Something was changing.
Casey MacDonald didn't know what but something was shifting. She was in a slumber, locked into her own darkness, her body sinking deeply.
First, it was her eyes. Casey felt a weight come off of her eyelids and she opened them, not knowing how strong the lights that shined above her were.
Casey winced and got up on her two feet, leaning on the wall to support her. Her legs still wobbled a bit, but she could feel them getting stronger. She let go of the wall and moved slowly.
Casey could hear everything to the metallic clanging of spoons and the hums coming from the dishwasher.
Casey wasn't sure whether she was dreaming or not. Everything fascinated her and she couldn't help but stare at the small things, she felt almost like a child again. She also knew that this felt way too real to be a dream, if it was, this would easily take the cake for the weirdest dream she had. Whatever, it wasn't going to hurt her if she just went along with it.
Casey was almost hypnotized by the bright lights shining above her, blending and warping onto the wall. They were so beautiful. She had to come closer and be apart of the display, Casey stepped into the lights, and marveled at how what she assumed was a ray of light flex around her blurry blob of a arm.
The warmth radiating off the lights heated her strangely cool skin. Why was she so cold? Casey's hands grasped her shoulders and she realized she felt a little… barer than usual. Confused, she looked down In fact, she was wearing absolutely nothing! Casey wanted to scream yet all she could muster was a crack in her voice. She looked down at her audience who gaped silently at her figure enveloped in the stage light.
Casey was naked. How did this happen? She tried to think of all the scenarios that could've led to this moment, but that wouldn't really help her now, would it? Her captive audience broke their silence with a lone giggle which erupted into a chorus of laughter. The burning sensation of shame spread all over her body. Yes, this was the most embarrassing moment of her life.
Squinting, Casey looked around the room for a exit. When she finally saw one, she headed towards the door with her hands out. The laughter grew as the disoriented girl awkwardly fled the scene. Yet she didn't care; she already made a fool of herself.
As soon as Casey got outside, she made sure she was near the closest wall and ran… or tried to. She could hardly see what was ahead of her, so she bumped into people, who weren't excited at the prospect of being up close and personal with a 'crazed naked woman'. To be honest, it wasn't something Casey was looking forward to either.
Casey continued on her path for few minutes. The hazy feeling never seemed to dissipate, it just intensified.
Beep! Beep!
Looks like I made enough commotion, Casey thought as she heard obnoxious honking nearby. At first she tried to ignore the honking, thinking that it was probably for someone else. That was a big mistake. It didn't stop. The sound was growing more irritating by the second. Exasperated, she looked over her shoulder. What was it now?
Although Casey could barely see, she managed to make out a figure obscured in the shadows. Beep Beep! "Are you coming?!" a male assholish voice exclaimed. Impatiently, he clicked his tongue, and motioned her over to his car.
No. Don't do it Casey! Oh god oh god-
Casey walked over to the car, once again holding out hands to make sure that she didn't plummet on the way. The shadows weakened, and Casey could somewhat see his face, wearing an amused smile. He chuckled and pulled her into the car.
"Who are you?"
"Hey, watch the tone there! A little rude considering I'm the guy who saved you." he mumbled while pulling out a blanket from the backseat. Casey wrapped it tightly over her body. She yawned and slunk back in her seat. She was fighting the urge to fall asleep. This was ridiculous. Casey rolled her eyes and glared at him. "Saved me from what?"
The car began to move. He of course, drove insanely fast. Casey was beginning to think he was just trying to get under her skin. She never felt car sick before, but this was a time for firsts, wasn't it?
" You were running around naked. At the least, you can thank me for having the patience to find you." What was even happening? Sleepwalking naked and now letting herself into some creep's car. This was insane. But Casey couldn't help it. It was like she was on autopilot for the night. All that she could hope for was a release from this nightmare.
"Derek Venturi." he said suddenly. Casey wanted to speak but he continued-
"I'd like to get this out of the way right now, I'm a vampire." Derek kept his eyes on the road as he said this.
Was he serious? Why did Casey doubt this? What was happening to her?
Derek broke his pause again, interrupting her inner thought. "Yes I'm serious."
"H-how did you-" Casey gaped at him.
"Because I'm a vampire. It's really not that difficult to internalize." Derek snorted. This was overwhelming. Casey could only tolerate enough insanity in one night. She gripped the blanket tight around her and felt her eyes grow heavy.
No. Not now, please. If this wasn't a dream, the last thing Casey wanted to do was to fall asleep naked in some asshole's car. But it was not her who made the decisions. Casey was on the inside looking in, she could only sit there and watch as something completely foreign took control. Derek was heading towards the woods which did not help to alleviate her anxiety.
A sharp pain kneaded into Casey's back. The car shook slightly with the maneuvering. She groaned and wondered if she had more surprises set in store for her.
Casey needed to something to keep herself calm so she breathed heavily which kept her mind off the aching in her back. But with every throb, Casey became more and more irrational. She took her seat belt off, believing the belt was just provoking the pain's intensity.
Derek took a quick glance at Casey and the determined look on his face intensified. He increased the speed of his vehicle - it was happening, she was finally transforming.
Derek was fatigued from all the hours he spent chasing after this girl. What was strange, he thought, was that Casey wasn't awake at all, she was still under the hypnosis, which was supposed to prevent something like that from happening - he shook his head and tried to focus on the driving. This was annoying. He was annoying.
They were almost there. Casey felt the car slow down as Derek got out of the car. He looked Casey over, slumped in her seat, her eyes dilated, lost in the transformation. He was somewhat relieved that Casey was quiet for the time being, as he could not stand her whining. Derek was looking forward to a undisturbed sleep, which was rare for a man of his profession.
Derek slid his arm underneath Casey and lead her out of the car. He could hear her faint whimpers as they continued, and he realized he was only intensifying the pain for Casey. Derek instead changed her position, by carrying her in his arms. He felt some relief in seeing the serene look on her face as they entered his house.
Derek took her upstairs to his bedroom, carefully placing her on the velvet bedspread. Casey's hands balled the material up and clenched for dear life as the pain fluctuated. He sat down on a chair across from her, and he all needed to do was watch. There wasn't anything else he could do. The transformation was different for everyone, but one thing that was a given was the length of the most painful part, the clearing. It would only take ten minutes for the change to completely eradicate signs of human imperfection, blemishes, scars, etc.
Casey sprung back up, her heavy breathing ragged as she slipped in and out of consciousness. She writhed in the fire consuming her. As Derek watched this girl's body contort in clearing, he couldn't help thinking if he would hold her hand, that would ease the pain. As soon as the thought came to his mind, he shot it down immediately. He needed to focus, his job was to train her, not be her boyfriend. Ridiculous.
Although he knew for sure that Casey would be perfectly fine being left alone at this stage, he stayed by her side. Derek surprisingly found it hard to leave her side without making all of these contrived excuses to stay.
Minutes turned to hours, and there he was, until the sky broke into streaks of gold and orange. As he heard the grating flip of the blinds prepping for the incoming sunrise, he had a feeling that this job wasn't going to be easy.
Hope you enjoyed this story! Tell me what you think.