Immortal Hunters

The inside of my eyelids were red. That meant it was morning, and that sunlight was bathing my face. I opened my eyes to the sun. It blinded for a minute or two, but then my eyes adjusted. I pulled myself off the bed, then opened the door to my room. The house was silent and dark (courtesy of blackout curtains), and the fire lamps had been snuffed out. It was so weird, the way the house was bathed in silence. I assumed that everyone else was asleep, as vampires and demons are generally nocturnal. But Shin…? I shrugged and left my room, walking gingerly as not to make any noise whatsoever. I had removed my shoes the night before, and so the hardwood floor was cold under my feet. Its’ shiny surface was smooth to touch. Going into the kitchen, I began to search for food. The fridge was overrun by fresh meat, obviously intended for Shin. I decided that the raw meat would have to do, since I couldn’t be bothered searching for anything else. Taking a piece from the fridge, I set it on the floor, then got onto my hands and knees, visualising myself as a wolf. The transformation was swift and painless, and I managed to remove my clothes as I turned, making sure I didn’t tear any. They were all I had. My vision went from colour to black and white, and I could see everything as if there were floodlights in the corner of the room. Being a lycanthrope has its ups. Downs though, include the iris of my eyes changing colour to display my emotions, and therefore betraying my face. Keeping emotions under wraps when everyone can see them in your eyes is just plain annoying. I wonder why vampires don’t do that.
The sweet scent of meat floated under my nose, and I lowered my snout to the floor. God, it smelt good. I bit into it, and the taste of blood flowing from the middle had the most succulent and tender flavour one can find in a good meal. Minutes later, I had devoured the meat, then willed myself back to human form and threw on my clothes before anyone had the chance to see me naked. Then I went to the sink and cleaned my hands, then wet a cloth and cleaned the floor. I knew how bad raw meat juice left on the floor can get. When I had done that, I went back to the corridor, then listened carefully to all the doors, seeing if everyone was asleep. Yu, Strify and Romeo were snoring, and Kiro was muttering something in his sleep. Shin, however, was dead silent. I opened his door a crack, to see if he was asleep. He was sitting on his bed, trying to force his eyes to focus on his hand. It wasn’t working, of course. Every time he fixed his eyes, I could see them glaze over again, and he’d be back to where he started.
“Need help?” I asked, closing the door behind me.
He jumped slightly at the sound of my voice, then looked up, closing his eyes.
“Help would be greatly appreciated.”
I walked forward tentatively, then sat on the end of his bed, just at his feet. He crossed his legs, then leaned forward, his eyes still closed.
“Look at me, okay? Here’s a tip, try to see me from the back of your eyes. If you can control the muscles at the back of your eyes, then the muscles at the front will be able to focus easier.”
“Okay. Here goes nothing.”
He clasped his hands under his chin, then allowed his eyelids to slide open slowly. He had that far away look in his eyes. Minutes later, I could see his eyelids fluttering with the concentration.
“Make it so that you’re trying to see through me, so that the muscles at the back focus first, then try to bring your line of vision forward. I know you can do it.”
After more persistence, he fixed his eyes on mine.
“I can see! Ye- Wait… Now I can’t.”
In his moment of triumph, his concentration had slipped, and his eyes had glazed over yet again.
“Here, try again. This time, try and hold your focus on me for as long as you can. Don’t celebrate until you know you’ve done it.”
He began again. It was no easy task, and his vision slipped in and out of focus multiple times. Finally, about fifteen minutes later, I saw them click onto my eyes. Happiness for Shin washed over me, and I knew that my eyes had probably turned gold. He squinted harder, focusing carefully on the changing colour of my iris. Then he moved his eyes to the top of my head, slowly down, drinking in my face. Then, as he began to move his eyes from my face, his eyelids fluttered slightly, and I watched as his eyes clouded over again.
“I did it, Raven. I could see you. Your eyes changed colour and everything.” I could hear the happiness in his voice, and I watched as his eyes went from ice-blue to gold.
“If you keep practicing, I reckon we could get your vision back by the end of the week at the latest.” I grinned.
He didn’t need to say anything. His eyes focused on me for ten seconds, and in that ten seconds, he sent me a flood of happiness through the telepathic connection.
“So, on average, how long do they sleep?” I questioned.
“Well, until about lunchtime, if not sometimes later.”
“And when do they eat?”
“At dusk, around six.”
“How often does dinner go wrong?” I asked, remembering last night’s conversation.
“Usually at least once a week. I’d watch out for Kiro tonight. He hasn’t had an attack for a fortnight, and claims to have them under control, but we all know he can’t control them, and we’re all expecting him to snap sometime soon. In the next three days, to be precise. Also, the others… You need to be careful of them too at the moment. No one’s really had a blood fetish for about a week, so we need to be super careful. Personally, I’m scared that Kiro will be the first to go, then the smell of blood from his vomiting will induce the other three.”
“Oh joy.” I groaned.
“Look, if it happens, then you need to get straight to the cupboard. We always eat downstairs, in the basement, in case someone goes. All the antidotes are clearly labelled.”
“What about them? Will they go on some kind of massacre?”
“No. Kiro can’t, because it makes him sick, and the others have enough sense to snap back the second they taste blood.”
“Ingenious.”
“You’re really good with single syllable responses.”
“I’m sorry. Just… Getting used to things, I suppose.”
“How’s your arm?”
I looked down at the bandage. Because I’m lycanthrope, it’ll probably heal fully in the next week.
All of a sudden, images of last night came flooding into my mind…