Chapter 1: Difficulties
Running. The thirst was overwhelming and it ruled my mind. How could I still be thirsty? I already killed three elk and six deer just an hour ago. I still can remember the taste of the delicious blood. Suddenly, I froze. The scent was a sweet fragrance that would not come from a herbivore but from a carnivore. The meat eaters; the animals with the second to best test tasting blood. The venom started to flow into my mouth, and my throat became dry. In front of me was my prey; a mountain lion. I crouched, ready to spring at any given moment.
The mountain lion did not even know I was close. Mountain lions are so stupid when it comes to watching out for predators because they rely on their claws and teeth. Plus, nothing can really go against a mountain lion except for me. This would be too easy. A soft laugh slid from my lips. I regretted it after it slipped; afraid that the mountain lion heard it. The mountain lion kept eating its meal even after I made my careless mistake.
Knowing it was safe, I pounced at the throat of my prey; my mouth locking around where the blood flow was abundant. My jaw locked hard as my teeth slice through the skin like butter. I drank the blood as hard and as fast as I could. When I tasted no more blood, I threw the carcass to the side. I was full and slushy from the blood lying in my stomach. I got up, brushing off the extra blood and debris from my violet dress, and I started to run. When I run, I am considered a ghost that you can never see. I am the monster from your nightmares that you can never find.
Running helped clear my mind from the thoughts that haunted me. The worst thought of all was that I was engaged to a man- less tense on man- I might not love but this was not the only thought that haunted me. Tomorrow, I will be going to a school where humans are everywhere like mice, each one trying to get somewhere and only surviving on the little crumbs dropped on the floor. That is a lot of mice considering, now add a cat into the picture. The numbers decrease rapidly for the little mice. Who is the car you say…?
"Sounds like somebody is scared," a soft, low musical voice told me.
Carlileo is considered my… fiancé, but I hate using the word. Of course, I would not even think of choosing Carlileo for my husband, but I do not get to choose. The rules of vampires now-a-days is that your covet has to choose for you. In the past, a vampire could choose anybody to be his or her husband or wife. The vampires that made this rule are called the Percivals; they make the rules for all vampires. One time a vampire married a human; which was why they made the rule. They had to kill the human girl right away after the newlyweds had their honeymoon. Nobody knows why they killed the girl because it is confidential information. If someone were to find out or to speak of it, it was certain death because it broke protocol. My covet thought Carlileo was the best choice for me, and, apparently, it was planned two minutes after I became a vampire.
All of a sudden, something was moving up and down my neck and jaw. I tensed, ready to fight whatever or whoever was around me. I turned my head to the side, growls ripping from my mouth. What I saw did not surprise me; Carlileo was kissing my new and jaw repeatedly while his hands were woven around my waist. Do not get me wrong, it is very sweet and all, but, again, I do not know if I feel the same way about him. Carlileo has dark, brown curls that cover his whole head, and his eyes are like mine, golden and bright like the sun. He has these muscles that sculpt out of his chest and arms like they do not have enough room, and they need to pop out to flaunt their glory. Carlileo and I have cold, pale white skin, we are super strong; like all other vampires. Carlileo also has a gift for reading minds. Most of our kind have "special gifts" like me, for example, I have a defensive shield, but I rarely use it. The leaders of my covet, Julius and Carmen, do not have "special gifts."
Every girl- and I do mean ever girl- loves Carlileo. I mean, who wouldn't? He is super handsome, funny, smart, charming, and rich because of Julius's job; Julius is a famous author. They swoon and ask him out on dates, but he only declines (did I mention he is a gentleman too?). Carlileo tells them that he has his heart set on someone else and that is when he turns his eyes on me like I am his most prized jewel. I do not say anything to these girls. I just watch what they are doing. I am not even jealous, but Carlileo says something either about me or changes the subject by bringing up some frivolous human thing they always talk about. It looks like I am the only one who is not swooning over him.
"Of course I would say something about it. I love you and only you," he whispers up in my ear as his lips wonder around it, exploring every piece of exposed skin.
"Get out of my head!" I yell so loud, I think the hikers from twenty miles away heard it.
"But it is so cute and interesting what you think. It makes me want to be you," he says while he is still kissing my neck.
I growl and break free of Carlileo's kisses and hugs. I run toward my house while Carlileo spoke inside my head the whole time. There are times when I wanted to use my defense shield and this was one of those times. I wanted to use my defense shield to block what he was saying, but my "father," Julius, would not like me much if I did.
Carlileo and Julius date back to being friends since the late 1500s. Actually, Julius was there when Carlileo was changed. Carlileo was only eighteen when he was changed, and Julius had only been a vampire for about 129 years. Julius and Carlileo had a connection right when Carlileo's eyes opened to his new life, and they have stuck together ever since. That was actually the reason Julius changed me because he did not want to see his friend hurting anymore or become even lonelier. Julius is so proud and happy to see Carlileo happy. Now all he has to do to make me happy is let me choose who I want to marry, I thought.
When I finally reached the house and was out of my reverie, I froze. Our house was white an hour ago and now it was the light bluish shade I picked out sixty-nine years ago. Why would someone change the color? I kept pondering about it, and it hit me. I knew before my eyes wandered to the couple responsible. Julius and his wife, Carmen, were outside finishing the left side of the house. I did not notice Carlileo was following me the whole time home until he was behind me and put his arms around my waist again.
I love dour house and was proud of it. It was made in the 1960s. Julius, Carmen, Carlileo, and I built it with our own bare hands. It is wooden with glass windows around every angle of the house. It was squarer than rectangular and was safely held on a flat area on the mountain 30 miles from the high school. We do not ever use the kitchen because of our state, but we all have our own bedrooms; except for the couples. They have a room together. We keep a kitchen for when Julius has his publishers over or famous guests. We have to cook for them on occasion and act like we are eating. I was still clueless about why they were changing the color because I suggested this color on the day we started building the house. It could not be a wedding present, right?
"Surprise!" Julius yells enthusiastically.
John and Brenda came out to see what was going on. John and Brenda joined our covet ten years ago. Brenda changed John herself which is not an easy thing to do. Human blood can make us go insane. When we taste, oh, we cannot stop; it makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Brenda and John are a rare couple but not because she changed John. They are a rare couple because they are each other's soul mate. Usually, vampires have arranged marriages, just like what is happening to me.
"Ann, what do you think? We painted the house to encourage you," Carmen whispered from the ladder.
Carmen has long, black hair with a rounded face. Carmen has to be the sweetest person I know. She hates it when people are hurt or sad. Carmen also works as a gynecologist at the hospital in Colton. The Percivals chose Carmen for Julius, and they have been perfect for each other ever since. I heard what she said and so did everyone else, but I was the one who understood her words the most. She had two meanings for her words. First, they painted the house to encourage me about going to a school full of measly, tasty humans; that part was sweet because they cared about me. The other part of what she meant made me vigorously angry. They were encouraging me to marry Carlileo.
Was it not enough to torture me with an unjust marriage? They wanted me to love him so much that they have done everything I have wanted and asked! I could see flames dancing in my vision. I wish they would stop getting me things like this and let me wallow in my misery. I am already doing what they want. They ask what I want and do it; mostly. I ask them not to let me marry Carlileo, but they refuse. That is the one thing I mostly desire, to be free from all the frivolous rules.
"Ann? I have a surprise for you too," Carlileo tells me.
His eyes are trying to hide a misery that keeps reappearing again and again. I knew the reason why, and it made me feel guilty. Carlileo saw I was studying him and the pain left his eyes. The pain that used to be there was replaced by joy. He pulls a bouquet of red roses from behind his back. I knew what was going to happen next. Carlileo bought the engagement ring a while back and gave it to me when he proposed, but it had no diamonds on it when he gave it to me. He buys the diamond separately until the day I marry him, when it will be complete. They seem to always come with a bunch of flowers.
"I thought you would like this one particularly," he whispers in my head and hands me a silver box with a large gold bow. I carefully open it to reveal a diamond heart. It is supposed to go in the center of the ring. He was right; I loved it. Tears rolled down my face as my sobs kicked in.
"Thank you," I mouthed.
Julius and Carmen smiled at the two of us. Carlileo grabbed my left hand and carefully placed the diamond on the ring. I kissed Carlileo and thanked him again. I was ready to marry him.