Chapter 18: Where are you Dave?
The car ride went on quite smoothly. I thought that it would have been awkward with Claudia revealing that she was a vampire, but it wasn't the case. And it was all thanks to Dave, he did not mind answering my questions and this made me more comfortable being around vampires.
'So how does it feel to be a vampire?'
'A half-vampire,' she corrected. 'The strength, improved eyesight and hearing are the best features. You wouldn't know the number of secrets I've heard when I wasn't even trying to snoop.'
'That's why you always won the staff race,' I commented dryly.
'Don't worry, this year I won't be participating. I'll allow others the opportunity to taste gold, she said magnanimously. That comment cracked us up. She was far from being that generous and we both knew it.
We were having an open day at the Khoon Academy, so many guests and youngsters from other institutions were expected. Many activities, of which the Art competition, had been organized. I had been put in charge of that event and I had to put easels up for the participants. While they had been encouraged to bring their own material, I had made provisions for those who would have forgotten theirs. Claudia, who had been given the responsibility of the food stalls, came to check on me.
'Why did you choose such a secluded corner, Ash? It's hell on heels.'
As venue, I had chosen the back garden so that there would be plenty of natural light and there were little kiosks where they could choose to settle. The big pine trees from the forest that bordered the garden provided additional shade.
'It's quiet here, easier for the students to get inspired.'
'Yes, but will you manage on your own? Is it safe with the forest?'
'What can happen here? I'll be surrounded by artists who won't even notice my presence.
'That's true. Give me a call around lunch.'
Students started coming after her departure, and while most of them were from our institutions, there were a few outsiders as well. Dave would be coming by the end of the afternoon, when the artists would be done with their paintings. One by one, the participants settled down and got down to work. Most of them had brought their music and headphones and soon the only sound I could hear was that of their pencil scratching the surface of their paper or the swirls of their brushes. As I had told Claudia, I had nothing to do apart from going around and making sure the participants did not need anything.
Most of them didn't need anything and after checking the list of participants, I saw that I had not met two of them. I went to one of the kiosks which was set on higher ground and looked around me to see if I had missed them while doing my rounds. Indeed I had, but that's because the two participants seemed to have taken the easels I had installed and brought them deeper in the forest. That was strange as it was darker there. But who knew with artists, some could be quite eccentric.
It's a good thing I had worn comfortable shoes on that day as with the amount of walking I was doing, my feet would have been dead with my wedges or Kitten heels that I sometimes wore. I got down the stairs and started making my way to the last two participants. One of them was wearing his jacket with the hood covering his head, while the other one was wearing a cap from the Academy. As I started approaching them, my nose started twitching, there was an odor that was bothering me. It smelled like wet dog fur on a rainy day. I bunched up my nose and lifted my wrist to my nose to smell the delicious perfume I had spritzed there that morning. I had brought a spare bottle in my bag too to apply before Dave came. Even Claudia had noticed that I was making an effort to look and smell better.
As I was nearing the two boys, I stepped on a dry branch, making a crackling noise. I could have sworn that when they lifted their eyes to look at me, one of them snarled. I was taken aback, but then thought that I had been standing in the sun for too long, so I could have been mistaken.
'Silly you! You are starting to become paranoiac.'
I cheerfully waved at the boys so as not to make them uncomfortable. Their gaze didn't waver from me at all and it made me feel uncomfortable. Sure, I worked with teenagers on a daily basis so I knew that they sometimes stared at the opposite sex, but not like this.
'Hi, welcome to the Khoon Academy.'
They did not respond, merely stared at me. I walked a few steps ahead to have a look at their paintings. It was still blank for one of them, while for the other there were big splashes of red paint on the canvas. This was not the work of people competing for a prize. Just to check, looking at the list of names, I asked,
'Are you Tyson and Jake?'
Both of them shared a look and that put me on alert. There was a kind of whistling sound in my ears and the smell had worsened by then. I took one step back, trying to assess how far the next participant was from me out of the corner of my eyes.
Trying to stop my voice from shaking and succeeding to a large extent, I asked them to leave if their name wasn't on the list.
'Is she the one?' one of the boys asked his companion. He took one step forward, into a patch of light and I saw that his eyes were bloodshot. His greasy hair, that was not hidden by the hood, was plastered to his forehead. His skin had a grayish sickly hue to it.
Who were they looking for? By then alarm bells started ringing in my mind. They were definitely not Tyson and Jake, so why were they here? The boy with the cap put his hand in his pants pocket and I could see the outline of something. The glint of metal confirmed my fear, it was a knife.
I assessed my options; I could run screaming towards the nearest participant, but that could put him in danger as well and my conscience wouldn't let me live with this. The second option would be to run deeper in the forest and hide. I had been in this forest before and I knew that about 200 meters to the left, there was a lane that ended in the parking lot. There would surely be a security guard over there. Adrenaline started pumping in my bloodstream and a fine sheen of sweat appeared on my upper lip.
I tried to avoid the confrontation. I had managed to put a few meters between us.
'Oh, I'm sure that you lost your way then, if you move back in the direction of the kiosk over there, and then turn to the right it will lead you to the information desk,' I said loudly for them or for anyone else to hear.
I prayed for them to take the bait and leave, but things were going to play out differently, I felt.
'Dunno. She doesn't smell like a true vampire, one of them hissed.
The worst scenario was playing out in front of me, they were looking for a vampire. Whatever Dave had been warning me about was going to happen. They were talking softly, yet I could hear each of their word as if they were next to me. The wind must have been behind them and blowing in my direction.
'But she sure smells delicious,' the hooded boy said, sniffing in my direction. 'We haven't tasted fresh meat yet.'
'Back off, Guy told us to wait.'
'I'm tired of those raw frozen steaks that he makes us eat. I want something fresh. She will do.'
Werewolves. These were werewolves definitely. The smell should have put me on the track, but I had never encountered werewolves before. My instincts were screaming at me to run. I wasn't going to wait for them to decide whether they were going to do something about me. I saw the path that I needed to take and hitching my pants up, I started running and screaming like a banshee at the same time. I could see that I had taken them by surprise. My heart was already beating so fast, but I continued running. I had never sprinted so hard in my life.
There, ahead, was the path, a bit overgrown with weeds, but I still recognized it. I could see the clearing ahead, but I could also hear the footsteps of the boys coming closer and closer.
'Stop, bitch.'
As if they really thought that I would stop. Some more effort, Ash, you're nearly there. I wasn't ready to die yet. I had to fall in love, get kids and the likes. I hadn't even got time to know Dave better.
Dave, where was he? I needed to let him know what was happening.
They were catching up to me by then. I felt the hand of one of them almost touch the sleeve of my blouse as he leaped forward to catch me. He missed me by a few centimeters and hissed a foul word. A searing pain on my left bicep informed me that he had almost caught me, there was a red gash on my upper arm where his knife had grazed me, tearing the cloth of my sleeve. Just 3 more meters and my feet touched the paved surface of the parking. My breath coming out in short painful gasps, I turned my neck slightly. They had stopped running after me. I just saw their bloodshot eyes glaring at me until I was too far to see them.
Two more steps and I collapsed on the pavement bordering the parking lot.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone