The night was solemn, the rain pelting towards the ground. The musty smell of rain and night filled the air, fog rising off the hot asphalt streets of Chicago, Illinois. The streets were flooded with it's usual traffic, the blare of car lights drowning the streets. She swiftly turned left onto the sidewalk of West 79th street, her trench coat whipping around in the wind behind her. Keeping her head low, she snuck a look around her. There were plenty of people seeking shelter in nearby bus stop pavilions, over hangings of buildings, anything to keep dry. India pushed her wet, dark brown hair out of her eyes and tucked it securely behind her ears. The streetlight ahead flickered and India changed direction, turning off into an alley, her combat boots pounding on the ground filled with old, soggy newspapers, rotting food, rats, plenty of garbage cans and the usual homeless. Her hands shot to her gun on her hip when she spotted a pair of eyes flash in the darkness in front of her. The flow of adrenaline rushed through India's body, and she gave into her body's crave. Her body began to tingle as her eyes changed from their natural bright green to grey.
"Tucker." she forced back down her strong urge to transform, crossing her arms and leaning against the cold brick wall behind her.
" Ai, India, looking good as always." he replied softly, coming from the shadows into the moonlit alley. India wiped the blood that dripped from his mouth, then licked it from her fingers. She soon regretted it.
"Bleh!" she spat and looked at Tucker, playfulness dancing in her eyes. "I thought you gave up on the cheap stuff." A deep, pained moan escaped from the shadows. "And I thought I taught you better than to torture your victims after you're done with them!" India chuckled and followed the sound of the dying man's cries for help.
"Oh India, don't take my fun away! I like listening to their desperate pleas, or, one of my favorite lines 'I'll do anything, just don't kill me!'" Tucker made ridiculous facial expressions while prancing around in circles around India. She shook her head, holding back the roar of laughter that was trying to escape her. Letting the darkness envelop her, she slid into the shadows, and knelt down next to what seemed to be a younger man, maybe around his mid-twenties.
"What a shame," she hissed sarcastically and reached for his neck, and as she did his eyes shot open. India gasped and slid backwards, staring into the boy's ice blue eyes. She grasped her head as her vision blurred and everything began to spin. Her eyes tried to focus, but she lost control and everything went blank. But as quickly as it had happened, a movie began to play in front of her eyes.
It was of her old village, the one she had lived in before she became the monster that she was now. There was the large cottage near the old oak tree where all the important things went on, next to the town's small bakery run by an old woman who was good friends with India's grandmother. Her heart began to pound with excitement when she spotted the old, small stone house next to the blacksmith's. She ran quickly towards her old home, hoping to see mother and father once more, to be able to tell them… but as she approached the house, it suddenly engulfed in flames. Her stomach dropped and her face became pale. Then, every house began to catch and soon the entire village was in flames. The wails of lament and pain came flooding back into India's mind, and she fell to the ground, clutching her head. She joined in with the great cries of the village people as the old memories she had hid back inside of her came pouring back.
"India!" Tucker yelled while shaking her shoulders, bringing her back to reality. The boy fluttered his eyes as if he too, was coming back from a past viewing. India looked around to see a hand full of startled homeless men and Tucker looking intently into her eyes. India pulled off a quick giggle and punched Tucker in the arm, "Got yeh!" she still had an uneasy feeling in her stomach as the irritated Tucker helped her back to her feet.
"And what will we make of this one?" he nodded down at the lost and confused man.
"Leave. I will take care of him." India pushed him off and then knelt back down next to her mysterious friend. She gave a faint hint of a smile, then raised her wrist to her mouth and bit it, letting the blood drip off to the ground. The boy looked at her with horror in his large innocent eyes. She lifted her wrist to his mouth but he moved back nervously.
"If you do not drink this, you will die. It's that simple really." The boy was still very hesitant, then suddenly, his eyes boiled with anger.
"Who the hell are you anyways!" he spat out, his voice cracking.
India smirked and sat down, and leaned against the wall. "The name's India. And you have probably guessed right already, I'm a vampire." India could see the boy's body tense and could read in his mind; he was going to run.
"Blaze." he answered curtly and began to stand to his feet. India caught on quickly and swung her legs underneath Blaze with force, causing him to fall hardly onto the ground. He smacked his head on the concrete and laid still for a few moments. This gave India her chance. She lifted her wrist above his head and let the blood drip into his mouth, covering his straight white teeth. The boy's eyes shot open, his pupils dilated, blue irises lining the dark black holes and his body began to shake. He sat back and grabbed his stomach, as pain shot through it. He could feel his bones and insides turning and forming, his mind going into shock of what was happening. India's face scrunched up as well, feeling the agony he was, for she too had also gone through this same torment. But she couldn't let him die; this stranger had unintentionally given her back her past. She had to know how he did it, who he was. And if she were to just leave him, he would die shortly, for no mortal can survive a vampire bite if not turned into one themselves.
Blaze lay still on the ground, his new lungs heaving for air. India sat patiently on the ground next to him as he began to sit up, taking in his surroundings through a new pair of eyes. India's head drooped as she recalled her first moments of being a vampire. She was young, around 17. It was early in the morning and she was sitting at the table of her parents small kitchen, finishing up her cup of herbal tea before she started her daily chores. Her parents weren't very wealthy at all. They owned a small vegetable stand where they sold whatever they could salvage out of their garden; they also owned a goat, a cow and some chickens. India raised her head when the faint smell of smoke filled her nose. It began growing stronger and stronger, then black smoke began to flood through the windows. Instantly, India stumbled to her feet and ran towards her little brother and sister's room only to find that they were still lying in bed, sleeping soundly. She thrust herself over to the unconscious children and scooped them into her arms, then ran quickly out of the house and peered around the village to see that every other house was also filled with smoke.
But one thing was bothering her: she was the only one in the dirt road connecting the village. The wind whipped around her skirt along with the dirt. The strong wind seemed to be bringing in large black storm clouds, lightening striking not too far off. A damp liquid began to bleed through India's long tunic. Looking down, she saw a thick red filling the front of her. She set the kids down carefully on the bumpy ground when she noticed the blood dripping from 2 small holes on the sides of their fragile necks. A chill grew up her spine, and tears beginning to surface in her eyes. A stick snapped behind her, causing her stomach to drop.