George
Previously in Who?|The Dhampir:
"Go on," she says and looks at me.
"If your tank is full and your car is full of food, I guess you'll believe me," she casually says.
"Be braver," she says as she gestures her hands. The chair I sit in moves as if it is being dragged backward. "Have a nice trip, Georgina!" she says as she waves.
The tent opens. I am completely dragged outside, still on the chair. The chair stops, facing the road where Saber's car is.
"Wait!" I stand up and turn to face the tent.
But it's gone.
She's gone.
"What just happened?" I whisper.
I rush towards the car.
"It's... Full," I whisper in disbelief after seeing the gas meter.
Did she give me food as well?
I open the trunk. My eyebrows rise after seeing the trunk full of food.
"Thank you!" I yell as I look up to the sky.
Day by day, my life is getting weirder and weirder.
* * *
"Okay," I say as I decide to stop and take a rest.
"So what do we have here?" I open the car trunk and look for the stuff the old lady gave me.
"Should I eat these? She won't poison me, right?"
Oh, I have my lie detector test with me.
"And she didn't lie," I say and take the food and other items out of the trunk.
"Sleeping bag pillow mini stove, instant food, and 2 liters of water. Thank you so muchâ" I pause and look at the sandy mountains. "I didn't ask her name."
I continue driving.
What if I am only driving in circles?
Literally.
The road seems to be an endless loop. My gaze stares at the white sandy mountains. Slowly, I shift my gaze to the ocean.
"I'm tired," I say, slowly stepping on the break.
"Ha," I exhale and shake my tired arms. "I am tired."
I stare at the calm scenery in front of me.
My exhausted hand reaches for my phone. Who am I going to talk to? Another exhausted sigh escapes my lips. My gaze under the heavy lid of my eyes stares at my emergency call. After a few more rings, I hear my Aunt's voice.
"George?" I hear Aunt Liz's voice.
I cannot even remember the last time I talked to her.
"Aunt Liz," I say, trying to sound energetic. "How are you doing?" I ask.
"Doing good. Why did you only call now? I always have to ask Shane for updates about you. And it's not even from you. It's from Clarkson."
"I'm sorry. I became so busy. Werewolf school is like entering a military camp," I say.
"What are you doing now?" she asks.
"Staring outside the car window," I say. "I'm on my way back there."
"Really?" Joy is heard in the tone of her voice.
"Yep," I say.
"I'm glad!" she says and pauses.
"I miss you," Aunt Liz says. "We all miss you here. Our topic is you whenever I visit your apartment and talk to your friends. Shane will talk non-stop, with a reenactment of the scenes she's talking about."
"I miss you too," I reply.
I miss everything.
I miss everyone.
"How's the werewolf place?" she asks.
"It's cool. I took a photo of the place. The architecture is quite different. They have a village attached to the cliff!"
"Wow, you must be enjoying your stay in the new place," she says.
"Not really," I say. "Well, I know how to use swords, arrows, and bow.
I transformed as well.
"What are you doing now?" I ask her to divert the focus of our conversation from me.
"I'm about to sleep. But since it's my favorite niece, I can lend more time for catching up."
"I'm your only niece," I chuckle. "Well then, you should sleep now. Good night, Aunt Liz."
"I'll wait for you. Or I'll visit you tomorrow if I fall asleep while waiting," she says.
"You don't have to wait. Take a rest," I reply. "Good night, Aunt Liz."
"We never know when this will happen again, George," she replies. "Have a safe trip, George."
She didn't know I sneaked out.
As she should.
She'll only get worried.
After having a rest I started driving again. After a few more kilometers of an abandoned road, my face lights up when I finally see houses.
"Finally, humans!" I yell out of joy. "I'm not on the abandoned road anymore!"
A random small diner on this abandoned-looking road is still open.
"Uh... I have to pee," I whisper.
I stop in front of the diner. The neon pink and yellow lights contrast the night sky, Fred H. Blopping: Omelette House.
Omelette House in the middle of nowhere?
"Hah," I breathe out. I open the car to step outside. Looking around there are no people everywhere. Why is this store still open? I wonder as I enter the diner.
"Welcome!" a young skinny man greets me. He dramatically gasps when he looks at my car. "Did you come from the North?" he asks.
I look outside and stare at the car. "North?"
"We don't have a name to call that place except it's the Northern part of the road," he quickly says as he wipes the counter. His shaggy black hair almost blocks his sight as he looks down.
"I'm not from the North," I deny and look at the menu. "You're open 24/7?"
He nods. He stares at me before he speaks again, "If you're not, why is your car facing South? And I haven't seen your face here."
"I'm sorry but I guess you're asking too much, Sir," I politely say and look for the bathroom.
When I come out of the bathroom, the man speaks.
"People who go to North don't come back," he whispers. "Do not visit that place," he creepily warns.
"What do you mean?" I furrow.
I'm from the North.
And I'm still alive...
"People say there are magical creatures and even evil creatures living in there," he quickly says.
"The road seems to be never-ending," he continues.
Well, it is kind of true.
"Some of our men here tried to explore that place," he adds. "But they never came back."
His voice rings in my head as I walk back to my car--Saber's car, I mean.
"Why would you even explore the Werewolves' place?" I whisper once I get in the car.
I pull my phone out of the back pocket of my pants.
"12:06," I mumble, staring at my phone's screen. I start driving once again. "Gosh, this is so tiring," I said while yawning.
I dial Shane's number and wish that she's still awake.
"She's probably asleep," I whisper.
And she did not answer.
With a few more unwrapped chocolates and food given by the lady in the magical tent, the road became more familiar.
"I'm here," I say and exhale.
"George!" Shane happily greets me as soon as I get back. "I'm sorry I didn't answer your call. I'm in the bathroom that time."
"It's fine. How are you!?" I excitedly ask.
"Is that George!?" I hear Jeremy's voice from the kitchen.
"Hey, Jeremy!"
"Come, come," Shane says. "This is your house," she happily pulls me into my house.
"How are you?" I repeat.
She gives me a tight hug before talking.
"Good! There are so many werewolf hunks guarding us!" she exclaims. "Well, they're not here yet. They're visiting your village. Saber called us and told us to take care of ourselves. And of course, they left some vervains."
"I'm glad they're not here," I say as I look around the house. "Wow, it's clean."
"Yes, of course! Andrew always cleans the place," Jeremy says, walking out of the kitchen.
I give him a small smile.
"Hi, George!" Jeremy smiles.
"Where is Andrew?" I ask.
"Upstairs, sleeping," Jeremy answers. "Want some?" he offers me his bowl of ice cream.
"Are you stress eating again?" Shane raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms over her chest.
"Again?" I ask in confusion.
"He's trying to flirt with one of the female werewolves. There are three of them."
Jeremy sits on the couch and we follow. "Well," he begins. "I've never had this feeling to anyone. She's funny, smart, and quick-witted!"
"Dude, she's literally a rock. There are no emotions on her face. Except that time you accidentally punched her face while telling her a story. She grumbled and sent you death threats with her eyes. And you didn't receive them."
"Do not act as if you're not attracted to any of those werewolves! " Jeremy warns while pointing at Shane. "I bet she finds Saber attractive," he confidently says.
"Eww. No, I'm not!" Shane says with a disgusted face.
I feel a shiver. That shiver.
"Lie," I say.
"What?" Shane looks at me. "I won'tâ"
"Okay, okay. We got some rules here," I say, waving my hands in the air. "No one should lie, okay? Because I hate having this weird goosebumps just because someone lied."
Shane gasps.
"So it's real!?" she asks while clasping her mouth. "You really can detect a lie?"
"Yes," I nod and furrow my eyebrows.
"No!" Shane screams and grabs a pillow. She covers her face with the pillow and screams.
"Why?" I whisper to Jeremy.
"Dunno," he shrugs.
"So he might know I lied that I find him attractive!" Shane says in a muffled scream.
"Have you seen Stacey?" I ask Jeremy.
"Shane and she became close. They talk non-stop on the phone."
Shane lifts her head and looks at me. "She's a part-timer in a candy shop."
"Welcome to Mashie Mallows..." Stacey greets in a small voice.
I place some cookies on the counter.
"That will beâ" Stacey lifts her gaze. With wide eyes, she stares at me.
"George," she says in disbelief.
"So? How are you?" I ask. We sit in the shop's mini dining area.
"Still trying to live a normal human life," she says as she sips her hot chocolate from the shop's vending machine.
"How's my cat?" she asks.
"Tuna?" I ask. "Great. Your cat is a bit protective of his owner," I chuckle. "I am not even his original owner."
"He is. A bit possessive, am I right?" She asks and gives me a faint smile.
I roam my gaze in the old shop.
"Can I ask you a favor?" I ask.
"Yeah?" Stacey.
"Do you know everything happening inside the vampires?"
"Hmm..." Stacey thinks. "Dmitri doesn't like exposing me to those kinds of stuff. He says he would like to see me live in the human world than in their place."
Ah, right. She said she was not one of them. She is also human like us. I wonder how did met Jared?
I open the cookies and take a bite.
"But the only thing I know is that on the day they hid Dmitri he knew something was off. He's muttering curses and questioning why it's him who has to be hidden," she continues.
"He hasn't talked to his father from the day he left, until that day. That day when they planned to catch Clarkson. He's too busy catching his said enemy. He didn't know that the real enemy was nearby,"
"And..." I fidget. "It's me," I softly say.
"I haven't done wrong, okay," I say. "The thing isâ"
"Welcome to Mashie Mallows," Stacey greets and stands up when customers arrive. She watches the lady in a scrub suit entering the shop.
"I don't even know anything about this-"
"George," she interrupts. "Will it be okay for you if we talk after my shift?"
I pause and stare at her. I wanted to ask her for any information she could give me. I wanted to know everything. I wanted her to-
"I just got this job. I don't want to lose this anymore. It's... it's difficult to find another one. I have a high educational background and skills yet I am here in this place," she almost spit her every word.
I left the shop and told her to talk to her when she's free. She said her shift ends in the morning. I might talk to her this morning.
I sit outside the front door once I get back to my apartment.
"Hey," Andrew greets me and sits beside me. He hands me a hot chocolate.
Chocolate, again.
"Hey, thank you," I say. "I thought you were sleeping," I ask.
"Shane starts screaming downstairs," Andrew answers. "I thought something bad was happening but I heard your voice."
"Mmm," I hum. I give him a slight nod before taking a sip of hot chocolate.
"I overheard that there are vampires that he has to finish..."
"What?" I quickly shift my gaze to him. "Tell me about itâ"
My phone starts vibrating from the back pocket of my jeans.
I pull the phone out and read the name of the caller.
I inhale deeply.
Clarkson.
* * *
:>
Look who is dropping an update after ghosting her readers for more than a month.
I apologize for not giving an update or any notice before vanishing again. University stuff. That summarizes everything. I have more time to update now because it's semester break.
I'll be updating regularly again! Thank you for reading the story!