The Girl & The Vampire(A prequel to A Haunting Face)

Girl Gone Missing

Elyse paced back and forth in her room, attempting to clear her head of what had just happened. Olivia wasn't on her side anymore. For the first time in a while, she felt completely alone. Elyse wrapped her arms around herself, hugging herself because she really needed a hug right now, but there was no one there to hug her except for herself. She felt like crying, or throwing something, or punching something. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do. She was usually really good at controlling her emotions, but she couldn't help it this time. She couldn't help feeling like she had just lost everything in the world. Of all the people that could have turned on Elyse, she never thought Olivia would be one of them. Kindhearted Olivia, the girl who had been so shy when she first met Elyse, the girl who had no problem with putting the needs of others before herself. She was a good person, had always stuck by Elyse's side. Now, it was different.

Elyse didn't want to rely on Lucy and the rest of the group. She had only been to one meeting, and as much as she had appreciated them for being so willing to support her and help her through the traumatic event, they weren't her friends... and now the girls weren't either, it seemed.

Elyse finally stopped pacing when Aviva and Olivia rushed into the room. "Cassie's gone!" Aviva shouted. Elyse looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean 'she's gone?'" Elyse asked, crossing her arms.

"I mean, she's missing. She's disappeared, and it's your fault!" Aviva's voice rose with every word, setting off Elyse's anger. "I bet it was your vampire friend that took her. She's probably his next victim! I swear to God, if Cassie dies-"

"For the last time, Aviva, there's no such thing as vampires! You're paranoid!"

"Cassie could die, and you care more about your own beliefs than your friend. And you say I'm the selfish one."

Elyse was about to reply when Olivia interrupted. "Enough! We don't have time for this. We need to tell the police."

"What good will that do against a vampire?" Aviva asked.

"It doesn't matter whether vampires exist or not, but all we can do is report Cassie as missing. Please, you two. I know both of you are angry, but there are more important things to worry about right now."

The two sighed, knowing Olivia was right. Finding Cassie was the most important thing right now, and the longer they stayed there and did nothing, the more danger Cassie was (potentially) in.

...

"We'd like to report our friend Cassie Moore as missing," Aviva said to the officer at the front desk of the police station. They gave the officer all the needed information, and the detective brought them in one by one to talk.

"Ms. Devereaux," Detective Bruner began with a sigh as Elyse sat in front of him. "First Mr. Balkner's death, and now Ms. Moore's disappearance. While I do know that you aren't responsible for Jeremy's death, you do seem to be at the center of all the trouble lately. Why is that?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Elyse shrugged. "I don't know. Believe me, I'm wondering the same thing. Bad timing, I suppose. Or maybe some kind of curse was put on me." She couldn't believe she had just said that. She didn't believe in curses. Still, she was being completely serious.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened leading up to Ms. Moore's disappearance?" The detective sat down at the table in front of her, clasping his hands together on the table.

Elyse began to explain the events to Bruner, talking about the argument and about Olivia, etc. "I guess the argument got out of hand and was too much for Cassie to handle, so she ran out of the room. The girls went after her, but when they came back, they said she was gone. Aviva blames me for it."

"Your friend blames you for Cassie's disappearance even though you were still in your dorm? That doesn't make much sense, Ms. Devereaux. If you were in your dorm the whole time, how could you be responsible for Cassie going missing?"

Elyse sighed. "Over the break, I met someone interesting. He was mysterious, and... I don't know. He was just different, I guess. Aviva believes that the guy I met was Dracula like in the Bram Stoker novel. She thinks he's obsessed with me. He sent me a letter awhile ago, I have no idea how he got the address of the school. Aviva thinks that he's responsible for Jeremy's death. She looked over the released pictures from the investigation and said that there were two holes in his neck. They weren't very big."

"Your friend believes in vampires? And she thinks you met one over the Winter break?" Elyse nodded.

"She also thinks that same person took Cassie."

Bruner wet his lips and leaned forward. "Is your friend okay? Aviva, I mean. She doesn't have any mental issues, does she?" Elyse shook her head.

"No, she doesn't have any." The detective hummed, leaning back in the chair.

"Well, I suppose I still have yet to speak with Ms. Lynn. Send her in, please? As for you, you're free to go." Elyse stood up and left the room. She gestured for Aviva to go in. Aviva glared daggers at Elyse as she walked past her before entering the room, closing the door behind her.

Elyse sighed and went over to where Olivia was sat, biting the nail of her thumb. Elyse sat a few chairs away from Olivia, not even looking at her. Olivia looked over at Elyse and sighed. "Elyse, I know you're mad at me. I'm sorry that I upset you, I didn't mean to. It's just that..." Olivia bit her lip. "Cassie's intentions were good. She just wanted to help. Jeremy was still a threat to you when he was walking around on campus. She didn't want him doing anything else to you."

"I really don't want to talk about it right now, Olivia. Okay?" Elyse asked, her tone slightly harsh. Elyse turned away from Olivia, resting her head on her hand. She wondered what had happened to Cassie, and where she had gone.