{"id":16874,"date":"2017-06-09T17:06:56","date_gmt":"2017-06-10T00:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/?p=16874"},"modified":"2017-06-09T17:07:14","modified_gmt":"2017-06-10T00:07:14","slug":"the-parks-vampire-by-ellie-xing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconeer.com\/current\/the-parks-vampire-by-ellie-xing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Parks Vampire: By Ellie Xing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rosaline Parks was living her usual, boring life, when one day, she sees her face in the newspaper. She was surprised, and events of the past few weeks ran through her head. She doesn\u2019t remember doing anything very influential, much less something that would be mentioned in the newspaper. After reading the article closely, however, she realizes that it was not her in the picture, but her twin sister that she lost 13 years ago.<\/p>\n

\n

Rosaline would recognize Rosemary anywhere, even after all this time.\u00a0 Rosaline, Rosemary, and their baby brother, Robin, had been the closest of friends, until that day. It was a terrible accident, when a sudden fire had burst to life, and had spread quickly throughout the house. The beautiful, old house was burnt to nothing within minutes, and Rosaline was the only survivor of the fire, out of the family of 5. At least, that\u2019s what she thought. But now, she wasn\u2019t sure.<\/p>\n

As Rosaline kept reading, she learned that her sister had changed. A change in fashion styles, a change in personalities, and, well, a change in species. She had been seen drinking the blood of thousands of people across the world. Yet it doesn\u2019t seem like she ever killed anyone. The victims would be seen \u201cdisappear into the depth of earth at a wave of her hand.\u201d No one could prove that anyone had been murdered. Rosemary became the international headline and nightmare in a matter of days. As Rosaline finished the article, she lay flat on her bed, and stared up at the ceiling. She didn\u2019t know whether to be horrified or joyful, because now, Rosemary was in Rosaline\u2019s city.<\/p>\n

Apparently, the countless investigators trying to figure out how Rosemary\u2019s existence was scientifically possible had no clue about the origin of this new threat to the world. Rosaline rocked on her bed, lost in thoughts, when suddenly, she remembered. She remembered that awful night. The night she was cursed to forget. The night she and Rosemary turned 13.<\/p>\n

She was choking on the smoke. The fire alarm had woken her up a minute ago, and now, she was in panic. Her parents, in their bedroom, which was locked as usual, didn\u2019t seem to wake up, and Rosaline was becoming desperate. She raced to find her sister and Robin, but they were nowhere to be found. She was tempted to scream, but something told her not to. For reasons, she herself did not understand, she crept out of the house, and into the back garden. She looked around, still in panic, and was about to shout for her siblings. Then suddenly, \u201cYou will do as I say, or your sister and brother will be in the state your parents are in; Dead.\u201d The voice stopped her in her tracks, and she held her breath. She turned around slowly, and there was Rosemary. With her, was a tall, dark shadow, almost blending into the night. Even from where she stood, Rosaline could sense how Rosemary was almost faint from fear. And she understood why. The shadow was threatening, and the shining red dots Rosaline assumed to be eyes didn\u2019t help with the mood. With a jolt, Rosaline recognized who the figure was. But, that\u2019s not possible, is it? Surely, a creature like Enokrad, the Dark One, belonged only in the fantasy books Rosaline always loved?<\/p>\n

Rosaline was still frozen, too scared to even breathe, when suddenly, the shadow moved. At Rosemary\u2019s gentle nod, it lifted her, and sank its gleaming teeth into her neck.\u00a0 Rosaline\u2019s scream pierced through the starry sky, and the shadow stiffened. Rosemary was dropped onto the ground, limp and frighteningly still. Shining eyes bored into Rosaline, and the ground rushed up quickly to meet her.<\/p>\n

Rosaline jerked up from the bed, gasping. The memory had been buried deep in her brain, locked and unreachable. But now, 13 years after the incident, the memory came back to her, so vivid it seemed like it happened only yesterday. She picked up the newspaper again with shaky hands. According to the newspaper article, there had already been more than 40 disappearances in Rosaline\u2019s city in Rosemary\u2019s hands. Rosaline was grief-stricken, but set a goal for herself; to save the world, to save herself, and to save Rosemary.<\/p>\n

The city was in chaos. Schools were closed down, as were other public places like malls, cinemas, etc. Brave police officers tried to keep the city safe. Yet every hour, there were new victims to Rosemary. Little did Rosaline know, on the other side of the city, eyes dark as night were staring right at her face. Rosemary held the fragile picture gingerly, and caressed Rosaline\u2019s face, which was next to her own identical one. A single red tear slipped down the vampire\u2019s face, and landed on the picture.<\/p>\n

Rosaline was on her way home, when a cold wind swept her into a deserted alley. Yet the sun was shining brightly, and there were no clouds in the blue sky. Rosaline stumbled around a little, confused, dread drifting into her. Suddenly, she came face to face with a mirror, and froze. Rosaline leapt back, surprised. \u201cNo, not a mirror,\u201d she corrected herself. \u201cMy sister.\u201d And her instincts took over. She fled as fast as she could, panting as she did. She felt the coolness creeping closer, but she didn\u2019t dare look back. There was an exasperated sigh behind her, and Rosaline felt a streak of black fly past, and Rosemary appeared before her.<\/p>\n

Rosaline gasped, but as she calmed down enough to examine the motionless Rosemary before her, Rosaline realized something. Her sister didn\u2019t seem to plan on attacking her. In fact, Rosemary seemed human (or as much human as possible, with her black eyes, black hair, black clothing, and pale skin). Her posture showed confidence, and her face had no expression at all. Yet her eyes, dark as they were, showed great emotion. As Rosemary\u2019s eyes bored into her sister, Rosaline realized how desperate and trapped Rosemary felt as a vampire. And also, how difficult it was for her to control herself from attacking Rosaline. Rosaline didn\u2019t quite dare to step forward for a hug, and settled for a reassuring smile. Rosemary didn\u2019t move, and watched as Rosaline dashed away from her.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few days after the encounter with Rosemary, Rosaline sets on a journey to save Rosemary. She was prepared for a long journey, since she herself wasn\u2019t sure what she was looking for. For the next month or so, Rosaline lost contact with the rest of the world. She climbed over mountains, swam across waters, the urge to save her sister making her strong. One day, as Rosaline was resting from a long climb, a little black hut appeared out of nowhere. She blinked, and rubbed her eyes. Yup, the hut was real! Curiosity took over Rosaline, and she carefully stepped into the hut.<\/p>\n

Immediately, a voice announced, \u201cRosaline Parks! Trading what for what!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUmmm, excuse me?\u201d Rosaline was shocked at the mention of her own name.<\/p>\n

\u201cRosaline Parks! Trading what for what!\u201d The voice announced again.<\/p>\n

Rosaline\u2019s mind was blank. She couldn\u2019t think of anything to respond, except that she needed to save Rosemary.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrading…ah…my bag for a cure for my sister?\u201d Rosaline mumbled.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrade declined. Suggestion: Trading your youth for the cure for your sister!\u201d The voice announced.<\/p>\n

\u201cSure?\u201d Rosaline was willing to do anything to save Rosemary, and she agreed to the trade. She was doubtful on her side of the trade, however, but ignored the growing feeling of dread. There was silence for a few moments, and then, Rosaline felt herself changing. She could feel magic tingling in her blood. She marveled at the cleverness of\u2026 the hut, as she realized that injecting the cure into her blood was, in fact, the easiest way to have Rosemary consume it. She was excited, and immediately started on her journey back to her city. What she didn\u2019t notice, however, was the gradual whitening of her hair, the slow hunching of her back, and the growing difficulty to move.<\/p>\n

Rosaline was back in the deserted alley, waiting nervously. She rubbed her bony hands together, not caring about her disappeared youth. Rosemary was getting closer. Rosaline could feel the air getting colder. It kept getting cooler, and she turned to face Rosemary. She looked the same as before, confident as ever, with no expression on her face. Her hunting side had already taken over, and her eyes were bright red. Rosaline smiled, still the sister that was willing to do anything for her long-lost twin, even if that meant sacrificing herself. At the sharp pain at her neck, everything went black.<\/p>\n

Little did she know that the danger was not over. Somewhere in the world, far, far away, stood a tall, dark shadow, almost blending into the night sky. Its shining red eyes were focused on one point in the distance. On Robin Parks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rosaline Parks was living her usual, boring life, when one day, she sees her face in the newspaper. She was surprised, and events of the past few weeks ran through her head. She doesn\u2019t remember doing anything very influential, much less something that would be mentioned in the newspaper. After reading the article closely, however,…<\/p>\n

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