“You didn’t have to hit him that hard.” I said, as Katherine and I were dragging my unconscious father down into his underground crypt that I never knew he had.
“Yes, I did. Did you not see the wooden stake in his hand? He tried to kill you, and he would have succeeded if I hadn’t saved your sorry butt.”
“About that. How did you get in? You weren’t invited.”
“Anywhere you’re invited, I’m invited.”
“How does that work?” Katherine shrugged.
“I’m not an expert on doppelgangers, Kieyra. I don’t know.” We dropped my dad in a human sized crate (why he had this was still a mystery) and locked the door to it just as he started to wake up.
“W-where am i?”
“In your basement.” I said, backing away from the crate.
“Oh, Kieyra, I had the weirdest dream. You were a vampire, and I was trying to kill you, and there was this girl…she looked almost exactly like you…it was like she was, like, um…what’s the word…”
“I believe the term you’re looking for is doppelganger.” Katherine said, walking towards my dad.
“Who’s she?”
“She’s Katherine, my ancestor.” I said. Katherine rolled her eyes.
“Katherine happens to be standing right here and can introduce herself, thank you.” She said, standing right in front of the crate and looking my dad straight in the eyes.
“We haven’t officially met. I’m Katherine.” She smiled, and I rolled my eyes.
“You took that line from Vampire Diaries.” Katherine shrugged.
“It still fits. Anyways, what are we going to do about him?” she pointed to my dad.
“Please don’t kill me. I’m only one man trying to support his family on a government loan, and-”
“Quit the act, dad, we all know that that weird motivational speaker guy gives you money to help him with his career as a vampire hunter.” I shook my head in disappointment.
“Well, I’ll leave you two alone for a minute.” Katherine said, going upstairs.
“We’re not going to hurt you, I swear. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Then why am I locked up?!”
“Because you act impulsively, and out of anger. We couldn’t risk our lives again.”
“What, is she your new best friend or something? Last time I checked, people weren’t normally friends with their ancient, supposedly dead ancestors.”
“Well, I’m not like most people. I guess I got that from you.” I smiled awkwardly. Katherine came running downstairs.
“Lover boy’s upstairs. He wants to see you. I’ll watch your psycho elderly father for you.”
“I’m not that old.” My dad defended.
“Fifty three is old.” I said. I ran upstairs to find Alec miming with the open door, trying to get in. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You think this is funny? Could you, I don’t know, invite me in?”
“Sorry, can’t. I don’t live here.” I smirked.
“Ha ha, very funny. Now let me in.”
“I was serious. I haven’t lived here since I was eight, and the house deed has changed owners a few times since then. Plus, I live with my mom, not my dad. My mom has full custody of me. Ergo, you can’t come in.”
“Who says ‘ergo’ anymore?”
“I do.” I started to step outside, but backed away quickly when the vervain mist came down.
“BTW-that means ‘by the way’-the house is booby trapped.”
“I know what ‘BTW’ means.”
“I never would have guessed. How old are you, again? Three hundred some years old? Damn. You’re ancient.”
“Ha ha ha, you’re so funny. That was sarcasm, BTW.”
“So, what was it like?”
“What was what like?” he asked, confused.
“Living with the dinosaurs!”
“She’s got a point, though. You are ancient.” I spun around to find Katherine behind me, smirking at Alec.
“Your father would like to speak with you.” She said. I ran downstairs.
“You wanted me?” I asked. My dad was leaning against the side of the crate.
“I’m sorry I tried to kill you and your friend.” Wow. That’s something you should never have to hear from your father.
“You’re forgiven.” I figured that there would be no point in holding a grudge against my dad; if he was going to apologize, well, being a vampire on a vampire hunter’s good side was probably the way to go.
“I just…I don’t know who you are anymore.”
“Dad, I’m still your daughter. I’m still Kieyra, just a little more coordinated and a little less fragile.”
“How can I believe that?”
“Because. If you really love me, you’ll accept me for who I am. You’ll accept me for what I am.”
“What if I don’t want to know about any of this? Could you take away my memory?”
“Well, yes, but-”
“I want you to. I don’t want to know this.”
“Dad, couldn’t you just give vampires a chance?”
“NO, Kieyra! I don’t want to. I just want to forget this.”
“Fine then.” I walked closer to him, looking him straight in his yellow-green eyes.
“You don’t remember any of what happened. I came here, we played an epic game of scrabble, and you gave me my Christmas present. I loved it. I said thank you, and we set off fireworks in the backyard. Then we came inside and watched Harry Potter movies until I fell asleep, and then mom took me home.” I could feel myself tearing up. I unlocked the crate and ran to the lake near my dad’s house. I sat down on the edge of a rock, dipping my toes into the freezing cold water.
“I know how much it hurts, kiddo. I’ve been there.” Katherine sat down next to me as I tossed a rock across the lake.
“How could you possibly understand?”
“Well, when I had to leave England when I was seventeen, I had to pretend like I’d died, so my parents wouldn’t miss me. I went back to Bulgaria and compelled them all to think that I’d mysteriously disappeared. It was hell. Try living for years alone, changing your identity and background in every new place you went.” I was immediately forced to feel complete empathy for her, which I assumed to be another annoying part of my doppelganger-ism. I suddenly wondered what it was like for Katherine to feel my constantly changing emotions-which were like that of an average teenage girl, except tripled.
When you’re a vampire, every single emotion you have seems somewhat magnified to the point where you’ve gone completely insane. For instance, when you’re sad, you’re deeply depressed. When you’re happy, you’re ecstatic. When you’re mad, you’re filled with complete and utter hatred for whoever’s angered you. When you love…
Well, that’s a whole other story.
But I refused to think of love. I didn’t want to. The thought of love made me angry at myself for lying to Alec. And for what other reason than to save myself? Betray him and run away so that Katherine could wait for someone else to kill Damien? So that Alec could?
Suddenly it hit me.
How stupid was I? Katherine didn’t want anyone to kill Damien. She knew very well that we could if we wanted to-in fact, she could have killed him at any time now. She could have gone down the hole at that very moment and staked him in the heart without even breaking a sweat. She wanted all of them dead. All of them included Alec. She had never planned on saving him. She had never planned on killing Damien.
I needed a plan, and I needed one fast.
Ooh, good chapter... maybe the best yet!!!
ReplyDeleteLots of great emotion, between Kieyra and her Dad, and between Kieyra and Katherine. Very, very nice!
A lot of good lines... and funny ones!
Please, don't kill me, I'm only one man supporting his family on a government loan!!! Very nice. Sounds like a line from the Iggy Pop song "Lust for Life"!!
I love that the dad begs her to erase his memory. He knows himself too well and he wants to make sure he doesn't hurt his daughter.
Then, Katherine gets to show some real empathy! I never thought it was possible! I loved how she described leaving England, and then going to Bulgaria to make her parents think she had mysteriously disappeared.
"It was hell. Try living alone for years, changing your identity and background in every new place you went." Very nice.
Then, the last page when you describe how vampire's emotions are so magnified. Well done!
But, the best part was Kieyra learning what Katherine's real plan was. Woohoo!
"I needed a plan, and I needed one fast." Fasten your seatbelts, dear readers, it's going to be a bumpy ride!