Winona’s evening was routine. She went to bed around 10:00 P.M., and while lying there, she was thinking about when she and Travis had first met. Within a short time, Winona drifted off to sleep, and then—within a dream—she found herself reading a book in the high school’s crowded library—the high school that Winona had graduated from a few weeks ago.
Winona looked up from her book and saw that everyone had been ripped to shreds by something unknown.
Winona frantically got to her feet while uttering, “What the hell?!”
Winona frantically looked around and saw that the library was littered with mutilated bodies. She then quickly turned towards the exit and dashed away.
When Winona dashed into the hallway, she came face to face with Nancy Jargon.
Nancy caught Winona from going past her before asking, “Where’s the fire, Winnie?”
“They’re dead!” Winona uttered. “They’re all dead!”
“Who are all dead?” Nancy questioned, curiously.
“In the library,” Winona said while gesturing. “They’re all dead.” Nancy looked towards the library before walking towards the entrance. Winona grabbed her at the shoulder while insisting, “You can’t go in there!”
“I’ll be alright,” Nancy claimed while shrugging Winona’s hand off and continuing into the library.
Winona slightly hesitated before following Nancy. When Winona stepped back into the library, she saw Nancy examining the body closest to the entrance.
“We need to get out of here, Nancy,” Winona insisted.
Nancy stood upright, and as she turned towards Winona she accused, “This is your fault!”
“My fault?!” Winona echoed. “How is this my fault?”
“You didn’t stop him when he came…”
“When who came?” Winona interrupted.
“When Travis came,” Nancy insisted. “You were so excited when he returned. You’re so in denial.”
“What in hell are you talking about?” Winona demanded.
“Travis did this,” Nancy informed as she walked towards one of the bookshelves. “Travis killed these people.”
“Travis would never hurt anyone,” Winona insisted before following Nancy. “And where are you going?”
“Over here,” Nancy said while stepping up to one of the shelves. She then took unbound pages off of the shelf, faced Winona and tossed them to her. The pages separated in mid-air before littering the floor in front of Winona. “Now take those pages and do something about Travis.”
Winona shot Nancy an annoyed look before bending down to pick up the pages. The first page that she had picked up was the first page on the incantation that would magically enhance a wooden stake to incapacitate a vampire.
When Winona saw what was on the page, she gave Nancy a curious look before asking, “Do you know what are on these pages?”
“Yeah, the means on stopping Travis. Now do it before he kills again.”
As Winona continued to gather the pages, she informed, “These pages are on finding and incapacitating vampires.”
“And Travis is a vampire,” Nancy said, patronizingly. “So what’s your point?”
“Travis is a vampire?” Winona questioned in a surprised tone. Before Nancy could answer, Travis whooshed her away. Winona turned herself around while looking in every direction for Nancy and not seeing her. “What the hell?”
Travis suddenly appeared in front of Winona before saying, “I hate tattletales.”
Winona gave Travis a confused look before asking, “Is Nancy right, Travis? Are you a vampire?”
“We had something great,” Travis said while grabbing Winona by the throat with lightning speed. He then threw her across the room, “and then Nancy had to ruin it.”
Winona hit the bookshelf hard before she and several books fell to the floor. One of the books fell open and when Winona went to stand up, she saw that the pages were blank. Winona picked up the book and looked at the title, which read, ‘A Midsummer’s Night Dream.’
“You think that this is the time to read Shakespeare?” Travis questioned as he stalked closer.
“None of this is right,” Winona insisted while seeing the book ‘The Scarlet Letter’.
“What isn’t right?” Travis questioned as Winona grabbed the book and opened it to the middle pages.
“You’re dead,” Winona insisted while staring at a blank page. “And these books are…” Winona stopped talking when she saw print on the earlier pages.
“Those books are what?” Travis questioned as he continued to stalk closer.
Winona noticed that the print within the book had ended at where she had left off from when she was reading it for her class.
When Winona didn’t answer while appearing confused, Travis repeated, “Those books are what?”
Recognition came across Winona’s face before she annoyingly called out in the Mikasuki language, “Hear me well, Blue Moon! I’ll do what I can to kill the vampires and you will not manipulate my dreams like this again!”
“Dream?!” Travis questioned. “You think that this is a dream?”
Winona concentrated to manipulate the dream to a forest scene. Winona didn’t have to try hard before the walls rapidly ate away to nothing while grass, shrubs and trees with green leaves grew in every direction. Just as the forest scene was complete, Travis faded from sight.
Blue Moon stepped out into view from behind a tree before saying in the Mikasuki language, “That was impressive the way that you had changed things.”
“I learned five years ago that as long as I know that I’m dreaming, I could control my dreams,” Winona shared. “Three-fourths of the time when I force my dreams into a certain direction it causes me to wake up though. Even on the fourth time, I think I wake up earlier than usual.”
“So what had told you that you were dreaming?” Blue Moon questioned.
“And give away my cues?” Winona rhetorically questioned. “Not in this life time.” Blue Moon just grinned. “And don’t you ever use my dreams like this again.”
“The dream was already yours,” Blue Moon began. “I just nudged it into a training exercise.”
“I can understand the need to train, but let me know when it’s a training exercise before you begin,” Winona ordered.
Blue Moon pursed his lips before taking a needless breath and saying, “You won’t be putting forth your best if you know that it’s a training exercise and by not putting forth your best you won’t be learning your best, and that could get you killed.”
Winona thought for a second before saying, “Alright. I’ll give you permission to test me. Once every four to five weeks, you can throw a training exercise at me without letting me know that it’s a training exercise.”
Blue Moon pursed his lips for a moment before countering, “Once every three to five weeks.”
Winona thought for a second before agreeing, “Alright. Once every three to five weeks you can test me.”
Blue Moon nodded before saying, “Now let’s begin your training, because tomorrow, you’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia to go after those three vampires.”
“I do have a job to go to tomorrow,” Winona pointed out.
“You don’t need that job…” Blue Moon was only able to get out.
“I do need that job,” Winona insisted. “I need that paycheck.”
“You play numbers—occasionally—to win money,” Blue Moon said.
With a confused expression on her face, Winona thought for a second before saying, “The lottery. Occasionally I play. I haven’t won though… not yet anyway.”
“That daily one that you play, tomorrow play the numbers 06-07-15-29-35.”
“Okay, fine, if I can remember them, I’ll play those numbers,” Winona said.
“You’ll remember,” Blue Moon assured her. “And you’ll quit your job.”
“Yeah, well, until I win enough to quit my job, I won’t be quitting,” Winona informed.
“You took a lifeguard position because you’re an excellent swimmer,” Blue Moon began. “Plus you care for people. If anyone would die at the swimming pool I know you would feel guilty that you couldn’t have saved that person. Would you feel as guilty if a vampire would kill a person who you could have saved?”
Winona moaned before grumbling, “Fine. But I’m not quitting my job until I can afford to; however, I’ll come up with an excuse to tell Dale though.”
“Okay, now let’s begin your training.”
Winona nodded before saying, “Alright. Let’s do this.”
Thursday, Winona woke up at 8:30 A.M. Shayne and Dakota had already left for work; however, Adam and Sheila were watching TV in the living room.
When Winona stepped into the living room, she greeted them with, “Morning.”
“Morning,” Adam and Sheila echoed.
“So how have you been, Sheila?” Winona questioned.
“Good,” Sheila replied. “And you?”
“Good,” Winona echoed. “You’re not working today, Adam?”
“I’m off today, and speaking of working today, Dale called,” Adam said. “He would like it if you could work the early shift today.”
“Mmm,” Winona uttered while thinking about it. “I need to check something on the Internet before I decide.”
“Okay,” Adam said in an uncertain tone.
“I’ll go check it now,” Winona said while gesturing.
“Okay,” Adam and Sheila said.
Winona nodded before turning and walking back towards her bedroom. After booting up the computer, waiting the minutes that it took for the computer to be responsive and logging onto the Internet, she checked the flight schedules from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia.
When Winona saw an evening flight, she uttered, “Sweet. That will work.” She then got up, went to her purse, pulled out her bank debit card, returned to the computer and began the process of booking a round-trip flight to Atlanta, Georgia.
Once she was done booking the flight, she shut down her computer and then called Dale. After getting off the phone with Dale, she made herself some breakfast.
Winona would normally take a gym bag filled with her purse, her swimsuit and three towels with her to the pool, and then swap her clothes for her swimsuit once at the pool. This morning when Winona packed her gym bag for the swimming pool, she added two sets of additional clothing and the incantations to subdue vampires to her bag as well.
As Winona—with the strap of the gym bag over her shoulder—was walking through the living room to leave, she told Adam and Sheila, “Bye. I’m gone.”
“Bye,” Adam and Sheila echoed.
Before Winona was able to leave out, Adam noticed that her bag was fuller than usual; however, without really giving the bag a second thought, he went about his day as if he didn’t even notice.
After leaving the house, Winona drove to the gas station down the road and played the lottery numbers that Blue Moon had given her. She then continued to the pool.
As the day progressed, Winona’s morning to late afternoon was routine. She left the pool one hour before her plane to Atlanta, Georgia was to take off, and—with the heavy late afternoon traffic around the airport—arrived at the airport just in time to grab her ticket, declare one carryon bag and get to the terminal before they closed the gate.
Winona’s brother Matthew and Matthew’s partner Officer George DuPont were escorting a prisoner through the airport in handcuffs. Matthew was the one who had hold of the prisoner and didn’t see Winona as she was dashing through the gate in order to make her flight, but George did.
As the worker was closing off the gate, George questioned, “Where’s your sister going?”
As Matthew was giving George a confused look, the prisoner said, “Hopefully, she’s going to the police station to bail me out.”
“I wasn’t speaking to you,” George informed.
Matthew continued to give George a confused look, but before he could respond, a terrified four-year-old boy cried out, “Mommy!”
Matthew and George looked forward and saw a lone boy walking their way.
George walked ahead of Matthew, and as he was approaching the boy, he asked, “What’s your name, young man?”
“Go away,” the boy insisted.
“Well, I would like to help you find your mommy, and I can’t do that if I go away,” George said sympathetically.
“I don’t know you!” the boy shot at George. “Go away!”
“Normally you would be right not to talk to strangers,” George began before bending over and gesturing towards his badge. Matthew was stepping up with the prisoner. “See this badge. I wear this badge so I can protect you and help you when you need to find your mommy. Now what is your name?”
“Go away!” the boy again shot at George.
“That’s it, kid,” the prisoner praised. “Don’t buy into his spiel.”
“Shut up!” Matthew ordered while jerking him back slightly by the collar of his shirt.
“Son…” George was only able to get out.
“Mom!” the boy hollered out at the top of his lungs.
“Nicholas!” a woman’s voice was heard approaching.
“Mom!” the boy delightfully uttered as he ran to the woman. “The man won’t go away.”
“I’m Officer DuPont, ma’am,” George told the woman as he stepped up to her.
“Officer DuPont, do you and your partner always go around frightening children?” the woman questioned.
“Ma’am, my partner and I… and this person—” George began patiently while gesturing towards his prisoner, “—were walking through, and we came upon your lost son. As I tried to help him, he screamed at me to go away. Now I don’t know what you’re teaching your son, but I would’ve failed you, him and even the public if I would have walked away.”
“Okay, well, my son and I have found each other,” the woman began in a self-forced politeness. “So thank you for what you were trying to do, but my son and I will be on our way.”
“Of course,” George said before the woman and the boy could walk away.
The woman and the boy walked away without replying.
“Okay, let’s continue,” Matthew said before having a thought. “Hey, why were you asking me where my sister was going?”
“Because she had boarded a plane,” George informed.
“She boarded which plane?” Matthew demanded to know.
George pointed towards the gate that Winona had entered while saying, “Whatever plane that was boarding there, and that plane is most likely taxiing to the runway by now.”
Matthew glanced at the gate number before asking, “And you’re certain that it was Winnie?”
“I’m certain,” George assured him.
“Take over here,” Matthew ordered. “I’m going to find out where Winnie’s plane is going.”
“Okay,” George agreed before taking hold of the prisoner.
Once George had the prisoner, Matthew rushed away to find out where Winona’s plane was going.
When Winona’s plane landed, she took a cab to a shop that sold crystal balls. As she walked into the shop, her cell phone began to sound.
Winona took out her phone, and when she looked at who was calling, she saw that it was her dad’s number at the Fort Lauderdale Police Station. After taking a breath, she answered with, “Hi, Dad. What’s up?”
“Winona Jocelyn Rivers,” Shayne uttered. “Going to Atlanta alone. Have you completely lost your mind?”
“Blue Moon wants me here, Dad,” Winona began as she walked through the moderately crowded shop. “He believes that the… you know what, will do, you know what, tonight.”
While trying to keep his voice level down so he wouldn’t draw unwanted attention, Shayne told her, “Winnie, you have no experience at this.”
“And you do?” Winona quickly asked.
“No, which is my entire point,” Shayne retorted. “This shouldn’t be done alone.”
“Dad, I have the training,” Winona insisted. “I can do this.”
“What do you mean that you have the training?” Shayne demanded.
“You know the interesting part about dreams is, is that you can experience days in a matter of minutes,” Winona began. “And Blue Moon and I trained for hours. So I can’t even imagine how many days that was.”
Winona saw the curious look that she was getting from the nearest customer as Shayne said, “Obviously I don’t know what all that you and Blue Moon had done within your dream, but doing this alone is reckless and suicidal.”
“Dad, I love you, but this is something I have to do. I’ll call you later. Bye,” Winona told him before hanging up.
“Winona! Winona!” Shayne uttered before deciding that the call had been ended.
Shayne redialed her number, and when her phone went straight into voicemail, he slammed the receiver down.
“Winona is a little old for a teenage rebellion,” Detective Gerri Sheppard—the closest detective to Shayne—pointed out.
“This is something else entirely,” Shayne assured her. He then questioned loudly, “Has anyone here ever served out of Atlanta, Georgia?”
After a moment of no one answering, Officer Briggs shared, “My uncle—Lieutenant Jack Stallings—is a detective in the Atlanta Georgia Police Department.”
“Close enough,” Shayne told him before gesturing towards his phone. “Get your uncle on the horn for me.”
“Okay,” Officer Briggs agreed before stepping over to Shayne’s phone, picking it up and dialing it.
Once Officer Briggs’s uncle was on the phone, Officer Briggs held out the phone for Shayne to take.
“Detective Stallings, this is Detective Rivers. I know that this is an odd request, but do you know of any private investigators in your vicinity who would investigate the paranormal?”
“You’re joking, right?” Jack shot at him.
“I wish I was,” Shayne told him.
“Okay, well, I did arrest a private investigator last week for interfering with an active investigation that involves a serial killer,” Jack began. “He’s out now though. Anyway, he claims that there is more than one killer, and that the killers aren’t even human. Is that paranormal enough for you?”
“Do you know that private investigator’s name and his contact information?”
“William Merritt—AKA Willie,” Jack said while typing on the computer. “Hold on for the contact information.”
After finding the information, Jack gave Shayne Willie’s address and phone number.
“Got it,” Shayne said after writing it down. “Thank you, Detective Stallings.”
“Before you hang up, Detective Rivers, may I ask what is this about?” Jack questioned.
“My eighteen-year-old daughter is currently somewhere in your city, and she is on the hunt for paranormal activity.”
“And what better person to track down your daughter than a detective who believes in the paranormal,” Jack added in an understanding tone.
“Exactly,” Shayne told him. “Anyway, thanks for the information. Bye.”
As Shayne was hanging up, Gerri questioned, “Winnie now believes in the paranormal?”
“According to the stories of my ancestors, magic is supposed to run through my veins,” Shayne began while drawing every officer’s attention. “I never shared that before because I have never believed those stories. Winnie has recently learned about those stories, and now she decided to explore them.”
“And she went to Atlanta, Georgia to do that?” Gerri questioned.
Shayne thought of his answer before fudging, “She went there to look for a group of three people. Those three are supposed to be some kind of experts in the paranormal.” Shayne then gestured towards the exit. “Anyway, I have a personal phone call to make.”
“Well, I think everyone here now knows that you’re about to hire a private investigator who believes in the paranormal in order to track down Winnie,” Gerri pointed out.
“Be that as it may, I feel that, that call will be a private matter between me and the private investigator,” Shayne said as he pulled out his cell phone and slightly held it up. “So I’m going to make this call in private.”
“Alright,” Gerri assured him.
Shayne nodded before turning and walking away.
In Atlanta, Georgia, Winona had stepped up to the cashier to pay for the three crystal balls that she had picked out that were larger than four inches in diameter. While thinking that it was no longer necessary to hide her whereabouts, Winona used her bank debit card to make her purchase.
As she was receiving her receipt, she asked, “Where is there a hardware store?”
The cashier thought for a second before giving Winona directions.
Shayne went to his vehicle for absolute privacy and once his door was shut, he dialed his phone.
After the fifth ring, a thirty-three-year-old man answered the phone with, “Merritt’s dusk to dusk investigations. Willie Merritt speaking. I investigate cheating spouses and crimes that you think that the law enforcement isn’t doing a bang up job. Finding lost people and pets are also specialties of mine. How can I help you?”
“Where to begin,” Shayne replied sardonically.
“Perhaps by introducing yourself,” Willie suggested.
“I’m Detective Shayne Rivers of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and I take offence to your comment about law enforcement not doing a bang up job.”
“You’d be amaze, Detective Shayne Rivers, on how many people come in while claiming to have loved ones who are being tried for a crime that their loved ones didn’t commit. Granted, four out of five cases, my findings would correspond with the police’s findings, but there’s always that fifth case where the police had arrested the wrong man… or gal. Anyway, Detective Rivers, I doubt that you had called me because of my slogan.”
“According to Lieutenant Jack Stallings of the Atlanta, Georgia Police Department you believe in the paranormal, and…”
“Are you calling here to mock me, detective?!” Willie demanded to know.
“I have called to hire you—if in fact that you believe in the paranormal.”
“As long as you’re paying me, I’ll believe in the Easter Bunny,” Willie retorted.
“Do you or do you not believe that the serial killer in Atlanta, Georgia is more than one person and that they are something other than human?”
Willie slightly hesitated before saying, “Laugh all you want, but I have seen the killers—two of them anyway, and they are vampires. Not the afraid-of-the-sunlight or the messed-up-in-the-face vampires either, mind you. In fact, the TV rules don’t even apply to them. So who knows how many vampires there actually are here in the city while walking among us?”
“There are three vampires in your city, actually,” Shayne informed.
“And you would know this how?” Willie prompted.
Shayne took a breath before explaining everything to Willie.
With her gym bag and shopping bags in her hands, Winona stepped up to the cashier of a gas station and asked, “Can I get the key to the women’s room?”
The cashier looked towards the bags that Winona was carrying before saying, “It’s out of order.”
Winona lifted up her gym bag, and as she was unzipping it, she questioned, “You think I’m carrying drugs, don’t you?” She exposed the contents of her bag. “All I have in here are clothes, papers, a small purse and a pencil-thick tree branch. In the purse, I have my cell phone, a small sewing kit and a wallet containing my driver’s license, a few photos and some cash. In the shopping bags are crystal balls and six wooden stakes. The stakes and the tree branch are for an art project that I will be working on—it’s a hobby of mine. But what I don’t have are drugs or anything else that is illegal. So are you absolutely sure that the women’s restroom is out of order?”
The cashier stared indifferently at Winona for a moment before pulling out a key and telling her, “The men’s restroom is currently free. You can use that if you’d like.”
“I would like,” Winona told the cashier while taking the key. “Thanks.”
When the cashier nodded, Winona turned and walked away. Winona went into the men’s restroom and shut the door behind her.
Winona saw that the sink was wet from recent use, and she immediately wiped it out before pulling out one of the crystal balls and placing it into the sink. She then pulled out a recently purchased lighter from her front pocket and the pencil-thick tree branch.
The lighter took a couple of tries before it ignited with a flame. She then proceeded to light the tree branch.
Winona had allowed the branch to burn until the tip was a charcoal color. After blowing out the flame she proceeded to draw the first symbol onto the crystal ball.
At the counter, Willie stepped up to the cashier, and while showing the cashier a faxed picture of Winona, he asked, “Has this girl been here?”
“Are you the police?” the cashier asked.
“I’m a private investigator,” Willie informed before showing the cashier his private investigator’s license. “I was hired to find this girl. Now have you seen her?”
“She’s in the men’s room,” the cashier informed.
“Well, Winona was the easiest person to find so far,” Willie said while turning towards the restrooms and then walking away.
In the men’s room, Winona had to relight the branch twice before finishing the first symbol. As she was drawing the second symbol, Willie knocked hard on the door.
Winona slightly jumped from the sudden knock. As she continued to draw out the second symbol, she called out, “Occupied!”
“Winona Rivers,” Willie yelled back. Winona shot the door a curious look. When Winona didn’t answer right away, he continued with, “Winona Rivers, I’m Willie Merritt—a private investigator. Your dad had hired me.”
“Crap,” Winona let out under her breath while slightly bowing her head in defeat.
“Winona Rivers!” Willie uttered again.
“Yes, one moment,” Winona called back before she proceeded to stuff her things back into her bag.
Willie waited patiently with his left ear inches from the door, and when he heard her grabbing the doorknob, he backed up a few steps. When the door opened wide, Winona locked eyes with the man who stood half of an inch taller than her.
“I’d never thought that my dad would hire a local P.I.,” Winona told him. “I wouldn’t have been using my bankcard if I had.” Willie slightly grinned. “Anyway, I’m eighteen. Legally you can’t make me go anywhere and I have a job to do.”
Willie slightly nodded before saying, “I wasn’t hired to put you on a plane back to Fort Lauderdale. I was hired to assist you.”
“My dad had told you as to why I’m here?” Winona questioned incredulously.
Willie stepped into a whispering distance before whispering, “Your dad had chosen my services because of what I know.”
“And what do you know?”
“I was arrested recently for interfering with an ongoing police investigation of a serial killer…”
“What does that have to do with what you know?” Winona interrupted.
“I saw the killers the night before I was arrested, and although the killers look human, I can say with certainty that they’re not,” Willie continued. “They had unnatural quick speed and strength, and they drank blood.”
“Vampires?” Winona whispered.
“Yes,” Willie confirmed. “Your dad had hired me to help you to kill these vampires, and I understand that you possess the magic and the incantations to do it.”
“Yeah, well, I was preparing to cast a locating spell when you knocked on the door,” Winona informed.
“You won’t need to do that locating spell,” Willie said.
“You know where the vampires are?” Winona quickly asked.
“No, what I mean is, your dad wants us to keep communications open between us and him,” Willie began. “He will do the locating spell from Fort Lauderdale and then tell us where to go to find the vampires, which will free you from casting a locating spell in a gas station’s men’s room.”
Winona slightly smirked before saying, “Well, I still have a couple of spells to cast before I can actually go looking for vampires.”
“You can do those spells at my office,” Willie said. “So grab your stuff.”
“Alright,” Winona agreed as she moved to collect her things.
After Winona and Willie were in Willie’s car and Willie had entered traffic, Willie asked, “So what spells do you have to do?”
Winona glanced at Willie before answering, “I’m sure you saw TV shows where a wooden stake through the vampire’s heart will kill a vampire.”
“I have,” Willie agreed.
“Well, before wooden stakes are effective against vampires, a spell has to be cast on them, and even then a magically enhanced wooden stake through a vampire’s heart will only subdue the vampire…”
“So how does one kill a vampire?” Willie asked.
“The only way to kill a vampire is by restraining one within a flame until the fire has completely taken hold of the vampire.”
“So fire is the only way to kill a vampire,” Willie restated as if to himself.
“Yep,” Winona said.
“So, enhancing wooden stakes with magic is one spell that you have to do,” Willie began. “What’s the other one?”
“I will be turning the crystal balls that I have into incapacitating weapons against vampires,” Winona began. “Once I set loose a magically enhanced crystal ball, any vampires within twenty feet of the crystal ball will be immobilized for eight minutes, which will give me time to stake the vampires with the magically enhanced wooden stakes.”
“And once you have the stakes through the vampires’ hearts, you can take them somewhere to be burned,” Willie added.
“Exactly,” Winona agreed.