Someone Wake Me Up
My breathing was rough as I ran through the forest trying to get away from the eyes boring into my back. With each step I took my feet grew weaker soon they would be unable to keep moving under the pressure of my heavy foot falls. But I kept moving, blocking out the pain as best I could, focusing only on the sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching me, it was obvious that whatever was chasing me was not human and that soon I would be its next victim. This thought caused my breathing to hitch and get caught in my throat unable to move until I let out an ear splitting scream for my life.
This angered what ever was following me. The foot steps moved more rapidly than before winding through the mess of giant pine trees in the Canadian forest I brocaded myself in mere minutes ago. I tried to match its moves by twisting through various trees hoping that the monster wouldn't be able to keep up. But it seemed to laugh at my attempts. The sound was chilling and terrifying, making my bones turn to an icy mess.
I realized at this point no one would hear the screams still escaping my lips, they were all hidden in their homes sleeping without realizing the danger haunting them and the forests they loved. I looked up and saw a million stars swirling above me in patterns that made me dizzy and stumble awkwardly over the roots sticking up out of the ground. I picked myself up as fast as I could and tried to keep running but the giant scrape on my left knee was making me incapable. I felt the blood freezing to my legs in the glacial cold weather of winter.
Everything went silent for a few minutes, staying still and calm except for my rough breathing and the silent press of my feet to the ground. Every cell in my body was praying that whatever it was gave up on its attempt but every cell knew that it was still there silently watching me. Lurking in the forest, waiting for that perfect moment to attack my panicked body. I kept running though even I knew It was futile now, my last breaths were coming and my heart beat would slowly die out into pure nothingness.
I stopped then not able to run anymore. I fell into a pile on the ground as snow started to fall for the first time in months. I snapped my head back and forth so rapidly that I should have broken my own neck, so I could at least see when the monster would advance on me. But I was not prepared for what I saw then.
The monster looked like a Greek god, or at least Zeus's more attractive younger brother as he slowly and gracefully walked into the fading moonlight. I saw that his chin, mouth, and teeth were all covered in a sickening bright red that made me want to turn away in horror. The eyes of this creature were the same sickening color masked only by the long dark lashes that were covering them. They way he walked was like a lion stalking its prey with such skill and precision that even a heard of massive elephants would be scared. He was bare footed and only wore a pair of black corduroys were perfectly fit to his sculpted body. How could he not have been cold.
"Please" I begged softly to this strange but attractive being in front of me. "Don't kill me" I cried as tears welled up in my eyes and fell rapidly down my cheeks and onto my bare hands and freezing slightly on my finger tips. I looked up and saw the monsters eyes tighten slightly in a menacing way that had every fiber of my being screaming in alarm, for a moment it felt like he was burning me inside out but I knew that was just the pain of before creeping back up on me in my time of emotional weakness.
"You are going to wish you were dead after I am through" he said in a smooth even voice that was like swords being whipped through the air at each syllable. Then he leapt towards me grabbing my head and sinking his teeth into the soft flesh on my neck.
I could then feel the pain of his harsh razor sharp teeth and the draining of my blood, my life force. He continued without pause making sure to cause the most pain possible. I wimpered at the feeling trying to be strong and die proud. I wanted to say something powerful for my last words or cry out my love for some human back in the little town but I had no one to live for and nothing meaningful to say. I was an average girl, and soon I would be dead.
No one would look for me. I knew that, and if by chance someone stumbled upon my body they wouldn't break down in tears but simply call the police that an animal attack happened. They would not be haunted by my mangled body, or even be afraid that I died in pain. All they would see was a tiny girl that meant nothing and then they would walk away and continue on with their business and their full life ahead of them.
I looked down watch him drain his fill before I gave up and let the darkness take over my body.
Only moments later I assumed was I awoken by an even worse pain than the blood being drained, or the feeling of my feet breaking as I ran, or even when broke my thigh bone as a child. It was nothing compared to the fear that I had felt moments ago because now it was as if someone turned my emotions on high so that I could feel it like never before.
I felt a fire scorching through my body wanting desperately to eat me alive. I could feel it swimming in my veins burning my insides, it was growing worse and worse as the seconds ticked by. It wouldn't stop even as I thought the real end would be growing near.
How long could one body roast to a crisp without dying. Was there someone kind enough to try and help? Was the snow dulling the flames trying to keep me alive for some unknown reason? What was happening I wondered hearing my screams of agony echo over and over again though the trees.
Was my monster still there watching, and laughing as I died once again? I could feel his presence now and I almost could feel the flutter of his finger tips as he grabbed my burning hand and tried to comfort me. "I'm sorry, I am so lonely" he whispered but the pain got worse and I lost my control. I couldn't hear anything or feel anything but the fire….
I don't know how long the fire ripped through my body. Eventually I got used to the pain I was able to slightly deal with it as long as I focused on other things, like the stuble almost silent breathing of my monster next to me, and the number of times I screamed on end, even the soft whistle of wind was a way to distract myself.
I vaguely could hear him talking now. "It's been three days almost" he whispered. It stunned me. Three days of burning was the humanly possible? "When you wake up things will be different. You aren't human anymore, but you're like me. A vampire. You will feed on blood and be invincible. You will live forever" he paused and then stopped as his breathing pick up again.
I didn't want to be a vampire I protested. My screams picked up. I didn't want this life. Send me hell for I all I care I just want to be dead. I screamed trying to let go of my body stop my life from being changed. I wanted to go back stab myself in the heart before he even bit me, then he could have all his blood and not keep me alive. "Please stop it! Kill me!" I screamed now as the pain picked up.
My body was flying in every direction, it was as if I could no long control how it moved or what it did. I couldn't see the movement but I could feel the different ways the air was hitting me and the way my feet and arms would thud down every once in a while. And I knew this was not the time for joking but it as though I looked like a toddler throwing a silly fit when I didn't get my way.
It drained slowly from everything where except my heart. The fire grew a million times hotter there as if someone put jet fuel on my heart and then lit It on fire. The pain picked up again almost like a plane was driving right through my chest. The fire and my hearts beating were fighting for who would win the battle of my body. My heart was beating faster trying to win but the pain wasn't giving up it sharpened both giving a last effort to save me.
I knew they would kill each other in the fight no one would win I was doomed. I heard my heart started to stutter and beat irregularly vowing not to give up, it wanted to save me but it was dying. It was wounded. It tried to pick back up again with a few worthless beats that only made it weaker. Then it thudded loudly against my chest and then faded until it stopped beating. I knew it would never beat again. I was a lost cause now.
It was then I noticed the pain was gone. It was over. I was dead. But now I wasn't dead. I realized I as smelled everything around me. There was a soft sweet scent like candy coming from my left and there was the smell of pine trees and grass. I could smell fresh snow as if it was right on my nose. I heard tiny little footsteps that could only be from an insect they were so tiny and soft. I heard the wind picking up around me and nearly silent snow flakes hitting the ground with a soft thump.
I opened my eyes quickly looking at each separate flake, with its own perfect amazing details, fall down onto my stomach and the piles of snow around me. I saw tiny little rain bows every where with colors so bright and some I couldn't even describe. I could even see every leaf of the trees as they swayed with the wind. There world had changed in the three days I had lived in the fire.
I sat up quickly a movement so fast that I cough myself off guard. I looked down at my pale hands, I had been pale before but now I was a chalky white that would never show the signs of sun again. I reached up to catch a few falling pieces of snow then was amazing at how quickly my hands moved to do what I wanted. My body felt powerful and graceful like there was nothing but raw strength welled inside of me.
Then I saw the man sitting against a tree with his eyes wide open watching me as I marveled at the world in front of me. He looked just like before but now I could see the details. All though it should have been night time I knew quickly it was not, the colors were not as bright as day time. The colors were duller than they would have been during the day.
I kept getting distracted by the movements and colors and sounds. There was an army of ants running through the snow trying to get food although they were sure to die. They each had tiny little piece of what smelled like Ritz crackers.
The man had rough red hair stuck up in patches that were silly and messy. He had faded freckles across his nose and cheek bones, and there were a few faint teeth marks on his bare chest criss crossed over each other. His eyes were a bright red that was haunting and still sent shivers down my spine in an awful scary way.
I was quickly up on my feet standing next to him. I wasn't cold as my feet walked in the snow. "Why did you do this" I demanded in a voice I hardly recognized as my own. It still had the high pitch it usually did but it sounded smoother and perfect and odd like some one made me better while I was dying. I looked behind him seeing the tiny flakes of tree bark stuck to the tree they would fall off soon or be a deer's next meal.
"I was all alone. You were what I was looking for" he spoke without the Canadian accent that I had picked up when I moved here when I was 14. From the sound of it he sounded like he was from boson or something with one of those silly accents I always hated, "my name is Garrett" he looked back down at his hands not up at me. His voice was soft though he didn't sound mean or threatening any longer.
"I'm Lillani" I spoke softly. Although I hated him at the moment I also was happy. I could see things like never before. I could smell and hear things that I would have never been able to imagine if I was a human. I wanted to see the world for what it really is not what humans called vision.
"Are you hungry" he asked quietly. This brought a pain in the throat to the front of my mind. It was like my throat had been dried, and was now in desperate need of something to cool in down.
"Water will be fine" I said although it didn't sound as appealing as it normally would have. But then again I wasn't exactly normal anymore. "On second thought, how about some… blood" I whispered the last part afraid of what he would think although he saw this choice as much better because he stood moving like lightening and grabbed my hand.
"The city is this way, about two miles" he called as he dragged me through the forest. We ran so fast I was amazed at how fast I could run and how I could keep up. "you have to wait till I tell you to attack" he said softly. "You need to learn"
I nodded softly though he couldn't see me because he was in front still holding my hand as I ran behind him. As we ran I saw each leaf and snowflake as we zoomed by the silent still woods. We saw a few deer in the distance munching on the grass that was still about 3 inched above the snow. And after about a minute he slowed. And I saw the pretty little house that I used to walk by everyday on my way to school, it was white and had a picket fence in front and during the summer It always had the biggest pretties flowers fomr lilies to daisies to anything the woman living there could grow. It was owned by a rather old couple that had been together for 60 years and moved here from their native country of India. They were such nice people. Also bring me homemade meals that were like the mother I never had would have made, they made small talk when I walked by and donated lots of money to the school's art program each year. I would never be able to hurt them.
"Not them" I said dragging him around the city now. I saw the various things in new bright colors and saw that what I thought was clean was often dingy and dirty, I held on to every last buildings picture knowing I would never see them again. We stayed hidden in the woods as we shifted around till I found the house I was looking for. I barley knew these people cause they had just moved in. And they had a weird habit of leaving their doors open though I doubted that would really be a problem.
He nodded silently and walked towards the door slamming it open with his shoulder. It cracked into a million pieces while we made our way into the house hold. There was a plate of meatloaf left out on the thick wooden table and the dishes hadn't been finished along with the messy couch cover in crumbs from Doritos. I could smell their blood lingering in the air and hear the steady beating of their bloody hearts. My mouth started to water and I yearned for their blood to fill my mouth and take the dry pain away.
We walked into the bedroom where the two of them where sound asleep with the TV still brightening up the room although it was on mute, I recognized Family Guy playing. The man whose name was Paul had his arms spread out over his wife's body in a way that was not meant to protect but was just a product of his sleeping. The bed spread was the same color as the one at my house I little ways away, the red was more of a coral and was very appealing to the eye. It was like sunshine in my soul.
Garrett ordered me to go over the side that the female was sleeping on while he walked towards the male. He held his fingers up and then counted down from three even though I wasn't paying him any attention. I didn't even wait till he was finished counting but instead sank my teeth into her warm flesh easily as if slicing through soft butter, all the muscle and fat was not match for my strong steel like jaw. Her eyes fluttered open seeing me with alarm she started screaming loudly kicking her legn all sorts of directions. She landed a few good kicks to my head but they didn't hurt nor did the slow my attack. Her blood filled my mouth tasting sort of salty at first but then gorwing into a satisfying warm that made my insides feel human and stronger than I was mere minutes ago.
Soon her screams faded and her attempts to move became vain. She didn't stir as I drained the last few drops with a fulfilling slurp.
I could see in the mirror across from me that my mouth was covered in her warm blood. And before I could stop myself I was on the bed taking the last few drops from the man that garret was still trying to drain. Then I licked my lips to make sure I got everything that I could. Their hearts were no longer beating or even moving then he pulled out a teeny silver Zippo lighter with his name engraved on the side. He placed it to the sheets and watched it light.
He stood watching as the flames erupted and burned the bodies till he knew they would be unrecognizable. He looked somewhat proud of the awful creation in front of him. The image sickened me yet I knew that no matter what I did in the rest of my life it would never leave. Like the fire burned the people it burned into my mind. The firemen would be here soon because the loud fire alarm was screaming at us signaling the warning had been sent to them. He took my hand once again and lead me out of the house and back into the dark woods.
We lead me for miles through the woods; I thought only about the burning dead bodie that would be found and the way their families would start to sob when they found out their sister, brother, son or daughter had died that night. we must have been running for hours when we finally stopped. But I showed no signs of being tired, in fact it felt good to move muscles I never knew that I had and exert myself in a way that had my body feeling pleasant rather it usually did after gym class. The more we ran the better everything inside me felt. I guessed endorphins were still used in vampires.
"Garrett," I paused as we sat down in a small meadow that was covered in an inch of soft snow "What's it like to be a vampire?" I was still shy to word, and well in denial about what I really was. I secretly hoped that this was just a dream I would soon wake up from but then again I wished I wouldn't.
"Well you are almost always lonely and you are never satisfied. You always want more blood, and then even more and yet still more. And you are bored all the time because we never sleep. It's a life I wouldn't have chosen for myself. I miss being human," he said as the night turned to day revealing a whole new flurry of colors and emotions. Now the world looked I had been blind for months but was finally seeing the sun.
There was even more colors I could describe as the sun came out in the sky. We were still placed in the shadows so the glitter affect he told me that happened in the sun was not present.
"Then why did you pick this for me?" I asked
"Because I was lonely. I have been a vampire for 3 years now, and I still can't get over my human life. I need to socialize with others" he said "I went into your house to kill you I was hungry. Then I saw how much you looked like the love of my life Emily. You ran when you saw me and I chased after you. I didn't think when I changed you. I just acted"
I wanted him to say he was sorry. But I knew that no matter how much he said he was sorry or begged for my forgiveness that I would still be a vampire. "I didn't have anything to loose when you changed me. I was a loner; I think I had real conversations with only three people in the past year. That was my school counselor, my English teacher and my boss."
"That's also why I chose you. I knew no one would miss you." He didn't hold back like I wished he would have. "Are you going to stay with me forever?" he asked. I could tell by his tone that he was vulnerable. It took courage for him to ask this and he was scared of rejection after all he went through in the past few days.
"I don't know" I said "I would like to say yes I will always be here, but I can't say that because I don't know, I may find someone else that I want to go follow around for forever. Besides forever is a long time and who knows what can happen in that time," I finished then glanced up at him. It looked like he was crying tearlessly into his hands.
"That's all I can ask" he answered softly, I doubted any human would have been able to hear what he had said. Because the wind whipped it away before they would have had the chance.
The days went by slowly from then on. We traveled everyday usually running for miles making brief small talk about his family and friends and the past he had. He never asked about my family and I never told him, because even though we had been traveling for months I didn't trust him completely; I doubted I ever would.
At first we traveled east across the giant Canadian land mass towards Ottawa where we stayed for only a few days feeding a little and getting together the funds he had saved in a bank account just after his transformation. He was nothing if practical. Then he took us south east towards New York City which was like my dream place. I convinced him to stay there for a while so I could do a little shopping and even take in some of the sights with my new improved vision. Let's just say that the city looked way to dirty with my fresh eyes.
Later he took me down south even farther running long distances during the day and feeding in the various big cities at night along with teaching me to be a smart vampire. We had some meals in Baltimore, Washington D.C, Charlotte, and Atlanta and then we stopped in Miami. He hated being in one place for too long so we moved on quickly again. Through Tennessee and Illinois up to Wisconsin where we stayed for at least 2 weeks after me begging for hours. I even made a friend out of a store clerk. We talked every day while I was there, just about boys, clothes, shoes, and normal teenage girl stuff that made me feel human for a brief amount of time.
He was itching to leave so we went down through Iowa plus Nebraska, then west through Colorado and Utah till me arrived in Las Vegas. He liked Las Vegas and actually let us stay there for longer than two weeks. He enjoyed being able to be in public with drunk losers who didn't care that his eyes were blood red or that he looked like he would kill them. He was the life of the party sometimes even gambling till he lost two thousand dollars at a time. I knew why he liked it though; he had been a frat boy and so being in the party with drunk people made him feel human just like talking did with me.
During the day we often watched boring sitcoms or Soap Operas and played card games over and over again. Often he would go out alone into the desert, or whatever terrain we were currently in, to mourn his human life and the ones he loved. He carried many photos of them in his pockets of the same corduroy pants he wore when he attacked me (I notced he didn't like to change often). While he was gone I would write in various notebooks that we had picked up along our journey explaining every emotion of being alone or anything that I felt. And to keep my feeding in check I made a log of every time I killed, I would write down something about them like the color of their hair or eyes or something they said to me while they died that was noble or thoughtful. At first this made me feel like an awful person but as the numbers piled up I was able to deal with it and it no longer caused me pain.
But he made us move again to a little town in the red wood forest of northern California. He broke us into an old abandoned house just a few miles way from Seiad Valley. I was getting lonely I couldn't take the being alone all the time. I knew what I had to do.
I would leave in the afternoon the very next time he would go out into the wood to cry tearlessly and think about the good ole days with his family. Our little cottage had only one bedroom which had a tiny closet where I kept my backpack and the few personal items I owned: My note books, a pack of pens, 500 dollars I won playing craps, two sets of jeans, a pair of converse, three shirts, a charm bracelet from when I was a child along with new charms I bought every time we stopped and a collection of sea shells from when I went to the beach last week. Also in the cabin was a kitchen that was very empty and covered in shiny dust that despite being dust was actually pretty. There was a living room too with an old radio, a faded brown couch that was rather uncomfortable, and a wool blanket that had blue and red zigzag patterns that I had grown to love and would no doubt take with me when I left.
When he left the very next day I went to work. I packed everything up having to hold only the blanket. I knew he would be gone for hours caressing the pictures in his hand hoping to have his life back. What I had learned about him was that he didn't just miss his human life he mourned after it with such a passion that it scared me. He thought that life as he knew it was over and he should just try to live each day like he was still human though he knew he was not. I knew his patterns well and I knew the lengths he would not go to get me back. I would go to Seattle where Emily was from and had probably moved back to so that he wouldn't come after me. It was the best way for me. Then I left him a note and this is what it said:
Garrett, my dear friend. You have been such a help in the first few months of my brand new life. You have taught me everything I would need to know to survive and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that. I'm sorry I have to leave but this life is to dull for me I need to do things on my own time, my own way. Please don't follow me for I am going towards settle to start over for the billionth time in my life. I am so sorry. And I truly hope you find a brand new Emily someday. –Lillani.
Then I placed it on the couch where he like to sit and listen to boring sports stations and hear about basketball and football endlessly till it became so dull that I wanted to hurt myself to get the boring talk to stop. Often I wondered if he was even listening but opted not to ask him that. He would read it first thing when he got back and then he would probably head in the opposite direction of my location.
I walked silently out the old broken door carrying my things and looked back one last time. The house was falling apart but it was pretty. The wood walls were fading from bright living tree bark color to the dull brown that it would be for the rest of its life. And the red door always made me smile for some odd reason. I waved goodbye to house because it seemed oddly fitting and then started running towards my destination.
Hey Peoples of Earth or Jupiter :) My name is Allie and i am going to be your author/tour guide for the duration of this story! I really hope you like this story and pretty please review because that would make my heart jump for joy! Happy Easter! XOXO