by K. A. Poe
“This leads out back,” the old man said and pushed them open.
We walked to the patio furniture and sat down. I noticed this was not the only set of furniture; there were at least four others along the field. There were other patients outside, all of them supervised by a nurse. I noticed with excitement and understanding that Salem was out here – not only could I smell him, but I could see his distinct shape amongst a row of rose bushes up against the fence that enclosed the place. He must have heard Richard's request and rushed out here ahead of us.
“So tell me about you,” the old man said eagerly, leaning across the table and perching his head in his hands.
“There isn't much to tell really,” I shrugged, “I’m just Alex…your average teenager...with a twist.” I grimaced.
“Paul talked you into being a hunter,” he stated, no hint of questioning in his voice. “It's a shame. He lost his wife and mother to it, and now he’s risking his daughter, too.”
“It was my choice,” I said in Paul's defense, “I sort of didn't have much other option.”
“What do you mean?” he stared inquisitively at me.
“I'm sure you have heard rumor of some of our ancestors being able to become ravens...” I spoke quietly, with my head down.
To my surprise, he slammed a fist against the table. “Nonsense!”
“No, it's true...”
He shook his head. “No, I believe that, what I don’t believe is that he could get you into this mess...willingly!”
“I had my reasons, trust me.”
“There are no good enough reasons to do this by choice,” he frowned at me, making his wrinkles more evident. “Why’d you come here anyway? Just letting me know I had another relative who’s bound to get themselves killed?”
“No…I wanted to come and tell you that I don't think you’re crazy, and I don’t believe that you deserve to be here,” I said, avoiding his question.
He smiled. “I want to be here, regardless if I truly need to be or not. It protects me from them, and from my urge to go hunting still.”
“You...you want people to think you are insane?”
“I don't so much like that part of it, but it is so freeing!” he laughed, “That is why I had Veronica Dillard convince everyone I had attacked her.”
I stared at him in disbelief, “Veronica Dillard? Who is that?”
“She was an old friend of your grandmother's. She thinks the reason I wanted admitted here was because I was grieving over Samantha's death and wanted to be taken care of, and that I had some underlying issues with depression...which isn't entirely a lie.”
Samantha – I wondered what my grandmother had been like, it was almost as troubling as never knowing my real mother.
“Paul thinks you are crazy, and fears you aren’t the person he used to know...that is why he never visits.”
He shrugged, “I’m not surprised. It might be better that way. The less involvement I have with vampires and hunting, the better.”
I sighed and he noticed the dissatisfied look on my face. “I guess I might have come out here for nothing, then.”
“What did you come all this way for, Alex? I don’t believe for a second it was just to meet me,” his voice had grown serious.
“I'm not entirely who you think I am…or what you think I am.”
He eyed me with a curious arch of his shaggy graying eyebrows, “Well, you’re not a vampire, that’s for sure. So what are you talking about? Spit it out.”
“No. I'm not a vampire, but I'm not...” I exhaled slowly, “I'm not completely human, either and you may be the only one that can help me...”
24. OLD FRIENDS
Richard leapt up from his seat at a speed faster than I thought humanly possible for someone his age. He looked bewildered, an expression of horror plastered on his paling face. One of the nurses looked in our direction, and I prayed they wouldn't react to his behavior and come inspect the situation.
“You’ve been bitten,” he said flatly, his limbs shaking.
I slowly nodded in response, “yes.”
“This can’t be. You should be either dead, or one of those beasts,” he began pacing nervously around the table. “When did it happen?”
“Almost a week ago.”
“And you still aren’t one of those monsters?” I hated the way he spoke the last word, it sickened me. “This is very interesting...very interesting.”
“What is?” I asked and the anxiety returned.
“I don't know how much time we have to discuss this, and not only because I am on the clock,” he stopped pacing and stared at me, “If I had the equipment, I think it would be wisest that I killed you here and now.”
Through the corner of my eye, I could see Salem turn in our direction. He must have heard Richard. “That's nonsense... I'm not a vampire, as you can plainly see...”
“Yet,” he replied through gritted teeth. “You probably don’t have much longer; it usually doesn’t take this long.”
“Well that’s sort of why I’m here, I-”
Before I could get any more out he had interrupted me. “There’s a lot I need to tell you, child,” Richard fumbled around in his pants pocket. He offered a small, crumpled up piece of paper to me. “Call this number, and maybe we can meet again soon—very soon. Mention how urgent it is.”
I had no opportunity to question my grandfather, as John approached us unexpectedly from behind. “It's time to return indoors, Richard,” he said casually. “I’m sorry to take you from your first visitor, but you know the rules. I’m sure she can come back again soon.”
“Hopefully so,” My grandfather replied, gave me a sorrowful look and turned away with the nurse.
Salem was beside me in mere seconds, glancing at the piece of paper the old man had given to me. I wondered how long it had been in his pocket. The letters and digits were barely legible, but I could make out the name – that might be enough, I could look the number up online if need be. “Is this the woman who accused him of attacking her?” Salem asked.
“Veronica...I wonder what part she plays in all this. Do you think she has more to do with it than just the story about him being put in here?” I let out a long sigh. “This hasn't been very helpful at all.”
“You don’t know that yet, Alex. Maybe this woman will be of some benefit to us.”
“Maybe...” I replied doubtfully and stuffed the note into my hoodie pocket.
My grandfather had acted so strange after finding out I was bitten. Part of me wondered if he was a little crazy after all these years here with the other patients, or at least a little senile. The first second he wanted to kill me out right, the next he seemed to want to see me again and tell me something important. I wondered if he had really told me the whole story of Veronica and his fake attack.
The ride home was a little more tolerable this time, mostly due to the fact I knew I wouldn’t get lost going back home. As night fell we were back in our familiar surroundings. I was relieved to see the cemetery, the high school, the trailer park. I decided to stop to see if Paul was home, but no one answered the door, so we rode over to the auto shop.
Kate was as friendly as ever, greeting me with much enthusiasm, although she looked very bored and exhausted behind the counter. She let me know she was on her way home, and jabbered off some more small talk before she headed out the door. Salem had come in with me, following behind as if he were my shadow. I found Paul in his usual place, the back room behind his desk.
“Alexis!” he beamed, setting down his pen and yellow pad. “So, how was the trip?”
“It was...interesting. I didn't really get what I was looking for, but I still have a few ideas.”
“Has there been any word on that unfamiliar vampire?” Salem piped in.
“There haven't been any sightings that I’ve heard of yet. Kim and I scouted around the pasture, as well as around the Victorian – just in case. We could definitely tell something had been there though, and there have
been a few reports on some livestock mutilations. Hell, someone in the shop earlier was talking about one of his cows and said it must have been aliens; it took all I had not to laugh.”
“Interesting,” Salem said, “it must be the vampire we saw and told you about. There haven't been any mysterious death reports or such? Either in town or nearby towns?”
“Just one, but Kim isn't entirely convinced it was a vampire attack. It was way too brutal.”
“Do I even want to know?” I asked with a grimace.
“Probably not.”
“I didn't think so. Sorry to cut this short, I just wanted to stop by on the way back home and let you know we saw grandpa. I have some things I need to do...”
“Such as?” he stared at me curiously and I gave him the full report on what Richard had told me, but he was still skeptical about whether or not his father was sane.
Salem and I immediately went home after leaving the auto shop. It was a huge relief to be surrounded by the familiar gray walls, the sectional sofa, and the window overlooking the lake. I smiled to myself as I walked into the living room and draped myself across the couch. There was little time to relax as Salem offered me one of the cell phones we possessed and told me I should call Veronica; I was honestly dreading it. What would I even say to her? My grandfather hadn't given me any clues.
Luckily I thought of a legitimate excuse to delay the call, and give me some more time to think on what exactly I would say. It had gotten pretty late during the hours of driving home from Littlehaven, and I was sleepy. Besides, Veronica must have been old as well; she was probably in bed herself.
When I told Salem about being tired he gave me an alarmed look. “Alex, do you need to eat? Are you exhausted again?”
“No, relax. I’m fine, just sleepy. Let’s get some rest, I’ll call first thing in the morning, promise.”
Salem took me up on my word quite literally. As soon as I opened my eyes he handed me my cell phone. Reluctantly, I rose from the bed and took it from his cold hand. I pulled out the wrinkled paper from my pocket and attempted to input it in the phone, praying the numbers were right. The phone rang three times.
“No one’s answering,” I said, letting it continue ringing.
“Give it a while longer,” he suggested, now sitting beside me.
I nodded my head and waited. Five rings. Six. I nearly jumped when I heard the scratchy voice from the other end.
“Hello?” she repeated.
“Hi...” My voice came out quieter than I intended, “is this Veronica Dillard?”
“Yes, who’s this?”
“This is Alexis Waldron, Richard's granddaughter...he told me I should call you, that you might be able to help me.”
There was a pause before she spoke again. “He told me I might expect a call from a relative someday,” she replied with a gentle wisp of laughter.
Although she could not see it, my eyes furrowed in confusion. “Why’d he tell you that?”
“Richard believed that someday he might need me to set the truth straight on the attack, in hopes that the hospital might let him out,” the old lady replied, “I must say, I was not expecting it to ever happen. After Sam's passing, I thought he might decide to stay in there for good.”
“It's kind of desperate that he gets out as soon as possible,” I said hastily, “If you are able, we would both really appreciate it if there was any way you could convince the Institute that you were wrong and he’s not crazy.”
“You must really want him out of there.”
“Yes. I only just recently figured out he even exists and I don't want him to spend the rest of his life stuck in that hospital,” I explained, “it’s a nice place and all, and he does enjoy it, but now that he knows he has more family out here, he wants out. I think he is finally over Sam…my grandmother’s…death.”
“I understand. I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t make any promises.”
“Thank you so much, Veronica. You don't know how much this means to us!” I replied joyously. “Please call me as soon as you figure anything out, it's really important to me that he gets out of there.”
I waited patiently for the elder woman to find a pen and paper, and then passed along my number to her. My doubts were high that she would be able to do anything; after all, my grandpa had been pretending to be crazy for several years while being in the institute. For all I knew they could think he had somehow contacted Veronica to get out before he was really ready. I tried to shake the thoughts from my head and stay positive, but wondered how long it would be before I heard back from Veronica…or if I would at all.
25. CHANGES
Two nights had passed before I was woken up at six in the morning by the sound of my phone ringing. It took a lot of effort to get myself to pick it up, and I scarcely noticed Salem's absence as I answered the phone. The familiar scratchy voice was on the other end, followed by some muffled voices in the background. “Alexis?”
“Yeah?” I replied groggily, wiping at my tired eyes.
“I'm sorry if I woke you, but I wanted to deliver the news as soon as possible,” Veronica said cheerfully, “there’s someone here that would like to talk to you.”
I waited as she passed the phone to someone else, and my heart rate quickened at the sound of Richard's voice. “It worked, Alex! It worked!” he exclaimed into the receiver, “I’m free!”
“What? That’s awesome! Where are you now?” I asked, the excitement overlapping the exhaustion temporarily.
“Paul is driving Veronica and me into town. He’s going to drop her off at her house, then we’re coming to see you.”
My voice failed me at the mentioning of my father. How had he become involved? “Paul’s with you?” I asked in a dumbstruck voice.
“Veronica convinced him to come along. She used to babysit him when he was a kid. She can’t drive, as she’s partially blind and asked him to be her ride,” Richard stated, “we should be there in a few short hours.”
“How long have you been out?”
“Just now. It was a shorter process than I’d have thought. The day after you left they took me into a room and asked me if what Veronica said was true, and I agreed. Then they did some tests, and evaluations, and with a good boost from my nurse, John, telling them I have seemed fine for many months now…they agreed to let me go.”
“Well, I can say for sure that I’m surprised too,” I laughed tiredly.
“I just have to see the doc up there again once a month for a while, and bi-monthly they will do a home visit to make sure everything seems right. Just standard procedure of course, I’ve never had anything wrong with me.”
“Well, it’s worth it to be out I think, even with that.”
“Well dear, I’ll see you soon, I’m going to get off here and catch up a little with Paul if he’ll let me.” I heard Paul laugh a little in the background, I was glad he seemed okay with all this.
“Okay, see you soon, bye,” we both hung up and I curled back up under the covers. It still hadn't completely dawned on me that Salem wasn't beside me. Sleep came over me quickly and I slept for the next two hours, until finally he came into the room.
“Alex?” I heard his accented voice whispering right beside my ear, “are you awake?”
“I am now,” I replied playfully and turned over to look at him. The crimson rings around his pupils didn't bother me for a change. “You’ve been out hunting I see?”
“Hannah asked for my help. She wanted me to show her how to properly hunt an animal,” he explained, “she still isn't very satisfied with the change in her diet, but promises to continue trying.”
“Well, that's good...” The fact that Hannah was adapting to her new lifestyle was comforting, but I still couldn't trust her completely. If it hadn't been for Salem, either she or I would be dead by now, possibly both.
“Did you sleep well?” He caressed my face delicately with his cold palm, admiring me affectionately.
“Yes. Wait!” I gasped
and sat up, ruining the near-perfect moment. Turning over and reaching for my phone from on top of the nightstand, I glanced at the recent call list. The memories from earlier this morning came rushing through my mind. It hadn’t been a dream. “We’re having guests any minute!”
“We are?” he arched a brow and eyed the electronic device I held. “Why? Who?”
“My dad and grandpa are on their way here!” I shook my head in disbelief and frustration, realizing how unprepared we were. “Hannah needs to leave the house while they’re here. I know you trust her, and she may be getting better, but I'm not sure she can handle the smell of three humans in the house yet.”
Salem frowned, “If it makes you more comfortable, then I will ask her to leave.”
“And you...you have to make yourself scarce at least to begin with. Richard might go ballistic if he discovers I’m living with a vampire. At least let Paul and I try to explain it to him first. You know, ease him into it if we can.”
“Of course,” his frown ceased to fade. “How long have we got?”
“Not long, they had just left there two hours ago. They had to stop at Veronica’s but that’s probably it.”
He nodded and left the room. I placed my phone back on the nightstand and climbed out of bed. The walk-in closet at the end of the massive bedroom was filled with clothing that Salem had materialized for me, and I was eager to try on something different. Most days I would stick with the typical jeans and a blouse, but today I opted for a black silk shirt and a matching knee-high skirt that perfectly framed my body. If my days were indeed limited, I might as well enjoy them, right? The outfit definitely reflected the raven in me, which no longer made me uncomfortable.
I admired my reflection briefly in the bathroom mirror, flattering myself with what I saw. As I was turning away, something caught my attention. The fact that my complexion had grown slightly paler than before was not startling, but the apparent change in color of my hair nearly made me scream. Where had the mundane locks of brunette disappeared to? A flowing mess of ebony fell across my shoulders, tinted with streaks of radiant purples. How had Salem not noticed this?
