Chapter Two

CHRIS

Two minutes passed and as if on cue a black BMW came around the corner earning me a smirk off Rose.

"Get the car to stop Chris, say I'm unstable and about to jump."

I roll my eyes but before I can stop her she climbs back onto the bridge without a care for her own safety. If I kept her around I'd have to keep an extra eye on her. I walk into the road and flag down the car, the car window rolls down and I could see why Alex had a family history of heart disease because he was obese and barely fit behind the wheel.

"What's the problem?"

"My daughter is threatening to jump, she won't listen to me but maybe she'll listen to you. Will you please help me?" I motion with frantic hands towards the bridge where Rose was acting hysterically.

Alex gets out of the car pretty fast, or as fast he could. I follow behind him as he walks towards the bridge with his hands raised "err, I don't know you miss but you don't want to end your life."

Rose stops and turns to face Alex and jumps off the bridge landing on the grass in front of him, "you're right I don't want to end my life, but my apparent dad is pretty hungry."

Alex's eyes widen and I know my pupils have dilated and my canines have extended. Rose covers her eyes with her hands and next thing I know I'm lunging at Alex and sink my fangs into his neck.

ROSE

I was curious as to how vampires fed so I took my hands away from my eyes and watched as Chris kept Alex from struggling with a tight grip on the collar of his shirt while drinking without making a mess. Chris pulls back and licks his lips before his fangs disappear and his eyes turn back to brown.

"Chris, you need to wipe his memory and put him back in the car so he can die."

Chris nods in silence before grabbing Alex again and drags him back towards the car. I pick up my satchel ready to part ways with Chris as he gets Alex back into the car and back onto the road.

"Where do you think you're going, Rose?"

I jump as Chris vamp speeds in front of me and stops me in my tracks. In the distance, a car swerves and hits a tree, another one bites the dust. Chris follows my gaze just as Alex's car goes up in flames.

"I can't be around people Chris until I know more about my power and what I'm capable of."

"Come and live with me Rose. Isolation can get lonely, I should know. Plus I have books that could help you understand your power and how to control it."

Well, now that was a plot twist, a vampire offering his home up to a human. My whole body screamed that something bad would happen to me if I went with Chris, but my mind was curious as to how Chris could help me. I'd take the bad with the good, a leap of faith.

"We'll have to make some ground rules Chris, but for now, my answer is yes."

Chris cracks a small smile and motions for me to hand him my heavy satchel, what a gentleman.

"Once we get back to the house we'll come up with some rules to keep us both safe and sane Rose. Now come along before the fire attracts unwanted attention."

CHRIS

Rose hands me her bag and I start to walk back towards the cemetery, the rumours were true that I lived on the other side. The cemetery was falling apart so the town built a newer one closer to town. The silence between us was comfortable until we walked past the mausoleum with my family name written across the arch.

"So you've always lived in Scranton Chris?"

I sigh, "I'm the last living, or I guess the better term is undead Cerulli family member. I was born and raised here, I also died and became a vampire here."

Rose looks up at me and her facial expression seemed generally interested in my story. She runs her fingers across some dead vines that fall away with a single touch, I guess because I kept the place in a good condition that only added to the rumours.

"You don't have to tell me, Chris, I guess it's a pretty personal story."

I tense my fingers around the handle of the bag. I wasn't use to people respecting my boundaries because not even my supernatural friends did.

"No, I will tell you, Rose. I mean if I don't then someone else might."

Rose nods and starts to walk in the direction of my house, I was thankful she didn't make me stay any longer surrounded by the dead and past memories.

FLASHBACK

SCRANTON - 1216

"I'm sorry Christopher but your wife and daughter were murdered after being robbed."

Tears spill down my cheeks as the officer tells me that the two most important people in my life have been taken away from me. It was broad daylight and they were heading to the local market in town, I should have gone with them to protect them but my wife Grace insisted that she and Annabelle would be fine. Everyone in Scranton knew each other.

I was the town locksmith and had stayed back with my apprentice Angelo to get a job done for the mayor. Angelo now stood behind me and patted my shoulder reassuringly, he had a kind soul and Annabelle had a small crush on him despite only being ten.

"How did it happen? Everyone in town knows each other."

I was grateful for Angelo to ask the questions I couldn't. Officer Nick shuffles on the spot before taking a deep breath, was it that bad?

"They were dragged into a side alley, we believe there were two attackers to keep both girls silent. They had bite marks on their necks and early signs say they were drained of blood."

What kind of monster drained people's blood? I had to find my wife and daughters killers.

"Do you have any suspects yet?"

The officer nods and scratches his head, "two men, not from her came into town on a boat with European accents. Maybe Finnish but we can't be too sure. We have men scouting the town, port and nearby areas for them."

~Night~

I stumble back home from the local tavern, I had drunk just enough to numb the pain. I wasn't long back home when I got a knock on the door, I suspected it was Angelo who was known to misplace his keys after a few drinks.

"Angelo you really need to keep a better eye on your keys-"

I stop talking once I see that it wasn't Angelo at the door but a man I'd never seen before. He had piercing green eyes which stood out against his ghostly white skin, he had shoulder length brown hair which was uncommon on men from around these parts. He had a slim build and was dressed quite dapper, although his black fingerless gloves looked like they'd seen better days.

"Are you going to invite me in Christopher?"

His accent was foreign, then I remembered what the officer said about the killers being from Europe. Was the man in front of me one of the killers? I go to raise a fist but he stops me with a look, and although I want to hit him my hand wasn't listening to me like it was being controlled.

"I'm Ville Valo, yes I have the same accent as your wife and daughters killers because we come from Finland. But no I'm not one of the killers but I do know their names if you let me in."

I didn't want to let this strange man in but the second he said he knew the names of the killers all rational thinking went out of the window.

"Come in Ville."

"Thank you, Christopher."

Ville walks in like he owns the place. He walks past the empty fireplace and with a snap of his fingers the wood lights itself. I jump back in shock, what sort of witchcraft was this?

"What are-"

"The killers are called Mikko and Juha. Now, Christopher, they are no mere humans. Just how far are you willing to go to seek revenge?"

I didn't need to ponder the question long.

"I'll do whatever it takes."

Ville grins and I take a step back in pure horror as his canines elongate and his pupils dilate black.

"This will only hurt a bit, Christopher."

Before I can defend myself he lunges himself at me and I scream as he sinks his teeth into my neck. Were vampires real? My wife and daughters killers were of the supernatural world.

END OF FLASHBACK

"Did you catch the killers, Chris?"

Rose draws me out of my thoughts just as we reach the front gate. I push the gate open and it creaks loudly from years of neglect.

"After I woke up a vampire Ville explained this new world to me. He had a bone to pick with Mikko and Juha and couldn't attack them alone. We tracked them down and killed them slowly and painfully."

Rose nods not saying anything, it was a lot to take in for a human. I open the front door and motion for her to go ahead of me. I rarely had company so the house didn't really look lived in, I watch as Rose glances around cautiously. I go to ask her if she'd like a tour since she'd be living here but before I could open my mouth she yawned. It was quite late for a human, vampires could sleep but it wasn't needed.

"Do you think we can go over the rules tomorrow Chris, I'm kind of tired?"

"I'll show you to your room, Rose."

She nods and follows behind me as I make my way upstairs. My original home burnt down and I now lived in an old church/monastery on the edge of the cemetery. It was too big for one person, but now two people occupied it. I open a door on the first floor that leads into a spacious spare bedroom. I put her bag down on the bed and Rose jumps onto the king size bed to check out its spring and bounce.

"Thanks for this Chris, well I'm going to sleep now."

I walk out of the room and shut the door behind me, while Rose slept I'd be researching death sense.