Chasing Dark Blood

Chapter 1: They're Dead

I had a normal life once. I lived in a small town close to Manhattan with my mother and father, Elaine and Timothy. On Wednesdays, we'd take walks that always ended up at the shooting range. I'd watch my dad shoot discs as I played with my Barbie dolls. I had 3, one boy and two girls. They'd ride around in my yellow Tonka dumper. On those days, life seemed perfect.

Though, my life was not perfect. I didn't notice until I started school, but my dad drank and ate too much and my mom was always taking some sort of pill, even if it wasn't the right time for her medications. I liked my school, the teachers were really nice and it smelt pleasant. They were punctual and mad me say 'may I' instead of 'can I.'

That always bothered me, what was the big deal? Let me go pee! I made a few friends, most of them were boys. The girls made fun of me, I can't remember why at this point. This was my simple, simple life. Until I got to the fifth grade. Math got harder, days got longer, I was expected to not fidget in my seat, and recess didn't exist anymore.

That year, my dad decided it was time to teach me how to handle a firearm. We started with a .22 long rifle. It was big and clunky for my grade schooler's arms. I'd even gotten to bring my best friend, Prescott (Scottie, as I used to call him) with. We went through the usual safety lessons and learned the basics. Soon we were staring at targets with giant bulls eyes on them. We shot a few rounds, and Prescott was a sore loser, I'd shot better than him. Of course, we both only hit about 10 times between the two of us. The recoil was something to get used to.

Eventually, Prescott's mother wanted him home, but of course I wanted to stay. I was in the middle of throwing a huge fit, when a man who'd also been at the range comes over to us. "I can watch her, I'm gonna be here until my brother's back anyways. I can just make sure she doesnt shoot anyone." he half huckled. his voice was raspy, like he smoked cigarettes, yet somehow managed to glide through the air like honey out of a hive. My dad, who was trusting to a fault, agreed.

He bent down, staring me in the eyes, "You be nice while this man watches you, okay? And remember, safety on!" I nodded my head furiously. My dad and Prescott left shortly after, and under the man's supervision, I began shooting again. "You're pretty good, kid. How old are you?"

"Eleven. I'll be twelve soon. " I said, smiling and suffering from my slight boosted ego. "this your first time?" I nod. "But I watch my daddy all the time. He shoots at discs at the outside shooting range." He lets out a small laugh. "Wanna try a different target?" I nodded, eagerly wanting to please this stranger, and to learn something to impress my dad as well. "Safety on?" He asks, looking at me, sheet in hand. I nod.

His green eyes catch the light as he walks over and puts up the new sheet. It was the outline of a person. I give the man a look. "My daddy says I shouldn't shoot people." He nods. Your daddy's right. But.. what if this wasn't a person? What if this was a big, scary monster that looked like a person?" I looked out at the outline again, imagining an evil creature manifesting inside of someone. I took aim, looked, then lowered my gun. "Where do i shoot a monster?" he shrugged at first, then smiled. I could sense a weariness in him that put me on edge.

"Well, it depends. What kind of monster are we gonna shoot?" I thought for a while. "A... vampire?" he smirked. "Then a gun won't work, kid." I frowned, "Then you pick a monster." He laughed again. "You got spunk. I like that. How about... a werewolf?" I scrunched up my face, "That's not right, werewolves are on all fours."

"Can't you just use your imagination?" I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Where do I shoot?" He points at the target, "The heart. Aim for the heart." I nod, taking aim. Bam! I let off all ten rounds, taking my time between each shot. My eyes focused, and I saw that I'd hit it 5 times. I looked up at the man, to see if I'd done okay. He slapped me on the back, which hurt, but I didn't say anything.

"Nice job kid. Who knows, you might survive this thing." I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but before I could, a tall man walked into the shooting range. He wandered around until his eyes landed on us. He looked a lot like the man I was already with. I assumed this was the man's brother he'd mentioned.

He barreled towatrds us, leaning in close to him. "Zeke, what the hell are you doing here?" The tall guy seemed tense, shifting his weight every couple seconds. Zeke shrugged, as if he was ignoring the big man. I could tell this made the tall man angry. As if on cue, the tall man grabbed the collar of Zeke's jacket. "Zeke. I'm talking to you." They were now face to face and I could see they both were angry.

Zeke pushed his hand away. I was starting to get nervous, I thought they were going to start a fight, and I was in the middle of it. "Calm the heck down, Duncan. I was just blowing off some steam." He then pointed tot he gun in his hand.

It was pretty, as far as guns go. It had a long silver barrel. I could tell it was one he'd brought from home- the ones the range rents out are your standard black barrel.

As if just noticing me for the first time, the giant- who I guess was named Duncan- turned and looked down at me. "Oh." he let out. He swirved back to Zeke "We need to talk- privately." Zeke comlplies and they walk over to a corner, far enough where I can't hear them. I sat patiently, knowing my dad's rules wer that I couldn't shoot without an adult's supervision. As I waited for Zeke to return, I reloaded my gun with the safety on.

Finally, my dad comes around the corner. "Hey, Scarlet, you ready to go?" I pouted for a moment, then followed. As we pass Zeke and Duncan, my dad stopped, reaching into his coat pocket. He produced a twenty dollar bill. "thanks for watching my Scarlet. Hope she wasn't too much of a hassle. Here you go."

Zeke took it, a bit too excited if you asked me, and Duncan gave him a disapproving look. They whispered to one another before Zeke reluctantly extended the bill back out ot my dad. "I appreciate it, but it was no trouble- really./" as Zeke says this he looks over at me, giving me a wave.

My dad takes the bill back and we continue on our way. I couldn't wait to tell my mom how well I'd done my first time.

~~~~~

"Good night sweetheart." My dad hushed as he tucked me into bed. He placed a light kiss on my forehead. I held the covers tight as I looked out at the window- the full moon gleaming through, casting eerie shadows. It made me think about werewolves. I felt my pulse rise.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, my princess?" He pivoted on his heel from where he now stood in the doorway. I looked closely at his face. I wasn't sure why I examined him so closely at that moment. But maybe deep down I felt something horrible was going to happen. Looking back, I'm thankful I did. He had shggy blond hair and a very old face, though his eyes were brown and warm- a very friendly sight indeed. He was tall and thin, although he was shorter than the guy from today.

"Can you check under my bed?" He ldet out a small, tired sigh. "Aren't you a little old? What are we checking for, anyways?" He asked, sticking his head underneat the skirt of the bed. "Werewolves." I sheepishly admitted. His head popped back up as he replaced the skirt to it's original positoin. "No werewolves here. Just dust bunnies." He tucke dme back in, giving a final kiss to my forehead before standinig in the doorway. "Door opened or closed?" I thought for a moment.

"Closed." he closed the door with a soft click and I was no longer silhoetted by the hall light. I tried my best to fall asleep, but there was something that just felt off. the events of the day played in my head. Why did Zeke have to mention werewolves? Now I couldn't sleep!

There was a light tapping at my window, and I threw my covers over my head, heart pounding as my palms began to sweat. Calm down, it was probably just a tree branch I tried to tell myself. this sense of logic almost calmed my nerves, until i remembered there were no trees near my window- and I was on the second floor.

Then there was a horrible noise that pierced the quiet. I stopped breathing, terrified. It was slow, agonizingly long. Then to my dismay, I felt a cool breeze as my window creaked open. I tried my best to stay still and silent. heavy boots hit my floor, and the window slowly creaked shut. the breeze was gone, and my lips began to quiver as I held back tears of absoloute fear.

Whoever was in my room was walking as quietly as possible, stoping for a moment every time their step rpoduced a creak from the old floorboards.

Just tay silent, I told myself. Dont do anything. But then, fear started tog et the better of me. What if it's a monster? Then what? You'll be dead.

Ignoring my own mortality, I reached under my pillow and grabbed the small reading light I kept hidden from my parents. With what I could only descirbe as stupid, blinding courage, I sat up, flashing the small readr light into the dakrness, letting out a faltering "Who goes there?"

You could see the reader light swing across the room, my hands shaking. As my eyes asjusted I had a moment of relief, beginning to think I was just paranoid. But as they did adjust, I was faced with the tall man from earlier in the day - Duncan. he was frozen, now centered in my poor searchlight. He lookd guilty, and I remember thinking it was an odd expression to see on an adult's face.

"Duncan?" My voice echoed in my room, a wave of confusion replaced by the fear. he cautiously put his foot- which he'd stopped mid step- down and placed a finger to his lips. "Please be quiet. I can't explain right now but I'm trying to help your parents." For some reason, through the wave of emotions I'd felt, and even though he still made me uneasy, I believed him. I nodded, my mouth slack. I got up out of bed and stood beside him. "Then I'm going with." I whispered.

Duncan shook his head, "No, go back to bed." I felt frustrated, if there was something wrong I wanted to help fix it. never in my 11 year old midn did I think It might put me in danger. "I'll scream if I cant come with." he looks at the door, then back at me before sighing. "Fine, but you have to stay close and run as soon as I tell you to. Okay?" I nodded, coming to stand behind him.

I was unsure of what was happening, but I had a strange feeling it had something to do with my chance encounter with Zeke and Duncan. We crept the hall, stopping downa nd again to listen for movement, or peer into a room. Why are you following this stranger who broke inot your house? I remember thinking to myself.

Some part of me though, felt I couldnt afford to not trust him. We made it to the main branch in the hallway leading to my parents room, and there was a faint noise, like a bouncy ball hitting the wall over and over again. Duncan turned to me, a wild look in his eyes, "Go." I felt my adrenaline begin to kick in as I run to the bathroom and lock the door, sitting in the dark.

There was a crash, and the fear of my parents being in trouble caused me to unlock the door and slide out. I heard a scream from my mother. It made the hair on my arms stick straight up, but I kept inching along. there were so many noises, my momther's screams, rips, crahses, complete and utter chaos.

Suddenly a thought rossed my mind. All had been silent before Duncan entered the room. Was he the cause of this? had I fearlessly brought him straight to my parents to be terrorized? I finally made it to the opened door to my parents room. As soon as I peeked in, I felt my muscles tense up.

I couldn't move. I couldn't believ emy eyes. Coarse black fur engulfed a large human looking creature. he moved with incredible speed and was twice the size of Duncan- who was pretty tall in my eyes already. Duncan had pulled out his gun and was trying to aim it at the dartin creature. Zeke was standing in a protective stance, my parents pushed into a corner of the room behind him. He also had his gun out- the shiny silver one.

I didn't have time to think about all fo the questions I should of. The gruesome creature trained it's eyes on me, pausing for a moment from it's assault on Duncan. Zeke's eyes dart to me, "Scarlet!" he yells, immediately beginning to run towards me. "No, Zeke!" Duncan yells. But it was too late.

Zeke had scooped me up into his arms and quickly shoved me into a closet across the hall, slamming the door shut without a word. I was in the dark again, the fur of my mother's coat rubbing against my wet cheeks. I didn't even know when i'd started crying, but now that I'd noticed, I couldnt stop the torrent of water flowing form my eyes.

The continuous screams of my mother died down, the thrashing continued. It was louder than before, and I could hear Duncan and Zeke's voices yelling, but I couldn't make out any words. Finally, the sound of a gunshot rang through the hall, followed by piercing quiet.

The click of the closet door sends me tumbling out and onto the floor. I frantically stood up, tripping my way back into my parent's room, searching for my mom and dad. My eyes landed on them and I frantically ran over. They both were covered in deep gashes, blood spilling out. Duncan was trying his best to control my mother's bleeding chest- her satin pillow presssed agianst her, now stained a thick deep red. I looked over at my dad, a whimper escaping my lips. Zeke's hands were covered in blood as he stood up from where he'd nealt, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Duncan's gaze lands on me. "Zeke, get Scarlet out of her. Call the police, and get my gun!" I follow the direction he nodded when he mentioned the gun. There sat the beast who mauled bothy of my parents. It was motionless, bloody, with a gaping hole where his heart should be. The entire floor was covered in blood, and I could feelt he squishing every time I moved on the carpet.

Zeke quickly wiped one of his hands off on his pants before extending a hand to me. I grabbed his hand and followed him downstairs. He sat me at my kitchen table, handing me the phone.

"Kid, I hate to do this but you've got to call the police. They can't know we're here."

"But why?"

"Adults won't believe the werewolf story, even though it's the truth. Trust me, we've tried that one before." he sighs, running his hands under the sink, the blood washing off in a light pink hue. "B-But the monster is up there!" Zeke sighs again, turning off the focet and fishing under the sink for something. he pulls out a bottle of bleach, pouring it in the sink then over his own arms. He then turns to me.

"Scarlet, I just need you to call, now." A sudden sense of urgency hit me, remembering my mother was dyig upstairs. So what if i had to lie to the police? if it meant saving my mom then i'd do it. I nod, grabbing the home phone off of it's pewrch and dialing 911.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"My mommy and daddy are bleeding, something attacked them. My address is 1237 Chestnut Avenue, please send help." I could hear the operator begin to speak again, but thent he line went dead. I looked at the phone. "hello? Hello?" Nothing.

A moment later, the power to the house went out. I hear heavy footsteps come flying down the stairs. "Scarlett, your mother wants to see you." I could sense the panic, pain and urgency in Duncan's voice. I followed quickly, ignoring the jelly like feeling slowly taking over my limbs.

As I make it into the bedroom, I can see my mother, now laid on the bed, an exhausted look on her face, and her hands holding the blood soaked pillow over her chest still. "mommy." I cry out as I run to her. None of this felt real. This had to be some awful dream, it just had to be. She reaches out a hand to me, but stops herself. "honey..." her voice was weak, and she winced in pain as she placed her hand back to the pillow. her face was pale, scratches littering her cheeks and forhead.

I glanced over at my dad, who wasn't moving. His eyes were closed, and his face was an ashy white. I felt more tears spill over. I knew it meant he was dead. He looked link Grandpa George did at his funeral. I also knew that this meant i could never see Daddy again.

I turn back to my mom, who attempts a smile. "these.. men are going to take you somewhere safe. Theyre... going to tazke good care of you. So you have to go with them." I shook my head, not wanting to leave my mom. the rising sun filtered through the window, and the beautiful light danced on my mother's pale face. "No Momma, the hospital people will be here soon. I have to stay with you." I pleaded, my legs finally giving out. I slump against the bed, heaving sobs leaving my body.

That same, forced smile stayed on her face. "Scarlet, baby, I'm os sorry for all of the lies i've told you over the years." My mothers face turns down, regret flashing in her eyes. "These are your brothers... they'll protect you... And I need you to.. go. It's not safe here, and they're the only family you have left."

"But mommy I have you, You're my family." A single tear falls from her face, "baby I know. But I can't stay with you, I'm going somewhere you can't come with." realizing she was telling me she was going to die only made me cry harder. I turn, looking at Zeke and Duncan, who werent strangers but my brothers. They stood silently in the doorway, heads down with somber expressions.

"I love you baby, now go." I lean over and giver her a hug and kissing her forehead, "i love you too mommy. Tell daddy that too when you see him in heaven." She nods, her amrs around me going limp. Zeke came and stood next to me. "Come on Scar, we gotta go." I break away from my mom and tear down the hall to my room. Zeke and Duncan follow quietly. I quickly grabbed my Giraffe Mazey, my jacket form the closet and a few clothes and throw them into my overnight bag, which hadn't been used since my Grandpa passed.

"You ready?" Duncan asks softly. I nod and we make our way downt he hall. I stop at a picture, framed in mahogany. I grab it and tuck it under my arm. In the distance Ic an hear the sirens. As we pass my mother's room I peer in one more time. Her eyes were now closed. Zeke and Duncan took me out the back door, running into a small grove of trees. As the lights got closer, I turned back one last time to my home.

In the window of my parent's bedroom, I could see a figure staring out the window, looking right at me. It sent shivers donw my spine and I picked up the pace.

After a while, we made it back out onto a side road. Zeke walked over to a large pile of brush, moving it aside to reveal a car. Once all of the brush had been moved off of the car, Zeke and Duncan got in the front and I reluctantly climbed into the back, with my small backpack and family picture - the only things I'd have of my old life. Zeke turns around for a moment, glancing at me. "Hey kid. Do you like... need a car seat or something?"

Duncan sighs, "She's 11, Zeke, not two." Zeke turns back around with a nod, and I buckle my seatbelt. He drives the car back up onto the road and begins to drive. The ride was quiet, and I just stared out the window as I watched everything I was familiar with slowly fade into new, scary places, covered in the morning sun.