Chapter 5- Consequences.

After cashing in my payslip at the bank, I rode my bike home with the cool spring breeze flowing through my hair. Trying to blank out how nervous I had been last night, I tried to fixate my thoughts on what I wanted to do when summer came. Maybe go hiking or camping out in the hills, stay in one of the huts by the beach. I didn’t care what I did, as long as I was out of the house for part of it.

My parents were just as distant this morning as we ate breakfast around the table in silence. I felt even more suspicious of my dad. All morning he kept dropping things, looking flustered and on edge… What is he up to? I kept thinking and I felt irritated at the fact that I knew he was hiding something, whether my mum knew or not, I wanted to know!

I leaned my bike outside the front porch and as I walked into the house, it was just as quiet as it had been when I left. I decided to poke my head round the door to the living room, but what I saw, left me rooted to the spot as the hairs on my skin stood on end.

Two tall men, dressed in black, were standing in front of my parents and, with just one look at them, I knew they were vampires.

It’s happening! I thought. They’ve finally come for us! My mum was stood with her arms wrapped around herself, trembling like she was covered in ice, the fear on her face was as clear as a blue sky and my dad was stood with his eyes focused on the floor, his hands in his pockets, like he was already willing to submit.

“This is her?” One of the men spoke in a firm, deep voice.

“Yes”. My dad whispered in reply as he nodded, still not making eye contact with anyone in the room.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean….” I began to plead.

“Then you know what happens now!” The man directed at my dad and again he just nodded in reply.

“What happened? What do you want with us?” My mother asked as her voice shook.

“We’re only here for her”. He replied as he looked at me and a cold shiver went through my body.

“Me… why me?” I asked nervously, knowing that my parents were going to find out I had been in contact with another vampire… and instead of hearing it from me, they’d hear it from two random strangers.

“We were told to take you with us until Zekan is paid what is owed to him.”

“Owed?” I asked in puzzlement as my mind took a double take of what he said. “We don’t owe anything to…. Whoever you just said, you’re mistaken!”

The man smirked then looked from me to my dad. “Oh! She doesn’t know? How interesting!”

My mum stepped toward them and loosened her arms, looking as confused as I was. “Doesn’t know what? What the hell is going on?”

“Ahh the wife doesn’t know either! Well, your husband here owes Zekan, the son of the lord, a great sum of money…. And it’s not the first time. So, until payment is made in full, we take, shall we say…. A token! Just something to make sure Zekan gets his money!”

My mum gasped as she looked furiously at my dad. “What have you done John? You promised me after the last time, you wouldn’t go there again!”

My dad didn’t reply, he just stood there, still looking at the floor.

“Now they’re going to take OUR DAUGHTER?”

“Wait!” I interjected. “You’re…. you’re taking me because my dad owes you money?”

“Yes, we have been ordered to come and collect you in its place…. Temporarily, until he can bring the money!”

“Take me!” My mum screeched. “Take me instead!..... please don’t take my daughter, take me!”

“NO!” The man replied. “We were told specifically, we come for the girl. There will be no negotiations. The money or the girl!”

“JOHN”, My mum shouted. “DO YOU HAVE THE MONEY?”

“No”. He replied quietly.

“YOU BASTARD!..... YOU PROMISED YOU’D STOP!” She screamed as she ran over to him and started hitting him all over his arms and his chest.

“ENOUGH” The man yelled and immediately my mum stopped as she panted for breath, her face torn in anger.

The man looked at me, seemingly losing his patience. “Collect some of your things, we’re leaving now!”

“Where?.... Where are you taking me?”

“To our home”

I could have sworn my heart stopped beating for a second as he said those words. They were taking me to where all the vampires lived, which we always called 'the vampire nest'.

“NOW!” He demanded and I jumped in fear. I nodded and was just about to leave the room, when he yelled out to me again, in a deep, threatening voice. “And don’t even think about sneaking out of any of the windows, rest assured we will find you!”

I got into my room and grabbed my big black rucksack out of my closet, and I don't know how my body was able to move and my hands were actively picking things out of my drawers, because I didn’t feel aware of anything I was doing. My eyes were glazed over as tears glossed over them and I couldn’t see what I was packing or make any sense of what I actually needed to pack, my body was just moving to places and my hands were chucking things in the bag. I just…. I just couldn’t grasp what was happening right now! Is this real? Am I really going to that place? What the fuck is happening? What the fuck am I going to do? I’m a dead girl!

The only thing I took notice of was the framed picture of me and my parents together. We had taken it two years ago when we went to the beach. I put it in my bag and zipped it up, tossing it over my shoulder, my legs shook as I walked back down the stairs, feeling as if I was walking to my doom, like I was signing off the last day of my life,, my short twenty-year life.

My mum was sobbing hard when I walked back into the room and both of the men came toward me. “Let’s go”. The man said sternly.

“Wait!” I spoke as I looked at my mum, who’s face was streamed with tears. I ran over to her and wrapped my arms around her, she held me tightly and I whispered in her ear. “I’ll be ok mum. I love you”.

“I love you”. She whispered back as she sniffled, and I could feel her chest heaving as she cried, and I tried to soak in as much of her hug as I could before I finally loosened my arms. Mum gripped hold of me, refusing to let me go as her cries turned into heaved sobs. I could hear a low rumble from one of the guys behind me, growling as if to hurry me along. I took hold of her arms and unwrapped them from my back and wiped away her floods of tears.

I looked at my dad who now had his back to us all. If he can’t even look at me, then I won’t look at him. I thought. I still didn’t quite understand what was happening here and why I was suddenly being taken away by a kind that we had always steered clear of… or at least tried to, in my case.

The man took hold of my arm as we walked to the back doors and opened them. He pulled me onto his back and as I looked back at my mum, I had one last glance until her face was gone from my view in an instant. I could feel the man leap over the fences as I held onto his shoulders for dear life. Flashes of houses past by to suddenly be replaced by trees and the sound of twigs and grass being stood on.

I knew then, I was no longer in Blue Bay town as we plunged deeper into the forest at full speed. I hid my face behind his shoulder to keep it out of the gusts of wind and to try and remember to breath as I felt my nerves sparking with fear, sprouting like fireworks. I felt as if my whole body was in overdrive, and it was only a matter of time until it shut down just from pure terror. My eyes kept hazing over and my head spun, with an overwhelming feeling like I was sure to pass out.

My hands were almost numb from all the cold wind, and it wasn’t exactly like I was getting any body heat from the guy I was clutched to. They both started to slow down and came to a stop. The man took my arm and helped me off his back. As soon as my feet hit the stony ground, my eyes widened at the sight in front of me. “Where are we?” I whispered in surprise.

“Our home”. The other man replied bluntly.

My mouth was agape as I looked at it in awe. It wasn’t some hole in the ground or a cold, damp cave like I had at times imagined. It was the most magnificent, towering castle I had ever seen… I mean I only ever saw pictures of castles in children’s books and even they looked incredible, but nothing at all on this scale. It was too dark to see it properly, but I could just about make out the pointy tip on one of the tower roofs and I had to crank my neck back to see it.

Both of the men motioned for me to follow as we walked up wide, concrete steps that led to two huge, heavy wooden doors with brass and gold intertwined within the woodwork.

They pushed one of the doors open and waited for me to step inside and once again the view was breath-taking. The room was wide and long, the size of at least three houses each length, with white and gold marble pillars along the walls. Two glistening chandeliers hung from the high ceiling and a wide marble staircase to my left that matched the pillars. There was a long dark walnut table lined with varnished chairs. Brass looking candlesticks sat upon the table with the wick unlit and just past the table was a wide-open doorway. It was so beautiful, I almost forgot where I was until the other man spoke and I was brought back to reality.

“Wait here, I’ll let him know we’ve returned with the girl”. He told the man that carried me here.

I shifted nervously from foot to foot as I tried to gulp down the lump that was stuck in my throat as the silence was deafening.

All too soon, a young looking man with short dark hair appeared at the balcony that led to the grand staircase. “This is her?” He asked and the man stood next to me nodded.

He walked slowly down the stairs, like he was bothered by doing a chore. As soon as he reached the bottom and started walking towards me, I noticed how dark his eyes were, they were almost as black as his hair. He was wearing nothing but some baggy pants and a thick black robe that hung loose around him, his white, toned body on show.

I tensed as he got closer, his eyes wandering over me as if he was trying to suss me out in one look, either that or he was purposely trying to intimidate me, which was working on every bone in my body.

“And John?” He asked the man, still keeping his eyes on me.

“He gave no assurance that he has the money. In fact, the man barely spoke a word”.

“Well then!” The young man spoke to me with a grin. “Who knows how long you’ll be here then. If taking you doesn’t get my money, perhaps we may have to up the ante”.

I sucked in a deep breath as my body shook, hoping he didn’t mean savagely kill me by his words.

The young man smirked and turned away, heading back to the staircase. “Come young girl, taking you is enough for now. I’ll show you where you’ll be staying, so hurry up and follow! I’d like to get back to my evening!”

I quickly followed as my legs wobbled with each step. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling so small and insignificant around these men that could kill me in an instant.

He led me down a long, wide hall that had double doors on each side. We stopped near the end and pointed to a set that were shut.

“That’s my room. Don’t go in there unless I give you permission. Do you understand?”

I just nodded submissively.

The doors suddenly opened and out walked a tall, slim, flawless woman with long red, poker straight hair over her shoulders that ended just above her hips, and she sniffed the air as she came over to us.

“Another human?” She said in a sleeky voice.

“John’s daughter”. He told her and she smirked as she snaked her arms over his shoulders.

“I hope you don’t plan on her staying with us. I won’t share with a human!”

The young man laughed. “Lyra don’t speak like a fool! She will be staying in there!” He pointed to a narrow wooden door that was in front of us, not far from his own bedroom doors.

The woman laughed hysterically. “Oh, you naughty man! I love it!”

He moved away from her and opened the door to show a tiny room that looked more fit to be a broom cupboard. It had nothing but an old metal bed with some sheets thrown on it in a heap. “Make yourself comfy”. He said sarcastically and they both walked off to their room laughing at my expense.

I slowly stepped into the room and managed to find a long piece of string hanging from the ceiling. I pulled it and a dim light bulb flashed on. I shut the door behind me and as soon as I heard the clicking of it closing, I slumped against it to the floor. I brought my knees into my chest and hugged into them as I began to cry against them. The tears soaking into my leggings. I thought of my own room and how much I wished I could be there right now. How I was there one minute, then here the next in a musky old cupboard completely alone, wishing that the hard, cold floor would swallow me up and take me to a world far away from here…. Away from the blood suckers that were in the room right next to me and who knows how many others were here!

I tried to cry quietly, stifling my sobs into my legs and arms, not wanting anyone to hear me and find more amusement from what was to become of me. I wondered if my mum was feeling as desperate as I was, if she was still crying as many tears as me. I didn’t even want to think of my dad. I still didn’t understand how I was in this mess…. How he had gotten me into this mess! Me for money? Was all I could think… but why? Why did he owe vampires so much money? They wouldn’t just come onto our territory if they didn’t have a good reason!

I was too cold and stiff to move, and I could barely feel my bum from sitting on the hard floor, but the bed didn’t look any more appealing, and I just didn’t have the energy or the will to move. I just wanted to scream….. scream and cry until there was nothing left!