The Waiting

The young woman placed the candle on the table in front of the window. She had placed a candle in the window every single night. The candle that sat in the window was to help him find his way home. The years had passed by while he never made it home. She dreamt that he would walk in the door giving out hugs to everyone. As time passed by, hope had begun to fade away more and more with each passing day.

It had been ten years since her father had disappeared. Mr. Evans or Jack, as everyone called him, left one night to make a trip to the next town. Her father told her that he wanted to pick up something special that he had bought for her and her mother. She had sat up all night waiting on her father. There was a search from town to town, but there were no clues to help find out what had happened to her father.

Now that she was a grown woman, she had very little hope of ever seeing her father again. Although the hope left was very little, she continued to place a candle in the window each night. Isabella stood up from her seat to take one last look out the window. After seeing nothing, she took a deep breath and then let it out slowly as she walked toward the kitchen.

Isabella was tall like her father and was also known as proper but also outspoken. Her hair was long and brown, and she had brown eyes with a hint of yellow to them. She gained her mother's beauty and grace. Isabella got educated by her father that believed that everyone had the right to learn. Her father filled her world with many great adventures. Isabella loved reading sonnets and learning about everything. She was an intelligent young woman who had an open library in her mind that held every single bit of information that she had gained over the years.

In the kitchen, Isabella gathered all the dinnerware on a tray. She placed them all around the dining room table at each seat along with three large candelabra to put on the table. Evangelina, who was Isabella's mother, and her friends Mrs. Shillington and Mrs. Tinge began helping her to bring all the dishes out to the table. There was a knock at the door. Isabella walked quickly to the door. Isabella opened the door to discover a very handsome man standing with a perfect smile on his face. His name is Adam and, the wheel on his wagon broke. Adam asked for assistance with his wagon. He had pale white skin that shined like the moon. The eyes that looked back were green. His black suit seemed to have something to it that reached out to grab a person's attention. There was a silky shine to it the black pants and jacket. His white shirt looked as though it would be softer than a white cloud would feel if one were to try to run their hand across it. The cufflinks that he wore had rubies on them. A ruby brooch he had pinning the top of his white shirt closed at the neck. She wore an unusually tall top hat that seemed like it would go on forever from one angle and regular from another view.

Isabella's mother was now by her side, staring at the strange man outside her door. Isabella informed Adam that there was nobody available. Her mother invited Adam and the rest of his group inside. They were going to stay the night and have supper with them.

Each of the people stepped inside one at a time. Rebecca was the first to step through the door. Rebecca had long, curly black hair that went all the way down to the middle of her back. Her eyes were brown with a reddish tint to them. She carried her beauty around the room. Rebecca walked with confidence looking around the room. She came to a stop in the middle of the room then turned to look at Isabella. She flashed her a very big smiled. All of the people in the group were pale. They were all dressed in fancy clothing. Rebecca wore a long black dress with the bottom fully fluffed out. The trim of the dress was dark red and, a triangle in front of her dress at the neck was a dark lacy piece. A dark brooch of a flower she had pinned to the upper right side of her dress. Her shoes matched her dress.

The next face to walk through the door was a woman named Jessica. The only difference Jessica had from Rebecca is that her hair was a fiery red and, her dress was a very dark blue. The lacy triangle piece around her neck and the trim of the dress was black and lacy. Everything else was the same as Rebecca. Mariann stood in the doorway for a few moments before stepping inside. She seemed a bit nervous and out of sorts with everything. Mariann had long blonde hair with blue eyes. Her attire matched the other women in being dark. She wore a long purple dress with black trim and a black lace triangle at the neck. Everything else matched along with the other women. Mr. Santo was the other man who stood behind everyone else. He went by the name Eric and did not say much. Eric just stepped inside to stand by the door. He wore a suit that matched Adam. The only difference is that his cufflinks were a dark purple. Eric was much taller than the rest of the group. He had bright blue-green mixed eyes with a medium build. He had that look at though he could take on at least ten men at once and put it one down with a single blow to their chin.

The coats were all placed on the coat rack. They were all taken into the sitting room. Mrs. Tinge brought a tray carrying a pot of tea along with teacups into the room. She handed everyone a cup of tea to drink. Isabella and Adam headed off to gather the group's things from their cart. When they reached the wagon, Isabella froze with her eyes looking in the direction of what she saw sitting in the wagon seat. It was her father who had no idea who she was. Isabella kept staring with confusion written all over her face. Adam brought her back to reality by standing in front of her to block what she was seeing. Everything was in the back of the cart. They headed back to the house with her father riding in the cart with all of their luggage.

On the ride back, Isabella knew that something was not right with her father. She would discuss it with her mother when they returned. When they arrived back at the house, the entire place was dark, without a single soul seen anywhere. Isabella stared at the home and then at Adam. He gave her the finger to his lips for quiet. Isabella was no longer able to speak or move. Adam climbed down from his horse then walked over to hers. He lifted her off the horse to carry her inside. The fireplace and the candles suddenly lit up all at once. Isabella tried to scream but could not. Her mother was no longer the mother that she knew. This woman had jet-black eyes with sharp teeth. Her father brought in a trunk that he opened up. Inside was a young woman about Isabella's age.

The story told explained to Isabella about everyone being demons that were at the house. What they were having was a ceremony to make her a part of the pack. Isabella learned that humans were a rare species. They were only allowed to feed on them during the ceremonies. The woman was cut and shoved to Isabella. Isabella could see her eyes had changed to the black color like her mother's eyes. All the lights in the house went out.

When the lights came on, the girl disappeared. Isabella's hands had blood all over them while she was chewing on a bone. Her mother stared at her for a second, then waved everyone into the dining room, where she closed the door. Isabella quietly snuck to the door at the bottom of the stairs, where she hid the girl. The bone she chewed on was a big turkey bone. The blood was some jam that sat on the table by the stairs. Once the young woman was out of the house, she untied her and went to get her a horse. When she had her back to facing out, she bit into Isabella's neck. Everything faded emptiness as Isabella fell to the ground.

Everyone inside discussed how they fooled Isabella into thinking she was one of them. Rebecca completed an eye trick on Isabella. Justine entered back into the house. Justine turned out to be Evangelina's real daughter. Justine licked all the blood off her hands. She pointed outside to let everyone know that there was more. Justine went upstairs to clean up while everyone else went to finish Isabella off.

After everyone finished, they all cleaned up, then sat at the dining room table for the food that Evangelina set out with the others. What little they had outside was not enough to fill their appetites. Eric opened the next container that Isabella was inside of resting. All of them said Isabella on the outside. The clones they were making was the only survival left for them.