Little Women and Little Vampires

Jo was the first to wake up that sundown even as her sisters slept deeply in their beds, exhausted by the previous night’s labors. Quietly, she slipped out of bed, put on her petticoats and overskirt before finally fastening on a suit of periwinkle silk. Tonight, she felt certain, was her night. She was very determined that, by midnight, finally, she’d slay her first vampire. 1

Sneaking down the stairs, she felt as though her heart would explode in terror when she saw a figure lurking in front of the dim embers in the fireplace. A second, closer inspection, however, proved that the figure was merely Mother, still awake and wrapped in her favorite shawl to stay off the chill of early autumn. 2

“Marmee! Goodness, you almost scared me to death,” Jo cried, forgetting that her sisters were still asleep. 3

“Quiet, dear.” Mother held a finger to her lips. Jo immediately felt ashamed. Ever since the vampire scourge had attacked Beth during her recovery from scarlet fever, her sister had needed all the rest she could get. Vampire bites drained a person of their vitality and essence of life. Three bites meant death and Beth had, to the March family’s great sorrow, already been bitten twice. 4

“Sorry, Marmee,” Jo whispered.5

“What are you doing up this late, Jo? You should be tired from all the work you did.” 6

Yesterday night, all of the March family, young Amy included, joined the Laurences and the Brooks to help fight off an attack against the poor Hummel family in town. The Hummels, having not even enough money to afford a spare clove of garlic or wooden cross, took shelter in their ramshackle house, barely keeping the bloodthirsty fiends at bay before their neighbors could arrive. Armed with torches, crucifixes, and, from a gift from Aunt March, a vial of holy water blessed by the pope, they had managed to save the Hummels from a terrible fate. The struggle had taken all night, however, and by the time that dawn came up and the few remaining vampires had scurried to their hiding places, all of the involved parties were overcome with fatigue. 7

“When I woke up, Marmee, I got this wonderful idea,” Jo said, terribly excited even as she kept her voice down out of consideration for her sisters. “The vampires must be hiding somewhere. There can’t be too many left now – we killed most of them last night. But before the attack, there had been a great many of them. I was thinking of the potential places big enough where they could hide.” 8

Mother pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders. “And where would that be?” 9

“The old Davis mansion!” Jo cried. “It’s been abandoned since the Davises fled to Rome. The windows are all boarded up, so the sunlight would not come through to harm them, and it’s far enough away from the church that the sound of the holy bells wouldn’t hurt a vampire’s fiendish ears. It’s the perfect place to look!” 10

Mother nodded sagely. “That certainly sounds logical, but what were you doing sneaking downstairs by yourself?” 11

Jo paused, looking down at the floor as a feeling of shame flowed over her. “I was going to go slay the rest of the vampires. That way, the town will be free from the undead menace, the Hummels will be forever safe, and Beth will...Beth will...” 12

“Oh, Jo,” Mother said, holding out her arms. Jo rushed to her and was comforted by Mother’s warming embrace. “With the grace of God and our vigilance, Beth will be fine. I am more worried about my brave, impetuous Jo. Even if the fiends are injured, my little girl is no match for a pack of vampires.” 13

“But with Father gone to war, I’m the man of the house now! Father said!” Jo protested. 14

“Even so, in this house we are a family,” Mother reminded her. “And that means that we have a duty to each other. If you had gotten killed tonight, think of how sad your sisters would be. Think of how upset I would be, and your father when he comes back from the war.” 15

Jo had never felt so low. “I’m sorry, Marmee,” she whispered. “I didn’t think everything through. I only wanted to slay vampires. I didn’t think of my family at all.” She sighed gustily. “I guess the vampires will live to torment our town yet another day.” 16

Mother smiled, then, and in the dim light from the fireplace, she looked both beautiful and fearsome. “I beg to differ,” she said. 17

The next morning, with the strengthening sunbeams shining down upon them, all five Marches, even little Amy who struggled to keep her heavy torch upright, stormed the Davis house, burning it to the ground with the hissing vampires still trapped inside. 18

That was how Jo learned a valuable lesson: the family that slays together, stays together.19