The first afternoon passed in a wreck. Finally, evening came, and I was heading off to my dorm. I was hoping to kill the rest of the trip in my dorm from that second. To my disappointment, Amy called me.
After being dragged by Amy, I found myself in the living room on the second floor. And I found myself being glared from almost everyone.
I felt really awkward. The blonde girl I met before was somehow smirking.
“I think I’d better go. I am a little tired.” I told Amy and started back.
Amy bit her lip: “Er, I don’t think you have a choice.” Then she explained how the story-telling was part of the tradition of this trip. Since I’m a newcomer, I was voted to be the teller for tonight. There was also a real story-teller. An aged man with white hair was invited here every time. He was asked to tell stories after the student.
“What if I don’t?” I asked, not feeling very comfortable with the situation here.
“I guess they’ll make you do something as punishment, like making you spend a night in a guy’s dorm or something.”
I surrendered and sat down in a chair. I wasn’t familiar with the feeling of in the spot light. Believe me; it wasn’t so good if most of the people were glaring at you.
Amy told me that it should be a scary story. I didn’t read much of those in the past. I looked up at her: Help------
She mouthed a few words: the elevator.
“The elevator?” I said out loud, and searched in my head. Oh, there was one.
“Ok, it wasn’t like a scary story. It is just like a game you play and you’ll meet ghosts. Is that Ok?”
The others nodded. The blond girl didn’t seem so happy, but she didn’t object.
“Then here it is.
To play this game, you’ll have to go to a building with twelve floors and an elevator. There have to be twelve people in the game. Once you get into the building, everyone is to be labeled with numbers from one to twelve. Then everyone goes into the elevator.
Inside the elevator, the players should stand in a circle, but between number one and twelve, there should be space for another person. The players should keep quiet, and say their names for three times in silence, then put out their right hand on the shoulder of the player on their right. If number one felt someone on his right, then the ghost has already come into the elevator.
After the visit of the ghost, the players are required to ride up to the twelfth floor. Number twelve gets off, the door closes. The other players says number twelve’s name for three times in silence, and then rides to the first floor, then back to get number twelve. It is the same for number eleven to two. Number eleven gets to the eleventh floor, ten gets to the tenth floor, etc.
After everyone else has been left on a floor, number one has to ride to the twelfth floor again, and get out.
Everyone else stays in the elevator and get back to the first floor. Next, these get out. The elevator goes up to the twelfth floor to collect number one. If number one can’t get back on his own, the others have to rescue him.
After the others ride to the twelfth floor, and the elevator door opens, they will see something behind number one. It is said that the thing is what the person did a bad deed on in his former life. So number one should never look back in case the ghost haunts him.
The rescuers should blow together at the thing behind him, until it disappears. Then number one gets back in the elevator, everyone goes back to the first floor. Game finishes.”
Helen frowned: “It was not bad, but just didn’t seem like a scary story.”
“Sorry, that’s the best I had.” I shrugged, “so the professional is here?”
An old man came up the stairs. Age carved itself in his face, hands and body. He went straight at us, and chose a comfortable seat around the chair.
He cleared his throat, and the others all leaned in to listen. Kerwin winked, so I thought it was the thing he said would explain the situation right now, so I paid attention, too.
“This is a story I never told anyone. It may seem a story, but it’s true in my belief. I tell this story mainly because of a request.
This is the story how this world become like this. We will start in a place far away, a world a little different from ours.
In this world, vampires do exist, although no one ever believed that. There was a special one. She was one of the originals, who were made a vampire in the first place. She was powerful, beautiful and wise, as the others. Also, she was cruel just like the others, or even more. In that world, each of the vampires had talents, referring to what they were best at. Like I said, she was powerful, but only just like the others. What made her so special was her talent, one that wasn’t supposed to be allowed to exist.
She learned. It seemed like a small thing when you first heard it, but it wasn’t. Whenever she saw a talent she adored or even not adored, she took it and claimed it at her will. So very soon, she became a common enemy in the others’ minds. Also, many supporters on her side became her followers.
The female vampire we were talking about was as close to the position of god as anyone could imagine. You could say she was successful as a vampire. She seized the power, both personal and the most important place in the society made up of vampires. However, she started to question the reason she was doing this. She found everything that she achieved appear to be meaningless to an immortal. Probably her too-long life made her see these things were not exactly necessary for happiness, since she had lost most of her followers for now, and new ones weren’t so sincere and supportive as the old ones.
After about a century of fighting for power, and another century to enjoy it, she felt empty. She no longer saw human beings as slaves, as she did before because although they were fragile and powerless, they seemed to be happy most of the time. She went into the human societies and tried to find out why. She even created a strict diet for her followers, so for a brief period of time, her districts had less vampire attacks though it was full of humans.
She considered herself paying her debts before. Some of the peaceful vampires agreed with her, and their pack was formed. However, the original supporters were rebelling. They enjoyed a too short life of immortal, so they could not understand her intentions.
Many of the young ones disobeyed the rules and went to find their own places. There was plenty of room for her enemies out there. The specific vampire didn’t pay much attention to reduce of her party. She was peaceful, finally found a way she enjoyed after such a long time. Unfortunately, she was not as free as she would like. The others came for her, wanting to kill her. Some too into power, that they were afraid she would come back for it one day, as powerful she was. Some didn’t think the close relationship with humans and vampires should be allowed. Some thought her talent should not exist. Some thought, some thought. Suddenly, she became the cause of every thing bad that happened to the vampire world. The rebels claimed themselves as justice, and they had a war with the vampires left to defend her.
She was not as into fighting and power as before, and there were less on her side. She was at a very bad position, but with her talent and the bravery of her people, she could have won, and found a better place to spend the rest of her life, the rest of the eternity.
The ending is very obvious. She lost, totally, and only escaped death by an inch. What made her feel worse was the reason for her failure was her partner’s betrayal.
The vampire lost her confidence in this world. Then she decided, since she had the power, she would make up her own world. The world that would be her last place to escape to. Before she went there with one of her most loyal followers, she made a partner for herself. She believed that guy betrayed her because he was not the right one. Since she ended up with nothing, she decided to create her own partner, like the world she was creating.
And that was how this world became. I guess none of you would believe, however this is the truth.”
Everyone was silent for a while. We looked at each other. Peter spoke first: “Wow, that was sure, er, different.”
I focused on Kerwin’s eyes instead, while the others popped up questions for the old man to answer. The strange eyes, one crimson red and one sky blue stared right at me. Hidden emotions were threatening to make an appearance, it seemed. Just then, the teachers called us and we were sent to our rooms.
That night, I had a strange and frightening dream. This was my first dream I could remember. I was the last player in the elevator game, and was left alone on the twelfth floor. The old elevator before me slowly climbed up. Then I realized I couldn’t go down by myself. I was shaking hard. I waited for a long time, but no one came as the rule said to rescue me. In the silence, I heard a small movement. Ignoring the rules, I slowly turned around. Almost immediately, I saw Kerwin’s eyes staring at me. The noise I heard before was him blinking. Hatred and anger could easily be seen through these eyes.
I couldn’t make a noise, and then ran for the elevator. The door opened with a crack, and I bumped into the icy surface of steel. Suddenly, I was looking at a mirror, facing the original myself. My face started to melt slowly, and the beautiful one on the tape surfaced. I turned back, horrified, and found myself covered in blood. I realized I couldn’t move at all, and I stared at Kerwin while he drove a dagger into my heart.
Then I woke, screaming out loud.
Wow. You guys were missing three whole chapters. How did that happen? I am a terrible person. Sorry! Does the story make more sense now?