Crimson Shadows
Chapter One: Neutral Grey
Song Inspiration: This is New Shit – Marilyn Manson
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Run. That was the only thought in my head as I sped through the forest, shifting quickly between the tall, thick trees, run. I don't know what I'm running from, I just know that I need to run- fast and far away from whatever had been there. I didn't know exactly where there was except that it was behind me, far behind but not far enough.
The trees were a blur of browns, greens and gold. I could smell death, the reek of an animal's corpse and the hunt, blood was on the ground, but it was a rabbits it was human. I had heard the predator only briefly before I smelt the blood. But the scent of grey death didn't stop me from running- it barely flashed through my mind.
I couldn't stop- not until I was safely away. From the thing… the…
I was hungry, for something, and the rabbit's blood, even though it was far away now, had smelt good, not what I wanted, but it may have helped. I stopped suddenly. I smelt something now - it was… human. I liked humans, but not for food, at least, not like how I was craving to at the moment. I needed…something.
Some part of me remembered something. There was another blood I could use, that was just as good, that-
I jumped into the tree. And waited. The forest was silent. In my mouth I felt fangs, but they shouldn't be there – I didn't always have them… am I a-
I was human. But now I'm not.
Silence. There were many thoughts in my head, rushing around like wasps, hornets. They were all so confusing and I couldn't pull a thought out from another, but they were mine- only ever had been mine. Something cold went down my spine and I froze. My ears listening, but I heard nothing. But I couldn't trust that, someone was here someone-
I jumped back down and began running again. There was a noise; a loud crack and I felt my body hit the ground. "Who are you?" A voice hissed in my ear, and my body relaxed. Blood calling to blood, he was like me.
"I don't know." I said and he, the attacker, pushed my head deeper into the ground and I cried out again, "I don't know!" And he stopped.
"You smell new." He said sniffing me, "what's the last thing you remember?"
"Running." I could smell the sweet scent of damp earth. Had it been raining? I don't remember, I can't remember anything I… my head hurt, it hurt so much, but not as much as my arm, that hurt like someone had torn it apart.
"Before that, what do you remember before that?" I closed my eyes and tried to remember, what had I been doing before I was running? My eyes squeezed tighter and my heart felt like liquid flames and I began screaming as I pulled my arms up to my head. He got off of me; I could sense that he was worried; I could smell the scent of confusion that was like grease and salt.
But I couldn't concentrate any further; as my head began to hurt more- like it was burning up. It was hot like blue flames and it was moving around and making me feel nauseous and dizzy like a bushfire. There was a brief flash of green that passed through my mind before the pain intensified greatly.
Then there was nothing but sweet abyss.
-
"Yes I see that, but what has she got to do with us?" The voice sounded like a dark grey Prison wall. It was bored and sarcastic, but strong and powerful, and very masculine. My eyes hurt too much to open, so I just listened as I tried to show that I was awake, but I couldn't, I was tired and hungry. So very hungry.
"Her arm." Dully I felt my body been turn and someone lift up my arm. "You see?"
"I do." The voice wasn't bored, it was interested and… worried, no not worried, it was something else, it was… thinking. Disbelieving maybe?
"Is she a sign for us?" A new voice came in, neutral but sardonic it wasn't grey, it was eggshell, protective, curious, and… something else. But it was feminie, and like a cats. Careful in her words, choosing only what was necessary – at least that's what I could tell. "She's awake." The voice murmured closer to me. "But she'll need to feed."
"Where did you find her Bill?"
"Around Sookie's house, I caught her scent on my way over, I thought she had been after her, now I think otherwise." Something slid under my neck and lifted me up. My eyes compressed tighter closed at the movement and I felt a crease in my forehead from the muscle movement of pain.
Something cold and hard slid between my lips, a bottle of something – it smelt like food… but not right. The thick, heated substance slipped between my lips and down my throat and though it didn't taste right, it felt right. As I drank I felt my body begin to heal. My hands unconsciously grabbed as I finished the bottle and I was finally able to open my eyes.
I flinched as the colours attacked my eyes. Reds, blacks and whites screamed to be seen and I closed my eyes again, and took a brief moment before I opened them again. My eyes adjusted quickly and I felt my mind begin to register what was happening around me.
"Are you still hungry?" My eyes flickered at the sound of a masculine voice. The question hadn't been said with care or kindness, just a question that was asked and nothing more.
"Yes." I said, my voice came out wrong, it sounded ravenous, it sounded raw, and I didn't like it.
Another bottle was handed to me, and I read the label Tru blood O negative. I drank it slower this time, letting it slowly heal and fill up the void in my stomach. When finished I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and sat up further, this time really taking a look around.
I was in a room, on a couch; there was a desk near me and there were three people standing in front of me. The walls were red and black and there were no windows. I think I was in a bar, or an expensive hotel or something on the lines, because the colouring was all-wrong for a home or a professional business office.
"Do you know your name?" A tall, blonde, powerful vampire said, as he looked closer at my child-like curiosity. I could tell he was old by his eyes and I could almost feel the power raging off of him. Dressed in leather he looked deadly. But he was like me, a vampire. I was a vampire?
"It's…" I paused to think, my name started with a… E, and it was something Christian- I think it was Angeline… no, "Evangeline, but- ah- I think people call me Eve." I frowned as I got a headache from trying to recall anything else I could- my name had been a big thing alone, "It hurts… to remember." I said as my hand grasped my head.
"This is a witch's work," The also blonde, female, vampire said as she turned to face the other vampire's in the room, "but why a witch would inline herself with-" But she was cut off by the previous vampire.
"Pam." The woman stopped talking immediately after the words left his mouth, "You forget your place." There was silence in the room leaving a soft echo of tension that I longed to cut. My eyes darted to the other male vampire that was taller then the female- Pam she was called- and the taller one whose name had yet to be said. I swallowed before speaking once more with a question that rested heavily on my mind.
"Where am I?"
"Shreveport." Pam replied, "Welcome." Her voice drawled out the word welcome like I had just knocked on her front door, but with sarcasm layered over the word of course, there was no way you could say welcome in that context without a heavy amount of sarcasm.
The word Shreveport clouded my mind; I couldn't pull any information from it, yet it seemed familiar. I went silent as I pulled my body closer to myself. I felt the material of the dress I wore, but when I looked down on it, it was as unfamiliar as the room.
"You're previous clothes were disgusting, so I lent you something of mine." Pam said slowly, as her eyes looked into mine carefully. Her southern accent seemed to form the language to say something else- though I didn't grasp what, until just moments after I spoke again.
"Thank you." I whispered, honestly meaning the words.
"It was no problem." The way she spoke those words caused me to look away. But I flickered my eyes back in time to see her smirk. "Eric, is there anything else you have to ask?" Pam was now looking at the blond, Viking vampire.
"No, it's obvious that a witch has gotten to her." He sighed, "But now the matter to discuss is what to do with her until the charm wears off." His eyes switched to the only unnamed vampire in the room.
"You are not leaving her with me." He said, "I already have Jessica."
"How about this arrangement then, you look after her and Pam will take her one a week." Pam's eyes flickered to Eric, and they spoke quickly in Swedish. I caught three words, 'the' 'she' 'and' they were completely useless for what I needed so I gave up and instead leant back and relaxed as I watched. They were obviously talking about myself. "Change of plans, Pam will take her for a week per month, she'll choose the dates and times."
Both the opposing vampire and myself nodded at this. It was acceptable – at least that's what it seemed to be.
"Evangeline, Bill will teach you everything that he can as he is with his current fledging Jessica." I assumed Bill was the opposing vampire to Eric, and that Jessica was not all that pleasant- the way he said her name seemed to be filled with distaste. "He is in charge, what he says goes, the same goes for when Pam takes his place." He looked at me carefully, "Cause any trouble and neither will hesitate to kill you."
I nodded at him and waited for someone to say or do something. I had no questions left- nor did I have any reason to be standing in this silence, confused. I knew why they were keeping me around – somewhere in my memory, I knew something about someone important and they wanted to keep a close eye on me so that when I did remember I wouldn't be able to escape.
They would keep me close and eventually I would get hurt.
A brief flash of warmth, a warm embrace from my mother, flashed through my mind. I can almost hear her voice and her vanilla perfume. But I can't remember what she would say. There was something that she would always say in a moment like this, when I felt so lost, so confused and hurt.
I didn't understand and I was scared.
"Evangeline." I looked up at the harsh mouth that spoke the word so cruelly. Bill was no patient with me, though he had no reason to be either, I had done nothing to sway his mind to think that I could be a good person- vampire. But I was still ticked at the fact that he spoke my name like that, like I had caused him great pains.
"Thank you." I said, looking at the two blond vampires, "I'll…" I trailed off, not sure how to finish that sentence, "be seeing you around." I wanted to say something else, something that wasn't so informal, but my clouded mind couldn't pull a stray thought from another. A tangle of thought all knotted together. They didn't nod or blink; they just gave a small twitch of their lips as I followed Bill.
-
I swallowed the last of the tru blood as I sat on the couch, my legs up close to me. I had just met Jessica, and I was – to say – surprised at how she acted. Would she always be like that? Bill said she wouldn't, but I still wasn't sure.
I sighed as I placed the bottle into the recycling before I flicked the television on. I hoped there was something on to watch. Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns? Why the hell not. I relaxed into the couch and watched. Bill had gone to Sookie's house, and Jessica had stormed off somewhere, I believe I offended her somehow but I didn't quite grasp how I did.
Maybe it was how I looked at what she was wearing, why would you need to look like that suddenly when you turned into a vampire? I don't know, but what I do know is that I'll keep wearing my skirts and dresses – except maybe the few occasions where I might wear black – regardless, I wouldn't dress like that all the time, and I probably wouldn't dress that outrageous.
From what I had gathered when Bill left, Sookie was his girlfriend; though for all I know it could be something more. I wasn't sure if she was a vampire or not, but the way he spoke made me know for sure that he loved her with all his heart. At least I knew I was still capable of love and that alone was a sort of comfort to me.
There was a blur, and the front door opened before been slammed shut. From the fury of red, I assume that it was Jessica getting away from me as quick as she could.
I sighed again as I turned back to the television. I was bored, so very bored, and Buffy was just ridiculous now that I was a vampire. Sighing I began channel searching again, I flickered to a shopping channel and stopped. I didn't like these types of shows, but maybe I could find out more about myself by watching.
They were showing jewellery, and I knew immediately that I only liked simple things, but I had been a fan of silver. Now I can't even touch it, let alone wear it. With a sigh I switched the television off and walked around the house. I had an eternity of boredom to look up and forward to.
There was an hour – at least – until dawn. I bit my lip; I'd never see dawn again, never again. It took everything I had so as not to cry.
That numb, empty feeling filled up my being and I hugged myself in act of desperation for comfort. I had no one. No one to hold me, no one to look after me, no one to tell me everything was going to be all right. It may seem weak or petty, but they were the things that I craved for the most at the moment. Comfort. And my mummy.
Authors Note: yeah, Evangeline isn't strong or brave; at the moment she's in shock and is very, very lonely. So I hope that explains why the last paragraph is very important to her character. Anyway, just wanted to say that I'm re-reading the Southern Vampire Mystery series and I just finished Season Two of True Blood (streaming is awesome) but this is set around book one/season one. So no Maenad/Maryanne Forrester… yet
Thanks for reading, review or pm me if you have any questions or queries :P
