Come Home

Claire had been exploring the small attic of her new home, carefully weaving around dusty, broken furniture left behind by the previous owner. Toward the back, she spotted an intricately hand-carved folding screen with the top right corner chipped, then discovered the antique walnut trunk stashed behind it.

She carefully set her candle down on a small table nearby. Fixing the attic light wasn’t a priority for her fiance yet, and Ethan had taken their only car to pick up needed supplies. The candle, not the flashlight, was the first thing she found in those moving boxes. She dragged the trunk out and realized it was locked.

Hmph. She hadn’t found the flashlight yet, but Ethan always prioritized his tools, so she knew where the bolt cutter was.

She left the attic, went to the garage to retrieve the bolt cutter, went back up, and cut the lock. Taking a deep breath, she opened the trunk.

Impossible.

The lanky teen, pale, with sunken eyes, shrank from her. The shackles on his wrists and ankles, bound together with short chains, clanked softly. It was impossible for him to move. This house had been vacant for a year, how did he survive? I wish Ethan were here.

“Can you speak?”

He simply stared dully at her.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough with the bolt cutter, but let me see if I can cut through the chains. Can I try?”

He blinked, nodded, then turned his head away.

She honed in on one of the chain links. It took awhile, but finally, it broke. At least his hands were separated from his feet, and he stretched, giving a small groan.

“Let’s get you out of this trunk.”

Claire reached down to lift him up, and the teen turned and sank his teeth into her arm. Well, they weren’t actually teeth, but razor sharp points.

Claire screamed, trying to yank away, but the teen refused to let her go, drinking the blood gushing from her wound. It didn’t take long before she was too weak to fight any further. She thought she would pass out, but didn’t.

The teen licked his lips and closed his eyes, breathing steadily. “Are you the only one here?”, he rasped.

“No,” Claire spat weakly, “my fiance will be returning soon. You’ll be in serious trouble then, buddy, he’s a Navy SEAL.” 

“Good.” The teen smiled coldly. “I’m famished, and you won’t be enough. I’ll need him too.”

Dominic looked down at Claire with contempt as she started to cry softly. It wasn’t his fault his parents had an acrimonious divorce and he’d been bitten by a vampire. His dad, unable to accept his only son’s plight, chose to imprison him and keep his secret, rather than kill him. Who knew he’d drop dead of a heart attack?

After he satisfied his appetite, he’d look for mom, who had moved to Boca Raton. She’d be happy to see him.