Mermaids and Vampires

30: Spiralling Downwards

~~~~DYLAN'S POV~~~~

Dad comes up from the basement for the first time and it looks as if all life has drained from his face. His hollow eyes meet mine and we interact silently in a moment of mutual understanding.

Things are very wrong and very twisted. 

It's a situation no one would imagine being in and now a flood of questions arise. But the most pressing of all is what do we do now?

It's late, dark outside. The house is quiet. Lauren's already asleep.

"We should call the police." Dad states, crossing the room.

"Dad, don't you think we should get out of here first?" I ask. "It doesn't exactly feel safe."

He nodds. "Alright. Wake your sister up. Get her coat and her shoes on. We'll drive down to the police station." 

I run upstairs, nearly tripping over my own feet. My legs are wobbly and unstable.

"Lauren," I whisper, pressing open the door to her room.

There's a rustling sound in the corner by the window. I flick on the light switch just as Lauren hops up onto her bed.

"You weren't sleeping?" I ask.

She looks up at me with her big brown eyes. "I wasn't tired." She whispers.

I smirk, looking at the pile of toys in the corner of her room.

"Get your shoes on, Lauren. We're going out." I say.

She looks confused. But she doesn't ask any questions, which is strange. She slips out of bed and walks past me into the hall, her feet barely making a sound as they glide over the wood floor.

Dad meets us at the door, carrying a small duffle bag and the flashlight from earlier.

He lights our way down the path to the truck. We pile in and Dad wastes not time starting the engine. I can see the worry in his eyes. He doesn't feel comfortable either. How could he? It seems as if it's only a matter of time before the killer comes back for us.

We're driving now and my nerves ease up a little.

"Dad, what about Lauren?" I ask. "everything that happened earlier, it's got to have something to do with this."

He takes a deep, troubled breath.

"I know it does, Dylan."

"Lauren," I turn my head, trying one last time to coax an answer out of her. "Who were the people who dropped you off in the car earlier? What did they look like?"

She just stared back at me, unmoving.

I sighed.

"We're going to the police station, Lauren. You're going to have to tell them." Dad says.

Her eyes grow wide.

"No. We can't." she says quietly.

I turn around fully to look back at her.

"Why can't we, Lauren? What's going on? You have to tell us."

She shakes her head.

"We're goin to the police station unless you can give us a reason why not to." I state.

Obviously we were going either way, but she didn't need to know that.

"Dylan, please. No." She whispers, tight lipped.

"Tell me why." I demand.

We just can't." She states.

Something about the way she's talking seems off.

"Open your mouth." I ask out of the blue.

She shakes her head vehemently.

"Lauren, open your mouth. What are you hiding in there?" I ask.

She doesn't respond, just stares at me with angry eyes.

I unbuckle my seat belt.

"Don't make me make you." I state, reaching back.

She doesn't move, so I do the inevitable and tickle her like crazy until she can't help but part her lips to laugh.

I squint my eyes in the dim and passing light of a streetlight. I can't believe what I see.

"Holy shit. Lauren's got fangs!" I yell. "Dad, stop the car."

 By the side of the road we both lean in the back seat, examining Lauren's mouth. She can't hide it now, so she doesn't bother. Now Dad and I know. But what does this really mean?

"Unbelievable." Dad says, removing his hands from her small mouth.

"How could this be possible?" I ask, turning to Dad.

"Dylan, I felt those teeth. They're real."

"Well, we can't exactly show up with to the police with her like this." I say.

From behind I hear a soft whimpering. Lauren is crying now, watery tears streaming down her face.

"Don't cry." I say.

"I'm so, so sorry. I shouldn't have gone with them." She says through heaves of shaking breath.

"With who Lauren? Can you tell us now?" Dad asks.

She shakes her head. "They'll kill me." She cries.

Dad and I look at each other.

"We won't let anything happen to you." Dad says to Lauren.

"You can't stop them, Daddy. They'll kill you too. They're going to kill you now because you know about my teeth." She begins sobbing again.

Dad hops into the drivers seat once more. "No one's going to kill us, Lauren." He starts up the engine and drives.

"Dylan, I'm going to leave you two at a hotel. I'll go to the police, tell them what what we found in the basement and then come back for you, alright?" He asks.

I nod.

We come into the city and the streets get brighter.  

Dad parks the truck and walks us up to the front desk. He pays for a room and hands me the key as well as the duffle bag he'd brought.

"Try to get some sleep, I'll be back before morning. Don't open the door for anybody." Dad says.

He kisses Lauren on the top of the head and sends us off towards the elevator. I watch him walking away as the door closes.

Lauren looks up at me. I smile at her.

"It'll be okay." I murmur, ruffling her hair.

"Daddy isn't coming back." She whispers. "I saw them. They were waiting in the parking lot..."