Vagrant Bard

Darkness enveloped the night, revealing that the sun had set hours ago. The moonlight, on the other hand, illuminated the huge Victorian garden and allowed only few shadows to form on the grass. Next to a large apple tree, two pale corpses lie down beneath the leave filled branches and talk to each other.

“So we have the night for ourselves?” asked intuitively the male figure.

“Not really, but all we’ve got to do is keep a lookout on the mansion. It’s not that bad” the young girl’s speech evaded her friend’s intentions.

“I think Paul can handle himself. It’s not like he needs two babysitters.”

“I have my doubts” her lips touched the edge of the man’s lips as she began to get up. “When we get back, we’ll start from here”.

Salem’s smile was hypnotizing. There was no need for her to offer a helping hand, as he quickly picked up the pace. Both of them clambered the tree, moving form branch to branch.

A larger branch awaited them at the top of the tree and though not comfortable it seemed to be strong enough. Both Julius and Salem sat down next to each other. Past the gardens and below the brightly lit moon awaited an old Victorian mansion. The sight was ideal.

“Do you think it’ll be long?” his pale skin reflected the moonlight as he spoke.

“How should I know, Julius? Do you even remember your first time?” Salem’s answer exhaled sarcasm.

“You’re not serious?” Julius’ eyes squinted, “It was a long time ago. With you.” The corner of his lips formed a faint smile.

“At least there’s something you recall” an inevitable sneer escaped the brown eyed girl’s mouth.

In silence, both Julius and Salem, searched the old mansion windows with their eyes for any sign of movement. In spite of the vines and plants that crawled upon the wooden structure, the moon gave off a white light that aided the inspection. Plants and weeds intertwined, paving a   green contorted path all the way to the long forgotten garden.

Not caring whether Salem was in the mood to talk or not, Julius spoke. “I don’t get it.” His statement sounded natural and naïve, as if he were confronting an impossible conundrum. “How come the mansion hasn’t ever been under investigation? It works and has worked perfectly for us, but I find it unlikely that parents have never suspected of their young daughters coming to a place like this for privacy.”

“My father did. Don’t you remember?” the irony was inherent to Salem’s words.

Julius stared at Salem. His eyes cursed her in advance, sparing him the need of actually opening his mouth.

“That was-” his sentence was interrupted midway through.

“I know, many years ago. Still, we’re lucky the police mistook him for a crazy person. Since the property’s been bought though, now they need a warrant to get in.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Someone could be on our trail, looking for us.” Julius’ insecurity made his words tremble.

“Not likely.” Salem sounded as detective ready to explain all the logical steps to her conclusion. “We don’t make mistakes. We don’t draw attention to ourselves. Every time a couple enters the house, someone needs to be on the lookout outside. You think I enjoy spending my time here? Besides it’s not like we hav-”

A female scream slit the night’s silence and froze Julius and Salem in place.

“Up until now” Julius quickly offered payback to all of Salem’s sarcasm.

“Paul…” Salem growled as she stared at the house and her eyes quickly twitched from side to side in search of him.

“Hey, relax. He’s inexperienced and it’s normal to make mistakes.” Julius sounded like a father protecting his own.

“And from the looks of it, he has no idea of what he’s doing.” Snapped Salem as her eyes still searched for a sign of Paul.

“You worry too much. There’s nothing wrong.”

“But if there is…I’ll kill him. Again.”

Julius was tired of convincing Salem otherwise. He knew she had a point, but there was no need to overreact. The silence returned, this time creating tension and heightening the tingling in their bodies. Both of them cautiously observe every movement in the nearby area.

Julius slowly places his left hand on Salem’s shoulder. Mistaking it for a gesture of affection, she shrugs. He grabs her attention again by pointing to something in the distance with his other hand. Salem’s eyes open widely and her pupils dilate.

Julius lightly Salem on the back, waking her up from a frightened state. He positions himself, ready to jump, and she does the same. Both of them knew the faint alternating red and blue lights in the distance demanded drastic action.

“I knew he would screw up.” Salem had returned to her normal self.

Under the guise of the night, the couple quickly left the large tree. With one leap half the distance to the mansion was covered. Through the shadows, concealed in darkness, Julius and Salem ran until they reached the mansion’s main entrance. With little time to spare they leapt onto the canopy above the front doors and crept inside through the second floor windows.

“Paul!” Julius’ voice easily made its way through the structure of empty rooms, long hallways, and rotten wood.

“Here! In the room.” A distant quavering male voice answered to the call.

The wooden floor barely had time to creak and the couple ran to the room’s entrance. Reaching the open door, both of them assessed the scenario that awaited them. A big and old suite filled with the stench of decadent bricks and oak. The broken window handle revealed the dust and mold clotted on the glass and its corners. Everything seemed forgotten and left aside, except for the bed.

A huge bed structure made of marble stood in the middle of the room. Its surface shone in the dim light and both the sheets on the mattress and on the canopy smelled like fabric softeners. Above the sheets, however, lay a dormant naked body. The lady’s curves accentuated the lust in every man, but her skin seemed to be gradually loosing its blush and its life.

“Is she alive?” Paul was still putting his pants back on when Salem demanded answers.

“It depends on what you consider alive.” Replied Paul with a grin.

“Why did she scream?” Julius continued the interrogation while Salem approached the body.

“I don’t know. Everything was fine.” Paul retraced his steps, as if searching for a mistake “We were kissing, hugging each other, and all of a sudden her expression changed. She stopped smiling and screamed. That’s when I bit.”

“You are stupid” Julius already had all the answers at the tip of his tongue “She saw your teeth. But I bet that perverted look of yours didn’t make things any easier.”

“She’s got a light pulse. Should wake up in a few hours, but we can’t stay here.” Informs Salem, strictly as a coroner would.

“Why?” Paul’s innocence takes hold of his lines.

“Because your inexperience drew unwanted attention.” Julius’s authority was of a father’s and a general, at the same time “Grab the sheets, I’ll carry the girl. Salem, you lead.”

Paul pulls the bed sheets with one effortless tug, Salem opens the old broken window with one precise kick, and Julius places the girl’s body over his shoulder with ease. As they approach the window, Julius identifies the deep mark of two canine teeth on the girl’s neck. Two nearly identical, symmetrical and equidistant holes with no sign of blood or bruises.

“Nevertheless, Paul, it was a nice bite. Not bad for your first time” Julius smiles in approval.

All three figures exit through the window and in an instant leave the mansion. It is deemed lifeless, as it has been for the past century, when perplexed police officers search it for clues. “A prank call”, they conclude as they exit the property and leave the place as it always has been, camouflaged from civilization.