Chapter 3: The Drive
The quiet purr of an engine wakes me up and as I open my eyes, I am greeted by the beginning of a new dawn and the serpentine road. "Finally awake? Took ya fuckin' long enough." Reven's gruff voice is the loudest thing that infiltrates my eyes, startling me out of my grogginess instantly. I press my back against the door and stare at him in horror, my heart is drowning out the crunching of gravel and his voice as he continues to prattle on. A faint blue glow enters my field of vision and suddenly I feel unnaturally calm—Kenny is here.
I snap my head around to the back and the angel is sitting in the middle of the backseat, grinning warmly at me as if he's happy to see me. "It's all going to be okay, Jasmine. Reven and I agreed that fresh air will do you some good." He speaks to me in that very annoying yet inviting tone, it's warmer than fresh baked cookies and I can feel my stomach flip.
I hate him. My thought is as venomous as I suddenly feel and Kenny's face falls in disappointment. I grin slowly, feeling as invincible as the Cheshire Cat and it was then that I noticed a faint red glow coming from Reven from my peripheral vision and I revert my focus back to him.
"I didn't fucking agree, you demanded, and I gave in. I said it was a dumb idea, that it'll never work!" Reven is glaring at Kenny from the rearview mirror, his crimson eyes narrowing in clear disapproval. There is a long dramatic sigh that comes from Kenny and I can practically hear his eyes rolling into the back of his head.
"It's a good idea, Rev! Just because you can't see the forest for the trees doesn't mean Jasmine can't. You're so negative all the time!"
"Someone has to be in this damn whatever-ship! She's clearly not going to accept either of our help cause she's fucking stubborn and you know it!" The louder Reven became, the angrier I got. My blood was boiling, and I could feel my veins bulging in my face and neck. An uncharacteristic growl rumbled from my chest and I slam my hand against the dashboard in a fit of rage. "I am right here damnit! Don't fucking talk about me like I'm not in the room! Who the fuck do you two think you are?!"
I was screaming at them, I never scream. I could feel the two sets of eyes on me and I quickly shut my own. I would not allow them to shake me, I would cling to this newfound anger for as long as I could, it was my drug of choice. My chest rises and falls as I breathe heavily, I can feel sweat trickling down to my neck and suddenly the car feels incredibly cold. Silence is thick between the three of us, it is so painfully loud and demanding. I press a hand to my throat as I try to stabilize my breathing. Everything feels so painful because it is so silent.
I suddenly want to scream again, just so that there's noise other than the sound of the moving car.
. . .
The hellish car ride has finally come to an end as Reven parks on the side of the road where we are greeted by an empty playground. There is a brown sandbox and a rusted blue-green swing set inches away from each other and it is illuminated by the streetlights above. I stare at the dull scene before me while Reven and Kenny get out of the car ahead of me. In a matter of seconds my door is open and the predator is hauling me up to my feet and slamming the car door behind me. "What the hell are we supposed to be doing?"
"It's a playground, obviously we're here to play." Reven retorts in a it-should-be-obvious tone and my eyes narrow at him as I rip my arm out of his grip. I walk ahead of him and shoulder check Kenny on my way to the swings, grumbling obscenities the entire way until I plant myself firmly on the middle swing. When I look up neither the predator nor the angel is where I left them.
I feel the bile rise up my throat as panic suddenly hits me. Where did they go? Were they abandoning me here? I close my eyes and count to ten, exhaling slowly and hoping that when I open my eyes they will reappear. They don't. What in the absolute hell? The world around me suddenly feel like it's spinning. I stand up quickly from the swing and immediately sink into the dirt, whimpering and gasping for air.
How could they just leave me without even saying goodbye? What if I die out here?
"Hey kid, don't you know it's dangerous to be out here alone?" An unfamiliar male voice hums in my ear, too close for comfort and suddenly ice cold hands are gripping me by the shoulders and yanking me up to my feet. My vision adjusts to a pale face and pink lips set in a cocky, dangerous smirk. Hungry, demonic black eyes scan me as if I'm something to eat. Those pink lips open and an even pinker tongue snakes out to lick them. I shudder and try to pull away but the arms of this new beast keeps me locked in place.
"W-Who are…a-are you?" As I stutter, I mentally kick myself, wishing I could not sound like a pathetic victim. This beast before me laughs, a husky tenor sound and he brushes a hand against my throat so tenderly that it sets me into a deeper pit of confusion and terror. "My name is Angel Versai and I'm a vampire, darling." His accent is an English lilt now that I'm intensely aware of everything he says and does. "You're very pretty like this, barefoot and in your skimpy little nightgown…" He trails a finger like sparks down my neck to the white strap on my shoulder, plucking it playfully.
Angel's eyes hardly leave my face, I feel cold and hollow as he appraises me. Words are lodged in my throat; words fail me as it always has, and I am alone. I am going to die and suddenly I wish Kenny and Reven would return. "You're not much of a talker, are you? Usually this is the part where you people beg for your lives. Don't you want to live?" He cocks his head to the side, brow raised and amusement flickers in those deadly dark eyes.
The question seemed to hang in the air for some time. Eventually I released the pent-up breath I'd been holding to reply, "I wouldn't mind living a little bit longer…But this is natural selection, isn't it? Stupid girl alone at the crack of dawn gets brutally murdered by a vampire. It sounds like a headline almost." Words gush out of me before I can even think to stop myself. Who is this person speaking right now? Did I have a death wish? Clearly.
A guffaw from the vampire floods the air around us, his chest rising and falling as sharp breaths escape him. "Man! You're one of a kind, know that? It makes wanting to drain you of blood almost…criminal."
"Then don't do it. Let me continue to amuse you…wouldn't that be better?"
"Nah, I think I'd get sick of your voice after a while." In that moment, it felt as if the world had suddenly shifted. Sound faded away, only for a violent ringing in my ears to take place. I could feel my blood leaving me and his sharpened fangs digging deeper into my neck. Go to sleep, little lamb. Go to sleep. A small, tender voice creeps into my brain and my vision is suddenly hazy. In a matter of seconds darkness claims me and I can only hope that it is death.