Treasure

Chapter Nine

"Mom..." Michaela sighed and held her face with her hands. "Sam...he..."

Sam nodded and Michaela inhaled through her nostrils. "Let me just show you."

Lucy observed her eldest daughter rise from her chair, giving Sam an assuring glance and Nanook a sweet smile before turning around and rolling her shoulders back. Gritting her teeth, Lucy pursed her lips as Michaela closed her eyes, awaiting the moment to turn full vampire in view for her mother to see. As her jaw twitched and her fingers fidgeted, she felt a surge of electricity bolt through her veins. Michaela's eyes snapped open, throwing her head back with her hair whipping over her shoulders. Sam and Lucy gasped as she opened her mouth, revealing a perfect row of...white teeth? Michaela stared intently at her family, turning her body to show them her transformation.

"Well...do you see me?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Lucy got up and walked towards her daughter. "I see those beautiful blue eyes and your smile."

Michaela's jaw dropped and she looked at Sam, who shrugged in confusion as well. She hadn't transformed? Lucy watched as she excused herself, grabbing Sam's arm and dragging him and Nanook upstairs into her room. Lucy appeared stunned, rolling her eyes.

"I'll never understand this family."

~~~

"You didn't transform?!" Sam snapped at his sister.

"How is it my fault?" Michaela argued. "I tried to show her I was a vampire, and I felt that surge of electricity, but...it's fading."

"Damn it!" Sam cursed. "This is a nightmare. What can we do?"

Michaela sighed and sat on her bed. "Nothing for now. We have to tread carefully, Sammy. Mom thinks you're crazy, Grandpa's being Grandpa, but I know you're telling the truth. It...it scares me."

Sam looked at the ground and Nanook laid down, whining with his head between his paws.

"But I know one thing," Michaela ushered him to her bed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "We have to stick together, Sammy. We have to help each other."

"How, Mikey? This isn't like getting a D in school."

"I don't know," Michaela shook her head. "But I need to figure things out first. For now, just lay low, ok?"

Sam grew uncertain and unsettled as he shifted his legs on the bed, laying his head on his sister's lap. Michaela stroked her brother's head and stared at the mirror hanging on her closet, her reflection vanished from sight.

~~~

On the Santa Carla boardwalk that evening, Sam, Edgar, and Alan were busy discussing the best strategy to take care of Michaela. Edgar grunted as Sam showed them the comic of a vampire being killed, reverting the woman back to normal on one of the pages. Edgar nodded his head, while Alan pointed a finger to the portrait of the glowing blonde.

"So all we have to do is kill the head vampire, and your sister will return to normal. Sounds easy enough," Alan nodded.

"Did she say who he was?"

"She has a hunch," Sam shook his head and closed the comic. "But she doesn't really want me trying out anything yet. She's trying to figure out what she can do about this."

"Well, tell her it's easy!" Edgar jumped out and pulled out a steak from its holster behind his back. "All she has to do is steak the vampire that turned her in the heart and she'll be human again!"

"No, Edgar!" Alan snapped at his brother. "We can't be reckless. Look, if it were me, I'd say the same thing, but...It's obvious that from what Sam told us, she's having conflictions about this 'vampire.' What did you say to me about it?"