Chapter Four: Loss

"Uncle Patrick! Uncle Patrick!"

Autumn's panicked screams pierced the stillness of the house, and her aunt and uncle both rushed to her at the front door. The girl looked about to collapse, and she was exhausted due to her adrenaline-surged flight, but she had to get the news out.

"He attacked James! He's going to kill him!" Autumn screamed, grabbing her uncle's collar and shaking him. "We have to do something!"

Instantly, without question, Patrick pulled away and ran to the phone in the kitchen.

"Where was he last, Autumn?" he shouted across the house.

"The beach!" Autumn cried and then burst into hysterical sobs in Aunt Ellen's arms.

The police were instantly notified, and they spent nearly an hour at the scene of the crime, searching for James. They found nothing but some small clumps of sand tainted with crimson, supposedly blood.

For reasons that Autumn didn't understand, she was immediately sent to Ellen's brother in New York City. All of her belongings were sent with her. She arrived at Aaron's house at one o'clock in the morning, and not until five o'clock was she able to collapse on her new bed in weariness.

She couldn't sleep, but tossed and turned restlessly. She couldn't stop crying and couldn't still the terror in her heart. Her heart was still beating as it had been before, the adrenaline not having worn off all the way yet and her imagination horrifying her to no end. Images of brilliant red eyes flashed through her memory, and her own screams echoed in her ears. She was terribly afraid; horrified by everything she had seen. Her heart cried for James, yearning for the one she loved. She shuddered when she heard his scream as plainly as if he was standing right there, the last sound she had heard from the beach.

She knew James wasn't dead, and as the sun began to shine on the horizon, she drifted into sleep, the image of James deep in her mind, emblazed upon her heart and soul.

With the rising of the sun brought the awakening of James. The sunlight burned his eyes as he opened them, causing him to moan and fling an arm over his face. His whole mouth was dry with thirst, and he sat up, finding that he was in a small room in what appeared to be an old mansion of some sort. He yawned and stretched his arms, flexing his arm muscles and feeling strength ripple through his chest, back, fingers, and shoulders. He felt amazingly aware of his surroundings, and an abnormally keen sense of smell informed him that there was nourishment in the rooms beyond his own.

He didn't bother to throw on a shirt, but moved towards his bedroom door. He opened it, and, like a wolf on the prowl, raised his nose into the air and drew in great gulps of air. His nostrils flared with predator instincts, and he walked, gracefully and swiftly like a leopard, into the adjoining corridor. He wasn't at all confused as he moved, only excessively hungry. With a growl of irritation, he flung open a heavy door and leaped inside to an awaiting room.

There stood the monster from the previous night, his teeth embedded in a young woman's neck. A trickle of blood streamed down her pale skin, and James let out an inhuman growl of need.

"You're awake finally," the older vampire spoke, eyes burning into James. "I have brought you a meal."

James's eyes widened with understanding, and he backed away, horrified.

"No," his voice rasped. "You…you killed me."

"And brought you back. My name is Alexander, your creator, and yes, you are a vampire."

"Why?" James asked in anguish.

"Eat, James."

"I can't," James groaned, his stomach crying in hunger. "I'm not a murderer."

"She's almost dead. You'd be putting her out of her misery."

Alexander caught some of the girl's blood on a knife and moved to James. He held the knife near the new vampire's mouth, and, in a frenzy, James swallowed the blood and proceeded to finish off the girl.

"You will learn to hunt for yourself," Alexander informed as the girl's body fell to the floor. "You have an extremely keen sense of smell, and that will help you."

James snarled in response, eyes burning crimson.

"You shouldn't have done this to me. What about Autumn?"

"That delightful creature?" Alexander asked. "You'll come to the point where you kill her. Because of your previous feelings for her, you'll desire her taste more than any other blood."

"And I'll refuse it."

"James," Alexander sighed, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "You will become a powerful, fatal weapon. When again you see her, you'll lose all human thought and restraint."

"You won't make me such a monster."

"You just killed an innocent woman."

James's face contorted in pain, and he looked away. He missed Autumn, he longed for his job, and he was terrified of what he had forcefully become. A monster that killed people to survive. He didn't fully understand the new strength and power he had. He couldn't comprehend his newfound speed and acute senses.

Alexander was looking forward to training him.

Autumn was afraid when she woke up to find herself in a strange room. Light was streaming through sheer white curtains, enhancing the light colors of the room. A great clock was on the wall before her, reading "5:30."

In a flash of pain and grief, she remembered. Again, she saw James fighting. She felt the coarse sand against her legs as she ran. Screaming to Uncle Patrick. Fainting in fear. Being pushed into a cab. Arriving at a new home in a big city.

Autumn stood up and moved to her door, a throbbing headache aching through her body, causing every nerve to quiver in pain. Beautiful piano music infiltrated her senses, soothing her and leading her to a large, lovely drawing room. There was a baby grand piano at the center of the room, and on the piano bench, playing heartily, was Aaron. Chocolate brown eyes looked up and twinkled at Autumn, and long, skilled fingers came to a standstill on intricate white and black keys.

"My dearest Autumn," Aaron beamed at his only-slightly-younger niece. He stood and enveloped her in a large hug. "How good to see you again, looking so well. Dinner shall be served shortly, but as for now, come, sit with me."

Autumn smiled nervously and sat on the bench with him. His hands moved to the keys, and he began playing a low, mysterious piece as he spoke.

"You slept well?" he asked.

"Yes. Did they find James?" Autumn trembled.

"They haven't yet. There are some things you need to know," the handsome man said with a sigh. "Do me a favor, and don't speak until I'm finished. Just listen."

Autumn nodded and bit her lip as Aaron began playing more passionately. This was her uncle's way of relieving stress, and with the way he was playing, he had very serious matters on his mind.

"Your mother was my sister," he began solemnly. "I was ten when she was brutally murdered. I loved her dearly, and I was mortified by her death. I overheard a conversation amongst my parents and the investigators, and Patrick and Ellen confirmed the information later. Your parents bled to death, yes, but when they were found, there was very little bit of blood evident on their bodies. They had both been drained dry. Each had distinct bite marks on their necks, where the tiny amounts of blood left were located. Others died in the same mysterious way. A vampire killed your parents. Impossible, I know, but true. Over the past several years, murders of the same sort have occurred across the Atlantic coast. Your attacker last night, it's believed, was a vampire. He sought to kill you, but James intervened. Your fiancé's body has not been found, and we fear the worst. When vampire victims are killed, they are left at the scene of the crime. However, when they are created…"

He stopped there.

"You think James…" Autumn gasped to speak.

"He wasn't found. I don't know what happened, Autumn, but if you ever see him again, I would be extremely wary."

Autumn nodded sadly, eyes welling up with tears. The thought of her James being turned into a bloodthirsty monster to save her was traumatizing. She couldn't think of him being such a vile creature.

Six months passed, bringing with it a cold, harsh fall.

Autumn spent those months in near solitude. Aaron was her only companion, which suited them both fine. Weekends were spent at work for both adults, one of them managing finances and the other at a nursing home. Aunt Elle and Uncle Patrick visited frequently, and James's name was lost from conversation. He wasn't mentioned again, but that didn't stop Autumn from remembering him and missing him.

Had she seen him now, she wouldn't have recognized him.

James had spent the last six months in training. His muscles had become hard and powerful, his speed had intensified to nearly one hundred fifty miles per hour, easy, and his senses were so developed that he became a master tracker, hunting and killing prey with fatal success. There were no longer any traces of blue in his eyes, just a cold, merciless burgundy. His thirst, it seemed, could never be quenched, and he hunted so skillfully that his victims never knew what hit them.

He had one desire, aside from survival, and that was to gain enough self-control to find Autumn and complete what they had started.

But with each passing month, he slipped more and more into the predator mindset. Finding Autumn became a game, just like every hunt. The woods were plagued with his shadow, running, leaping, flying. He was swift and accurate, and he would, he would find his girl, even if he had to kill every bit of evidence, every barrier of protection, to get to her.