Mackenzie traveled past the many factories of Hartdale, the midday heat pressing against her pale skin. She held the decaying Encyclopedia of Supernatural Beings under one arm, using the other to occasionally shield her eyes from the almost harsh brightness of the day. She was walking as slow as she could, eager not trying to stretch the usually fifteen minute walk into a twenty, maybe even twenty-five minute walk.
This morning Tony had called her mother saying Mackenzie had lost a charm from her bracelet in his store last night, and that Mackenzie should come pick it up soon. Mackenzie wasn't even wearing her charm bracelet yesterday, so she knew that was utter bullshit. She also knew that Tony knew about her stealing the book.
And as much as she wanted to put off getting in trouble, she needed answers. So by the time Mackenzie had reached the shopping district of town she sped her pace.
The book shop was one of those stores that contained an apartment above it, which was where Tony currently lived. The exterior was brown brick, and there was a sign that read “Caufield Book Shop” over the door that was faded and dated, the product of a long time family business. Mackenzie pulled open the door and stepped out of the sun and into the shop with her head held high. After a second, Tony came out from behind a shelf on the right side of the room, his face unreadable and his arms crossed. Mackenzie took a deep breath.
“It seems you don't just keep porn in your back room like normal business owners,” She exclaimed bitingly. She set the book down on the front counter and took several steps back. Tony uncrossed his arms and balled his hands into fists.
“You're really going to make jokes after stealing from me?” He asked through tight lips. Mackenzie raised her eyebrows.
“I didn't see any barcodes on it, so I didn't think it was for sale,” She snapped. Tony shook his head, walking to the corner and snatching up the book.
“Mackenzie, what on earth made you think it was okay to take this?”
“I don't know Tony, maybe it was the aftershock of finding out there may be some pretty messed up shit out there that I don't know about,” Mackenzie yelled, her voice shaking a little. Tony stared at her, his face softening with some sort of understanding.
“There's a reason for that,” He said, putting a had on his forehead. Mackenzie stepped back and leaned against the wall near the front door.
“Why?” She asked. Tony took his hand off of his forehead and checked the watch on his wrist. Mackenzie normally would have teased him and called him old for having one, but she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that what she had discovered yesterday was real, not just her overreacting to a bunch of fictional books.
“I have a meeting with a very special customer in about four minutes, I'll explain if you stop by tomorrow,” Tony said, stepping away from the counter and slowly moving himself closer to the bookshelves. Mackenzie shook her head.
“No can do, I'm showing the new kid in town around the neighborhood tomorrow,” She said, stepping towards the door.
“New kid in town?” Tony's eyebrows furrowed. Mackenzie raised her shoulders up then dropped them, putting a hand on the door.
“Yeah, Mrs. Addison's grandkids just moved in with her,” Mackenzie said. Tony's expression shifted from confusion to something like fear.
“How old did he look?”
“About my age,” Mackenzie said, “Why, what's wrong?”
“I'll have to look it up again, but I have a newspaper article that says Mrs. Addison's daughter died in Vermont in 1952. From an animal attack.”
Mackenzie grasped the door for support, her breath getting caught in her throat. She'd joked that the boy who'd approached her last night looked like a Salvatore brother. She hadn't thought he actually was a vampire.
“Mackenzie, I know how you are and I know you're going to want to meet him and talk to him, but don't. Let me figure things out first,” Tony demanded, quickly backing further into the store. Mackenzie nodded distractedly.
“Sure thing,” She said, before turning and leaving the shop without so much as a goodbye.
She walked home in a daze. Every person she saw, she had to wonder if they were human or not. The heat no longer bothered her; it almost felt like a safety net. Vampires were more likely to come out at night.
Mackenzie almost stopped dead in her tracks. She pulled out her phone and dialed Allison's number. After a few rings, Allison picked up.
“Hello,” Allison said, the background noise of her mom's favorite classical music nearly tuning her out.
“Hey, Allison remember how you asked if I had plans today?” Mackenzie's words almost bled together, she was talking so quickly.
“Yeah,” Allison answered, and Mackenzie could imagine the confusion on her face.
“Well, do you think you could be over at my place in an hour?” Mackenzie asked, not waiting for her to ask for an explanation, “We're gonna see if my new neighbors leave their house during the day time.”
***
“Mack, this is ridiculous,” Allison complained. It was an hour after Mackenzie had called her and they were sitting on Mackenzie's porch with a deck of cards.
“Shut your mouth and go fish,” Mackenzie replied, stealthily looking towards the house at the end of the street. It was a bit far down, but Mackenzie could see the front door, and she knew no one had left or entered since they'd first gotten out there.
Allison pulled a card of the top of the deck and set down a pair of twos. “Are we going to wait here all day?”
“If we have to,” Mackenzie said. And it turned out, they did. Allison and Mackenzie stayed out on the porch until eight o'clock, Mackenzie's mother bringing them out snacks and meals at proper times. Allison complained some more, but she never left.
At eight, once the sun had mostly gone down, someone left the house. Mackenzie jumped up, pushing the book she had been reading under the large seat on her porch. She motioned to Allison, who did the same, and then she ran down the stairs as quietly as possible. Allison followed, but Mackenzie could tell that she was confused and annoyed.
Mackenzie watched the person who had left the house turn the corner at the end of the block and sped up to follow them. She figured it was a girl, she could see the hair and the blouse from where she was walking. Mackenzie remembered Julian say something about a sister. She carried a bag with her, and her walk looked unnatural to Mackenzie. Her posture was unlike that of any other teenager Mackenzie had seen. They followed the girl for another few turns and ended up at the local hospital.
“What is she doing here?” Allison whispered.
“She's here to do a little grocery shopping,” Mackenzie replied, feeling sick to her stomach. If Mackenzie was correct, the girl would be stealing blood bags from the hospital and she brought the bag along so she could carry them around unnoticed.
“Oh god,” Allison said, her face paling as she realized what Mackenzie meant. Mackenzie gave the hospital one last look, the turned and walked away. Allison tugged at Mackenzie's arm.
“You can't go meet with that guy tomorrow,” She said, “He'll eat you or something.”
Mackenzie laughed humorlessly, “I don't think I need to worry about that. They drink from bloodbags.”
“But he's still a vampire,” Allison stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“But how is he going out in the sunlight?” She questioned, as they walked along the calm suburban streets. The hospital was right in the middle of town, and Mackenzie and Allison lived closer to the edge.
“I don't know Mackenzie, you said yourself that you never got that far in the book,” Allison pointed out. Mackenzie shook her head.
“That's just it, there's so many things we don't know. If I meet with him tomorrow, I can find some of them out,” She stated. She ended the argument there, and told Allison she'd give her an update tomorrow night. Allison agreed hesitantly, but didn't push it. Mackenzie walked home alone, speeding past Mrs. Addison's house when she reached Orchard Street.