Damien glared out the mouth of the cave at the sunshine that he was hiding from. Well, not really the sunshine, but the reminder that it brought… the reminder of what he was… and what he couldn't have while he was such…
I should try to stop moping… there's nothing I can do about this… Damien thought to himself. And yet… I can't really stop… I hate this…
He'd pounded this cave into a canyon wall far from the town last night. He had no particular reason for doing such; he was just… hurting…
Now that I've spoken to her… learned her feelings… He thought to himself. Can I really go back to hiding from her? … If I do, it'll definitely be harder than before…
Damien shifted slightly, trying to settle the pain that was trying to rise up again and allowed himself to fall down to lie on the cave floor. His gaze switched up to the ceiling as he settled on the floor.
In the darkness… though his eyesight was well-adjusted to the dark by now… the ceiling looked a lot like the one in the attic…
I can remember… hearing her practice speaking aloud for others, while I stared at that ceiling… Damien thought. She sounded so pathetic… but she was really trying… I guess that's why I was listening so hard… She's capable of such boundless hope… If she could muster up a bit of courage, she could find new friends, and start living life like a normal kid… forgetting me entirely…
Damien shook his head, feeling strange about those thoughts all of a sudden, and turned over to look at the mouth of the cave.
Light footsteps from outside caught his attention. By the particular sound of them, Damien could tell it was someone wearing high heels… and only one person could come out here wearing high heels.
Crap… Damien said to himself. I'm not dressed for this!
In a second, he rolled up, and darted out of the cave.
Myra gasped as something dashed right across her path, and quickly began ascending the canyon walls. With little hesitation, her face of shock became that of rage and frustration as she turned toward the figure climbing the canyon wall.
"Coward! Get back here!" She shrieked, running after it.
Damien hopped up onto the top of the canyon and hurried for the mountains.
Myra was following close behind him, using her scorn as stamina to run faster.
As the two of them ran on through the bright heat of the sunlight, and the rough terrain of the mountain range, both were beginning to feel their bodies becoming weaker… Damien more than Myra, though, as she'd come dressed in a jacket, jeans and a big sun hat.
"Look who's talking!" Damien yelled. "Calling me a coward… you're the one attacking me during the day, when I was trying to rest!"
"Shut up!" Myra retorted. "My life is hanging in the balance here! If you won't become mine, I have to kill you so that I can keep living!"
"What's that, another vampire perk?" Damien asked, leaping over a really big rock.
"You know it's not!" Myra roared. "I told you from the start! Now, get back here and DIE!"
Damien stumbled as he landed hard on his weak feet and ankles, struggling to keep running now. Myra followed, feeling just a little less pain.
"Witch, get off my case!" Damien yelled. "People get rejected everyday! Go drink away the wounded pride like everyone else!"
"I have been drinking, you idiot!" Myra snapped. "It's not as pain-numbing as you might think! Alcohol doesn't work either!"
Either? What the… Damien's thought stopped a bit short as he looked back at Myra for the first time.
Her face was smeared with blood. On the wind, Damien could smell both the blood and some alcohol.
She… she's been drinking blood… Damien thought, his stomach turning a bit. I don't get it…
All of a sudden, Damien tripped, and went tumbling across the ground, feeling every little indentation in the ground like they were knives going through him.
Myra jumped on this opportunity… quite literally. Her high heels landed right in the middle of Damien's back, knocking the wind out of him, and piercing his skin a bit.
"Now I've got you!" Myra said. "You… You will know my pain, today! You will rot here on earth before you rot in hell!"
Damien looked back at her with an expression of rage as she dug her heels further into his back…
Back on campus with Anna…
"Miss Blue."
Anna winced as she looked up to find her teacher standing beside her desk. She'd been caught reading her notebook in the middle of a history lesson… For the third time.
"Would you mind telling me what is so important that you have to read it right now?" The teacher asked.
Anna watched the teacher, her hands trembling as she reached over to her desk, and picked up her bookmark.
"I-It's… nothing… just… notes… that I wrote…" Anna mumbled, marking her book, and closing it.
The teacher sighed and held out his hand to her.
Anna looked up at him. To anyone looking at her right then, she probably looked hurt, like she might cry. But, really, this was just her frustrated face. She hadn't realized how tearful her expression looked, and she probably would've tried for a different face if she had.
Quietly, reluctantly, Anna handed her notebook to the teacher and he took it with him back to his own desk to hold it until class was over.
With her notes gone, Anna found thinking very difficult, let alone forcing herself to think about the lesson before her. For one thing, she was sleep-deprived. After her encounter with Damien in the attic, she hadn't slept a wink. For another, all she wanted to think about was in that notebook… and with thinking being so difficult right now, she really needed that notebook in her face.
Class ended and the teacher pulled her aside for a bit.
"Is there… a problem?" Anna asked. "D-Did I do something wrong?"
"No, no. I'd just like to talk to you." The teacher said. "You see… I've noticed how sleepy you are of late…"
Anna raised her head in surprise, and brought her left hand up to her eyes, just lightly touching the hidden bag underneath her left eye.
"I don't have to see the bags under your eyes to know." The teacher said. "Now… I did a bit of digging, and found out about your dorm mates, and their frequent parties… if you'd like, I can have you moved to another dorm to get away from them."
For a moment, Anna couldn't move. But, for that same moment, her thoughts returned to her.
He… noticed me? She asked herself. And he's… offering… to help me?
"I-I… no, th-they… they're not any trouble… noise is easy enough… to sleep through… just as long as it's happy…" Anna stuttered. "I-I… I've just… been thinking very hard…"
The teacher leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk.
"May I ask what about?" He questioned her.
Anna gripped the notebook in her right arm just a little tighter.
I probably shouldn't say… no one knows Damien is here… otherwise those posters would be taken down by now… Anna thought to herself. Which means he doesn't want anyone to know he's here…
"Well… you can ask…" Anna said, casting her eyes to the floor.
The teacher leaned forward, trying to see her face.
"Miss Blue… I don't like to pry. But, I also don't like to sit by and watch my best students suffer." He said. "I won't press too hard… but, if you don't tell me what the problem is, I can't help you."
Anna looked up at him. His face was very serious.
He… really wants to know… doesn't he? Anna asked herself. I don't know how he came to know I was upset… or even that I was present in the class… but… if I just keep from mentioning any names…
"Well… I have a friend…" Anna said.
She explained her situation using as few details as possible, watching as the teacher nodded through listening to every word she said.
"So… now I don't know what to think about anything he said, which just leaves me feeling… hurt…" Anna said.
She met her teacher's eyes, looking to him for an answer.
Both stared for a bit, not moving… until Anna gave a slight jump, and jerked her eyes to the floor.
"I'm so sorry! I took way too long to explain!" Anna said. "I got carried away! I'm sorry!"
Her teacher smirked at her, jumping off of his train of thought to let her know that she was over-reacting.
"Think nothing of it." He said.
Anna brought her gaze back to his.
"As for your friend situation," Her teacher said. "I think… you should believe his story. And give him some time and space. Perhaps there's more to it than you think. He might want to tell you, and remain a friend to you… he's just waiting on the right time to tell you the whole story."
Anna held her books to her chest, feeling a strange lightening sensation in her chest. She'd never opened up to anyone like this… other than Damien, of course. It was nice to feel that her pain was known by another, again.
"Th-Thank you… sir…" Anna said. "It means a lot… just to know you heard me…"
The smile he bore was genuinely kind, as he nodded to her.
"Anytime." He said. "Now, don't be late for your next class, Miss Blue."
Anna looked up at the clock and gasped, dashing out the door faster than an Olympic sprinter.
The teacher sat back in his chair, staring at the door, though Anna was long-gone by now.
A slight chuckle escaped his lips, and he folded his hands behind her head.
"Nice girl…" He said.
Damien's fight with Myra…
"You spent too much time dieting!" Damien grunted, taking hold of her ankle.
With a quick jerk, Myra went tumbling to the side, crashing down to the rugged ground.
Damien bounced up while he had the time, and spun around in time to grab hold of her throat as she got back up.
"Oh, please!" Myra hissed through her teeth.
She grabbed his wrist and twisted it to the side, snapping the now-fragile bone easily.
Damien roared in pain, pulling away from her.
"I've actually fed a bit! That slows the sun's effect!" Myra said, spinning around, and raking her heel across his face, knocking him back. "How you've fought it for so long, I'll never know, but it will cost you everything!"
Damien got back on his feet, putting his broken wrist behind him so that it wouldn't be in the way.
Myra raised her hands up in front of her, showing off her nails. Right before Damien's eyes, they grew a whole inch longer.
"Another perk that comes with feeding!" Myra said.
With a demonic scream of rage, she lashed out at him. Damien backed up, moving out of her range. She began to chase him as he kept avoiding her claws.
"Stop using that nasty term!" Damien said. "You make me sick enough as it is!"
Using his good hand, Damien caught her next attack, and whipped his foot up, easily connecting it with her face.
Myra cried out in shock as she tumbled back, her hat falling off, and her long clothing getting torn as she rolled over the ground.
Somehow, she managed to stop rolling, and get to her feet, glaring at Damien. Her brown eyes were suddenly a malevolent purple color as she ran at him.
Damien lost sight of her, as fast as she was running, and couldn't stop her as she made one more attack.
He could make no sound. He was struggling to stay on his feet. Myra was laughing low, and dark.
She pulled her hand back out of his abdomen, allowing him to fall as she licked the blood from her nails.
"You're strong for a newbie." Myra said, her voice bearing a dark echo to it. "You might've even over-thrown the elders… if you would just embrace this gift I've given you!"
Damien lay down on the ground, glaring up at her as he tried to cover the wound in his chest. It seemed she'd narrowly missed his heart… but, another blow like that, and he would be history.
She approached him, her claws poised to strike.
Damien watched them glisten with a black light, seeming to be smiling at his pain, and wishing to deal him even more.
Myra sneered down at her prey, every inch of her ready to attack again. For a moment, though, she just watched, waiting on him to begin begging for his life.
In that moment, she tuned into her hearing, expecting to hear his wounded heart beating rapidly, and his breath becoming shaky.
Instead, she heard footsteps somewhere behind her. Someone was coming.
Myra heaved in a deep breath through her nose, both to calm herself, and identify the person approaching.
In an instant, her eyes returned to brown, and her claws retracted.
"No!" She gasped. "What's he doing here? None of them are supposed to be out this far!"
Without giving Damien a second thought, she took off running for the mountains, leaving only a terrified scent in her tacks.
Damien heaved himself up, and turned to spot a figure in the distance. It appeared to be hooded in a bright green robe, looking in his direction.
So… he's one of the 'elders' she talked about? Damien thought to himself. He'll be after Myra now… will he be after me, too?
Slowly, Damien began shifting around, trying to get to his feet. As he reached his knees, he noticed a set of feet on the ground before him.
Looking up, he saw the green-cloaked figure had come to him.
Damien stayed right where he was, a little surprised, and unsure of what to think. On one hand, if this person killed him, he'd be done with this 'eternity', Myra, and the hole in his chest. On the other hand… he still wanted to see Anna through her life. Even if he couldn't be with her, he hoped to watch over her in her life.
Slowly, the figure extended a brown-gloved hand toward Damien… in a gesture of assistance.
Damien looked at the hand, then up at the figure's hood, trying to see through its hood.
There wasn't enough light inside it to see a face…
Damien ignored the hand, and stumbled to his feet.
The figure lowered its hand back down to its side, turned and started away.
Damien was dumb-founded, watching as the figure walked away. He let it fade out of sight before he made any move to leave.
As Damien started back, he began to wonder why he was left alone like that. He wasn't complaining, of course. He just didn't quite understand.
But, of course… I learned all I know of the 'elders' from Myra. Damien thought to himself. Her only skill was lying…
Groaning in the heat of the desert sun, Damien limped his way back into town, and took cover in a dark alley way while his wounds healed…