Chapter 12 – Questions, Answers and Vampires

Chapter 12 – Questions, Answers and Vampires

When her eyes fluttered open and she registered the unfamiliar ceiling above her head, the weight of thick blankets pressing her down into a far softer bed than she remembered, Danni first thought that she must have been dreaming. The exposed beams and sharp angles of her ceiling had been replaced with wooden panels and the large window opposite her bed was letting in streams of morning sun. Lifting her head from an incredibly plush pillow, Danni searched around the strange room for her glasses. Finding them on the bedside table, as usual, she placed them back on, the world coming back into focus and revealing that she was not in a dream, but the room was distinctly new to her. However, that didn’t occur to her when she picked up the smells of breakfast! Bacon and eggs, if she wasn’t wrong! Her stomach gurgled with want, stirring her from sleep but as the covers slipped off her, the cruel reality chased away from what little sleep remained in her mind.

The last thing she remembered was… searching the house for those three intruders, the same ones she was positive had been standing in the kitchen. She had been standing before the airing cupboard… when she’d heard a voice… and…

Shit… she had fainted.

Shit…

SHIT!

How could she have been so impossibly stupid?!

How could she have fainted!

Suddenly overcome with that burning in the back of her head that came with having to explain a lacking grade or a sweet wrapper found under her bed, Danni buried her face in her hands. How could this have happened?! More importantly… how had she gotten here… wherever this was?

As much as she was ashamed of herself, she was glad that she had woken up somewhere so comforting. But whose house was this? Slowly, she turned her head around to take it in the entirety of the house. As quickly as she was getting sick of finding herself waking up in unfamiliar places, this was certainly one of the better ones. The bed was covered in a gloriously soft patchwork quilt, trimmed with a deep red border and golden thread picking out the diamonds of fabric. The pillows had been wonderfully plush under her head, the bed itself was made of a rich coffee brown wood with a carved headboard, the walls were white with a multitude of framed pictures covering the space, a bookshelf in corner with a number of well-worn looking volumes, the carpet looked wonderfully plush and a wardrobe sat close to the window, looking ready for any unsuspecting wanderer to step into and find themselves in a snowy forest. All of it came together for the perfect picture of homey comfort.

As she was sliding her feet from underneath the covers, relieved to find herself still dressed in her pyjamas from last night, she picked up on the sound of plates being moved and Joey walked in, carrying a wooden tray laden with plates of food that had her mouth watering. Bacon, eggs, sausages, beans, toast with squares of butter shining in the light as it slowly melted, tall glasses of yellow orange juice, she couldn’t take her eyes from it!

“Good morning!” Joey declared, setting down the tray on the nearest flat surface and pressing the back of his palm against her forehead. How she hoped that she was just imagining feeling so warm.

“G-Good morning!” She squeaked in reply, ducking her head away from the touch.

“How are you feeling? You look better… if a little pale. Does your head hurt? Did you hit it when you fainted? Do you remember anything from last night?” Joey asked, leaving her blinking in stunned silence at the sudden onslaught of questions.

“‘M… fine…” Why couldn’t she stop squeaking! She sounded like she was losing her voice! “I don’t… remember anything.”

Joey flashed her a wide smile of perfect teeth that made her heart skip a beat, placing a plate in her lap and pressing cutlery into her hand. “Eat something, see if it comes back.”

Danni lifted the fork, looking down at the plate but her hands were trembling too hard for her to try and eat anything.

“What… what happened?” She asked, hoping that a distraction in the form of an explanation might take her mind off things and she’d find her appetite again.

“It was a little scary, I won’t lie.” Joey confessed, picking up his own plate and cutting into the thick pork sausages, cooked to perfection. “Nick and I finished our look around the house and when we went inside to tell you, we found you on the floor. At first, we thought that you’d hit your head on something. Imagine our relief when we realised that you were breathing. But… we decided that it wasn’t safe for you to stay in that house for any longer. It was a little tricky, but we carried you back… well… here. To my place.”

Fresh embarrassment hit Danni like a punch to the back of the head. Not only had she fainted, but she had taken Joey’s bed?!

“Oh god… I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to put you out!” Danni tried to apologise, only to be waved off.

“Don’t concern yourself. I slept on the couch and I can promise, it’s just as comfortable as the bed. That’s the whole reason I got it.” Joey explained, piling his fork with food and taking a hearty bite.

It was such an encouraging sight, Danni started eating her own. Sure enough, everything on her plate tasted just as good as it looked. When was the last time she had made a full English breakfast? Had she ever made one? She washed down every bite with the gloriously sweet juice. Was it fresh squeezed? She had to ask what fruit it had come from because it was divine! Perfect to have on a warm summer day or to wake you up on a cold morning. Only when she had cleaned her plate, using the toast to mop up the rest, did she realise that all around her, there was the undeniable smell of lavender. In the corner, she swore she could spy a single stick of incense, still smoking. When had it been lit?

“How did you like it?” Joey asked, draining his glass and sucking the last of the butter from where it had fallen onto his fingers.

“Thank you, that was delicious.” Danni said, mimicking the action.

“I’m glad to know, I love to see anyone with a hearty appetite. Especially one as slight as you. Not that being thin is a bad thing. Slim, stocky, none of it matters as long as they feel free to eat.” He cheered, taking the plate and piling them onto the tray.

“Did... Did you really carry me all the way here?” She asked, placing a hand on the covers.

“It wasn’t hard, you don’t weigh much. I’ve been hauling around sacks of potatoes for years.” If that was supposed to sound comforting, it didn’t have quite the right effect.

“I weigh… the same as a sack of potatoes?” She asked.

“A little more. But it’s not so bad since I carried you on my back. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.” Joey assured her.

Without more to say on that front, Danni settled on another question.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you always smell like lavender? I saw the burners and I noticed it whenever I come here.”

This time, it was Joey’s turn to go pink. “It’s a little bit of a long story if you’ll bear with me.”

“There’s nothing I like more than a long story. Take your time.” She soothed, settling back against the headboard.

Taking a deep breath, Joey began. “It started back when I was living at home. Our mum used to get this soap that always smelled of lavender. Maybe it was because it was cheap, but I was always comforted whenever I would smell it. When I moved away. I couldn’t find the soap anymore, so I decided to start burning the incense. Helps me feel a little closer to home even when I’m so far away.”

“That’s beautiful! What a lovely reason.”

Joey seemed to inflate with the praise. “When I was in your room, I hope that you don’t mind, but I saw your books. You certainly like your literature.”

“I noticed that you did too. That wouldn’t be Animal Farm on your shelf, would it?” She teased. If there was one thing that she could always find something to forge a connection over, it was books! Familiar or foreign, books were universal.

“First book I finished… and cried over. So many tears stained those pages.”

“I know the pain very well.” Danni could never say what was truly on her mind. She would surely combust from the embarrassment.

The more seconds ticked on, the more Danni realised that she was going to have to leave eventually. But…

“I think I need to go and see what happened with the house…” She admitted, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Oh! Oh yes! Uh… You need some… you’re going to need some clothes! Hold on a second, I think I can help you out.”

With that, Joey sprang from the bed and walked over to the wardrobe. He pulled open the drawers, threw open the doors and from within, pulled out a flannel shirt, a pair of jeans and a bundle of striped socks.

“Here we are!” He offered the clothes to her with another blinding grin, but Danni froze.

“I… I can’t take these.” Granted, she was glad that he hadn’t tried to hand her any of his underwear, she would have thrown herself from the window but this? This barely toed that border.

“I don’t mind! I grew out of these ages ago, so I’d rather they go to someone who I know will fit them than into a landfill or something.” Joey shook his head.

Even so, Danni continued to protest. There was no way! It was bad enough that he had given her his coat, now he was offering her his clothes! It was too much! She had never even thought about having someone be close enough that she could share clothes with them. Only when Joey actually plugged his ears and began to hum loud enough to block out her words did she give in.

“You’re so childish!” Danni barked, scowling at him, but all she received in return was a positively impish smirk. Yeah, she knew it. She was not going to win. But at least, the clothes looked warm and the material was deceptively soft.

“Alright! Alright! I’ll put them on. Just get out.” Without any verbal retaliation, she picked up a pillow and lightly smacked him to urge him out of the room. Laughing like the devil himself, Joey excused him from the room, closing the door behind himself.

Was this what having siblings was like? Were they always so aggravating, yet endearing?

It was more than a little weird to wear these strange clothes without any underwear on beneath it but, maybe she could get some on when she returned to the house. Assuming that she didn’t find anything that would send her running from the place again. The socks were delightfully soft, against her feet and Joey had retrieved the coat and boots he had lent her the night before. Pulling them on, she let herself relax into the now familiar smell that all his clothing seemed soaked in.

“Are you decent?” Joey called from outside as Danni was pushing a hairbrush through her short locks. They never needed much in the way of attention beyond the occasional wash and a brush every day.

“You can come in, don’t worry. I’m all covered.” She called, pushing a stray bang away from her face.

“How’re you finding them? Comfortable?” Joey asked, poking his head inside. To his credit and Danni’s amusement, he had covered his eyes. It was all she could do not to laugh at the sight.

“Yes, they’re wonderfully comfortable. They smell nice too.” She adjusted the collar of the shirt and did up the coat, buttoning it close to her throat. When she looked up, she almost jerked back at the sight of Joey’s chest suddenly close enough to fill her entire purview. Heat that had nothing to do with the room filled her head. Taking an uneasy step back, her eyes flitted to his face, taking in every freckle, the stray hairs dusting his brow, the barely there pink on his cheeks, the speckles of gold buried in the blue of his eyes. Even the length of his eyelashes. How had he gotten so close without her realising it?

“I’m glad, I just… want to…” Whatever he was about to say, she had no idea. His hand, large, so much larger than her own, found its way into the front pocket of her borrowed jeans. As soon as it had appeared, igniting a rash of goosebumps over her entire body, it retreated and she mourned the loss. Reaching it after him, she found a filmy sachet of what felt like… petals?

What were these? Pulling it out, she found a mesh drawstring bag filled with now familiar purple flowers.

“What’s this?” She asked, holding it up.

“Just something I use to keep the smell on my clothes. If you put it in with your clothes when you wash them, it’ll spread to the rest. You know… if you want?” He suggested.

Why did that make her chest tighten so? Why was he doing this? Why was she wishing that he had done something else? Tucking the sachet back into her pocket, she caught the smell on her fingers and tried to will away the red on her face.

“Thank you… For everything.”

“It’s what neighbours should do for each other.” He insisted, stepping aside so she could move past him.

“Still… come over if… you feel like it. I’ll make something for you, and we can call it square.” Danni insisted, her mind racing for something more to say. Why now, of all times, was she lost for words? What was this feeling that came over her whenever she would look up into Joey’s dearest blue eyes, so earnest, honest, and lovely and…. Oh.

She didn’t remember leaving the house, not the journey back up to the house. How could she when all that filled her head was Joey’s eyes, his smile, the feeling of being held so warm in his clothes! Now she thought she had a name for what this feeling was… and every time it crossed her mind, her chest would squeeze as if her heart had grown three times bigger!

Sadly, that feeling was not to last.

The first thing that Danni registered when she stepped inside was the pure silence in the house. There was no creaking of pipes, no buzzing of motors, not even the squeak of a hinge. The house, for the first time since he had arrived, was still. It was enough to make her believe the hours before dawn had just been a dream, some kind of wild manifestation of her mind, a kind of mental trick her brain was playing on whilst deep in the arms of her REM cycle. Then she wiggled her toes. Any pretence died then and there. Just the smallest movement made her feet throb! She just hadn’t noticed it because she had been floating on a Joey-shaped cloud! She was sure that when she removed her… Joey’s socks, she would feel raw flesh and blistered skin.

“Fuuuuck… that wasn’t a dream.” She whined, the sound seeming to echo in the quiet of the house. Leaning back against the door, the cold couldn’t penetrate her coat, but she felt it, nonetheless.

The room was full of a warm, blinding sunlight very different to the dawn she had witnessed whilst waiting for Joey and Vicar to search the house. Her eyes stung and she could already feel the craving for a painkiller and a cup of tea so hot; it would boil her tongue. Maybe even a few morning hours spent in the bath. But speaking of the morning, she pondered what time it was? Joey hadn’t had an alarm clock, so far as she had seen. So what time was it?

What was more, she had gone the whole time without her phone! Like a blow across the back of the head, she was shocked back to reality by its absence. The cloud of lavender, of soft flannel shirts and warm jeans vanished, replaced with just a hollow emptiness.

“I hate this…” She mumbled, her voice thick and she cleared her throat with a loud, painful cough. Leaving her boots and coat at the door, Danni ventured upstairs with no small amount of dread. There had been no sight of the intruders, nor her hairbrush. But there was something in the air. Something off. Something wrong. Like a gas leak you could pick up on but couldn’t locate. She was convinced that they had to still be here. Heading up through the house, she stepped into her room and relief hit like a velvet gloved punch. Nothing inside had been touched. Her books stood like sentinels; her bed was still rumpled from sleep. The room could have been the same as if the events of the previous night had never happened. Deflating, Danni slumped down against her pillows, staring at the ceiling, picking out vague figures in the paint. On one side, the headboard with its beautifully carved trees, each leaf picked out and shining in the morning light. The bed was cold underneath her; the room was still. For a moment, she could pretend that nothing had happened the previous night.

Then she registered the flower.

Her head snapped back to look at her bedside table where, bedside her hairbrush, a single white bloom was sitting in a deep blue vase that she was sure had sat downstairs. What the hell was it doing up here?!

What was going on?

A flower. The pain in her legs. Those were real… so… so had last night. Last night hadn’t been a dream but then… what did that say about the men she had seen in her kitchen? Were they real? Or had she slept walked through the town last night? What about Joey and the Vicar? Had that been real? What would she say to them if she went into town and saw them, as she was bound to? What might they say to her? Surely, they must be furious at her for waking them up in the middle of the night and keeping them up for so long because… she had been sleepwalking? Or dreaming? Or just hallucinating? Would she be able to face them again?

Not wanting to think about it, she sat up against in bed and buried her face in her hands. This… all of this… how had something so simple become so damn strange?! No! There had to be some kind of logical explanation to this. Last night, in the early hours of the morning, she had had three men invade her house, so that was trespassing. They had said they were vampires so… maybe they were LARPers, those people who got so lost in their fantasies, they forgot all about reality. Just roleplaying weirdos who had somehow gotten into her house?

They were just LARPers with insomnia, so they had just deluded themselves into thinking that they were vampires. Those teeth, the same ones that she could remember so painfully clear even through the haze of sleep and the soreness of her feet, had to be fake. Just those weird clip ones that people got for Halloween costumes. That had to be it.

Just like that, she had put together everything in her head. Just as she had thought, there was a logical explanation to everything. But… where those men now? Sliding out from under her covers, she carefully examined her feet and groaned. Admittedly, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been if she hadn’t thought to put her socks on before she went downstairs, with just a few scraps and scratches. The raw skin she had felt was where tiny blisters had spontaneously appeared and the skin had opened, but she was still going going to need plasters for them to properly heal. Just her like that the first aid kit was downstairs! Just climbing out of bed was going to be painful enough but walking all the way down there on these?

She grabbed her dressing gown with one hand and the other pulled open the drawer of the bedside table, fishing inside for what she prayed would be a pack of painkillers. When she found one, she searched over the top, but what she didn’t expect was for her hand to brush against a piece of paper folded twice over she hadn’t noticed before. Looking over, she registered it sitting against the vase, ignored until now. What was more, it appeared to have been torn from her notebook, there was no mistaking the blue lines that had attracted her to it.

A deep pit growing in her stomach, she unfolded it with shaking hands, revealing words written in a flowing, neat hand very much unlike her own frantic scribbles and nothing even comparable to Tawney’s own notes. This had come from a third person and the longer she looked at it, the worse her stomach sank.

Dear Miss,

Please forgive us for trespassing into your home. We only intended to rest in your abode for a few moments. It was never our intention that we wake you from slumber nor that we would alarm you so if you were to arise. I only pray that you will grant us your permission to remain here and take our leave when we have recovered our strength. As I write this, my brothers and I are preparing to rest, and I pray that you allow us to remain thus.

I swear upon my honour as a gentleman that we shall explain all upon the setting of the sun whence it is safe for us to emerge once again. Until that moment arrives, please remain assured that we shall pose no harm to you, shall endeavour to keep from inconveniencing you whenever possible and shall pay our dues upon the moment of our departure.

Until that moment, my brothers and I have the honour to be your obedient servants.

Cesare, Viktor and Erik

Danni had to read the letter three more times before the words made even a hint of sense. Eventually, the looping cursive and thin lines formed itself into real words, but there was something in her brain that wouldn’t come together, some neurones that refused to connect. This made everything… logic had failed her. There was no denying anything more, to do so would be nothing less than folly. But what did any of this mean?

No… no… there were parts of this that she just could not accept. But then what had she seen.

Were vampires real now? Those men, in her kitchen, were they… were they sleeping somewhere in the house? Where?

All she knew about them was… one of them liked alcohol and their names. Cesare, Erik and Victor… but who amongst them were who?

She could hold the evidence in her hand, but there were parts that she simply could not believe were a part of reality. No. She would not believe a word of this, until she saw things for herself. For that, she would need to get up and move. She needed to investigate the whole house again, make absolutely sure that she hadn’t missed something. After hobbling over to her drawers, she pulled on one of her thickest shirts, her fleece lined jeans and a fresh pair of socks which did something to ease the pain in her feet, but she would still prefer to get some plasters on the injuries instead.

Venturing downstairs, her first impression was that everything appeared to be right aside from the heat needing a few more logs. However, there was no ignoring that something in the air was different. She couldn’t put her finger on what, but it was there, like the smell of gas. The kind you could barely detect unless you knew what to look out for.

Now that she thought about it… was there actually a smell in the air? Almost like…rust? Or maybe it was a kind of musty? It was fleeting, seeming to appear and disappear whenever she would turn her head. It was a far cry from the thick scent that her myriads of cleaning products that she had grown accustomed to inhaling every time she came down the stairs and cut through the space like a knife. A single step took her forward, her nose catching more of that unfamiliar smell. Now she could follow it, across the dining room, down the hallway to the farthest room. The closer she got, the thicker the smell grew and the harder her heartbeat against her chest. Her vision narrowed on the door handle, a single corner catching the light and and drawing her closer. She was like a moth to a flame, every flap of her metaphorical wings bringing her closer to potential self-immolation.

Her hand hung there, raised in the space halfway between her and the handle, the pulse thrumming like a plucked string in her wrist, rising up through her neck, into her temple and swirling her mind into a mess of disjointed, barely formed thoughts. One step closer, one more and she would open the door to find… what? Coffins? Bodies? Nothing! In her mind, she knew that the least she could find in there was the twin beds she had stripped and remade three times a week since arriving. Even now, she could recall how they looked, the way the blue-striped duvet covers spotted with white flowers looked under the sun when she would throw the blinds open. The softness of the thick round rug under her feet, the the smell of the polish she had used on the frames and the chests of drawers.

Every breath brought more of that smell, chasing thoughts discovering of Bluebeard’s secret from her head. Taking in a deep inhale, setting her feet firmly against the ground in a stance that might have looked a little more fearsome if her socks didn’t have ducklings on them, Danni squeezed the handle and counted out loud to herself.

“One… two…” Now or never! It was now or ever! “Thre-!” She couldn’t finish the word before her hand jerked and the door opened. Somehow what lay inside was nothing like she had imagined and something straight from a nightmare.

Coffins.

Three coffins, each large enough for a grown man. Corners of polished wood were visible in the tiny beams of sunlight coming through the smallest of gaps in the curtains.

She hadn’t been imagining last night. This was real.

Everything she had seen last night…. Had been real. This was the proof of it.

She was in the kitchen before her mind caught up with what her body was doing. Moving on autopilot, she had pulled together a bowl of cereal but could only sit there, spoon raised in the air without the presence of mind to take that first bite. Whenever she would try and think about eating, her mind would slam on the brakes, sending her into a frantic spin, forcing her to start that thought process all over again. Abandoning her food when each thought of eating made her think back to what lay within the furthest room, she resorted back to what she knew to be certain, what was reliable, what was familiar.

Pulling fresh sheets from the airing cupboard, she was hit with the sudden memory of standing here, being positive that she would find someone here, only to faint dead away when a voice sounded in her ear. One of the three voices she had heard just before in her kitchen.

Nope.

That was it.

She was done.

She needed to get the hell out of here!

Dismissing the pile of linens she had dropped into a heap on the floor, she barely remembered to pull on her jacket, grab her bag, phone and slid on the boots still sitting by the door. How could something that so redolently stunk of rubber still be drowned out by that smell of dust and age?

She would need to return them to Joey at some point, but for now, just wearing them brought her back to herself. Climbing aboard her bike, she hesitated for a moment on where she should go. Her first thought was to go down to Joey’s shop, but her stomach coiled around itself like a gastrointestinal ouroboros at the thought of seeing his sunny expression diminish at the sight of her. Maybe… Maybe it was safer to go to the vicar instead? He was a man of cloth, so he would, hopefully, be a little more amenable to forgiving her for that wild goose chase she had sent him and Joey on.

Kicking off the ground but with significantly less gusto than before, she only went a little way down the lane before turning off down a corner, the opposite direction to where she usually would have gone. But any joy she might have gotten from breaking through the piles of snow, dodging fat water drops falling from the trees, was gone. There was nothing to feel good about now. How could she? She was defenceless against three… things! Things she dared not name!

Any allies she may have had before now in her tentative attempts to make friends lay in ashes. What if Joey had already told the village women about what she had done? Would any of them ever want to see her again? What if her first try at a tea party would be her last?

With less than a month left to go before her time here would be up, would she be leaving in shame? Surely, it might not be so bad, just… tremendously embarrassing to know that the entire town would see the car that took her away from here? And then there was the inevitable.

Her parents.

She had finally been able to put them out of her mind whilst she had been having so much fun, but now their faces rose like looming spectres in her minds eye. With them came fresh tears that blurred her vision, their voices full of scorn sounding so close, so loud in her head that she came perilously close to colliding with a strange shape on the street, almost spilling off her bike.

There was a screech of brakes, a scream that might have come from her or someone else, a grunt of effort she knew had to have come from her slamming on both sets of brakes with white-knuckled hands. Blinking away the tears clouding her sight, she registered a great many things all at once. She was staring down at the stooped figure of an old woman. The same old woman was levelling a positively venomous expression at her.

“Ma’am! I’m so sorry! I—” Danni couldn’t get another word out before the woman rose to her full height and spoke out in a voice that rang through the space, clear as a bell and echoing like a struck gong.

“What were you thinking? Has your generation never learned to watch where you were going? Or have you forgotten what manners are! You could have hurt someone you little fool! I’m older than your parents and you almost ran me down! What if I had hit my head? How does it feel knowing you would have been responsible for my death!”

The words cut through Danni like a hot knife through ice. Guilt, self-loathing, disgust rose like boiling poison up from her stomach, fresh tears broke into hot rivers down her cheeks. She didn’t even realise that the old woman had departed from the spot. All she could see was tears and blurs and her hands coming up to cradle her face. Stumbling around a strange combination of the bike’s frame and her own legs, she tripped over herself and hit the ground with a loud thud. Lying there, surrounded by sludgy remnants of leaves, water soaking into the sleeve of her jacket, and pain from where her elbow had impacted the ground, all Danni could do was sob.

It was too much! She couldn’t go back to the house, face the villagers or approach her parents! What could she do? If the villagers already believed her to be a delusional liar, what would her parents think? What about Tawney? What would she think if she learned that Danni had picked up and quit? Her best friend would be so disappointed in her!

All that her frazzled mind could think to do was stay, blubbering like a child on the ground. Her head had begun to throb again from the force of her cries, and snot had passed her lips, steadily heading towards her chin. She dared not try to pry open the eyes, the salt of her tears making the sting unbearable! A fitting thought for her situation. It wasn’t the kind of quiet, hand muffled sobs that she would have usually had in the middle of the night when life just became too much. These were full body heaves that riddled her with shivers, left her mouth hanging open like a landed fish from the force of her silent cries. The kind that left you exhausted if you didn’t pass out first.

This might have been her fate had a voice not broken through the haze.

“Miss? Danni? What… Are you—? Are you alright?”