Blackember Academy isn’t an old school. Having been built no more than fifteen years ago, its exterior is shiny with modern design and materials. Standing like a futuristic castle a short distance away from the inner city of Bluddington, the Academy dominates the area with its presence. Blackember Academy peeks from the outskirts of Bluddington with a distant and mysterious power. The school’s status never made me feel any sense of self importance; I decided not to compare myself with those who are the opposite of me.

I never understood why my father chose to send me to Blackember Academy, since the reason can’t be for my academic ability. Dad probably only sent me because the Academy offers room and board, but I still question, where did my father get the money for me to attend?

Though the school’s appearance is impressive, I curse it for being so far away from the main part of the city! I walk on the crackless pathway that seems to extend further away from the school with no end. I can’t seem to get any closer to where I need to go. The tall bushes and precise square hedges block my view. I have not the slightest clue which direction I need to go. I need to find a main road so I can finally get away from this place.

I look up at the sky, all I see are a few clouds and the sun makes my eyes start to water. I can’t spot any indicators of direction. How could I? With no real reason to ever leave the school, I am not surprised to be a bit lost.

Luke: “Dammit….. Today is really not a good day for me. Why did they have to make this place so hard to get out of?”

I keep walking at a slow pace. I decide I’ll let fate guide me to another location for now.

I glance at my cell phone. By now I have been walking for just about twenty minutes. During this time it might help to gather my thoughts on the events of this day and what I had learned from my encounter with my father, but vampires and supernatural abilities aren’t the priority while I am currently being followed….

Every few steps I take I can hear a slight rustle coming from the bushes some ways behind me. Once in a while, I look to where I hear the noise coming from. In the shadows of leaves and branches I spy a pair of green eyes staring at me as I walk and I am suddenly reminded of PE class.

Within an instant, I throw myself into the bushes and fall out the other side. By doing this I manage to capture my stalker….

Luke: “You suck at dodgeball and you’re also pretty bad at stalking people. I’ve known you were there for the past fifteen minutes, so tell me, why are you following me?”

Green Eyed, Black Haired Boy: “Oww! Okay! If you knew, there was no reason for you to ambush me like that! Are you insane? I could’ve gotten seriously hurt!…….. Get off me!”

I stand up and the boy soon stands as well, he checks himself for any injuries and brushes off the leaves sticking to his clothes.

Luke: “Of course there was a good reason for that! You could’ve tried to murder me, for all I knew. And who are you calling insane? You’re the one who follows people around. You should come up with a good reason for this!”

Green Eyed, Black Haired Boy: “Whatever…….. I was following you because….. I know what you are.”

Luke: “You know what I am? How?”

Green Eyed, Black Haired Boy: “I heard you talking with that homeless man, earlier. Plus, I saw what happened in PE class… Once I found out that a vampire was causing trouble in the school, I couldn’t just do nothing about it… Ever since I was a little kid, my father told me all about how you vampires are nuisances to humanity. Now I know that he was right all along. I’m following you to make sure that you don’t set anything else on fire….”

The boy points a slender finger at me as he goes on ranting. I interrupt him.

Luke: “Causing trouble? I see how it looks, but I didn’t set the teacher’s hair on fire on purpose or anything like that… I swear, all of this vampire stuff is totally new to me. And that wasn’t a homeless man, that was my dad. I can’t help the fact that he dresses like a hippie. This is stupid….. I’m leaving.”

I turn to leave the black haired boy standing in place; however, he continues to follow me, not from within the bushes this time.

Green Eyed, Black Haired Boy: “What do you mean it’s new to you? How do you not know that you’re a vampire and not a human? Shouldn’t that be obvious?!”

Luke: “Well……., no, it isn’t obvious. It wasn’t for me at least. And, technically I’m half vampire, so it's different, I guess…”

Green Eyed, Black Haired Boy: “Half vampire. Vampires having offspring with humans. Disgusting!”

I make an abrupt stop and turn to face him.

Luke: “Hey, do you have issues or something?! I was already expelled, so I’m not ruining the school’s reputation or whatever it is you think I’m doing. I’m just trying to leave this place.”

Green Eyed, Black Haired Boy: “You’re leaving? Well, you’re going the wrong way, then. The path to the main road is back that way.”

He points to the pathway behind us.

We walk without speaking to each other again, and after a short time, we arrive at the outer side of the large metal gate that serves as a barrier between Blackember Academy and the outside world.

Green Eyed, Black Haired Boy: “So, where are you going now, vampire?”

Luke: “Why do you have to call me “vampire” like that? If we are giving each other nicknames, then I will call you “shorty” from now on. My name is Luke, alright?”

Green Eyed, Black Haired Boy: “Hey, watch it! You don’t know who you’re talking to… My name is Justice Blackember and the Academy doesn’t tolerate name calling. I wasn’t being mean to you or anything, so don’t make fun of my height. It's not fair to bully people for their insecurities when they can’t do anything to change it…..!”

Luke: “Jeez, chill out……. I was just joking. Wait. Blackember? Is the headmaster your dad? Oh boy, and I thought I have a poor father figure. Well, I guess I was wrong…..”

Justice: “What exactly are you insinuating?”

Justice’s eyes get very dark as his expression changes with icy seriousness.

Luke: “I mean….I just can’t begin to imagine what R. Blackember is like, as a dad, that’s all. I promise I didn’t mean to be rude……. Hehe.”

Justice: “I’ll have you know that no one disrespects my family and gets away with it…….”

Luke: “……. Alright, chill, seriously. Why do you want to know where I’m going, anyway? Isn’t that none of your business? Well, I guess I’ll just tell you. I bet you’d try to follow me there, you stalker. I need to go here, my dad says it's my new school, but I’m not quite sure about this place…”

I show Justice the small piece of paper that the strange talking crow had given to me earlier. The paper shows only an address to a place called the Bibliotheca Vampiric. Such a strange name. No wonder I’ve never heard of it.

Justice: “The Bibliotheca Vampiric…….hmmm……. How odd. I know nothing of such a place.”

Luke: “Well, thanks a lot. Man…. Why did I expect you to know where it is? I thought you were like a vampire genius or something.”

Justice: “I am not. All I know is that it doesn’t take a genius to figure that vampires are a nuisance to humanity….. But, judging by the address, this place must be somewhere downtown.”

I snatch the paper from Justice’s hand.

Luke: “Awesome! I’m a homebody, so I’m an idiot about such things.”

After about an hour of walking into the downtown area of Bluddington city, Justice and I are, to no surprise, still lost in finding the place called the Bibliotheca Vampiric.

Luke: “Damn….. I never knew I’d need to find a Bibliotheca in my home city, and I never knew that it would be so hard…..”

Justice: “What else do you expect? I assume this institute has affiliation with vampires. They never make anything easy….. Vampires are simply nuisances.”

Luke: “Hey, why do you keep saying that? Vampires are nuisances. If anything, they are super cool, aren’t they? With supernatural abilities….”

I look at my right hand and think about the blazing flame that had shot out of it.

Justice: “They are not cool. They are dangerous, and all they ever do is torment humans.”

Luke: “Torment? How so?”

Justice: “All I know is a long time ago, it was a vampire who ruined my father’s life. And if you think that Retribution Blackember is a cold person, it's because of vampires! Vampires are evil. They are devils who only cause humans pain, mentally and physically! I don’t know why you and your kind have such “abilities”, but it's an abomination.”

Now finding ourselves in a dreary area of the city, the early autumn wind blows through the narrow alleyway that we stand in front of. I look at Justice, straining to connect with him.

Justice: “I don’t know what my father was like before, but he put a lot of work into building Blackember Academy to keep our family safe from vampires. It's a good thing that you were expelled. Consider yourself lucky. Because no matter how I may seem, you should know that I’d do anything to keep you vampires away from my family.”

Justice stabs me in the chest with a skinny pointer finger.

Luke: “Uhh…. Okay, fine. Was it really necessary to follow me all the way here though? I didn’t threaten your family by starting a little fire in the gymnasium, did I?”

Before either of us can say anything else, something large and black swoops towards us, coming out from the dark alley.

Justice: “Whaaaaa!”

Luke: “Woah!”

In our panic, I release a small explosion of flames from both of my hands this time. It launches both of us backwards and down onto hard concrete.

Luke: “Ahhh! That’s hot!”

I frantically pat my hair as the two tufts that stick up on the top of my head have smoke spiraling off them.

Justice: “Dammit! What did you do that for? I could have died!”

Luke: “Sorry. It was an accident.”

I give Justice a hand to stand up.

Justice: “An accident? How could that have been an accident? See what I mean? Vampires are nuisances. Ughh! You make me want to vomit, Luke! You should be called….Puke instead!”

Luke: “Calm down. You’re the one who screamed so loud. You scared me….. And if you’re going to be sick, please do it in this.”

I bring forward an empty metal trash can that had been knocked over by my sudden flames. However, the trash can is not empty, because the large black thing appears again as it flies out of it! And, it seems it is not just a scary, large black thing after all…

The crow flaps its wings and lands on the walkway in front of us.

Crow: “Alright you two, get it together. Seriously, you’re already causing me trouble and I’m not even legally responsible for you yet, technically speaking.”

The black crow wipes down on its face with its wing feathers.

Crow: “Man…., why did a trash can have to be the closest thing for me to hide in? You’ve got a lot of work to do, if you’re going to learn to handle those flames.”

Luke: “It's you! The crow from earlier! Thank goodness! Please, can you help us find the Bibliotheca Vampiric?”

In the next moment however, the crow is suddenly not a crow anymore. It turns into a man wearing a shirt with a red tie and black pants. His form appears before us in the blink of an eye, and in a plume of swirling black mist.

The Man, Formerly Crow: “Okay, I suppose this is the right time for me to introduce myself then. Let’s see, how does it go?…. Right! I am John Jackdaw, agent of VLAD and head instructor for the Bibliotheca Vampiric. Our business starts here……. Well, not here in this crummy alleyway. Over there. You guys just passed it. I don’t know how you could have missed it though.”

The man, who was formerly a crow named John, points to the left side of the street. Only a few buildings away from us, there stands a tall, dark building made from old stone brick. It looks at least one hundred years old and does not fit in with any of the other establishments surrounding it. If anything, it is quite obnoxious and ominous with a tall cylindrical tower rising up from its roof. A wooden sign hangs above the entrance. In curved lettering that is painted a silvery metallic shade, the words “Bibliotheca Vampiric” mark the building as the place we have been looking for.

John: “Well then, I guess I’ll be seeing you two there….. Just tell an employee that you need the Vampire Encyclopedia volume nine, they will know how to help you. And welcome to the Vampire Library!”

John smiles as he transforms once again into a crow. Black, smoky wisps twirl in the air as his arms become feathered wings. He flies away, up into the highest window of the Bibliotheca Vampiric’s tower.