Dusk and Dawn

Chapter 5

(( a/n: if you find errors,  I'll edit them at a later time. ))

For the next few days more and more murders happened. It was like an epidemic spreading like wildfire. How could this vampire do as he pleases and stay well hidden? This puzzled me. Every night so I've been tossing and turning, wondering if I'd be the next victim.

Hunter had a solution. After school we met in the courtyard, under the tree that was bare of any leaves. "So you've got a plan?" I asked, hoping that it would keep me away from the other vampire. "Yes. I want you to be safe so I'll just have to keep an eye on you at school and when you go home." he told me.

"Are you going to be my bodyguard?"

"No. If I get close to you he'll use you for bait or as a hostage."

"Oh." I sighed. But in a way I did feel somewhat safe knowing that Hunter would watch me. And that's the way it's been. Until one day when I went to his house, he was gone. I thought he'd let me know he was going somewhere, wouldn't he? Well, I assumed he was gone because he didn't answer the knock on his door.

Curious, I turned the knob and found that the door was unlocked. Hunter was gone! I didn't think he'd leave without telling me but now that I thought about it, he probably didn't want that renegade vampire on the loose to know anything about his plans. I opened the for wide and stepped inside. I never been inside this house so I was surprised to see dusty furniture and bare rooms. I wondered if he slept in an actual coffin.

A shadow caught my eye and I turned toward it, on the far side of the living room. I couldn't stop myself but I called out to it,"Hello, Hunter?"

"I am not Hunter." The voice was a he. He stepped out. It was him again, for the thousandth time (I know I'm exaggerating).

"Why are you following me?" I asked  raising my voice a little. I was frustrated, too. I should be scared but at the moment I wasn't. I was actually a bit annoyed. I turned to leave when the mysterious stranger said,"Don't go. Wait, Willow."

I turned back around to this long haired man. Lifting one eyebrow at him I asked,"How do you know my name?" He slowly approached me. This was just like in the forest.

"Because I've watched over you for quite sometime now." he replied. Wait, just how long had he been 'watching me'? The look on my face told him what I was thinking. "I've known you for 13 years. You just didn't know I was there."

Okay, this was getting too freaky and uncomfortable. I slowly backed away. He must've known what I was doing because he told me in a voice that you'd hear coming from a parent or a teacher,"Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. Not like that monster that's out there." For some reason I wanted to believe him. His eyes, his face, was gentle as if I were a shy deer and tried not to frighten me. I now noticed that Hunter was... strange. His eyes didn't hold emotion like before. This guy's deep purple eyes lured me in. I could see that he had dark circles under his eyes, like he hadn't slept in a while. Is he really...

"Are you... a vampire?"

"Yes. I can control my thirst, though..."

"Okay, well, you know my name. What's yours?" I asked. What was I doing, on a Saturday, talking with some strange vampire I've never met before.

"My name is Abraxas."

"Abraxas... Cool name. It sounds like a name for a band or something." There was something about that name that rung bells in my brain. I didn't know why. Abraxas stayed silent. He probably didn't know what I was talking about. "Anyway, uh, you said that there's another vampire here?"

He nodded his head. "He was an my underling. He'd gone mad with bloodlust but he's kept himself satisfied until now."

"So you're a vampire master?"