Bubble Gum and Monsters

  Chapter 2

  “Moon and Stars Incorporated,” a young female voice answered in a tone dripping with sarcasm. “How can I help you?”

  “Umm, do you sell furniture?” Daea asked.

  “Please hold.”

  A pop song played while she waited. Her thumb hovered over the big red disconnect button, but a commanding male voice spoke before she could press it.

  “Hi, Daea. My name is Riley, and it’s important that you listen to me and follow my instructions. Do you understand?”

  “I guess, but…”

  “Sorry Daea, no time for guesses, questions, or interruptions. I can’t be on the phone for long. First, you are standing in your school library, right? There are windows to your left. Stay away from them. Do you have a jacket and hat?”

  “Not with me. They’re in my locker.”

  “OK. Go to your locker, then walk to the school’s back door that leads to the parking lot. You know the one?

  “Yes, but I think…”

  “I know you have questions. I promise they will be explained. What is imperative, though, is that you follow my instructions. Think of the changes you have experienced today. You are probably faster, stronger, smarter, and more popular. Years ago, I was in a similar situation. If you are not careful, you could limit your potential.”

  Daea took a deep breath and asked, “Tell me why I should trust you?”

  Riley answered, “You found this number and called. We have obscure methods to find recently Awakened Childaar, and you found us—not an easy thing to do. Yours was a call for help.”

  “What’s a Childaar?”

  “I promise to answer that question as soon as we meet. For now, though, just trust me when I say that you have the potential to make the world a better place. We need you, Daea. If you meet us and don’t like what we have to say, we’ll prepare you for what you need to know going forward and you will never hear from us again.”

  “What about my parents? They’ll be worried when the school informs them that I’ve left.”

  “We will make sure that they and your school understand you are gone and safe.”

  Daea took a deep breath. “OK, I’ll meet you. You said the parking lot?”

  “Yes, go to your locker. Put on anything you have. What is important is that you are protected from the sun. You will be taken to the J. Paul Getty Museum, where we can speak face-to-face.”

  Daea went to her locker and grabbed her things. As she ran to the back door, she collided with the gym teacher, who fell to the ground. He made a joke about her playing football, then asked where she was off to in such a hurry. She told him that she was on a secret mission. He chortled and wished her good luck.

  Daea got to the parking lot door and cracked it open. She saw a taxi. She left the school and sped toward the vehicle. Her neck and hands felt like they were on fire. She jumped into the car and slammed the door closed. The driver passed her a blanket and told her to cover up.

  Traffic was slow on Ventura but picked up once they turned at Sherman Oaks onto the San Diego freeway. The trip took almost an hour.

  They turned onto a twisting road. The museum’s fibrous, white, rounded limestone walls seemed to grow out of the mountain side. In addition to a panoramic view of Los Angeles, Daea caught a distant glimpse of the sun reflecting off of the Pacific Ocean. Only a few expensive sports cars filled the large, windowless garage.

  A handsome older boy waited for her. He was tall and muscular. He had shaggy blond hair and deep brown eyes. He wore jeans and a blue T-shirt. He stepped forward, opened the door, and offered his hand. “Hello, Daea, I’m Riley. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

  Transfixed, the girl took his hand and gasped, “A pleasure to meet you too.”

  He took her phone out of her hand and said, “Young vampires can’t use phones.” He tossed it back into the taxi. “If you choose not to stay, don’t forget it when you are taken home.”

  Daea composed herself and said, “Young vampire? What are you talking about?”

  Riley’s voice was little more than a whisper. “Daea, you are becoming a vampire.”

  She waved her arms in the air. “I want to go home. I don’t like this!”

  “I understand. This is overwhelming. Of course, if you really want to go home, you can. I urge you, however, to at least see this night out. You’ve been given a great opportunity. The world needs you.”

  Daea scrutinized the character standing before her. She slowly nodded her head. Riley smiled and led her away.

  As they walked through corridors and down flights of stairs, the boy said, “I expect we will have a mission tonight. We haven’t had one in a few days, and this being L.A., we’re overdue. If so, we will do it along with my long time teammate Mason and another rookie.”

  The boy opened a door. “This is our home.”

  A luxurious space spread out in front of them. It was huge. An open living area centered the room. Couches, chairs, beanbag chairs, desks, tables, and a music player all sat atop an immense, fine rug. In one corner, floor to ceiling shelves housed thousands of books, toys, and games. Daea spotted a counter full of food across the room in a large kitchen. Through a door near the kitchen, the young girl saw a gigantic gymnasium and smelled chlorine from a swimming pool. Double doors, guarded by arcade games along the wall, opened into a full size movie theater.

  A small boy, with brown skin and short, tight black hair, sat at a desk with two books open. He finished what he was writing, docked the fountain pen, and raised his gaze. He stood and walked toward the pair. His sharp black suit, white shirt, and shiny shoes all looked new.

  The older boy made introductions. “Daea, this is Eli. Eli contacted us yesterday. He too has just Awakened, which is surprising considering how rarely Childaar Awaken, let alone in the same city a day apart. Eli, this is Daea.” He turned and said, “I have to attend some matters. I’ll leave you two here to make your acquaintances, but I’ll be back soon.”

  The boy looked at Daea. She looked at him.

  He smiled and said, “Hey.”

  “Hey,” she replied.

  “When is your birthday?”

  “What?”

  “Your birthday? Mine is November 14th.”

  Daea scrunched her nose and said, “December 31st.”

  “New Year’s Eve?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How old are you?”

  “How old are you?”

  “Nine,” he answered.

  “Me too.”

  Eli pumped his fist in the air and cheered, “I’m older than you.”

  “Who cares?”

  He said, “I’m a Smart. What are you?”

  Daea rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, I bet you’re smart. I bet you have a big brain. You’re smarter than Einstein—Einstein.”

  “What? No, I mean my Dynasty. There are six young vampire Dynasties: Smart, Charm, Hardy, Quick, Sight, and Sovereign. I’m a Smart. I’m probably smarter than Einstein was, since he was only Kinedaar—a normal person. I get access to the Gifts of Seeingness, Mindness, and Wizardness. Want to see something cool?” The boy cupped his hands, and little yellow and orange flames spun slowly between them. “That’s Fire, the first level of Wizardness. I’m an L1. I only have one Gift out of the possible nine.

  “Enough!” Daea shouted. “Let’s start at the beginning. How do you know all this?”

  Eli pointed to the books on the table. “Riley gave me his Awakening Tome. He suggested I transcribe it. All Childaar are expected to make a copy.” The young boy picked up an exquisite journal. He showed Daea the pages. “See how the ink is so faded that it’s hard to read? Tomes concerning vampire lore fade over time and eventually disappear. Handwritten and quality materials keep the text longer. Childaar add their own experiences to their Tomes; no two are alike. Riley told me he wrote his seven years ago. He said I can access the city’s history Tomes when I finish. The Awakening Tome contains the basics of what it means to become Ch
ildaar.”

  “What if I make a photocopy?” Daea asked.

  “Photocopies disappear within a few minutes.”

  “So, we’re really vampires? Like in the movies? Do we have to drink blood?”

  “No, we don’t. All vampires begin as Childaar. Over time, we gain powers called Gifts, and the longer you have one, the stronger its potential. Young vampires also get improved senses, and basic Tuffness, Powness, and Speedness. Also, and this is cool too, our capacities increase to human maximum. We are as strong and fast as the greatest Olympians, our personal magnetism exceeds those of rock stars, we can understand complex mysteries better than detectives, and we are as intelligent as great thinkers like Einstein.

  “And what about food?” Daea asked, looking at the kitchen.

  “We don’t need to eat. We can, but it’s not necessary. Eating doesn’t have any effect on our bodies.”

  Daea pointed at the kitchen. “I could go and eat whatever I want and it doesn’t matter? I won’t spoil dinner or be unhealthy?”

  Eli nodded, and Daea sprinted to the kitchen, where she rummaged through the cupboards and refrigerator. She stuffed junk food into her pockets from a stash found in a group of drawers. She counted ten different kinds of ice cream in the freezers. She created the most amazing sundae of her life. She combined four ice creams, along with chocolate chips, candy coated marshmallows, butterscotch syrup, and jujubes.

  Returning to the living room, Daea plopped into a beanbag chair, scooped a spoonful into her mouth, and said, “I’m glad we don’t have to drink blood.”

  “Yes, but there is some truth to blood drinking. If a young vampire skips the Sleepining…”

  “What’s the Sleepining?”

  “It’s the transformation from Childaar to Ennui. Young vampires must expose themselves to the sun before their eighteenth birthday or they become Eldaar, who are evil, gain Dark Gifts, and need to drink blood from Kinedaar. It is said that ancient Eldaar, like the Nosferatu, need to drink the blood of other Eldaar or Childaar to survive. Ennui lose their powers, and their Childaar life becomes a distant memory as they return to Kinedaar life. They often live in or near nature.”

  Daea stood. She had ice cream and chocolate all over her face. She raised her arms in the air and approached Eli. “Ooooo, I’m The Nosferatu, and I’m going to drink your blood.” She tickled the boy.

  “Stop it,” said Eli, pushing her away. “You’ll dirty the Tomes.”

  Daea returned to her seat, took the half empty bowl, and kept eating. “So that’s why the sun hurt me today? I was losing my Gifts? I was becoming Ennui?”

  “No. You haven’t had enough time to develop as a Childaar. You would simply have become a normal kid again and have had little memory of today’s events. You probably didn’t lose anything while in the sun because you were, and still are, in the midst of your Awakening. From now on, though, we have to avoid the sun. Any time spent in it decreases our chances to learn new Gifts and can cause us to lose the Gifts we have. Eldaar, on the other hand, take damage from the sun.”

  “Just like in the movies?”

  Eli nodded.

  “Why aren’t there movies about young vampires?”

  Eli held up Riley’s Tome of Awakening. “You know, a lot of these questions are answered in here. You should start reading and transcribing your own. There are empty journals in the desk.”

  “Just tell me.”

  “Kinedaar adults can’t remember anything about young vampires. If we use our Gifts in front of them, they will rationalize it to fit their mundane worldview. Kinedaar children, on the other hand, can see and remember. The younger they are, the more they recall.”

  Daea finished her sundae. “My options, then, are to expose myself to the sun and be a normal kid or stay here and be a Childaar. Why shouldn’t I just expose myself and go home?”

  “Then you wouldn’t be able to fight the Suffering.”

  “The Suffering?”

  Eli held out the book. “You know, it would be easier if you just read this.”

  Daea shook her head. “What’s the Suffering?”

  “The Suffering is an omnipresent force that permeates the world. There is pretty much Suffering everywhere, but cities have more than rural areas. Major cities attract the Suffering like black holes attract light. It appears as a wispy, smoky, black and gray fog that swirls along the ground. Only Childaar can see it. We can’t see it right now because we’re in a museum. Places like museums, galleries, libraries, and schools are safe. Luckily, family and friends of Childaar also have certain protections.”

  “Do Eldaar make the Suffering?”

  “No. If anything, the Suffering makes the Eldaar. We have ways to—”

  “We?”

  “Childaar are loosely connected through a group of young vampires known as Orakles.”

  “So they tell us when we have to go fight Eldaar? I heard we have a mission tonight? Are we going to fight an Eldaar?”

  Eli shook his head. “No way. Eldaar are rare and powerful. They are also cautious and hard to find. They use the Suffering remotely to increase their influence.”

  “How?”

  “They take advantage of the monsters and situations created by the Suffering.”

  “Monsters!”

  “Yes,” Eli replied. “The Suffering can manifest as monsters. Only Chidaar can see and fight monsters. If they are not defeated, they return to the darkness stronger than before. People who live in places with lots of Suffering lead unhappy and unlucky lives. When Childaar fight monsters, it reduces the amount of Suffering in the world. Only the most powerful Childaar are on teams to track and fight Eldaar.”

  “What kind of monsters are there?”

  Eli returned to his seat at the desk. “Seriously, just start reading and transcribing, and these questions will be answered.”

  “I don’t want to. Just tell me.”

  Eli ignored the girl and worked on his Tome. Daea asked more questions, but Eli remained steadfast. Eventually she returned to the kitchen, grabbed a bag of sour candies, and browsed the toys and games. She explored the rest of their home, shot baskets in the gymnasium, and then watched a movie in the theater. When Riley returned, she joined Eli at the desk.

  Eli whispered to Daea, “He must be close to his Sleepining. Look how old he is.”

  A younger, skinny, olive skinned boy followed behind the leader. He wore beige slacks and a light, green, long-sleeved shirt.

  Joining the young vampires in the common area, Riley said, “Daea, Eli, this is Mason. He is joining us on tonight’s mission.” He pointed at the kids and said, “That’s Daea, and that’s Eli.”

  Mason nodded.

  Riley walked to an empty table. “Gather around. We have a mission tonight. By the looks of things…”

  “Looks of what things?” Daea asked.

  The tall boy answered, “Not only can Childaar see the Suffering, but we can track it to places where it’s built up. Most of us have to follow it on the ground, but Sights and Smarts with Perception can pinpoint where to go from afar. If the Suffering leads away from people, that usually means we’ll have a Stomp—a mission in which we fight monsters. If it leads us toward people, the mission is usually an Operation where we have to resolve a situation. We’ll leave in ten minutes.” He pointed at a door. “That’s your room. Get anything you might need for tonight.”

  Daea threw open the door to the cavernous, magnificent bedroom. She squealed, “This is so big! Look at all the stuff!” Daea bounced onto the ultra-king-sized bed and jumped.

  Mason walked into Daea’s room. His eyes narrowed. “If you don’t need anything, let’s go.”

  Daea stopped jumping, looked at Mason, and then leapt off the bed toward the closet. She misjudged the strength of her jump and cracked the door as she slammed into it. She stood, pried it open, and fell into a walk-in closet larger than her parent’s house.

  Every kind of garment Daea could imagine seemed to hang
in the closet. There were multiples of each item in different sizes. She weighed her options.

  “Hurry up,” Mason called.

  Daea emerged from her bedroom, hair up in a short ponytail, wearing a sporty red jacket with a midnight blue lightning bolt stitched on the back.

  She ran to the kitchen and rummaged through the candy drawers. She opened a tub of individually wrapped bubble gums. Pink wrappers flew furiously through the air as she popped four hard pieces into her mouth. “I’m ready.”