Green Eyes

I was walking down a hallway, surrounded by pearly white walls. The light was bright around me, and I silently searched for any sign of life, any sign of movement. There were no doors – no windows, just what seemed to be a never ending pale white pathway, leading to god-knows what.

Where was I? I forced myself back to the last thing I remembered before this.

Maddy. Those blood red eyes, staring hungrily at me. That was not the Maddy I knew. That Maddy hungered for my blood. That Maddy didn’t care who I was, didn’t care that I was her best friend, her sister. I had never seen her look at me that way before, but I guess that was stupid because she had never been a vampire before. How had I expected it to be different?

I placed my hand on my neck, feeling the two puncture wounds imbedded deep within the flesh. She had bitten me. Had she known what she was doing? Did she know she was hurting me? Did she have control over what she did?

I assured myself that she didn’t, and continued walking. It was then that it struck me, as I walked endlessly down the never ending hallway, that this was the end. That I was dead. That’s what it was, wasn’t it?

The white, the pearls, the silence. This was heaven. But where was god? Where were the angels? Where were the giant golden gates, welcoming me to a life time of perfection?

Was this what it was like to be dead? To walk down passageways for the rest of eternity, with no one to talk to, nothing to do but walk? It would surely drive me crazy.

Would I ever see Zacky again? Would I have to wait until his immortal soul finally died? I couldn’t do that. Was there a way out of this? Could I die here? Where would that lead me?

I continued to walk, already feeling myself losing it. How long had I been here? Why was it empty?!

I began to run, all the while searching around for anything, a door, a window, even a plant in this empty corridor. But there was nothing.

I frantically looked around. This wasn’t heaven. This was hell!

I ran up to the wall and began to feel around, hoping that there was a secret button or a door that would lead me away from this place. I screamed in frustration as my hands met solid white wall, and I kicked it. I was already going mad.

The most maddening part was the thought that this would be where I stayed for the rest of eternity, with no escape, just trapped within these white walls.

I fell to my knees, growling in frustration. Was I dreaming? I pinched down on my skin, allowing the pain to run through my body, reminding me of the reality of this situation. Blood began to pour through the skin and I let it drop, watching it stain the white floor. Did this mean I could die? Or would I continue to bleed forever, only ceasing once the scar healed?

‘Kayla?’

I turned around quickly, and saw a glowing man standing there, eyes staring at me sincerely. I got myself up off the floor and examined this person, searching his eyes for anything familiar.

‘Kole?’

He nodded and I flew myself forwards, into his arms. He hugged me back, and I savoured the feeling of being in my big brother’s arms again, just like I used to. I breathed in his scent, calming me down as it always used to. I began to cry as I looked at him, making sure he was real.

He smiled down at me, wiping away my tears. ‘Shhh Kayla. It’s ok.’

I pulled away and wiped my eyes, before I noticed the puncture wounds in his neck. ‘Koley, you look so different.’

He nodded before cracking a smile. ‘I should hope so. I am a lot older now.’

I smiled at him, before frowning. ‘Am I dead?’

Kole shook his head. ‘Not yet.’

I raised an eyebrow. ‘Where am I then?’

Kole laughed. ‘It’s really hard to explain. It’s sort of the pathway between life and death. You have to go back.’

I nodded. ‘Can you go back?’

Kole sent me a sad smile. ‘Nope.’

I walked over to him and hugged him, holding him close. ‘So what do I do? Click my heels three times and wish to go home?’

Kole laughed. ‘No, it’s not that cliché. You notice how I’m glowing? Well you’re not. That means you’ve still got a chance. All you have to do is close your eyes and think of something that ties you to life back home.’

I took his hand and smiled up at him, tears in my eyes once again at the thought of goodbye. Could I walk away from him? He smiled and wiped my tears away. ‘Tell me Kole, are you lonely?’

He looked surprised by my question. ‘Well, it’s sort of the same as life. Except all of the people here have died. There’s some pretty interesting people.’

I smiled and hugged him again. He pulled away and looked at me. ‘I love you Kayla. And don’t let me see you back up here for at least another 80 years.’

I laughed and nodded. ‘I love you to Koley.’

I smiled at him once more before heading into the centre of the hallway and closing my eyes. I began to think of Zacky, my parents, my friends. How much I couldn’t leave them. How much I loved them.

I felt myself falling and I opened my eyes in shock. Everything was a blur as I looked around me, unable to make out anything. I was on my way back.

I felt a jolt through my body and everything went black. Pain was coursing through my body and my head was throbbing, as I tried to familiarise myself with what was going on.

I forced myself to open my eyes slowly and I looked around, my eyes immediately meeting Zacky’s. He grinned when he saw me, and hugged me close, kissing me tenderly on the mouth. Even in the pain I was in I could feel the electricity flow through me as his lips met mine, and I smiled into the kiss. I couldn’t have left this.

I opened my mouth and tried to speak but I couldn’t. What was wrong with me?

Zacky watched me as I continually opened and closed my mouth, trying desperately to make a sound, a word, a mumble, anything. Tears began to run down my face as I continued to work at it, Zacky looking at me in concern.

I looked up at him, trying to figure out a way to tell him what was wrong with me. Zacky took my hand in his and I noticed he was speaking. But I couldn’t hear him. What was happening?

I tried to sit up but dizziness overcame me and I fell backwards again. Except I didn’t stop. I continued to fall, watching Zacky’s face disappear in the distance, trying to scream with all my might but without a sound. Blurs surrounded me once more and I could feel my tears wet on my skin, making the situation all the more scary. This couldn’t be real. I had to be dreaming.

I hit the ground violently, but surprisingly I didn’t feel a thing. I slowly got up and looked around, examining my surroundings. It was pitch black, yet my eyes could see everything around me with perfection. I took in a deep breath and a delicious scent filled my nose, causing my mouth to water. I began to run towards it unconsciously, moving at a pace too fast for any human.

I reached a clearing, and I took another deep breath in. The scent filled me again, this time stronger. I licked my lips and began to run towards it, forgetting about everything else.

As I got closer, I noticed a dark figure in the distance, and I sped up. I knew I had to reach it – that it would lead me to the smell.

I reached it in less than 10 seconds, and my eyes settled on the figure of my best friend. Maddy. Her eyes were bright red again, and her fangs were bared. I knew I should be scared but I wasn’t. Surprisingly, I was excited. She smiled widely, and I heard a manic laugh come from my throat. It didn’t sound at all like me; I was sure I hadn’t done it. What was happening?

I wanted to run from her but instead my body took a step forwards, closer to the haunted figure of Maddy. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out, and I began to worry.

‘You ready?’

The words came from my mouth without my knowledge, and my voice dripped with such venom that it scared me. This wasn’t me. I didn’t have control.

Maddy grinned and nodded, and she began to run. My body followed her and I breathed in again, once more becoming entranced by the smell. My body was running without me moving it; my senses were all blocked off excluding that smell.
The scent was intensifying and my body reacted to it by moving faster. I noticed two more figures and the distance and I dodged the trees to get to them, hurdling over the rocks at an incredible rate.

As we got closer I recognised the figures as my parents, and I internally smiled. The fact that they were here made me feel less lost, less alone.

But on the outside, I growled. Not my normal growl, but a loud, menacing growl. My parents looked up at me, fear covering their faces. Why were they scared of me?

I opened my mouth to ask them but nothing came out. I began to panic and I tried to take a step forward but I couldn’t. I felt Maddy’s presence beside me and I turned to look at her. She smiled. ‘Which one do you want?’

Which one did I want? What did that mean? Was she going to hurt them?

‘You can have dad. I’ll take mum.’

My voice sounded without me controlling it and I began to panic. I wanted control over my body; I wanted to be able to grab my parents and run away before something happened.

I took a step forward and my mum shrank backwards, begging me not to kill her.

Kill her? Why would I do that?

I breathed in and the scent filled my body, overpowering me. I needed it.

I looked at my mum once more, and I wanted nothing more than to bite her, to drain her dry. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to me.

This had to stop! This was crazy! I needed to save them! But my mouth went down to her neck, my ears blocking out her screams. I took another deep breath and bit down.

Zacky’s POV
Kayla’s eyes fluttered open and my chest tightened in anticipation. I had been by her side for the last 4 hours, waiting desperately for her to wake up.

I watched with a smile on my face as she took in her surroundings, before looking up at me. I smiled and hugged her to me, kissing her tenderly. I could feel the electricity go through me and she smiled into the kiss, before pulling away.

Kayla opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a low squeak. I watched as her eyes flooded with panic and she began to make wordless sounds, before letting out a scream. She continued to scream as I looked at her in concern and she tried to sit up, but fell back down, her body hitting the mattress below her.

‘Kayla? Kayla are you ok?’

Her eyes closed again and her whole body began to jerk. I grabbed her tightly, trying to stop the shakes that overtook her body. Her skin was becoming pale and she kept opening and closing her mouth, as if trying to speak.

I was beginning to panic, unsure of what was going on. Her body didn’t seem to register my words as she continued to shake, her body now a sickly white colour. I called to the others desperately and they all came running in and huddled around Kayla’s bed.

Jimmy paled and jumped to her side, taking her hand. He looked at me, scared. ‘What’s happening?’

Kayla screamed again and we all turned to look at her. I was panicking. ‘I don’t know. She woke up and then she started screaming and she closed her eyes again. Then she started shaking and her body went very pale.’

Johnny sat down beside her and stroked her head. He sighed and looked at me. ‘She’s lost to much blood. She’s having visions. She needs to drink.’

Matt went to leave the room but Johnny grabbed his arm. ‘Not that – she needs blood.’

Kaylee looked at Johnny, the shock clear on her face. ‘But she’s a human!’

Johnny nodded and leaned over Kayla, and grabbing onto her mouth he pulled her lips upward, revealing 2 protruding fangs. I stared at them in shock, as did the others.

‘When you lose that much blood by a vampire your body goes into shock. It starts going crazy and giving you all these visions while it tries to find the blood. The small amount of venom from the bite temporarily turns you into a vampire. It’s the only way to get blood back into your body. Otherwise her body will start breaking down everything to find the blood.’

Brian nodded. ‘How do we give it to her?’

Johnny sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Someone has to let her drink from them. I can do it if you like?’

I shook my head. ‘No. I’ll do it.’

They all nodded and looked at me in concern. ‘Just don’t let her drink too much. Only until the colour comes back into her body.’

I nodded and walked over to Kayla. Using my teeth I ripped the skin off my wrist causing it to bleed heavily. I placed my dripping wrist into her mouth, wincing when I felt her fangs bite down onto my flesh.

I tried to stop myself from screaming as the pain flowed through my body. I had never felt pain like this before, and I wanted nothing more than for it to stop.

But Kayla needed it. I gritted my teeth. ‘This is because I love you Kayla.’

I watched as the colour came back into her skin, and her shakes began to stop. Her bite on me loosened and I pulled away, watching as her fangs disappeared. I licked my cut and it healed, before sitting back next to Kayla.

Her breathing was steadier now and I began to calm down. I turned to look at Johnny. ‘Will she be ok now?’

Johnny nodded. ‘She’ll be fine.’

I took her hand once more and brought it to my lips, placing a soft kiss on it. ‘I love you Kayla.’