Chapter Thirteen
1
After the second part of the main course, a bout of conversation released at the dining room table. Thelma started it.
“Well, I do expect to see Latianna in the community college on Monday morning,” she said to Mrs. Dyebuko. Ivan could feel the intensity growing as there was a pause to the answer of the question.
“Oh, Thelma, how nice of you it is for you to be concerned about our child's education. Latianna told us about how you invited her for a tour,” Mrs. Dyebuko said with a kind look upon her face. Ivan wondered if that was a yes or a no. And by the look on Thelma's face, he thought it safe to assume she was wondering the same thing. Ivan knew Latianna wouldn’t attend a tour on Monday, but he was still curious as if her parents thought she would. He still wanted to avoid the awkward speech that Thelma gives when somebody does not comply to her ways and thoughts.
“Oh... well, maybe Latianna would be a good helper at the elementary school... they're always looking for volunteers,” Thelma said, nodding her head and entwining her fingers. “My Dorothy helps out there,” Thelma continued. “Maybe you two could be good friends.” She patted her daughter’s hand. When Ivan looked at Dorothy, he saw her smiling at him. He used to have a crush on her when he was younger. After he just turned fourteen and she was fifteen going on sixteen, he told her that he liked her. She smiled her snobbish smile at him and said, “bug off creep!” Ivan’s heart had broken into a million tiny pieces then. He never quite got over his crush on her until he met Latianna. How he wanted to hold her hand and kiss her, right there in front of Dorothy. How he wanted to do that just to say that he did not ever need Dorothy. How he wanted to say that he had everything he ever needed. And where was Dorothy now? She was alone, working at a video rental store, wishing a cute boy would come in and flirt with her. Who was the crushed one now? Dorothy was. That made Ivan feel a weird sense of justice.
“Yes, perhaps, I do think we could get along quite well,” Dorothy said with a smile just like her mother’s.
“Well, Ivan, you have been rather quiet over there this whole meal,” Mrs. Harvey stated.
“I suppose I have,” Ivan said, wondering why his mother was even bringing him into the conversation. He was awful quiet, but that was just the way Ivan normally was. Not to mention, that night, he had many, many things on his mind. He was planning his escape with Latianna. He wondered how he was going to cover up the death of Mr. and Mrs. Dyebuko. And he wondered what Chad was doing, if he was still safely locked up in Ivan’s closet or not. How Ivan hoped he would not get out and bring havoc upon the town of Riverwolf Pass. If Chad could only hold on for a couple more hours, he would be human again. He and Latianna both would be human again and what a wonderful thing that would be.
“Well, who is ready for some yummy dessert? Latianna made it all by herself, and she always makes the best chocolate cake anybody ever has eaten,” Mrs. Dyebuko said with a smile upon her face, standing up and placing the empty plates on the silver platters. Although the people of Riverwolf Pass were not used to eating like this, so much at once, the food all tasted so delicious they could not help themselves. They normally would have been full off one main course, not two as the Dyebukos served them. But, when the second main course of slow roasted chicken, seasoned with secret special seasonings that Mrs. Dyebuko concocted up herself, and the corn along with the delicious snap peas, well, the people of Riverwolf Pass just simply could not stop eating, no matter how full they actually were. The food tasted better than any of them had ever tasted before and they were all waiting with baited breath for the dessert to come out so they could gobble that down too.
“Well I do not know about the rest of you all, but I sure want some of Latianna’s famous chocolate cake,” Mr. Wes Determan said, standing up to go help Mrs. Dyebuko in the kitchen. They both went off into the kitchen, but Mrs. Dyebuko was the only one to return. There was a moment of shock when she was the only one to come out, but then it seemed like such an oddly familiar routine to the townspeople of Riverwolf Pass that they just sat, waiting for an explanation.
“Mr. Wes Determan got a call from the newspaper, they needed him right away to cover a breaking news story. It appears that Mr. White has ended up in the hospital in the psychiatric ward. I am not exactly sure why this is, but Mr. Determan simply could not resist such a tempting news story. Not to worry, I sent him home with a piece of cake,” Mrs. Dyebuko said, and sat down at the table. Everybody watched in silence as Judd and Samuel brought out the pieces of cake for everybody. They had to force themselves not to drool all over the table. Just the appearance of the pieces of cake made their full stomachs roar. How eloquently decorated the cake was. Chocolate roses and a white chocolate ganache covered the top of the cake.
“How delicious this is, Latianna!” Thelma exclaimed, liking chocolate cake for the first time in her life.
“Such a talented chef you are, Latianna, and at such a young age too!” Dorothy commented.
“It is absolutely delightful!” Ivan said, not believing how well Latianna could cook.
“My, my, I have never tasted such a rich and wonderful dessert in my entire life,” Mrs. Harvey said.
The overwhelmingly vast amount of compliments kept pouring out of the subjects' mouths until Latianna thought her cheeks were going to catch on fire they were blushing so much.
“Why thank you, everybody, I have never been so flattered before,” she said with a great smile and fantastically amazing poise.
2
After everybody had eaten the dessert, Samuel and Judd brought out a coffee drink from the kitchen and the people sipped it as they excused themselves from the table. They resumed their conversations standing up and walking about the house, moving from person to person, subject to subject.
Ivan and Latianna were grateful to slip out the back door. There was a little rock garden path that led to a bench swing in the back yard. Ivan and Latianna sat down next to each other. He put his arm around her and smiled smugly to himself. Latianna breathed in a deep breath and slowly let it out into the night. Her breath drifted up into the stars as she laid her head upon Ivan's shoulder and gazed up at his stunning blue-green eyes. She then followed his gaze up to the stars.
“They've always reminded me of fireflies,” she stated, snuggling her head down in Ivan's chest.
“What?”
“The stars, they remind me of fireflies.”
“That's a lot of fireflies.”
“Yes, but I've always loved them. I wanted to be one when I was younger, a star. What I wouldn't give to be a firefly in the sky, contained by nothing but its own limitless boundaries,” Latianna said, paused for a moment and then breathed another heavy sigh out into the night.
“How long have you felt that way?” Ivan asked her, squeezing her hand gently.
“What way?”
“How long have you felt trapped, Latianna?”
“All my life. I can't remember a moment when I ever felt free or alive in any way,” Ivan paused, not knowing what to say or do. He wished he could empathize with Latianna's feeling, but he had never known what it was like to not be alive.
“That meal was amazing,” Ivan stated, clearing his throat.
“It was difficult to make, it always is. It's not hard because of the recipes, but because I know that after the people indulge in what will be the greatest meal of their life, they are going to die or become vampires,” Latianna said, holding back the tears that wanted so badly to stream down her face.
“Latianna, there is nothing you or I can do about it right now. We must patiently wait our turn. After tonight you will never have to worry about hosting another dinner party in your life,” Ivan promised.
“I always thought they were tacky anyways,” Latianna said with a giggle, trying to make fun of the situation to ease the pain of knowing she was participating in a murder party.
“What about dancing? Is ther
e dancing at these dinner parties?” Ivan asked, looking at Latianna.
“I only saw dancing once. My parents said there would be no dancing here. They were afraid that I would fall in love with you if I were to dance with you. I guess I fell for you anyways,” Latianna said with a smile and a giggle that was short lived.
“Have you ever danced with anybody before?” Ivan asked, turning so he and Latianna were face to face.
“Only in my dreams,” Latianna said with a faraway look upon her face, as if she was remembering a memory of dancing with Ivan in a dream once upon a time. But, that was impossible. She only knew Ivan for a few days, and she had not dreamt of him after meeting him. Was it possible she'd dreamed of dancing with this boy, whom she loved dearly, before even meeting him?
“How about I change that?” Ivan said with a smile, standing up, and taking Latianna’s hand in his. “May I have this dance?” he asked, kissing her hand with a light touch.
“Here? Now? But there is no music,” Latianna said with a smile upon her face.
“No music? But can thou not hear thy sweet music of the stars that so gently plucks thee strings of thy yonder angel’s heart? Fair lady, open your ears and listen with your heart to hear thy sweet, tender music that surrounds us.”
Latianna smiled as Ivan pulled her onto her feet. She placed her hand on his shoulder and entwined her other hand in his. How they seemed to fit perfectly together. Ivan’s fingers filled the spaces not only in her hand, but in her heart as well. He pulled her closer to him, so their chests pressed together, and slowly he started to move his feet and lead her, dancing around under the stars in the night sky. Latianna felt warm streams of tears make their path down her gentle, pale face. The emotions flowed through her and into the dance. Emotions of fear of the possibility of losing Ivan later that night, emotions of happiness and love that she felt when she was with Ivan, and emotions of immense gratefulness that she had finally found Ivan when she most needed him all flowed out into the dance as they danced under the night sky.
They danced and danced until their feet were sore and their heads were dizzy with thoughts. Growing too tired to move her feet, Latianna rested her head on Ivan's shoulder and slowly swayed back and forth, barely shuffling her feet.
“I never want this moment to end,” Ivan whispered in her ear.
“I never want us to end,” Latianna replied, her voice flowing and beautiful.
“I promise that we will never part. From this moment on, I never want to be away from you and I never will. My heart will forever be with yours,” Ivan said, wiping away the tears from Latianna’s eyes, and drawing her in for one last kiss before they joined the dinner party again.
3
Gracey walked to the Riverwolf Pass hospital and into the emergency room. No, she was not hurt, nor did she need help. Her mind was fine and not crazy like her fiancé's. It was just that Grace Yancy could not imagine that the love of her life just went crazy like that for no reason. To keep herself from going crazy, she had to check up on one thing.
“Excuse me?” Gracey asked in a very quiet, barely heard tone.
“How can I help you?” the nurse asked politely.
“I was wondering if everything went well with Ms. Anna Beth Hanly earlier this evening. I was unable to reach her on the phone so I decided to check here,” Gracey explained.
“Of course, just let me check,” the nurse replied, rapidly typing on the computer’s keyboard. Gracey noted that her name was Penelope. What a pretty name, Gracey thought to herself as she looked around the hospital. Her mind whirled with thoughts of how to defend her husband-to-be and, she also couldn't help but to think of vampires. She never read much about vampires. They never called her to them in the same way they called him to them.
“I am afraid there has been a misunderstanding of some sort. Ms. Anna Beth Hanly never checked in this evening,” the nurse, Penelope, replied. She looked up at Gracey with narrowed eyes, suspecting that this may be a prank of some sort.
“Forgive me then, she must have decided that it was not that bad and taken care of it herself,” Gracey said, smiling politely. She walked out of the building, clutching her purse just a little tighter. Was Mr. White was right? Were the Dyebukos, in fact, vampires? But how could that be? How could that possibly be? Vampires were not real. They were a legend of folklore, horror tales and, a figment of authors' imaginations. They could not possibly be real… could they?
4
When Ivan and Latianna entered the house again, they were surprised to discover that it was half past midnight. At first, they saw no one in the house. Then they heard a few divergent voices coming from the den.
“Please, they are almost all gone now, Ivan you have to go. Go and get the stakes,” Latianna said in a near silenced tone. Ivan could barely hear her and counted on his lip reading ability to figure out what she was saying. “If I can fool them that I killed you, they will think it to be true. You can show back up and surprise them all. Please Ivan, go now!” Latianna demanded and pleaded all at the same time.
“Okay, okay, I am going,” Ivan said.
“Do not take your car, I am sorry but you have to walk,” Latianna said, fearfully.
“Walk? That will take me forever!” Ivan protested.
“I am sorry, truly I am, but you must hurry!” Latianna said, begging Ivan to leave at this point. She could hear the voices getting closer and closer.
“Okay, I am gone,” Ivan said, and went out the front door.
“Latianna!” Mr. Dyebuko exclaimed as he and Mrs. Harvey walked into the living room.
“Father! Mrs. Harvey, how nice to see you again,” Latianna said, thinking fast.
“My, has everybody else gone home?” Mrs. Harvey asked, hand on her heart as her eyes wandered around the room.
“I guess so, I just saw Ivan out,” Latianna said, winking at her father.
“Oh my, I guess I'd better find my husband! I do suppose I should get going myself. He must be around here somewhere...” Mrs. Harvey said stretching her arms in the air and letting out a yawn. From behind Mrs. Harvey, Latianna saw her father bare his fangs and smile at her. His eyes glinted yellow, and his face became pallid. His eye sockets seemed to sink deep into his skin and his forehead became wrinkled.
The sight of her father transforming again, caused Latianna's heart to race. Her mind stung with regret and fear. Her heart lurched toward Mrs. Harvey and she suddenly found herself willing to do anything to save her life. She thought about how devastated Ivan would be when he found out his parents were dead. Why hadn't she thought of this sooner? With enough hard though, she remembered her mother compelling her to forget. She felt more hatred toward her parents than she'd ever felt before.
She started to protest, but her father sunk his fangs into Mrs. Harvey before she could say a word. Mrs. Harvey's scream echoed in her ears. She'd forgotten how to breath and a horrible feeling of guilt filled her insides as she watched Mrs. Harvey's eyes slowly become motionless. Latianna’s ears rang like a telephone after Mrs. Harvey dropped dead at her feet. Latianna felt like screaming herself, horrified to see someone dead lying in front of her. She felt like she was going to be sick and her mind started to whirl with fear.
“So tell me, Latianna, how did you kill that boy Ivan? I do presume he is dead,” her father said to her.
“We were outside,” Latianna said, snapping back into reality. She knew what she had to do, had to say. Trying to fake being a vampire who had just made their first kill was anything but easy. How was a vampire supposed to feel after its first kill anyways? Happy? Still hungry? Scared? Latianna had no clue of how to act or what to say, and yet, Ivan’s life depended on her to make it seem real.
“Yes, yes, and then? How did you get him close enough to you? Or did you come up behind him?” Mr. Dyebuko asked inquisitively.
“We were dancing without music. I did not want to kill as you probably could have guessed, but
oh! we were so close and I could smell his blood,” Latianna lied through her teeth, trying her best to put a strained hunger look upon her face. “I could not help myself, papa, I killed him. I sank my teeth into his soft, warm flesh and felt the blood rush into my mouth. It was warm and tasted better than anything I could ever cook!” Latianna said, getting lost in the story, pain rising up in her heart and to her chest. She could hardly bear the thought of killing Ivan, and if it had not have been for his life, she would have broken down in tears at the mere thought of Ivan dying.
“Then he collapsed at my feet, the same way his mother just did. When I saw him like that, I no longer had any feelings of love for him. All I loved was his blood. So I cut off his head and killed him. I took him off into the woods and left him there. If the cops ever find him they will think an animal tore him apart,” Latianna said, attempting to sound pleased. Her father beamed with joy and her mother entered the room.
“I heard it all and I want you to know that I am very proud of you, Latianna,” she said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder. “Now can you help us get all of the bodies down into the root cellar?”
“Yes mother,” Latianna said with a smile, grabbing Mrs. Harvey's body, silently giving an apology. She restrained from grimacing, it was hard, but she thought of Ivan and the rest came easily to her.
“Thank you, Latianna, there are more in the study and the kitchen, of course,” Mr. Dyebuko said, and the smile on his face showed that he was incredibly proud of his daughter.
5
Ivan made his way through the winding dirt road that led down to the town of Riverwolf Pass, jumping at every noise the night had to offer. For fear vampires would hear him, Ivan did not run. However, he did walk very, very quickly. His mind whirled along with the bitter wind that sank its talons into Ivan’s skin. So many people changed into vampires earlier that evening. How many vampires were contained? Had Chad escaped from Ivan’s closet? Was the vampire that attacked Chad roaming the streets in the nighttime? Was Ivan in danger of a vampire attacking him and the only protection he had was the crucifix that hung around his neck? Would the crucifix even work if – God forbid – he did actually come across a vampire? Of course it would, Ivan told himself over and over again. But there was always that doubt in his mind, which scared him. In all the good books and cool movies he saw about vampires, the crucifix or cross always worked against vampires and other creatures of the night. But in some, only if the person truly believed it would work. But could either theory be true?
All these questions flew through Ivan’s mind. He begged them to stop, he begged for some sort of sanity to take place in his mind. He did not want to end up like Mr. White, in the crazy wing of the hospital. No, he could not end up like that. But, he needed to let somebody know that Mr. White was correct in his thinking. Ivan could not rightfully go and announce it to the public. They would lock Ivan up if he went and did that, and Ivan knew it.
Ivan tried not to think of vampires and Mr. White as he made his way, a little bit faster, down the dirt road. He was ready to hit the town of Riverwolf Pass. He was ready to see the blinking traffic lights and he was ready to hear the low, dull, buzz of the streetlights above. He was ready to go get his stakes from under the bush that was directly below his bedroom window. He was even ready to see his little sister smiling, and his parents yelling at him for being late.
His parents… did Mr. or Mrs. Dyebuko kill them at the dinner party? No! God no! Please God, no! Yes, Ivan’s parents got on his last nerve a lot. But, Ivan had no idea what he would do without them. He felt his throat close up and his stomach lurched inside of him. He started to run and instantly broke out into a cold sweat. His throat burned with every breath he took and his eyes burned from the tears. They could not be dead! Oh, please do not let them be dead. His little sister, Christina, needed them, he needed them, they both needed them and they weren't going to be there. They would miss everything! They would never get a chance to meet Latianna as his girlfriend! Christina would need her mommy when she started dating and thinking about boys. Ivan did not know what he would do if his parents were not home to take care of little Christina. He knew he would not be able to leave Christina on her own, without any family to take care of her. His parents could not be dead!
Ivan, though he did not realize it at the time, was running through the night, down the dark street that twisted and deviously winded its way down Utopia Point, to the town of Riverwolf Pass. He ran and he ran. He ran until he saw the paved street they called King Street, the main street of the little town of Riverwolf Pass. He ran on the paved road until he saw the blinking traffic light. He ran on until the sidewalk seemed like it would roll out from under him if he were going any faster. He ran all the way to his house; where he thrust open the front door. It banged against the wall and Ivan thought that it would most likely leave a hole in the wall.
“Mom! Dad! Mom? Dad?” he screamed, searching the house frantically for his parents. He knew they weren't there, but a small part inside of him hoped for an answer to his plea. He yearned to hear his parents voices. He yearned to see them again.
“MOM!? DAD!?” he screamed, falling to his knees and breaking down into tears. How could Mr. and Mrs. Dyebuko kill his parents like that? They knew that they had two children, one who was just a little baby girl, no older than four years of age.
“How could you?” Ivan asked out to no one, his voice barely detectible. “HOW COULD YOU?” he screamed louder now, hanging his head and letting the tears flow out from his eyes relentlessly.
He sat there for a very long time, listening to the nothingness fill the house. Minutes ticked by and he didn't care. He knew he had to do something, but he couldn't remember what and he couldn't move. He didn't want to. The minutes turn to hours and he was finally regaining a consciousness. Anger filled his body. He was going to get back at Mr. and Mrs. Dyebuko. He was going to kill them, both of them, painfully and slowly. He was going to make them suffer just like he and his little sister would suffer for the rest of their lives because of them. Because of the horrendous Mr. and Mrs. Dyebuko. He was going to torture them until they begged to die, and then he was going to torture them some more. They were going to pay. They were going to pay for every single soul, every single mother, every single father, every single son and daughter, every single grandson and granddaughter they had taken out of this world. They were going to pay! Oh! were they going to pay.
“Ivan?” a small voice came from behind him. Ivan stood up, his fists clenched, the tears had stopped and been replaced with an undying anger inside of him. He turned to see Chad standing there.
“How long have you been there?” Ivan asked, taking in a deep breath.
“A long time. A while ago I broke the lock on your closet door,” Chad replied. “Sorry, man,” he added after a second. Ivan nodded his head.
“'S okay,” Ivan quietly muttered.
“What's the plan?” Chad asked after another long bout of silence. “I'm still just a half-vamp, in case you were wondering.”
“We have to go... I need your help for this,” Ivan said.
“I can't help you... half vampires can't kill full ones,” Chad said in his small voice.
“I don't need your help with that... I have the killing part down. I need you to just come with me. I don't want to be alone right now,” Ivan said. Chad nodded and followed as Ivan ran out the door, slamming it shut behind him, just as the cuckoo clock struck 5:00AM.