Vampire Story-Part 2

Derrick’s home sat on the edge of the town, covered by trees. The darkness of the forestry kept it hidden from the peering eyes of the townspeople. No visitors ever passed through the entrance gate and no one was ever seen leaving the house. A large gate stood alone and rusted at the front of a gravel stone path. The gardens along the path were well tended to, supporting beautiful flowers, although the house did not pay for a gardener. The house itself was large, nearly a mansion. Several of windows aligned the sides of the house, but they were covered by think vines that wound along the old brick. Covered by the darkness of the trees and vines the house had an old, abandoned appearance to it. The townspeople heeded the unspoken warning such a haunted house exclaimed and stayed clear if its grounds.
         The house was only a ten minute drive from the town, five minutes by flight. Derrick easily made his way through the star lit sky, swooping beneath the clouds when he knew he was near his home. It was in fact his home, more of a home than anywhere else he had resided in through his vampire years. He had lived there for over a century and watched the town change as he and his home stayed the same. Now, catching sight of the place he was able to call his own filled him with relief. Soon he and the girl would be safe inside the walls of the house, away from the danger of being spotted by a nighttime stroller. In his house he was master of every event that went on, and so it would be with this new arrival.
         A passing bat brought forth a new thought, one that sent a spike of fear running along his spine once more. Derrick had no idea what he was going to do with the girl now that he had her. He would obviously have to keep a careful eye on her to keep her from trouble. He could not keep her drugged and unconscious the duration of her stay, although that would have been the easiest plan. No, he would let her live the last days of her life the best she could while being held captive in a house from a horror movie.
         Still, keeping an eye on the girl was not Derrick’s main concern. His concern rested on Annabel, his vampire companion and house mate. Annabel was new to vampirism and her lust for blood was not yet containable. Although she was learning to maintain her thirst while secluded from the smell of pure blood, just a whiff of the desirable scent would be more than his young friend would be able to handle. Giving Annabel any indication that he was hiding an innocent human in the house would mean certain death for the girl within an instant. Derrick realized he would have to hide the girl, keeping her scent far away from Annabel. Hiding her would be for her own good and the good of Annabel’s training in resisting the temptation.
         Derrick hovered above the house, skimming along the night sky. He concentrated once again on his hearing, paying no attention to any of his other senses. He found this time it was harder to release his sense of touch. The warmth and tenderness of the girl in his arms fought for his attention, and it took more will power than usual to let the sensation fade. The house below was silent, even to his superb hearing. This was a sign that Annabel was still out on her hunt, and would hopefully be gone for a long time. Since she was newer at the craft her experience in hunting was not as excelled and she found it harder to track the appropriate prey. Derrick hoped that this would be one of the harder nights for her, which would give him more time to settle in his new guest. Finding the coast clear, and not hearing Annabel anywhere within five miles of the house he landed easily on the ground in front of a pair of grand doors. Shifting the girl’s weight in his arms he opened the doors, entering the dark house.
         The house was pitch black which was not unusual. Although they did have electricity the two vampires found no need for lights. Their eyes were well adjusted to the dark which they preferred over blinding light. The darkness gave the hall a haunted presence, which seemingly fit the owners. Derrick did not pause a moment to look at his surroundings, knowing his way through the hall by heart. Without a moments hesitation he headed towards the large staircase at the end of the hall, which wound through each of the floors of the house.
          On his journey up Derrick could not help but take notice of the artwork along the walls. The walls were lined with hundreds of paintings, one for each decade Derrick had passed through. The paintings where a symbol of the lives Derrick has seen and the points in history he had passed through. Over the years he had accumulated paintings from artists as famous as Picasso to those who were not as well known. To him it was a way to remember what he had seen and to never forget the history he had experienced.
         Derrick reached the top of the stairs, coming to the highest level of the house. A sudden movement from in his arms drew his attention back to the girl he was holding. He had not realized how much time had passed since he has taken her from her house. As she moved a bit more it occurred to him that he did not have much time until she woke up. He moved at his natural speed, which was three times that of a human, towards the farthest room in the hallway.
         As he entered the room the girl began to mumble and fidget more in his arms. He made his way towards the bed, looking around the room as he went. It was a dark room, the shades were all drawn which let no light in. This room was one of the many guest bedrooms the house contained and the first to be occupied while Derrick lived there. It was lightly furnished, and held a queen sized, canopy bed in the center of it. It was one of the nicer guest bedrooms, although it was tucked away in the back of the house never to be used.
         Derrick was placing the girl upon the bed when her eyes opened. He watched them, noticing they were a beautiful shade of sparkling green. He watched her scan the room in confusion, her brow furrowed in concentration. He knew she was trying to remember what had happened and where she was. He only had to wait a moment until realization hit her. Her eyes rested on him and it seemed he could see the memories flash through them. Once the sense of understanding had passed he watched panic rise within her as her face returned to a shade of pale white. She opened her mouth, silently for a moment as if she was too terrified to speak. Then she let lose a shriek of terror. The scream was nothing compared to the one she had released when she had witnessed Derrick’s feeding. This one was much more chilling and spine tingling, and seemed to go on forever. For a moment he wondered how a body that needed oxygen was able to shriek so long without taking a breath. Derrick grimaced and placed a firm hand over her mouth, muffling the scream.
         “Shh....Do not panic. Please, be quiet.”
         Derrick did his best to keep his voice calm, although a tone of impatience clipped through. His patience, the small amount he ever had, was waning as the girl continued to scream through his hand. She was wriggling under his grasp so furiously that Derrick had the urge to move his hand to her thin neck. A simple grip on her throat would put a quick halt to her scream. Yet he was not ready to kill her, so he resisted. Instead he gritted his teeth and gave the girl a cold stare, his tolerance absent.
         “If you do not cease these shrieks of panic I will kill you now. Be silent now. Understood?”
         The girl immediately went limp, her screams silenced in midair. She looked at Derrick with scared eyes. He knew that he could not tell her to wipe the fear from eyes, although he wished he could. Although he killed people for food weekly the look of terror plastered on this girl’s face hit him in a place he did not know still existed inside of him. He shook his head, knowing he could not begin to feel sorry for her. He could not have an attachment to any of his future meals, or he would later regret the feast.
         Derrick watched the girl with distant eyes, peering at her closely. It was as if he was reading her, and yet lost in his own thoughts. He was forced to return to the reality of the situation when he felt a cool liquid caressing the hand that was still pressed over her lips. He immediately looked to the source of the wetness and saw silent tears streaming down the girls cheeks. He quickly released her mouth from his hand in an attempt to remove himself from feeling her fear and pain.
         He met her eyes and through the tears brimming them he could have sworn he saw anger reflected beyond the sadness. This shocked Derrick, although he covered his emotion with a blank expression. He wondered if she was angry at him for taking her and putting her through the torment she was enduring, or herself for letting him see the tears of fear and sorrow. Derrick tore his eyes away from hers before she could read the confusion in them. He stood up, leaving her to lie on the bed, turning his back from the sight of the distressed girl. It was the sound of a meager voice coming from behind him that forced him to whip around in a flash.
         “I know you.” The girl’s voice was soft, still filled with fear but the tears has stopped as quickly as they had begun. “You’re one of the Brokers.”
         Derrick raised an eyebrow and peered at her in amazement. Somehow this girl knew who he and his family were without hardly a word being spoken between them. He could not help but wonder how much she could know about his family, although it could not be much. When his entire family had lived in this small town they had stayed secluded, away from the curiosity of the townspeople. This girl could not know more than the blase rumors, most which were not factual. The only part of the story the townspeople had correct was the part they hardly dared to believe, that every member of the Broker family was a blood drinker.
         “Yes. I am Derrick Broker, and the only Broker remaining in this town.”
         “I know. You live here with that women, Annabel.”
         Her voice was still somewhat shaky, but he noticed it grew in confidence as she spoke about what she knew. It seemed she was proud to be so informed on the ways of the Broker family, although she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Her tone also gave away another emotion she was feeling. Derrick found himself thinking that it was possibly fascination. It was inconceivable that someone would find his family fascinating. The town looked upon his very name with horror, and yet here was this girl, barely on the age of womanhood, who was apparently amazed by the horrors his family entailed.
         “You’re apparently very well informed about my family and me and yet I know nothing about you. Can I at least know your name?”
         He flashed her a smile that he hoped was warm. Over the years he had learned to perfect his smile to carefully conceal his fangs. Even though he was able to hide his fangs his smile was far from ordinary. His teeth sparkled white, and his smile was so perfect it could melt any female’s heart. He smile never failed to relax his prey, and it had the same effect in his current situation. He watched her relax, and her muscles release some of the tension. When she spoke her voice was no longer shaky and was a little louder.
         “I”m Erin....Erin Stewart. I’ve heard a lot about you and your family and I’ve seen you around town sometimes at night.”
         Her surname was not familiar to Derrick, but then again he was not familiar with many of the townspeople. He did not recall ever seeing this peculiar girl before, although she seemed have seen him on several occasions. As he looked at her he realized that Erin held an air of mystery that he might never be able to uncover in the week before her death. A small part of him seemed sad that it would miss learning these secrets, but of course it was just his thirst for knowledge peeping through.
         The sound of a door slam from the first floor was another reminder of the reality surrounding Derrick. The sound was so distant Derrick was positive that Erin could not have heard it. Only his advanced hearing allowed him to catch minute sounds such as the door. To Erin there was only the sound of the two of them in this quiet room, but to him he could hear the sound of Annabel exploring the house in search of him. It occurred to him that Annabel would not think to look in this section of the house on her own. Instead she would strain her hearing to find him.
         Annabel’s sense of hearing was not nearly as developed as Derrick’s was because she had been a vampire for a lesser time than he. Instead she was forced to concentrate fully on her hearing, something she did not do often. Annabel’s disability would prove to be convenient in keeping Erin hidden. As long as Derrick made sure that Annabel did not stretch her sense of hearing, Erin would be safe from being discovered. This meant that Derrick would have to be on constant alert, making sure he was present whenever Annabel needed him. This could be a strain on him, but it was not for long. He was sure he could keep up with his new guest and his house mate at the same time.
         “Annabel as returned. I have to go see her. Stay here and stay quiet.” He followed Erin’s eyes as they darted towards the window and chuckled. “Don’t even think about it. That window is three stories above the ground. Attempting to escape through there would be certain death.”
         With that Derrick nodded towards her and turned swiftly around. He made his way towards the door with nothing else to say to the girl he was holding captive. As he reached the door he looked over his shoulder at the scared girl cowering on the bed. He tried to smile kindly, a feat that was not easy under the present circumstances.
         ‘Go to sleep. I promise I will not hurt you tonight.”
         With those final words he closed the door behind him, locking it. He did not believe that Erin would be as careless as to attempt escape through the door but he was not going to take any chances either. He could not risk her wandering through the house only to come upon Annabel. Instead he locked the door for her own safety. He thought about the girl occupying the guest bedroom as he made his way down the steps. He had not lied to Erin. He would not kill her that night. He would not actually kill her for nearly a week.
          It would take several days for his appetite to return to him. Derrick had trained himself to limit his feeding to once a week. This was an action he had taken in order to preserve the population of the small town and to keep suspicions from arising at a constant stream of death. Remembering how small of a town he lived in he wondered what would happen when Erin was discovered missing. He decided to put the thoughts from his mind for the moment. Derrick had enough to handle within the household. Outside matters would wait, right now his concentration was on his sister, who was standing directly in front of him.