The Principal

Chapter 18: A Vial

A loud crash awakens Mr. Lowell from a deep, dreamless sleep. It was the first restful sleep he had hoped to achieve since his nightmares started. The world slowly materializes as the loud noises continue, followed by inaudible speaking. With a loud huff, he climbs off the bed and walks through his house, tracking the noises to the kitchen. There the once pristine kitchen now lies in utter chaos. Blood pumps quickly through the veins in his temple and pulses as the dull pain of a headache begins to form. Some cabinet doors are open with the content once inside now strewn across the tile floor; others barely hang to the wood. On the floor, lying over the mess of food and broken things is a semi-transformed figure of Mrs. Bellham. Her breathing is ragged and irregular.

She catches a whiff of his scent and whirls around to face him, sitting on her heels, ready to strike, halfway in a state of delirium. Mr. Lowell runs his fingers through his hair before advancing towards her. The creature reacts quickly by pulling a large knife from the broken drawer beside her and holding the knife in his direction.

"If you come any closer. I'll kill you," she threatens.

"If you kill me, then you will die. If it's freedom you want, then kill yourself because receiving my blood will only make you more of a creature."

The creature doesn't move, but through its deformed face, Mr. Lowell can make out that she is thinking. Debating the entirety of the situation, but he can also see her pain. Life or death, was both a simple and complicated choice. Although he never dealt with the issue she is currently in, being that he received pure blood, not dirty blood, the first transformation was the worst. He curses Jackson and vows to kill that man if another mistake occurs at his hands again. He needs to have full control of his pack for his future to work, and he can't have anybody altering his laws.

'How did it all get so out of hand? He thinks. Will Serena get to a state like this? It's all because of that kiss. No! Someone else got in the way'

These darker thoughts cause him a great deal of pain, and he knows he needs to find a way to give Serena more blood to trigger her first transformation soon. She will no longer be tied to his life, but he can't risk losing her. The creature watches him intently, and he halfway expects her to rush him. He knows that if she does, he will end her life. Instead, the knife clatters to the floor and the creature falls exhausted to the ground. Mr. Lowell contemplates leaving it and letting it die on the floor; she has already given him enough trouble, but to the one he holds most precious, this woman is an essential piece of her life. He drags the body back into a bedroom and uses the remaining vials to give her enough blood to complete her change. Locking the door behind him, he returns to his room and decides to allow Mr. Jackson to clean up the mess in the morning.

~~~~~~~~~

The house is quieter than usual as the three clean. Music usually plays in the background, and their mother's high off-key notes drift in and out of the rooms as she does her best to keep harmony with the singers. Lonnie rolls the trash bins to the street and glances at the other houses; everything seems abnormal and almost vacant. He shutters slightly. The noise from the garage door slamming pulls him from his thoughts, and he walks up the driveway and watches as Serena retrieves her bike. Lonnie touches his hips and only watches her. Around this time, he would have mentioned something or even questioned her, but this time, he watched as she rolled the bike to the edge of the garage. Serena stops herself but doesn't look at him.

"I'm just going to ride into town and pick up a few things. I won't be gone for too long. I also just need some fresh air. I am not feeling too good. Amelia let me know she will be over later to hang out," she tells him.

They stand there for a second in silence before Lonnie finally answers, "Okay. Be safe."

He feels he should say more and offer to go with her, but at the same time, a distance has been growing between them. Instead, he thinks that he should allow her more space.