Bethany holds the door open, calling for Joe and Dad as Darryl and I pull James into the house. We still don't know who the strangers behind us on the road were, but they turned around and sped off, as soon as we pulled up into the driveway. Dad finally joins the four of us, Joe right behind him. We all combine our efforts to lay James on the couch sooner.
I have many questions, but I have more pressing issues on my hands right now, I think, as I press a once white towel against one of James' bloodier injuries on his leg. He winces, as Bethany pours poroxide on his neck wound. Now that it is clean, it looks more like a . . . . vampire bite? I hoped not, for vampire venom could kill any sized werewolf if it wasn't given the proper treatments right away.
"Dad, his neck," I try to hide the panic in my voice. My father cringes when he sees how deep the cursed vampire had sunk it's fangs into James' neck.
"Neosporin, please," he asks me. I immediately rush to the bathroom for neosporon, more peroxide, more towels, and many bandages- both cloth and sticky. I get another jug of water while I am at it, along with our handsanitizer.
Handing them over to my dad, he gets back to work. I ask Bethany to get the Ibeprophen from the medicine cainet. She returns with the Ibeprophen and Tylonel, to be on the safe side.
Kayla peeks her head into the doorway, wanting to get in on the action.
"Kayla! We are a little busy right now! Ellen, take her to her room!" I do as told, giving Kayla a sympathetic look. She wanted to be a doctor if she couldn't hunt, like us. I used to have dreams about being an EMT or Medic, myself.
"You don't want to see what is going on, trust me," I sooth, once we are in her room.
"Then stay!"
"I can't, he is my friend."
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We eventually have James cleaned up and treated. We would have taken him to a hospital, but how do you explain vampire bites and werewolf fleas? James' total casualty count ends up being his neck bite, deep scratches on his legs- some of which required stitches. He had several cuts on his arms, along with one laceration across his chest, covering part of his left shoulder. That required stitches and A LOT of peroxide.
He passes out, unsurprisingly, so we go to the kitchen to talk and get a bite to eat. I grab an orange out of a glass blue bowl on the counter. Everyone takes their pick between oranges, pears, and apples. I exchange uneasy looks with Bethany when Kayla peers back out.
"Come here, Kayla," Dad calls out, and she looks like she wishes to duck back to her room. "YOu aren't in trouble," he soothes as Kayla's eyes dart around the room, and into the living rooom before falling back on our father. "I wanted to apolagoze for shunting you out earlier."
Relieved, "Oh, well apology accepted," Kayla relaxes. "I want to be more involved with things going in lately, though," she musters as boldly as she can manage.
I walk over to Kayla, resting my hands on her shoulders, "I agree with Kayla," I say when Joe raises an eyebrow at our dad.
"Why?" he asks.
Bethany walks over next to me, and starts to answer before I have the chance to speak. "Have you seen how often you send her to her room. She only ran away becasue she is never involved in anything the rest of you are doing. She probably feels lonely!" When Beth kneels down to Kayla's level and raises her eyebrows, asking for approval of the conclusion, Kayla nods.
"Either we let Kayla study maps with us and whatever else she could do to help safely, or-" I start, almost immediately being cut off by our father.
"Or what? You will go pout by locking yourselves in your rooms?" Dad starts, and proves his point.
"Well-" Bethany, Kayla, and I all begin to protest simultaneously, Bethany with her hands on her hips.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Joe jumps. "You don't even live here Beth! It is Kayla's father's decision on what-"
"As long as you get your homework and chores done every night first, you can come study maps and such with us-" Dad cuts Joe off.
"Thank you! Thank you, thank-" Kayla jumps happily to give him a hug.
"Not so quick, squirt! You need to go do your chores! We need to take Bethany home when the werewolf gets up. Then we kill-"
"NO!!!!!" Bethany still feels attached to James, of course.
"Fine, Ellen can take Bethany home and can come back over tomorrow to give a final vote on what to do with the werewolf?" Dad improvises, trying to get Beth calmed down. He usually agreed that Bethany was the best friend I could possibly have, especially with the lifestyle I live, but sometimes she worried him. He knew not to get her too worked up though. Aside from that, I knew what Bethany wanted to do with James, and it sure didn't have anything to do with killing him for any werewolfish crimes . . .
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Bethany and I joke in my dad's truck. I am about to pull up into her driveway when I see the smoke trailing from down the road. I instantly park the car, grabbing the nearest 'hunting' materials and tossing a bottle at Bethany.
When she gives me an inqiusitive look, I explain, "There is a bucket of Holy water in the bed of the truck." If there is any fire with unknown causes, you could never be too safe . . .
We arrive on the porch of the burning, yellow cottage. Bethany had always lived in this nice, cozy, little home that reminded me greatly of spring flowers. There was a small pond in the back, right in front of the receding tree lines that claimed this house as one of the few of those on the woods so close to town.
Bethany stood, horrified as we watched flames quickly skyrocketing towards the top of her home. Ashes pured down on us, as I ran after her. My friend hadn't given a second thought to finding her family in the burnning house.
I barely ran out from the house in time to avoid the cieling collapsing on me. I stumble backwards, astounded at the events currently taking place. I re-enter the house, murmering quick prayers that my best friend was not burning to death under the cieling that had collapsed and once been her bedroom floor.
"Bethany! Beth!" My voice cracks as I shout over the noise of the surrounding blazing house. With no response, I continue to shout, "Beth! Come on! I am sure your parents got out already, if they were even home when this started-" and I lose the ability to speak, my lungs too full of smoke.
I suddenly depict the sound of someone weeping. When I find Bethnay in her backyard, knelt over something, I immediately rush over. I see that it is the body of her mother. A foot away, another burned body lays stiffly. Her father.
I hear the barking of Bethany's border collie, Bennet. I frantically search and find that he howls over Bethany's other dog, Arnette. Arnette had been a golden retriever, before she was practically cooked beyond recognition in this fire.
"Bennet," I hardly am able to choke out. He runs over to me, continueing a heart searing howl. I clutch the dog to my side, as I drag myself with great effort to the side of my best friend. I put one of my soot covered hands on one of her shoulders. She turns to look at me. My eyes meet hers, and I see the puffy pink of her swollen, blazing eyes. Suddenly, the burning ruins behind us completely lifet from the ground, but only for a second as Bethany absorbs the shock of the occurance. Then the structure crashes back onto the ground, crumbling to pieces.
