World So Cold

I pulled back after at the sound of Stefan’s footsteps. Both of us pulled away. As Stefan came out onto the roof he glanced between us suspiciously. Then looking at me he said, “Juliet, are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “But I guess I should continue. I-I’m sorry I couldn’t before.”

“It’s quite alright,” said Stefan. “Let’s go back inside though. It’s cold out here.” As I nodded in agreement he turned around and went back to his room. I followed after him with Damon behind me. Just before I was about to go down Damon stopped me.

“Juliet, I really had no idea.” I stared at him wondering if I should believe him. Everything was just so messed up. I decided to go with what my heart was telling me. For so long I’ve ignored it, maybe it was time I stopped. Maybe.

“I believe you,” I said softly. I then descended into Stefan’s room.

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“Okay so when we left off I died. As in my life ended, no coming tricks. I didn’t go to heaven though. I went into Limbo. I was stuck there for about 200 years,” my voice broke then. “It was such a weird time then. I didn’t remember any of it. But then I was able to come back to Earth…”

I opened my eyes to be looking around at a large, open field. I didn’t see anyone around. Glancing down at my body I realized I had no clothes on but it didn’t bother me at all. It just felt natural. Then looking back up I noticed a man standing in the field. He was too far away for me to see who he was.

I stared at him with wide eyes as he came towards me. He approached slowly at first but then he was running at me, moving at a speed that was inhuman. I watched with wondering eyes as he approached. As he got nearer I could feel something off about him. He didn’t seem to be a good guy. I didn’t like it.

I put my hands up as if to say stay away. It was then that the man acted as if he hit a wall. He instantly stopped and was actually thrown back a couple steps. He stepped forward but was once again blocked by the invisible barrier. His eyes narrowed in on me. Not in a hateful way but one of study.

“Who are you?” I asked. “What are you?” It took him a moment to ponder if he should answer me or not. In the end he relented.

“My name is Pierre. I am a vampire.”

“That’s impossible,” I breathed. Vampires didn’t exist. They couldn’t. But in my heart I could tell he was telling the truth.

“But it’s true.” His eyes grazed over my body in a way I did not like. It was like he was coating me in slime every place his eyes looked. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“I am Juliet.” I watched him as he processed this. I didn’t let down the barrier though. Something about him told my heart danger. Then suddenly a couple more people appeared. They came from different directions.

They moved towards me at incredible speed too and I instinctively put up the barriers again. Danger! my head screamed at me. After them came more until I had made a protective bubble around myself.

“What do you want?” I asked a bit scared. There were so many of them, all of them pushing against the barrier.

“We want you,” one of them hissed. She struck at the barrier that would not give.

“What do you mean?” I asked confused.

“We want your blood, sweetheart,” said an older guy. He glared at me inside my bubble. There had to at least be ten of them all crowding around the small space I had made for myself.

“She smells so good,” one of them groaned, clawing at the barrier. I could see the hunger and desperation in his eyes. All the voices rose together, all of them trying to get me to come to them, to let them in.

“NO!” I shouted. Tears stung in my eyes. All these people were so bad. I wanted to help them. But I couldn’t. It was dangerous. And I couldn’t hurt them either. That wasn’t right, no matter what they wanted to do to me.

As their cries turned more into animalistic sounds I turned around in desperation. I had to get away from these people but I didn’t know where to go or what to do. As a last bit of desperation I sent out a wave of Power. As it hit their minds each of them was knocked unconscious. None of them were hurt.

It was then that I saw another man burst into the clearing. He saw the bodies lying around and then glanced at me. From him I didn’t get a sense of evil. I detected no threat. I dropped my barriers instantly as he came towards me. He didn’t run but walked.

He stopped a distance away from me, studying me. “Who are you?” he asked me. His voice was gentle, kind.

“I am Juliet de’ Medici of Florence, Italy.” One of the vampires on the ground began to stir. I looked at it in alarm.

“Quick, come with me,” ushered the vampire. In a desperate need to get away from the others I ran to him. He quickly picked me up in his arms and as I clutched his jacket ran away. He sped through the forest and woods a long time. I stared wide-eyed out the surrounding trees passing in a blur.

Eventually we came to a stop in front of a nice looking house. It was surrounded by woods with no signs of a road or anything. The exterior was made of logs with a stone base. It looked very sturdy. “What is this place?” I asked. The vampire set me down and I stood on shaky feet. I was tired.

“This is where I live. It’s far away from civilization.” He put his arm around me to help steady me. “I hope you find it to your liking. There is a spare bedroom upstairs.” He helped me through the house and up the stairs.

Setting me down on the bed he pursed his lips. “I don’t have any clothes that would fit you. I can get some tomorrow but for now…”

“That’s quite alright,” I said. And it was. There was nothing wrong with not wearing clothes. It felt natural. I then yawned and stretched my arms. “I’m very tired,” I told him.

“Yes, of course. I’ll leave you to sleep then.” He left the room and shut the door gently behind him. What a nice man, I thought as I laid my head down to sleep.

“You came back from the dead?” asked Damon clearly not believing me.

“Yes,” I retorted back. “That’s why my blood is so…captivating. It’s filled with something no other human has.” I ran a finger along the vein in my wrist. “It’s filled with Power.” I looked back up at Damon. “That’s why I am always hunted. Vampires crave Power.”

“But I am stronger than you and faster. I have more Power,” said Damon.

“You are stronger and faster, yes. That is because I have been a vampire for about 300 years while you have for 500. Those vampire rules still apply to me. But you do not have more Power. I have repressed a lot of the true extent to my Powers. It keeps me safer from being discovered. Would you like to see?” I asked.

“Juliet, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Stefan. I ignored him and kept my gaze focused on Damon.

“Yes,” he said after a moment of thought. Then taking a deep breath I let down my barriers. I let the Power I held come to the surface and consume me, take me over. I could feel it filling my senses. I could hear farther, see better, smell things better like the cologne that Stefan was wearing or the blood that ran through the veins of his landlady.

As I let the Power shine through Damon and Stefan were both looking at me with shocked expressions. “You see it would be very hard to blend in like this.” I saw Damon lick his lips and I knew it was time to stop. I missed the Power, the good feelings coursing through me. But if I wanted to survive I had to suppress it.

“I now see why they come after you,” said Stefan looking hungry. He rubbed his jaw. I could see the hunger in Damon’s eyes too.

“And you see why I have to keep it hidden. The problem was when Richard, that vampire, tasted my blood for the first time.”