Page 25 of The Neighborhood Vampire

One, the red heart, appeared to make eye contact with Hugo.

“They can’t see us, right?” Hugo asked.

“Of course not,” Alice said.

“Then why does it feel like he’s looking at me?”

The worker’s eyes moved to another location.

“He can’t,” Alice assured him.

“Positive?”

Alice arched her eyebrows and tilted her head toward Hugo. “Did you ever see me?”

“So, you were spying on me.I knew it,” Hugo said with a smirk. “What’s in the box?”

They turned their attention to the old wooden box sitting on the table. Alice set her cup on the table.

“This is my vampire hunter’s kit,” Alice said.

She flipped open the lid and removed a wooden tray. It contained an assortment of items—a pistol next to a gunpowder pouch, six silver musket balls, and a flask of holy water. She set it on the table.

“Why do you have a vampire hunter’s kit?”

“Remember last Halloween when I joked about dating a vampire?”

“Vaguely.”

“Well, I dated a vampire, and he really did suck.”

“Witches, fairies, and now vampires. Anything else exist I should know about?” Hugo asked with a sarcastic tone.

“All myths, legends, and fairytales are rooted in some truth. A lot of misconceptions, but some truth,” Alice replied.

Hugo picked up the pistol. “Why don’t we shoot them in the heart with this?”

“If you want to piss them off, go right ahead. Most of the items in here don’t work. There’s only one.”

Below the tray were more items to hunt the creatures of the night—a Bible, a crucifix, a mallet, and a wooden stake.

“This is the only thing that can hurt a vampire.”

Alice withdrew the wooden stake and presented it to Hugo. He placed the pistol back on the tray and took the weapon. It was over a foot long and narrowed to a point on one end. The stake was smooth and well sanded. The top was flattened, and the edges frayed from repeated strikes of the mallet.

“What about garlic?”

“He cooked with garlic,” she said, pointing to the house next door. “Again, it’s a lie told to people, so they won’t be frightened . . .sort of like a safety blanket. If they think it works, they’ll stay calm.”

“Well, they can’t get in unless invited, right?”

Alice pointed to the front door behind Hugo.

“They tend to leave out the part about witches protecting the door, so vampires can’t enter unless invited in.”

Hugo raised an eyebrow into a flabbergasted expression. “So, all of those vampire myths are a load of crap?”

“Pretty much. The only way to take them out is a wooden stake through the heart or taking off their head,” Alice said. “Sunlight too. That’s real.”

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