Secrets Revealed
This is a fake version of Chapter 39 of Allison and the Primdales. It was posted for one day on April 1, 2009 as an April Fools joke, then replaced by the real Chapter 39 later that same day. It has been preserved here just in case anyone's interested.
A comfortable bed. Warm blankets. An antiseptic smell. The hum of machinery in the distance. And then light.
Jeff opened his eyes, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling in an unfamiliar room, blinking as the haze of drowsiness fought to remain with him. He knew immediately from the sensations that had surrounded him even as he woke that he was in a hospital room.
When his eyes opened, the first thing he saw was an angel. He knew that angel; he had seen her often in his dreams and in his waking life.
"How do you feel?" asked Allison.
"Okay," he replied. "What happened?"
"You hit your head. Hard."
"And is Brit okay?"
"She's fine." Allison stared down at the floor, as if not sure what to tell him. "Jeff," she said, "something's happened. And I'm not sure how to tell you."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not... I'm not who you think I am."
"Who are you then?"
She sighed. "I'm part of a secret organization. I was sent to look after you, because... well, because you're special."
"I don't understand," he said.
"I don't know how to say this. I'm... a hunter... of sorts."
"What kind of hunter?"
She took his hand. "Can you stand up?" she asked him.
He lifted the covers out of the way, then slipped his legs over the side of the bed. He felt a little weak and dizzy at first as he tried to rise, but once on his feet he felt all right. The floor was cold, but Allison pointed to a set of slippers near the bed, which he immediately donned. Together they walked to the door and opened it.
Behind was not what Jeff would expect to see in a hospital. It was a long, concrete corridor with only a single row of fluorescent lights running along the ceiling. His room was only a single door in an almost unbroken hall. Toward the other end he could see some light from what appeared to be a window. Two men in dark gray uniforms and carrying guns stood beside it.
"What is this place?" asked Jeff.
"Our headquarters," Allison replied. "You're in the secure wing, away from everyone else."
"Why?"
"Because they're afraid of you."
Jeff stared at her in shock. Afraid of him? That didn't make any sense. Why would anyone be afraid of Jeff Primdale? He wasn't particularly strong or violent; in fact, he considered himself rather gentle of demeanor.
Allison took his hand again and led him down the hall toward that light. He could hear their footsteps echoing off of the blank walls as they walked, the only sound in the silent corridor. An ominous feeling filled him as they approached that light, but he didn't know why. Perhaps it was the men in uniform. Perhaps the fact that they looked like they were guarding something.
When they reached it, the men saluted Allison. That also surprised Jeff. He didn't know she was in the military.
The light came from a small room on the other side of a thick glass window. The room was empty except for a man chained to a metal chair in the center. The man had pale, cadaverous skin on a gaunt face with shallow eye sockets and mottled lips. A mop of long, greasy black hair covered his head, hanging limply about his face in scraggly bunches. He wore a torn business suit with what appeared to be bloodstains around the collar. Around his neck hung a wreath of onions or garlic of some kind, and he sat stooped over as if weighed down heavily by the necklace. His eyes, his most striking feature, stared defiantly and menacingly at the window where Jeff and Allison watched.
"What is this?" asked Jeff. "Who's that supposed to be?"
"A vampire," Allison smiled.
"Very funny."
"I'm absolutely serious," she told him. "That, Jeff, is a vampire."
Jeff glanced again at the man. True, there was something eerie and otherworldly about him; there seemed to be a kind of supernatural feel about him. But that could just be from the makeup job they had done on him, which admittedly did its job well.
"That's not a vampire," said Jeff. "That's just a man in a costume."
"Are you sure of that?" asked Allison.
"Of course I'm sure. There's no such thing as vampires. This is some kind of Halloween prank. You're about a month and a half early, by the way."
"All right then. Follow me."
She led him over to a metal door leading into the room. She typed a code into a computer console in the door, and with a click it unlocked. Allison pulled the door open, and Jeff noticed that it was about a foot thick, all metal.
"After you," she smiled, motioning him in. Jeff stepped into the room, staring at the man in the chair. He felt an ominous foreboding about that man; vampire or not, he certainly didn't look friendly.
He heard the door close behind him, and turned around with shock. Allison had not come in with him. A moment later, her face appeared in the window. She shrugged. Jeff glanced at the door and saw that there was no handle on this side.
"That's not funny," he said, but Allison ignored him. She pointed past him to the man in the chair. Jeff turned around again, and saw that the man wore a smile on his face. But there was no friendliness or humor in that smile. It was the grin of a madman, of a sadist who had just found his next victim. Not surprisingly, the "vampire" had elongated canines on both the top and the bottom. The prosthetics were remarkably realistic.
"Who are you?" asked Jeff.
"No one," the man replied in a raspy whisper.
"Well that's enlightening. But seriously, what's going on here? They say you're a vampire."
"And they're right."
"Bullshit."
"They captured me and chained me in this room, using garlic to sap my strength. But they'll not keep me here for long. I see my means of escape."
"What means?"
"You."
Jeff felt a chill run down his spine, in spite of himself. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.
"A stupid little boy, too caught up in what he 'knows' to be true, that he can't accept that maybe he's wrong. Maybe I am a vampire after all."
"You're not a vampire," he insisted. "There's no such thing."
"Then call my bluff," the man grinned evilly. "Remove this wreath from me and learn the truth."
"Okay, fine," he said. He stepped closer, feeling fear building within him. Was this some kind of a test? Were they testing him to see if he would go through with it despite his fear? He didn't want to play their stupid games, but since he was here, he wasn't going to let them scare him off that easily.
He placed his hands on the necklace, hesitating for a moment. He glanced back at the window, where he saw Allison standing there watching without emotion. What did that mean? Did she want him to remove the wreath or not?
Whatever they wanted, he was going to call their bluff. He lifted the necklace free of the man's neck and tossed it in the corner.
"There," he said. "I've done it."
The man panted, as if he had just finished running a marathon. Slowly his breathing came under control, then he lifted his head and grinned once more at Jeff.
"You really are a stupid little boy," he said. He spread his arms to the side, and as if made of paper, the chains keeping him bound to the chair burst and flew apart. Jeff took a step back, his eyes growing wide with fear.
"What..." he said. Then the creature lunged at him.
He had no chance to react. He could do nothing to defend himself from the devilish fiend that was upon him in an instant. Jeff screamed as the vampire grabbed him around the neck, lifting him from the ground.
Then suddenly, the vampire's eyes went wide with fear and astonishment. He dropped Jeff to the floor and stared at his hand, which was gradually turning black. A wail of pain, terror, and despair emerged from his throat, turning into a scream as his hand burst into flame. The flame traveled up his arm suddenly engulfing his whole body. Jeff picked himself up off the floor and backed against the wall as the flaming madman howled in anguish, as if tortured by the very flames of hell, which wasn't far from the truth. The fire burned with rapid intensity, and in a few seconds his body fell to the ground in a heap of smoldering ashes.
Allison opened the door, concern showing on her face. Jeff stared at her in shock.
"I'm sorry I had to do that to you," she said. "There was no way you would have believed me otherwise."
"I..." he croaked, his gaze returning to the blackened spot on the ground that had once been a man.
Allison took his hand and led him out of the room, returning back down the corridor to the place where he had first awoken. Jeff sat down on the bed, weighed down by what he had just witnessed and staring at the floor in shock.
"Jeff," said Allison tenderly. "Are you--?"
"I want to know the truth!" he snapped. "What the hell is going on here?"
"All right, here's the truth," said Allison. "I belong to a hidden order that's been waging this secret war against vampires for a thousand years. For the most part, we've been winning. Unfortunately, vampires have a nasty habit of being able to replenish their ranks just by biting someone. So until the very last vampire is eradicated from the earth, the threat is very real, and we cannot lower our guard.
"For the most part, the media has gotten it right. Vampires don't like sunlight, they have severe allergic reactions to garlic, and so forth. They have amazing regenerative capabilities, and live off human blood. If they feed upon someone, then that person becomes a vampire after they die. They don't have to die right away, or even as a result of the bite. They may live a long and happy life, but they will rise from the grave unless the vampire that bit them is killed first."
"Okay, fine. But so far you haven't told me anything that I couldn't have found out myself just by reading Dracula. What does this have to do with me? Are you saying that I'm a vampire?"
"No. Just the opposite. Do you remember about four years ago, just before your mother left, you were attacked by a wild animal in the park?"
"I remember people telling me that, although I don't remember the attack itself. I was found alone at night in the park, with scratch and bite marks. They said it was probably a cougar or something like that."
"There was another detail as well, something strange about the area where they found you."
"Oh yeah. It looked like the grass had been scorched next to where I had been attacked. They never did explain that."
"So you explain it," said Allison.
"Me? I have no idea."
"Yes you do. Judging from what you saw just a few minutes ago, what is the most reasonable explanation?"
His eyes went wide. "Scorch marks," he said. "Like something had been burned. Are you saying..."
"You were attacked by a vampire, Jeff. That's what I'm saying."
"Then does that mean I'll become one myself?"
"No. That's the curious thing. You see, there's something about you, something about your blood. A vampire can't feed upon you, or he'll die. You may have other defenses too; we won't know until we run some tests. But to the best of our knowledge, you're a sort of anti-vampire."
"A what?"
"You cannot be harmed by vampires, but you can do a lot of harm to them. Why, I don't know. But when we found out, we were very curious about you. After that incident in the park, we decided to watch you closely."
"Spy on me, you mean."
"If you want to call it that, yes. But it's not as bad as it could have been. That incident divided our group. Some of us wanted to bring you back here and study you. Some of us wanted to kill you, fearing that your powers could be used by the vampires against us somehow. Some of us even wanted to dissect you, to find out what we could that way."
"And what about you?" he asked. "What did you want to do?"
"I was part of the majority that wanted you to grow up as a normal boy in a normal home. We would watch you, look after you, make sure the vampires didn't get to you, but you would be mostly on your own. Later, perhaps after you graduated from high school or even after college, we would contact you and let you decide whether to join us or not.
"In the end, to appease the more radical factions, we decided to plant someone right in your home, someone who could sleep nearby every night just in case the vampires came for you."
"You mean you... you married my father just to be near me?"
"If you want to put it that way, yes. Look, Jeff. Almost everything you know about me is true. Sure I married your father under false pretenses, but it wasn't like I pretended to love him. He knew right from the beginning that it was just a marriage of convenience, so what does it matter that I lied to him about the reason?"
"I don't know. It's just a little overwhelming. I mean, it's not every day that you discover that your stepmother is a vampire hunter."
"Jeff, I know this is hard, but you have to trust me on this."
"Why? You've lied to me about everything!"
"No I haven't. Most of what I've told you is true. I like you, Jeff. That's a fact. I've really enjoyed these past few years, watching you grow, watching you turn into a handsome young man. I really do want you to be happy."
"Then why didn't you wait? Why didn't you do like you said, and contact me after high school or college?"
"I'm sorry, but something happened that changed everything."
"What?"
"You died."
Jeff stared at her in shock. What was she saying? The words just didn't make sense.
"If you hadn't caught your little sister," Allison continued, "she probably would have landed on her head. Probably broken her neck. But you were there to rescue her. Unfortunately, when you caught her it knocked you off balance. You hit your head on the staircase, hard. Hard enough to break your neck."
Jeff put his hand to his neck instinctively. It didn't feel broken, but then, he didn't know what a broken neck was supposed to feel like anyway.
"Oh, you're just fine," she smiled. "No permanent harm done. But the fact of the matter is, you died. Your heart stopped beating, your blood stopped flowing, and all electrical signals from your brain ceased."
"I told Brit..." he stammered. "I told her... I would do anything to protect her. I said I would even die for her."
Allison put her arm around him. "And you kept your promise," she said. "Little Brit is the luckiest girl in the world to have a brother like you."
"But if I died, what am I doing here? This can't be heaven, because I'm pretty sure there are no vampires in heaven. So am I in hell? Or some kind of limbo?"
"You're right here on Earth," she replied. "And no, you're not a vampire either. Somehow, you healed. Maybe when the vampire in the park bit you, it gave you the ability to rise from the dead, albeit as a normal, living, human being instead of an undead monster. Or maybe the power was inherent in you right from the beginning. Either way, you came back to life. It's a good thing we realized it in time, too."
"Why?"
"Remember the faction that wanted to dissect you?"
Jeff grimaced at that.
"Anyway, we brought you back here to study what we could from your remains. Imagine our surprise when the X-rays showed that even the broken bones in your neck were fusing back together! It took about three days, but, well, here you are."
"Yes, here I am. But where is here? I already know it's not a hospital."
"No it's not. You're in a secret facility belonging to our order. It's our headquarters, you might say."
"Not very crowded, is it?"
"You're in a seldom used wing. We put you here because... well, frankly, because most of the order is afraid of you."
"Afraid of me?"
"The fear of the unknown. You're an anomaly, Jeff. Something we never predicted. In a thousand years of fighting this war, we never anticipated anything like you coming along. And frankly, it scares the hell out of most of us."
"What about you?" asked Jeff. "Are you afraid of me too?"
"Not in the least," she smiled. "Whatever else you may be, you're also a kind and gentle boy, compassionate and giving, and I would be doing myself a disservice if I rejected you because I don't fully understand you. I don't know the extent of your powers or abilities, but I do know that you would never hurt me, and that's enough."
"Thanks," he said. It was difficult to accept everything she had told him; he would never have believed it if he hadn't seen that transformation in that room himself. But knowing that he had a friend here made it a little easier.
"So now what?" he asked. "I'm here, I'm alive, and I'm in your control. Are you going to give me a choice like you said, or am I your prisoner?"
Allison sighed. "It's not that simple."
He stared at her for a moment. "I can never go home, can I?" he asked.
"If it were up to me, we would be in the car back to the house right now. But there are complications."
"What complications? You were planning to give me a choice later, so why not give that same choice to me now?"
"Because you're dead, Jeff. Don't you see? You stopped breathing. The paramedics couldn't revive you. You have a time of death in your file at the hospital. To the rest of the world, you don't exist anymore. You should have seen what I had to go through to get your body from the morgue."
"But what about Brit and Dad and Lissa? What about Kari and Crystal?"
"They don't know anything."
"But how could you do that? Especially to Brit? How could you let her think that her big brother is dead? I told her I would always be there for her."
"I know, and I'm sorry. Jeff, this is just as hard for me as it is for you. Do you think I like the thought that Brit is probably crying over you right now? I hate it. I wish I could do something about it. But I can't, not without compromising our whole operation."
"I don't care about your operation!" he snapped. "I only care about..."
Brit, he nearly said. I only care about Brit. Though hard to believe, that that was the first thing that had gone through his mind. Jeff Primdale actually cared about his bratty little sister.
Suddenly the room went dark. Allison immediately stood up.
"What's going on?" asked Jeff.
"I don't know," she replied. Without any windows in the room, it was completely black. He could hear her rummaging through her purse, then he saw the faint glow of a flashlight. Next she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.
"This is Allison," she spoke into it. "What's going on?" Jeff couldn't hear the voice on the other end, but he he saw Allison nodding. In the faint light, he could see that she was clearly worried.
"Thanks," she said. "Keep me posted."
"What was that all about?" asked Jeff.
"They're not sure," she replied. "It might be an attack."
"An attack?"
"Vampires," she explained.
A chill ran down his spine. He had had two encounters with vampires now, and although he couldn't remember the first, the second was enough to give him nightmares for a year. He had no wish to meet a third.
The door opened, and one of the guards who had been guarding the room appeared. The lights in the hall were as dark in the room. "Stephen called," he said. "They think the vampires have breached the second shield."
"The second?" Allison exclaimed. "That's supposed to be impossible!"
"Unless they cut the power."
"The backup generators would keep it running for two weeks."
The guard shrugged. "That's just what I was told. Neither you nor the boy is safe here. If they breach the third shield..."
"What's a shield?" asked Jeff.
"A... um... force field," Allison told him absently as she went to the nearby counter and started opening drawers. "Humans can pass through them just fine. Vampires can't." She reached into one of the drawers and pulled out two objects. One was a flashlight, and the other looked like a simple piece of wood, sharpened into a stake. "Come on, Jeff," she said. Then she turned to the guard. "Get back to Stephen. I'll take care of Jeff."
"I should come with you."
"Jeff will be plenty of protection for me. But if the vampires get past the third shield, Stephen will need all of you to protect him."
The guard hesitated, then grabbed a pistol from a holster in his belt and handed it to her.
"That won't do any good against vampires," Allison told him.
"It's not for the vampires. It's for you. In case you..." But he couldn't finish the sentence.
Allison nodded. "I understand," she said, taking it from him and tucking it into her belt. She grabbed Jeff's hand again and pulled him out of the room. Together they raced down the corridor, which suddenly seemed a hundred miles longer, especially in the dark. With the flashlight swinging wildly, it was wonder that they didn't trip or crash into a wall or something. But eventually they reached the end, where Allison opened a door. They stepped through, and she led him down a flight of stairs and into another hall. Together they dashed through a veritable maze of halls and rooms, no doubt easy to follow with the lights on but confusing in the dark.
After several minutes of running, they stopped to rest in another deserted hall. The silence had an eerie feeling to it, a deathly chill.
He heard a sound behind him, and turned his head. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the vampire.
It was a woman this time, pale and beautiful, with fair skin but jet-black hair. Her eyes were green and had a certain entrancing quality, as if she were looking not at him but through him. Or perhaps peering past his own eyes and straight into his soul. The smile on her blood-red lips revealed a pair of elongated and sharpened canines.
He realized also that she wore no clothes at all. Her body had a glamorous sexiness to rival even Allison's. Lighter in color except unusually pink nipples, she seemed the ideal woman. All other women were imperfect imitations of this beautiful goddess.
Allison charged toward her, stake raised high. The vampire glanced at her casually and said, "Stop." Allison froze in place, her hand still raised for the killing stroke that never came.
As Jeff watched in horrifying fascination, the vampire strode seductively to the frozen woman, then gently pulled the stake from her grasp and pulled her arm down to her side. The woman's attention turned to Jeff then, and she smiled as with the tiniest of effort she broke the stake in half with a single hand. Then she dropped the pieces on the floor.
"Hello Jeff," she said with a haunting, seductive voice. Jeff found himself lost in her gaze, that beautiful and overpowering gaze from those deep green eyes. "So this is the famous vampire killer," she continued, and he couldn't tell whether her voice had a mocking or impressed tone to it. "The weapon they hope to use against my kind. It's kind of a small package. You are but a boy. Still, you are a handsome one. I had come here to kill you, but perhaps it would be more enjoyable to recruit you."
He had to say something. He had to be defiant, to show her he wasn't afraid of her. Or at the very least, to pretend that he wasn't afraid.
"I'll never join you," he growled. "And haven't you heard? You can't kill me. One touch and you'll be burned to a crisp."
The vampire reached over, pulled the gun from Allison's holster, and aimed it at him. "Just because I can crush a man's head in my hands doesn't mean I'm opposed to using more conventional methods to kill you," she smiled.
He wasn't about to give in that easily. "You think it's that easy?" he asked. "I've already died once. You shoot me dead and I'll just come back."
"Perhaps," she said. "But I wonder how easy it will be if I cut you into a dozen pieces and scatter them all over the globe. Call it a scientific experiment, if you will. Do you care to test it?"
It certainly didn't sound pleasant, and despite what Allison had told him, he wasn't at all sure he would be able to come back from that.
"Jeff," said the vampire in a more friendly tone. "We don't have to be enemies, you know. Let us help you. Let us find a cure for your curse."
"My curse?"
"Yes," she smiled. "The curse that prevents you from being able to have this body," she said, spreading her arms to indicate her figure. "The curse that prevents you from returning home to your family. Let us ease your suffering. By now your family should have been visited by a few of my friends."
"No!" he shouted.
"Do not worry," she smiled. "Our intention is not to kill them. Quite the opposite. We wish to grant them immortality. Just think, instead of being hidden from them, you can be with them forever. You want to be with little Britney again, don't you? There is only one way."
Jeff hesitated, fear coursing through his veins like he had never known. The thought of Brit turned into a vampire chilled him. According to this woman, it had already happened, and there was nothing he could do about it.
"As you are right now though, you can never be one of us," the devilish woman continued. "But let us search for a cure together. Just because we are vampires does not mean we are not intelligent. Many of us are far more intelligent than any of them," she said with a sneering nod toward Allison. "We would have some of the greatest minds working to make it possible for you to become like us. You want to become like us, don't you?"
"I don't..." he croaked. All he could think about was his little sister turned into a vampire. How could they do such a thing to such an innocent little girl? She was her daddy's little angel. Now she would forever be a devil.
"Do you want this body?" asked the vampire girl. "I have been told that I am quite beautiful." Then she glanced at Allison. "Or perhaps it is not my body that you lust for," she said. "Perhaps you have a fancy for another." She placed her hand on Allison's shoulder, and turned her around so that she faced directly toward him. Allison just stared off into space.
"What have you done to her?" Jeff demanded.
"So rude," the woman said, though with a smile. "Is that any way to speak to someone who just wishes to be your friend? And perhaps your lover?"
"What have you done to her?" he shouted.
"Merely put her in a trance. It's harmless; she'll wake as soon as I leave, with no memory of what happened to her." She reached out and stroked Allison's cheek with the back of her hand. "So lovely," she smiled. "It's no wonder you feel so protective toward her. Not a virgin, unfortunately, but sweet and delicious nonetheless. Do you desire her?"
Jeff just stared. The question had caught him off his guard. Did he desire her? Yes. He had desired her from the moment he had met her. But right now that was the furthest thing from his mind. He wanted only to leave this place, to be free of the nightmare and this fiendish woman who both attracted and repulsed him at the same time.
"I ask you again," said the vampire, then grabbed Allison's blouse with both hands and immediately pulled it apart. The shreds fell on the floor, leaving Allison bare to the waist. "Do you desire her?" repeated the vampire.
This was the first time Jeff had seen Allison's nude torso up close. He had watched that video and spied on her bathing during that camping trip a couple of times, but never had he seen her like this. She had the most gorgeous breasts, large yet perky at the same time, with well-defined, perfectly round nipples. She continued to stare, unthinking, straight ahead.
"Of course you desire her," the vampire answered for him, stepping behind Allison. She closed her eyes and inhaled through her nostrils. "Oh, that's a nice scent," she sighed. "Such a desirable woman. I think I'm falling for her myself." She reached around with her hands and placed them on Allison's breasts, groping them roughly. "Ah yes. Soft to the touch, beautiful skin, lovely eyes and hair..."
She leaned her head forward and opened her mouth to allow her tongue to run all over Allison's shoulders and neck. "And so very tasty," she commented. "Would you like to try a bit, Jeff? Or can I have her all to myself?" She opened her mouth, and as Jeff watched in horror, those fangs pressed against Allison's skin. Suddenly, they sank into her neck. Allison's body stiffened, and her eyes opened wide, but she otherwise remained motionless.
Something burst within Jeff. The thought of his family turned into bloodsucking creatures of the night was enough to chill him to the bone, but to see it happening to Allison was more than he could bear. He felt rage building inside of him, a fiery rage that seemed almost palpable, tangible. He felt as if his skin itself were on fire.
The vampire lifted her head, her eyes going wide with a sudden fear. It was the same look he had seen on the face of the man in the room. Without thinking, Jeff focused all the anger and hatred burning within him on the creature who stood before him.
The room suddenly lit up, but not with the fluorescent lights above. No, this illumination came from him. It filled him to overflowing, and then leaped straight toward Allison and the vampire. Allison simply closed her eyes and slumped to the floor, but the vampire screamed. She threw her hands in front of her face as if to shield herself from the light, but it did nothing to stop the onslaught of his loathing. In an instant, her body turned to ash and fell in a pile on the floor.
The light went out, and Jeff felt weak, almost dizzy. What had he just done? What was happening to him?
His first thought was for his stepmother. He staggered over to her and fell to his knees in front of her.
"Allison," said Jeff. "Are you... all right?"
"I'm fine," she replied, trying to be stoic, though he could sense her fear through the tears in her eyes and the slight trembling in her voice. "If you're worried about me becoming a vampire, I won't. You killed the vampire who bit me before I died, which means I'm free of the curse. I just... I..."
Suddenly she threw her arms around Jeff and held him tightly, shaking in fear. Jeff hugged her back, probably every bit as scared as she was.
He could hear more footsteps down the hall, and the two of them rose to their feet. Allison picked up the gun where she had dropped it and aimed it at the approaching sound.
A moment later, several flashlight beams splashed around the room. Then the main lights came on, revealing several men and women in the same uniform as the guards.
One of the men stepped forward. He was a middle-aged man with slightly graying hair and a handsomely trimmed beard.
"Stephen," Allison sighed. "Thank god you're all right."
"They weren't after me," he replied. "They were after the boy. He glanced at the pile of ash on the floor. "Did he...?"
"At a distance, even," Allison replied. Everyone, including Stephen, stared at Jeff in shock.
"Well, it seems the vampires aren't the only ones who underestimated him," Stephen smiled. He approached Jeff and held out his hand. "I'm Stephen White," he greeted. Jeff took his hand and shook it.
"I'm glad to see you alive," Stephen continued. "And I'm glad you're on our side. You are on our side, aren't you?"
"Looks like I don't have a choice," Jeff grumbled.
"Not really."
He glanced at Allison, noticing the spots of blood on her neck. "You were bitten?" he asked.
She nodded. "Don't worry. The vampire that bit me is that pile of dust you see on the floor. I'm sure you'll want to quarantine me for a couple of weeks though."
"We'll deal with that later. Right now, I have some good news. I just received a call from some of our field operatives. There was a vampire attack thwarted at the Primdale mansion."
"Thwarted?" asked Jeff. "My dad and my sister... are they okay?"
"They're fine. We're bringing them in now. Apparently your unique gift is hereditary. Five vampires went after your family. One of them tried to bite Brit and burst into flame. Your dad went berserk when he saw his daughter in danger and killed three of the others. The last one fled."
Jeff felt faint, but with relief rather than fear. His legs gave out and he slumped against the wall, sliding down until he sat on the floor, staring out into space. They're alive, he thought. And I'm going to be with them again. With my little sister.
NOT TO BE CONTINUED
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