt bad that Vlad was upset with me. He was off this morning, slightly. The only thing I came up with was that he was struggling with the move. I looked at my watch and it read one o’clock. I hopped back on my bike and road back the way I’d come. On the left there was a river, and benches, people fishing, a nice little area to hang out at.

            Arriving home, Vlad was out as the car was gone. I thought about what I could do while he was gone. I remembered his files. The ones he never let me see. I rushed up the back stairwell and entered Vlad’s room. I went to the closet and found the boxes. I opened the box and pulled out one file. I opened it and saw two pictures of my parents, but only for a moment as I heard Vlad come in the house. I put the file back and went into the TV room and picked up a book that was on the table. I heard Vlad coming up the stairs.

“Violet, I want to see the Vampire journal,” Vlad said.

            The vampire journal- a record of all the Vampires I’d killed, a place that I wrote everything I’d learned about Vampires over the years. That was the way that Vlad checked on me to make sure I was doing my job. I went to my room and gave him the journal.

“See you later,” Vlad said as he opened the book and left.

            I couldn’t help but wonder why Vlad had a file with pictures of my parents in them. I opened up my scrapbook and looked at the pictures of my best friends and me. Vince and Jesse, what a couple they were. Vince with his strikingly blonde shaggy hair and blue eyes, and Jesse with her auburn pin straight hair and hazel eyes... They were kind of adorable together. Though, I had to admit they ditched Greg and I when they first went out. Greg was the opposite of all of us. He was punk, with his dark, almost black hair, with orange streaks and his leather jacket. It hurt to think I wasn’t going to be able to see them again. You would have thought I had memorized their numbers, but there was no need for it…how I regretted it now.   

            Later that evening Vlad gave me a book for summer reading. I scowled inside, not wanting to even think about a new school. I opened up my scrapbook again, and looked at a picture of my parents, our old neighbors, and me from when we lived in Ft. Lauderdale. Vlad sold the house after my parents passed and we moved to Miami. I looked at the picture and remembered our neighbors. They were Vampires.

            Their son and I got along quite well…in fact he is all I remember of my childhood friends…though his name escapes me now. Though when my uncle said he suspected they could be my parent’s killers, I never thought of them the same way. I don’t know why, but lately, I think more and more about my past and my parents these days.

            The next morning Vlad told me I had to finish my summer reading that day. I wanted to tell him off, but I did as I was told.

            It was summer and I was at my neighbors. Their son and I were upstairs on the parent’s bed watching a spy movie. After it was over we decided to spy on our parents. They were all in the kitchen, laughing and enjoying their selves. We saw how happy they were and…

            I woke up realizing I had dozed off while reading. My dream…it was a memory, I knew it. I don’t know how, but it felt so real. It had to be a memory. I decided to finish the book, and then confront Vlad about my parent’s murder.