Bullkia
Chapter 1: A Dream?
I was having the most bizarre dream. Well actually it was the one I had every night since the day I can remember dreaming, but I never felt any pain unlike this time.
It was cold outside, and I was walking down a street which kind of looked like the street the orphanage was on, but I couldn't be sure. Since I've walked down that street many times, it just wouldn't fit together, like a stubborn jig-saw puzzle, you may want that piece to go there, but it didn't want to, it fits somewhere else. Anyway, somebody as always, was ahead of me at least 6 feet, but I couldn't tell who, how ironic. I knew that the person was a he however, you can just tell. Anyway when we got all the way to some sort of a down town and he turned to face me, but of course I couldn't see his face. And then that's the cue, I start hearing the screams, as if hell opened up. And here's the different part of the dream this time, my neck felt like it had been stabbed by a whole bunch of thick needles.
Then I woke up, but I didn't open my eyes or move as I always do before I wake up. That's when I started hearing noises, noises that were unusual for the morning time. I slowly opened my eyes and found a boy in front of me, standing alongside my bed which was on the farthest wall from the door of the giant room for girls. On one side of his face dirty blond hair swept over his pale green eyes… which were locked on me. I backed away, until the wall stopped me, and widened my eyes to see if it was a dream, it wasn't, and grabbed my neck because it still hurt but even more worse now. He had a dirty rugged look to him. He had a worn out brown shirt with a worn out plaid jacket that hung over rounded off shoulders. Worn jeans with a plain leather brown belt wrapped around just below his waist. He had black skater shoes that were placed firmly on the ground. He kept looking at me with those pale green eyes which nobody had except a few people I'd say would appear every three decades. In my world everybody has brown eyes and no other color. I have blue eyes so you can guess most people stay away from me because of that. They don't think I'm normal, or nice, or trustworthy, or even human sometimes.
Then he smiled, a perfect smile that lit up his entire face. But the thing that caught my eye was that his canines were a bit longer than the rest of his teeth. Kind of like… a vampire! I took my hand that was already on my neck and brought it to eye level and looked….. there was blood on it.
"This….," I stuttered, "This can't be happening…" I whispered so I didn't wake anybody up, "Why me?" I was almost crying. It didn't seem real, it couldn't be, but it was.
He just smiled. "I needed someone different, someone like your breed."
I understood that I was different but nobody deserved this.
"Come away with me tonight, you won't be missed, and you're lucky I found you first before they did." He said seriously all the sudden.
This is the jist, I find a boy in the orphanage I was being held at the moment, I tend to move around, then I find out that I had been turned into a vampire by a cute boy who wanted me to run away with him to who knows where, from dangers I didn't know existed. But then again I didn't want to stay here anyway. I ran away from the last foster home and orphange because that they were horrible, and the ones before that and the ones before that. Face it any home that you can't call home is horrible. I'm not going to another orphanage to deal with that, considering that I was planning on running away from here soon anyway, and like he said I won't be missed.
"How did you get in?" I asked trying to buy time to figure out a plan if I did go with him.
"I just so happen to be an excellent lock picker." He smiled. "The name's Finn."
He held out his hand, I waited on my brain to catch up and think about what to do, because it was swarming with ideas, but couldn't pick one. One part of me, let's say, wanted to go with him thinking that he seems nice and cute, but the other part of me said it was better if I stayed here in a protective society, even though I hated it. Then, out of fear you could say, I took his hand. He told me briefly on the way out of the girl's wing that vampires were going extinct (imagine that.) He also told me that he needed people like me (people that have different colored eyes) to make into new vampires, whether they wanted to be one or not. If vampires were to bite a normal person, a person with brown eyes, they would die.
We were on our way to a meeting just for vampires to talk about what to do when you turn someone into one, and where to go to be safe… for now. I was nervous at first because I thought it could be a setup or a trap (I don't know why but I think everyplace I go is a trap or something bad, it has always been an instinct that I've had) but yet again I reminded myself that I was a vampire and that I couldn't die, I was immortal, and also dead at the same time, a lovely mix don't you think?
We were walking down a street and I noticed that the street was a lot like the one in my dream that I've for so long, and the vampire hunk was at least 6 in front of me. I was falling behind because I was very slow compared to his flowing, dancing feet. (He told me earlier when we were walking out of the orphanage unnoticed by the warden that had fallen asleep in the office again, that the effects will take a couple of days to kick in, a week at the most, great.) Anyway he turned to me when we got to the beginning of the down town plaza, and I finally saw the face this time, it was Finn's.
We arrived at this dark 4 story building around four o'clock in the morning, I was so tired, and my neck still hurt like no other. When we walked in through some double doors on the side of the building, and walked down a creepy small hallway, then turned right and two doors down came to a sign across a doorway that said "FVO" which Finn told me stood for "For Vampires Only" (yeah, that made sense.) Finn knocked three times and said, presumably the password, "Agnosprit." (I have no idea what that means so don't ask.)The door opened and we walked in. There were about eighty other people A.K.A vampires in the room. I kept to myself but Finn chatted with a few people. Just then an older man walked in from a back door and walked up to stand behind a podium near the door we came through. Then as if his presence told everyone that the world was going to blow up everybody silenced themselves.
"Good evening my fellow vampes, I set up this meeting to check up on our progress and effort to save our race." He looked around and I guess saw no new comers but me. "Well at least someone is trying to help," he said to Finn acknowledging that he brought me.
"What is your name pretty little thing?"
I glared at him, I wasn't a "thing". Then I looked at Finn for support but he just looked at me and smiled, that gorgeous smile that makes my heart skip a beat, won't be long now 'til I won't have a heart to beat.
"Maggie..…sir." I added so I sounded like I wasn't offended.
"Good, good, well now then…" As he went off talking to the others about how they were sucking, I asked Finn,
"What's the old man's name?" I whispered.
"I think it's Droc, I really don't know because I don't think I've seen him before." He whispered back leaning really closely to my ear, so close that I could feel his breathing on my neck, almost like a seashell when you put it to your ear, but I liked his more. Then he looked back up at Droc.
"Oh." What a weird name I thought, still staring at Finn's gorgeous structure. I hope that comes with being a vampire, good looks.
"Now then," Droc started again as I refocused, "I want each and every one of you to find someone or more than one, turn them into one of us, then make your way to… you know where, so let's get going."
Then he left out the back door from which he had entered. Then gradually everybody else left as well through a door I had not seen. Finn and I were the last ones left.
"So," I said, "Where are we going?" I looked at Finn as if he had all the answers, which he basically did.
"Can't tell ya."
"Why?"
"Because only I know."
"Um, dummy" I said sarcastically, "In case you went psycho just now on me, I am a vampire too remember?"
"Ha-ha I knew that I was just seeing if you knew, we're going to…' He tilted his head back as if he were thinking, which he was, I found out.
"What! You don't know where we're going?!"
"Yeah of course I know where we're going"
"So where?!"
"Um I don't know what it's called." Finn said as looked down at his shoes.
"Great we can't really go anywhere because we don't know where or what it's called."
"I may not know what's it's called but I do know how to get there, and so do you, you just need time for the effects to kick in."
"Oh, and how's that?"
"I've been there once… I think, and you have too, all vampires just have this instinct how to get there."
"How can I have been there I've only been a vampire for like 2 hours!"
"Ok, chill. You have been there, everyone's who is different has been there, maybe you have in your dreams or something."
"I don't think so, but whatever, let's get moving then." I said that meaning the first chance I got I would get away from him.
So we went where Finn said was a underground train, one I've never seen before off the side of the main pavilion, then we hitch-hiked a train, that was moving at least ten miles an hour. When we got off we were in the middle of nowhere. Right next to another little train station and a little pub, and a whole lot of cabs and cars, I guess it was a pit stop in the middle of a pretty big interstate. Finn suggested we steal a cab, I think they tend to go faster or something than a car.
"What?! I don't steal!" I squealed.
"But we have to steal in order to make it somewhere and stay alive, and we have to steal a cab cause they're aren't registered under the city, so they can't track us."
"But I didn't want to be a vampire in the first place, you made me one, while I was sleeping so I really didn't have a say anyway! It doesn't matter if we steal a cab or a car, stealing is stealing!"
"So what's that supposed to mean?"
"It means… it means…" I groped, trying to find the right words. The time had come for me to leave, I was going to stay with Finn but things were getting out of hand.
"It means nothing, we're stealing a cab and you're going to come." Finn said.
"No I'm not." I said trying to be calm and cool down, I put out my hand.
"I know I came this far but I think the orphanage would be better for me, so no hard feelings, it's been nice knowing you. I'll wait for the next train and hitch-hike back to the Netherlands." I didn't plan on going back to the orphanage but I said that to make it seem I liked it there.
Now Finn was the one who was thinking, he looked at my out-stretched hand, then up at me, then he shook his head facing the ground smiling, I guess finding a answer.
"What, now you're the one who doesn't want to take my hand? I swear you have some weird things going around in that head of yours." I said sarcastically.
"No not really." He said as his grin grew wider.
He grabbed my wrist, jerked me to him, then squatted and threw me over his shoulder. I guess it looked awkward with me over Finn's shoulder and screaming, yet yelling complaints at the same time, no one heard me anyway, the walls of the pub were a lot thicker than I thought. I tried to wriggle lose from his grip, but he was a lot stronger than me still. He started toward the nearest parked cab (unfortunately it wasn't locked) walking fast almost gliding like an ice skater. He opened the passenger door and tossed me in. Then he went around to the other side to the driver's door and hoped in.
"You better not try to get out or so help me!"
"How dare you! I've never been insulted like that in my entire life," I screamed at him.
"I didn't come all this way from Sweden to the Nether, break into an orphanage, take you, which wasn't that easy either with all your complaining, hitch-hike a train which I've never done before, just to have you change my plan and go home just because you didn't want to steal a cab!"
I stared at him. My hand twitched to the door. I didn't want to run away I just wanted to see what he would do. But before my hand even close to the door handle he grabbed my other hand with lighting reflexes, pulled me back, then produced a small rope from his jacket and tied my hands together behind my back.
"What…what are you doing?!" I shrieked.
"Making sure you don't try to get away, I am not going to let our species die out"
"Why do I have to go with you, you made me a vampire, so why do I have to go to this safe zone?"
"Do you honestly think that you'll last fifty years, or a couple of days, no you'll die like all the rest of them that are on their own. There's a new predator out there, not just stakes and silver."
By the steering wheel he pulled back a little compartment and started messing with the little wires inside.
"Wouldn't it be easier with the car keys?" I said.
He looked at the floor and there they were.
"Oh."
"Yeah," I rolled my eyes,"Oh and before we get going do you need to gag me too?" I said sarcastically.
"No."
"Oh really? Because I thought since I'm your prisoner and all I thought you should complete the set."
"No, you're more than that." Finn said as he looked to the floor and started the car. He put my seatbelt on and pulled it as far as it would go, then released it locking me and the belt into place, I wasn't going anywhere. He put on his own seatbelt and we were off, turning which ways Finn felt was the right way. We came to a pit stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere again to get a drink for me (because I still wasn't full vampire yet), and some gas.
"Let me guess we're going to steal the gas and the drink too."
"No I have money just not enough to pay for this long of a cab ride."
"Ughp."
"Yeah… I don't know how we're going to do this bathroom thing though, cause I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"Ewwwww!!!!" I said, thinking it over.
He pondered a moment "Oh no, gross! ...Wait I have an idea."
He got out and helped me too and as we were walking towards the station Finn stopped. I looked at him, then he looked back at me, there was a whole bunch of people coming out of the building next to the gas station, maybe from a meeting.
"Take my hand."
"What? No!"
"I'll untie you, it's just looks like I kidnapped you or something."
"You did, and no!"
"That's the only way I'll be able to hold on to you."
"No!"
"Do it, and quickly!" he nearly screamed.
He untied my hands faster than I thought possible, then I grabbed his hand. Then as soon as we walked into the station I let go. But he just grabbed my arm.
"Let go, I'm not running away anywhere with you being faster, and stronger than me"
"I don't know if I can trust you either way, it's either your shoulder or we could go back to holding hands." He said snickering.
"Fine, my shoulder."
"Really? It wasn't that bad was it?"
"No, I just… I need to go now, and I don't want to argue."
While I went Finn stayed outside the door the entire time. When I came out he grabbed my arm again and we went back out to the cab. He tied me back up again and locked me into place. (Yeah they won't see me now.) Then since I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon he got some gas and then went inside to get the drink, and to pay for the gas. After that he came back outside and looked to see if I was still there, I was. He sighed a big sigh of relief.
"Wow I'm surprised you're still here."
"Well you did strap me in here like I was going to outer space, and even if I got out where would I go, we're in the middle of nowhere."
"Oh well, thanks"
"Whatever."
He helped me drink, and once again we were off. I found out that we were in Austria, and was now nearing the border of Italy. Italy was a long ways away from my home the Netherlands, but I think when this is all over and I'm alive I'll come back and live here for a little while. We had a few more pit stops not because I had to go but we wanted to see all the sights we could before we had to get back on the road, and possibly be locked in the safe zone for a long time. We took about three hours to do just that, to suck everything in. When we were finally done I was awestruck about everything I saw, I guess Finn was too because he was driving really slowly. Him and I still processing everything. We just entered a new city in Italy when we passed an orphanage. You could see all the kids inside running around. I quickly looked away. I hated the orphanage I was in back at Netherlands and didn't want to be reminded of my cruel past. Finn had seen me look and said to me (as he was keeping one eye on the road and the other on me.)
"So um why were you in the orphanage back in the Nether, if it's not to much of a painful memory."
"Well my parents died in an avalanche. They didn't have a lot of food since they weren't planning on staying there long. So when the rescuers finally got there they had already died."
My eyes were already starting to fill with water, then the tears came.
"Oh man, I said if it was painful you didn't have to tell me."
He reached with his free hand and wiped the tears away from my cheek.
"But I wanted to tell you."
"Oh…well.. where were you when all this happened?"
"I was with my parents."
"What? How did you survive?"
"I'm different remember?"
"Oh yeah." He looked at the road.
We drove all the way to Calabria (which is the toe section of Italy's boot) when Finn stopped the car.
"Why are we stopping?" I asked.
"Do you think we are going to drive over water?"
"Well can't like vampires fly?
"Uh no, we're not that special"
"Haha, guess not."
"Yeah, we're stopping so we can get on the next plane to Libya."
"But if you don't have enough money to have gotten us a cab we're definitely not getting plane tickets, right?"
"Guess you're getting used to the idea of stealing."
"No not at all."
He snickered.
We eventuality got on without being seen into the cargo hold.
"We're so close," He said as he smiled with his eyes closed, "I can feel it."
Finn untied me when we were high in altitude because he figured I couldn't escape when we were ten thousand feet in the air. I was getting so tired. I hadn't slept in 4 days, and I know that vampires don't need sleep, but I wasn't getting used to that idea at all. I found an old sleeping bag in the unclaimed area and slept for what felt like forever. When I woke up I saw Finn looking at a picture but I couldn't see who or what was on it since he was facing away from me. I guess he heard me move or something with his supernatural hearing because he quickly put the picture away and turned toward me.
"Um, hi, I guess you're up."
"Who was in that picture you were looking at?"
"Uh… no one, it was nothing." He said quickly.
"So you were looking at something which was nothing."
"Yep."
"May I please see it?"
"Fine but don't ask any questions or I'll take it back."
"Will do." I said.
As soon as he dug it out of his pocket and held it out to me,
I finally looked down at the picture, Finn's eyes still on me. There were five people in the picture. One was Finn when he was a little shorter, I'm guessing before he turned into a vampire, because everybody who is anybody knows that vampires don't age, that'll be kind of nice. Anyways two of the other people I guessed were his parents because they looked a lot like him, they each had brown eyes though. But the last two people something was wrong, they made the picture cloudy. One had gray eyes and he had his arm around Finn's shoulder, and the other was scowling at everybody else. I asked Finn before and he said he didn't have any siblings so they couldn't have been his brothers.
"Who are these two people on the left?" I asked. Oh crap, I wasn't supposed to ask any questions.
As his face got annoyed and reached out to take the picture, I got up and ran towards the unclaimed area because it had a door and a lock. But being groggy from sleep and sluggish he caught up with me and tackled me to the floor. I screamed, because I wasn't expecting him to catch me. I mean really, vampire powers? Anytime now?!
"Give it back" he said serious, but with a smile on his face.
"Why can't I ask one question? Please?"
"No questions, that was our deal."
"But that's not fair."
He laughed, he had pinned me down by my wrists, my hand still holding the picture. You would think he took it right away, but instead he just stared at me, and me him. I watched his chest go up and down. And he did the same to me. And no it wasn't awkward or anything or creepy I just wanted to watch him. It's funny how vampires don't really need to be great communicators or great lie detectors you can just listen to their breathing rhythms and heart beats. Of course it's bit trickier when the other person doesn't have a heart. He breathing went ragged for some reason and he looked up, and closed his eyes.
"What? What's wrong?"
He opened his eyes, and whispered.
"can i…..kiss….you?"
I was taken aback by this, I thought he was just this nice kid just trying to do a job, not this…to get emotionally attached.
"um….sorry, I just want to ask….why me? I'm sure you've done this before, or have to done this to others girls?"
"I'm not sure what you mean, I haven't ever kissed any girl in my entire life all 50 years, and I haven't gotten only girls either, I have to get both genders….to regenerate sooo…."
"oh..so you just want to…..regenerate….?"
He looked scared, and he started to sweat.
"no! for heaven's sake, I'm not a player, I just, I've never met anyone like you.. and I don't know I think now would be a good time to.." he trailed off.
"to what?" I looked into his pale green eyes.
"to start liking someone, who…knows how I'm feeling."
"and how are you feeling Finn?"
"alone…and scared…angry…and sad.."
"that's a lot of emotions…how do you know I'm them too?"
"cause you lost your parents….as did i.."
This brought tears to my eyes, but I've learned to never let them fall, because no one will be there to catch them.
"don't cry, you have to be strong." He said sadly.
"how do you do it? Living with no point? And all alone?"
"I didn't, I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of… but now I have a reason to try to live again, even though I'm dead.. I can fill the gap now."
As he said this I realized that he wasn't so different from me after all like he said. And I decided that if I was going to die again by this new era death, I decided all to heck, live life…or the dead.
"yea you can kiss me finn.."
He nodded to started to lean in, and closed his eyes. I closed mine as our lip met. I hope he knew that I hadn't kissed any boys either…. Wow he was actually pretty good. I can't believe I'm kissing the cutest boy ever! And he asked even!
He let go of my wrists and grabbed my face. I opened my eyes and watched him carefully and I put the picture in my jeans pocket. As soon as I did that I closed my eyes again, and slid my tongue into his mouth, he did nothing for a moment, froze more like it, and then returned the tongue and slid his hands down over my stomach, I quickly breathed in. All right I'm not going to lie, I'm not fat, and I do have a pretty nice body, so when he did this I thought to myself wow all those workouts, late nights, and sore days, paid off.
The two hours that were due became short minutes before we landed in Libya. We had a problem finding a car since they didn't have many. But when we did find one Finn hotwired it and put on gloves to save us the trouble of wiping our fingerprints need we be in a hurry to get out and away, (I asked him if we get caught they'll just see our faces anyway but he said that vampires can't get in the records, and in order to get in the records, you have to have fingerprints.) Once that was done we were off in the direction of Algeria. But I guess since we took what seems to be the only car in all of Libya and Algeria the police noticed it missing faster than the cab we took in the Netherlands. When we first heard the sirens Finn and I looked at each other and knew they were coming for the car and us.
"Quick when I open the door, run!" shouted Finn above the sirens. He reached over unfastened me and opened my door, and as soon as I got out of the car I ran so fast I thought I could win the Olympics, this dream only to be smooched when Finn caught up with me in a few seconds, even though I had a head start, he was practically jogging. We were at the edge of Algeria and I could see at least 100 yards away a sign that said "Welcome to Mali". The 3 or 4 cop cars stopped in front of us, but we flew right over them anyway,(jumped if you will) even though I had my hands tied behind my back I can still run and jump as well as anybody because I think finally the effects were kicking in, that was one of the nice things about being different. But when I looked back to see if they were running after us a familiar face caught my eye. Droc. I stopped where I was.
"Finn!" I screamed.
He stopped in his tracks and looked back, horror stinging his face.
"No," he whispered as though Droc could hear him, "It can't be."
When Droc saw that we were looking he just smiled, and now that I think about it he didn't even have sharp teeth or different colored eyes, they were brown! Finn started walking toward Droc.
"Where are you going?!" I yelped.
He walked back to me.
"Droc's a fake as you now know as I do, so I'm going to kill him. Because who knows what he's told the police about the hideouts."
"But you'll just be shot by the surrounding cops!"
"Wait a second. You care about the outcome for me."
"Um…. now's not the time, I have a plan."
"What is it?"
Droc was approaching us cautiously as though we had bombs to throw. So I spoke quickly and quietly.
"Ok we are going to start running away but not too fast, then I'm going to pretend to twist my ankle, and then you pretend you're scared that Droc will get you and you leave me, but really you'll just go around the back. I'll give him a run for his money. And then when I get him in one of the alleys you're in you can do whatever you want to him. Then we can make our way to Bullkia."
"What? How did you know what it was called, you haven't even been there."
"Not now he's coming."
Droc had picked up his speed a little, so we started running again, slower now.
Droc yelled over his shoulder,
"You fellows wait there, I'll be back."
No you won't, I thought. As we continued to get Droc farther away from the cops, I fell. Finn stooped next to me and said good luck. Then he ran into one of the alleys.
I yelled, "Finn don't leave me here!"
Then I heard him yell back, "Sorry, I not dying for you, Droc probably has a sliver somethin' somewhere on his person."
Droc had finally caught up and had heard what he needed to hear.
"Sorry Maggie looks like your time is up."
"Not while I still have a pulse it's not."
I got up and ran letting Droc get right behind me. I went into a dead end alley.
"No I'm trapped," I said in a voice that was more flat than I had intended it to be.
"Why yes you are," Droc said laughing.
"What have you told the police about the vampires hideouts?"
"Nothing," Droc said smirking, "I figured it was best til' I knew where all of you were going to be before I called in the Calvary."
"That's why you said "you know where" it's because you didn't know what or where it was."
"Wow you caught on fast," Droc said sarcastically.
"I can't believe that we vampires ever trusted you." I spat at him.
"Now, now. No one ever told me where they were hiding, no vampire ever reveals that, I found out." He took a step toward me, I took a step back, he had his hand on a revolver. But just then Finn came up behind him and bit him on the neck. Droc fell on his face, and I knew Droc went to hell before he hit the ground
"That was for Jack, who never did anything to you except trusted you." Finn seemed to whisper as if whoever Jack was, was there and spoke for him.
"Who's Jack?"
"I'll tell you later but right now we gotta book."
We left Algeria leaving our bit of history there, and entered Mali. When we got into Mali Finn said the place we were going to is going to be holding maybe 10,000 vampires and more!
"Wow!" I said astonished.
"Yeah but that not why I brought it up, I meant to ask you how you knew the name, it was like Bulleye or something."
"Bullkia," I said correcting him," I don't know how I knew the name it just sort of came to me, just like the directions came to you."
Finn gasped.
I nearly tripped, "What?!"
"You're the… one" Finn said straight faced.
"What? Are you serious, like in the matrix?"
"Yeah." He said with a giggle and it was then I knew he was joking.
"Stupid, you had me scared to death."
"Sorry I just couldn't resist." He said laughing harder now.
When he got finished laughing, which took a couple minutes, I asked him the question I dreaded asking and knew he didn't want to answer either.
"So um who's is… is… Jack."
The glow and smile from Finn's face were gone in a flash.
"He's… he's… my brother." He sighed.
"But I thought you said you didn't have siblings."
"I lied, sorry."
"It's fine, so how did he know Droc."
"Well I didn't know that it was the Droc I killed, but they were best buddies and the outcasts, as everybody knew them. He came over all the time to our hideouts. And Jack and him would go out to make new vampires and find new hideouts. So one night I thought it would be cool to follow them and help but Droc said no. He seemed really nervous that night. Anyway you can guess I followed them anyway and it was a good thing I did."