by Martha Woods
Caleb was peaceful. She knew he was telling the truth about that, but he was the same as the thing that killed her mother. That didn't make him her enemy. His guilt was never in question. His nature was under question. Even though she remembered him helping her, and supplying her with blood, she didn't know whether or not she could trust something that wasn't human.
There was no way of knowing the way his mind worked or what sort of things motivated him. He could be peaceful now and a killer in a few seconds. With the supernatural, anything was possible. That meant that she had to move with caution.
He knew everything about her, and she knew absolutely nothing about him. The second she got a chance to ask, he shut her down and walked away. She felt conned once again like he'd just robbed her of something that she owned. She wasn't going to give up. He was giving little things away. Eventually, she would get some answers from him.
The house was always quiet. Sometimes Margaret would knock on her bedroom door to invite her to dinner. Other times she would just leave a tray outside and not bother. Sara never came down unless Sara had to leave for school or get a glass of water. She couldn't stand the sight of her grandmother. It was awkward when they had to be together.
She found herself staring outside all the time, watching the water, and the clouds that raced along the coast. She'd leave more if it weren't for the fact that she'd have to pass by her grandmother and she got the sense that her grandmother wanted her to stay at home. So she waited until she was certain she could hear her grandmother in the kitchen. Then she opened her window and started climbing down the trellis. The footholds were precarious, small diamond-shape holes, barely big enough for her to stick the tip of her feet into, which added to the thrill. Her window was nearly 15 feet off the ground. She'd break something if she fell into the grass for certain. Sara moved faster, faster than she should've and never checked to make sure her feet were in the holes when she went down. When the adrenaline started pumping, and she was about five feet off the ground, she gave herself a jolt of excitement by letting go and falling straight to the ground with a crash that nearly twisted her ankle.
Sara couldn't stay locked up there forever. She needed her space, and time away from Margaret. The house felt like a prison. It was wonderful to have the wind tugging at her, urging her downhill over the trail that led to the beach. She took off her shoes when she reached the sand and found a boulder with the water flowing around it where she sat down and let the cold trickle back and forth over her toes.
She found that when aided by the ocean's foot massage, the water's featureless landscape allowed her to pass all of her thoughts over it so they could sink down below the surface and stay trapped there. It actually allowed her to get a moment of quiet inside her head.
She felt free in nature. That was the only place she could feel free. She could go wherever she wanted to, explore up and down the coast, walk along the cliffs or traipse through the field. There was a bus station a couple mile away. She could get on one of the buses, leave and never come back. She would've done it already if it weren't for her need to figure out what was going on.
That was the worst case scenario. If she had to leave town without finding anything out, she would never most past this. She would always wonder about what had happened to her at the hospital and what killed her mother.
She'd wake up at night, screaming and brood over it every single day. She didn't want that to happen. Sara wanted her grandmother back, but she needed answers and no matter how hard she tried she wasn't going to get them.
Caleb wasn't going to say a thing. He could pop in and out of her life for years, never telling her a word. Caleb seemed like he had patience. He could probably see Sara every single day for the rest of her life and never, not once, give her a single clue about what was going on. All Sara had to look forward to where more brick walls and lies. It didn't matter whether she stayed in town or not, the secrets and lies were going to drive her insane.
The sun was going down. As much as Sara wanted to stay and watch it set, she had to get going. She wasn't going to get caught after dark again. Instead, Sara hopped off the boulder and walked through the sand into the field. She cut across as fast as she could until she reached the trail to her grandmother's house. She was standing, flanked on both sides by steep hills, walking in between them when she felt her neck thrash to the right, exposing her carotid artery and she fell flat on the ground, held down by the creature's cold, rock hard body.
It dug her head into the dirt, and slammed down into her neck, tearing away at the skin, licking up the blood spill as it positioned its jaw to begin sucking her blood in. Then it crashed backward, the momentum from the blow, flinging her free. She jerked her head up off the ground and got a glimpse of Caleb, kicking the thing. Then he reached out and stopped the fountain flowing out of her with his hand.
He tensed up to add in one a final kick to the face, but the creature used that split second of hesitation to run off, leaving them alone together. He rushed in, pulled her up by the neck and ripped his wrist open with his teeth. He slammed his wound into her mouth and his blood, so cold0 it was like liquid ice, gushed in through her lips. Her mouth was stretched open so wide, that she didn't have any other choice but to swallow a mouthful, after mouthful of the savory liquid.
She was suddenly overcome by the overwhelming sensation of wanting to rip her throat off. It started with a tingling along the edges of her torn skin. Then, all at once, a maddening itch developed as the skin began to weave itself back together. When he let her up, the tiny droplets of blood that had stained her shirt were starting to fade away into nothingness.
He pulled out of her mouth, and she watched as the skin on his wrist began to close up around the wound.
“What was that?” She tried to catch her breath as she fought to sit back up again.
He looked down at her, taken in by the theatrics of the moment. He was biting his lower lip, struggling to keep whatever was on the tip of his tongue from erupting out. Finally, his lip quivered, and his eyes, thick with sadness, went wide and he got up and started backing away from her.
“Well, what was it?” She propped herself up on her elbow.
He was cowering away and turned like he was ready to run. How could anything as powerful as he was, be so afraid?
“This thing has tried to kill me twice now, and you're not going to tell me what the fuck it was! It murdered my mother! I'm going to be wondering for the rest of my life. It's going to drive me insane. You can't see something like this and live without knowing. You owe me an explanation.” She had been using the same speech with her grandmother for the past week, and it hadn't worked. There was no reason to think that it would work now.
He stopped and crossed his arms around his shoulders. It was strange to see somebody as powerful as he was trembling, clearly afraid of her.
“You're not human.” She managed to sit up on her own.
He came to sit across from her. “No.” He shook his head.
“What are you?”
“A spirit trapped in a disease-ridden body that should have decayed a long time ago, same with him.” He motioned in the direction the creature had left in. “Some people call us vampires, though many of the things you've heard about us aren't true. I imagine that people would call us a lot of things if they knew what we were.”
“I don't even know whether or not I'm safe around you.”
“It doesn't matter. There's no way of knowing. Never trust us. We don't kill to eat. We don't even need to eat. We kill for sport.”
“Why did he kill my mother?”
“I don't know.” He sat back, mindlessly playing with the grass.
“You were human?”
“Centuries ago, yes. I and my brother were awakened by a group of tribesmen in Pennsylvania during the early eighteenth century. They were vampires like ourselves and were hoping we'd destroy the Dutch settlement there. Instead, we slaughtered everyone within a hundred miles, including the va
mpires who made us.”
“Jesus.” She had already a soft tone in his voice. His vowels were more rounded, and his words were softer. That was his Dutch accent. “Why did your brother kill my mother?”
“I don't know.” He shrugged. She didn't know what to say or what to think except that she was mad at him for refusing to tell her the truth before. “I've gone crazy here, trying to figure out what was going on. All this time...do you have any idea what I've been through? You don't even know why he killed my mother? He just did. I'm supposed to accept that, shut up and stick to the sidelines.”
“He will kill you. You shouldn't be out here.”
“Well, I guess I could just wait for him at home.”
“He can't come on the property. Neither can I. Go there now and stop going out at night. He can't go there.”
“Why?”
“He just can't. Look,” he sighed. “I'm sorry. I will contact you and let you know what's going on but I need you to trust me and stop going out like this because he's going to kill you.”
“Did you follow me?” He must've known she was out there.
“I have to know why he's here.” He walked over to help her up. “I knew he'd go after you. Come on.” He turned around to walk in the direction towards her house.
“Why didn't you tell me before?” She caught up with him.
“We don't tell people. “
“Why not? Are you afraid that people will kill you?”
He stopped, took her hand and turned to face him. “No earthly force can hurt us. It's impossible. We can't be fought. We can find and kill anyone we want to. Your life is in danger. He will kill you and if I'm not there to stop him there won't be anything you could do.”
“I don't care! I want to die. I don't want to live like this, not without my mother.” She hunched over and started sobbing, unsure of what spurred her on. She didn't need anyone protecting her. She didn't want to be protected. She wanted to die so she could be with her mother again.
He lifted her up and took him into his arms, like a rock shield that blocked her face against the wind. She didn't mind it. She let him hold her, rub his hand down her back and make himself feel like he was doing the right thing by comforting her. It didn't matter anyway. She had come to her grandmother's house to die. That was the only way she was going to be happy.
When he pulled back, he took her hand and led her onto the side of a hill where he sat her down and let her head rest on his shoulders. “You can't die.” He whispered. “I know what it's like to have everyone around you die. It's happened to me several times now, and I still look back but after a few years’ things would change and I'd find a way to move on. You do get past it, Sara.
She sat up and laid down on the grass. “It feels wrong to let go.”
“I never let go. I just simply remember that my life has worth and that there's no point in living in a state of mourning.”
“It's easy for you. You've had time to practice.”
“It doesn't get any easier. Let me reassure you. I just move on, just like everyone else would and you will too. The difference between you and me is, you will have the chance to be reunited with your mother when you die.”
“Do you really believe that? Is that just an old superstition or do you think I'll see my mother?”
“You'll see her.” He stood up to help Sara up and started walking her home.
“I don't want you to protect me, Caleb. I like my space.”
“I don't care,” he scoffed. “You're not getting killed. I'll follow you across the world if I have to and I'm going to find out why he's doing this. You don't understand, Sara. We don't have to kill. If he's going around killing people, something is terribly wrong.”
“Have you spoken to him?”
“No,” they were almost to her house.
“Well, why not?”
“He won't let me get close to him. That's the only reason I've been able to deter him from killing you. He runs whenever I confront him.”
They were getting close to the edge of the property. “Thank you for being honest with me, Caleb.”
“You're welcome. I wish there were more that I could do for you. If I let you go now, are you going to leave? Promise me you won't.”
“No.”
“Promise me.”
“Why do you care?”
“Just promise me.”'
“I said, why do you care, Caleb? I'm an insignificant little girl. I'm nothing compared to you.”
“That's not true.” He brushed his finger against her chin. “You worth has nothing to do with how long you can live or how powerful you are. What matters is your ability to see beyond the flock of sheep that makes up humanity to exact some change in this world, and I believe that you are unique and extraordinary enough to be able to make things happen. You have a power of your own. It's beautiful and vibrant, and I will not let him destroy that.”
Sara wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. “Thank you.” She turned around and walked back inside, wondering if he was just talking about her personality or the power she felt awakening from within.
Chapter 12
Sara didn't know what she expected when she started looking for answers. She was a pragmatist, who had always questioned superstitions and even religious belief. She didn't believe in all-seeing old men in the sky or fairies running around the fields. Everything was as it seemed, and there was little room for fantasy. Now she was being forced to accept that a vampire killed her mother and that somehow she summoned up a blue fire to kill two security guards.
The intrigue of it was not enough to make her want to fight to live. She didn't care about whether or not Caleb's brother killed her. Caleb said that she would see her mother when she died. Trying to die was a lot more fun than hiding in her grandmother's house all day.
So Sara promised herself to stay out as much as she could. Caleb could follow her if he wanted, and probably would. That'd be part of the fun.
He was quick to catch up with her while she started down the road past the school when class got out. “You're not actually walking, are you?”
She was trampling the grass through the field. “Yes. I thought it'd be fun to go out for a walk.”
“You're trying to get yourself killed, aren't you?”
“We'll see.” She picked up her speed, hoping to leave him behind but he matched her pace quickly.
“Why are you making this so hard for me?”
“I'm not.” She started uphill, farther out into the fields, hoping to cut through the hills to get to her house without having to walk on the side of the road.
“Yes, you are.” He laughed.
“I'm helping you find your brother.” He grabbed her arm and spun her around so that she was trapped, facing him.
“I'm not talking about him. I'm talking to you. You know damn well that if you keep this up, you're going to die. Why are you making it so hard to keep you alive? Do you really want to die this badly? Because Sara I can assure you it's not an easy death. He'll take his time and drain you so that you're barely alive. Then he'll start tearing you apart. First,” his fingertips ran along the place where her shoulders met her arm. “He'll dismember you. Then,” he stroked some hair behind her ear. “He'll take what little of you is left alive, and he'll roast you slowly while you scream. Do you want that?”
“Yes.” She looked up at him.
He held his head down low. “Why?” He sounded angry.
“Because then I'll get to see my mother.”
“Without ever having lived.” His hand brushed her cheek, and his eyes crept out from behind his black bangs. “Without ever having fallen in love, you're ready to die. You don't even know anything about life or the world you live in. There's so much to see. You can see her anytime you want to. You'll only get to be here once.”
“But I don't want to be here without her.”
“Not at the moment you don't. You're short-sighted. But in a few months or in a few years y
ou'll wish you'd stayed. You're staying here, and I'm making sure of it. So walk around as much as you want to. It's not going to work.” He let her go, and she turned around to keep walking through the field.
“I thought I was making it harder for you to keep me alive.”
“You are. That doesn't mean I can't do it. It just means that sometimes you have to get used to the idea of me following you around everywhere and I have to spend all my time doing it. It also means that I won't get to have a life outside of watching you.”
“You're a vampire. What kind of life could you possibly have?”
“I don't know.” He sounded kind of defensive. “Mostly we just keep ourselves company, but I wanted to go cliff diving today.”
“Cliff diving? Wait, the first night your brother attacked me, I saw something flying down off the cliff. Was that you? I saw this light.”
“It's a lantern I take when I go diving. It's waterproof. That way I can see underwater.”
“Do you cliff dive?”
“Yeah. Why?”
It was strange to think of Caleb just running and jumping off a cliff. “I can't see you doing anything like that.”
“I can take you with me.” A smile crept over his lips. “It's totally safe.”
“Do it.” She turned left, towards the beach.
“You're not even worried?”
“No. You said it was safe.” She didn't really care either way.
“It is. We're only doing safe activities.”
“Well, I trust you.”
“Are you sure? You trust me enough to jump off a cliff with me?”
“You don't want me killed. You've made that very clear.”
“You're right. Only safe activities.”
“Like jumping off a cliff with a vampire.”
He laughed at the irony. “Come on.” He snatched her up in his arms, cradled her like a baby then started running. He moved so fast that the wind, barely a soft breath before, slammed into her entire body, blowing her hair back against her face. The world flew by like she was driving through it at a thousand miles an hour. One second they were standing in the field. The next, they were on the cliff trail, winding in between the boulders until they reached the edge and he set her down on a boulder.
