They all laugh at me. I stand there and aim at the target. I also aim the knife this time at the target. I figure, since I don’t have a scope for the knives like I do for the crossbow, that I have to use my eyes as the scope. So I aim the knife and then throw it really hard at the target. Bang, I hear: at least it hit the target.
“Let me see what part of the target you hit. I did hear you hit the target this time so we need to see where you hit the target and then we can adjust your aim. The next time I want you to throw one knife behind another one. This way you will have the weight figured out for both and this will also help you get faster at throwing them. Let me look. Well, you hit the target and if you were hitting a person you would have hit them in the upper part of the leg. Now we just need to help you hit the target higher,” Stella says.
“Hey, can you tell me: have you ever thrown darts?” Trevor asks.
“I have thrown darts before but I was just so-so with them. I hardly ever hit a bull’s-eye, but I did hit the target each time. Why do you ask if I had played darts before? Am I going to be throwing darts as weapons?” I say.
“No. I was wondering because throwing knives is like throwing darts. With darts you have to aim at the target and you get used to throwing it by the weight of your darts. So you need to treat throwing knives like you were playing darts. The difference is with playing darts that your targets are much smaller, and your targets for knives are going to be bigger, especially if you have to throw them at humans, or at the wereboons. So to sum it all up, it’s a skill to be able to throw knives and even darts,” Trevor says.
“That sounds good. I will just have to remember from back when I was throwing darts and how I used to get ready to throw them. Okay, so I have my knives and I am ready to throw them. With where I hit the last target, that tells me I need to be throwing it higher so that I can hit higher on the target. When I have thrown darts, that’s what I would do. I would throw them higher than what I should, and that would help me hit the target higher with my darts. I know these are not darts, but you did say I should treat the knives as if I were throwing darts,” I say.
“I did say that, so let’s see what you got,” Trevor says.
I look at the target then I aim the knife and this time I raise my arm and I aim higher and then I throw it, and it goes flying across the room and hits the target. I hurry and then get set with the second knife. I aim and then I throw the second one. It also goes flying across the room and then hits the target.
“Okay, let’s see where you hit the target.” We walk over to the target.
“Much better: you hit higher on the target with both knives. The first one you see, you hit in the stomach area, but the second one you hit higher and it’s just below the heart area. Again that is much better. We still need some more practice. We also need to throw a couple at moving targets and then eventually we are going to go outside and shoot the crossbow and throw the ninja stars along with the knives. It will be better because we will have the elements of the outside just like we will have over in the vampire village,” Stella says.
“Okay, then, we will practice with the knives and I promise to get better throwing them. I am curious to see how I do with the crossbow outside along with the ninja star and the knives. You are so right: the wind and outside elements will make a big difference,” I say.
I walk over and pick up the two knives that I have just thrown. Stella has put them on the table with the other knives.
I like these knives: they feel better. I walk up to the line from where we have been throwing. I then shift my body and then aim the first knife at the target and then I throw it higher, and then I hurry and get set up to throw the next knife. I aim and then I throw it at the target, hitting higher. I then grab the next knife out of my pocket and I set myself up and then I aim and I throw it, hitting the target again. I grab my last knife and set myself up again and then I aim and then I throw it and bang, hit the target again. We all walk over to the target to see where I have hit it with the knives.
“Well, let’s see how we did here. The first knife you were right below the chest, and the second knife is just a tad higher than the first knife. The third knife you are higher in the chest. Oh, look at this one, you hit right at the lower part of the heart. This one is much better, now we need to focus on you hitting the target a little bit higher so that you are hitting the heart and when you do actually have to hit someone in the heart, you will kill them,” Stella says.
“I still can’t get used to the fact that I might have to kill someone. Me, what everyone likes to call a nerd. Me, I might have to kill people. I might have to kill animals. This is going to be tough for me. I know I have to do whatever it takes, but kill people that’s hard to swallow,” I say.
“Listen, it’s not going to be easy and I would like to tell you that we are going to be able to just go over to the vampire village and get Cody and bring him back with no problem and that no one is going to get hurt, but I can’t promise you that. I wished that was the case. When you speak with Anita Kay in a few minutes these are things you need to talk about. Do you want to throw the knives again, or are you good for now?” Stella asks.
“I am good with throwing the knives for now since we are going to throw them again outside. I am ready to move on to the next part of the training,” I reply.
“Okay, then, why don’t we take a little break so that you can rest up for a moment and then we will move on to the next part which will be speaking with Anita Kay and letting her dig into your mental state. She loves to do that, she loves to try and mess you up mentally, ha, ha,” Stella says.
“I love it, a little humor. I was thinking we have been so serious that we might all crack. It’s good to see you finally cracking a joke,” I say.
I walk over to sit on the bench by Max who has been just sitting there and watching us. She probably thinks we are crazy and is wondering what the heck are these humans doing? Why are they throwing things at that wall? I start petting Max and she just loves it. She makes me feel loved. She doesn’t judge me, or at least I don’t think she judges me. She has become a warm spot in my life. Oh, I wonder how my mom is going to like me bringing home a dog. She always says don’t pick up any stray dogs and bring them home. We don’t want any dogs, or any cats. She says someone has to feed them and take care of them and then they have to be taken to the vet when they are sick. Then if they are in the house they have to be walked, or taken outside, and if it’s cold, then you have to go out in the cold, or the rain. She is funny about having pets. That’s okay, Max, she is going to love you. As soon as she meets you she is going to love you. What is not to love? Except for when the big snake tried to eat me you disappeared, and then when the wereboons tried to attack and eat me, you disappeared again. Hmm, where did you go each time I was about to be killed? Max barks out loud. It’s like she is trying to tell me something.
Stella, Trevor, and Anita Kay look over at us. I say, “I am ready to sit with Anita Kay anytime you guys are ready. Then she can dig into my mind and try to mess it up more than it already is. She doesn’t know what she is getting into. I hope I don’t make you go running out the door screaming because you dug so deep and found out I was a real crazy person. No, all kidding aside, I am ready when you guys are ready for me to get started.”
Stella walks over and says, “Okay, you can come over and sit on the couch over there and Anita Kay will sit in the chair, and Trevor and I will be back in a few minutes. We are going to walk around the village and see if we hear anyone discussing you. The village people like to gossip and I am afraid if they start talking about you that it’s going to get to the vampire village. We don’t want them nosing around right now while we are training you. They will start asking questions and they will start seeing that we are training you and us for something. They will get in our business. They will go back and let the whole vampire village know we are hiding something. We have got to get you out to meet the village people and we are going to tell them t
hat you are one of our cousins and you were sent here to hang out with us during the summer. We first have to tell all of our relatives here that they have to go along with the same story. They will, and the reason we are telling them this story is so they can help spread the word to the rest of the village. The reason we can’t tell the rest of the village people the truth is because they might spill the beans to the vampires. The vampires, or I should really be calling them the Wasioux, are really good at getting information out of you. They will glamour you and then you will do whatever they say, or you will do whatever they want. They have this special mind control thing they do with you. We have to make sure we have taken our vervain pills and then they can’t control us. So we are going to go out into the village. Anita Kay will explain everything to you about the Wasioux. She knows them very well. She used to date one of them until they tried to kill her when it was a full moon. So she knows them very well. She dated the guy for a couple years and he got crazier and crazier every day. Right, Anita Kay?” Stella says.
“Hey, don’t listen to her, he wasn’t that bad. A little crazy, yes. Also he only tried to bite me on a full moon night once. He did not try to bite me every full moon for two years. Plus he was very nice-looking so I overlooked it that he was a vampire or a Wasioux. So come over here, Hollis, and sit on the couch and let’s talk. Let’s talk about how the Wasioux are going to try and get into your head. The first assignment they will try is to become your friend. They want to know everything about you. The Wasioux like to partner up with one of us from the village. Meaning they like to have their own human so that when they are getting their blood from you, they know you and they know you have clean blood. It’s a crazy thing they do. They also do not care about the sex, because they are only wanting you for your blood. When you go there, the Wasioux that has not partnered up with one of us will all come over to you. They will be nice to you. Heck, they will also court you. It’s like they are trying to date you, but not sexually. If it’s a guy, then it’s like they are having a bromance,” Anita Kay says.
“What, they will try and court me? What do you mean, they will try and date me? You mean like buy me flowers and take me out to eat. Ha, ha!” I laughed.
“Almost like that, but no, they are not buying you flowers and taking you out to eat. They will be like your best friend and will do anything for you to keep you as their friend. They will also protect you from everyone and everything. You will mean more to them than family does. They are all about protecting you. They will fight their own family if they have hurt you or tried to steal you away from them. I am serious about this and you will see soon, once you start meeting them. I am not going to lie: it is weird at first, but you will get used to it. You should have seen how they fell all over Cody. They all wanted to be his friend. As you know, we told you he likes Sandy, but one of the male Wasioux became his friend. Can’t remember his name right now: we will have to ask Stella what his name is. You need to become friends with him and maybe we can get some information out of him about where they have Cody held at. Once you befriend him he will share things with you. He will want to build his trust with you. He will want you to be able to trust him so that’s why they like to tell everything to you. Your courtship will have to happen fast because the full moon will be coming very soon,” Anita Kay says.
“Please don’t call it a courtship, that just sounds too weird. I will make sure I become friends with him if he wants me to become friends with him,” I say.
“Okay, let’s hope he does want to become friends with you. I don’t know what the status is of his friendship with Cody since they have kidnapped Cody. We will see once you meet them if he tries to become friends with you. If so, then we know that he has broken the bond between him and Cody. That could be likely because now he has been captured and all they want is his blood, since it is rare and the blood can make several of them immortal. So it is going to be tough for you to get information out of them on where they actually have him hidden,” Anita Kay says.
“Can’t we just question Sandy about his whereabouts? She lives there in the village with them. Why can’t we do like they do in the movies that I watch and capture Sandy and trade her for Cody? That seems to work a lot. I know it’s only the movies, but why can’t we consider it?” I ask.
“Because they have their ticket to immortality with Cody and they don’t have that with Sandy. They would let us kill her if that meant they keep Cody. You don’t understand what’s at stake here. They get to live forever. They get to become a vampire at any time. They get to kill whoever they want anytime they want. This is heaven to them. They want this more than anything and will do whatever it takes. Please do not think that we can just grab Sandy at any time. What we can do and what we have been doing is having Sandy keep an eye out on what everyone is doing and she is secretly keeping a log on who is doing what and where they are going. We need to know daily exactly what everyone is doing. The only time we don’t have it is when Sandy goes to sleep at night. I myself think that’s when they are going and seeing Cody and feeding him. It’s dark at night and no one can see them. We have people on the outside using binoculars and watching the village and they can see what a lot of people are doing all day, but they are just doing everyday routine stuff. This is why it is important that we have you go over to the village and befriend one of them. Also, you can’t be over there talking about watching TV or watching movies. We don’t have those in our villages. So since we are saying you are my, Trevor’s and Stella’s cousin from another village, you wouldn’t have those things. One, our culture does not believe in those: I know we have them, we just don’t surround our lives with them. You have to look around and get used to what we have in our village. You can’t talk about any of your electronics you have either. I know you have the electronics in your backpack and you cannot share that. You need to be somewhat shy when you are around them.
They like the weak and we need to act like you are weak. They are not going to know that you know how to use weapons and that you know how to fight. That was another issue with Cody; he went in there acting tough and like some kind of superstar hunter and athletic person. They saw through him and that was another reason he was captured. He wasn’t doing it to impress the guys; he was doing it to impress Sandy. He wants to rescue her and make sure she doesn’t turn into a vampire because she doesn’t want to and she will not if she does not have her first bite. He was acting like the big, bad protector, and they saw right through that. So you cannot go over there and fall in love with anyone. You have to stick to the plan. Once they saw how weak Cody was to Sandy, they knew they had him,” Anita Kay says.
“I don’t plan to become weak to anyone over there. I am just going to focus on befriending one of them and getting to know lay of the land. Look at my surroundings and everyone without them becoming suspicious of me scoping out the place and their behaviors,” I say.
“That’s good, we will need everything you can gather for us. The only way we are going to be able to get you into the vampire village is with Trevor at first. They like Trevor and he plays cards with them. So you will be going with him that afternoon and that will be your way in. By the way, have you ever played cards before?” Anita Kay asks.
“Yes, I have played some cards before, mostly at camp and some with my dad. I know enough to get by,” I reply.
“Well, like throwing knives, Trevor is pretty good at playing cards. He wins a lot and then he lets them win sometimes to keep it all honest. So he will take you there and maybe they will let you sit at the table, or they will make you just watch while they play. They will probably let you play because they will think they can beat you and take money from you. So if you are at least decent you will be okay. So let’s talk a little more about you. Who is Hollis McAlister? How old are you? What do you like to do? What are your hobbies? Do you go to school?” Anita Kay asks.
“Who am I? Well, I am considered a nerd by most people. Even though I don’t feel that I am nerd, I am a perso
n who doesn’t like issues and problems, so I keep to myself and I don’t bother anyone. I do go to school and I am going to go into the 9th Grade and I am going to high school. Which is pretty scary because we will be the youngest students in the school. We will be called freshmen. My hobbies, well, the one I like the most is building games on my computer. Even though I have never finished a game yet, I do try. I can’t come up with a game for people to play. Imagination is something I seem to lack. I come up with ideas, but then I think they are stupid and I never try and build the game. I want to make a game that everyone loves to play,” I say.
“Not sure what you are talking about when you are saying making games, but I figure it is something on your computer that other people can play with. Remember we hardly use electricity here in the village. That’s our choice because we don’t want to get caught up in all those material things: we want a simple life. Of course we didn’t want to have to live with vampires, but we have adjusted our lives, or I should say our parents and grandparents adjusted their lives which helped us growing up to be able to pretty much live normal lives. We just have to deal with the full moon and then the double moon. The full is not bad because we give our blood to our vampire partner and now they don’t bite us. We all donate the blood and they pick it up at the village hospital, or through our door slots. The only people they bite are the people new to the village. The ones who don’t know about giving blood. The wereboons search the village for them. They always know who has not given blood. We started giving the blood this way after Stella’s dad died from when his partner vampire drained too much blood out of him. It was a terrible time, but this was the compromise we all came up with and it has worked really well. Well, as well as it can be when you are trying to live and coexist with vampires. As kids growing up in the village this is all we know. We don’t know of any other lifestyle,” Anita Kay says.
HOLLIS MCCALISTER SUMMER CAMP Page 13
