Necromancer

Hunter

。O  。

My theatre buddies were abuzz at the end of the day. I would've gone straight home hadn't I overheard the topic of gossip on the way out of school. The sun had weakened. Even if the winter solstice had passed, nature didn't seem to know it yet. Colder days were coming. The next few nights were meant to drop several degrees below zero, the forest fog falling into icy slicks on the roads. I slowed after passing the gates so I could listen to Tim Burton, a gangly kid from the lighting crew who had acne scars.

"...another reported sighting! Outside of town this time. Some hikers went off-trail North of Whitman's Point, they found these patches of dead grass and trees, and there was Tommy."

"No way!"

"His suit has all leaves and shit in it. He lives down in a ditch now, out there."

"Bullshit."

"Nah man! My girlfriend told me, her Dad's on the police force."

"Hayley is not your girlfriend, dude."

I kept going on the way to my car. If there was one profession that wasn't suited for a vampire it was gardener. That was a silly thing to think. I imagine they'd also be terrible doctors. But you get my point. If Angela was a vampire she needed a place to sleep during the day that was away from sunlight. If her presence made plants die, then it would've been easy to find the block, maybe even the house she was hiding in. Unless she had a place out there. A wide berth of dead forest, a tunnel, or abandoned house with zombified Tommy acting as guard dog.

Simon was waiting for me by my car. I smiled, despite everything, unlocked it when I was close and we both slid in.

"So what are we going to do now?"

"Might sound crazy, but the shops? Might help to load up on garlic and crosses."

I gripped the steering wheel and stared forward "...anything else vampires don't like while we're at it?"

"Holy water. Water blessed by a priest, or other person of religious status. Any kind of spiritual symbol or item, not just Christian. Silver... according to some lore."

"Well we better find out what's real and what's fake." I started the car and pulled out, paid extra attention to driving. "I know she can't cross running water, I saw that with my own eyes. She definitely can't enter houses either. It might've worked with Tommy, but she wasn't stopping by our places just to say hi." Something occurred to me. "Should we tell Jane?"

"Should we?"

"Well she might be in danger too."

"What do you think? Would she help us?"

"No. She's terrified. She's been seeing the councillor all week. At least we know she's not likely to let Angela in, whether she thinks she's dreaming or not. And I don't think she'll be leaving her house at night."

I trusted Simon, but I couldn't tell anyone else about the vampire theory. Jane was scared enough.

And with good reason, as it turned out. Simon had been pondering the exact same thing as me after hearing about the latest Tommy sighting. Was Angela sleeping her days away in the forest? All of the legends implied that vampires needed a dark place to sleep, hence why they had their own castles or hideaways. Simon was going to look up old factories or plants, proper olde lumbermills that might have existed away from town. It was Scone's original export during its foundation three-hundred odd years ago, Simon would know.

I slept restlessly. Red eyes and pointed fangs, smiling invitingly. Asking nicely to be let in. Then the struggling stopped. I relaxed in bed, a stillness settling over me. A quiet blur in the night. Moments that you try so desperately to wake up from, completely at the mercy of your mind, but when you do wake up you forget all about them anyway. Angela was behind my window, gently asking me to come over, pulling at my mind. I couldn't see her behind the curtain, but I knew she was there.