World So Cold

Finally the girl’s eyelids started to flutter open. I watched uninterested as she opened her eyes fully and looked around. There were leaves in her hair from the forest floor and her clothes were stained with dirt. Lucky for her she was under a tree when she woke up. It was daylight out.

She looked around confused. A squirrel darted past and the girl, Rachael, darted for it. She missed the squirrel by inches. Pity, she’d need faster reflexes than that if she was going to survive. I dropped down from the tree and she whirled around to face me.

“So, you did live,” I said looking her up and down. Her brown hair that used to be dull and flat now shone. Her brown eyes now had flecks of gold in them and her complexion was flawless. She even looked a few inches taller.

“What are you?” she asked me. “What’s that smell?”

“I’m a vampire. What you probably smell is blood.”

“Blood?” she said scrunching up her nose. “But it smells so good.” She lifted her nose in the air like a dog would.

“That’s because you’re a vampire,” I told her. I leaned against a tree bored with the conversation.

“A vampire?”

“Yes. You drank my blood, you died. Now you’re a vampire. Or at least you will be if you drink human blood.”

“I have to drink from someone?”

“Yes, unless you want to die.”

“You smell good,” she said, her eyes locked on me. I could see the hunger in them. She licked her lips hungrily. “Can I drink your blood?” she asked taking a step forward.

That would not be a good idea, I said using Power to force the words into her mind. Instantly she shrunk back and hissed at me. I have more Power than you and I am older. You would lose, so don’t try it. I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Okay,” she said her voice shaky. “But I’m really hungry.” She tried to move towards the town. As soon as she hit the patch of sunlight she hissed in pain and jumped back. Smoke rose from her fingers as they slowly healed and her legs looked like they had bad sunburn.

“I know, my dear. I’ll go out with you and help you get some prey. The sun will set soon. Only a few more hours.”

“How do you know?” she asked, her eyes wide in wonder.

“I’ve been around a long time,” I answered simply.

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Darkness did settle a few hours later. Rachael was pacing underneath the tree. The whole time she had been trying to catch the small animals that skittered by her. She’d always end up being burned by the sun and jumping back.

“Come on,” I told her and walked by her. She obediently followed. We came into the town just as most people were retiring for the night.

“Everyone’s going to bed,” she commented. “Are we going to just go in their houses?”

“We can’t go in unless we’re invited.” I walked quickly with purposeful steps.

“Where are we going?” asked Rachael hurrying to catch up.

“To the park,” I answered simply.

“Nobody ever goes to the park,” she argued.

“I found you there easily enough, didn’t I?” She stayed silent knowing I was right. We reached the park in a matter of minutes. Too long by my standards. She was too slow.

“Come here, in the shadows,” I said pulling her over underneath the covers of the trees. We both crouched down among the undergrowth.

“What now?” she asked.

“We wait,” I said and sat silently in the darkness. Damon once again crept into my mind and I quickly tried to suppress the thoughts of him, the memories. But this time they flowed in with overwhelming power. I couldn’t stop them and like a movie a memory of him surfaced.