Vampire Worshippers [Part 1]_Gods of our Souls Series Page 3

  Olivia and Virginie walked hand in hand down the hallway, afraid that the pushing and shoving of students would separate them like they did at the concert. Luckily, they had most of their classes together, including the first period.

  As they got to their seats, students began to huddle around them. Olivia and Virginie looked at each other. The girls had never talked with any of these students before: the popular clique, the plastics, and the jocks. Virginie didn’t think she even registered on their radar.

  “What happened?” someone asked.

  “You were at the concert, right?” another asked.

  “How did you get out alive?”

  “What did they look like?”

  Virginie was bombarded with questions. Her eyes scanned the crowd. She had never been claustrophobic before but she could feel her anxiety level rise as more students joined the crowd to listen to their story. “Um,” Virginie said, her voice soft. “I don’t really want to talk about-”

  “Virginie, here,” Olivia said, pointing in her direction. “Was rescued by Axel Night himself.” She grinned, her eyes twinkling in the attention.

  “Olive!” Virginie pleaded. “Stop. I don’t know if we should be talking about it.”

  “Only because it’s a lie,” someone said. All eyes turned to the voice: Hannah Phillips. She was one of the most popular girls in the school. “You don’t want to talk about it because it’s a lie.” She put her hands on her hips and shot daggers at Virginie.

  “Hey!” Olivia shot up from her desk and mimicked Hannah’s stance. “You can’t talk to us like that. You weren’t there. You don’t know how it happened. It was freakin’ crazy.”

  “You two need to find a better way to get attention. Spreading lies and trying to get people to talk to you because of a horrific tragedy is a horrible way to try to become popular,” Hannah said, stepping up to Olivia.

  “These guys walked up to us and started talking to us. We didn’t prompt them. We weren’t waving our hands or driving up in our daddy’s car, like some people. I don’t need to walk around flashing my parents’ money to get attention.”

  “Olive!” Virginie said again. She eyed her friend and motioned for her to stop talking.

  Olivia’s eyes darted from her friend to her newfound enemy. “Whatever,” she said to Hannah. “You’re not worth the time or the energy.”

  Hannah scoffed and turned away from her. As she did, she brushed her hair back and strutted away. The sound of the teacher clapping to get everyone’s attention made the crowd disperse, to Virginie’s relief.

  As the teacher talked on and on about the importance of the Oxford comma, Virginie slid back in her seat and pulled her phone out of her pocket. With it carefully hidden under the desk, she glanced at the screen while she scrolled the major news sites, looking for any updates involving the attack at the concert. Nothing. She could feel Olivia’s eyes on her. Virginie shook her head and placed her phone back in her pocket.

  “Virginie.”

  She looked at her front, her hand still in her pocket as she did.

  The teacher gave her a stern gaze. “Put it away or I’m going to take it away.”

  She nodded her head silently and took her hand out of her pocket. As the teacher continued to mumble on and on, Virginie’s gaze moved from the back of her head to the clock and back again. 15 minutes past, then 20, then 30. Class was taking forever. She just wanted to know if Axel was okay or if there was any news about the rest of the band or if it was a terrorist thing.

  Virginie and Olivia went from class to class that day, checking Virginie’s phone the whole time. But it wasn’t until the last bell rang that the news reports started to come in. “Victims died with severe bite wounds during last night’s massacre,” Virginie read aloud. A few other students started to gather around her. “Axel’s body is still missing, and the remaining Night members decline to comment on the horrific incident, a gesture speculated to be a result of their immense grief at the loss of their frontman.

  She wasn’t able to get to the end of the article before her phone rang. “Police department,” she muttered as she looked up at Olivia. “But they already interrogated me last night.”

  Olivia shrugged and motioned for her to pick up.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello,” said a deep familiar voice. “Is this Virginia Bell?”

  “Virginie,” she corrected. “Virginie Bell.”

  “Apologies,” said the deep voice. “My name is Detective Milwaukee West. You chatted with my partner last night.”

  “Yeah,” Virginie said. “I remember your partner. What can I do for you?”

  “I have a few follow up questions. Would you mind coming down to the station after you get out of school today?”

  Virginie did mind. She just wanted to go home but she couldn’t tell the detective that. “Sure, Detective West,” she said.

  * * *

  I don’t even know what to say, Virginie thought as she sat, alone, in the interrogation room. There were two windows: one had Venetian blinds and pointed toward the waiting area of the police station, the other was reflective, which V assumed was a two-way mirror, like in the movies. Through the window, she could see Olivia sitting in one of the chairs of the waiting area, thumbing through a magazine. Then suddenly, the blinds shut. Virginie’s eyes moved from the window to the tall, handsome detective standing in the doorway. He was dark and muscular, which was completely different from his portly partner from the night before. His face was stern and by the looks of it, it appeared as though this was his natural demeanor. Detective West shut the door and nodded to her.

  “Virginie,” he said. “Did I get that right?”

  She nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  He shook his head. His blue uniform shirt pulled taut as he sat down in the chair across from her. “You can call me Mil,” he said. “Detective Mil.”

  She nodded. “Okay.”

  He grinned. “No reason to be nervous,” he said. “You haven’t done anything wrong so there’s no reason for you to be nervous. I just wanted to check in to see if you remembered anything else from last night.” He pulled a notepad out of his pocket and flipped through it with one hand while he held a pen with his other. “Now,” he said. “I know that you told my partner what happened, last night. But can you just tell me what happened now?”

  “There was a lot going on,” she said.

  “That’s fine. Just take it slow. If it helps, you can close your eyes.”

  V recalled everything that happened: the concert, the shot, Axel going down, the screaming, the chaos, and the shadow. “I didn’t really see it clearly,” she said. “It was dark.”

  “You say that Axel saved you?” he said. “After he was shot.”

  Virginie nodded.

  ''So, you are saying Axel Night is still alive?'' Mil raised an eyebrow at her.

  ''Y-yes...'' Virginie replied. She wasn’t lying but by the way that he was looking at her, it felt like she was lying.

  ''Do you know that lying is a federal offense?''

  ''I am not lying! It's exactly what I saw! I know it sounds crazy but that was what happened.'' Virginie said, holding back tears.

  ''So, you are saying that Axel Night is a superhuman or something?''

  ''I don't know, I was hoping someone can tell me what's going on.”

  ''Tell me about that person who chased you. How does he look like?''

  ''Everything happened so fast...''

  ''Tell me anything you saw...''

  ''I couldn't make out his appearance. All I could see was this black shape with red glowing eyes.''

  Mil paused. “Earlier, you said it was a policeman?”

  ''That was after Axel threw him against the wall. I don't- I don’t know how it happened, it just did. It was like he transformed into a policeman. But there was something creepy about his face.''

  ''Creepy? How do you mean?'' Mil looked like he was getting impatient.

  Virginie tried to rush
through it. To tell him the information as fast as she could. “He had these long and dark evil-looking eyes. And his mouth was covered with blood. It was like he's a...'' No, Virginie, don’t say vampire. He sure as heck won’t like that answer. “I don’t- I don’t know how else to describe it.”

  There was an awkward silence as Mil jotted down some notes and looked up at her. His dark eyes cut right through her.

  ''Is it true that his body is missing?'' Virginie asks.

  He smirked. ''Been onto the news, have you?” Mil paused for a brief moment then nodded. “His body was gone by the time the police arrived. Either the ones responsible for the attack moved it or he's still alive out there somewhere.''

  Was Mil starting to believe her?

  He crossed his arms. ''Still, that doesn't mean he's a superhuman like you said. He could have staged the whole thing.''

  “What?” Virginie sputtered. “You mean Axel planned all this? Why would he do that?''

  “You may not think that he planned this but the evidence from the stage says otherwise. The blood from where his body was, proved to be old blood – from someone that had been dead for a while. Besides-” He paused to grit his teeth and stare Virginie down. “I don’t think the blood belonged to Mr. Night anyway. For this head wound, that everyone claims to have seen, there wasn’t much blood on the scene.”

  ''You seem to offer more questions than answers, Miss Bell. But I am the one doing the questioning here.” He cleared his throat. “That's all we need from you. You may go now.''

  Virginie rose to her feet and walked out the door. Mil raised his hand to get her attention, ''If you find or hear anything about Axel Night, call us immediately. Do not attempt to approach him, do you understand?''

  ''Yes.'' Virginie walked out of the room.

  * * *

  When she got home that night, Virginie felt more tired than she had the night before. The fatigue from the entire ordeal was starting to wear on her. She dropped her bag onto the floor and looked up at the Axel Night poster on her wall. “I wish you could just tell me if that was you,” she said to it. “I know what I saw but no one will believe me. And I don’t even know if you’re alive.” After a brief moment, she turned to collapse onto her bed but stopped short when she heard a familiar voice call her name.

  Turning back to her poster, she nearly screamed in terror and surprise but was too overcome with emotion to say anything. Axel Night stood in front of his poster, his dark hair draped over his shoulders. Clad in different clothes from the night before and without a bruise on him, he spoke to her. “You’re in danger,” he said simply.

  “How-” her voice barely came out. She coughed. “How did you get here? How are you in my room? How did-”

  “That can wait. You are in danger.’’ He took a step toward her. “You have to come with me.''

  Virginie had wanted to hear this all her life, but now, she was unsure and a little scared. Detective Mil’s words flooded her head. She wasn’t supposed to follow Axel. Or talk to him even. But Axel had saved her already and if he said that she was in danger.

  “You’re not human, are you?” she asked. It almost felt like the question came from someone else. She couldn’t believe that she was saying it.

  He shook his head. ''No. But I am no monster either.

  “You trust me, don’t you?” he said, holding out his hand.

  She did.

  Her hand reached out to him and took his. Axel’s strong grip felt real. It all felt so real but so surreal at the same time. He held her hand and took a few steps toward the wall, toward his poster. Virginie hesitated at first but then the image on the poster began to wave back and forth like the air above a car engine on a hot summer day. They seemingly walked right into the poster. As Virginie took her first step through it, she felt as though she was being sucked into it. Like she was being pulled from her room and led somewhere else. First, Axel, then Virginie close behind, still holding his hand. The world began to darken as Axel’s face on the poster dissipated.

  * * *

  When the world came back into focus Virginie was surprised to see that they were no longer in her room. In fact, it looked like they had stepped into a Gothic novel from her literature class. She looked around at the darkened walls. The only lights in the room shined down from an intricate gold chandelier and candles which - in their warm, orange glow - gave the room a romantic look despite the mystery that it was shrouded in.

  “What is this place?” she asked Axel.

  He squeezed her hand. “This is a spiritual world created by desire. Human desire. This particular room was shaped by yours.”

  “Mine?” She looked around again. As her eyes adjusted to the dark interior she could see more of the room: the bookshelves lined with leather-bound books, the inviting couch lounging in the corner, the ornate picture frames that hung on the walls, though she couldn’t make out any of the pictures within them. The warm smell of cedar and sandalwood tickled her nose as they walked through the space. The familiar sound of her favorite Night song played softly in the background. “That’s my favorite song,” she said softly, not wanting to drown out the lyrics and melody with her own voice. “How did you know?”

  He smiled at her with his eyes despite the stoic expression on his face. “Like I said. This room is shaped by your desire. The things that you truly want in your heart, the shape of your soul, and the rich color of your spirit are embodied in this space.”

  “That’s amazing,” she said, mesmerized more by the sound of his voice and the look in his eye, than the magic of the room.

  The corner of his mouth moved upward only slightly before he held his hand up. “But now is not the time. Save your questions for later, we need to move quickly.” He pointed toward the door. “Stay close to me while we’re out there.”

  “Why? What’s outside?”

  “There are different rooms, just like this out in the Hallway. Most of the territory is unguarded and the place is teeming with vampires. So, stay close and act normal.” He let go of her hand.

  Her brows furrowed. What did it even mean to “act normal”? She wanted to continue holding his hand and feeling him close but mere proximity would have to be good enough.

  She followed closely as Axel led her down the corridor. He took confident strides, though, each step seemed to be made deliberately. Virginie followed suit, trying to act as casual as she could while walking as close as she could to her guide. Her eyes moved from the dark hallways to Axel’s figure and his head as he observed each path carefully. Along both walls in the hall were wooden doors which were seemingly spaced out at random. Somewhere extremely close to one another while others were 15 to 20 meters apart. Some of the paths from which they walked past were cut into walls. Ornate crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling in equal distances, creating a warm, red glow. The carpet under her feet was also a deep crimson, adding to the ambiance. It all made Virginie feel like she was in a dream.

  The ascending staircase ahead of them led to even more doors and more vermillion hallways which weaved through some unknown building. Despite only walking through corridors, Virginie felt like the place was huge. Expansive. Never-ending, she thought to herself.

  They walked for what seemed like a long time, though she didn’t worry too much considering their walk was somewhat peaceful, albeit eerie. After a few more minutes, Axel stopped nearly causing Virginie to crash into him. Looking past his shoulder to what stopped him, she noticed two women standing in the hallway. They were beautiful, almost like supermodels. Virginie looked down at her plaid skirt, clunky boots, and fitted tee. She felt so childish compared to them.

  “Axel,” one of them said, her voice sweet.

  Virginie looked back up at them. Neither of the girls even acknowledged her. I guess that’s good, Virginie thought to herself. I’m supposed to act normal. If they don’t notice me, I guess I’m acting normal.

  One of the girls smiled coyly at Axel and continued, “We heard about the conc
ert attack. I love Night. It’s sad things have to end this way.”

  “Guess we’re going to miss you, Axel Night,” the other said, emphasizing his name.

  “Me too,” he said.

  The girls moved to the side allowing both Axel and Virginie to walk past. Trying to act as casual as she could, Virginie picked up her pace just slightly so she could match his. She looked up at him, wanting to ask him what they were talking about, but she remembered that she wasn’t supposed to ask any questions yet. Instead, her gaze moved straight ahead. As they continued down one of the corridors, Virginie stopped suddenly, almost tripping over her feet. Ahead of them was the snout of a beastly creature, which protruded out of one of the corners of a wall.

  Axel held out a hand to her. “You okay?” he asked in a whisper.

  She nodded. “Tripped,” she explained, her eyes not moving from the snout coming out of the wall. It looked as if it belonged to the head of a huge dog.

  “Come on,” Axel said, holding her hand. “We’ll walk around.” He proceeded with caution as he inched toward it. It wasn’t until they were right on the thing that Axel’s shoulders relaxed. “It’s dead,” he said, his voice normal. He motioned for Virginie to watch it.

  Her eyes looked over the large creature, which appeared to be more wolf than dog. Its fur was made of tendrils of dark gray which danced as it dissipated into thin air. As they stood there watching it, the whole beast began to disappear, little by little until there was nothing left of it.

  “Admiring my handiwork?”

  Axel and Virginie looked up and found a debonair middle-aged man leaning up against the wall. He had a pristine mustache and combed-back salt and pepper hair.

  “Philemon,” Axel said with a grin. He nodded toward the area where the creature had laid dying. “Nice.”

  “Yeah, it scratched me up pretty bad but I’m all right. But I figured that I’d teach it a lesson anyway.” He grinned at Axel, then winked at Virginie. “Listen,” he said. “Axel, it’s been a while since you’ve been to the bar. We haven’t chatted in forever.”