Erica trained me on the quick step for about a week before I could finally get it down without running into anything. Thankfully, my body was in such a shape that I could deal with the forceful stops. Being unnatural did have its many advantages. And I was eternally grateful for that.
About a week after that, she started training me on sight. Rather, how to spot landmarks during the quick step to keep it going for long distance runs. That was a difficult task and proved to be a treacherous journey for me. With everything that was going on around me, it was extremely difficult to pick out landmarks from the walls of passing obstacles constantly shifting and changing near me. The turning killed me. I couldn't stop and turn like she could, but by the end of that week, I was a pro. At least, compared to what she wanted me to do.
And then, out of the blue, we were being kicked out of the coven. I won't go into any great detail, mainly because it was so petty and childish on the coven's part, that it doesn't deserve the mentioning. But whether or not it was a worthy story, we were being kicked out.
I half expected Erica to strangle the head of their little committee, Hendrix. He was my neighbor for over six years, and now he was our evictor; telling us that they didn't want any more trouble from the likes of me, and that they wanted us out by the next morning. What a dick!
Erica had told me to pack my clothes and my books, and she packed her clothes. Unfortunately there was no way we could bring her coffin, nor my few packets of blood in the freezer. That would have to wait until we got back. If we ever returned.
Our first stop, Erica told me, was an old abandoned building around Fargo, North Dakota. I'd never been to the states, and so I was sure this was going to be good for my geography lessons, hopefully.
"The population is very high, and I the crime rate is about high enough that a few missing people shouldn't provoke such a disturbance in the community." Erica told me as we sat in the cellar, waiting for the sun to die down.
"Are you going to take me hunting?" I asked, filled with excitement.
"I'm going to have to." She said angrily towards our situation. She'd been like that ever since she woke up. I wasn't sure whether it was the fact that she'd have to live without her coffin for a while or if it was about the eviction itself. I made a mental note not to ask. "But before we leave, you're going to drink a few packets with me to stave off the thirst and then we'll head out."
And as soon as the sun went down, we did exactly that. Except this time, I didn't have time to fully enjoy the taste. Erica made me force down three packets of blood while she did the same and as soon as we were ready, we left.
The trip across the border went without a hitch. Though, Erica did have to hold my hand the entire way. The first few miles, I'd over shot her turns and wound up farther away from her than I'd intended. And so, like the child my body played, she held my hand all the way to Fargo, North Dakota.
I'd never seen a city before. There were no pages in my work books that portrayed one, nor had I really watched anything on the TV about them. Mostly it was either The Addams Family, The Munster's', or Gilligan's Island. And if none of that was on, Erica and I would go outside and play, or fight over our boredom. Anything to keep my schooling away.
I was extremely pleased that my first time in a city could be seen through my new eyes, because my old ones could never due this beautiful sight justice. The clear diamond lights that sprouted from every direction, the hustle and bustle of the passerby and traffic, the smell of hot dog stands, the people… Everything was made for someone like me to enjoy.
I took in the sights, the smells, and the sounds as if I were a stray tourist. Well, I was, but not in the since that I'd been vacationing here in Fargo.
We stood in the middle of the largest crowd of people I'd ever seen. Business men and women shuffled by with their briefcases. A small gang of underage youths shoved past us with a large stereo kicking out their favorite song. Junkies passed along jittering and mumbling to themselves. But my favorite type of person was the overly eccentric band imitators. Their hair shot out in all directions, and it made me laugh. Their leather clothes, long girlie hair, it was something I'd never expect to see in such a crowd.
My mother always told me to do my best to fit in, but there was a line, and if I tried to blend in with these people, I'd cross it instantly.
"Stop staring." Erica snapped as the group of funny looking people eyed us. "It's rude."
"But they look ridiculous!" I said laughing.
This caught the attention of a rather tall looking man.
"What's that little man?" He said. He looked he brandished a lions main that had been introduced to a thousand volts of electricity. The long leather pants he wore shined in the light from the street lamps, and glinted along his many, many chains. What they were for… I'll never know. Probably to pull those leg huggers even farther into his ass, I though in my inner laughter.
"Sorry. My little brother didn't mean it. He's never been in a city before."
The man was still coming our way. Is he really going to pick a fight with someone half his size?
His pose behind him had all stopped in the middle of the road, sounding off countless honks from the angry driver's they'd been blocking.
They shouted at him to shut me up, and teach me a lesson. I debated whether or not to just rip off a finger and shove him into traffic… but that was just instinct… and I agreed.
He was much taller than I'd realized. He looked to be almost six and a half feet tall as he lumbered in front of me. "Do you want to repeat you're little smart ass comment, little boy."
"I said you looked ridiculous. Much like a rodeo clown." I said, glaring into his generic brown eyes. I grew an instant hatred for this man the minute he let the words of a twelve year old get to him. What kind of a man, in his twenties, would pick a fight with someone as small and weak looking as me?!
He reached out and snagged a hand full of hair and I grabbed his arm, making sure to squeeze just enough to cut off his blood flow.
Before I could reach at his fingers that intertwined in my curly hair, Erica slammed her fist right into his face. She pummeled him into the ground and there was a sick shattered gargle that came from him before she ripped me away from him.
I was being yanked away from the crowd so fast that I'd thought I'd been flying. And whether or not the crowd saw anything, I was sure they didn't see her lift me and run.
She quick stepped instantly, and we were soon at our destination. "What is wrong with you?" She yelled at me, letting go of my arm.
I shuffled the small back pack that rested on my shoulder. "I didn't know people could be so aggressive." I said, hoping my ignorance would keep me out of trouble.
"That's not what I'm talking about." She said, rubbing her eyes. "If you're going to be around people, act like it. If someone grabs your hair, respond like you think they would. Scream, fight softly. Never show you're true colors, you got that."
"Yes."
"Yes what?" She was pushing it.
"Yes, Ma'am." I said, feeding her ego. She wasn't in command of me most of the time, but when she was, she showed it.
"That's better." She said, ruffling my already messed up hair, and turning to enter our new home.
It hadn't occurred to me as we walked into the abandoned building that it looked familiar. Its debris covered floors were normal for an abandoned building. So were its mildew encrusted ceiling tiles. What wasn't so normal, were the many drawings on the walls. Their child-like simplistic views of the world around them were all but a welcomed sight to me as I realized where we were.
"This is a school!" I said, my fist curled around the buckle of my back pack. The small plastic tether snapped under the pressure that my fear induced into it.
Erica turned on the ball of her feet. "I know, it's brilliant." She said, smiling until she saw my face. "What's wrong?"
I quickly let go of the crushed plastic that poked at my skin. "Nothing." I said, taking control over my heavy breathing. "It's nothing."
She eyed me for a minute, then turned back around in the hallway. "We need to find the basement." She said. "Your mother said that it should be set up for us."
"She came here?" I asked.
"Back before she came to the coven she stayed here. So if nothing's changed, there should be a coffin down in the basement along with whatever else she left behind."
"Huh."
As Erica and I stood around the empty basement, we looked gloomily at how ill prepared it actually was.
On the floor in the middle of the large room, was a single coffin. Its wooden frame was poorly constructed and I doubted very seriously that my mother had ever slept in it. It wasn't her style. She preferred a large roomy box to sleep in, not this handmade mess. There were endless cracks in it, and splits so wide in its sides that I couldn't imagine Erica having a good day's rest in it.
Around the coffin, was practically nothing. Just a milk crate and a small collection of bottle caps that sat on top of it. Other than that, there was only dust and dead roaches littering the floor.
"We're going to have to do something about this." She said, looking over to me warily. I didn't like cleaning, and she didn't like a mess. We weren't a very good pair when it came to home cleanliness, and I knew some sort of annoying idea was floating around her head as she looked back to the mess.
"I'll make a deal with you." She said. "I'll go out and get us some new furniture, and you clean." Her smile couldn't have been more forced.
"Clean with what?" I said, looking at our rat's nest of a home.
"I'll have to get that too, I guess." She said, turning back up the stairs. "Just wait here and I'll be back in a minute."
"Sure." I said, giving the room one more look over before following up the stairs.
While Erica went out to get us some supplies, I sat around the front steps and waited for her. Cars didn't seem to pass around this part of town. It was just a barren road that to the abandoned school, so I guess they had no reason. Another perk this place held.
And this place was a great find on my mother's part. Abandoned and forgotten, this old elementary school was totally separated from the civilization that thrived only a mile north of it. With its horrible condition, even homeless people didn't live here. I was sure it was mostly because of the signs outside that said: Warning Formaldehyde, out front.
With its boarded up windows, I could wander around these halls even during the day. Not that I had that sort of ambition. It was just a comforting thought just in case I couldn't sleep. Thoughts of how annoyed I'd become after a nightmare woke me up during the middle of the day at my mother's house flew around my mind. The boredom was murder. Especially when I was forced to stay in the cellar with my mother's muffled snoring coming from her coffin. Those days were nerve-wracking.
Lights appeared down the long road, and I instinctively backed away into the schools dark embrace. A sudden sense of fear seemed to grip my shoulders as I hid myself half-way behind the pushed in front door. My right hand gripped it nervously as I watched the car skid to a halt.
I prayed that Erica had hotwired a car and was back from shopping, but that wasn't the case at all as I watched four teens hop out. It looked to be two guys and their girlfriends.
"Wow! It's been years since I've seen this place!" One of the girls said. Her ebony hair was long and flowing in the wind, glinting the moonlight beautifully into my eyes.
A tall, tan skinned teen came up around her and wrapped his large arms around her sides and held her close. "Same here." He said, his hair was cut right above his shoulders, like little brown tentacles. Their slick surface was matted together by what I could only guess to be hair gel. As he looked up, I caught his blue eyes, and his confused expression. He'd seen me.
I backed away from the opening completely as he asked if anyone else saw that.
His group seemed to deny him the satisfaction of belief as they cracked jokes about his eye sight. I was too busy looking for a good escape plan, just in case they decided to investigate. Please go away, please leave! I prayed.
"No, you guy's, I'm serious. There was some little kid standing in the doorway." He said, defending what he'd seen with complete confidence. There was no mistake that he'd seen me clearly. And there was no way they could convince him to leave me be.
I heard their conjoined footsteps slowly nearing the door, and I held my position, hoping fear of a dark abandoned school would scare them off for good. But as I felt someone put pressure against the door I jammed, my hopes had been shattered.
I pushed against it forcefully, hoping I'd knock whoever it was to the ground, and I ran down the left hallway. It was longer, but it was the only path to the basement.
The screams from the girls let me know that my little attack had frightened them, it was getting them to go away that seemed difficult. Stubborn teenagers, I thought as I rounded the corner and turned back to make sure they weren't following me.
Whereas I wanted to get down to the basement as quickly as possible, my body wanted to wait and see. I wasn't sure at first why my instincts were acting this way, but I was sure that it wasn't something I'd be proud of later.
You see, I've never taken blood directly from a human after my new change. And my body knew this. My mouth watered at the thought of lasting their warmth. My teeth picked away at the inner skin on my bottom lip as I imagined how piercing their skin would feel. And my heart was racing. This was becoming less of an escape and more of a release.
The door pushed open, and I could see the teen that'd caught my sight before, stumble into the school's main entrance. His hand rubbed furiously against his forehead. "Hello?" He called to the darkness, hoping for a response.
"Ricky, there's no one here." The other male said. As he came into my view, I saw that he was dressed in a dark pair of bell bottoms, sporting a tie-dye shirt. I was a little disappointed in myself for not noticing him sooner. What is wrong with these teens? I thought feverently as I watched them gather in the main lobby. The last fashion statement I'd noticed was that people started wearing tighter pants!
As I glared over to the two boys, I heard a shrill scream from the doorway. The dark haired beauty was pointing right at me when I'd finally tracked down her location, forcing me to duck away and run.
I couldn't keep myself from knocking down an empty bookshelf that lied tilted against the wall. The loud crash definitely let them know that someone was here.
As I sprinted towards the empty principal's office, a strong arm reached out from the classroom right before my destination, caught me by the neck and yanked me into the room.
In only a few short movements, Erica pulled me close, slammed me up against the wall of the classroom, stomped my feet into the floor, locked her left arm across my chest, and covered my muffled scream with her right hand.
"What the hell are you doing?!" She whispered furiously.
I muffled that I wasn't doing anything, but I doubted she was willing to listen to my lie.
The sounds of the teenagers running through the halls quickly met both of our ears. Their heavy breathing and frantic calls for me were ringing through the halls.
"Nothing, huh?" She said sarcastically. As the voices came nearer and nearer, she slowly slid the door to her right shut and looked me right in the eyes. Her stare was cold and harsh. "It's your call." She said, giving me the choice of whether to let them search until they gave up, or kill them. "But remember, if they leave, there's a chance they'll come back here again. And next time it might not be just the four of them." She stated.
My teeth clenched at the thought of letting my prey go, but in spite of my instincts, I said, "Leave them alone." My surrender to my conscious hurt me a great deal, but this wasn't the time to learn the coveted taste of their beautiful lives.
With my decision made, Erica let me go from her capturing hold on me and we escaped out the window, silently. With an angry aura surrounding her, she snatched up the four bags she'd stashed beside the outer wall of the school and we made our way around to the far left wing as quick as we could. We just barely beat the sounds of the teens as we raced down the basement stairs and ran past the thick blue basement door. Erica shut the shrieking door as quietly as she could, but once it was shut, and both latches had been slammed into place, she turned on me furiously.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" She said, confident that our shelter would suppress any of her yelling.
"I…" I started.
"No! Save it!" She said, rubbing her eyes again. She always did that when she wasn't sure how to respond to something. "I leave you alone for thirty minutes, and you've already lured four people to their deaths." She said to herself.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not angry with you." She said, obviously trying to convince herself. "I'm actually a little proud at how well you were drawing them in."
I smiled at her recognition.
"But you need to learn to keep your demographic old, or evil. Okay?" Her eyes were much kinder as she looked at me. Those beautiful, grey eyes always made me feel special. Even more than my mother's.
"Okay."
