Chapter 27 Dusk till Dawn

I awaken the following day; I rarely achieve more than a handful of hours of sleep.

My eyes and head are heavy and familiar, and I feel my mind still pulsing like it was made of that mesh of bodies from last night. Everything and nothing happened between now and then.

Love and loss, pleasure and pain, joy and heartache do not matter now. The new day has just begun again.

The song thrush sings her sweet song. I feel each body part, then rise, as I always do. The petrichor and first rays of sunlight leak through my curtains as I rise out of my empty bed.

As I take the slow steps to the outdoors to relieve that knot in my stomach, I allow that morning light to fill me up, leaving me yellow, yellow, and I watch the sunrise again.

I feel alive, energized, and ecstatic. I feel I can go anywhere or do anything, that the thick August air is dancing with possibilities.

Though far from that of a beautiful songbird, the music enters my veins and floods them with life, making me need to move, feel, and be alive, the rush of her blood still pumping through my veins.

Her lips to my neck, I touched my neck to feel if there was anything, but I felt nothing.

Walking over to my sister's room, I saw she was still asleep with Maka and Mia. I walked downstairs to the kitchen. The sun was high up at 6 am on a Sunday. Yes, I could never sleep.

I walked to the lounge; as I looked around, all the furniture was still covered in plastic. I started to remove the plastic over the eight chairs and dining table.

I looked up at the portrait. It was something I could never get enough of staring at the story behind the poster. I heard something that sounded like footsteps.

I quietly made my way to the window and glanced out. Six guys in the driveway; looked suspicious, wearing hooded tops, and I couldn't get a clear view.

I stepped back into the lounge. Mia came down the staircase bare feet, and her hair hung loosely over her shoulder.

She had that perfect smile, revealing her dimples, wearing back shorts and a tank top, "you're up early?" She glanced over at me.

Sometimes it felt like she was a dream I never wanted to end.

She was everything I could ask for, " I couldn't sleep. I figured your door was open when I went to your room to check in on you. Is there anything I can do to help you sleep?"

I shook my head, staring at the portrait. That's when she glanced up, "nice portrait you have there," she smiled.

I shook my head, "it is nice, but it's not mine. It's from the previous owner.

I love the story behind it."

"Story behind the portrait?" She repeated.

I nodded, "it's about a kid who got taken into the woods. The villagers found out years later and burned the house into the woods.

After seeing the boy dead, the woman insisted it was not her. They had no mercy on her and burned her alive.

The boy woke up, and they believed he was cursed and killed him. The mother swore to get revenge on those villagers."

Mia sat with her chin in her hand while sitting with crossed legs on the stool, listening attentively. Her nose had started to bleed.

I stood up, walked over to her, and wiped the blood from her nose, "Are you okay?"

Mia stood up, "that has never happened before." She looked up, Kai, she pointed at the portrait. Something was running down the portrait. It seemed like blood ran down from the frame, "is it supposed to do that?"

There was a sudden chilly breeze in the lounge, "no, I have never seen anything like that before."

Mia looked at the painting.

It ran to the bottom frame, like a waterfall, but just in drops.

"Mia, your nose stopped bleeding, and that blood had stopped on the portrait."

"Thats strange."

Mia looked at the tissue. It was clean with no blood, "this house is spooky," she joked.

Mia took two steps back, "I saw this in a dream."

"A dream? What the portrait?"

"No, I saw darkness, I heard cries, I saw torches of flames, I heard footsteps getting closer, I heard screams, I heard cries, I saw the fire," she turned to me, "I have seen this all in a dream."

"We all dream of darkness now and then," I tried to soothe her, but at the moment, nothing made sense.

I had just witnessed blood dripping from Mia's nose and suddenly vanished. We heard something by the window. " What is that, Kai?"

"I saw guys earlier outside by the driveway. Maybe it's them."

"Don't go out. I have this bad feeling, Kai."

I did not intend to go outside, but I wondered who those guys were now that she had mentioned it. "I won't go outside."

I slowly walked over to the window and saw those men.

They wandered around the house as if trying to sneak a peak. I could smell their human blood, which smelled horrible to me. Since I have tasted Mia's blood, I can't stand human blood. "These are a bunch of kids trying to break in."

Mia shook her head, "you're wrong. These guys were sent here by Mr. Chan." Mia closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"I am calling out for help."

"Mia, thats not necessary."

Mia has somehow grown overprotective towards me and was scared I might go out. She ran over to the doors, checking the locks.

Within minutes, I heard the howl of a wolf. The pack of wolves stood in the street, staring at the men around the house. I was expecting them to run, but something I least expected happened.

The men walked right up to the wolves, and the wolves took a step back, looking up at the house and then down at the men.

The men took a step forward. From the back, I couldn't see their faces, but the expression on the wolves' faces was fearful.

I could hear the hearts of Ling and his pack.

"I told you," said Mia, "my dad just let me know it's not humans."

"But Mia, I smelled humans."

"What you smelled was not humans; it's evil. Your senses are weakening. I am not sure why."

"If I go out there, I can kill them all."

"No, dont my dad has just confirmed that they are vampires, sent by Mr. Chan.

He had built up an army of thousands to take us down."

The wolves spread out as they leaned forward for the attack. The guy lifted his hand in the air, and there was a loud cry as the wolf transformed back into its human shape, lying on the ground in a fertile position holding his stomach.

The five wolves jumped in front of the guy on the ground.

Mia started to cry, "they are going to kill my brother."

I closed my eyes as my stones lit up, but nothing happened. I felt weak.

My head started spinning, and the yellow stone became weaker, "Kai, what's going on with you? You pale, are you okay?"

I looked up, confused as to why my powers felt so weak. I walked over to the door opening it. Mia asked me, "what the hell are you doing?"

I looked down, and the pendant was closed. It usually goes open when the stones light up—this time, it didn't. I tried opening the pendant and couldn't get it to open.

The men walked towards us, and the wolves couldn't get past the transparent wall.

"They are coming for us," Mia took a deep breath, grabbed my wrist, bit it, and sucked it.

I felt like I was being drained alive as she sucked harder, and her eyes grew yellow. I dropped down to my knees as she hissed. She put out her hand and screamed as the veins on her arms were visible.

"You won't touch him!" She screams at them.

A sudden dark mist appeared, and the men were gone as it dissolved. Maka and Jia came running down the steps, "what happened? Why is my brother on the ground?"

Jia transformed into a twenty-year-old and dragged me to the couch. Mia sat on her knees with her head bent forward. The wolves walked over to her. Ling transformed into his human shape, lifted her from the ground, and carried her to the chair.

The pack of wolves went over to where the men were and sniffed the ashes of the remains.

"What the hell was that," Maka snapped.

"Now is not the time, Maka," said Jia, "he is weak.

Jia's power had dropped to ten, and her brother was forty percent. With such little power, they were in danger. It was up to Maka and Lei to protect Jia and Kai.

Maka picked up her phone and called Lei over. They had to figure out how to get Mia to drink the water. Right now, everyone's lives are in danger.