Chapter 9

I returned to my seat when a red-haired woman walked in. I asked her if I could borrow her newspaper when the bald guy came back and he smelled appetizing. I realized I wanted to sink my teeth in them but I kept my mouth shut. He asked me if I was ok and I gave him a nod. I kept my eyes glued to the view in the window till nightfall. By then I had enough of their attitude. They had shot a passenger. I had to stop them somehow without biting them.

Instinctively I fought them without biting them. Soon I wasn't tempted because it felt lame. I hit them hard enough to knock them out. I moved so fast it surprised me. No one ever knew it was me. It happened in a split second. I managed to sit down and read a book on forensic science till we disembarked. I was greeted by a woman who stank really bad. Naturally I punched her in the face considering how people with her stench had attacked me.

I pretended to walk as fast as I could to reach the ticket counter and get the next ticket that will take me to Boston. The woman in the counter was interested in chatting on the phone until our eyes met. I managed to convince her to get me a ticket before she went back to work.

I hopped on the train as it left. The dark red-haired woman boarded the same train and followed me. She had her eyes fixed on me that I itched to ask her what her problem was. So I approached her and she gave me a friendly smile. She said I looked like someone she knew growing up but she didn't want things to be awkward. So she was waiting for the right moment to say anything. I had to admit it made more sense.

I got a call from Mr. Ford, he was concerned that I might be kidnapped but I assured him that I am used to being an unaccompanied minor. He insisted that I tell him where I was staying so he would make sure that I came back in one piece. I explained that I was going to stay with my dad in Boston. He promised his friend would be there to make sure I would be safe.

When I reached home dad gave me a hug. We left to see her and I smelled booze before I saw Carmen drive the car past us. I told dad to make a quick left. When we finally reached the hospital dad asked me if I was ok. Because every time I go see grandpa I come back a different person. I gave him a convincing story and waited till the doctors allowed us to see her. She was barely awake so I had to wait till dad settled before I stepped out. I had to find a blood bag before I committed murder. I have seen enough vampire movies to know what needs to be done. The question was how I became one. But that is something for later. I asked the lady at the nurses' station and she even gave me her card so I won't have any problems.

I found the blood bank and was indulging in a few of them when a handsome man walked in. He was six foot tall, well-toned, mahogany haired, his face slightly bat-like. He seemed amused that I was drinking from the blood bag. I tried to convince him to go and let me do my business but he remained stationary. He was about to say something when a short fat man walked in and said something in weird language. He gave him a snarl and a hiss. I recognized the voice and asked him if he was Drake. He smiled that I remembered who he was. I rarely forget a name. So when I was done I tried to make him forget he saw it. This made him laugh. It works for others but not him. Why won't it work! I decided to walk away with my dignity so I sped out and reached dad. Drake was by my side a few seconds later. He talked to my dad and convinced him to let me stay with him.

We walked out to his car when fur coat showed up and snatched me. One moment I was walking across the asphalt the next I was in the trunk of a car. I heard muffled talks, they said something about me resembling Dracula's wife. I heard Drake call out to me in a monster voice. I didn't answer him because as much as I was a fan of Dracula I was not really a groupie. The trunk opened and I felt a needle prick and everything went black.

I woke up to hear an odd melody I had never heard before. I looked around and realized I was in a cave. I walked out to see different types of mermaids sitting and talking to one another. The first group had blonde hair, their tails were light peacock blue, their eyes were lagoon blue.

The next group was had red hair, green eyes, their tails were pure gold and they had clusters of fish scales all over their body more specifically around their chest. The next had black hair, their eyes were completely grey, they had long nails, their tails were dark blue with a hint of silver and the last didn't look like mermaids. They look like sea monsters. Their eyes and tails were pitch black. Their tail ends looks like samurai swords tied together to make a Japanese fan. Their fingertips looked like knives. They had dreadlocks and their face was black veins all over. Their teeth were all fangs. Their smiles resembled great white sharks. They even had a fin in their back that resembles one. They huddled in groups but they were sitting as though they were sitting in a Colosseum. The center had four odd looking chairs that look like they were thrones. The women sitting there had seashells and pearls woven into their hairs with spiky seashells on their heads like crowns. To my estimation this was a conference between the queens of the sea. It turns out I was right. They were trying to hide me till they figured out how to stop Dracula. So after an hour of what felt like screeching, shrieking and singing, they beckoned me to come forward. They pulled me underwater and I was covered in bubbles of many sizes. When that cleared my first thought was to call James. I remembered everything and I had a mix between joy and anger. I wanted to punch the seer for making me forget. I was excited that I remembered who was in the fur coat. Also that I will see him again. Also that I can hold my breath. Not to mention recalling the future which the merpeople and the seer combined showed me as a test.

I was escorted to a cove that surely inspired Hans Christian Anderson to write the little mermaid. There were enough women that resembled her. I settled on a bed of seaweed when the scariest group of merpeople arrived. Their bodies were covered with scales too but these were pitch black but when light hits it, they turn a darker peacock blue. They had fingers that got thinner as it reached the nails which resembles barbs. Their tail resembled Mako sharks. Their faces had black veins all over. To make it even creeper the whites of their eyes were black while the iris was blood red. They had sharp teeth but their fangs on both upper jaw and lower jaw were significantly longer. It took them a moment but they slowly changed until they resemble the mermaids you see in all depiction of mermaids but their scales and tails were silver with a touch of gray. They waited for a few more minutes and then their tails turned to legs. I approached them with caution and they looked at me with curiosity. I asked them to take me to the Himalayas and I will find them the pearl of wisdom. This caused excitement in the group, they shrieked and wailed. Then they dragged me to the waters where great white sharks were swimming merrily waiting for their next meal. They converged on me like I was a baby seal. Their queen stood in front of me and they turned around. I felt her tighten her grip on my hand and she swam as fast as she could to take me as close to the mountains as possible. She took me to the bay of Bengal. Then to the Ganges river then the Gandaki river and soon I was near the Himalayan mountain ranges. She made a call and I saw Yetis stomping towards us. They screeched at each other and he disappeared a for few minutes and came back with a sledge. After that I was escorted to see Anatoli he gave me clothes and directions to find Yuki Onna. He told me to stick to the trail and whatever happens I must not leave it or I will never be found ever again. Here goes nothing.