What Adventures Await?
Chapter One:
I've been working at Mount Magazine State Park in the restaurant as a server or waiter if you prefer for the past 8 months or so and I'm only now just finding the time to finally be able to explore more of what the park has to offer. By that I mean actually exploring the park outside of the hotels boundaries. I've heard many talks of both customers and coworkers alike talking about having gone hiking all throughout the parks numerous trails. I've already hiked the seemingly most trafficked trail, which is of course the trail leading up to signal hill, the technical highest point in all of Arkansas. It was quite nice and pleasant to be sure, but now I wanted to try something different. I'm used to walking on level ground and I have strong leg muscle, but I'm well aware that my body isn't used to traversing trails.
Needless to say, I'm excited to see what all the other trails in the park have to offer. I hiked the signal hill trail like an amateur. Nothing but pretty much myself and the clothes on my back, watch, phone and headphones. I didn't feel the need to go to the trouble of taking a backpack full of things or even some water for that matter. I regretted not having at least a bottle of water by the time I got back down. The signal hill trail is the easiest trail for anyone to enjoy. This time however, I'm much more prepared for the other trails in the park. This time in addition to everything I had last time, I've got my backpack chalk full of water and some snacks. The trail I've picked is much longer and will require rest stops to complete, but I'm prepared for it.
I've got a fully charged phone and watch, clip on sunglasses, headphones and I'm good to go. I'm no fool though. I've made sure to let my sister know what I'm doing at the very least. This is going to be a great way to start off a four day weekend. Even though things at work have been picking up a little lately, we're in one of those slow periods again right before Valentine's Day. So after a fun, energizing day of hiking, it's back down the mountain to enjoy the rest of my time off from work. With the sun shining and the weather rather perfect for a day like today, I begin my hike on this undoubtedly amazing and visually stunning trail.
The first half of the hike goes well and by the first half I mean my journey all the way to the end of it from where I started. I came out through a break of trees to a rather impressive drop, but in return I've been rewarded with an amazing few. I decide to snap a few pictures here, there and every which way for Instagram and Facebook.
"I should've done this a long time ago," I state confidently to myself as I scroll through the pictures I've taken and look them over. "I honestly don't know why I waited so long to do this, car or no car." I of course plan to ride the van home today once I get back down the trail even though I didn't work today. Although after seeing what I've seen so far today hiking this trail combined with this magnificent view, I'd say that getting up at six in the morning and walking to the van on my day off is more than well worth it.
Up at the top of or end of this trail is where I take my longest break, finding as comfy a spot as I can and sit down, chugging some water and munching on a couple of granola bars as I enjoy what nature has to offer. Finally, after what seemed like quite a while, I finally decide to get back up. I check my watch, looking at the time. Even though I was in absolutely no hurry, I had timed myself during the first half of the hike to see how long it took. Taking that into consideration and not wanting to rush, I figure that now is as good a time as any to begin making my way back down the trail and to the hotel in time to catch the van before it leaves.
I take one last look at what I've seen, done and accomplished today before turning my back and begin making my way down the path leading to the trail that'll take me back to where I started earlier this morning. I'm roughly halfway down when I hear something that catches my attention. I can't place where the noise is coming from, but I know that I'm not just hearing things. I stop and stand completely still, listening to see if I can hear it again. I listen hard, straining my ears and after not being able to pick up the sound again, I slowly do a complete circle of where I'm standing. I do it as slowly as possible do my best to make as little noise as possible in the hopes of hearing what I thought I might've heard earlier.
No, I'm sure I heard something. It couldn't have been nothing after all. I didn't have my headphones in coming back down because I wanted to concentrate more so than I did when going up because 90% of the trail is sloped. My attempts are unsuccessful, so with a shrug, I turn back in the direction to go down and begin to make my way again, already putting the seemingly foreign sound mishap in the back of my mind. I'm right in the middle of another thought when I'm knocked clean off my feet and sent flying into a tree a little ways off the trail. My back slams into it hard. Not enough to break anything, but certainly enough to knock all of the wind out of me.
I quickly regain my breath and stand up, wondering what the hell could possibly have happened and be going on. My eyes dart back and forth, my body not daring to move an inch in any direction. I see nothing and that scares me. What the hell could've knocked me off of my feet like that and gotten away so quickly. What's driving me crazy is that I still don't hear anything out of the ordinary. Just the natural sounds of nature.
"Who's there?" I ask out loud, surprising myself with the amount of confidence I managed to put into my question. As expected, I don't receive an answer. This is one of those times where I don't feel the need to be patient and start quickly making my way back to the trail so that I can get the hell of out here before whomever or whatever decides to come after me again.
Unfortunately for me, I barely make it back to the trail before I'm set flying once more, landing on the other side of it. I lay there in a daze for a few seconds before shaking my head and scrambling to get up as quickly as I can.
"Okay, this is getting fucking ridiculous," I say out loud. Obviously something is out there, so it doesn't really matter whether I speak out loud or not. At this point I'm terrified. I have no idea what's doing this to me and whatever it is that's doing this plan on killing me or not. "Whatever your game is, I'm not amused," I proclaim with more anger than confidence as I defiantly begin walking again, fully intent on getting back on time so as not to miss my ride. If push comes to shove, I can simply stay at work or hitch a ride with someone else. I successfully make it back onto the path and continue making my way down. I'm still worried, but I feel the need to speak up.
"If you've got something to say or do, just get it over with." I haven't a clue if anyone or anything is listening, but I really don't care. All I care about is getting out of here. That's what I get for coming alone I suppose. There's the noise again! This time it sounds like it was deliberately made. Then again, who's to say that wasn't the intent the first time around? "You know if you want to kill me or whatever, please just get it over with. It would be much easier while I'm still alone. It's only going to get harder and harder for you the closer I get to the end of this." I haven't stopped speed walking even after I had heard the noise a second time as I really don't fancy sticking around.
Something drops down in front of me in a blur and pushes me in the opposite direction I'm walking and this time, something is definitely hurt. I gasp in pain as I lay there where I've fallen, several feet away from the blur that did this to me, clutching my chest in pain. I hear human footsteps approach. I'm lying on my side, so I roll over onto my back and a sharp pain shoots out in all directions from throughout my chest. I decide just to let the pain escape through my mouth, seeing as there's no point in keeping quiet. My backpack has me sort of slightly propped up, making it so I don't have to lift my head up to see who's now standing in front of me.
Needless to say, I don't recognize the person standing in front of me, nor what they're doing here and why they're picking on me. He's a man or at least looks like one. He's pale skinned and dressed rather nicely. Too nicely to be out for a hike if you ask me. What really grabs my attention are his eyes. They're blood red. I've only seen that in one other place. In Stephanie Meyers Twilight book series and movies.
"Nice contacts bro," I genuinely compliment him, only to immediately regret it as I wince and grunt at the continued pain in my chest. I don't feel so great. He says nothing as he continues to stare at me hungrily. I decide its best not to speak, as it doesn't help the pain I'm currently suffering from. After what seems like ages, he leans down on his knees and inhales deeply.
"You smell fantastic," he finally speaks up. He has a velvety voice. "Who would've thought that I'd find someone as seemingly tasty as you all the way out here?" He asks as he fully examines me with his piercing eyes from head to toe.
I slowly take a deep breath in and even that hurts, but I have to say something. I don't want to be rude to this stranger after all. Even if he has probably broken some of my ribs.
"Listen, I don't mean to be an inconvenience, but I'm kind of in an annoying amount of pain right now and I think your horse playing around has really hurt me. So I'd appreciate it if you could either kill me now and end my suffering quickly and if not, please help me down the mountain or call a ranger or anyone for that matter for some help." He gets back up, fully standing once more and chuckles before beginning to pace around me.
"I'm afraid that I won't be doing either of those things," He confesses, continuing to pace.
"Okay. So what exactly is it that you plan on doing with me then since you're not going to kill me and you're not going to help me. Which I might add is a relief," I point out thankfully. All this time I can't believe how calm, cool and collected I am and yet at the same time, on the inside I'm scared to death.
"My dear boy, I'm not going to kill you, but you will die today." He stops pacing once he reaches my right side and gets down on his knees this time rather than simply leaning. "Although if it were up to me, I'd much rather eat you myself. It's almost impossible to resist the temptation given the aroma of the blood in your veins."
"My mother always says that almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades," I voice my input. "So instead of saying almost and getting told that every time, I simply use the word nearly now." As I'm speaking, this strange man is eye my right arm from top to bottom for whatever reason that may be. I have my theories.
"That's actually rather clever," He laughs at what I say. "I shall have to use that from now on. He gently grabs my arm and brings it up to his face, inhaling deeply once more, going along the length of my arm as he does so. He shudders and his eyes roll back a bit as a result.
"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were a vampire good sir," I say, wondering if he'll acknowledge that in any way.
"You would be right my dear boy," the man answers as he traces the veins in my arm from the top down to my wrist where my tattoos are.
"So if you're not going to kill me, but I'm going to die, that means you're going to turn me into a vampire. So if you're anything like any of the many versions of vampires I know about, then what you're about to do is going to cause me undoubtedly extreme amounts of excruciating pain that I've never felt in my life before, correct?" I'm calling it right now. This man is a Twilight type vampire and he means to turn me into one as well.
"Your wisdom does you credit. What you humans call Twilight vampires are but one type of vampire that roams the earth." He likes his lip, making his mark at the focal point of the veins in my right wrist. "It's like I said, doing this isn't up to me. I was given orders to pick one person and one only to turn in the hopes of repopulating and replenishing our species."
"Wait," I plead with him as he licks his lips, hesitating at my word. "I have to know before you do this. Is this a dream? A hallunication? Did I take a bad fall?"
He smirks before answering. "Trust me, this is the realest thing you'll ever see in this life. You're about to leave your mortal life behind and begin a glorious life as an immortal. It's quite unfortunate that however that you may not survive if your body isn't up for the task that it'll go through as it transforms." He looks me over once more with a sniff of disdain is if realizing it for the first time. "You are quite…chunky after all. You'll need an extra dose of venom if there's to be enough to ensure you're transformed to your upmost physical peak.
"Hey now," I speak up, forgetting about the pain in my chest. "I know I'm fat and I admit that. I simply love food and don't mind having extra fluff. Now that I think about it, I can see why a well-dressed and educated vampire such as yourself would find me so appetizingly appealing." I laugh at my own wit and groan in pain once more.
The vampire smiles at me, almost kindly. If I didn't know better, I'd say there was even a tad bit of pity in his eyes as well. "You know, you're the first human I've met in my 300 years that hasn't begged for their life or anything else of the sort. I think I was right in picking you out of all the others I've considered. I have no doubt in my mind that you are the one I pick to change willingly and you shall be a magnificent vampire." He goes to bite me before suddenly stopping, his teeth mere inches away from having done the job.
"I've never said this before to anyone that I've changed, but I want to apologize in advance for all the discomfort and pain you'll undoubtedly you'll feel once I bite you. The pain may be so great in fact that you may end up forgetting all that has happened here until something or someone jogs your memory." He actually looks like he doesn't want to bite me after all and I can actually see regret in his eyes.
"My guess is that if you don't change me now, I'm either going to die from the pain I'm already feeling now eventually if I don't get help in time, or you won't be able to resist the temptation of me anymore and kill me anyways," I state, actually beginning to grow tired. The hike combined with the injuries I've sustained has taken a lot out of me. I'm actually finding it hard to stay awake right now. "I've actually always day dreamed of something like this happening to me and I'm glad that it's apparently about to become a reality. I have no idea how much more of my 'knowledge' is accurate, so could you please tell me what to expect?" I ask kindly. I'm no longer scared and haven't been for a little while. Why was that? Is this what I've truly always wanted? It's not my ideal way of happening, sure. But still.
Understanding dawns in his eyes. "I trust that any knowledge you hold of my particular species of vampire is pretty accurate. I plan on biting you in the wrist and letting my venom flow into your veins. Unfortunately, I am going to have to hold on for longer than normal, as the more non-physically fit a person is before they're changed, the more venom is required to change them so that they can reach their own ultimate physical peak during the transition and transformation." He looks as if he's preparing himself, not knowing whether he can trust himself to not lose control. "As soon as I bite you, the pain will be instantaneous and will only grow in intensity until it reaches its peak. At which point it will stay at that intensity until it slowly begins to die down once your transformation nears completion." He goes on with his explanation.
"If you survive this, which I have confidence now that you will, I will find you and jog your memory if it hasn't been already. I'll admit at first that I thought you'd be no more than a meal, so I decided to play with you at first. But when I saw your resolve and will power, I changed my mind. Which is why you're going to be the one I change. You're the first human I've ever regretted doing this to, but I know that what you do as an immortal will make up for what you could've accomplished as a mere human." He's looking more and more guilty as he speaks.
"It's…it's fine…" I whisper, on the verge of passing out from the pain from when he pushed me off my feet that third time. "Just do it before I pass out please. I don't want to…to wake up to that kind of pain. I want to be awake when…when it starts."
He nods. "I'll tell you what. I'm going to move you before I do it. Off and far away from any of the paths around here. The traffic is minimum, but we don't want anyone happening upon you in the middle of your transformation. He quickly picks me up and I cry out in pain. "Sorry, sorry. So sorry," he apologizes profusely as he rushes off and away from the path. My eyes are scrunched up in agony, so even if I had been looking, I still wouldn't have been able to find my way back at this point. He does his best to gently set me down and make me as comfortable as possible, under the shade of an enclave of trees. "This spot should do nicely."
"Great, now could you get on with it please?" I plead, rather annoyed and angry with him. If I was on the verge of passing out beforehand, I wasn't now due to the spike of pain.
"As you wish." He gets back down on his knees and gently grabs my right arm once more. Before he says anything else, he bites down into my wrist. My eyes are fully open and I don't even see it. I do feel it however and I'm immediately overwhelmed by a pain I never thought would be possible for any one person to feel all at once. I try to be brave and hold in the screams I so desperately want to set free, but I decide that there's obviously no point and let loose. The area around us is filled with my blood curdling screams, words that I never thought I'd ever use to describe my own screams in any way.
"Jesus fucking CHRIST!" I howl as my body begins to convulse uncontrollably. He still has his teeth embedded in my wrist. He looks like he's genuinely struggling not to drink anything. With enormous struggle, he lets go, his mouth covered in my blood.
"I wish I could stay, but I can't trust myself. I'll allow myself the blood that's on my face, but if I stay, you'll surely be killed by me." I can barely hear a word of what he's saying because I'm so focused on the pain. "That should be enough venom to do the job. It's got quite a job ahead of itself, but it'll do its job and it shouldn't take more than three days tops. We're deep in the forest right now, many miles away from anyone. I'm confident that no one will stumble upon you while you're here. And don't worry about any animals. My scent will linger and keep them away. Not to mention the scent of my venom coursing through your veins will keep anything that would be able to do you any harm away as well.
It's at this point that all I can manage to focus on is the pain. There's no going back for me now. This isn't a story after all. I have no strength left for any words and can only cry out every so often and grunt in pain as the venom makes its way through my body. It's just like the books say. I feel like I'm on fucking fire.
The vampire, whose name I don't even know, nor he mine, gives me one final look over. "I'm sorry," he apologizes one last time. "I'll take my leave now. Remember, I'll find you after you're done and try not to kill too many humans." He finds it in himself to chuckle at that before disappearing in a blur, leaving me alone with no one for miles and nothing but this unbelievable pain as company.
The vampire was right. Three days have passed and it's been filled with nothing but pain. What I'm surprised by is that my body has gotten used to the pain as time has gone by. It still hurts like hell, but I'm no longer screaming bloody murder at the top of my lungs every time I'm able to take a breath. The good news is that my ribs are no longer broken and they've magically repaired themselves thanks to the venoms impressive healing properties. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still in a lot of pain, but it's a somewhat manageable level of pain. I can feel the venom flowing through my body, but what's weird is that I can also feel it physically changing my body. All of the fat on my body has melted away, but I'm still fully clothed, backpack still on my back. I know I said the pain was more manageable, but not enough so for me to stand up and observe the rest of what's left of my transformation from a standing view point. I can say for sure though that I definitely feel skinnier.
This last day has passed by the slowest out of all of them. It's funny. Despite all the pain I'm going through right now, I've surprised myself with my continued ability to communicate with friends and family. I held off for as long as I could before Cierra finally texted me, asking if I had made it back home. Doing my best, I managed to text her that I had and that I'd be turning in early, for I was tired from all the hiking I had done since I'm not physically acclimated to it. I'm such a liar, but I couldn't exactly tell her the truth, now could I? I had to do the same thing with both my mother and Nana. Mother simply texted, but the real challenge was pretending that I wasn't in the middle of undergoing a vastly painful transformation into an undead immortal being when my Nana called. I don't like to brag, but my will power played a huge role in doing so, because it was at this point that I attempted to master the pain. I failed miserably, but still managed to pull of the illusion that nothing was wrong. Satisfying everyone there was to satisfy, I went back to suffering in peace if that's what you could call it.
As more time passes, I can feel the pain lessen. My vampire friend knew what he was talking about. I check both my phone and watch. Both still have a rather impressive amount of battery in them. Though to be fair I haven't used either one of them given my current situation, so there's no reason they'd be anywhere close to being dead. Out of nowhere, I feel a sharp pain in my chest, indescribably far worse than when my ribs were broken. I'm panting, but not sweating. It's my heart. The venom has finally worked its way through my entire body and all that's left for it to do is to finally stop my heart. This is it. These are my last few remaining moments as a living moment. After the venom fully overtakes my heart and beats for the very last time, I will no longer be alive. I will be an undead immortal Twilight vampire.
He failed to mention that the last little bit of transformation is filled with as much pain as the beginning with the venom working into the heart. I try to hold back my screams as I did the first time, feeling like I could be stronger for it, but I'm dead wrong. I scream more bloody murder as I lay there, closing my eyes and wanting it to end. In that instance, my wish is granted. The pain stops as quickly as it came when I was first bitten on the wrist. I keep my eyes closed tight for a few more moments, wondering if that's truly it or if there's going to be some kind of stupid aftershock that I wasn't warned about. One doesn't come thankfully. I open my eyes quickly, only to see nothing but blurriness. Confused as to why, I realize that my glasses are still on. There's no reason why I would've taken them off, as I've needed them up until this point.
I slowly take them off and as soon as I do, my eyes are blasted with high definition. Everything around me is so breathtakingly beautiful. It's like I'm looking at something completely different as opposed to earlier. Everything is so fucking colorful, but wasn't it before? I just continue to lay there in the same spot before I sit up, examining my surroundings. I can fucking see literally everything. Dust particles, birds flying miles away, bugs on the ground, even ants marching along. I jump at the sound of a hawk sounding off when I realize that it's nowhere near me. Its miles away in the sky, circling as it looks for its next victim. Now that I'm not so distracted by what I'm seeing, I'm now distracted by what I hear.
I feel like the fucking dragon warrior. I can literally hear a butterfly's wing beat. Not just the butterflies. Birds of all shapes and sizes, even flies. I can hear all the creatures of this expanse of forest. Squirrels, deer, rabbits, all of them. I slowly stand up, now turning to examine myself. If I didn't know it was me, I wouldn't recognize myself and I haven't even seen my face or reflection. I look down at my clothes and my shirt is honestly baggy as hell. I quickly take my backpack off and tighten the elastic strap on my shorts so that they'll stay up and not fall off. I'll have to get a smaller pair though later on. I remove my shirt and examine it. I even sniff it.
"Damn," I raise both eyebrows in surprise. "He was right. I do smell good. Or rather, I did. Especially if this is just the smell coming off of my clothes." I look at my shirt again. "God, did I really use to be this big just three days ago?" I ask myself seriously before tutting. I hold onto it with one hand before looking down at my body. I whistle. "God damn. Hello six pack." I smile with amazement at what the venom has done to my body. "So this is what's been hiding under my fat all these years. It's nice to finally meet you abs." I laugh heartily at my own joke. Excuse the pun.
"Good golly Ms. Molly! Hello biceps," I exclaim as I examine them along with the rest of my arms. Biceps were my favorite and I'm honestly pleased with the size of them. I flex and laugh again before poking my abs. "Rock solid as to be expected. Noice," I say in an Australian accent. I'm immediately struck by a thought. I haven't checked my actual face yet. I quickly scramble for my phone in my shorts pocket and open of the camera without having to fully unlock my phone. I gasp in complete disbelief. I don't recognize the person staring back at me in the camera. I mean there's some resemblance yeah, but still. I have a chiseled jaw line that I never thought I'd have in my natural born life and seeing as how I'm an undead vampire now, I'm essentially right. My beard looks great and for some unexplainable reason, the venom somehow managed to grow my mustache out and make it just as pronounced and lush as my beard.
"I look fucking fantastic. Holy shit," I mumble to myself as I rub my beard and fondle my beard in amazement. The last thing I notice about myself is of course my eyes. Gone are the stunning blue eyes that I always claimed were a nice sapphire shade and had for some reason gotten so many compliments on from strangers whenever I had shared a picture of myself online. In place of them are blood red eyes, similar to the ones my vampire friend had. I'm completely entranced by them and have to shake my head to snap myself out of being entirely mesmerized by the new me. It's at this point that I realize I'm still holding my unfolded glasses. I hold them up to my eyes and look through them again, but there's no way I can wear these anymore and see where I'm going.
"Looks like these are out the window," I mutter sadly as I fold them up and put them in the case I had brought just in case and put them safely in my backpack. I look at myself through my phone's camera again. Ever since I had needed glasses and gotten them, I always claimed to everyone that I looked way better with them and that was the truth. Now however, I'm not so sure. I could probably still pull them off, but I no longer have to if I don't feel like it. "We'll have to experiment with that later," I say to myself as I put my now baggy shirt back on. "I need to get a better fitting set of clothes." I rummage around in my backpack and get out my wallet to check and make sure I still had some cash on me. I've got my debit card as well, but I knew I had money on that as well. Just felt like checking.
I put my backpack on and am set on making my way to the nearest store with clothes suited to my new body size when I hesitate. I actually don't know which way civilization is. I do a complete 360, wondering if I should've paid more attention to where I was dropped off. Come to think of it, how did I get here again? Wait, wasn't it a vampire or something that did this to me? But how did it happen again? "Shit. Where the hell am I?" I ask out loud. I know who am and what not, but I can't seem to remember where I was last before these past three days. I strain my memory for an answer, but it's like I'm trying to look through a veil in my mind and it's quite difficult to recall.
I take a deep breath, which actually feels weird seeing as I don't actually need to breathe anymore. Though if I continue to breathe like normal, it'll help retain my now much more keen sense of smell. Come to think of it, I've been so distracted with myself and now that I'm not, I'm overwhelmed by this continuous burning sensation in my throat. "Ah fuck, I'm so hungry. Or in my case, thirsty." I chuckle at my joke, glad I've retained my sense of humor as a vampire. "I suppose I had better get something to eat before I decide to go anywhere near other people."
I pause for a moment before saying fuck it and picking a direction to go off in. I'm taken by surprise at my speed and have a little trouble with the breaks, colliding with a tree as a result and knocking it over. It didn't hurt one bit. It just took me by surprise. I quickly get up, more quickly than I ever did as a human and took off again. I gasp in surprise at how amazing this feels. The wind rushing through my hair and everything passing by so fast and yet in slow motion at the same time so that I'm able to avoid any obstacles in my way. I'm able to quickly get the hang of it after only a few seconds. I stop when I'm hit with a pleasant smell. It doesn't take me long to figure out the direction it's coming from and I rush towards it. I stop as the smell gets strong and cautiously move forward.
At this distance, a normal person wouldn't be able to see, but I'm not a mere human anymore. A decent distance away, there's a pretty good sized buck grazing alone in a small opening. I smirk at my luck. This shouldn't be too hard. Wanting to take it by surprise, I don't hesitate as I rush forward towards it. It hears me coming a second too late and I successfully tackle it to the ground. To be honest, without my speed and newborn strength, there's no way I would've been able to take this deer as easily as I have. It feebly struggles to get away from my, but I have it pinned down. The smell of it is overwhelming now and I just give in. I happily sink my teeth into its neck and begin drinking big, healthy gulps. The continued burning sensation in my throat nearly immediately ceases as soon as the blood flows down my throat. Within minutes despite being a guzzle gut, I drain the deer dry. I'm compelled to hang on for a few extra seconds to make sure that I've gotten as much as I can out of it before letting go, it's now lifeless bodily falling to the ground.
I breathing hard despite not needing to, the rush of what just happened making me feel like I'm on top of the world. "Oh wow! That was fucking spectacular!" I exclaim as I fist punch the air. "Didn't taste all that bad either, but that's definitely not enough." Taking one last look at my handy work, I speed off in a blur, looking for my next animal victim. Within minutes I happen upon a mountain lion. This guy is a lot harder to catch than the deer. Though to be fair, he probably heard me coming from a little ways away, as I'm excited for more feeding. I actually have to chase him down, but he doesn't get very far. He puts of more of a fight than the buck did, which I give him credit for before easily snapping his neck. Like breaking a twig or something.
I happily sink my teeth into the mountain lion, once more going into a sort of newborn feeding frenzy. This blood tastes even better than the deer blood. Most likely given the fact that the deer doesn't eat meat and the mountain lion does. It's like certain things taste better than others just like human food. As I drain the blood from the mountain lion, I can't help but be curious as to how a human would taste. I can only speculate that they would most likely taste even better than what I'm currently feasting on, which is pretty damn tasty in its own right. It takes me longer to finish the mountain lion, as it was far bigger than the buck I first happened upon. I'm soon done however and let its body drop already eager for more. I stop myself and take a moment to calm down. No doubt I look like a devilishly handsome madman. What with all the blood undoubtedly covering my face. I pull out my phone and look at my face with the camera. Yup. I pretty much look exactly how I described myself. I can't help but smile. Who would've thought I'd have this much fun as a newborn on my first day as one?
The burning sensation in my throat is all but gone, but I feel like I should have one more thing to eat just to be safe. I decide to keep going in the direction I've been going, as I have no reason to alter my course at this time. I don't find any more deer or mountain lions or even a black bear for that matter. I end up settling for a couple of rabbits, as they're much smaller than the buck and mountain loin combined. Once I'm done with them, I'm pretty much full and as satisfied as I figure I'm going to get on animal blood. The burning in my throat has completely disappeared.
"That was delicious. All of it. Now to find my way back home and get some proper fitting clothes. I close my eyes for a moment and listen hard, seeing if I can't hear any traffic or anything that can help guide me home. As lame is it sounds, I decide to just start running and listening, eventually popping out into the middle of a backwater road. I check my phone for a signal and type in Goggle Maps to go home. Turns out I'm a decent distance away. I'm way on the south side of the mountain. I quickly memorize the route that I need to go, which I find surprisingly easy and safely tuck my phone away before taking off at super vampire speed.
Traversing the mountain terrain while avoiding the actual roads proves to be a bit of a challenge, but it's nothing that my body and powers can't handle. I make it back to actual home within the hour. If anyone had been watching, it would've looked like I had appeared as a blur out of nowhere and then cleared up immediately upon arriving at my front door. I take out my keys and let myself in, my nose crinkling at the smell of nothing having been done for the past three days. "Curse my heightened sense of smell," I joke as I use my super speed to tidy up in no time. I spray the air freshener and odor killer as well and it's better than what I smelled before. I didn't even spray a lot. It just feels that way with as sensitive as my nose is now.
I take a shower and the water feels great after three days lying in agony on the forest floor. Even as a vampire the water still isn't hot enough. I find the smallest pair of shorts I can find which isn't that much smaller than my former fat size and put them on. I still plan on going shopping for a new outfit or two. Just enough to hold me over until I can go properly shopping with more money. Luckily I've kept a number of old shirts from when I was smaller. Nowhere near as small as I am now, but still. I pick out one and put it on. It's still a bit baggy, but not as bad as before. Looking at me, you'd assume I was just lazily dressed or that it was laundry day or something.
"I suppose all the money that I don't have to spend on food now can go completely for an entirely new wardrobe," I point out to myself. I wonder how much I'll save now that I literally don't have to worry about buying food ever again. I'll have to worry about all the big stuff later. I've eaten, I've showered, I've changed into clean clothes. Now let's go get some truly proper fitting clothes. I grab my keys and make sure I have my phone and watch as well. They both still don't really need to be charged, but I plan on letting them tonight. Speaking of tonight, I just now realized that I literally don't need sleep anymore. The prospect of that reality saddens me because sleep is awesome. On the other hand, it's bittersweet, as I'm excited of all the shit I can now do that I no longer need sleep. All these thoughts are flying through my head about how my life as a mortal human has ended, but how my life as an immortal vampire has only just begun.
I go to the bathroom and flip on the light, taking a good long look at myself in the mirror. "Damn, I look good. Hair could use a good fixing up though." I grab my hair get and wet my hair, mixing it together and throwing my hair back. I beam at my reflection. "There we go. Much better." I wink before double checking that I have everything, including my wallet. I empty my backpack, deciding that I can put the clothes that I buy in it. I exit my apartment and lock the door. I take a look around; making sure nobody is looking before I zip off, disappearing into a blur of movement. Within seconds, I'm at Wal-Mart. What used to take me the better part of 15 minutes now only took mere seconds to get to on foot. Acting like nothing is out of the ordinary, I enter the store with more self confidence that I ever had in my entire life as a human combined.
As to be expected, I get stares from people as I turn right and make my way to the clothing section. I check the tag of the shirt I'm wearing and since it's a bit baggy, I decide to go down a couple of shirt sizes. I hold it up to me, judging whether or not it'll be a good fit for me. Taking a quick look around, I take off the shirt I'm wearing and put the one I picked out on. I hear a rip and blush. I had put the shirt on in super speed and as a result, ripped a huge hole in it. Hopefully nobody heard and wouldn't come investigate. I quickly wade it up and stuff it towards the back of the many piles of shirts. I grab another of the exact same shirt and put it on, much more slowly this time. It fits perfectly, much better than any other shirt has fit me in the past. I check the size and am surprised that this is apparently my new and permanent shirt size for the rest of my immortal life. I take the shirt off and put the one I came in with back on before folding up the one I just tried on and putting it into the hand basket I'm shopping with.
I pick out a few more basic color shirts in the same size, not needing nor wanting anything fancy right now. There would be plenty of time for that later when I went seriously shopping to replace my wardrobe later in the future. Next are pants. I check the size of the shorts I'm wearing and decide to go down several sizes, same as the shirts. I pick out a pair and hold them up, gauging whether or not they'll be a better and proper fit than what I'm currently wearing. There's no way I'm trying shorts in the middle of Wal-Mart, so I decide to trust my own judgment. To be safe, I get two more pairs in varying sizes just in case and plan on keeping the receipt for them. I'm about to head towards the registers when another though strikes me. Underwear. I chuckle at this, as I can believe that I would nearly forget to get one of the most important clothing items. This is easier than shopping for the shirts or pants simply because it is. I knew my former size and went several sizes down, confident in my choice but will of course keep the receipt just in case. On my way to the cash registers, I stop by the belts. This takes me longer as I'm not a fan of them and don't normally wear them. I find one in my new size easily enough after trying some on the lazy way that every guy does when shopping for a new belt.
"There. I think I've covered all of my bases for now." Even as a vampire I still talk to myself, same as I did when I was human. Some things never change. I of course still get plenty of stares. I'm crediting it to my eyes. People probably think I have contacts in. Just as I'm thinking this, the lady cashier I end up going to compliments me on them. I simply smile and thank her, as she would most likely think I'm senile if I told her they were now my natural eye color. After paying for my new clothes, I take them in their bags out to the front of the store and take off my backpack, putting my bags of clothes in the main compartment with complete ease.
It feels weird not going shopping for food as that's normally what I go out to do when I come here. I shrug it off and walk off at a normal pace and once I'm far away enough from any prying eyes, I take off once more, arriving at home in mere seconds. "I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of that," I proclaim to myself with a huge smile as I unlock the door and let myself in. I change out of the baggy clothes and dawn my new ones, sighing with contentment at how good they feel. Not to mention how much better they fit.