If I Die By Sunrise

Satan's Little Helper

The new fear was just adding to my high. So he wanted to play dirty eh? Mr. big bad vampire actually thought a little lockdown was going to scare me.

I let out a hysterical laugh.

And that's when I noticed the dull throbbing from the side of my head. Tentatively, I rubbed the already numbing spot. A thought came to my head and I banished it quickly, there was no way it was that.

No, Jerry must have done this. I added this to my list of things I was going to torture him for. For a second, I felt better. Now if there was just a way to get out of here...

I surveyed the room for the umpteenth time. There was nothing useful. Not even a lamp to hold on to and of course the bed frame wasn't wood. What to do?

I chewed my lip as crazy idea after crazy idea ran through my head. How long did I have left? The ball was in Jerry's court now and though it made me antsy to think of how wrong this was, I wasn't backing down.

The sound of approaching footsteps brought me back to reality with startling speed. Automatically, my eyes flew to the door.

With a mind of its own, my skin prickled and my body stiffened defensively before Jerry's hard frame filled the doorway.

He noticed the disastrous state of the room and impossibly, his evil smile contorted in an even more malicious smirk, as if he knew that I had been searching for something to kill him with.

His dark eyes flew to me, and the amusement in them made me sick. "You plan to stay in here all day or you going to eat something?"

Somehow my voice sounded like a growl. "That was a cheap shot; locking me in here you coward. Just what are you trying to prove? That you're weak. You don't scare me Jerry." I spat.

He laughed and the sound shook my core. "You're amazing kid, really. You have spunk. That just might keep you alive."

"Screw you. We made a bet. Either you keep up your end of the deal or, or..." But he was looking at me strange, like he knew something I didn't.

"How's your head? You think I don't know that you didn't just faint because you were scared or squeamish? It wouldn't be fair to fight you when you have a condition." He was solemn. No more kidding around. I let out an acid filled laugh.

"You have some right to talk about fairness you parasite. And it's not any of your damn concern. Now we made a bet." I motioned to step around him. "I'm going to find my stake. Assuming you haven't mutilated it."

Truthfully, the sooner I was out of that room the better. Doris...

I was too lost in feeling my way through the darkness to register that he was following behind me. I knew the chances of me finding my stake were slim but it helped to stall time until I could come up with a good plan to crucify him.

Behind me I could've sworn he mumbled something about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I put it past me. It didn't take long for us to reach the big expansion he called a living room; my memory hadn't changed too much in the last six months to forget how to escape this place.

I turned around and he was no longer behind me. Something rough materialized in the palm of my hand and I recognized the coarseness of my stake.

"Killing me is going to take more than that stake." He spoke from somewhere in the room. "This is a really dumb idea kid."

I studied the stake in my hand, just having it back made me feel more powerful. "Don't tell me what to do." The girth seemed sturdy enough to do the job. It was going to be a long shot either way. I mean I had a flamethrower last time and that wasn't enough.

"You could get hurt. Or worse you could bleed-

I had stopped listening. This was the moment I'd been waiting for. Ever since my life took its stupid downward spiral. This was my moment, to have everything return to normal. To finish him and move on. Nothing was going to stop me.

It almost didn't feel real. But I felt alive. The blood was pumping through my veins and my heart was beating a mile a minute. I felt very alive.

"So it hasn't occurred to you yet, huh?" There was a soft thud. He was beside me. His voice: a low, husky growl in my ear. "Why would I still be here if anyone was ever successful? How easy do you think this is going to be?" There was a hint of desperation in his voice and I thought about Ed. I had to try.

"I thought you wanted my blood. Don't tell me you're backing out now." My voice was scathing. "You'd like to think I'd lose. So you can go back to pillaging my neighborhood and terrorizing my friends." My hand tightened so hard around the flank of wood I felt the splinters dig into my skin. "Besides what's so good a life if I can't even win a bet with a vampire."

Knowing it was a lost cause, he sighed a cold gust of wind. "We play for keeps. You might want to slow your heart rate down. If you want to live it's best I don't get tempted." I nodded and did as he said.

"I want you bound, tied up. No surprises." I said in indignation.

A few minutes later Jerry's bound to a wall and I have the stake in my hand like a priest about to impale the incubus. Jerry's perfectly toned chest lay bare under the sharp point of the angry piece of wood.

He was studying me. His black eyes indecipherable.

I took a deep breath and focused my attention on my hands. It felt like my fear was plastered all over my face. With one last deep breath I drew the stake and thrust it into his chest.

Silence... and still nothing. I forced my eyes to look up at him. He was still as a statue, unmoving and stiff. The stake protruded from his chest like an angry testament of his misfortune. I forced the bile back down my throat.

The worst part was over. At least for now, the nightmares would be a thing of the past.

As if my body knew this was the last time, my feet guided me out of Jerry's bedroom and down the dark stairs. I felt heavy, like all the sleepless nights I endured since Jerry first entered my life, were crashing down on me.

A nap would be good. Rebuilding could always start later. Time was no longer limited. In fact, all the time in the world wasn't quite accurate enough to describe the amount. We could start over, we could move out of Reno, maybe even move to another state. California had a lot of sandy beaches...

I got distracted, because I caught a glimpse of the sunlight as it bathed the curtains in a soft glow. I yanked the door open and let the warmth hit me. A new day had finally come and I was still around to see it.

The sun was a pleasant distraction; I didn't notice the figure hovering in the background until cold vices found my throat and yanked me from the open door so my back was against the wall and his cool but harsh breath was in my face.

"I win."