first met came back to us . Her skin thickened and grew supple , youthful , with her pointed cheek bones melting to chubby cheeks and her red eyes fading to blue . Sara was Sara again . She was human again . She was peaceful , but she was dead .
I threw the hammer in my bag , wiped my hands , and picked up my journal to add :
102
Sara Holstadtler , 13 , Transylvanian , 13 Dec 2010 STAKED
I jammed the pen back into the journal , shoved it in my bag , and walked to Mr . Holstadtler with the bag in hand .
“ A word , please .”
I didn ’ t wait . I couldn ’ t . I left the room as is and waited for Mr . Holstadtler on the other side of the door .
After exiting Sara ’ s bedroom , I carefully closed the door behind me and then threw my bag down to the night-soaked carpet . The hallway was dark , difficult to see . The plush carpet beneath my feet may not have been red , but that ’ s all I could see . To me , everything was blood red : the carpet , the cherry oak table lined with white lace , the antiqued mercury glass pedestal bowl with various lavender and crème roses , purple hydrangea and chrysanthemums , red orchids , and burgundy dahlias . The sweet smell of flowers was sickening mixed with the smell of blood and death . I grabbed the edge of the oak table and squeezed . It moaned in my grasp , as Sara did when I held her neck mercilessly . The veins in my neck popped and my teeth clenched as I wrenched forward and then I caught sound of the bedroom door opening .