Half Bitten

Miranda wasn’t just another victim; she was someone that lived in the same town in which I grew up. As the weeks went on, other werewolf attacks occurred while vampire attacks failed to continue.
The fact that all the attacks were centered around Austin, Texas made my skin cringe, my eyes water, and my mind go numb. How many people were supposed to hurt until I was caught? How many were going to suffer until the legend, I was supposedly centered in, came true?
“You don’t look so good.” Mr. Foreman remarked with one corner of his mouth strained down. He waited until the rest of the class to walk out of his room before continuing. “Has everything been alright the last couple of weeks at home?”
Other than the fact that my father is planning to marry a vampire? “No, everything is completely great.”
“I think you should see the counselor. I checked your other grades and they haven’t been so good, either.” With one swipe, he handed me a pink slip of paper. “Here’s a pass so you wont have to wait at the office.”
I took it humbly and found myself staring. What was I supposed to say to the counselor? I especially didn’t need anyone calling me crazy, insane, or delusional. What was going on was real and there was no denying that.
“I’ll call in three minutes to see if you’re there.”
I nodded my head slowly. “Mr. Foreman, if you don’t mind me asking, why do you care so much?”
He inhaled slowly then looked down at the packet of papers. “You’re a talented student. A lot of people in this world start out successful and then let things slip. Within a blink, they’ve become nothing. I don’t want that to happen to you. Believe me, I’d do the same for the rest of my students.”
Somehow, I felt there were words he was fighting to keep in.

“Tell me, what’s been on your mind.” The counselor tilted her head and stared at me with her plastic blue eyes.
“Nothing.” I mumbled.
Sitting across the room on her mini-office-couch, she gestured me, as if to introduce without words, to the recliner across her line of vision. I set my books aside and lay down.
“Comfortable?” She asked with a smile.
Shrugging, I mumbled once again.
With her pink feathery pen, she took a moment to write a note on her clipboard. “I’m Mrs. Mod Sumpter. You could call me Mod.”
I would think that a counselor like her would have picked a more exciting name to relate to all her students.
“Tell me,” She sighed in order to pace herself. “How have you been since winter break?”
I had to groan inwardly.
In response, Mrs. Mod seemed to continue her stare. Peacefully, she smiled and let her voice grow softer as if to express innocence. “Now, before we start, let me tell you that this is a worry-free zone. You could tell me anything you want, and be sure that I wont tell your father.”
I let my mind repeat her words. “Father? How did you know I live with my father?”
Mrs. Mod realized her words and let her body tense while her voice grew thick with uncertainty. “It was a lucky guess. Eight out of ten marriages in America end in divorce, anyway.”
“Yes.” I agreed happily. “At which point the mother would get the child, not the father.”
Mrs. Mod pursed her lips together into a firm line. “Are you always this stubborn?”
“ You would clearly know the answer, seeing as how you’ve talked to my father.” I stated with confidence after realizing that there was not one sliver of doubt in my mind.
After catching my acidic attitude, she sighed exasperatedly. “In his call, he stated that you’ve been dating someone. A…” a pause held its place as she ruffled through the various papers in front of her. “Cole Lowell White.”
For the first couple of seconds, I didn’t—I couldn’t, answer. It has been so long since I said his name that, even now, if I were to speak it, my body would go numb. After shouting for him in agony every night for four weeks, in hopes that he would come and after waking up to nothing but a pillow and blanket, it would cause my heart to break more. The same exact name that would bring me elation and serenity grew to sicken me. With every syllable—every flick of the tongue, poison would surge through my veins, running through what little heart I had left. Some may call it obsession, or a feeling in which a person that held a grudge would possess, but I call it a tainted love. A love that fringes every corner of my soul, despite the fact that it had no reason to do so.
“Yeah, we used to date.”
“Used to?” Ms. Mod questioned. “Did you break up?”
Even the way she expressed the unity between us—him as one to me, caused the weariness to cross over.
“That’s what I want to ask him.” I mumbled.
I could hear her pen scratch across the paper it was set on. “What do you mean? What happened?”
He turned into a ravenous werewolf and decided to attack every small village he came across.
“I don’t know.” I finally answered.
Mrs. Mod titled her head to the side. “Suppose that was a stupid question. Relationships turn sour. Believe me, I know how it feels. I’ve had more than enough of my share of those.”
I tried to stifle a chuckle. “Well, I could bet that your millions of relationships wont even compare to mine and his.”
Her eyebrows arched up in confusion. “What do you mean? Was he different than most of your boyfriends?” Without my answer, she took it upon herself to elaborate. For sincerity, she leaned her body forward. “Did he abuse you?”
“No.” I tried not to laugh at her ignorance. “Not exactly.”
“So, tell me. What’s so different about Cole?”
I took a second to choose my words wisely. It was clear that she wasn’t going to end this soon and I wasn’t going to walk out the door without a fight. Looking around the room, I could tell she knew what she was doing. The dim lantern set on her desk caused the room to glow in as if to impersonate a cozy feel. Besides, a person with her experience, of the Harvard degrees and Prude credits, would never let a person like me walk away without analysis.
“Do you believe in legends Mrs. Mod?”
I could tell my question caught her by surprise. “What?”
“Do you believe in werewolves, Mrs. Mod?”
At first she chuckled lightly and after seeing the seriousness of my facial expression, her train of thought stood still in its tracks. A pause of silence slipped between us as she let her eyes inspect me as if I was a dead corpse and she was the medical examiner. Her goal was to see why I was dead inside, yet I knew she would never figure it out. The bell shrilled, breaking her frightened glare.
“Well, I’m going to go.” Picking up my bag, I made my way towards the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” She mumbled unsurely.
I tried not to smirk as I walked out.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Alec’s furious voice trailed back to me. I had just set my bag down and took my seat. I tried not to blink dumbly as I stared at my first period teacher. After sighing at the fact that I endured yet another night alone, I opened my ears to his words.
“Okay!” he smiled happily. “As you all know we have yet another test this Friday. So, I want you to pick a partner and review last night’s homework.” Before he could finish his sentence, the classroom erupted with talk. After breathing once, I noticed that Alec pulled his chair close to mine and was glaring sternly.
“Cutting it kinda close, aren’t ya kid?” scanning his facial expression, I could tell he was in no mood to play games. “Asking Mrs. Mod if she believed in werewolves!” He hissed dramatically. “God, Jackie! Sometimes I don’t know what to do with you.”
My eyebrows arched down in repressed anger. “ You eavesdropped on me?”
He rolled his eyes in disgust. “I’ve been watching over you since Christmas time, I can’t believe your clueless enough not to have noticed.”
“Hasn’t it occurred to you that I might be fine on my own?”
“Are you crazy?” He let his green eyes search my face. “You haven’t been able to function for the past two months.”
“Not true.” I protested.
“Hey.” A short girl with freshly curled blonde hair hovered above us. Letting her eyes run from my face to Alec’s, she smiled. “Sorry to bother you, but the teacher said that I should ask if I could be in a group. Everyone else looks busy, and I’m kinda new.”
Alec smiled politely. “I’m sorry. I don’t think working with us will help you.”
“Actually,” I smiled obnoxiously, “I think it’ll be swell.”
After the girl thanked us she shuffled away to find a seat to drag over.
“Swell?” Alec picked out the word in an acidic manner. “People don’t talk like that anymore, and don’t think just because she’s here that this conversation has ended.” I struck him an angered squint.
“Okay!” the blonde girl smiled happily after joining us. “I’m so glad I could finally get some help.”
“What’s your name?”
She took in a breath to speak but Alec answered for her. “She’s Kelly. She’s been here for four weeks. Our conversation is not over, Jackie.”
I nudged him while turning my attention towards Kelly. “Hey, I’m Jackie.”
“Nice to meet you,” she smiled back.
Alec tapped his pencil on the desk impatiently. “Yeah, yeah.”
After hearing the rudeness of his voice, Kelly looked down to the floor sadly. This time, I was the one that had the stern expression.
“What?” Alec expressed his confusion after he made eye contact with me once more. “What’d I do now?”
“Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”
Alec filtered my words. “Don’t think our conversation is over. I’m not going to bite my tongue just because Kelly’s here.”
“Oh.” Kelly perked up. “What were you talking about? Please, don’t let me be a bother.”
I took in a breath to speak but Alec’s hand hit my stomach forcefully. “We weren’t talking about much. You know? The normal stuff.”
“Like what?” Kelly questioned.
“Pedophiles and raspiest.” Alec answered swiftly.
She chuckled lightly. “Come on. Be real.”
“Oh no, it’s true.” Alec smirked while extending his right hand out. “I’m Alec Rolands. You know part of that weird, strange, slightly murderous family you’ve probably heard so much about.” After feeling his cold fingers wrap around her hand, Kelly scrunched down in her seat.
“Come on!” I sighed. “Why’d you do that? Can’t you see you scared the crap out of her?”
Alec rolled his eyes at me then transferred his attention to her. “Speaking of crap, don’t you need to go to the bathroom?”
“No, not really.” She stated confidently.
Alec raised his eyebrows and titled his head to the side. “Are you sure, Kelly?”
Her eyes rose to his, as she took a moment to think. “No, I think I’m okay.”
“Think?” Alec questioned while letting his elbows rest on the desk so that he had leverage to lean in. “wouldn’t you rather be sure?”
“Yeah.” She whispered airily as her eyes were pinned to Alec’s face. “I guess.”
“So, what do you think you should do?” He let his bottom lip form a sympathetic pout.
“I think I should go pee.” Kelly stated still caught in a massive state of confusion.
“Good Job” Alec leaned back into his chair lazily. “I’m proud of you Kelly.”
She chuckled nervously as she lifted herself off the chair.
After seeing Kelly stalk away, I rolled my eyes. “No one told me vampires could make you pee involuntarily.”
He hushed me with his words. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
I nodded along. “Really? Cuz I don’t.”
“You’re trying to blow our secret.” He stated. “The question is, why?”
I bit my lip as I shifted in my seat. Suddenly it was uncomfortable enough to seem on fire.
Alec rested his chin on the desk while closing his eyes. If it weren’t for his annoying tendency to speak, I would’ve thought he was napping.
“Of course, if everyone found out, half of this town would be gone. Leaving only the vampires and werewolves. With no humans to protect, we’d have to turn on each other.” I fought the urge to speak. Every word I would use, he would reform to fuel his purgative. “What are you up to?” he asked with no intention of hearing a response. “I will figure you out.”
“You know…” I let my voice squeak. “I suddenly need to pee.”
The rest of my Friday consisted of steering clear of Alec’s path. I knew that I had to be very careful about avoiding him, so instead of going to lunch, I decided to put my locker to use for the first instance since school started. To kill time, I fished some stickers out of my bag and stuck them with care. Then piled my textbooks in, organizing them based on my schedule. First I had Algebra II, then Dance, then English III, then Tech. Seeing as how I didn’t carry my History textbook, the process ceased to continue just in time for the bell to ring.
History class was pointless, and empty. The teacher wasn’t there, so most of the students ditched and the ones that didn’t were let out early. I didn’t want to risk seeing Alec in the parking lot so I decided to stay in the library until I was sure he would be gone.
Besides the librarian asking me to keep an ear out for the phone, my nap was blissful, however, after feeling a draft, I knew that I was the only person there and the silence started to agitate me. I quickly stuck my hand into my bag and let it search for a bottle of water.
“Hello?” I called out after hearing the pitter-patter of footsteps at the end of the library. “Is anyone there?” I called out once again. It was getting dark, and I knew it was time to go but something told me to stay. “Hello? Is anyone there?”
Nothing but silence spoke out to me.
Despite my mind urging me not to move, my feet took a few steps forward. There was a smell in the air. Something small and sweet, and my mind couldn’t help but react to it. Another thud echoed through the library, and this time my body started to run to it. The smell reminded me of sweet times, and I’ve craved it so much. Two months without it and I knew I couldn’t last any longer. Not without him.
Please say it’s you. My mind whispered as I arrived to the book.
Picking it up, I saw that the cover was tattered, and that the bottom corner was missing. I picked it up unsteadily and read the title to myself.
“Fallen Angel?” I looked at it skeptically. Why did this one book, out of the myriads upon myriads here, fall? I titled up to set it on its shelf when a piece of white paper fell to my feet. Even the noise it made as it hit the ground called out to me. My fingers wrapped around the paper while I lifted it closer to my face. Quickly, my eyes searched for something familiar but the red words on the back of the paper were too unorganized to form a sentence. My fingers opened the crease and flipped the paper over.
Even though it was dark, I could still see the shape of the figure in the picture. Its eyes were sweet and loving, belonging to a beautiful soul. “Lowlii.” I mused to myself as I continued to stare at the picture, paying attention to the small details. The wolf had black fur extending up the bridge of its nose that continued along to the end of its tale, only to fade away into an angelic white as it ran towards his paws.
Who could have left this? I knew I was the only one here.
“Jackie?” a voice shattered the quiet serenity of the library. “Jackie?” it hummed again. My feet started to move; my body ran through the library as fast as it could.
My mind found happiness again, happiness in the fact that I would never be alone again. But why did he come back now? If he could’ve easily returned, why not come sooner? Why now?
“Jackie Auburne Brown!” while I arrived closer to the voice, I allowed my eyes to dry. Lowlii did not deserve to see me cry. It was my fault that this happened, anyway.
“I’m here.” I spoke blankly into the beam of a heavily charged flashlight, knowing that I arrived to where Lowlii was.
Instead of the beam being turned off, swift hands angled it down. “What’s this?”
The voice changed; not warm, but melodic. Judging by the tone of suspicion, my happiness took but a few seconds to fade away.
“Jackie, tell me. What is this?” Alec’s voice urged.
“What are you doing here?” I redirected, trying to hold back the tears as I clutched at the picture in my hand.
He turned the light towards his face so that his green eyes could enforce their full effect on me. “My mom sent me over here after Sonny told her that you hadn’t come home.” Alec let his hands rustle through the papers before him.
My papers.
“Stop doing that.” I commanded as I moved forward to stop his cold hands.
“What are these papers for?” he spoke to himself while his eyes quickly skimmed along. “Miranda Greene? Olivia Blake?” I pushed my hands in between his to stop his banter, only to feel his green eyes stare back to me once more. “Why are you researching attacks? They’re out of Washington.”
“Yeah,” I bit my lip, “but they’ve moved to Austin, Texas.”
Alec quickly refuted my attempt to pull back the papers by holding on to my hands. “Why do you care so much? You don’t know these people.”
But I know the attacker, my lips desired to say.
“He’s dead, Jackie. Lowlii is dead.” Alec spoke sternly into my ear as the pulse between us managed to materialize.
“No, he’s not.” I clutched at the picture in my hand in order to hide it from Alec. “I know he’s not dead.”
As if fazed by the pulse as well, Alec let his voice turn into a whisper. “How are you so sure?”
“Because of the attacks.” I answered back in a hiss. “He’s still alive!”
“Is that why you want to expose us?” Alec asked with a slight shake of my hands, as if he was trying to wake me. “You think if werewolves start to die, he’ll come back to protect his family, his friends, you?”
I hated how he spoke the words my mind concluded silently. “He’s still alive.”
“No, Jackie.” Alec spoke while his hands loosened their grasp on mine. “You have to stop this. You don’t want him to come back. With all the deaths he’s caused, he’s not Lowlii anymore. He’s gone, Jackie. Gone.”
“Oh,” I scoffed, as the tears ran thick. “It’s not like you know how it is to loose someone you love.”
“Oh, don’t I?” he matched my tone. “Try looking in the mirror.”
I didn’t attempt to find the energy to argue. I couldn’t even make sense of his words.
“He’s not the only guy in your life. You have your father, and you have me. Even Nathan accepts you. Do you think Lowlii—the old Lowlii, would want to see you like this?”
I shook my head, coming to the same conclusion. “Does he even want to see me at all?”
“Let me help,” Alec’s cold arms wrapped around me.
A part of me didn’t want to embrace him. Embracing would mean defeat. I didn’t want the memories to end. If Lowlii was gone, who was to say that I would remember his name, his face, or even his smell? How long was it going to be until I forget?
“You can’t help me.” I stepped back, trying to lessen the force of the pulse, but Alec’s hold on me was concrete.
“If you trust me, I can.”