DARK MYSTERIES(COMPLETED)

Chapter 9

“ Dan, hold on.” Annabelle pleaded as she advanced towards him.
“STAY BACK!” He screamed as he moved backwards.  He turned around and took off in the opposite direction only to meet her already in front of him, much to his shock.
“Dan.” She said sadly. “I know you have every right to be scared of me. I would too."
“Oh, Is that so?” He  cried out, an amused look on his face, despite his fear. “I can’t believe you hid this from me the whole time.Brushing aside my claims of vampire existence in this school.”
“What did you expect?!” She cried out, eventually losing her temper, her eyes glowing momentarily. “That I should just walk up to you and say: 'Hi, my name is Annabelle and I’m a 67 year old vampire. Can we be friends?' Is that what you were expecting?”
Daniel became quiet as he knew she had a point there, but that didn’t mean she was off the hook. For crying out loud, she just killed a man moments ago. The man was a jerk, no doubt, but he didn’t deserve to die. Who knows how much more innocent lives she must have taken?
“ So, the two men  that were killed this month.” he began calmly, not letting his eyes leave her. “ Your handwork?”
“No.” She shook her head. “ I didn’t do any of those. Look, Dan. I may be a vampire, but I don’t go around killing innocent people for pleasure.”
“How am I supposed to believe that now?” Daniel sighed in frustration. “ You are a vampire which means you definitely feed on blood.”
He paused then narrowed his eyes at her. “ All those times we went to the restaurant, You never ate along with me. I was always the only one eating. You would tell me you were not hungry. I guess everything makes sense now.”
Annabelle remained silent.
“Which means..” Daniel's eyes widened as realization hit him. “ ..You are  aware of the X-serum in my blood."
She nodded.
“And you know Luke.” He continued.
She nodded again.
“He’s part of the reason  I became like this.” She whispered. An angry tone was evident in her voice.
“What do you mean?” He asked.
She moved to a nearby pavement and sat down, staring at the sky. Daniel still being alert followed her and sat beside her creating a little distance between them. For a while it was quiet and neither spoke a word. The chirping of the crickets were the only sounds preventing the place from being similar to a graveyard. Daniel glanced at the full moon which was shining brightly, above them. How much more surprise could he take in his life? He glanced towards Annabelle and sighed.
‘If she really wanted me dead’ He thought. ‘ She would have killed me since. But Ann, why? Why do you have to be a vampire? How did this happen?’
As if hearing his thoughts, She broke the silence “ My story begins a long time ago.50 years ago to be precise.”
Daniel remained quiet, still shocked at her age.
“ I was raised in a country far away from here. Our town wasn’t so popular and the occupation that we involved ourselves in was mostly farming, weaving and fishing. The right age for a lady to get married was 16 while that of a guy was 18. So as you could imagine, by the time a man was 40, he  would have already had 10 children at average.” She chuckled softly and he smiled a bit.
“When I came of age to get married, I refused as I didn’t think I was ripe for it. Many girls at our time, had that view but  no one would tolerate that. An unknown stranger can just come from nowhere and meet your parents to discuss marriage rites and before you know it,  POOF!!, you are getting married next month whether you like it or not”
“ Wow.” Daniel sighed sadly. “ That bad?”
"Yes” She nodded still staring at the sky. “ I was quite stubborn and rebellious from a young age and it was no surprise that I had passed the ripe age of getting married by a year and still wasn’t ready. Then he showed up.”
“Luke?” Daniel asked.
“Not just Luke.” She replied. “Luke….and his son, Chris.”
“ Son?” Daniel was surprised. “ Vampires can procreate?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “ But not with humans, only their fellow vampires which I would learn later in the years that followed. Anyway, back to the story. The way they were dressed showed that they were strangers in our town. Expensive clothing, golden ornaments and what have you. Luke offered to have his son wed me and my parents being blinded by the love of material things saw this as a way to get out of their current state. We weren’t rich or poor.  Just okay but my parents wanted more and so they agreed without even the slightest of thought.  As, usual I voiced my rejection but this time, my mom was ready for it. She used all sort of threats against me including deciding to commit suicide if I refuse the marriage proposal. I hated this but as annoying as my parents could be sometimes, I loved them and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her and so...”
“You agreed.” Daniel finished for her.
She looked at him and nodded and he could see her eyes water. He saw that she was trying to fight the tears that threatened to spill out of her eyes. Those past memories must have really hurt.
“ I did.” She continued. “ I did it just to make them happy, regardless of how I felt.  Chris made sure to pay 3 times my bride price that day much to the naïve joy of my parents and sooner than I could blink my eyes. I was married to him. It was the happiest day of my parent’s life as my mother couldn’t stop boasting to her mates that I was finally married to a rich man.  Then came the wedding night..”
She paused as she noticed Daniel blushed at her last statement.
“Oh man up, You big baby.” She flicked his cheek. “ As if you won’t experience it in future.”
“ That’s in the future.” He smiled and stuck out his tongue at her, forgetting about his current predicament. She chuckled at his immaturity before a frown came back to her face and she stared at the sky again.
“ On our wedding night.” She continued. “ I noticed something strange about Chris.  He was gentle alright but his body was so cold. Like ice cold. It was so bizzare and I felt scratches on my back from nails I never knew he had and before I knew it..he… he.. bit me!”
Annabelle burst into tears at the last word and Daniel sighed sadly. Here was someone who saved his life twice this month. Someone who kept him company and made him feel loved. Someone who he could talk with for a while and never got bored. This was someone who volunteered to teach him self defense classes to protect himself from harm. And he just tried pushing her away moments ago. A pang of guilt hitched on his heart and he felt sorry for her. Who knew that behind her tough girl persona was someone who had suffered heartache for half a century? He scooted closer and wrapped his arm around her, drawing her to his chest. She flinched momentarily before relaxing and wiping the tears from her eyes.
“It was so horrible, Dan.” She whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. “ It was then I noticed the monster that was my husband. I fled the room and ran to the bathroom but the deed had already been done. I saw the mark on my neck and blood flowing out. I began to feel drowsy and weak. Like I was going to die. I collapsed that night and woke up the next day feeling different. By that time I was alone in the room. I felt hungry and I prepared something to eat only to vomit it out as soon as I ingested it. It was then Chris and his father came into the room. With smiles on their faces, they happily announced that I was officially part of their family. I cursed them in anger and ran out of the room not before hearing Luke shout that he always gets his way. I had no idea what that meant but I left them anyway.  I went to stay in the house of a close friend of mine . Funny how I resisted the urge not to feed on her. It was only a few days later that word came to me that came to me that my parents were killed by wild animals. Wild animals, my foot. It was then I realized the meaning of Luke’s words. I rushed to my family home to see the bodies of my parents on the ground. A crowd had gathered around that day. I could not cry that day. It was all too much to bear. Luke and Chris left the town and I never saw them  return. My hatred of them multiplied tenfold and I vowed that they or their kind would never see happiness or peace. I crossed paths with only Luke several times but he was too strong for me. His son was no where to be found and much to my horror, it was revealed that Luke had sent him to create more vampires from around the country. I was so devastated about this and I lost hope. Until I heard about the X-serum. From what I knew, it was very powerful and luke needed it for Immunity. My first thought was why would he need it if he was so strong……..Unless……..he had a weakness. From that conclusion, I became aware of the weakness of vampires. So I made his life hell. Interfering in his search for you and intercepting when he got close to you. You see, Dan. I’ve known you since you were a toddler and I knew how important that serum in your blood is. I’ve vowed that no one would get that serum and I will keep that vow even if it costs my life”
Daniel sighed as she concluded her tale and released her.
“So you are not after it too?” He asked.
“Hell no!”  She cried out. “I hate what I have become and if there is anything I wouln’t want, It’s an upgraded version of it.”
“Ann.” He said as a serious look came on his face. “ I know there are more of them coming for me. I’ve heard your story and while I may be convinced doesn’t mean I trust you. No offense.”
“None taken.” She smiled.
“But if you want to earn my trust.” He continued. “ I need you to do two things for me."
“I’m all ears.” She said.
“One.Tell me a vampire’s weakness.” He said, leaning towards her and looking at her square in the eyes.
“ Two.Teach me how to fight and kill a vampire.” He said.
With a grin on her face, she whispered darkly.
“ Deal."