AN: This is just something that came to me while walking my dog one day after reading Twilight and countless fanfics of it. One shot. For now, anyway.
Disclaimer: Anything related to Twilight; Not mine.
Trust your instincts
Or better yet, trust your dog's instincts, at least when it comes to sensing danger. What is this, you ask. Well, let me give you an example.
So, I was walking my dog the other night. It was just a regular evening walk we do every day. The weather was nice, it had just snowed that day and it was all pretty and white and the sky was clear. There weren't that many people around as it was pretty late. I was quite deep in my thoughts thinking about the book I had just read. Toby was doing what dogs usually do when they get outside. Suddenly he just stopped and one look at him told me that there was something more in this than just some delicious lady-dog scent in the ground. He was staring ahead the road his whole body tensed and he looked like he was ready to jump at the slightest sound. I know he wasn't that fond of other dogs, so I immediately looked around to see the most obvious reason to this kind of behaviour; the other dog owner. There was nobody around, though, no dogs nor people for that matter. We were alone. Okay, so it isn't another dog, I thought. It could be a fox or a rabbit, but this behaviour doesn't exactly match with those as he is more of a chaser than a stalker when it comes to wildlife, as terriers usually are. Toby was still very still and I could now hear a faint growl from his chest.
"There's nothing there, you know?" I said "Move along, now, lets go home. Come on.."
But he wouldn't move. Not even when I gave him a little tug on the leash to remind him that we should be on our way. So, this was odd, Toby has never been one to shy from outing and he is quite obedient when it comes to 'moving along' even if there's lovely scents or other dogs or what ever along the way. Toby wasn't a big dog, so I thought of carrying him for a while, to get him over the hard spot (which, by the way, we had walked over yesterday without problems). We could come back in the morning, when it was light again to see that there wasn't anything there. I didn't have time to go through with my plan, however, as just as I was bending down to pick him up he started to back away. Slowly at first, but it was obvious that he didn't want to go where we were heading. He was still staring intently down the road and I followed his line of sight.
That's when I first saw him. There was a man coming our way. He wasn't there a moment ago, so he must have just come around the street corner. He was medium height, he had a lean, well built body and from what I could see, he had blond hair. There was also something very cat-like in his way of walking. He was still about a hundred meters away, but it soon became obvious as he got closer that he was the reason why Toby refused to continue ahead. I didn't understand this, all I saw was a man around my age walking down the road. Probably going home or to see a friend or something, I really didn't care that much. He didn't have a hat or any kind of gloves either, which I suppose was a bit odd, as it was kind of a cold night. It also looked like he didn't have a scarf and all in all his clothing looked quite light considering the weather. But maybe he's just really warm blooded person, I thought. It wasn't like I didn't know this type of people, one of my friends was just like that, she just didn't get cold that easily as the rest of us did.
Toby was going towards a full-scale panic attack by now, trying to get away from the guy. What the hell was going on here? Toby usually loved people; I had never seen him like this. I was usually the one from the two of us to shy away from people. Toby didn't have any prejudices when it came to people; they were all the same to him. As long as they showed the slightest interest to greet him, he'd be all over their faces if I'd let him. And we had never had any problems walking past lone people in the street. But this guy, he clearly was something different. I was starting to have difficulties in keeping my dog in his collar as he was trying to pull and tug himself away from the situation. I was rooted to my spot, though, and I wasn't having it. I wanted to go home, and our home was where we were originally going. I was getting a bit nervous with the situation. Toby's reactions had caught me off guard and I couldn't get him to calm down enough that I could have picked him up and head home.
That's when I first heard him.
"Is there something wrong with your dog?"
Oh, what a voice he had. I had never thought that a male voice could sound like that. It was deep and it had very attractive resonance through it. And it sounded amused. I turned around and saw that the guy, who I had thought would just pass us minding his own business, had stopped and was looking at our struggle with clear amusement. Well, isn't this just my luck? A guy that must be one of the handsomest men in town must stop to make witty comments about my dog. Ugh. I was a bit dazzled to be honest, by his looks. I had never seen a face like his. He had stopped at the other side of the sidewalk under a streetlamp and I couldn't stop staring. He was pale, his skin was almost white, and his features were strong and straight. There was slight smile in his lips, like he was enjoying my situation tremendously. I could also see the amusement in his eyes, which were very dark. Too dark, I should say, considering his pale skin and blond hair. He had a Scandinavian look to himself but the eyes just didn't match that. They should have been blue or grey, not brown as I assumed they were. Oh well, maybe there were brown eyed people in his ancestors and his genes played a trick on him. How should I know? I mean, this was a total stranger here.
"Excuse me, is there a problem with the dog..?" He had to repeat himself.
Oh, right. He was talking to me. And all I could do was ogle at him. Well this was embarrassing.
"Well, not really, except that my dog seems to be, um, afraid of you. This is so not like him, I don't understand.." I tried to explain myself while trying to keep a hold on Toby's leash. He was whining now, and clearly wanted to be anywhere else but here.
"Well, he seems like a smart dog then." The guy cut me off.
What? He was just standing there, calm and relaxed. Was he trying to be clever? Did he think that this was funny? I was officially confused.
"I don't – what do you.." I started.
"What do I mean?" He finished and took a step closer. "Just, that your dog seems to have good senses. You should trust him more, you know?"
Okay, What?! What was he talking about? What was this? Was he some kind of criminal? If so, I was in trouble. He was too close, he would surely catch me if I tried to run, and there were still no other people around. I doubted that screaming would help either, as people usually kept their windows shut when it was this cold. And Toby would be no help at all, with all that must-get-away- thing going on. Not that a dog this small could do anything to a grown man even if he wanted to. I couldn't believe this; his stance was still very casual and he was in no way hostile. A smile still played on his lips. He had walked closer while speaking, and was now standing right in front of me.
Wow. He really was something to look at. I couldn't look away from those eyes of his. They were so dark I should have been able to see the irises, but they were totally black. Okay, he could have been wearing contacts, but I doubted it. And now that he was this close, I could smell him. He smelled wonderful; kind of sweet, but still manly. Wow, I never thought anyone could smell like that.
Wait. This was familiar somehow. The smell, where had I just seen that described. And the eyes were familiar as well. No human being had totally black eyes, it wasn't possible. And his eyes were black, there was enough light to see that. There was no hint of brown in them as I had thought. I had read about it somewhere, and recently. And the pale skin, that was there too, in the same source, I was sure of it. Now to think of it, no one was this pale. Well, maybe an albino was, I hadn't seen one, so I couldn't be sure, but his eyes and hair didn't support that theory. And now, that he was this close, he sure did look tired. He had huge bruise like shadows under his eyes like he was suffering from severe insomnia or something.
He was close to me. So close, that I could have easily touched his face. And he leant in, coming even closer. He was definitely inside my personal space now, and that was too close. I'm not one of those people to let strangers this close to me this fast, but I couldn't move. He held my gaze with those mesmerizing eyes of his. So there I stood, gazing into the strangers black eyes wondering what was going to happen now. He clearly knew what he was doing, and I let him. I couldn't move a muscle, even if I wanted to. And I didn't. I couldn't even keep a hold on my thoughts, it seemed. What is he doing? Was all I could think. Do I want this? Should I try to get him to back off? I should probably say something. It took me a while to find my voice.
"So, do you do this often, then?" I asked.
"What..?"
"This." I said, waving my hand between the two of us and my panicking dog. "Freaking out people's pets and making fun of the situation and dazzling the owner.." I trailed off.
He chuckled. "I dazzle you? Good.. I was counting on it."
He lifted his hand and lightly traced my jaw-line with his index finger. I let out an involuntary gasp as a shiver ran down my back. Damn, his hands were cold! He repeated his movement, but this time dug his fingers under my scarf to pull it off. I was shivering now. I didn't like cold and this was going too far. I knew I had to go, but I was too shocked to speak or move. His face was inches away from mine and his hand was on my neck, pulling the scarf and my jacket collar aside. He tilted his head and moved even closer his gaze shifting to my exposed throat.
Suddenly he snapped his head back and I felt his hand ball into a fist on my shoulder. His brow furrowed and there was clear irritation in his eyes as he looked over my shoulder. I heard it then. A car came around the corner of the street behind me. Its headlights swept over us and in the split second that they hit his face I saw something that left me wide-eyed and gasping for air. At the sound of my sudden hyperventilation the guy turned his attention from the passing car back to me.
The moment the guy moved his gaze back to my eyes I knew he saw the fear in them. Yes, I was frightened now. Scared shitless, to be exact, and unable to hide it. I was unable to move, too. Toby yanked his leash off my limp hand and made a run for it but I hardly noticed.
As the guy was closing in again it all came crashing back to me, what I had been pondering earlier. I remembered my source now, concerning his strange features. It was all there. I knew what he was; the perfect looks, feline stance, cold and faintly shimmering pale skin, alluring scent. And the eyes; pitch black with a hint of crimson. But it was fiction, none of that was true! It was just something some people somewhere had conjured in their minds and written down. There were numerous legends of them. Throughout ages those creatures had fascinated and frightened people around the world. But they only existed in books and horror movies; in people's imagination, not in real life. Or did they, really?
Suddenly I noticed he now had a different, more intense look in his eyes, like he'd had enough with the distractions. I lowered my gaze from his smoldering eyes to his perfect set of gleaming white teeth that were coming closer and closer to my exposed neck. I slowly took in his expression. Thirst was written all over his face.
His cool breath made me shiver even more. Frantic thoughts were crashing through my mind. Why didn't I see this coming? Well, how could I have? This wasn't real. He couldn't be real. I should have trusted my dog. He was right all along. We could probably have averted all this, if I'd just followed him in the first place. And now the man was going to be the death of us.
Somehow, even as I knew what he was going to do next, I was more frightened on the behalf of my dog than myself. I'd be dead soon enough but Toby was all alone and he wouldn't survive long wandering in the cold without food and shelter. He was bound to get hit by a car or starve to death if he was left alone in the town.
"I – I know, I know what y-you are.." I muttered.
"Yes." He breathed against my skin before plunging his teeth in my flesh sending me into the world of excruciating pain.
A vampire.
AN: So, what do you think? Was it any good? It is my first fanfic AND my first fictional text in English, so any kind of feedback is very much appreciated. Also, if you'd like me to turn this into a story, please, let me know. I have a few ideas on how to continue from here..
