
There was something evil lurking behind them . . .

Max held his girlfriend Ann's hand as they kissed on the beach, the salt water rolling over their feet as they embraced at the shoreline.


"I just want you to know how special you are to me," Max said, gazing into her eyes. It was a dark night with thick clouds covering the moon. The huge island, looming about a mile out to sea, was almost invisible in the darkness.


"Why did you bring me out here?" Ann asked, tightening her grip around his neck. She kissed him again.


"Because this is where we first met," Max said, "And I wanted our first year anniversary to be special. I don't know . . . this just seemed like the best place to tell you I love you."


"You love me?" Ann asked.


"I do," Max said. "You mean more to me than you could ever know."


There was a sudden flutter and Max shielded his eyes as sand blasted his face.


"What's that?" Ann said, pointing up the beach where the trees were.


Max looked out into the night and saw two red dots, and they were getting bigger by the second. The fluttering sound was growing louder.


There was a loud screech, and Max saw the outline of something dark and huge coming at them.


"What is that, Max?" Ann shouted.


The thing descended, the sand rising from the ground, burning his eyes. He watched in horror as it lifted his girlfriend off the ground.


"Max!" Ann screamed as he watched the huge black thing cart her across the ocean. Soon she disappeared into the night, and Max could have sworn what he saw was a bat.


J. G. Wilson's Fear the Night Series, no. 1


Vacation of Fear


1st Kindle edition

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2012 by John P. Wilson
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
Cover photography courtesy of FreeStockPhotos.biz
Vacation of Fear
For Zach Peak, great cousin and friend
Chapter 1
Melody Miller frowned as she opened the door to her motel room. It was dark and smelled gross, like wet dog. Her cousin Valery rushed past, jumping up and down, blond ponytail bouncing. and threw her luggage on the clean looking bed.
"I call this one!" she shouted, stripping off her T-shirt, already wearing a red bikini underneath. "Mel, hurry up and throw those bags down. We need to hit the beach and work on our tans, girl."
Melody frowned as she looked at her bed. It wasn't even made. She switched on a light and saw several cigarette butts in the corner of their non-smoking room. "This place is horrible," she muttered, blowing a strand of red hair out of her face, carefully placing a bag on the bed. Melody sat down and the mattress creaked. The carpet was puke green. And the walls were dark brown. "Who paints the walls brown?"
Valery smiled at her. "Cheer up! What did you expect a room at a place called the Wind Chime Motel to look like? I mean, it's only like $25 a night. Just deal with it."
Melody sighed. She hated Valery right now, guilt tripping her into coming down here for Spring Break. Calling her up as she worked on her History research paper that was due next month, begging, "Please, Mel. Mom won't let me go to Florida if you don't go. She needs someone responsible to be with me." Responsible! That word irritated Melody to no end. She was a year younger than Valery for crying out loud, yet she was supposed to be the babysitter? But deep down, she knew her cousin couldn't be trusted out of state for a weekend in the Gulf of Mexico. She, on the other hand---Mel had never had a boyfriend, never been to a party, never even been kissed.
"Uh, Melody?" Valery said. "Earth to Melody. You in there, girl?"
Melody blinked away her thoughts. "Huh?"
"I said get dressed. We're going to hit the beach!"
"Right now?" Melody groaned. "I just need to relax a bit, maybe read a couple of chapters in this new book I bought last night."
"Don't be a nerd on vacation," Valery said, rolling her eyes. "Get up right now. We're going to meet some boys."
"You're going to meet some boys," Melody corrected her cousin. "I'm going to stand in the background and feel awkward as they fight over you."
Valery laughed. "You really need to loosen up. Get off that bed and put your bathing suit on. Once that ocean water hits you, you'll feel like a new woman."
"Okay." Melody grabbed her black one piece out of her bag and headed for the bathroom.
"Hurry up!" Valery said.
Melody opened the bathroom door and hit the light switch. Then she screamed.
Chapter 2
A rat jumped off the toilet seat and scurried across the floor under the sink. Melody could still see its tail wagging. She slammed the door closed and ran in front of the television.
"We've got to leave this place, right now!" she shouted. "There's was a rat on the toilet."
Valery smirked at her and turned the television on. "Just don't sit down when you go potty."
"I can't believe I let you talk me into coming down here," Melody said. "I have one month before my World History paper is due, and I still need one more source."
"Are you serious?" Valery asked. "No one does those things until the night before. Now get your suit on. Maybe you'll get lucky and meet a guy. Then you can stay at his place instead of at this dump."
"Fine," Melody said. "Turn around and let me change."
Melody slipped into the one piece and rubbed sun block over her fair skin. She was a bit afraid of staying out too long in the sun. The last time she'd been to the beach, she'd suffered second degree burns.
The girls left the motel room, Melody locking up despite Valery's suggestion not to lock the door because no one would bother robbing a dump like the Wind Chime Motel.
They walked down the Miracle Strip, past an ice cream parlor and pizzeria, past a crowd of Spring Breakers heading in the opposite direction. Several guys whistled at Valery.
"Why don't you at least take the shirt off," Valery said. "I mean, the bathing suit you're wearing under it isn't indecent or anything. I've seen several old women wearing the same thing, and even they're not wearing T-shirts over it."
Melody shook her head and crossed the street with her cousin to the beachside and carefully headed down the sandy walkway.
The white sand and blue ocean was dazzling bright, and Melody shielded her eyes against the glare. The sand was hot as her pink flip flops left prints behind her. Valarie, on the other hand, had her beach shoes in her hand and was running for the water.
Several guys stopped and turned their heads toward her as she flew by in the small red bikini.
Melody flattened out a beach towel and took a seat, pulling her tablet from her bag. She was halfway through a chapter when she heard Valery's voice.
"Mel."
"What?" Mel said, biting at her fingernail, anxiously waiting to see how the main character was going to work her way out of this situation.
"Mel, this is Ken and Ryan."
Melody looked up, took her finger out of her mouth and blushed. "Oh. Hi," she said, wanting to drag herself out into the ocean and swim as far away as possible. Maybe to Cuba or the Bahamas. The guys were cute, and they were totally not in to her.
After an awkward silence that stretched a minute, one of the boys managed, "Um...hey." And then they were off, Valery and her new friends, running to the water, splashing each other in the salty sea.
Melody quit reading and put her tablet back in the bag. She had bought this bathing suit for $10. She was going to swim. Melody stood up and headed for the ocean.
The sand was wet and the water was cold as the waves swept over the shore. The water was beautiful. No seaweed and she could see several small fish swimming around. The waves brushed past her, and she jumped in time to them, deciding to float on her back.
Melody drifted with the tide, staring up at the blue sky. No clouds today. Up ahead a plane passed with a huge banner trailing it, advertising a restaurant with a crab legs buffet.
This was paradise. Melody wished she could float in the ocean forever, lying on her back without a care in the world.
Suddenly, she felt a small tug at her feet.
What was that? she wondered to herself.
And then something grabbed at her ankle, pulling her completely underwater.
Chapter 3
Melody thrashed in the salty abyss, air bubbles escaping her mouth as she searched for the shark that had taken her down. Her head broke the surface of the water and a wave crashed into it, pushing her back down. She struggled for footing and came up, gasping for air.
Valery laughed at her.
"That's not funny!" Melody said, brushing the damp hair out of her face.
"It's hilarious!" Valarie said, splashing water at her.
Melody glowered at her cousin. She was so mean sometimes. "So, where are your new boyfriends?"
"They bored me," Valery said, yawning. "All they wanted to talk about was baseball. Do I look like I care about baseball?"
"You are a cheerleader," Melody said.
"But I cheer for football only," Valery said. "Nobody cares about baseball."
Melody spotted a sail boat in the distance with a large, rainbow sail. She wished she could swim out and ask whoever was in it for a ride. She hated her Aunt Judy for putting her in this situation. Valery was a certifiable screw up.
"Hey," Valarie said, "let's get out of here and check out the Miracle Strip."
"And do what?" Melody asked. "The last time I checked, we barely had enough money to cover motel expenses for the weekend."
Valarie rolled her eyes. "Mel, stop. You're killing me."
"What?"
"The men pay our way, cuzo. We just enjoy the experiences the Miracle Strip has to offer us."
"Let's just go back to the motel room. Maybe we can order a pizza and watch some TV. I think MTV's having a Teen Mom marathon. You should probably watch that show."
"Hey, here's an idea, why don't I go walking down the strip and you go back to the motel room. You can think about why your life's so sad, but don't eat all the pizza because I'm sure your pet rat will want a slice or two."
Melody inwardly groaned. As tempted as she was to take Valery up on her offer, she knew that Valery would wind up in jail or in a ditch if she didn't tag along. Valery needed an anchor like Melody to slow her down. And an anchor was the perfect description for Melody. She truly was a drag and she knew it.
"I want you to look around the beach and tell me what you see," Valery said.
Melody saw children running around, couples holding hands and walking along the shore, countless beach chairs and towels under umbrellas that dotted the white sand. A flock of seagulls fought near a volleyball net over something on the ground.
"What do you see?" Valery asked.
"People relaxing and having a good time?"
Valery moaned and ran a hand through her wet hair. "Ughhh. Just no, Mel. No. The men. Look at all the men out there, waiting to find and spoil two attractive girls like us. This is Florida, the land of oranges and suntan lotion, not boring old Georgia. You're on vacation, girl. Live a little!"
"Exactly," Melody said. "I'm on vacation. I should be reading my novel and relaxing in the motel room with a book and a pizza."
"Wrong. When you're on vacation, you're supposed to take a break from your everyday life, Mel. You know what you do every day? After school you head home, read, study or watch TV and eat junk food. That's why you've never had a boyfriend or anything else. You're hot, Melody, but nobody even notices you because it looks like your clothes come from the Men's section at some drug store. And even if you were styling, it wouldn't matter because you hide in your bedroom."
Melody glanced away from her cousin. Valery's right, she thought to herself, I am a bit of a loser. Maybe she could loosen up a little.
"Maybe we can walk the strip for a little while," Melody said. "Just for a little while."
Valery clapped her hands. "Let's go back to the motel and get dressed. You need to wear your hottest outfit tonight for the night clubs."
"Night clubs?" Melody said, horrified. "We can't go to any night clubs. We're not 21 yet."
"You don't have to be 21 to get into one," Valery said. "Besides, no one checks IDs anyway but the bartender. And don't worry, I promise to sneak you some mixed drinks."
"But you're not 21!"
"I've got a fake ID."
Melody felt like hyperventilating. "What if we get caught? What would your mom do to us? Aunt Judy would have to drive all the way down from Red Oaks to Fisher's Harbor to bail us out . . . that's a 4 hour drive, Valery!"
Valery took Melody's hand and started wading through the water, back to shore. Melody followed, her heart beating in her chest. She was only 17, but that was an adult in Georgia. Was 17 an adult in Florida? This would go on her record permanently. She'd never be able to get into the University of Georgia or have a nice job. She'd be like Valery's ex-convict brother Jimmy, grilling hamburgers and washing cars for a living.
The girls walked through the sand, Melody picking up her beach bag and towel.
"Listen," Valery said, "you really need to relax a little. I'm worried about you, Mel. Just for tonight, and only tonight, I promise, we'll cut loose and have a good time. Tomorrow night, I swear, we'll do whatever you want. Go to the library or play bingo or something like that."
Melody took a deep breath. The heat of the beach had subsided, and now a cool breeze was blowing, chilling her in her wet bathing suit. "Okay," Melody said, deciding that maybe she did need to live a little. "Alright, just for tonight."
Valery laughed and ran ahead. "Last one to the motel has to buy drinks," she said.
The Miracle Strip was crowded, with traffic stalled on both sides of the road. People of all ages and shapes and sizes walked along the side of the street. It was kind of exciting, Melody thought. One moment she heard rap music blaring, and the next she heard country.
Melody saw her motel and started to cross over.
"Hey baby!" a voice boomed over the roaring traffic.
Melody turned her head and saw a very cute guy in the back of a pickup truck waving at her. She turned back around to make sure no other girls were around. Valery was nowhere in sight.
Melody waved back and smiled. Maybe this was going to be a great vacation after all.
A flash of movement caught her eye, and she saw someone running toward her, shouting "Watch out!"
Chapter 4
It happened in a flash. She saw the motorcycle whizzing toward her from the side of the road and lifted up her arms, trying to protect herself. And then she felt something hit her from the side, and she was flung down, the motorcycle passing so close she could feel the wind from it.
"You alright?" The boy said, inches away from her.
Melody gazed into his dark eyes. He had a lean, pale face and short blond hair. "Thank you," she said.
He took her hand and lifted her from the ground. His hand was cold and firm.
"I'm Colton," he said.
"Melody," she said, finally looking away from his eyes.
The motorcycle was stopped up ahead and the guy was walking to them.
"Oh man, I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't even see you." Melody could smell the alcohol on his breath. He had a glazed expression. "You okay?"
"Fine," Melody said, turning toward Colton. She found his eyes again, and he took her by the hand.
"Mind if I walk with you?" Colton asked. "I'd hate to see you get hurt again."
"Okay," Melody said, finding it difficult to think. It was like she was in a fog, floating across the Wind Chime Motel parking lot and up the stairs to her room, her eyes locked onto Colton's the entire time.
Valery was sitting in front of the door. "Hey Mel, I forgot my key. I sure hope you have---" Valery's voice trailed off. "Who's your friend?"
"Colton," Colton said, releasing Melody's hand. She instantly missed the way it felt in her palm. She growled inwardly as she watched Valery patting his shoulder, the fake laughter coming from her cousin's lips.
"Colton saved my life!" Melody blurted out, causing both to turn and stare at her.
"Is that right?" Valery asked. "What happened? Did you fall in the sand and almost drown?"
"I'm serious," Melody said. "I was crossing the street and didn't see this motorcycle. I could have been hit if Colton hadn't of..." Melody found Colton's eyes, "saved me."
"Oh no!" Valery said, and Melody cringed at the fakeness of her voice. "I'm so glad you were there to protect Melody." She rubbed a hand over Colton's arm.
Colton snatched it away.
Melody took out the motel key and handed it to her cousin. "Here you go," she said.
"So, what are your plans for tonight?" Valery asked Colton.
Colton's eyes broke away from Melody, and she felt confused and cold.
"No plans," he said.
"Do you want to go bar hopping with me?" Valery asked.
Colton looked at Melody. "Are you planning to go?"
Chapter 5
It seemed surreal, being in the Sea Witch Nightclub, sitting at the bar with the best looking guy in the place, drinking Diet Coke and listening to a complete stranger tell his life story. Her heart was beating fast, knowing that the reason Colton was even there to begin with was because she had agreed to go with him. Valery had been shocked. "Something's got to be wrong with him, Mel," she'd whispered as they changed clothes. And she hadn't even needed a short skirt or a shirt that left little to the imagination to get his attention. Even now, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, she felt Colton found her attractive.
"So I've lived in Fisher's Harbor my entire life, Colton said.
"But you don't even have a trace of a tan."
Colton shrugged. "Well, you're from Georgia, and you're almost as pale as I am."
Melody laughed and took another sip. She could see Valery on the crowded dance floor in a silver dress, dancing to something fast, strobe lights hitting her body as she twirled.
"I really hate these places," Colton said.
"What?" Melody screamed.
"I hate this place!" Colton shouted.
Melody pointed at her ear. "I can't hear you over the music!"
Colton smiled and leaned over her, his chin lightly resting on her neck. "Why aren't you dancing?" he said.
"I don't know!" Melody said. "I guess guys don't find me attractive."
"That's a lie."
Colton led her to the dance floor and held her close, his head falling over her shoulder. Melody clumsily placed an arm around his back. Around them, people were jumping and shouting to the dance music, but they were moving slowly, dancing to their own rhythm.
The song ended and Selena Gomez's "Love You Like a Love Song," came on. He lifted his head, stared at her intently, gently brushing her copper bangs to the side with a motion of his hand. "This is nice," he said, once more leaning down, his head resting on her shoulder.
What am I supposed to do? Melody thought. Should I kiss him? Should I wait for him to kiss me? She didn't know. She'd never been faced with this situation before, not in any of her novels or Lifetime Movies. She nibbled on her lip as they twirled around.
Colton lifted his head suddenly and hissed, pulling her off the dance floor.
"What's wrong?" Melody asked as they took their seats at the bar.
"Your cousin."
Melody spotted Valery grinding with two guys, a short blond and a tall brunette. "What about her?"
"The guys she's with. They're trouble," Colton said, anger seeping into his voice. "I've had a wonderful time Melody, but I must go."
"What is it?" Melody asked. "Can't you stay a little longer with me?"
Colton stood up. "You girls be careful," he said. Then he disappeared into the crowd.
Valery approached, waving like crazy to her, the two guys following her.
"Where's Colton?" she asked.
"He left," Melody said.
"Max and Luke, this is my cousin Melody," she said. "Max is mine," she said with a wink. "Luke is all yours, Mel."
Luke, the short blond kid, had wide eyes that seemed spread too far apart. He smiled at her, revealing a missing front tooth. "Hey! Let me show you something," he said, pulling a pistol out of his pocket.
Chapter 6
Luke aimed the pistol and fired. A streaming arc of water splashed Melody's shirt. He let out a high pitch wail of laughter, tilting his head back. People turned to stare.
Melody looked down at the stain, her anger building. "I'm leaving," she said.
"Don't be like that," Luke said, grabbing her wrist and jerking her back. "It was Holy water. Just making sure you weren't a vampire is all," he snickered, the strange high-pitch laughter bubbling from his throat, threatening to erupt in howls.
Melody swung her arm free of Luke's grip.
Max slapped Luke on the back. "Don't worry about him," he informed Melody, a smile spreading on his lean face, "He's just a little . . . strange."
"The boys want to take us somewhere special, Mel," Valery said.
"Are you crazy?" Melody snapped. "He just pulled a gun on me. There is no way we're going anywhere with them."
"It was just a water gun," Luke said.
"Don't be like this Melody," Valery said. "You've got to live a little."
"It's a very special place," Max said. Very pretty ocean water. You won't be disappointed," he said, staring into her eyes. "The view is beautiful in the evening."
"Not a chance," Melody said.
Valery grabbed her by the arm. "Look," she said, "This is a vacation, alright? Don't ruin it for me. You can go back to being stuffy and boring just as soon as we get back to Georgia."
"We're not going," Melody said firmly.
"Fine," Valery said. "I'll go. You just go back to the motel and be the loser you've always been."
"You're not going," Melody said. "If I have to, I'll call Aunt Judy."
Valery's face soured. "You are not calling my mom, Mel."
"Watch this," Melody said, reaching into her jeans pocket.
Valery pouted her lip. "Come on, cuzo. I never ask anything of you. Just do this one thing for me, okay? Please? As a favor to me."
Melody looked around the room, the crowd of people dancing, the yellow and green and red lights flashing across the dance floor. Everything seemed to be spinning; the room seemed too crowded. It was suddenly oppressively hot in the building. She found herself wanting to get out.
"Alright," Melody said. "I left my cell phone at the motel anyway."
Valery squealed in delight and hugged her cousin. "You won't be sorry, Mel," she said, grabbing Max's hand and pushing it around her shoulder. "We're about to have the time of our lives."
"Whatever," Melody said, glancing at Max. He towered over Valery. Melody placed him at around 6'2". He was very cute, with long, wavy brown hair and dimples. Luke was almost his complete opposite. Short, stocky, with hair so blond it appeared silver in the night club, the boy's eyes seemed to pop from his head every time he opened his mouth, which was very frequently.
"We're going to take you to see the jetties," Luke informed Melody as they began walking toward the door. "It'll be great. Only locals know about the place. The water is so clean you could drink it if it wasn't salt water." He laughed his high pitch laugh at the joke, and it sounded as if he was strangling. His face went red as a tomato, his eyes bulging to the point of popping out of their sockets. "I'm on fire tonight!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, dancing along to the music as they neared the exit. "Did you know that when I was in first grade I always had this strange desire to---"
"Uh huh," Melody said, half listening. Tonight was turning out to be much worse than she'd imagined. It had started out well enough, with Colton arriving at their motel room dressed up, staring her up and down with a delighted expression on his face. He looked like he was baffled when he saw her, even though she was only wearing a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He had looked handsome with his hair parted, his eyes glittering like black diamonds as he reached out his hand, gently grabbing hers. And now he was gone, and she was stuck with this very weird little man child that carried around a squirt gun.
Melody was wrapped up in her thoughts, walking slower, distancing herself from Luke as he talked like she was right beside him. She didn't even realize how far back she was until a hand reached out of the pulsing crowd and grabbed her roughly around the arm.
Chapter 7
"You can't go with them," Colton said, his breath hot against her neck as he pulled her close.
Melody turned and watched her cousin disappearing into the mob, her heart thudding. She could feel Colton's body, lean and hard under his shirt. The cologne he wore was intoxicating. Melody found it hard to concentrate on what she needed to be doing.
He gently broke away from the close contact, gazing at her, and she noticed again how bright and sparkling his eyes were, like twinkling stars against black sky.
She longed to kiss him, to reach up and grab his face in her hands and pull him close. Instead, she broke away from his smoldering gaze and thought about Valery again.
"I've got to go," she said with difficulty.
"You can't go with them, Melody," Colton said.
"Why not?"
"Because they're bad news. I'm worried about you."
Melody took another quick look at the pain in his face. The sad, black eyes. Her mind began spinning. She should just stay here and dance, forget about her cousin and the two guys she was leaving the Sea Witch with. She and Colton could dance all night, holding each other close ---
Melody looked away.
"I've got to go with my cousin, Colton. I can't leave her by herself."
"They're bad," Colton repeated.
"Why?"
"Just trust me," he said.
Melody broke free from him. "I'm not leaving my cousin," she said. "I've got to go."
"I'll follow you," he said.
She started for the exit, hesitated, then turned around. Colton was gone.
Melody ran for the door, her eyes roaming the crowd, searching for Valery, for Max, for the weirdo with the water gun. Please, don't let it be too late, she thought, running outside, shoving her way through a crowd of drunk kids smoking cigarettes, loitering at the entrance.
She spotted the back of Max's head, high above the crowd, and sighed as Valery came into view. She huffed as she jogged, working to catch up to them.
"Wouldn't you agree?" Luke said. He turned and smiled at Melody.
"Sure?" she said, huffing, wiping sweat off her forehead.
"I thought so," Luke said, giggling. He continued talking as if she'd been there the whole time.
They walked across the parking lot, their feet crunching the rocks as Max led them to his car. He stopped at a black Mustang and opened the door for Valery.
"Voila, my lady," Max said, taking her hand and helping her inside. He slammed the door and gave Melody a wink.
Luke opened the driver's side door, pushed the front seat forward and quickly jumped in the backseat.
"Could you at least slide over?" Melody asked.
"Sure," Luke said, shifting to the other side of the car and patting the empty space next to him. "Take a seat, baby."
Melody got inside and sat uncomfortably beside the giggling maniac with the squirt gun.
"Dude, you didn't let her get in first?" Max asked as he adjusted the front seat. Melody could see his eyes in the rearview mirror, checking her out. "That's not cool."
Max started the engine.
Something slapped hard against the front windshield.
Melody screamed.
Chapter 8
"Aw man, Max, aw man!" Luke said from the backseat. "Check it out!"
The bat screeched, its face pressed against the window, wings extended. Melody shivered at its pig nose and beady eyes.
"It's just a bat, guys," Max said smoothly. "Let's have some fun!" He cranked up the radio, the bass throbbing, rap music blasting into the stillness of the night. The bat flew away.
Valery let out a squeal of delight as the car screeched out of the parking lot and flew down the road. Melody watched the city lights and telephone poles pass by at a dizzying rate. She leaned over the front and saw the speedometer, saw that the car was going 80 miles an hour.
"You're going way too fast," she said. "Slow down."
"What?" Max said, turning up the radio.
Luke shouted and rolled down his window, sticking his head out. He brought it back in, his hair wild, bug eyes wide with pure delight.
Max cut off the radio. "Where you girls from?" he asked.
"Georgia," Valery said.
"I could tell by the accents, you were from the South," Max said. "Where are you staying?"
"Wind Chime Motel," Valery said.
Luke howled like a banshee, taking Melody's hand in his. "Wind Chime motel?" he screeched.
Melody snatched her hand back. "Don't touch me," she said.
Luke laughed even harder. "The Wind Chime is a dump," he said.
"Yeah, I can't believe your parents would stay there with you," Max said. "There's a strip bar right across the street!"
"We're not here with our parents," Valery said. "We're by ourselves."
"Cool," Max said.
Melody felt like slapping her cousin in the back of the head. That was too much information for strangers, especially for strangers driving them to destinations unknown in the dead of night. Max seemed to be a snobby, rich type of guy. Like many of the other people she knew from her high school. But Luke? Luke was crazy.
Melody gulped as she stared out her window and saw nothing but trees. The city lights had completely vanished. They were surrounded by darkness, somewhere out in the country. She turned around and looked out the back window, straining to see any sign of headlights behind them. Was Colton following them like he said he would? She sure hoped so.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"Some place special," Max said.
"Can't we just go out on the beach back in town?" Melody asked.
Luke snickered. "Yeah, can't we just go back, Max?"
"This is place is special," Max snapped. "You girls won't believe it when you see it. It's absolutely to die for."
"Can't wait!" Valery said. Melody noticed with disgust her cousin's hand was resting on Max's leg.
"Hey, check this out!" Max shouted, swerving the Mustang.
Chapter 9
The tires squealed as the black Mustang shot onto a narrow dirt road, the force of the turn sending Melody crashing into Luke.
"You jerk!" Valery said, laughing, as Max straightened the car and zoomed down the dirt road.
"How about a kiss, baby?" Luke asked, wrapping his arms around Melody.
"Get off!" she shouted, slapping him away. Melody slid back to her side of the car. Nothing about this felt right. She couldn't believe Valery was stupid enough to go off with two strangers from a night club out into the middle of nowhere. She couldn't believe she was stupid enough to follow her cousin. What can I do to protect us? Melody thought. Not a thing.
Max slammed on the brakes as the road opened up into a circle and dead ended. "Prepare to be amazed, ladies," he said.
Melody got out of the car, slamming the door shut, smelling the strong scent of the ocean. She could hear waves breaking in the distance. A full moon lit up the darkness. She could make out nothing but palm trees as she followed Max, Luke and her cousin down a rickety set of wooden steps to the beach below.
The sand was ghost white in the pale moonlight. Melody took off her tennis shoes and socks and carried them in her hands, the sand cold between her toes.
The moon looked larger as they drew near the shoreline, hanging over the black water, the light waves sparkling in the moonlight. A huge rock pile jutted out into the ocean toward the left, and Luke pointed it out.
"The jetties," he whispered, his breath stinking. "That's where us locals like to go and make out."
Melody tried to hide her disgust, but she felt her face was betraying her feelings.
Luke didn't seem to notice as he reached for her hand. She quickly shoved both into her pockets. In the distance, Melody could make out what appeared to be a large, dark rock.
"What's that?" she asked.
"That's an island," Max said. "It's got a very cool cave."
"They call it Dead Man's Island," Luke added, "Because nothing on it is alive."
Melody felt a shiver run up her back as a gust of chilly wind breezed past.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Max asked.
"It is," Melody whispered, finding it strange how surreal this spot seemed. It looked like something out of a movie. It had an almost soothing effect, even though Luke stood right beside her.
Max took off his shirt. "Let's go for a swim, girls."
"Alright!" Valery shouted, running to the water's edge, splashing into the ocean in her dress. Melody inched her way up until the water touched her toes. The tide took it out and brought it in, and it felt cool but nice in the hot night. She watched Valery behaving foolishly, jumping on Max.
Max threw her back in the ocean, and she came up, laughing.
Maybe she was being a little paranoid about the whole thing. It was a nice night, and this was even kind of fun. She pulled up her pants legs to her knees, then waded a little further into the ocean, the waves gently splashing against her shins.
Melody took a deep breath, enjoying the relaxation of the beach. She looked up and saw stars dotting the sky, the round moon dwarfing them.
"Look out!" came a male's voice, slicing through the calm night like a knife.
Melody turned and saw something large and dark in the horizon coming straight for her.
Chapter 10
A huge bat, its eyes burning red, descended on Melody, the wings stretched out like sails, the creature's talons extended on its huge, hairy feet. Melody ducked as it swooped past, losing her balance, falling in the ocean. She tried to stand up as a wave hit her and felt the bat's claws in her hair.
"Get away!" she screamed, as she slapped at it.
It screeched, and she could feel her feet leaving the ocean floor as it tugged at her hair. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Colton grabbed her and pushed her down into the water. Melody felt the wind of the bat's wings as it flapped away. She paddled wildly against the waves, searching for footing.
Colton lifted Melody to her feet and held her tightly as her eyes found Valery, the huge bat lingering right over her cousin's head, going in for the kill.
"Valery!" Melody cried.
The bat dived right above her cousin's head, lifting Valery from the sea into the air.
"Melody!" Valery screamed, arms flailing, hands extending for her cousin as the bat flew across the ocean.
"Valery!" Melody called as her cousin disappeared in the night. She leaned over, suddenly sick, longing to fall to her knees as Colton held on to her tight. "It's okay," he said, over and over again, running his hand through her wet hair. Melody knew she was crying, could feel hot tears coming from her face, but nothing seemed real.
"Get off her, Creature of the Night!" Max shouted.
Melody looked up, saw Max running for her, shouting, "The gun, Luke! The gun!"
Luke bobbed across the waves, pulling the water pistol from his waistband, firing a stream of Holy water that landed dead on Colton's face.
Colton pushed Melody back, and she stared in horror as his flesh began bubbling. He lifted his hands to his face, thin plumes of smoke escaping through his fingers. He shrieked.
Max pulled out a stun flashlight and cut it on. The beam was extremely bright and hit Colton dead in the face. He hissed, then disappeared. Melody could see a small bat in the air, its leathery wings dripping water as they flapped. It turned and flew away.
And then everything became dark.
Chapter 11
Melody awoke with sunlight streaming in on her face. She blinked, saw the huge window beside her and sat up in bed. She looked around the bedroom, her head hurting, observing blue walls with posters of baseball players and models tacked to them. The room was a mess with clothes scattered all over the floor.
She put her feet on the floor and started to stand up when she realized she was wearing a man's flannel shirt and some checkered shorts she'd never seen before.
"We had to put your clothes in the dryer," Luke explained, a smile creeping along his face. "Don't worry. I didn't look."
Max entered the bedroom and tossed her clothes on the bed. "You alright?" he asked, concern in his voice.
"What---what happened?" Melody asked.
"You fainted," Max explained, "Right after we rescued you from that vampire."
It all came back to her, like a hammer driving a nail through a board in a single blow. Like a baseball going through a window. Melody gasped, bolting up out of bed. "My cousin!" Melody shrieked. "Where's my cousin."
"It took her," Max said grimly. "It took her to the island."
"The bat? But that was just a nightmare!" Melody shouted hysterically. Though it felt warm in the room, and she was wearing a long sleeved flannel shirt, Melody couldn't stop shaking.
Max sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. "It'll be alright," he said. "It'll be okay." He paused. "It wasn't a bat. It was a vampire."
Melody knocked the arm off. "Where's the phone at?" she said, standing up. The room started spinning, and she felt lightheaded. Yellow dots flashed before her eyes. Melody lost her balance and started to collapse, but Max grabbed her and gently lifted her up.
"Just relax," he said. "You've been through a lot."
"We need to call the police," Melody said.
"And tell them what? A bat abducted your sister?"
Luke howled with laughter.
"Shut up, Luke!" Max said. "This isn't funny."
The room grew silent. Melody tried to focus on the night before, but everything seemed fuzzy. Max and Luke, those were their names. A faint memory sparked a sudden thought. The nightclub, the beach---
"You used us as bait!" Melody said, beating her hands against Max's chest.
"I'm sorry," Max said. "It was the only way to get them out in the open. I just wanted to destroy them for what they did to Ann."
"Ann?" Melody asked.
"My girlfriend," Max said quietly, pulling a framed picture off his dresser and showing it to Melody. "The one that grabbed you in the ocean last night, that's the one who killed her."
Colton---remembering the name, the face and the dark, sparkling eyes brought emotions of confusion and disgust. Melody remembered his face bubbling, the skin oozing off, and his fangs, like scalpels, pressed against his lips as Max shined the flashlight in his face. Melody focused on the photo of Ann in her hands. Golden, honey hair. She looked eerily similar to Valery.
Melody handed the frame back to Max and absently rubbed her neck. Her hand stopped when she felt something. She stepped in front of the dresser mirror and stared at horror at the band aid on her neck. She pulled it off and gasped.
Chapter 12
The puncture marks in her neck were red, the flesh surrounding them a bruised purple color. Melody quickly put the band aid back on. It looked gross. She looked at Max in the mirror, noticing the way he stooped and the sadness in his face.
"Yes, you were bitten, but it's nothing to worry about," Max reassured her.
Melody nodded her head. She felt like crying, exhaustion seeping into her.
"Let's get something to eat," Max said. "Then we'll find your cousin."
Luke spoke up. "Where are we going to eat? The Waffle House?"
"You're going home to gas up your boat. We'll meet you in an hour."
"We going to the island?" Luke asked, snickering. "This early?"
"The earlier the better," Max said glumly.
Max drove slowly into town, the black Mustang never going above 35 miles per hour. Melody noticed the tension in his voice as he spoke to her. There was concern in his eyes.
They pulled up to a restaurant called Sport's, and Max led her inside the building.
Melody had no appetite as she slid into a booth. The smell of food---bacon and eggs and sausage--- disgusted her.
"I'm starving," Max said. "When was the last time you ate?"
Melody peered over his shoulder, across the restaurant at a couple in the corner. The man was breaking up with the woman. She could hear him whispering it was over as he stirred his coffee, the spoon hitting the cup. She hated that sound. The girl's heart rate sped up. She chewed on her gum, smacking her lips. They were both annoying.
"Uhmm ... Melody?" Max said.
"Huh?"
"What do you want to drink?"
Melody looked away from the couple and saw a young waitress standing beside her, an amused expression on her face. "It's alright, honey," the waitress said. "I'm dead to the world too when I wake up in the morning, sometimes."
"Coffee," Melody said quickly, wondering how it was possible she could tell the girl was chewing Juicy Fruit gum. She could smell it from all the way over here.
"You seem distracted," Max said as the waitress left. "I don't want you going to the island if you can't focus. It's dangerous."
"Melody," a strange voice whispered her name.
"We're going to have to go into the cave," Max said. "There's no doubt that's where that huge bat took your cousin. We'll have to come up with a plan to---"
"Melody!" the voice hissed.
"Did you hear that?" Melody asked, interrupting Max.
"Hear what?" Max asked, an annoyed look on his face.
"Someone keeps calling my name."
Max sneered. "Well, you better not answer. They say when someone's calling your name, but no one's there it's the devil."
The waitress returned, setting down two steaming mugs of coffee.
Max picked his up and took a sip.
"What ya'll want to eat?" the waitress asked.
"Give us a minute," Max said, opening the menu on the table.
Melody stared absently into the black, steaming coffee. The aroma was making her sick.
"Melody," the voice called.
She stood up, her hands shaking uncontrollably. Max looked up at her, a frown on his face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I'll be back," Melody said, leaving the booth. She rounded the corner of the restaurant, eyes scanning the tables and booths for any sign of human life. Someone had called her name. She was sure of it. She let out a sigh of relief when she made it to the restroom door and spotted no one. It was her imagination, getting the best of her in a stressful time.
Melody walked into the ladies room and ran cold water over her face. She looked up, into the mirror, and noticed how much paler she'd become. I'm as white as a ghost, she thought. Her red hair was wild and her eyes shined like emeralds. She scooped more water in her hands and splashed her face, turning the faucet off.
Something was moving in the wall of the restroom, and when she looked at the tiles she could sense it was a mouse. Weird, she thought to herself. This is so strange.
She stepped outside the restroom, the light flooding in from the windows hitting her eyes and momentarily blinding her.
"Pull it together," she told herself. "Valery needs you."
Melody took a deep breath, then took a step forward, heading back to the booth.
A hand reached over her shoulder and clamped down tightly on her mouth.
Chapter 13
"Don't scream," the voice from behind said---she recognized it as the one that had been calling her name---"I'm not here to hurt you." He slowly released his grip, and Melody turned to look at her assailant, her eyes wide.
Melody slapped Colton as hard as she could across the face. "Where's my cousin?" she demanded, pulling back her hand to slap him again.
Colton caught her hand. "Shh! You're in danger. That guy you're with, he's bad news."
"Max saved me from you, didn't he?"
"No," Colton hissed, removing a pair of sunglasses, looking into her eyes. "I was trying to save you from him."
His eyes, dark and hypnotic, seemed to be boring through her. She looked away, momentarily stunned by them. "I thought vampires couldn't come out in the sunlight," she said weakly.
"That was before sun block," Colton said. "Now listen to me . . . you need to get away from that guy."
Melody nodded, her hand slipping inside her pants pocket, reaching for the small water pistol Max had given her in the car. "Where's my cousin, Colton?"
Colton examined her closely, sniffing something. "You're changing already," he said. "I can smell it in your blood."
Melody stared at him. "Changing?"
"Oh Melody . . . did the one who took your sister, did he bite you?"
"It's all a blur," Melody said, gazing into his eyes once more. Those black eyes that sparkled like a starry night. She suddenly felt lightheaded, gazing at those eyes.
"You're coming with me, right now," Colton said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards the door.
Melody pulled out the water pistol and shot him in the face.
Chapter 14
Colton lunged for her, his face blistering, and Melody screamed.
Colton stopped, staring at her momentarily, then evaporated to mist.
Max rushed up to her as she watched the mist seep under the Men's restroom door.
"Quick, he's getting away!" Max shouted, trying to turn the knob. It was locked. He pounded on the door.
"Someone's in here!" a man called out.
"I need to get inside of there right now!" Max barked, slapping his hands furiously against the door. "Open up!"
"Get lost, buddy!" the man shouted back.
"Stand back!" Max screamed at Melody, "I'm kicking this door down, right now!"
"I don't think so," boomed a voice directly behind Melody.
Chapter 15
The cook stood there, his white apron smeared with food. "If y'all don't get out right now, I'm calling the police," he said.
Max and Melody walked outside. She shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun it was so blinding.
"You okay," Max asked.
"I'm having trouble seeing," Melody said. "The sun is too bright."
"Here," Max said, putting an arm around her, "Let me help you to the car."
Melody leaned against him as he led her gently across the parking lot, opening her door and closing it behind her.
"Here," Max said, getting in the car and reaching inside the glove box. He pulled out a pair of shades and handed them to her.
Melody put them on and noticed an immediate improvement. "What's wrong with me?" Melody asked. "Colton, he said I was changing. Am I becoming a vampire?"
Max started the engine, a frown on his face. "I hope not," he said.
"Do you think Valery's still alive?" Melody asked as the car sped down the road.
"We're heading to Luke's now to get his dad's boat. Then we'll hit the island and search for Valery in the cave."
"What cave?" Melody asked.
"That's where that huge, blood sucking bat lives," Max said through gritted teeth. "The island I was showing you last night, it has a sea cave. That's where we'll find the vampire and probably your cousin."
Melody gulped.
He turned and looked at her grimly. "If you don't want to go with me to the Island of the Dead, you don't have to."
"Island of the Dead?"
"Yeah, Island of the Dead. They call it that because there is nothing alive on it."
Melody looked away from him. She felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach. "Nothing's living?"
Max glanced at her. "Oh, no . . . I don't mean that your cousin's dead or anything like that."
Melody nodded.
A bat smashed into the windshield, blocking Max's view.
Chapter 16
Max slammed on the breaks, the Mustang screeching, coming to a halt on the center line.
"Reach under your seat and hand me the gun," Max ordered. "Do it now!"
Melody automatically reached down, felt the pistol grip, and pulled the weapon out, staring at it in horror. This was not a water gun.
Max snatched it from her. "Wood tip bullets," he explained, turning to open the door.
Colton appeared beside the door and grabbed it, ripping it off its hinges and throwing it over his head. He grabbed Max as the door landed with a thud across the road, snatching him from the car like a doll."
Max hung in the air, his feet dangling, kicking to find the ground. Melody noticed the pistol in the driver's seat.
"Tell her the truth!" Colton yelled.
"What are you talking about?" Max cried, trying to fight his way free from Colton's grasp.
"She's coming with me," Colton said.
Melody came to a decision then, grabbing the gun and opening the passenger door. She bolted out, training the gun on Colton. "Colton!" Melody shouted. "Let him go, or I'll shoot you."
"Melody, it isn't what you--"
"Let him go. I'm not joking!" Melody said.
Colton lowered Max. "He's going to kill you," the vampire said.
"Shoot him!" Max screamed.
Melody fired, the shot echoing across the fields.
Colton's mouth dropped open, a look of horror on his face.
Chapter 17
Colton howled in rage, the sound coming from his throat low and inhuman. His shoulder was on fire, and his hand slapped at the flames, trying to extinguish them.
Melody lowered the gun.
"Shoot him again!" Max cried.
Colton turned then and ran for the field, leaping across the road, landing on all fours and running off into the woods like a beast. Melody fired, the shots going wild.
She was still pulling the trigger, though the gun was empty, when Max hugged her.
She could feel tears spilling down her face as Max held her close, rubbing her back, telling her everything was okay. He led her back to the car.
"What do you know about vampires?" Max said as they drove to Luke's house.
"Just that they live off blood and sparkle." Melody frowned. "Why wasn't Colton sparkling?"
Max let out a laugh. "Are you serious?" he asked.
"What?" Melody said. "Haven't you ever read the Twilight series?"
"No," Max said. "No. Vampires do not sparkle, Melody."
"You don't have to say it like that," Melody said.
"Like what?"
"Like I'm stupid or something," Melody said. "How am I supposed to know about vampires? How is anybody supposed to know about them?" She took off her sunglasses, the light blinding her. She quickly put them back on.
"Something's wrong with me. The bite marks on my neck. Am I changing into a vampire?"
"Of course not," Max said.
"Are you sure?"
"Listen, vampires can't go out into sunlight."
"Colton looked like he was doing just fine in the sunlight."
"That's because he was wearing sun block," Max said. "You're not wearing sun block. If you were a vampire, you'd be a ball of fire right now."
"I can barely see without these shades," Melody said.
"Well, let's do a test then," Max said, "just to put your mind at ease."
"What?" Melody asked.
Max adjusted his rearview mirror. "How do you think those sunglasses look on you?"
"Fine," Melody said, looking into the mirror.
"See, you're definitely not a vampire," Max said. "You cast a reflection. Vampires do not cast reflections."
"But what about my eyes?" Melody asked.
Max pulled a squirt gun out of his pocket and trained it on Melody.
"Don't!" Melody screamed.
Chapter 18
Melody felt the water hit her forehead and roll down her face.
"Look," Max said, "your skin still looks perfect. You are not a vampire."
"You jerk," Melody said, hitting him playfully on the shoulder. She suddenly felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from her and she could breathe more easily.
"Glad to see you smile," Max said. "You know, you're beautiful when you smile."
Melody could feel her cheeks getting warm and knew she was blushing. She stared out the window, at the road ahead.
She suddenly felt Max's hand on hers, and she sighed.
"You'll see Valery again. I promise."
"I trust you," Melody said, smiling.
"That's Luke's house right there," Max said, pointing to a huge Victorian house in the distance.
It was the first house Melody had seen in awhile.
The Mustang stopped in the driveway and Melody and Max walked up to the porch. Right before they reached the steps, someone dropped down from the house.
Chapter 19
"Gothca!" Luke shouted, a black cape draped over his shoulders. He howled with laughter, opening his mouth to reveal a pair of cheap, fake fangs, the high pitch of his laughter causing birds to rise from the trees. "You thought I was a blood sucker! You should have seen your faces!"
"Knock it off," Max said angrily. "We don't have time for your goofing off. We need to get to that island as soon as possible."
Luke nodded and took the plastic vampire teeth out of his mouth. "The boat's ready to rock and roll, man."
They marched to the dock, where a small, gray motorboat was tied. Max jumped aboard first, the boat rocking unsteadily.
"Give me your hands," Max said, reaching out for Melody.
Melody grabbed his arms and put one foot over. The boat swayed. She closed her eyes, and took another step.
"There you go," Max said, motioning her to sit down.
Luke untied the boat and hopped on, sitting at the rear of the boat. Melody watched the water from the center as Max lowered the trolling motor into the water from the front and led them away from the dock.
"Did you know this is fresh water?" Luke asked. "Most people figure it's salt water, but it's not."
"Oh yeah," Melody said, not even trying to hide her disinterest. She spotted an alligator on a sand bar and shivered.
"Yeah, we're at the mouth of the river. Once we get past some of these tree stumps, I'll lower the motor and cruise us on into the ocean. The island isn't too far from here."
"That's nice," Melody said, her thoughts once again turning to Valery. She thought of the huge bat with the burning red eyes, her cousin being lifted from the ocean and carried to the island. The Island of the Dead.
"Pull up that trolling motor," Luke said.
Max nodded from the front of the boat and Luke lowered the motor into the water.
The boat flew across the river, slapping the water, small waves pushing away from the vessel as the engine hummed. The wind and water hit Melody, chilling her to the bone, her copper hair whipping back.
They hit the ocean, and she could see the island in the distance, near the jetties, almost as dark as it had been last night. It was straight out of a horror movie. Melody watched it near as the wind whipped her hair back and salt water sprayed her face.
Luke was laughing like a lunatic, his high pitch ringing in her ears like shotgun blasts. "There it is," he said excitedly. "Yes, yes, yes!"
The boat slowed as they reached shore, Luke killing the engine and tossing out an anchor. Melody looked at the distance between the craft and the land, the distance of a football field, and wondered why they'd stop so far away.
"Can't risk getting the boat too close," Luke said as if reading her mind. "I'll stay in here while you and Max go find your cousin." He tossed Melody a life jacket. "Try to come back in one piece."
Max stood up, the boat rocking, and put a hand on her shoulder. "You ready?" he asked.
"I guess so," Melody said.
"Good," Max said, jumping overboard.
Melody watched as his head went under, then reemerged moments later. "Hardly cold at all," Max said, smiling. He was standing, the water coming up to his waist. "Your turn."
"You can take your clothes off and leave them here if you want to," Luke suggested.
"No thanks," Melody replied, closing her eyes. She pinched her nose and leapt into the ocean.
The water was cold, and her hair was matted over her face when she surfaced. She flung it back. Max took her hand and led her ashore, wading through the water.
The island was more horrific than she'd imagined. There were no trees, no grass, no sign of life at all. The soil was dark. Oddly, though, she begin feeling comfortable with the place. As Max led her up a steep hill, the island seemed like a home, like she'd just returned to the very place she'd been raised. Suddenly Valery wasn't very important. Melody smiled as she enjoyed the hike.
Max turned and noticed the smile. "What's with the sudden happiness?" he asked.
Melody shrugged. "I don't know."
"You're a strange chick," Max said. "You've been stressing over your cousin since you woke up, and now that we're in the most dangerous place we can possibly be, you seem to be on some kind of pleasure excursion."
Melody shrugged. She suddenly felt strangely alive, like anything was possible. The air smelled sweet, the dark soil was soothing on her feet like a pair of slippers.
"I'm glad you're so happy," Max said. "I think you're beautiful when you smile."
Melody blushed. "Thanks," she said, appreciating the view as they reached the hilltop. "Wow, you can see everything from here. Look how far away Luke is. Luke!" Melody screamed, waving her hand. "Hey Luke, we're up here."
Max laughed, tugging on the back of her shirt. "Come over here, crazy, I want you to see something."
Melody giggled and leaned into Max, feeling his body warmth against her. He really was a nice guy. Cute too.
"You see that hole?" Max said, pointing to the ground.
Melody looked down and saw a huge crack in the hill. She walked to the edged and peered inside the hole. She could hardly see the bottom.
"That's where the vampire took her," Max said. "And this is where he'll claim you!" Max shouted, pushing her down into the hole.
Chapter 20
Melody fell down the cavern, landing hard, headfirst, on the cold floor of the cave. She sat up, dazed, her fingers running though her hair, seeking out the wound.
Nothing.
She looked up, shielding her eyes from the blistering sun, saw the small crack in the cave's ceiling, and figured she must have fallen twenty feet. On her head!
She stood up, checking to make sure her arms and legs worked. No broken bones, no bashed in skull. It was a total miracle. I should be dead, she thought, looking around the cave.
Water dripped from stalagmites that hanged from the ceiling like fangs. There was a musty smell, an earthy smell that comforted her. She realized she was relaxed in the cave, not scared at all.
With the exception of the small slit of sunlight pouring through the crack in the ceiling, the cave was completely devoid of light. So why can I see everything? she wondered. And why does everything have a red tint to it?
She rounded a corner of the cavern and the ceiling suddenly got much higher. It was noticeably colder here, she could see her breath like smoke, and a foul odor permeated her nose.
Melody stopped, her breath catching in her throat. Hanging upside down from the ceiling was a huge bat, maybe 9 ft. in length, with its wings encasing its body. The head was massive.
"That's the Creator," a voice behind her spoke.
Melody jumped, spinning around.
Chapter 21
Colton held his arm, and Melody winced at the dried blood on his shirt. "I'm really glad you're not a perfect shot," he said.
Melody glared at him.
"We should probably leave now," Colton whispered.
"Not without my cousin."
"Now is not the time," Colton hissed. "The only way to save your cousin is to kill that thing. I don't see any weapons on you."
Melody lowered her head.
"Let's get off of this island. We can come back, better prepared tomorrow morning."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Melody said.
"You can trust me," Colton said. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Why should I trust you?"
"What choice do you have?" Colton said. "Look, if I wanted to kill you, isn't right now the best time?"
Melody shook her head. "I just don't know what to think anymore or who to trust. Everything is just so crazy."
Colton put a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay," he said. "But right now, we really have to go."
"Do you think Valery's down here?" Melody asked. "Do you think she's alive?"
There was a sudden noise, and Melody turned her head to the bat, watching the massive creature stirring.
"Time to leave," Colton whispered.
The bat fluttered its leathery wings and yawned. Rows of scalpel teeth emerged.
It opened its eyes, its burning gaze training on Melody.
Chapter 22
"Run!" Colton shouted.
She felt his hand wrap around her wrist and yank her behind him. They took off, fleeing through the tunnel.
Melody risked turning her head and saw the bat fall from the ceiling. It flipped around, its massive weight hitting the ground, sending an echoing boom throughout the cavern.
It screeched, and Melody's ears started ringing. She ran faster, and she could hear those wings working, hear the wind as the bat sliced through the air.
"Hurry!" Colton screamed. "Head for the light."
Melody kicked her legs as hard as she could, her side hurting, Colton's hand tightening around her wrist. The light drew nearer. The wind from the bat's flapping wings howled from behind.
Colton flung Melody, and she hit the floor hard sliding directly under the crack in the ceiling. The light tortured her eyes as she spotted the bat right behind Colton, gaining fast.
"Colton!" she said as the bat slammed into his back. Colton went hurtling through the air, slamming into the rock wall. He fell on his back, light spilling over him.
Melody leaned down. "Are you okay?"
"Don't step out of the light," Colton groaned.
The bat screeched, and Melody felt her ears pop. She spotted it at the edge of darkness, the huge eyes burning bright red.
"Don't look into its eyes!" Colton yelled. "It will hypnotize you. Stay in the light and you'll be safe."
"It's right beside us!" Melody said.
"There's a rope on this island," Colton said. "I'm going to fly up and throw it down to you. Okay?"
"Alright," Melody said.
"Don't look into the eyes," Colton warned. He disappeared before her eyes, a small, fluttering bat rose to the cave's ceiling.
"Hurry!" Melody screamed.
Your cousin is with me! A voice inside her head snarled. Come with me, and we'll all be together. Down here we'll all be together!
She stared at the massive head, the teeth that protruded from the mouth like daggers. The eyes were like glistening garnets. Fire was leaping from the eyes, licking at the edges of the light. She tried to blink and found herself immersed in those fiery pits.
Look into my eyes, child, the bat communicated. Now step away from the sunlight ...
Chapter 23
Melody took a step toward the darkness, and the bat's eager tongue darted out, running up and down her face as she neared.
So sweet, so sweet, it chanted in her head. Yes, yes, yes! Melody told herself to quit moving forward, but her feet would not obey.
The tongue caught fire and withdrew into shadow.
"Melody!" Colton shouted, jumping down the hole, the rope in his hand. He grabbed her moments before she stepped out of the sunlight.
You! The bat screeched.
Colton threw Melody over his shoulder and climbed the rope. He reached the surface and lowered her to the ground.
Melody felt dizzy. She looked at him questioningly. "The bat was talking to me."
"I know," Colton said quietly. "It can communicate with anyone who has been bitten."
"Am I vampire?" Melody asked.
Colton laughed. "No. No. You're a ghoul."
"A ghoul?"
"Yeah," Colton said. "The process has to be completed before you become a vampire. Your maker will have to drain you to almost your last drop of blood. And then you will receive everlasting life by drinking from his veins."
"But I could see in the dark. I fell down that hole, landed on my head, and had no injury," Melody said.
"A ghoul has some similar powers to the vampire, but right now the vampire poison is eating away at you. You'll slowly deteriorate into nothing. Unless you become a vampire, or you kill your maker within 48 hours."
"Kill my maker?"
"If you kill that huge bat down there, you and Valery will be the same way you were before you came down here."
Valery. The name of her cousin brought tears to her eyes. She started sobbing, trying to control herself as her jaw quivered.
Colton held her to him, letting her cry on his chest. His arms wrapped around her---like wings, Melody suddenly thought.
"Do you think she's dead?" Melody asked.
"I don't know," Colton replied, rubbing her back with a hand.
Melody looked up into his eyes. "Why would Max try to kill me?"
"I was trying to tell you about that guy," Colton said. "He's dangerous."
"And you're not?" Melody asked.
"I didn't kick you down a hole and leave you to die," Colton sneered. "And I've saved you from the Creator twice, now. Max wants to be immortal, Melody. Each year the Creator turns five girls and five boys into vampires to bring his food. He cannot leave the island during daylight because he cannot apply sun block. He's forever in bat form, so he must have a family that can bring him nourishment. He's forever trapped as a monstrous bat. The leader of us always is. He needs attractive males and females to lure his victims. People like you and me."
"What does that have to do with Max?" Melody asked.
"The creator agreed to change him in exchange for five beautiful females."
"I understand Valery, but why me?"
"Because you're beautiful," Colton said, gently lifting her chin up, kissing her on the lips.
Chapter 24
Melody gasped, her eyes widening, as Colton pulled away, not knowing what to do. Her first kiss. Her lips felt electrified, and she was shaking, her stomach fluttering.
"You're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen," Colton said.
Melody could feel herself turning red. She wanted to kiss him again, but didn't quite know what to say. Should I just kiss him? she wondered. Melody pondered the options, then decided to change the subject. "Max told me he was a vampire hunter."
"He wants to be a vampire. He's no hunter."
"But what about his girlfriend?" Melody asked.
"She was the first one he sacrificed," Colton said. "You've been marked as a victim, and you know too much. Max is going to have to finish the job with you, or the Creator will not turn him. Instead, he'll just eat him."
"That's scary," Melody said. "But if Max isn't a vampire hunter, then why was he carrying vampire hunting weapons?"
"Those were for me," Colton said. "To stop me from ending his deadly quest for immortality. That huge bat is the alpha," Colton said. I and all the other vampires he has turned are omegas. We cannot kill our maker. It's going to have to be you that does it, Melody."
"Me?" Melody said.
"We'll talk about it later," Colton said. "Right now, we really need to get off this island."
"But how?" Melody asked, looking out to sea. Luke's boat was no longer there. She did not see another boat either. "You can't possibly fly me across. No offense, but you're not a very big bat."
"Come with me," Colton said, taking her hand and leading her to the shore. He looked nervous to her as he waded out into the water.
"I can't swim back to shore," Melody said. "There's no way."
"I wouldn't expect you to," Colton replied. "Don't be frightened," he added.
"Why would I be frightened?" Melody asked.
"You're going to ride on my back across the ocean," Colton explained, now waist deep in the water. He turned to face her, bobbing with the waves.
"How can you possibly support my weight on your back, Colton?"
He grinned at her. "Don't be scared."
"Scared of what? You're a vampire, you turn into a bat, how can I possibly get scared of you now?"
"Ever hear of the goblin shark?" Colton asked.
"No."
"Well, it's also known as the vampire shark because it doesn't like to swim near sunlight. Anyway, I want you to grab hold of my fin. I'll keep you above the surface as much as I can."
"Say what?" Melody asked.
Colton lowered his head below the water.
Melody screamed as a huge fin suddenly surfaced. She could make out the dark shape of the shark in the water. She trembled as she pushed forward and reached her hand out, her fingers feeling the smooth, silky skin of the shark. She held on, and Colton shot through the water like a missile, submerging, then resurfacing, Melody clutching on with all her strength, taking huge breaths of air before going under and gasping when they broke air once more. It was like a nightmare, watching the water speed by, a blue and white blur, and then there was the beach, and she was thrown from Colton's back, landing on her knees in sand. She stood up, knee deep in the sea and heard Colton's screams as he made his way out of the water.
His head and back were ablaze, smoke pillowing above him. He reached the shore and disappeared in a screaming flash.
Melody stood in the shallow water and watched as a sand cloud shot up, and sped along to the edge of the beach, like a car going down a dirt road.
She wondered what was happening and made her way to dry land, the sand sticking to her feet as she trudged along. Melody reached the Miracle Strip and glanced around, trying to spot any sign of Colton. There was a small crowd gathered around a dollar store. Melody approached and could hear them talking.
"I've never seen anything like it," one man was saying. "He ran in on fire, and it was---"
Melody quit listening in on the conversation and burst through the front door. The building was smoky, smelling of burnt leaves. She passed the checkout counter, walking down the medicine and flip flop isle, passing by the floaties and sunglasses. She rounded another aisle and saw Colton there, rubbing sun block lotion all over his charred skin.
"Are you alright?" she asked, rushing to him.
"Never better," Colton replied, a wisp of smoke coming out of his mouth as he spoke.
"What happened to you?" Melody asked.
"The sun block must have started wearing off," Colton replied.
"You need to go to the hospital."
Colton smiled at that, a corner of his blackened lip rising. "I'm a vampire. I'll be completely healed in a couple of hours."
"Oh yeah," Melody said. "Does it hurt?"
"Very much," Colton said.
"Here," she said, picking up a bottle of Aloe Vera. "This will make you feel better."
"No thanks," Colton said. "I do need to ask a favor of you though."
"What?" Melody asked.
"I'm really weak right now, and my place is just so far away. Would you let me stay in your motel room for awhile?"
Chapter 25
Melody opened the door to her motel room, the light spilling in over the puke green carpet. The room smelled as awful as ever, like something dead on the side of the road on a hot summer's day. She flicked the light switch, bathing the brown walls in a dull golden glow. The two beds against the wall were still unmade and several of Valery's dresses, the ones she'd been asking Melody which she thought looked the best, lay on her bed untouched.
It was a ghostly feeling, being in this place, still unchanged, as if Valery would come out of the bathroom any second, asking her if the lipstick matched the dress.
Melody fell on her bed, fighting back the tears she could feel threatening to spill. Once they started flowing, she didn't feel they would ever stop. She put her face into the pillow, and her hands over her copper hair, trying to fight off the thoughts of not getting her cousin back, fighting off a vampire bat, saving the . . .
"Melody?" Colton said.
Melody lifted her head from her pillow and turned to the door. Colton stood on the outside, half of his face singed like a grilled hotdog. "Can I come in?" he asked.
She nodded her head. "Come in," she said, lowering her head back into the pillow.
She felt the bed sink under his weight, and Colton's hand was patting her back, telling her everything was fine.
"We'll get Valery back," he said.
She sat up and glanced around the room, suddenly feeling the need to talk. "The room hasn't changed at all," Melody said.
"Hard to believe it hasn't been 24 hours since she was taken, isn't it?" Colton asked.
"It's hard to believe anything at all anymore," Melody said.
She stood up and walked into the bathroom, turning on the sink and splashing her face. In the mirror, she noticed her reflection was ghostly. The marks on her neck had turned an angry blue and her complexion was the color of computer paper. The freckles on her nose and cheeks stood out. The most incredible thing, however, was that she was able to see the towel rack directly behind her because her reflection was translucent.
Melody turned off the faucet and walked back into the bedroom. Colton had her suitcase open, going through her clothing and pill bottles.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"Just making sure I can trust you," he said.
"Trust me?" she asked, incredulously. "Trust me? You're the vampire!"
"And I've saved you life twice, now," Colton said. "I think I might also be falling in love with you."
Melody gasped. "You barely know me," she said.
"That's why I was going through your bag. What's with all these things?" he asked, picking up a bunch of bottles. "What is this? Milk Thistle, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, fish oil pills, garlic pills...garlic pills!" he shouted, tossing the bottle across the room.
"I want to stay healthy," Melody replied. Milk Thistle is good for liver function, Vitamin C and E have excellent cancer fighting properties, fish oil is for the good cholesterol and the garlic pills are for blood pressure."
"You're only 17!" Colton said.
"It's never too young to be healthy," Melody replied.
"You know garlic is deadly to vampires," Colton said. "If you had taken some of those garlic pills last night, you might have killed that bat."
"Oh yeah?" Melody said, turning off the light and laying back in bed. The mattress was hard, the pillow was lumpy. Her body ached and she realized how weary she was. Tomorrow, she would return to the island to kill the bat and hopefully save her cousin. The air conditioner was loudly humming, and Colton was softly snoring. She looked over at him and saw he had pulled the covers completely over his head.
Melody closed her eyes and pictured her cousin at the beach, laughing and wading out into the cool night water. The moon had been so full, the light reflecting off the waves as she traveled further into the sea. Things were so peaceful.
"Come on," Valerie was saying to her, "the water's fine."
Melody watched her cousin disappear in the ocean, becoming nothing more than a black outline.
"Melody!" her voice carried across the tide. "Join me."
Melody tried to focus her eyes on her cousin, tried to separate her from the rest of the darkness. Then she saw two burning red eyes peering at her. Valery laughed.
Melody bolted up out of bed. Her cell phone rang again. Her cell phone! She had forgotten all about it. Quickly she ran to the dresser and grabbed the phone. She didn't recognize the number.
"Hello?" she said, holding it up to her ear.
"Hey Mel," Valery said.
Chapter 26
"Valery?" Melody asked, struggling to breathe. It was as if she'd been punched in the stomach.
"You're in so much trouble right now," Valery said, her voice raspy, barely above a whisper.
"Are you okay?" Melody asked, trembling in the cold room. She looked in the dresser mirror and could see through herself. She saw the bulge underneath the covers on Valery's bed, wondering if she threw off the covers if Colton would even cast a reflection at all.
"I've never been more alive, " Valery said. "I'm practically floating."
"Where are you?" Melody said.
"Where are you?" Valery asked.
"In the motel," Melody said. "We were going to rescue you tomorrow."
"Mel, where's Colton?" Valery asked, a seriousness to her voice Melody had never heard before.
"With me," she said.
"You invited him inside the room?" Valery asked.
"Yes."
"He's not who you think he is," Valerie rasped. "He's dangerous. You need to leave right now."
Melody felt a shiver crawl up her spine. She looked in the mirror, saw the covers rising and falling as Colton slept underneath. The room felt ice cold, the air conditioner on full blast. Sunlight leaked in through the corners of the window the curtains didn't cover. The cold air from the air condition made the bottoms of the curtains dance like ghosts.
"Get out right now and hang around a public place until sundown. Then meet me at the Sea Witch. "We should hang out, you know, like talk about things."
"Are you really okay?" Melody asked.
"Better than okay, Mel. I'll see you tonight."
The line went dead, and Melody put the cell phone on the dresser.
"It's a trap," Colton said from beneath the covers.
Melody gasped, spinning around.
"She wouldn't do that," Melody said.
Colton lowered the covers. In the darkness his eyes glowed. He shrugged. "Okay, but we need to prepare for a trap anyway."
There was a knock on the door.
Chapter 27
"Housecleaning," a woman's voice said.
Melody opened the door.
An elderly woman entered the room, holding several folded towels and a roll of toilet paper. "Hello," she said.
"Hey," Melody said, a false smile on her face.
The woman glanced around the room, and Colton smiled at her.
She made the sign of the cross, handed Melody the towels and toilet paper, then quickly left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Do you have that affect on all the ladies?" Melody asked, gloomily.
Colton stood up, his face completely healed. He went to Melody, placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Your cousin is wrong, Melody. You can trust me. I'll never let anything bad happen to you. I care too much for you. Can't you see that?"
"You could hear our conversation?" Melody asked.
"Of course," Colton said, smiling. "Don't you remember hearing those people in the restaurant this morning? You can't help but to overhear everything when you're a vampire...or a ghoul, in your case," Colton said, frowning. "How are you feeling by the way. Have any body parts fallen off yet?"
"What do you mean?" Melody said.
"You'll slowly decompose until the vampire that bit you finishes the ceremony, making you immortal, Melody. Or you'll become human again once you kill him."
"What happens if neither of those things come about?"
"Then you'll slowly fall apart," Colton said.
"And what about Valery?" Melody asked. "Is she doomed if she's a vampire?"
"She'll be fine. We have 48 hours from her transformation to save her. If you can kill that thing, then she'll revert back to human."
"What if we don't make it in time?"
"She'll be a vampire forever," Colton said.
"How do I kill this thing?" Melody asked.
"Let's see. There's the wooden stake in the heart, sunlight, fire...any of those methods will work."
"Let's do it," Melody said
Chapter 28
The dance floor was crowded, neon lights shifting overhead, and Melody was at the bar, looking for any sign of her cousin.
"Looking for someone?"
Melody turned her head and spotted Valery on the bar stool beside her. She reached out and grabbed her, pulling her close, hugging her. "You're okay!" Melody said.
"Of course I am," Valery replied. "I'm better than okay."
Melody noticed her cousin's fair skin, so white and smooth. Her hair had taken a golden shine to it, perfectly curled as it dropped over her shoulders. Valery had always been pretty, but now she was stunning.
It seemed everyone who passed by agreed with Melody's observation as they turned their heads to glance at her.
"So, how about you, Melody?"Valery finally asked. "How are you? You're not looking too good."
"Don't worry," Melody said. "I'm going to rescue you."
Her cousin laughed. "Rescue me? Oh Melody, trust me, I'm better than ever. So, where's that hot new boyfriend of yours? Did you ditch him like I told you to?"
Melody looked at her. "I don't know where he is," she replied.
"Well good, " Valery said, "because I wouldn't want Luke to feel left out. Max and Luke are meeting us here, you know."
"What?" Melody said. "Valery, Max just tried to kill me earlier today. They set us up that night at the ocean---"
"Stop," Valery said.
"They're bad guys, Valery. We have to get out of here."
"Bad guys?" Valery asked. "How do you figure?"
"Valery, we were their sacrifices to that bat. Don't you get it? They want to be immortal, but to do it they have to give that thing 5 girls. We are 2 of the girls, and I escaped. Now, they want to finish what they started."
Valery laughed. "They're just trying to give us eternal life, that's all. Colton's the bad guy. Why don't you come with us?"
"I'm not going anywhere," Melody said.
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," Valery replied, nodding her head.
Melody looked around the dance floor and spotted Max and Luke approaching. The strobe light made it seem as if they were walking in slow motion. Max grinned from several feet away, and then he was right beside her, his hand tightening around her arm, lifting her from the stool.
"Hey, Melody," Max said. "Did you miss me?"
"Let me go!" Melody screamed, her voice drowned out by the sound of dance music.
"I wouldn't have kicked you down that hole if you'd been human," Max said. "You believe that, don't you?"
"Let go of me!" she shouted. "You're a murderer!"
"That's not nice," Max said. "I really like you, Melody." His free hand brushed the side of her jaw. "I think we can live together forever just fine."
Valery looked angry. "Don't touch her," she scolded Max. "You're all mine."
"Ready to go for a ride, Melody?" Luke asked, screaming with laughter. He sounded hysterical, and the sound of his voice frightened her more than anything else as Max and Luke pushed her out of the front door and into the quiet darkness of the parking lot.
Chapter 29
"Let me go!" Melody screamed as Max opened the trunk and Luke tossed her inside.
"It's for your own good, Mel," Valery said, towering above her. Melody looked down and noticed Valery's feet were not touching the ground.
Max sneered. "You're going to be thanking us after you're an immortal, babe."
Luke giggled hysterically, leaning down, his eyes bulging. Then he disappeared.
"Luke!" Max shouted, pulling out a squirt gun.
Melody breathed a sigh of relief and wondered if Colton was trying to give her a heart attack, waiting so long to come to the rescue.
Max suddenly disappeared from view, screaming, and Melody peered over the edge of the black Mustang. Max was on his back in the parking lot, Colton's strong arm wrapped around his leg.
"Do something!" Max shouted to Valery as Colton slid him under the car.
"Like what?" Valery responded. "I'm not getting my dress dirty."
Colton stood up, turning to Melody. "You alright?" he asked.
"Fine," she said.
"I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he said. "I promise."
"Get away from my cousin!" Valery screamed, rising higher off the ground, fangs protruding over her bottom lip, sharp and deadly against the blood red lipstick. Her eyes burned like blazing coals. Her hands outstretched, Melody could see her fingernails, like talons, pointed at Colton.
And then Valery pushed forward through the air, screaming.
Melody screamed.
Colton slammed the trunk over her head and she was suddenly trapped in suffocating darkness.
There was a large thump against the trunk, and Melody ran her fingers along the top of the trunk, feeling the impressions of a face --- Colton's face.
She could hear Valery screaming from the outside. Light suddenly flooded her eyes as her cousin's fingernails went through the top of the trunk, barely missing Melody's face. The talons retracted and Melody strained to hear the battle raging outside.
Everything was suddenly silent, and then Max's voice cried out, "No!"
There was a slurping noise. The sound of something breaking, of something being gnawed on.
What was going on out there? Melody wondered, her heart beating erratically. She was suddenly finding it difficult to breathe. There were no sounds. Everything was quiet as the grave. In her head hours passed as her legs began to numb, and her fists pounded at the inside of the trunk.
"Let me out!" she screamed. "Let me---"
The trunk popped open and Colton looked down at her, a strange expression on his face.
"Just close your eyes, Melody, and I'll lift you out of the trunk. Just don't open your eyes."
She refused to listen to this, shrugging off his hands and sitting up.
The first body she saw in the parking lot was Max's, or what she thought was Max. Half of Max was draped over a blue SUV, the hands hanging limply down, blood dripping to the ground. The other half lay on the ground beside the Mustang, the face completely gone. The head was a bloody pulp, caved in, a pool of crimson circling it.
Luke was further down the parking lot. His face, once chubby and lunatic pink from the constant laughing was now sunken in and grey. The body appeared shriveled, the clothes too big for it. The corpse reminded Melody of a mummy, and she found herself gagging, trying her best not to vomit. Tears pooled in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks, and Colton hugged her uickly.
She pushed him off. "Did you do this?" she asked.
"No," Colton said, a look of hurt crossing his features. "I did not."
"Then who did?" Melody asked, her voice carrying over the deserted parking lot. She could hear the music from inside the building, and her ears were burning as she glared at Colton.
"Your cousin," he said quietly. "Valery has crossed over. She's now a killer."
"I don't believe you," Melody said, jumping out of the trunk. She beat her fists against, Colton, hitting his chest and face. "You did this!" she screamed, the rage and sobbing blinding her as she swung her fists. Colton wrapped his arms around her tightly. The fight in her subsided, and exhaustion consumed Melody.
She cried on his shirt as he gently stroked her hair and told her everything was okay. "We'll kill that bat tomorrow," he said. "I promise you, no one else will have to suffer as you have."
Melody nodded.
Colton lifted her chin gently with his hand and gazed into her eyes. "We have to leave now, before someone sees us beside these bodies."
"Okay," she said.
Colton lifted Melody up into his arms and fled from the parking lot, Melody's copper hair trailing behind him as he raced down the dark street. Melody squinted as the wind torpedoed her face, the trees and telephone poles flying by, blurring into the night. Soon they were going so fast, she could no longer tell what she was passing and had to close her eyes.
They came to a stop at a dilapidated white house, with plywood covering the windows. Melody looked around the yard, surrounded completely by trees. There was an odd feel about the place, and Melody felt frightened. "Where are we?" she asked, tightening her grip around Colton's neck.
"My home," he said.
Chapter 30
The moment Melody opened her eyes, she knew something was wrong. Everything was a red hue, just like the cave. She tried to sit up, but the ceiling stopped her. She was trapped. She tried stretching her arms and legs to the side, but realized she was trapped inside a box! A panic set in then. Was she still inside the trunk?
"Help!" she screamed. "Somebody! I'm in the car!"
The ceiling disappeared, revealing Colton standing above her, studying her curiously, a smile on his face. She sat up and realized she was not in the trunk of the Mustang but in a coffin. The world was still a shade of red.
"We're inside my house," Colton said. "All light has been blocked out of this room. That's why you're seeing red right now," he explained, helping her out of the box.
Melody followed Colton through a door, down a hall into another room. A long table sat in the center, filled with stakes and guns and arrows and other weapons Melody couldn't even name.
Colton picked up a bag from the floor and began filling it with stakes. "We'll kill the omega vampires with these stakes," he explained. "Their coffins are lined up side-by-side, so it will be extremely easy."
Melody shuddered. "I don't remember seeing any coffins," she said, feeling queasy.
"That's because you didn't explore the cave beyond the bat," Colton said. They're in the tunnel that leads to the sea. "I've staked several vampires before. It isn't too hard for me to push a stake through its chest, but you may have some difficulty. I guess I need to do the staking myself."
"But I thought you said vampires couldn't kill each other," Melody said.
"No," Colton replied. "Omegas can kill omegas. They just can't kill the alpha, the Creator. You're going to have to kill the Creator, Melody."
"How?" Melody asked. "How can I possibly kill that thing?"
Colton reached down and picked up a long, heavy looking weapon off the table. "Know what this is?" he asked Melody.
"A spear?"
"This is a harpoon," Colton explained. I'm going to throw it at that giant bat and hook it like a fish. Attached to the butt of the harpoon is a rope. The other end of the rope will be tied to the motor boat you are in."
"Huh?" Melody said.
"You're going to drag that big bat out into the sunlight," Colton said, grabbing a pair of sunglasses off the table. He tossed it to her. "Better put these on."
He grabbed his own pair and took her hand, guiding her to the front door.
Light flooded Melody as she stepped out on the front porch, the sun sending a searing pain, stronger than any sinus headache, through her brain. She couldn't even open her eyes. She put the sunglasses on and looked around. Despite their UV protection, she could still feel the power of the sun. She noticed a purple discoloration on her wrists.
"What happened?" she asked Colton, holding up her arms.
"You're slowly decomposing, Melody," Colton said. "If we don't kill that thing today, then your hands will probably fall off tomorrow. I'll stick that harpoon in the Creator just as soon as I kill the other vampires, and then you'll be back to normal."
"Don't we want to kill the alpha first and see if any of the omega vampires turn back to human beings?"
"Once you turn into a vampire," Colton said, "there's a 24 hour interval you have to revert back to human form. If you consume the blood of the living, however, you're forever cursed."
Melody looked away from the bag of weapons slung over Colton's arm and the harpoon he carried over his shoulder. "Are you saying Valery's doomed?"
"We've got to put her down," Colton said. "Your cousin is no more."
"But can't she be a good vampire like you?"
"No," Colton said, silently. "Once you taste human blood, there's no hope. You develop a bloodlust for it and become like a mad dog."
"You've never..." Melody couldn't bare to finish her sentence.
"I've never drank from a human being," Colton said.
"You can't kill my cousin," Melody said. "I'm not going to let you."
"Okay," Colton said. "But if she kills again, then that's on you."
Chapter 31
It seemed like a bad movie to Melody, standing at the dock as she watched Colton steal a motor boat. He sped them across the sea, the wind in her hair, the boat cutting through the water like a knife, salt water splashing her face as the boat bounced.
The island emerged and grew larger until it towered over Melody, a dark grey rock of evil.
Colton went around to the other side of the island, a rough patch of rock she had never seen before. There, amongst the white foaming water, was the mouth of the cave, opening wide. Colton backed the boat as close to the entrance of the cavern as possible, dodging large rocks that the waves angrily struck with white, spewing water. The sound of the sea slapping the rocks and the fast side-to-side swaying of the boat made it hard for Melody to hear.
"Come back here," Colton shouted.
Melody stood up unsteadily, the boat rocking side-to-side.
"Don't fall in the ocean!" Colton said. "The water will smash you against the rocks."
She carefully moved to the back of the boat, Colton showing her how to turn on the motor and pull forward.
"I need you to be able to do this!" Colton shouted. "I'd do it myself, but I can't kill my Creator. It's up to you. I'll shoot the alpha through the wing, and you drag its ugly butt into the sun."
"Okay," Melody said.
"When you see the flare," Colton said, holding up a flare gun, pull the anchor up, lower the motor, and let her rip. Understand?"
Melody nodded her head.
"Good!" Colton shouted, shouldering the bag of stakes and grabbing the harpoon. He checked the end of the rope, the knot he had tied around the boat rail. "I hope this holds him," Colton said, jumping overboard, landing on solid ground, several yards away from the boat.
He disappeared inside the cave and left Melody sitting alone in the boat, staring into the dark cave, waiting to see the blinding red flash of a flare.
Chapter 32
Colton ran through the tunnel, his feet splashing the puddles of water on the floor, echoing throughout the quiet of the cave. He passed rows of stalagmites and stalactites that jutted from the cave like fangs. There, on the wall, were the coffins. He lowered the harpoon and studied them, trying to decide which end to start with.
"Who's there?" came a powerful screech in his head. The bat must have heard him running! Colton frowned and darted past the coffins, reaching the opening, his eyes cutting to the ceiling, spotting the huge bat hanging upside down, the red eyes glowing in rage.
"You!" the bat hissed inside his head.
Colton threw the harpoon, the barb slicing through the leathery wing of the bat. The creature screeched, its huge feet releasing it from the roof of the cave. The wings stretched out, massive, and powerful, the harpoon jutting from the left one as it fluttered up and down. The bat soared straight for Colton as he pulled out the flare pistol and pulled the trigger.
The flare shot down the tunnel, glowing bright red, the bat screeching as it crashed into Colton, sending him crashing into the side of the wall.
"I'm going to eat you whole" the bat exploded inside Colton's head, the massive jaws opening, revealing rows of razor teeth.
Chapter 33
Melody saw the flare and immediately began pulling the anchor up. She lowered the motor, cranked the engine, and the boat sped off. Despite the wind and the crashing of the water against the rocks, she could hear the high pitch squeal of the bat as it smacked the tunnel walls and spiraled out into the sunny morning.
It immediately burst into flames, a great ball of fire, then dived for the water, disappearing beneath the surface. The water bubbled, and it reemerged, a shrieking noise erupting from its throat as the flames roared green and the water boiled around it. It shot out of the water, lifting the boat with it, sending Melody tumbling into the ocean.
Melody hit the ocean hard, resurfaced and watched in horror as the ball of fire rose higher and higher with the boat trailing it.
Suddenly, the monster burst, and Melody dove deep into the water to avoid the falling boat. She came back up, gasping for air and felt the pull of the water, reeling her into the mouth of the cave, to where the rocks rested. She smashed against a rock and screamed, expecting to feel a stab of pain. There was no pain, and she shot past the rock, hitting another with a crashing thud. She pulled herself free and the water slammed her against the mouth of the cave. She grabbed the rocky ledge and frantically fought the water trying to pull her under.
She lifted herself up. And stared into the dark cave. Water dripped from her wet hair as she examined the blackness, wondering why she was still able to see things in a red hue. The bat was dead. Her Creator was dead. So why was she still a ghoul?
Melody stood up and made her way inside the cave. "Colton!" she shouted. "Valery!" There was nothing but a stony silence in response. Melody rounded a corner, and a bright flash in the distance caught her eye.
"Colton!" she screamed, running to the light.
She found him in the middle of lifting coffin lids, staking vampires in their slumber. The wood punctured the chest of one, and the creature burst into flames.
"Melody," he said, turning away from the coffins. "I'm finishing them off."
Melody's heart raced. "You didn't stake Valery, did you?"
Colton looked at her sadly. "She's got to die, Melody."
He pulled off the next lid, revealing another body. He plunged the stake in and watched the vampire erupt into flames.
Melody flung herself on him.
"You're not killing my cousin!" she screamed, pushing him away from the remaining two coffins. She opened a lid, saw a stranger deep in slumber and panicked. Had Colton already staked Valery? Melody removed the last remaining coffin's lid.
Valery rested peacefully inside, her stomach softly moving up and down as she breathed. As she breathed! thought Melody.
Colton slammed the stake down into the vampire beside her cousin and the flames almost singed her hair.
"Valery's alive!" Melody screamed. "She's not a vampire!"
"Get out of the way," Colton ordered. "She killed Max and Luke. She can't be human."
"She's alive!" Melody screamed, kicking at him. "Get away from her."
"Valery!" Melody shouted, violently shaking her. "Valery, wake up!"
Valery gasped, then opened her eyes.
"Melody?" she said. "Melody, where are you? I can't see anything. Where are we?"
"See!" Melody shouted at Colton. "She can't even see in the dark anymore! She's not a vampire!"
A sickening thought suddenly occurred to Melody as she stared at Colton, his eyes glowing like burning embers. His eyes glowing like the huge bat she had just killed.
"Why did Valery turn back after I killed the bat, but I didn't?" Melody asked.
Colton smiled, exposing two long fangs.
"Because I was the one who bit you," Colton said. "I needed a queen once I became the alpha vampire, and I choose you."
"Valery didn't kill Max and Luke, did she?"
Colton shook his head. "No, she fled as I killed them."
Melody, what's going on?" came Valery's voice.
Colton's smile widened. "Come to me Melody, and let's complete the ceremony. Let me drain you, and then you can drink of me and live forever. It shall be the two of us, and we will have a son, just as my father and his queen, the man you killed, produced me."
"Never!" Melody shouted.
"Then I'll kill your cousin," Colton said. He disappeared from sight, and Melody felt a rush of wind. She turned and Colton was squeezing Valery's neck with a powerful hand, lifting her from the ground, her legs dangling in the air.
"Okay!" Melody said. "Let her go, and you can have me."
"Deal," Colton said, dropping Valery to the floor. Valery stood up, screaming, and ran away.
Colton gently brought his hand to Melody's neck, sliding away the copper hair, revealing a smooth, pale neck. He sunk his fangs into the creamy skin and drank deeply.
Melody felt an excruciating pain and groaned as she the blood left her body. Her eyes were burning, her heart thundering in her ears.
Colton lifted his head suddenly, blood dripping down his chin, a wild expression on his face.
"Something is wrong," he said, clutching his stomach. He doubled over in pain, moaning as he dropped to his knees. "Something's not right," he repeated as his head began smoking.
"I didn't know if I could trust you," Melody said, her hand reaching into her jeans pocket. She pulled out a bottle of garlic pills and tossed it to Colton. "I took a bunch of these while you were stealing that boat."
Colton looked up at her, blood running from his eyes.
"We could have been so good together," he said. "I loved you."
Then his head exploded.
And Melody was engulfed in the darkness of the cave.
Chapter 34
They had been in Valery's Ford Taurus for about four hours straight, no stops, heading straight for home at 2 a.m. in the morning. Melody had eventually found Valery cowering in a corner of the cavern, then led them to the opening of the cave. It had taken almost a day, but finally a fishing vessel had spotted them waving frantically from the island.
"What happened back there?" the fisherman had asked when they were onboard.
"Not a thing," Melody said, staring at the setting sun as the boat crossed the ocean.
Valery was not letting up on the gas as the car sped down Highway 19 to Red Oaks. Melody admitted she was glad to see the "Welcome" sign when they reached the city limits.
Valery was so excited she honked the horn repeatedly, and Melody had to tell her to stop.
Valery nodded her head and returned to her silence, something that had never happened to her cousin before.
Melody leaned back against the headrest and sighed. "That sure was a great vacation, wasn't it?"
"It was horrible," Valery whispered. "I'll never go anywhere during Spring Break again." She turned to Melody then, her mouth trembling. "Thanks for saving my life, Mel."
"No problem," Melody said. She kind of hated that the trip was over in a way. Now it was back to the same boring old lifestyle. Except for that history paper. There was no way Melody was going to write it until the night before it was due. I've really changed, she thought to herself.
A bat hit the windshield with a thud.
Valery screamed and slammed on the brakes, the Taurus coming to a screeching halt in the middle of the road.
"A bat! A bat!" Valery screamed. "It's going to get us!"
"Valery, chill," Melody said, turning on the windshield wipers, the blades swiping it off the glass. "It's only a bat."
THE END
About the Author
J.G. Wilson lives in Americus, Georgia, with his wife Gena and sons Jake and Gavin. He currently works at Georgia Southwestern State University in the James Earl Carter Library. Wilson loves to hear from his readers. You can email him at authorjgwilson@gmail.com

