If This Is Heaven Then Baby I Don't Wanna Know Hell

**Matt's P.O.V.

I sat in the uncomfortable wooden chair and played with the hem of my shirt as I waited for the kid to show up. I hid my face under my hat and stared at the carpet, I didn’t want to be recognized today, not right now. The library’s air conditioner was a good change from the blistering Californian August heat, and I had goose bumps on my arms from the cold. I couldn’t get her words out of my head, she told me to meet her in person so she could explain this whole situation properly, and she was bringing someone who wanted to meet me. I just hope by that she didn’t mean some crazy-ass fan that was going to maul me. Normally I wouldn’t care, but today I was not in the mood.

“Matt?” I heard a familiar, bone-chilling whisper from behind me. I whipped around in my seat. She'd changed quite a bit, her hair was straight now, and bleached. Her skin was paler and she was thinner, her eyes and cheeks looked sunken and she had distinct dark circles under her eyes. Somehow, she was more beautiful. Beside her was a small Asian woman who looked no older than twenty-five with deep violet hair and black eyes. She looked like she was sizing me up, her expression a mixture of wonder, shock and disbelief.

“Charly, in all my life I have never seen something like this happen. I’ve heard of it, it’s actually common, but I never thought…” The Asian women had a thick English accent; she was the very definition of gorgeous. All her features were perfect, and she had soft curves, she looked delicate but the way she held herself said she was far from that. Her whispery voice made me lightheaded and frightened. She scared the living hell out of me.

“Matt, this is Victoria. She’s the same as me.” She, Charly, said.

“Crazy, goth, vampire chick?” I ask sarcastically.

“Demon, vampire, immortal, whichever one works best for you.” Victoria glared at me and I sank back in my chair.

“Yeah, right. That shit doesn’t exist, what the hell are you on?” I said.

“You have to believe us or we can’t explain what’s happened to you.” Charly sat down next me, but Victoria remained standing, her face set in a scowl. “And don’t worry about Vicky, she’s not always like this, next time you’ll know not to piss her off.” Her comment left me confused; I didn’t know what I did to piss her off.

“So what are you saying? Am I one of you?” I asked. Victoria chuckled.

I turned on her, cautiously. “Not even close.” Was her reply.

“What she means is, no, you’re not immortal. However, you have immortal blood, this means you’re still human, but a little stronger, and you’ll heal faster. Usually after a few weeks all the venom would drain out of your blood stream, but the amount of venom you took in, plus dying, means your blood will keep producing venom. You will age like a normal human, and you probably won’t develop any…cravings.” Charly stopped for a minute to let it sink in. I almost couldn’t believe what she was saying, but some of the evidence was there. The bruises on my face from Brian have almost completely healed and it’s only been a week. This morning I accidentally broke the handle off my bathroom sink and cut my palm open, which was now healed.

“What about, any other…side effects?” I asked.

“Well, your emotions will be stronger, especially anger, as you adjust to this change. I noticed a black eye and your jaw’s swollen. Have you gotten into a fight?” Victoria said.

“Uh, yeah, last week. And my eyes did this thing where they turned completely black and there was not white left. Should that be…normal?” I said.

“Yes, but you’ll learn to control it. It gets easier, trust me.” Victoria said.

“I don’t know if I could deal with this on my own. You said I can’t tell anyone.” I told Charly.

“Yes, there are strict rules of secrecy involved. If you expose yourself or another immortal, even accidentally, the consequence is death for you and anyone who knows your secret. Our rulers are not forgiving.” Charly said solemnly.

“Rulers?” I said.

“You don’t need to know about it. As a human, your thoughts are easier to access, so we’re telling you the basics and leaving it at that. Charly, I’m leaving now, see you at home.” And with that, Victoria left the library, earning stares from the only two people who were on this floor with us.

“I’d better go too. Matt, you have my number, call me if you need to. I’m also using this as an excuse myself because as newly changed immortal, I’m also going through a rough time adjusting.” She was doing way better than I was. “I’ll see you later.” Charly patted my arm with an ice cold hand and followed after her friend. I sat, bewildered and confused.

I stayed at the library for a few hours afterward. I decided I was going to try to find anything I could on these immortals. I opened a search engine on the computer and typed in ‘Immortal covens’ but all I found was some Goth websites. I ditched the computer and looked on the shelves for any books on them. I found a few with references to an ancient coven of demons who ruled over the ‘underworld’ and most of hell. But that was most likely completely made up, or just part of the truth. I eventually just got frustrated that I couldn’t find anything and decided to go home, take a nap, then try to figure out this whole mess.