Chapter 4
746 Words
BANG. BANG. BANG.
The violent, rhythmic pounding on our front door threatens to shatter the wood. The soup spoon slips from my hand, clattering against the bowl.
Before I can even stand, the door is kicked off its hinges. It crashes to the floor, splintering into pieces.
A figure steps into our apartment. It’s the man from the alley—the one who tried to abduct me. But his face is twisted, his skin deathly pale, and his eyes are glowing a terrifying, blood-red hue.
"You’re the one we want," the creature snarls, his voice echoing like grinding stones. "We need your blood, half-breed. Our King commands it."
I jump up, grabbing my mother by the arm and shoving her behind me. "Get the hell out of my house!" I scream, my voice trembling with sheer terror.
He lunges. I dodge his grasping hands, pulling my mother down the short hallway into my bedroom. We slam the door shut and lock it, but an instant later, a massive fist punches straight through the wood.
My mother collapses against the wall, sliding down to the floor. She is gasping for air, her face completely drained of color. Her heart can't take this.
"Mom, look at me! It's going to be okay!" I cry, grabbing her hands.
"No, Linda," she gasps, clutching her chest. Tears stream down her wrinkled cheeks. "I... I have to tell you the truth. Before it’s too late."
"Mom, don't talk like that!" The door hinges groan as the vampire throws his weight against the wood.
"Your father," she wheezes, gripping my fingers with surprising strength. "He wasn't a sailor. He didn't die at sea."
"What are you talking about?"
"He was a wolf, Linda," she cries. "You carry his blood. That is why they are coming for you. I’m so sorry I lied."
My world stops spinning. "No. No, that’s impossible."
Before she can say another word, the bedroom door explodes inward. The vampire steps over the wreckage, baring long, venomous fangs.
"Get away from them!"
A thunderous roar shakes the apartment. I look up.
The man from the penthouse—the wolf—stands in the doorway. His eyes burn with a fierce, golden light.
He launches himself across the room, tackling the vampire. They crash into the dresser, shattering the mirror. The wolf’s fangs elongate, and his claws tear through the vampire’s jacket as they engage in a brutal, bloody fight across the floorboards.
I drop to my knees beside my mother. "Mom! We have to move! Come on!"
She doesn't respond.
She is slumped against the wall, her head tilted awkwardly. I shake her shoulder. "Mom?"
Silence.
Trembling, I press two fingers to the side of her neck. Her skin is cooling. There is no pulse. The shock and terror of the attack had been too much for her fragile heart.
"No," I whisper. The word feels like it is made of ash. "No, no, no! Mom, wake up!"
I grab her by the shoulders, shaking her, screaming her name until my throat bleeds. But her eyes remain glassy and fixed. She is gone.
The reality crushes my chest, stealing all the oxygen from the room. My mother, my reason for everything, is dead.
A loud smash brings me back to reality. The wolf is pinned against the wall, the vampire’s pale hand clamped viciously around his throat.
The vampire snaps his head toward me, his red eyes locking onto my face. He drops the wolf and begins to stalk toward me.
Blind instinct takes over. I scramble to my feet, my grief instantly swallowed by pure, adrenaline-fueled survival. I bolt out of the bedroom, slipping on the shattered wood of the front door, and run out into the hallway.
I fly down the apartment stairs, bursting out into the busy street. I run blindly, tears streaming down my face, not caring who I push past. I see a small clothing boutique nearby—Whack Me, Whack You—and duck inside, hoping to lose myself in the racks of fabric.
I press my back against a wall of dresses, trying to muffle my heavy sobbing. My mom is gone. She's really gone.
"Can I help you, miss?"
I flinch. The cashier is staring at me from across the store. I force a broken, hysterical smile onto my face, trying to pretend I am just a normal customer.
But before I can speak, the bell above the door chimes violently.
- Writer
