The Number Five volume Ten

He grabbed my head and scratched it with his knuckles. I gave him a little push and tried to change the subject. Elizabeth started to ask a question, but she kept on stuttering. On the way home with the three of us, Steve sees a restaurant and says, "Hey, you guys are hungry; they have the best rice and beans around." As we walked into the restaurant, I noticed at least forty people relaxing and enjoying their meals. A woman with short, dark brown hair approached us and asked Steve, "How many are there for tonight?" Steve responded to the woman, "Four, we are just waiting on her." I looked towards Elizabeth; she had a smirk on her face, telling me she had something up her sleeve. From the way they giggled, it had to be something they thought was funny. We followed the waiter back to our seats. Elizabeth and Steve sat in the same booth before I could choose. I sat down, still clueless about the whole thing, as she handed out our menus. She asked us, "What would y'all be having to drink today?" and Elizabeth said, with some boldness, "sweet tea, ma'am." Steve answered quickly, "Same here," and she put down on her notepad, two teas. She looked back at me and said, "And for you, handsome." She planted herself in the same booth as me. Steve was envious as she ran her hand through mine, attempting to tease me. I gave her a look and said, "Hey, get off of me, please," and "Water, please." She stood up and wrote down my response. She looked back at the rest of us and said, "I'll bring them out in a little bit, ok?" I gave her a nod, agreeing with the statement. "So Marcus, how long have you known Traci for? and what kind of relationship do you have with her?" Elizabeth interrupted Steve's attempt to start a conversation. I could tell by the tapping that she wanted an answer that would please her in a specific way. I answered her question the best I could. "She was a person who I tried to help, but I realized now that she didn't need my help; I also think she hates me with a burning passion." I could tell that wasn't the right response, but it gave her a different mindset about Traci and me, and the waiter came back with our drinks. Steve told the waiter, "I think we are ready to order." Steve ordered something called a hamburger, and Elizabeth ordered the same. She looked at me and asked, "What do you recommend?" She took a minute to think of what to order for me, then pointed at something called a family platter, saying, "Well, usually that feeds a family of four, but seeing how big you are for your age, I think you can handle all of the food." I gave the menu back and said, "I think I can try it." She walked away. Steve and Elizabeth were shocked at how the waiter was acting toward me. We continued to talk for a little while, talking about school and what we would do after school. I hear the door open behind me. Elizabeth stood up and started waving at the front door. I wasn't concerned about how she was waving because I could feel my stomach clawing at me, telling me I needed food; a shadow covered the side of the bench that was covering me. I looked over to see what figure was covering the booth; I could hear the voice and recognized who it was. I was in fear of who was looking down on me. She told me to "move over, Marcus." I got up and asked the woman who was serving us, "Ma'am, where is your bathroom?" She pointed in the direction of the bathrooms. I knocked on the men's room door to ensure no one was inside; I heard nothing. I closed the door behind me and locked it. I looked at myself in the mirror to try to calm myself down because they invited fifty-eight, or as they now call her, Traci. I turn the water on to wash my hands to get rid of the dirt from the bar. I threw off the guy. I looked up at the mirror; I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw Darkouls in the flesh. He was crying but smiling as well. I get close to the mirror, tapping on the glass to see if this is real or fake, and Darkouls covers his ears, screaming, "Hey asshole, that is pretty fucking loud." I jump back, scared shitless of what I was seeing. Dark souls get close to the mirror and say, "Hey, Five, it's good to see like this. Alright, time for some answers because I know you want to know more." I just nodded my head up and down because I was only able to talk to him when I was asleep. He put his index finger up and said," Number one, I have a question for you. Have you ever wondered why you never got sick or even had food poisoning back then?" I looked at him, puzzled, "I got lucky, I guess does this even matter?" He slams the mirror in anger and begins spinning in circles. "Your blood can protect you from any disease. I know what you're thinking—you can save anyone with your blood, but that is wrong." "Five, you're from a different race. Ok, most of your race that came into contact with my species died because we ate them alive from the inside out." "Five, you're from a different race. Ok, most of your race that came into contact with my species died because we ate them alive from the inside out. "So, what if they just have a brain aneurysm or something?" Darkouls starts to cackle, almost chocking on his spit. "Once your blood enters their stream, they will start seeing things about your past." I started shaking my head out of disapproval. "Yeah, right, I'm supposed to believe that, OK," I finished, shaking hands to dry them off. His right-hand reaches through the mirror and grabs me by the left shoulder. I look at his hand; it's shaking violently. It pulls me into breaking the glass in the mirror; pieces of glass are stuck inside my cheek. My mouth fills with blood, me and Darkouls are face to face, and his breath smells like a witch being burned alive at stake. "You see, Five, I know what you want—revenge on those who wronged you," he begins to smile. I started shaking my head, and he shouted back. "Don't fight it; I can feel the pain inside clawing away from the flesh, waiting for me to accept it." I yelled back. "No, I don't want revenge for your wrong; I just want a life worth living where I can die and forget all the past, including the ones I couldn't save." Darkouls let go. I dropped to the ground, my head landing back against the concrete. My vision became blurry due to the impact.