Forbidden Blood

Jessica laid in the bed beside George, watching him sleep in the night. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, wondering if it was real. It has been weeks since she encountered the Keepers, since she has seen me. It wasn’t tearing her apart like she expected, it was more of a useless sorrow, but at the same time, it was defining her, controlling her as if her life was a game, the Keepers being the players. Her dreams were the only proof that any of her life was real. Any proof that I was real. Every night, she would dream of blood, fangs, monsters in the night. Jessica climbed out of the bed, leaving George alone in the bed as she went down the steps.

The sky was trapped in a war between day and night, not knowing which one to let itself fall into. Jessica leaned on the railing of the balcony of George’s two-story home. Being away from the house, did not keep her mind off of it. She felt as if she was going insane, but then again, Jessica has always felt this way. I was the only person that kept her feet on the ground, the only one that made everything a reality in this fairytale, this nightmare. George came up from behind her, wrapping his arms around her and placing his face against hers.

“Good morning.” He kissed her cheek softly then stared into the sunlight. Jessica shut her eyes, holding onto George, making sure he never left her.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up.” She replied.

“You didn’t.” The two of them glared into the rising sun. It made both their faces glow like no other, making their eyes glisten like rare diamonds under a bright light.

“Oh.” Jessica let out a small sigh.

“What is it?” George asked.

“I need to get the proposal from the office.” Jessica answered.

“It can wait Jessica.” George said.

“Yeah it could, but I would rather get it now so I don’t have to wait in those long, long, long lines.”

“And what if I don’t let you go?” George lifted Jessica into his arms and put her on the couch. She laughed as they kissed, a kiss that was filled with the first stages of love. The long, love filled kiss that only lovers had.

“I’m going now so that we have more time later.” Jessica acted as if she was going to kiss him, but slipped underneath him and got off of the couch.

“Hurry back.” George laid back on the couch as Jessica exited the room with a wide smile on her face.

Jessica clicked a button on her keys and started the car before she even climbed into the black BMW. George came up to the window and lightly tapped on it. Jessica rolled down the window as George bent his head into the car.

“Be careful Jessica.” He warned with a warm smile. Jessica pressed her lips against his.

“I always am.” She backed out of the garage as the door rose. George stood back casually as he watched the sun lick the side of the black paint. He waved before the garage closed, separating Jessica from him.
A cool morning breeze flew through the windows of the BMW, giving Jessica that sense of a false, safe, paradise. She let the wind cradle her hair as she drove carelessly into Salemn. As soon as she entered the cursed town, she felt that presence of despair and danger, but it wasn’t the same danger she has felt many times before, it was somehow stronger. Jessica eased into the filled streets, trying to keep her heart from racing. She stops in front of the post office and begins to climb out of the car, only for it to be forcefully shut.

“Going somewhere?” A Keeper kicked the car into the brick wall of the post office.

“What do you want?” Jessica asked angrily.

“Your soul Jessica.” The five of them stood in front of her car. Jessica smirked devilishly.

“Well, you’re just going to have to come get it.” She thrust her car forward, blowing through the Keepers, who turned into eerie, black smoke. Her eyes gazed back for a split second and the car suddenly turned around. The brakes screamed as the car came to a stop.

“She isn’t here to save you Jessica!” A Keeper reminded.

“I don’t need her to save me.” Jessica put the car into reverse and blew backwards. She rapidly spun the car around and flew through the streets. The car navigated to the busy highway that ran along the outside of the small town. She blended in with the traffic, speeding along the other metal death traps. Her car suddenly flips upwards into the air. Without thinking, Jessica unbuckled her seat belt and slipped onto the roof all before the car had entered its second flip. A Keeper tried to knock her off of the roof. Jessica leaped on top of an eighteen wheeler and kicked him in the rib cage.

“I loved that car.” She stood on the truck, glaring at the car that was tumbling down the highway. The Keeper skidded on the dark pavement before disappearing into traffic. Jessica glared at the rest of the cars, trying to think of what to do next.
“Why must you make this difficult Jessica?” She turned around to find the other four Keepers behind her.

“Why are you after me? What have I done!?”

“You were born.” They charged towards her, hoping to catch her off guard. Jessica stood there, completely fearless, even from the death she was facing. The Keepers seemed like untrained fighters compared to the girl. She blocked all of their fast paced attacks and countered with several of her own. They stumbled back, surprised by what they have witnessed.

“Come on boys, you can do better than that.” Jessica slipped out of her jacket, smiling at the angry Keepers.

“She has grown on you Jessica.” One of them stepped forward, preparing themselves to fight. Jessica stood in a calm, yet fierce stance, watching his every step. He jolted forward with the intention to stun, but was stopped short by a fist to the throat. As he was falling, Jessica lifted her foot and dented the top of the truck with his body. The sound of several ribs cracking, shocked the other Keepers, making them look at her as their chests breathed deeply.

I noticed that the sun had not moved since I woke up in this odd place. There was no scent but the ones of the leaves that were still raining over me. The Keepers placed me somewhere I would be lost so I could not find my way back, but I am a good dog, and I always find my way back home. Before I could do that, I need to know where I am. As I look forward, I spot a figure just standing in the middle of the forest. Everything about it was odd, but nothing about my existence, or what occurred within it was ever normal.

“Hello!” I called out to the figure, not knowing what to expect in doing so. The leaves suddenly stopped falling, bursting when they touched the ground. It was if grenades were being dropped near me, causing the tons of leaves to fly into the air like confetti. I stood my ground, not flinching or even blinking as the leaves continued to soar into the air. A strong, bamboo stick came from the flutter in an attempt to strike me. I block the stick with a kick to its end, stopping it mid air. The stick slid down my bare foot and aimed for my torso. I flipped upward, landing behind the wielder of the weapon. My elbow hit their spinal cord, making them paralyzed from the neck down. The well cloaked figure fell to their knees. I grabbed their head then realized it was a male. He had golden eyes that blended in with the forest. I glared into them before snapping his neck with no effort.

“One word, that’s all I said.” I let the body fall onto the floor, adding another explosion to the continuous ones. My feet walked through the mine field that the forest had made itself. I had an expression of pure, sinister evil upon my face as I walked deeper into the lifeless forest, just waiting for more amateurs to attack me.

“Maybe you’ll actually learn to behave like she never did Jessica.” The three Keepers were keeping their distance from the girl, seeing her abilities for themselves.

“You are trying to take my soul, how do you expect me to behave!?” She stomped the Keeper on the ground out of anger. He groaned loudly in pain.

“We are trying to save you from becoming like her! A rogue, hunted animal. Do you really want to bring a child into this world? A world of fear and attacks around every corner? Better yet, every time you blink or your heart beats. We know you do not want that for your child or for George.” The Keeper replied.

“You leave him out of this.” The emotion she showed was her second mistake. Now they knew for sure that her heart was attached to him, that he was one of her weaknesses.

“How can we? He is right here.” They split apart, revealing George on his knees. Jessica’s heart almost came out of her mouth as she let out a small whimper.
“You can have my soul. Take it, but let him go now.” She agreed. You could see their smiles underneath the darkness of their robes.

“Very well Jessica, but you must first give us your soul before you can have him back.”

“I’m not for your games. Give me him now and you will have your soul.”

“You must come and get him Jessica. It is part of the game.” She didn’t hesitate in her steps as she edged closer to them. Jessica reached out for George’s hand before she was within range of him. One of the Keepers kick him off of the truck.

“No!” Jessica leaped over the Keepers and darted she George. They both slammed onto the hood of a small, gray jalopy that was behind the truck, cracking the windshield. The Keepers had regrouped as five and leaned over the edge of the truck. Jessica shook off her momentary dizziness, grabbing onto George as she did so.

“Come on.” She managed to pull him up before the driver pressed hard on the brakes. Their bodies flew off of the hood and onto the pavement, just as the Keepers dropped down from above, crushing the hood into nothing.

“This could’ve been easy.” The Keepers surrounded them.