From Sunset Till Sunrise

by Jonathan Rosen

  We all turned toward it.

  “Do you think we can take the tablecloth off?” I asked.

  Abby snarled.

  Herb glanced at me. “That sounds like a ‘no.’”

  I ran my hand through my hair. “I don’t understand. Why is she still a vampire? How is it possible? One of them had to be the one who bit her. We killed all of them, didn’t we?”

  Tommy glanced at Herb and then turned back to me. “That one, Delia. She wasn’t here.”

  I shook my head. “No, she’s got to be one of these. We have to check.”

  Tommy looked around the room. “Check what? They’re all puddles of vampire goo, there’s nothing left for us to check.”

  I took another look. “So what do we do?”

  Herb leaned in. “Considering that we don’t know if there are any more vampires here, and we also have Mr. Flopsy-Ears running around somewhere, I suggest we get out of here fast!”

  “But what about Abby?” I asked.

  Herb pointed to the rolled-up tablecloth. “If she’s still a vampire that means the one who bit her is still alive. It also means that they’ll be back. Vampires don’t turn someone without making them part of their clan.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment. “So that means another vampire will attack us?”

  Herb shrugged. “I don’t know, but either way we have to be ready for them, just in case.” He motioned to Abby. “In the meantime, let’s get her to the car.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  MY SISTER THE VAMPIRE

  We carried Abby in the rolled-up tablecloth out to Herb’s car.

  Never in my life did it feel as good to have the sun hit my face as it did in that moment. Everyone always talks about the sun bringing life, and I have to say, it sure saved ours.

  Abby squirmed inside.

  “Can she even breathe in this thing?” I asked.

  “I hope so,” Herb said. “But we have no choice right now. Just get her in the car.”

  We loaded her into the back seat, and I sat next to her.

  Herb and Tommy jumped into the front and we all closed the doors behind us.

  Herb roared the engine to life and peeled out. “Okay, the windows are tinted. It should be safe to take the tablecloth off of her.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  Herb shrugged. “Reasonably sure. Like eighty-five percent.”

  “Herb, those aren’t good enough odds for my sister’s life!”

  Herb glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Okay, okay. I’m pretty sure it’s a lot closer to ninety.”

  I had to admit, Herb had a point. It was pretty dark.

  “Please, let this work,” I whispered as I grabbed the bottom of the tablecloth.

  Slowly I lifted it, inch by inch, until the whole thing was off of her.

  Abby never moved.

  She sat there, staring straight ahead.

  I snapped my fingers in front of her eyes.

  Nothing.

  “Herb, what’s going on with her?”

  “She was turned. It always affects everyone differently. Sometimes you turn right away, sometimes your body is trying to reject it, so you go in and out of a catatonic state. One minute she’s active, and the next it looks like she’s in a coma.”

  “Well, how do we fix her?”

  Herb was silent for a moment. “The only way I know for sure is to kill the vampire who bit her, and I would’ve thought we did that tonight, but apparently not. I don’t know of any other methods right now, but if it’s out there we’ll find it.” He peeked back in the mirror. “The only thing we have to worry about is for when the vampire who turned her comes back to get her.”

  My heart pounded. “And when will that be?”

  Herb shrugged. “Vampires like to keep their clans with them. Whoever did it will be back. But don’t worry, we’ll be ready for whoever it is.”

  I fell back in my seat. “Great. I have a vampire after me.”

  “Oh,” Tommy said. “And don’t forget about Mr. Flopsy-Ears.”

  “I didn’t forget, thanks. I don’t even know how he’s still alive, let alone after me.”

  Tommy snorted. “You even told me yourself you never killed him. He was still alive when you left him last time. Why should he be dead now? He’s a stuffed animal. You really have to make sure they’re destroyed. Otherwise they can just sew themselves right up.”

  Herb nodded. “Yes, as I already mentioned, Mr. Flopsy-Ears is a supernatural creature. When you cross a supernatural creature, they stop at nothing to get even. That’s why Mr. Flopsy-Ears wiped the garlic away. So the vampires could get in.”

  “But he could’ve just killed me himself.”

  “Think about it,” Tommy said. “What’s a more gruesome way to die? Killed in your sleep, or devoured by vampires?” He shrugged. “You gotta admit, Mr. Flopsy-Ears has flair.”

  I glared at Herb in the rearview mirror. “Well, then why isn’t he after you? You’re the one who created him!”

  Herb chuckled. “Oh, I’m sure I’m on his list, but you’re the one who defeated him last time. There’s a pecking order, which you’re at the top of. Should you get killed, then I’d start to worry, but until then … I’m probably okay.”

  I sighed. “Thanks, Herb, that makes me feel a whole lot better. Now, I have vampires and a psycho stuffed bunny after me. And that’s if my parents don’t kill me first.”

  “Devin, please relax,” Herb said. “I’ll speak to your parents. As the adult chaperone, I feel it is my duty to take responsibility for this. I’ll speak to them and allay their fears.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Herb, even with all your warlock tricks you don’t have enough magic to get me out of this one so easily.”

  Herb kept driving. “Devin, after they hear what happened they’ll be so relieved that you’re safe they’ll both be forgiving of any minor transgressions.”

  I motioned toward Abby. “And how do I explain her?”

  Tommy glanced at her. “Don’t say anything, unless they bring it up first.”

  “She’s staring at nothing, and not talking!”

  Tommy shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s kind of an improvement.”

  “Leave me alone. You’re not helping.” My phone buzzed in my pocket. “My phone has reception again! Maybe it’s them now.” I fished it out. My brow furrowed. “That’s weird.”

  “What are you talking about?” Tommy asked.

  I flashed the screen toward him. “We were gone all night, and there’s not one message or text from my parents.”

  Tommy smiled. “That’s awesome! And you were worried we’d be in trouble. They probably didn’t even notice that we were gone.”

  “We never came home. How could they not notice?”

  Tommy’s expression turned sad. “Oh, wow, Devin. I’m sorry. This is a rotten way to find out that your parents don’t love you.”

  “Will you cut it out? My parents love me! Something’s wrong.”

  “Well, we’re almost to your house,” Herb said. “We’ll find out everything then.”

  Tommy and Herb went on yammering for the rest of the ride, but I stayed silent. I had no idea what I’d find when I got home, and my thoughts kept drifting back to Lily. Did Bryce do something to her?

  I didn’t even want to think about it, but I couldn’t stop.

  Something had happened to Lily.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  HOME UNSWEET HOME

  Herb backed into my driveway, next to our minivan. It shielded us a little, made it easier to wrap Abby in the tablecloth again and carry her into the house. I had seen movies like this, where mobsters did the same things to dead bodies, and exactly like in the movies, nobody stopped to ask us any questions.

  I unlocked the door and pushed. It creaked open.

  Inside, there was silence. Not only that, it was dark. Unbelievably dark.

  “Hello?” I called out.

  Nothing. Chills ran down my
back. Every instinct screamed at me to run, but I needed to check it out for myself. I glanced back out the door. It was sunny, and even though I had just seen our car, I double-checked to make sure it was there.

  We all stood there in the doorway, nobody making a move to go in.

  “We can’t just stand here in the sun,” Herb said. “Even though Abby is wrapped, we can’t take chances of it getting through.”

  “Okay, okay,” I said. “It’s just that something’s wrong in there.”

  Herb stepped inside. “We’ll investigate, but we must get her inside.”

  We carried Abby in and set her down on the couch.

  Herb pointed. “Shut the door before we unwrap the tablecloth.”

  I ran over and closed it. The room turned pitch dark.

  “Why is it so dark in here?” I said.

  I turned on my cell phone flashlight and reached for the light switch on the wall.

  Click.

  Click.

  I flipped it back and forth, again and again.

  Click. Click. Click.

  “What’s going on?” I said.

  “Your parents must’ve not paid the bill,” Tommy said.

  “They pay the bills!” I snapped and realized that I really had no idea. “I think.”

  “This has nothing to do with the bills,” Herb said. “Somebody did this.” He yanked the curtains back to reveal the windows were painted black.

  Abby started to squirm. Snarling came from within.

  “Uh oh,” I muttered.

  “Quick, give me the garlic powder!” Herb said.

  Tommy reached into his backpack and tossed the bottle to Herb. “There’s not a lot left.”

  He opened it and sprinkled the remaining powder around the couch. “That should hold her for now.” He looked around the room. “But since she snapped to like that it leads me to believe that our vampire is already here.”

  I grabbed my wrist to stop my arm from trembling. Now if I could only steady my legs. “What do we do?”

  “Well, first things first.” He waved his hands in a circle, and a little ball of light appeared. “That’ll help us see a little better.”

  “Can’t you do the whole thing?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “There’s definitely vampire magic at work here. This is the best that I can do.” Herb listened for sounds. “I think we have to split up and check every room.”

  “What?” Tommy said. “No way! That’s an awful idea. You never split up! Don’t you watch horror movies?” He smacked his hand. “When you split up, bad things happen. It’s Horror 101. The stupid teens split up and then they’re picked off one by one.” He shook his head. “There’s no way. We’re sticking together.”

  I nodded and pointed to Tommy. “Yeah, I’m with him.”

  Herb looked around again. “Okay, I see your point. Let’s go together from room to room.”

  “Devin …”

  My blood froze.

  We turned around and all three of us yelped and jumped into each other’s arms.

  Standing on the couch was Abby in full-blown vampire mode. Actually, she wasn’t standing. She was hovering around a foot above it.

  “I’m hungry, Devin.” Her fangs were out.

  “Okay, everyone calm down,” Herb said. “She can’t leave that garlic circle.”

  I pointed to the couch. “What are you talking about? She can fly right over it!”

  “No, sirree!” Herb said. “She can’t cross that circle. It’s like an invisible barrier all the way up.” He walked toward the couch. “Watch this.” He circled the couch.

  Abby lunged at him, but peeled back each time once she reached a certain point.

  Herb turned to us and smiled. “See? Barrier.” He motioned for us to follow. “Now, everyone grab a weapon, and c’mon.”

  I grabbed the cross; Tommy, the pencil gun; and Herb, the Super Soaker.

  Abby continued hissing, but we ignored it and started walking.

  “When I get out of here, Devin …” She pointed to me, and then snapped her fangs.

  I gulped and pushed Herb and Tommy along.

  Using the lights from our cell phones, and the ball of light in Herb’s hand, we searched everywhere on the first floor. The kitchen, the family room, the guest room, and nothing.

  We stopped at the foot of the stairs and looked up. The second floor seemed like it was miles away.

  “Okay,” Herb said. “You go up, and we’ll follow right behind you.”

  “What?” I hissed. “You’re the adult.”

  “It’s your house,” he whispered.

  Tommy nodded. “He’s right about that.”

  “Will you shut up?” I said. “We all go together.”

  Tommy frowned. “Fine!”

  The three of us squeezed into the narrow staircase and took each step, one at a time, holding our weapons out in front of us.

  “This reminds me of the scene in Psycho,” Tommy said. “Where the mom was waiting at the top of the steps with a knife.”

  We stopped walking.

  “What’d you have to say that for?” I said.

  He shrugged. “What? I need to talk when I’m nervous. It helps keep my mind off how dangerous the situation is.”

  “Please, shut up!” I said.

  “I must agree with Devin,” Herb said. “Besides, the staircase in The Exorcist was much scarier.”

  “What’s with the two of you?” I said. “No more discussing scary movies!”

  “Fine!” Tommy said. “What a grouch.”

  We climbed the stairs, step by step, until we reached the second-floor landing. It was dark up here, too. All the windows were painted black. It was an eerie feeling, being in my own house and worried about what else might be there.

  Abby’s door and my door were only partially open, but Mom and Dad’s was open wide.

  My heart galloped in my chest.

  I needed to quiet it down.

  Breathe, Devin. Breathe.

  We all glanced at each other before creeping silently toward Mom and Dad’s room.

  Our arms were extended in front of us.

  One hand holding the lights, the other the weapons.

  As soon as we reached Mom and Dad’s doorway, I saw them.

  They were lying on their bed, not moving.

  I rushed in, forgetting for a moment about vampires, Abby, and everything else I had been worried about.

  Mom and Dad both had their eyes open and were staring straight up at the ceiling.

  “They’re in the same state that Abby was,” I said.

  “Look!” Tommy pointed and held the cell phone light to their necks.

  Both of them had several bite marks.

  “My whole family is going to be vampires,” I whispered.

  Herb put his hand on my back. “Look, there are even little trickles of blood. This is recent. I bet whoever did it is still here.”

  Everyone quickly flashed their lights around the room, crossing the paths of the beams.

  “Okay, stop!” Herb said. “Calm down! Let’s be organized about this. Tommy, you look under the bed.”

  He shook his head. “There is no way I’m looking under that bed.”

  “We can’t all do everything together,” Herb said.

  “Then you look under the bed,” Tommy said.

  Herb grunted. “Very well. Let’s look under the bed together.”

  We all eyed each other before slowly lowering ourselves to the ground.

  Herb counted to three on his fingers.

  Tommy pointed the pencil gun, and Herb pointed the Super Soaker.

  Herb yanked the blanket up.

  Tommy fired.

  The pencil shot all the way under the bed to the other side of the room.

  Nothing was there.

  “Oops,” Tommy said. “Sorry.”

  “Go get the pencil!” Herb whispered. “We can’t waste ammunition!”

  “Okay, okay!” He crawled over t
o the spot where the pencil had landed and reloaded.

  We finished the bathroom and closets, and no one was there.

  Herb exhaled. “Okay, that means it’s one of two spots. Abby’s room or yours.”

  “Devin …” More whispers.

  I whirled around the room. “Did you hear that?”

  Tommy cocked his head. “Hear what?”

  I turned to Herb. He shook his head.

  More whispers. I whirled again.

  Nothing.

  “Follow me,” I said, and walked out of the room into the hall.

  A cool breeze hit my face.

  I held the light up. Dark everywhere. Where was it coming from?

  “Your room first?” Herb asked.

  I paused a moment and then nodded.

  We stopped outside my door.

  “Devin …”

  “The vampire’s in my room,” I whispered.

  Herb and Tommy crowded around me.

  I swallowed hard and gently pushed the door open.

  We peered in. All I saw were shadows. I couldn’t even make out everything in the room.

  Herb leaned close. “Let’s be careful. Huddle close and stay back to back. Anyone sees anything, say it fast.”

  Tommy and I nodded.

  I took the first step in.

  A cold, tingling sensation shot through me as I crossed the threshold. Suddenly, a fierce blast of cold wind blew from my room and knocked Herb and Tommy back into the hall. I spun around, but the door slammed shut. I ran over and tried to yank it open, but it wouldn’t budge. I rattled it a few times, but nothing.

  “C’mon,” I muttered.

  “Hello, Devin,”

  My breath caught. I closed my eyes.

  I glanced back over my shoulder, before I turned fully around.

  A red glow surrounded her. She hovered a few feet above the floor.

  I didn’t know whether to be happy or scared out of my mind.

  “Lily …”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  RELATIONSHIPS WITH VAMPIRES AREN’T EASY

  For months, the sight of Lily had sent my heart racing. I always used to wish she’d look my way, or just come by and say hi. Little did I know that I would have been much better off if none of that had ever happened. Because, back then, I had no idea that she was a bloodthirsty vampire, intent on turning my family into obedient, bloodsucking slaves.