Authors: Shirlee Lewis
“Is human blood anything like animal blood?” Abigail asked.
“Jason, do you know?” I asked.
“I bet it isn’t,” Abigail giggled.
“I don’t know. All I’ve ever had was human blood.” Jason answered.
By now, I could tell she was relaxing with Jason. Maybe, it was a good thing I stayed. I sat in the darkness listening to them and thinking how good this was going for Abigail. The poor girl was drastically taken from her parents at fifteen to live in the basement where Charlotte imprisoned her. She didn’t have a clue about vampires, how they acted or lived. My impression, Abigail had human instincts.
After a long silence, Abigail asked, “May I touch you Jess?”
“Sure.”
Abigail got up and walked over to me. I sat very still. She touched my arm with her finger. It was cold, but I didn’t flinch.
“You’re warm and soft. May I touch you Jason?”
“Yes.”
Abigail reached over with the same finger and touched Jason’s arm.
“Oh! You’re skin is hard,” she said. “How come you’re not white like me?”
“I have human in me that keep
s me from being white. I only have hard skin, but the inside of me is human. I can eat human food too.”
“Do you eat human food?”
“No, I prefer blood,” Jason said.
“Jason?” Abigail said.
“Yes.”
“I would like to see the rest of the basement now.”
Abigail was doing better than I thought she would. She was controlling her emotions better than I expected, not that I expected her to be completely out of control and wild. Not to startle her, Jason and I got up slowly and went to the door. Abigail was behind us peeking around Jason. I opened the door and stepped out in the hall.
“Would you like the lights off, Abigail?” I asked.
“Please.”
I walked over to the switch and turned them off. Jason came out of the room first and then Abigail followed.
“It’s big,” she muttered.
“You’ve heard the ghosts that are down here, right?” I asked.
“Yes and they don’t bother me. I’m used to hearing them.”
Jason walked beside Abigail to the end of the hall. “You’ll see daylight around this corner.”
“I will?”
“Yes, but I don’t want you to be afraid. Come here often and look out between the cracks. Slowly get your eyes accustomed to it.”
“It won’t burn me?” Abigail asked.
“No, it won’t burn you.”
Abigail slowly looked around the corner at the door. She gasped as she saw the sunlight dancing through the cracks. “I see tiny things in the sunlight,” she said.
“That’s dust particles. Your eyes will see things that I or Jess cannot see.”
“They will?” she asked.
“Yes.” Jason answered. “Turn around and look down the hall where we just come from.”
Abigail turned around.
“Don’t move until I tell you, but you have super-human speed.”
Abigail looked at Jason with wide eyes. I stood behind Abigail waiting to see just how fast she was.
“Now, I want you to go to the end of the hall and back.”
Abigail looked down the hall and back at Jason. “Why, I just come from there?”
“Abigail, I don’t want you to walk. I want you to run. Vampires are very fast and I think you are too.”
Abigail turned and looked at me. “It’s okay Abigail. This is part of Jason helping you.”
Abigail turned back to look in front of her, took in a deep breath and ran for the other end of the hall. Before I blinked she was back standing in front of Jason.
“Wow! I didn’t know I could do that,” she giggled. Then she was off again and back. “This is awesome.”
“Slow down now,” Jason ordered. “Practice moving a little slower and more gracefully. I don’t want you sneaking up on me,” he laughed.
Abigail laughed for the first time. It sounded like bells chiming from a church tower. She peaked around the corner at the light and back down the hall.
“When can I see the rest of the house?”
Jason and I looked at each other.
“She’s your responsibility. Tony and I leave in the morning.”
“Where are you going Jess?” Abigail asked.
“I don’t live here. I live in Oregon.”
“I won’t see you again?” she asked quietly. “Where is Oregon? Is it close?”
“I
will come back and visit when I can. Oregon is in the United States. There’s an ocean between here and where I live.”
“Oh!”
“I’ll teach you about world,” Jason reassured her.
Abigail peaked back around the corner and walked towards the door. The light shone on her and I gasped
. She was beautiful. Her hair was waist length, straight and blond. Her face had the features of a ten year old. She was very thin and my height. Jason was noticing too with a smile across his face. Jason seemed to have the situation under control and Abigail showed she was beginning to trust him. I needed to leave so they would get to know each other better.
“I’m going to go back to my room. Are you going to be okay now Abigail?”
“I think I will. You’ll stay right Jason?”
“Until, I have to go and prepare dinner for Jess and Mrs. Mureaux.”
I went to the door, opened it enough for me to slip out, and closed it behind me.
I made the right choice getting Jason to help Abigail
.
The sun was setting and I hurried down to the first floor kitchen. Jason was getting the meal on the table when I entered the dining room.
“What do you think of Abigail?”
“Thank you for recommending me to help her,” he said with a small smile.
“You’re welcome,” I said smugly.
Jennifer came into the kitchen and made her a plate. “I’m going to eat in my room this evening.”
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
“I had a busy day and I’m very exhausted. Jason, I’ll leave the plate outside the door when I’m done.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Jennifer took off for her room.
“So, how did it go with Abigail after I left?”
“She’s a very nice girl. We had a long talk about me and then she told me all about her. Poor thing had a lot going for her if her father wasn’t so strict. Charlotte was wrong turning her. I can’t imagine what she was thinking doing so, but I’ll never know will I.”
“I know
you’ll
treat her right, Jason. Did you introduce her to anymore vampire powers?”
“No, I want to take it slow with her.”
“That’s understandable,” I stated getting a paper out of my pocket.
“What’s that?” Jason asked.
“It’s my cell phone number. Will you call me and let me know how Abigail is doing?”
Jason smiled, “I sure will.”
After dinner, I went back to my bedroom. I wanted to go back to the basement and see Abigail, but it was getting close for Tony to be here. Instead I lay on the bed and thought of Jason and Abigail and how they were getting along. Jason turned out to be just as caring and helping and protective as Tony. It must be the nature of Dhampir’s. There was a lot I didn’t know about them, but I had the rest of my life
to learn. Then of all the thoughts that crossed my mind, I thought of Jason and Abigail living a long and happy life together. Deep down, I was hoping.
Before I knew it, I was waking up to Tony whispering in my ear.
“Sweetie.”
“Hum.”
Tony lightly kissed my neck and I rolled toward him.
“Did you miss me?”
“I always miss you.”
The kisses were getting more intense on my neck. I smiled and lightly kissed Tony’s neck. He groaned and so do I. My Tony was home.
Tony started snoring lightly and I wanted to see Abigail before I left for Oregon. Taking the pillow, I turned it long ways and scooted it up against him. Easing out of bed, I looked to make sure he was still asleep. He was. Putting on my robe I went to the stairs.
Slowly opening the door to the stairs, I heard moaning and groaning echoing up the stairwell. At the bottom of the stairs, I saw Abigail
’s white body with something covering it, but it was moving. The moaning and groaning grew louder and I turned my head away.
I waited until it was silent and I heard Jason say, “That’s what they were doing upstairs.”
“I like it,” Abigail giggled. “Can we do it again?”
It hit me what they were talking about. Abigail heard Tony and me making love and Jason was showing her. Clearing my throat I said, “Hey guys, I came to see Abigail before I leave in a few hours.”
“Jess, you came back to see me,” Abigail said beside me.
I turned to look at her but she was completely white. Jason was hurrying with her dress to help her put it on.
“I’m sorry Jess,” Jason said with chagrin.
“It’s okay Jason. You didn’t know I was coming down. Please don’t be embarrassed. It’s only natural.”
“She heard you and Tony. She wanted to know…..”
Jason was fixing to explain to me what they were doing and I didn’t need to know. I stopped him immediately. “It’s okay Jason. You don’t have to explain. You’re helping Abigail,” I reminded him. “I just came to say goodbye to Abigail.”
“Jess, you will come back and see me?” Abigail asked.
“I’ll come every chance I get. You be good and listen to Jason. Why, I bet the next time I see you, you won’t be in the basement.”
“Thank you for finding me and getting me out of that room.”
“You’re welcome. My curiosity always prevails,” I said, and then laughed. “Jason, I left a few of my clothes in the bedroom dresser for Abigail.”
“Thank you Jess,” Abigail said, and then hugged me.
Now I was in shock. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her back. Abigail had the biggest smile on her face.
“Goodbye Jess,” Abigail said releasing her hug. “I will never forget you.”
“Don’t you dare and, I promise, I won’t forget you. Goodbye Abigail.”
Abigail went to Jason and I went back to my bedroom. Now I knew Abigail was going to be happy and safe with Jason.
Before the sun came up, Tony and I were on our way to Oregon. I thought about mentioning Abigail to Tony, but changed my mind. Instead, I slept until we had to change planes in New York. Tony woke me as the plane was descending into New York.
“Jess, you were talking about someone named Abigail.”
“I was.”
“In your sleep and who is Abigail?”
Of all the times I talked in my sleep, which was never, why did
now
have to be the first time. I had already deceived Tony once which was enough to bother me, so I decided to tell him about Abigail.
“I found her in the basement.”
I waited for Tony to say something; anything, but he just stared at me and waited for me to continue.
“Yesterday when I ran to the elevator, I went straight to the basement. The barred door had someone behind it and I wanted to see who it was.”
“Abigail?”
“Yes, Abigail. She’s so sweet. You wouldn’t believe how she ended up down there.”
“Try me.” Tony said sharply.
“Do you know anything about it?” I asked.
“No I don’t, but now I’m beginning to see why all the questions about the basement intrigued you.”
“Tony, please don’t be upset with me. I feel bad enough lying to you yesterday.”
“You should. We have no secrets between us and now I am hearing.”
“You wouldn’t have let me go back to the basement and.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t. Now continue with the story,” he said.
“Four years ago, Charlotte took her to that room, turned her into a vampire and left her there. I heard her whisper ‘hush, they’re here’ and I wanted to see who it was behind the door, but it was boarded up. I found her in that room. We talked and I discovered she didn’t know anything about what she was. She thought she was nineteen years old and human, but she’s only fifteen. I told her I knew someone that would help her because we were leaving today.