House of Wolves
Disenchanted
Mikey’s P.O.V.
“H-hello, my name is Vanessa. I’m a Vampire from the southern clan. Y-you see, I killed another Vampire and…yes…but, you don’t understand! He tried to kill me first… Look. I live with Chloe and Gerard, you remember them right? …Yeah, yeah, you see, I figured since I killed another Vampire and the penalty for that is death, and I really don’t want to die, I was thinking perhaps I could make a wager with you. I was thinking that if I could hunt them down and somehow get them back to you, then perhaps you wouldn’t kill me? …Yes, I can, I definitely can, and then you can come get them…marriage? A-alright…well, I wanted to get to you first. They were going to call you anyway…Perfect. It was a pleasure doing business with you…Good-bye.” Tater hung up the phone and cheered silently to herself. I was utterly shocked by what I had just seen.
“What are you doing?” I asked, dropping my things on the floor and taking a step towards Tater. She spun around quickly, eyes wide open, almost falling down in the process.
“Nothing.” She said quickly, standing up straight and faking a smile.
“Who were you talking to?” I questioned, taking another step toward her. My heart was pounding in my chest, as I was sure I already knew who it was.
“…No one.”
“Bullshit. Who were you talking to?” I said, suddenly feeling angry and irritated by Tater’s lies. I took another step forward, and she took a sudden step back.
“No one, Mikey. It doesn-” I grabbed her and slammed her up against the wall.
“What the hell are you planning?!” I roared, fury building inside of me. “Who were you talking to?!” Tater squeaked and tried to pry my hands off of her shoulders. When she couldn’t do it she finally spoke up.
“G-Gabriel!” She managed to stutter. I let her go. She slumped to the floor, panting. I stared down at her, hating her more than ever.
“What were you saying about Chloe and Gerard?” I questioned firmly. She looked up at me, her brown eyes weary.
“Nothing…”
“Tell me, or I kill you.” I stated simply. Tater started frantically looking around, surprised that I would say such a thing. Truth be told, I surprised myself.
“Y-you would kill me, Mikey?” She asked, whimpering a little. I almost started to feel sorry for her, but then the memories of Frank being burned alive wormed their way into my skull. I spit at the ground in front of her.
“You deserve nothing less.” I said quietly, “Now tell me what your plans are.” She hesitated. I grabbed for my pocketknife. I pulled the small brown, shiny pocketknife out of my pocket and flicked it open. Tater stared at the rusty, weathered knife in horror.
“Okay, okay!” She scooted away from me a little, and then continued, “I…I told Gabriel that I would find Gerard and Chloe, or at least Chloe, and then I’d get him to come get them…and then Gabriel could have Chloe’s hand in marriage…and that if I did that, then he wouldn’t kill me for killing Frank.” Other memories came flooding back. The main one being when Gabriel asked Chloe to marry him all those years ago.
It was Gabriel’s birthday. He was having a banquet and every Vampire on earth was invited. It was very extravagant, any women that were there, and there weren’t many, were wearing their finest dresses, and they were all looking stunningly beautiful. Gabriel had told Gerard, Frank, and I his plans to propose to Chloe and Frank and I were really happy for them. Gerard however, had been fidgety and quiet since he told us. He really hadn’t been feeding much either. Poor guy.
Chloe was walking around, talking to various people. She was wearing a billowing sapphire ball gown and the sapphire butterfly pendant she’d been wearing for longer than I could remember. I was about to run over to talk to her when I saw Gabriel come up behind her, hug her, and then ask her to follow him. He led her to the large stage-like area and got all of his Vampire assistants to get the audience quiet. Once they were quiet, he cleared his throat. “Lady’s and Gentlemen, I had an announcement I’d like to make. Or, really, a proposal, I have.”
“This is it,” Frank said, beaming. I nodded and smiled. I looked over my shoulder, to see how Gerard was holding up, but I didn’t see him anywhere.
Gabriel turned and got on one knee. Some of the Vampires in the audience gasped, and others cheered. Chloe was visibly shocked. She stared down at him, wide-eyed. In fact, she almost looked like she was going to be sick. “Chloe, my love, my fellow Vampire, will you marry me?” The audience cheered and Gabriel was grinning from ear to ear. Chloe just stared at him, tears sliding down her cheeks. At first I thought that she was just happy, but then I started to notice that she didn’t look so happy. In a shocking, slow motion fashion Chloe shook her head and walked away from the scene. She was crying hard, you could tell that she didn’t want to have to say no to him like that, but it was something she had to do. She pushed her way through the crowd and out of the main doors, where she then broke into a run.
Gabriel never got over that day. He spent the next two weeks locked inside of his chamber, doing god knows what. In that two-week time Chloe decided that we should leave, that she couldn’t handle being around Gabriel anymore. Frank, Gerard, and I all decided to go with her, along with our friend Ray and Bob, who wasn’t our friend at the time but just wanted to get out. Since then Gabriel had hated us all, and only seeked revenge and redemption. For years at that point he had never known where we were, and we had been safe, but all of those years, and our safety, were all being undone by Tater. We’d have to move again, we’d have to get as far away from Gabriel as possible. I forgot completely about running away, and only thought about how to keep my family safe.
“What you’re promising can’t be done. At all. Gabriel’s going to kill you for not keeping your end of the bargain, and he’s going to kill all of us for various reasons. Now, if you shut the hell up, do what we say, and don’t call Gabriel ever again, maybe this can go smoothly. We’ll have to leave the state, probably the country even, and then we’ll have to burn those damned numbers…but we’d have to leave tonight or tomorrow… Now where…” I stopped, my heart pounding once again. Chloe and Gerard had left to go find Sorrow. Oh, fuck. They could be gone for hours! God, damnit. “Get up.” I said, ordering Tater off of the floor. She did as I said, wiping tears from her face. I looked around, trying to figure out what to do next. “…Come with me.” I said, gesturing for Tater to follow me into the kitchen.
“B-but-”
“Now.” I went through the kitchen drawers and cabinets and eventually found two decent sized butcher knives. “Chloe and Gerard and probably the others all went out to get Sorrow back. I’m sure of it. So, we’re going to go find them, get them all back, and then we’re moving. I hope you’re happy.” I pushed past Tater, grabbing her by the arm, and led her down to the first floor. I kicked the main doors open and pushed her out in front of me. With the moon shining down, I looked at the vast amount of trees that lay before us. This was going to be a task, no doubt, but it would be a task well worth it. “Come on, Vanessa. Let’s get moving.”
“H-hello, my name is Vanessa. I’m a Vampire from the southern clan. Y-you see, I killed another Vampire and…yes…but, you don’t understand! He tried to kill me first… Look. I live with Chloe and Gerard, you remember them right? …Yeah, yeah, you see, I figured since I killed another Vampire and the penalty for that is death, and I really don’t want to die, I was thinking perhaps I could make a wager with you. I was thinking that if I could hunt them down and somehow get them back to you, then perhaps you wouldn’t kill me? …Yes, I can, I definitely can, and then you can come get them…marriage? A-alright…well, I wanted to get to you first. They were going to call you anyway…Perfect. It was a pleasure doing business with you…Good-bye.” Tater hung up the phone and cheered silently to herself. I was utterly shocked by what I had just seen.
“What are you doing?” I asked, dropping my things on the floor and taking a step towards Tater. She spun around quickly, eyes wide open, almost falling down in the process.
“Nothing.” She said quickly, standing up straight and faking a smile.
“Who were you talking to?” I questioned, taking another step toward her. My heart was pounding in my chest, as I was sure I already knew who it was.
“…No one.”
“Bullshit. Who were you talking to?” I said, suddenly feeling angry and irritated by Tater’s lies. I took another step forward, and she took a sudden step back.
“No one, Mikey. It doesn-” I grabbed her and slammed her up against the wall.
“What the hell are you planning?!” I roared, fury building inside of me. “Who were you talking to?!” Tater squeaked and tried to pry my hands off of her shoulders. When she couldn’t do it she finally spoke up.
“G-Gabriel!” She managed to stutter. I let her go. She slumped to the floor, panting. I stared down at her, hating her more than ever.
“What were you saying about Chloe and Gerard?” I questioned firmly. She looked up at me, her brown eyes weary.
“Nothing…”
“Tell me, or I kill you.” I stated simply. Tater started frantically looking around, surprised that I would say such a thing. Truth be told, I surprised myself.
“Y-you would kill me, Mikey?” She asked, whimpering a little. I almost started to feel sorry for her, but then the memories of Frank being burned alive wormed their way into my skull. I spit at the ground in front of her.
“You deserve nothing less.” I said quietly, “Now tell me what your plans are.” She hesitated. I grabbed for my pocketknife. I pulled the small brown, shiny pocketknife out of my pocket and flicked it open. Tater stared at the rusty, weathered knife in horror.
“Okay, okay!” She scooted away from me a little, and then continued, “I…I told Gabriel that I would find Gerard and Chloe, or at least Chloe, and then I’d get him to come get them…and then Gabriel could have Chloe’s hand in marriage…and that if I did that, then he wouldn’t kill me for killing Frank.” Other memories came flooding back. The main one being when Gabriel asked Chloe to marry him all those years ago.
It was Gabriel’s birthday. He was having a banquet and every Vampire on earth was invited. It was very extravagant, any women that were there, and there weren’t many, were wearing their finest dresses, and they were all looking stunningly beautiful. Gabriel had told Gerard, Frank, and I his plans to propose to Chloe and Frank and I were really happy for them. Gerard however, had been fidgety and quiet since he told us. He really hadn’t been feeding much either. Poor guy.
Chloe was walking around, talking to various people. She was wearing a billowing sapphire ball gown and the sapphire butterfly pendant she’d been wearing for longer than I could remember. I was about to run over to talk to her when I saw Gabriel come up behind her, hug her, and then ask her to follow him. He led her to the large stage-like area and got all of his Vampire assistants to get the audience quiet. Once they were quiet, he cleared his throat. “Lady’s and Gentlemen, I had an announcement I’d like to make. Or, really, a proposal, I have.”
“This is it,” Frank said, beaming. I nodded and smiled. I looked over my shoulder, to see how Gerard was holding up, but I didn’t see him anywhere.
Gabriel turned and got on one knee. Some of the Vampires in the audience gasped, and others cheered. Chloe was visibly shocked. She stared down at him, wide-eyed. In fact, she almost looked like she was going to be sick. “Chloe, my love, my fellow Vampire, will you marry me?” The audience cheered and Gabriel was grinning from ear to ear. Chloe just stared at him, tears sliding down her cheeks. At first I thought that she was just happy, but then I started to notice that she didn’t look so happy. In a shocking, slow motion fashion Chloe shook her head and walked away from the scene. She was crying hard, you could tell that she didn’t want to have to say no to him like that, but it was something she had to do. She pushed her way through the crowd and out of the main doors, where she then broke into a run.
Gabriel never got over that day. He spent the next two weeks locked inside of his chamber, doing god knows what. In that two-week time Chloe decided that we should leave, that she couldn’t handle being around Gabriel anymore. Frank, Gerard, and I all decided to go with her, along with our friend Ray and Bob, who wasn’t our friend at the time but just wanted to get out. Since then Gabriel had hated us all, and only seeked revenge and redemption. For years at that point he had never known where we were, and we had been safe, but all of those years, and our safety, were all being undone by Tater. We’d have to move again, we’d have to get as far away from Gabriel as possible. I forgot completely about running away, and only thought about how to keep my family safe.
“What you’re promising can’t be done. At all. Gabriel’s going to kill you for not keeping your end of the bargain, and he’s going to kill all of us for various reasons. Now, if you shut the hell up, do what we say, and don’t call Gabriel ever again, maybe this can go smoothly. We’ll have to leave the state, probably the country even, and then we’ll have to burn those damned numbers…but we’d have to leave tonight or tomorrow… Now where…” I stopped, my heart pounding once again. Chloe and Gerard had left to go find Sorrow. Oh, fuck. They could be gone for hours! God, damnit. “Get up.” I said, ordering Tater off of the floor. She did as I said, wiping tears from her face. I looked around, trying to figure out what to do next. “…Come with me.” I said, gesturing for Tater to follow me into the kitchen.
“B-but-”
“Now.” I went through the kitchen drawers and cabinets and eventually found two decent sized butcher knives. “Chloe and Gerard and probably the others all went out to get Sorrow back. I’m sure of it. So, we’re going to go find them, get them all back, and then we’re moving. I hope you’re happy.” I pushed past Tater, grabbing her by the arm, and led her down to the first floor. I kicked the main doors open and pushed her out in front of me. With the moon shining down, I looked at the vast amount of trees that lay before us. This was going to be a task, no doubt, but it would be a task well worth it. “Come on, Vanessa. Let’s get moving.”