Mushroom Blood

Chapter 7: The Meeting

Chapter 7

The Meeting

 It finally occurred to me that I was a vampire. I was a creature of the night; no longer human. I was a vampire. I was what many people like Lambert's family sought out to destroy.

 I was relieved though. I would live… exist… through the bombs.

 Mom said that we had to get moving. We had a meeting with others in the mountains. She said vampires and humans alike would be there.

 We made our beds like good house guests and checked out. Big Dog couldn’t stop looking at my eyes. He must have noticed that they were dark brown just last night. I looked down while he stared at me. He made me uncomfortable. I didn’t like the looks of him; perhaps he was like Lambert’s family?

 The meeting was in the Catskill Mountains, a very beautiful and peaceful place. I looked around at the trees and animals. The trees were so alive, they were like people. Each tree had its own personality, a life. Some trees told stories; the stories of what have happened to them over the years. One tree, an old, droopy pine, was split in half and slightly burnt; it must have been hit by lighting. The animals didn't seem skittish around my mother and I like when we were human. Birds landed on her shoulders as she walked and a rabbit came up to me and sniffed my foot. There was no fear in its mind; I could sense the female rabbit's emotions, it was at peace with me. I was no different than a rabbit to her.

 "Have you noticed the animals? They seem to like us," I said to my mom. She bent over to pet the rabbit. It closed its eyes and enjoyed the attention.

 "Yes. I noticed this, too. They think of us as another animal. Apparently they don’t see the danger we can put them in," she smiled at the rabbit. "I've always loved animals."

 A thought quickly visited me… we didn’t get Dad! He’ll die in the bombs!

 "Mom? What about Dad? Is he going to…?" I didn’t want to say the word… die.

 "No, Alexis!" She looked down at me. "That 'meeting' he was going to is the one that we are going to, too… We will live."

 Many things were going through my head at that moment:  I was going to see my dad for the first time in a week! Is he a vampire and who changed him? Is he still human and will he be changed right in front of me… I don’t think that I could handle that. Also, I thought of Reece, the boy I never met but in my dreams. "Will Reece be there?"

 "Yes."

 "Oh… and may I ask about Lambert? What about him?" I was worried, I was a vampire now and my best friend was a vampire slayer. I’d rather he not be there. I didn’t want this to be the time I had to kill him but… I was afraid of him, truly, I knew he could never hurt me… or could he? Is that why he said I have to kill him?

 "Yes," she said. I could tell she was listening to my thoughts, and I, for once, heard snippets of hers. My mind reading wasn’t nearly as great as my mother's. But I listened. She was thinking of how she was worried about him… and she wanted me to stop listening to her thoughts.

 "But I know you listen to mine all the time!" I said annoyed. "I know you do. I can feel your feelings; your fear, your concentration, the dull pain in your throat. Why can't I hear your thoughts all the time like you listen to mine? I don’t have any privacy in your eyes?"

 "That is interesting. I don’t get any feelings from you. But yes, I hear your thoughts all the time. Honey, you do have privacy, I just listen to make sure you're alright. I'm worried about you," she looked at me. Her love for her only child was clear through her now normally steel colored eyes. The hard metal seemed to melt as she looked at me. I didn’t need to feel her feelings to know she loved me, and I loved her.