Trapped in a Vile World

I woke up from my nap a little later. The room looked exactly the same: cold and empty. I shivered a little, wishing I’d had someone to sleep with. I sat up.

“Jimmy?” I called cautiously. There was no reply. “Jimmy?” I called a little louder. There was only silence. I slipped off of the bed and walked up to the door I’d seen him exit through earlier. I knocked. “Jimmy?” When he didn’t answer, I grabbed the doorknob. It was unlocked. I pushed it open. It was dark and completely empty. I sighed, and closed the door. After all of that, he wasn’t even in here with me. I huffed, getting a little pissed off. I narrowed my eyes and surveyed the rom again. When I saw nothing, I decided to venture out on my own, whether Jimmy liked it or not. I turned the doorknob slowly, and peeked out into the hallway. The coast was clear, so I slipped out of the room. I closed the door with a low click, and walked back towards the kitchen. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and my stomach was starting to grumble.

I tried to retrace my steps down the halls that Zacky had taken me down this morning, but it was nearly impossible. This house had to be massive. I didn’t understand where anything was. I was getting absolutely frustrated. It’s like this house was a labyrinth designed to annoy the fuck out of me. I sighed angrily and turned another corner, running smack into someone. I was knocked to the ground. I looked up to see who it was.

“Brian!” I yelped, surprised and pleased. I hadn’t had a chance to apologize yet. He looked happy to see me, but his smile faded and was replaced by a scowl. He must’ve been thinking about this morning, but he still held out a hand to help me up. I smiled warmly and hugged him the moment I was up. He hugged me back stiffly. “Brian!” I squeezed him tighter. “I’m so sorry for how I treated you. I know you didn’t mean any harm, it’s just that it’s a lot to take in and I just. I don’t know!” He squeezed me gently, and I smiled in relief. I knew all was forgiven. I let go, and I saw his gentle smile.

“Where were you going exactly?” he asked. I looked down, embarrassed.

“I was trying to find the kitchen,” I mumbled. He chuckled warmly.

“Hungry?” My stomach grumbled to answer his question, and we laughed together. “C’mon,” he said, slinging his arm around my shoulder. “I’ll go with you.” We walked around the corridors, chatting about the house. “I don’t know how on earth you know where everything is here. It’s so huge!”

“Well, when you live here for a long time, you don’t even have to think about it.”

“How long?” I peered up at him. His expression was odd.

“I don’t really know if I want to tell you. Vampires are immortal, you know.”

“You learn something new everyday,” I mumbled. He cocked an eyebrow and laughed. “Tell me,” I nudged him. He sighed.

“I’ve lived here for 72 years,” he said slowly. I tried not to show any surprise.

“Brian,” I whispered. “How old are you?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Would I ask otherwise?” he sighed again.

“I’ll be 834 years old this July.” I couldn’t hold the gasp in on that one. He looked down.

“Brian,” I started. “I didn’t mean – “

“It’s okay, Tera. I guess it must be pretty weird from such an outside perspective.” I frowned. I didn’t like being called an outsider when I had been dragged to the inside of what happened without choice. I pushed him playfully.

“I’m not really an outsider anymore,” I pouted. He laughed, squeezing my shoulder a little.

“Trust me, you’ve barely scraped the surface.” I blinked, but didn’t say anything. What else could I be missing?

“Then why don’t you enlighten me?” I asked was we walked into the kitchen. He walked over and opened the fridge while I leaned on the doorframe.

“I don’t think we have that much time,” he said, grabbing jars and bottles and bags. I watched as he made us BLT’s, and I smiled when he walked through the door to the next room with a plate of sandwiches in his hand. Instead of setting them down on the table where Zacky and I had eaten breakfast, he walked over to the big bay window and laid them on the built in seat. I smiled and sat across from him, crossing my legs and grabbing the first sandwich from the pile. I bit into it and he looked over at me. “So, what is it you want to know?” I chewed for a moment, thinking. He grabbed a sandwich and bit into it.

“Do you have anything physically… Different about you?” He looked at me funny, chewing his sandwich. “You guys always seem to be moving so fast.” He nodded understandingly and swallowed.

“Our physical abilities are above those of average humans,” he confirmed. “We’re faster, stronger, and impervious to illness.” I nodded. That’s basically what I thought. I nodded. I finished off my sandwich and looked out the window. “Anything else?” he asked digging into another sandwich.

“Why is everyone so protective of me?” he took a minute before he answered.

“Well, I’d imagine that the reason varies from person to person.” I nodded, that made sense.

“What about you?” He looked over at me, brown eyes full of emotion.

“Well, I guess it’s because of the first time I saw you. You were bloody and bruised, I’m sure you remember.” I shivered a little. “You were unconscious, but I just wanted to help you, to save you from everything else that could hurt you. You just looked so broken. It made my heart ache.” I smiled, leaning over the plate to place a small kiss on his cheek. He smiled back.

“Thanks,” I said, looking out the window as the sun was setting. “I don’t think I ever thanked you for taking care of me that day.”

“It’s nothing.” I laughed at him.

“I think I should go apologize to Jimmy. We kind of went at it this morning, and I said something kind of thoughtless.” He just nodded.

“Take the first two lefts, then go straight, and hang a right. Jimmy’s door will be on the right.” I laughed.

“I’ll do my best to not get lost.” I walked out of the room while Brian took the dishes back into the kitchen.

I managed to navigate through the halls without incident, and without getting lost. I knocked softly on Jimmy’s door, but there was no answer. I turned the knob and opened the door. The room seemed empty, but I heard noise coming from the bathroom. I walked over to the door.

“Jimmy?” I asked softly. There was no answer, so I turned the doorknob.

“NO!” Brian yelled from the door to the hallway, but the door had already swung open. There was a pale body on the floor. Jimmy looked up at me from over the body, blood dripping down his face. I screamed.