Chapter: 4

A New Breed

"When did these nightmares begin Daniel?" Shrinks always have the tendency to ask questions without looking directly at you. It always feels as if they weren't listening or even caring as they jotted down scribbles in their notebooks. Sometimes i even wondered if they were drawing or actually taking notes.

"Danny ... call me Danny ... They started a few months ago... June I think." I answered.

"Were they sparked by an event, what had you done that day prior to having the nightmare?" He asked. Still not looking at me, I noticed he was now playing on his cell phone.

"I really don't remember, it wasn't anything out of the norm." I added while wondering whether or not it was even worth discussing anymore. Guys usually don't talk about their feelings, or things like this in general so maybe I should just leave. If it weren't for my coach forcing me to go after I broke that kids collar bone during a tackle, I wouldn't be here at all. Lately my temper hasn't been the same ... its been short and uncontrollable. My patience is nearly all but gone and the lack of sleep hasn't been helping either.

"Well lets go over the nightmares again ... you had mentioned that, theres a woman and a man in the dream? With ... red ... eyes?"

"With red eyes, yes..." maybe he was listening.

"Yes ... lets go over that again. Tell me what happens, and start from the very first dream up until the most recent." Now looking at me, I watched as he put down his phone and closed his notebook. Maybe the first two times I told him about the dream, he hadn't really listened. All of his attention was now on me, so maybe, MAYBE he might be different from the other shrinks I've seen.

"well ... the first dream started out with me ... in the football field, making a play. The Bleachers are filled with people cheering, but none of them have As I catch the ball and make my run for the field goal, Everyone just disappears ... its just me standing there in the field, with all the lights on me. Then the man shows up across the field. His skin, is pale as snow, and his eyes ... a bright glowing red."

"What happens next Daniel?"

"Its Danny ... not Daniel... and well ... Nothing really.. It always ended as we made eye contact." I said.

"Where does the female come in?" he asked.

"She wasn't there in the beginning ... she just recently started showing up..." I added. "Its like she's there with a reason ... for a purpose."

"where is she in perspective to the man in your dream?"

"Well, She appears in the empty bleachers, while I'm staring at the man ... I don't see her face, just see her red eyes in the shadows of her hood. Its like theres this force that is pulling me toward the both of them, and the second I take a step in the direction of one of them, the other gets closer to me. Like theirs some sort of battle for me... I cant really explain it but I just ... I don't know what it means." The shrink stared at me from behind his glasses for a long moment before saying anything. He wasn't too old, maybe in his late thirties, his hair was a salt and pepper color, heavy on the pepper. He would be what most females would consider a "fox" and it was kind of surprising to me that he was in this profession.

"It seems to me like, you are having these dreams due to suppressed feelings of regret about your parents relationship. Being raised by your father your entire life was something you and I spoke about a lot before. Do you think the lack of a mother like roll is causing you to manifest this woman in your dream?" My mother died giving birth to me. She worked in a hospital and was working the graveyard shift, while my father was a policeman. On a usual night, he would pick her up from work and take her home, but on his way to get her, an gun fight took place, causing him to be late. My mother, grew impatient and decided she'd walk the 6 blocks back him from the Boston Hospital where she worked. She was attacked and mugged by a random man who brutally beat her and even bit her neck. The trauma caused her to go into labor but she died, before my father could even arrive at the hospital. He was left to raise me. I don't think that any of that has anything to do with my dreams. My dad is an amazing parent and there was never a need to feel sad about not having a mother. He played both rolls my entire life and I appreciate him a lot for it.

"I don't think so ... I haven't even thought about having a 'mother' years and even then it was a 'i'm happy i have a dad instead of a mom' I know that sounds horrible, but my Dad has done everything for me and a mother wouldn't have changed anything for me."

"Well, it has to do with something close to that Daniel. How about you filter through everything that is going on right now in your life, and see if there could be a reason to manifest such a weird dream. Then, we'll talk about it in our next session." I hadn't realized our session was even up, but looking at the time, I realized that I was already late to pick up my girlfriend Madison. I nodded my head as he continued to speak, not caring for what he had to say as much as he cared for what I had to say and I made my way out of his office. I got to my car and pulled out my cell phone; quickly I dialed Madison and she answered within two rings.

"Where are you? Your late!" She said sounding extremely impatient and irritated. Madison was one of the more popular girls in school. Head Cheerleader, always lead in school plays, dating the jock football player (me) kind of made her that way. Even though she was all of the above, she didn't really let it get to her head. She hung out with all the kids that no one else would, she never really talked bad about the, she really just enjoyed life. She was currently at the dress boutique purchasing a gown for the Homecoming Dance on friday and was waiting for my approval so she could pick out my matching suit. Go figure.

"Just left Therapy, I'm on my way now" I reassured her.

"Ugh just hurry ... I miss your face. PLUS I don't want to waste another minute, this dress needs to be mine! So hurry!" she said as she hung up. I smiled and shook my head as I turned the key to my cars ignition. Friday was important to her for many reasons. We were seniors, it would be our last homecoming dance ever and we were both nominated for King and Queen. Never mind that it was my 18th birthday, that didn't really matter to me, what did matter was that She was happy.

I arrived to the shop within ten minutes and was immediately bombarded with materials and colors and pictures. It was almost like I hadn't a chance to breath the word hello out before we went full force into dress planning. Funny thing was this isn't even prom ... I'd hate to see what she would be like then. After about an hour there, we picked out our colors; red and black, then went back to my place. She had her car so she followed me there. My dad left some ribs out to defrost before he left for work and left instructions for me to cook them for dinner. For a guy, both my dad and myself were good cooks so he trusted me with making them. He also added in the note that Madison and I were ok to eat without him since he'd be working late so we did just that. During dinner, we talked about therapy and plans for after the dance. We both agreed that we'd play it by ear depending on whether or not we'd win King and Queen. It didn't matter to me, but to her it meant the world, so I kinda just went along with it.

After dinner, she helped me clean the kitchen and put away the left overs for my dad. We made our way into the living room, where we laid across the large couch cuddling while watching a movie. She was a horror film freak and ended up putting on a movie based on ghost activity in a house. It was filmed purely by personal camcorder, which gave the movie an eerie feel. At one point I began to get scared from a scene and I felt my heart beating against my chest. It felt like it was over working itself and my body felt like it was beginning to shut down. I started to feel sick in a way, feverish, light headed. My throat began to burn at once point so I stood up and opened the window to the family room. Madison wasn't warm at all and frankly the autumn chill had her shivering.

"Are you ok?" she asked. "Your shaking like a rabid cow ... Danny don't tell me your getting sick" she said as she held her wrist up to my forehead.

"Yeah I'm fine. Put that blanket around you, I'm just going to lay my head on your lap." I said sounding more raspy then I hoped. Before I could give her a chance to answer, I felt my body shut down and everything went dark.

I was there again. The football field. The faceless people cheered me on as I prepared to catch the oncoming ball. I went for it, began running toward it and reached high for my target. Once it landed in my arms, I was alone. The silence was eerie, the lights were bright. I took off my helmet and dropped it to the ground as I looked around me. As I finished my spin, I locked eyes with the red eyed man. We stared at each other for a long moment, and for the first time I noticed the blood on his lips. His hair seemed like it was at least chin length but he had it slicked back neatly and he looked like a mobster from those movies. I took a step forward and caught her staring at me from the bleachers again. The mystery woman stood there, head tilted down low enough to where I couldn't see her eyes but I knew she was watching me. As I took a step toward her, the energy pulled me closer to the man. I stopped, then looked at him confused. I needed to find out who the woman was, find out what she meant. I took yet another step toward her and now she lifted her face to look at me. The red glow beamed straight into my soul and I felt extremely uncomfortable. IT was then that she lifted her arm and pointed back at the man. Slowly, I turned and looked at the once stranger and now realized that he was not a stranger anymore. Instead of the unknown man, I now took his place. Blood dripping from my mouth ... with eyes that blazed a fire enraged red. Just as the dream finished, a slow yet heavy snow fall began to spread all around us and onto the field.

I finally awoke, drenched in either what was my sweat, or cold water that Madison used to wake me up. The phone was in her hand as if she were ready to call 9-1-1 at the drop of a hat. She was crying confused and scared. I looked around and felt a burn in my throat like none other and the scent in the air was like the sweetest smell I have ever smelled. I looked up towards Madison and began to sat up.

"Hang up the phone, I'm fine. Just a little nightmare." I said while I rubbed my hair.

"Danny you went pale white and weren't breathing. You didn't respond to anything I did to wake you up! Not even the cold water I threw on your face." It was water on me and not sweat.

"Is there any left? My throat is on fire." I said reaching for the glass. My lack of care for the situation must not have sat well with her because right then, she threw the glass of water in my face, WITH the cup. She grabbed her bag and stormed out of my living room and out to her car. I didn't bother getting up to chase after her because I knew tomorrow she'd be fine. She was the type of girl to not let things get to her really.

The next day, I woke up feeling better. The burn in my throat was gone, I felt rested. The dream was back to being just that ... a dream. It took me ten minutes to get to school and within an hour, Madison was back to acting like nothing had happened. Right after first period, she greeted me in the hallway and began discussing our plans for Fridays dance. The Limo was set to pick us up from my house at six, then take us to some friends house to take the routine pictures that are taken before a formal dance. Thats the part I hated the most about Formal dances, pictures. I just want to take one maybe two then call it a day. As long as you have one picture thats all that should matter.

After school, Madison and I had lunch with some friends then her and I went our separate ways. I figured we'd need some space before fridays dance and thank god for that. That night the nightmare came back and so did the next day. Both times were even worst then the one before. It was thursdays dream that freaked me out the most; I was no longer on the field, I was chasing an animal through the woods, with a burn in my throat like I have never felt. Finally I caught it after so many minutes of running, and I sunk my teeth into it. I drank all of the blood out of its body, leaving it dead. What looked to be a dear at first, ended up turning into a human by the time the dreams end came. I woke up horrified screaming, sweat all over me and my pillows torn to shreds. I can only imagine what that would have done to Madison if she had witnessed it.

Friday came so fast that by the time I was done school and at the barber shop, I started to feel overwhelmed that the dance was tonight. I made it a point to get everything done in a timely fashion and some how I got dressed before anyone was ready. After an hour of just waiting around, Madison Finally arrived. Her red dress did look pretty amazing on her, and it literally took my breath away. My dad came home around the time she got there and began taking some pictures.

"Dad, C'mon! Your worst then the females!" I said teasing him for the amount of pictures he was willing to take.

"Hey! Im getting older, so I'll have to have some memory of this. Plus ... your mother would have wanted a lot of pictures." He said bringing the mood down six notches. I gave him a big hug and he whispered that he was proud of me in my ear. I could see that my growing up was taking a toll on him. It was aways just him and I so it would be hard to see me go out on my own and do my own thing.

Around that time is when the limo showed up and we had to hurry along to our other locations. My dad didn't bother following behind, he felt as if he had enough pictures, didn't feel the need to have other kids in them. When we got to the other house, all 14 other people were waiting for us and had begun taking pictures already. Another hour was spent here before we all ushered into the limo and made our way to the hotel where the dance was being held. In the limo, I began feeling odd again. The burn in my throat began to return, and I felt a grumble in my stomach. I hadn't eaten anything all day and that was soon to take a toll on my body.

"Hey ... you ok?" Madison asked once she noticed the change in mood.

"Yeah, just hungry. They're serving us food right?" I said as I smiled at her to reassure her I was alright.

"Yes they're serving Chicken Marsala and ..." she then went into a speech about the menu that was being served. She was also student council president and had planned the entire dances festivities. Everything from location, to food to the DJ. She was a shoe in for Homecoming Queen. Everything started to drown out when my head started to pound. I must have been getting one of those hunger headaches and it was really starting to whip my ass. It was like I couldn't hear any of the conversations that were taking place in the limo. All I heard was a drumming sound in my heard. Was it the pounding of my head ache? No, this sounded like a heart beat. Multiple heart beats. It was almost as if I was focusing in on the 14 heartbeats in the limo that weren't mine ...

"WE'RE HERE!" Madison shouted as we pulled up. Her loud high pitch tone snapped me out of the moment and I realized the head ache had disappeared. We excited the limo, and began walking into the dance. Once inside the smells from the room sent my stomach into an uproar. The further we went in, the more my throat burned as well. We were escorted to our tables and we all sat down and waited for the food to be announced. It was set up like a buffet so they were calling people up by tables. Everyone in my group was all partaking in conversations, including Madison, but I wasn't. The pounding in my head was starting to become too much, and the pain in my chest was getting worst. Even the Throat burn was starting to become a pain. I drank at least three glasses of water since arriving but nothing seemed to sooth the pain. When people would talk to me I would laugh and nod along so that I'd seem like I was paying attention, but in actuality, I wasn't. The sweet smells in the room, the loud sounds in my head, it was all a lot to take in. The soft sounds of dinner music played in the background was muffled along with everyones conversations.

Finally they called our table for the food and we were the first ones up. Madison was standing in front of me and we were first from our table. Once at the line I tried to see anything that was appealing to me but none of it screamed out at me. There was something that smelled delicious but I couldn't pin point out what it was. I decided to grab one of everything that way at least SOMETHING would taste good, then we made our way back to the table. Once there, I wasted no time to dig in, but nothing tasted remotely good. Before I realized that everyone was staring at me, I realized that I had bit, and spit out everything that was on my plate.

"Um ... do you not like it?" Madison asked.

"Nothing taste good!" I said slamming down my fork onto the table out of frustration. Everyone in our group jumped at the reaction and Madison looked horrified. I slammed my forehead into my hands hoping that would at least help with the pain in my head. With my head down I noticed the rare steak that was sitting on Madison's plate; she hated rare steak and knew she would prolly want to switch. Though I was never a big beef person, the bloody steak seemed extremely satisfying to me.

"Babe your steak is like raw, do you want mine?" I said quickly trying to defuse the situation.

"OH ... look at that, I hadn't noticed. Do you mind switching?" Before she could even finish her question, I swapped the slabs of meat and began sucking out all the juices from the rare and bloody meat. Once, it was dry and just squishy, I looked up to see everyone was staring at me.

"Excuse me..." I said as I stood up from the table and stormed out of the room. Once I made it to the lobby of the hotel, The sounds of the DJ taking over started playing. Dinner hour was now over and the dance floor was open for dancing. Madison would want to dance, but I needed to get away from the noise. I went to the bathroom and ran the cold water. I began washing off my hands and my face, to hopefully cool me down. It wasn't working. I grabbed a towel and began to dry my face off when the extreme dark tint to my eyes caught my attention. Typically my eyes were a light brown almost hazel, but now, they were completely black. I blinked my eyes a couple times then looked again, but they were still black. I shook my head and felt like my chest had gotten tighter; I needed air. I ran out of the bathroom and made my way outside. The night air in Boston had a constant chill to it and tonight was no exception. Every breath i took exhaled a small fog cloud with it. I walked over to the edge of the parking lot and sat down on a bench. I stuck my head in between my knees and began to inhale and exhale.

What was going on with me? This is like nothing that has ever happened before. If I made it through tonight, first thing I was going to do was make an emergency doctors appointment to get this checked out. Twenty minutes must have passed when the sudden dark feeling I was being watched, washed over me. I slowly lifted my head and looked around but saw nothing; it wasn't until I went to put my head back down into my lap that I saw her. A woman, maybe Madison's height was standing at the far end of the parking lot. She didn't look much older then me, but the look of depression weighed heavy in her eyes. Her bright, almost red eyes. Panic hit me just then and I stood up taking a gasp of air.

"Danny? ... Danny are you ok?" I heard Madison's voice coming from around the corner. I turned and saw her coming towards me and then turned back, but the woman was gone.

"Danny WHAT IS WRONG!" Madison shouted now that she was right next to me. The sweet smells from the inside followed her out and that was all I needed to refocus back on her.

"Nothing ... nothing... did you just see .." I said now looking back in the direction that the woman was.

"See what?" she asked looking into the empty parking lot.

"Nothing ... nothing. Lets get you inside. It's cold out here." I said taking my jacket off and wrapping it around her.

"Not until you tell me what is wrong with you." She demanded.

"I think i'm coming down with the flu or something. I'll make an appointment tomorrow, but for now lets get back inside. They're about to do the King and Queen nominations." I said somehow hearing the DJ make that announcement.

"Promise you'll make an appointment!" she said slamming her hand down into my chest.

"Promise."

As we walked back inside, a slow song was playing that sounded familiar. As we got closer, I realized that it was the song that Madison chose to be "our" song. I saw her face light up and offered to dance with her. she was so excited that she pulled me out to the dance floor and we began to spin around like a prince and princess. We twirled and twirled and finally I forgot all about my sick feelings from earlier. The only thing I didn't forget was the woman in the parking lot. Madison talked in my ear the whole song about how excited she was that we were finally going to graduate and be on our grown up status soon. Like always, I tended to drown her out but doing this brought back the drumming to my head. I focused on her words to maybe avoid having another panic attack, and I threw my face into her neck and squeezed tighter onto her. She laughed and said that she loved me, but I couldn't answer back. It was like I was stuck where I was. The smell that was radiating from her had me trapped. Had a hold on me and the fire ignited in my throat again. The entire time I thought the smell was coming from the food but no. It was coming from her, my actions reminded me of my dog when he smells out something he wants to tear apart ... something he wants to sink his teeth in. I felt her struggle underneath my grip, but I wouldn't ease up. My lips were brushing her neck softly and a sound was coming from my throat that I never heard before. It was almost like a growl. I felt my mouth begin to water and an acidic taste overpowered my senses. I analyzed her neck as I held her head still so she couldn't move. What was I doing! The pulsating vein in her neck, pumping blood through her system was enough to make me snap.

My teeth sunk into her flesh as easily as razor blades would have. The warm metallic liquid filled my mouth and immediately began to extinguish the fire in my throat. Everything was silent until I saw the girl dancing next to us, point and scream at the top of her lungs. All sound came rushing into my ears, including the vicious snarl that I was making. I removed my grip from her and she fell to the floor, screaming and holding onto her neck. Everyone went into a panic, as did I. I heard several people running towards me, at me, and I reacted. I spun around and slammed into the two football players who were charging me. They went flying into the tables causing a huge mess of broken glass and pieces of table. What did I just do? I ran out of the room and into the lobby faster then I could blink. Before I knew it, I had made it across the parking lot and into the woods behind the hotel. Everything was like a blur as I ran by it but I kept running. Faster and Faster I went until something stopped me in my tracks. My body just stopped running and I was at a complete stand still in the middle of the woods. I began to shake and convulse into tremors as I took into realization of what happened back at the dance. What ever grip was on my body, let go and I fell to my knees. I was sobbing, I could still taste the blood in my mouth.

"It's going to be ok Danny." a voice said from in front of me. Without caring to look up I knew who it was.

"Whats happening to me?" I asked as I looked at the blood stains on my hands.

"Your evolving ... evolving into something special, something strong." The voice said now getting closer. It didn't take long to realize that this had been the woman I seen in the parking lot. I slowly looked up at her and began to cry again. Everything began to spin and get dark.

"It will be ok. You will be stronger then before, I need you to stay strong for me ... I'm going to need your talents..."

8

The pain was too much to handle, I couldn't stop screaming. The fire in my veins spread all over and felt like I was truly set to flames, but nothing hurt more then the unknown. The unknowing of what happened to Danny, where did he go and what was going on?The voices all around me were familiar; they were my friends reassuring me that things will be ok, but the burn I felt was telling me that things, WOULD NOT be ok. I could hear my best friend on the phone with 9-1-1 as she confirmed that an ambulance was on the way. What about Danny? Where was he? I was picked up and lifted out to the lobby where I was placed down on the ground. I could see the lobby workers peeking their heads around my friends and class mates trying to see what was going on. I felt pressure on my neck where Danny bit me and then saw that one of the other football players was using his Tie to stop the bleeding. Around that point, my body started to convulse and go into tremors. Within seconds, I blacked out.

The burning was there still, if anything it was worst, but my body was no longer fighting the burn, it was embracing it. The voices around me argued and I could hear them ask "where is the ambulance? Its been 30 minutes" As I laid there, fighting to wake up I thought to myself that it was oddly long for them to be taking to get here. I heard someone say something about the amount of sweat gathering on me then heard someone suggest taking me outside where it was cooler. My body was lifted before anyone else could say anything and I was escorted out into the brisk autumn air. Within minutes of being outside the sounds of sirens could be heard and I knew my ambulance had arrived. Cursing and arguing erupted and I knew people were yelling at the EMT's who came out to assist me. From the sound of it, there were two of them.

"What the hell took you so long! And who wears sunglasses at night dude!" I heard someone say as suddenly I was being put on a gurney and strapped in. Cold hands touched my skin as they analyzed the bite mark. There was a sweet scent near me that caught my attention and suddenly I made a noise. It was a sound very close to a hiss, it was an impulse like move. I heard people asking if they can ride with me and asked what hospital I was being sent to, but the EMT did not answer. I heard one enter the drivers seat and another sit with me in the back where I was stretched out. A sharp pinch went into my arm and a bigger burn started but followed by a cold sensation. As good as it felt, it wasn't anything strong enough to stop the burn I felt.

"Alexander, make sure she stays sedated so that she doesn't attack us." the females voice said from the drivers seat.

"Yes, Jenna ... I know." the male replied.

"Madison, you unfortunately have been involved in something we had no intent of adding you into, but your life is about to change ...Your going to be ok, and so is Danny. I'm sure you have a lot of questions you want answered but right now, we need you to understand that you will be ok ... and your not alone."

"How pissed is She?" I heard the female ask. Who was he asking about?

"Not too sure, however an extra body to help might not be a bad thing, if the army we're up against is as strong as she says they are, we'll need her." They both went silent for a minute, and I began to black out again. The last thing I heard was ...

"For a new born, you did good back there not biting any humans ... maybe she's right about your talents kid..." Jenna said.

"Thanks ..." Alexander added. It was then, I realized that they just admitted to not being human. Who was I riding in this ambulance with ... and what are they?