Merged- Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve1

"Wow…this is your family?" Steven slowly sauntered in. Everyone stopped and faced the group that seemed to be eyeing everything. Tommie had to leave the room due to the excessive amount of human exposure, as she did so; she clasped her nose and mouth to barricade the scent. Dem slowly caught on to why she did this so he followed motioning to the other vampires. Yumi smiled and hid the spatula behind her back while Emil and Acel covered themselves; Acel with his scarf and Emil with the burgundy turtle neck sweater he wore.2

"Jenny, you um, didn't say there would be guests." Yumi said through clenched teeth trying to hold a smile. "Would you boys like any snacks?"3

"Sure, we're starved!" Ethan grinned.4

"Yeah!" The rest chorused.5

Jenny mouthed, 'sorry' as her mom left the room to join the others in the kitchen.6

"Hurry," As soon as Yumi entered the room, Dem quickly shut the door nearly closing her ankle in.7

"What was that about?" Yumi stared strangely towards Dem as he slumped into a chair and held the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. 8

"Oh, I just really don't like kids or teens for that matter…" As soon as he finished that sentence, his stomach conveniently growled. It's been at least four days to a week since he's last eaten and he was hungry.9

"Oh, are you hungry? I making some snacks for them, do any of you want them?" Yumi offered as she opened the door to the fridge and pulled out an assortment of foods. 10

"No," Dem answered for the rest, the last thing he wanted to hear or see was food.11

"Oh, what about you guys?"12

"No," the other three replied simultaneously.13

"Well, alright then, I'll get started on their snacks."14

…15

"So, are you the vampires?" The seven of them excluding, Verlyn and Jenny, sat in amazement staring at the two zombies. Not taking their eyes off their gray skin or Emil's foggy grey eyes and Acel's sickly green ones.16

"Excuse me?!" Acel's head snapped in Jenny and Verlyn's direction. Jenny coughed and pointed to Verlyn who just covered his face with his coat and sunk into the couch.17

"You boys think ve are…vampires?" Emil questioned raising an eyebrow, "Too many horror movies I suppose?"18

"Dude, you even talk like a Transylvanian vampire," Josh noted in wonder. "Are you sure you aren't one?"19

"I am pretty sure my boy, now vhy not you go and play vith…uh…video pods is it?" Emil looked towards Acel who just shrugged and stared back at the seven.20

"So, are you two…gay?" Billy asked as the others smirked.21

"Gay, by that you had better mean, happy."Emil's eyes turned a shade darker, he wasn't used to handling the teenage type. Acel had more self control.22

Reaching his hand over, he lightly tapped Emil on the shoulder and shook his head in disapproval mouthing, 'You will only sink to their level. Give it up.'23

"No, I do mean lover gay." Billy grinned.24

"No, we are not," Emil said through clenched teeth resisting the urge to rip his head clean off. "Now, please leave us be."25

"They're the zombies, dude." Verlyn corrected, "They just met today, so seriously, stop."26

"Fine, where are the vampires then?" Steven inquired, standing.27

"They left the room for privacy; I think we should leave them alone." 28

"Oh, c'mon," James whined. "Show us the fleas!"29

"WHAT?!" The kitchen door slammed open and Dem stood there, face alight with pure rage. His snarl revealed a pair of long fangs, anxious to rip into someone's throat.30

Tommie's head poked over his shoulder, looking completely blank. "What'd they say?"31

"Awesome!" the seven of them called as they finally saw their first vampire. Verlyn, knowing much better, hopped off the couch and hid behind the one Acel and Emil were sitting on. Tommie walked over and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up.32

"Oh no, you don't."33

He gave a low moan.34

Ilario and Damien were still in the kitchen; Ilario watching his wife cook, acting like he knew absolutely nothing about what was going on inside while Damien poked his head out, holding a glass of water.35

Dem gave a visible wince to the smell of blood so close. It took every inch of his self control not to lunge at them and satisfy the gnawing hunger clawing at his stomach. He slammed his jaw closed, now just giving the group a death glare.36

"Can you guys do a trick?" Ethan asked, looking completely excited.37

"Okay, that's it. I'm going to eat them." Dem strolled forward, eyeing the seven of them, deciding who would taste the best. Right when he could reach for one of their throats, Tommie pulled him back by the arm.38

"No, no, Dem, behave," she tsked.39

"Hehe, she's pretty," Steven sighed, resting his chin in his hands. There was a dreamy look to his eyes.40

"What are you talking about? She's freaky!" Mark grimaced. He was the youngest at thirteen and not yet old enough to be drawn to vampire charm. Not saying that Tommie's ugly or anything. It just didn't affect him yet; give him a few years and he would be drooling for her.41

Tommie's eyes narrowed and she let Dem go. "You know what? Go nuts."42

Dem snickered and lunged forward. At that moment, it finally went through their thick skulls that they were probably going to die and not be entertained by these vampires. Josh's scream heightened to new levels as he was the poor victim. Jenny couldn't help but laugh; talk about screaming like a girl.43

Slamming Josh to the wall, a malicious grin stretching across his face. The impact caused Josh's glasses to fall. His weak vision made the scene less horrific until the glint of the vampire's fang revealed how close he was to death.44

"Hey, wait!" Cole jumped up and grabbed a fistful of Dem's jacket. Somehow, to everyone's complete and utter surprise, his jerk made Dem lost his footing and fall face first on the ground.45

"Ow…" the muffled groan came.46

Cole stared down at the vampire he somehow managed to hurt. He backed up a few steps. "Um, wow. Did I do that?"47

Josh swooped down to get his glasses as he carefully ran to join the others. Then his direction changed and he practically flew into the kitchen. He grabbed onto Yumi, screaming, "Help me! Help me!"48

"That man --!!"49

Sighing, she looked over her shoulder. "Ilario, check it out."50

"But-"51

"MOVE."52

Like an angsty teenager told to wash the dishes, Ilario groaned and slid his feet across the floor to the living room. He took one look to the scene in front of him before going back to the kitchen.53

"They're playing… Scrabble."54

"Oh, how nice. Who's winning?"55

"The old guys."56

"We heard that!" Emil and Acel called.57

Dem got off the floor slowly, reminding the group of a monster creeping up on an unsuspecting victim in a horror film. Cracking his neck, he turned to face them. Instead of a clear sign of irritation, he just looked plain amused.58

James was the next target. Without even warning, he was in Nicodemus's grip, held about two feet off the ground. He struggled, clawing at the hand that held him with absolutely no result except a chuckle. Dem's other hand made a swooping motion and Cole abruptly hit an invisible wall. He was stuck in a box like a mime, only he couldn't find a way out.59

The use of magic made him even hungrier, causing the point of his fangs to sharpen to the extent of the definition of just plain lethal, even by looking at them. The hungrier the vampire, the sharper their fangs.60

Acel's jaw tightened as he resisted the urge to help the boy. But to help him was a sure death wish; the one time he'd tried splitting a starving Nicodemus from a victim caused him to lose his entire arm.61

Jenny jumped up to try and help Cole but Verlyn pulled her back. He'd had his own attempt to save Dem's dinner before and ended up having both his legs broken. Jenny read the urgent look in his face, bit her lip, and held her place.62

The four teenagers kept on the couch, afraid to even make the slightest trigger of movement that would make them the next to be eaten.63

Tommie stared at Dem as he grinned at James shriek. Glancing over to the ones on the couch, she beamed in Steven's direction. Motioning him towards her with her forefinger. 64

"No, it's a trick, Steve." Verlyn clasped Steven's right arm.65

"No, she obviously likes me…" He grinned foolishly and waved at Tommie. Rising he made his way towards her.66

"H-hi…"67

"Hello," she replied and grabbed his collar.68

"Whoa…" Steven nearly went limp. Verlyn was banging his head on the table juggling his options in his head. The only option that didn't seem doubtful was the most hazardous.69

Tommie leaned his neck to the side and then, her hunger side took over; she hasn't eaten in over three weeks. Steven screamed as loudly as he possibly could when her fangs connected with his neck.70

Verlyn gave a low growl, already feeling the beast side eagerly push against his sanity as his temper flared. He kept himself in check, at least until his eyes went back over to Dem. The vampire was eagerly torturing his victim, the usual way he liked his food. James's eyes were rolling back in their sockets, his screams now moans of pain. Then Dem sunk his fangs into his neck, making the screams return.71

Something inside him shattered. It was the wall preventing the beast from taking over. Now it lurched forward, howling its victory.72

Acel and Emil quickly got off the couch, scattering away from the changing figure. Jenny backed away also, her eyes wide with stunned fear. The four boys on the couch all stared in absolute horror. The vampires looked up from their "drinks". Tommie's jaw dropped; Dem swore.73

Fur grew all over his twisting body, growing and strengthening from its scrawny figure. His face pulled out into a long muzzle, pulling back to reveal teeth that quickly began to multiply and sharpen, making Dem and Tommie's look like sporks. The tail that was already there lengthened six more inches, muscling up as much as the rest of the body. Claws formed from his nails after his fingers and toes stopped merging together. The caramel eye blinked once before turning into a replica of the other, completely void of anything besides hate and hunger. The back legs were much more powerful than the front ones, capable of holding the mighty body up as long as needed; now the muscles rippled as the beast drew itself up, snarling madly, its slightly too long ears almost brushing the ceiling. If the creature wasn't bent over, it could've easily hit its head against the ceiling.74

This was the creature Verlyn's nightmares had centered around. It wasn't unlikely that now it was going to be what the others' worst fears, too. The werewolf was horrifying yet incredible, but they didn't have long to take it in.75

It leaped.76

Tommie was the first one it took down. She let out a terrified scream before falling under its huge paw, crushed between claws and the floor. Before it could chomp its jaws over her head, she forced him off with a force of magic. The creature staggered back, enough for her to scoot away from its mass. Dem grabbed her by the arm, pulling her behind him. If she wasn't so terrified, she would've been overjoyed being this close without getting beaten up.77

"Jeez, I was supposed to have another week before I had to do this again," he grumbled. The room was too small to do anything with fighting an angry werewolf and that was what ticked him off the most. Somehow he had to lead him outside and the closest opening was the front door. It was very, very, very unlikely that it would be kept in any sort of condition that classified as "good."78

Clapping his palms against his knees, he whistled, catching the werewolf's attention. "C'mon, you overgrown rat! You know you want to kill me!" With that, he pushed Tommie out of the way and ran out the door, appearing as a blurr past everyone's faces. The beast followed after on its fours, eager for a fight. It struggled through the door – its wide shoulders prevented good passage and, with an angry snarl, brought the entire doorframe forward as it tugged one more time. Shaking the debris and frame off, the werewolf continued to chase after the vampire.79

Yumi forced Ilario out of the way and marched into the living room. In her hand was a knife whose purpose was to make very precise cuttings in sushi. The stunned crowd in the destroyed room all scrambled as fast as they could from the Japanese woman whose face read that she was tempted to use the knife against the person who'd left the wreck in her poor home. What she didn't know was that the one responsible could tear her limb from limb before she could even twitch a finger.80

Ilario snuck behind her, careful not to make any sound that would make his wife whip toward him. Damien sipped at his water, still not daring to leave the safety of the kitchen. Josh was in a fetal position in one corner, still very much scarred for life.81

There was complete silence for a moment.82

Not wanting Yumi to panic from the sight of the two bleeding figures, Ilario carefully put his hand over the hand with the knife, wincing as he felt the fingers tense. He turned Yumi toward him and tried pulling on a face that told that he would take care of it. She let him pull her along, stiff and staring ahead, still not letting go of the knife. Ilario let her in their room and edged her to the bed, forcing the weapon from her grip. Smiling and patting her on the head, he edged toward the door. When he was on the other side, he closed the door and locked it. The door had, for some reason, the lock on the outside which was the first time it'd been fortunate. Other times Jenny had used it to lock her parents in, mostly her father.83

Now, everyone's heads moved toward Acel, who sighed and stood up. He walked over to James and Steven. Both were bleeding badly from the wounds on their necks, unconscious. James had been thrown over to the couch while Steven was in front of it, sprawled on the ground. Acel dug around in the inner pocket of his suit and drew out a roll of white bandages and two of his three handkerchiefs. With expert hands and a simple tut, he cleaned off their wounds and bandaged their necks. Vampire bite wounds were always clean for around an hour, not having to be inspected for infections or any of that kind of sort.84

"Are they going to be okay?" Ethan managed to whisper. He was clutching the couch so hard that his knuckles were bone white.85

It was Tommie that answered. "I didn't take much, just about a pint or something. He'll be okay. The other guy, though, I have no idea about." She poked James with one finger. "But he looks pretty alive to me."86

Acel rolled his eyes. "They are both going to be fine. I do not have the best knowledge of vampires but bites only have affects when they are lethal or very close to it." He paused. "Though, I am not entirely sure if there will be side effects or not."87

A triumphant howl interrupted the pondering of the doctor. Tommie made for the door first, followed close by Cole and Jenny - who was chased by her protective father energetically followed by Emil, going on the hope that Ilario would somehow be hurt, and then Acel, just wanting to see Dem get hurt. Less eagerly were Ethan and Billy, who didn't want to be left alone in the house, and then their terrified friend Mark. Damien, curiosity getting the better of him, went for the sight, too, bringing his glass of water. Josh had somehow scared himself senseless from his overactive imagination and now lay unconscious on the kitchen floor.88

Yumi slammed her hands angrily against the bedroom door, demanding to be let out or to at least have her knife back.89

The crowd of nine found the battle scene very quickly. A path of destruction had been like their trail of bread crumbs. Now they were in a field, a little off from the neighborhood and the town, watching the fight with wide eyes.90

It was obvious why the werewolf had given off a gleeful cry. Dem's arm was twisted to the extent that bone poked out near his elbow. It dangled uselessly at his side. His jacket was a limp heap, nearest to the group, and Tommie, being Tommie, picked it up eagerly. A cage rested nearer to the fight and the door wide open for its awaited captive.91

Only the ones with sharp eyesight could manage to keep track on what was going on. Dem, exhausted to the last resorts of his magic and impaired in one arm, was now just evading and dodging, trying to lead the beast toward the cage. It was obvious that he wasn't used to this tactic, getting too close and barely getting out of the way in time to avoid decapitation. The werewolf had a deep gouge in its flank and limped slightly on one leg but acted completely oblivious, using its wounded leg as much as the other three. Its jaws snapped eagerly for a piece of its enemy and its paws swung to knock something off. When it lunged forward, it was lightning quick and retreated back so quickly that Dem had no time to attempt a hit for the head. Even so huge, it was as agile and swift as the vampire; not to mention twice as strong.92

No one moved to help for several reasons. They couldn't do anything or were frozen with fear, particularly applying to Ethan, Billy, and Mark. Or, with Jenny, a certain parental figure was holding them back and that parental figure didn't want to set a bad example for his daughter. Then there was the fact that it was obvious that there was really no helping needed. Nicodemus had one arm mauled and was barely dodging blows with no way to defend himself back but it was clear that he had everything under control. He'd had three years experience with dealing with this creature; so it was mad and especially eager to kill him. That would add a few minutes to the fight but that werewolf was going in the cage even if it was seething with rage.93

Giving a sharp bark, the beast gave an unexpected lunge to the right. It knocked Dem off his feet, making him hiss out a long line of swears as the fall sent rackets of pain through his injured arm. An overjoyed yip gave sign that a death blow was about to be the next move.94

When it opened its mouth, though, the werewolf paused as Dem growled something, his voice trembling with his rage. It included so many swears, insults, and very graphic threats that it was lucky that the minors were out of range. Then Dem's arm that didn't happen to be maimed swung up and actually grabbed the thing by its jaw and slammed it closed. The creature gave a pained whine despite of itself.95

Nicodemus pushed himself up onto his feet. The beast gave a threatening growl but stopped abruptly at the glare it was given. It sensed something had changed; his enemy was angry. No, not angry.96

Absolutely furious.97

Fear wasn't a feeling that it was used to but that was exactly what it felt when the vampire stepped forward, its death a clear wish in his eyes. Something about its fear was familiar, as if some part of it was used to being scared to death by this person. The werewolf was a predatory animal, running only on hunting instincts. Only this time, its instincts told it that the only thing that would be safe was to back away.98

No one was expecting the huge creature to start creeping back. Acel, who knew Dem the longest, felt a pang of pity for the beast. He knew how it felt to be Nicodemus's center of attention when he lost his temper. There was no reasoning with him; either you did as he wanted or he would not hesitate to kill you, magicless and one-armed or not.99

Dem pointed toward the cage. The beast growled, knowing that confined metal box all too well. That was a very bad choice. Nicodemus, giving his own answering snarl, grabbed one of its teeth and yanked. The fang came off, followed quickly by a howl of pain.100

"Get. In. That. Cage." It was said between gritted teeth. Somehow the werewolf knew what the command was. It sprinted inside, head down low and tail between its legs. Nicodemus slammed the door closed.101

He walked over to where the others were still standing and jerked the jacket away from Tommie's grip. His death glare was so intense that it actually succeeded in silencing her. The rage that seethed from him was like fire, so hot that everyone had to take a step back before being burned. Dem stomped off several feet away before coming to a halt. Then he swayed and fell face first to the ground.102

At first there was silence. Acel was the first to start to laugh; it started as a mere snicker and evolved until he was keeled over in a sheer fit. Tommie joined in, although she particularly didn't know why. The laughter grew infectious and soon all of them were in hysterics.103

The werewolf gave a sharp bark. That silenced them quickly.104

"This is going to be a problem," Acel said, tapping his chin as he inspected the werewolf bumping roughly against the bars of its cage. "Someone will have to knock it out before it escapes the cage."105

"Yeah, I'm sure someone would just love to do that," Ilario snorted.106

Acel raised an eyebrow. "I am just saying. Of course, if it does not go unconscious and escapes its cage, it will be able to kill this town and the one over, most likely the next one, also, in the rest of the time it has. I just merely suggested it in case you wanted to escape the sheer guilt you will feel knowing that you could have saved those lives." He shrugged. "But if you are willing to be a heartless killer then I will give you no argument."107

"How about you? Can you live with it, too?"108

The zombie smirked. "Of course I can. I already am a heartless killer."109

One of the bars of the cages snapped.110

"So who's going to knock out Verlyn over there?" Tommie asked.111

"Someone obviously made for brute strength," Emil thought, "because, obviously, magic does not affect it as vell as it should." He raised his eyebrows over to Ilario and Damien. "Since one vampire is out of commission, I vote that one of you should do it."112

"Wait, wait," Damien replied, shaking his head. "When did we start voting?"113

"Vhen I said so." Emil sighed. "And vhy do you still have that vater vith you?"114

Damien held the cup defensively. "I might get thirsty."115

Sneaking away from the group, Tommie crouched over where Dem was still lying on the ground. She poked him.116

"Go away," the muffled growl came.117

"Can you move?" she asked.118

"Yes. I'm just lying here because I want to."119

"You don't have to be sarcastic with me."120

"I wasn't."121

Blinking, she poked him again. Dem turned his head to glare at her. Tommie beamed and asked, "Why aren't you moving then?"122

"Because I'm tired of handling that stupid oversized mutt over there. Someone else do it." He paused for a moment. "Oh, and you have about thirty more seconds before Dog-boy gets out."123

"Thirty more seconds?" It took her two of those seconds to realize that this was bad news. Tommie jumped to her feet. She ran back to where Emil was now dictating how idiotic Damien was. Pushing the zombie so she could now have the attention on her, Tommie pointed madly at the cage. "Thirty seconds before the wolf thing gets out!"124

The time was off by eleven seconds. While they merely turned their heads to see how close the werewolf was to getting out, it tackled the bars of the cage one more time. The huge body rolled across the ground before managing to get back on its feet. Slowly shaking itself off, the beast caught whiff and sight of the crowd standing not too far away.125

A deep throaty sound in the back of its throat could be described as a chuckle.126

Ilario grabbed Tommie's arm, turning her toward him. "You've got to get that thing out of here! You have magic, don't you? Teleport it or something!"127

"What good will that do?" Acel contradicted. "The best plan is to hit it on a pressure point. I suppose one for a wolf would be somewhere in front of the shoulder blade."128

"Yeah, paralyze it for about two seconds. That'll do a lot," Damien snorted. "I say punch it."129

"Punch it?" Ilario rolled his eyes. "If we're going to resort to physical violence, I say stab it with a big ass knife!"130

"Uh, Dad?" Jenny said, pulling on his sleeve.131

"Not now, Jen. The grown ups are talking."132

"Well, you better hurry it up or there won't be anything to talk about."133

The heads turned to see the wolf bunching up, getting ready for a huge leap that would send it right on top of them. Everyone scattered at the exact moment the creature leaped.134

Tommie was still being bombarded by everyone's plans. Since she was the only one with the magic that could be of use presently, she was the only one who could stop it. Her eyes widened. No, there was still Dem. Looking over her shoulder, she stared at the spot where he'd last been. There was absolutely no sign of him.135

Dang.136

As she tried organizing the mass of words the others shot at her, Tommie felt like her head was going to implode on itself. Something in her crumbled and she stopped running, slowly coming to a halt. Magic flaring into life, she snapped.137

Seeing an easy target, the beast changed its direction. Instead of running over and taking a big chunk, some invisible force knocked against its side. Howling murder, the werewolf shook itself off as it regained its footing. A dark snarl escaped its throat.138

Ethan, Billy, and Mark blinked as they found themselves back in the house. Steven, Josh, and James were still unconscious and looked like they were going to be as so for some time. Glancing at each other, they sat hesitantly, nearest to the door so they could flee as fast as they could. The only thing that stopped them from running back to their homes now was their friends.139

Yelping, the three jumped, ready to run before realizing that it was only Jenny and Cole. The two looked irritated that they'd been put away from the fight.140

"I give her another two minutes," Acel said, watching as Tommie attempted to tie the werewolf down, only succeeding in making it angry.141

"Fifty seconds," Emil replied.142

Damien sipped at his water, rolling his eyes at Ilario's panicking. Jenny and Cole had just been there with them and with a blink of an eye, the two were gone. Ilario pulled at his hair, groaning.143

"My wife's going to kill me!" he moaned.144

"Can I watch?" Damien grinned at the death glare he was given.145

The next minute and thirty-three seconds, Tommie's magic spluttered like an old engine before giving up on her. She was washed over with a wave of dizziness and the werewolf took that to its advantage. Getting back on its feet, the creature jumped at its lightheaded prey.146

A flash dropped down from the sky and hit the werewolf right as it was dropping down. It spun through the air before landing on a heap on the ground. The figure landed lightly on the ground, placing her hands on her hips with a wide grin on her face.147

Emil and Ilario flinched simultaneously. The Guardian of the Shadows, Lola Faye, glanced over at the three of them and snickered.148

"You wimps," she called, sticking out her tongue and raising her hand, pressing her thumb against the side of her head and wiggling her fingers. The werewolf, who'd gotten back up in a furious rage, clamped its teeth over her arm, growling.149

Lola laughed. "Oh, thanks. You just made the job much more easier for me." She swung her arm over her head, the werewolf still clamped on. It was slammed into the ground and a foot slammed into its ribs. The creature let out a pained yip before digging its teeth in ever more, connecting to bone. Lola snickered and grabbed its tongue, squeezing it in her fist.150

"Okay, doggie," she said, meeting it straight in the eye. "You can let go and I'll make this a little easier on you. Or you can just hold onto my arm and lose your tongue and most of your teeth."151

The beast let go.152

"Good." Using her knee, she slammed the creature's jaw shut. The werewolf snarled and leaped over her head but right as it was over her, she jumped on her hands and pushed up off the ground, driving her legs into the wolf's stomach. A furry speck flew straight up in the air, about fifty feet, before dropping back down at frightening speed. The crack was so sickening and loud that it made everyone but Lola flinch. The vampire merely laughed as she dragged the werewolf to its feet.153

"Oh, really now?" she sighed, rolling her eyes. "I was expecting a better fight than this. You barely left a scratch!" Her arm was already healed except for a small cut on the palm.154

Growling, the wolf swiveled its head and clamped its jaws around her waist. Being a creature of only violence and killing, the shattered bones didn't matter a thing to the beast's mind. Shaking its great head back and forth, the werewolf shook its enemy as hard as a little kid with a can of soda.155

Lola was, for the best description, enjoying the rough assault that was meant to kill her. She let the werewolf continue for another two seconds before spitting in its eye. The creature howled, mouth opening enough for her to slip out. Lola leaned over and punched it, none too weakly, in the ribs where the bones were already splinters.156

The werewolf fell to its stomach, whining and yipping in agony. Tired of being beaten up and frightened, it slipped away from consciousness, sinking back into the confines of the internal cage. The body shuddered and reversed in transformation. It seemed an almost miracle as the thing shrunk, fur breaking off and looking like a thick blanket on the sleeping figure now Verlyn.157

“He’s ok, right?” Tommie questioned dizzily walking over. “How bad did I beat him?”158

“You, psh, right.” Lola looked away, arms crossed. Nothing about this strange girl changed, same clothes, everything. Unfortunately, her attitude stayed the same also.159

“Lola, glad to see you, uh… actually, I’m not glad to see you at all.” Ilario confessed.160

“Stuff it, momma’s boy.” Lola warned pointing a thin finger in his direction.161

“Oh, Tabitha, you did terrific…” Acel stifled a laugh. “I am so proud of you.”162

“Really?” Tommie’s eyes brightened at the word, ‘proud’. ‘Maybe I should snap more often…’ She thought.163

“Vhy, yes,” Emil exaggerated. “You did absolutely lovely. I mean, the vay your flew across the field, sent Ilario into a hissy-fit wondering where the kids went, absolutely genius…”164

“Oh, sarcasm. You would think that by now, I should’ve picked up on it.”165

“One would think, Tabitha, one would think.” Acel rolled his eyes then faced Verlyn. “Next time, would you and Dem, not drink his friends and if you must do not do it directly in front of him. That was not the most intelligent thing you two have conjured up.”166

“Hey, in my defense, Dem started it.”167

“Okay, now, back to this thing.” Lola motioned to Verlyn sleeping soundly in front of them, “I babysit ten dollars per hour and I’ll get rid of your pesky kids, free.”168

“We are not paying you Miss Faye,” Emil explained. “You simply did a favor.”169

“Crap, really? I guess I got here too early, huh?” Lola shook her head then looked around, “Hey, he’s new, and him…and her.”170

“Oh, this is Damien Tortorelli; you would have known that if you actually showed up to any of the Councils once in a while. He is Acel Cuyler, a German doctor who is with that vampire, Tabitha Dermot and that were-wolf, Verlyn Glaite.” Emil gestured to each of them as he described them. 171

“Oh, well that’s nice, but you know, zombie my boy, I didn’t really give a flying moose turd about their sob stories.”172

“Ugh, you are impossible, Miss Faye.” Emil grabbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and fore-finger.173

“Stop calling me that, it’s Lola, okay? L-O-L-A, LOW-LA…” She spelt.174

“Okay, can we just forget about her and find Dem, please?” Tommie had regained consciousness and of course didn’t forget Nicodemus. “He could be in serious trouble, you saw his arm.”175

“Hmm, Tabitha does have a point and Natami will not hesitate in killing me if he gets hurt. I suppose, who is coming with Tabitha and I?” Acel began to clean his glasses once again as he observed the hesitant group. 176

“I really do not want to be with these hooligans… I vill come.” Emil offered taking side with the two.177

“Wait, what are we going to do about him?” Tommie began to poke Verlyn repeatedly, giggling to herself as he flinched and swatted her away. “We can’t just leave him.”178

“Yes, you are correct.” Acel nodded then grew quiet as he considered his options. One option was to just leave him there, who’s going to bother a sleeping teenager? Take Verlyn to Ilario’s home, they’re staying there anyway, what harm could come out of him staying at a place where he was supposed to be and where he is expected, also it’ll give Ilario a chance to take the teens home then catch up with the others later. His last option was to just not look for Dem at all; he’d eventually show up…hopefully.179

“Well, here is the plan, Ilario will take Verlyn to his home, not Verlyn’s, and put him where he belongs. There, he can talk to his wife and just explain that he has to go and take of something having to do with the police station. As soon as he leaves, he takes the boys home and makes them swear to not utter a word of tonight’s happenings, not even to their pets.180

“When he is done with that, I am sure he can catch up with us. You will be able to, won’t you, Ilario. If you would like, we do not have to and we can just use another idea. Or, we can send you with one of us to help with your tasks.”181

“Sounds like a good scheme to me.” Tommie brightened, straightening up from her crouched position.182

“I like it, what do you think Ilario? We can send Emil, Tommie or I with you.” Damien offered as he revolved his transparent glass.183

“Correction, Tommie or I, you are not including me. Anything having to help Ilario vill not include me.” Emil scoffed. “Vhy do you think I offered to go with Acel, to stay away from you.”184

“Did you guys forget I was here?” Lola waved her hand in front of the group as they yelled at each other about who was going where and with whom. 185

“I can go with Ilario, Dem scares me. Besides, along as he doesn’t wake up on the way, I’m all good.” Tommie suggested.186

“Yes, but I need you to stay with me, just in case we come close to another piece.” Acel reminisced. 187

“Ugh, why? I highly doubt we’ll find them along the way, anyway, we need to keep our senses open to Dem’s scent so we won’t have time to be looking for any crummy painting piece…” 188

“I’ll do it, I’ll go along with Acel’s plan but I do want someone to tag along.” Ilario agreed. He surveyed the group: Emil; no, he hates me. Lola; Uh, death wish? Damien; I can’t stand and I have to go on a quest with him so how about I try to stay away from him as much as possible. Acel; he’s the one leading this whole ruse so he’s out of the question. The last person who could possibly go with him is Tommie. 189

“But, I want Tommie, she’s the only available one or the only one I wouldn’t mind.”190

Acel resisted the urge to let out an exasperated groan, instead settling on rolling his eyes. Waving his hand, he sighed. "Fine, fine. Tommie will go with you. Emil and I will search for Nicodemus –good God, what am I saying?- and Damien and…" He looked around the group and shrugged before continuing. "Damien and Lola will make sure there is no evidence of this ever happening."191

"Oooh, stuck with the violent loony." Ilario patted Damien on the shoulder. "Be careful. I wouldn't want to report to the Council that another person got killed by Lola."192

Damien swallowed and gave a nervous chuckle. He glanced over to Lola, who smiled back, cracking her knuckles. He put the cup over his mouth and said something that came out muffled. By the expression on his face, it wasn't a cheer of happiness.193

The three pairs split. The zombies went to the neighborhood to check out if they could see any trail to Dem. Ilario, thinking for a second, crouched down and slapped Verlyn on one cheek. It wasn't hard, just enough to make an efficient smacking sound. There was a groan in response but nothing more. Rolling his eyes, Ilario held Verlyn's nose. Thirty seconds later, he was awake, gasping for air.194

"Here." Ilario slipped off his sweatshirt and threw it to him.195

Verlyn caught it, looked around, and his cheeks grew red at his audience. "Turn around," he grumbled. The others quickly did so. He pulled on the sweatshirt, which came down a little below his knees, and got up. The motion was too fast and sudden for his head and sent sharp pain to his ribs. He staggered, trying to regain his balance. Ilario caught him right before he fell.196

"C'mon," he said, jabbing his thumb to the direction they were to go. "Before Lola decides to use you as a punching bag again."197

Looking over his shoulder, Verlyn shuddered and followed after with Tommie right behind him. 198

Grass torn out from the roots, a tree with the bark peeling off from a quick swipe of a giant paw, and drops of blood highlighted against the shine of the moon. There was also the fur which lay on the ground looking like a shaggy blanket.199

"Okay, Jeeves, get to work," Lola ordered, clapping her hands together.200

"What?" Damien looked around. "Aren't you going to help?"201

She laughed. "Oh, that's a good one. C'mon now, stop slacking." Cracking her knuckles again, she grinned.202

Damien scrambled forward.203

There was no sign of any vampire activity as far as they could tell. Even if Nicodemus was good at covering up his tracks, he left careless mistakes – or maybe they were intentional. One couldn't know with the vampire. No hints of struggle, not even the barest drop of blood along the pavement. Being as hungry as he'd been, there would be larger hints and messy clean ups; but nothing was out of the ordinary as far as they could see.204

"It is most likely he went to town," Acel said at last, coming to a halt. "And I do not find the need to go so far for someone I do not even classify as a friendly acquaintance."205

"So vhy did ve bother?" Emil asked, raising an eyebrow.206

"Their stupidity was making my IQ drop several points," he replied.207

"Ah, I know the feeling." He looked around. "Since there is obviously no point on staying here, shall ve go back?"208

Glancing over his shoulder, Acel shrugged. “I can see the point in that…”209

“Good, shall ve?” Emil happily turned on his heel and headed back.210

Giving one last look around Acel sighed then followed his fellow zombie.211

Verlyn took a wary look at Tommie and Ilario. Tommie looked the worst and stayed a good few feet behind which made Verlyn very uncomfortable and left a guilty knot in his throat that he couldn’t dislodge. She had a gash, that wasn’t very deep, that ran down her arm which separated the cloth of her jacket and some others in different spots on her body like her neck and right leg. On her head were some bruises and scratches that wouldn’t take as long as the gashes to heal.212

Once she noticed him she gave a wary smile then immediately looked away. Ilario was scratch free except from the slight red mark on his face that had nothing to do with the earlier events.213

“Tommie,” Verlyn didn’t look her in the eye but turned his head slightly. “I’m sorry…”214

“I-it’s alright, it was my f-fault.” Tommie stuttered as she kept an eye on the ragged teen.215

“Yep, you and Dem just had to snap and…what exactly did you two do?” Ilario stopped realizing that he had no idea what had caused the horrid happening only that since Verlyn had attacked Tommie and Dem, it had to be their fault.216

“Uh, hehe, funny you should ask,” Tommie laughed weakly as she scratched her head. “We, uh, drank from his friends, that’s what set him off.”217

“Smart-ass…” Ilario shook his head then glanced up to the stars. 218

“C’mon, work slave, work.” Lola snapped and invisible whip. “What am I paying you for.”219

“You aren’t paying me anything.” Damien grumbled as he sent the fur in the air then setting in flames with the flick of a finger.220

“Oooh, I liked that…” Lola stared at the flamed pelt in the air that only lasted for five seconds. “Lemme try…” Standing up, she looked for a target. Finally, settling on a tree, she put her forefinger to her chin as she thought for a minute. Nodding, she pointed to it then sent an arrow shaped object causing it to burn in black flame that reached as high as the tip of the trees.221

Damien stared in disbelief for a second then a competitive grin spread across his face. “Is the best you got, girlie?” 222

“Girlie? Them is fighting words, you disfigured gopher.”223

“Ha! Is the best you got?” Damien’s eyes grew wide as he grinned amusingly. “Now, are we going to fight with words, fists, or magic?”224

“Hmm, I could so beat you in the last two options…” Lola thought for a minute, “So, I’ll let you try your luck with words.”225

Damien groaned since he was hoping she would say fists but at the same time was relieved she didn’t choose magic, he would surely end up in the infirmary at Mystery Shades. “Fine, what’s the rules?”226

“Why do I have to choose?” 227

“Because, haven’t you ever heard the term, “Ladies first?” He mused.228

“Ugh, fine…” Lola moaned. “I want a “Yo Momma” contest.”229

“A what now?” Damien shook his head in confusion. “Isn’t that like a…game or something?”230

“No, they’re like jokes…only more, insulting.” Lola grinned slowly as she looked Damien in the eyes.231

“Fine, what are the rules then.” 232

“You have to be insulting, like… Yo momma is so fat, that she classified her feet as a missing person.”233

“What!? I’ll have you know that my mother was a well respected woman.” He fumed. “She always knew how to take care of my family and I! And she wasn’t fat!!”234

Lola groaned and rolled her eyes, “NO! Are you like an escapee from the Happy Home?! I wasn’t necessarily talking about your mother, I was talking about Yo’s mother.”235

“Oh…hey, wait. No you weren’t.”236

“So, it’s just a joke, get over it.” Lola scoffed, “Now, can we get this thing on the road?”237

“Well, who are we supposed to find who can judge us? And it can’t be a human.” Damien warned as he pointed a rigid finger at Lola.238

“No dip, Sherlock; ‘Yeah, let’s get us a human!’” Lola turned to an invisible person to her right then to her left, “’Okay!’” “Hey! You, un-expecting human, yeah, you with the face! Want to judge two vampires as they make fun of each other’s moms?!’” “’Sure! I’d love to help!”239

“Fine, I was just making sure…” Damien turned away and began looking for someone who could fit the “non-human” type.240

“How about him,” Damien pointed to a scraggly man that was missing a shoe. He was sprawled out on a mat near one of the fallen trees. Damien and Lola noticed a dirty brown bag that was supposed to be a hat, a long jacket that was two times as big as it was supposed to be, gray fingerless gloves and when he opened his mouth there were several teeth missing.241

“Well, he’s obviously not human…” Lola pointed out the missing middle and pinkie toe and his abnormal gray skin.242

“Obviously.” Damien and Lola gave each other a weird look before they slowly walked over to where he was laying.243

“Ish youse durr repair man to repairs durr tele?” His voice was slurred like he drank too much rum. The smell that came from his breath told that it was alcohol that affected his speech. Or maybe he just spoke like that 24/7. His finger pointed to Damien, who wore an incredulous look on his face.244

“Uh, no, I’m not.” He looked around. “And what television?”245

The hobo gave a slightly maniacal laugh. “Youse jush wanch to wash it fo’ youshelf.”246

“Yeah… anyway, do you mind doing something for us?” Lola asked.247

“Youse ish not gonna make Dill sha-cha in ah dressh like durr Shwedens dish to Dill, ish youse?” He narrowed his eyes but the threatening look in them didn’t succeed when his eyes crossed.248

“Uh…no?” Damien shrugged and looked at Lola who was smiling.249

“No, we need you to judge our contest.” Lola corrected.250

“Are you…like, a zombie?” 251

“Yesh, yesh, Dill ish durr zombie. Dill worked for durr shome surserer, Anshrew Po…”252

“O’Hara?” Lola corrected, raising her eyebrows.253

“Him?! He’s too drunk all the time, and I only met him once, what happened?”254

“He gosh mad at Dill fo’ shtaking hish brown wahder,” Dill answered. He pulled off the bag from his head and took the bottle from where it had been resting. “Shee?”255

“That’s rum, not “brown water.” Damien took the bottle from him and smelt it.256

When the bottle left the bum, his eyes began to twitch then he disappeared from sight.257

“What the- where in the hell did he go?” Damien looked around then jolted as he felt his left shoe become a bit snug.258

“Hey, I think I got something in my- HOLY-SOMETHING’S EATING MY TOE!!” He tore off his shoe and began swinging it around like a mad man. “I FOUND HIM!!! GET HIM OFF, GET HIM OFF!!!”259

“Hehe, yeah, right.” Lola stood back and watched as Damien tried to pry off the now shrunken zombie.260

“HE WON’T COME OFF!! OH DEAR LORD, IT BURNS!!” 261

The zombie tried to say something but it was muffled. Damien frantically looked for something to either knock him off of kill him. Settling on a stick, he grasped it in his grip and whacked at the hobo. 262

“IT’S NOT WORKING!! AGH, HE’S BITING THROUGH THE SOCK!!” 263

“Then take off the sock,” Lola simply stated.264

“THEN MY FLESH WILL COME OFF TOO!” Damien pointed to the wiggling figure.265

“And, it’s not like you won’t heal.”266

“I vonder vhat is happening to the others.” Emil kicked at a rock with his hands in his pockets.267

“They are most likely lost or deceased.” Acel stated, which suddenly brought a grin to his colorless face. 268

“Ah, do not make me dream…” Emil grinned.269

“Hey, isn’t that Dem?” Verlyn pointed to the figure sitting on the couch in the living room of Ilario’s house. “And, if that’s Dem, who’s the girl beside him?” 270

“Hey, she doesn’t look alive.” Tommie giggled. “…Wait, the only other girl that could be in the house is…”271

“YUMI!” Ilario finished the sentence for her and sped to his house followed by the other two.272

Ilario jumped over his chair and ottoman all together and stretched his arm out for Dem’s neck. 273

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!” Ilario’s eyes burned with rage.274

“What are you talking about?” Dem’s expression didn’t change although there was a slight tint of pain that was most likely just from his arm.275

“Ilario Russell, put him down, he’s hurt! Can you not see his arm?!” Yumi stood from her spot on the sofa, not even the tiniest of scratches was on her body.276

Dem’s arm was popped back in place and only left a deep gash and blood stains running down the sleeve and arm of his shirt. Of course, his jacket remained perfectly intact and spotless on the couch beside of where he was seated.277

“Oh, but your shadow in the window…” Ilario began but let his voice drop an octave as he realized that Yumi’s motionless silhouette meant that she was cleaning his wound.278

“Ugh, Ilario, sometimes you are just to, over protective.” Yumi put her hand over her eyes and shook her head.279

“Seriously, dad,” Jenny sauntered out of the kitchen with a sandwich that she was nibbling on. “Cole took the others home.”280

“So, you mean that Acel and Emil are wandering around town looking for someone who isn’t even missing?” Tommie pointed out.281

“I guess.” Verlyn sheepishly answered. He began to overlook Dem who was eyeing him from a far. Dem’s state caused the other memories to creep in which made Verlyn shutter.282

“Well, Ilario, what was the whole point of me being stuffed into my room?” Yumi tapped her foot with her arms folded over her chest. Her eyes narrowed to where they looked like she was trying to sleep.283

“Uh, so you wouldn’t ruin the…uh… surprise we had for you!” Ilario quickly lied.284

“Surprise? What surprise?” Yumi relaxed and the hatred turned to confusion.285

“Yeah, uh, Tommie! Would please explain the surprise that we all planed?” 286

“Me?! Why me?!” Tommie jumped when Ilario called her name since she was in a daze as she stared at Dem. “She’s your wife! You should be the one explaining!”287

“Yes, but it was your idea!” Ilario grinned falsely while at the same time his hands twitched as they drew close to where his knifes where held.288

“Would one of you please explain,” Yumi whined, her eyes wide with both excitement and curiosity. “All this not telling is making me grow anxious!”289

Dem rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated groan, “They were just planning a surprise party as a “Thank you” for your kind hospitality.” Dem let a wide, yet phony, grin spread across his face when he was really in shock at the words, “kind” and “hospitality”. He was trying to covering up for himself too.290

“OH! Gee, thanks you two! So, where are the other three?” Yumi grinned as she inspected the small number that was present at the time in comparison to the significant amount of people earlier.291

“Uh, they went in search of a girl who was supposed to be here earlier,” Tommie fibbed as she remembered Lola, this way would be a much better way than explaining the strange black haired hair girl later on.292

“Oh, yeah,” Ilario breathed a sigh of relief at the instant explanation that Tommie had given, that would make things go a lot smoother between him and his wife. “You’ll love her, hon. She really likes Japanese cooking!” 293

“Really?!” Yumi beamed, “Well, in that case, we better not let her be disappointed! I better head in there and start cooking! I hope I’ll have enough for the whole group!”294

“Yeah, you had better hurry, mom. They could be here any minute!” Jenny hurried, “They seemed really excited earlier about the whole thing!”295

“DEAR GOD!” Damien had moved from whacking his foot to slamming it on a tree stump. “You know what…”296

Damien grabbed his shoe, mumbled something, then ripped it off which was then followed by a howl of agony. “He has my flesh in his jaws!! He really is a zombie!”297

“Oh, don’t be such a big baby…” Wrapping her two fingers around the zombie then, with her other hand she grasped the flesh and gently took it from the jaws of the miniature creature. “There, here. Not like you need it or anything…”298

“Ugh,” Damien groaned as he winced when he began putting the blood stained sock and his shoe back on. “I now have an internal hatred for zombies, especially compact ones.”299

“So, shall we have the contest?” Lola grinned.300

“ARE YOU INSANE?!” Damien roared, “ I was just attacked by a pocket sized zombie hobo!! I’m not having a contest!”301

“Maybe some other time?” Lola cocked her head.302

Sighing, Damien ran his hand threw his hair and looked up, “Yeah, sure…”303