The Immortal Design
Angel C Ernst
1.
You are a clever man, friend John; you reason well, and your wit is bold; but you are too prejudiced. . . . Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain. But yet we see around us every day the growth of new beliefs, which think themselves new; and which are yet but the old, which pretend to be young. . . . Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
This is my favorite quote from my Great-Great-Great Grandfather’s book. I’d like to think he was speaking to me as he wrote this. I know deep down that there was no way that he could have known that my father, Mr. Kenneth Stokes would have named me after a character from his book. I mean, he would have had to be psychic or something and since I’m not a firm believer in psychics, witches, werewolves or any other type of paranormal crap well, my ego’s little bubble had gotten burst early on.
My parents are the typical parents. They want the best for their only son. So, I get the best of everything. There isn’t much I can’t get. My family has been riding the money train for as long as Stoker’s have been alive, well at least Bram Stoker that is. I’m not really sure when the family name was changed to Stokes instead of Stoker, but for some reason it was. We have court documents dated way back to the mid-1900’s showing that a relative had petitioned the court to change it, reasons listed were unknown.
My dad is a lawyer, and he didn’t like the fact that there was no copyright on his Great -Great Granddaddies’ best seller. So he went on a personal crusade to get a copy right in place for the original work, and from there on out, he sued the crap out of everyone who had touched on the copyright, he even went after the movies. My dad is a brilliant lawyer, and very good at getting his way in court, so we have been living the high life ever since. The royalties keep coming in month after month so I have no complaints when it comes to my parents giving me anything I want.
They just haven’t been able to give me the one thing I truly want. Someone who wants me for me, the real me. The person that lies beneath the “Golden Boy” exterior. I know, I know; I should be happy that I have everything handed to me on a silver platter right? Wrong. That’s not how I want to be remembered after this year. I don’t want to be listed in the J. Harker high school year book, as the typical jock, student body president, and so and so forth. I mean I am all of those things, but not by choice. My father has pushed me to be the best at everything, and now that I’m eighteen, I want to strike out on my own and make my own mark on the world. That’s not too much to ask for is it? By the way I obviously think way too much to myself…
As I lay on my bed tossing the football in the air contemplating my life my cell phone beeped. I dropped the ball and looked to see who was texting me. It was my best friend Pete Baker. Pete was the complete opposite of myself. I envied him for that. He came from a blue collar family. His parents, had divorced when he was young and didn’t set ridiculously high expectations for him and if he wanted something, they made him work for it. Pete’s outlook on life was very down to earth. I typically found myself spending more time at his house with him and his mother Julianne than my own. His family was loving and caring for each other, even with the divorce. Mine on the other hand was more like a business. Don’t get me wrong here, I love my mom, Catherine Stokes, and most of the time my dad, but they have their moments.
‘You going to the bonfire tonight?’ Pete’s text message read. I had almost forgot about it. The tradition here at J. Harker High, the annual bonfire for the incoming seniors. It’s our way of kicking off our senior year as a celebration and continues throughout the year with several other parties and dances. It’s meant to be one big party; our senior year. Sounds like fun right? Then why am I finding myself dreading going?
Sure there will be smoking hot girls there; all of whom I have no interest in. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I just haven’t met that one girl who makes me feel that spark. The girls that I go to school with are just vapid vultures waiting to pick their next victims bones clean before moving on to someone who they deem better. I am tirelessly chased and cornered by all sorts of girls. There’s the entire Cheer Squad, which don’t get me wrong, all have their possibilities, and then there is the rest of the cliché popular preps. One year I found myself being chased by the drama club, and without meaning to make a pun: it was nothing but drama.
Without another thought on the matter I text Pete back to let him know I would be there and I would pick him up around nine. That left me enough time to go out and get some running in and then hit the gym. I went down to the kitchen and looked to see if my mom was hanging around as she normally does. She likes to try to be Betty Crocker. Thankfully she wasn’t there. On the fridge hung a note “Went to book club! Be back later, oh and if you are hungry I made a casserole, it is in the oven just warm it up. Take care Love you MOM” I crumbled the note up and tossed it in the waste basket. I hated my mom’s casseroles. Instead I grabbed a bottled water and went out the back door and took off for my daily run.
I loved running. It was one of my escapes from my hellish existence. There was true freedom in just taking in the deep relaxing breathes, the smells of summer and the hot sun beating down on your skin. It was all true bliss. When I ran I knew that if I didn’t want to stop, I could just keep running, and never look back, but I did stop and I always went back. No matter how hard I tried to run from problems at home, I knew they would eventually follow me. My running was a way to clear my head, and of course my dad left me alone as long as I was running, he saw it as me training. No matter what, everything was training to him. “It all builds character Johnathan. Keep up the good work. We’re counting on you to carry on the family tradition.” You know, I don’t think I ever asked him what that actually was. I honestly did not care what it was. If it was what he was into I wanted no part of it.
At this particular point I need to mention that I was in the process of thinking of what I really wanted to do with myself after I graduated. I hadn’t even told my parents that I had not started applying to any colleges yet. I was in deep thought when I spotted something you typically don’t see in my neighborhood. There sitting idle at the stop sign just ahead of me was an old hearse with nearly blacked out windows. As I approached, I slowed to a walk. I was curious who would be caught driving the old heap through one of the most influential neighborhoods of Castle Rock, Colorado.
What I saw through the front window took my breath away. I had expected to see maybe an old man who had lost his way looking for a funeral home, but not her. She was stunning. Her long dark hair, cascading down around her shoulders. Beautiful pale skin and subtle rose pink lips. I couldn’t see her eyes, because she was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses. She looked like she had stepped out of a magazine or something. She was definitely not from around here that was for sure. I found myself just standing there on the street corner staring at her. I couldn’t help myself.
She caught me staring and took off quickly. I was to dumbstruck to try to run after her, but I wanted to. Something deep down was pulling at me to follow her to catch up to her, to do something other than just stand here looking like an idiot. I wanted to know her. I don’t generally believe in love at first sight, but I had a feeling that if I ran into this girl again, she would be the death of me. I mean that figuratively of course.
Little did I know I would be seeing her in my very near future, and I couldn’t have phrased it any better, because Willa Alucard, did in fact nearly cause my death, well not her directly but her past.
This day would go down in history as the day I fell in love inexplicably and inevitably forever with a girl I knew nothing about. There are days you remember throughout your li
fe and then there are days like these that you will never forget, and from the brief moment I saw her, I knew she had been the one I had been waiting for. I just didn’t realize the dangers that would follow her.
2.
“Hello?” Pete answered on the second ring.
“Pete! You are not going to believe this, I just saw the girl of my dreams!” I blurted out before Pete could get another word out.
“Wait…What? I didn’t think there were any girls in town that you had any interest in? Please do not tell me it’s Kelly VonHolten! She’s so hot, I would literally drink her bath water man!” Pete had been in love with Kelly VonHolten since kindergarten. Unfortunately Kelly only knew of his existence because Pete was my best friend. He had a point, the girl was definitely a 12 on the 1-10 hotness scale, with her long blond hair that was never out of place, big blue eyes, and a goddess like body that was perfectly tanned, but I just couldn’t do that to my best friend. She also happened to be the head cheerleader at J. Harker High and she had the attitude to match. I’m not saying that all cheerleaders are vipers, but the crew we had were all poisonous pit vipers and Kelly VonHolten was at the very top of the viper pyramid. Even though I had made it clear to her on numerous occasions, I had no interest in dating her, it did not stop her from making it her life’s mission to try and trap me into a relationship with her. The girl was dangerous. She had gone so far as showing up at my birthday party wearing a skimpy dress that barely covered her assets, and proceed to follow me to my room and before I knew what was happening, she was undressed and lying on my bed inviting me to play naughty with her.
Needless to say I ran out of my room and hid in my basement for the rest of the night. She of course, spread the rumor the next day that she had finally won her prize. Pete was so pissed at me, he wouldn’t even talk to me for a week. I finally got through to him when I made her privately tell him she had made the whole thing up.
Like I said, the girl is dangerous, so why Pete kept up with this crush was beyond me. “No Pete I already told you I have no interest in Kelly or her minions”.
“Then who is it? Oh… wait a minute. Don’t tell me you already met the foreign exchange student” Pete replied.
“There’s a foreign exchange student this year? Really? How come I didn’t hear about this?”
“Maybe because you lead a very sheltered life under the reign of your father. Yes John Stokes, we have a foreign exchange student this year. She’s supposedly from like Bulgaria or some crap like that. She’s staying with Stephanie Eckles’ family.” Pete kept talking but for the life of me I didn’t hear the rest of what he was saying. I was thinking of one thing. The new girl in town; not a new girl but a girl from a foreign country as well. The possibilities were too endless to count. My mind took me back to the street corner where I had seen her for the first time.
“Earth to John, hello come in John. Hey are you even listening to me?”
“What? Uh no. Sorry Pete, I was just thinking.” Pete was seriously getting a laugh at my expense by now. “You think she’ll be at the bonfire tonight” I asked. I could hear Pete laughing.
“Wow. John Stokes I think I may actually be on the verge of being speechless. I have never heard you talk like this about girl before. She must be excessively hot for you to stand up and take notice.”
“Hey, I’m going to get off here for now and go get ready for the bonfire. I’ll be there around nine ok. Oh and Pete, find out everything you can about this girl. I want to make a good impression.”
Pete sighed before he responded to my request. “If she is like all the other girls in town you won’t have to try very hard. She’ll throw herself at you as soon as she sees you” then he hung up. Pete has always had a small grudge about how the girls treat me. I couldn’t help the fact that my parents have money. I certainly can’t help the way I look either; six foot even, athletic build (of course) brown hair and blue eyes. I didn’t ask to be born looking like this, and Pete’s low self-esteem at times really got on my nerves. Tonight however, I wasn’t going to be paying attention to Pete’s esteem. Tonight wasn’t just a party ushering in our senior year it was a mission. I needed to meet this girl in person.
I ran up to my room and took a long hot shower, trying to wash the sweat off from my run and the work out. As I tried to get ready to go to the party, I realized for the first time, I was nervous. Nothing I pulled out and tried on seemed to look right, or fit right, oh my God, I thought to myself, is this what girls go through when getting ready for a date? I had only barely caught a glimpse of this girl and she had my head spinning. Just one glimpse, one perfect glimpse of a perfect girl.
I checked my watch after finally settling on a casual outfit, and realized I was running late. “Shit!” I ran down the stairs and out the front door to my Audi. I thankfully hit all the green lights on my way to Pete’s.
Pete had been waiting out front of his house for me. As I pulled in the drive he sat there on his steps leaning back looking up at the first stars of the evening that had appeared. “Come on Pete we’re late” I yelled through the window.
“I’m coming” he said as he got up and made his way to the car. Once he got in I took off in a hurry. The bonfire was held just outside of town in an old rock quarry. The town let us use it every year, because and I quote “We wouldn’t be able to catch rocks on fire”.
“So you haven’t asked me yet” Pete smiled as he spoke. He never bothered to take his eyes off the road.
“Asked you what” I replied. He was being annoyingly quiet tonight. On any other day he never shut up. Pete was a talker, I was usually in general the silent one.
“I believe you asked me for some Intel on our new resident” was his reply as he pulled a small piece of paper out from his jacket pocket. I immediately reached for it. The car swerved as I moved toward Pete and the paper with the information I desperately wanted. Pete held it out of reach laughing at my over eagerness.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Johnathan Stokes my goodness I believe you may be in over your head brother. If a girl who you have never official met, or have properly seen has you this wound up, I may have to get rid of this information I have here in my hot little hand for your own good. I can’t have my best friend acting like an idiot over a girl.” Pete laughed harder as I reached desperately for the paper. The car swerved again this time we came very close to clipping the railing going around a curve. “Ok! Damn calm down man! You’re going to kill us! Watch where you’re going!”
“Give me the damn paper Pete, and besides you haven’t seen this girl yet. She makes Kelly look like a used rag doll!” I said. Pete laughed rolled the window down and threw the paper out of the window.
I slammed on the brakes. Pete’s head snapped forward then back. He was still laughing. “What the hell Pete?”
“One, Kelly is no rag doll. Two there was nothing on the paper John. I was teasing. I wanted to see how bad you had it for this girl before I told you what I know about her.” I reached over and punched him in the arm. “Owe!” He managed to say between laughs.
“It’s seriously not funny Pete. Really it’s not.” As soon as my temper subsided I joined Pete in laughing. I really was acting like an idiot. I got myself under control and headed back toward our destination. “Ok seriously, what’d you find out?”
Pete chuckled again then finally started filling me in on the Intel he had gathered from his mom who was good friends with Stephanie Eckles mother. Hell they practically ran the PTA at J. Harker High. There wasn’t a rumor in town that those two women didn’t have a hand in. Mrs. Eckles was practically throwing it everyone’s faces that she personally had been hand selected by the new girl’s family for her to stay with them. Well, that was her story anyway. I wasn’t surprised that my parents knew nothing about a foreign exchange student visiting this year. Such things would be below them and their social standing. “Her name is Willa Alucard. Apparently she is from some old royal family in Romania. She is 17 years old and she will be here for the
year. There, that’s all I know, because she just got into town this afternoon.” Pete had finished filling me in on what he found out about Willa from his mom.
As we arrived at the bonfire, the party was already in full swing. Matt Dixon had already set up his DJ stand and was playing some pretty good beats that were blaring from the overly large speakers. Matt’s dad was the top real estate agent in the county, so he had the money to drop on the best of the best stereo equipment for his son’s hobby. Matt played all of our parties basically because he was the only person in town that had a professional set up and mainly played for free. It was his sure fire way of getting invited to every party in town. His family had plenty of money, but his social skills were seriously lacking. He was a grade “A” douche. He thought of himself as a Jersey Shore wannabe and most people just barely tolerated him.
I pulled up and parked the Audi next to a row of cars of other soon to be seniors. “How do I look?” I asked Pete before I got out of the car. He looked at me as if I had gone off the deep end of the nut pool.
“Oh my God John you seriously just sounded like a freaking girl just now. Could you just please not ever ask me that again” he got one more laugh in at my expense then rushed out of the car. He took off walking quickly toward the fire. He looked back over his shoulder and hollered “You coming Stokes or are you staying in the car all night?”
That’s when I noticed why Pete was in such a hurry. Kelly had been sitting next to the fire enjoying the music and had just heard Pete call out my name. Shoot, I really didn’t need her of all people messing tonight up for me if this new girl happened to make an appearance. I walked slowly over to the opposite side of where Kelly and her minions had been seated and took a seat next to a few of the guys who played on the football team with me. Pete was busy making small talk with one of Kelly’s minions. It was a pathetic attempt at making Kelly jealous.
The Immortal Design Page 1
