Alison stumbled back up the garden, heading towards the warm and loud glow of the party. Her mind was reeling about everything Mr Grey had just said. In her drunken state she began to see some truth behind his words, she didn’t know everything about her family. In fact, she barely knew anything about them or their lives before she had moved back to England. Her conversation with Max in the attic last week had proven that. Her family had a lot of secrets and Alison knew that even when she was one of them, she would never find those secrets out.
She pushed her way into the kitchen and headed towards the alcohol collection. She had appeared to have forgotten her previous vow to herself about not getting drunk. But then, she hadn’t expected to see the devil’s buddy at a secondary school party. It had undoubtedly shaken her up and so a very strong vodka and coke was needed.
Ali had just poured herself the drink when a group of guys from her year came stumbling and shouting into the kitchen. They saw her and cheered before James King rounded the counter to scoop Ali up in a hug. She managed to find herself laughing at the drunken brazenness of the boys. One of them found some shot glasses and a bottle of some brightly coloured alcohol. Usually Alison avoided shots but after what had just happened, she wanted to drink more.
Alison had a round of shots with the boys before proceeding to drink her vodka. But then there was another shot placed in front of her and they were all jeering at her to keep up. It seemed bad, she should have been independent, and she shouldn’t have bowed down to peer pressure. But after what had happened this evening so far Alison wasn’t slow to take the shot.
Soon enough a crowd had gathered as other people merged into the kitchen; it was quite clear that those present were the ones that had been drinking the most. Alison’s drink got topped up in her hand as James stood on a chair, swaying violently, and declared to the group in the kitchen that it was time for a game of Buzz to which a cry of approval burst forth.
Alison was swept up within her drunken state, so much so that she seemed to forget her former misgivings and internal struggle over what Mr Grey had been offering. In that moment she was happy to get drunk with a large group of people; playing Buzz and then moving on to a rather disastrous game of Flip Cup, it was safe to say that James would have to take a mop to the ceiling in the morning. It hadn’t even occurred to her that both of her cousins were no where to be seen when normally they would have constantly been checking up on her, especially seeing as she was around alcohol.
Alison had lost count of how many drinks she had had when Max finally emerged through the group of people that she had been drinking and dancing with – she might have also been playing a game of real life fruit ninja whilst she was at it as well. Max grabbed Alison’s hand and looked at her sternly. It was clear that she was very drunk, and it wasn’t the same type of drunk as it had been at the beginning of the month. This was a carefree and reckless drinking and it had Max even more worried. She was swaying slightly on her feet and her eyes were glazed, she barely even responded to the touch of her cousins’ hand. Instead she just smiled up at him and leant into the side of his body for support. Murmuring something about how cold he was. Max would have laughed if he wasn’t so worried. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder protectively and tentatively brushed the hair out of her face.
“come on missy, Phillip’s outside and I think it’s time we got you home before you throw up or something,” Max said softy, a smile on his face as he looked at Alison. The girl could barely stand so he scooped her up in his arms and headed through the house. Grabbing Amy on the way (he had given her a ten minute warning because he knew how long it took her to say goodbye to people), Max carried Alison out to Phillip in the waiting car.
Max laid Alison across the back seat with her head in his lap, she was almost asleep in his arms which made him chuckle. It seemed that Alison had once again forgotten her encounter with Mr Grey and the way it had made her feel; vulnerable and scared, her whole world wrenched out from underneath her whenever he mentioned her family as a threat.
Max’s attention was focused solely on Alison, making sure that she was still breathing and not about to be sick that he didn’t notice how agitated Phillip and Amy got when they turned to pull into their driveway. Nor did he sense an unwelcome presence within their home.
The three of them got out of the car and as Phillip went to open the door, with Amy beside him, Max lifted Alison out of her seat and headed towards the house. He may have been preoccupied and therefore oblivious before but the moment he stepped a foot over the threshold Max knew something was wrong. His grip instinctively tightened around Alison and he shared a glance with Phillip. There was the sound of voices coming from the living room; whilst they weren’t loud they were definitely angry. Alison stirred in Max’s arms, her face was very pale. Phillip nodded towards the kitchen, and Max took his advice whilst the other two went to find out just what was going on.
He set Alison down in the kitchen chair, she was awake now but still really rather drunk. She lent heavily against the table as Max placed a glass of water and some tablets in front of her. She smiled weakly up at him, aware that she had more then likely made a fool of herself. “Thanks...” she muttered with a slight groan, taking the tablets and downing the water.
Her glass was replaced with another and some bread to help sober her up. Max knew how to deal with Ali. As the alcohol started to wear off she began to remember everything that Mr Grey had said to her. How had she started to believe him? He knew nothing about her family and didn’t know how they treated or cared for her.
Max was lent against the counter watching Alison affectionately whilst also trying to listen in to the conversation coming from the living room that was becoming more and more heated; soon Alison would be able to hear them and that scared him.
Alison could sense that there was some form of tension in the air, Max looked uncomfortable and she had a feeling it wasn’t because of her. “Max, what’s wrong?” She asked him, you could tell that she was worried.
“We have a guest.” Max said, his voice cold, making it clear that the guest was not welcome. It was a little scary when he acted like this.
“Guest? Who?” Alison asked, she found herself sobering up rather quickly in the serious atmosphere of the house.
“Someone whom I thought had gotten the message to stay away last time we saw him… but clearly I was wrong.” Max’s tone was bitter and Alison’s mind was reeling with trying to figure what exactly had been going on. Halloween always seemed to hold bad things for this family.
Before she could attempt to voice the million questions and thoughts racing through her mind the kitchen door opened and Amy stepped inside. She looked between Max and Alison before back at her adopted brother. “He wants you to go in.. both of you,” Even Alison could tell that Amy was worried about what was going. But she was confused as to who the ‘he’ that Amy was referring to was. She got a sense that it wasn’t just Charles.
Max pushed away from the work surface and offered up his hand to Alison who took it gratefully. She was a little nervous as to who this supposed guest might be and what was going on. Amy turned with a solemn face and led the way back to the drawing room where the others were gathered.
As they stepped through the door the room was silent and you could cut the air with a knife. The only sound was Alison’s sharp intake of breath as her eyes connected with the cool ice blue of Flynn’s. He flashed a dazzling smile that Alison knew wasn’t nearly as charming as it may appear.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again my dear… I forgot how.. Enticing you are” Flynn crooned smoothly, his voice thick like honey and just as sickly. Alison refused to meet his gaze and instead looked at Charles who was standing in the corner. She didn’t understand what was going on, or why Flynn was here, nor why the others all looked so angry. It was a little intimidating and scary, bringing forth Mr Grey’s statement; she didn’t know how dangerous her family really was because she had never seen them in that way.
The intruder had taken a step closer to Alison, as if he were oblivious to the others in the room. He was too close for comfort, smiling down at her in a predatory way that had her heart beating so first she thought it might burst out of her chest. His cold eyes connected with hers and sucked her in. It was as if there was no one else in the room but the two of them. His calculative smile was chilling and sent fear through her heart and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. His touch was cold as he traced his fingertips down her cheek and across her collarbone. Alison couldn’t move. She felt like a rabbit staring into the maw of a lion; about to be eaten.
“Back off Flynn” Max’s voice cut through the trance like state that Flynn had put Alison into. His words were harsh and there was an edge to his voice. It was like a shock and brought Alison hurtling back to reality. She felt Max take a step towards her, his presence at her back, and she watched as Flynn recoiled. Both hands held up in the air in an ‘I’m innocent’ gesture.
“You really aught to not be so protective of her Maxwell… seeing as you don’t want her to know, you’re really being rather obvious.. But then again, I can understand… she’s a pretty little thing and it would be a shame if she got… damaged…” Flynn sneered at Max who drew himself up to try and appear bigger. Alison couldn’t help but notice the subtle shift in his body language as he became more offensive, putting himself between Alison and Flynn. Normally the over protectiveness would have annoyed her but right now, it made her feel a lot more comfortable.
Even so, everything that was going on. What Flynn had said and the way in which Max was acting, not to mention the others who were stood tersely around the room, watching the exchange. She was confused and was quite clearly being left in the dark about something. That was uncomfortable and Mr Grey’s words were echoing through her head.
“What is he talking about Max?” Alison asked, the uncertainty was transparent within her voice and something had caused Flynn to smile.
Max turned to look at her, the hard glint in his eye automatically softening at the sight of the girl in front of him. She seemed so small and fragile, he was scared of hurting her. “Nothing Ali… he’s leaving now anyway.” Max gritted out, turning back to face the person in question. Flynn just shook his head and grinned.
“Now why would I be doing that? I came here to talk to you about two things… I told Charles the first and it’s his own foolish fault for not believing me… as for the second, well I’m not leaving until I’ve said my piece.”
Max took a rather menacing step towards Flynn. “You’re leaving now.” He growled out, Alison had never heard him sound so aggressive and she didn’t understand why none of the others were stepping in.
“Oh contraire… the girl has a right to know Maxwell, don’t you think? And seeing as you lot obviously never intend to tell her then I guess it’s going to have to be me.” Flynn said with a shrug but the smile on his face told a different story.
“Flynn.” Max growled but the devilish blonde seemed to ignore him.
He turned and looked directly at Alison over Max’s shoulder. “Alison I’m sure you remember our last conversation, I wonder… have you thought about what I said… have you thought about why they keep you around? Because as we established, you’re not darling Sara, so do you know why Alison? Do you?”
Alison stared at him dumbly, not saying a word. It was true, she had wondered why and had not worked it out. She had tried not to think about it because before Flynn came along she had always thought it was because of her mother and Charles. But he had made her question it.
“No? Of course you don’t, because they plan to keep you in the dark for, well, forever it seems, if Maxwell were to get his way. So, I’m going to tell you because I believe you have a right to know.”Max went to move forward, as if to attack Flynn but he just side stepped him and held up a hand. “Don’t even try it, I’m going to tell her and that’s final.” Flynn snapped moving around Max and closer towards Alison.
“I take it you know what a Heart is right Alison? And you know that each of our kind has one Heart with which to spend there life to make us complete. Well, you see, we are guaranteed to meet our Hearts but sometimes our Heart won’t know who the individual is and why they are so important to them. But of course, you know all of that. But did you know that you’re darling Maxwell here, well he found his Heart. Did you know that? Based on the look on your face I take it you didn’t.
“Well, Max here has, had, a Heart, but you see, she died about fourteen years ago. Can you guess who it was? Oh come on Alison, it’s not hard to work out. Yes, well you see his Heart didn’t know that Maxwell was her Heart and so she died without him ever telling her how he felt. I bet you can’t even imagine what that would have felt like.
“But you see, Maxwell found a solution because his Heart’s daughter, well she adored him and trusted him and cared about him. So, he may have lost his Heart but he had her daughter and he hopes that by keeping her as close to him as possible she can replace his broken heart and fix that whole despite the fact that when she becomes like him and the rest of the family she would have a Heart of her own.
“Have you worked it out yet Alison? The reason they keep you around is because when your mother died Maxwell lost everything and so he keeps you here and looks after you in the hopes that you will replace her… I’m telling you this because they never planned to and so, when you became like us they would stop you from finding your own Heart so that Maxwell can be happy. Don’t you see Alison? They’re using you… the only reason Maxwell is so caring about you is because of what he hopes for the future.” Flynn finished, taking a step away from Alison he watched the aftermath of his little revelation.
Alison glanced around the room at her family, her eyes finally resting on Max. She didn’t know what to think. She felt numb. She didn’t think that it could be true. They wouldn’t act like that. They would never stop her from being with her Heart when she finally became like one of them, they were her family and they loved and cared about her. But then, Mr Grey had told her that they weren’t all that they seemed.
“Is it true?” She said, her voice small and fragile, staring up at Max who was looking down at her regretfully. He didn’t say a word, just stood there looking at her.
“Is it true?!” She asked again, more forcefully this time. “Is the reason you keep me so close to stop me from leaving?! Because you’re selfish enough to stop me from being happy when my chance comes?! Is it true?” She asked again, but again Max said nothing.
“IS IT TRUE?!” Alison shouted now, Max just dropped his gaze. Not saying anything. “That’s all the answer I need, isn’t it? I trusted you! I thought you actually cared about me! But no, I’m just a replacement for my mother. How sick is that?!” Her voice was getting higher and higher and she didn’t realise that she was crying.
She glanced around the room, at the faces of her family. They all seemed to look the same. Regret. “And you lot! You encouraged this thought, you were willing to sacrifice my happiness! What were you going to do when I found my Heart? Keep me locked up as prisoner? I thought you were my family! Why? Why would you do this?!” She shouted at them, staring directly at Max. He saw something break in her, the hatred in her eyes. He never wanted for it to be this way. He wanted for her to love him on her own. For her to love him enough that even if her Heart did come along, she wouldn’t ‘t want to leave him. But seeing her like she was, hot angry tears streaming down her face, that hurt and crushed his dreams.
“SAY SOMETHING! You can’t even say anything because you know that you’re in the wrong! My whole life has been built on a lie! You really are soul sucking monsters!!” Alison screamed at them, Emma had red tears streaking down her face as she took a step towards her niece but Alison shoved her off and ran out of the room.
She was so angry and upset she didn’t know what to feel or do. She slammed her bedroom door and pushed the chair up against it. That would never hold but it was the only thing that she could do. She ripped at the dress, it felt like it was suffocating her. She managed to scramble out of it before collapsing on her bed in tears. She had no idea how to feel or what to do. All she knew was that Flynn had been the only one willing to tell her the truth: that her family had been lying to her; that they were going to prevent her from being happy to fulfil Max’s selfish wishes. Max, her best friend. The person she had cared most abut had been lying to her, her entire life. How did she recover from this? How did she carry on living with them? It may not have seemed like much but Alison knew the importance of a Heart and had grown up believing that when she found hers all the pain of her blood family would disappear because that individual would make it alright. Only, now she had found out that her adopted family were going to stop that from happening. They would always stop that from happening .Mr Grey was right, they would ruin her.
Mr Grey! He said that when she realised how they would hurt her then he would help. Alison scrambled off of the bed and over to her coat, fumbling around in her pockets until she found the card. She then did the one thing she swore she’d never do. She rang him.
“Good evening Miss Lyson,” came a cool and collective voice.
“M-Mr Grey?” Alison asked tentatively, she was starting to get scared at the fact she was calling him. But no, it was the right thing to do. This was just the first step in her family hurting her. Because he was right, they were dangerous. They weren’t human and she was, she was breakable and if she stayed then she would end up dead.
“Yes Miss Lyson, do not worry I shall be with you within ten minutes. And don’t worry, they won’t see me.” His voice was just so calm and collected that it lulled Alison into a sense of false security. Into feeling that maybe everything would be alright because Mr Grey was going to help her fix things. Fix the mess of her life. A life that up until half an hour ago had been happy. Charles had almost saved the family and then she would get to join them and everything would be perfect just like they had planned. It hadn’t even occurred to her that Mr Grey seemed to know what had happened.
The tears came hotter and faster as she sunk onto the bed, sobbing over everything that she had now lost with the new and awful knowledge gained. There was sudden knock at her window, making Alison shriek in shock before she saw the figure standing on her balcony. It was Mr Grey, he must have scaled the tree so he wouldn’t be seen. She didn’t question it.
Without even thinking about it, Ali got up and let him in. He smiled at her, it was the same creepy smile as before, but only now could Alison see that he was genuinely pleased to see her.
“I’m so glad you came to your senses Miss Lyson, so please don’t cry child. It will all work out alright. Come with me, I’ll take you away from here and away from this danger and to somewhere safe. I promise.” He said smoothly.
Alison just nodded her head, she was numb from it all. Her whole world had been turned upside down, she was running away from her family with the help of the man who she had said she was never going to listen to. Only, he had been the one to be proven right. She should have taken his advice sooner.
“Pack a bag of things then Alison. Nothing brightly coloured and nothing to remind you of your family… with the exception of your mother of course because none of this is her fault.” Mr Grey said stoically.
Alison turned and glared at him for a moment. “It is her fault, if she hadn’t died then none of this would have happened.” It was met with silence. She wasn’t going to argue over her dead mother. So, she picked up a bag and filled it with all of her dark coloured clothes.
Alison was almost done packing when there was a loud crashing sound. She froze and turned to Mr Grey who was just sitting patiently on the edge of the bed. He didn’t say anything but then there was a scream. A high pitched feminine scream that could only have come from Emma or Amy. Alison’s heart raced in her chest and her blood ran cold. She went to move towards the door. There was a sudden growl coming from downstairs and the sound of something crashing followed swiftly by a heavy impact and a loud grunt. Another scream. She had to go and help her family. But as she reached the door Mr Grey stopped her.
“Don’t. It’s time we left, trust me Alison. You don’t want to go down there.” There was another scream and more crashing sounds. She heard footsteps on the stairs and Max calling out her name. “We have to leave. Now.” Mr Grey snapped, taking her arm and tugging Alison out onto the balcony. He took her bag and went to help her down via the tree. Just as she turned to climb into the branches, her heart torn between staying and leaving, her bedroom door burst open and Max ran in: in his fall monstrous glory. Blood dripping from his mouth. Their eyes connected and he called out her name, but before Alison could respond several men dressed from head to toe in black were following suit.
Alison watched in horror as they bore down on Max and she instinctively cried out. But Mr Grey pulled her away from the horror of her family being attacked. Dragging her kicking and screaming, trying to get back to them, through the garden and down to the road. They were headed towards a van, Alison could still hear the screams echoing through the night air. Right up until the van door was slammed close.
Mr Grey turned her to look at him. “I’m sorry Alison… but like I told you, they were dangerous. They hurt you. I didn’t want to do it but I couldn’t let you stay with them. You’ll be safe with us now. I’m going to take you to the institute, you’ll get trained and then you can be stronger. I am genuinely sorry Miss Lyson but vampires cannot be kind, friendly or safe. The Lyson clan’s time was up, they’ve held on too long. All men must die Miss Lyson, vampires are no exception to that rule. But don’t worry, The Black Company will look after you. You’re one of us now Alison.”
She wanted to believe him but she felt numb. They had just killed her family, her family of bloodsucking leeches who had lied to her entire life. Maybe this was good. Mr Grey was right, growing up with vampires was no place for a human (just look at her mother), so a fresh start with the mysterious Black Company was probably a good thing. But that still didn’t stop the tears.