Half Bitten

“Ms. Brown, are you awake?”
What?
“Ms. Brown, are you awake?”
No.
“Ms. Brown? You have to wake up.”
Grr.

The dim light of the now abandoned high school library failed to amuse my eyes. The petite librarian tilted her head down, softening her expression.
“Are you okay? Did you faint?”
My ears seemed to filter in her words. I groaned inwardly as my hands felt around the carpet floor. Except there was no carpet floor, clusters of folklore books surrounded me. I cringed at how outrageous I must’ve looked. The folklore section had been my new home away from home. Since the time Alec had talked to me in detention, I forced myself to learn anything and everything there was about vampires and werewolves. What they looked like? What they ate? Why they hated each other so gravely? But there was one little problem. All books said that vampires and werewolves were ravenous beasts.
The first documented event of a vampire was allegedly seen in Japan. In Japanese culture, it is more then mandatory that, at death, the body be given a proper burial. A proper burial would allow the spirit of the deceased to pass onto the spiritual world. The process starts by the dead body being washed by family members or the hospital members. Then, being placed in suit, if the deceased was a male. Or placed in a proper kimono, if the deceased was a female. Without a proper burial the spirit is forced to stay on earth, unable to pass to the spiritual world. Within this chasm of both worlds the body belonging to the spirit can become possessed. Controlled by any demonic being that dares to enter into the human world.
Moto Hiago was considered one of the deadliest vampires. Within one second of eye contact, humans fall into deep hypnosis. In a hypnotic state, the hypnotist can control every action of your body. With one touch, Moto was able to take anyone’s life, consume any spirit it wanted.
However, Vampires were also known to have the ability to conjure up thunderstorms and attract lightening. Wolves were known as the knowledgeable beings of the earth. Created to balance the power between all humans and children of nature. When vampires gained power, they challenged Mother Nature and wolves had to adapt. Gaining more strength, the ability to shape shift and deceive the vampires.
“Are you going to take those books out? We’re going to close in a few minutes.” The librarian impatiently mentioned, looking to her watch. I mumbled incoherently in response. She seemed to have heard an answer and lift the stack of books near my head. Walking towards the front desk, she struggled with the heap as if it was gaining pages by the minute. I cringed as she rung each book onto my card. I closed my eyes preparing myself for the sting of her judging glare. Vampires and werewolves shouldn’t exist. Some even stand by the theory that vampires and werewolves were a result of witchcraft.
During the late 1600’s, the town of Salem was tight knit. Little girls skipped along, learning life lessons from their mothers as little boys followed in their father’s footsteps. News traveled quickly and it was not hard to become popular. When three very popular sisters started to change, all of Salem was riled. The three sisters were known to keep to themselves, never talking to anyone outside of their family. Articles document screaming coming from each room of their house, horrifying shrieks were heard in the middle of the night. Eerie fog hovered over the land around their house, as thunderstorms gathered overhead. Some say they were cursed. Protected by a demonic entity that allowed them to glide across the earth floor, allowing them to hypnotize anyone with one second of their presence. Such compelling creatures were ones the people of Salem couldn’t handle being around. The three sisters were brought to trail, being harassed by questions that challenged their humanity. Their house became terrorized; windows were broken, as the land was brought to flames. Of course, the three sister’s lives were ended by the towns vote in a hanging.
As soon as their lifeless bodies were hung into the air, Salem became cursed. Animal attacks began to occur. Doors were clawed down as innocent people lost their lives. War broke out as false assumptions were made. The people of Salem had turned into the animals they really were. Shredding through their skin with a snarl. Developing four legs and a fur coat. One petite man had been immune to this change. As he was trying to run away he saw the three bodies belonging to the sisters still hanging in the air. He knew that they had something to do with the war that had broken out. With shaking hands he lowered each one down to the ground, seconds passed by as their bodies gained color. Folklore goes on to say that they had disappeared only minutes after their resurrection. The people who had claimed to turning into an animalistic figure had disappeared as well. Leaving the town of Salem unable to be unchanged.
“Looks like someone’s starting Halloween a little bit early,” the librarian chuckled nervously as my body lifted itself up from the ground. I walked slowly towards the front desk where the stack of books was awaiting for my arrival. Seventh Thursday in a row I had ended up in the library.
“Yeah, what can I say? When you’re as old as me, candy just doesn’t cut it anymore.” I reached for the books and shifted them off the desk. I groaned inwardly as my feet walked towards the double doors leading onto the parking lot. To my surprise, the double doors opened way before I had the chance to attempt a push.
“Jackie? What are you doing here this late?” Steph tilted her head in confusion as she inhaled sharply. Trying to stop the chill running down her spine from the brisk air around us. Judging by the lack of light in the sky, it had to be close to 6. Maybe even seven.
“Just some stuff I needed to take care of.”
She eyed the stack of books, “rented the whole folklore section… how very Halloween-y of you.”
I laughed back nervously, and then waited for her to go on.
“But reading before the holiday?” she went on humorously, “ we have much to teach you.”
I couldn’t help but to chuckle again as my feet paced towards my dad’s pickup. He had fixed it enough to trust me with. Which meant the engine still wouldn’t handle going over fifty on a highway. I stopped short at the door seeing as how my hands were preoccupied. Steph didn’t care to stop talking.
“Listen, I’m kinda in a rush but I’ve been meaning to talk to you for the last couple of weeks. You haven’t been around so I assumed you’ve just been swamped with homework.”
She was right. I am swamped with homework. Especially because I had stopped doing assignments given to me, weeks ago.
“We’ve all decided to have an adventure…”
I smirked as my mouth pronounced the word. “Adventure?”
“Yeah, well Bird really doesn’t let us go to school on Halloween. He wants us to be safe, so we’ve made up a plan to sneak to a concert. It’s two hours away from here and you’re the only other sophomore who drives.”
I nodded to myself; I was the only other sophomore that knew how to drive and concerts were safe to an extent.
“We’re all meeting at my house instead of coming here in the morning. Are you in?”
The stack of books in my hands had become weightless. I felt as if I could do anything that pleased me and no one would be in my way.
“Well,” my voice came out soft. “If we’re going for an adventure we might as well do the whole 360.”
She smirked smugly, “I’ve taught you so much. Kindle and Lowlii’s parents are throwing a party. Of course, it’s conveniently placed right after the concert. We could cover up or trails if we get held up, a little late.”
I tried to take in a breath. This plan seemed too right. Something bad was bound to happen.
“Everyone’s going to be there.” She bit her lip watching my face closely, “even Lowlii.”
Lowlii? Oh my god, Lowlii. I hadn’t thought of him since the day Alec sent me on this wild goose chase. My stomach sunk as the guilt rushed over my face. I had promised that we were going to spend time together then fell off the face of the earth. What kind of person was I?
“Okay, I’ll be there.”
She smiled proudly, “I’ll be sure to tell him that.”
I groaned again, “he wasn’t going to come?”
Steph laughed to herself as she walked backwards towards the school, “Well, he is now.”

What was I going to do? My leg tapped nervously on the kitchen floor as the spoon in my hand dangled limply. All night I had stayed up trying to talk myself into the fact that he wasn’t mad at me. I bit my lip; Steph wasn’t the type of person to care for someone’s actions other then her own. She couldn’t have cared less if I had gone. It was obvious that someone pushed her. I stuffed a spoonful of cheerios into my mouth and chewed impatiently. My dad was still upstairs probably just waking up. How was I supposed to run off if I had no person to runaway from? The idea was to mention a new project, something for literature. It would explain the myriad of books I had came home with and the reason that I had to leave early and arrive home late. My foot began tapping once again. Perhaps a note would be better. That way it would seem as if I was truly in a rush. The chair was pushed away from under me as I went into the kitchen drawers.
There must be some good for nothing post-its somewhere.
“Someone’s in a rush.” My dad’s voice crept down the stairs, engulfing me with panic.
“Good morning, dad.” Every fiber of my being was used to smile happily.
“You seem to be more put together.” He fluffed his feathery hair and sat down near the bowl of cereal I had abandoned. Taking a spoonful to his mouth he went on, “for the past couple of weeks you’ve been dressed in sweats and a pull over.”
I winced, why did he have to pick today to be observant? I took my freshly straightened hair and tucked it behind my ears.
“Yeah, I—uh, I’ve been stressed. All this school work.”
He mumbled incoherently.
“There’s this new project I’m working on. It’s gonna take up all my free time after school,” I sighed
My dad took another spoonful, responding with a hum. “So, I guess you’ll be a little late today?”
I cleared my throat louder then needed, “yeah. Just a little late.”
The three seconds of agonizing silence were ended by his curiosity. “This doesn’t have anything to do with the Whites does it?”
My heart stopped beating as my hands started to shake. I inhaled sharply as I stuffed them into my pant pocket. “What do you mean? I haven’t talked to them for weeks.”
Steph was Amber’s sister. They were a whole other family then the Whites.
“Oh, well I guess trick or treating can never get old,” he mumbled to himself. I took the three seconds of sheer quiet that followed as an obligation to grab my bag.
“Well, I gotta go. Gotta avoid traffic.” To Steph’s house, I added mentally.
He hadn’t bothered to make eye contact as he finished off the cereal. “Good bye sweetie. Have a good day.”
I mentally calculated the minutes that would go by before he would regain logical thinking and order me to turn around. The truck revved from underneath me.
Just drive. Who cares if he’ll be angry? Just drive. The intriguing voice demanded.
I held my left foot on the brake as my right foot pushed on the gas eagerly. I inhaled sharply as my left foot gave up. Fifteen minutes away from my dad’s house and I was already into town. The streets were wet and slippery, as the clouds overhead seemed to gather in chunks. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Maybe I should just head to school and meet everyone at the party after the concert. My right leg seemed to defy, still pressing on the gas pedal.
What was going to happen if I actually had gone? The band would be a drag and everyone would be so tired from the mosh pit at the concert to even want to go to Lowlii and Kindle’s party.
Lowlii. I owed it to him. It was my entire fault that he had fallen into trouble the first day of school. The light turned red as my cell phone started to ring. I put the car in park to search for my phone. Carmine must’ve been going crazy the last couple of weeks.
“Look, I’m sorry. I know I promised to keep in touch but I’ve just been busy.” My mouth blabbed before the person on the other line could say hello.
“Well, I’m glad you can admit you’re wrong.” my dad’s voice was unsure, “but I’ve just called to check up on you. Turns out, that there is a concert bout two hours away from here. Since it’s Halloween, I don’t doubt that high school student plan to ditch school and end up there…”
Before he could go on I scoffed, “and you think I’m just like some other high school kid? I’m not like everyone else dad!”
He sensed the jittery-ness of my voice and decided that my body was taken over by rage. “Look, calm down Jackie. I’ve just called to tell you that I was proud that you were going to school instead of tagging along.”
I glowered turning on the blinker. That was the last straw. The next stop was my first period.
“So, I’ll see you when you get home?”
I nodded as if he was sitting right next to me. “Of course. I wont be late.”
The light had turned green and the phone was thrown to the ground of the car. I shifted the pickup off its parking brake and pressed on the gas. The right thing to do was stay in school. Who cares if everyone was going to be there? I was not going to be a victim of peer pressure. Without a second, red and blue lights flashed into the rearview window of the pickup. My head jerked up nervously only to be staring back at a squad car. Why me? Why now?
I swerved the pickup to the side of the road and sunk into my seat. The police officer emerged from his squad car and paced himself. With every step he progressed to me my heart convulsed. My hands gripped the steering wheel impatiently as I tried to remind myself to breathe.
“Excuse me, m’am.” The police officer raised his voice loud enough for my ears to hear. He stopped short at my window and bobbed his head to the side. His dirty blond hair blew in the morning breeze as his deep aqua blue eyes smiled down to me. His warm grin revealed the light freckles that laid on his face.
“You’re uh, awfully far from Port Angeles for a Friday. Do you have school today?”
I lowered my gaze, “yes I was actually just about to turn back.”
He didn’t seem to be amused. “May I see your license?”
I bit my lip as my hands nervously went into the glove compartment of the pickup. I handed him my license and smiled innocently. “It’s a bad picture. Doesn’t even look like me.”
He stared intently at the piece of laminated plastic. “You do know that this is a Texas state license, right?”
I blinked awkwardly, “well, yeah. It didn’t cross my mind that I needed to get a Washington license.”
His aqua blue eyes were stern, his voice hearty and confident. “Do you have someone else to get you to school, Jackie Auburne Brown?”
I groaned inwardly, darting my hands towards the car floor to retrieve my cell phone. I was screwed. Grounded for the next two months.
“Actually,” an adoring voice found its way from the outside of the car. “ I might be able to get her there, Chase.”
The warmth boiled from the pit of my stomach.
Lowlii rested his hand on the handle of the car door, “she has 4th period tech with me. I know her.”
Chase smiled mockingly. “Way to play it cool. I was five seconds away from breaking her”
Lowlii laughed to himself, “well, I wasn’t going to let her pass out. Look at her, her face is bright red.”
My face can’t turn red, Lowlii. I’m half Native American.
“Just be careful. Bird doesn’t want you around her.” Chase handed Lowlii my license and smirked back to me. “Let me know if he’s being a jerk-face. I own a pair of hand cuffs.”
Lowlii laughed mockingly, “very funny, Chase. I’ll be sure to tell Nathan that one.”
I scooted over to the passenger seat, making room for Lowlii. With a smile broader then before, he planted himself onto the drivers seat arrogantly.
“That was all a prank?” my voice was sharper then I intended it to be.
He hummed a chuckle, “calm down. No harm no foul.”
I glowered once more, “you guys are all the same.”
Lowlii darted his gaze to mine. My body felt like caving in as my lungs stopped pumping air into the blood of my veins. Why had I torn myself away from such an angelic figure?
“Well I would like to hint out that I’m not the only one at fault here. You promise me some time alone, then fall off the edge of the earth. I was worried sick.”
I tried not to smile.
“Well, I’m sorry if I have a life.” I crossed my arms over my chest as the car started to hasten down the road.
He shook his head and sighed. “Be happy, I saved you from a boring day of mind numbing classes.”
I couldn’t help but agree. “I’m still mad, though.”
Lowlii perked up with happiness, “good. You girls are all the same.”
I scoffed, sinking into my seat more. I tried not to glance back to him but as always my head turned as soon as the thought of staring was a permitted action. Lowlii’s hair wasn’t as short anymore; instead it fell gracefully over his scalp, just covering the tips of his ears with chocolate waves. He had caught my deed and jerked his head back in a conscious act.
“What? Do you not like my hair?”
I lowered my gaze, “and if I didn’t?”
His eyes shifted from side to side as he tried to come up with a witty remark. “Well, I don’t like your shirt. It screams farmer girl.”
I looked down and saw that I had put on the same outfit I planned for on the first day of school. I looked back up to him with unsure eyes.
He cleared his throat, “the jeans are slimming, though.”
I raised a brow, “how long have you been growing your hair out without my permission?”
Lowlii tilted his head to the side, the warmth returning to his face. “Why would you care?”
He was teasing. I knew for a fact that he understood exactly what was going on.
“Don’t try to turn this back on me. I’m still mad.”
His voice had turned tender as he bit his lip. Lowlii’s warm smile turned into an affectionate smirk as he fixed his eyes in the road. “I know.”