I woke up feeling disoriented. My body felt sore, and as I lay on the bed, I fluffed my eyebrows open. I felt Scar licking my cheek and gently placing one of her paws on my face.
"Scar. No—what time is it?" I glanced at my watch.
"No, no, no, no!" It was 8:12 a.m. Mr. Stephen was going to kill me. I hurriedly changed and was about to dash out of the door when I saw Dad lying on the couch, shivering.
"Hey, Dad." I knelt beside him and touched his forehead. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, son. Hurry up to school," Dad replied in a crackling tone.
"Are you sure? I've never seen you like this," I replied.
"I'm fine, son. Head off to school," he grunted, turning to the other side of the couch and coughing a couple of times.
Well, he's stubborn, and if he said he was okay, I guess I'd just have to leave him be and head off to school.
*
Classes were over, but I could still see Mr. Park's piercing eyes in my head. The old man just hated me for no reason. Meredith had told me she wouldn't be home. I wondered where else she would go—or maybe she planned to visit a friend's house.
I was close to my house when I saw Scar running off into the street.
"Scar!" I yelled, but she kept running. I began chasing after her.
"Scar, get back here!" I called out again, but she didn't stop.
I could feel someone running toward me from behind. I turned back and saw a man with his mouth wide open, screeching.
What is that? Are those fangs growing out of his canine teeth?
"Aaaarrrgh!" I screamed and was about to run when he grabbed me by the neck and punched me. Darkness enveloped my surroundings as I lost consciousness.
*
I fluffed my eyebrows open and noticed the lenses of my glasses were cracked from the punch. I was on my knees, my hands bound with a rope, and I could feel an intense air pressure behind me. Slowly, I tilted my head to the right and glanced downward.
"Shit. What the fuck?" I cursed for the second time. I was at the edge of a cliff.
"Any last words, Jaze?" a peculiar voice echoed in the distance.
With the cracked lenses on my glasses, I couldn't see clearly. It wasn't until the figure came closer that I realized it was Jack.
"You... You brought me here, didn't you? What—what are you exactly? Are you a demon? Are you a ghost?" I stammered, my voice quivering under the pressure of the air against my body.
"I am, as you outsiders call it, a vampire," he responded, walking closer to me.
He knelt on one knee, and I could see his appearance clearly now. His eyes had a reddish glow, much like Meredith's, but his were more intense—predatory. The skin around his eyes faintly glowed red, and his sharp fangs protruded from his mouth.
"Impossible. How? You're not real. You're a ghost!" I exclaimed in a trembling tone.
"Am I? You once asked Princess Meredith if ghosts or supernatural beings exist. Well, now your reaction to seeing one should answer your question, shouldn't it, Jaze?"
I shivered, paralyzed by fear. I could feel my heart constricting in my chest as tears slowly welled up in my eyes.
"Oh, Jaze, come on. Don't do this. Don't cry," Jack said mockingly. "I mean, I can't count how many times I beat you up in school, but I've always known you to be a hammerhead—strong and fearless. Sometimes, I even feel... intimidated. You intimidate me, Jaze."
He spoke with a sneer, then chuckled and placed a hand on my right shoulder.
"So, Jaze, any last words?" he asked as he stood up, glaring down at me with a malevolent look.
"Are you sick in the head? You're going to kill me just because of your twisted ego? What the hell is wrong with you!" I yelled, cursing into the air. My voice echoed, but he remained unfazed.
"Yes, yes. That's the spirit. That's the Jaze I know. I will take that as your last words. " The Bastard put his foot on my chest and pushed me down the cliff.
As I plummeted, time seemed to slow; Jack's manic laughter resonated through the air, mocking my helpless descent into what I feared was the afterlife. In that moment, my beliefs shifted—I now accepted the existence of angels, demons, werewolves, vampires, and even aliens. I regretted my harsh words to Jack; perhaps he could have spared my life, but now it felt far too late. Amidst my fall, I glimpsed someone speeding past Jack, rushing towards me—it was Meredith. She gripped my waist with one hand, her other clawing at the cliffside, sending shards of rock tumbling down. We were perilously close to the ground when she pulled me close, taking the impact on her back.
Dizziness overtook me as I rolled off her, pain radiating through my body. My glasses, now with a chipped left lens, barely clung to my face. My hands, slick with blood, cradled Meredith's face. I prayed it was my own blood I was touching, not hers. A rock had pierced her skull, and blood was seeping out.
"Meredith! Meredith, please, no, please. Open your eyes. God, no!" My heart felt like it was collapsing under the weight of my terror. With trembling hands, I tried to dislodge the stone from her head.
"Please wake up. Open your eyes, Meredith. Please!" My voice choked with panic as tears blurred my vision. A memory sparked; Jack had called her "Princess Meredith." That meant she was a vampire too.
"Jaze," her voice was a faint whisper as she squinted her eyes open, meeting my gaze. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes as she gently placed her gloved right hand on my face.
"Yes, Merry, Merry. Thank heavens. Merry, open your eyes!" A smile broke through my tears.
"I can't feel my body, Jaze. I'm sorry, so sorry. I love you, Jaze. I love you so much," she confessed, tears streaming down her face as her eyes began to close once more.
"No, no, no." Desperation took over, and I bit my lip until it bled. I knew the risks of touching her skin, but in that moment, I couldn't care less. She was the one I loved, regardless of her nature. I leaned in, pressing my lips to hers in a desperate kiss, tasting the mix of blood and saliva as our tongues met.