Chapter 2: Escaping the Sun

I jumped as the man’s face came into view, I cruel smile played out on his amazingly beautiful face. My whole body was shaking uncontrollably, the man’s face sent a shiver down my spine. His voice had a dangerous edge to it, much like the features of his face. Jet-black, wavy hair outlined his strong face and firm jaw; it was a striking contrast to his pearly white skin. His cat-like eyes were the same color as his hair, looking into them sent a danger warning through my body.

“There’s no need to scare her, Felix,” the lady said. “I think she’s had quite a fright already.”

“I see that you are right, Anne,” Felix said to the woman, and then turned to address me. “I’m very sorry for startling you. You must have gone through a lot tonight. Now tell me, please, what is your name?”

I couldn’t find it in me to speak, my throat had closed up. Instead, I shook my head. The lady, Anne, snorted. I looked up from her feet to the smirk on her face. Her skin was as white as Felix’s, her eyes just as black. Her hair was amazingly long and curly, stretching down past her waste and was a shade of red that only dye could achieve. Behind the hard, strong features of her face, she was delicate and small.

“Ah, I can see this will be harder than I expected,” Felix sighed. “I know you may not want to, but you must come with me. Quickly. The sun will be coming up soon. I will explain everything when we are in a safer place.” He lowered his hand to my arm, expecting me to take it.
“Felix we must hurry. Just grab her and let’s get out of here!” cried Anne. There was obviously something going on that I didn’t know about.

I looked up into Felix’s eyes. “Please. Come with us. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Could I trust this man? I realized I couldn’t, not after what I had been through in the past twenty-four hours. But I was obviously in danger, and he was my only hope. I took his hand.

The two beautiful people moved swiftly and gracefully while I stumbled along after them, still weak from the attack. Anne would frequently glance back in my direction, an annoyed expression on her face.

“We will have to move much faster if we want to get there before sunrise,” she took my wrist firmly and tugged me along.

“Relax, Anne, we are nearly there.” Where?

After half an hour of walking, the sky growing brighter every minute, Felix and Anne started into a jog through the side streets. I sprinted to keep up. Finally I saw their destination, at the end of a dark street, a dead end, there was a door. The metal door was set into the wall and rusted. It had no door handle. How are we supposed to get in without a door handle? I wondered. Felix went up to the entrance, quickly knocking once. Then I saw the peek hole. The door creaked open.

Felix and Anne quickly slipped through the narrow opening. I looked in, it was completely dark. I was hesitant, what could be in there? My thoughts were silenced as a pale hand darted out of the opening, grabbing me and pulling me inside. The door was slammed behind me.

“Who is this girl?” said a deep, grizzly voice, nothing like Felix’s. “Why did you bring her here? You know how Darien feels about bringing more in.”

Felix replied calmly and quickly in the dark, “We found her early this morning, she was reeking of blood. We had heard her screams when she was attacked. However, we waited long enough to be sure that whoever had done it had left before we went to her. By that time, it was too late to send her off, the sun was rising.”

“Well you almost didn’t make it,” the man grunted. A small, red light flickered on. “What are you going to do about her? She can’t stay here. I won’t tell Darien now but he will find out eventually if she stays long.”

“I just want to take her to my room and explain what has happened to her and what she should expect,” Felix explained, his face serene, while I on the other hand was terrified.

“I bath wouldn’t hurt either,” the man chuckled. I took a long look at him. He was tall, almost reaching seven feet. Wide and muscled all over, he made Felix look like a weakling. His dirty blonde hair was cropped short, which fit his muscled face, black eyes and full lips. “She really does smell inviting, too bad it’s all wasted,” he seemed to be joking, “You better get her to your room quick, before someone smells her. Keep out of sight.”

“Thanks Derek. I owe you one,” Felix flashed a smile at Derek and pulled me along with him by my arm. Anne nodded in Derek’s direction and followed behind me. Felix led us down a dark and musty hallway with constantly flickering lights. We took a couple of turns, passing many doors, always stopping before turning a corner to check for people. At the end of the corridor, we came to a stop in front of the last door in the hall.

He opened the door and ushered me and Anne inside, shutting the door noiselessly behind. Anne turned on a lamp in the complete darkness. The room was dusty, but I found it homey. A leather couch in the center of the room was worn-down and cracked; desks and the one coffee table were covered in paper and books of different sizes. An archway in one of the walls led to another room.

Felix turned to me, “We have to get you clean and in some fresh clothes. The bathroom is in the next room. Though the plumbing is not good, the water might come out a little murky. Anne will get you some clothes and a bar of soap.”

Anne led me into the other room through the archway. She turned on the bed-side lamp and began to rummage through the clothes in a dresser. She pulled out a pair of ripped jeans and a black tee-shirt. She handed them to me and opened the wooden door to the bathroom. It was disgusting. I could tell that these people, even though they looked clean, had no sense of hygiene at all. Or maybe no need for it, I realized. The toilet, tub and sink were all filled with dirt and grime. Only the mirror remained clean. Anne turned the knobs on the tub. The water came out a murky brown.

“If we let it run long enough the water should clear up and then we can hopefully drain some of the muck,” she turned to a cabinet, pulling out an old bar of soap and handing it to me.

“So, while we’re waiting. Why don’t you tell me your name?” She inquired. I hesitated. “You don’t talk much, do you?”

“M-my name is Leslie…Leslie Green,” I stammered, my voice barely a whisper.

“That’s a nice name. As you probably figured out, my name is Anne and my husband’s name is Felix.” I nodded, she went on, “Felix and I would like to talk to you after you take your bath. I must warn you that the things we will tell you will most likely scare and confuse you. But please listen to what we tell you. You may not believe us at first, but in a sort time you will.”

She gave a sad smile and began to drain the half-filled tub of brown water and mold. She began to refill the water, this time it came out a little clouded, but looked harmless enough.

“Who are you people? Why did you bring me here? And what is happening to me?” the questions came rushing out of my mouth.

“Calm down, calm down. We will explain everything after you clean up.” She handed me the bar of soap.

Prologue and Chapter 1: After Death

Prologue

Pain was erupting through my body, would it ever end? The flow of blood, coming from the puncture wounds in my neck, was steady. I could feel my energy draining with each drop of the thick red liquid. Yet, after being left in the dark for what felt like days, why wouldn’t death come? My heartbeat was slow and faint; black spots were obscuring my vision. My throat was sore from yelling for so long, but I had stopped yelling as I realized how pointless it was. I knew no one would come, there was no one around, or so he thought.

I could feel myself slipping away, the life was literally draining from me, but death still did not come. So I lay on the damp and disgusting pavement of the alley. All I could hear was the wind beating against the broken windows of the neighboring buildings and the scurrying of rodents.

That’s when I felt it. While I was yearning for death my breathing became longer and easier. The dripping of my blood stopped and the pain was ebbing away. However, I suddenly felt my heartbeat become slower and slower. This is it, I thought, it’s finally ending. And then my heart gave one last, final beat. Nevertheless…I was still conscious. How could I be alive without a heartbeat? And that’s when I felt the thirst.

*
Chapter 1: After Death

I didn’t know what I was becoming. I sat behind a dumpster, hugging my knees to my chest. The brisk night air should have been nipping at my bare skin; I was only wearing a skirt and silk shirt, both of which were torn, soaked with my blood and the filth from the ground. I couldn’t feel the cold. I glanced at my uncovered arms; I had never seen paler skin. I remembered the tan, olive color my flesh used to be. This new tissue looked alien. It was so creamy white, yet…under the dirt and grime, strangely beautiful.

I knew that I had changed, but how? So many sounds were making their way to my ears, things I hadn’t been able to hear before, until he took me here. Like that rat in the dumpster next to me. Not only could I hear it, I could smell it too. The rat smelled awful, I wrinkled my nose; it reeked worse than the dumpster it was residing in. However, something about the smell of the rat made my mouth water.

It was all I could do not to jump into the dumpster and kill the rodent. Kill it? I thought to myself, What’s wrong with me? I never would have harmed an animal, even if it was a rodent, before I had become the monster I was now. I was beginning to panic. The strip of sky that I could see was getting brighter, and something about that fact made me scared, though I couldn’t say why. I just knew I had to get inside somewhere before the sun flooded the narrow street.

That’s when I heard them. I didn’t hear their footsteps; they barely made a sound, except for their voices. I didn’t dare look around the corner of the dumpster for fear of being seen. I kept hidden and listened. At first their voices were muffled, but as they got nearer, I began to hear their discussion.

“You know he said not to go looking for her,” said a high-pitched woman’s voice. Her? Is she talking about me? I asked myself.

“Shh, I know, but we can’t just leave her out here either, she probably doesn’t know what’s going on. What if she goes out in public and attacks? What if she walks into the sunlight?” replied a deep, male voice. Attacks? Why would I attack anything? Then I thought about the rat I was earlier eager to pounce upon, I shivered. What would happen if I went in the sunlight?

“Well what do you care if she gets herself blown up or kills some people? There are plenty of our kind that kill people all the time,” whispered the woman. Blown up?

“I care because she’s in our territory,” he explained impatiently, “we can’t have a newborn running around in our territory. She will have to leave at nightfall, but for now we must take her in. We can get her cleaned up and explain things to her once we get her to the coven.” Territory? Newborn? Coven? What is this guy talking about? I was beginning to panic. Should I make a run for it?

I noticed they were getting very close; there was no hope of running for it. The woman said, “Yes, we will definitely have to get her cleaned up, she reeks of stale blood.” She added worriedly, “We mustn’t let anyone else know about this. If Darien found out, who knows what he would do? He would surely be furious.” Who’s Darien? How can they tell I am covered in blood?

I could tell the couple was now in front of the dumpster, I flattened myself against the wall. “We will worry about that later. However, for now we have more important things to worry about.” The man’s shadow appeared in my vision, he said amusedly, “Hello little one.”