The Vampires Next Door

Chapter Two

Sometimes I'm afraid that, that old rope for the swing is going to break with how high Mikey likes to push Alyssa. Then, I remember my dad saying that same thing when i would try and be on it at the same time as Mikey when we were kids; we are only eighteen months apart. It almost felt like we were twins sometimes. Of course, the rope had never failed me or my childhood shenanigans.  Still, I feel the need to be worried about it all. 

I listen to the high-pitched laugh that rings from Lyssa's lips and I even catch Mikey smiling as he pushes her higher and higher. the sound of a car door slamming fully interrupts the positive energy of our Sunday afternoon. I sit up straight to look who had done it and I see a guy that looks around my uncle's age. He was quite tall, the only feature I could comprehend from as far away as we were. On top of that is that he's walking into that house. The house at the end of the street.  The same house that I've seen the lights in every night since I have been here. The same house that I'm still not so comfortable with.

I look back at Mike and Alyssa. He's pushing her pretty high, you could see her tiny body catch air at the top of her swings.

"Mikey, Mikey! Let me down let me down! Mikey!" I hear Alyssa yell. "Okay, okay, calm down." 

I shake my head at him, finally breaking my gaze from our car-door-slamming neighbor. Once Lyssa has almost completely slowed down on the swing, she jumps off and lands on her feet.

"Tabby did you see that I landed!" She is absolutely elated. I could only laugh, as I briefly catch another glimpse of our neighbor. "Yeah I saw. Very cool." I say, trying to sound oh-so enthusiastic, but not quite taking my eyes off of that man as he walks into the house as though he lives there. I, however, have never seen a car parked outside the house. Just reads a bit strange. 

Lyssa is now dragging me inside by the ends of my shorts begging for juice. I get her a pouch and escort her to her bedroom so I can put her down for a nap.  Michael went upstairs to his room to do whatever it is that he does, while I made my way downstairs to watch T.V.  Looks like the news. Normally I'd change it, but something the look on that blonde anchor woman catches my attention.

"A couple was found dead at the base of the lake late last night." I turn up the volume as I listen more intensely to the woman speak. "The victims have been identified to be Sonja and Tony Sanchez. The coroner said that this horrific loss is due to a severe animal attack. More information after this short break."

Wow, and I thought that nothing ever happened here. The front door open and I jump, still enthralled in the television set. Looking up I realize that it was only Chad.

"You okay?" He looks at me confused, holding the door open.

"Yeah just saw this weird story on the news." Thinking back to the poor couple attacked mere miles from my house.

"What was it about." He asked.

"This couple got attacked by an animal last night down by the lake." I said still thinking how terrible it was.

"Ah," He says setting his little brief case down. "There's been quite a few animal attacks lately." He finished.

"Really?"

"It's odd. I mean Feildbrooke hasn't been known to have many animal attacks, I mean not in a long time." He kind of shrugs this off, which I find strange, because, well, what a strange thing to say. He walks into the kitchen, and I, not wanting that to be the end of our conversation, follow him.

"What? There used to be animal attacks like the one on T.V. all the time?" I say, my anxiety about this place absolutely soaring. 

"Well, yeah. Tabitha...we're surrounded by wildlife. Go deep into that forest and you're sure to find something that wants to eat ya." 

The way he says something so terrifying in such a casual way blows me away and I almost scoff in his face. "That is the wildest thing I've ever heard." I respond, simply just not knowing what else to say. 

"If you take proper precautions; not going in by yourself, not going in at night, and not going without something to protect yourself with, you'll be fine. It's those ignorant hipsters not knowing how to handle themselves out there that's getting them killed." Harsh. Chad really does not seem to be one for outsiders. I try to shrug it off with, "I guess that makes sense," and head to my room to try and forget that I live in the middle of nowhere, where people are dying in the forest that is literally my neighbor. 

As soon I get into my room I lay down in bed. My eyes are drawn to the bookshelf in the corner of the room, down to the bottom shelf where that journal of my mother's sits. My thoughts pull me out of bed and toward the bookcase and before I know it I'm eye level with the last shelf. I run my fingers along the row of journals until I come across the black and white one with a red ribbon. I pull it out from the shelf leaving one empty space where the journal should go.

I sit back on the bed holding the journal with both hands, open it up and take a deep breath.

Dear Diary,

i can feel this beautiful creature growing, but i have this weird feeling that something is going to happen. i haven't had the nerve to tell Tabitha or Michael yet. It's too soon, and i don't know what they'll say. Charles keeps telling me that everything will be fine, but I still have this weird feeling. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and she will tell me what it is that i'm feeling. Hopefully everything is fine and i am just paranoid, as Charles says.

There's a knock at my door. I close the journal and quickly hide it under a blanket, with the red ribbon still marking my page. "Come in." I say as I sit up on my bed. Alyssa came walking in with her pink fluffy blanket and white pillow.

"What's up Alyssa?" I asked as she inches closer to me on the bed."Can I sleep with you tonight?" She looks up with me with bright, watering eyes. "There's a bad man." she says, it's not hard to detect the crack in her voice.

"What bad man?" I ask as I bring her closer. "Was he in your bad dream?" I can feel tears soaking through my shirt.

"H-he hurts people in the forest." She still misses the r's in her words, and spit bubbles formed when she pressed her lips together, but I understood that just fine. 

"Lyssa, were you watching the news? Is this what this is about?"

"He hurt those people too."

"Who else did he hurt?"

"Lots."

"How do you know he hurt them?"

"Daddy told me in my dream."

"You dream about daddy?"

"He helps me. T-tells me stuff about uncle, mommy, and you."

"Me?"

"He says that you're special." Her voice is so small and with every word she squeezes me tighter. I don't know how to respond to something like this. She can't possibly understand everything that is going on right now. I didn't see her cry at the funeral, just a generally confused look. "Daddy's never gone. He says he's with us all the time." She looks up at me with flushed cheeks and puffy eyes. I don't know if this is real, but I hope it is. I hope she holds onto that message from our dad forever. I know that I will. 

I pull her face into my chest and we embrace for a long time until the both of us are asleep.