#jamison newlander

"Sam, I don't understand why I have to follow you." You groan as he pulls you away from your older brother Michael and forces you to walk with him towards a comic book shop. "As if you don't already have enough." 

He ignores your latter comment. "I am your older brother and mom would kill me if you wandered alone."

"Michael is wandering off alone?" You say, it coming out as a question. He gives you a stupid face and picks up a random comic. You turn your head out towards the boardwalk, watching the people crowd at every point. So much more fun.

Sam continues looking at some of the superhero ones and your hand reaches out and grabs a horror comic. On the front cover is a comic rendition of a popular still from the 1931 Dracula movie. You flip through it, looking at some of the art when Sam pops up next to you and scares you. 

"The locals don't really know what personal space is." He complains and looks at what you are holding. "Vampires? What the hell is it with this place, did one of those guys give that to you?" 

He goes to grab it from your hand but you pull it back just out of his reach. "First off no, I just grabbed this from the shelf. Two, why are you so offended?" 

"The two workers just got me to buy this dumb scary comic about vampires before they ran out." 

"You don't even like horror." You point out and raise your eyebrow. You put the Dracula one down that you were looking at and look around. 

"I know." He sighs and the two of you walk out of the shop. 

Later, your mom came out of Sam's room and into yours.

"How are you liking Santa Carla now?" She sits at the edge of your bed. 

"I dunno... we haven't seen much of it and it seems odd. The pier is cool but what else is there really to do? I miss home." You admit. Your mom sighs and runs her hand up and down your leg. 

"I miss it too. It was where you three grew up. All the memories there can't be replaced here. But we can make the most out of it. We have eachother and now we have Grandpa." 

"I know, it has been a long time since we have seen him but its just not the same." You grab your blanket and shift down into it. She nods, getting the hint and walks up towards your lights. She flips them off and shuts your door. 

"Atlantic Fantasyland Comics." A monotone voice answers the phone and before much else can be said, Sam cuts them off. 

"That comic you guys sold me, I think it is coming true. My own damn brother." Silence on the other line, and then some shuffling. 

A second voice cuts in. Deeper, and even more monotone. "You did the right thing by calling us, does your brother sleep alot?" 

Sam ignores you as he continue talking to the comic book store workers. "Yeah, all day."

"Does the sunlight freak him out?" 

"Yeah, he wears sunglasses inside." Oh god. Sam really believes this crap. 

You try and cut in but you stop when Sam swats your arm.

"Bad breath and long finger nails?" 

"Yeah, his fingernails are a bit longer. He always had bad breath though." Sam says. 

"He's a vampire all right." 

"All right, here is what you do. Take a good sharp stake and drive it right through his heart." 

"WHAT?" You scream.

"We can't do that. He's our brother!" Sam says, mouth agape. 

"Who else is there?" 

"My sister, Y/N." Sam says. 

"Well, we will come over and do it for you." 

"No!" You say and rip the headset from Sam's hand and hang up the phone with force. 

"You tell me what the hell is going on or I am telling Mom." You stand up and point a finger at Sam.

The phone ring makes both of you jump and you pick it up. "Mom! I wanted to talk to you." 

Sam rips it out of your hand. "We need to talk about something." 

You hear commotion outside of your bedroom window and look outside. You start screaming as Michael comes into focus. First his shoes, then his jeans, then his shirt and head. He starts talking on the phone too but you don't do anything besides scream, because your eldest brother is outside your bedroom window... on the second floor. 

With your mom now working and Michael not really around. It leaves you on your own or hanging out with Sam. You still don't really know anyone your age around the area and the locations of your Grandpa's house is no help. Often, he refuses to go out into town and that leads to boring nights. Like tonight, you lay on your bed with your legs up on the wall reading a book. You bounce your feet as you hold the book above your face. Your radio is loudly playing music, The Crystals to be exact. 

You hear Nanook barking and loud noises that make you jump and drop the book onto your face. You rush out of your room to check it out but the door won't open. You bang on it and try to get the attention of Sam, who you hear yelling in the hallway. He comes and helps you get the door open but slams it shut when he and Nanook get inside.

"Sam! What the hell is happening?" You ask. He doesn't answer, just moves forward and grabs your phone. He dials a number quickly and waits for the other line to answer. You move your head towards the receiver and listen. 

"I thought you said you didn't want to see them after what they said?" You ask Sam, trailing after him back on the boardwalk. 

"Shut up." He says and looks around. The comic book store isn't open yet so he plops right in front of the gate and stares straight ahead. You groan and do the same, sitting in front of it as you wait for the people to come open up. 

It takes while, but eventually two teens your age walk up and Sam jumps up. You stand up, not as quickly and step away to give them room to unlock. They both stare at you before Sam starts talking. 

"Look guys, the dog started attacking my mom just like the hounds of hell from the comic." 

"Seriously? This again Sam." You hit him on the arm and he winces but doesn't stop paying them attention as they open up and bring merchandise out towards the walkway. 

"We have been aware of the high levels of vampire activity here for awhile now." The one teen in a red banana says, gesturing for the two of you to walk into the store. The other one, with dark hair opens up the other door. 

"Santa Carla has become a haven for the undead." 

"As a matter of fact, we are almost certain that ghouls and werewolves occupy high positions of power down at the city hall." Red banana looks straight at Sam. 

"Does your brother know who the head vampire is?" 

"No. He doesn't" Sam says.

"Kill your brother. You two will feel better." The dark haired boy says. Your jaw drops. 

"Excuse me?" Again, you get ignored as the three boys move around you. 

"Look guys, our brother is not a bloodsucker. Says here that if you kill the head vampire, all half vampires return to normal. If there is anything about my brother I know, its that he is only half." 

"All of this started when mom started dating Max." You whisper and the boys pay attention to you. "Sam, you said that Mom was almost attacked by Max's dog, he never comes in till late.... this all started when mom started to be around him. He has to be the head vampire."

"Not a bad thought. Things do add up." The dark haired boy admits. "We will check out Max."

"I can't believe I am adding more things to do with this.... so stupid." You say under your breath. The three boys had started to walk away from you but the dark haired boy stops and looks at you. 

"No, not stupid. Smart. You don't want to die at the hands of your brother.... or worse, be a bloodsucker for eternity." He leans against the pole and tilts his head. "I'm Alan, that's my brother Edgar.... I don't think Sam has told us your name." 

"Y/N." You answer, and stare back at him with the same emotionless look. He gives an approving nod before pushing off the pole and walking towards you. 

"Cute." He leans in to whisper before walking away to keep setting up the store for the day.

Sitting at the dinner table across from Max was daunting as the group of you got ready to test out the signs that Max would be the head vampire. You had garlic at the ready, a mirror shoved to the side and some holy water. Sitting next to Alan, you swat away his hand as he keeps running his hand softly against the loose fabric of your shirt. He sends you a smirk from the side and once you are all given a full plate, he lets up. Focusing again on the task at hand. 

"Ooo, someone's breath stinks!" Your mom says, causing the forks to stop moving around plates as you all look directly at Max. He notices you, Sam and Alan staring at him and picking up on it, looks offended at Edgar. Edgar doesn't play it off very well making you stifle a laugh. "Nanook, would you please stop breathing on me."

"Nanook, get upstairs." Sam says and your dog listens, trotting towards the stairs. As you watch him, Alan hands Sam the small bowl of chopped garlic. Max takes the offer of "parmesan" and takes a large bite. He starts to cough and you push your chair back, unsure of any reaction. Admitting he likes garlic was the first of the tests to fail. When the holy water doesn't work either, Alan puts out the candles with his fingers as Edgar shuts the lights off. Sam goes around the table towards Edgar as you and Alan stand close. 

"He isn't glowing." You whisper and without even realizing it, put your hand on Alan's arm.