Sharon lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling with a novel draped on her stomach. Her eyes looked distant and her face was devoid of emotions. Since that horrible day at her party, she had yet to hear from her friends. Each of their lines weren’t reachable and most time she went to their hoses, they were absent. Another thing that bugged her was the appearance of those fierce creatures that disrupted her party. She tried to force herself to believe that she was imagining things but she couldn’t deceive herself. She had been having nightmares of recent and mostly woke up, sweating profusely. She kept to her self and mostly spoke in monosyllables when spoken to, which began to bother her parents greatly.
A knock came on her door and her mother poked her head in.
“Sharon, some friends are here to see you.” Her mom said.
She mumbled and climbed off the bed. Reaching the living room, she was stunned to see who awaited her. It was her friends. Daniel, Jake, Tomiwa and Annabelle.
“Guys!” She squealed and her face broke into a big smile and she rushed to embrace all of them. Annabelle included.
“It has been a while.” She gushed and then pouted. “ You are all mean. Leaving a girl out here alone and in the dark.'
“ Sorry about that.” Tomiwa laughed, tugging her braid. “Wasn’t our fault."
“So.” Sharon smiled. “What can I offer you guys?"
“I think we're good.” Daniel waved off.
“Hmm.Are you sure?" She gave him a look.
“ You better open up now.” She added and everyone laughed. Soon they all settled down and a big silence hung up in the air. The silence that was caused by how to get to the point. Soon, Daniel cleared his throat to lessen the awkwardness in the room.
“Listen Sharon.” He looked at her.
“I know a lot has been going through your mind after what you saw that day.”
A serious look appeared on her face and she sighed.
“I know you would have been wondering about those people....” Daniel continued.
“Those were not people, Dan." She interrupted and a scowl appeared on her face. “ You know it as well. Normal people would never look like that. And I saw how you fought them off, which means you know what they are.”
“Vampires.” Jake spoke this time, although his eyes were not at her. They were glaring at the ceiling.
“Vampires?” She was stunned. “But they are a….”
“Myth.” Tomiwa concluded. “ At least, they were thought to be.”
“But unfortunately, they aren’t.” Annabelle said. “Trust me, I would know. The reason they exist is because of one. Luke. He is the very first vampire who was born more than a hundred years ago. All through his years, he has been creating more and more of them alongside his son, chris and they grow everyday.”
“This sounds like fiction.” Sharon stared wide-eyed. A disbelieving look appeared on her face. “I never thought it could be possible.”
“Well, it is.” Daniel sighed. “ We have to live with it. And no one is safe.”
“But suppose it is true.” Sharon said, doubt still on her face. “Isn’t there a way to kill them?”
“There is.” Annabelle replied. “ But for only the regular vampires. A sharp wooden object through their heart will do the trick. But unfortunately, it doesn’t work for Luke.”
“You mean he can’t be killed?” Sharon was scared now.
“He can.” Daniel replied, a vicious look on his face. “ But no one knows how to. The key to his demise is hidden somewhere with no clue to it’s location. To make matters worse, he can avoid that fate if he gets his hands on me.”
“Why does he want you?” Sharon said.
Daniel sighed and laid back on the couch. His face carrying a sad expression.
“Before I was born.” He replied. “ My father injected my mother who was on the verge of death while trying to deliver me. He injected her with an immunity serum called X-serum. It was supposed to give immunity to health attack. The process was successful and I was born without stress. She also survived. But the serum was passed into my bloodstream and since I was born, I have never experienced any illness in my life”
“What?” Sharon gaped.
Daniel nodded. “ However, Luke knew about it and he wants the serum in my blood by all means. It will give him total invincibility.”
Sharon sat in silence for a while, processing this new information. It sounded like fairytale and she knew it would take a while before she can face the reality of it.
“Another thing you should know.” Annabelle said as a conflicted look was on her face.
She looked at Sharon and blurted.
“ I’m a vampire.”
“ Jesus!” Sharon jumped up and wanted to scream but Tomiwa quickly covered her mouth.
“Shh.” Tomiwa whispered.
“ Please don’t jeopardize this for us.”
She then released her hold on Sharon's mouth.
“What do you mean?!” Sharon shrieked ,pointing to Annabelle .
“ She’s one of them!!”
“Not the way you think.” Daniel growled at her and she shut up quickly. “ She has our trust and she was the who trained me to fight.As you saw on that day.”
Then in a soft voice, he added.
“ Sharon, she never asked to be a vampire. She was turned against her will.”
“You’re defending her?!” Sharon turned to him,anger on her face.
“ You, Daniel?”
“Will you please listen?!” Daniel screamed and everyone shook at the sound of his voice. They could have sworn it sounded animalistic. He took deep breaths and calmed down, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“ Sharon, If Annabelle had bad intentions towards us, she wouldn’t train me on how to fight vampires and she wouldn’t reveal their weakness, knowing that she is one herself.”
Annabelle smiled sadly at her the way he defended her. Something about his actions caused butterflies to appear in her stomach. Sharon on the other hand was still stunned by his words and then what she heard earlier. His voice.Something wasn’t right about it.
“And you Daniel?” She said in a shaky voice. “ What are you?”.
Everyone stared at him except Annabelle. Jake and Tomiwa had their suspicions but they had never aired it out as they didn’t know how to approach him on it. They prayed he would find out quickly.
“You don’t want to know.” He replied, frowning.
After a long silence. Sharon gradually changed the subject and thanked them for coming., though behind her forced smile, they could tell she was still tense. They soon stood up to leave and she accompanied them to the gate. Just as they were about to step out, she called out.
“Annabelle.” She said “ Can I speak with you alone.?”
They were all stunned as she was the same person who wanted to run away previously. Annabelle shrugged and told the others to wait for her outside.
“What’s up?” She said.
“Listen.” Sharon said, rubbing her arm meekly. “ Sorry for what happened back there. We may not be very close but I reacted like that because of my fear of those vile things and the thought of one sitting so close to me in the living room was kind of...well… you know…”
“I get your point.” Annabelle smiled.
“ Daniel didn’t take it well the first time he heard it too though. But truth be told.” She whispered. “ You took the news better than he did."
She winked and Sharon laughed, feeling at ease. She began to feel like she could open up more to Annabelle now. They may not have been very close that that could change now.
“You know.” Sharon said. “ You don’t really look like one of those things.”
“Not all of us are alike.” Annabelle giggled.
“ There are a few who have good intentions. 2% sadly.” She pouted and Sharon laughed again. Annabelle smiled warmly as she saw that Sharon was at ease now. That was all she wanted.
“Hey.” Sharon said. “ I know this may sound personal but are you and Daniel dating?”
Annabelle paused at the unexpected question. She saw the look of hurt on Sharon’s face and then she understood why. Sharon had feelings for him. She felt a bit guilty at this realization.
“If I am to gain your trust, Sharon.” Annabelle replied. “ I have to start by being honest. Yes, we are.”
“Oh.” Sharon said, forcing a smile.
“You had feelings for him didn’t you?” Annabelle said. “ I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Sharon raised an eyebrow.
“ I had many chances to tell him but I blew it. There’s nothing to be sorry about, Annabelle. But the important thing is that he is happy. Although this kind of vampire-human love is kind of a movie thing.” She giggled and Annabelle laughed along with her. Then a frown came came to Sharon’s face and she stared at Annabelle.
“He is not human, is he?” She said, her eyes pleading with Annabelle to come clean.
Annabelle sighed and said nothing, confirming Sharon’s thoughts.
“It doesn’t matter.” Sharon said “ He will always remain Daniel to me. I don’t care what he looks like on the outside.”
“ Me too.” Annabelle smiled
“But can you promise me one thing?” Sharon said.
“Whats that?”
Sharon took a breath and said softly
“ Please don’t break his heart.”
Annabelle stood stunned for a while. Then she caught the pleading look in sharon’s eyes and her heart softened.
“I promise.” She nodded with a smile.