The Fangs of Bloodhaven
hand fell off his shoulder. He stared at Everett and his face twisted.
    Everett took a few steps back.
    “Vampire,” the doctor breathed in a voice barely above a whisper. He took a deep breath and bellowed, “Vampire!”
    Adrielle jumped in front of Everett. “Dr. Transton, I can explain. Everett tried to save my life and got hurt...” Her voice fell away at the hatred in the doctor’s eyes.
    “Get out of my asylum,” Dr. Transton growled.
    “Dr. Transton—”
    The doctor cut Adrielle off. “Get. Out. Now!”
    Adrielle grabbed Everett’s hand and ran to the far end of the white tiled room. Their footsteps sounded harsh to Everett’s ears. Adrielle hit a small button with an arrow pointing to the floor. They waited for two seconds that felt like an eternity. Everett didn’t dare look back over his shoulder for fear that the man was coming after him with a stake. When the elevator finally opened, he lunged inside and Adrielle hit the button. The last glimpse Everett had was of Dr. Transton glaring at him from across the room, his hatred so palpable everything else fell away but the anger, confusion, and hurt in the doctor’s eyes.
    There was a door on the other side of the elevator. Everett realized through the adrenaline causing his heart to thunder in his chest that it meant there was a whole other side to the Asylum he hadn’t seen along with the other floors above the white tiled level. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the thought with the lingering bellow of ‘vampire’ ringing in his ears.
    The elevator opened at the small, dark hallway.
    “You’d better go,” Adrielle said, her voice small and eyes downcast like a disobedient puppy caught eating off the table.
    “Adrielle, I—”
    She cut off his apology with a shake of her head. “It’s my fault,” she said, her words monotone. “I shouldn’t have brought you here.” She motioned toward the door at the end of the hall. “Xander will let you out.”
    “Are you sure?” Everett asked.
    At Adrielle’s nod, he stumbled out of the elevator. She pushed a button and the door closed, leaving him alone with an ogren at the end of the dark walkway. Only the sound of Xander’s deep, rattling breath was audible while he made his way to the door. Despite Everett’s misgivings, the ogren didn’t so much as blink an eye when he reached the door and pushed it open.
    The door shut behind him with a resounding thud. Everett stared back at the rusted metal and wondered if everything he had seen had been a dream.

Chapter Seven
     
    Everett walked home in a fog. He kept seeing Dr. Transton’s eyes over and over again, filled with hatred and fear along with hurt that Adrielle would break his trust and bring such a horrible creature into his asylum.
    It was illegal for monsters to be within the walls of the five cities. Everett’s family had kept his secret, but if they were ever found out, the heavy fines and punishments would destroy the Masterson family.
    Somehow, despite all that, his mom and dad had protected him from most confrontations regarding being a monster. When his vampirism became too evident, they homeschooled him with Bran and Annie. He was still able to walk to the mall with his siblings, go to the movies, and do other things suitable for fourteen year olds.
    Dr. Transton’s pure hatred had been the first time he had truly felt the full effects of his differences. He couldn’t shake it.
    “Rett, do you know what time it is?” his dad asked when he walked through the living room.
    “Yeah, sorry, Dad,” he mumbled. A glance outside showed the sun rising. He hadn’t even noticed during his walk home that he was pressing the boundaries of safety for a vampire to be outside.
    Everett made his way through the kitchen to the stairs. He followed them to the basement feeling as though he had seen far too many stairs that day. The light blue curtains hid the boards his parents had put over the windows to keep the sunlight out, and the

Similar Books

Oblivion

Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Lost Without Them

Trista Ann Michaels

The Naked King

Sally MacKenzie

Beautiful Blue World

Suzanne LaFleur

A Magical Christmas

Heather Graham

Rosamanti

Noelle Clark

The American Lover

G E Griffin

Scrapyard Ship

Mark Wayne McGinnis