Will Haven

Will Haven has been able to see them since he was born, after years of living in isolation he finally decides to act, but his actions lead into the middle of a centuries old battle for the rights to the coveted vampire throne. His purpose find Dead Si

I opened my eyes slowly, afraid to move too quickly.  My head was in her lap, and she was stroking my face, humming a soft tune to comfort me, something I didn’t recognize. Her hands were frozen like she had been holding them in ice just before she touched me, I jerked my head away from her chilling fingers, and she took it as a sign that I did not want to be touched by her. She laid my head gently on the pillow and crossed the room. Her hands were cold yes, but that wasn’t the reason I jerked away, the touch of her hands made me feel something I wasn’t yet ready to accept let alone deal with. She gave me a halfhearted smile, and got up and walked toward the, the sounds of running water met my ears; I shot up and looked around, Ileana was running the shower. She came out of the bathroom and turned around the room.  I studied her very carefully, looking for some resemblance or connection between us. Her deep brown curls hung perfectly past her petite shoulders, nearly matching the color of her brown eyes. She stared around the room absentmindedly, looking but not really seeing. I sat up slowly on the bed making it known that I was awake and aware. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and shook my body awake, all the while continuing to stare at her. She believed I was her Price, her son born nearly a century ago. This knowledge shocked me, yes, but something else shocked me even more. I found myself believing her, falling under her spell of words….

***

It was raining outside, like usual for autumn. The leaves were blowing, and the trees swaying to an unheard tune, the rest of the world ignoring the sound only the trees could hear. I was thinking again about a dream I often had. In my dream I’m always walking in a wood on a dark path shelved with stones along it, barren trees lining the walk. The hint of mists in the air suggests its autumn nearing winter fast. There are street lamps in the distance illuminating the path only slightly. I walk along the path for hours, in the background I can make out a tapping of sorts like a tapping of heels along a stone path. At the end of the path I always see a man staring at me; his eyes are a black gray, like mine but with more silver. He offers his hand and just as I reach out to take it, he vanishes and I awake always disoriented and confused.    

 A hand came down hard on my desk, making me nearly jump out of my seat. “Mr. Haven! Is my lecture really that boring, that you can’t pay attention for the hour I have you?” He proclaimed glowing with pride over his authority. I hated him, he had made it  his sole mission to make my life hell for four years of my life, but today I could finally say something, I was going to tell him yes and explain all the reasons why, but thankfully a knock at the classroom door interrupted me and saved Mr. Caulist from my sarcastic reply.

I nodded off again still half paying attention until the bell started ringing, the bell rang at exactly five minutes past three like usual, I almost thought it wouldn’t ring, I thought people might just feel that it was over and walk away, but I didn’t really expect today to be any different in fact I had hoped it wouldn’t be, nothing could change my mind about how today would end. I got up from my desk and walked to my locker, thankfully this was the last day of my high school career, well the last day for a lot of things. All around me people were hugging and crying, I didn’t want to say any goodbyes, I saw a few people coming toward me, but instead of sticking around I hurriedly placed what was left of the stuff in my locker into a bag and threw the bag in the trash right by the door. I managed to just barely avoid them; I just didn’t want to remember them sad and crying, I wanted to remember everything happy about them. The way Tony choked when he laughed too hard, and the way Evelyn smiled when she was really happy.        

On my walk to my car I noticed a bunch of guys hanging out in the parking lot, but I didn’t pay them much attention, except the way the guy I’m assuming was the leader was staring at me. He had cold deep blue eyes, could have been in his early twenties. His pale blond swiped low over his left eye toward his right, his eyes followed me all the way to my beat up green Honda and even still when I got in. I shrugged him off and started up my car and flipped it into reverse, I started to back out when I noticed a figure standing directly behind me. I honked and flipped them off as I swerved around them only to realize it was Tony. I rolled down my window as Tony swaggered toward me. “What the hell Haven, trying to kill me.” He shouted as he rolled across the top of my car and toward the passenger door. He opened the door to slide in, but a short lithe figure slipped in right under him. I laughed hard at the confused expression on Tony’s face. “Evelyn, I wanted front.” He pouted as he climbed into the backseat. Evelyn just tossed her head, something she was prone to do whenever she couldn’t come up with anything good to say. “Don’t you have somebody else to bother?” I asked jokingly, but hinting at truth. Tony just sort of stared with puppy dog eyes. I just shook my head and shifted into drive toward the main road. Tony smiled realizing he had won our silent battle. He sat back in his seat content as I eyed him in my rearview mirror. He and I had been friends since eighth grade. I had moved here from New Jersey my last year of junior high, my stepmom got a job as nurse at the local hospital, it paid better and since the news of my condition had gotten out my mom thought it was better to make a fresh start someplace new. Anthony, Tony for short, admired my endurance in track and he being the captain of the team had begged me to play for them, which is something he hadn’t stopped doing until late in our senior year. He was nearly five inches shorter than I peaking at five ten ,” his ever present tan hinted at his French ancestry, something he never forgot to mention to a girl, went nicely along with his dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Evelyn interrupted my reminiscing, “What’s with the bail in the hall.” She turned in her seat to glare at me, her lips set in a scowl. “It was like you were running from us, right Tony?” she said to further prove her case “Uh right” Tony hastily agreed. She folded her arms across her chest and kept staring. I was at a temporary loss for words, if she knew my reasons she would understand, I hoped. “Didn’t notice it was you” I said after a long pause.  “Nice try Will” she said “what’s bothering you, tell me” she said in her soft voice. She stared at me with her golden brown eyes; she pushed her dirty blond hair out of her eyes, and stared at me with a softened face. I concentrated on the road, discomforted by her staring. Evelyn was very sweet, Tony had eyed her since tenth grade, she had just moved from California, and everyone wanted a piece of her. Tony practically did a back flip when she sat next to him in math. He was so excited she’d chosen him; I hadn’t the heart to tell him it was the only available seat in the class. She quickly became friends with Tony, who could resist his charms. While Tony was our connecting component we still became close friends, Evelyn had something about her, she really cared, and I never had to say anything around her she just sort of knew how I felt. Tony and Evelyn never became anything more, it nearly ruined the relationship when Tony asked her out and she adamantly refused. Tony eventually got over it and they became friends again, but not after Evelyn endured his cold shoulder for a few weeks. Tony was like my contact to the outside world, I only went to parties or school functions when he dragged me, and even then I didn’t socialize much outside of him and Evelyn. My teachers feared that I would relapse and with the exception of Mr. Caulist kept their distance, and the students followed suit. Tony told me once one of the main reason he sought me out was because of all the rumors about me, and that I was naturally intimidating with as Tony put it my height and dark looks. Even then I looked mature, being taller than all the guys in our class and many of our teachers set me apart, my sliver eyes with flecks of onyx that stood out against my slightly pale colored skin and my pure black hair hanging gently over my eyes and flipping at the ends. “Will! Will! Look out!” Evelyn screamed I glanced ahead to see a deer darting across the back road. I slammed on the brakes and swerved out of the way, and lucky for us there were no cars on the road or there would have been a nasty collision. The car came to a screeching halt, the smell of burnt tires filled the air, I checked my rearview mirror, the deer had darted back into the woods on our left, I let out a sigh of relief and shifted into drive to take off; When I looked over I saw Evelyn hugging her knees in her seat. I put a hand on her leg and she looked at me, “relax, breath” I whispered softly, she nodded and clasped my hand tightly. I understood her terror, her dad had died in a car accident when she was fourteen, and the police told her he had swerved to avoid an animal. She had developed an overwhelming fear of driving, it was a shock to learn she had never driven and only trusted her mother and me to drive her.”Anybody up for a threesome” Tony suggested as he leaned forward and placed his hand on top of our clasped ones. Evelyn and I broke apart and Evelyn slapped Tony hard across the face. “What the hell, Eve!! Can’t take a joke” Tony screamed as he nursed his stinging face. Evelyn was blushing furiously at his suggestion, and the rest of the ride we remained silent. I dropped Evelyn off first, her house was on the lake like practically everyone’s unless you lived in town. Her mom was renting the apartment above a small bait shop, it wasn’t much, but the festive Mrs. Burke had decorated it nicely enough to make up for it. She blew us both kisses and hopped out of the car, “pick me at five we’ll go for Chinese food before the graduation ceremony.” She smiled and ran toward the rundown house before I could even give an answer. Though she would have it soon enough.

Tony hopped over the back seat into the front as I pulled off toward Tony’s. He fiddled with the radio for a few minutes before finally turning to me. “What’s the deal with Evelyn?” he asked, I checked his face, he wasn’t angry more like annoyed. I shrugged, I liked Evelyn, but I could never have her like that. “She just needed some reassurance.” I shrugged “I shouldn’t have swerved.” Understanding dawned on Tony, “Oh yeah her dad, sorry about that.” I pulled up to Tony’s a few minuets later. His house was large and old, a colonial that his mom fell in love with while visiting. Dr. Jamison bought it right away for the young Mrs. Jamison, and Tonys lived there since he was born.

I had never been inside, the doctor didn’t like the fact that his precious son hung out with me. Unfortunately I had to fill my prescriptions at the local pharmacy, a place the doctor owned, so he knew the medication of nearly everyone in the town. Luckily he was prohibited from telling anyone, but that didn’t stop him from hating me. Tony got out of the car real slow, he knew his dad was watching, he liked to toy with him, whenever Tony was angry he’d run to my house, so he could tell his dad he was with me to piss him off. “See ya Haven.” Tony called, as I sped away....

 

 

 

Author's Note

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