Frank Iero's Paranormal Investigation Agency ( #48 in MCR, #1 in Vampiregerard )

Chapter Fifteen

I arrived at the Way's house without any trouble. No hunters, no vampires. So far so good. I hopped their fence with only a little struggling, one of the drawbacks of being so small. Huffing slightly, I landed in their prim, green, perfectly square backyard, already feeling a deep sense of foreboding. I crept to the back door through the neatly trimmed bushes, and pulled several of my moms bobby pins out of my pocket. The first few snapped, and it took me five tries to get it right. But after several antagonizing minutes, I heard a tale-tale click, and grinned when the door opened with ease.

I poked around the house for a few minutes, trying to figure out where one would keep a series of journals on how to commit homicide of a supernatural species. Everything was so clean and cheery, it was almost unsettling. I passed the kitchen, living room, dining room, and what looked like the master bedroom. In the very back of the house, there was what looked to be a study. It was darker than the rest of the house, the floors and wainscot made of sleek, dark oak, and it had the heavy, musty smell of old books.

It's gotta be in here, I thought. I quietly padded through the doorway, and began reading the spines of the hundreds of books lining the shelves. What did Gerard call them again? I wondered to myself as I searched. The journals? The code? The... Um... "Aha!" I whisper shouted. "The Guidebooks!"

Under some sort of paper weight on the desk, there they were. Three dark, faded, maroon books, with elegant gold script across the spines, giving their identity away. I picked up the paper weight to reach the books, and upon closer inspection, I jumped so hard I nearly dropped it. It was a glass ball with a flat bottom, about the size of a baseball. And there, like a mosquito frozen in Amber, were a set of too-large canines suspended inside it. Vampire fangs, I though, shuddering with fear for both Gerard and myself. These people mean business. But so do I. I thought icily as I set the weight down and picked up the first book. I opened it to the first page. There was an index, written in neat cursive. I scanned it quickly. E... F... G... Ah, H. There it is. Habitats, page 704. I flipped the pages carefully, until I found what I was looking for. "Vampires were once human, so they do not have a specific geographic region they are native to, although they are generally greater in numbers in densely populated cities, as the Cult members can more easily recruit there.

Vampires are not, contrary to popular belief, wounded by the sun's rays. (See Myths, page 1437) However, they do prefer darker places frequently populated by easy prey, such as bars where intoxicated humans dwell."

I pulled out my phone and took a picture of that section, and then rearranged the books into the formation they'd been in originally. I'd found what I needed, now it was time to make like a hippie and blow this joint.

I made my way back to where I'd entered, making sure I had everything I'd come with, and covered any tracks. I had set one foot out the door, when I heard it: a car, pulling into the drive. My heart immediately started pumping like crazy, adrenaline rushing through me. I heard the engine shut off, and quickly stepped back into the yard, gingerly closing the door behind me. The low rumble of garage door being opened began, causing me to jump again. I ran through the bushes as quickly and quietly as possible, and cursed under my breath when I arrived at the fence. The garage door shut again, so I had to act if I didn't want to get caught. Taking a deep breath, I gripped the top of the fence so hard my knuckles turned white, and heaved myself up with every ounce of strength I had, muscles shaking with effort. I slung one foot over the fence, then the other, landing rather ungracefully in the neighbor's yard. I sprinted across the back of that house to the other side, putting as much distance as I could between myself and the Ways until it was safe. Chest heaving, I pressed myself agains the wall of the house, and waited for several long, horrible minutes. I checked my watch, seeing I'd been waiting for almost 7 minutes now. If they hadn't come after me yet, guns and torches and God knows what else ablaze, I figured I should get a move on before they did. I slipped around the house, and tried to stay as close to the line of houses that I could, so as to keep myself out of view of the Ways house.  Once I was completely off their street. I nearly fainted with relief, my hands still shaking.

I walked for a few more minutes, giving myself time to calm down. Finally, I arrived at my destination, and sat down at the bus stop bench. I dug several dollars out of my bag, along with a granola bar I'd packed, deciding it would help me prepare for the long day ahead of me.

I had some bar crawling to do.

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Holy canoli, long time no see guys. Sorry it's been a while, I just finished exams for this semester. But THANK U for 8k reads wowowowow. That's crazy. Anywho I have a small break comin up so I'm gonna try super hard to write some more. I'm rly excited for where this going. (I already started writing the end chapter, and it's got over 1.5k words haha. But don't worry, this is NOT the second to last chapter.) Don't forget to fave + comment <3

xoxo Hannah