Night Class

September 10th, 2019

Tuesday 8:15pm

Kieran’s vial. It was Kieran’s blood vial. It was shattered just on the outskirts of the woods. Giles had deduced that someone must’ve broken it by stomping it into the ground. Ehren guesses Bromley and so do I. The vampires had run off after Ehren and left me behind. Peyton stayed with me though. He’s almost moving as if he were one with me, staying right by my side with no complaint or hesitation. He could easily leave me behind just as they had, but he doesn’t.

“Peyton,” I pant out. “Just carry me. It’ll be faster.”

Without another word or a confirmation of any kind, I’m slung up into his arms and being ran through the plethora of trees. Limbs and leaves smack against my face and arms as we go. Peyton seems unaffected by the assaults, but to me, it hurts more than I care to admit to out loud. Stinging sensations travel all throughout my upper body, but I make no effort to complain about it. We need to find Kieran.

The woods open up to a clearing. Trees surround the giant circle of tall grass. There are small stumps in some places, indicating the space had been cleared out beforehand. A small opening in the ground, almost like a burrow, is in the middle of the clearing. Hands begin poking out from it, clawing and dragging their way out of the small opening like some kind of horror film. I feel as though at any moment zombies will start rushing for us, trying to eat our brains.

Grunts and groans of protest are loud as Rhea finally comes into view. She drags her body out of the hole and not long after her, Ehren follows through. They fall to the ground, panting like animals. Peyton sits me down before rushing to his sister’s side. Scrambling to my feet, I rush to Ehren’s as well. The dhampir has a sheen if sweat on his forehead and his clothes are soaked through. Rhea looks the same.

“Ehren- Ehren, what happened?” I shake on his chest frantically, attempting to keep him focused on me. “Look at me, Ehren. Tell me what’s going on!”

Rhea coughs from beside us. “They rigged the place-” She begins hacking now. “J-Juniper- Juniper in the vents.”

“We only-” Ehren begins rasping out, “Breathed a little. Hurts like hell, though.” The dhampir slightly shakes in my arms now as I cradle his head to my chest. “Kieran- He’s in th-there. Peyton, get him- get him out.”

“No!” Rhea thrashes around in Peyton’s arms. She grabs at her brother’s head and forces him to look into her glowing eyes. “Don’t you- dare, Peyton! Please...”

Peyton looks as though he’s torn now as he glances between his injured sister and the opening of the hole. He can’t leave her. He’d never forgive himself if anything happened to her. I know I wouldn’t be able to leave Melanie behind if I was in his position.

Ehren’s face feels hot and sweaty in my hands now. He’s burning up. There’s no way he’d accept my blood and without him healthy, he can’t help us rescue Kieran. I stared at the hole in the ground, my insides turning with a new kind of heat I had never felt before. I lean down and place my lips softly against Ehren’s forehead now. His skin nearly burns my lips, but it’s worth it. Even with him in pain like this, kissing just his forehead has my insides churning with a hidden desire, a desire for more. Slowly, I let my hands fall from his face and gently lay him back on the ground.

I have to do this. Glancing back at him as his eyes slowly flutter closed, I whisper, “I’m so sorry, Ehren.”

Ignoring Peyton’s protests and Rhea’s shrieks, I jump through the dark hole. Air whooshes all around me as I’m falling downwards. It feels as though I’ve been falling forever until my body finally meets the ground. Wheezing a breath of pain, I ignore the burning in my right leg and crawl to the nearest wall. The bricks lining the wall help me to stand on my feet. My leg feels as though it has its very own heartbeat in it. If I don’t acknowledge the pain, then it won’t bother me as much. Right? Wrong. Each limp down the dark hallway causes a whimper to escape my trembling lips.

This is for Kieran; I keep reminding myself with each painful step.

The hallway has one door at the end of it, leaving me with no other option than to open it and go through. The door is heavy, made of steel and something else I don’t care enough to figure out. It nearly shakes the entire room as it thuds against the metal wall on the inside of the room. I almost lost all balance pushing the thing open, but I caught myself before falling face first into the metal flooring.

Staring now at the scene before me is- It’s downright disturbing. Giles and Romans lay on the ground in front of me, gasping as their hands hold their throats. Vera lies off to the side, her whole-body convulsing as if she were having some type of seizure. But the worst thing to see is Kieran’s body in the middle of room, tied by his hands and feet in some disgusting contraption. Two arms outstretched, two legs outstretched, and his clothes tattered while soaked with what looks to be blood. His damp brown hair hands just over his contorted face as he attempts to keep his eyes on the two boys laying at my feet.

There’s some kind of plastic or glass container surrounding him, keeping me from hearing anything he could be saying. My feet slap against the metal plating that lines the floor until I reach the container. The glass bounces and shakes under each bang as my hands slap against it.

“Open! Kieran!” Desperation begins to leak from my tone. “Please- Open!”

No matter how hard I hit the glass, it doesn’t show any sign of breaking. I’m too weak. Sliding along the floor, Kieran’s eyes meet mine and I feel my stomach turning sour. His blue eyes have tears pouring from them, matching my own. On my knees, I place both hands on the glass now.

“I’m so sorry, Kieran,” I whisper out. “I wanted to help. But I- I just can’t. I’m-” My hands tighten into fists as I’m filled with the realization. “I’m only human.”

Aldrich’s words echo now in my mind. “You are nothing compared to us. You will never be accepted in this family as long as you are this sad excuse of skin and bone.”

“I’m not like you and the others,” I admit out loud. I don’t even know if he can hear me. “I don’t have special powers or amazing gifts. I’m not strong or fast. I’m not even good at being a human, let alone a vampire.” My eyes meet his once more. “I’m nothing.”

“Finally-” A dark chuckle releases from somewhere in the room. “The clueless little human understands how things work.”

I stand now, searching around for the owner of the voice, the voice that I vaguely recognize. By the door I just came from is Arlo Bromley. His blonde hair slicked back as he uses his walking stick to get closer to me. From inside the glass, I can hear a very faint noise, something like shouting, but it’s too quiet to make out.

“Arlo.” The name sits like poison on my tongue now. “Let him go.”

He seems to be pondering the idea before clicking his tongue. “No. No, I don’t think I will. You see, Princess Isabella, there are reasons for such drastic actions. Reasons that, I’m sure, are far beyond the understanding of a simple human like yourself.”

My hands shake now as he draws closer. His stick creates a click clack click with every step. It makes me grit my teeth in anger, knowing that he’s the one who kidnapped Kieran, locked him up like some animal. He’s the one who caused my friends to suffer like they are. Arlo is the reason Ehren might be slowly dying right now. He’s a monster in the shape of a man.

“There’s nothing complicated about why you’ve done any of this.” With trembling legs, I step towards him now. “You kidnapped Kieran in hopes that it would distract his parents from their campaign. The same one that would have you locked up for murdering Ehren’s mother. You’d be in a cage like the monster you really are.”

Arlo’s eyes narrow on me now, but I ignore it and walk closer. “But boy do I have news for you.” My lips quirk now as I stare directly into his cold eyes. “They don’t know their son is missing. We never told them a thing. Even the Queen doesn’t know what’s happened. A bunch of teens and a human outsmarted you. Your own nephew, Ehren, outsmarted you. You lose.”

Finally, that cool exterior cracks and the true monster shows underneath. His eyes glow as they are surrounded by black veins. Arlo lunges forward and I’m far too injured to go anywhere. Large cold hands encase the front of my black hoodie, lifting me up into the thickened air. Two legs dangle helplessly as the monster in front of me pulls me closer to his distorted face. Two large blue orbs and four fangs protruding from his darkened lips.

“I’ll be the loser if you leave from here alive, Princess Isabella.” His hot breath smells like copper and something twistedly sour. “And according to the Crux track record involving humans like yourself, you have made it a bit too far alive. Now, I’ve had my fair share of blood today, seeing as how this sad excuse of a vampire refused to drink even a drop of the blood I had offered him, but I do believe I could show him how a true vampire feasts on humans.” His nostrils flair as he breathes in the air between us now. “Oh, how delicious a royal’s blood must taste.”

A tongue darts out to slowly lick his lips, catching each fang as it does so. There’s no fear of what he may do to me, no uptick in my heart to indicate that I fear for my life. I can’t tell if it’s Peyton’s blood or if I’m just so done and fed up with these vampires attacking me.

“It tastes kind of like pomegranates.” A muffled voice sounds out from behind the tall man.

Arlo’s head tilts a bit in slight confusion, but I know exactly who that voice belongs to. Peaking over the man’s shoulder, I see Peyton standing in the doorway. His face is completely covered by a gas mask. Little blonde waves bounce as he darts towards us at an inhuman speed. There’s a jolt and then my body meets the glass behind us. It sounds as though it’s raining now as tiny shards of glass fall all around us. Blood lays in different spots on the floor now as pieces of glass find their way into my skin. I feel as though I’m covered in the offending material, but I still roll over onto my stomach, ignoring the pain as best as I can.

“Izzy,” Kieran’s strained voice hisses out. “Izzy, run.”

I can’t, Kieran. I’m so sorry, but I just can’t get up. Pain spreads through my leg, the one that was already hurting. I look down to see Arlo holding it tightly, and begin kicking as best I can, but the vampire holds on tighter. He growls low now as he squeezes until the bone finally snaps.

My screams echo through the room until my ears and throat feel equally numb. I’ve never had a broken bone before. The pain is excruciating compared to Peyton’s little bite earlier. I’d rather be bitten a million times than have to go through breaking another bone again. My eyes stay on the ceiling now as movement breaks out all around me. I can hear shouting, hissing, glass being jumbled around and jostled. I fight and fight to keep my eyes open, but darkness begins to consume me as they flutter closed. Small tinkling noises scatter around my head as someone’s hands grip both sides of my face now.

“Izzy-” Something wet hits my cheeks and rolls off. “Izzy, please wake up. I can hear your heartbeat, baby. Please. Just open your eyes. Let me see those pretty brown eyes.”

I can feel my glasses being pulled off my face now. Putting all my focus into my eyelids, I will them to open, but nothing happens. I want to open my eyes; I need to see Kieran’s face. Without seeing him free from the contraption, my brain just won’t believe that he’s safe, that he’s okay.

“I have so much to tell you,” Kieran whimpers. His hands grip my back now as I’m pulled flush against him. “I need to tell you the truth. Izzy, there is no one else. Mandy’s just a friend, that’s all she is and ever will be. I wanted you from the start. I wanted to tell you that I liked you back so many times, but it’s complicated. Ehren got in the way for a minute, but I realized that- That I don’t need my brother’s permission to be happy. So-” He begins hiccupping now as he strokes the back of my head. “Please, wake up and let me make things right. Please.”

“Peyton!” Giles. That’s Giles. He’s okay. “Isabella needs blood. Now!”

“On it, G-Man!” Peyton’s voice sounds like a blessing in disguise now as it draws closer. “Let me have the princess. You put this on and get one on Vera too. Now, Kieran! Go!”

My body shifts around until I can feel someone else holding me, someone not as gentle as Kieran was. Peyton’s arms encircle my waist, and I can feel his arm pushing my lips apart, forcefully. Blood, sweetened blood, trickles down my sore throat. Moaning in pure ecstasy, I finally moved my hands until they gripped his strong forearm.

“Welcome back, troublemaker.” Peyton’s glowing eyes come into view. “It’s time for a royal smackdown. You ready?”

With my lips quirking upwards, he takes that as the sign to let me go. He helps me on my feet for a moment before darting to the left. His hair bounces as he jumps and grips one of the cables that had been imprisoning Kieran before. Peyton lets go and lands directly in front of Arlo’s towering form. The monster is currently fighting off both Kieran Giles and Romans already. There’s no way he could take on three of them. I go to move towards them, to maybe help in some way, but there’s still an uncomfortably shark pain in my leg. I thought the blood would’ve healed me by now, but it seems to not be fully working like it should.

Peyton jumps, grabbing ahold of Arlo’s head and attempting to snap it, but the older vampire simply slings him off to the side. I can hear Romans shouting as he charges towards Arlo, but the man moves to the side while hitting my friend right in the middle of his back. I heard the crack of his spine.

This is no good. These younger vampires have been fed a vial of blood a day, mixed with vampire blood, not just straight human blood. Arlo has consumed all of those poor bodies that we found. He’s too strong for any of them to handle. I doubt even my aunt could take him on. If I had ever wondered what over drinking blood would look like for them; I wouldn’t have to look any further than five feet ahead of me.

Giles begins spoofing around Arlo and just as he begins to reach for my cousin, a group of large men start piling into the room. They’re strapped with guns and dressed head to toe in tactical gear like some kind of covert swat team. There’s way too much going on for me to possibly keep up. The men circle the boys and Arlo now, guns aimed directly at the tall man. Red dots line his body, and he stares between each and every man around him now.

The two men in front of the door slowly part from one another, leaving a gap between themselves. Ehren stands in between them now, moving as though he wasn’t injured just a few minutes ago. His brown hair is still damp, and his face looks exhausted as he makes his way towards Arlo. His shirt clings to his body through the sweat and I can see his defined muscles, each and every ab and pec. His upper arms are bulging, mouthwatering almost.

“Arlo.” Ehren’s voice is low, dipping dangerously past his usual octave. I’ve never heard him sound so vicious. “Everyone- Get out.”

One of the men near him steps closer. “Sir-”

“Out!” Ehren’s veins are all black, prominent, and make him seem terrifying. “Peyton. Take Isabella with you.”

“What?” Peyton moves towards me, but I rush around him. “No!”

Peyton’s arms encase me, lifting me up from the ground. I begin kicking my legs out while hitting my hands against his arms. “No! Peyton, put me down!” My eyes land on Ehren’s back as he walks backwards out of the room. “Ehren! Ehren, please! Peyton, let me go! I’m begging you!”

The swat team leaves out of the room, filing out like ants on a mission. Ehren is left all alone in the room with Arlo now. Both of them are encircled by liquid smoke. Black tendrils curl around Ehren’s shoulders as he sends them out towards a wide-eyed Arlo Bromley. His screams echo the entire underground system as we keep running away from them.

Tears stream down my face as I continue to fight against Peyton now. “Please, please, please... Peyton, please let me go.” I feel disoriented as I continue to beg and plead with him. “He’s going to get hurt. Please, I- I can’t do this.”

Ehren’s screams echo out of the hole now along with Arlo’s. Peyton lays on his back, holding me against his chest around my ribs, making sure I can’t roll off and run away. The pain in my chest is nearly unbearable. I feel all those feelings I had felt when Dad and Melanie had passed away. The pain I suppressed and ignored when Mom passed away. I can’t handle losing someone else. These teens, they’ve become my family. Ehren is- Ehren’s something that I can’t let go of no matter the consequences of us being together, no matter who it might hurt.

The images of Dad coming home from work in the evenings, carrying a single rose through the house and into the kitchen. He placed the rose in the awaiting glass vase like always before kissing Mom as she giggled. Her arms stayed around me as they swayed to the invisible music.

“A rose for my beautiful Rose.” He always said it. No matter if they had been arguing that day or if they were seemingly too busy. Dad always brought home a single red rose for Mom. She would always thank him and say, “A single rose may last a season, but yours that you’ve helped bloom and grow will last a lifetime. And that, my love, is the true beauty of roses.”

Ehren. Ehren’s my rose. Ehren is the one I want to help bloom and grow.

With every ounce of strength left in me, I pull out of Peyton’s grasp and scramble towards the opening in the ground. Shouts of protest sound out from behind me, but I ignore every one of them. Ehren is in danger down there and there isn’t a thing up here that could stop me from getting to him.

Sliding down into the hole, the pain shoots up my leg once more as I hit the bottom. This time though, I pushed past it. I’ve had two doses of vampire blood today, but neither of them is anything compared to the rush of adrenaline I’m feeling right now at the thought of Arlo hurting Ehren. I can’t lose him.

Silence takes over the hallway now as I limp down it more. Please be okay, I internally plead with whoever might be listening. Please let him be okay. I couldn’t handle it if he was gone. I’ve lost too much. Mom, Dad, Melanie; they’re gone now, and this academy is all I have left. I could never see Jackie again as long as I’m around all these vampires. These stupid, irritating, irresponsible, and downright disrespectful vampires. But they’re my vampires; they’re my family.

The door is still open as I get closer. I can hear shallow breathing, panting in a way, as I walk through the broken doorway. The steel door is now in two pieces far away from the entryway and the metal flooring is nearly ripped up from the ground completely. Jagged edges are bent upwards as if a tornado had come through and threatened to tear the place apart. Even the walls seem torn apart, exposing bits of packed dirt beneath the metal plates.

Ehren sits on his knees in the middle of the room, smoke swirling around him uncontrollably it would seem. Tendrils of the liquid darkness lick against him every so often, causing shudders of pain. Arlo's body lays a small distance from him, disfigured even from this far away. Ehren must've killed him. There’s not even an ounce of doubt in my mind as I make way closer to his side. Stepping through the smoke, ignoring the agonizing pain in my legs as it attempts to swallow me whole, I push on. Falling beside the dhampir, I grip his forearms and turn him, forcing him around to look at me.

“Ehren- Ehren, are you okay?” My voice rasps, proving just how sore and raw it is now from all the screaming and crying. “Ehren, talk to me, please.”

Ehren’s face is slack now as he falls against my chest. His head gently rests on my shoulder while his body slumps to the floor. I grab at his face now, trying to get him to look at me. The smoke begins to fall and disappear into the floor.

“Are- Are you hurt?” Ehren croaks out. “Did he hurt you?”

He looks like he’s been through literal Hell but asks me if I’m okay. He’s insane. “I’m fine,” I chuckle out. “I’m okay, Ehren. Are you okay?”

“Never better,” he lies. He begins coughing, his whole-body convulsing before relaxing against me once more. “Isabella, listen to me- I want you to be happy-”

“No,” I say firmly, cutting him off. “I won’t listen to any of that. You’re going to be okay, and I will be happy. I’ll be happy with you.”

“Isabella-”

“Ehren.” Forcing him to look me in the eyes, I feel drowned in the brightness of green evident in them. “I’m not going anywhere. I am yours, until you tell me that you want nothing to do with me. Unless you say the words, ‘I don’t want you’ to me, I’m here to stay.” My heart begins pounding in my chest now. “You don’t get to choose who I get to be happy with. Only I can choose that.”

With shaking hands, I rip his vial from around his neck. He gasps at the sudden movement but doesn’t bother protesting. Using my teeth to pop the cork, I place the vial to his lips, but he tightens them.

“Ehren, please-” My hands tremble now, terrified that I might lose him if doesn’t get some kind of blood in him. “You need to drink this.”

His arm weakly moves the vial away from his lips as he says quietly, “I don’t want you to see me like that. It’s not something I’m proud of.”

“See you like what- A monster?” His eyes widen and I can’t help but laugh now. “Ehren- You may be a vampire, you may drink blood and could easily kill me with just a small bit of smoke that somehow you control, but- Ehren, you have never been a monster to me.”

“But you said before-”

“I don’t care about anything involving you vampires. I don’t care that you need to drink blood. I really don’t care that you could kill me if you wanted to, because the truth is, I trust you more than I trust myself.” My hands push the vial to his lips again. “Now, drink this or I’m forcing my own blood down your throat.”

That seems to do the trick. His lips wrap around the vial and the blood easily slides out and into his awaiting mouth. Some small part of me finds myself a tad bit jealous of the vial of blood. His lips look so soft despite the cracks and stains from the blood. We’re so close too. I could just lean forward and kiss him, letting both of our worries slip away. Just do the one thing that both of us have been wanting since that moment at the foot of the treehouse.

Ehren’s eyes stare into mine now, he seems more alert than before, as if the blood is actually doing its job. Brown hair, damp and touchable. Plump lips parted and kissable. Those blue eyes with that- that beautiful moss green glowing at me. Why do I feel so sleepy? I was wide awake just a few moments ago, but now I feel as though I’m drunk on something. The pain in my leg has spread to more areas, but they feel so faint. Ehren’s face begins to just melt away, blurring until it’s just one mass of blurry colors.

Ehren, am I dying?