Catrina Billowson

I stepped outside and took a breath of fresh air. The sky was clear, and I could see the blue sky. I sighed. If only I could get rid of the monster inside of me.

I heard the door open up behind me, and Henry walked out.

“Mrs. said to come watch you and check on you,” he beamed.

I smiled uneasily back and nodded. “Well, thanks for doing it.” I looked down at the ground, and back up to the sky again.

“Never said I wanted to do it,” he joked, breaking the tension between us.

I smiled. “Well, that’s nice, then.”

“So what happened back there? You looked like you were in pain.”

“Well...” I started. Should I tell him? “You could say that...”

“Mmm...”

There was a silence for a few minutes, and I just listened to his heartbeat, beating so easily, and smoothly. It kept a rhythm that I could’ve fallen asleep to. Then I realized something.

“Wait!” I said suddenly, breaking the silence. I wasn’t thirsty, and Henry was standing about two feet away from me.

“What?” He said, alerted.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” I said sadly.

“Try me,” he smiled. He had a pretty smile.

I sighed. I was debating on whether to tell him or not.

“Okay... I’m this creature called a… Vere—Verepire...” I said, staring off into the horizon. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for an explosion of laughter from Henry.

I never heard a sound. I looked at him, and he seemed sad.

“I know.”

He looked down at his feet and started pushing a rock around on the concrete.

“What? What do you mean, ‘you know’?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he smiled, quoting me.

I grinned, my heart shifting in my chest. “Try me.”

He laughed. “Alright. Well, I used to be one too... A Verepire I mean.”

“But you’re human!” I said, in disbelief.

“And happy to be one.” He said.

I was in amazement. “But how—how did you be—become... human again?” I gushed. “I mean, isn’t it impossible?”

“Hard, yes, but not impossible. Little of us know about it. I found it out from a witch. Not Mrs. She’s an awkward type of witch—but I learned it from a wise one up in the mountains.”

This was gonna be fun. Not.

“How?” I asked. “I mean, how did you get human again?”

“Well I begged the witch to turn me back, and she said she didn’t have the power. She couldn’t do it. So she told me a mixture that would help me become human again.” He pulled a paper out of his pocket. It was old, and golden with age. It looked like a treasure map. “She said to carry this around, because someone else was going to need it. On it are the ingredients. Do not show this to anyone else. And keep the Verepire secret to yourself. You’re lucky you told me and not someone like our substitute teacher for first period.” He smiled.

“He knows. I didn’t tell him, I swear,” I told Henry. “But that’s why he pulled me out into the hall. He took me back in time when Koby was in trouble—this new guy in my homeroom. I had been the one who saved him in the story he told me about his past. And I didn’t realize it until after the past dream part thingie. Ugh, okay. I’m making no sense... So what am I supposed to do with this list?”

“Don’t open it until you’re alone, and no one is with you, or it won’t work. You have to have no creature within a hundred feet radius of you each time you open it, or else the ingredients listed will change and never return to what they were. It changes for everyone.”

“So you can change two people at the same time?” I asked, anxious.

“Yes, but it’s harder, and less predictable. Y’all could blow up for all we know. And they have to be the same mythological race,” he said with warning. “Do not change Koby and do not change Harvey. The three of you are completely different species. Neither of them can know about this. At least not yet. And you need to do it tomorrow night. It’s a full moon. It will not work unless it’s during a full moon.”

“After I see the ingredients... what do I do next?”

“Okay, for this part you can have people around, but not too many. You have to collect the things, and then create a soup. Then you drink all of it while it’s still hot.”

“Can you help me with it? Or no?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ll help, so don’t worry.” He smiled.

I looked down at the folded up paper in my hands, and put it in my pocket. “Alright.” I said, feeling better. I looked up, and saw Henry right beside me, facing me. I looked into his eyes, and I saw something I hadn’t seen in a long time. I didn’t know what it was, but it was warmth. I smiled back at him.

“Ready to go in?”

I snapped out of my trance, and sighed. “I guess.”

He opened the door, and ushered toward it. “Ladies first.

“Gladly,” I giggled, and stepped inside.