Look! I'm back! Sorry I disappeared for a while. NaNoWriMo was going on, and I was working on that. A month is a long time to go without playing with fanfiction. Though I utterly failed at NaNo, I did get a lot written if it wasn't the full count. I really wanted to work on fanfiction, so I'm happy to be back writing this. I'm already halfway through eleven for this story, and I have a challenge for a oneshot. So, here I am! I was so impressed with how many people kept reading, reviewing and favoriting my stuff, even though I wasn't adding more. Love you guys, I'm happy to be back. (A month is a really long time.)


Chapter Ten

Nomad

I didn't remember how long I had been running. I ran, hard. Fast. Hours had slipped by. The moon was setting and the dawn was gathering. Boston was far behind me, Eloisa was far behind me. I was racing away from the dawn, running west.

Even as the landscaping around me blurred into nothing but white – eventually, as I neared West Virginia it started to thin – I could see nothing but the images forever emblazoned in my mind.

Eloisa's scream echoed in my mind over and over again. Never had I truly heard something so frightened.

Eloisa was probably in her home now, wrapped up in a blanket, sleeping. She was safe. Somehow, somewhere, Something had intervened on a course I myself did not have the strength to alter. Ironically, it had been the very thing that killed Charles that had saved Eloisa.

I had already launched myself onto her – I could see nothing but the blood in her veins. I couldn't see her face: it was only as she screamed that I remembered she was not some faceless food. She was my close and guarded friend. Still. Something inside me was stronger than myself. Even as I cried for it to stop and leave her alone, I could not hold back the want.

It was the Wind. It changed direction as precisely the right moment. Not only did it blow Eloisa's scent away from me, but it blew something else's toward me.

The monster.

I had looked to Eloisa, whispered an apology, before turning.

My throat burned for my first meal despite my horror and desire to stop it. My hunger, however, was not my most prevalent desire.

I had smelled the monster that had taken Charles' life and completely destroyed my own. There would be Hell to pay. I would not rest until justice had been delivered.

As much as my body cried in anger that I would not fulfill its most primal desire, I continued to run on, following the scent.

At first, its path had been wild, erratic, as if it didn't know where it was going. Then it straightened out as if it knew I was following, and fled.

The scent grew thin as I neared Kentucky's border. I slowed down to a moderate walk, but the foliage continued to breeze by. I was still amazed by my new body. In my run, I had been able to push aside the strange longing in my throat.

I had discovered new aspects about my body – not only could I run as fast as the Wind itself, I could leap into the branches of heaven-reaching trees. With long, open spaces before me, I discovered I could vault across the ground, clearing boulders, streams and bushes. Once, I did not completely clear a boulder, and was surprised to find myself sitting on the ground with the large rock in crumbles around me.

The sensations inside of me were far too foreign to contemplate. I did not fear as one might after finding herself in such an unpredictable or incomprehensible situation. There was an exhilaration to it – a new sense of life and vitality, but it was coupled with a near-incapacitating pain in my heart where my love for Charles had been – and still was – but it, too, like myself, had changed into something else entirely.

Eventually, I stopped completely, and stood there. My feet were bare, and I was still wearing my shredded night gown. I was practically naked. The breeze tossed my tangled curls and I pushed them out of my face irritably.

"Now what?" I asked aloud, as if I expected a great voice from the sky to answer me. Only the wind moved, stirring the foliage around my feet. There was nothing nearby.

With a deep sigh, I started walking aimlessly forward. Without the scent of Charles' killer in my throat, I felt a different sort of want. I tried to swallow, but my throat was dry.

Burning.

It burned. My throat was dry, scratchy… irritable. I was thirsty. I wanted something to drink. As I thought about the idea of drinking, I was suddenly aware of the sound of water running. Altering my course, I began walking toward what sounded like a stream.

The source of the noise was much further away that I had initially thought – after several minutes of walking, I finally saw the source of the noise. A small stream emptied into an average-sized pond. I was surprised I could even here the sound at all – the stream was barely moving in any way to make a sound.

Instantly, I dropped to the ground and crawled to the edge. I did not care if the water was clean or not. I was thirty. I shoved my hands into the water and cupped them, bringing a big mouthful to my lips. Drinking deeply, I swallowed. And choked. And coughed.

I wiped my mouth, staring at the water in surprise. It looked crystal clear, but it tasted of mud. And my throat still burned.

I frowned a little, and my stomach turned. Had the water poisoned me? Was I sick now? I turned away from the stream as my stomach twisted around itself, and I promptly, gracelessly, returned the water to the earth.

I wiped my mouth again and stared at the strange water, feeling much better now that it was no longer in my stomach.

Perhaps drinking strange water had not been such a good idea. My thirst seemed even stronger now. Though it seemed undrinkable, it would be safe to bathe in, right?

The idea of cleaning sounded blissful. Without a second thought, I tried to undress – and ended up ripping the garments off of me by mistake. A strange surreal feeling washed over me. It had been as if my hand had spasmed, as if I had no control over my body. If my muscle twitched just a little too much, I did irreversible damage.

Dropping the shredded, flimsy ghost-like garment, I stepped into the chilly waters. Though I was further south, it was still winter, and the water was sure to be ice-cold. The thought of cleanliness, though, overrode my want for warmth.

Bracing myself, I stuck my toe into the water, gently lowering my heel into the water. I was very surprised to discover the pond was warm. Perhaps it was heated by thermal vents underground.

Eagerly, I disregarded the scientific explanation and slipped completely into the water, letting the liquid clean my naked body. I ducked underwater and ran my fingers through my hair. The strands floated around me, long and curled. I smiled softly, bubbles escaping my lips.

At least no one would ever tell me I had to put my hair up again.

I had been wandering for hours. Hours? Had it truly been hours? After cleaning myself, I had crawled out of the pond, leaving my shredded night gown on the ground. At first, I felt ashamed walking around in the complete nude, but it was so dark no one could see me. The only thing I carried with me were my stones. The red one, and Charles'. I clutched them both in one hand, leaving the other free.

Ahead, I could see the fence posts of a village. Perhaps I could find someone to clothe me there.

The first part of the town that I came to was the industrial part. No homes, no people. Only closed, darkened store fronts.

I paused outside a dressmaker's shop, and looked in at the pretty dresses in the store front. Without thinking about it, I put both my hands on the glass to get a better look. Instantly, the glass shattered completely beneath my fingertips. I stood there, staring in shock. I had only touched the glass, and it had shattered beneath my finger.

I stared up at the mannequin for a moment, and then without thinking, I stepped across the broken glass and into the display.

It only took a moment. The hand-sewn mannequin was suddenly bare, and my naked body was now garbed like a queen. I paused, looking at my reflection in the remaining bits of glass. I gently tucked the two stones that were, easily, the most precious thing in the world to me now, safely inside the bodice. My only tie to Charles was going to be forever with me.

The crushed velvet gown was evergreen-colored, hemmed with gold. The bodice had elaborate light-green needlework, hemmed again with gold. The square neck set off my slender neck and the deep green complimented my flaming hair seductively.

I walked on through the display and dropped down into the store. The room should have been dark, but I could see everything clearly. A strange sensation settled over me. Again. Another, of many. Perhaps it was dark in the room – for I could see no lantern lit – but I could see in the darkness like I never could before.

A sense of wonderment filled me, and I wandered around the room slowly, my eyes wide to a whole new world.

I paused in front of the long, body-mirror to admire my new body. Now that I was clean, I could better see myself. Or the person I had become.

My body was different. I was the same height, my waist was still small, and my breasts had not changed. My skin was as pale as the moon, but in an eerie, beautiful way. I could see things on myself now that I had not seen before.

My skin was perfect and smooth. I traced my fingertips across my cheek lightly. As much as I wanted to look over the fullness of my lips and the prominence of my cheekbones, I could not help but to lean closer, and to stare into my own eyes. They were still a vibrant red color, but they were getting darker in color. How strange, that my eyes that once matched my dress would now match my hair.

I shook my head slightly, fluffing my hair out. The crazy red curls were pleased to be free from any confines, and coiled happily down my back. The only jewelry I wore was the pendant Nana had given me. I touched St. Julian's head. Had she known? Did she fear this would happen to me? How could she have known such a thing?

"Hey! Miss!"

I turned. There, on the street, looking through the broken shop window and display at me in the store, was a police officer. Slowly, my body turned around to face him completely. I moved to the window display, and stepped up inside of it again. My bare feet moved across the broken glass, but it did not hurt. I did not flinch.

"Miss, I'm afraid I'm going to have to place you under arrest for destruction of property and theft. Please, come here."

I moved to the edge of the window and stared at the man. The shop window was elevated, so I stood higher than he did. I paused, my toes just at the edge of the window. As I came to stop just at the edge, my lungs were filled with the fresh night air.

"Miss, please-"

The police officer had time to say no more. I cannot articulate that possessed me, but it was like Hell itself raging through my veins. Fire burned in my throat, and I could feel saliva building in my mouth. A small voice questioned in the back of my mind whether it really was saliva or not – the consistency wasn't quite right. Saliva or not, my throat was burning. I had been hungry while walking, and for the first time, I realized what I was hungry for.

Monster, an inner voice warned.

Hungry, another replied.