Spiral Down

Whisper of Blood

"Where were you all day, Chris?" his mom asked, concern written all over her face.

Jonathan, who was sitting on the chair by the dining table, flipped the page of a newspaper he was reading and snarled. "I told you he'd be fine. He's a man already-”

"And what do you mean by that? You’re telling me not to worry about my son?” Veronica shot back, cutting him off.

"I'm sorry mom, it won't happen again ." Chris interjected, trying to defuse the tension.

"You heard the boy". Jonathan added without looking up.

Veronica glared at her husband for a moment before turning back to Chris, who was awkwardly staring at the floorboards, awaiting his punishment.

"Alright," she finally said. "I hope this doesn't happen again. Or else…"

“It won't. I promise," Chris assured her.

"Alright then, go change your clothes and get yourself cleaned up. There's food in the kitchen, get yourself some. Also, your sister is in her room. Say hi to her. She was quite worried about you too."

"Okay, Mom. Thanks." Chris dashed upstairs, shouting as he went,” Thanks, Dad!"

"You are welcome, son," Jonathan called after them.

Chris took a quick shower, changed into fresh clothes, and ate his dinner. Afterward, he stopped by Jenna’s room to chat with her for a while before retreating to his own room.

As he lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, his thoughts drifted back to the events of the day. "Violet, huh? Such a weird girl." He thought out loud.

Just then, a knock sounded at his door.

"Can I come in?” Jonathan's voice called from outside.

"Oh, dad. Yes you can."

Jonathan opened the door and approached his bedside while Chris adjusted and sat up. Jonathan then felt for the edge of the bed and sat down.

"I'm sure you already know why I'm here". He began, paused and then continued.

"I don't understand what happened today, but don't let it reoccur. We don't want your mum worrying, and you know she always does when things like this happen. She would have called the police and filed a missing person's report if I hadn't stopped her. I'm sure you understand what I mean."

Chris lowered his gaze. “I’m sorry Dad.”

"As long as you understand," Jonathan said. He then turned around, pat Chris on his shoulder and said, "Anything that happens, never forget that you have people waiting for you at home". He then stood up and left the room.

Chris sighed, turning off the lamp until the room became dimly lit. “What a day,” he murmured before falling asleep.

Tuesday came by quickly.

Chris was in Physics class but wasn't mentally present. He was still trying to process the event that happened the day before and who Violet was.

"The kid by the window there, in a black T-shirt". The lecturer called out, pointing with his marker to get his attention, but Chris had totally spaced out and didn't notice he was being called.

"Hey, you over there. Tap the kid behind you". The lecturer said, this time he was talking to the student in front of Chris. The student then turned around and gave him a nudge. Startled, Chris realized that all eyes were on him. He quickly understood the situation he was in.

"So someone in my class has the luxury of spacing out," the lecturer remarked dryly.

"I'm sorry sir, it won't happen...” Chris began, but the lecture cut him off.

“Spare me. Come up here and take this marker". He said while handing out the marker in his hand.

Chris shuffled to the front and took the marker from the lecturer’s hand.

"Okay then, derive the equations explaining the motion of projectiles," the lecturer instructed.

Chris stood still for what looked like thirty seconds. He wasn't sure what to do. He didn’t want to embarrass the lecturer, nor did he want to stand out too much. The whole class started giggling and murmuring.

"I believe we're not barbarians. So I expect perfect decorum in this class", the lecturer warned, and the whole class went silent after that.

"So… can you solve it?” the lecturer asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir," Chris replied. He uncapped the marker and began writing on the board. A few moments later, he was done.

The lecturer and the other students were stunned by the clarity and accuracy of his work.

"What's your name?” the lecturer asked.

"Chris, sir,” he responded.

“Alright Chris, see me after class today ", the lecturer said as he collected the marker. “Also, do not space out in my class again. Do I make myself clear?”

"Yes sir."

The Physics class continued for another half hour or so. Other lecturers also taught, and soon it was time to eat lunch. At the cafeteria, Elijah came to meet him.

"Hey Chris, what's up," Elijah grinned as he slid into the seat opposite Chris.

"Hi man. I'm chill. You?” Chris said, he was fiddling with the chips and the sauce in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm cool too,” Elijah said. "Saw you in Physics class today man, you were freakishly cool".

"Really? Didn't seem like much to me," Chris replied nonchalantly.

"That's what makes it cold, man. You should have seen the look on everyone's face. Even Dr. Phil had to let you off with a warning, which he's never done from what I’ve heard," Elijah said excitedly, like a puppy wagging its tail.

"Dr. Phil?” Chris asked, tilting his head. “Oh, you mean the Physics lecturer."

"Man. I gotta learn from you-" Elijah was saying. Violet appeared and interrupted him.

"Who's teaching?" Violet asked.

They both looked up, Violet looked at them and slid into the empty seat beside Chris.

"Hi Violet, how are you -" Chris tried to greet her.

"Hi!” Violet extended her hand to Elijah, who was seated in the opposite seat.

"Elijah," he responded as he politely shook the hand which she stretched out.

"Oh, a pleasure to meet you Elijah. My name's Violet and I'm friends with DC," She said.

“Seriously, don't call me that in front of-" Chris groaned.

"Likewise Violet. Who's DC by the way?" Elijah asked, amused.

"Oh he’s this dude here". She hit him with her shoulder and proceeded to place her arms around his neck and said, "It stands for Dumb Chris,” Violet grinned mischievously.

"Oh. DC sure sounds kinda cool though. But I wouldn’t say he's dumb." Elijah chuckled.

"I guess you don't know him well enough, he really is," Violet teased, and they both laughed.

"You guys know that I can hear everything you're saying, right?" Chris grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah. You have a second?” Violet tugged him by the arm and dragged him with her, "we'll be back soon, Elijah."

She took Chris to the back of the school and when they got to where she was sure nobody would hear them, she stopped and faced Chris. It was then Chris noticed how beautiful she was.

She had jet-black hair, cut into a sharp, shoulder-length bob. Her hair had a silky sheen that caught the light just right, which gave her an almost predatory elegance. Her eyes were a piercing shade of gray, like a storm about to unleash its fury. Sharp, high cheekbones and a defined jawline. Her lips were naturally full, she also had an unusual slight smirk that made Chris believe she had secrets she held.

"So you asked who I was yesterday." She took out a case and took out a silvery needle. Chris retreated a bit. She then took the needle and cut herself on her left forearm and was bleeding profusely.

"Firstly, as you can see. Only a weapon made out of silver can hurt me. So the implication is I'm a vampire, maybe like you, maybe not."

"Okay, but how do we stop the bleeding?” Chris asked, eyeing the blood nervously. "There's no first-aid kit here."

She then put the silver needle back in the case and pocketed it. She then chucked and replied, "You really are dumb." She covered the cut with her right hand and Chris could see a green glow envelop her arm.

As she removed her hand from the cut, it looked like she wasn't injured at all. Chris marveled.

"So you're a healer," Chris asked, "That’s really amazing".

"No, I wouldn't call myself one. If I healed myself now, you would still see scars because I only healed myself," she turned her back and rested on the wall nearby. "What I do is basically restore things to their original form, like I'm rewinding time or regressing that particular object,"

"So basically, you're all-powerful," Chris chuckled.

"No one's all-powerful. Perhaps my power only works for little objects, scars and the likes. I can't bring a dead person back to life or…” She paused. Her face showed a cloud of sadness. She took her back off the wall.

"Well, seems to me, you don't know who you are," she said, with her back turned to him. "Well, meet me at Grisly Park by 2 pm on Saturday. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Uh, alright," Chris replied.

"Let's head back to class, we're already past our break," She said, and they both headed back to class.

"Hello. Yeah. It was just like I suspected. I found traces of magicules in the air and a whiff of a vampire's scent, "Said this man. He was wearing a lightweight beige coat that pinched his knees, a crisp white button down shirt and a dark grey vest, giving him a very polished look. He also wore a navy trouser and a pretty well laced up boots.

On top of all these, he wore a sleek wristwatch and a fedora. He looked like he was in his late forties with a distinguished mix of both black and silver beard, well groomed. "Patch me up to Mirabel, there's been activity around this campus. Mainly caused by werewolves but we can't say this discovery is unrelated,"

He then cut the call and his phone made a plop sound. He then brought out a cigar case from his front pocket, took out a cigar, stuffed it in between his lips and lit it. He took a puff and looked around.

"A vampire, werewolf and a healer huh. We might have a war on our hands."

"This morning, there were seven bodies found at a nearby shed close to the Manhattan stream. This is the third time this has happened this year. The victims were within the ages of twenty to forty years old. They were mauled and their faces were disfigured beyond recognition. The locals...”

"What do you think, hun?" Victoria asked, worry was written all over her face.

"What do you mean?” Jonathan responded.

"I'm talking about the news, the stream is only a few miles from Chris's college. I'm pretty worried". She said as she dished out the pancake. It was evening and everyone was at the table.

"Well, I'm worried too," He reached out for the stew at the center of the table and Jenna pushed the dish slightly towards him to help him reach it. He took the dish and scooped some stew for himself, turned his head and looked at Chris who was happily eating.

"Has there been any news of missing students on campus?” He asked.

"No, sir," Chris replied and took another scoop of rice, chewed and swallowed.

"Well, I guess campus is still safe. And the locals say things like that only happen at night and once in a while. So, Chris should still be safe"

"But-" Veronica muttered.

"You worry too much, he'll be fine. It's not like he'll gladly stay at home if we ask him to. Let's trust that he'll return safely," Jonathan responded while giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Also, Chris, be careful. Come home straight after school, and if you have to stay late, call home. Okay?”

"Yes, sir," Chris replied.

They then moved on to talk about Jenna's school.

Jenna was thirteen years of age and in her first year of high school. She had auburn hair, a gash-like mouth and blue eyes. She also had a very large set of teeth which made her smile look very beautiful and cute. Chris had to chase a lot of guys following and stalking her. Being her elder brother wasn't an easy job for him.

They talked and laughed into the night as they also moved to other topics.

In the distance, the howl of a werewolf could be heard. Upon closer look there was a werewolf hanging by the upper branch of a very tall oak tree which cast a very gigantic shadow on the rest of the other trees under the light of the full moon.

At the howl of that single werewolf, a pack of werewolves gathered at the bottom of that tree. He was an alpha w

ith a very mean glare, full of hostility. His red eyes shone under the shadow cast of his thick eyebrows.