Chapter Fourteen
1
They took Ivan's dad's shiny black motorcycle. He had never let Ivan drive it before and boy, did it feel good to Ivan to drive it at last. He'd ridden a couple of his friends' motorcycles after school, but the power was nothing compared to his father's bike. The wind in his hair, speeding through town, the rush it gave you, it all felt so good. It was the adrenaline rush Ivan needed to prepare for the fight against Mr. and Mrs. Dyebuko.
They came to a stop at the church. Ivan did not care if it was a sin to break down the church door. If anything, it should be a sin to have a locked church. Not to mention, practically nobody in that town was alive to judge him.
After struggling with the sledgehammer Ivan had so carefully and thoughtfully packed in his backpack, he broke down the church door. He and Chad filled up their squirt guns and canteens full of holy water. Ivan prayed to God that it would work. He prayed to God all of what he had planned tonight would work. It had to! It was going to, Ivan told himself. However, doubt filled his mind like a plague.
The moon was gone from the sky as they drove up the driveway to the Dyebuko’s manor. The sun was yet to come up. It was that point where it was the darkest, and Ivan and Chad both suddenly felt unprotected when they approached the doors to the mansion. Ivan's hand bounced up and down uncontrollably. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and took a deep breath of the night air. His head stung and he suddenly wished he'd planned this out more. He no longer wanted to go through with this. He couldn't move! And yet, his heart told him that he had to. For Latianna, for his little sister, Christina, for his dead parents, for Chad, and for everyone who had their life taken from them at that dinner party. He had to do it, if for no one else, for himself.
He held his squirt gun in one hand and a stake in the other. He had more stakes and squirt guns filled with holy water in his backpack and easily accessible, as did Chad. Ivan nodded toward Chad and Chad nodded back. Ivan kicked his leg at the door to knock it down. The only thing he knocked down was himself. Ivan shot a nasty look at Chad, as he watched his best friend suppress a laugh. Ivan got back up and stood there, in front of the door, for another minute, catching his breath. Surprisingly, door creaked open on its own. It was dark inside that mansion, and Ivan suddenly wished he was three steps back.
He walked in cautiously, looking around the room. Chad mirrored his every move. Ivan saw no one. He knew it must be a trick. He had seen too many horror movies and had read too many horror books to think that no one was there. He would not relax his grip on either the squirt gun or the stake in his hand. He turned around just as the door closed behind him and he saw Mr. Dyebuko standing there.
“Ahh, Ivan, so nice of you to drop by... and I see you've brought yourself a friend,” he said, flipping on the lights. “There, isn’t that better? Now, we can all see each other clearly,” he stated, smiling wickedly. His face was that of a vampire, fangs and all.
“You-you'd better watch it!” Ivan said, trying not to stutter or show his fear at all. He knew that vampires fed off fear, if he didn't fear them, they couldn't toy with his mind. The fact that Mr. Dyebuko was not afraid at all was the main reason Ivan was down-right terrified.
“Well, well, well, Ivan, Chad, you know, if I did not know any better, I would say that you two think I'm a vampire,” Mr. Dyebuko said, smiling.
“I know what you are. You are a good-for-nothing vampire. You killed my parents,” Ivan said, putting his fist through the wall. He winced and then stopped himself. He didn't care if it hurt. He looked down and saw his cracked knuckles, bleeding everywhere.
Ivan glanced at Chad. His face was grimaced. It only took Ivan a moment to realize that Chad was struggling to keep his vampire side under control. The smell of Ivan's blood couldn't be easy for him.
“Now, now, Ivan, let us not be so rash. After all, if you are certain I am a vampire you would not want to make me mad, now would you?” Mr. Dyebuko asked.
“I don't care what you think or how you feel. You killed my parents and you are going to pay!” Ivan said; ready to pull the trigger of the squirt gun at any given moment.
“Now, now,” Mr. Dyebuko said raising his hand. “All in good time, my boy, all in good time. Tell me, why are you doing this?”
“For multiple reasons,” Ivan said, trying to contain his anger. He knew he could kill Dyebuko now. He knew that if this were a movie people would be yelling at their screens “just kill him already!” Nevertheless, he could not do that. He just could not do it. No, it wasn’t that he was such a good person that he could not bring himself to kill somebody. He could kill that son of a bitch right there, and right then, if he wanted to. But he did not want to kill him right there and right then. He wanted Mr. Dyebuko to suffer like he made his daughter suffer for sixteen years. He wanted Mr. Dyebuko to suffer like he made families suffer when he killed someone at a dinner party of his. He wanted Mr. Dyebuko to suffer like he and Christina were going to suffer for the next few years, if not the rest of their lives. He wanted Mr. Dyebuko to suffer like nobody had ever suffered before.
“Ivan... I'm having a little trouble here,” Chad's weak voice came.
“Just hang in there, it'll all be over in a minute,” Ivan promised.
“I can't!” Chad's voice was deep and dark. Ivan wheeled around just in time to see Chad's fangs penetrate his gums. Chad tossed his head back and bared his fangs. He looked at Ivan in a way that told him it was a mistake to bring Chad along. Ivan thought fast and threw a stake into Chad's arm. Ivan knew it wouldn't be enough to kill him, but it would wound him and bring him back to reality. It did. Chad grabbed his arm and shouted out in pain.
“You didn't have to do that,” Chad said angrily.
“Yes, I did,” Ivan said, turning back around to face Mr. Dyebuko. “You see what I'm capable of,” Ivan stated, looking him dead in the eye. The fear had turned to anger.
“Well, you seem dead set on killing me, Ivan, if you catch my drift,” Mr. Dyebuko definitively said. A bad pun. Ivan had come to slay the vampire, and the vampire was making puns. “I would at least like to know why,” he said, sitting down at the table, motioning for Ivan to sit down too. Ivan was not going to relinquish the advantage he had on Mr. Dyebuko. He was going to keep his squirt gun firmly aimed at him.
“Very well, you do not have to sit. I would just like to know why you want so badly to kill me.”
“You made Latianna suffer for all these years, caught between a human - what she wants to be - and a vampire! I love your daughter, Mr. Dyebuko, and I am going to set her free from her vampiric form. She will be human again and go off with me.”
“You really love her that much?” Mr. Dyebuko said with a rising suspicion in his tone.
“Yes!” Ivan said strongly.
“Well then, you do not want to kill me quite yet. You see, it did not take long for me to discover Latianna was lying to me about killing you. Vampires have this way of knowing whether one is a half vampire or a full vampire. She is in a rather dangerous situation right now and I am the only one who knows where she is,” Mr. Dyebuko said with a sly smile upon his face.
“Tell me or I swear to God I will-”
“You will what, Ivan? Squirt me with your little squirt gun? Kill me? No, you will not kill me, at least not yet… not until you know where your beloved Latianna is captive. Trust me, she is in a very detrimental situation. You do not want to go screwing things up.”
“I warn you, this squirt gun is not as harmless as it looks!” Ivan said, daringly.
“Oh really? Elaborate for me, please,” Mr. Dyebuko said, tilting his head to the side just slightly.
“This squirt gun is filled with holy water, I spray it at you and you burn,” Ivan said, standing his ground firmly.
“Oh really? You don’t say?” Mr. Dyebuko said with a chuckle.
“Tell me where she is or I will-” Ivan pulled the trigger on the squirt gun. His aim w
as off kilter. It missed Mr. Dyebuko by a long shot. Through all the pain, Chad broke out in a laughter. He pulled out his own squirt gun and hit Mr. Dyebuko right in the middle of his eyes.
“Don't get so shaken up, Ivan. If you're gonna do this, do it right,” Chad said, standing up and removing the stake from his arm. Ivan nodded, and focused on Mr. Dyebuko.
“See, nothing happened,” Mr. Dyebuko said with a smile. “Now listen, son, even if you, by some slim chance, had hit me, it would not have worked... just like it didn't work with Chad here. I admire your courage and seemingly vast knowledge on vampires. Would you believe that some teenagers actually think that vampires sparkle in the sun?” Mr. Dyebuko asked with a laugh. Chad scoffed and then winced in pain because of his arm. “You see, holy water does work… but only if the vampire is out of its dwelling, it's home, it's house,” Mr. Dyebuko stood up from the table and began to walk toward Ivan. He dropped his squirt gun and took out a small, pencil-sized stake.
“Give me that!” Mr. Dyebuko said, trying to snatch the stake away from Ivan. Ivan, thinking fast, stuck the pencil into Mr. Dyebuko’s hand. Mr. Dyebuko screamed in pain and his eyes turned red and bloodshot. His face became hard and angry. Ivan could see the blood veins under Mr. Dyebuko’s skin. They looked like they were going to burst out of his skin any second. Ivan became fully aware that this would not kill Mr. Dyebuko, just temporarily hurt him.
“Tell me where she is,” Ivan demanded.
“You could torture me all night and I wouldn't tell you,” Mr. Dyebuko said in a rage of laughter. Ivan knew it would be no use to keep asking him. Ivan knew that he needed time. In order to get that time, he had to kill Mr. Dyebuko right then and there. He reached in his backpack and pulled out the largest stake that he had.
“Oh, are you getting all brave again, with your wooden stake?” Mr. Dyebuko asked in a mocking tone.
“Go to Hell, Mr. Dyebuko,” Ivan said, his face expressionless as he drove the stake through Mr. Dyebuko's heart. His face scrunched up and he grabbed his heart where the stake was. He attempted to pull it out, but gagged each time he tried. He fell to the floor, gasping for air and trying to grab Ivan's feet. Ivan stood there and watched, feeling proud of himself. Chad stood there in disbelief. His mouth gaped open and his eyes didn't blink. Finally, Mr. Dyebuko fell limp and motionless. His body laid there, still and dead. His eyes were bloodshot and open. His face no longer looked like a vampire's, but more a human's. His fangs fell to the floor and turned to dust.
Ivan stood there, unable to stop looking at the dead body. I did it, Ivan thought to himself. I thought it'd be harder, but it wasn't. I did it... I killed him... I really did. His thoughts of life, free with Latianna flowed through his mind with ease. He'd forgotten that she could be in danger. He might not have remembered, until it would be too late, had it not been for Chad's small voice breaking the still silence.
“Ivan?” he croaked, his voice sounding small and hoarse.
“Yes?”
“I don't feel any different,” Chad said.
“Give it a minute. I just killed him. I killed him. I did it, Chad, I really did it,” Ivan said. He felt proud of himself. He could hardly believe that he'd done it.
“Ivan, something's wrong. And what about Latianna?” Chad asked.
“Oh my God! Latianna! I completely forgot. We have to find her. She's going to be so proud of me. I killed the head vampire,” Ivan said, jumping up and looking around.
“She'll only be somewhat proud of you,” a very docile voice came from the stairwell. Ivan turned to see Mrs. Dyebuko standing there, smiling at both him and Chad.
“Listen, you don't need to get involved in this. You can live your happy-go-lucky, I'm a vampire life if you just tell me where Latianna is,” Ivan said, pointing his squirt gun at her.
“I'm afraid you'll be back for me, seeing as neither Chad nor Latianna are fully human again,” she said, her voice as sweet as molasses.
“I get it, it takes a little time,” Ivan said. But he had his doubts... especially with watching Chad's face turn into a vampire's again.
“Actually, the effect should be immediate,” Mrs. Dyebuko enlightened.
“Then why hasn't it worked?” Ivan asked, not quite piecing it together.
“Because Mr. Dyebuko was not the head vampire, darling,” Mrs. Dyebuko replied in a harsher tone. “He was merely my cover-up, my protection, I'll be damned if I even loved him,” Mrs. Dyebuko said with a very wide smile. Her smile revealed her fangs. She wound her way down the stairwell, trailing her petite hands down the golden railing. “And now, Ivan, you will die,” she whispered softly into his ear. Ivan turned to face her.
“Oh shit!” Chad exclaimed. His hands were wrapped in his hair and he took in a deep breath. As far as Ivan could tell, he didn't breath it out.
“Don't worry... I got this,” Ivan said with a smirk as he dropped his squirt gun on accident.
“Holy shit! Ivan get on it,” Chad demanded.
Ivan searched around for his gun full of holy water, which Mrs. Dyebuko had kicked out of the way. Her delicate laughter rang in Ivan's ears as he searched for his lost gun. He finally found it and rushed out the door. He stood there in the front yard as he watched Chad race out of the house.
“Good God that woman is scary,” he exclaimed, grabbing on to Ivan's arm.
“Stand back, Chad. I'm gonna take her down,” Ivan said. His eyes rested on the doors. He was ready and waiting. He knew what had to be done and he was going to do it. He wondered what time it was as he glanced at the dimly lit sky. The sun was yet to peer over the mountains. He could still make out a few stars, but not as many as there were when he and Latianna danced earlier.
Mrs. Dyebuko stepped onto the porch, her heels clacking on the old rotting wood.
“You can run, but you can't hide. You started this, Ivan Harvey, and I'm here to end it,” she exclaimed, her voice sounding rather venomous. Ivan knew that he had better bring his A-game when fighting this vampire. There would be no more calm smooth-going conversations with her. This was a fight… a fight to the death.
“Ivan Harvey! Oh, do you have it coming to you!” she said, flying down the porch stairs and into the front yard where Ivan stood. He heard Chad gasp and stop breathing again. The sound of Mrs. Dyebuko’s voice sent fear into Ivan’s veins. He did not want to fight this vampire anymore. But he had to. Latianna was depending on him. He needed to do this for her. And as much as he didn't want to finish the job, he knew he was obligated to.
Mrs. Dyebuko stood inches from Ivan’s face. Ivan fearfully froze in place. Mrs. Dyebuko stretched her hand out and placed it on Ivan's forehead. Her fingernails burned into Ivan's skin. He screamed out into the vast nothingness that surrounded them.
“Ivan, do something,” Chad screamed at him. Ivan didn't know what Chad expected him to do. He was scared stiff. He couldn't think to do anything.
“I’m going to make you suffer like you have never imagined,” Mrs. Dyebuko promised, wrapping her hands around Ivan’s neck.
Ivan carefully aimed his squirt gun – the best he could – and pulled the trigger. Mrs. Dyebuko jumped back in pain, screaming so loud that it made Ivan's ears ring. The holy water left blisters on the skin where it had hit Mrs. Dyebuko. Ivan aimed the squirt gun again, this time at Mrs. Dyebuko’s face and pulled the trigger relentlessly.
“This is for Latianna!” Ivan screamed. “And this is for killing my parents… This is for my little sister, Christina who is now a four-year-old girl with no parents… This is for all the people you killed tonight at the dinner party… This is for my friend Chad… This is for all the people you have ever killed in your entire life… and this-” Ivan screamed, lunging towards Mrs. Dyebuko and sticking a stake on the right side of her chest. “Is for me! Feel the pain, Mrs. Dyebuko, feel it and suffer!” Ivan said, twisting the stake around in Mr. Dyebuko’s chest. The vampire stuttered, her tongue clicked and she fell still, silen
t and still. Ivan stood up, his heart thudding, his forehead burned. He turned around to face the mountainside. Where was Latianna? The thought gushed through his head and panic filled his heart.
“Ivan, look out!” Chad screamed. Ivan felt a cold, wet hand on his shoulder.
“Wrong....eh.... side!” Mrs. Dyebuko said slowly, straining to laugh. She stood with quite some strain for a vampire, but stood never the less. “The heart… is… on the… left side.” Mrs. Dyebuko laughed through a strained breath. Ivan let out a scream as she thrust him to the ground, knocking his squirt gun out of reach. Ivan fumbled around his jacket for another stake, but wasn't quick enough. Mrs. Dyebuko was on top of him, batting his face back and forth with those long fingernails.
Ivan could feel the warm blood streak across his face in the cool breeze.
“How does it feel to be eighteen, Ivan?” Mrs. Dyebuko asked, stabbing her fingers in Ivan's side. Ivan screamed and choked on his own blood. He coughed and spat up blood. His vision was getting spotted and his thoughts were too distant to be conscious. Ivan could barely make out Mrs. Dyebuko removing the stake from her chest.
“Happy Birthday, Ivan!” Mrs. Dyebuko laughed as she thrust the stake into Ivan's ribcage. Ivan could feel the wood penetrating his skin. He could feel the ribs breaking. He could feel his breathing get heavier. He could feel the splinters gliding through his insides. He lurched forward as his stomach gave a sudden upheaval. He spat blood, he couldn't breathe. All he could feel was pain, all he could see was black. Chad's voice drown in the background and all memory was gone.
Why was he doing this? Why was he in so much pain? He was going to die. But why? What did he do? Why did he do it? Who was this woman? And why couldn't he remember anything? He could feel his tears mix with his blood. He could feel himself creeping farther and farther into an unconscious world of black. He just wanted to escape the pain. He had no reason to go on. The fight was lost... he couldn't remember the cause. He didn't care anymore. He just wanted it to be over.
“Kill me,” he pleaded, as his body lurched again and he felt a warm liquid escape his lips. It tasted odd... like salt and metal. He couldn't remember where he'd tasted it before... blood... that was it... he was dying. Someone was killing him. But why? What did he do?
“Kill you?” A voice repeated in question.
“Please,” Ivan begged, his voice squeaked and he was surprised that any noise escaped his lips.
“Noooo!” Another voice came from the distance. Ivan couldn't remember who it belonged to, though it sounded vaguely familiar.
“Who said anything about killing you? I'm gonna make you suffer. I'm gonna let you live just long enough, that you realize it was all for nothing. I'm gonna let you live until you realize that despite your best efforts, you and Latianna both will die.” Latianna! That was it. That was his reason. She was why he was doing this. She was his reason to live. She was the cause of this fight. She was his. All his. He just had to win. He would set her free.
Ivan's eyes flashed open. He stood up, grunting and pushing himself to do so. Blood seemed to pour out from everywhere. He reached down and removed the stake from his ribcage. His breathing was hard and uneven. He knew he needed help, but first he had to finish this.
“You're pathetic!” Mrs. Dyebuko snapped. “I thought at least you'd learn when your time had come.”
“Oh yeah? Well, the sun will be coming up any moment, Mrs. Dyebuko, and then what will happen to you?” Ivan said with an insane laughter. He got up in Mrs. Dyebuko's face and said, “You're gonna burn like hell.”
“You know what else will happen the moment that sun comes up?” Mrs. Dyebuko asked, a smile on her face. “Your beloved Latianna… she will die,” Mrs. Dyebuko said.
“Where is she?” Ivan asked, urgent fear in his voice. He winced and clutched his side. He spoke suddenly, with rushed words.
“She is locked in the root cellar with all the dead victims. All of them will be full vampires when the sun rises… whether I am dead or not. They have already tasted blood; I made sure of that. When that sun rises they will awaken and be thirsty. And just guess who the only food source will be? That's right, your beloved Latianna,” Mrs. Dyebuko said with a light laugh. Ivan lifted his foot and pushed her to the ground. Ivan could no longer stop the tears from rolling down his face.
“You bitch! You dirty bitch!” Ivan screamed, stabbing Mrs. Dyebuko in the left side of the chest repetitively. Ivan saw the dawn peaking over the mountains, the golden glint that lightened the first minute of the daytime. Ivan strained to reach around to his backpack. He grabbed the handle of the ax. It weighed him to the ground. He lifted it high above his head, stretching the skin from his wounds. The ax came down quick and sharp, decapitating Mrs. Dyebuko.
“Oh my God. Oh my God. Shit, man, you killed her. You did! You did it! I feel different,” Chad was saying. Ivan didn't have time for Chad's obvious realizations. Ivan ran to the back of the house and found the root cellar door locked.
“Help me! Help me, please. Dear God, help me,” Latianna screamed, banging on the root cellar door. Ivan could hear the slow screeches and scratches the vampires were making.
“I'm here, Latianna! I am here,” Ivan screamed, throwing himself down on the root cellar door. Wincing in pain and coughing up more blood.
“Oh thank God. Ivan, help me! Get me out of here,” she screamed over and over again.
“Back away from the door, sweetheart, I’m going to bust the padlock on this thing,” Ivan said, swinging the ax back in his hands. He fell backward to the ground with a hard thud. He doubled over and coughed once more. He stood again, with great effort, remembering every second he'd spent with Latianna. He crashed the ax down and missed the lock by a few inches. It hit the door, but not hard enough to break the wood.
“IVAN!” Latianna’s scared scream came from inside the root cellar.
“I am working on it,” Ivan huffed, taking another swing… another miss… How hard could it be to hit a stupid padlock?
“Work harder. Ivan, please help me. Oh God, Ivan. Ivan Harvey, oh God, please, please, please, Ivan. Help me!”
“I am going to help you, Latianna,” Ivan said exasperatedly, his heart raced and nearly beat out of his chest. He swung the ax one last time, this time, hitting the padlock. It didn't break.
“Please hurry,” Latianna begged. Ivan couldn't hold himself any longer, he fell down on the door with a hard thud. Tears filled his eyes. He'd almost won. He'd almost succeeded. But, it'd all been for nothing. His vision was patched again. He coughed with such strain, that he thought it would be easier if he suffocated, right then and there. It was no use after all. There was no hope. The doom was no longer impending. The doom was upon them. The doom they'd been dreading was here... knocking at the door and laughing in their faces. Ivan's feeble attempts had been foolish. How could he have truly believed it would all work? Had he ever really believed? No. He was captivated by infatuation. The idea of being in love. Even if it had been true love, it was worthless now. He needed to give up. It was useless. Everything was useless.
“Ivan?” He could hear Latianna's sobs, they filled his heart with sorrow. He could not go on.
“Move over, man, let me try,” Chad's voice echoed in his ears. He couldn't move, though he felt someone push him out of the way.
“You helped me, man, I help you. That's the way it works.” The deep voice drown in his ears. Little black dots corroded his vision as he drifted in and out of consciousness, liking being unconscious more. The loud thwack of the ax brought him back every time it hit the door, hopelessly.
“Please don't give up. Please don't give up now, Ivan.” He opened his eyes, and through his vision he saw a tiny sparkle glinting in the misty morning sun. That was when Ivan knew what to do. He vigorously started to paw at the hinges.
“I'm trying,” Ivan croaked, coughing more and more.
“Move over, man, I'll get the other,” Chad offered,
catching on and dropping the ax.
“Just do it. NOW!” Latianna screamed at him from below the root cellar’s door. Ivan removed the last hinge and ripped the door off. Latianna clambered out and lied there on the ground panting. Ivan watched as the sun, that just barely peaked over the mountains, shown down into the root cellar, and burned up the vampires. The blaze was almost too much for Ivan’s eyes to handle, but he knelt and watched every last one of them burn to a crisp. He cried as his parents screamed out in fear and pain as the sun penetrated them. He cried as one of them stretched out its hand towards him, as if begging for help. Ivan Harvey cried the entire time. As soon as his father crumbled, Ivan hit the ground with a hard thud. And he escaped into a world of deep, dark, vast nothingness.