All an Illusion

Jade stopped walking for a second. She cocked her head and listened. Without even trying, she could just quite catch the mumbling yet distinctive sound of cars. The nearest main road was miles from here and yet she could hear it. Crazy…

She shivered, pulling her hoodie closer around herself before continuing walking. Already, the guy, Edward, had stopped walking beside her and was strangely quiet looking at her with an annoyed almost angry stare. He hadn’t stopped talking since they met, explaining this and explaining that. Only he wasn’t making much sense it seemed more like he was spinning a fairytale than telling the truth.

“You’re not listening to me are you,” he said as more of a statement than a question, “You don’t believe anything I’m saying.”

Jade sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes I’ve been listening,” she said pausing again, this time to study an alone dandelion growing off the track. Its yellow petals looked so clear, like under a super microscope. It was amazing. “I have been listening. You and I are… vampires, as you say. And I was wrongly turned into one by another group of ‘royal’ vampires who were angry/ hungry after they had been embarrassedly beaten at a fight with you and your family, a couple days ago – I understand completely.”

Even when she said it out loud it sounded ridiculous. Vampires? But then what else? It was true she had been attacked, and all that pain… It had been too real to be a dream and then now… Jade felt so different, so alive. There was definitely something superstitious about it. And then there was that feeling, a tingly uncomfortable, disturbing feeling that she just couldn’t shake off. Hunger? As soon as her body acknowledged the need, it was all she felt. Her hands were instantly at her throat, her dry, raw, burning throat.

“W..w..what’s wrong with me?” she croaked.

“Aaah,” he said knowingly. “That would be your thirst”.

This was insane. She was insane. How could she be standing here next to this stranger listening to him telling me her she was a vampire? She had been mugged that was all. Someone had jumped her from behind and tried to kill her.

“Oh yeah, thirst for what… blood?” Jade sneered, now on her knees, her hands still at her neck.

He didn’t laugh. He just stood there, looking at her, as if he were looking right through her, into her mind and reading her thoughts. So Jade stared back, thinking how close she had come to killing him when she had thought that he was the one who had hurt her. She watched as he sighed and reached out his hand towards her for the second time that evening.

“You still don’t understand. I think you need to talk to Carlisle, he was always better at explaining things,” he eventually said, “Oh, and by the way, that blade would never have killed me, at least not in the way you think.”

His golden eyes were smiling now. Jade frowned. Now she was even more confused. But then if he knew someone with more answers then she wasn’t about to resist. Maybe he could explain the burning. She gingerly took Edward’s hand and then in one superhuman quick movement, he yanked her to her feet alongside him and began to run. At first Jade could only stare open mouthed at how fast he was going! His feet barely touched the ground, it was incredible! Then, she realized that she was running alongside him too, her legs moving at the same inhuman speed, and she laughed. She couldn’t help it, if this was some long crazy dream that she had woken up into she might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

It was twilight, the sun had just set and the sky was a clear midnight black. They were running through a forest now, leaving the town even further behind. It had rained in the morning; Jade could smell it on the leaves and in the soil. Even though they were moving at such a speed, she felt no cold, only the wind rushing through her hair and clothes. It felt so good but only too soon Edward slowed into a brisk walk. Jade found herself outside the biggest house she had ever seen. She whistled under her breath, Edward hadn’t said anything about being rich. She thought back to her puny one roomed apartment that she was living in now and immediately felt uncomfortable.

“Now, listen to me very carefully. Stay right here, I’ll be back in a second, I just need to take care of some things first,” he said slowly.

Jade nodded with her biggest, sweetest smile, but still he didn’t look convinced. Nevertheless he sped off into the house, so what ever he had to take care of must have been important. Jade waited twenty seconds before heading after him. She paused outside the front door, and rested an ear on the wood. She stepped back after a second after she realized she could hear them fine from where she was standing.

“What do you mean I have to leave?” a male voice said.

“Because she could attack you. She’s scared and very confused at the moment, she has no idea what’s going on. Where is everyone?” Jade immediately noticed that voice as Edward’s.

Jade stood for about half a second more, before bursting through the door. She was ready with an excuse but the words died on her lips. Instead something else caught her attention. Slowly, Jade turned to her left, her nose in the air. It was like a switch had been flicked inside of her; all of a sudden all she could think about was her thirst. The man standing in the corner, blurred in her vision until all her brain could recognize him was as food. Her nostrils were filled with his scent, he reeked of such a luscious smell and it was killing her. Jade crouched, a low hiss escaping her lips. Now she could see why Edward had brought her here. She closed her eyes and pounced letting her instincts claim her.

Behind her Edward pounced two, helplessly shouting for Charlie to move.