Waiting For Sunrise

The door shut behind her, the chills from outside making its last dash inside. Irene walked back to the kitchen, shuffling through the various envelopes in her hand. There wasn't much she could think of to do. Her father was absent, her best friend was unreachable, and her boyfriend's status was unknown. She had tried reading. She had tried going for a jog. Her hair dripped and clung to her face as her eyes scanned the letters. Most of them were bills, or otherwise for her father. She wouldn't have even thought about the mail if the mailbox lid hadn't been left flipped up. There was a postcard from her father. Irene flipped it over, reading the short message. The typical wish she was there, hope she's doing well, and a playful reminder to eat more meat. It just compounded Irene's loneliness.

Some of the loneliness was Irene's fault. With Cyrus gone, she'd resorted to hiding in the basement, afraid of vampires or their lackeys coming for her. It wasn't just the vampires she was hiding from. She'd refused to open the door and stayed away from the windows when anyone dressed too smartly approached the door, afraid it would be a social worker. Before leaving, Marci had managed to calm Gloria down and the two women agreed to work to contain the damage. But Irene wasn't entirely sure that Gloria wasn't still a threat. And by extension, so were social and child intervention services. So were the police. So was everyone.

Irene sighed and held the postcard to her heart. What had she become? She'd been rationing her food carefully to avoid having to go shopping. She'd only gone for jogs in the wooded area behind her house. She was shut off from the world. It was just her and her cat. She needed to get out. She needed to do something other than hide from the world.

Just as Irene was about to turn and head back out the door, she heard the doorbell ring. Irene's heart gave a start. Irene almost ran and hid. However, she was done with hiding. However, she remained cautious as she crept towards the door, hearing a muffled knock. Irene opened the door a crack and peered through. Her eyes were instantly drawn to someone short in a very large coat.

"Are you Irene?" came a timid, quiet voice. Irene could barely hear her above the hammering of the rain. It didn't help that she had a scarf obstructing her mouth. All over the girl was draped in oversized clothes. The sleeves on her coat went past her fingers, her pants were baggy, ratty, and probably wicked up half the puddles she walked through. Irene could barely make out her face, for what wasn't covered by the scarf was obscured by the large tuque pulled down over her eyebrows. All she could really see were some dark brown eyes peering up at her. Irene hazarded that she was about twelve or thirteen.

"Yes…" Irene responded suspiciously. "What do you want?" she asked. Her tone was abrupt and uninviting, but she wasn't fond of strangers knowing her name.

"My name is Amber. I have a message for you. I-It's imp-p-portant… and…" the girl trailed off as her eyes slowly slid to the right. She rocked on the balls of her feet, looking down for a moment. Irene patiently waited for her to finish her sentence. The girl tilted her head, still not looking up. "…it's ab-bout… things… things you already sorta know. I was t-told you'd understand if I c-can't tell you here…"

Irene's lips palled distally, but they didn't quite make a smile. She slowly opened the door wider, but still blocked the entry. Things I should know about? Is she a vampire lacky? Can I trust her? "You could hide a lot in those coats. I'm sorry, but I can't let you in."

Amber looked up, lifting her red nose from the shelter of her scarf. "Oh… b-but I…" she seemed at a loss for words, uncertain what to do. She slowly brought her sleeved hands together until they were in front of her chest. "I won't - c-can't - hurt you. I'm just a messenger…"

Irene scrutinised the girl further. She looked so… so pathetic. As much as that could be a trick, Irene also was curious about this message. After some consideration, Irene swung the door wider and stepped aside. "Alright, come in."

"Thank you," came her girlish voice. Amber stepped in, dripping onto the linoleum of Irene's small foyer. Irene closed the door behind her, watching her carefully.

"Here, let me help you get those off and hang them to dry," Irene offered. However, the girl quickly darted away, her hands going frantically to her scarf, hiking it up. She shook her head, eyes wide and eyebrows pinched together.

"No!" Amber protested. Irene raised an eyebrow reproachfully. The girl sighed, and took off the coat and tuque. However, she adamantly insisted keeping on the scarf. Irene wondered if she was protecting her neck. With the coat off, the girl was more of a twig than even Merle. It was a sickly, unhealthy scrawniness.

"Would you like some tea?" Irene offered.

"Sure…" Irene offered Amber a chair. She sat down and watched as Irene grabbed kettle and filled it with water.

"Well, what is this important message?" Irene asked as she turned on one of the elements. She walked over and took a seat across from the peculiar girl.

"I'm supposed to tell you that…. um… Cyrus, I think the name was, is, uh, rallying up sup-pport from some others like him to stand up against Ga-Gabriel. K-keep t-to your house until you are c-contacted…" Amber recited nervously. Astonishment shone on Irene's face. Amber looked down, her cheeks growing pink. "I, uh, that's all… and… yeah."

"Did Cyrus send you?" Irene asked louder than she had meant to. If he did, Irene couldn't help but wonder if this girl was a recent acquisition. This girl was too young to be dragged into the world of vampires. The intensity in Irene's voice made Amber slouch like a scolded puppy.

"No… I've never met this Cyrus guy," Amber claimed, sounding apologetic.

Irene leaned forward, her eyes intense upon the smaller teenager. "Then who sent you?"

Amber squirmed. "I-I can't t-tell you. I can't t-tell anyone! My… er… the p-person who sent me wants t-to remain unknown. They've b-been observing you and Cyrus." Irene's eyebrows shot up, but then quickly plummeted down as her eyes narrowed. "Not in a b-bad way of course! Just t-to help!"

"Help? Why hasn't this mystery person stepped in and prevented… all the things that have happened?" Irene demanded.

Amber lowered her head, putting her hands on her lap. "They are… unwell. Getting b-better, though… will be able to leave the hiding p-place in a few days. Then… I get what I was p-promised."

Irene put her hands down on the table forcefully and stood up. "Promised? Do you realize what you have gotten yourself into? The person who sent you, whoever he or she is, is a vampire, right? Don't be foolish!" Irene chastised. She's another fool, like Matthew. Ambers eyes watered, and she shook her head more and more violently as Irene spoke.

"No! I mean, yes. I mean… I d-d-don't think it's what you think… um… b-but I'm not a mind reader," the girl said, growing steadily more uneasy. Her eyes kept darting towards the door.

Irene took in a deep sigh, her arms trembling. "You are working for a vampire for immortality, is that right?" Irene asked in a low, patient tone. At least, she tried to sound patient, but it was undeniable that she spoke through gritted teeth.

"I am not. Idon't think I'd make a very good vampire… I don't like the sight of b-b-blood," Amber responded.

Irene sighed, relaxing a little. "Then what else could a vampire offer you?"

"P-protection," Amber responded. "I-I don't have any friends to p-protect me, and my family… they don't c-care for me." Amber looked away.

Irene groaned inwardly. She tried to feel compassion in places of skeptical exasperation at this revelation. It worried Irene that she could barely maintain any tenderness towards the younger teenager, and instead felt vexation. Irene got up and went to check on the boiling water. What is wrong with me?

"Protection from a vampire is only necessary because they endanger you. You'd be better off if you never got involved," Irene said coldly.

"I didn't get… I just found… this isn't my fault! I felt… felt… someone hurt like me," Amber stammered.

Irene shook her head as she poured up the boiling water into two mugs. She isn't making any sense. "Alright… while we drink tea, why don't you tell me how you came to run messages for a vampire." Irene went on her tippy-toes to get down a box of teabags. She dropped one in each mug and brought them over to the table.

"I guess it would b-be alright," Amber's tense shoulders which were shurgged almost to her ears lowered and she clasped the warm mug. Irene got out some teaspoons and what remained of her creamed honey.

"Well, then let's hear it," Irene opened the faded plastic container, staring at the dull brown substance at the bottom. She sighed, scooping out as much of the honey as possible, offering it to the girl. Amber happily accepted the sweetener.

"Um… I was skipping morning class. I heard someone screaming. Usually I just mind my own b-b-business, since it's b-better that way, right? Well, the screaming wasn't… I uh… it was more like wailing or moaning, actually. I don't know, maybe I was c-curious. Someone was on fire. I felt REALLY sick and… and… my first thought was to run and find a b-bathroom… but then… then… I just thought… maybe helping a someone might feel nice. No one else was around. So I ran over and threw my coat over the person… I saw it on T.V. you see… I mean, most p-people would throw water, right? I didn't have any. They looked so big at first, you know, b-being on fire. I don't know why it was so empty, but I g-guess it was just early," Amber rattled out, while dismally stirring her tea. She finally took a break, to try it. She smacked her lips, giving a somewhat startled look. She stirred it some more and looked at Irene. "This is actually good. I never liked t-t-tea… so bitter and b-boring…"

"It's orange and spice," Irene took a moment to think over the story thus far. "Was the person on fire a vampire?"

"Yes. 'Course I didn't know that. I just realized that just b-because I saw nobody didn't mean they weren't there. I g-got real scared. Then I heard a whisper, t-t-telling me to get away. Yeah, I listened. I wasn't going to do nothing more, though. I got to a pay phone and called 9-1-1 and stuff. I went back to see what happened. I didn't know what else to d, you know? I just watched the p-person, all bundled, not move and stuff until the ambulance came. They screamed and tried to fight with them every time they t-tried to move the coat, screamin' something about photos or something. I left real quick…" Amber continued occasionally pulling up a teaspoon and blowing on it, only to set it back into the mug.

Irene had been calmly sipping tea the entire time. "Photosensitivity probably… it is sort of like being allergic to light."

"Oh… you must be a straight A student… I could never b-b-be that smart," Amber said wistfully. Irene was unconvinced, but decided to keep her opinions about Amber's intelligence to herself.

"Anyway… I d-didn't go b-back to school after that. I just couldn't get it out of my head, you know?" Amber paused to take another sip. "Then I overheard the T.V. news from my b-bedroom. I heard a story about a burnt person who survived miraculously from fatal b-burns, and that disap-p-peared from the hospital. It made me feel… weird deep d-down in my gut."

"That's understandable," Irene agreed. She stood up, taking the empty honey container with her and dumped it in the sink, turning the tap on. Amber watched her thoughtfully. Irene nodded to her. "Continue."

"Well… I sneaked out to get some air. You know I just couldn't keep still in my room with that weirdness. After a while I felt something g-grab my foot and I screamed and t-t-t-tripped. When I looked at my leg, I saw a b-black hand coming out of the darkness, grabbing me. I was t-too freaked by then t-to scream. I got p-p-pulled in…" Amber shrunk again. Her hands trembled as she held the mug. "It… oh… I… the things I saw… there were t-t-two dead p-p-people with holes in their n-neck!"

"Victims of the burnt vampire," Irene concluded. Amber nodded meekly. Her face had gone paler on the recounting of the story.

"Yes. I guess the vampire recognized me, b-b-because, I heard a whispery voice t-t-t-tell me my life would be spared t-t-t-to rep-p-pay the debt. I didn't care, I kept struggling t-t-trying to get free…. But I couldn't. The vampire wouldn't let me go," Amber shuddered. "I thought I was gonna d-die. Then… the vampire t-told me things, and I had no choice b-but to listen…. I can't tell you everything… but eventually I calmed down. I was p-promised protection and favors if I did some things… I, uh, well, once I really listened, there was just something… I just felt something… this vampire was a p-p-person, sort of. I can't explain it, but it was almost like… this vampire… felt me in a way no one else even tried t-to. So I agreed… and I've been doing whatever this vampire t-tells me since. Sometimes I want to stop, b-b-but… that is… b-b-bad things will happen without… if I don't listen to the vampire's instructions, other vampires will get me… and it's scary to think about what… what they'll do to me!"

"Oh, I know what they'll do to you," Irene said, holding up her hand without the finger. Amber's eyes instantly shot to where a finger ought to be. "See this?" Irene asked. Amber gave a slight nod, fascinated by the amputation. "This is barely a scratch compared to what they can, and will, do to you."

"Why I c-can't stop serving…. P-p-p-protection," Amber responded, her eyes still fixed on Irene's hand. Irene put it back down, and Amber's eyes shot down to her mug.

"This vampire, do you know her name?" Irene asked idly.

"Oh, she never told… w-wait! How? How d-did you know she was a she?" Amber asked, her mouth agape.

"It was a fifty-fifty guess. But since you were trying too hard to conceal her gender, I figured it was a woman." Irene explained with a faint smile. "You just confirmed it."

"Oh… you're too smart for me… I hope I won't get in t-t-trouble for this…" Amber said, anxiety pouring into her eyes.

"I doubt it," Irene responded. "I am sure there are plenty of female vampires out there."

"Er… I suppose, yes, there are…. Yeah…" Amber muttered, keeping her eyes on her mug. She finished her tea in a few big gulps, now that it was cool enough to do so. "Thank you for the t-t-tea… b-but I should get going, now." Amber rose to her feet. She pulled up the scarf around her face and neck again, blushing.

"Keep out of trouble," Irene helped her back into her coat and gave her one more farewell while Amber stepped back out into the rain. She was relieved to see her go. It was hard enough being in her situation, but seeing someone younger than herself in a similar predicament made it hard for Irene to stay in the girl's presence much longer. Irene walked back into the kitchen, setting the mugs in the sink. "What now?"