Hey! Here's the much better version of I Won't Be Like You. I got a lot of help from blackPANDA_xD. She helped my plot make much more sense. I really worked on getting into character on this, so it should be better. Please review! They make my heart smile!
I was hunting that night. Or at least that's what I thought at the time. This was one of the few hunting trips where Maria had not accompanied me. I was secretly glad for that. I needed some peace. It was early, though. That made hunting quite difficult. I looked westward and saw that the sun was almost completely hidden. Good. I wouldn't draw unneeded eyes in my direction.
I roamed the city of Dallas looking for my next victim. I mentally prepared myself for the torment of taking another human life. It affected me more than it did the others. Their pain, their fear, amazement, and their anger was almost too much. In the end, my thirst always won in its need for satiation. In my two years with Maria, she had never looked- or felt, for that matter- at all affected by taking lives. She actually enjoyed it. If Maria were with me, I'd use her apparent enjoyment to dull the sharp, painful emotions of my prey.
I inhaled and smelled a human. I immediately darted over to where the human was, in too much need to care who saw or who the person was. I didn't care. I didn't think. All I knew was that my throat was burning and relief wasn't far away.
I saw the man I had scented just a few seconds before. He was young- mid-twenties to early thirties- and fit. Perfect. I didn't care to play with my food like Maria did. I just needed my thirst satiated. I ran up to the man from behind and sank my teeth into his neck, severing the carotid artery. The terrible burning in the back of my throat was cooled as the sweet human blood ran down my throat. That's when the man's emotions hit me. Pain, shock, fear, anger. The little humanity left in me felt remorse, I put him out of his misery, breaking his neck as I continued to drain him of his life blood.
Once I had made sure he didn't have a drop of blood left in his veins, I disposed of the body. I was still in pain, though not physically. I was deeply affected. The man's pain, shock, anger, and fear- mostly pain and fear- still rang in my head, bringing me down. I stopped by a creek to wash the blood off of my face and hands. I heard footsteps come toward me. They didn't belong to Maria though… My thoughts were cut off as jolts of hope, panic, and excitement hit me, making me spin around to see what the cause was. I turned to face a tall, blonde woman.
"Jasper?" The woman asked, cautiously, yet hopeful. I ran. I ran as fast as I could. She was my mother.
I was about halfway back to where the other newborns and Maria were staying. I recognized Maria's gait coming from behind me and assumed she would be beside me any second now. Instead, I felt her jump me and pin me to the ground.
"Hey, Jasper," she started, curious and a bit suspicious. I only knew the suspicion by my "gift" that I apparently possessed. "What were you running from? An insignificant little human?" She asked tauntingly, scoffing the last part. "You know, you could have just killed her, too. Your eyes are still a little dark…"
"I couldn't kill her," I replied bluntly, not wanting to explain. As she always did, Maria prodded and taunted me. She was so lucky I didn't have a bad temper…
"Why not? Human's mean nothing. Well, they're sustenance, but nothing more. She looked at you like she loved you or something! Gag me! Aw, is Jasper holding on to his human life? Does he care about that woman?" She taunted. I couldn't stop the snarl that forced its way out of my throat. I sprang up, pushing her off of me. I had always been very protective of my family.
"The 'meaningless human' is my mother!" I growled out at Maria, who quickly reminded me that I was lower ranking than her in this world by sending me a threatening glare. Her emotions were pure and undiluted rage, shock, and indignation. If I didn't back down into subordination, she was very willing to severely hurt or destroy me. I was way past my year mark, so she definitely wouldn't think twice.
"Jasper, get back with the other newborns. And that is an order to be carried out now!" The menacing tone in which the words came out stunned me, but I obeyed. That was how this life was, apparently.
I ran back to the other newborns. Yet another fight had broken out. The emotions in the room were chaotic, like testosterone induced belligerence. It was getting to me. I had the urge to attack one of them. Luck was on my side.
A newborn, right at his year mark, lunged at me, snarling like a wild animal. I easily dodged the attack and was behind him in less than half a second. He lunged again, and I easily twisted out of his reach right before he grabbed me. It was too easy. I made my way behind him again, locked my arms around his waist and an involuntary snarl rattled out of my throat. I sank my teeth into the granite-like skin of his neck, jerked, and sent his head flying. I quickly finished him off. The fight didn't last more than a minute.
"That's the second one this week, Jasper!" Maria groaned, frustration rolling off of her as she walked in. I met her crimson eyes. She had hunted.
No human would ever think she would be dangerous. She stood no taller than five feet, three inches. Her crimson eyes didn't even look threatening; they were big, innocent looking. They were framed with long, thick black lashes. She had a heart shaped face framed with thick, glossy midnight black curls that cascaded down beautifully to the middle of her back. She was slender with a perfect hourglass shape.
There was only one thing that marred her perfection. Scars. Her face was free of them, but she had a scattered few on her arms, legs, and neck. I was certain she had more under her clothes, but I had never seen them. She followed me upstairs as I pondered this.
"I know, Maria. Do you want me to just let them slaughter me without a fight?" I asked icily.
"Of course not! They actually operate better with you around… you're definitely worth keeping," she mused, coming closer to me, twisting her hips the slightest bit more than usual, "I can't honestly say I see myself destroying you in the near future. You're so obliging. You are definitely more beneficial than the other newborns. If this continues, I might even move you up in the ranks, to help me with the newborns," she said, almost seductively.
She had moved so close to me that we were almost touching. I searched her emotions. What I found made me step back a little. Pride, and… lust? Was that what she wanted? As a human, I was saving my first time for the woman I married. I didn't get that far in life as a human, but I knew I didn't want it to be with someone I didn't love. And the thought of premarital sex made me feel as if I would be exploiting the woman. My parents had raised me better than that!
"What, major?" She inquired, her voice heavily laced with lust. It was starting to affect me. It's not love, but it's still a feeling. A strong one at that, very hard to ignore.
"What do you want with me, Maria? I know that tone of voice," I said, keeping emotion out of my voice.
"You," she said, burning her eyes into mine. She closed the gap between us, abruptly jerked me down to her level, and kissed me roughly. It wasn't love, but it was still a feeling.