Solstice - The Gathering

Solstice - The Gathering

Characters

Main Characters:
Anthony - For all intents and purposes, he is a 'Normal' 16 year old boy with no exceptional gifts or abilities
Velvet - A 16 year old Vampire trying to find the one who killed her brother and turned her into a Vampire

Secondary Characters:
Rachel - A 116 year old Vampire who appears to be 16 with a ‘slight’ bunny obsession
George - Rachel's 56 year old Husband who also appears to be 16
Rai - An 18 year old guy, an accident left him able to manipulate thunder
Ariana - A girl, aged 18 who was turned into a Vampire 3 months ago but is resisting her Vampire urges
Geode - A Vampire who can manipulate chains. Appears 18, real age unknown
Juliet - A girl with the power to manipulate ice. As she has a power she, like Rai, is wanted by the Vampires. 18 years old
Exodus – An enigmatic 5 year old girl that appears randomly to Anthony

Other characters will make brief appearances

Prologue - One ordinary day

Chapters:
1 - Rise above the ordinary
2 - Icepop! Bunny! Cougar! Ipod!
3 - Total Eclipse of the Heart
4 - Skating on thin ice
5 - A trip to the library
6 - The Winter Solstice
7 - Revealed
8 - The battle begins
9 - All Hell breaks loose
10 - One wonderful day

Epilogue - Another ordinary day




Prologue - One Ordinary Day

One ordinary day. That's what I kept telling myself it was. Just another day like any other. Except I was lying. It wasn't an ordinary day. I stood in the house as all the stuff was being moved in, like I was overseeing it, but I wasn't paying attention. Move to a new State...ordinary. Move to a new school...ordinary. Start a new life...ordinary. Make a whole new set of friends...ordinary...Yup. Just another day...

Once the moving men had left, I explored the house in full. It wasn't much bigger than our last one, but it was still a different house. Not the house I had grown up in...though I was only 16 so I still had plenty of that to be doing, and by the end of the year I would've done more of it than I could fit into a lifetime. My parents wouldn't be moving in until after the New Year. They still had 'business' to take care of back in Florida.

So here I was, alone for anything up to three months. It was mid-November already, which I didn't like. For one the days were short and the nights were long, and I had been used to the warmth of the West coast, not this bitter coldness. But I had heard on the radio on the way over here...this was the coldest Winter on record in years...weird. I stopped pondering and went to my new bedroom and laid down on the bed. I had an IM conversation with a friend of mine back in Florida

"Shut up Jimmy" I mused to myself as he kept telling me about all the legends he had heard. There were rumors about this place. I was in Philadelphia. Not the place you would expect for Jimmy to be telling me about Vampires and all that stuff. He was a Halloween obsessive, so was probably still coming off his 'Halloween high' as I called it. Vampires...how ridiculous. I shut my computer and closed my eyes. Tomorrow I would start a new school...beginning of a whole new life...ordinary or otherwise...




Chapter 1 – Rise above the ordinary

Vladimir High School. You’d almost think to add ‘for the criminally unfriendly’ to the end. It was hardly what I’d expected, though few things ever were really. I had been told to go to the Headmaster’s office. A man by the name of Laguna Loire greeted me. Despite being the Head, he looked rather young. Certainly no older than 30…But his eyes still gave off an aged feel. He greeted me and showed me around the school. It had been built just over 500 years ago, and they had extended it 250 years ago, and were once again in the final stages of another extension to the school. Apparently according to Mr. Loire, the town had seen a boom in the population over the past few months and they had expected to see it rise even more before the end of the year

As we walked through the halls of the school, I found in almost every corridor, the cold hard gaze of students and teachers alike. As if they were…assessing me somehow. Sizing me up…It felt weird and certainly not as friendly as the brochure my mother had showed me would have you believe. Of course as we passed through, I couldn’t help but notice a rather beautiful female student give Mr. Loire a smile which told me they were more than just ‘student and teacher’, which seemed to make him uncomfortable in my presence. I caught a glimpse of her notebook, the name reading ‘Liviana’. I couldn’t help but suspect something might be going on there…

Mr. Loire quickly finished the tour with as few words being exchanged as he could manage and ushered me off to my locker. After sorting out my books I took a deep breath and began to explore the school by myself. When we had begun the tour, it had been early. However it was getting close to the start of school so the hallways were now buzzing with life. I looked around curiously. Students standing together and chatting away when my eyes drew me to a classroom down the hallway. I approached it, and through the narrow window I saw her. Beautiful, blood thick red hair and eyes to match. Her hair flowed around her shoulders and down her back. In her hand she held a brush and painted onto a piece of paper she had clipped to her clipboard. As I stared, almost mesmerized by her, I saw she wasn’t alone. 3 rather tough looking guys approached her. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but it was clear enough from her facial expressions she did not want to be in that classroom with them. I knew I couldn’t take those boys. I knew they would likely beat the living daylights out of me…yet somehow, I couldn’t stand by and just watch. I placed my hand on the doorknob and slowly but surely turned it. The three guys didn’t even register me. The girl did, but only with a glimpse from the corner of her eye

“I said no Daniel…”
She spoke softly, yet she had a power and authority to her voice, though it was clearly overshadowed by the inability of these three boys to take no for an answer
“Come on…I’ll happily take your virginity…and help you take your other virginity too” he laughed, though it was more of a snort, and the two other boys joined in
‘Other virginity’? I had no idea what he had meant by that, but for a second, as she scowled at him, I could have sworn I saw two rather sharp fangs among her teeth
I stumbled backwards and finally the four of them noticed me properly. Daniel growled
“This isn’t over b*tch”
He and his three friends pushed past me, intentionally slamming into me, though I did my best to avoid showing the pain, they were big enough that it hurt when they did, but I didn’t show it

Once they had left, the girl looked at me
“Not that you did anything, but I guess I should thank you for getting rid of them…thanks”
She kissed my cheek and I blushed like mad
“I’m Velvet by the way, and you’re blushing”
I placed my hand on my cheek to try and hide it
“Hi Vel-“
I looked in her direction, but she had already disappeared. I stood in the doorway and looked down both ways of the corridor but there was no sign of her…like she had vanished. I took my hand off my cheek and looked at it
“Velvet huh…”

I checked my watch and seeing I would soon be late I hurried to my first class of the day. American History. As I stepped into the nearly full classroom, I took in my surroundings. Nestled away in the corner of the room, as if she was hiding from the light, a blonde haired girl in Gothic Lolita clothing. She held a book in her hands, holding it delicately but firmly, but I couldn’t see the title. A few desks over, in the middle of the back row, sat a girl who reminded me of Velvet. Her hair was a similar shade of red, though hers was done up in two distinct ponytails. The final person I noticed was a guy. Sitting on the desk furthest from the door, only 1 row from the front, Chains would have been an understatement in describing him. He had ebony black hair, a plain white t-shirt, and more chains than I had ever seen in my life. Chains wrapping around his forearms. Chains connecting different part of his pants…chains everywhere. I looked for somewhere to sit, settling in the middle of the class and checked the time. 5 minutes until class started. I looked at the door, hoping Velvet might walk in, but she didn’t. Instead my eyes were greeted to a treat. Bunnies! Well, four of them. The girl who came in had long brown hair and she sat herself right next to me. On her T-shirt, she had pictures of 4 bunny rabbits

“Hi” she said turning to me
“I’ve never seen you before which must mean you’re new”
“Yeah I am…” I said quietly
“I knew it…I’m Rachel”
She held out her hand and I shook it
“Nice to meet you Rachel. I’m Anthony”
“So how are you finding this place so far? It can be a bit daunting, especially for a Hu…er…new guy”
‘Human’? What did she mean? Was she not Human? Though by the look of her top I wouldn’t have been surprised if she was a bunny in disguise…

“Yeah…it’s been…okay…”
“Intimidating?”
“Yeah, how did you?”
“It can be. A lot of people here have quite cold personalities. They match the weather this time of year I guess”
“Yeah I guess so…” I muttered quietly
“You’re not very talkative” she said eying me carefully
“Oh? I guess not…” I said even more quietly
“Are the Bunnies putting you off? They do that to some people…Hey, you should come and meet them!”
“No I’m really…”
“It’s settled! Meet me at the school entrance at 4pm and you can come over and meet my Bunnies!”
“I um…okay…”
I had a feeling she wouldn’t take no for an answer
She smiled at me a bit and the teacher came in alongside the rest of the class. I sat taking notes, but saw only a few people did which I found strange, but maybe they didn’t care? I didn’t know. After class finished I got up and Rachel enthusiastically reminded me that I was coming over to her house after school. As I walked through the school, I saw the third person of the day with red hair. This time it was a guy, and his hair was slightly lighter, but still red. He was surrounded by about 4 girls and 2 guys who seemed to be looking at him fiercely and he had his back to some lockers
“This is the last warning we’ll give you Rai…join us…it’s inevitable you will, so don’t fight it”
“I told you, I’ll not do such a thing, so just leave me be” he growled
“Listen to us…the Solstice is coming. We’re going to be more powerful than ever, even more powerful than your lot, so you should. You’d be revered”
‘Your lot’? What on Earth was going on at this school?
“I said no”
“Dammit Rai” one of the guys said and slammed his hand against a locker, but as he did, he got a static shock from it
“I said no” Rai said calmly and pushed past them all. He walked past me and seemed to give me a fleeting, but much friendlier look than he had given the 6 people he had just pushed past
The 6 of them glared at me and spoke in a hushed whisper before leaving

Eventually the end of the day rolled around and my last class finished, although Velvet hadn’t been in a single one of them. I stood up gathering my books and went to my locker, where Rachel was waiting for me
“So how was your first day?”
“It was…okay I guess…” I sighed
“What’s wrong?” she asked, eying me carefully
“Nothing”
“It’s a girl isn’t it? I knew it!”
“I…how did…oh never mind”
I shut my locker and looked at her. She was wearing a different top, this one with the catchphrase ‘Screw the rules, I have Bunnies’ on it

“You changed your top”
I said as we began walking
“What?” She asked looking down at it
“Oh yeah…I got blood on the other one”
“Blood?” I asked a little surprised
“Yeah…you know…forensics class”
“Of course” I nodded and we walked out of the school and towards her house




Chapter 2 - Icepop! Bunny! Cougar! Ipod!

Rachel’s house. It was so obviously her house when you walked inside. The place was plastered with posters of all different things. Zelda posters, Kagamine posters, Okami posters…Bunny posters of course. But there was something else. Clothes that were made for a man, not a woman
“I thought you said you don’t live with your parents?” I said looking at them
“I don’t. Those are my husboyfriends”
“Husboyfriend? Husband?”
“Oh well…you know….we love each other so much we call each other husband and wife sometimes as a She laughed nervously and tidied up a bit
“George, we have a guest” she shouted up the stairs
“What kind?” came the response
“The kind we might feed”

‘The kind we might feed’? Were they planning to serve me dinner or something?
“As opposed to?” I blurted out
“As opposed to the kind that might feed us” she replied, with the slightest hint of a sadistic smile
I turned my attention to the guy who came down the stairs
“Anthony, meet George, my boyfriend”
We shook hands and exchanged a quick glance
“I met Anthony at school today. He saved Velvet from Daniel”
“Wait…how did you?”
“Word gets around quickly among those in the know”
“Apparently not me then…” I sighed
“Maybe someday…” George said looking at Rachel

They exchanged a strange look and then Rachel grabbed my arm, pulling me into the garden
“Icepop! Bunny! Cougar! Ipod!” she said pulling me to 4 Rabbit hatches
“Whatpop, whaty, what and Iwhat?” I asked confused
“That’s Icepop” she said pointing to a fast asleep Rabbit, his hatch full of Popsicle sticks
“Bunny” she said leaning over the second one, which seemed to look at her affectionately
“How…original…”
Rachel semi-deathglared me sensing the sarcasm and leaned over the third hatch

“COUGAR! Did you miss mommy?”
She lifted the Bunny out and snuggled it and I could have sworn I saw sharp fangs in her mouth…
“Cougar?”
“Yeah! Named for me of course!”
“Um…I…um….what?!”
“I’m a cougar…rawr!”
As she said that she held her hand over Cougar’s paw and made her do a playful clawing motion
“A…cougar?”
“Yes! A girl who goes for younger men, less mature than herself”
“But…you’re 16” I said looking at her curiously
“And I was born a few months before George…thusly I am a Cougar”

She put Cougar back and looked at the fourth and final hatch where a Bunny was listening to an iPod
“Oh iPod…I see…named for iPod’s love of listening to an iPod?” I asked sure of myself
“No idiot, this iPod is mine…iPod is named iPod because she likes to steal my iPod when I forget to take it to school”
My eye twitched a little bit
“I……..see…..”
“Come on, let’s go back inside”
She took my back in where George had finished cleaning up the mess

We sat talking for a bit and got to know each other better. I found out how George and Rachel met and became a couple, but something told me they weren’t telling me the full truth about it. There was something definitely weird going on around here…
Soon enough it was 5pm and it was getting dark outside when the phone rang. George went and picked it up then looked at Rachel, his face slightly panicked
“What is it love?” she asked leaning forwards towards him
“Code red on Daniel…he’s gone rogue…and Velvet’s in trouble”
My eyes widened. Velvet was in danger? And what did they mean ‘Cod red on Daniel’?

Rachel grabbed her coat before I could even blink and she and George were halfway out the door
“Sorry we gotta go. Talk tomorrow at school!”
Before I could argue they had left and were already halfway down the street by the time I got to the door. I sighed and grabbed my coat, knowing I’d never catch them up and I left the house and started to walk home
As I was walking I stopped in the street. I was next to empty when I looked around, but 10 feet away was a lone girl, looking right at me, her eyes a deeper crimson than blood. I wanted to look away but I couldn’t…

“I’v been wanting to meet you for a while Anthony” she said
Her voice was sweet and quiet, yet somehow held a deep menace to it
I walked a little closer
“Who are you?” I asked, trying to sound confident, but somehow all my nerves had left me
“You’ll find out in time, but for now, all you need to know is Velvet is in grave danger and only you can save her”
“What? Me? But I’m…just…me. Plain, boring Anthony”
“Exactly, and it is that which makes you so unique. You are, for all intents and purposes, a normal Human”

“Human…why do people keep saying that?”
“There are things in this world you do not yet understand. Vampires are one of them. They very much exist. You have met some already at the school you go to”
I looked at her in disbelief. I’m here 5 minutes and now suddenly Vampires are real?
“Listen, there isn’t much time if you’re to save Velvet”
She handed me a wooden stake
“You’ve seen the movies. You know what to do”
“At least tell me your name!” I shouted as she turned to leave
“Exodus” she smiled softly and vanished into thin air

I stared at the spot for a moment then snapped back into reality
“Velvet…”
I ran wherever my sense told me to and soon enough I saw her. Her red hair mixed with a pool of blood. Velvet laid on the ground, close to death, with the hulking figure of Daniel, now with a rage and a hunger in his eyes unlike anything I had ever seen before, hovering over her. He turned to me and to a deep breath
“Fresh Human…yummy”
And before I could react, he charged at me