Chapter-21: Grandma!

Kane's POV: I slammed my fist into the wall nearby, filled with rage. It was him. Again. Elijah. The one who ruined my life all those years ago and was now back to do it again. His unhealthy obsession with me was irking me to the core of my heart and I so badly wanted to rip his head off his neck. Hannah was awake now and was yelling at Bryson to let her inform the police at once. Her best friend had been kidnapped and she had no idea who could've done it. I felt kind of sorry for her. She had no idea who to ask for help and how. 'Why aren't we contacting the police yet?" she demanded, arms crossed over her chest. And tell them what? That a vampire, who's crazy obsessed with me and wants that crystal back that I took from him just to kill me and my friend? I was wondering what to do next. I couldn't smell Sya out because her scent would've fainted out by now. And so would have Elijah's. 'Hannah baby, listen," Bryson began, grabbing her by the shoulders. 'You know how useless the police is. They're going to start in the wrong direction and will only end up blaming us. We must think this through." 'Is there something you guys are hiding from me?" she asked, looking at him with a half-angry, half-worried expression. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my eyes. How the heck is he going to convince her? 'Uh, the thing is, we do have a faint idea who took her," Bryson explained gently. 'We just need confirmation and she'll be safe I promise you." Hannah didn't say anything after that but plopped down on the couch, her head in her hands. Seeing her hair and hands reminded me of someone. Stella! She could help us. Gosh, I'm such an idiot for not having thought of this before. I gave Bryson a look, conveying to him that I was going out. He nodded in understanding and I dashed outside, using my super inhuman speed. The forest trees all became a blur to me as I desperately tore through them. Hold on for a bit more Sya. Just a bit more. Moonlight shone through the thick branches of the extremely old trees. Behind their long, finger-like branches, I saw the tiny witch house. Tiny puffs of smoke rose up from the chimney over the yellow-bricked house. I skidded to a stop outside the front door with excruciating effort. If it were up to me, I would've broken the door and practically flown to Stella. But I refrained from putting her through the trouble of cleaning the mess and getting a new door. I didn't knock though and straight up pushed it open, running inside. 'Stella! I need your-" I stopped short when I saw an old lady, about the size of a tiny couch, standing outside the kitchen door and throwing daggers at me with her eyes. It was Stella's grandmother. The woman hated me and she had made that crystal clear when I first came here after being converted. --Flashback-- I felt something soft beneath me. Like a mattress. Was I on a bed? Wasn't I dead? Was this heaven? I couldn't tell. What I could tell, though, was that nothing in my body hurt. Not my arms, not my legs, and definitely not my neck. I heard faint voices and people whispering. So, I really wasn't dead. It sounded like an argument between a boy and a woman. "Are you in your right mind, Bryson?! Why would you bring the boy here? I will never allow it! He will become a threat to humans, just like that Elijah!" she snarled, spitting his name as if he was the most disgusting being to exist. I guess she hated him a lot. "No, no Maria. You're misunderstanding. This boy just had his friends killed and is seriously injured right now. There's no way he can hurt you or anyone else," the male voice explained. "I do not care. Stay till the sun rises and then leave! I do not want Elijah coming here for a shitty reason like revenge on some homeless boy," she yelled. Her words struck at my heart but I ignored it. I had listened to them my entire life anyway. Some lady saying them made no difference to me. The door opened and closed. I guess the guy had come inside. I slowly opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. The room wasn't that bright so they adjusted pretty quickly. It was kind of tiny with only one window. There were multiple candles lit, the only source of light in here. Someone stood near the table at the far end of the room, his back to me. He sighed before turning around. It was him. The guy who had bitten me before. It was a lot easier to see him now that I wasn't dangling by the neck. I looked down at my bloodied shirt and confirmed that I wasn't dreaming. It was all real. I had in fact seen and been bitten by vampires. But that wasn't the strangest. I was feeling so hot. So hot I thought I might melt. But I wasn't sweating. Not a drop of sweat was running down my head, neck, or arms. My neck! One hand quickly went to my neck and I winced in pain as my fingers grazed the sore and damaged skin over there. 'Don't worry. It'll heal pretty quickly," the boy, whose name I now remembered was Bryson, offered with a sympathetic smile. He walked over to the chair near the window and settled down, seemingly enjoying the night breeze blowing through his hair. I sat up straighter and looked at him in suspicion, my defenses still alert. "Look man, I know it's difficult to believe me but trust me you are safe now," he said calmly, making me frown. 'Where am I? And why did you bring me here?" I muttered, unable to speak loudly because of a sharp pain in my chest. 'Didn't you bite me? Why am I not dead?" 'I bit you to save your life. If I hadn't done that, you could've died or something worse could've happened," he replied, looking concerned. 'The man who killed you and your friends last night was an evil vampire. And so am I. Whatever I did, I did it to save your life." At the mention of my buddies, my eyes watered. My friends. The only people I had. They were all gone. So ruthlessly, so badly killed. 'So am I a vampire now?" I asked, knowing the answer but still hoping with every ounce of me for it to be the opposite. He solemnly nodded, crushing me. "So all my friends are dead and I am alive?" I said it more to myself than him. They were all gone but I wasn't? How unfair! I should've just died with them! 'Why?" I growled in a low voice. 'Why did you have to turn me?! Why couldn't you have let me die!" Bryson stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets, a look of sorrow taking over his face. 'I was helpless. I had to." 'Bullcrap!" I screamed in a voice unrecognizable to even me. 'You could've- no, you should've just let me die! You had no right to turn me! Did I ask for this?!" 'I couldn't!" He cried out. 'You would've turned anyway from the way Elijah bit you! He used the stone to spill poison inside you. Not only would you have turned, you would've become his minion and killed millions of people." I rubbed the back of my neck, cursing at my luck. The door opened and a red haired girl walked in, carrying a tray of fruits. She was pale and slender. She placed it on the table near to the bed I was sitting on and smiled kindly at me. 'You're up. Goodie. How about some food? I bet you're thirsty," she chirped cheerfully. I threw a glance at what she'd brought and sure enough, a glass of thick red liquid was in it as well. Blood. I almost gagged at the thought but my throat suddenly felt so dry. And something told me water wasn't going to quench this thirst. 'Don't worry, it's not human blood. Let's say it came from a very 'unharmed" source," she continued. 'But don't get used to it. That's the first and last glass you'll ever get. So Bryson," she turned around. 'How's your hand?" I didn't hear Bryson's response because I had lept for the blood. I thought I'd hesitate but I didn't. I hungrily downed it all in one breath. It scorched my throat and tasted awfully sweet. When I looked up, Bryson and the girl were staring at me, wearing matching amused expressions. 'Easy there, tiger," Bryson chuckled. 'You don't want to grab a nasty habit of that. Stella here will rip off your arms and legs if you try to hunt. Believe me, she can too." He winced, probably remembering the same. Stella shook her head and turned to me, 'What's your name?" her tone was so kind and gentle. 'Kane," I muttered, putting the glass back and feeling gross. It was hard to believe that I'd just drank blood. I took a bite of the apple to rid myself of that horrible metallic taste in my mouth. It wasn't bothering me as much but I wanted to believe it was. 'Sweet, isn't it?" she said. 'I added an artificial sweetener to make it like that. Real blood is so thick and pungent. You would've thrown up all over my nice sheets." 'Why am I here?" I asked, not bothering to answer their niceties. Not only was I upset but all this seemed so surreal to me. 'I knew you had nowhere to go so I brought you here," Bryson said softly, a kind look on his face. 'Stella!" The annoying lady from earlier screeched. 'Get back here! Stop talking to him." 'Coming Grandma!" Stella yelled back. She rolled her eyes and turned to me. 'Forgive her. She's…. cranky. Make sure you eat all that. You need the energy." Once she was gone, Bryson laughed and sat down again. I felt something poking me on the side and felt for it. It was a hard ball sort of thing in my pocket. I pulled it out and frowned. 'How did this get in here?" I asked out loud, catching Bryson's attention. 'I put that there," he replied, looking somewhat dead serious. 'Do you know what that is?" I shook my head, examining the red-colored stone. It felt warm against my palm. 'It's the stone of onheil, literally meaning ‘evil'. Elijah stole it a year ago. This stone gives a vampire immense energy and highlights his powers," Bryson explained, looking out the window. The cut under his jaw was visible now. 'I used silver to keep him off you and used one of Stella's potions to render him powerless for a couple of minutes. When he ran, I grabbed the stone and put it in your hand. It fell out after that so I just put it in your pocket." 'But I don't get it. He bit my friends too. Aren't they going to turn?" I asked. He shook his head. 'He drank every ounce of their blood. With you, he bit you and let you fall to fight me. He would never do that. I knew he would use you and I had to save you." I stared at the stone before securely putting it back inside my jeans pocket. 'I'll never let him see this stone again. But I'm not leaving him alive either." 'He should be really weak right now, lying somewhere. Not only is he injured but the after-effects of that stone are grave. He must be going crazy craving for it." Bryson smirked, thinking about it. After about a week, when I learned how to use my powers, we searched every nook and cranny of the town. But he had disappeared. --End of Flashback-- "What are you doing here?!" She bellowed. For a person as short and old as she was, she had a pretty loud, booming voice. "I'm here to see Stella," I answered. 'Stella!" 'She's not here!" she shrieked in that horrible voice. 'Leave before I-" 'Not now Maria!" I yelled, cutting her off. 'Stella!" A certain redhead quickly bounded down the stairs. She threw an apologetic look in my direction before leading her annoying grandmother out of the hall. 'Kane! What a pleasant surprise!" she exclaimed happily once she walked out. 'I apologize for grandma. You know how she is." I waved her off. 'I need your help." Seeing the grave expression on my face, she immediately frowned. 'What happened?" 'It's Elijah. He's back," I told her. Her eyes widened. 'What?! How?" 'I don't know. But he took Sya with him! And I can't sense them anywhere." The ticking of her living room clock was making me even more anxious. Who knew what that sick bastard was doing to her? 'Alright. Can I get anything of hers? Like a possession?" I nodded and we quickly raced out of her house, back into the woods.