A Moonlit Night Saga: Episodes 1 - 4 (2 page)

“You’re all I have left, you can’t leave me
now,” Steven pleaded. “You just can’t.”

“Uh—Steven?” asked Emily, slowly coming back
to her senses.

“Emily, you’re going to be okay,” said
Steven, overcome with joy. “Thank god, you’re going to be
alright.”

“What happened to you?” questioned Julia,
looking around the alley.

“I was… saved,” whispered Emily, once again
losing consciousness.

“Damn it, she’s gone again,” muttered Julia,
checking over Emily’s wounds. “Looks like a nasty bruise to the
head, but other than that, I think she’s okay. We should take her
home right away.”

“I’m going to see if I can find anyone,” said
Tyler, rushing down the alley. “I’ll be back in a minute!”

Julia and Steven tended to their wounded
friend, while Tyler searched the area for any signs of her
attackers.

The attackers would be nowhere to be found,
but far above the streets, another dark silhouette stood on the
rooftops, watching them. However, unlike Emily’s new hero, this man
was not interested in her safety. He had much more sinister plans
in store for Emily.

Chapter Three

Emily sat up from her bed, having had another
nightmare. She was only eight years old with pigtails, bright blue
pajamas, and a very active imagination. She would often dream of
dragons and griffins, creatures of legend that would come and
rescue her from the everyday world. However, on this night, her
dreams were different. Vicious animals tore at her from the dark,
their sharp teeth cutting deeply as she screamed in agony.

She was dripping with sweat, alone and
afraid. Looking around, she scanned the room for any signs of
danger. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any signs of a monster.
That’s when something caught the corner of her eye.

Rushing out of bed, Emily ran towards the
window. Squinting, she looked to the end of the property, where a
man stood in the field. The man was dark and unknown, and Emily
couldn’t help but feel the man was staring back at her, peering
deeply into her soul as he whispered for her to come to him.

This sent shivers down Emily’s spine, as she
quickly dashed out of the room. Screaming for her mother, Emily
banged on her parents’ bedroom door. No one answered.

“Mommy!” cried Emily, pounding on the door
desperately. Still, no one answered.

Emily ran downstairs, hoping to find someone
there. And find them, she did. They were already heading out the
door, bags packed.

“Oh hell,” said her father, looking back at
her daughter. “Honey, go back to bed, okay?”

Her father, Jason, was a good man with a
receding hairline and thick horn-rimmed glasses. He was protective
of his family, often erring on the thought of caution. He always
put his children first, trying to shed them from some of the harsh
realities of life.

“W—where are you going?” asked Emily, running
up to her mother. “Can I come, too?”

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” said her mother. “It
isn’t safe where we’re going.”

Her mother, Amanda, was a beautiful woman;
and a spitting image of her lovely daughter. A warm and loving
person, she would light up the room with her smile. She had lived a
long and hard life, but never carried any of that with her. She
loved where she was and that was all that mattered.

“Mommy, I saw someone outside,” said Emily,
reaching for her mother to take hold of her.

“What do you mean, you saw someone?”
questioned Amanda, placing her bags on the ground as she picked her
daughter up.

“I saw a man,” Emily explained. “He was a bad
man—.”

“C’mon, Amanda,” Jason interrupted. “We have
to go… right now.”

Jason stopped for a moment, and considered
the scared little girl he was leaving behind. She meant the world
to him, and only hoped that his actions tonight would lead to a
bright future for his daughter; a future that he would not be able
to give her.

Walking over to his daughter, Jason ran his
hands through her hair, and said, “Your mother and I have to leave
for a little while. I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you earlier. To be
honest, we didn’t even know we had to leave until an hour ago. Your
grandma will be here in the morning, and she’s going to look after
your brother and you for a little while.”

“Don’t go, daddy!” shouted Emily, as he
father broke contact and hurried to the car. “Please!”

“It’s going to be alright,” Amanda said. “I
want you to know that we love you very much.”

Amanda let Emily go, and began walking out
the door. Reaching the porch steps, she turned around, and with
that tender and caring smile of hers, she said, “Emily, you are a
very special girl. One day you will understand just how important
you really are. I love you. It is for love, that we do the things
we do. I want you to remember that. Can you do that for me?”

Emily nodded as she watched her parents
leave. That would be the last time she ever saw her parents
alive.

Emily dashed upstairs and back to her room.
Rushing to the window, she scanned for signs of her parent’s car.
It was nowhere to be seen, just like the man that had been stalking
her from the fields.

Chapter Four

“She’s waking up,” said Steven, sitting down
beside Emily on the bed. “You gave us quite a scare, you know that
right?”

Steven had always tried to be the strong one,
but ever since the loss of their parents, Emily was all he had
left.

The two of them lived together in the house
they grew up in. It was a beautiful country home, with canary
yellow siding, blue accents, and a porch that wrapped around the
house. Sometimes it was hard for them to live in a place that
reminded them so much of their lost parents. On the other hand,
that was also the reason they could never bring themselves to sell
it.

“Steven? How long have you been here?” Emily
asked, looking out the window. “How long have
I
been
here?

It was the next day, and by the looks of it,
Emily figured it was well past dinner time. Night was almost upon
them. Had she been asleep the whole day?

“Steven’s been here all day,” said Julia,
entering the room. “And he hasn’t left your side since we brought
you back here. Tyler’s sleeping on your couch; I hope you don’t
mind.”

Julia didn’t have many girlfriends. She liked
to think that others just couldn’t handle being around such a
lively woman, but in reality Julia knew that it was because she was
difficult to be around sometimes. She was used to getting her way,
and as such was prone to selfish outbursts. Emily never seemed to
hold it against her, something that Julia always admired about
her.

“N—No, of course I don’t mind,” stuttered
Emily, still a little dizzy from the previous day’s events. “I want
to thank all of you. You’ve been wonderful.”

“Emily…what happened to you last night?”
Steven questioned, holding her hand for comfort. “Can you remember
anything?”

Emily tried to concentrate, but the harder
she thought, the more her head started to pound. She had felt this
pain before; the night before at the bar, to be exact. Emily
wondered, could the events have been related?

“Oh my god, are you alright?” asked Julia,
reaching for a tissue. “Your nose is bleeding.”

“It is…look at that,” said Emily, looking
down at the blood-stained tissue. “That hasn’t happened since I was
a child.”

“As for what happened last night,” continued
Emily, reapplying the tissue to her nose. “Much of the attack is
cloudy. I remember two men ambushing me. I also remember a
mysterious stranger coming to my rescue; only I can’t for the life
of me remember his name.”

“If he saved you, then why were you alone?”
asked Steven, trying to get a better idea of what happened.

“He was probably busy chasing the attackers
off,” suggested Julia, handing Emily another tissue. “Seriously,
Steven, you’re such a Nancy. She’s okay and that’s all that
matters.”

“I guess you’re right, Jules,” said Steven,
getting off the bed. “I’m going to wake up Tyler. I’ll be waiting
downstairs. I’m glad to see your okay, sis.”

“Thanks, Steven,” said Emily, as Steven
walked out the room.

Julia’s turned back to Emily, and said,
“Okay, now we can talk. What really happened?”

“I don’t really remember, and what I do
remember doesn’t make any sense,” said Emily, sliding out of the
bed.

“Hey, someone’s at the door, Emily!” Tyler
shouted from downstairs. “He says his name is Alexander!”

Emily couldn’t believe it, as the memories
from last night began to rush into her head. Her hero from last
night had arrived.

“What do you want?” questioned Tyler,
standing at the door. Tyler always considered himself an Alpha Male
and the thought of a mysterious stranger showing up the night after
Emily’s attack, set him on edge.

“I’m here to see Miss Johansson,” Xander
said. “Is that all right with you?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Tyler said. “Come on
in.”

Tyler motioned for Xander to enter the house,
but he stood his ground, refusing entry into the home.

“Are you deaf?” asked Tyler, becoming
increasingly agitated. “I said you can come in.”

“No, I am simply old fashioned,” Xander
replied. “I would prefer the owner of the house to welcome me
in—.”

“Of course, come in,” said Emily,
interrupting Tyler as she pushed him out of the way. “Don’t mind
him; he’s just worried about me.”

“I understand completely,” said Xander,
slowing placing one foot inside the house and hesitantly walking
inside. “You are lucky to have friends that care about you so
much.”

Of course, Xander wasn’t the only person
there that night. In the forest surrounding the home, a
good-looking man was waiting patiently for his time to strike. It
was the dark figure watching over them the night before.

The man was well-built, with short blonde
hair and matching trimmed beard. His face displayed confidence and
experience, both things that he had acquired over his long life. He
had been watching over Emily for a few days now, and was ready to
make his move.

“Should we attack now, Master Simeon?” asked
Jacob, skulking up towards the dark figure he had called
Simeon.

“The two of you failed me once already,” said
Simeon, staring down Jacob; piercing through the junkie’s blood red
eyes. “I will accompany you.”

“This time,” Simeon continued. “We will truly
finish off the last of their kind.”

Chapter Five

“You guys can leave now, I’ll be fine,”
explained Emily, giving her friends a hug as they all huddled
around the front door.

“With him?” asked Steven, pointing towards
Xander. “You barely even know him.”

It was true, Emily thought. She had just met
him last night, and even then, they had barely spoken more than a
dozen words between them. Still, she had to know what happened last
night, and didn’t want her friends around to hear.

Her friends left the house, giving the two of
them the space they desired. Emily barely knew the handsome man in
her living room, but felt a mysterious connection with him, one
that shook her to the very core.

Emily paced around the living room, trying to
figure out where to start. She caught a quick glimpse of Xander;
careful not to stare, she averted her eyes before he caught her
leering. He was gorgeous, she thought. Everything about him
screamed out to her, demanding that she come closer. Emily had
never experienced a pull like this before; and it startled her.

“I suppose you wish to know what I am?” asked
Xander, sitting down on the couch across from her. “Hiding my true
identity will only put you in further danger. You deserve to know
the truth, and the faster we get this out of the way, the faster I
can get you out of danger. I am a creature of the night… a
vampire.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Emily,
rolling her eyes in disbelief. “I didn’t hit my head that
hard.”

Xander smiled, opened his mouth and two long
fangs descended. Emily jumped back, which only caused Xander to
erupt into laughter.

“Oh my god, you’re telling the truth,” Emily
said. “So you’re dead?”

“Well I wouldn’t say
dead
, but yes, my
mortal life ended over 500 years ago,” said Xander, completely
serious with a stern look on his face.

“Are you going to hurt me?” asked Emily, now
a little startled after the initial shock wore off.

“No, I’m not going to hurt you,” Xander said.
“I haven’t hurt anyone for over two hundred years.”

Xander looked down, clearly ashamed of the
man he once was. He had hurt many people, but he was a changed man.
Or at least, that’s what he kept trying to tell himself.

“Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that,” said
Emily, slowly walking towards Xander. “I’ve just never met a real
vampire before. To be honest, I never really believed in the
supernatural.”

Xander looked up at Emily, confused by her
words. If that were true, Xander thought, than perhaps her
attackers could have been mistaken. Perhaps he could have been
mistaken also. Maybe she wasn’t the girl they all believed her to
be.

“Can I ask you something?” asked Emily, to
which Xander nodded in agreement. “What were those men that
attacked me? I’ve never seen red eyes like that before. Were the
junkies vampires, as well?”

“They were ghouls,” Xander replied. “They are
humans that have taken to drinking the blood of a vampire.”

“Why would anyone want to do that?” Emily
asked. “Is that how you become a vampire?”

“No, that is not how you become a vampire,”
stated Xander, rising off the couch. “In truth, there are not many
vampires in the world. Our survival demands certain secrecy, and in
turn, we rarely give our power to another. It is considered the
most special gift our kind can give. That is why ghouls are so
important. They are our eyes and ears in the world, watching over
our territory with bloodthirsty vigilance.”