Abigail Rath Versus Bloodsucking Fiends

“Sure,” said Vince.
“No,” I said. Kaplan Kone had been a sacred friendship ritual since we were in second grade. Vince had just let other people cut in. Not cool. I wouldn’t let William in our date, and he knew a whole bunch about horror films.
“Why not?” said Vince. “It’s the nice thing to do.”
“Since you’re going to be there anyway,” said William, “can I come?”
“Fine,” I said. I threw up my hands. “Fine.”
Vince was looking all moony at Coral. Nice. Throw over your ordinary best friend for a pretty face. That kind of stank.
I cleared my throat. Vince didn’t even look at me. I smiled at William, the exaggerated thing you do when you’re trying to forget how annoyed you are. “Excuse me.”
“We’ve taking off anyway,” said William. “See you Saturday.”
“Yeah,” I said. I gave William a quick peck on the cheek. “See you Saturday.” William puffed up. I glowered at Vince, had a quick word with Mom, and was on my way to the restroom. I knew Vince’s eyes were burning into me as I walked away. Good.
The mall had narrow windy tunnels which led you behind the stores to the facilities. A high mirror perched near the ceiling so walkers could see what was coming toward them around the corner. I felt like I could punch Vince, but I thought I shouldn’t. I didn’t want Mom thinking that I couldn’t control my violent tendencies.
In the restroom I splashed water on my face. I had to face facts. We were all getting older, me, Marty and Vince. Who was I to tell Vince that he couldn’t be interested in Coral? Sure, she was too thin and had too many teeth, but if that was his type, there wasn’t much I could do about it.
I took a deep breath, washed my hands, and headed out. Coming around the corner, I saw the fight in the round mirror. Vince was being Vince-handled by a corpsy vampire with long skinny fingers, pasty skin and no hair. This little guy looked like a short version of Noseratu from the 1922 silent film. Nosferatu Junior, just about as ugly as William was good-looking, with snaggly teeth, pointy ears, and buggy eyes.
The corridor was empty except for the three of us, which struck me as a freaky supernatural thing.
I pulled my cross out from my backpack and stealthed away from the mirror’s view, hugging the smooth wall. If Nosferatu Junior weren’t so intent on Vince, he would have noticed me. Close proximity to Vince meant my primary objective was to drive the vampire away. “Get back!” I yelled.
It turned. Glittery yellow eyes, the kind that catch the light, flashed in my direction. Nosferatu Junior hissed like an angry cat.
Then Vince slapped the creature under his chin. It sizzled. The vampire chittered away from Vince toward the bathroom and me. It turned misty and barreled over my head. I ducked. It zoomed past a grandma and her two grandsons, who ran for cover. I gave chase zigzagging down the corridors, up to the fire door and watched the thing dissolve into mist and go under it to the outside. I didn’t think fire doors had gaps, but I guess I was wrong.
With only a second’s hesitation, I slammed the emergency door open. This wasn’t going to win me any points with Mom. However, chasing after Vince’s monster attacker was the only thing to do. If my parents didn’t agree, I’d run away from home.
The alarm trumpeted, and then as the door closed, I found myself in a quiet alley. A dark, quiet alley, like in all the horror films. I surveyed the roof. In loads of horror films, the heroes or heroines forget they should look up, and I wasn’t about to be divebombed by Nosferatu Junior.
Someone did, as it turns out, jump down from the roof.  I brandished my cross. “Stay back!”
“Geez, Abby.” Ned shielded his head with his hands and looked away. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you doing at the mall?”
“What are you doing at the mall?” Ned shot back.
“Protecting Vince from a vampire attack.” I moved forward with the cross. “What are you doing here?”
“Vince? Is he okay?”
“I asked you a question.”
“It wasn’t me!” said Ned.
I lowered my cross and deflated. “I suppose not. I’ve seen you drac out. You don’t become a Nosferatu. Just now, you could have cleaned my clock.”
“You aren’t as dumb as you look. Okay. I think I followed that. A vampire that attacked Vince? Short and ugly?”
“Like a goblin nightmare.”
Ned grabbed me around the waist.
“What are you doing?”
“Keep the cross away from me, okay?” We flew, taking the Ned-o-vator up to the roof. Down in the alley, mall security poured through the fire door, scoping out the ground, peering behind the dumpsters. Ned had saved my bacon from another misunderstanding.
“Thank you,” I mouthed.
Ned shrugged like a goofy sap. Mall security decided it wasn’t worth its collective while to investigate an empty alley, and they gave up the Abby hunt in about ten minutes.
“Did you see the other vampire?” I whispered.
“If you mean the jet of vampiric mist that flew out of this alley and into the blackest night, well, no.”
I ignored Ned’s humor. It had to do things to your brain, being sixteen for like twenty years. “It was attacking Vince.”
“We should get back in there, make sure he’s okay.” On the roof, Ned examined a locked door. He snapped the padlock that closed the door, but the knob still wouldn’t twist.
“Are you going to kick it in with your vampiric strength?” I asked.
Ned pulled out a wallet, the edges smooth and rounded with age. “Since it’s not a deadbolt, I’m going to pick
the lock.”
“That lacks for style points.”