Ten: Hypnotic Gaze
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Darkness. All around, pressing down on me, forcing the air from my lungs. Voices – calling, crying. Screaming?

They were in pain.

Above them all, another – deep, dark, terrifying, darker than the darkness that surrounded me. A shadow. Its voice reached out for me…

Then silence. Nothing.

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Hot. It was boiling. As if I were sitting in a bed of flames. Skin prickling, sweat trickling, suffocating, suffocating…

Then coolness on my head. Talking. Whispering. Singing.

"Everything's gonna be all right… rock a bye… rock a bye…"

It's her voice.

I sunk back into darkness.

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I was standing. Where was I? Tiles, dirty mirrors, urinals, cubicles in front of me –

Back where it all started.

I looked down. I see: The body of a child. Of a twelve year old boy, wearing a school uniform.

A voice – my own? Not my own? – called out. Another – familiar, very familiar – replied. One of the doors jumped as if being kicked.

My body, not controlled by me, stepped forward and pushed the door open. Sitting on the toilet, the lid down, was a boy.

Blue-green eyes. Pale skin. Childish, open face. Messy dark hair.

Darren…

He was grinning. At first, it was a happy grin, friendly, like every child's smile. But then it changed. It became evil, malevolent. Filled with sharp, gnashing teeth…

The room around me disappeared. Instead, I was standing outside, in a clearing in a forest. I glanced down – I was back to my normal self. Around me, people fought – no, not people: vampires and vampaneze.

One teenager stood in the middle of it. Glaring at me. Short sword held in his hand. Right thumb missing. Blood splattered across his face – but that didn't hide his eyes. Blue-green. Filled with hate.

He leapt at me with a blood-curdling war cry.

I stumbled back, into darkness.

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More voices. Close to me, yet so far away. Talking to me? No – talking about me.

"…looks like he's getting worse!"

"Miss, please, calm down… he's perfectly fine…"

"Why is he thrashing and screaming in his bed, then?!"

"Miss, I have to admit that this is one of the worst cases of the common cold I have ever seen, and yes, it puzzles me, too, but you have to calm down. Your brother is going to be okay. We've pumped him full of antibiotics. Just wait for them to kick in."

"Well, that's real helpful!"

"You know, if you had brought him in earlier, this could have been helped quicker…"

"I never knew he had a cold!"

"Miss, just calm down… he'll be out of here in no time…"

Quiet. Rustle of clothe. Someone grabbing my hand, holding it tight.

"He'd better be okay…"

The darkness. It enveloped me completely once more.

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More voices. Slow and quiet at first, then building, become louder and stronger and faster, like a train steaming towards me. Layered on top of the others, they almost became a jumble of gibberish.

"…highly susceptible to diseases…lucky this time…"

"Steve-!"

"…lord…"

(but heed this darren shan-)

"…most pathetic thing I've seen in a long time…"

"not as stupid as you think"

(i'll grow)

"what's a snake-boy?"

"blood is tainted"

"…of…"

(i'll get older and stronger and braver)

"make me your assistant"

"You need to live life!"

(i'm going to devote my entire life to developing my body, and when the day comes)

"…no cure…."

"…spider…"

(when i'm fully equipped and properly prepared)

"I am the Vampire Lord! I will suck all your blood!"

"you… you wanted to become…"

"…the…"

(i'm going to hunt you down and kill you)

"ready, soldier?!"

"he just lay there… like he was going to jump up any second…"

(i'm going to become the world's best vampire hunter, and there won't be a single hole that you can find that i can't find too)

"steve"

"Steve."

"STEVE!"

"...spiders…"

"…vampires…"

"…evil…"

"…revenge…"

"…shadows…"

(on this blood, i so swear it!)

And then, they fell quiet, eerily so. Shivers ran down my spine. One last voice spoke, barely audible over the silence –

'He's waiting for you… in a bed a flames, beyond the moons of blue-green…he awaits you…'

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I opened my eyes.

I was staring up at a pale blue ceiling.

I blinked, frowning.

An unfamiliar ceiling, I thought, quoting a show I used to watch when I was younger.

The room was quiet.

For the first time, I noticed the tightness around my chest, and the weight against my stomach. Turning my head slightly, I looked down. The covers were drawn up, and tucked in tightly, hardly giving me any room to breath. And beyond…

Perri was asleep, her chair tilting forward dangerously as she leaned forward to lie on me. The left side of her face – the side with the tattoo – was visible, the rest of her face hidden under her arms and hair. A frown was etched into her features. Her mouth was open slightly, allowing a small trickle of drool to spill from her lips.

I smiled, reaching my hand forward to touch her cheek. As I did, I noticed something. I froze.

On her cheek, underneath her tattoo, were three, long scars…

Her eyes flickered open and locked with mine.

"You're awake," she said softly. My smile spread.

"Hello to you too."

Perri grinned, wiped at her mouth, then stood up and stretched her back out. I propped myself up on my elbows and yawned, glancing around the room. It was bare, other than my own bed, the chair Perri had been using, and a plain white bedside table. I turned back to Perri, who collapsed back into her seat.

"How long have I been out for?" I asked.

"Around two days," she answered. I rose my eyebrows, resisting the urge to whistle – then I took in her clothes. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been wearing last time I saw her.

"Er… have you been here the whole time?'

"Huh?" She asked, confused – then she glanced down and noticed her clothes. Perri looked back up sheepishly. "Uh… yeah… I was – you know – playing the part of the, uh, worried sister."

Ever since we started travelling, we had taken on the identities of Perri and Steve Walters – the older sister dragging her younger brother around the world to visit the birthplaces of various fighting styles. She had come up with the story, obviously.

"Steve…"

She was looking down, away from me. I could tell she was being serious now.

"Yes?"

"Why didn't… why didn't you tell me you have a low immunity system?!" She cried, looking up at me. "Why didn't you tell me you had a cold?!"

"I…" I started, taken aback. I blinked, then shook my head. "I didn't want to worry you…" I said truthfully.

Perri's face softened. She looked like she was about to cry.

"Oh, Steve…! You're like a little brother to me – I've told you that already! I'm meant to worry about you!"

I frowned slightly, remembering something she had said the other night. Something about me reminding her of someone…

"Perri…" I said quietly. She rose her eyebrows, a sign for me to keep going. "The other day, you said… you said that I remind you of someone. Who do I remind you of?"
Her eyes widened for a second, but only a second. Then she leaned back into her seat, craning her neck back so that she could look at the ceiling. She didn't answer my question.

"Perr-"

"His name was Toby – Tobias. My boyfriend's little brother. He was seven years younger than me, and yet… I was closer to him than I was with Ryder." She smiled crookedly, looking down at me and lifting her arm to show the childish string bracelet she always wore around her wrist. I had noticed it before, but knew better not to ask about it. "He made this for me. Said it would keep us together forever."

Perri continued to look at it sadly, her long, calloused hands fidgeting in her lap. I didn't make a sound.

Then, quite suddenly, she slapped her knees, jumping to her feet and grinning broadly. I almost jumped as well, I was so surprised by her mood swing.

"Right, then, young padawan! The doc said that once you woke up, you were free to go! I already have your prescription, so let's get up and at 'em!" She cried. I couldn't help but grin – she had returned to normal. That was one of the things I loved about Perri – her forever-changing emotions.

Yerk! Did I just say 'love' and 'Perri' in the same sentence?! What's happening to me?!

By the time we got back to our hotel, I was feeling extremely worn out. Perri took one look at my drooping eyelids, and marched me to my bed.

"I don't want to see you until you have some colour in your cheeks!" She cried, then stormed from the room, closing the door sharply behind her. I just shook my head and slipped myself into the bed.

My dreams were plagued that night. Plagued by a floating pair of eyes. I guess you can tell what colour they were. I could see marks, like scars, gashes of red in the darkness around me. I could hear the screaming. I could hear the pain.

I could hear that shadow of a voice, commanding over all of them, as if it was their lord.

The lord of the shadows.

Something was calling me.

By the time I woke up, some ten hours later, my bed was soaked through with sweat. I actually felt sorry for the cleaning ladies. I wiped at my forehead, and realised that I hadn't had a shower for a few days now – well, unless, of course, one of those nurses at the hospital gave me a bath. Damn. How unlucky – I would have been unconscious the whole time.

I also realised that many of my diary entries had had a lot to do with showers. I apologise, diary dearest. I won't do it again.

Gathering my things, I slipt out of the somewhat stuffy bedroom, out into the lounge. The television was on the news again, but I barely heard it as I stepped in. Perri was standing in front of it, hands on hips, frowning once again.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She glanced at me.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked. I nodded. "Good. Go have a shower then start packing. We're leaving as soon as you're ready."

Feeling confused, but knowing better than to question her, I stepped towards the shower – but stopped and looked at the TV.

"'… bodies of six missing teenagers were unearthed in an unused warehouse… authorities have not confirmed anything yet… but witnesses have claimed that the bodies look as though they were completely drained of their blood… Susan Doherty reports…'"

As I slipped into the bathroom, one single thought ran through my head:

We're going on a vamp hunt!

I almost broke out into song, I was so joyful.

And that just confirmed it. There is something in those drugs I'm taking. They make me too damned cheerful!

It hit me then just how determined Perri was to hunt down any and all vampaneze she came across. Why was she so driven? Was it the same reason for me? Revenge? An oath she swore one fateful night to take the life of another, no matter what?

And did her reason have anything to do with the three scars on her cheek – the mark of a victim of the vampaneze?

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A.N

I've decided that I'll start having chapter titles. O.o

The song Perri's singing is 'Lullaby' by Shawn Mullins. Guess it's the only lullaby she knows. .;

Wow. 48 reviews? I feel like I'm gonna faint again!

Rogue: I'm pretty sure either Steve or Darren said somewhere that they were about 26… and then I figured it out form there. Darren was a vampire for 14, so, it ends up he was about 12 when he was turned. I had originally guessed that, so I'm happy. . Anyway, thanks for reading!

adrew-needs-to-write: Eek, I'm sorry! Yeah, Sydney's fun – but I'm sure US is better!

S-A: THANKYOU! I feel so extra special now!

The next chapter is being really annoying, and is really crappy so far. It may be a while before it appears… o.O

Thanks for reading!

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