"It's Jacob." I said.
"Jacob? As in, Chloe's ex-boyfriend Jacob?" Indi asked.
I nodded. "It has to be. That has to explain everything. Every time he made eye contact with me, whatever he told me to do was almost irresistible."
"Hypnotic persuasion." Freddy defined.
"My dad hated him, so that would give Jacob a motive to kill my dad."
"When your dad pulled you from the party, Jacob came in upset." Alex revealed.
"And he's been to my house."
"He was invited in." Sahara finished.
"Wow, that disturbingly makes a lot of sense." Raven said.
"He must've turned me into a vampire so I could be with him forever. But then why turn you three?" I asked.
"Beats me." Indi said. "Most villains want one thing and one thing only."
"Yeah but this isn't a movie or a TV show, everything happens for a reason."
"Too bad Jacob doesn't go to our school anymore, he moved right after Halloween."
"Then we're gonna have to find him somehow." I said.
"I can try using the sire bond." Kaitlynn offered.
"I have an easier alternative." Natalie pitched in. "I can pinpoint his exact location with a spell. Now that we know who The Vampire is, all I will need is something of his. Like a necklace or a promise ring." She made a gagging motion when she said that.
"I can ask Chloe." Sahara offered.
"You sure she would help?" I asked.
"Now that she knows what's up, what's holding her back?"
"Then we'll start tomorrow." I planned. "We'll go to school, convince Chloe to let us borrow something of Jacob's, track him down, then end all this once and for all by tomorrow night."
"Don't get too carried away, you have to be aware this might go south." Freddy warned.
"Oh don't be such a downer." Indi said, "At least have some kind of hope."
I couldn't process the fact that I might have actually figured out The Vampire's true identity. I felt like one of those TV show characters that finally, after so long finally figured out the mystery. This could all be over!
In the woods, Jason and Jeremy hunted yet another rogue vampire. This vampire's feet were bound by a bear trap. It grunted in pain while trying to get free. The vampire was a homeless man, with dry and fresh blood smeared all over its face.
Jason shot the man with a wooden bullet, making Jeremy jump. "You're not going anywhere."
The homeless vampire stood still. "Please let me go." He begged.
"Jeremy, you got the stake?" Jason asked.
Jeremy hesitantly pulled out the stake.
"Well? What're you waiting for? Kill it."
"Uncle J, he's just a homeless man-"
"Was a homeless man. Now it's merely just one of the undead. The bloodsuckers that have been terrorizing this world for centuries."
"Stop, i'm not a monster, I swear. I don't know what's wrong with me." The homeless vampire said.
Jeremy actually felt pity for the homeless vampire. He could tell by his body language and confusion that he didn't ask to be this way. This vampire was turned out without consent. And he didn't want to be this way.
"Any day now, Jeremy." Jason said.
"He's innocent, uncle J." Jeremy insisted.
"Jeremy, what did I tell you? They're already dead. They're the walking dead. Put it out of its misery before I do."
Jeremy stood still. He knew in his heart what he and his uncle were doing was wrong.
"Fine, i'll do it myself." Jason pulled out his own stake, but not before the homeless vampire escaped its clutches. He hissed at the two hunters. Jason tried attacking him with the stake but the vampire caught his arm and slapped the stake away. He knocked Jason down, then headed for Jeremy.
"Help me!" He begged.
Jeremy didn't know what to do, he just stood there as the vampire came for him, begging for help. Jason got up, sneaked up behind the vampire, and chopped its head off with a machete, killing him. Jeremy watched in horror as the decapitated head rolled to his feet.
"See what I mean?" Jason asked.
"He asked for help."
"It was lying. It tried to trick you. Don't you understand? Vampires kill, end of story."
Jason walked back to the car, with the machete still in his hand. Jeremy followed behind him. He got in the car, then looked in the rear-view mirror, seeing Jason set the homeless vampire's body on fire.
The next day, I went to school. I felt tugging in my stomach as I was walking with the girls. I didn't talk to them. I didn't know what to expect when I got there. What if I saw Jeremy? Would he talk to me? Would he just pretend I don't exist? I don't know.
The girls, including Kaitlynn, and I stood by the front door.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Kaitlynn asked.
I nodded. "I have to be. If Jeremy doesn't talk to me, then so be it. As long as The Vampire, Jacob, is gone once and for all, that's all that matters. All I want is for Jeremy to be safe." I began to cry a little, but I wiped the tears away, then went inside. The girls following.
I walked to my locker and took out my notebook for English. I turned to my left and saw Jeremy by his own locker, looking at me. He looked away, closed his locker then walked to class.
"Jeremy." I whispered to myself. It used to feel good saying his name, but now it only hurt. I slammed my locker shut and walked to class.
During lunch, Sahara called Chloe over to our table. She walked to our table with a confused expression. "You guys need something?" She asked.
"This is probably gonna sound awkward, but do you still own anything of Jacob's?" I asked.
"Um, why?" Chloe asked.
I cleared my throat. "Well, we think Jacob is the vampire that turned us." I referred to the girls and myself.
"Are you sure it's him? I mean he did cheat on me with you, but I don't believe that equals serial killer vampire."
"It just...makes sense to me. Look we just need something of his so that Natalie can do a spell and find-"
"Spell? You mean Natalie is a witch or something?"
"I am." Natalie said. "And Freddy's a wizard, which is a male term for witch."
"Why am I not surprised?" Chloe asked herself.
"Chloe, this'll help the both of us. I can track my dad's killer, and we can finally have closure. For all you know, Jacob must've been toying with us from the beginning." I said. "Please, help us."
Chloe sighed then reached into her bag. "He gave me this, just some tacky ring." Chloe pulled out a gold ring with a red stone in the center. "He said it was a promise ring, obviously it didn't age too well."
"This is perfect? It's like our rings." I pointed out.
"Wait, why would he give up his only means of walking in the sun?" Alex asked.
"Hold up, you guys can't walk in the sun?" Chloe asked.
"We can't, unless we wear these." The girls and I showed off our rings.
"So you're not actually daywalkers?"
"Technically no."
Chloe blinked repeatedly and handed Jacob's ring over. "If it means kicking his sorry ass, I don't care what you do with this thing."
"Thanks Chloe." I said.
"Don't thank me." Chloe made a slight smirk then got up. She then yelped in pain and held her stomach. Sahara quickly rushed over to her.
"Chloe, are you okay?" She asked.
Chloe stood up straight like nothing happened. "Yeah, i'm fine, I don't know what that was."
"Well, let me walk you to the bathroom." Sahara said, leading Chloe to the bathroom.
I turned to Natalie. "Are you sure this will work?" I asked.
"If he wore the ring, then it should." She confirmed.
"Great, now we can finish this."
After school, the girls, Freddy, Natalie, and I went to Freddy's place so him and Natalie could do the spell. While we walked, I kept wondering what would happen when I faced Jacob. I didn't know what to expect. All I wanted to do was look into his eyes as I drove a stake through his heart, killing him once and for all. But what if it wouldn't be over? What if I never find my dad's body and give him a proper burial? What if more vampires try to hurt me and my friends, or worse? What if the world of the supernatural is bigger than I thought it was?
Once we arrived at Freddy's, I immediately dug into my purse, looking for Jacob's ring. "Here it is." I said, holding up the ring.
"Good." Freddy said, placing a pentagram mat on the floor. He lit up five candles and placed each one on the five points of the pentagram.
"How does this work exactly?" Raven asked.
"Well it's fairly simple. I just need to hold the ring firmly in my hand and concentrate. If it's just me doing the spell, i'll only get brief flashes of Jacob's location. But if I get help from Natalie, we'll get his exact location."
"Perfect. Let's do it." I said. Alex, Indi, Kaitlynn, and Raven looked at me with concerned looks. "What?"
Natalie held Freddy's hand and in the other hand, they held Jacob's ring against their palms. A few seconds later, Natalie and Freddy blew out the candles and placed the ring on the floor.
"He's in the woods." Natalie announced.
Indi scoffed. "Do vampires hang out anywhere else?"
"Let's go now." I requested.
"Woah Lucy, wait. Don't you think we need to come up with a plan?" Kaitlynn asked.
"And how long is that gonna take? If we keep stalling, he'll just get away and hurt someone else. We have the element of surprise here. Just grab a couple stakes, it's all we need." I advised. "Just the five of us by the way. Jacob won't see us coming, but he could still detect a witch, who still have beating hearts."
The girls sighed, picked up a couple stakes that were laying around and we headed out the door, walking to the woods. Once we got there, I could not believe my eyes. I saw Jacob, same as he always was. Dressed in a white v-neck, black jeans, and a black leather jacket. His hair was slightly longer and darker. But that's not what surprised me. Another man was there. Same shadowy presence, same trench coat, same intimidating aura. Jacob was not the Vampire after all. The five of us could only see the Vampire's backside. He was also wearing a top hat, preventing us from seeing any of his features.
"If Jacob's not the Vampire, then who is?" Alex asked.
"I'll try to listen to what's going on." I whispered back. I concentrated at Jacob and the Vampire.
"Remember, stick to the plan." The Vampire told Jacob, still in his disguised demon voice. "We're nearing the final act now."
"What is this final act anyway? You never went into detail." Jacob asked.
"You don't need to know." The Vampire answered coldly. "Do what you have to do, don't disappoint me." The Vampire then turned into a bat and flew away. Jacob then turned away, but I took that opportunity to sneak up behind him with a stake in my hand.
"Lucy, wait!" Kaitlynn whispered, but I was already gone. I sneaked up behind Jacob, then stabbed him in the back with the stake, making him drop to the floor.
"Hello, Jacob." I said.
"Lucy?" He asked, confusedly.
I kicked him in the face. "Who's the vampire who killed my dad?!" I screamed. I pulled him up by his collar. "Tell me now!"
"I don't know." He said.
"What do you mean you don't know? He was just here!"
"He hypnotizes me forget what he looks like whenever he leaves."
"He turned you?"
"Just like you."
"So you're just a lackey, pathetic."
"One thing you should know, Luce." Jacob walked towards me. "I'm older than you, therefore i'm stronger." He then stabbed me in the stomach with the stake, knocking me down.
The other girls then joined the battle and attacked Jacob with their stakes. Overwhelmed, Jacob turned into a bat and fled the scene. Kaitlynn helped me up to my feet.
Indi hit me on the shoulder. "You idiot! You almost got yourself killed!"
"I don't care what happens to me!" I yelled back.
"Well I do. Jacob or the Vampire could've killed you and that would've been it. Even if we succeeded, then what? You'd be dead."
"And you'd all be alive."
"Don't give us that emo shit, Lucy. I know you're in pain, and this vampire keeps tormenting us, but that doesn't mean you get to play a martyr."
Indi was right. I'm not thinking straight. I literally threw myself in front of danger when I tried to attack Jacob, and dragging the girls along with me.
"I'm sorry." I said. Indi and the other girls gave me hugs.
"Maybe I should follow them." Kaitlynn said. "The four of you will figure out a plan while I can hopefully gather some clues on who the Vampire really is." Before I could say anything, Kaitlynn turned into her bat form and flew away.
I sighed. "Back to square one."
The next two days went by slow. It felt like time stood still. Kaitlynn was still gone, Jeremy was still avoiding me, and my mom and Jason continue to get closer. It feels like every time I take a step forward, I end up taking a hundred steps back. Just like Monday, I stood by my locker, Jeremy standing a few lockers away. We made eye contact but he looked away and turned to walk to his class.
I slammed my locker shut, making sure he heard it. "I didn't choose this you know, I didn't ask to be this way, it just...happened."
Jeremy looked at me. He tried opening his mouth, as if he were trying to say something. But he couldn't.
A tear escaped my eye. "Not that you care anyway." I walked away and decided to skip school. I walked to the cemetery to visit my dad's grave. For the past seven months, i'd come here to vent about my feelings. I couldn't believe how far I've come. The first time I came here, i was literally slouched over the tombstone and crying all over it. I would spend full days crying without talking. God, it feels like a thousand years ago.
I sat in front of the tombstone and cleared my throat. "Hey dad. I know you're not in there, so i'm basically talking to an empty coffin, but I just wanted to tell you that i'm getting closer to learning the truth. A friend of yours, Kaitlynn, who's also a vampire, she's helping me. And Indi. And Raven. And Alex. I, we will find justice for you, dad."
I placed a bouquet of wild peonies on the ground in front of the tombstone. They're my dad's favorite. "I wish I could see you right now. According to Freddy, I could see ghosts sometimes. Haven't really mastered that ability yet, but I do wish I could at least see your ghost here or something. What can I say? I grew up, dad. Wish I grew up sooner."
"Aww." I heard a voice say, making me jump and nearly trip on my own feet. I turned around and saw that the voice came from Jacob. He stood next to a tree.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.
"It's really amazing how far you came, Lucinda." He said. "You went from a simple outcast girl who had a crush on boys she couldn't have, to a strong-spirited vampire trying to figure out who killed daddy."
"No thanks to you."
"Is that so? I think if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be the same girl you are today."
"If it wasn't for you, my dad would still be alive."
"Oh, i'm not the one to blame."
"You sure you don't remember who my dad's killer is? Did he really make you forget? Or is that just another one of your lies?"
"You need to prepare for what's coming."
"What's coming?"
"Answers."
Jacob turned into his bat form and flew away. What was he talking about? What answers? Before I could ask myself anything else, I got a text message. I braced myself, thinking it was Jacob. When I checked the message, it was from Jeremy. I hesitantly opened the message, which read:"Can you meet me at my house tonight? I just want to talk, please."
Jeremy wanted to see me? Well, this day is just full of surprises isn't it? I put my phone back in my pocket, then left the cemetery. I called my mom to tell her I was going to Jeremy's.
"Okay, don't be home too late, Jason wants to have dinner."
I rolled my eyes. "I won't be late. Alright, bye mom."
A little while later, I arrived at Jeremy's house. For some reason, it felt unwelcome. The first time I came here, it was when Jeremy and I were working on a school project. Even that felt like a thousand years ago. But knowing Jason's a vampire hunter, and Jeremy a hunter-in-training, made me feel uneasy. I didn't know what to expect. Maybe Jeremy's parents staking me in the heart or something. I hesitantly walked up the steps and knocked on the door. Jeremy opened the door.
"Um, I guess you've already been invited in." Jeremy said.
I nodded, walking through the door. Jeremy closed the door behind me and the two of us went upstairs to his room. It was awkwardly silent for about a minute before Jeremy broke the ice.
"I like what you've done with your hair."
"Jeremy, I know you didn't call me here to talk about my hair."
"Right. I just didn't think you'd show."
"Well I did."
"Look, recently, I've been beginning to have a change in heart about, you know, vampires. It's like an epiphany, but I feel like I can distinguish between the good and the bad. Hunting with uncle Jason feels criminal. He doesn't see things the way I do. He sees all vampires as evil bloodsuckers. The other night, he killed a homeless man who turned into a vampire, when all he wanted was help."
"That's cruel."
"No kidding. i'm sorry I ignored you for so long."
"I understand why you did. But I didn't ask to be turned. There's an evil vampire out there. He killed my dad, then turned me into a vampire, along with Raven, Alex, and Indi. All we've been trying to do for the past month and a half is catch this psycho, and end him once and for all."
"I'm so sorry, Lucy."
I held Jeremy's face. "Hey, it's okay. We're getting closer to figuring out the truth. Natalie, Kaitlynn, and Freddy are doing the best they can."
"Are they also vampires?"
"Well, Kaitlynn is, but she's forty years old. And Freddy and Natalie are witch and wizard."
"The world must be full of supernaturals." Jeremy scoffed.
"No kidding. That's why i'm afraid that even if the vampire who killed my dad was gone, nothing will ever go back to normal."
Jeremy shrugged. "Normal is boring."
I looked at him and smiled. He then kissed me, running his hands through my hair, pulling me in with every kiss. He started kissing my neck, which felt amazing. After making out for a while, I stopped and checked my phone and looked at the time. It was almost nine.
"Ugh, I should really get home."
"I can drive you. Jason lend me his car." Jeremy offered.
"I'd love that."
As Jeremy and I were walking to the car, I felt my phone ringing. It was probably my mom, I told myself. I looked and it was actually Kaitlynn. I picked up the phone.
"Lucy, this is important."
Meanwhile at Lucy's house, the girls arrived. Raven knocked on the door and Jason opened. "Hello."
"Um hi, is Lucy home?" Alex asked.
"She'll be here soon. You can wait inside." Jason offered.
The girls walked inside and sat on the couch.
"Hey, where's Lucy's mom?" Indi asked.
"She's at the supermarket, she'll be home soon."
The girls awkwardly waited for Lucy and her mom to arrive. Even they weren't used to Jason being around.
"Woah, Kait slow down I can't understand you."
"Luce, i'm with Jacob right now. I managed to get something out of him. He wasn't hypnotized to not remember the Vampire's true face, he was only told not to say who he was-" Kaitlynn was cut off before she could say anything else. Jacob was now on the phone.
"Think of the only person who knew your dad and your mom, Luce. Think of the one person you'd least expect."
"Oh my god." I said, hanging up the phone and calling Indi. "Please pick up."
"Lucy?" Indi said.
"Indi, where are you right now?"
"I'm at your house right now, with the girls, we're worried sick about you, where are you?"
"You need to get out of there right now, it's Jason, he's the Vampire, get out!"
Indi, Alex, and Raven were shocked at the realization. They quickly made a move for the door, but when they opened it, Jason stood outside.
"Leaving so soon?" He asked with a smirk.
"Jeremy, drive now!" I told him. He hit the gas and sped all the way to my house. Indi was still on call, so I heard what was going on in my house.
"I was wondering when you'd figure it out." Jason said, "To tell you the truth, I didn't think you would. 'Oh he's a vampire hunter, he can't possibly be a vampire!'"
It all happened very fast, but Jeremy stopped by my house and I quickly went inside my house. "It's really you. You're my dad's killer."
"Indeed I am." Jason's eyes were red, just like any other vampire. His blue eyes were merely just contacts.
"Uncle Jason?" Jeremy said.
Jason's eyes widened at the sight of Jeremy. "Jeremy..."
"Is it true? You killed her dad?"
"You don't understand."
"I think I understand very well." Jeremy then pulled out a gun and shot Jason with a wooden bullet, allowing me to attack him.
Jason easily got the upper hand and pinned me down. He hissed at me. Something about his fangs were different. Unlike our fangs, which were only on our canines, Jason's fangs were on his lateral incisors and his canines were slightly extended.
Raven tackled Jason, but Jason bit her in self defense. Jeremy grabbed a crossbow from Jason's bag and shot a stake at him, but Jason caught it. Jason shifted into his bat form and escaped.
"I have to go after him." I said, heading for the door.
Jeremy grabbed my arm "No, you're not going out there alone."
"Don't stop me." I walked to Jason's car and drove after him. I didn't know where to look, but standing still wasn't an option for me.
I kept driving. It was like I was seeing red. My only focus was Jason. I couldn't believe I was so oblivious. The Vampire was literally sleeping in my house, as if he were my dad's replacement. Is that all he wanted? My mom? Why?
Suddenly, the car was hit, it flipped and rolled over until I landed upside down. I struggled to get free but eventually I did. I crawled out of the upside down car, but was then grabbed by Jason, who wore his black trench coat again.
"Let me go!" I screamed. But Jason snapped my neck, then carried me away, taking me to a place unknown.
YOU ARE READING
Bloodlines
VampireOne night, four best friends are turned into vampires. While trying to figure out who turned them, they must learn to control their thirst for blood.
