The Vampire Keeper (24 page)

Jezalyn let the page slide out of her fingertips, as she grabbed the back of her neck. She went still as a wave of nausea swept over her and fear set in. Jumping out of the bed, she fumbled through the papers for her phone. Jezalyn paced back and forth, trying to cope with the unbelievable circumstance she found herself in. “Vampires can’t be real, they just can’t.” As the phone rang and rang, she thought,
Come on answer, where are you?

Finally, she heard his voice, “Hey, Babe!”

Her voice cracked as she responded, “Hey.”

“Are you okay?”

“No,” said Jezalyn grabbing her suitcase out of the closet and launching it onto the bed. “I believe you! Vampires are real! I am too scared to go downstairs; can you come pick me up?”

She heard a level of concern enter Blaise’s voice as he asked, “What’s wrong. Did Larkin threaten you?”

“Larkin! No! Why would he threaten me?”

“Didn’t he tell you he was a vampire?”

“No! I was talking about Julius. Larkin’s a vampire, too?”

“Do not invite them in.”

“Them? You knew they were vampires?”

“Well… just don’t invite them in.”

When Blaise got no response, he reiterated with the most serious tone he could muster, “Jezalyn, are you listening to me? It is imperative that you do not invite them into your apartment.”

“I won’t,” replied Jezalyn frantically throwing clothes into her suitcase.

“I am about an hour away; don’t leave the apartment until I get there.”

“Alright,” mumbled Jezalyn peering at her watch as the line went dead. It was a quarter after five, and only about an hour of day light remained. She closed the suitcase and sat down next to it trying to process the information. For thirty minutes, her mind raced around the facts until she finally concluded that Larkin and Julius were vampires, and Blaise knew it. Not to mention the latter claimed to be a vampire hunter.

Finally she thought,
Wait! Blaise knew that Larkin and Julius were vampires and yet he didn’t warn me! Can I really trust him?
And with that notion, paranoia set in.
Perhaps, I’ll test him. If he is not one of them, then he will not be able to enter, seeing how I never invited him up. But, what if they are all working together? The only people that have been up here are Ana, Wyler, and Larkin. Larkin, I can’t believe I let him in. He can’t be a vampire, but… Blaise said… he must be. I am not safe here, I can’t wait… I need to get out of here—Now!

Jezalyn grabbed her partially filled suitcase, ran downstairs and out the door to her car, where she threw it into the trunk. She recklessly backed up nearly hitting another car and sped away without even so much as an apologetic wave or nod. Jezalyn pointed her vehicle in the one direction she had felt safe all her life, home. Jezalyn was on the road less than fifteen minutes when her phone rang, it was Blaise, but she did not answer. She let it go to voicemail since she felt like she could no longer trust him or anyone.

Blaise calmly spoke as he left her a message. “Hey, I am here. Come on down or if you’re too scared, I can come up.” He punched the dash as he hung up, realizing he had not brought much of the gear required for a vampire fight. Blaise had left Monroe ill-prepared because he was overwrought with concern for Jezalyn’s immediate safety, so when she did not answer or come down, he did not barge in confident and unannounced. Instead, Blaise snuck up to the shop door and lightly pulled. Amazed to find it unlocked, he slipped through and quietly tiptoed up the stairs only to find Jezalyn’s apartment empty. Nervous for her whereabouts, he hurried back downstairs so fast that he stumbled on the last stair and fell. The loud thud stirred Larkin and in a flash, he was upstairs helping Blaise to his feet.

“What are you doing here?” demanded Larkin.

Blaise yanked his arm away from Larkin, and Blaise helped himself to his feet. “I am here because Jezalyn called me frightened. She knows about you—vampires, and somebody named…”

Larkin ran upstairs glanced around and was back standing in front of Blaise holding several sheets of paper before Blaise had a chance to complete his sentence, “… and now she is gone.”

Larkin glared at Blaise wildly, “You exposed us? I thought we decided it was in her best interest to keep her innocence intact.”

“No, she already knew when she called; I might have inadvertently confirmed it. Who is this Julius? Do you think he grabbed her?”

“She does not have to worry about Julius; he is far from interested in her. Besides, he is still downstairs. ”

Blaise held his ears as Larkin bellowed in a deep animalistic growl for Wyler, and seconds later Ana and Wyler appeared before them. With alarmed faces, both simultaneously asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Jezalyn, she is gone.”

Wyler gawked at Blaise in fright, “Do you know where she went?”

“If I did, would I be standing here talking to you?” responded Blaise in a rather haughty tone.

Larkin’s body jerked forward then backward, but too quick for the human eye to notice the preemptive attack. They only saw a flinch as if he may have stumbled a bit, “Watch how you speak to us, boy.”

Wyler was trying to defuse the situation and with one hand up he said, “It’s alright, I am sure he didn’t mean any disrespect. I am sure Blaise is just as concerned about Jezalyn.”

“And with good rights he ought to be,” said Ana.

“What does that mean?” requested Blaise as a wave of uneasiness took over.

“Theron!” said Larkin.

Wyler glanced over, “Has the potion wore off yet, can you sense or hear either of them?”

“Wait, what do you mean—sense?” interjected Blaise, but they ignored him. He watched as Larkin closed his eyes and after a while his eyes reopened, and he shook his head no.

“Great, we have lost her,” was Ana’s response, and she began to weep.

“Ana, go get a bag of blood; it might counteract the blocking potion.” Ana, wiping the tears from her face, did as they requested and rushed back with a few bags in hand. Blaise grimaced at the sight of Larkin downing the bag of blood the way a frat brother would a keg of beer. When he had finished, he closed his eyes again. Blood ran down the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the chest of his shirt.

“Anything,” said Wyler.

“No!”

“Perhaps, you need fresh blood,” called out a voice deep in the shadows. Ana held her arms clenched tightly to her chest remembering the repercussions of last night’s ordeal.

“Who’s there? Make yourself visible!” demanded Blaise in a defensive stance.

Wyler answered his question, “It is Julius; he cannot emerge. He is bound by the light to darkness.”

“Which will be for only ten more minutes,” inserted Julius playfully.

“Ana’s blood did heighten my connection to Theron last time, although it also jumbled up my thoughts as well.”

“That wouldn’t happen this time, if they were not alive to interrupt your thoughts,” concluded Julius inaudibly directing the statement toward Blaise. Ignoring Julius’s comment, Ana held out her arm revealing several bite impressions.

“It’s worth a try,” said Ana.

“No,” said Wyler and pushed her back before exposing his own wrist. Larkin grabbed his arm, sank his fangs in, and drank. Although Larkin tried to pierce the skin with as little pain as possible, Wyler still flinched and the sight of the whole experience sent Blaise running upstairs to seek refuge in Jezalyn’s apartment. Larkin released Wyler, closed his eyes and tried to reconnect once again with Jezalyn.

“It is unclear,” said Larkin as he opened his eyes silently taking note to the absence of Blaise’s presence.

Julius stood next to Larkin and with a teasing tone, he announced to anyone that would listen, “Maybe it was eight minutes, a minute too late to get my hands around that chicken’s neck.”

“Perhaps, it is good that he ran,” said Ana not advocating violence.

Julius peered at her for a moment before he said, “Or perhaps, Larkin should go up and quench his thirst so that we can find Jezalyn before Theron finds her.”

Ana shrieked at the thought, but Larkin agreed with Julius. Although he knew Julius was playing the emotion card to get him to do his bidding, it worked. Larkin and Julius flew upstairs and rapped on the door, but there was no answer, so Julius kicked the door off the hinges. It only took one extension of the leg and the door flew back, hit the wall, and eventually rested catty corner in the couch.

“I know you cannot come in, so what do you want?” said Blaise pushing his phone back into his pocket.

“We request a small donation to help find Jezalyn,” responded Julius.

“You already tried that with Wyler. If it did not work then, there is no reason to suspect it would work now,” replied Blaise.

Larkin held out his hands in an inviting manner, “If my brother gets a hold of her, she will definitely die. Are you not willing to risk a little blood to save her life?”

Blaise pulled at his face and fidgeted with his clothes, as he paced back and forth, “No. I called for backup. Once I am out, I will save her from all of you.”

Julius made the sound of a buzzer, “Wrong answer.”

“Enough of this!” blurted out Larkin.

“I will not and do not invite you in,” said Blaise laughing aloud.

“True. I never received an invitation,” said Julius, “but Larkin has.”

Before Blaise knew it, he found himself clutched in Larkin’s mighty grasp. Blaise struggled against the restraint even after having knifed Larkin in the side, the vampire’s grip did not loosen as he plunged his tiny but lethal daggers into his shoulder; it was in that moment that Blaise realized he was too powerless to escape. With every violent thrash, Blaise made, more blood gushed into Larkin’s mouth causing Larkin to guzzled faster and faster until Blaise went limp in his arms. After releasing his limp body, Larkin pulled a short serrated pocketknife out of his left side and closed his eyes.

Larkin opened his eyes and cracked his neck to the side before he announced, “Let’s go, the hunters will be here soon.” They zipped back downstairs and stressed the importance of their immediate departure, “Quick, we have to go!”

Ana ran to the car, “Did you find Jezalyn?”

“Wyler, did you get the bag?” asked Larkin ignoring Ana.

Larkin glanced at Julius, and he nodded. “Put this thing in drive; they will soon be upon us!” he shouted.

“Who?” replied both Wyler and Ana?

“Hunters,” responded Julius with an enlightened grin. As they sped off, Ana noticed in her rearview mirror several trucks pulling in the bookstore parking lot.

“Drive normally so they don’t suspect anything,” said Larkin.

They drove silently west for a while before Larkin directed them south.

“So you did find Jezalyn,” asked Ana again as she turned south.

“No!” replied Larkin, “but I found Theron.”

Fear enveloped Jezalyn the same way darkness had swallowed the sky; it slowly crept in until it invaded every nuance of space. Jezalyn nervously checked her cell phone every few seconds for a signal. She wished and prayed that one little red bar would illuminate in the right hand corner of the screen. After staring at her phone for nearly twenty to thirty minutes after darkness fell, Jezalyn saw not one, but two bars; however, they quickly faded. Luckily, there were no vehicles traveling behind her, because she slammed on her brakes bringing her car to an abrupt halt before guiding it off the road. Now out of the line of traffic, Jezalyn slowly backed up, all the while imploring the cell signal to return. When it had, Jezalyn put the car in park and frantically punched at her phone. She had to re-dial the number several times before getting the right combination.

“Hello,” said a voice on the other end.

“Grandpa, it’s me. I am coming home for a visit,” said Jezalyn as coolly as possible.

“Okay, I will put some extra food on for you. Where are you at now?”

Staring at her GPS, Jezalyn said, “I am on Hwy 65, but I don’t recognize any of these towns. I think I just passed through Islington.”

“Jezalyn, you’re driving south. You need to re-direct so that you are going southwest or you will be on the road for hours.”

“I don’t know where I am. These GPS directions suck!”

“Okay, when is your next turn?”

“Hwy 84 and it’s like a million miles away.”

“Okay, so here is what you are going to do: when you get to the town of Newellton turn west on Hwy 4 to Gilbert. Now, Hwy 4 will turn into 128, but keep going, and when you get to Gilbert turn left on to 15. After several miles turn right back onto Hwy 128. Take 128 until it runs into Hwy 4 and take a left. Once you pass through Fort Necessity, stay the course and Hwy 4 will lead you to 165.”

“Wait! I can’t remember all that, why can’t I just stay on 4 and skip all the turns.”

“Because Hwy 4 turns north and goes up past Winnsboro before turning back south to meet 165; it’s several hours out of the way. You need to come west so that you don’t spend all night out on the road. You know how I feel about you driving at night.”

“I know, Grandpa. Tell me again,” requested a frustrated Jezalyn releasing a heavy sigh.

Her grandfather requested that she write down the directions, but Jezalyn did not have a writing utensil, so he spoke in short phrases so she could remember the directions. “Turn on Hwy 4 in Newllton. Stay strait until Gilbert.”

Jezalyn repeated the directions back, “Okay, I go to Newllton, Hwy 4, and then Gilbert; is that right Grandpa?”

“Yes. The GPS should take over and do the rest. Call me, if it doesn’t.”

“I will. Thanks.”

“Be careful, and don’t stop for anything except gas.”

“Yes sir,” said Jezalyn as she hung up the phone and drove toward Newllton.

She drove with the radio blaring, trying to keep her mind off Blaise and Larkin, until she came to a sign that read,
Newllton ten miles; Waterproof…
, her attention was drawn, before she could finish, to the flashing red light on her dash prompting Jezalyn to get gas. Tightening the grip of the wheel, she sat up strait and thought;
a car can usually go 20 or 30 miles before running out. I am only ten miles from Newllton; I can make it.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled into a full service gas station. A middle-aged man in blue jeans stepped to her window. Jezalyn thought,
God bless paw-paw’s paranoia,
as she dug in her glove box, fondling around for a small match box. The sudden tap at the window startled her, and she sat erect in her seat. Peering slightly over her shoulder, she saw a middle-aged man bent down peering into her window. “How much, ma’am?”

Jezalyn opened the matchbox, took out two twenty-dollar bills, handed them to the man, and said, “Fill her up, please.” The man nodded, took the money, and treaded to the back of the car.

As the attendant proceeded to pump gas into her car, Jezalyn rolled the window up tight and checked the doors. After securing her doors, she assessed her surroundings, letting her gaze bounce from mirror to mirror making sure no one approached. She had never been paranoid. That was her grandpa’s trait, but with all that had taken place in the last thirty-six hours, she now felt insecure in the world. An object, flickering from side to side, caught Jezalyn’s eye as she glanced out of the rear-view mirror. She watched as it grew closer and closer until it stopped behind her car. Jezalyn anxiously stared out her passenger side mirror, but after viewing only the road, she immediately turned her head. Now gazing into the driver side mirror, Jezalyn saw Larkin standing behind the gas attendant holding his neck between both hands.

Larkin smiled at Jezalyn when her glare caught his eye, and he bit into the gas attendant’s neck similar to the way she would bit into a pork rib. Jezalyn’s heart leapt at the sight and a wave of nausea swept over her as she cranked the car, put it in drive, and stepped on the gas. She sped down the highway trying to keep both her eyes on the road ahead and the road behind her. Her head jerked when she heard a loud thud, but felt at ease when she discovered it was only the gas pump hose hanging from her gas tank. Scared and on edge, her eyes reverted to her gas gauge as she grabbed for the phone.
Good, I got almost a full tank. I should be able to make it home without stopping.

Although she had three-fourths of a tank of gas, Jezalyn tried to call home.

“Ah,”
screamed Jezalyn as she heard a beeping sound letting her knew her signal was not strong enough to place a call. She pushed the send button repeatedly, until the call finally connected.

“Hey, where’s grandpa?” demanded Jezalyn.

“He left to go meet you a long time ago” said a male voice.

“What? No!” hollered Jezalyn as tears welled up in her eyes. She felt helpless out on the road alone not knowing where she was or what she was going to encounter next.

“Look, don’t freak out. He took my cell when he left.” Then under his breath, the same voice said in a sarcastic tone, “Like he even knows how it works.”

“Thanks, Reed,” said Jezalyn as the wave of helplessness fell away and a glimmer of security took its place. Jezalyn scrolled down to Reed’s number; it was already in her phone, since her grandpa would have her call him regularly, whenever her grandfather needed help with the fencing or other chores around the farm.

The phone only rang once, before Jezalyn heard her grandfather’s voice.

“Grandpa,” said Jezalyn sobbing at the sound of his voice.

“Where are you?”

“Still on 65, I think I missed my turn,” choked out Jezalyn who was sobbing so hard she could barely see the road.

“You are too upset to be driving. I think you should pull over for a few minutes until you’ve calmed down. There’s no need to get upset over being a little lost,” said her grandfather hearing her cries.

“No, I have to keep driving or he might get me.”

“Listen, Baby Girl, I need you to stop crying and do the speed limit or you are going to wreck.”

She wiped her face with the cuff of her sleeve and slowed down, putting the car on cruise control as she tried to choke back her tears. Jezalyn’s heavy breathing had stopped and only sniffling remained when she heard her grandfather continue, “Who is after you?”

Still trying to control her emotions, she responded in fragments trying to keep the tears from returning. “This guy… Larkin… he killed the gas attendant… I sped away.”

“Listen, everything will be alright; he is not going to get you. Stay on 65, do the speed limit, and I’ll meet you in Waterproof.”

“But how will I find you?” asked Jezalyn.

“Just call me…” was the last thing Jezalyn heard as the phone signal broke up and the line went dead.

Jezalyn had driven only a few miles after talking to her grandfather when her car jerked almost to a stopping speed. She checked the emergency brake, but it had not been pulled. The car was now at a full stop. Jezalyn pressed firmly down on the gas pedal. The engine roared, but the car did not move. Instead, it seemed to be sliding backwards, so she scanned her surroundings. Through the rear-view mirror, Jezalyn saw Larkin standing in the middle of the road clutching the broken gas pump line. He was hand over hand slowly, inch by inch, pulling the vehicle and her toward him. Jezalyn did all she could to stop the vehicle from sliding backward, but nothing worked. She quickly decided she had only two options: The first, to abandon the car and make a break for the woods; or secondly, she could slide the gear in reverse, stomp on the gas, and try to run him down. After little consideration, Jezalyn held her foot on the gas and slipped the gear into reverse.

The car hurled itself backward with the added force of the vampires pull, but to no avail did the car strike Larkin. He jumped strait up, letting the car pass beneath him, but as he did, the end of the nozzle dislodged from the car. Jezalyn slammed on the brakes trying to regain control of the vehicle, stopping a few feet from where Larkin had landed in the middle of the road. As the car roared to a screeching halt, Larkin lashed the broken gas line forward like a whip and the nozzle lodged in the windshield. The car jerked forward and the windshield shattered from the force of the makeshift whip as it recoiled backwards. Jezalyn’s eyes slanted with a self-preservational air as she gazed out of her busted windshield. She intensely gripped the wheel as she put the car in drive, pounded the gas pedal with her foot, and let out a roar as she barreled toward him.

Once again, Larkin leaped into the air, but this time as the vehicle passed, he landed on top. A loud thud sounded above her head, and she instinctively glanced up to see a fist imprint denting the roof. Jezalyn weaved and swerved from side to side trying to knock him off. During this terrible nightmare, the phone rang. She pressed the answer button, but when she did Larkin’s hand came through the roof and grabbed the wheel causing her to lose control. She and the phone flew forward as the car came to a screeching halt when it fishtailed and slid off the road into the embankment of a small bridge. Jezalyn moved to the passenger seat when she saw Larkin jump down next to her window, but she unfortunately discovered the bridge, parallel with the door, had her trapped. After realizing she was pinned in, Jezalyn tried to scramble over the back seat of her car. She heard a crash and then felt a hand wrap around her ankle. She tried to kick free, but with one small tug, she was lying up against the dash trying to catch the breath she had lost from the impact of her bouncing against it.

“Sorry, sometimes I don’t know my own strength,” he said with a wicked chuckle.

“Larkin, why are you doing this?” said Jezalyn as she tried to inch as close to the passenger door as she could.

He raised his hand up violently at her and said, “My name is Theron, and if you try to jump out I will break that pretty little neck.”

“Okay,” said Jezalyn. “I will do anything, please don’t kill me!”

Theron did not even glance her way. Instead, he put the car in drive and slowly drove toward Waterproof. Jezalyn rode silently, happy to be keeping her original course. Although she was panicked, she wondered why he drove slowly.

Theron answered her question without her having asked it, “So that Larkin can catch up with us.”

She watched him in alarm as she thought;
He answered the same question I was pondering. I have not said anything, so how did he know to answer it? – Perhaps, he just assumed I was thinking it and offered up the information; it’s not like he can read my mind.

“Or can I?” said Theron and horror consumed her as a grisly smile took over his face.