Hey! Yes, finally i write another chapter. I'm sorry i took so long! I've had a ton of schoolwork. Bleh... Happy Thanksgiving! this chapter is a gift from me... to you!!! Yay!!!! OK OK.... I'm alright. i think. i looovvvvvvvvveeeee reviews, so pleeeeeaaasssseee do so!! I'm bored and my grandma is here. too many people in my house.... ugh. So back to the point, thanks sooo much for reading!!!! Much love, peace, and happiness to you!!
I couldn't get away from Maria long enough to check on my family, and it was killing me. It showed. I was more belligerent than usual. I looked out the window into the velvet sky, sprinkled with pinpoints of light as stars. I focused hard on my blurry human memories. Most of what I remembered was of the battles I had fought in for the Confederacy. I tried to remember farther back. One memory came to me randomly. I looked over at Maria, who was discussing plans with the newborns. I could tell she wouldn't be needing me soon, so I went over the memory. It was as if I had been looking through mud.
"Daniel! Give it back!" Wailed Anna. She was only six, and Ma's attempts at taming her less than feminine personality were futile. I had been about ten at the time. I saw Daniel, at age twelve, run off with her doll. They were at it again. I watched Daniel jump into the apple tree in our front yard. Anna was chasing him, her dress getting in her way and slowing her down.
"Nope!" Daniel laughed, climbing onto the next branch. I shook my head.
"Daniel, karma is goin' to get you. You'd be best off giving Anna her doll back," I yelled from the front porch as Anna was jumping, trying to reach the first branch.
"Yeah, yeah, Jasper! You always say that, but nothing ever hap-" Daniel started, but was cut of by a ripe apple falling and hitting him on the top of his head, "What the-" Daniel yelled looking up, then losing his balance and falling about ten feet to the ground. I heard the thud from the impact, and ran over to see if he was alright. He had probably broken his arm… again.
As I reached him, he sat up. He was rubbing the back of his head, mussing his medium brown hair. He had his blue-with-green eyes clenched shut. The color had drained from his tan face. I could tell he had hit his head pretty hard.
"You alright?" I asked, though I couldn't hide the smirk on my face that said, "I told you so."
"Shut up, wipe that smirk off your face, and help me up. I swear you got some of that Cherokee jinxing whatever-you-call-it in you from Pa!" Daniel grumbled as I helped him up.
"You're bleeding," I said as Daniel walked shakily toward the house. He had scraped his arm on the tree branch.
I tried to remember more after that, but nothing came. The restlessness I had previously felt was coming back. I shifted in the chair I was sitting in. It didn't help any. It had been three days since I had changed my family. I stood up and darted over to Maria, tuning in to what she was saying.
"… So this territory is where we're headed to next. It includes Saltillo. All we need to do is knock the residents out of there and claim it. If Jasper keeps up his successful training, we should be claiming Chihuahua by next month," Maria declared excitedly, looking at me with eyes full of greed. A demonic grin spread across her angelic face. I knew she loved to fight, and my only choice was to assist her in her hell-raising.
"We're making our way northwest," I stated, and it wasn't an inquiry. I knew how Maria would strategize from helping her with her gruesome plans. I cursed silently. I would have a chance of getting back to my family now.
She was seated on a wooden chair at the table, a map of the South spread out. She was quickly moving a pencil over the map, visualizing the route she would take. I walked closer. The newborns parted to let me take my assigned place beside Maria. I leaned over her shoulder, looking at the map. Maria liked where I was a little too much, as I felt lust emanating from her. It annoyed me. I saw the smirk that revealed the emotion. She still didn't know about my ability. I groaned. I despised that she felt that way. I didn't love her, and she didn't reciprocate love, either.
"Yes, we are," Maria smirked. She must have picked up on my hesitation of leaving and said, "What? This will be an easy one, Jasper. The stronger armies are farther south. Or is there another reason that you don't want to leave?" She was taunting again.
"No, ma'am," I said simply, knowing it would be best not to pick a fight with someone higher ranking. She could call on the newborns to help her, which they would be too happy to do. I had my place, and I was best off respecting it.
"Good. Besides, your precious family will be safer with us gone, anyway," she spat, sneering the words "precious family".
"Well, we best get a move on before their army gets stronger. I don't care about humans. They are mere prey and soldiers that need to be selected and changed. Nothing more," I growled indignantly as she stood, looking at me with a smirk on her face.
"I give the orders, not you. I say we stay here and train and hunt for another week, maybe even change another human or two. We need to be strong so we can take Saltillo without many casualties, Major. This isn't a world where you're in charge. This is my world, and you follow me, not vice versa. Understand?" Maria snarled indignantly, rage emanating from her. She locked her feet on the floor, straightened her spine, and burned her angry crimson eyes into mine. How I responded was instantly regretted.
"That doesn't scare me, Maria, and I'm sick and tired of not having a voice!" I growled, glaring back. I sensed that the newborns sensed the tension. I felt their pugnacity spike, though I knew they wouldn't dare act on it. I was right, as they quickly backed up. They knew they were disposable liabilities to Maria, and nothing more.
"Really? Well, maybe when I'm gone you'll have some kind of opinion. But, I'm not going anywhere, and you're rebellion is completely appalling and unacceptable. Do not take advantage of me favoring you, Jasper, because I won't hesitate to destroy you like any other newborn past the year mark," Maria snarled, pure, undiluted rage radiating from her small form. She sank into a crouch, her face contorted into a satanic grimace. I knew I shouldn't have snapped at her like that. She lunged at me, gripping my arm and sinking her razor sharp teeth into it.
I knew better than to jerk away from her, for she would only bite harder and longer. She held the bite, and I felt her venom seeping into it, itching. She held it longer, and the itching turned to stinging, which after a while longer, turned into a searing heat. I clenched me teeth, trying to hide any giveaway of my pain. Pain meant weakness, and this world was too dangerous for weakness. When I didn't react, she bit down harder, and I felt her teeth cut deeper into my arm. I couldn't hide it any longer, it hurt so badly. I jerked away, growling. I was staring to see red, I wanted so badly to rip her throat out, to kill her.
"Now, Major, will you ever give me an attitude again?" Maria asked as innocently as a small child, looking up at me through her lashes.
"No, ma'am," I replied obediently through clenched teeth. I knew it was best that I simmer down and stop the belligerence.
"Good, because I don't want to get rid of you. You just need to trust my judgment and keep to your place. You are, all in all, my favorite," she said, still innocent with no hints of malice.
She smiled sweetly, lowering her eyelids. I couldn't stand looking at her, for I was still trying to get myself under control after her malicious assault. The newborns were still standing in the back of the room, their bright scarlet eyes glued on me, fearing that I would take my rage out on them. Maria pranced toward me, self-pride rolling off of her in waves. Her dark red eyes looked me over, and I quickly composed my face. She stopped less than half of a foot from me, yanked me down to her level, and kissed me. It was actually quite uncomfortable, since there was twelve inches between our heights. I felt jealousy come from several newborns. Maria abruptly pulled away, turned on her heel, and headed toward the newborns, barking orders to the newborns about splitting up into groups to hunt.
I genuinely despised Maria's quickly changing moods. One minute she could be furious, and easy going the next. I could never really figure out why she felt she had to be in control of everything and everyone all the time. Women usually didn't act that way. The only redeeming quality I could find in her was leadership, and barely that. She was just as strategic and analytic as I was. She was also stubborn, which backfired if I knew our army wasn't strong enough, but she still wanted to fight.
"Jasper, there's a change of plans. After we all hunt, we're leaving," Maria announced.
"Yes, ma'am," I said as all thirty newborns ran outside into the dark night without a sound. Maria and I followed them, as their self-control, or lack thereof, wasn't trustworthy.
We roamed the city of Dallas, watching for groups of people on which to prey. I was reluctant to hunt, but I knew once blood lust set in, I wouldn't care. There was no way that we would all satiate our thirst tonight without either being exposed or breaking into people's houses. Shortly, we found a group of five pe- prey. I couldn't bear to think of them as people, for the humanity left in me was always guilty. They were prey, nothing more. I had to tell myself that they had no lives, no morals, values, dreams, or feelings.
"Don't even think about it!" Maria snapped at the newborns, "Jasper and I hunt first."
I felt waves of anticipation, excitement, and joy emanate from Maria. I absorbed myself in it, knowing I was about to suffer again. I darted forward towards an adult male. I focused on Maria's joy as I bit and severed his jugular. Here it came: the inevitable pain, fear, shock and anger. I couldn't stand it, but my throat was burning wildly, and the only thing that could satiate it was blood. I drank until he was bone dry, his last emotions ringing in my head. The horror, disgust, and fear of the other people only making me feel worse. Maria took her turn.
She chased a young woman around, herding her into a corner. Maria growled menacingly, and I flinched as the woman's dread pierced me, and I strangled scream escaped her throat, almost silenced by pure fear. Maria smiled evilly, letting the woman run away, then slammed into her, knocking her down. Maria growled again, stepping on the woman's dress when she tried to get up. I watched as Maria stepped on the woman's leg, laughing at her screams for help. My dead heart felt leaden as the woman's agony and paralyzing fear hit me in sharp jolts. I felt wrong for not helping the woman, though I knew it was simply the way things were. I heard bones in the woman's other leg crunch. Maria always played with her food, and it was to my expense. I always suffered with her prey. Maria was such a sadistic killer, and it sickened me. Finally, Maria sank her teeth into her prey's neck, though not enough to kill her. She slowly drained the woman, letting her suffer as the venom burned and her life blood flowed out. When she was dead, three newborns had taken down the three people remaining. We managed to find people for the other newborns to prey on, and I went through more hell.
After disposing the bodies, Maria spoke, "Now, we go to Saltillo."
I didn't reply, for I was trying to expel the terrible emotions of our prey from my head. I just glared at the dusty road. I was a monster. A cold-blooded monster. I wanted to be human again so badly, but I knew there was no possible way. I sighed heavily as I looked ahead, and ran with the others towards the city of Saltillo, Mexico.