The False Vampire

I knew I had a vague idea of whose ankle it was. It was too small and slender to be anyone but Elisa’s, however, a glance at her showed wide eyes and a mouth hung in disbelief. She shared a look with me as if to say ‘I didn’t do it!’. Internally, I grumbled.

“Must be those damned fairies” Anita took a sip of a glass of wine, her mouth curling behind the rim. I turned back around to Jae, to find him watching me. Will, I guess I did make a slight idiot out of myself. But that didn’t mean much, and why was he suddenly pale? Was it possible he could become even tenser?

“I like it. Mean anything?” I eye the sunburst, like it was a real sun and as a result could burn me.

“No.” the words grumbled from his chest like a disgruntled tiger, before leaving everything behind with a slam. I remembered the conversation I had this afternoon with Trinnean. Could he be a werewolf? Maybe he is! I glanced around the room, resting on each figure.

I waited patiently until Elisa dismissed us from the table, relief beating in my chest. A flutter beat at the base of my throat. I lifted my hand to the base of my neck, willing it to stop. Across the table, my eyes met with Samuels. A quizzical look coloured his face, creating more doubts in my mind. I stood, carrying my plate to the sink and then following Elisa outside.

I waited till we were at the back fence, amongst the small garden and covering by a row of trees, with bright flowers at our feet. Above our heads, fairy lights twinkled between the branches. In the distance, the slow rolling of waves could be heard. Other than the rhythmic crashing of the waves, the garden was silent, absent of even the crickets that seemed to plague the area. I faced Elisa, hoping what I was about to say wasn’t true, whilst simultaneously hoping I didn’t make an arse out of myself.

“What are the Folk?” Elisa, who had previously been twirling her long blonde hair wrapped between her fingers paused, the silky strands slipping.

“Who told you about that?” It seemed as though she subconsciously angled her body towards me, bracing herself as if I meant her harm. Her mouth tightened into a hard line, though she struggled to keep her facial expression neutral.

“Trinnean. Today after school. He told me a story about five aliens who teleported from another dimension. He also said that after time the offspring of them became known as human and non-human, and there was some form of rebellion. And that now only the horrible and nasty non-humans are left – besides the humans that is” I glanced over to Elisa after this, noting her scrunched up nose and almost disgusted features.

“Well that seems a bit far fetched, don’t you think Adrienne?”

“Well I guess. But what I want to ask you – please don’t get mad at me, was, are you one of the Folk?” I bit my lip, teeth grinding into soft skin. I could also see Elisa worrying her lips as well. If she were, I was hoping that she trusted me enough to tell me this. I was also hoping she told me she wasn’t. But who else could they be? Above our heads, a fairy light spluttered and died. The garden seemed even quieter. The tension in my shoulder’s reached a sky-high feeling. I didn’t want her to answer, but I was anxious all the same.

“Yes. I am” I looked in her eyes, my heart pounded. What could she do? Was she a werewolf? A vampire? Hell, for all I knew, she could be a unicorn. Abruptly, I stood, heart pounding still, an annoying tick forming on my eyelid.

Twitch, twitch.

I knew it only did that in moments of high stress, or complete exhaustion.

Twitch, twitch.

I had to get out of here. Suddenly, the walls of the moderate garden seemed small, Elisa’s eyes seemed depthless. What if she could consume me through her eyes? It all seemed logical to my overly frantic brain.

Twitch, twitch.

I stood, spinning on my heels and bolting out of the property faster than I ever had before. Leaping the front gate, a glimpse back showed me wisps of light, small human-like figures dancing between the flower beds, a few dragging Anita’s gardening tools to the shed. Were they her little minions? I didn’t know! I suddenly remembered Trinnean. ‘It is vital you stay away from them’ followed by the echoes of ‘you are in danger’. I was such a fool, how come I didn’t listen! In the distance, I could hear their frantic calls, faint footfalls. My heart constricted, choking the breath out of me.

Twitch, twitch, twitch.

Breaths rasped out of my lips, and I wondered if anything I knew was true at all. My running leaps steadied to a light jog. My thighs were stiff and my back sore. I looked around, more than half the distance between my house and theirs had passed and I only remembered running for what seemed an age. I walked a little faster, eager to be off the streets where it seemed no light ever reached.

Behind me, I could only hear a scratching noise. Scratch, scratch. It was to no sort of beat, but as I glanced over my shoulder, I could see the outline of a dog, sniffing gardens only a few feet away. Was it there before? I never noticed. It seemed to sense I was watching it, its head swinging to my direction, eyes boring into me. It’s coat seemed glossy and thick. And it was big. Very big. So much so that I knew that if it chose to attack, I would be gone.

Ahead, I saw the faint glow of the old light bulb that sat on our porch. My footsteps came a little faster, my lungs burning from fear and exhaustion. It was the greatest relief to cross over the boundary that announced my home. I glanced over my shoulder once again, the large brown dog was still staring at me, and after a second, turned away, bounding down the street.

My head cocked slightly to the side, my loose hair brushing against my elbows. The school uniform I still wore had begun to itch, a scratchy sore feeling that didn’t go away no matter how hard I tried to scratch it. I looked down, noticing I once again managed to get sunburnt. How on earth did this keep happening!

A deep sigh left me, and seemingly took all my stress with it. I twisted the brass door knob, our relatively new but not so new anymore blue door opening to reveal the inside of the house. I could smell mums cooking from the kitchen. If my nose served correctly, it was quiche night. Bleh, eggs. I scrunched my nose. I was in no way unhappy about missing that.

I walked up the stairs, noticing a new clock. It’s silver numbers reflected my tired expression, the bags under my eyes only the more visible. The clock ticked, its mechanical sounds revibrating throughout my mind. A word popped up, Anthesteria. Anthesteria. Tick, tick, tick.

Twitch, twitch.

A fast succession of eye twitches left my eye tingling and me feeling blind, even though I knew I could see perfectly fine through one. I rubbed me eyes, once, again and continued up the stairs.

Anthesteria.

I looked down. My bed seemed so warm and inviting. After a long day, a painful day, I knew I felt justified in a least having that.

[WARNING] THE FOLLOWING SCENE CONTAINS RAPE. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THIS CONCEPT, PLEASE SKIP THE FOLLOWING SECTION AND CONTINUE TO THE NEXT CHAPTER. [WARNING]

Though a feeling in my gut told me something was wrong, I ignored it. Smooth hands grabbed my upper arms, jolting an adrenaline rush. A scream left my mouth, but no sounds escaped. Such hands wrapped around my torso slamming me against a hard, bare chest.

I wanted to scream, I wanted to shout. A tanned, brown hand gripped my chin, whipping around my face. Hot lips smashed against mine. My mind seemed to cloud. This is nice. The words floated through my head before I jerked in horror, it was not nice. This was not nice. Still, it seemed my body had a mind of its own. It hung there limply, not responding, not moving, not making a sound.

I was a prisoner stuck in my own mind. My eyelids fluttered shut, blanking my vision. I was unable to open them. I was blind. Was this how Trinnean felt? Helpless and scared? Thoughts fled my mind once again. My skin was cool. Was I naked?

I became scared, or more petrified than I was before. Where were my parents? For once, couldn’t they come and check on me! I wanted to scream, shout. Help! Help! I felt myself lowered onto the floor. Wasn’t the bed good enough? A smooth, clammy hand grasped onto my revealed breast, pinching the nipple hard. A gasp tore through me. Who on earth found this sexy! It was anything but. Tears streamed down my face.

I grew frustrated and angry with myself. I was not a woman to lie content! I did not want this, not at all! Why couldn’t I do something about it! My thoughts stilled when I felt the head of his dick against my entrance. Surely he wouldn’t! Pain, unlike anything I had ever experienced ripped through me, my mind went dark, as well as my thoughts. Like a light, mine was suddenly extinguished.