Vampire World (28 page)
A fiery ball
came out of the darkness, igniting a huge roar from the crowd. It landed in my
individual square. Frowning with concentration, I spiked the ball into Rob’s
space, optimistically hoping he would miss it. But of course, he didn’t. He
slammed it back to me so hard that I was very nearly the one missing my shot.
Fortunately, because we were allowed one bounce in our own square, I had enough
time to direct my fire at Chris.
The ball soared around a
couple of times. We were pretty evenly matched, though I knew that a cheating
Rob could only compete at this level thanks to his special blood. He obviously
hadn't practiced anywhere near as hard as me.
The main platform started to
spin, rapidly increasing in speed when I pounded the ball yet again in Rob’s
direction. As before, he was just too swift. Diving athletically close to the
edge of his square, he knocked it over to Kristy.
“Suck it, bloodbitch….” he
yelled in my direction. While mocking me, disgusting drool dribbled down his
chin.
Now the game was getting
really serious. Short handlebars magically morphed into each player’s square as
the already spinning main square began to rise and fall sharply as well. I’d
practiced under these kinds of conditions and velocities many times before, so
it was nothing I couldn’t deal with. But the view of the floor so far below
petrified the crap out of me, especially when the square dipped and I was
forced to hold onto the handle bars with one hand while beating the ball with
the other.
I continued to swing hard at
the ball, hoping to knock someone off before I got tired. But I'd still had no
success with this tactic when a green mist suddenly appeared and enshrouded the
entire playing square. I could no longer see the crowd, or even my three
opponents. For a brief tenth of a degree I panicked. I threw my hands in front
of me. All I could hear was the roar of the crowd and the pounding of the ball.
Then, almost instantly, the
mist cleared and I could see again. I gasped. The luminous fireball was only
inches away from my face, courtesy of a grinning Rob across from me. With all
my strength I swatted the ball away the best I could. It pummeled towards
Kristy.
Entirely down to luck, my hit
turned out to be amazingly accurate. The ball hit the perfect spot, just inside
the left corner of Kristy’s square. She tried to dive for it but was not quite
fast enough. It bounced off the playing square and into the air.
A thunderous cheer rose from
the crowd. I'd just got Kristy out. With a look of terror on her pretty and
somewhat innocent face, I watched as her individual square shook. Then a circle
opened from under her and she plunged hundreds of feet into the net below.
There was little time for
self-congratulations. The square was now spinning, rising and dipping with a
ferocity that exceeded even the most difficult level three practice rounds.
Nevertheless, I kept my balance when Rob effortlessly spiked the ball across to
me. But I was beginning to tire. I wished I'd also had access to the special
blood so we could compete on level terms.
Something frightening flashed
across the indoor sky. The first holographic image was now coming our way. It
was a monstrous jade dragon with ruby red eyes.
But I needed to keep my eyes
on the ball as Rob flung it back at me again. With my section of the playing
square plummeting down, I gripped the handlebars with one hand and managed to
swat the fireball toward Chris with the other. It was clear to see that he was
also growing weary.
The massive
computer-generated dragon, which was probably controlled by some playing judge
in a hidden cave suite, charged at Chris with knife-like talons extended,
forcing him to drop down on his stomach to avoid being stabbed and eliminated.
Even so, with the fireball zooming straight at him, he still somehow managed to
punch the ball accurately to Rob.
As if in anger at being
denied a victim, the dragon roared and unleashed a fiery blast that
all three of us had to keep dodging as
it cut through our individual squares. It zipped through my square just as a ball
from Rob was bouncing in the left corner. But I ducked under the seething line
of fire and swatted the ball toward Chris, who was next in line to get blasted
by the fake flames.
By now drained, Chris still
managed to play the ball well enough. But all his brawny muscles couldn’t save
him this time. The dragon finally got its man and the flames cut through him.
Not literally, of course. Nevertheless, the damage was done.
It took him a while to
realize he’d been hit, even after he'd knocked the ball into Rob’s square with
a satisfied smirk on his face. But with the circle of death slowly opening
below his feet, his smirk turned to a look of dread. Then, without warning, his
section of the playing square dipped sharply to an almost vertical angle,
sending him tumbling over backwards. Unable to grip the handlebars, he
plummeted to the net. The crowd's tumultuous cheers followed him down every
foot of the way.
The dragon vanished and I
gazed at Rob. “Looks like it’s just me and you, babe,” I said sarcastically,
not letting him get the first line like he usually did. This is how I'd wanted
it to be. I wanted to beat his cocky ass in front of the masses. Hell yes!
“I can’t wait to see you
lying on the floor, smothered in your own blood,” he snarled back. “Everyone
will be laughing at you and cheering for me.” Then, high as an emerald cloud,
he giggled insanely.
Rob and I went head to head
at full throttle. The main playing square rose and fell at unimaginable speeds,
and all the time we needed to hold firm onto the handlebars in order to stay
upright on our erratically dipping individual squares. Even so, we thundered
the ball back and forth at each other with a ferocity that only the worst of
enemies can muster.
A faceless beast that
resembled the Grim Reaper appeared in the center of the main square. It held a
thick, maroon-colored stake that contrasted starkly with its black garments.
The image invaded my square, jabbing at my mid-section with the stake, each jab
accompanied by a loud cracking noise. I twisted my hips just in time to avoid
the attacks, then, releasing the handlebar for an instant, used both hands to
hammer the fireball at Rob.
The dragon returned, giving
me the chilly realization that we now had to deal with two holographic beasts.
It aimed its fire at Rob, while the stake-wielding cloaked monster also joined
in with the assault. Rob's magic blood must have been working overtime because
he somehow dodged both attacks, and was able to knock the ball straight back
into my face. Fortunately, I was quick enough to return fire.
But my frustration was
growing. No matter what I threw at Rob, he never seemed to go away. I could
hear him laughing and calling me bloodbitch. The dragon swung back in my
direction, forcing me to jump aside. As I did so, my square dipped and I came dangerously
close to falling over the edge. Only the handlebars saved me.
The fireball came whizzing
back at me, closely followed by the cloaked monster. At the same time, a cloud
of red dust engulfed the square. It was a miracle I was able to make any sort
of contact with the ball in all this mess. I must have done though, because it
vanished into a wall of dust, back toward Rob’s square for what felt like the
thousandth time.
Suddenly, the ghastly stake
stabbed out of the blinding dust. It was right in my face. I was forced to back
away too far, and though the stake narrowly missed me, the damage was done. I
slipped off the rear edge of the playing square. All at once there was nothing
beneath my feet. Flashing through my mind was the horrible truth that I was
about to lose to someone who didn’t freakin deserve to win.
Yet in the midst of the fall,
I somehow had the quickness of mind to raise my arm. My desperately searching
fingers found and grabbed the edge of the square. I was left precariously
dangling from the rapidly rising and twisting platform, knowing I was only
moments away from defeat.
With the crowd flashing in
and out of view through the dust, the square took me on the ride of my life, I
knew I couldn’t lose to someone so mean and conceited. I couldn’t lose to a
cheater. And I couldn’t lose to someone who tried to use me and violate me!
NO! I would not stand for
this!
Everyone knows that love can
sometimes bring out superpowers in a vampire. Maybe hate can sometimes do the
same thing? Whatever the truth of it, right now I hated Rob more than it was
possible to imagine, and I was feeding on that. A miracle happened. Summoning
all of my remaining strength, I somehow climbed back up on my square. My arms
burned in agony - the ball was hurtling toward me – but as the dust faded
my view of Rob was clear.
I pummeled the ball directly
at him. The audience roared as it bounced violently in the right corner of his
square. He made a huge dive for it, but my delivery was just too quick. He
completely missed the ball. It bounced off of his square and into the void
below.
The crowd erupted. I wasn't
really in Vampire World any longer – I was in Fantasy Land. This was
everything I'd dreamed of. The dragon blasted Rob in the head with its fire,
while the stake monster stabbed him in the arm. Though not physically harmed,
he was done for. He was officially a loser. Yes. HELL YEAH!
“NO!” he shouted at me as his
square began to open up below him.
“Looks like you’ll be the one
sucking blood when you hit the bottom,” I told him.
With a livid scowl on his
face, he plunged down into the net. I’ll never forget that disbelieving look of
despair in his eyes right before he fell. Never, ever!
The champion square slowly
lowered with just me standing proudly on it, the crowd's cheering not letting
up for an instant.
I felt like I
was descending from heaven. All the sweat and practice had truly paid off.
At the bottom, several game
officials gathered around to officially declare me the champion. I tried to
catch a glimpse of Brett or Mr. FreeCut, but couldn’t see them. However, I did
catch sight of a disgusted Rob still awkwardly tangled up in the safety net. He
stared at me with a look of utter defeat. Dreams really did come true.
Another game official handed
me my prize: the ten thousand Carn card! Yes! Now I could buy Mr. FreeCut a new
house. And I could get a new wardrobe. And so much more.
For the remainder of the
evening, newspaper and magazine photographers lined up to snap flicks of me. I
was now famous. Suddenly, the orb in my pocket vibrated. I disappeared into the
restroom to listen.
“Janice, congrats on winning
the fireball tournament. But there is no time for more celebrating. I am now
about to reveal to you the secret of your life. When you get on the train, keep
the orb handy. I will direct you to a house where the secret will finally be
revealed. You’ve come so far. Now you can be rewarded with the truth.”
I searched for Brett one more
time without success. It was annoying, but I couldn’t hang around any longer.
At long last, I was going to get all the answers I wanted.
After leaving
the train, I set off walking at a brisk pace. I was so ready to figure out all
this crap. I’d waited long enough. Now it was time for the big reveal.
My messenger's voice
continued.
“Turn right on Cut Throat
Avenue. The number is two-zero-one. It’s the big red house on the corner. You
can’t miss it. Don’t worry about knocking, the front door is open. You’ve
worked long and hard for this very special moment, and I’m honored to reveal it
to you. Come on inside, Janice.”
I’d also grown tired of all
his weird pep talk. I turned the corner of a narrow, tree-lined street and saw
an old, two story house with the number 201 on the front. Making my way past
the dense trees that occupied the front yard, I stepped onto the porch feeling
pretty creeped out. Just in case, I grabbed a stake from my belt for
protection. If this turned out to be one big joke, there would be bloody hell
to pay.
Immediately inside the house
was a dark hallway, so dark that I could barely see a thing in front of me. The
familiar, haunting voice spoke again.
“I wanted the journey of
knowing to be difficult and challenging for you, Janice. I enjoyed seeing you
grow from a confused young vampire into a brave and mature one. And I’m sure
you have benefited from the challenges in other ways as well. Now take the
second door to your right. There you’ll enter the living room and complete your
remarkable transformation to maturity and knowing.”
I gawked at the door he was
speaking about. After taking a deep breath, I turned the skull-shaped knob and
cautiously walked through.
I was in some kind of gloomy
room with a high ceiling. I couldn’t see the walls, or my secret stranger. A
white stage light set on the floor was pointing to the high ceiling. It
illuminated a magnificent chandelier.
“Where the hell are you?” I
demanded. “Show yourself!”
There was nothing. Growing
ever more frustrated, my fangs jutted out.
Then he spoke, and this time
it was not though the orb. He was here in the room with me. “Patience has been
your virtue, Janice. Behold your reward.”
The stage light switched
direction. Now it was shining on a giant globe of the blue planet I'd first
seen in the hidden room at the observatory. I took in all its marvelous detail
- the green land areas shaped like puzzle pieces - the swirls of white clouds -
and all the blue stuff, whatever the hell that was.
“Janice, this is the first
major secret that was revealed. What you are looking at is a real planet called
Earth.”
I frowned. Earth? Earth? The
name sounded eerily familiar.
“You may be surprised and
enlightened to know that Earth is your real home. Vampire World is not.”
I found this hard to believe.
And my messenger read my mind precisely.
“I know this may come as
confusing to you. But once you see the truths behind the second and third major
secrets you discovered, then you’ll understand.”
The stage light rotated
sideways, now illuminating a television screen mounted on the wall.
“The second major task
involved you discovering two things.”
I saw the emblem of TriFang
flash on the screen. Then something far worse appeared: thousands of dead
vampires, all brutally stabbed like kebabs from one end to the other by
enormous stakes. I was seeing again the horrific room I'd been guided to down
in TriFang’s tunnel. I felt sick and had to look away.
“I wanted you to discover the
secret of TriFang, and most importantly, the blood they so highly desire. As
you have learned, this is not only extremely pleasurable to drink, but also a
source of eternal youth and boundless energy. TriFang is the only organization
in Vampire World who knows how to obtain it.”
The picture changed to
another disturbing image. A girl was running through a wooded area, scared for
her life. Someone was chasing her.
“So where do TriFang get
their blood from?” he asked.
“From humans,” I responded.
“Exactly. You are a vampire
now, but you may be surprised to know that you were once a human.”
I frowned. What the hell was
a human?
Still puzzling over this, I
gazed up at the screen again and saw the poor, helpless girl tripping on a root
and falling to the ground. Her stalker loomed over her.
“The girl is not a vampire.
She is a human, Janice. However, the man chasing her
is
a vampire.”
I followed the terrifying
scene as the guy trapped her on the ground, then mercilessly bit into her neck
with his fangs. Moments later her body was being carried by a trio of vampires
into an obscure room. Tubes were attached to her, draining her blood. And what
was even freakier, she was still alive!
“Now she is a vampire too
because she was bitten by another vampire,” my messenger said. “However, she
still has human blood inside of her. They are draining this from her so they
can use it for their own selfish desires.”
The screen went black. “Then
she is discarded.”
I gasped, my mind flashing
back to the nauseating underground room with all the bodies. Only after forcing
that nightmarish image out of my mind was I able to speak my mind.
“So, you’re saying that I was
taken from Earth like this girl was and turned into a vampire?
That’s impossible! If I wasn’t born in
Vampire World, how did I get to be where I am now? And if I have human blood inside
of me, why am I not dead?”
“Let me answer your first
question first.”
“You better not be messing
with me!” I shouted. “I ain’t the weak girl I once was. I swear, I’ll kick your
ass if you’re lying to me!”
He laughed, though I still
couldn’t see him.
“You have grown amazingly,”
he said, with what I felt to be genuine admiration. “But now for the third
major clue. You were supposed to discover information about a portal device
that TriFang use for transportation to different planets. Unfortunately,
Senator BloodHunt did not tell you what he knew about that. So now I will tell
you instead.”
The screen lit up again. Once
more I saw the poor human girl who'd been bitten, except this time she was
being carried through some sort of circular machine with a vivid transparency.
Soon the girl and her kidnappers were gone, and so too was the machine. It
simply vanished into thin air.
My messenger took up
commentary.
“Scientists and educated
vampires knew there was life on some other planets. But these were too distant,
so it was impossible to visit. However, one scientist by the name of Dr. John
Bloodthirst built a machine that allowed vampires to rapidly transport
themselves from one planet to another with ease. TriFang discovered this
machine and took it over. They protected its secrecy by threatening to kill
anyone who leaked information to non-members. The reason was obvious. They
wanted to keep the supply of special human blood to themselves.”
I bought none of this bull.
“So I was turned into a vampire, then kidnapped from Earth and brought here?” I
laughed. “This sounds like the biggest freakin joke in the world. So what are
you gonna tell me next? That my accident was fake?”
“Your accident did not
happen. And this is no joke, Marissa.”
I gasped. For some reason
that name sounded crazily familiar. I didn’t know why, but it terrified the
hell out of me all the same.
“Why did you call me that?” I
asked.
“Because that is your real
name.”
Now I was even more confused.
Stunned in fact, and totally unsure what to make of anything, including my
secret messenger.
“Before I reveal to you how
you survived TriFang’s attack, allow me to introduce myself.”
“It’s about damn time,” I
said, my thoughts still very much in a tangle. “It feels like I've been waiting
forever for this.”
The stage light moved again
to pick out an enigmatic figure: tall, dark and of medium build. His face was
concealed by the familiar black mask. But just as I thought about trying to
pull it off in the same way I had with a stubbornly silent Martin, the figure
removed it for me.
With long gray hair, scarlet
eyes, and jade colored flaky skin that was difficult to look at, my secret
messenger was obviously an old vamp. Which came as something of a surprise.
Nevertheless, his age didn’t stop the wave of emotion that rushed over me. I’d
been through hell trying to get to know him. Now that his little games were
over, I should have been furious. But I wasn't.
“So good to see you,” he said
in his scratchy voice. “My name is Chris Stake. I am your messenger.”
It was impossible to miss the
black X on his forehead. I waited silently for an explanation.
“You already know that I find
you incredible,” he complimented. “So let me cut to the chase. I am the leader
of a secret organization whose primary mission is to suppress TriFang. We have
agents constantly spying on them in order to disrupt their devious plans and
protect the innocent. We call ourselves the X-Fang, and that is our emblem you
see on my forehead.”
“We?” I said.
“Marissa, when we discovered
that you were being targeted by TriFang for your blood, we assigned your
rescuer to covertly use their portal in order to save you. He was successful in
getting to Earth, but arrived too late. You had already been bitten. However,
he was in time to defeat your kidnappers before they could extract your blood.
After that, he took you under his protection back into Vampire World.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
“We have allowed your rescuer
to carry on caring for you,” Mr. Stake continued. “Since you were already a
vampire, we knew it was too late for you ever to go back to Earth. But your
human blood would continue to be highly desired. Thus, we had to protect you on
a permanent basis.”
“Well, who rescued me then?”
I demanded. “Show me dammit!”
“That will come soon. But
first you need to know that your rescuer and several other important vampires
in X-Fang wanted to avoid telling you the truth about how you got here. They
invented a story about an accident, thinking this false background would help
keep you safe from TriFang. That was fine as far as it went, but I insisted you
had a right to know about your real history. What could be more wise than the
truth? But the others wouldn’t agree to this. I persisted in demanding that you
be told, and we had many arguments. In the end they threw me out of X-Fang.
After that I had to find a different way to lead you to the truth. That's when
your masked messenger was born.”
Again, nothing made sense to
me. I was really missing something here.
“And now it’s time for you to
meet your rescuer. It's someone you know very well.”
The light shifted in the
opposite direction, picking out another masked figure. As I approached, I
glimpsed many others standing behind him. But I was focused only on the man at
the front.
“Martin,” I said deliriously.
“I knew it was you. Why didn’t you speak to me at the house?”
He said nothing, which upset
me. “And why have you been hiding so much crap from me?”
At last he spoke. “I am not
Martin. Martin does not exist.”
The voice was shockingly
familiar. Even so, I was still completely unprepared for the face I saw before
me when he slipped off the mask.
Absolutely stunned, I stared
into the calm, dark eyes of Mr. FreeCut. How could I have missed this? How
could I have been so stupid?
