WinterFall: Once upon a ghoul

5. MR. DELTON

"Here you go, Henry" said Holly, handing the plate of raw meat to him. "Just so you know, meat's finished. There was hardly enough meat for two people."

"And you took it," continued Hazel while scribbling it in her notepad "I believe, yesterday night at 2:30 am and now, today at 1:00 pm."

"Except that it doesn't feel like 1:00 pm at all!" snapped Heather "Why do we have the shades drawn on all the windows?!"

"First of all, thanks Holly for the food!" said Henry and managed a small smile "And Hazel, you don't have to write EVERYTHING down!"

"Yes I have to!" protested Hazel "If we didn't give you food at the right intervals, who knows? You might crave some blood!"

Henry scowled.

"Or even worse!" began Heather "my precious blood."

Hazel glared at Heather.

"Oh Heather! You don't even have the common sense to know basic information like vampires can't handle sunlight."

"Yes I do!"

"Then you wouldn't have asked why the shades were down." completed Hazel.

Heather bit her lip.

Jack sat straight on the couch, yawning. He observed the four siblings. He always wondered about the Winston family- they were all so...different. The only one he found normal was Holly. Even Henry was rather unique. He was more on the quiet side. The other two were exact opposites. Hazel was a typical tomboy and very studious, whereas Heather was obsessed with fashion and a complete diva. Jack knew nothing about their dad. None of them ever spoke about him. Their mum had worked double shifts at the local hospital to raise them. So they hardly ever get to see her. But at least it was way better than having no one at all...

Jack's train of thought was interrupted by the vibration of Heather's phone.

"Yes mum?" said Heather picking up her phone "Oh...okay... yes...love you!"

"What did she say?" asked Holly.

"She's working double shifts today." said Heather "She said she'll be home by tomorrow afternoon."

"Good! Now we don't have to tell mom about Henry and make her tensed more than she already is!" said Hazel relieved and added "I've also sharpened the stake."

"Pardon!" said Jack emerging from behind the couch "But what exactly is a stake?"

"Oh Jack! You've become just as ignorant as Heather." continued Hazel shaking her head. "A stake is a wooden post with a pointed end."

"Straight out of the dictionary." said Heather rolling her eyes.

*********************************

"Bye sis, see you later." said Henry.

"We'll be back soon." called out Jack managing a limp wave.

Jack and Henry were going to the market to get meat. They could only go at night as Henry could not endure sunlight.

"The shop is just around the corner." said Henry.

"Oh, here we are!" said Jack after a while. "Two kilograms of meat please."

While Henry and Jack were waiting for the meat, a man approached them. He was short and very pale.

"Um...who are you?" asked Henry.

"You don't remember me, do you?" said the man "I'm Delton, Nate's dad."

"Oh sorry Mr. Delton, I didn't quite recognize you." said Henry feeling embarrassed.

"It's okay." said Mr. Delton "I was surprised that you didn't recognize me. I mean, I did visit your home once. Your sisters are quite nice too. Anyway, I better be off."

"Here's your meat." said the butcher.

"Oh...thank you." replied Jack.

They paid the man and were ready to go home. But Henry pulled Jack to a nearby passageway.

"I can't help but notice, I've heard his voice somewhere." whispered Henry "that cold, hoarse voice."

They peered out of the alley to the street and saw that Mr. Delton hadn't left. He was talking to another man.

"You may have imagined that, Henry." said Jack "We ought to go home."

"But wait, look!" cried Henry.

They both glanced at Mr. Delton to see his eyes flicker red.

"I remember it now! The cold, hoarse voice!" cried Henry "I saw him in the forest that night!"

Jack's face filled with dismay.

"Oh no! They are alone at home!" said Henry "Let's hurry Jack! We've got to warn my sisters about him!"

Both of them ran to Henry's home while the vampire watched the boys scurry away and smirked.