Chapter Ten- 'Sacrifice The Tortures...'
0 Souls Later...
"So he's not coming to the phone, or is he actually ill?" Melissa asked.
He can't be ill... She thought miserably. Something wasn't right. Either Taylor or Isaac were lying, but even though they both knew the truth for the past six days, Isaac hadn't seen her. First he made up excuses but now everybody was lying for him. She had to find out what was wrong.
"Both." Tay replied. "He's really sick. He says even though you'd help him out he doesn't recommend being in the same room with him let alone sharing saliva."
"Nice Tay, real nice." Melissa played along. "Tell him the quicker he gets better: the sooner he'll see me."
"Yeah."
Melissa had a thought. "He's not mad at me, is he?"
"No. He wants to see you, but he can't. Why? You had a fight?"
"No Taylor, we didn't." Melissa sighed.
"I'll tell him to call you when he's amongst the living."
Melissa tried not to laugh. "Then never?" No joke she thought, a little amused.
"Okay, conscious. That's the best offer I can give you."
"Thanks."
"Okay, bye." Tay put the phone down.
"Who was that?" Zac asked.
"Melissa. Just wondering where Big Bro is."
"He's still sick?"
"Yup."
"Damn..."
Zac subconsciously rubbed his neck a little. It had been stinging for a few days. He was sure it was a dream. It had to be a dream. But there was something about Melissa that just scared him now. He couldn't remember the nightmare much, but, he knew it was bad and that was enough. And somewhere inside of him was telling him it was not a dream. Not for one second.
So Zac was going ask Ike if there was anything strange about his girlfriend.
"Hey Ike?" Zac asked quietly, peering through the door to his room.
"Yeah?" Ike answered weakly.
"You awake?"
"I answered you, didn't I?" Ike said slowly.
"Oh yeah." Zac walked in. "Still feeling ick?"
"Very."
"Oh." Zac replied slowly. Where to start? "What d'you think is wrong with you?" Maybe a little small talk will help.
"I'm not sure. I just feel horrible."
Ike knew exactly what was wrong with him. He hadn't fed in six days now. If he didn't feed that night, he was sure he wouldn't be able to feed at all by morning. He didn't want to though. He couldn't handle any more. After meeting Holly, he knew there was a monster inside of him and it was going to win soon enough. And he wouldn't be careful, he wouldn't stop himself the next time. He would kill his family and regret it when it was too late.
"You sure it wasn't something you ate?"
Ike tried not to laugh. More like what I haven't.
"What's so funny?" Zac asked, confused.
Ike smiled. "Nothing."
"Ike I need to ask you something." Zac closed the door and climbed up the bunk-bed ladder.
"All right. Sit down." Ike sat up slowly and Zac sat down with his legs swinging off the side of the bed.
"Okay..." Zac didn't finish. How d'you ask in a polite way if your brother's girlfriend is a monster?
"I'm not going deaf too, am I?" Ike asked suddenly.
Zac smiled a little. "No... I'm just trying to find a way to ask without sound nutty."
"Zac you always sound nutty. That's your cause."
Zac smiled even more. "Okay, but not this time. What exactly happened last time Melissa was here?"
"You were sick so we steered clear of you. I don't think she even saw you."
"No, she was in my room. I know that much. I just don't know what happened."
"What was supposed to happen?"
"She... Never mind." Zac said slowly.
"Oh Okay." Ike said, glad.
"She bit my neck." Zac knew he should have been quiet.
"What?" Ike tried to sound surprised.
"Not in hickey way, I mean proper biting." Zac said. "Fangs and everything."
"So, what are you saying?"
Zac took a breath. "I'm saying your girlfriend's a monster! Like a vampire or something!"
"Zac, don't you think that's a little far fetched?"
"Ike, I know what I saw," Zac paused, feeling his neck again, "and felt. Melissa is a vampire."
"Is this because you're reading those horror books?" Ike asked. He was making out his brother to be a nut, but, he couldn't exactly say: Yeah, she did try to suck your blood. And so did I.
"No! Ike, I'm being serious!" Zac said. He looked honestly hurt that Ike didn't believe him.
"Couldn't you have dreamt it?"
"That's what I thought, but I felt it! My neck still hurts!"
"Where's the scar than?" Ike asked, pretending to search Zac's neck for one.
"I don't know! It's not there!" Zac was mad now. "Ike, I'm not crazy."
"I know you're not Zac." Ike said quietly.
"But that wasn't a nightmare! It was real!" Zac was close to tears now. "There must be something wrong with me and I don't know what!" Zac jumped down from the bed. "Look, Ike, I'm going. I was probably hallucinating or something. Maybe I should get therapy."
Ike knew he had to say something. He couldn't leave Zac thinking he was insane. "Zac, wait."
Zac turned around. "What?"
It was Isaac's turn to take a breath. "You're not insane Zac."
"Well what am I then? I'm seeing vampires, I think that's one point closer to a free trip to the mental home."
"You're not insane Zac because you're right." He waited for Zac to get it.
"She's really a vampire?" Zac asked quietly, once again touching his neck gingerly.
There was a pause. "Yeah."
"How long have you known this?" Zac asked rationally, climbing back onto the bunk-bed. It seemed to make sense. And he wasn't just talking about her style in clothes or music. When her book fell out of her bag she had another book that must have been her diary. Zac didn't mean to read a little of it, but there were some things in it that were dated back to the seventies, before she could have been born. And the things written were not normal.
"Since you have."
Something clicked. "You were there! I remember you and her were fighting or yelling or something! Is that why you don't want to see her?"
"I do want to see her though." Isaac replied.
"Why? Isaac, she tried to bite me!"
"Not tried, she did. That's why your neck hurts."
Zac winced a little. "You mean she actually took some blood?"
"Zac, calm down." Isaac said.
"How much blood did she take?" Zac asked, now panicking.
"Zac, you're still alive, it couldn't have been much."
"No wonder I was feeling ill the next day!"
"You had the flu." Isaac pointed out.
"But, why are you defending her? I could have died!"
"Because she couldn't help it." Isaac said sadly.
"What?"
"She was hungry, she can't help it if you were the first person she saw who could help her out."
"She couldn't have left me alone?"
"No. It doesn't work like that. She just has to and she forgets who it is."
"I feel sick." Zac said plainly. "You still want to date her?"
"Yeah."
"Wait... What if she's working some vampire-spell or something on you? She could want you for a meal! So she made you go crazy for her and then..." Zac gasped in a dramatic way. "She's gonna eat you!"
Isaac pondered that idea. "Yeah, see, I don't think that would work."
"Why not?! It makes sense! Where does she live again? I'll get a stake or something and..."
Taylor opened the door and walked in.
"You're not staking my girlfriend!"
"Never mind." He said quickly and walked out again.
Both of them brushed off Taylor's little intrusion. "You're not staking Melissa." Ike repeated a little quieter.
"Okay, she must have some spell on you. She's evil!"
"She's not evil!"
"She must be!"
"She's a vampire; it doesn't automatically make her evil."
"How would you know?" Zac asked quickly.
Ike raised his eyebrows. Okay, how's an easy way of telling him?
"Well?"
"I know she's not evil and know she won't feed off me or whatever, well, because..."
"...Because?" Zac asked him slowly. This was getting annoying.
"Well for one thing I'm not evil."
"Yeah I know you're not..." Zac stopped for a second. Ike waited for it to click. "You have got to be joking!"
"'Fraid not." Ike replied.
"Okay, I can understand Melissa being a vampire or something, but..." Zac couldn't finish the sentence in a sane way. "Huh?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Ohmygod! Did she change you? That bitch!"
"NO!" Isaac yelled back. "Just listen to me."
"How long have you been..."
"Since last Halloween."
Zac took a minute to digest all he had found out in a few minutes. He started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" It was Ike's turn to be confused
"Okay, I ran through this conversation again, and..." Zac laughed harder. "Either you're insane or I'm insane or it's genetic."
"It's not crazy Zac." Isaac replied.
"Oh right, this really makes sense." Zac said, laughing still.
"Promise you won't scream?" Ike asked slowly.
"Yeah, sure Ike." Zac said, wiping a tear.
Isaac changed so rapidly Zac almost fell of the bed.
"HOLY FU...!"
Isaac clamped his hand over his brother's mouth, changing back to normal. "You said you wouldn't scream!"
"Mi... Mied!" Zac replied, struggling against Ike's grip.
"What?" Isaac removed his hand.
"I lied!" Zac jumped down from the bed. "What the hell? Oh man, that did not happen!"
"Yes it did!" Ike replied. He tried to get up but failed. He was really worn out. "I would more dramatic and shake you to get the point but I can't exactly get out of bed."
Zac was very good at raising his eyebrows. Right now they were almost sitting on top of his head. "This is real, isn't it?"
Isaac sighed a little. "Yeah. I'm really sorry Zac."
Zac didn't get any closer. "You kill people?"
Isaac didn't want to answer "I... try not to."
Something clicked in a really bad way. "You're dead?"
"Yeah." Isaac was close to tears now. "Well, undead."
Zac still didn't make any effort to get any closer. "But you're still good. You still, like, have a soul."
"Yeah. I just have something inside of me that wants me to kill everything and everyone I love."
Now Zac did move forward. Ike was crying.
"You can't help being like this, can you?"
"If you mean I can't reverse it, then, no."
Zac swallowed a little. "I'm sorry Ike."
"That's why I'm ill, I haven't... you know, for about six days now."
"How bad is that?" Zac asked.
"Tomorrow I could be dead. Like, properly."
Zac didn't know what to say that would help. "You don't deserve this."
"I think I do, I'm evil enough."
"You don't want to do this?"
"No."
"You try not to kill them?"
"Yeah." He lied.
"Then you're not evil." Zac climbed up the ladder and sat next to Isaac.
"I think I am." Isaac said bluntly.
"Then... Go to a butchers, what about animals?"
"Doesn't work. Plus is can't be dead blood. It's just a little bonus to make it even more fun."
"Oh."
"Look, Zac, just tell me I need to die. I know you're thinking that."
"No I'm not! I don't want you to die!"
"Zac, I'm already dead!"
Zac tried his hardest to wipe away any tears. "But you're here. And I want you to stay here. I don't care what you are Ike."
"But everybody else will. I don't think anybody else will really care even if I don't mean to. I can't continue this any more. What if I hurt you?"
"You won't! If you've survived a whole year you're obviously stronger than you think!"
"No I'm not! I could kill you Zac, don't you get that?"
"So? You could have killed me years ago, but you didn't!" Zac hoped this fact would break him.
"It's a little harder now though." Isaac replied quietly.
"But you can do it, I know you."
"I'm not killing anybody else."
"Then have two and take only half on each one! Try anything- just don't give in." Zac pleaded.
Isaac thought for a minute. "It's too hard."
"Then make it easier! You know you can!"
"You really want me to go out there and feed off a human being?" Isaac asked rather harshly.
"If that's what it takes for you to stay here and not die, yes."
"And what if I do hurt you?"
"You wont." Zac said firmly.
"You've got to keep this secret."
Zac nodded. Ike pulled him into a hug and Zac cried a little more. He didn't even flinch. Ike thought. He really doesn't care what I am. Ike had never been so happy to be Zac Hanson's brother.
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