The Dead Town

Waking up the next morning I knew instantly that something was wrong. I was lying on wood instead of the comfortable softness of my mattress. I could hear feet pacing from somewhere next to me, yet I couldn’t see more than a shadow, a silhouette, of a man next to me.

The windows were covered with black cloth blocking out most of the light. There was still some coming out from the sides lighting up the walls and giving the room an eerie feel.

“So you’re awake.”

That voice. It was so familiar, yet I wanted it to go away. I wanted to tell myself was dreaming and by the time I figured out why I dreaded the voice so much it was too late.

He had me by my throat against the wall.

For some reason, I wasn’t struggling. My mind might have still been processing everything, but how could I be sure. Maybe he had me drugged so I wouldn’t kill him.

He lifted me up and then threw me.

I tilted my head back, trying to get a good look around. No one was in the room, only Leader and I. I took a deep breath before forming my words. “Are you not scared?”

“Why should I be?” He said as if taunting me. I scowled before turning and propping myself up with on arm. Two could play that game.

“If I’ve heard correctly, I killed one of your best men. Yet, you don’t look frightened in the least.” I wasn’t scared. This whole time I’d been shaking in my boots, but now… now I was perfectly fine. Now I was playing mind-games with a mind-reader.

I doubt this was anywhere near normal…

Or safe.

Aidan would kill me if he found out.

“Wrong.” He paused, making me wait. He was a sick vampire who messed with your head, treated every day as if it were the plot line to his next story. His next kill. Which oddly enough was exactly what it was. If only he didn’t keep me thinking. “You killed my best man. As in… best.” I was surprised.

I really hadn’t though I was that good. I had only been trying to mess with his head.

“Don’t act so surprised, my mouse!” He then chuckled, and I knew more was coming. One line was never enough. “It is hard to mess with me. And you should be proud.”

“I don’t get it.” I mumbled. Trying to stand up proved impossible thanks to Leader who tripped me as soon as I had gotten off o the floor.

Bastard.

Surprisingly, I still wasn’t scared though.

Only mildly fuming.

“You don’t need to.” He said loudly, probably so that I heard him. “You know. I thought I had you in the palm of my hand… apparently I was wrong. That doesn’t happen often.”

“So you were spying on me.” I mumbled. At least I knew I wasn’t completely insane. I could only sigh.

“Yes. Of course I was little mouse.” I groaned at the stupid nickname. “On the contrary I rather like it.” He mused half to me and half to himself. Poor guy. No wonder he’s a psychotic vampire who knows no boundaries.

I hope you heard that, too.

He chuckled before pulling my up by the front of the T-shirt I had worn to bed. I was instantly thankful that I had been to tired to actually change last night. It would be a bit embarrassing and difficult to have to run around in a nightgown.

Wait. I don’t where night gowns.

Maybe I am insane.

I shook my head trying to rid myself of thoughts that were only blocking me from what I needed to pay attention to. Like Leader, who was laughing at me while handing me a slender piece of wood.

Wait. What? He was just giving me the tool that would lead to his death? I’m missing something here.

“No, my mouse, you seem to be quite perceptive. I should’ve given you more credit.” I narrowed my eyes.

“There’s got to be a catch.” I murmured fully aware that Leader could here me.

“Oh, mouse, my name isn’t ‘Leader’ it’s Jonathan.”Leader Jonathan said quietly. It must have been annoying him for a while and just now he snapped.

“Forgive me for not being able to read minds.” I said a bit sarcastically. I was on my feet in the middle of a poorly lit, square room with a vampire who was probably a bit suicidal, not to mention annoying. I noticed as Lead-John’s eyes assessed my every move. “By the way, my name’s not mouse.”

“I’m quite aware of that… mouse.” I scowled.

“What do you want?” I yelled getting tired of all of this. He only smirked for a minute.

“Okay here are the rules.” He said after clearing his throat. It sounded as if he had given this speech more than once. I wouldn’t put it past him either. “You can choose one of my powers for me to temporarily give up and then we can call it an even match.” He said slowly finishing, making sure I caught every word.

I ran it through my mind several times trying to find any possible hidden meaning behind his words.

There was none.

“My mind.” I said. “You can’t read my mind.”

“I was hoping you had forgotten, but alas I have underestimated you again.” I didn’t know where he was going with that, but I believe it was supposed to do something to my confidence. It didn’t. Disappointment and annoyance flashed in his eyes before he mumbled, “And so it begins.”

I smirked. I was somewhat in my element now.

It was true that I hadn’t had much experience, but I had killed his best man, and that was something. Wasn’t it?

Please just say it was.

Every time I jumped he would disappear and I wondered if he could still listen in and if he was cheating, but I’m sure he would have said something as I made my mind wander to inappropriate meaningless things. Knowing this guy, he would have at least laughed.

There was nothing.

I changed it up a bit by throwing the stake, but he had been to far away and had seen it coming.

“Changing tactics are we?” He asked taunting me after he had disappeared. I could feel the cool breath breathing down my neck.

“Oh, you are going down Johnny!” I yelled before actually pinning him to the wall. He didn’t disappear.

After wondering why for a slight second I looked up at his face. He was surprised. My stake was poised at his chest, but it stayed there. I couldn’t stake him and I had no idea why not.

“Hmm… that was a bit close…” He said half dazed as he disappeared and I fell against the wall probably leaving a bruise on my face and my chest where the duller end of the stake had been. Ow.

“Damn.” I muttered. “What other powers do you have that I don’t know about?” I said not expecting an answer.

“Oh nothing much… you know, the ordinary.” I could hear from the other end of the room. When I turned around he was barely two feet away. I should have made him get rid of his stupid disappearing act.

Stupid vampire.

I jumped again and this time he smirked as he let me fall on top of him.

I almost had him before I felt him throw me off and my back soon hit the wall. I groaned out in both frustration and pain as I slid slowly down to the floor. One of my legs was folded underneath me and the other was flat out against the floor. I looked up through squinting eyes to the monster that was hovering over me.

“Are you serious?” He whispered before disappearing only to materialize ten feet away. “That’s all?”

I growled as I jumped to my feet. That would not be all. I knew he only said it to provoke me, to get me to keep going. It was just his sick, twisted game.

I didn’t know why I kept playing.

“You know…” I gave where he had just been standing a curious look. “Aidan really loves you. He’s probably devastated, what with the note you left and all.” Note?

“What did you do?” I asked slightly worried.

“I didn’t do anything you on the other hand...” He trailed off. I saw the evil look on his face and I’m sure he could see the horror on mine. You didn’t need to read minds to know what I was thinking at this point. “I had to make sure they didn’t come after you.” He said with a shrug before continuing with his stupid smile. Oh how I wanted to just…

He was going to die, there was no doubt in my mind.

“What. Did. You. Do.” I asked accentuating every word.

“You abandoned them, wrote a note that explained everything. Your parents death, how you were only leading them on, how Zack isn’t really who they think he is, that you were on my side all along. Pretty much saying that you lead me to them.” He smirked as all the color drained from my face. I was doomed. Even if I did make it out of here, I wouldn’t have anyone to run to. “Which, in a way, you did.”

“How?” I asked quietly. “Why?”

“Oh, you are so very dull aren’t you? Your parents weren’t in a ‘car accident’ as my friends told you. They knew about all of this the entire time. Your parents, they gave both of you up so that I would turn them into one of my kind. They weren’t as lucky though.” I could sense yet another speech coming on. “They never made it through the change.”

“I don’t care about them.” I said angrily now knowing the truth behind all of their lies, why they hadn’t cared.

“Oh, I had already guessed at that, Rose, but you interrupted me.” I rolled my eyes. I was planning to use this whole thing against him anyway. Kill him when he’s too busy gloating to pay attention. That was the plan. “Your buddies will hate you, but assume you’ve already come to that conclusion. I can only guess at what will become of your poor little brother though.” He paused, letting the words and their full meaning set in. I jumped at him again only to miss and cut my arm a bit. It hurt a bit, but that didn’t matter.

I was tired of listening to this insane monster.

“Getting impatient are we? I’ll try to hurry this up a bit, though I don’t see why you would want that.” He said, somewhere behind me. “It only gives you less time to live.” I waited for an evil laugh, though one never came.

“Either mine or yours.” I muttered darkly. I didn’t care how it ended. I just wanted it to end.

“You know… you remind me of someone.” I glared at him as he appeared in random areas around the room. This room was too small and I was becoming dizzy. “Never mind, I was wrong.” He added as I actually hit him.

“Gotcha.” I muttered finally being the one to sport the smirk he had been wearing.

“Nope, I have you.” John said quietly before his lips met my neck. I moved my head down trying to deny any further access to the soft skin of my neck. Instead I shoved the stake into his chest.

It didn’t stop him for very long.

I could hear noises beyond the door that I hadn’t noticed until now. When I turned to see what it was though I gave the stupid vampire all that he needed.

I heard a terrifying scream pierce through the otherwise silent air and was more than surprised as I found out it had been me.

I had been bitten.

Pain surged through my body as I fell to the floor and the coven’s leader fell close to on top of me, finally entirely dead. The door broke down and what I saw surprised me.

It was Aidan, and then beside him was RJ. Bree pushed her way past the two.

I hadn’t expected them to come at all, they had to have thought of me as awful. Maybe they had seen through the fake note, or maybe they had only come to kill me.

I couldn’t tell and it didn’t matter as I felt hands touch my face and my eyes stutter shut. Everything was so blurry anyway.

My head was turned in a way that they couldn’t see the bite mark that was surely there. I didn’t want them to know, I didn’t want them to see. I didn’t want to be abandoned.

But as I felt myself being pulled onto someone’s lap and arms wrap around me, I knew they had seen it. They could tell.

The thick tears had fought their way out and slid slowly down my face. I only wanted to say one thing, but as I opened my mouth and tried to see through my half opened eyes, nothing would come out.

I wanted to say that I was sorry and that none of it was true, that I hadn’t known any of that until a few minutes ago.

Or had it been an hour already.

Questions were everywhere and there was no thinking straight. I was so confused and blocking out the pain proved impossible.

“You’ll be okay Rose, you’ll be okay.” I recognized the words, only the last time I had heard them they had been said in a different fashion. I could feel RJ’s cool vampiric hand at my forehead and I savored the feeling of the cold against my burning skin.

This wasn’t good.

This wasn’t good at all.

I could barely hear the voices in the back ground as I was being carried away. I could faintly tell that it was RJ carrying me. We were going home and the sounded so good to me.

I kept my eyes shut tightly against the bright light of midday.

Something told me this couldn’t be the end. Something said that I couldn’t die in any way. I wouldn’t be turned.

I wished and hoped that I would be one of those rare cases that don’t change or die. That I would just be me.

I groaned as sirens screamed and heavy vehicles swerved around the corner. Surely they hadn’t called for an ambulance.

We would only be called insane.

The simple, “Shit!” that seemed to escape all three of their mouths told me I was right. Their running feet hit the pavement of the old and worn down street and as we got closer to the old house, our safe haven, I couldn’t help but to open my eyes.