The Storm by April Michelle Richards

The sudden, swift, severe summer storm caught me totally unaware. I was walking down Old Salem Road when the clouds started to fight. "Argh!" I groaned. "Figures. I would be the one to get caught in this stupid storm!" I looked around as I huddled under a large, dead oak tree. Almost all of the houses on this abandoned street were too badly damaged for me to take shelter in, except for one.

The house loomed impressive and morbid in the greenish-black sky. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the house. The windows were broken, but the superstructure seemed sound.

Wait! I thought to myself. Did I just see a LIGHT in the attic window? I shook my head and dared a second look. The attic window was dark. I must be loosing it. Who would want to live in this old place? I told myself.

I was becoming soaked as I pondered my dilemma. Should I stay under the tree and risk getting hit by lightning or should I go into that old house, not know who, or what, might be in there? The storm decided for me. Lightning hit the tree, filling the air with the sent of scorched sap. I dashed onto the porch and pounded on the door. It was open.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I yelled as I entered into the mud room. There was no answer, but I really didn't want one anyway.

I groped about in the dark until I found a lantern with oil in it and some matches. Now, I had some light. I could explore this old place until the storm let up, to kill the time.

CREAK!

What was that? I thought, my heart in my mouth. I slowly turned around. I didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean that there couldn't be someone else in the house with me. It was a large house. I hesitated before I went into the living room. My lantern, my best friend at the moment, showed off ancient paintings of a red-haired man with angular features and a host of antiques. Over a marble fireplace, in the far side of the room, hung a silvery mirror with plump, little cherubs surrounding it.

CRASH!

I jumped and almost dropped the lantern. My heart stopped as I listened for any other signs of life. The silence throbbed in my ears. I stood at the bottom of the stair case. The sounds had come from upstairs. I swallowed my fears and climbed the stairs.



On the second floor I found a bathroom so obsolete that it didn't even have any running water. Since I didn't have any business to do in there, I left it undisturbed. I found several bedrooms ladened with cloth-covered antiques, moth-ridden clothes, that might have been beautiful at one time, and tarnished jewelry. The only thing I took was a thick, red leather journal. Embossed in gold on the cover was: "The Memories of Paleo Mismo". It would make for some interesting reading later, I thought.

At the end of the second floor, I found yet another stair well. This one was dark and coated with lacy spider webs. It lead to what must have been the children's floor at one point. There was a school room/play room that took up most of the space, along with two bedrooms with dainty furniture, and the nurse's room. What I mistook for a closet at first was really a narrow flight of stairs that lead into the attic.

A giant rat scampered across my feet. It's beady eyes glowed red in the flicker in lantern light. It hissed at me. I screamed and dropped my lantern. Suddenly, I was plunged into utter darkness. I took several deep breaths to calm my trembling body and finished my trek up the stairs.

Vivid flashes of lightning illuminated the attic. A vase lay in pieces in front of the broken window. Well, at least I know what caused the crash. I mused to myself. I found an old thread bare cloak. I had intended it used it to cover the broken window, but on my way there, I tripped over a large box. "Ouch!" I yelped.

My fingers traced the out line of a large sea trunk. A rusty plague was fixed to the bottom. A flash of lightning high lighted it.

"The Effects of Paleo Mismo." I read out loud. "I wonder who he is."

The trunk wasn't locked, but age had rusted it shut. I gripped the top and pulled with all of my strength. The trunk protest, but finally gave in. Another rat jumped at my ankle. I yelled and lunged forward. I hit something solid inside the trunk. Whatever I had hit, it didn't feel like antiques or clothes. My hand wondered upward and found a large protruding....nose! I turned my head and gasped.

A flash of lightning briefly seared the sky. The harsh light high lighted a wide mouth with vermilion lips, glowing canines, a Roman nose, red curly hair and bushy eyebrows. The man's eyes were open and staring at me.

"Oh no!" I gasped.

A pale, bluish-gray hand shot out from underneath the moth-eaten shroud and grasped my neck. The man in the trunk slowly sat up, still maintaining his grip on my neck. His eyes were glowing a deep forest green. He stared intently into my hazel eyes. I couldn't move. His cold hands rested gently on my shoulders.

I was soon lost in a swirling green void. A deep rumbling voice filled my mind.

-Don't fight me, Beautiful One. I promise I will not harm you.

"What do you want?" I murmured sleepily.

-I want you to join me in Eternity.

Eternity... The word filled my mind. I tilted my head back, exposing my neck. I could smell his rancid-sweet breath as he bared his fangs. I closed my eyes. There was a sharp sting, then I felt a gentle sucking. I felt weaker and weaker, like I was falling into a golden pool of light that was slowly sapping my strength. A warm tingle started in my stomach and quickly spread. The man lifted his head from my neck. With a swipe of his long fingernail, he made a cut in his own throat. He guided my waiting mouth to the cut. Dark, sweet blood dripped into my mouth. I eagerly suckled the cut, feeling my lost strength return.

Suddenly, the faint, aricid smell of wood smoke reached my nose. I felt something burning me. I pushed the man away and cried out. Fire was licking at the sea trunk. I backed up against the far wall. The flames had already enveloped the man.

The was a sudden explosion when the fire hit some old roofing tar. I was blown out of the window and into a slimy fountain. The piercing wail of a siren cut through the crackle of the burning house.

A cute firefighter lifted me out of the fountain. I stared at his tanned neck. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my mouth. I cried out. The firefighter hugged me once, then wrapped me in a blanket. I blacked out as I was slipped into a waiting ambulance.

* * * * *

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Dr. Mismo. I've never seen anything like this before." The voice of Dr. Morris, my doctor, reached my ears and pulled me out the blackness.

I opened my eyes. A pair of dark green eyes stared back. "Welcome back to the real world, Anne." The owner of the eyes, Dr. Mismo, smiled.

"What happened to me?" I croaked. My throat was burning. And my neck ached.

"You were hurt in the explosion at my family's old mansion."

A sudden vision of the man in trunk filled my mind. "Doctor, there was somebody else in there! In a trunk. Did he survive?"

Dr. Mismo's eyes narrowed. "So, that explains it. Dr. Morris, I need to get the aid of a specialist on this matter. Here." He placed several weeds around my neck. "Wear these until I get back."

My attention was soon riveted on the I.V. bag of blood. I was so thirsty. I reached out for it, but Dr. Morris restrained me. "What do you need, child?"

"Blood." I gasped. I felt like I was on fire.

The doctor shook his head and whispered something to a near by nurse. I was given a glass of red juice. I gulped it down. Sunlight touched my eyes and I fell into a deep sleep.

* * * * *

"Here, child, drink this." Dr. Mismo lifted my head up and held a glass with a smoky-colored liquid in it to my lips. The liquid was gritty and awful tasting. I choked and passed out.

* * * * *

The first gray light of dawn kissed my eyelids. I opened my eyes to find a younger, and more handsome, version of the man in the trunk sitting on my hospital bed.

"Who are you?" I pulled the blanket closer to my chest. I felt exposed in the skimpy hospital gown.

"I'm Pal Mismo. Dad told me that you got to meet Paleo, the family vampire." Pal chuckled.

"Family vampire?" I raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah. Paleo Mismo is my great-great-great whatever grandfather. Did Dad make you drink a smoky-gray potion?"

"How did you know?"

"Simple, I had to drink too. Gross isn't it?" His handsome face wrinkled into a grimace.

"Yeah." I agreed. "What's in it?"

"Ashes from a shroud, vervain oil, holy water, and garlic for taste." Pal laughed. I had to join him.

Then, I sobered up. "I saw him right before the explosion. Do you think that he's gone?"

"As long as every piece of him is destroyed. But, even if a little chip of bone remains, it can regenerate a brand new Paleo Mismo." Pal whispered.

"Let's hope that he is gone." I shivered. "I don't want to go through that again."

"Amen to that." Pal agreed.

* * * * *

In the weeks that followed, Pal and I developed a strong friendship. Two weeks after I was released from the hospital, we were at the remains of the Mismo mansion on Old Salem Road.

"Dad wants to rebuild this place." Pal said.

"Great. Too bad he lost all of those wonderful antiques." I kicked a blackened hunk of twisted metal out of my way.

"At least you weren't hurt." Pal hugged me. I blushed. I looked over Pal's shoulder. Sunlight reflected off something white. We walked up to it. I picked it up and screamed. "What?" he asked.

"Look." I gasped.

"Oh no!" Pal cried.

I was holding a large, gleaming white fang.



The End