Mia Luce

Precautions

I shrieked and tripped over backwards, crashing into the closet door. There was a thunderous bang as it flew open and I landed, sprawled, on the carpet.

"Sshh!" snarled a voice, cupping an icy cold hand over my mouth. My frightened eyes found the face of Jack Lewis standing over me. I sprung instantly to my feet.

"What are you doing?!" I cried.

"SSHH!" he growled, even more harshly. I gazed fearfully at my door, waiting for Vanessa or my dad to come bursting in, but nothing happened. Such loving, caring parents I have.

"How did you get in here?" I whispered, advancing on him. He sensed danger and backed away. It was strange to see him standing there on my rug. Almost like watching an angel beg on a streetcorner.

"I climbed through the window," he answered, like it was a hobby all teenagers engaged in regularly. "You know that maple tree? I climbed it and jumped through the window." He shrugged. "It was easy."

I rushed over to it and peered outside. "That tree must be fifty feet away!"

"Vampire," he reminded me again, with a beautiful smirk.

"I really wish you had iron deficiency anemia," I replied. He laughed. There was a long pause until I said, "So..."

"Did you hear about Leah Lawrence?" He asked, immediately sullen. He sat on the edge of my unmade bed, staring at the alarm clock.

"Yeah. and I wanted to talk to you about that." I placed myself nest to him, a little closer than he would have allowed before. It made me happy when he didn't scoot away.

"You honestly can't think..." he accused, and I glimpsed shock and hurt in his eyes, "because no, I had nothing to do with this!"

He was touchy on this subject. Had someone accused him? "I'm sorry. I was just worried, you know?" I babbled.

He didn't listen, but gazed absentmindedly out the window. I thought I heard him mutter, "Sun..."

"Are you okay?" I asked, worry dotting my voice.

"I'm fine, Campbell. I'm sorry for snapping at you." His eyes softened, and I noticed a little dab of green around his pupils. I had never seen that before. When I was too entranced to speak, he continued. "We're all just... very stressed right now. This murder... was not ordinary. Her body was mutilated."

I shuddered horribly and tried to shove three hundred images out of my head ay once. "What does that mean?" I asked, not sure if I even wanted to know.

"It means we aren't the only vampires in Maine."

I gasped in fright and felt all color drain from my face. "You mean... a vampire... killed..."

"I don't want you to worry, Campbell," he said quickly. "This vampire... we know there is definitely only one... is not like us. He won't try to blend in with humans, and he will most likely be hidden during the day. From what I know about normal vampires, they just kill because they need nourishment, not because they like killing. And he probably won't come near you or us or your parents because of all the vampire scent around here. He won't want to pick a fight."

"But, how do you-" I stammered.

"I need you to be careful," he interrupted, leaning closer to me. "Even though the chances are he'll stay away from you, be on the lookout for people who look like us. Especially males. We're pretty sure it's a he. Don't go out after dark, especially alone. Please, I'm begging you to watch out for yourself. You seem to attract danger."

"So... so... this vampire isn't going to jump out in the middle of the day and attack?" I asked seriously, trying to comprehend everything he told me. My brain was whirring.

"No. Not if he's smart, which I'm guessing he is, because we haven't caught him yet," Jack responded.

"So you're looking for him? What will you do if you find him?"

He hesitated. "Well, the first step is politely ask him to leave. He knows there are other vampires around, so he might not be staying long anyway."

I stared at the purple and green striped bedcovers. "And if he doesn't leave?"

"If he chooses to fight, he will have no chance," Jack said, his voice turning fiery. "Campbell, we are all going to protect this town to the best of our ability, including you. There is no possible way he could get to you. I... care very much about you. I wish I could be here to protect you every minute of every day."

I stared at him, my heart fluttering ecstatically, my breath short and ragged. I felt like I was going to faint again.

Maybe he sensed my terror of an unknown vampire or my euphoria at what he had just said, because he took my hand in his. I got that same tingly cold feeling as his fingers entwined with mine. My heart was racing more and more as I slowly looked up. His face was merely centimeters from mine. I stopped breathing altogether. He was here, Jack Lewis, in my room, holding my hand, so close...

Then he turned away. My breathing started up again, loud and pathetic. He had caught sight of the black dress lying in a rumpled heap on my bed.

"I'm going to Leah Lawrence's funeral," I muttered. "Lark invited me."

"Me too," Jack responded, still not looking at me. "Well, she invited Hazel, but I'm not going to miss an opportunity to figure out who killed her. If he's dumber than we thought, he might come. And it'll be another chance to watch over you." he stood and crossed over to the window, and I instantly followed. He paused for a moment, then muttered, "Like I said, don't be afraid. You have the best bodyguards on the planet."

Finally he turned around and looked at me. I smiled feebly and whispered, "Thanks you." He slowly raised his white hand and brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. I didn't move; my traitorous heart thumped loudly. I wondered if he could hear it.

"I see things in the future, that... confuse me," he mumbled softly. "Nothing ever seems definite. I'm... not really sure why. I just thought I'd let you know that I'm not a fortune teller and I can't tell you, or anyone, what their life will be like. People can change their minds, decide to go down a different path... but you should know that the future is never set in stone."

And with this, he thrust the window open with one hand, swung his legs over the ledge and dropped out of sight.

I peered below and watched him trot across the lawn to his convertible down the street. I couldn't help but smile when I saw that there was no longer a dent in it. My eyes followed the Corvette as it drove away and I noticed, with a start, that his license plate read "103VAM." I told myself this was a coincidence as my eyes raked the edge of the forest, as if expecting a vampire to emerge at any moment. I pondered what he had told me about his future-seeing ability. Why had he thought it was so important for me to know that the future is never definite? Had he seen something bad in one of his visions?

I decided not to let this thought bug me as I trotted downstairs to make sure life was still going on in this house. My dad was still where I left him, watching ESPN on the giant beige sofa. He didn't notice me until I mumbled, "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, Cam!" he exclaimed, surprised to see me. He grabbed the remote. "Do you want to watch something else? This game is pretty much over."

I glanced at the screen. Apparently Oklahoma was beating Missouri by thirty points in basketball.

For one crazy second, I wanted to tell him about Jack. I felt like I needed to tell someone about how blissful I felt in his presence, about how amazing he was. Then I came to my senses and I couldn't believe I had even had these thoughts.

"That's okay. I just remembered I have History homework." This was partially true. I had already finished my homework, but it wouldn't hurt to check over it. I pulled my sheet of essay questions, History book, and pencil from my bag at the foot of the stairs and sat in the recliner with them.

As I read over my answers, my dad glimpsed at me during commercials when he thought I wasn't looking. Vanessa joined us after a few minutes, frazzled and exhausted. i couldn't figure out what she was getting herself all worked up about. She purposely kept her eyes away from me. I wondered if she knew I knew something.

Later that evening I skipped dinner and went to bed at eight o' clock. There was no logical explanation for why I was so fatigued when I slept until almost the afternoon. Maybe it was iron deficiency anemia. I smiled when my head hit the pillow. I would just have to eat more iron.

***

It was the same, terrifying dream as last time, only one thing was different. I was wandering down a dark hallway, each step cautious and muted by fluffy carpet. The place was oddly familiar, but I couldn't quite figure out where I was. I was holding Jack's hand. It was cold even in my dreams. He stared forward as we walked, his perfect, fair-skinned face set.

Suddenly there was a resounding crash from somewhere below us. I tried to spin around, but Jack held me in a steel grip.

"Campbell, run!" he hissed. He almost threw me forward, and I stumbled into the only place I could go. Into the room. it was the same as before, dark, ominous, one single lightbulb flooding the space with ghostly light.

I gasped audibly when I saw the same huge shape. The same man was moving towards me. Only now I knew: he was a vampire. It was torture, reliving this again. My whole body was in total paralysis. His icy hand grasped my shoulder painfully, and his hard gray eyes were the only thing I could see in the darkness. This time, however, I did not wake up. For some reason, I thought I had to hold on a bit longer.

"Hello, Miss Harris," came his mocking voice. It was deep and charming, like Jack's, but more harsh.

Suddenly I replied defiantly, "In the flesh." I realized, too late, that flesh was not a good word to say to a vampire.

"And where is Hazel?"

That was an odd question. What did he need Hazel for? "She couldn't make it tonight," I snapped. Whoa. Where was I getting this? It was like my larynx had a mind of its own.

"What a shame," the man muttered, inching even closer. "I guess I'll just have to kill you instead."

His eyes, with a flicker, transformed into gleaming red orbs. I backed away, my eyes wide and my stomach lurching, and it was then that I awoke.

My throat was so dry I couldn't make a sound, even if i wanted to. My covers had somehow been flung away, and I was lying on my back, chilled to the bone. The ceiling stretched formidably above me. My mind was spinning.

It was midnight. I closed my eyes and told myself it was only a dream; it didn't mean anything. But what if it did? Why else would I dream about a vampire before I even knew they existed?

I pondered the mysterious man. It frightened me the way he was so... powerful. He was graceful and charming, in an evil way. But who was he? The only male vampires I had heard of were Jack and his dad. And I had never even seen Mr. Lewis. Surely there were other male vampires out there...

Enough thinking, I told myself. I eventually drifted into an uneasy sleep.

***

The next morning, Monday, I dragged myself into the living room in my pajamas. I wasn't going to school, and the funeral wasn't until ten o' clock, so I was going to try to enjoy life for at least two hours. Ha ha. Yeah right. I didn't enjoy one second of my morning; I stared at the wall and ate Strawberries n' Cream oatmeal.

At nine o' clock, I pulled on the dress. It barely touched my knees, and was a little too low cut for my taste, but otherwise it was nice. I slipped some silver hoops into my ears and borrowed Vanessa's click-clacky two-inch heels that were a size too small for me; she wore sixes, I wore sevens.

I gazed out the window of my bedroom as I brushed my hair. Rain water looked like it had been slopped all over everything. I saw drizzle falling from the clouds. What was wrong with this place? One day it's bright and sunny and happy, the next its raining again. I hated finnicky weather.

I didn't know why, but I was getting a bad feeling about this. what was wrong with going to a funeral? Nothing. I was just being ridiculous again.

When, finally, after much illogical hesitation, I made it out the door, I rolled my eyes. There was a wet black Corvette in Vanessa's driveway. I heard his voice in my head suddenly... "I wish I could be here to protect you every minute of every day..."

He got out of the horrendously expensive car and motioned towards me. He was wearing nice black pants, a buttoned ivory shirt, and a black silk tie. Black was obviously the color theme today.

"I can drive, you know," I assured him as I climbed into the passenger's seat. He was next to me in a second, twiddling the wheel and backing out of my driveway.

"Just taking the necessary precautions," he replied, his voice like a calming medication to my mind.

"Thank you," I said, and he smiled at me.

We reached the Methodist church just in time. I was amazed at the sight of a very nearly full parking lot and a crowd near the entrance. Jack, however, seemed unsurprised by this finding. I remembered his future-seeing gift. He had said he was the only vampire he knew of with this gift.

He helped me out of the car (my shoes were a little hard to stand on) and we made our way along the wet sidewalk. the drizzle had momentarily stopped falling from the dismal clouds above. There was a small garden lining the side of the building, and under the Bradford Pear tree that shielded one side of the church were two girls I recognized instantly as Hazel and Bronwyn. They were both dressed in exquisite black dresses, probably designer made, and had solemn looks planted on their beautiful faces. Hazel's short, soft brown hair was pulled into a loose chignon, with two perfectly curled strands touching her pale cheeks. She had shining, emerald green eyes that I hadn't gotten close enough to see before. Bronwyn's glittery platinum hair flowed freely, curling at her shoulders. She had Jack's blue eyes, and I realized he and she looked almost exactly alike, despite their greatly differing hair tones. She was just barely shorter than him. Hazel, on the other hand, was several inches shorter than me.

Nearly everyone nearby was staring at us. I felt extremely out of place next to three angels.

"Hazel, Bronwyn," Jack mumbled in his velvety voice, taking my hand as we stood under the canopy of leaves. My heart flopped. "This is Campbell."

Bronwyn smiled shyly. "It's so nice to finally meet you," she trilled. Her voice was airy and feminine. She held out her delicate looking hand, and I shook it. Her iron grip surprised me, and I remembered for the first time that these two porcelain dolls were extremely strong and powerful vampires. My brain had a hard time processing that.

Hazel kept her pale lips closed. Bronwyn glanced a her for the briefest second, her fragile eyebrows raised, and then her eyes were back on me. I felt like I had just missed something.

"Shall we go inside before all the pews are full?" Bronwyn suggested. Jack nodded nonchalantly.

We made our way into the foyer, three sets of high heels clop-clopping. jack's hand was still protecting mine. I remembered what he had said, that the killer might come to the funeral. I looked around nervously, searching for a pale face, but all I saw was the beautifully decorated little church. A large, ornate mirror was mounted on the wall, and in it I could see our group. I was painfully ordinary next to them, and looked away. Jack seemed to sense my discomfort and squeezed my hand sympathetically.

The throngs of people, who were instinctively giving Jack, Bronwyn, and Hazel a wide berth, streamed through two large wooden doors that had been propped open by stone vases filled with a rainbow of flowers.

We sat in the third to last row of pews. The tiny church was so crowded, many people were forced to stand in the back. I gazed at the people in the pews until I spotted Lark in the second row, surrounded by her family. She and her mother, who was holding a small baby, were silently staring at their feet. Her father had his arm around a dark-haired boy who must have been her brother. He looked about fourteen. As I searched that area, it seemed like Oakridge's entire senior class was there. I saw Gabbie, Tiffany, and Cora whispering to each other a few rows away from us. Chris and Gage were sullen next to them. Across the aisle were Piper and Johanna Small, sitting with Nathan Davis and a girl who had been one of my tennis opponents in gym.

I had put off looking at the casket, but now there was nothing left to look at. It was extravagant, covered with flowers and colorful handmade pictures and cards. Some small children were still up front laying their drawings and notes on top of the pile. These must have been Leah's classmates. With a pang I realized the coffin was sealed closed. My throat choked up and I struggled to breathe. Jack slid his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in. I lay my head on his concrete shoulder, still trying to suck in oxygen. I knew then that everything would be all right. Because I loved him.

I loved him.

I blushed as soon as I had the thought, but I knew it must be true. there was no other person I wanted more than him. It was ridiculous, really. How long had we known each other, two weeks? But I felt like I couldn't bear it if he wasn't constantly by my side. I was the only human he had ever told his powerful secret to, the only human he had ever gotten close enough with. It felt so wonderful to be with him, to know that he trusted me.

I slowly turned to find him staring at me. I was sure he had just experienced the same revelation I had. By the way he was looking at me, I could tell that he loved me too. We both smiled slightly at the same time.

Bronwyn peered from me to Jack and grinned broadly. She knew. Hazel stared at us like we were insane for smiling at a funeral. Did Hazel dislike me? I was getting that impression. Her lip kept curling slightly. This confused me; hadn't Jack said she was the nicer one?

I tried to concentrate on the pastor of the church who had entered the pulpit to tell of Leah's life, but I barely heard a word. My mind was whirring. Bronwyn smiled encouragingly at me. She was attracting attention from the people behind us. Finally Hazel gave her a stern look and she resumed the regular sad expression.

The pastor introduced Leah's teacher to the pulpit, a woman with tear tracks down her face and who was probably in her thirties. She spoke for ten minutes, during which my mind wandered back and forth from Jack to Leah's killer. He obviously was not here, because jack hadn't rushed me out the door yet.

When the teacher was finished, I realized it was over. People were standing up and straightening their clothes. We stood and quickly exited through the heavy wooden doors. I didn't want to stay to talk. We swept through the entrance doors and outside.

My shoes had been becoming increasingly uncomfortable. I could feel two very painful blisters on my heels. Suddenly I stepped wrong, staggered and clutched Jack's arm. he stared at me worriedly. Hazel and Bronwyn, who were up ahead, stopped and looked back. Before Jack could reach out, my knee buckled and I was falling. Instinctively I flung out my arms and landed, crushing my forearm, on the solid concrete, and all I could see was blackness.

I rolled over onto my back, gasping. Pain shot excruciatingly through my left arm, and I grasped it with my other hand. I wasn't aware of anything but the pain until I realized Jack was crouching over me, his expression horror struck. He hoisted me off of the ground and held me like a mother holds a baby.

"Call an ambulance!" he shouted.

Several feet scurried away and voices hovered over me as he tucked me into his chest. He rocked my slowly as I cried.