The Curse

Chapter Twelve- I Think...

I really want to look for Kuroji so I'd better hurry. I run to the town school to look for a 14 year old boy. That's the type of "aged blood" the HeadMaster usually prefers. I do not enjoy killing, especially of my age...that's probably why he likes that type...
So I try not to kill the HeadMasters lunch.
I sneak into a brick building that reads "Sparrow High School" and peek in. No one is in the hallway; it must be lunch time. Perfect. I then peek cautiously into the cafeteria. A  boy with dark hair is walking towards the hallway door I'm peeking out of. I hide behind a wall and wait until I hear him step through the doors to shout, "Please! Help me!" as desperately as I can. "What's wrong? Should I call 911!?" he says, confused, running down the hall towards my voice. "Please! Just come!" I say louder, pretending to choke on something. He follows me, and when he gets deep into the empty hall, I jump out from behind I trash can, grab him, and then push the pressure point on his neck behind his ear. It knocks him out, and I drag him outside the back door, behind the school, carefully and quickly. I suck his blood, trying not to swallow, and spit it back out through my fangs into a jar for the HeadMaster. The boy is dreadfully pale, and I feel bad since he tried to help me even when he didn't know me. But I have to do this.

I think...

I run at top speed to some bench behind the school, and lay him down. He's out. I sigh, and then run to the HeadMaster through the familiar path only a vampire would know. Once I get past the gates and into his throne-room, I slowly walk in and bow respectfully. I hand him his lunch, and I am required to wait there until he is done just in case he needs me for more. I do wait. And as soon as he drinks the last drop, I run out of there as soon as possible.
Without excuse.
Again.
It's lunch time, so all I do is take a quick stop at the the blood stand and quickly grab a jar.
But, of course, since my luck hates me, a big bell rings and suddenly, all the vampires around me sleepily (since it is mid-day) begin walking towards a rusty gate. I sigh, annoyed, and I assume I'm supposed to go, too.
So I ask the blood-stand worker, "What now?" "Oh, sometimes, humans ask for us to spare their lives. So when they do, we can choose to say, "We either kill you, or turn you into a vampire." And most of the time, they choose the latter." he answers. I gasp. "Why would they choose that!? Don't they know being turned into a vampire is twenty times more painful than death?" I say. It is true. I got turned, I should know. "I guess not. Humans are so dumb..." the waiter says, shaking his head. "So what's all this about...?" I ask. "Oh, well the HeadMaster brings all the humans that wish to be turned here, beyond this gate, on a rock-platform. He ties their wrists together and calls some vampires up to turn them. But the HeadMaster doesn't turn them or else they will gain his DNA and have some of his power." the waiter says. But...why did the HeadMaster bite me then...?
This confuses me, but I push this question out of my mind and follow the rest to see where we are going. Behind the gate, there is, sure enough, a flat, rocky platform. It has several humans tied together by the wrists as expected on it. They are all horrified. Most of them are crying.
Except for a little 8 year old boy. His eyes are watery, but he's trying to stand strong. He keeps whispering something under his breath...I carefully read his lips...he is mouthing, "...Mom said to be brave...Dad said to be strong..." I almost start crying when I see this. Once everyone is there, the HeadMaster comes up. It looks like the HeadMaster's guard always bites the first person...must be tradition. The guard walks over to the little 8 year old boy with shaggy brown hair and a green over-sized newsboy cap. The boy is shaking now, but he still refuses to cry. But sure enough, the guard bites him in the neck, and injects the venom. The boy screams, and it's ear-shattering. He starts crying, but even as fangs start growing, the boy wipes his tears. The bite is so painful that the boy slumps to the ground and faints. The guard catches him and cuts his ropes. Then he carries him off of the rock. "Now it's the HeadMaster's time to choose one of us," the blood-stand waiter whispers to me. He flips his pocket knife up and down as he thinks. That's the first time I've noticed the HeadMaster's pocket knife...it's silver with gold lining. It has an ancient look to it, but yet, it looks shiny and new...
"Hmmm...who will I choose to come up..." I duck down and sneak all the way to the back of the crowd to hide behind everyone. I do not want to get called up to bite all of those people. "Hmm...how about...Nobara!" the HeadMaster says. He cranes his neck and motions for the crowd to separate just so that he can point to me. The HeadMaster really hates me, doesn't he?
I slowly tread over to the line of people. And, of course, the person I have to turn is a girl that looks around my age. The HeadMaster guides me to her. He totally did this on purpose. I walk up, shaking, sweat beginning to form on my forehead. She starts crying when she looks at my fangs and looks me in the eye. I bend my head towards her neck, and my fangs are a centimeter away from her skin. I don't want to do this. But I have to do this.

I think...

This seems familiar. And I hesitate to think for a moment.
Wait...I don't have to do this. I can still do the right thing. The HeadMaster grins and walks beside me. He loves seeing my pain. He stoops down to my size and excitedly, he stares, just waiting for me to do it. Suddenly, I have an urge to do something I never thought I would do. After my fangs poke just slightly into her neck, I twist around as fast as lightning. I kick the HeadMaster so hard in the stomach that he falls off of the rock, caught off guard. But before he has a chance to get back up, I grasp his falling pocket knife and I cut the ropes off of the girl. I would have cut the ropes off of the other humans as well, but I didn't have time. Before I go, I spit the girl's blood that did get on my fangs in the HeadMaster's face.  I just grab the girl and run using all of my held-in rage. I don't know where I'm running, but I'm running faster than ever. I did it! I did the right thing! And I know that I will have to face the consequences. Probably even death. But I did the right thing.

I think...