Under the Moonlight (It's Too Dark to See)

“Rhys, I’m leaving now…” I mumbled into the phone as rain poured down from the sky. I stood, illuminated by the lights beneath the canopy of a convenience store I’d run under when the storm started.

“Are you alright?” Rhys asked through the receiver. “It’s pouring.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” I replied sarcastically. “But yeah. I’m okay.”

“Be careful coming home, Isola,” he cautioned. “Nightfall’s drawing near; the vampires’ll be out soon enough.”

“I know, Rhys.” I wasn’t afraid of vampires, but I knew they were sure as hell real, not just some romanticized myth used to entertain or scare. No, vampires are real--I’ve seen them with my own eyes. “I’m gonna get on home before this rain gets too heavy, so I’m gonna hang up now. I’ll be home in five to ten minutes.”

“Alright,” he said. “See you soon.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

I flipped the phone shut and sighted, running a hand through my drenched hair. Mum had to be pissed by now. This was the fifth time I’d gotten detention for being too “different” for the authorities’ liking. Black hair (unnaturally so), eighteen tattoos, and thirty-two places where metal stuck outta your flesh was apparently frowned upon at my so-called “lovely” school’s fucked-up, monotonous society of unoriginality.

I sighed a little bit before walking out from the light of the canopy to the street and sidewalk, getting soaked in the process. Out of sheer inattentiveness, I started to hum the Eighteen Visions song Isola in the Rain to myself as I walked through the shallow puddles to get home.

Oddly enough, it seemed that I took a wrong turn somewhere back coming home. I heard a rustle, then a clang, and it was then that I really regretted not being like Rhys and carrying a crucifix, stake, or clove of garlic. The sun had already sunk deep below the horizon, and the sky was black. I shuddered, coming to the realization that this wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” came a voice.

I whipped around. No one stood there.

“Turn around.”

Against my better judgment, I did as told and turned back around. When I did, I saw a shrouded figure coming at me.

Common reaction? Run like hell, screaming like a lunatic. My reaction? Stand there, looking dumb as dumb could be, screaming like a lunatic. In that instant, I was grasped by the shoulders, catching only a glimpse of pale skin and blonde hair for a description of my attacker, who called for two others.

Two more figures appeared, seemingly jumping down from the rooftops. A tall, tanned boy with tattoos that looked to be in his mid-twenties and another shorter, paler one. Both were brunettes, but one had piercing bright blue eyes. The other’s were a bit dull, and olive in colour.

“Wh-what do you want!?” I choked out, fear closing around my vocal chords, making my voice high-pitched and squeaky.

None of them seemed to hear me. The blonde just said, “Go, Gav. She’s all yours.” and the blue-eyed one stepped to me.

I squirmed. “Get the hell away from me!”

“Gav” looked at me, then smelled my neck. I tensed. “O. Positive,” he said observantly, smiling as he bared his fangs.

I refused to stay still. “Get the hell away from me!” I repeated. “I’ve got a crucifix and I’m not afraid to--” I was cut off as the other brunette shoved a bandana into my mouth as a gag.

“Stay still, dammit!” the blonde snapped, tightening his grip on my shoulders. “Gavin, you twat, hurry the fuck up so we can leave this bitch!”

I watched Gavin, horror flicking in my eyes.

He gazed at me and shook his head. “She’s a hunter’s granddaughter,” he said simply.

“So what!?” the tan one asked. “You wanted a drink, there you go! Take th--”

“No, he’s right,” the blonde cut in.

“Sean, what the f--”

“Think about it, dumbass! Do you really think a vampire hunter in her family won’t notice his kin’s gone? Are you that suicidal?”

“Take the gag out,” Gavin commanded, gaze still on me.

His eyes are gorgeous… I thought, staring back at him.

The blonde released me. “Let’s go…” he said softly, stepping back into the shadows of a nearby alley. The tan one went with him. Instantly, there was a whipping sound, and two bats flew off, lit by the light of the pale moon shining through the clouds.

I stared at Gavin a little more. “Uh… Thanks… But...none of my hunter family...is alive…”

He looked at me. “I know. But they don’t know that. They don’t have that sense like I do.”

I realized what he did. He saved me from them. “Uh… Thanks.”

He smiled. What a beautiful smile it was, too. “No problem. Sorry we had to meet like this…”

I shook my head. “No hard feelings.”

“You know…” he started, looking at me again. “You’re rather pretty.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to pick me up or something?” I asked. Brilliant question, Isola…

“Not at all,” he replied with a smile. “Not at all.”

I smirked. “Yeah, right.” I cocked my head, wiping rain off my face. “So what’s your name, mysterious saviour from above?”

He chuckled. “Gavin. And yours, mysterious damsel from below?”

I rolled my eyes. This guy was so cheesy, but in a cute way. “Isola. Isola Lewis.”

He seemed to get really pale in that instant. “Did you just say…Lewis…?”

I nodded. “Yeah…”

“As in…Rhys Lewis…?”

“He’s my brother.”

“Oh. I… I see.”

I looked at him, leaning against a wall. “What’s that for?”

He stood next to me. “Your brother and Matt Davies… They’re the best vampire hunters in the country.”

“I’m aware. But don’t worry. Rhys owes me a favour.”

His eyes widened. “You’d do that…for me, of all people?”

I shrugged. “Well, yeah. I mean, you saved me. So I owe you something, I feel. And since Rhys owes me in return, we all win.” I smiled. “I got it covered.”

He smiled. “Thanks, Isola.”

I shook my head. “No need for thanks. It’s what I do.” I looked at the sky, where the bats had been. “You better get going. They probably left for…” I dropped my voice to imitate Nosferatu. “…Transylvania.”

He laughed. “So…could I see you again?”

“It’s possible.” I smiled. “You know where I live. Drop in.”

“I’ll do that.”

I smiled again, then turned to walk away.

“Hey, Isola…”

I turned around. “Yeah?”

He approached me, then stole a quick kiss on my cheek. “Bye.”

I blushed for a moment. “Bye.”

I heard the same whipping sound as I turned around, then a bat screeched slightly and took off in the same direction the other two went.

And from that moment on, nothing was as it had been before.