Vampires And Sunscreen

The night was lightening up when they pulled into the parking lot. Dawn had arrived.

Olivia pulled the hover car into park and stepped out of the vehicle. A tense silence clung to the four vampires like a baby to a breast.

Y gestured for Olivia to lead the way and they set off for their destination. The Quantum observatory. He began humming a song to himself as they rode an elevator to the top floor.

Suddenly, an ethereal wave passed through the elevator and Ezra shuddered as the wave began to invade every area of his body. He stumbled dizzily as he began to feel lethargic.

A heat began to grow in his heart, fighting the wave. The intense battle went on for a few seconds and the heat from his heart began chasing away the wave. Before long, the dizziness had passed and he stood tall once more.

He blinked, looking down at himself. What was that? He turned around, intending to ask his companions what the wave was.

"What the FUCK?!" He jumped back, pressing himself to the elevator door.

Ding!

The elevator door swung open and Ezra spent a few seconds windmilling his arms before regaining his balance.

"What the fuck just happened?" He repeated as he stared at the sight in front of him. Within the time it took for them to ride to the top of the skyscraper, the three vampires with him had… changed.

Where before, they were beautiful, energetic and healthy-looking members of society, now, they looked like good looking insomniacs with pale skin.

Olivia and Genesis' beauty had diminished a bit. While they still looked incredibly beautiful, his enhanced vampire eyes could catch even more blemishes that were previously absent. Under their eyes were dark circles, making it look like they pulled three all-nighters in a row.

At that moment, the sun rose, bathing the floor in golden light through the huge floor to ceiling windows in the room. The vampires hissed in pain and Ezra quickly ducked back into the elevator.

"What's going on?" His head swiveled around, this way and that, trying to identify the threat as Y frantically jammed the button to close the elevator.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ezra asked, eyeing Y. But Y was already alert, as if he was expecting to be attacked.

"That's the sun." Gen explained.

"And?"

"The sun is a vampire's natural enemy. It weakens the powers of a vampire. It also causes intense pain and prolonged exposure can lead to death. That is one of the two ways a vampire can die." Olivia answered.

"It's always been that way. While there are theories, no one truly knows why. Right now, because of the sun, we're all as physically powerful as the average human. Our only weapons are our Auras and tattoos but even those are not as powerful during the day."

Ezra kept his face neutral. The sun weakens other vampires but why didn't he feel weak? Was it because he was a newborn?

To him, it didn't matter. Now, he had another weapon he could use against Y. The man was a bit weaker now and Ezra would definitely find a way to exploit the weakness.

Light flashed and a purple liquid appeared around Y before sinking into his skin. He then stretched like a man who just woke up from a refreshing nap.

"That's my sunscreen." He stared expectantly at the trio for a few seconds before smacking his mask-covered face with his hand. "I sealed your vitality, didn't I? And you're a newborn without tattoos. Sorry, my bad."

A glow appeared from his forearm, before materializing into three neon purple jackets. "Put these on."

"Why?" Gen eyed the jackets like they had somehow offended her. Maybe they had.

"They're sunscreens. They radiate an invisible barrier that protects you from only the rays of the sun." Y slouched.

"Don't you have it in another color?"

"Take it or leave it."

Gen grimaced, probably weighing the consequences between wearing the sunscreen and stepping into the sun. Olivia took one, her action persuading Gen to take the other one.

Y stretched the last one to Ezra who collected it, acting like he'd also been weakened. He watched Y as he put on the jacket over his tracksuit, holding his breath. After a few seconds with nothing happening, he nodded to himself.

Y wasn't ready to harm them yet. He still wanted to play whatever sick game that was cooking in his mind.

"Lead the way." X nodded at Olivia as he pressed the button to open the elevator.

The group, containing a masked man in a blue hoodie, one handsome man wearing a purple jacket over a tracksuit and two beautiful women in similar purple jackets, walked into the observatory.

Olivia led them to the reception desk. "Good morning. I'm here to see Mr. Dwight."

"Name please." The receptionist blushed from being under the gaze of the good-looking group.

"Miss Wild."

The receptionist fiddled with her computer before reaching into a compartment hidden from view and retrieving a pen and paper. She presented it to Olivia who took it and wrote down a string of twenty words with no rhyme or reason before passing it back.

The receptionist took the paper before comparing it to something on her computer. She nodded before retrieving a key which she handed to Olivia. "You may go, ma'am."

"Thank you." Olivia led them through the maze of hallways to an unremarkable door. She inserted the key into the lock and opened it to reveal an office that looked like it hadn't been used in ages.

In the office was another door with an electronic door. Olivia led them to it before inputting the passcode.

The door clicked open to reveal a dark room devoid of windows. Ezra's eyes pierced the gloom to reveal silhouettes of telescopes, office chairs and other discarded equipment.

Click!

Gen turned on the light and Ezra's eyes adjusted to the new light in a split second.

"Here we are." Y breathed reverently. "The resting place of a page from the book of Nightmares. I can feel it! Where is it?" He turned to Olivia.

Olivia moved to a clearing in the room. "Move this for me." She commanded and her two coven mates sprang to help her. Everyone was caught up in the excitement that filled the atmosphere. They would finally get to see the page!

They arranged seven telescopes into different positions specified by Olivia before they stepped back as one.

"What's next?" Y asked before Olivia shushed him.

Slowly, light began to pool in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by telescopes. The light grew blinding before dying down to reveal an unassuming box sitting on the floor.

"A special monster capable of receiving special preconditions? Clever. Must have cost a lot of vitality." X spoke. "Now open it!"

Olivia hesitated for a moment and the tattooed chain on the side of her neck glowed dangerously. She sighed in resignation before kneeling before the box. She placed a hand on the top and it clicked open.

Click!

Everyone in the room dropped to a knee as a terrifying bloodlust pressed on them like a physical weight!

"Yes. Yes! That's it! It even radiates an Aura! Hahahaha!" Y began laughing maniacally.

Sitting in the box was a page wreathed in a partially transparent haze of shadows, looking like it had been torn from a book!

Ezra gasped as the Aura slowly dissipated. He had seen it with his own two eyes.

A page from The Book of Nightmares!