By the next day, I knew something had to seriously change. Either, I needed to figure out a solution to my thirst issues…or I’d be destined to a life of sucking the blood out of rats and small animals while trying to avoid other people whenever the thirst hit… for the rest of my “life”. I didn’t want that, so I took the first step by placing rat traps around my apartment. I’d hate to become too reliant on the nasty little creatures.
That one tiny change made me feel hopeful. I was raised to believe that if you channel your energies into the right places…your path will begin to alter to bring you closer to the things that you are seeking. I could already feel my path shifting.
With that done, I turned my attention to the local news like many people were doing. I imagine a lot of people in the city were closely following Dray’s case.
Of course, I was doing it for a different reason. I still wasn’t 100% sure whether or not I was actually responsible for his death…so I was looking to see if there was any new evidence to implicate my guilt.
I realized that I could have just asked Lizzie if there were any new leads, but until I had full control of my thirst, I knew it wasn’t safe to be around her.
So, I had no choice, but to rely on the media.
So far there was nothing pointing to me, so I went back to reading books.
I was flipping through a particularly thick volume. I sat there, quickly scanning page after page; in desperate need of a shower and trying to stifle a series of yawns-
-when I finally caught a break.
A small slip of paper fluttered out of the book and landed near my feet.
I almost missed it; thinking it was just a flying bug. Something told me to check it out.
I dropped the book and looked down. I could see that there was writing on it.
I reached down to pick it up. On one side, there was only one word; it resonated with me stronger than any other word in the English language could have. All it said was…
My heart was pounding in my chest as I flipped the card over and read the other side. This side had instructions –
I sat there for a few moments wondering if this was finally it. Had I actually found a solution to my thirst? I did my best to suppress the intense level of optimism that tried to creep up on me. The last thing I needed was to place all my hope into one tiny sheet of paper. For all I knew the location listed on it might not even exist. Or it could be a trap.
Either way…I knew I had to check it out, so I got up to finally take a shower and get dressed. I’d have to wait until nightfall, but that gave me plenty of time to try and figure out where Forgotten Hollow even was. For all I knew, it could be halfway across the world.
To my surprise, Forgotten Hollow was only about an hour away by car. It was too far to walk…especially if I wanted to get there before it got too late. So although I could feel the first symptoms of thirst coming on…I had no choice but to rely on a rideshare.
Initially, I wasn’t sure whether I was standing in front of someone’s residence…or some type of shop. The front yard looked like someone had taken the contents of their attic and just dumped them outside.
It wasn’t until I got closer to the door that I saw a sign naming the place, ‘Ingram’s House of Curiosities’. I also saw another sign announcing products for sale…so I was confident that this was actually a place of business.
The door was unlocked, so I entered the shop and saw that there was an open doorway to my left. I headed towards it.
I gasped when I stepped through and looked around.
There was so much stuff all over the place, I didn’t know where to look.
And wherever I did look…there were so many weird and random items in the area that I could stare at the same spot for several minutes and my eyes always landed on something new.
Then there was the smell…
The shop was dank with a heavy, suffocating scent that screamed of wood left out in the rain so long that it began to mildew…then dry, only to get wet and mildew all over again.
I walked further inside, holding my breath and trying my best not to trip on anything.
There didn’t appear to be anyone in the shop other than a model of a skeleton (at least I hoped it was just a model) that seemed to be manning the cash register that no one could have actually gotten to, among the sea of merchandise…even if they tried.
I called out again- ”Hello! I’m looking for someone by the name of Doobie!”
I turned and walked towards the center of the shop – still trying to hold my breath, to keep myself from gagging.
Finally, I heard a door open and shut behind me. I could hear someone coming toward me. I heard not only the footfalls but the heartbeat. The thirst was back.
I could hear the surprise in the lady’s voice as she spoke out. I’m guessing that she didn’t hear me calling, because she was almost startled when she saw me. “Oh…hi there! Welcome to my shop of Curiosities. How can I help you?”
I turned and got a good look at her. She looked exactly the way you’d expect a person who ran a shop like this to look.
She had mismatched clothes that seemed right at home among the mixed-up, bizarre, and creepy items that filled her shop. Her hair was pinned up in an old-fashioned roll and she had scars on her face…leftover from what I imagined was a serious case of adolescent acne at one time in her life.
Once again, she was surprised. “Oh! No one has called me that for years. Do I know you?”
“You did?” Doobie sounded confused. “Are you sure?”
My heart sank. I was beginning to think this was going to turn out to be a big waste of time.
That seemed to ring a bell for her. She snapped to attention so suddenly, that I stepped back startled. “Ode to the mighty Observer! I can’t believe this!”
“You actually found my slip of paper…in a vampire tome, right?”
“So, are you…a vampire?”
