Episode Four: The Sisters

“You’ve had quite attention on you,” greeted the Vampiress.

She suddenly emerged out of nowhere as Chase closed the front door. She almost gave him a heart attack.

“What a wonderul way to say hello!” Chase was being sarcastic.

She had loosened the long fangs and that hungry look. She looked normal; a bit, kinda, well-sort of. She did try. Chase wished he could cut his tongue because the Vampiress would have if she knew what he was thinking.

“Okay, how come this house doesn’t even have a telephone-”

“We vampires don’t trust the cable guys.”

Chase thought she might be wise than she looked.

“Good point. And you don’t even have a cell phone with you.”

“The line kills people a lot faster than a vampire could suck human’s blood.”

“Very, very, useful information but totally unnecessary.”

Miss Delacruz gave him a glare. Chase tried to sound normal as he possibly could. He wasn’t used to hearing ‘those things’ but he was trying his best not to freak out. He had heard much weirder stuff from his aunt’s junkie boyfriend. He was the reason Chase was afraid of girls in the first place.

“You don’t have Internet and I don’t see any other people around here.”

“There are some living things but they aren’t humans.”

“Again, totally informative but let’s just leave that aside.”

It wasn’t frightful enough to be living in the mansion with a vampire, he didn’t need to know there were other ‘creatures’ as his housemate.

“So actually how do you get the information?”

She hissed and there was the black aura that suddenly rose and influenced the mood of the room. Chase thought he had a dark cloud above his head and it started to thunder. Of course, that was all his imagination.

“I have spies. But according to you, it is better if you do not know.”

Chase was feeling very suspicious but it seemed a good choice not to know. She settled in on the sofa. She looked like she had just woken up from a good night sleep.

“It’s weird. Usually when vampires don’t eat a human but did suck his blood, wasn’t I’m supposed to be a vampire too?”

She gave Chase the ‘bimbo look’; like he had just asked the most ridiculous question in the world.

“Outrageous! Vampire? You?”

She then burst into a big laughter. Which scared the hell out of Chase.

“Not anyone can be a vampire. It’s hereditary, not something you can earn. Only a true vampire would inherit it from their parents. And we do not make it a habit to leave a human to live right after our meal.”

Of course, Chase was an only exception.

“It has never been done before,” she added.

The in occurred to him. He felt betrayed.

“So you mean- I could have died that night? And you didn’t tell me about it?!”

He was getting all worked up. She stays undisturbed.

“It was not easy for me as it was for you. Holding back from consuming your soul? Blood gives us the energy but the soul provides us with something more. It was lust, impossible to resist!”

She seemed like she was about to lose control but remained calm.

“Anyway- I’m expecting you to keep out of trouble. As in now, I am your legal guardian and henceforth if any events shall come up in your name, I would have to be present at your local community. And that would rise up talks and destroy my reputation. I will not allow it to happen!”

Chase was holding back. He wanted to argue with her but he made a deal NOT to. And he must keep his words.

“Consider this as my first and forever last warning.”

She was about to get up and go somewhere when she was alarmed. The look on her face worried him too.

“Silence! What day is it?”

“Tuesday?”

“Blast! Curse the human’s calendar! I had forgotten! Today is the day of ‘The Visit’!”

She snapped her fingers and out of nowhere, the hallway was noisy. The sound of flapping wings, loud screaming and taunting echoed the mansion.

“Master! They will arrive anytime soon,” said an eerie voice.

On the Vampiress feet was a two feet tall bald creature. It had claws, dressed in a suit and had yellow eyes. Chase froze.

“Why did you not warn me, Stideous? I have a human being in my watch! They will kill him!”

The Vampiress and the creature called ‘Stideous’ looked at Chase with anxiousness. Chase was holding to his breath. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He wanted to ask what was that ‘thing’ on Miss Delacruz’s feet, but his voice betrayed him.

“Wha-wha-wha...” he couldn’t continue.

Miss Delacruz tapped her feet and her black robe started to dress itself on her body. Then loud footsteps were heard coming toward them. Chase almost bounced off from his position when a big muscular monster, as the size of a big truck and tall as a giraffe, stomped his feet and bowed at the Vampiress. On his back, he saw the big monster handed the Vampiress a red stick. She let out her fangs and hissed terribly it almost bleed Chase’s ears.

“Stideous, we must do the charm at once!”

“Yes, my Queen.”

Miss Delacruz picked Chase up and looked directly into his eyes. Her voice seemed to multiply and changed by every second.

“Repeat after me!” she ordered.

“I shall be yours and yours forever hold. I do not turn my back, leap you forward or hiss in your sight. I shall be yours and to you I may serve only. My protection is under your care and my fate will eternally be tied to yours.”

Chase wanted to freak out but Miss Delacruz won’t let him. She stressed him to repeat after her enchantment. He repeated after her and the front door was flung open by the strong force of a tornado. Thunder and lightning roared the sky. Chase felt his body temperature started to climb up. His blood was literally boiling on the inside and every drop of water that was left within him was drained out. For a moment, he was floating in the air without the Vampire’s grip. A white light shimmered and he was dropped onto the floor. He was unconscious. A speeding vehicle pumped its exhaust to its maximum power and the blast shook the ground. Stepping out from the spinning twister were three other vampires.

***

"Just finished the ‘Enchantment Spell’ I see,” said the blonde vampire.

“Yes, even my nose can trace the strong odour!” said the red-haired vampire.

“Please sister, invite us in,” pleaded the brunette.

Miss Delacruz ordered Stideous to place Chase on the couch while she welcomed her sisters. She hugged the brunette and the blonde sisters and gave an air kiss to the brunette sister. But the visitors were more interested on Chase.

“He smells wonderful!” said the blonde.

“Emilia, Jocelyn, Tara, I forbid you from touching him. He is now officially my servant, and forever shall remain one” warned Miss Delacruz.

Emilia, the blonde one and Jocelyn, the red-haired vampire sniffed Chase like two dogs smelling their prey.

“A rare one!”

Tara, the brunette sister pushed them aside to take a good look on Chase. She placed her right hand on Chase’s forehead and started reading his brain. Her hand moved on to his chest and she closed her eyes tight.

“Where did you find him?” asked Tara.

She looked like she was about to faint. The other two watched from afar. They knew better than to meddle in their youngest sister’s affair.

“He found me,” replied the Vampiress.

The air was tensed. Not a sound was heard except for the beating of Chase’s heart.

“Why are you two referring this human as a ‘he’? You know we aren’t to recognize its’ status!” urged Jocelyn.

“May I, dearest sister?” Tara asked.

The Vampiress hesitated whether to trust Tara with Chase. Tara tried to convince her sister still.

“You know I am forbidden to harm a human. Let me just take a look at him,” convinced Tara.

“Not here. In my bedroom.”

“Thank you, Yvonne.”

Tara bowed to the Vampiress.

“Stideous, if you may?”

The small creature was standing there all along. He nodded to help Tara out. He had guided the big monster to carry Chase to the Vampiress’ bedroom. Jocelyn and Emilia waited for an explanation.

“What business do you have with the mortal?” asked Jocelyn.

She was a bit arrogant especially when it pertains to humans.

“Your journey might have be somewhat tiring. If you please, I’ll lead you to the dining room and we shall discuss of this matter later.”

Jocelyn and Emilia didn’t look too happy but they were too tired and hungry to argue. They followed her lead.

***

Tara landed her exhausted back against the wall as she watched Chase regaining consciousness. His body had cooled off and everything felt the same. Well, most of his body parts where right where they were so he was thankful for that.

“You’re not supposed to wake up that fast,” joked Tara.

Chase looked to his left and saw a brunette girl, almost as the same height as he was, dressed in white robe. He was embarrassed to find his shirt was no longer attached to his naked body. He pulled his bed sheet higher to his neck.

“Who are you? And why are you here?”

Tara walked toward him and sat on the edge of the bed. Chase backed away until he reached the wall. Tara didn’t say anything for the next five minutes except to stare into his eyes. But, her stare was somewhat odd. She seemed as if she was searching for something.

“That’s rude of me, pardon. I’m Tara Delacruz, Yvonne’s youngest sister.”

Hearing that didn’t make Chase budge. He guessed she must be a vampire too. But it was weird knowing Miss Delacruz had a sister, and she was pretty too. Only, she was much fairer and more approachable. Then Chase realised it was the first time he had found out about the Vampiress’ first name.

“Yvonne? You mean the Vampiress?”

Tara chuckled. Chase’s intensity ceased off. Knowing she was a vampire, made him less shy.

“Yes, the Vampiress.”

“Wow. I always refer to her by her last name or her title. I wonder if she would kill me if I call her by her first name?”

He was thinking. Tara smiled widely. She had never met an interesting young man before.

“Some nerve you’ve got there,” she pointed.

“Well, try living a week with her and everything else in this life seems less scary. Except for girls of course. That never changes.”

“No wonder my sister took you under her care. She even cast the ‘Enchantment Spell’ on you. She must really like you.”

He took it as a compliment. Well, it wasn’t everyday you get praised by a vampire. Then Chase remembered about what had happened right before he collapsed.

“What is this spell really?”

He checked his forehead. Explaining all about the spell would take hours and hours of complicated sentences. Tara decided to just give him a simple definition for him.

“It is to prevent my other sisters, and my others from harming you.”

“Wait-you said ‘other sisters’. How many sisters do you have?”

“The vampire’s family isn’t really like yours. Vampires don’t get married. They just-get together. Biologically, we’d have hundreds and hundreds of other flesh in blood. But we made a pact to stick together. So it’s just me, Yvonne, Jocelyn and Emilia.”

He started to feel sorry for them.

“That must sucks.”

Tara had a feeling he understood how they felt. The sheet started to glide down to Chase’s stomach without his realisation. Tara saw the fresh mark on his neck.

“Can I take a look at that?” she asked.

“The mark?”

She nodded.

“As long as you don’t take a bite, I don’t mind. It still sting.”

“It does? Let me help with that.”

She took a clear look and her fingers ran through the scar. It gave Chase a tingling feeling on the inside. She spoke some words of the ancient time and just like that, the scar dissolved in the skin. The pain was gone.

“Wow, thanks!”

“You’re welcome.”

“It had never been done before, as far as I know. She had a strong will power to stop from killing you.”

She sounded like she saw what had taken place. She said it had never been done before so there was no other way she could have known that fact. Chase suspected something and Tara was old enough to read humans’ common facial expression.

“Forgive me, again but I had to take a look at your mind before I could heal you.”

“So you saw what happened that night?”

“Yes.”

“What bout other stuff?”

“Well- that too. I hope I didn’t offend you.”

“Are you kidding? That’s so cool! You did it without reaping my soul?”

She nodded.

“That’s good enough!”

Tara was relieved. Chase was surprised she was very different from the Vampiress. She was way polite and kind By now, Chase was imagining how cool it was if he could see what others saw and experienced.

“As a ‘Gatherer’, I gather information of humans’ activities, culture and technology. Anyway, I know this is personal but I just had to ask. You haven’t lost your ‘Big V’ yet. Based on my research, mostly all teenage boys would have lost it by the age as early as 16. For vampires, we would usually lose it at a more ‘mature’ age. So I was just wondering.”

Chase blushed. It was something personal but he didn’t mind talking about it.

“Not everything revolves around ‘that thing’ you know. It’s not really that big of a deal.”

He didn’t sound too convinced.

“You need not be embarrassed by it. I am not.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re in the same boat.”

Comparing yourself to a vampire wouldn’t really make that difference but it was comforting for Chase, a bit.

“There is something that I want to try. Something that I am allowed to do. If you permit it?”

Chase didn’t know what she was talking about but he owed her for healing him.

“You healed the scar. It’s the least I could do. Whatever the favour is.”

“Close your eyes.”

In Chase’s mind, he thought she would want to try and suck his blood or read his mind again. He figured it couldn’t be worse. So he closed his eyes voluntarily. She scooted forward and held his neck. He thought for sure she was going to bite him. But then his lips felt warm and soft. Tara had kissed him and suddenly he felt a jolt ran through his mouth.

“Ouch!” he cried.

Apparently, Tara got shocked too.

“I told you not to touch him,” scolded the Vampiress.

Chase got his first kiss and laughed because he was jolted because of it. It was definitely a kiss he could never forget. Tara found it funny too and chuckled. The Vampiress on the other hand seemed angry.

***

Episode Three: Principal's Office

People had been staring at Chase since he first walked in. They always took a second look at him to make sure it was Chase Verdict. He wasn’t invisible anymore. Girls started smiling at him and the next thing he knew, he had a few friends. Of course Oliver wasn’t happy about it. Gina had dumped him just two days of dating and she had her eyes on Chase now. Chase had looked more normal and kind of good looking from various aspects. Oliver might not have the courage to admit it but Chase was getting more popular than he was. He tried a solution he thought might get him back in his game again.

“What’s the matter? You can’t talk, Ugly?”

He mocked the Down-Syndrome kid, again. And Chase happened to be in the hallway too. He was sick and tired of Oliver pushing people around. He wanted to kick his ass so bad. He thought again, it had been a week since he had been reserved. Oliver had somehow forgotten about targeting him lately. But then again, he wasn’t scared anymore. He will soon die anyway so he figured, why shouldn’t he charge at Oliver right now?

“Hey Oliver!” called Chase.

With one grip, Chase pulled Oliver off the victim.

“What the hell!” cried Oliver.

“Go, get out of here,” urged Chase.

He turned around to face his nemesis.

“You’ve got something to say to me punk?”

“Yeah, I do. I’m sick and tired of watching you harassing us just because we’re different. But that doesn’t make you a whole lot better than us! It’s time to stop the violence I’d say!”

Oliver’s followers came through. Students were circling them to see the fight.

“Just because you put on new clothes doesn’t mean you get to mess with the order around here! We the jocks, we RULE the school! And you pathetic Nerds, Geeks and Weirdos don’t get to do anything about it!”

Oliver seemed very satisfied. He thought by this ‘scene’, he’d have his reputation back on line. His followers were laughing and they were ready to take on Chase.

“You don’t scare me. In fact, I feel sorry for your ass! You may look tough on the outside but I know you’re just a big baby on the inside. You’re angry at the world coz you can’t get what you want. A jock? Yeah, you might be in the School Captain but guess what? You have never won anything for school. You guys suck so much that even the toilet wouldn’t want to flush you out!”

Chase managed to break through Oliver’s wall. He became angrier that he was exposed. Other students were whispering to each other, agreeing to what Chase was saying. The Jocks, they were a total embarrassment to the school. Even the geeks club like the AV, Math and Counselling had greater reputation and brought home some trophies. The bullies were shaking now. Oliver was under pressure to prove Chase was wrong but he knew it was true. Without hesitations, he charged at Chase.

“You loser! You can’t talk to me like that!” screamed Oliver.

He succeeded to crash Chase at the wall. He got him pinned. He swung his right fist but Chase dodged it at the last minute. His fist turned red. Chase pushed Oliver with his left shoulder so hard he fell on his back. He tried to flee but Sam and Noah got in his way.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Sam.

Ben helped Oliver to pick himself up. Chase was surrounded by the bullies. Oliver punched locker number 204 and it sprung open. He signalled the boys to shove Chase’s face in the locker but Chase was too smart for that. He pulled his hands fast and slammed the bullies’ heads into each other. He turned around only to find Sam in front of him. Chase faked left and broke to his right. Sam stumbled upon his twisted legs and fell down. Chase would have gotten away if it wasn’t for Oliver’s quick hand reaching for his shirt. With his motion pulled back, Chase jumped back and knocked Oliver down. But Chase wasn’t looking to where he was heading. He bumped into a hard and smelly figure. He looked up and saw it was Coach Que. Coach held Chase’s collar high.

“What is going on here?” Coach asked.

They looked at each other, trying to make an excuse.

“We’re just messing around Coach,” Oliver lied.

“Messing around? What do you think I am? Stupid?!”

He looked like he was about to eat them.

“And you- did you do this to them?”

Coach asked about the four beaten guys down on the floor. Other students started circling them. They were shocked to find Oliver trying to get on his feet and the panting Chase. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Whispers and assumptions spread amongst them.

“I was just protecting myself.”

Some pupil started laughing at Oliver and the rest. It was the first time anyone had dared to challenge the bullies. Coach told them to dismiss themselves while he tried to figure things out.

“All of you, at my office! Now!”

Five of them almost peed themselves when Coach raised his voice. He was the most fearful teacher in the school. He doesn’t tolerate impoliteness and his methods were often unorthodox. Chase straightened out his shirt and picked up his books. He followed Coach Que to his office.

“Gina! Gina! That’s the guy! He saved me!” said the victim from earlier.

Chase apparently had passed in front of him and Gina but was too keen on his rage he didn’t see Patrick, the guy he had saved from Oliver. Gina took a good look at Chase’s face. She knew who he was. She’d recognised him anywhere.

***

Words spread fast as the text messages and pictures of Oliver’s fight with Chase were sent to the whole school. By the time Coach Que had escorted them to the Principal’s Office, Mr. Franklin had already seen the video of them fighting. Coach Que whispered something slow to Mr. Franklin’s ears and the meeting was joined by the school counsellor. All of the kids were stared fiercely by the adults.

“Your behaviour here at the school is unacceptable and threatens other students’ safety,” said Mr. Franklin.

“Now, what do you boys have anything to say?”

Chase knew Oliver and his friends would try to manipulate the story into making him the villain here. He didn’t want to take blame for something he didn’t do. He decided to speak up his mind.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just protecting myself,” Chase stated his case.

Olive wouldn’t want Chase to get away so he rose from his seat and stomped Mr. Franklin’s desk; which by the way, wasn’t a good way to show that he was innocent. Coach pushed him back to his seat.

“Didn’t do anything? He attacked us Mr. Franklin! We couldn’t have just sit there and do nothing!” Oliver lied.

The others nod. Coach was furious and hit Ben, Sam and Noah’s heads with his thick report book.

“Don’t lie!” warned Coach.

“Mr. Verdict, continue,” said Mr. Franklin.

“Oliver and his friends, as usual, were bullying this kid. So I interfered and Oliver got mad, he attacked me. I didn’t even hit them! All I did was protecting myself from their fists!”

“Oh, come on!” moaned Oliver.

Coach raised his hand as a warning and Oliver shut himself up.

“And you Mr. Wood, what’s your side of the story?”

“I was just talking to that Down-Syndrome kid and this guy suddenly shouted at me for no reason. He mocked the entire athletes that represent this school and teased you Coach Que. We told him to back off but he suddenly jumped on me! What was I supposed to do? Be quiet and do nothing?” said Oliver.

Mr. Franklin, Coach Que and the school counsellor looked at each other with doubts. They didn’t know which side to believe. Both parties had run into troubles in school lately. Their school records weren’t that impressive either. They sent them out to discuss the matter. Somebody had to be punished. Then there was a knock on the door. Patrick and Gina Evan entered the room.

“Sir, we have something to say about this morning’s incident,” reported Gina.

Ten minutes later and the boys were called in back into the office. They stood there, hoping the teachers bought their side of the story. Oliver had a wicked smile on his face. He was pretty confident Coach Que would bail them out and pin it all on Chase. But his smile faded when he saw Patrick and Gina there.

“Both of these students claimed to have witness the whole thing. Patrick’s story matched with Mr. Verdict’s and we all know Patrick wouldn’t lie. And from the video, it is obvious that Mr. Verdict was only protecting himself, like he said he was. Therefore, Mr. Verdict, you can go now. Mr. Wood and the rest have to stay. I’ll have to call your parents to report about this incident. Thank you Patrick, Ms. Evan.”

Oliver’s eyes stalked Chase and had a ruthless spark in them. The war had just begun. Once he was out, Chase thanked Patrick for what he did.

“Thank you Patrick-that’s your name right?”

“Yes it is. You’re welcome,” said Patrick.

“Patrick, can you go sit down please? I need to talk to him,” Gina meddled.

Once Patrick was far away from them, Gina led Chase a little bit further so Patrick couldn’t hear them.

“Has Oliver been bullying my brother all these while?” Gina asked.

“Yeah.”

Chase was a little bit shy. He had never talked to a girl before. Well, Miss Delacruz was an exception because technically she wasn’t a girl, she was a vampire. Even so, Chase was more frightened of Gina than the Vampiress.

“He’ such a jerk! I should have known!”

“What? Patrick had never told you about it?”

“I know he’ been bullied lately but he won’t tell me who did it. He’s been gloomy lately.”

“He’ll get over it. Besides, I don’t think Oliver would bother him again.”

“You’re right.”

Gina smiled and Chase felt more awkward. He’d rather have Miss Delacruz yell at him than talk to this girl.

“I gotta go. Hey Patrick, see you around!” urged Chase.

Patrick waved goodbye from his seat. Gina wanted to talk to him but Chase was gone. He walked away feeling he had accomplished something in his pathetic life today. He was proud with what he did. He had no regrets. Gina smiled to her ears watching him from back. She was a little bit disappointed he didn’t remember her but she didn’t mind. She’ll try harder next time.

“See you soon Chase,” she said slowly.

“You like him don’t you? He’s the guy you’ve been talking to Mom about.”

Gina blushed.

“Nonsense! Why do you say that?”

“Then why are you blushing?”

Patrick laughed and Gina came to her senses.

“Come on, let’s buy you an ice cream. We’ll tell about what happened to Mom and Dad. They’d be proud of you!”

“You think so sis?”

“Yes, I do.”

***

Episode Two: Total Makeover

“I’m Miss Delacruz, the Vampiress. From now on I am your master. You do not disobey, disrespect or disagree with me under any circumstances. How did your last master treat you?”

Chase was scratching the bite on his neck like crazy. It itched worse than the allergies. He had to wear a turtle neck shirt to cover the bite. To the Vampiress surprise, he was healing faster than any human could. It drained his blood and he turned pale at first but his recovery was extraordinary. She remembered how wonderful her last night’s meal was. She regained energy and seemed livelier than before. She was so full she couldn’t bite a mouse.

“You mean my boss, Mr. Mason? Well, he was cheap and liked to yell at people. He’s always angry,” joked Chase.

Miss Delacruz was standing so close to him, he thought she was going to have him as dessert.

“I am 100 times much worse than he is. Speak nothing of me, our deal and everything that happens here. Break the 3D’s and I’ll reap your soul right away!”

She stared him with those big red eyes of hers. Chase definitely felt small.

“Erm... Okay?”

“I still don’t trust you. But off you go. I don’t want any troubles. We will discuss more of this later.”

“But what about yesterday? What will the guys say?”

“You need not worry.”

She slammed the door on his face.

“I didn’t know Vampires could be emo.”

She re-opened the door.

“I meant- I’ll see you some more. Emo is the short form of some and more. ‘E’ from ‘some’ and ‘mo’ from ‘more’. See?”

He put his best smile on. Again, the door was slammed right at his face.

***

“What happened yesterday?” asked Oliver.

This time Oliver didn’t have any follower and he was freaking out. There was a sign of guilt in his eyes. Perhaps he had regretted of last night’s event.

“Yesterday?” Chase pretended not to know.

Oliver slammed Chase’s body to the wall and gripped tight his collar.

“Don’t play dumb with me!”

Then Ben, Noah and Sam interrupted them.

“Dude, watcha got with this loser?” asked Sam.

“Yesterday.”

“What about yesterday?”

The three stooges were looking at Oliver like they didn’t really understand. It wasn’t the first time but even Chase was taken aback by it. All of them tried hard to remember something but couldn’t figure out what it was. Then it struck them...

“Oh, right! How did your date go with Gina, man?”

They were making fun of Oliver; which was something unusual to see.

“Gina? What the hell are you talking about?”

Then Gina and her girls passed their way. She stopped and pulled Oliver aside.

“Boyfie, I thought I told you not to beat them here! Or you’ll get into trouble again,” she whispered.

For the first time in his life, Oliver looked at Chase for answers. Even Chase was confused. Gina put some words and Oliver walked away. He was too overwhelmed by his hot new girlfriend to remember anything. Sam pushed Chase hard his head hit the lockers.

“Man that was a close one!”

A gothic girl then stopped beside Chase.

“Since when did they become an item?”

“Since yesterday.”

It was a miracle. Usually Gina would blow off all the boys that came in her way but now all of a sudden, Oliver was her boyfriend. Chase wanted to ask more from the girl but she had vanished without a trace.

***

A week passed and Chase felt so peaceful. Oliver and his gangs were too busy hanging out with their girlfriends to call on a prey. Keeping up with Miss Delacruz’s orders were not easy but Chase had been through more terrible employers than her. She was strict, she didn’t say much but she kept to her words. She slept all day and only wake up an hour in the middle of the night. Chase didn’t have a lot of chores to do as he thought it would be because the electricity has an ‘automatic sensor’ that would be turned on whenever needed. He didn’t have to cook any meals coz he was Miss Delacruz’s meal himself and the mansion itself was spick and span.

The portraits from the ancient time looked real and alive. Everywhere he goes, the eyes were tailing his every move. Miss Delacruz did say she had ‘spies’ all over the house. The eyes might be the ‘spies’. Chase thought the eyes could be the older version of security cameras or something.

“This way she doesn’t need to pay Homeland Security! Nice!”

“What’s nice? You haven’t been snooping around have you?”

There she was, in her black robe, again.

“I thought vampires sleep during daylight?”

“We do but you woke me up. Did I not tell you to keep silent?”

Chase smiled weakly, “sorry?”

“Why bother! Come, we have important matters to talk about.”

He was quite happy. The house was too quiet and empty. He didn’t have much companion to talk to. But she was cold. Colder than the winter snow in the North Pole.

“About school...” Chase started.

“Did you get into troubles again?”

“Well, no.” Chase wondered why she used the word ‘again’. As if she knew about his daily activities. She read his mind too.

“I have mentioned this before, I have spies. I am quite powerful in this area. It is after all my territory.”

Chase noticed her eyes were bright red. They were brighter than before.

“I have used my ‘connection’ to alter those minds and they have no memory of what took place.”

That made sense why the bullies couldn’t remember a thing. They never had a good memory to start with. Chase had a good laugh about it. But Miss Delacruz kept quiet. She was looking at him intensely it made him stop laughing. She noticed that his skin was peeling off. His whole face had a layer of unhealthy skin hanging on, waiting to be peeled off.

“What’s wrong?”

She slapped his face with all of her force till he was dropped on the floor.

“Ow! Jeez, what was that for?” asked Chase.

When he looked at him, Miss Delacruz already had a bucket of green slimes and they were boiling hot. She was pointing it toward him.

“What’s that?”

“This will be good for your skin.”

“Okay, but what is that? And why is it boiling? Is that acid?”

He almost made her chuckle.

“No silly human, this is my barf.”

“Your what?!”

But she splashed her puke all over his face. He screamed as his face was burning.

“God! What did you do to me?!”

He was crying in pain. He held his face in his hands and kneeled to the floor.

“Get up.”

Then the pain stopped. Chase stood up but was still holding to his face. He was afraid his face might be deformed by the acid vomit.

“Did you just try to turn me into an ugly dwarf or something? God you’re cruel!”

“Let go of your face and look into the mirror.”

He gulped. Slowly, he pulled his hands off his face. What he saw in the mirror then almost gave him a heart attack. His face had changed. It was clean! No pimples or scars anymore. His skin was fair and his cheeks were pink. Miss Delacruz waited for him to jump in joy.

“I look like... a gay boy! Oh God! What? Why? Give me back my teenage face!” Chase demanded.

He wasn’t jumping in joy.

“Your skin was peeling. I just made the process short and simple.”

“That’s your explanation? I’m sorry lady but you don’t just go around and throw your acid gag at people just because their skin was changing!”

“You should be thanking me. If I had been any late, you would have to suffer itches for a week. It’s already bad you’re walking in my lair and been scratching that mark. I can’t suffer anymore!”

Chase was still touching his face to make sure he wasn't imagining it but Miss Delacruz was waiting for him to finish up.

“Sit down,” ordered her.

“You are only making it worse. If you keep scuffing that mark, it will eventually bleed.”

She pushed his head as far as she could from his neck. Gently, she reached and licked the mark. The redness ceased and his skin turned back normal. She then kissed it and sealed the mark. She handed him a mirror.

“Did you just make the scar go away?”

“Yes, I did.”

Chase felt a little ticklish but the worst had passed so he could move on. His face wasn’t the only thing that changed. He became taller and his looks may have somehow appeared more mature. His sinus was gone and his wardrobe had changed too. From wearing torn out T-shirts, he now preferred polo T-shirts and long sleeves. Miss Delacruz didn’t want any servant of hers to look poorly. In other words, she gave him a total makeover.

Episode One: NOT Breaking & Entering

“Hello? Is anyone here?” Chase called out. His voice echoed in that big spooky house. The door was left open so he invited himself in. Most busy customers would do the same. He looked at his watch and he knew Mr. Mason would scold him again if he was late to deliver all those pizzas.

“Maam? Anyone? I’m already late so let’s just get on with it!”

No one answered. Earlier, when Wendy gave him the address, she looked pale. Even Mrs. Tyler looked the same when he asked her for direction. What was it with this house? It looked old and abandoned. Chase started to question whether Wendy had given him the right address.

He had no time to spare. Chase decided to turn around and exited the old house but the front broken door had closed before his eyes. The door creaked loudly until it slammed shut and blew a small tornado on his face. Four big figures lurked from the shadows behind the stiffed walls. Laughter ignited the biggest anger in Chase’s eyes.

“If it isn’t Pizza Boy!” said Oliver.

Oliver was the biggest bully in the school and Chase happened to be his favourite target lately. It might be because Chase tried to stand up to him when he saw Oliver took a bag pack from a Down-Syndrome kid. Chase had reported Oliver to the principal. This ‘fake delivery thing’ must have been a plan to get his revenge. And he wasn’t alone.

“Oliver, what did you get from the Principal yesterday?” asked Sam. Sam, Noah and Ben were there too.

“Two weeks of detention. That sucks! Do you know what do we do to punks who take our precious moments away?”

“We teach him a lesson.”

Chase’s brown eyes ran to find an exit but there was no other except for the front door. He took a few steps back. Chase was only 5 feet and 4 inches tall. There was no way in hell he could protect himself from their multiple attacks. Ben tossed Oliver the baseball bat and he caught it with his left hand. He was a right-hand person but because he was big and tall, he smashed one of the thin windows with the baseball bat using only his left arm. It crushed and shattered the window into pieces. It also made a loud noise. Neither of the bullies suspected the sound would be so loud that it reflected hard on their earlobes. Chase saw his chance.

“Wise move. You’ve just attracted the whole neighbourhood.”

Ben and Noah looked intimidated. They knew he could be right. Oliver tried to shake their fear off.

“Fools! We’re miles away from the nearest house. Even if they did hear the sound, they wouldn’t do anything bout it coz they know no one in their right mind would come here and they’re so scared of the ghost stories they’d think twice of lodging any reports!”

All hopes seemed lost then for Chase. Oliver gave them a signal and Ben and Sam grabbed a hold of Chase’s arms. He tried to resist but they were far too strong for him to handle. Oliver’s right fist tasted the delicious meet of Chase’s face. While they were busy, an angry soulless woman had just been woken up from her beauty sleep. The beating stopped when all of them turned at the hanging metal stairs. They heard footsteps coming down but as bright as it was in the house, no one was there.

“Did you invite anyone else?” Oliver asked Sam. He shook his head in fear.

“Could it be? The-the-ghhhooossst!?” cried Ben.

Ben was cowering in fear as he heard a heavy breath coming their way. His hold of Chase was slowly loosned. A big voice whispered Ben’s name into his ears and that was the last straw. Ben let go of Chase and ran for the door. Noah joined him too.

“Oliver, we should get out of here!”

Once Sam finished his warning, he suddenly saw a bloody scratch on his face.

“I’m out!” Sam screamed.

The door was open and Oliver was alone. It created the perfect opportunity for Chase to flee. But his anger got the best of him. He gathered all his will to jump at Oliver and knock him down. He put some bruises and blood on Oliver’s face.

“Stay away from that kid!” Chase threatened.

“No way!” replied Oliver.

Chase gave Oliver a taste of his own medicine.

“He’s just a kid!”

Oliver finally gave in. But Chase felt his collar being pulled from behind and he gave in to his motion. He thought somebody had finally come down to sort them out but how wrong he was. Oliver saw the whole thing and scrambled around running and screaming like a little girl.

“You’ve entered my mansion without invitation! You shall pay!” said the ghost.

The voice was too high-pitched it hurt the ears.

“Wait, wait! You did invite me!” Chase pleaded.

There was no image but Chase was high in the air.

“Do not tell lies human!”

“I am not! By the time I got here, the door was open. That means I was welcomed into this house! I am no intruder!”

His voice sounded funny and small.

“But it was not I who let you in!” the voice sounded angrier by the minute.

Chase was an expert in making excuses. But he also had a good memory on the instructions of his job.

“A pizza delivery boy could not be counted as breaking and entering when he enters a house with an invitation or if his steps were less than 10 steps from the entrance, he could not be punished or accused of such matter.”

Chase took a deep breath before continuing.

“So you see, I only took five steps into this house and you could see the pizza just maybe a feet away from the door. I dropped it when the bullies pulled me in. It’s the evidence of my five steps into the house. I was dragged from the pizza to here by them and I’ve had no chance of escaping. It wasn’t my fault that I was drawn deeper into the house.”

There was no sound. Chase tried to look into the ghost’s eyes but there was nothing to be looked at. He had no time to be thinking about being rude for not looking in the eyes. Then he was released at his feet.

“Humans and their laws! Such a disturb! Very well then, your argument might be solid but you did enter my house. You should never leave!”

“But, I have two more pizzas to deliver,” argued Chase.

The door was slammed shut and the window was pulled down that it darkened the whole house. Old chandeliers and ancient lamps were turned on out of sudden.

“Why, we have a fool here! Do you not know fear or Death?”

Chase had no idea what the ghost was talking about. But he knew his life was in danger.

“It’s natural for people to be scared of things they can’t see, hear or understand. Because of the zero-knowledge, fear would come in automatically and take over their senses. But I’m not.”

It sounded more like a challenge to the ghost so she appeared herself in front of him. She was wearing a long black robe and pulled off her hood for her face to be seen. She had four fangs among her teeth and mean red eyes to start with. Chase thought she was wearing contact lens so he tried to check out if they were real or fake.

“Teenagers these days! They have no respect anymore! Do you not love your soul to be looking into my eyes like that?” the ghost jerked.

Chase didn’t blink.

“Then maybe I should just drink your blood and be done with it!” hissed the ghost.

She held him tighter than Ben and Noah ever could. She had long nails that were surprisingly painted in red but they made lines on Chase’s skin. The ghost then smelled something delicious. It was Chase’s blood. It was dripping from his lips. She licked his blood and seemed to enjoy every drop of it. Then only Chase knew she was not a fake.

“Your blood. So rare, so scrumptious and sweet! I haven’t had any since-forever! And now, nothing can stop me from consuming you!”

Chase had an idea that was crazy but was wise enough to save his life.

“Wait! I’ll make you a deal!”

“And why young man should you deserve one?”

“Because a dying person gets to make a final wish right? I have something to offer.”

For a moment, Chase was bedazzled by the look of the ghost. She seemed tired and gloomy but insanely beautiful at the same time. She was young and sweet beside the fangs. He was lost in her weak eyes.

“You said that my blood is rare and super yummy right?”

He seemed to swallow his own words. She was studying his neck to find the perfect spot to take her first bite.

“I bet you-you would want to drink-or eat- my blood everytime for a long period of time don’t you? You see, when you find something so extraordinary you could find it nowhere else, you would want them to stay for a long time right? Just like women are obsessed with staying young and beautiful, it would be such a waste for you to only taste me once. That’s not fair, right? Let me live for a period of time, until you get bored with me, and then you can kill me!”

“I do not trust humans, especially young ones.”

“But you can trust me. I might not be noble, rich or confident but I am an honest person. Take a look at the badges. I got them from work. Each badge shows how much I am a trusted employee and thus proving that I can be trusted. Every weekend, I could have robbed Mr. Mason right from his cashier and he would suspect nothing at all but I didn’t. I wouldn’t. Why? Because I am truthful.”

“You are bold, you can take that credit but I still have my doubts. Why would you waste your life for this deal? You could just walk out of my mansion and can never be found ever again. No mortals would negotiate their soul!”

“Look! Look at my right hand. There’s a scar. I’ve tried to kill myself last week but I failed to take my own life. I’m not smart, athletic or strong. I have no future in this world! I’ve realised that there are some things in life that I wanna do before I die. And I’m sure that I do not want to live after high school only to fail. Give me a month and take my life then. You can eat my entire body! No one would care. Heck, no policeman would bother himself to look for me. I’m no one! Nobody! So please, I beg you. And in the meantime, I could be your servant or something to repay for your kindness. But please don’t ask me to find a victim for you. I don’t think I could do that. But other than that, I’ll do anything...”

He dropped his body to the floor and bowed at her feet. It had been long since the Vampiress had that kind of respect. She kept looking at his badges, his scar and eyes to see honesty. She found no lies in those three things.

“Twice a week I get my ‘dinner’. You must live here and be in charge of the mansion. Keep away visitors and stay away from my coffin. You are to leave only with my permission.”

“But what about school?”

“You have to prove your words worthy before I could give you my trust.”

She snapped her fingers and the furniture suddenly appeared. The hall was empty before but now they were full with decorations. It didn’t seem like a vampire’s lair at all. It would have been nicer if there was any sun light in the house. Chase knew what he had to do. He had to prove his words true. He took of his pizza hat and unbuttoned his shirt.

“Please, not on the couch! Upstairs.”

She led him into her bedroom and she pushed him hard on the bed.

“Hold on tight. This will hurt!”

When the fangs got through to Chase’s veins, it hurt like his skin was ripped out by a fork. Slowly, Chase blacked out.

***