Darkness

I woke up in darkness. I couldn't remember anything except pain. I couldn't remember my own name. Wait, it was coming to me . . . A -Aleck? No, no . . . Alice? Yes, I'll go with that. No last name, though. That's okay, I don't need one.

Then it hit me like a big pick-up truck. The thirst. It wasn't ordinary thirst, though. It was a thirst for something sweet . . . something red. Blood! That was what I was thirsty for. My mouth was so dry, I felt so empty, and at the same time, powerful. It was dark, but I could see the cracks in the wall, the spider webs lacing every available space, the rats scurrying along the floor. Rats. Rats have blood in them. They'll hold me off until I can get out of this hole. My eyes locked on one that was particularly large. When it saw me, it tried to move away. I was too fast for it, though. I held it up to my mouth and ripped open his throat. I smelled the blood before I cut the skin, but it was even more potent now. I drank for a couple seconds before it was all gone.

I despaired for a minute, but then I concentrated on escaping. I thought very hard for a moment, until something strange happened. I saw myself ramming the wall with my shoulder, making it crumble to the floor. When I came back to reality, the wall was still intact. I rammed the wall, just like in my vision, and the wall caved in. There was a dimly lit hallway in front of me. I stepped cautiously on top of the pile of rubble. There was something flat and solid below me. I looked down and saw an iron door. I almost kicked myself for not seeing it before. But I had to get out of the decrepit and dark place, so I kept going. I ran down the hall. I could smell blood behind more doors. I wanted to get more, but I had to keep going. I had this nagging feeling that people were coming for me. Moans and screams of pain emanated from behind the walls. They tormented me to a point of insanity. I covered my ears, but it didn't help, I could still hear them. I ran, faster and faster, and everything became a blur. I saw a brighter light down the hall. I ran even faster, I wasn't sweating and I wasn't breathing hard.

I reached the light, and I blinked a couple of times and looked at the ceiling. Ah, light. And shouting. Lots of shouting, lots of light. The difference was that I liked the light. I hated the shouting. When I looked down I saw aboout five people coming towards me. They looked threatening. But I wasn't afraid of them. I wanted them to come closer, actually. They smelled good, and I was thirsty. Very, very thirsty. I let my instinct carry me. I took them down, one by one, and drank their blood. Aaaah, so good. It tasted so good. I didn't really feel full, but I did feel more powerful. And I wasn't as thirsty anymore. It was subdued to a small twinge of thirst in the back of my throat.

I looked around for the first time. I was in a little room with a dusty old couch and a lamp on a desk. I located the door and ran to it. I stopped in my tracks. I saw a vision again. This time it showed me walking outside, like I wanted. It was sunny, people saw me. I looked at myself and I was sparkling. The vision blurred and changed. I was somewhere else and these people in dark clothes came towards me and started to take me apart. Then there was fire, and then nothing. When I came back, I was horrified. Going outside means that I will die. I changed my mind, and saw another vision. I knew it was an hour later – I don't know how I knew – and when I went outside it was raining, and I didn't sparkle and no one saw me, and I didn't die.

I waited patiently for an hour, knowing that it would pay off, and then I went outside. Obviously, it was raining. The water felt good on my skin. I took time and walked. I wanted to savor the rain. People were all in their houses, escaping the falling water. I walked into the woods, noticing that I was in a nightgown. I needed new clothes. When I got a little thirstier, I'll find someone my size. Well, it's the perfect time, everyone is inside, and no one will see me. But now was even better! A smallish girl, the precise size, was walking alone on the road. I just need to cover her mouth, drag her into the woods, and, well, you know the rest. I walked slowly towards the girl.

"Excuse me, miss," I said only loud enough so that she could hear me. She stopped and looked at me with wide eyes. "Yes," she said slowly, almost suspiciously. "I'm quite lost, and very thirsty, and I fear that if I move another inch without assistance, that I will surely fall. Would you please help?" She walked over to me slowly. "What is your name?" she asked. "Alice. And that is all you need to know." She nodded and came closer. Yes, just a few more feet, and I will have you! She stopped. No, that's not good, I thought. "Are you from that place?" she pointed at the building that I came out of. I shook my head. "No, my house burned down at night and I escaped before it got to my room. My parents died in it, and so did my brothers and my sister," I lied. She hurried over to me. "You poor dear! I feel so bad for you!" I nearly laughed. She feels bad for me. I'm fine, no need to worry about me. But you, on the other hand . . . "I think my shoes fell off in the woods. They were my mother's, they're the last things that I have of hers, so I need to go back and get them." She nodded and led me into the woods. "Where do you think you dropped them?" she asked. "A little farther in," I replied, pointing straight ahead. "I was walking in a straight line, so they must be down there."

We kept on walking and I kept telling her that they were farther in until I was sure that we wouldn't be heard. "They were right about here, I'm sure of it." She got a puzzled look on her face. "Wait, how can you drop shoes? That doesn't make sense. Who are you?" I sighed with mock exasperation. "Haven't we already established who I am? And of course it doesn't make sense; I was trying to get you to come with me. So what if I'm a . . . hmmm . . . remind me of who drinks blood. It's on the tip of my tongue!" She gasped. "You're a-a vampire? Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, you're crazy!" she was screaming. "How can I be a vampire and crazy? What you should have said was 'crazy vampire'. That would have been more appropriate," I said 'as-a-matter-of-factly'.

She started to run away, but I caught her by the arm and held tight. A little too tight, I think. I felt and heard the two bones in her lower arm crack. It was a horrible sound, but I didn't let go. I let her scream herself hoarse. When her voice finally cracked, I said, "Nobody can hear you, you know. You'll just make it more painful for yourself if you keep twisting around like that." She still struggled.

I sighed. "Okay, you asked for it."