One
<-zero two->
(Seven years ago)
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“You ready to go?”
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Isaac turned around from his locker to see his older brother, Jonathan, smiling patiently behind him. It was nearly summer, and Isaac noticed the freckles popping up on his brother’s face. He smiled and nodded, closing his locker.
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“Oh!” exclaimed the younger brother anxiously as he patted his empty pocket. “I think I left my phone in study hall,” he murmured. “I need to go grab it.”
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Jonathan sighed and shook his head. “All right, hurry up. I’ll be waiting in the car for you.”
Isaac gave a thumbs up and headed down the hallway to his previous classroom. He peered in, scanning the room for his phone. He found it easily, noticing the dark shape on the ground, and scurried over to pick it up. He wasn’t entirely sure how it got there, but assumed it must have fallen out of his pocket when he wasn’t paying attention.
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He turned towards the door to leave and saw the head of a girl peeking out from the hallway. The light from behind her illuminated the edges of her long brown hair creating a halo effect. Her big green eyes stared at him and he held his breath. She smiled when he noticed her. His face burned. He felt strangely embarrassed, standing completely frozen because a pretty girl was looking at him. He swallowed hard and nervously continued towards the door, towards the girl.
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The girl pulled her head away from the door and vanished from his sight. Isaac felt strangely relieved, but upon reaching the threshold, he noticed her standing in the hallway, waiting for him. His heart was racing from being so close to her. He breathed in strawberries, but there was something else—another familiar scent that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
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“Hi,” she said, rocking on her heels, her hands behind her back. “You’re Isaac, right?” Her voice sounded like a lullaby.
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“Y-yeah,” he said, wondering if she could see how red he was and why she was even talking to someone like him. “I’ve seen you around I think,” he stumbled, “but I don’t— I don’t know your name.”
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She giggled. He felt his soul leave his body.
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“I’m Eve,” she said.
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He remembered now. She had been in a couple of classes with him the previous semester. He remembered staring at her nearly every day. He thought everyone else did, too.
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“Will you come with me?” she asked, causing Isaac to stop breathing yet again. “It’ll be quick. I just need help with something.”
He was staring at her lips. Why was he staring at her lips?
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“Okay, only if it’s quick,” he said timidly after an awkward nod. “My brother’s waiting for me.”
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She beamed and grabbed his hand, pulling him after her. She was one of those girls with cold hands, he noticed. Didn’t all girls have cold hands?
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They came across a small classroom near one of the back exits. The lights were off and there was clearly no one inside. Even the hallways were empty in this part of the school. He gave Eve a quizzical expression. She reassured him and told him to go inside the classroom.
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“I have a surprise for you in there, Isaac,” she purred. “I’ll be right behind you.”
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He didn’t have the ability to say no. Isaac opened the door to the classroom and stepped inside, looking curiously around at the empty desks and the deep shadows in the corners. He turned around, expecting to see Eve behind him, but he just saw the door slam shut instead, leaving him alone in the classroom.
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Except, he wasn’t alone. The shadows were moving.
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Before he had time to react, a hand shot over his face, holding a damp rag that smelled sickly sweet. He gasped and struggled, but felt another large arm around his body. Within moments, the room was fading away from him, the shadows growing to take over his vision.
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When Isaac came to, he was in a grey, hard room with only a singular dim bulb lighting up the space. It was dingy and damp. A strange metallic smell hung in the air. Isaac gagged on it. He looked around frantically, panic rousing him from his groggy state. There were dark stains on the ground. One was alarmingly close to where his head had just been. He forced himself to sit up, his head spinning, and soon realized that both his feet and hands were bound. His body ached all over.
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He tried to calm himself down, but part of him knew he would die here. He stared anxiously at the lone door in the room, waiting for some hideous captor to emerge. After a few minutes of watching, the door knob began to move. Isaac froze. His heart did not. The door began to open.
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To his own surprise, Eve was the one who peered around the door. He felt his body relax and wasn’t sure if it was an adequate response.
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“You’re awake,” she mused, cocking her head sideways. Her voice sounded fuller now, more serious. She smiled. It was a strangely reassuring smile.
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Eve walked into the room and, to Isaac’s dismay, so did two larger figures, one male and one female. They moved silently, watching him. They stopped short, but Eve kept walking towards Isaac. He shrunk away from her as she approached.
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“You’re too young,” she said, frowning. Her face was inches away from him, her hand moving out to touch his face. “And you don’t even know what you are. You wouldn’t last a day here, Isaac.”
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Eve straightened up and looked down at him. “That’s what I’m telling them, anyway,” she added. “So I hope they go easy on you. I hope you get out of here soon.” She grinned and licked her lips. They looked redder now.
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Eve turned and began to leave the room. Isaac called after her, panicked, begging her to stay, but she ignored him. When she reached the door, she turned around to look at him one more time.
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“Sorry, angel. I just don’t want to be around for what happens next.”
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With that, she vanished through the heavy door. He was left alone with the two looming figures in front of them. They didn’t move. Their chests didn’t even rise or fall. They looked like marble statues, but their eyes were fixed on him.
The male one swallowed. He looked much hungrier than the female one. She seemed to notice and chimed in.
“Charlie,” she said, “you can’t kill him. We’re just here to find out what he knows. Eden saved some of his blood in the back if you want to try it.”
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Isaac held his breath. His eyes refused to blink.
Charlie groaned and drooped. “I know,” he grumbled. “But you heard her, Claire. He probably doesn’t know anything anyway.” He swallowed again. He was salivating.
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Claire ignored him and approached Isaac. He tried to wiggle away but she was incredibly fast and strong. She held him in front of her by the collar of his shirt, staring at him with penetrating eyes.
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“Are there more of you around here?” she demanded.
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Isaac didn’t respond. He just gaped. She slammed him against the wall and asked again, exactly as she had before.
“I-I don’t know what you mean,” he gasped through the pain.
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She sighed. He thought he saw her expression soften. “You really don’t know what you are, do you?”
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“He’s bullshitting us,” grumbled Charlie, his arms crossed. “Let me try.”
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She shook her head and held up a hand to him, then lowered it and looked back to Isaac.
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“You’re half angel,” she said, matter-of-factly. “They call you Nephilim. Do you know any others?”
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Isaac felt sick. His eyes stared back at her in shock as he wondered if this was some kind of horrible joke. He was silent for a few moments before stammering an anxious response.
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“You’ve got the wrong person, obviously!” he exclaimed, letting out a small nervous laugh. “I’m clearly not an angel, I didn’t even think they existed, I still don’t, really—”
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Claire let out a long, sincere sigh. She lowered her head. Behind her, Charlie smacked his hand to his face. For a moment, the two looked at each other and whispered about whether or not he really was the right kid. When they were sure, Claire turned back towards him.
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“Tell me about your family.”
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“W-why do you—”
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Another slam into the wall. Isaac cried out in pain, squeezing his eyes shut, pretending to be somewhere else.
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“What do you want to know?” he whimpered.
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“Everything. What are your parents like? Do you have siblings?” she answered.
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Isaac opened his eyes and looked at her. “I live with my dad and step-mom,” he answered innocently.
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“What happened to your mother?” she asked.
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“I-I don’t know, I never met her.” His voice trembled. He trembled.
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Claire smiled. “Of course you haven’t.” She shot a sideways glance towards Charlie.
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“Any siblings?” she asked.
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Isaac was silent. She slammed him against the wall again. He winced, but he remained silent, and she frowned. It was the first time he saw fury enter her expression.
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“We know more than you think, Isaac,” she threatened him. “Eden said you get a ride home from an older boy from school. The one with freckles and blond hair.”
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Isaac went pale. Seeing this, she smiled and cocked her head.
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“Is he your brother?” she asked, although Isaac was sure she already knew the answer. “Is he part angel too?”
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It finally clicked in Isaac’s mind the purpose of asking about his family.
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“No,” he said suddenly, the volume of the answer surprising all three of them. “No, he’s not related to me by blood. I swear.”
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Claire narrowed her eyes at him. He continued.
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“My dad— he remarried after I was born. When my mom disappeared.” Everything was beginning to make sense now. “But Jonathan was already born, he’s my step-mother’s son, we’re not related at all.”
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Claire relaxed a bit and lazily looked back at Charlie. “Looks like he’s all we’ve got, then,” she mumbled. He was already fuming at the answer, heading closer towards them.
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“Let me handle this,” Charlie growled, causing Claire to shrug and drop Isaac where he collapsed back into the floor.
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Towering over him, Charlie looked down at Isaac, curling up on the floor, and kicked him hard. Isaac let out a pained cry. Claire’s expression was grave.
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“What are you doing?” she asked.
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“You believe him too easily,” he responded, giving the boy another kick.
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Isaac didn’t say anything. He didn’t know anything else, but Charlie didn’t seem to care. He bent down and brandished a small pocket knife. Claire caught the glimmer of it and called his name yet again. It sounded like a warning.
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“Relax,” he hissed back. “I’ll know if he’s the one we’re after when I taste his blood. Maybe he’ll talk more, too.”
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Before Charlie could get too close, however, something inside Isaac woke up. His amber eyes began to glow white gold and, with strength he never knew he had, he broke free from his bondages. It felt like ripping tissue paper. All three of them looked startled, but Isaac reacted first. His hand shot out, gripping and twisting Charlie’s arm. It produced a chilling snap. Charlie yelled and dropped the knife, which Isaac caught with his other hand. He sprung back and held it firmly in both hands, though he was visibly shaking.
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“Stay away from me,” he said quietly.
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Charlie laughed, seemingly more amused than anything else as his gripped his injured arm tightly. “You think you can really kill us with that tiny thing?” he mocked. “You’ve got another thing coming, kid.”
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He lunged at Isaac, bearing teeth. Isaac thrust up with the tiny knife just as he was about to bite into his neck. There was a soft pop and the knife found its target. Shocked, Charlie stumbled backwards, away from Isaac. The small knife was sticking out of his chest, but beyond that, it was glowing with the same color that had been in Isaac’s eyes.
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Claire and Charlie looked at each other in shock as the flesh around his wound began to grey and flake off, as though he were turning to ash. A moment later, he had disintegrated before their very eyes. The knife fell to the ground with a clank. It was no longer glowing. Claire stared back at Isaac in disbelief.
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“You killed him,” she said slowly, as though trying out the words for the first time. “You killed my brother.”
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She was growing visibly angrier the longer the death sunk in. Isaac cowered in the corner, waiting for her to strike, when they heard commotion from the hallway beyond them.
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Two familiar figures burst from the door. One of them, a blur of blond hair, had swiftly tackled Claire, but before he could stake her, she shoved him off and shrank away into the hallway. The two were covered in blood, staring at Isaac.
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“You’re okay,” Jonathan exclaimed, on the verge of tears as he ran up and hugged his younger brother.
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It took a moment for him to hug him back. He wasn’t sure if this was some strange illusion. He figured there was a good chance he would be waking up soon. His step-mother approached them and put a hand on her son’s shoulder. She smiled down at Isaac, the same tearful relief covering her face.
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“You were gone for three days,” Jonathan informed Isaac when they got home.
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“Why didn’t you tell me?” He snapped back. It startled both of them.
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Jonathan looked hurt and confused. “What?”
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On the ride home, Jonathan and their mother had explained their family business of hunting demons and other dark entities. Up until then, Isaac had simply thought of them as devoutly religious; their mother was a preacher and Jonathan was on his way to become a priest. Now, he was piecing things together.
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“I could have died, Jonathan, I didn’t know what I was! Knowing would have helped me out, I could have defended myself better.”
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Jonathan sighed. “They wanted you to have a childhood before you found out that demons and vampires exist,” he said bluntly. “I never got the option. We were going to tell you in a couple years when you turned sixteen.”
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Isaac saw how much pain his brother was in and softened his voice, his eyes downcast. “Hunting aside, you could have told me what I really was.”
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His brother shook his head. “We didn’t know ourselves,” he admitted. “We knew you would be Nephilim, but we didn’t know what that meant. You could have just ended up as entirely human, nothing special at all.” He froze for a moment, wondering if he had worded his last sentence well.
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Isaac put his hands over his face and inhaled slowly. He exhaled slowly. His voice was muffled, but he didn’t remove his hands. He just wanted to shower away what had happened, but he still needed to ask one more question.
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“Will you teach me now?” he asked.
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Jonathan stared blankly at him. “What?” he asked.
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“Teach me how to defend myself, please.” His voice was still shaking. His body was still shaking. “They said my blood was special, I think vampires are drawn to it. This probably won’t be the only time.”
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Jonathan was quiet for a moment. Reluctantly, he agreed.
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“But it’s hard work,” the older boy pointed out. “You’re in no shape to start any time soon.”
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“I don’t care, Jonathan. I want to start tomorrow.”
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Isaac had lifted his face slightly now and was glaring at his brother. His eyes were determined. Jonathan swallowed nervously.
“Okay,” he said. “We’ll start tomorrow.”
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--
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(Present Day)
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He wasn’t sure why she was back. For the past several months, Eve— or rather Eden, as he later found out— was making a habit of sneaking into his room at night and feeding on him. He had uncertain feelings about her, ones that always made him hesitate and forget how to fight whenever she found him.
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He had been tracking her patterns for a while now, alongside Jonathan, as the two shared an apartment together. She’d attack, allow him to regain his strength, and attack again. Sometimes she waited longer, until his paranoia died down, before she snuck in and got her long awaited fix. This current cycle had been one of the latter ones, as she was waiting patiently for him to drop his guard. He pretended to not be so worried, but it was difficult when every movement or sound in the dark caused him to spring up with a blade in his hand.
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The last few days, however, he had been doing pretty well. In fact, Jonathan felt the need to gently remind him to be on guard, but Isaac assured him he was always on guard. They had a feeling that she would strike again that night.
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When the time finally came, Isaac readied himself for bed. The familiar routine made him drowsy, but the adrenaline of the possible intrusion kept his mind awake, even if his eyes were heavy. The two of them had agreed that Isaac shouldn’t keep weapons near the bed, especially since he had been trying something new, in order to make Eden feel as safe as possible. They had come to know her as one of the oldest and most renowned vampires, and a title like that came from heeding incredible caution.
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Just like every other night that preceded, Isaac got into bed and closed his eyes. His mind refused to let him fall asleep, keeping him acutely aware of any noises in his bedroom. He slowed his breathing to help give the illusion that he was truly asleep, laying there for what felt like hours with no disturbances in the air.
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Around three in the morning, the familiar sound of the window slowly opening crept through the air. Isaac tried his hardest not to tense, though he was incredibly anxious already and worried his heartbeat would give him away. He continued breathing slowly, feigning sleep as the dark figure slipped into his room. He heard the faint wet sound of her lips parting in a toothy smile. He sensed her close the distance between them, forcing himself to remain calm. Her face was right in front of his now, feeling as though it was only inches away. He knew it was time to react.
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Isaac’s eyes sprung open to a genuinely shocked Eden. At the same time, he leapt from his bed at her. His hands found her cold throat and the two of them fell with a soft thud onto the floor, Isaac on top of Eden, who now looked slightly amused. At that moment, Isaac knew she could have pushed him off if she wanted to. The thought made him tighten his hands around her neck. She laughed in response, sounding thrilled.
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“You got me,” she sneered. “What are you going to do now, kill me?”
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The way she asked her question heavily implied that she did not think it was possible. Isaac accepted her challenge and, his eyes already glowing, concentrated on his hands. Within a moment, they began to glow too. Eden looked sincerely mortified. His hands began to make a soft sizzling noise as her neck started to burn. She shrieked and knew she’d be dead in a few more seconds.
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“Isaac? Are you okay?” shouted a concerned Jonathan from the hallway, no doubt heading towards his room.
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The noise surprised Isaac enough to turn his head slightly towards the door. Eden, noticing he wasn’t paying full attention to her, took the opportunity to push up on him, causing him to lose balance and fall over. She swiftly wrapped herself around him, hugging him from behind, and her mouth expertly found his neck. Within moments, Jonathan was standing in the doorway shouting. Before any of the weapons he brought could touch Eden, she had already detached from Isaac and slunk back out into the night.
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After he was sure she was gone, Jonathan looked towards his younger brother on the ground, his shaking hands applying pressure to the bleeding wound on his neck. Isaac was swearing under his breath as the room began fading again, trying and failing to hold onto consciousness.
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--
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A few weeks had gone by since their last intrusion, and Jonathan had noticed Isaac recovered his strength and confidence much quicker than usual. He had been expecting his brother to be devastated about letting her get away once again, yet when the topic arose, Isaac was unusually cheerful about the experience. He spoke about it as though it was a success.
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Still, Jonathan felt as though Isaac wasn’t being honest with him and felt the need to keep bringing up the topic of Eden in case he decided to let down his positive façade and vent his frustrations. When he saw him in the kitchen, actually eating breakfast for once, he couldn’t help but bring the vampire up once again.
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“Are you feeling okay?” Jonathan asked, watching his brother carefully as he ate.
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Isaac raised an eyebrow. “Why do you keep asking me that?”
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“I mean, you do constantly get attacked by vampires,” observed the older boy. “I feel like something like that wears on the soul over time.”
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His brother laughed. It wasn’t the response he had been expecting, but it was a welcomed one.
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“I don’t know,” Jonathan continued. “I just thought you would be disappointed since we weren’t really able to do anything last time, despite how much we prepared for that night.”
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Isaac suddenly became very still. Yet, before Jonathan could say anything, he noticed the boy smile. His face looked strangely calm, resolved. He was looking at his hand.
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“But I was able to do something,” he reflected. “Something big, I think.”
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Jonathan, engrossed in what Isaac was revealing, found himself automatically moving closer and sitting down across from his brother. Isaac made eye contact with him. His smile twitched; he almost looked like he was about to laugh.
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“I burned her,” he explained. “I didn’t even need a weapon. It was my own hand. I think it really hurt her, too.” He dropped his gaze and adapted a more thoughtful expression. “I had never seen her look so scared before. Scared of me.”
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Across from him, Jonathan sat wide-eyed. “I didn’t know you could do that!” he exclaimed.
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“Me neither!” he agreed. “And I’m sure it caught Eden off guard, too.” He leaned back now, smug. “I have a feeling she might leave me alone for a bit longer this time.”
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Though he was smiling back at Isaac, Jonathan had a horrible feeling that he might be overstating his own victory. He took a sip of his coffee and glanced out the window.
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“I hope you're right.”
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--
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Sleep never came easily, despite how tired or relaxed Isaac found himself. He constantly tossed and turned, often having snippets of dreams throughout the night before waking up to the smallest noises. Lately, however, he felt he was actually sleeping throughout the night, or getting close enough.
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In moments between consciousness and dreams, he felt as though he was out of his own body watching himself sleep. Floating in the corner of his room, he often watched as Eden would appear out of the shadows. At first, the sight made him panic, and he would sometimes try and fail to rouse himself from his sleep. Yet, tonight, he noticed the fear was entirely gone, likely due to the fact he knew what was going to happen.
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She crept into bed with him, carefully, and simply curled up next to him. The way they both laid on their sides meant the two were facing each other, and Eden gently reached out to touch his fingers. Despite the fact he felt he was watching the scene play out from across the room rather than experiencing it himself, Isaac felt a slight tingle in his hands. His heart felt heavy as he recognized the foreign softness in her eyes as she looked at his sleeping face. He breathed in the familiar scent of strawberries, and the underlying smell of fresh blood on her lips that the strawberries failed to conceal. Part of him felt these visions were real, while part of him recognized them as dreams.
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The unpleasant chirping of his alarm was enough to jolt Isaac out of sleep, and he quickly smacked the alarm to silence it. Groaning at the mere idea of not being able to go back to sleep, he curled in on himself for a moment before resolving to sit up in bed. A shiver ran down his spine as the memories of the previous nights’ dreams flooded back. He glanced to the spot where he had envisioned Eden and noticed it was empty, left untouched throughout the night. Though he thought he might find relief in the discovery, a pang in his heart that felt an awful lot like disappointment made him silently wonder what was wrong with him.
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The silence in their apartment made it that Jonathan had already left for the day. The realization jolted Isaac from his bed as he realized he must be running late for the first day back to college after a much needed break. As he frantically readied himself, he wondered if the goal of living a somewhat normal life and aiming for a normal career was worth waking up before the sun.