Chapter 2

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Alice, is it? Mary Alice Brandon, maybe?" I must have looked shocked that he knew this, because he went on to say, "I've heard of you when I went into town. I haven't been stalking you or whatever you're thinking."

"No…it's not that," I said. "I thought that maybe you were the one who… changed me." He sighed, and I knew that he wasn't the one. Oh well, I thought. I guess nothing will ever be easy for me again.

As if reading my thoughts, he said, "So, let me guess; you're new to being a vampire." I nodded. I decided I'd let this Michael character do the talking for a while. "Well," he continued, "if you'd like, I can accompany you, and teach you the ways of our kind." He smiled then, a smile I found to be equal parts charming and sinister.

I hesitated for a moment again, and then said, "Alright." He gave me a slight nod, then appeared startlingly fast at my side. And so I began my travels with Michael.

After a few hours of travel through the forests, I told Michael I was feeling a little hungry. Michael reared his head and inhaled through his nose. He looked back at me and said, "There doesn't seem to be any prey out here. All that I could smell was a couple of deer grazing in a field a little south from here…"

"Perfect," I said, flashing him a smile. I expected the thought of drinking animal blood to be appalling to him, but he just shrugged and said, "Very well then. Let's go eat."

The deer didn't exactly put up much of a fight. They didn't even stand a chance. Watching the way he killed his deer, it was obvious that Michael had quite a lot of experience hunting. As for me… I was a little overenthusiastic (at least, that's what I thought I heard Michael shout at me before he began feasting).

After our meal, I turned to him and said, "Have you ever had deer before?" I don't know why I asked it. I suppose I just assumed that he would have been at least a little upset by the notion of drinking the blood of animals when it was obvious to me he preferred… more intelligent prey.

He turned his face up to the sky and closed his eyes for a moment. A trickle of deer blood run down his cheek from his lips. He quickly licked it off, then turned to me. "Yes," he said quietly. "I've tried a lot of different kinds of food in my lifetime…"

"Oh, very well then…" I didn't know what else to really say. It seems this one is full of surprises, I thought. I wonder what else he has in store.

Afterwards, we continued on through the woods. It only then occurred to me that I had no idea where exactly we were going. I turned to my strange companion and said, "Where are we going, exactly?"

"I'd rather it be a surprise," he said, smirking a little. This annoyed me quite a bit.

"I don't really like surprises," I shot back. He seemed genuinely taken aback by this, but I was a little too freaked out by that point. I was travelling with a mysterious stranger who just happened to be a vampire, and who happened to be in the same area as me right when I was feeling the loneliest I'd felt in the time since I'd transformed, and now here he was leading me on to some unknown location. I wanted answers.

Michael seemed to sense my apprehension and stepped away from me. "What's wrong Alice?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. I glared straight at him, imaging my eyes burning through him. "I want answers," I said practically hissing the words at him.

He sighed. "You newborns are always so temperamental. Just calm down, Alice. You've been pretty good up until now. Just sit down and relax."

"NO!" I shouted. I was seething with anger now, feeling it coursing through me. I was actually scared of myself then, but there was no backing down. "I WANT ANSWERS! WHO ARE YOU?"

He looked right at me, and in that look there seemed to be a million things he was trying to say, but I just couldn't understand. Finally, he shook his head.

"Alright," he said, "I'll tell you what I can."