Hellbound and Heartless

One thing I wish Chris had told me, is how to tell if it was night yet. I kind of just laid there for a while, just trying to determine whether it was time to get up yet. Eventually, I felt like I had been in here enough, and slowly pushed open the lid of the coffin. To my surprise, there was no more sunlight seeping in through the blinds, and the room was pitch black. It surprised me that I could still see everything perfectly clear, even in the dark. There were certainly a lot of things that would take time to adjust to.

I climbed out before closing it again. Peeking through the blinds on the window, I saw that it was night once again. I figured that everyone would be up, so I left the room in search of another person, or rather vampire. Wandering down the hall, I looked around, really taking in the unique décor. To any average person, it would have been very creepy, but thought it was nice. I was so distracted that I bumped into something. A tall dark figure loomed over me, and there was a brief moment of panic. It quickly faded when I looked up at their face.

“ Do you roam around in hallways often?”

His familiar voice was strangely soothing.

“C-Chris?”

I saw his lips twitch upwards into a small smile, as if he were amused.

“Yes, who else?”

Of course I had already known it was him. I just wanted to be sure.

“How did you sleep?”
“Um, good.”, I lied.

Chris narrowed his eyes at me, as if he suspected I was not telling the truth.

“You don't look like you slept very well.”

His voice was deep and accusing. I sighed, deciding to just confess.

“Alright, I lied. It was awful. I couldn't stop tossing and turning all day.”

He smiled knowingly, and he looked satisfied with my answer this time.

“That's what I thought.”

His hand rested on my shoulder.

“Don't worry, it will get better. The first few nights are always the worst.”

Well that is upsetting. Who knows how long it'll be before I get a decent amount of sleep.

“Well, I'm going downstairs. You may come with me if you like.”

As he turned in one swift movement and headed down the hall, I followed close behind like a lost and frightened child. I sure as hell wasn't going to try and find my way by myself. I'd definitely get lost.

When we were downstairs, he stopped in what I guessed was a living room. It was where I had been sitting with Angelo and Devin yesterday. Surprisingly, everyone was already up. They spoke to each other in hushed voices, and I could still hear every word.

“What do you think he'll do about this?”
“I don't know. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
“Well, we must do something. Our very existence is in jeopardy.”

Chris cleared his throat, and they all turned in our direction.

“Chris, there you are. We were just discussing our current dilemma.”

That's when I remembered what happened yesterday. I still didn't quite understand what was going on.

“Yes, I see that.”
“Well, what are we going to do?”

Chris was silent for a moment, and everyone eyed him, waiting for his answer.

“In all reality, I don't think we have much to worry about. Michael and his clan aren't much, we could fight them off without much effort.”
“I know, but I have a really bad feeling about this...” , Angelo said, looking a little uneasy.
“We'll be fine, Ange. We've fought them before.”
“Yes, but that was a small fight, this is bigger, We're talking about an ambush. And not to mention on the day of the blood moon.”

Chris seemed to think about it for a minute.

“We will be practicing, just to be sure. We haven't fought in a while, so we'll need it.”
“When do we start?”
“Right now. All of you, meet me out in front of the woods. I'll be there shortly.”

Everyone filed out of the room. I went to join them, but Chris stopped me, grabbing my wrist.

“Ricky, you stay.”
“What, why?”
“I don't want you in this fight, its too dangerous. You're still new to being immortal.”
“I can handle myself, Chris.”
“I know, but I don't want to take that risk.”
“I'm not that weak, I can fight if I want to.”
“I don't want you fighting, and that's final.”

His voice was low and sounded harsh with anger. It frightened me a little. He must have saw that, because his face and voice softened.

“Ricky, I just don't want you getting hurt. Please, just do what I'm asking.”

I sighed.

“Okay, I won't fight. Only because it means so much to you.”

He smiled.

“Thank you for understanding. You may come watch us if you'd like, you don't have to stay here by yourself.”
“That's alright, you go. I'll stay here.”

He nodded, and then in the blink of an eye, he was gone.