Diary of Rapture: Chapter 1

 

Witness

 

Being an architect is an intense job. Pleasing the clients is no easy task, as my shyness prevents me from learning their traits easily.

 

But when I'm sketching design concepts, everything fades away - my worries, my hopes, the vast majority of my senses. There is only the sound of the pencil scratching against the drafting paper, the scent of erasers and lead, and the light bouncing off my eye and into my head, translating the image in my mind onto the page.

I was jolted out of my trance by the door to the bedroom creaking, followed by the sound of a certain someone's leather loafers rubbing against the carpet.

Annoyance flashed through me - why was he interrupting my work? "Go away, Jeremy," I groaned.

"Yumi, did you forget? You've got an appointment in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?! Damn it!"

I shoved my chair aside and bolted for the dresser.

After quickly checking to make sure Jeremy was no longer in the room, I grabbed the first outit I could find...

...which just so happened to be a dress.

Great.

I didn't have time to mope about it, though. I just swung the front door open (nearly ripping it off its hinges) and followed Jeremy out.

We piled into Jeremy's car. And I mean the term "car" very loosely. The thing was covered in rust, creaky, and practically on the verge of falling apart.

Jeremy and I called it the Scrapmobile.

But despite its flaws, the Scrapmobile was currently our only method of transportation. So we put up with it, even though it barely worked.

Through nearly the entire drive, the only sound that could be heard was the roar of the Scrapmobile's engine beneath us. Jeremy focused intently on the road, while I stared out the window at the blurry landscape passing by us.

Finally, Jeremy broke the silence. "Yumi, what's wrong? You've been really quiet the entire drive, and you're normally so... animated on your way to work."

I sighed. "It's... my client for today."

Jeremy's brows furrowed in confusion. "You mean Lola Belle? Why are you anxious about her?"

"Why do you thinK?" I said irritably, not taking my eyes off the world speeding by us. "Jeremy, she's a five star celebrity. From Bridgeport, no less. She's probably going to make some snide comment about my clothes, and turn up her perfect, plastic-surgery modeled nose at my design -"

"Relax, Yumi," Jeremy said gently as we pulled up to the Belle mansion. "Lola isn't as snooty as the tabloids portray her - she's actually quite nice. And she picked you for a reason. You're, like, psychic when it comes to what your clients want."

Jeremy did have a point there. Out of all the architects in Sunset Valley, Lola had hired me, the least experienced one.

"Thanks, Jeremy." I smiled at him.

"No prob - I'm happy to give you a confidence boost whenever you need one. But now, you need to do your job." He nodded towards the Belle masnion.

I stepped out of the Scrapmobile, and waved to Jeremy as he clanked off to his daily job as a busker.

Now that Jeremy was gone, I was twice as anxious as I'd been before. I allowed myself one tiny whimper before I began.

Then I plastered a professional, completely fake smile on my face, and strode towards the mansion.

The Belle mansion had one of the best views in Sunset Valley. It was built to emphasize that view, with a lean structure and tons of large windows and glass doors.

When I finally entered the Belle mansion, I couldn't help but be impressed.

The interior of the home was as sleek and modern as the exterior. Black and grey terra-cotta tiles adorned the floor. Lola's prized guitar sat upon its very own pedestal, and there were two fluffy armchairs for people to listen to her play. The door to the left led to the colorless living room, the door on the right to the exotically patterned dining room. Lola had an amazing setup already - why did she need me?

The one thing missing from the room was Lola herself.

That should have been a warning to me. According to Jeremy, Lola was NEVER late for appointments - she'd have to have a crippling illness or a similar impairment to not show up on time.

But at the time, I just figured she was in the shower or something, and would be down momentarily.

So I once again put on my mask of friendly confidence while I made myself comfy in one of the plush green chairs.
 

Thirty minutes passed.

And still no Lola.

The smile on my face crumbled into a grimace. I was tempted to hightail it all the way back to my house right now. But I'd probably get fired if I left without doing my job. Not to mention that such an action would be extremely unprofessional and rude.

So instead, I ventured deeper into the Belle mansion. "Miss Belle? Hello? It's Yumi Sora, the architect you hired!"

My only answer was eerie silence.

Something about the whole situation was making my hair stand on end. I didn't like walking around this huge, glassy, empty mansion by myself at all.

When I reached the kitchen, I stopped to think things through.

Maybe I should try calling her. I pulled out my smartphone to do just that.

But I never got the chance.

A loud bang went off, very close to my head.

For a moment, I stared in horror at the bullet hole in the wall that hadn't been there before. Then I whirled, tensed to run or dive behind cover or do whatever would keep me alive.

But when I saw who was shooting at me, confusion rushed in to mingle with the terror.

The person holding the pistol was none other than Jupiter Belle, Lola's adopted son.

Why was he trying to kill me?

But when he saw my face, he lowered the gun in relief.

"Thank goodness," he breathed. :"You're not another one of them."

"Them?" I had a very, very bad idea of whom Jupiter was talking about, but I desperately hoped I was wrong. "Them who?"

"One of the Knights," Jupiter whimpered. "They were mad at my mom for not paying their 'rock star protection fee'..."

My ears started ringing on the word Knights. I tried to pull myself together, but that single word had sent me tumbling into an abyss of sheer terror.

The Knights of Desolation.

The Knights of Desolation were the Mafia of Sunset Valley. They were a group of immortal male vampires who deigned themselves to strike terror in the hearts of the town's citizens.

No one knew why they'd come from Moonlight Falls and Bridgeport to Sunset Valley, or how many vampires were in the Knights of Desolation. Some said five, others said ten.

But there were two things that everyone knew about them.

One, if you were stupid enough to be wandering around alone at night, you'd most likely end up as dinner for one of their members. They saw humans as nothing more than cash cows - and food.



 

And if you pissed them off in any way...

... they would hunt you until you were dead.

"Jupiter," I gasped around the fear cutting off my oxygen. "Where's your mom?"

Jupiter swallowed. "She's upstairs. The Knight sucked nearly all her blood out and left her to die. Now he's after me."

Seeing the once happy and and confident little boy reduced to this, I felt a maternal urge to comfort him. So I knelt to take Jupiter by the shoulders.

To my surprise, he grabbed me, burying his face in my jacket and shaking with sobs.

For a minute, I was too starteld to do anything. Then I came to my senses, and wrapped my arms around him, hugging him cautiously.

"It's going to be okay," I told him, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. "I'm gonna -"

The sound of footsteps in the doorway cut off my words.

Jupiter clung to me tightly, shivering.

But I barely noticed. My eyes were locked on the abomination in front of me.

It was William Fangman, one of the Knight's most prominent members.

His red eyes shone like glowing rubies as he scanned the room. Even worse, his mouth was stained crimson from his most recent meal.

His lips were covered in the blood of Lola Belle.

When he saw us, kneeling on the floor and shell-shocked, his face twisted into the most horrifying expression I'd ever seen as he slipped into his hunting crouch.

"Hah!" he said in a raspy, gutteral voice. "Did you bring me a third human to snack on, brat? I sure am eating well today!"

Faced with this monster straight from a child's nightmare, I started hyperventilating. Then, suddenly, an idea came to mind. It was insane, it was reckless, and it was stupid - but it was an idea.

I got up off the floor.

"RUN, JUPITER!!" I shrieked, charging straight at William.

Normally, Knights of Desolation expect you to run away from them, not towards them. So for a second, William was caught completely off guard. I pushed past the startled vampire and dashed out into the hall, checking once to make sure Jupiter was following me.

Looking back, I should have led Jupiter outside. William wouldn't have been able to survive in direct sunlight.

But the situation was so dire that I didn't think of that in my haste and terror.

At the end of the hall, a small bathroom sat, the open door seeming welcoming. I threw myself into it, and waited for Jupiter, nearly crying with relief when he followed me into the bathroom.

Then, fingers trembling so severly that it took me a few tries, I slammed the lock down, leaning heavily on the door.

"Miss Sora, what are we going to do?!" Jupiter cried.

I quickly buried the nearly mind-numbing terror under a mask of serenity, and tried to think. After all, I was the only adult that poor Jupiter had to rely on now.

  

 

I figured that we had about a minute before William broke down the door and killed us both.

Hopefully, it would be enough time for me to take action.

I punched the emergency number into my smartphone, shaking so severly that I hit the wrong buttons over and over again.

Finally, I got the correct number in.

I jammed the phone to my ears, waiting for the operator.

As soon as the ringing stopped, I started yelling into the phone - no time for pleasentries when you're under attack from a bloodthirsty Knight of Desolation.

"Hello?!" I cried. "There's a vampire attack at the Belle residence - please hurry!"

For one terrifying moment, no one answered.

Then the operator came on, his tone placating. "It's alright, miss. The police are on their way right now."

Suddenly, the door burst into a cloud of dust and splinters.

Jupiter screamed, and I threw up my arms to shelter us both from the flying chunks of wood.

Before I had time to do much else, cold fingers spun me around and locked my wrist in a death grip. I tried desperately to pry my wrist free from the vampire's iron grasp, but I might as well have been trying to wrench it from a chain.

"Got you now, girly," William hissed.

William seized my hair, yanking my head back so roughly I cried out. I smelled his sour breath, saw his fangs glistening in the artificial light as they gravitated towards my exposed throat.

I closed my eyes, unwilling to watch death come for me.

But before I felt the pain of William's pointy teeth piercing my neck, the wail of sirens sounded, growing closer by the second.

William cursed.

The next thing I knew, I was free of his chokehold on my wrist and hair, and I was flying through the air like a ragdoll a sadistic child had thrown for fun.

I heard the smack of my body hitting something hard. Pain shot down my spine.

And everything went black.

"Yumi! Yumi, can you hear me?"

My mind struggled to raise my impossibly heavy eyelids. When that didn't work, it desperately grasped for recognition of the familiar voice, but came up with nothing.

Eventually, my other sensesreturned. I felt my arm slung over a soft sweater, someone desperately attempting to bear my weight.

"C'mon, Yumi! Don't do this!" the voice choked tearfully.

I finally managed to move my lips. "Jere...my?"

Someone spun me around and crushed me to them. "Yumi?! Oh, Yumi, thank the Goddess!"

My eyes fluttered open to Lola's white dining room. "I'm okay, Jeremy," I said feebly, reaching for his shoulder to pat it. "Can you help me up?"

Jeremy radiated disapproval, but he helped me to my feet anyway. He held onto my hand, constatnly glancing at me as if he were worried I might fall over again.

As we walked towards the foyer, my mental floodgates burst, and the memories of what had happened came flooding back. "Jeremy, is... is Jupiter all right? What happened to William?

"It's alright, Yumi," Jeremy said kindly. "Jupiter's absolutely fine. And as for William..." His expression darkened. "You don't have to worry about him anymore.

When we reached the foyer, I heard footsteps coming from upstairs.

I grabbed for my hair, locking my fingers in it, clutching it in horror.

A police officer was carrying Lola Belle down the stairs. Her lifeless body hung limply from the officer's arms, her head lolling to the side. Worst of all was the blood pulsing out of her neck, contrasting with her perfectly bronze skin.

Jeremy's hand rested on my shoulder. "Lola's alive, Yumi. They'll give her a few transfusions, and she'll be good as new."

Still feeling nauseated, I followed Jeremy outside, where two more police officers were conversing.

"So, the suspect got away? I don't see him anywhere."

"No," said the other officer. "He didn't get away. We found a pile of ashes outside. Forensics have matched the ashes to William Fangman."

That was when I realized what had happened. Arrest was considered dishonorable to the Knights - they would sooner die than be captured and interrogated about their brothers. William had exposed himself to direct sunlight.

As I pondered this, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around, and saw Jupiter standing there.

"Thank you, Miss Sora," his said, his voice radiating sincerity and gratitude. "If it weren't for you, Mom and I would be dead."

I bent down, and wrapped my arms around his thin frame. "Stay safe, Jupiter."

Jeremy helped me into the Scrapmobile.

And wordlessly, we drove home.

As soon as he dropped me off at our house, Jeremy had to go busk some more. Which was actually a good thing - if he'd stayed, he would have seen me sliding deeper and deeper into a panic.

I rememberd the horrific grin on William's face when he'd spotted Jupiter and I.

I remembered the chill of William's fingers as they pressed into my wrist.

Lola Belle had pissed off the Knights of Desolation. So they'd sent William to kill her and her son.

Would they find out that I was responsible for William's death?

Would they come after me next?


*Author's Note* Hey, guys! Despite my four month hiatus, I'm not dead! I'm sorry for going into hibernation for so long (though part of the problem was that my Pose Player was borked). My Tumblr, Chez Kamatsuya, will be where I post chapter progress from here on out. It's good to be back! *End Author's Note*