When Reality Diminishes

He was glaring at Caleb as they continued through the forest. The very thick and muddy forest. Austin was cursing behind them and he was one step away from it. Caleb’s brother was in front of him and behind Caleb who was leading.

The kid was only six, his name Brian. He was short, not very talkative with the exception of to Caleb, and he had short blonde hair with blue eyes. Cute kid, if he wasn’t supposed to passing as a full demon. Caleb could, yet his brother couldn’t. That was the problem, Caleb could get out of trouble because no one suspected him to be a mix... yet his brother looked sweet as an angel, not a common demon trait.

Caleb assured Damon that he knew where he was going, but his temper was getting the best of him now. Though he did have more control then Austin, but Austin... well he hated Caleb with a passion. He had made them swear to get a long for the time being. Caleb didn’t care, but Austin had put up one heck of a fight. It wasn’t something he needed. And the girl...

She was almost normal, besides the fact she wasn’t talking. She would eat, glare at him and seclude herself, but she wouldn’t snap back at him. It was something he had become accustom to, and now she wasn’t. He was slightly worried, despite the nagging feeling of wanting to cause her more anguish. Currently she was back at his house. Not alone, of course. He let the other five stay with her. He didn’t want a big group going to get the other girl, he just wanted enough to make a decent fighting team. Plus he needed Caleb to find her, and Austin... he didn’t trust him alone with the girl.

“Damn it!” He finally snapped, causing Brian to jump. “Are we almost there?!” Caleb glanced back, a smile on his face.

“Patience Dame, patience.” He growled. Dame was his old nickname Caleb used to call him. He didn’t say anything else for fear of trauma-tizing the kid by making him watch his big brother get his throat ripped out. “Give it one minute, we should be there.”

She paced the bedroom with annoyance and impatience. Though she wasn’t talking to anyone, she still wished to see a familiar face. She didn’t like who Damon left her with, none of them did anything remotely interesting. And the prospect of having another girl was thrilling... besides the fact she was half vampire. But to her surprise she was also half human.

She didn’t know how long they had been gone, but it was nerve wracking. Soon they would be back, right? Unless something went wrong. And if something did go wrong... what would become of her? Would she be stuck waiting for the rest of her life? Or would they rat her out and the men would take her away? She shivered at the thought. Damon may not be the greatest, but he didn’t treat her like dirt. And Caleb had grown on her. Even though she hadn’t been talking to him, he had still tried to make her smile. Despite her wanting to hold a cold demeanour, it had worked too.

She let out an annoyed sigh and continued to pace, that is, until her door was thrown open, causing her to jump. Damon stood there, and although she wasn’t talking to him yet, she started laughing.

Mud was dripping off of him, his hair was standing in all directions, twigs were sticking out of various parts of his body and he was glaring at her with a pissed off expression. She couldn’t help it though, he looked horrible. And it had to have been one of the first times she laughed in forever, and it felt good. It was as if all stress was being let off. She continued to laugh until Damon shoved her. It wasn’t hard, but it did get her attention. She looked at him now, trying to control her laughter.

“Have you seen yourself, Damon? You do look quite amusing.” She had to agree with Caleb, but he didn’t look much better. She turned now and looked around. Austin was there, holding the arm of some girl who looked incredibly mad, and Caleb had his hand on some boys shoulder. The boy looked really young and faintly familiar, but once again, she couldn’t place it.

The girl was taller than her and also looked stronger. But she was also a vampire, so that was expected. She had long dark blonde hair and really dark navy blue eyes... which were narrowed at her.

“Audrey, this is my baby bro Brian.” Said Caleb. She smiled at Brian before turning to look at the girl. “And that’s Jasmine. She’ll be staying in a room with you.” At this she snapped her head back to Caleb.

She had been up to this whole concept of another girl before, yes, but now looking at her she couldn’t help but regret that. She looked ready to tear someone’s throat out. And she did not want to be the one locked in a room with her.

“Since there’s no complaints,” said Damon with a twisted smile, “we’ll be leaving. Have fun.” Before she could even begin to think of something to say, they had left, Caleb shooting her a warming smile in the process.

Austin shoved Jasmine forward before slamming the door behind him. She glared at it before looking at Jasmine. Her eyes had turned red and her fangs were clearly en-longed now. Obviously she wasn’t happy.

Deciding her life was more important than her vow of silence, she spoke. She’d rather not be stuck in a room with an angry vampire... that and she didn’t want to have Damon come to her rescue again.

“I want out of this just as much as you.” Her eyes narrowed now.

“Really,” she seethed, her voice dripping with venom. She then began to walk forward. She didn’t back up, if she wouldn’t show submission to Damon, no way was she going to show it to her. Jasmine began to circle her once close enough, making her nerves on edge. She remained as still as possible and kept her breath as regular, but she was just waiting for the attack. It was like when Caleb had showed up, Damon had done this and hit him every time he spoke. “I don’t need sympathy from... from you.” Her mouth opened but before she could talk Jasmine lunged at her.

Before she could even move, her body had collied with hers.
Jasmine’s body landed on top of hers, propelling her roughly to the ground. Both bodies struggled as both tried to gain the advantage. But she already figured Jasmine had it, being half vampire.

That didn’t mean she couldn’t try though. And she did. Her hands were balled into fists, pushing against Jasmine’s shoulders blade and her feet were struggling to get a grip on the hard floor. Jasmine was also struggling, but not as much as she was. Jasmine’s body was almost straddling hers as she tried to pin her.

Sweat was already beaded on her head and her back already seared with pain. Once again the back injury occurred, reminding her that though Damon treated her badly, he had done what he could in his power to remove her from any injuries. And that was at least something.

Cold hands wrapped around her wrists and slammed them beside her head, causing her eyes to blink out of shock and pain. The pain took a second to sit in, but when it did, it hit her. It wasn’t as bad as she had had, but it was still there. It was still there nagging her and making her body suffer in discomfort.

She looked up now, her eyes meeting Jasmine’s light red ones. Her fangs were bared and a murderous glint was held in her eyes. She struggled more, but Jasmine didn’t budge. Think! What’s one of their moves?!

“You want out of this as much as I do?” She asked, her voice filled with rage and furry. “I believe I can be of service.” Twisted wrist. The move finally hit her mind and she put into action. She pushed up quickly and roughly with her wrists then brought them down flat and with the little slack she now had from Jasmine’s hands going up with the push, she acted. She twisted both wrists to the side then jerked them to the other side, releasing them from her grip. Before Jasmine could react, she slammed her fist up into Jasmine’s nose, driving her nose upwards and causing blood to come.

She had thought Jasmine would scream or curse at her, or punch her or something along those lines. But she didn’t, oh no...

Jasmine was still on her, so she couldn’t get up, but that didn’t stop Jasmine from helping her up. After blood had poured out of her nose and onto her, she seemed to go into a deeper fit of rage. So, as blood continued to fall, Jasmine stood up and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her up.

Her foot raised to do another move she had learned, but she didn’t get the chance. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, her body was airborne. It wasn’t for long, for her body slammed through the door, landing in the hallway and rolling into a wall.

Splinters stung her skin and now Jasmine’s blood wasn’t the only one on her. Her back shot pain up her spine and her head wouldn’t stop spinning. Her wrist also seemed to be immense pain and she didn’t dare put pressure on it.

Using her right hand, her good wrist, she supported herself, spitting out some blood that had came from biting her lip. Her head turned in time to see Jasmine coming at her. Her body pushed itself away, not at all gracefully. Her head slammed against the wall and drove some of the splinters in deeper which caused a scream to erupt from her throat.

Where was Damon? Or Caleb? Not that she was too fond of needing help, but hadn’t they heard her scream? Or her body being thrown through a door? That they should have heard!

Arms wrapped around her and once again she felt the sensation of being airborne. She was growing to hate it. This time she was thrown harder, she could tell that from the time Jasmine had thrown her. And she hadn’t even given her time to do anything. Wasn’t she only half vampire? If so, why was she so strong?

This time her body slammed through another door and crashed hard into the receiving wall. Her body could feel their eyes on her now, and a small part of her was glad. But the pain quickly overruled that feeling. She gasped and spat out some more blood, once again supporting herself on her good wrist.

This time she heard Jasmine before she came. Not waiting to see if Damon or anyone would do anything, she lunged away, her body slamming hard on the ground, however, she didn’t hit a wall this time. She didn’t wait to look at Jasmine, for she knew she was already jumping again. So, grabbing the nearest thing, which happened to be a lamp, she swung. As if planned, the lamp shattered over her head, causing many shards of glass to dig into her face.

Jasmine screamed and dove for her again, but this time she had the advantage. From the hesitation, she had enough time to bring up her legs. So with one swift kick, Jasmine was the one airborne.

She didn’t fly as far as she had, but it was still a fair distance.

He watched as Jasmine’s body flew, his eyes still slightly wide with what was happening. Audrey was on her back, sitting up and only supporting herself with one wrist. Blood splattered her clothes, and he couldn’t help but notice the chunks of wood in her skin.

Jasmine looked better, but she also looked more pissed. She had blood all over
her, and her nose looked smashed. She also now had glass shards in her face. Her fangs were out and her eyes were clearly glowing red.

He watched as Audrey pushed herself up, her chest heaving up and down. He could hear her heavy breathing and he could smell the blood on her... and Jasmine’s blood.

He glanced at Jasmine as she let out a hiss. Won’t this be fun? He probably should step in now... but he made no move to get up. He also shot the others a look, telling them not to either. Caleb seemed to hesitate, but after glancing down at the still sleeping Brian in his arms, he decided to stay there so not to disturb his baby brother.

He would step in if it got too rough or bloody, but he knew from experience, that when two people needed to get a fight out, they wouldn’t rest until they did so. And it seemed Jasmine needed to get it out of her system, and lucky for Audrey, she was her target. But she seemed to be holding up so far, much to his surprise.

I wonder if she’ll cry. He hadn’t actually seen Audrey cry from physical pain, and lately he had been having the urge to inflict it, so he could watch. Now with this fight though, he probably didn’t have to. He hoped anyways.

Jasmine shifted before lunging, claws now outstretched. Her claws weren’t as long or fierce as most, but that would be due to her human side. Audrey then jumped to the side, rolling... but also crashing into a small side table. A gasp of pain was all she let off before standing up. Impressive... she needs to practice aim though. She was pure human, and the fact that she had evaded Jasmine for so long already, was impressive.

Audrey backed up some more, breath still hitched. Her leg bumped the table again, and this time she shot it a glare...

Oh shit. He saw the look in her face and immediately remembered a fact he shouldn’t have over looked. She had found it, she had found one of her daggers. After the previous night events, he had been too lazy to hide her daggers, so he just shoved one of them in the drawer. He hadn’t figured she’d be fighting another girl, let alone a vampire, in the living room, or anywhere.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said, quickly standing up. Audrey’s head swivelled now, her eyes meeting his. Her eyes held a look he hadn’t seen before, almost as if she as daring him to come closer. His eyes fell downwards to her finger that was now on the handle. She traced the wood before suddenly grabbing it and turning.

Jasmine, who was in mid lunge, scrambled to catch herself and back up. She managed to not get hit by the blade, but she now lay on the ground, her eyes now slightly wide. The rage was still there, but there were now so many other emotions.

Now was his time to step in. He couldn’t afford to have either of them dead. Keeping his eyes on the dagger, he slowly circled Audrey, only briefly glancing at Jasmine who was now at a safe distance and glaring hatefully at Audrey. Audrey had turned her attention to him, her breath heavy and her eyes narrowed.

Once in front of her for the second time, he stopped and raised his eyes to her.

“Give me the dagger.”

“You sat around and watched as I almost got myself killed from a vampire, and when I finally have the advantage, you tell me to give it up?!” She asked, her voice shrill. He knew she was frightened now. Her voice was almost always composed, to hide her emotions, but she wasn’t even trying to now. At least she was talking now, though.

“Give me the dagger.” He repeated, he didn’t need to explain his actions to her. He didn’t need to explain his actions to anyone. She shifted on her feet but didn’t move, she didn’t even speak either. He let out a breath, how could he do this? He knew he could take Audrey, but the dagger was poisonous and he didn’t feel like dying anytime soon, especially when everything was going so well.

“Kill her,” hissed a voice. He glanced towards it to see Jasmine glaring hatefully between them. How had this even started?

He glanced back at Audrey to see her glaring back at Jasmine, her knuckles now turning whiter due to her grip on the hilt. He had to end this now, and as if she had read his mind and disobeyed, Jasmine picked up one of the larger pieces of wood that had been scattered when Audrey had flown through the door.

“Do-“ he started, but it was too late. She had thrown it. Damn it! He lunged, grabbing it a second before it would have hit her head, most likely splitting it open. He landed on his knees before quickly snapping his eyes up to Audrey who was now right in front of him. The dagger that was still in her hand was hanging by her side, extremely close to his face; too close for comfort. He allowed the piece of wood to fall out of his hands before speaking. “Austin, lock her in the basement, now. “ He didn’t turn to see if he was doing as he said, he knew he would.

“I would have moved,” she breathed. He let out a grunt before glancing at the dagger again. She glanced down too, as if noticing for the first time that it was close to him. He wouldn’t move, the suddenness of his actions could, and probably would, scare her. And a scared human with a venom dagger close to his face wouldn’t end good. He should have just let the wood hit her, then he wouldn’t be stuck in this position.

Her eyes closed, causing him to frown. Her hand then shifted, snapping his eyes back to the dagger. But she wasn’t getting ready to stab him, she was turning it. The hilt now lay in his direction as she gripped the blade gently, so not to cut herself. He didn’t hesitate to grab it and stand to his feet. Her eyes were still closed, as if awaiting some sort of beating. Where would she get that idea from? He hadn’t hit her once yet, not that it wasn’t tempting.

“Sit down.” Austin would tend to her wounds when he got back.