Untitiled Chapter Three

This time when I woke up I was in a hospital room. This made one time too many for losing consciousness; at least this time I didn’t feel weak as I sat up. I looked around and saw Charlie sitting in the chair that was in the corner of the room; he was listening to his media player. I picked up a pen off the table and tossed it at him; when he looked up and saw me his face lit up with a smile.
“So nice of you to finally return to us,” Charlie said as he got near the bed.
“How long have I been out? How long have I been in the hospital?”
“Well I guess that all depends on if you mean since they heard you fall down the stairs and black out or if you mean from your original disappearance. They found you at the bottom of the stairs about two days ago. You’ve been MIA for almost three weeks. That is a long time to be stuck in the same clothes and for them to be as clean as they were.”
“It is good to see you Charlie,” I said as I hugged him. Once again I found myself crying uncontrollably.
“What is this tears from Jesse? Boy you must have hit your head harder than the doctors thought.”
“Charlie, did you say something?” my mothers’ voice came from behind the curtain next to me.
“Mom? Sorry didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Jesse, is that you? You’re awake? Charlie quick get the nurses.”
“Sure thing, ma’am,” he said as he reached down and hit the call button.
“Can we help you?” the nurse chimed in through the intercom.
“Just thought you might like to know that your patient is awake.”
“Oh Jesse, we have been so worried about you. Are you ok? Do you hurt anywhere? Do you remember what happened? Oh I am so glad that you are awake.”
I didn’t have a chance to even consider answering her questions, because suddenly the room was buzzing with nurses and then with doctors. Questions came at me from all directions, mostly questions that I couldn’t answer. I knew better, to say that I was in an alternate universe and had been bitten by a rabbit would have me locked up for evaluation. So I told them the only parts that I could tell them.
“I was looking at the mirror when I heard footsteps, I went to cover it back up and when the door hit me I fell. The next thing I remember is being there in front of the mirror still, I got up and went down the stairs only to fall and black out again.”
I only half way listened to their really crazy explanations of what they thought happened to me; the final decision was that I had been bit by something and that caused me to go into a coma for the past almost three weeks. It was a story that everyone could accept and hell I did get bit; so it wasn’t a complete lie. As the attention started to die down my mother agreed to let Charlie be the one to stay with me so that she could go home and change and get a real nights’ sleep. She assured me she would be there by the time the doctors released me in the morning.
“Ok, now that everyone is gone, want to tell me what you were holding back?” Charlie asked.
“That obvious?”
“Maybe not to any of them, but we have been too close for too long.”
“Honest?” I asked him and he nodded. “Well to be completely honest I am not sure what happened, one long crazy dream I guess. If you could imagine a totally screwed up Wonderland that was where I was at.”
“Wow that must have been horrible.”
“Actually it wasn’t that bad,” I said as I bit my lip.
“Want to fill in the gaps better?” he asked as he gave me that look, the one that told me he knew there was something I wasn’t saying.
“Not in the mood to sleep?” I asked.
“Nope dish already, let’s hear about this crazy dream you had while you were unconscious. If you were unconscious.”
“Ok, what I said was true, the door opened and knocked me forward my hands hit the glass of the mirror and I braced myself for the shattering that would soon happen, but it didn’t. I went straight through and landed in a grassy field,” I continued to tell him everything. I even included my feelings and thoughts as I was able to remember them. The more I talked the more bizarre I knew it sounded but it felt like a huge weight being lifted as I released everything. By the end I was crying again over the intense sense of loss.
“That story is actually more believable than the crock the doctors are going to hand out. Because there is no way for a person to be unconscious for almost three weeks and never defile themselves.”
“Gross.”
“Well it’s true, if you hadn’t eaten or drank anything that day, then maybe I could almost buy it. But I know that you were drinking before it happened. Imagine being in a different world, dimension, whatever; but to be there and to get everything you wanted.”
“Ahh, Charlie, weren’t you listening to the story I was telling you? Attack, injury, attack, injury, pain, heartache,” I said as I gave him a blank look, he obviously had put his own spin on it all.
“The problem is that I don’t think you were listening to the story you were telling me.”
“Charlie, I was there, remember? What do you mean?”
“Ok, can’t really explain the rabbits, but you were lost in the woods thinking you would never get out of there and poof, magically a Mule dressed as a unicorn appears to give you a lift out of there. Old man, owner of said mule demands that you dismount. Leaving you in just the right place to be found by your prince charming. Who we all know you’ve been secretly waiting to meet for this side of forever. He manages to save you from infection. With the threat of being sent home before you are ready you wish for something to happen to make him let you stay. And again poof, thousands of squirrels start pelting you with acorns, causing welts to appear making it impossible for him to send you away. Another outing and as you wish for your prince to take you into his arms again, suddenly poof, snakes start lunging at you. Never biting, just aiming. And there you are in his arms again. A psycho man appears and threatens you, you wish you could have an entry way to push him into and he magically disappears. And then when things are getting bad and you are ready to come home, poof again and your specific entry way opens up next to the ground all lit up bright for you, after weeks of him searching. Awful lot of coincidences if you ask me.”
“Well no one asked you to evaluate my dreams,” I said bitterly. Not really sure why it irritated me.
“Come on Jesse, you can’t honestly lie there and tell me that you can believe your own story and not even fess up to what you actually said.”
“It’s just that that takes it from just being weird to a whole different brand of weird.”
“You always did hate it when I was right and you were wrong,” he said with a familiar gloating smile.
“That is about the one thing that has come out of your mouth that I can definitely agree with.”
“Ok, enough crapping on Charlie, you need to get some sleep so the doctor will let you out tomorrow.”
“Charlie, thank you for everything, most of all not calling me crazy,” I said as I held out my hand to him. He granted me the hug I was hoping for.
“How can I call you crazy when I believe it really happened,” he said as he held me tight.
“You are the best friend I have ever had. I am the luckiest girl to have a friend like you.”
“Luckiest out of two dimensions.”
When I slept I dreamt of that other world, of Christian, I felt such a strong feeling of homesickness. I don’t think I have ever been so thankful for morning to arrive. Morning meant tests, doctor visits, lots of activities to keep my mind off the horribly empty hole I felt inside when I thought of that other world. By noon I was finally released from the hospital and I agreed to my mothers’ limited insistence of taking us out to eat, not because I was hungry but because it would fill up time. Any time filled meant I could avoid thinking of that place.
I was thankful that my mother talked non-stop during the meal, which meant I was not required to come up with any responses or have a single self indulged thought. After lunch Charlie agreed to get me safely home so that my mother could attend the charity meeting scheduled that afternoon. As soon as I was home I took a shower, expecting to revel in the enjoyment of warm running water. Instead I found myself missing bathing at the stream; the water had always been perfectly tepid, neither hot nor cold. As I dried off I thought about how nothing had ever gone wrong during those times.
Dressed in my pajamas I exited the bathroom to find Charlie sitting on the bed flipping through the T.V. channels. It was way too bright in the room; I turned on the desk lamp and then switched off the main light. I sat next to Charlie staring at the T.V. as the channel changed again. I felt completely lost, there were tons of things I could do here and yet I felt that there was nothing.
“Anything particular you’re in the mood to watch?” he asked.
“Not really. So what all has been happening around here since I’ve been gone, or unconscious?”
“Well Amanda and I officially hooked up. I met her at that last party we went to, though you were wasted for most of it, you probably don’t remember.”
“Was she that petite, brunette you bee lined to when we arrived there?”
“Yeah, that was her. So we’ve become quite an item. She comes from a blissfully middle class family. I’d love for you to really meet her.”
“I’d like that too,” which was true on two points. I’d like to know that he had really found someone and it would be another event to pass the days with.
“How about going to the movies with us on Friday?”
“That sounds good. How is she dealing with you spending so much time at my bedside?”
“She’s fine with it, in fact she spent the first ten hours there with me at the hospital. I explained everything about our relationship and as long as the sex part doesn’t ever happen again she is fine with it.”
“I like her already.”
“So what do you want to do?” he asked.
“Anything that will keep my mind off of things.”
“Do you want to go out?”
I shook my head.
“Ok, how about a game?”
“Sure.”
So that was how my day went. We played Monopoly, and then every card game we could think of. The time seemed to slip by so slowly. Charlie agreed to stay until I fell asleep, he held onto me as I drifted off. I found myself back in that other world again, I was in the cave and Christian was there. He came over to me and took hold of my leg; I could feel the pain in my leg from the infection. I looked towards him; everything was fuzzy as I watched him bite my leg. I screamed and then things went black.
Sitting up in bed, I realized that I had been sweating. I got up and changed out of my pajamas into a long t-shirt. It was then that I first really looked at the scar on my leg. I went to the bathroom so I could prop my leg up on the tub then I could get an even better look at it. The bite marks were very unusual, of course it could be just the way that their teeth are; after all if a snake bites you in this world they tell you to suck the poison out. It could simply be a matter of fact that was all that happened.
I looked at the clock it was only eleven, I had only been asleep for a few hours. I climbed back into bed and stared at the blanket; I knew exactly what kind of crazy thoughts were running through my mind. Then again if I could believe that there is another dimension that I visited, by means of an old mirror; why shouldn’t I believe in the possibility of that?
I thought about the conversations I had overheard between Christian and Matthew; they had implied twice. Then I remembered the welts from the squirrel attack, the sudden muted pain on my back before I passed out. Quickly I rushed to the bathroom and pulled off my t-shirt so I could look at my back in the mirror. There were similar marks on my back near my upper spine; from what I could tell it was identical to the marks added to the rabbit bite. I just couldn’t get close enough to compare them, there seemed to be a difference that I just couldn’t quite tell. I tried to let go but it was really bugging me.
I put my shirt back on and then looked at the bite marks on my leg; I did a sort of rough measurement and it did match up with human teeth. I paced around the room as the thoughts continued to circle and I tried hard to get a rational thought to stay put in my mind. It was midnight but I just couldn’t let this rest. I got dressed left a note on my door for my parents. Which was out of character for me. But since they had just went through three weeks of not knowing where I was; it seemed such a small thing.
Once I was in my car I flipped open my cell and dialed Charlie; I didn’t have a choice he was the only one I could trust. It took calling three times before he finally answered.
“Jesse, is that you? Something wrong?”
“Of course it’s me. I need to see you. I’m about two blocks away, open the door and let me in.”
“Ok. But you are really racking up an ‘I owe you list.’”
“Agreed,” I said before I closed my phone.
As I pulled up and parked I saw the curtain fall just before the door opened. I rushed inside and went straight up to his room. By the time he joined me I had my jeans and shirt off; he gave me a really odd look. I just gave him a shy smile, I knew where his thoughts were going.
“I did mention the no sex rule with the girlfriend, didn’t I?”
“Yes. I want you to do me a favor, look at the marks on my leg and compare them to the ones on my back.”
“Is there a reason for this, that couldn’t wait for a decent time of day?”
“First tell me if you see a difference between the marks on my leg and the ones on my back. These bites, not those,” I said as I pointed to the round marks near the rabbit bite.
“Yeah they look the same, so you got bit by the same thing. What gives?”
“You swear, there is no difference?”
“One of the marks on your back might be a fractional of a millimeter larger than the other one, but it could be from the location.”
“Or it could be from lining up the bite and not quite getting it a hundred percent.”
“What are you getting at?”
So I explained the dream and then reminded him of the conversation I’d over heard. He stared at me with a serious look as I got dressed again, knowing he wasn’t really watching me. When I sat next to him on the bed he was still staring off into the space that I had just occupied.
“So tell me I’m insane and hallucinating and we’ll call this case closed.”
“Ok, but let’s look at it from the other possibility, what if you are right? I honestly believe that this alternate world really does exist, which would make all this true too.”
“But seriously Charlie; this would mean that we are suggesting the existence of vampires. Even voicing it out loud does not make it sound believable.”
“You want to believe this other world or dimension exists. You are missing it already, I can tell. If he did bite you all necessary times does that mean you will turn into one, or maybe because it happened there it will only happen there?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it just takes a while, or maybe it will only happen when I go there, but if so why didn’t it happen while I was there? And the only way to know for sure would be to ask either Christian or Matthew because those are the only two I know that I don’t feel threatened by. Possibly Winifred, but I am not so sure about her. And of course the only way to know for sure would be to go back. But what if that is what it takes to make it complete?”
“Then I say we give it a little while, do some research see if there is any information out on the net.”
“Hopefully I just misunderstood, or that maybe it was a really big hallucination.”
“But just in case we will try to look it up and see what we can find.”
“Ok, I appreciate it.”
“Do you want to stay here, after all the night is almost over?”
“Actually I think I’m going to go for a drive and then get home before my parents wake up.”
“Call me later.”
“I will, thanks for letting me in.”
I drove to the beach and walked out near the surf. I stared out at the water as I hugged myself for warmth. I thought about the events that happened and the only other time I had trouble waking up was that first night when I had asked him to lay down with me. He had been hesitant; but he had given in to me. I didn’t know if I had control over his will or not. I still wasn’t sure if I had any real control over the other things, even though evidence points to it being that way.
I gave up thinking about it, because it was most likely all just a dream and my subconscious was just trying to work it out. I just needed to forget about it, put it all behind me and I would be just fine. With this determination in mind I headed back home. I took the note down from the door and then went down to the kitchen.
“Morning Kathy,” I said to our cook as I walked in.
“Jesse, I am so glad that you are ok. I was so worried about you when you went missing, then you being in the hospital all that time,” she said as she came around the counter and gave me a big hug.
“Thanks. How have you been? It’s been forever and a day since we have talked.”
She began to fill me in on what all had been happening to her family as I got up and went to the sink and started rinsing off the dishes. I was loading them into the dishwasher, feeling bad that I had been so inattentive to everyone in my life. I’d been so busy trying to make my parents send me to England that I’d stopped caring about anything else. Suddenly I realized I had not been listening, again, she was standing there silently watching me when I turned to look at her.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Sorry, started day dreaming. What were you saying?”
“I’ve been trying to figure out why you are doing the dishes.”
“I just wanted something to do.”
“Are you sure you are ok?”
“Yeah, just trying to make decisions about where I go from here with my life.”
“Well you know your parents really want you to go to college.”
“I know, but at this point I really don’t see that as a possibility.”
My original plans had been to spend about six months in England. I hadn’t really thought about much farther. Every time I tried to think about going to college I became seriously side tracked. This time was no different; with the exception of what was side tracking me. I couldn’t shake the existence of this other world; this dimension that had stolen a part of me that I didn’t know if I could ever get back.
After breakfast I helped with dishes again; and then went in search of my mother. She was busy searching through a stack of papers. Apparently, she was trying to get things organized for an upcoming fundraising dinner. She informed me that several others had filled in for her while she was busy at the hospital with me and they did not keep very good records. I immediately jumped in and helped her sort the different papers and receipts; then we finally found the information that she was looking for. As my mother went to make phone calls of her own, my cell phone rang.
“Hey Charlie, what’s up?”
“You didn’t call me. Are you ok? No craving for blood or anything like that?”
“Not a single craving, though I did break out in an undesirable desire to do dishes. Think it could be something to worry about?” I asked as I laughed.
“I think that is just a matter of needing to get a life.”
“Ouch, where is the love?”
“Sorry that has been transferred to Amanda. You’ll have to find it elsewhere.”
“Stab me in the back why don’t you. We still on for the movies tomorrow night? Want to do something tonight?”
“Sorry no can do. Obligatory with the parents. But tomorrow night we are on. Well got to run; call me if you need anything; or if you start having unusual food cravings.”
“Will do.”
My father’s business partner came by to see me, to check and see that I was ok. I had never really spent any time around him; usually I just went and hid out with the other kids getting drunk. To be honest he gave me the creeps. The way he was looking at me felt as if I should break out in purple polka dots any minute.
“I can’t believe you were up there that whole time,” he said. Something in his tone made me think that he didn’t believe the story the doctors were telling either.
“I don’t know, I just know that was where I woke back up at.”
“I’m just glad that you were not hurt and nothing got damaged.”
“So where did you finally find your son?” I asked, since that was the last significant event that happened before my disappearance.
“Oh, he was just hiding under the bed.”
“Odd. By the way that mirror up in the attic, where did you get that from?”
“That was a gift from an old friend in England. It has a very special history to it.”
“I’d like to hear about it,” I suggested.
“Some other day, I have already left your father with too much of the work for one day.”
He made his departure, leaving me with more questions. It seemed so very odd; actually he seemed so very odd. I couldn’t believe that I had never noticed it before. My parents have forced me to attend enough outings in the name of business you would have thought I would have noticed before. But then it could just be me, after all my feelings are all kinds of messed up from my so-called adventure.
My parents had a dinner to go to and I was left with the emptiness of having nothing to do for the evening. Which, in my present state of mind, was not acceptable. If I was going to keep busy to keep my mind off of things I had to have something to do. I flipped through my list of numbers wondering who I could rely on to not have prior plans; then I saw the perfect person and hit the call button.
“Hello,” he said as he answered.
“Mike, it’s me Jesse.”
“Oh my gosh, Jesse. How are you? I heard about what happened.”
“Yeah, I am fine. I was just wondering if the offer for the date was still open?”
“What? Are you serious? Of course. When do you want to go out?’
“I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight.”
“Sure, dinner and a movie?” he asked a bit overly enthusiastic. I felt guilty knowing that I was leading him on.
“That sounds good, but you do understand that I’m not looking for a serious relationship. If you want I’ll pay for my share.”
“That’s ridiculous; I would never let a woman pay.”
“When do you want to meet?” I asked ignoring his sexist statement.
“How’s six sound? I’ll pick you up at your place.”
“Ok, see you then.”
I hung up the phone and set about clearing up everything for my mother before heading up to my room. I still had about eight hours to pass till it was time for Mike to show up. I contemplated taking a nap for about two minutes, but the fear of having more revealing dreams was just too much. I paced around my room looking for something else to do; I couldn’t come up with anything.
I finally decided to go for a drive. I stopped at the hairdresser and had about two inches cut. I was amazed at the difference something so small made. I stared at my image in the mirror wondering if how I felt showed on the outside. I could see it, but I didn’t know if everyone else could. I went to the mall and walked around wasting a few more hours, before heading home. I ate a light lunch since it was already late. I helped again with the few dishes there before heading up to my room again.
I took a shower and held onto the small glimmer of hope that things would slip into normal again. All I wanted to do was forget that world and the guy I had to leave behind there. I wanted to convince myself that it was easier to forget him now that I knew the truth about him; but to be honest that didn’t change a thing. I knew that his touch had a special effect on me; something no one in this world had managed to ever do.
I was starting to dry my hair when there was a knock on my bedroom door. I opened it to find my mother standing there in a very flattering formal dress. She had a bulging file folder in her hand as she stood there smiling at me.
“Mom you look great.”
“Thank you. At least you noticed, your father hasn’t said anything. Any way I thought you might get a kick out of these. I saved them all for you.”
“Thanks, but what are they?” I asked as I opened the folder to find a lot of newspaper clippings. “These are newspaper articles, about me. You had it put in the papers?”
“It’s not like we paid for it, with your dad’s position and all your disappearance was big news. I figured you would be glad that we used every means possible to find you.”
“The thought was nice, but this is just too much. I’m sorry. I hope you have a good evening.”
“You too dear.”
I closed the door and sat on my bed laying the articles out in front of me. I wasn’t quite as worried about the ones that stated I was missing; at least not as much as I was worried about the ones that announced my return. I put all the local articles to one side and focused on the nationally circulated papers. I wasn’t sure if there was really going to be anyone out looking for me; but Christian had thought getting me back here would protect me. This wasn’t going to help that. Of course that again would mean that I had to truly believe that the other world did exist.
I went through the motions of getting dressed and finishing my hair. I was only halfway paying any attention to anything except the thought that someone would see those articles. Someone who didn’t need to know where I came from. When the doorbell rang I about jumped out of my skin as I looked at the clock in a panic. I let out my breath once I realized it was five minutes to six.
I grabbed my purse and raced downstairs and flung open the door. I gasped in shock as I dropped my purse. I stepped back quickly as I took a good look at him.
“You did just say dinner and movie?” I asked as Mike stepped inside wearing a suit and tie.
“I wanted to make a good impression.”
“Lose the coat and tie, and then we might actually make it through the evening.”
He agreed as I retrieved my bag from the floor and followed him to his car. He made many suggestions of where to go to eat. I didn’t think I would ever get him to settle for someplace simple. Finally he decided that he knew of the perfect place to take me. Within minutes we pulled into the parking lot of ‘Archie’s fast food and grill’.
“I think you might really like this place. If anything it is not traditional it’s sort of Indian culture fast food. No beef but everything is delicious.”
“Sure, I am willing to give it a try.”
“Great, come on,” he said as he opened the door for me.
Ok, I have to admit I was thinking somewhat prejudicial when he said Indian; I was expecting incents burning and a pungent smell of curry. I don’t dislike curry; I just don’t want it to be the only spice I can taste or smell. It was nothing of what I had braced myself to expect. Yes, there was a smell of curry, but it was intermingled with other smells and scents that it made my mouth water.
He escorted me to a booth where once seated he handed me a menu, he was right, no beef. There were lots of items with lamb and chicken, plus an abundance of vegetarian options. There were too many options to choose from. I couldn’t help but think about the odd looking fruits and vegetables that had been in that other world. Everything seemed to draw me back there; I just couldn’t seem to escape it. And honestly I didn’t think that anything would ever be able to compare to the food there.
“Mind if I order for both of us?” he asked and I was relieved.
“That would be great.”
“Archie, two specials,” he called out. The man behind the counter looked up and smiled as he waved his hand and nodded. He turned to talk to the cook through the open window; the atmosphere here was really comforting even for me in my present state of mind. A few minutes later he brought two plates to the table.
“Mike. Are you doing well? Haven’t seen you for a while.”
“I’m doing very well. Been busy working for my dad. How have you been?”
“Very good. Business is great, but as always my wife won’t let me have fun spending it.”
“Guess she wants you to keep doing well. Archie I want you to meet Jesse. Jesse this is Archie, he owns and runs the place.”
“It is always a pleasure to meet such pretty girl.”
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I said, genuinely glad.
He continued to talk with Mike as we ate. Which was a relief, since it meant I didn’t have to come up with a lot of conversation over dinner. I studied the man that stood there before us, he had a rounded face and when he laughed or smiled his whole face lit up. You could tell it was genuine because of the way his eyes lit up. When more customers came in he excused himself to go and assist them. Mike rattled on about how he first started coming here and I only half listened as my worries started to slip into my mind again.
When Mike excused himself and went to the restroom, Archie immediately came over and sat in his seat. He had that concerned father look on his face. He placed his hand on the table palm up; I’m not really sure why but I duplicated what he had done. He reached over and grabbed my hand till it laid flat across his.
“You’ve lived a very spoiled life, but you did it with knowing. You chose that path. You have been given something special, no one else has this, but many will try to get control of it. You should be careful of who you share this with. There is a big decision that you must make sometime soon. Don’t think selfishly when you decide.”
“Archie you aren’t trying to scare my date from going out with me are you?” Mike said as he hovered near the table.
Quickly I pulled my hand back and hid both of my hands in my lap. Archie stood up and smiled. Mike walked with Archie to the register, I could hear him laughing at the jokes that Archie was telling him. I could only question and debate about the meaning of what he had said to me. At least it gave me something else to think about. And yet I couldn’t help but feel that it all tied together.
I was not very attentive to Mike on the drive but thankfully he didn’t seem to notice. Once at the theater we agreed on a comedy; though he had hoped to get me to agree to a horror film. As we started to pass the door to the horror film someone exited and we both looked in just as a vampire burst into flames from the sunlight. This did grab my attention; not because it was well done but because it gave me hope.
“That is so cool, I still think you would have liked it,” he said as we continued to our theater. This theater was much older than the others in town but there was always such a friendly atmosphere here; which made it the most popular.
It was a good movie and I couldn’t help but relax and have a good time. We stayed to watch all the credits as they rolled up the screen slowly. We talked and laughed about the movie and the events that had happened in it. It was nice to find myself actually laughing and having a good time, something that seemed so far in my past. I didn’t even let the
fact that he put his arm around me spoil it. We walked slowly towards the car, when suddenly a hand grabbed my shoulder; I froze, unable to move, unable to turn and look at my attacker.
“Bet you thought you’d seen the last of me?” the husky low voice asked. My heart was racing so fast I thought it would jump out of my chest. Mike turned; all I wanted to do was to yell for him to run.
“Daniel you bum. Where have you been hiding?”
I stepped out of his grasp and tried to catch my breath; as I fought back the tears of relief that threatened to spill out. I was getting way too jumpy about everything. They both looked at me with concern; I played it off as being the result of a long day so soon after being released from the hospital. Mike took me home after that, I was afraid that he would try to kiss me; but thankfully Daniel had told him about a party and he was anxious to get to it. He had suggested us both going but I declined; that was the last thing I wanted at this moment.
The house was still empty, my parents were still out. I locked the door and quickly ran up the stairs to my room; turning on every light and then the T.V. for noise. Then I noticed the newspaper articles still scattered across my bed. I was sure that this was the core of what was making me so jumpy tonight. I picked up the phone and called Charlie.
“Well if it isn’t the future blood sucker.”
“Funny, but I have nixed that as a possibility. Vampires can’t go out in to the sunlight and we spent all day in the sun on several occasions. There has to be a different excuse.”
“Hate to disappoint you but I believe that alternate dimension thing kills that theory; I mean mules that look like unicorns. Then you have ferocious rabbits, squirrels and snakes that are nocturnal except where you are concerned. Maybe that is one of the differences that they experience.”
“Thanks for the support and bursting my bubble. Now I can go back to panicking at every sound.”
“Sorry, just trying to be realistic.”
“Now there is an ironic choice of words. So yes let’s be realistic. After all we are just talking about alternate dimensions and vampires.”
“Since you brought the word up, I’ve been looking on the net. I don’t know if you realize how many sites exist with information about vampires. Not to mention groups and cults that also exist. I believe myself to be a very informed person. Ask me anything?”
“Will you be my first kill?” I said crossly.
“Probably, but there are lots of sites that say it hasn’t been completed yet. Of course some of the thoughts people have had over the centuries are a bit out there. Some believed you were destined to become a vampire just because of things that were out of your control, hair color, the date you were born on and other such silly things.”
“Charlie, am I about to experience a significant change in my life or not?” I asked. Trying to stay calm and keep my voice down.
“Well one site said it could take two to five days for the change to take effect.”
“It’s already been longer than that.”
“Not if countdown didn’t start until after you returned here, in which case you could still have a few days left.”
“Other options?”
“Actually one site listed three different methods but I was thinking what if they were all true? Instead of any one being the method what if it took all three for the change to happen. It would fit,” he said.
“Are you going to tell me before I do change?”
“Ok, ok. The first was being bit and dying or nearly dying. You were out for days and woke up weak. So this could mean that you were near death. Option two was being bit multiple times, which would fit with the three bites marks you thing.”
“And the third?”
“The third is you have to bite and/ or drink the blood of a vampire.”
“Well I am not aware of that part happening so I might be safe.”
“Yeah, I think so. But just to be on the safe side I’m going to be watching you for any signs of blood lust over the next few days.”
“Well that part is a relief,” I said as the words sunk in.
“So we still on for tomorrow night? Amanda is excited about finally getting to meet you.”
“I am looking forward to that too.”
We hung up a short time later and I just lay on my bed listening to the sounds of the house. I heard my parents when they arrived home, but also just the normal creaking sounds of the house. I missed the cave; I missed the gentle noises and chattering sounds that came from the woods. And if I had to admit it I missed Christian, despite the fact that he had tried to turn me into a vampire.
Actually, I had to be fair, if what I understood was right he was trying not to. It was what Matthew had said about someone else trying to do it. I knew that I was just freaking out unnecessarily but it still felt so real. I could picture both Christian and Matthew so clearly in my mind. I became even more unsettled with these thoughts.

Author's Note

Same as before. Also if anyone has any idea for a title, I cannot come up with one.