Ophelia

Chapter 9

I was on my couch, studying for a mid-term exam, when the doorbell rang. "Ophelia? Open up!" Casper yelled from the other side of the door.

I walked over to the door, slowly opening it. "Hey, what's up?"

He smiled and stepped in, "Nothing much, I just wanted to ask you to lunch!" He rocked on his heels expectedly.

"Uh..." I laughed nervously, pushing my hair back. "Yeah, sure. Alright!" His smile brightened as he snatched my hand and began to drag me out the door. "Wait, right now? I'm wearing bunny slippers, they won't withstand the snow!"

He halted, looking down at my feet. He chuckled, "They will have to do!" Instead of dragging me out the apartment building, he lifted me up effortlessly so that my feet weren't touching the ground. He gently placed me in his car and closed the door.

10 points to hufflepuff, he's a gentleman!

He got in the driver side and started the ignition, his aqua eyes glistening. "How are you?"

"Good," I laughed. "And you?"

"I'm great! I'm in a beautiful town, with beautiful friends, and a beautiful girl that I'm crushing on!" He smiled over at me, making me blush. "I'm living life to the fullest, even though I am technically immortal... I don't want to suddenly end and feel like I haven't truly lived, ya know?"

I admired him and his positivity. It was sort of sad, living hundreds of years, watching everyone around you fall in love, grow old together, and eventually die. "Yeah, I get it." We stayed silent, each of us with a smile on our faces. When we pulled up to a cute, semi-formal cafe, my smile dropped. "Casper, I'm really not dressed for this place..."

"You look amazing, don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He got out the car and opened the door for me. "Besides, if anyone were to dare to say anything, I'd personally make sure they never see again!" He said cheerfully. I laughed, taking the hand he was offering me. We walked in together, getting strange looks from those we passed inside. We ordered food, Casper paid, and we found a booth in the back corner against the window.

When Casper went to get our meal, I glanced outside. Something wasn't right. I could feel the menacing energy building nearby, someone planning on doing something malicious. "Casper...uh..." I began to fidget in my seat. The energy was building, a darkness rather than light.

"Are you alright? You don't look to good..." he reached for my hand but I pulled away and stood up. His eyes widened.

I tossed my unlocked phone to him, "Call Elliot. Tell him the address and tell him that I told you to call him. Don't follow me, but if I'm not back in five minutes and neither is Elliot..." I didn't even finish. I ran out, leaving Casper behind.

I ran straight in the direction of the tedious vibes; An alley behind a shop across the street, cold and damp from melted snow, was so dark I could barely see. The musty smell of mold, trash, and blood was contained within the secluded spot. I could hear fading pulses, three. The gurgling of blood in a girl's throats caught my attention, drawing me into a group of four rabids, feeding on a group of teens.

I stayed frozen, they haven't noticed me yet. I could see the left over fear left in the girl's eyes. She slowly blinked, tired, not putting up a fight. The boy next to her let out a strangled noise as a rabid bit into his abdomen, ripping into his flesh. He was internally fighting for life, his eyes showed the fire. He slowly looked up and began to slide his hand across the ground to grasp the girl's. I felt a gust of wind from behind me. I didn't have to turn to know that it wasn't just a gust of wind. The animalistic growl from behind me signaled to the others, making them all leap away from their victims and crouch down in front of me. I knowingly ducked down, just as the rabid behind me leaped forward. He flew over my head and nearly tackled the others.

They hissed like snakes, their eyes black with emptiness of any soul or feeling. They were a shell. A female rabid faked me out and tackled me to the filthy ground. I groaned as my back slammed against the cold concrete, holding the attacking rabid at arms length above me. Her fangs snapped at me, her nails trying to dig into my skin. If I were a normal werewolf, vampire, or even human it would have worked. I squeezed my left leg up and kicked her off and across the alley.

"Ophelia!" Elliot ran up, followed by my uncle. He smirked as he lifted me off the ground. "Game on?"

I scoffed and lit balls of fire in my hands. "Oh please. You'll take second place."

"You're on!" He immediately began go at it with a rabid to his left.

I shot fire at two rabids as my uncle rushed to the aid of the one last surviving teen. The creatures flew back, screeching in pain until they turned to dust. Elliot was still on the same one, slowly but surely he was twisting and deforming the bones of the creature until it was dead. "Ophelia, watch out!" My uncle yelled just in time for me to turn around and catch the female rabid from earlier mid air. She hissed and grasped onto my wrist as I held her there.

"Ophelia?" Casper called. I looked over my shoulder to see his shocked expression.  Elliot and my uncle stopped and walked up, flanking my sides but facing Casper.

His eyes were wide, his body was stiff. "They... They're part of our family."