Thank You For The Venom

~Chapter 3: Give Em Hell, Kid~

I slowly lower myself back into my chair, shell shocked from the argument that just took place. Without a word, Frank comes around the table and wraps me into a comforting hug. "Thanks, Frankie," I mumble, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Any time, Ghoul," he replies, squeezing me tightly before letting me go, following our little tradition.

My dad isn't usually like that, angry and explosive. Most of the time he's a great dad, but the memory of my mom makes him change. She died seven years ago, when Frank was fourteen and I was eight. She was the best mom anyone could ask for. Kind, caring, funny, smart, not to mention she could kick serious undead ass.

One night, her and dad were out on a hunt, leaving Frank to babysit me. The two of them, along with a few other hunters, were going after a small clan of vampires that were getting powerful and a little too cocky. Little did they know that the leaders of the clan, a pair of brothers, knew they were coming and gathered dozens of vampires around them as guards. My mom was mortally wounded by one of the brothers and she used her dying breath to try and return the favor, leaving him with a scar over his unbeating heart from where her stake didn't go far enough in. While this was going on, the other brother injured my dads leg, ending his hunting days for good. One of the other hunters that came with them pulled my dad out of the building and ran back in to help the others. They were all slaughtered. My dad hasn't been the same since that night. He's been obsessed with trying to find the brothers, so he can take his revenge. So far he's gotten only too-old leads and dead ends.

Walking into my room, I turn on my "pissed off" playlist and turn the volume up as high as I can stand it, letting Chris Motionless's voice fuel my anger. As I lay on my floor and fume, I have an idea. What if I showed my dad that Im capable of hunting on my own, without my brothers help? I've killed lots of vampires before with Frank, so taking out a couple by myself should be easy.

I stand up and grab my black backpack out of my closet. Unzipping it, I sit it on my bed and start grabbing clothes to put in it. A couple pairs of jeans, a few tshirts, some clean underwear and socks. Along with that, I take some food out of my snack stash (just in case this takes a few days) and put it in the bag. Slipping downstairs, I grab my hunting belt and check to make sure that the holy water and silver dagger are still there. I then slowly open the basement door to see dad asleep in a chair by the TV. I sneak behind him, over to where he keeps the finished stakes. Grabbing four, I put one in the belt and one in my pocket, and the other two go into my backpack. As I look around for anything else I might need, I see a small box made of smooth dark wood sitting on the corner of his workbench. I walk over and open it to see the finest stake I've ever laid eyes on.

The stake is made of a piece of flawless ebony wood, ten inches long and midnight black. The grip has been narrowed down and wrapped in black leather for a better hold, and the point is tipped in silver so sharp that I nearly cut myself on it. Picking it up, it glints in the low light, and I can see that it had been coated in a thin layer of varnish, most likely mixed with holy water, to protect the wood. Turning it over, I see that there is a word carved into the surface- Alice.

Why would dad carve my moms name into the body of a stake? Then I realized- he's been looking for those brothers that killed her. He probably wants to use this to kill them. Well, I'll help him out and do the job for him. I take the stake and his journal of research and add them to the bag.

Slipping out of the basement, I head back up to my room and put on some black jeans, an olive green tshirt, my leather jacket, and my converse. I pull my hair up into a ponytail and put a few extra ponytail holders on my wrist. Then I reach under my mattress and pull out an envelope containing my life's savings of allowance and birthday money: nearly 500 dollars. I don't buy much.

Putting the money in my bag, I sling it over my shoulder and head towards the stairs when I pass Franks room. His door is wide open, and he's asleep facing the hall. At least I hope he's asleep, or this will throw a wrench in the whole "show up my big brother" thing. Practically holding my breath, I tiptoe past his door until he is out of sight, and go down the stairs as quickly as I can while still being quiet as possible.

Taking one last glance back at the house, I turn and walk down the driveway. When I get to Franks motorcycle, I pull my key out of my pocket and start it as quietly as I can, holding still for a moment after in case the sound woke anyone up, and take off into the night.

A/N: wow two chapters in one day, I'm on a roll! Thanks for reading, and don't forget to vote!