Mortality

X - Swings

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Like you imagined, there are no children at the park at this time of night. There is a group of teenagers off in one corner, huddled together with smoke curling above their hoods, but as soon as Jade emerges from the other side of your car, all bright eyes and radiating skin, they scuttle off. You watch Jade's face as they do, wondering if she would find it funny or insulting, but you're surprised to see the slightest trickle of hurt in the way her sharp eyebrows crunch over her nose.

Much like the car ride to the park, she remains silent as you walk an arm's width beside her to the swingset. There are benches, but this is where you would have wanted to sit had you been with your friends, and you don't want to treat her any differently. You lower into the shorter of the two and grip the cool metal links before beginning to rock on your heels. Jade is still standing, and you raise your eyebrows up at her as she studies first you and then the empty swing.

"I haven't sat on one of those in probably a hundred years," she suddenly blurts, looking to you again. You don't know what to say, simply staring at her, waiting for her to decide whether or not she wants to break that swing-less streak of hers. Finally, the Vampire shrugs her shoulders, takes each chain, and slowly lowers herself to the curving seat. She doesn't move for a minute after that, eyes vacant and glowing off in the distance, and she's so pretty that you can't bring yourself to say anything so as not to break the picture. But then she twists her neck at you and stretches her legs, pushing her back. Lifting her feet, she swings forward, and the most real smile you've ever seen on her blossoms on her lips.

"So," Jade says, tilting her head so pieces of black hair crawl along the pale expanse of her neck. "What do you want to know?"

It takes you a minute to think up anything, and the first question you have is the least original one you can think of. "I know you probably hate this question," you begin, "but I have to ask. How old are you?"

Thankfully, Jade doesn't react negatively. She actually chuckles and pushes herself backward again, allowing gravity to swing her forward. "Who is the oldest Vampire you know of?"

You think in silence for a minute. "Father Berghstrom. You know, that priest on TV. He says he's over two hundred."

Jade's lips curl into a tight smile. "Would you believe me if I told you I was older than that?"

You look at her disbelievingly. You've always known that Vampires have been a part of history as long as Humans have, though no one can say for sure the 'cause', or the who the 'original' Vampire was. But, from what you know, they've been killed off pretty steadily by Hunters the past couple hundred years, leaving few ancient ones like Father Berghstrom. If she's over two hundred years old like she's claims, then she's seen so much more than you could even imagine. She's witnessed history and the evolution of society and who even knows what else. One time, when you were twelve, you and your family took a vacation to D.C., where you went to all kinds of museums. At one stop you saw the Declaration of Independence and you thought it was so neat to see something that was there and had survived this long, but Vampires are walking, breathing, living beings that can talk to you about it.

You're so overwhelmed that nearly a minute has gone by with you just gaping at her like a moron, so you quickly straighten yourself up and mimic her movements on the swing. "I have no reason not to trust you."

Jade's expression flexes at that, eyes narrowing not in a condescending way but in a truly curious one. "We'll leave it at that, then. Two hundred plus."

"I'll be nineteen in June," you say, and you grin when Jade laughs an open-mouthed, throaty sound. "Okay, your turn."

Jade leans back in her swing, black hair nearly tumbling to the ground below. "Hm. What are you going to school for?"

You perk your brows. "How do you know I'm going to school?"

The Vampire laughs. "Acquiring excellent observation skills is required when one wants to live as long as I do. You have a sticker on your back window."

"You could be a detective."

She laughs again. The sound seems to surprise her, looking at you with the same contemplative look as before. "So, what is it, then?"

"Drama." You smile. "Well, the big dream would be to become an international pop star - corny and childish, I know - but I'd settle for being an actress, too. Or I could straddle both, like Miley Cyrus."

Jade shakes her head. "Now that's a Vampire I wouldn't mind roasting in the sun."

It's your turn to chuckle. "Don't like famous Vampires?"

She shrugs in response. "I don't much like anyone, but any person who can sing about partying in the USA deserves a good sunburn, in my opinion."

You start to laugh, only for long forgotten information surfacing to the front of your brain again. Talking about the burning somehow made you remember, and all humor drains from your voice when you speak again. "My turn."

"Shoot."

"Whatever happened to the Immortalis?"

Jade stiffens. Sitting straight in the swing, she plants her feet on the ground and her elbows on her knees, clasping her hands in a gun-like shape before resting her chin on her thumbs. A sigh deflates her chest. "I'm not supposed to talk about it. I'm surprised Coexist didn't make you swear on your mother's life not to talk about it, either."

"Have they not been caught yet?"

Jade pauses only for a moment before slowly shaking her head. "No. They moved their hideout. Coexist managed to get their hands on one guy, and he's locked up right now, but he won't crack."

"Why haven't they told the public? Don't we deserve to know?"

Her green eyes sharpen on their way back to you. Her expression is nothing but stone, harsh and unfeeling. "Humans are rash creatures, Vega. We need to protect ourselves."

Your eyebrows crook down. "And what about us? Are we just supposed to hope you guys can handle it?"

The tight muscles in her jaw loosen a bit as she looks away. And then she's slumping over again, seriousness gone. "I really wouldn't worry about it. We've got it under control."

You stand up. Without a word, you begin marching toward your car, but something icy and hard makes your entire body jerk backward. You twist around and Jade is openly staring at you, face blank aside from the slightest dip of one corner of her mouth.

"What?" She looks confused, and you get the feeling that this isn't normal for her.

"I don't want to sit here and be talked to like Humans don't matter. Like I don't matter."

"I never said that," she counters sharply, but she doesn't release your wrist.

You step closer to her. "Not all Humans are rash, Jade, just like not all Vampires are like the Immortalis."

She studies you in silence for a time. The breeze sings through the tree branches above you, creaking the now empty swings. You watch her face as it grows more and more cold, a conflict in those simmering eyes, and then she releases your wrist and takes a step back.

"I'm starting to see that," she says, cocking her head back toward the swing. "Tell me more about gentle, compassionate Humans like yourself."

You stare at her, knowing that there is a line here you're about to cross. The safe route would be turning around and getting in your car and putting all of this Vampire mess behind you, because being ignorant is easy.

But you step forward, cross that line, and sit on the swing beside her, not entirely aware of what you're getting into.

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