CHAPTER 10 (In Montague Orphanage - London)

Ali-May snuggled into her covers, it was surprisingly cold tonight. Even for October.
She had already made sure the windows were closed but it didn’t make any difference.
Ali-May was more worried however about what was going to happen to her. Didn’t Christine say that today had been her last day? But she had told her everything about the dreams. Maybe she didn’t believe her. Maybe Christine thought she had been cutting herself and was just trying to get out of being sent to a mental hospital, for she knew that’s what Christine meant by ‘hospital’. But then why had she been so interested in her dreams and Ali-May had a suspicion that Christine had taken her drawings. Did she know something? Did she have some idea of what was happening to her? She hated having all these questions and no answers. But it was probably the only thing that was keeping her sane. Otherwise she would just think about her family, and then the dreams would come into her head even before she had gone to sleep.
A noise made Ali-May jump; it came from outside her window. It was a kind of whooshing noise. She thought it just a bird or a strong wind and snuggled closer to her covers her eyelids growing heavy.
Maybe Christine would visit tomorrow and she could ask her what was going on.
Whoosh!
Ali-May sat up and pulled back the curtains.
Nothing.
She looked downwards and in the light of a streetlamp saw a shadow slink off round the corner of the building.
Drunk? Police officer? Mr Walker perhaps?
She closed the curtains and got back under her covers.
She heard a very distant noise coming from inside the building, a scuffling noise, something she remembered from that fateful night. Her heart started beating faster.
Suddenly the lights cut out. Ali-May heard her rattling breath.
“AARRRRGGGGHHHHH!” Came a blood-curdling scream from the ground floor.
Oh no! It’s happening again! They’re coming for me! She thought.
She was breathing so heavily and so fast that she feared she might go into shock.
Panicking she reached under her bed and felt for her torch, one of the few items Barb had brought from her house.
She grabbed it and turned it on checking every corner of her room. She drew her feet out of bed, the cold and fear bringing goose pimples sprouting upon her bare legs and arms.
She heard a faint knocking at the window, which made her spin around and back up against the door, her torch beaming a shaky light on the curtain.
She stood still for what felt like an eternity, but then she stepped forward and leant over her bed grabbing one of the curtains.
She gulped and wrenched them open.
“ARRRGGHHH!” She screamed. Standing or most liking hovering at the windowsill was her cousin Edward. Except it wasn’t Edward.
He looked liked him, had the same black hair and pointy nose but his skin was so pale and his eyes yellow and his teeth like fangs.
My dream! She yelled in her head My dream is coming true!
Edward tried to bash in the window clawing and snarling.
Frantically Ali-May unlocked her door and threw herself into the corridor. A number of doors were open and little faces were peering out looking scared or curious.
“Ali-May! What’s happening?” Pippin asked coming out of her own room rubbing her eyes but still managing a smile.
“Get back to your room! All of you! And lock your doors! NOW!” She yelled and they all looked so frightened they did this without question.
Running on fear Ali-May fled down the stairs her legs hardly able to support her; she heard footsteps walking towards her and turned her torch.
She screamed again when in the torchlight appeared her grandmother, Aunt and…her mother.
This is too much! She thought.
“Mum!” she yelled wanting to hug her but she knew what would happen. She had been there often enough in her dreams.
Instead she fled down the last flight of stairs and waiting for her at the reception desk was Mr Walker lying dead in a puddle of his own blood, two puncture wounds on his neck.
Ali-May jumped over him and pushed open the front door fleeing down the steps. Her heart missed a beat when a car came roaring down the road and screeching to a halt right in front of her.
“Quick, get in!” Yelled Christine from the front seat.
Ali-May was frozen to the spot; she saw the police car on the opposite side of the road. Both police officers were lying still on the bonnet.
“Quickly! Trust me!” Christine called.
BANG!
Both Ali-May and Christine turned to the door of Montague Orphanage. Every member of Ali-May’s family stormed out of the building towards her.
Without a second thought Ali-May threw herself into the back of Christine’s car as she slammed down the accelerator and they burned down the road and out of sight.

CHAPTER 11

It had taken Ali-May the whole journey back to Christine’s house to find her voice and demand to know what was happening.
“I’ll tell you everything I know when we get inside. You’ll be safe here” Christine said taking Ali-May by the shoulder and steering her into the house.
Ali-May sat on the sofa shivering while Christine locked the door behind her and checked all windows were closed before making two cups of hot chocolate and placing one in Ali-May’s shaking hands.
“W-w-what’s happening?” sobbed Ali-May, tears streaking down her face.
Christine gulped. She wasn’t sure whether she should tell the whole truth to Ali-May; she looked so delicate sitting there in her nightgown crying over the dead family who were trying to kill her.
Ali-May looked up at Christine.
“How d-did you know w-what was h-happening?” she asked.
Christine felt this was an acceptable question to answer.
“Ali-May, I’m a priest. Of the Protestant Church. But I’m also a psychiatrist, not a very good one but one all the same” She answered.
Ali-May became suddenly aware of all the little figures of Jesus and other religious people sitting around the lounge. There was also a picture of the Nativity above the fireplace and a Bible sitting on the highest shelf near the window.
“When you told me about your dreams and I saw your drawings I began to believe you were in direct contact with the vampire prophecy-”
“The what?” Ali-May asked in confusion.
“Ali-May. Do you believe that there are some beings out there that aren’t human or animal? Things that have no evidence of existence?” Christine asked
Ali-May firstly shook her head but then she thought back to her dreams, she had believed it then, the monsters trying to kill her. And what about her family? They were supposed to be dead, but there they were.
“I’m afraid to say that unfortunately some of these make believe creatures are actually real. I’m afraid to say” she said looking up at Ali-May “That you’re family are vampires” she added.
There was no expression change on the girls face. It was as if she knew the truth already, but needed to hear it from someone else.
“Why?” she whispered “Why me? Why m-my family?” she asked
“I believe that you are in the blood line of a Premier” Christine said getting off the coffee table and looking at the picture of the Nativity on the wall.
“P-Premier? Who’s that?” she asked.
“Thousands of years ago. No one can be sure when exactly. The first two vampires were created by the Devil. These were creatures of the night and were given the skill of exceeding the limits of normal man. They were a plague put upon God’s Earth to create great misery among God’s children. They killed for food and for pleasure” she explained “No one knew how to kill these monsters because no one could ever get near them without being killed themselves. And unfortunately more vampires were born from the first two. They multiplied and multiplied until the Earth was run with them” Christine ran a hand down the frame of the painting and took a deep breath “But soon after the beginning of the Protestant Church, the priests had caught one of these vampires. At first they were called Blood-drinkers, but the captured vampire told them that they had given themselves the name of Vampyres. He told the Protestants of the Premiers. It was only when one of the priests became enraged with the vampire and stabbed the end of a wooden cross into his heart did they realise how to defeat them.
Soon there were thousands of reformed Priests scowering the globe killing off as many Vampires as they could and they called themselves Slayers. But more vampires were being made then they were destroyed. Then the book was discovered” Christine said.
“Book?” Ali-May asked having been wrapped in this story of vampires and priests.
“Yes, it’s called Vampyre Praedico written by the Premiers, it contains all the information on the vampire race. How to kill them, how they are created and…” she trailed looking meaningfully at Ali-May “The prophecies to be fulfilled” Ali-May looked at Christine then back into her mug.
“There was also a ritual in there of how to stop the blood line of Premier born vampires. Through their study the slayers had found out that Premier born vampires were more powerful then the mortal turned vampires. So in the year 1902 a revelation came which the vampires know as The Clot. The priests preformed the ritual but were attacked by the Premiers themselves. One of them, Soras was slayed, the other Cadmitus escaped, but the bloodline was finished. No more Premier borns turned out to be vampires, they were mortals” she explained
“What h-has this got to do with m-me and my f-family?” Ali-May sobbed.
“There is a prophecy in the book that there would be a family of unimaginable power born off of one of the Premiers. They will be more powerful then any previous Premier born vampire, but they are mortals so had to be turned before the prophecy could be completed. It states in the book that there is one of this family who will be the most powerful of them all, she will be the strongest weapon and control unimaginable power to change the world into misery and pain. This mortal is a girl” she finished and looked at Ali-May who looked up at her with horror.
“You mean I…? My f-family…” she struggled. Christine sat down beside her and placed an arm around her.
“I know this a lot to take in. Especially since all you’ve been through, but it’s true”
“But I’m n-not evil! I-” she sobbed
“I know, of course you’re not Ali-May. But you are the only hope Lord Cadmitus has of returning vampires to full power” Christine explained
“Lord Cadmitus? He’s still alive?” she asked
“Yes. Unfortunately he has managed to stay in hiding and no slayer have been able to capture him yet” she explained.
“I don’t w-want to be a v-vampire!” she wailed and cried openly into Christine’s shoulder.
“I’m so sorry my sweet little girl” Christine whispered into her hair “I’m so sorry you have to through this” she added.
Soon the sobs faded and Christine found Ali-May asleep in her arms. Gently she laid her down on the sofa and retrieved a blanket from the airing cupboard.
“I wish I could say this will all be over soon” she said miserably and looking down she pulled up her sleeve to reveal a mark that had been on her arm since she had been born.