Creatures Of Forever

I could tell Lilith was pleased with the turn-out for her class’s open house. She gazed over the students and their parents, appearing to be deep in thought.

Because of a strange organ strand in the vampiric system, vampires were sterile – it was impossible for them to have children, unless they had a life mate. Only then could a female vampire bear children.
A life mate was basically a soulmate; the only other vampire they were meant to be with. Most vampires lived throughout eternity without finding their life mate, for each vampire has only one.

Lilith had dreamed of having children for a very long time. She often told me the different names she picked out; Isabella for a girl, and Nikolaus for a boy.
She cried for days when Torn told her.

Lily became a teacher to feel like she had kids of her own. It struck me odd that she would choose to teach sophomores, but she loved it.
It made me kind of sad when she would come home with enthusiastic stories about her students from that day. She would tell me all the stories, and then become quiet and a little distant.

I looked over at her again. She was talking happily with one of her favorite student’s, Ian, parents. Ian came up behind his parents and gave Lily a hug. She smiled, then looked down as they walked away.
I adjusted my black tie – Lilith made me dress up for the open house in a tie, button-up shirt, and nice pants – and walked over to her slowly.

“How are you doing?” I asked her softly as I put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and hugged me, which caught me by surprise.
“Oh Wes, I love my kids so much…” she murmured into my shirt. I stroked her hair gently. “I know you do Lily,” I said quietly.

The obnoxious blonde girl from earlier, Chloe, walked up behind us and stood with her hands on her hip.
“I knew there was something going on between you two,” she gloated. I looked at her in disbelief. Really? I thought.
Lily detached herself from me and faced Chloe.
“He just deserved a hug,” Lily said quickly, brushing away a lone tear that only I noticed. “Now go on, go see your other teachers.”
She scoffed, and walked away with attitude.

I put a hand to my forehead in disappointment. Something was wrong with that girl. Lilith looked at me, and laughed slightly.
“Yeah, I’m not too fond of her either,” she chuckled. “But of course, I can never say that.”

~~

The parents were allowed to wander for fifteen minutes more, until the principal called them into the auditorium for a short speech. Lilith stood at the podium in front of the other sophomore teachers. I sat in the front row of the audience.

“Thank you all for coming,” Lilith began, the usual start for a school speech. A few students whooped and yelled as she introduced herself. I chuckled. She was a very popular teacher in the school.
“Your students are in good hands this year…” she continued. I began to pay less attention, just because I had been to one of Lilith’s open houses before and, other than a few improvs, she was saying the same thing.

A strange scent wafted by my nose as Lilith continued on with her speech. I turned discreetly, to see if I could find the source. At first glance, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. But after a few scans, I noticed a set of smiling, sharp teeth in the audience behind me.

He sat in the background, out of the way and in the very back. His legs were crossed and he was dressed very casual; a pair of baggy pants, a tight black t-shirt, and dirty old vans. Hmm, they looked like something I had back at home.
I smacked myself mentally. I didn’t care about his shoes.
The guy looked nothing special, but I knew him. He grinned at me again, got up and began walking to one of the exits. A surge of anger flared through me for some reason, and I quietly excused myself. I know Lilith watched me walk out of the auditorium as she was talking.
Jakov. I thought, hoping by a long shot that she knew I wasn’t just walking out on her.

Jakov stood in the lobby, waiting for me with his arms crossed, a grin plastered across his face. I held a fake smile.

“Nicu, old friend,” he smiled. I rolled my eyes.
“I don’t think so Jakov,” I replied.

Jakov was one of the vampires that Torn created. He traveled with us for quite a long time. He was today’s version of a suck-up.
He did everything for Torn; all his simple needs and wants were taken care of when Jakov was around.

I personally hated him. Lilith didn’t really care; she didn’t usually pay much attention to newborns. We were around two thousand years old when Jakov was created.
But basically, Jakov wimped out when we needed help the most, and disappeared.

He laughed. “Please,” he said. “Julian. Julian Baylor. Jakov is dead.” He cocked his head. “What about you?”

“Wes,” I said simply. He smiled again. “What, no last name?”

I dropped my fake smile. “Shut the fuck up, Julian,” I mocked. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m just here to-“he waved his hand in the air, “-see the sights. And some old memories.”
I frowned.

“I’ve been feeling quite hungry lately,” Julian brought up. “Do you get that feeling often, Wes?”
When Jakov had first been turned, he began killing nonstop. He loved it. From that statement, I figured he hadn’t lost his bloodlust.

“I’m thinking of picking up one of those kids,” he continued.
I stiffened, and he smiled. “You know youth’s blood is the best? It’s a beautiful color, and just the right temperature. I saw one out there that I had my eye on; the boy with short brown hair. He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt. You know who I’m talking about?”

My fingers curled and I bared my teeth slightly. He was talking about Ian.

“So you do know who,” Julian said quietly. “You better stop me, Nicu, or that boy’s gonna die tonight.”

I had my hands around his throat before he could take another breath. He smirked, making me furious.

“You’re old, not immortal,” I snarled. “I could easily crush your skull or burn you alive.”
Julian laughed, and I tightened my grip. The son of a bitch had the nerve to laugh.

“He looks quite delicious,” Julian whispered.

His strength was no match for mine. Julian soon flew across the lobby, crashing into the opposite wall. He wiped blood from his mouth and rushed to me, but I was faster and pushed him out of the school’s double doors. A small pool of blood was left in the lobby.
I threw Julian onto the ground, grinding my foot into his throat. He choked a bit, but managed to grab my ankle and push me back. I stumbled, and he was on his feet again. He swiped a hand at me, grazing my face and leaving four small scratches. I clawed back, leaving deeper wounds.

“You’re young,” I growled as I dodged another swing. Julian’s fighting style was very messy.
“Shut up!” he snarled back, managing to sink his nails into my collarbone. He pulled me closer and sliced down my chest, ripping the fancy shirt I wore and leaving deep marks. I made no sound, but gripped his hand and forced it back. Julian howled in pain; I broke his wrist.
With my grasp still on his broken wrist, I threw him to the ground. Making a few choice hits, I fractured his knee, other arm, and cracked a rib to make sure he wouldn’t get up for a little while. Sure, a vampire starts immediately healing after being injured, but broken bones were harder to mend.

I kneeled beside an immobile and bloody Julian. “Why… are you here?” I whispered in his ear. My face was covered in his blood and my clothes were ripped and bloody as well. Amazingly, no-one in the auditorium had heard our fight.

He whimpered quietly. Why did I enjoy that small sound of agony?
“Kitka…” he replied in a weak voice.

My jaw tightened, until I heard the door open and Lilith walk to us.