Chapter 4

Hand in hand, Alex and I, followed by Daniel, made our way through the forest. I didn't know exactly what we were looking for, but my other companions did. They both had the same look of determination and…hatred, possibly, plastered on their faces.

We slowed to a walk, and they both started sniffing the air. I did the same, not wanting to miss something important. But I didn't smell anything, well, there was something. I smelled the forest around me. The dirt on the floor, the sap of the trees, it all smelled plain.

"How much longer till the clearing?" Alex asked, anxious.

"Just a few more miles, not long." Daniel replied.

I groaned at Daniel's response. If I were still human, I would have been exhausted from the day's travels. It seemed like we had been running for hours. I didn't groan because I was tired, but because after a while, running becomes boring. It also didn't help that I didn't know where we were going.

Daniel chuckled at my reply. Alex only shook his head, and once again, grabbed my hand, and took off running.

After what seemed like a few more hours of monotonous running, we slowed down to a human pace. Like they had before, Daniel and Alex had their heads raised, and noses testing the air around us. I again did the same. A slight gust of wind blew into us, and I stopped, frozen in place.

The wind barely fazed me. It was the scent that it carried, that had stunned me. I sniffed the air again. The sweet fragrance filled my nose and mouth. The fire I had felt before we left the camp, spurred to life. It engulfed my entire throat, and I fell to my knees grasping my neck. Alex was by my side in a heartbeat, rubbing my back.

"Don't worry Sarah, I know it hurts, but it will be better soon." He cooed in my ear, trying to calm me.

Daniel interjected, "Sarah, if you stop breathing, it will help."


I was speechless at what he said. "What?" I managed to choke out.

"We don't need to breathe Sarah. We just do it out of convenience." Daniel said, as he rolled his eyes, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"Give her a break Daniel. She's new. She will need some time to adjust." Alex replied defensively.

Daniel huffed in exasperation, and turned away from us. I sucked in one last breath of the sweet aroma, and then cut the air supply to my lungs. The fire in my throat dulled a bit. Alex smiled at me, and took my hand again, leading me towards where the scent originated.

After a minute, the last store of oxygen I had been holding inside my lungs became very uncomfortable. I was afraid of what would happen if I couldn't hold my breath. I was afraid that the scent would drive me crazy. But looking at Alex, I knew that he wouldn't let me do anything rash. So I slowly let out the remainder of my air supply. It surprised me, that I was quite comfortable without air. And not breathing made the fire in my throat easier to bear, if that was at all possible.

We were very close now, I could tell. Alex let go of my hand, and both he and Daniel settled down into low crouches. They looked like lions ready, to pounce on their prey. I looked towards the direction their attention was, and I could see a small clearing surrounded by a large number of trees. The sun was covered by a thick layer of clouds, but it still provided enough luminosity that I could detect four shadowy figures roaming around in the middle of the meadow.

I recognized them, immediately, as humans. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that these helpless creatures were our intended lunch. Alex and Daniel started to creep slowly, towards their unsuspecting prey. A memory suddenly jolted my brain. I had to breathe, I had to warn them.

I sucked in air, but only just enough to allow me to say what I had to. The fire coursed through my mouth and throat, it hurt so badly. I pushed that aside and focused on what I had to say.

"Wait!" I whispered, putting a hand in front of each of them.

They stared at me shocked. I hadn't noticed before, but their eyes had turned an eerie pitch black. Daniel started to growl, and Alex just looked at me, wondering why I was stopping them. I 

ignored their responses and continued.

"Why are we hunting them? They haven't done anything wrong. I thought you said you only hunted evil people." The fire in my throat roared with each new breath I took.

Alex stood slightly to address me. "No Sarah. We said we tried to hunt those who hurt others. But sometimes we have to resort to innocents. We don't like it, but we can't ignore our need."

"But, I can't." I said, barely choking out the words.

"Sarah," now Daniel turned to address me, "We're sorry that you have to learn this way. We would have preferred that you learn by hunting evildoers, but thanks to Alex, who decided to change you in the middle of this forest, we can't be picky. We take what we're given." Alex growled but Daniel ignored him. "Just follow close behind, and stop when you enter the clearing. It's hard the first time, so all you really have to do is watch."

I could tell from the look in Daniel's eyes, and even in Alex's too, that there was no way they were willing to look for an alternative food source. I sighed, knowing that I had lost the battle. At least they didn't expect me to kill anybody. But, I would have to eventually, and that made me feel queasy.

Alex looked apologetic, but Daniel immediately brought his attention back to the current situation, and he snapped back into full attacker mode.

They neared the clearing within seconds, so quiet that the humans had no hope of hearing. I did as they said, and followed quietly behind. I didn't dare to take a breath, knowing what I would do. As I got closer, I could clearly make out the shadows. It was a family. A dad, a mom, and two children, the boy looked to be about fifteen, and the girl had to be around ten. I felt a lump build in my throat as my companions crept closer to the family. Soon, Alex and Daniel were at the edge of the clearing, out of sight from the humans. I stepped behind one of the trees that converged on the meadow to hide. And all too soon, the attack began.

I never thought that I would be so scared to look at Daniel and Alex as I now was. As I peered out from behind my hiding place, I saw Alex take down the father with ease. He pressed his stone cold lips to the father's throat, and an ear splitting scream broke from the father's lips.

The son tried to get to his father, but he wasn't fast enough for the speed of a vampire. All too 

quickly the son was pinned against the ground, his blood pooling around him. Even though I wasn't breathing, the fire engulfed my throat once more. Perhaps it was the sight of blood that caused it this time.

With the father and the son taken care of, they turned their attention to the mother and daughter, cowering next to their tent. I now understood their attack method, take the stronger ones first and, leave the weak for later.

The mother pushed her daughter behind her body, hoping to protect her from harm. I heard the mother plead in whispers to her attackers, to take her and leave her daughter. The lump in my throat enlarged. I could imagine my mother doing the same for me. She would have gladly put her life on the line to save mine. At least now she wouldn't have to.

Daniel swiftly grabbed the mother, and threw her against a tree across the campsite. She sank down and looked into the eyes of two thirsty vampires. The little girl was too afraid to move, she just sat there staring helplessly at her mother. She couldn't seem to look away from the sight of her mother being devoured.

When they had drained all of the blood from the mother, they turned their attention back to the girl. Daniel grabbed her arms and pinned her to the ground lying face up. Tears streaked down her cheeks, but she seemed unafraid, like she had already accepted her fate.

Alex made a motion that distracted me from the little girl. "Come." He beckoned to me, his eyes now a bright scarlet, like mine. I did as I was told, entering the clearing on command. I stopped a few feet away from where Daniel held the little girl. I looked at all of their faces. Two were filled with thirst, one with innocence.

"Go ahead." Alex said, motioning me to become the monster that they had just been.

I just stood there, frozen. I didn't want to move, I couldn't. How could I take away this life? I mean, she had a family, she had friends, and she had a life. It just seemed so unfair.

"Please hurry up, we haven't got all day." Daniel said, annoyed by my resistance.

I knew that if I tried to breathe now, that I would destroy any hope of not becoming a monster. But I had to tell them that I had no plan on partaking on this horrific event.

I braced myself for what was about to come. I sucked in a slight breath. The scent hit me so hard I almost fell backwards. The smell of fresh blood, exposed blood, was intoxicating. It took every ounce of willpower that I possessed not to spring on top of the little girl and suck her dry.

"No. I can't." I had to keep my answers short and sweet, or else the monster inside me would take over. I pushed back the demon inside me. There has to be a better way, an alternative. There just has to be!

"What?" Daniel asked, eyeing me intently.

"Did you just say that you can't?" Alex added.

"Yes I did." I wasn't going to back down, not this time. And besides, I was incredibly strong, I could take them in a fight.

"Of course you can! Don't be idiotic." Daniel replied.

"I know I can." I added icily. "But this girl," I gestured to the girl, "she has a family, and friends, and a life! I can't end it for her. Even if it hurts me, I won't do this."

Alex looked at me, utter shock masking his face. "You have to. There's no other way. You can't survive without blood."

I held my ground. "There's always another way!" I was now shouting at them. "I can't believe you expect me to do this! I used to be human! And you made me a monster! I think I have some choice in what I do or do not want to eat!"

"Sarah, think about this logically." Alex was pleading now. "We rely on blood to survive. If we don't drink blood, we will eventually die. There's no way around it."

I couldn't believe that he actually expected me to do this. I could see this coming from Daniel, but not him. I thought he loved me, wanted me to be happy. I didn't get a choice in this lifestyle, so why can't I have a choice in my diet?

"I refuse to do this. And there's no way you're going to make me!" Ha let them chew on that!

"Well I don't see how we could make you, even if we really wanted to." Alex said.


"Alex!" Daniel snapped.

"What? It's the truth! Newborns are always extremely strong for the first year." Alex replied.

Daniel just shut his eyes and hung his head. I could see he was trying to calm himself. This was obviously something he didn't want me to know about. But if what Alex said was true, then there was nothing keeping me here with them. I only stayed because I was afraid they would destroy me. But now it turns out, that I'm more dangerous to them, than they are to me.

"Is that so?" I questioned darkly, taking a deliberate step towards Alex. He shifted slightly back on his heels. I chuckled at his reaction.

"Didn't I tell you that it was a bad idea if she found out?" Daniel yelled.

I noticed the little girl flinch. I had almost forgotten she was there. And as soon as I acknowledged her presence, the fire was back, slowly making its way through my mouth, and down my throat, racing the venom that also flowed freely through my mouth. Stop it! I had to focus.

"So you didn't want me to know?" I asked Daniel. He didn't show any physical signs of fear, but I could see it in his eyes, he was afraid, afraid of me!

"No." Daniel replied without hesitation.

"Huh." Since I was stronger than them and probably faster too, I had another option. I didn't have to kill this girl. I didn't even have to stay here with them. I didn't need their guidance, they had already told me enough about our kind, that I was fairly sure I could discover the rest on my own. It wouldn't be too hard. I could search for other vampires that shared my distaste for killing humans.

"Obviously, you two don't have my best interest at heart. First you practically force me to kill this innocent human, and now, I figure out that you've lied to me." Alex was about to protest but, I didn't give him a chance. "No matter how much you try, or no matter how much I desire it, I will never drink from a human. And I'm afraid if you can't live with what I've decided, than I can no longer stay with you." I was surprised by the sudden conviction in my voice, and so were Alex and Daniel.

"Sarah," Alex began, "can't you see that I do love you, that I want the best for you? I want you to be happy, but I don't see how you can live without human blood. You will never be satisfied with anything else." I could tell that Alex was in pain. My comment hurt him.

I turned my attention to Daniel, who was still pinning the little girl to the ground. "And you also don't believe that I can be fully satisfied without human blood?" I tried to emphasize the human part.

"No, I don't. It's just not possible. For centuries our kind has survived because of humans. I don't know of anyone else who have tried alternative lifestyles."

I was a bit taken back by their comments. It was like they didn't believe I could do it. I may be a newborn, but I was human once, and I know what it was like, to have friends and a family. I couldn't take that from anyone.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. I really wish that things could be different, but I can't change who I am, or who I was. And I can't accept this lifestyle, as much as I try to. It's just pointless, because I will never be able to take away someone's daughter, son, mother or father. I just will never be able to. I'm sorry. Thank you so much for all you have given me. Maybe we will meet again someday. Goodbye." I took one last look at the young girl, wishing that I could help her but knowing that if I did, I would just end up hurting her. I turned my back and started off into the woods.

"Sarah!" Alex called my name. I'm sure if he could cry, he would be right now. "Please don't do this!" As much as he wanted me to stay, we both knew that I would never.

"I'm sorry." I walked up to him and gently pressed my lips to his cheek. I stepped back and took one last look at Alex and Daniel, and then turned around and ran into the woods as fast as my legs would go.

Author's Note: A few people asked me what was going to happen to Sarah and Alex's relationship, and it was so hard for me not to tell them that I hadn't really planned for their relationship to go anywhere. Well I hope nobody is mad at me for that. Thanks for the reviews! I hope you liked it!