Nightshade: A SimLit | Chapter 3: Drastic Measures

“Did you hear what she said, Bearcula!?” Onyx was beaming. “She said we could be friends! I bet she’ll be friends with you, too! Then the three of us can hang out together! You’ve been my only friend for a really long time…” he sounded a little sad, but only for a moment. He gave his stuffed toy a big hug. “But now both of us can have a new friend!”

The familiar sound of the front door unlocking caught Onyx’s attention. ‘Mom’s home!’ he thought. “I’m going to tell mom all about what happened at school today, Bearcula!” he exclaimed. He scampered out of his room, excited to tell his mother about the girl he met.

Onyx’s mother, Raven, walked through the front door, having returned from a long day of work. She saw her son rapidly approaching. “Onyx?”

“Mom, mom, guess what!?” He shouted excitedly. “You’ll never guess what happened at school!”

She chuckled lightly. “What happened?”

“There were these kids that were bullying me ‘cause I was a vampire, and this girl came up to defend me! One of them ran off, but the other one tried to fight her and she whooped his butt!” Onyx exclaimed. “She lives across the street. Her name’s Amelia! She came over and played with me after school! She said we could be friends!”

Raven paused. “A girl?” she smiled a little. “I didn’t know there were other vampires in this neighborhood.”

He was quiet for a moment. “Amelia’s not a vampire,” he said. “But I told her I was and she thought it was cool!”

“WHAT!?” Raven yelled. “You’re befriending some… some… human!?”

She lost all control of her temper, and a cloud of black mist surrounded her as she transformed into her dark form.

Onyx took a step back, frightened. “M-mom? What’s… what’s wrong…?”

“What have I told you about humans!?” Raven yelled. 

“T-to stay away from them…” he muttered. 

 “Then why are you befriending one!?”

“S-she didn’t… s-seem so bad…” Onyx looked down. 

“She didn’t seem so bad? Humans want to kill us, Onyx, don’t you understand!?” She snapped. “They want us dead! All of them! There are no ‘good’ humans!”

He sniffled. “I’m… I’m sorry, mom…”

“If I ever catch you around any more humans, especially that ‘Amelia’ girl, you’re going to get taught a lesson you'll never forget!”

His eyes were full of fear. “But… but mom, I don’t have any other friends… she’s the only one who…”

“Shut your mouth before I shut it for you!” Raven interrupted. “And go to your room! I don’t want to see you until morning. There will be no dinner for you tonight.”

Onyx blinked back tears. “Y-yes, mom…” He walked off to his room, his feet practically dragging the floor.

Onyx sat on his bed and broke down into tears. ‘I don’t understand,’ he thought. ‘Amelia was so nice to me. There’s no way she wants to hurt me… right?’

With no way to find an answer to his question, he cried himself to sleep.

Raven stormed out of the house and across the street, and banged her fist on the door. “Open up!” She yelled.

A man answered the door and stepped onto the front porch. “Hello,” he smiled. “You’re the woman who moved in across the street, right? I’m Garrett Wesley, it’s nice to meet you--”

“Keep your daughter away from my son, or else!” She snapped. “I know what you humans are up to! And using a child to do so is pathetic!”

Garrett winced at her outburst. “Um… ma’am, I can assure you my daughter is a great kid. She’s not doing anything wrong, I’m sure, and neither is my family, so–”

Raven laughed dryly. “Don’t lie to me, pathetic human! You think I’m foolish enough to fall for that?”

Amelia heard the commotion and walked to the front door. ‘What’s going on?’ she thought.

Garrett frowned. “I’m not lying about anything. We’re done with this conversation. I’ll politely ask you to leave.”

Raven’s anger had reached its boiling point. “We’re not done with this conversation until you tell your daughter that next time I see her with my son, she’ll regret it!”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you threatening to hurt my daughter?” he snapped. “Leave. Now. I’ve heard enough of your nonsense–”

Amelia was helpless to do anything but watch the scene play out in front of her in horror.