A Dirty Job

         By all appearences the Bertelli family was just like every other family. Fifteen year old Gina, twelve year old Dave, and ten year old Pete seemed just like all the other children in the neighborhood, but things are not always as they appear.

         Night after night, when the rest of the family was asleep, Gina, dressed in black from head to toe, would sneak out of the house and return just as the sun was coming up. One night her brothers, driven by their curiosity, watched as she left the house and quietly followed her.

         They caught up with her in front of the old Miller house. Every town has a house like this one, empty for more than twenty years and, of course, rumored to be haunted. The grass was nearly waist high and the first floor windows were all but hidden by the bushes. Gina was surprised by the boys, "You shouldn't be here," she said. "Go home."

         "We're coming with you," said Dave as Pete nodded. Gina frowned, she knew that it would do no good to argue with them.

         Gina walked up the sidewalk and the boys followed. As she opened the front door the rusty hinges gave a loud screech. Pete's eyes opened wide. "Are you sure it's not haunted?"

         Gina answered, "Don't be silly, there are no such things as ghosts. If you're afraid, you can go home."

         "I'm not afraid!" Pete protested. "We're coming with you." He looked at his brother, who nodded in agreement.

         Dave and Pete took out flashlights to light their way, but Gina walked down the hallway as though the dark was no problem. Dave had always said that she had the eyes of a cat.

         At the end of the hall, Gina walked through a wide doorway with double doors which slammed shut behind her, closing her in and the boys out. Dave and Pete rattled the knobs and banged on the door trying to get them to open. They leaned against the doors and listened. They heard the sounds of furniture being thrown around the room, and loud pops, like muffled fire crackers.

         Holding his flashlight up to the keyhole, Dave tried to look through it. "I can't see anything, the key is in the lock on the other side."

         "We have to get in. We have to help Gina," Pete threw himself against the doors in a futile attempt to force them open. Halfway down the hall he saw an oak table. "Let's use that as a battering ram."

         They pulled it away from the wall, and Dave counted, "One, two, three, push!" They pushed with all their might, sliding the table on the smooth stone floor. When they crashed into the doors, the lock gave way and the doors swung open.

         Dave shone his flashlight into the room. A fine gray dust covered everything.

         Gina shouted, "Both of you, stay where you are." Suddenly something rushed out of the shadows, heading straight at the boys. They stood frozen with fear as they saw its long pointed teeth and claw like hands. She aimed and fired a small crossbow. The wooden missile found its mark and with a loud pop, the creature turned into a cloud of dust. As the dust settled, she retrieved several six inch arrows from the floor and said, "It's all right now, that was the last one." She folded the crossbow and put it and the arrows into a pocket inside her jacket.

         "The last what?" Pete gasped.

         She laughed. "What do you think it was?"

         As they stepped out into the early morning sunlight both boys were still shaking. Pete said, "Let me get this straight. Was that a vampire?" Gina nodded and Pete continued, "Ghosts don't exist, but vampires do?" Again she nodded.

         Dave asked, "Is this what you do every night when you go out?"

         Gina laughed and shook the dust off her clothes and out of her hair. "Yes, it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it."