I hummed a song and threw my bag on the couch, walking upstairs as I reminded myself about my homework.
A loud echo of laughter caught my attention. Surprised, I walked toward the closed study door and frowned. There's a guest? I leaned closer, wanting to listen. It wasn't as though I was curious. I had no intention to hear grandpa talk about work. But the other voice seemed to be familiar. My frown deepened.
"Ah, yes, I do remember! That was a wonderful party. Say, Mr. Johnson, you enjoyed the night, didn't you?" My grandpa said in a teasing tone.
Mr. Johnson! The Mayor of our city! Why was he here? My mouth hung open at this. The forty-year-old Mayor was like a celebrity to us. We would just watch him on the television. No wonder I found his voice familiar. My dad was a die-hard fan of him.
The other man chuckled. "Sure, sure, old man. Whatever you say."
I moved closer and stared at two distant figures from the keyhole. Grandpa sighed, shaking his head helplessly. "What brings you here, Mr. Johnson?" The old man said in a rare serious voice.
Seeing that, the grip against my dark blue short skirt tightened. Something in my gut told me that I wouldn't like hearing the next few words.
The Mayor was silent for a while. I could only see his straight back from the keyhole. "Eclipse is around the corner. You know that, don't you? Mr. Brown?"
I saw my Gramps nodding. If I didn't know my grandfather well, I wouldn't have seen his stiff body. But my mind was elsewhere. I couldn't stop thinking about the word eclipse. What has it got to do with us? Could it be about...
"No!" I screamed the word out loud, watching my Grandpa jump on his seat. Even the Mayor turned around, looking surprised.
Damn! I cursed under my breath and opened the door, revealing myself to the others.
"M-Mr. M-Mayor..." I walked hesitantly toward him. "I heard the word eclipse. Do you mean...?"
I couldn't even say the next few words as tears blurred my vision. I blinked several times and gritted my teeth. Control your emotions, Emily!
The Mayor had a look of sympathy on his face as he stared at me. He slowly turned toward Gramps. "This year, it's Emily and Lucy. I..." Even he didn't know what to say. But I wasn't in a mood to focus on him. The last sentence made me frozen in the middle of the room. I didn't know what I was feeling at that moment. Perhaps a trace of loss? Unhappiness? Grief? Fear? Or maybe it was all of these combined.
But I couldn't show it on my face. I blinked several times, trying to keep tears inside. I knew what the Mayor meant.
Our modern world, which should have been filled with sunshine and technology, has a trace of darkness—Vampires. They had caused troubles for humans one or two centuries ago. At that time, the Mayor of the city had gritted his teeth and made a deal. Both the parties signed the paper, which said something like this:
"I, Mayor of Los Angeles, promise the King of Vampires to give forth young girls as a donation every eclipse. What we need is peace among us. May we live happily without causing trouble for each other.
The Mayor."
I know this because that's what had been the first thing taught to us after entering school. It was meant to make us ready for the future.
But I wasn't. Who would be ready to serve a vampire all her life just to save the world? This was a huge responsibility for me!
Tears that I had tried so hard to keep in burst out of my eyes, rolling down my cheeks. It tickled, but my hands refused to listen to me. I felt both tired and depressed.
"Emily?" A hoarse voice called out, and I looked at Grandpa's sad face. As soon as I saw his terrified pale face, I froze. Why didn't I think of his feelings before?
His only two granddaughters would be given away. He was already an old man. Wouldn't he get a heart attack after seeing my tears?
I took a few shaky breaths and wiped my tears. Forcing a smile on my face, I glanced at him. "Gramps, it's alright. We all knew this was going to happen." My lower lips quivered as I uttered those words softly.
Without waiting for a reply, I turned around and fled from the room. Dragging my feet upstairs, I unlocked my room and closed it behind me. Dropping down, I rested my head between my knees as tears poured out of my eyes. My muffled sobs echoed in my room.
How could I not be sad? I just lied to my Gramps about my feelings. I didn't want to leave him. Not yet. I wanted to have a job, spend a few years with Gramps and my sister, get married, and have kids. I wanted to wait for my children at the gate of the school, just how my mother used to. I had to become a famous journalist!
How could this happen to me? Who would take care of Gramps if I was chosen?
Every year on the Eclipse, a few girls from the city would be chosen to attain the Vampire party, where a few of them would be given as a donation to the Vampires. I had seen many of my sister's friends going. I had seen my sister's sad face every time one of her friends went to the party and never returned. Although Lucy never got a chance to attend the party, I knew she was worried deep down. I knew she was scared.
She was fortunate to be saved for five years. Yes, Lucy was five years older than me, and I just turned 18. Only girls aging 18 and older were allowed to be donated.
But I didn't even get a chance to be anxious for years. As soon as I turned 18, I was called.
How could I not be sad?
But what else could I do?
I had no choice.
"Emily? Why are you crying?" A soft female voice brought me out of my nightmarish thoughts. My tear-stained face looked up and saw a worried expression on Lucy's face as she stood up from the bed and bent down, caressing my face.
Seeing her, more tears poured out of my eyes. I hugged her tightly. "Lucy! I-I don't want to go!" I said between hiccups.
"What happened?" She sounded anxious.
I parted my trembling lips and said, "The party. They invited us this year."
The words seemed to pour cold water down Lucy's throat. I saw her shocked expression changing into grief as tears dropped from the corner of her eyes.
"No!" She tightened her arms around me. "No!"
That night, we didn't go downstairs to have dinner despite Gramps knocking on the door, worriedly. Lucy nor I had the mood to eat anything. We cuddled underneath the warm blanket, crying our eyes out.
"Lucy, h-how could this happen to us? There are many girls in the city, right? Why us?"
"I don't know, Emily. Please don't cry." She wiped my tears. "I knew this day would come, but..."
"Sister!" I looked at her. "How come they didn't select you all these years? You must have said something, right?"
"I don't know. I just laid low, hiding in my room all day. I didn't want to be noticed. I don't know why they'd choose both of us this year."
"What will happen to you? Gramps?" More sobs came from my mouth as a thought popped up in my head. I blurted out. "We should just run away."
"Gramps would indeed be alone, but…" Lucy wiped her face and gazed at me sternly. "Emily, promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise me that you won't run away on our Gramps. Promise me that you'll face it bravely." She took a shaky breath as she caressed my head. "Let's go to the party together."
I bit my lips and nodded.
For a moment, both of us stayed silent until bright moonlight spread inside the room through transparent windows. We had been crying all evening until midnight, and now, my eyes felt numb.
What should I do? I can't change the future. What's the use of crying anymore? No one can protect us.
I looked at my sister, sleeping soundly on her side. Her pale yellow face and tear-stained cheeks glistened in the moonlight.
She was right. Even if we fall into the darkness, we have to stay together and face the troubles. Lucy, I won't disappoint you at the party. I'll be brave!
After that, my eyes closed, and I drifted into sleep.
...
I didn't know whether I was asleep or not, whether it was a nightmare, but I suddenly found myself in a dark room. I didn't have clothes on my body. I moved to the corner of the room, sticking to the cold wall. A shiver sent down my spine due to the sudden coolness. I hugged myself, feeling goosebumps all over my body.
Before I could do anything else, footsteps echoed in my ears. The sound kept coming closer and closer until I noticed the dark outline of someone's legs right before me. I shrunk back to the wall, ignoring the coldness.
The person seemed to notice my actions as he grabbed my wrist and pulled my naked body toward him. Hands were embracing me as his lips touched my warm skin. I shivered and used my weak hands to push the man away.
This person seemed to be weird. I couldn't feel his chest rising and falling like a human being. His body was cold as if I had just touched a piece of ice.
But all my actions were useless. He used his big hands to control my hands. Before I could think anything else, I felt a sharp pain in my neck. Two pointed teeth tore the surface of my smooth skin and connected to my blood vessels, sucking blood.
I screamed. Kicked. Pushed.
But nothing happened. The sharp pain only enhanced as the sucking continued. My body slowly weakened as fear engulfed my vision.
Was I going to die? Just like this? I knew it wasn't a great idea to go to Vampires.
I felt my body weakening slowly. Even the pain went numb. I couldn't feel anything anymore as my limbs went limp in the man's embrace. My half-closed eyes stared at the dark figure. I couldn't see anything. My vision was failing, and I closed my eyes. My shallow breath was so slow that I couldn't even feel my chest rising.
I was going to die.
The man sucked the last drop of my body and retracted his teeth, wiping his mouth.
...
"Ah!" I screamed and opened my eyes. My hands touched the neck feeling smooth skin, and my shoulders relaxed. Before my eyes, I could still see my room.
"Emily, what happened?" Lucy demanded.
"I-" I couldn't tell her that I had a nightmare about vampires, could I? That would make her even more scared.
"I think I saw a bug." I lied.
I could see her relaxing and shaking her head. "You scared me."
"Sorry." I pushed back the blanket. "I have to go to the washroom."
I couldn't sleep anyway. I might as well take a stroll.
I pushed the door and headed downstairs. As I entered the living room, my eyesight fell on a familiar figure, sitting not far away from the windows, staring out into the sky.
"Gramps?"
He turned to face me and smiled weakly. "Aren't you sleeping, my dear?"
"Why aren't you sleeping, Gramps?"
"I was thinking about the past."
What past?
"Why don't you take a seat?" He gestures to the seat opposite him. "I should tell you a story."
I quietly walked over and sat down. I didn't know what Gramps wanted to talk about in the middle of the night.
"When I was your age, I met someone. She was a nice bubble girl. I remember seeing a lonely figure of a girl every day while I used to go to work. She'd just stand and stare at me with longing in her eyes. When I approached her and asked her out on a date, she refused at first. I didn't force her despite being sad. But then, she'd still come and stand beneath a shed, hiding from the sun and stare at me while I was busy working." Gramps sighed and stared out of the window. "I couldn't stop myself after that and pursued her with all my heart. She eventually agreed. I thought we'd be just normal couples, but who would've known that she was anything but normal."
"Anything but normal..." I repeated the last three words, faintly guessing what Gramps was going to say, and it scared me.
"Yes, she was a vampire. I had caught her drinking animal blood in the forest once. We argued and..."
"It didn't work, did it?"
"Well, it did for a while. We were able to stand by and become couples in a real sense. But...fate didn't want us to be together." Grandpa's eyes appeared to have a trace of loneliness when he said this. I wanted to ask him what happened, why couldn't they stay together. But then, seeing his expression, I swallowed the words.
Perhaps it didn't work because she was a vampire? How could it work anyway? One was prey, and another was a hunter. There cannot be any friendship between food and a hungry person.
"Emily," His hoarse voice said, "I just wanted to tell you, not all the Vampires are murderers."
