“It’s ok,” he told them, but it did not still their screaming.
“Get away from her!” the oldest boy yelled at him and bravely stood to confront Alex.
“Don’t worry,” Alex told him calmly. “Your sister is in the car. I am a friend.”
The boy looked skeptical.
“Yes, he is a friend.” Isabella appeared in the doorway with Jaiden. Then, she saw her sister on the floor and all of her siblings gathered around her like Snow White and the dwarfs.
Charlotte, the one on the floor, was whimpering and holding her private area. Alex realized where he smelled blood from; her hands were covered with it.
“Oh no!” Isabella rushed to her sister and, with Jaiden still in her arms, fell to her knees beside her.
“Where is he?” Alex demanded.
“We don’t know,” the boy answered. “A car drove up and pushed her out in the driveway. We had to carry her inside.”
The smallest one, with tears covering his face, shouted, “She just went to the store…the store,” and he threw himself on top of Charlotte.
“How long ago?” Alex asked.
“Only minutes,” the boy answered.
“Who saw the car?” Alex asked urgently.
“I did.” The older boy spoke up again.
“Come here,” Alex ordered him.
The boy looked at Isabella uncertainly and she nodded to him.
The boy moved toward Alex and Alex took his hands in his. “I want you to think about that car and especially if you saw anyone.”
The boy nodded and closed his eyes. Alex closed his also. Within seconds, he saw a faded brown Celica. He saw Charlotte’s body come tumbling out of the passenger side door. Inside the car, he could make out three men.
He saw the car take off and what direction it went. Then, they were back in the trailer living room and he let go of the boy’s hands.
“Pack everything you need. I will be back for all of you!” Alex took off out the door and got into his car. Hopefully, he would have enough time.
He drove recklessly, ran red lights and scanned the road with his eyes. Moments later, he saw a 7-Eleven on the corner, and sitting in the parking lot, was a faded, brown Celica.
Alex had almost passed it. He slammed on the brakes hard and turned the car. His baby squealed as it made the turn, roared into the parking lot and came to stop mere inches from the Celica.
Alex stepped out of his car while the men were getting out of their car to see what his problem was. Each of them held a forty ounce beer in their hand. One of them let his fall to the ground when he saw how fiercely Alex approached them.
From their standpoint, they saw a tall dark haired man in a black leather trench coat who fearlessly charged at them. They knew they were in trouble when Alex’s blue eyes lit up with the evil glow of a demon. What they didn’t know was that they were not going to live through the night.
Alex walked straight up to the closest one and, without a word, grabbed his neck with his large hand and gave it a quick twist. The man fell to the ground with a loud thump and the sound of his beer shattering cut through the night.
The other two men began to retreat.
“Man, you’re crazy!” one of them screamed at Alex as he broke into a run.
Alex did not need to run. He merely caught up with him and grabbed the back of his head while the man ran. Again he twisted and let the body fall to the ground. Alex needed no explanation from those men. He knew what had happened, and they had the nerve to be out here celebrating.
The last one was already in the street and ran for his life. With supernatural speed, Alex appeared in front of him and stopped him in his tracks. He took the man by his collar.
“What…what do…do you want?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Alex told him as he wound his fingers into the man’s hair. Then, without thinking, he reared back and bared his fangs.
“Nooooo!” the man screamed while he violently wrestled against Alex’s strong grip.
Alex knew all too well the feel and smell of a human who fought with all his strength to free himself.
While Alex drank, he saw flashes of his victim’s life. Flashes of all the horrible things he had done. As he finished, he saw the three men, all of them taking their turn with Isabella’s sister.
He saw Charlotte screaming, trying to escape them. He saw them all laughing while they took her innocence. He saw one of them hit her with his fist while another man took his turn. He saw the two he had already killed holding her down, biting her breasts and shoving themselves into her mouth while the one he drank from rammed himself brutally between her legs.
She fought them. He saw that too. She had tried to get away from her rapists, but they had overpowered her with simply being man.
Disgusted, Alex quickly released the dead body and threw it to the ground. He ran, unable to tolerate being close to such filth. He got into his car and sped away as fast as his car would take him.
Before he pulled into the trailer park, he stopped outside the entrance. He went to the trunk and pulled out some rags. Almost brutally, he used the rags to clean the blood from his face, then tossed them back into the trunk.
His adrenaline was pumping from the rush of a fresh meal and the anger he felt for the scum who dared rape a young girl. The pounding echoed into his mind. It sounded like an ocean, like when it is ever so quiet and you can hear the air itself as it rushes past your ears.
It was stupid of him to make kills in such a vulnerable spot, even more stupid to leave the bodies. But, he had to do it; he could not have let those men get away with what they had done just so they could do it again to another girl.
When he let himself into the trailer, he saw one of the girls sitting on the old couch, which was worn and full of holes. She held Jaiden while Isabella, who had helped Charlotte into some clothes, sat in one of the two kitchen chairs beside Charlotte. Charlotte sat with her legs together, mouth slightly open, and her eyes glassed over. Alex thought she looked catatonic.
Alex saw that they had listened to him. Four suit cases sat next to the door. He could tell Isabella sensed something different about him but said nothing until they were outside putting suitcases into the trunk.
“Isabella,” he said, “come help me put this in the car.”
She nodded.
“I’ll be right back,” she told her sister.
They hauled the suitcases out.
“Are you ok?” Isabella asked him
“They won’t ever hurt her again.”
It was then that Isabella looked down as she lifted a suitcase into the trunk. She pulled up a bloody rag.
“I see.”
She tossed the rag back into the trunk and turned to him after he had slammed it shut.
Embarrassed, Alex could not bring himself to look her in the eye and turned away from her. Soon, he felt her move around him until she stood facing him. She reached out, grasped his hand, and placed it to her chest.
“It’s ok, Alex. I am proud of what you did.” She glanced out into the night. “I would have done the same thing if I was capable.”
“No, it’s not ok.”
He gently pulled his hand from hers and started toward the trailer. Isabella stood in the dark, a bit hurt, and realized Alex cared too much about people to be a real monster.
Alex opened the door and hollered loudly, “Let’s go, kids!”
They put Jaiden in the car seat and the rest of them squeezed into the car as comfortably as they could.
“Are we taking them to your house?” Isabella asked.
“No. As much as they are welcome at my house, it’s too dangerous.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye to see if she understood.
She did understand. Alex’s house was far from a normal environment for the kids.
He continued, “I was going to surprise you but now this is more of a necessity than a surprise. I own a house within walking distance of the school the kids go to. I
usually rent it out but it’s empty now. I am giving it to you.”
“What?” Isabella looked shocked and he could hear the gasps of the children as well, except Charlotte who continued her catatonic state.
“I am giving you a house. You will still have to live with me but they will have a place to live which has four bedrooms and a security system.”
“Alex.” Isabella said his name firmly. “Now that I am working for you, I can afford to pay rent.”
He already knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t take a handout that easy; she had too much pride. “Don’t even try to turn it down; it’s already in your name.”
“I couldn’t possibly…”
“Yes, you can. Look what just happened to your sister. I can’t stand that happening to anyone. But, she is your sister and that means a bit more to me than a stranger. They need to be safe. Which reminds me.” He felt around in his coat pocket. “Here.” He threw a cell phone into her lap.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a cell phone for the kids. There is a house phone, but if Charlotte had had a cell phone, she probably wouldn’t be in this position. Here is the number.” He handed her a piece of paper. “I had it all arranged last night.”
“Alex, I couldn’t possibly take so much from you.”
Alex laughed despite his mood. “Well, you have plenty of time to repay me.”
Isabella remained silent simply because she was unable to find a decent reply.
“This is it,” Alex announced when they pulled up into a driveway of a house in one of the neighborhoods Isabella had always dreamed of living in.
Isabella quickly opened the door and all of the children piled out. Alex helped Charlotte out of the car. She couldn’t stand on her own so he carried her. With Jaiden in Isabella’s arms, they headed toward the door.
Alex glanced at Jaiden. She was so calm. He thought it must be nice to be a baby and not have a care in the world except eating and sleeping, to have everyone provide for you. Jaiden seemed completely oblivious to anything that had happened around her all night.
He gave the key to Danny, the oldest boy. When Danny opened the door, they all stood in the entryway and stared at the house without saying word.
Then, like bees from a hive, they took off. They screamed and ran around excitedly.
“Is it really ours?”
“Look, a pool! Oh my goodness, the refrigerator is full, look at the beds!”
“A TV! We have a TV!“
The loudest of the shouts came from the office/dining room. “Crap, wow, a computer!”
While the kids explored the house, Alex took Charlotte to the master bedroom that Charlotte would have all to herself for the first time ever and lay her down onto the bed.
He went back to the kitchen where Isabella was holding Jaiden and examining the refrigerator which he had stocked the night before.
She turned to him. “You turned one of the worst nights of their life into a miracle. I am not going to turn all this down, but if there is anything I can do…”
“You don’t owe me a thing,” he told her as he reached out for Jaiden.
13
The night before, after they had left the kids alone again, slumber had called to Alex just before dawn, as it always did. He had reluctantly given in. What a difference from a few nights ago when he did not even want to wake up. Now, he felt alive.
When he entered his bedroom, he saw his cell phone blinking. He checked it to find that Jeremiah needed to see him immediately.
He dressed for the night in more casual clothing of black Jeans and a fitting white tee shirt. When he brushed out his hair, he spontaneously decided it was time for a change and cut it. Then he used hair gel to style it into a more punk kind of look.
As soon as he was done dressing, he called Jeremiah.
“Hello, Jeremiah. What’s so important?”
“Are you ready to try it?” Jeremiah always sounded like he was growling when he spoke.
Surprised, Alex answered. “Yes! Yeah, I’m ready!”
“Good. Come to my house right away. Don’t bother knocking, just come right down to the lab.”
Alex agreed. “I have to make a stop first and then I will be on my way.”
“I’ll be waiting.” Jeremiah hung up the phone.
Alex clicked off his phone and wandered the house in search of Isabella and Jaiden. He could not find them anywhere on the ground floor so he went to explore upstairs. The door to Isabella’s room was open.
When he looked in, he saw her lying under a puddle of champagne silk, with only her face showing. Her blond hair was spread across the pillows and to Alex it appeared much silkier than the fabric which surrounded her.
Jaiden slept soundly in her bassinet, which Isabella had shoved as close to the bed as it would go so that she could reach out and touch her. Alex thought it poor manners to just walk in so he rapped lightly on the door. He watched as Isabella opened her beautiful green eyes and focused on him.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi, I’m sorry...the door was open.”
“It’s all right. I left it open so you would know where we were.” She did not move to get up. “Are you going somewhere?” she asked.
“Yes, I just wanted to let you know that I have some business to take care of and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“Ok…you look nice.”
Surprised at the compliment, Alex nodded. “Thank you.”
She sighed. “Well, have a good time, I’m going back to sleep.”
“All right, well…have nice dreams.”
“I will.” With that, she shut her eyes and rolled over.
She must be exhausted, he thought, and felt oddly guilty for being the cause of her exhaustion.
He did not want to think about it at that moment because he wanted to think about what might be about to happen. Excitement hurried him to his mustang and off to the church. He was not about to go into something like that without praying first.
He rolled down the windows as he traveled the busy highway. The night was clear and warm but the stars slowly disappeared as the Reno lights took over the sky.
Alex entered the church slowly instead of rushing in as he usually did. He walked up the aisle and ran his fingers along the tops of the pews until he arrived at the altar where he knelt and bowed his head.
“Lord, I need to know if this situation with Isabella and Jaiden is truly what you want of me. If not, it needs to stop now, before I get attached to Jaiden. I have already started to have feelings for Isabella and now I have committed to her family too.
No matter what, I know I did the right thing by helping those kids. They deserve it after so much hardship.
Is that part of the plan too? I will do whatever you want of me, but sometimes it is just so hard to tell exactly what you want. Jaiden is a beautiful, wonderful baby, but I have no idea how to raise her.
I suppose it was easier with my own children who were bound to me by blood. Even that was so long ago that I have forgotten how.
If this plan of Jeremiah’s is what you want to happen, then I know it will work. But there is the possibility that it won’t; if it doesn’t work, then I will never be able to raise Jaiden. No matter how much time a human spends living at night, it is her nature to be awake in the daytime.
I would not be right to make her sacrifice the daylight for me. I know how much I miss it and I will never put her in that situation. Lord, please give me strength and guidance to make the right decisions. Show me the paths that I need to take in order to do the right things.
Also, if Stewart is not a traitor, then please give him strength and guidance too; if he is a traitor, help us to do what needs to be done. Lord, my excitement is making me at a loss for words now; I am sorry for such a brief prayer; please forgive me and thank you so much for the blessings that you have given me.
Amen.”
Jeremiah lived in a large two story home on Lake Tahoe. His hous
e had a full basement which he used as his lab. One of his concoctions sold to some big company, Alex couldn’t remember which one. Jeremiah made millions from it, which was why he was able to afford such a nice place on the Lake.
When Alex pulled into the driveway, all the lights were off except for a single bulb burning above the front door. As he had been instructed, he entered without knocking and went straight down the stairs to the lab.
“Hello,” he called as he descended the basement stairs.
“Come down,” Jeremiah called out to him.
Once in the lab, he felt strange. He always did when he was there. The whole place was a bit eerie; a few lights were on above tables that held beakers and tubes full of colorful liquids. Jeremiah sat in front of a computer at a table in the shadows and pounded away at the keys.
When he didn’t stop typing, Alex asked, “What are you doing?”
“Putting all of my information into my journal,” Jeremiah answered.
“So, everything you have ever done is in there?” Alex pointed at the computer.
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you afraid someone will steal it?”
“No.” Jeremiahs eyes never moved from the screen.
“O…k then. Well, I’m here.”
Jeremiah rolled his chair away from the computer and stood. He hobbled over to one of the tables and picked up a syringe. He held it up. “This is it.”
Alex nodded but remained silent.
“Now Alex, you do understand that this has not been tested? There is no way to test it except on you. You are the test.”
Again, Alex nodded. “I understand.”
“You could die when the sun rises, Alex.”
“But, if it does work.”
“Then you will be one of the most powerful vampires ever. You will have the advantage of the daylight when the rays of the sun would roast any other.”
Alex was nervous about this; there was more riding on it than ever. He knew he had to do it, though, he had waited too long. Danielle had said that he would see the sun again, and simply the possibility of it was more than enough motivation for Alex to give it a go.
“I want Danielle to be with me,” Alex told Jeremiah.
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