"Guys," Carmine said, breaking the silence that had settled over the group in the moments that followed. "We're not done yet."
Anna and Mia looked at her in disbelief.
"Huh?" Mia asked.
"What do you mean?" Anna said at the same time. They'd just killed two vampires - wasn't that their goal? What else could there be?
"We have to make sure they don't come back." Carmine explained. "Do you want to have to do that all over again? 'Cause I sure don't. We might not be so lucky next time."
Anna stared blankly at Carmine, and the look on Mia's face said she was just as confused as Anna. "They're gone." Anna gently reminded Carmine. "They're just ashes - they can't come back."
Now it was Carmine's turn to stare blankly.
"Of course they can." she told them matter-of-factly. "Look, the books might disagree on a lot of things, but one thing they're all very clear on is the fact that vampires can come back to life. They regenerate or something."
Anna thought back to when she was young. She vaguely remembered hearing stories about improper burials and vampires returning. But were they vampires that returned? Or just humans who had returned once they became vampires? She couldn't remember. Still, it was best to do everything they could to ensure that these two would stay dead, regardless of any half-remembered stories.
"What else do we have to do?"
Earlier, Carmine had discarded her backpack near the trees. Now, she stood up and walked over to it. This time, instead of reaching in and pulling things out one at a time haphazardly, she turned it upside down, dumping everything that remained onto the ground.
Anna watched as Carmine picked out the twigs of ash, a few extra bags of salt, the hawthorn flowers and wild rose, the remaining garlic powder, and two bottles of holy water. She was having difficulty carrying all of her supplies, so Anna struggled to her feet and walked over to help. Mia followed. Together, they managed to carry everything.
"Let's put it in that firepit over there." Carmine said. She pointed to a small soot-blackened pit on the outer edge of the clearing planted next to a faded picnic table. Not bothering to clean out the ashes that came halfway to the top, Carmine unceremoniously dropped the twigs and branches into the center of the pit. Next, she set the hawthorn flowers and wild rose in a ring between the edge of the firepit and the twigs.
"We need the ashes." Carmine said. Then, after a pause she clarified. "You know, their ashes."
Anna nodded and trudged back toward the pile of ashes that had once been Fredrick. Mia made her way over to what used to be Jacqueline.
Anna scooped up the ashes with her hands as best she could, filling up three of the small plastic baggies, which were now empty. There was still some ash nestled in the blades of grass, but not enough to pick up. Anna brushed it, trying to make it appear as if it had never been there. She figured, even if she didn't get all of the ashes, it still wouldn't be enough to allow him to come back. Once she was satisfied, Anna straightened and, holding her three little bags, walked back to where Carmine was standing over the pit.
Using a lighter, Carmine had managed to set fire to a small pine branch that she'd found nearby. As the flame licked down the branch towards her, Carmine placed it carefully into the pit on top of everything else. Looking over at Anna and Mia, she signaled them to come closer.
"Now, pour the ashes onto the fire, ok?" she said. Silently, the girls obeyed. As the ashes fell into the pit, the fire momentarily roared to life before retreating back to the wood. "Not too fast." Carmine warned. "We don't want it to go out."
As they continued pouring ashes over the fire, Carmine walked back over to the table and picked up the salt and garlic powder. Taking one in each hand, she began to pour those into the fire as well, just to make sure.
Once finished, the girls retreated to the picnic table, eyes never leaving the fire. As the various woods and powders mixed with the ashes of the now-dead vampires, the flames turned from a bright golden-orange to various shades of turquoise, emerald, and even a few licks of violet. Anna and Carmine sat across from each other, one on each of the picnic table's chipped benches, as they stared at the unnatural flames. Mia, on the other hand, opted to sit on the tabletop between them.
"So, this is it, then?" Mia asked quietly.
"Yeah, I think so." was Carmine's reply.
"Good."
Anna looked each of her friends in turn. Mia, staring intently at the fire, as if daring Fredrick and Jacqueline to even try to reappear. And Carmine, arms on the table, cupping her head. Her eyes were closed, and she looked as if she could be asleep. Seeing her friends here, Anna was filled with gratitude; they'd been through so much together - and they'd done it just to help her. She'd never known such selflessness.
"Thank you. Both of you." she said, swallowing back tears of gratitude and relief.
"Mm-hmm" Carmine replied, not moving. Mia turned to face Anna.
"It's ok." she said. Anna could see by the look in her eyes that Mia knew just how grateful Anna really was.
As the fire started to dwindle, the three walked back to the pit. The embers were still smoldering when Carmine poured one last bottle of holy water on top of the newly-made ashes. Then, taking a pine branch up off the ground, she stirred the mixture together until the steam from the water had floated away.
"There." she said with an air of finality. "We've burned them, used holy water, garlic, salt, hawthorn, ash, and pine, and stabbed Fredrick through the heart - or chest - with a stake. All of those are supposed to kill a vampire on their own. I think it's safe to say we did it. They're not coming back."
"Good." Anna said. And with that, the three headed wearily back out of the park and towards Anna's house.
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