The Vampire He Is (Vinnie Hacker)

Sarah

 That was it, I was about to witness the death of my only living family member.

 I trudged through the thick undergrowth of the woods to reach the lot where Sheila lived. Against my will, Vinnie accompanied me, he claimed it would be less suspicious if someone accompanied me. 

  I clutched the birth certificate against my chest, my heart pounding against it with every step I took. As curious as I was about my birth parents, somehow bringing it up with Sheila didn't seem appropriate. The pit in my stomach seemed to grow as my anxiety escalated upon arriving at the lot. Vinnie shot a text to the rest confirming our location so they could get there too.

  I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder, turned out it was Vinnie. He smiled, nodding and giving me the reassurance I needed that everything would work out fine. I was beyond thankful for him and squeezed his hand in return. 

  "Sheila?" I called out, entering the vast lot. She could have smelt us or heard us approach. I bit my lip, the pit in my stomach growing again. Who knew what she was out doing at that moment. 

  Our heads snapped in the opposite direction when we heard a cough, Vinnie's hand instinctively blocking my way from any danger. "Why did you bring lover boy?" Sheila asked, eyeing Vinnie. 

  I gasped. She looked weak. 

  "I'm here to make sure you don't do anything to hurt her," Vinnie responded, ignoring how weak she looked. "I promise I'm not going to do anything to you."

  Her gaze shifted from Vinnie to me, then the certificate in my hand. Her eyes lit up. She rushed over to me. I was taken aback, yet I stood my ground. I felt more than saw Vinnie glare at Sheila but calmly told him to excuse us. 

  "I need to know more about my birth parents," I told her. 

  She raised her eyebrow as if doubting that was my reason for being there with her. I reminded her that she was the only living relative of mine and therefore had all the answers to my questions. 

  "Your mother was my daughter," she responded, taking the birth certificate from my hand. I noticed how skinny her arms had become since I saw her last. The sun was just setting when she told me about how happy she was to have my mother. 

  "That happiness was short-lived once I got turned by another older vampire," she recounted bitterly. "I had to run away from my family to keep them safe, but when I did return all those years later to find my daughter was married and she had a daughter, I was infuriated. I was the reason they died that night; I caused the accident." 

  I wasn't sure how to react when she admitted to killing my birth parents. I was mad but, at the same time, sympathetic. She didn't choose to get turned into a vampire, but it didn't mean she had to kill her son. "Why did you have to kill them?" I asked. 

  She sighed, a faraway look in her eyes as she shrugged. "Jealousy," she admitted. "Jealous that they were going to have a perfect family." 

  I didn't know what went through my head at that moment, but I reached my hand out to hold hers. She flinched slightly, but on meeting my eyes, she softened.

  There was a look in her eyes that I didn't recognise. 

  Humanity.

  In the moment, she didn't seem like the monster Vinnie and Klaus made her out to be; she seemed like a mother who had her humanity and daughter taken from her. 

  It happened so fast that I didn't realise it was happening till Sheila's shrill screeches filled the air. Vinnie and Klaus had sped in and pounced on her, feeding off her weakness. "YOU USED MY WEAKNESS AGAINST ME!" She hollered, glaring at me, hatred filling her eyes.  

  I shook my head furiously. That wasn't true. I didn't want them to come in when they did. Part of me wanted to let her go, forgive her. But, it was too late. I saw the others running in from the sides of the lot. 

  "Vinnie!" Alyssa called out to him, throwing him a stake and rushing up to us with one in her hand. Klaus had Sheila pinned down. She kept trying to get out of his grasp. "DYLAN!" Klaus shouted at him. 

  It took both Dylan and Klaus to get her to stop moving about. All the while, I watched in horror, tears welled up in my eyes. That was it, I was about to witness the death of my only living family member. 

  "You're a monster, killing our mother, turning us into vampires against our will and then being the cause of our dad's death," Vinnie spat. I winced at the bitterness in his tone.

  Instead of seeming regretful, Sheila cackled. It was a disturbing cackle, but while it scared me, it was the last straw for Vinnie, who lifted the stake high in the air. "Go to hell," he cursed, driving the stake right through her heart. 

  Everything froze for a moment. A gasp escaped my lips when I realised what had happened. In an attempt to look at me for the last time, Sheila lifted her head, facing me. 

  "You're brave, just like your parents were when they saw me for the monster I am, right before they died," she spoke, ever so softly. Yet, I caught every word she said. 

  Her body fell to the ground with a disturbingly loud thud, turning grey all over. Even when she hadn't moved, Klaus drove another stake through her head. Blood spurted all over, and I turned away instantly to avoid gagging. 

  "Is she dead?" Alyssa asked softly. 

  "Yes," Vinnie responded, a sense of finality in his tone.