The sudden rain would patter down with great force before stopping, just as fast as it came. The others, back at the old house, managed to take cover from the rain, the rest of us however, are now soaked through our clothes, wet socks and all. The whole squad gathered in between the farm and the old house some time after the rain shower ended. Returning to the abandoned home for a moment, we soon find ourselves converging once more on the paved road in front of the house.

As the group walks at a steady pace, I catch glimpses of Rocky and his kismet, the woman from the stone shed, staring at each other. It's hard to read the expressions on their faces. I can’t tell if the vampire’s kismet is feeling betrayed or sympathetic. Perhaps it's a mix of both.

Thinking it may be inappropriate to gawk at a vampire in such formidable restraints as Link’s chains, I move my gaze anywhere else and find myself looking at the sky. It's only now that I realize how late it has gotten. I see the sun as it is beginning to set behind the thickness of tall trees. The leaves on the trees and bushes will start to change colour any day now. The chilly wind reminds me that summer is on its way out again for another year.

I look in all directions around me as I step out into the centre of the road. John’s little, white bus with red stripes is in the exact same place as where we had left it. However, some ways down the road and on the opposite side there is a black vehicle which was not there before.

I find it odd that it's there. This street is far from busy, even the neighbouring house is quite a distance away. There is no one in sight who might be linked to this car. Only the mysterious, black vehicle sits there, suspicious. Parked parallel to the roadside.

All of us slow, coming to a stop and standing in a packed group in the middle of the road. John steps ahead of us and turns to face everyone.

John: “Alrighty then, now that all of the excitement is done with, I’ll give the crime scene maintenance crew at VLAD a call. They’ll come here and take care of the fellas at the house. Oh, I better tell them to be prepared to lift heavy objects….. They could probably use a forklift to remove those stone people from the property. Wouldn’t want anyone pulling any muscles…”

John reaches into his pockets, seeming to not know which one holds the object he looks for. He finally pulls out his cellphone and begins dialling a number. John starts humming an indescribable tune as he does this.

John: “Hmmm hmm hmm…. Now, was it a five or a three…..”

Pacing around at my side, Justice seems to have become restless and begins to rant and moan about his woes, as I’ve come to learn is typical of him.

Justice: “Ugh, dammit! I’m tired! And hungry! Not to mention dripping from head to foot! When do we get to leave this crummy place?!”

I give Justice a nudge on his arm and grin at him.

Luke: “Oh, be quiet, will you? Have some patience. I get that you’re a total brat and all, but you’re acting like a literal baby right now. What happened to wanting to monitor me and my evil vampire-ness? Feeling tired and a bit hungry is all it took to discourage you?”

Justice immediately contorts his face into a sickening grimace, and within the next moment, he starts bouncing in place, as if his legs are burning. I do give myself credit for being able to inspire such a reaction from my teasing. It takes me another instance of Justice’s erratic yelling for me to realize that it's not because of my doing that he reacts this way.

Justice: “Aaaaaaah! A spider! On your shoulder! It's huge! Ahahaa…”

Justice jumps up and down as he yells. I cover my ears from the sound of his craziness. In his freaking out, Justice points to John’s right shoulder. On it there sits a large, curly legged spider. A huge spider, indeed! I’d say that it's probably as large as my face, or maybe even slightly bigger than that!... I’d have to look at it up close…not that I’d want to though…

John has a blank expression on his face for a fleeting second before he begins to laugh. His hysterical snorting sounds similar to the relentless, shrill chirping of tiny birds.

John: “Ahahahahaha! Justice, you really are acting like a baby! If I’d have known, I would’ve left you at the library, and Edwin could have babysat you. You need to chill out, my friend!”

John removes the large spider from his shoulder with a mere flick of his slender fingers. The spider bounces once on its back as it falls onto the ground. I didn’t know a spider of such size would be so bouncy….

The spider lays still for a moment, then it then hops up onto its legs and scurries a bit to recuperate itself. What John does next shocks me.

Raising his right foot off the ground and then stomping it down with a hard ‘thump’, John’s dusty, white high top sneaker smooshes the spider’s body into the pavement. John smiles with his entire face, revealing his teeth and pointy fangs. He beams with apparent pride and snarky mischief after assaulting the odd spider.

John removes his foot and steps back. The squashed remains of the spider now lay in front of us on the road. The oozing mess of crumpled and twitching legs is quite nasty and proves to be hard to look at.

The whole lot of us, even Rocky and his kismet, seem to lock our eyes on John and emanate judgement onto him. Even the trainees who have known John for longer than Justice and I seem to be surprised by what he has done.

However, what happens next gives me another shock. The spider’s remains seemingly pop back into place, with an electrified jerk. In the time for me to open my eyes after blinking, the spider is once again intact, as if it had not been squashed under John’s sneaker at all! I look over to Justice, thinking that he might pass out from viewing these events, or worse!

The spider crawls around in a small circle before it speaks, directing its beady eyes up to the group.

Spider: “Consider yourself lucky, John. It's an easy task to regenerate while in a transformed state. Nonetheless, you still have a lot of explaining to do.”

Standing in front of us, the spider becomes a man, his figure swirling into existence in a dwindling wave of shadows. Now things are beginning to make more sense. The man wears a white shirt and black tie along with a black jacket that’s hem almost touches the ground. He stands just a hair shorter than John. The hair atop his head is a silvery, white colour that almost looks transparent in the dim lighting. This man has an attractive essence to his appearance with subtle features, but his expression at the moment is severe and miserable in its depressive lines. He must be another agent of VLAD…

John: “Ahh… it's nice to see you too, Syd…”

John continues to act sly however, this man, Syd, does not laugh.

John: “Uhh…. Look, I just wanted to demonstrate the awe inspiring immortal capabilities of us vampire’s to my new trainees! Those two right there. They’re newbies! You see, they still don’t know a lot about vampires.”

John gestures to me and Justice with a wave of his hands. I can imagine the confused looks on both of our faces right now. The awkwardness of this encounter is nauseating!

John speaks towards the two of us.

John: “I’m sorry you guys, but I forgot to mention the small immortality detail earlier. I wasn’t all that worried about the two of you turning your first mission into a complete disaster, but now that I think of it, knowing about a vampire’s immortality is kind of important.”

John walks closer to Justice and I as he continues.

John: “You remember the story with the Vampire Devil, don’t you? Well if you can recall, there was mention of the place called the immortal realm. You see, the reason why the two realms are named that way, the mortal and immortal realms, is because vampires are actually immortal by humans’ standards. Vampires cannot die, or be killed, as far as it is known, so to speak. Vampires can injure each other and regenerate their destroyed bodies, as Syd so graciously demonstrated. So, mister Rocky over there wasn’t actually in that much danger when you set the apple tree on fire, Luke….. But, still…. It doesn’t hurt to consider the consequences of everything. I mean, no one likes pain…. Unless well, they “like” that sort of thing! Haha.”

For a moment, John looks at us with a deep seriousness, despite his jest. However, he is quick to regain his usual demeanour, dripping with utter sarcasm, as his face becomes ugly with a cheeky smirk.

Luke: “So, you’re telling me that I’m actually immortal! That’s awesome!”

I perk up with excitement upon hearing this news from John. The realization of actually being immortal is exhilarating to me… Today it just feels like I'm becoming the hero of my own action movie! I can be as careless as I want and not have to worry about a thing...

John: “Well, I’m not exactly sure about you….”

John puts his hand on his chin.

John: “You’re half vampire. Since you’re a hybrid, there is this complication when it comes to the differing levels of vital and trivial energies within you…. We can't know how much of you is human and how much you are a vampire with any certainty… So, there’s no way to be sure if you’re actually fully immortal, or not, and it's best to not take any chances, am I right?...”

Luke: “... Oh… I see…”

All of the grandiose fantasies I imagined about myself are swift to fizzle away.

Luke: “... You’re right. It's probably better to just be cautious…”

The mysterious man, Syd, steps in between me and John to interject the conversation.

Syd: “John…. Are you in need of a reminder that our relationship is strictly professional and that I am in fact your boss, or am I the one that’s missing something here?.... What was the purpose of you stepping on me? To try and prove a point? Wasn’t it easier to just explain things to them?... I will not be toyed with so disrespectfully.”

John: “Oh, come on, Syd! Can’t you just let loose every once in a while?”

Syd: “... There is nothing amusing about your unprofessionalism.”

The two men stare with unmoving eyes, deep into each other’s psyche. This transforms the mood surrounding them into a frigid and turbulent void.

Syd: “More importantly, why are the new agent trainees even here? You know that they aren’t allowed to participate without the proper documentation being filled out….. What did I expect? If there is a rule, John Jackdaw will strive to break it….”

John: “……. I broke no rules….. I already get the inkling that their parents are fine with their being here, anyway….. Right, guys?”

Me and Justice turn our heads towards each other, both of us tense and unsure how to act.

Luke: “Uh, yeah… I don’t know where my dad even is most of the time. You should ask Justice about what his parents think. He isn’t even supposed to be here.”

Justice: “Oh, would you stop reminding people about that already?! Haven’t I explained enough?!”

Justice stamps his feet once more, and tosses his fists towards the ground, though I suppose he suspects that I’m teasing him again this time.

Syd points a bony finger at John.

Syd: “I’ll have you know that if I catch any more funny business from you, I will report you to VLAD and I’ll examine you myself…. You’d think that a vampire who has lived for however many hundreds of years would have some sensibility…..”

John: “My, my, Syd… We may be vampires, but we still have feelings, don’t we? You should know that….”

Syd does not reply to John’s crass cleverness, instead he looks away before turning his body, as if he is repulsed by John in every aspect a person may despise another being.

Syd: “Well, the reason why I came here is to process the vampire who was the perpetrator of the crime that occurred here…. I didn’t come here to fall victim to your antics…. So, where is he?”

As I am baffled by the two men’s interaction, and my jaw clenches at the sight of it all. The small group of vampires and humans that we make up disperses at Syd’s command. Link presents Rocky to Syd. Nudging the vampire forward, as he is still bound by the tight metal chains of his creation.

The woman, Rocky’s kismet, rushes forward from her spot at the back of the group. The quivering of her bottom lip indicates that she may want to say something, but no words come out of her mouth. Perhaps the somber sheen in her eyes says more to Rocky about her feelings than words would have.

Syd puts a hand on Rocky’s back, giving him a gentle push forward.

Syd: “Rocky Pebblestone, I am arresting you on behalf of the Vampire Law Administrative Division for the crime of failing to dissociate with a kismet. Your kismet had previously expressed that your presence was unwanted; however, you unlawfully interacted with your kismet on multiple occasions…. You have also been accused of holding multiple people hostage…”

Rocky’s arrest causes me to feel somewhat uneasy, with my breath catching itself within my throat, despite the fact that I tried with much strenuous effort to capture him earlier.

Syd: “You will now be escorted to the immortal realm, where you will await your trial before the vampire court. During this time, you will be unable to leave the immortal realm. Do you understand?”

Rocky: “.... Yes sir…”

I turn to my left side where Dot stands with her hands behind her back. I speak to her with a quiet voice.

Luke: “What’s all this about the immortal realm?”

Dot: “When a vampire gets arrested under VLAD law, they are sent to the immortal realm. Ever since the time of the Vampire Devil, the immortal realm has been a wasteland for only the most unfortunate vampires. Many of the vampires who are in the immortal realm now have been exiled there, after being tried by the vampire court. The immortal realm is like a prison, and they are serving their sentences. Although, I’ve heard that there are some vampires who went there by their own choice… No matter how a vampire gets there, the immortal realm is not a pleasant place for anyone…..”

I look at Dot for a moment and it occurs to me odd that some vampires would willingly go to hellish wasteland for any unknown reason…. I decide not to speak any further on the matter, feeling my stomach churn.

Syd takes the restrained Rocky over to the black car on the side of the road and helps him get in.

Syd: “Before I leave, John, I want to make sure that you know that your next mission will be on Tuesday, next week, so no excuses and no being late. Also, considering the tips I’ve heard about this next mission, you’ll likely need to bring more agent trainees with you….”

John: “Sure thing, Syd! Oh, and send me a message when you get the chance. I found some funny video clips on the internet that I’d like to show you!”

Syd: “I am not interested in anything such as that…..”

Without speaking another word, Syd gets into the driver’s seat of the black car and drives off in the opposite direction.

With Syd’s departure, our group of trainees readies to leave as well. We say goodbye to the shaken woman who we had saved from an obsessed vampire. We make sure that she feels that she is in a decent enough state of mind, however I still wonder how she has been affected by this occurrence…

All of us gather before our white bus, ready to board it and finally head back to the Bibliotheca Vampiric. John stands holding the door to the driver’s side open. He yawns before speaking.

John: “Aww, man…. That Syd. I can’t believe they made a guy like him be my boss. And on top of that, he’s younger than me. Can you believe that?!”

No one answers him.

John: “Some vampires are just too serious…. I can’t stand it! And, to think we used to be friends!... Anyway, get in….”

With that, all of us board the bus.

On the drive back to the library, I begin to think about the many events of the day. There was no way of me knowing it beforehand, but my life has been changed by a drastic capacity in the span of one day. It all started during PE class at Blackember Academy, and I have now entered the world of vampires.

I look to each side of me from my seat on the bus. I see the vampire enthusiast, Dot, the vampires, Zora and Link and their kismets, Lilla and Ginger. And of course, there is Justice. My annoying, vampire hating kismet. Somehow I get the feeling that there will be many more days like today.

Maybe it is just how my dad said, it's an odd era.