Chapter 4

I was sitting at home, relaxing once again. It had been about a week since the vampire visited, and all had been quiet. In fact, the new moon was near, and that meant I was almost at the point where I was closest to human. It's during the full moon that the wolf loses any influence over me, and it's awesome. That night, the new moon was going to be the best time to relax. It was Saturday, so it meant no school the next day, and I had the lowest energy for the two months, so I usually just sat around at home and relaxed.

"Hey, kid, how ya doing?" I heard a voice say, and I jumped. I turned around, and I saw the vampire sitting at my closed doorway, watching me.

"What the hell." I yelled.

"Awww, did I scare the little dog."

"How the hell did you get in here?"

"What? Oh, I have a key."

"How the hell did you get a key? And how are you able to enter, the first time you needed permission."

"Well, you gave me permission the first time, so I don't need it anymore. And, I kinda know some people. It was easy to get a key."

"So, why the hell do you keep coming to my house? I thought vampires were supposed to hate my kind."

"Well, not all of us do. Most vampires can't stand your kind. But, there are a few of us, such as myself, that don't… how can I say this nicely… hate you. I actually like werewolves. Especially you, although that's probably cause you're close to my age, or, at least the age I was when I was turned."

"Umm… okay then. How old are you exactly?"

"Well, I was turned when I was 16, so I'll always look 16, but I'm really about 206 years old."

"Wow. That's gotta suck, being stuck in the body of a 16 year old for 190 years." I said, then, after a pause, I asked the teen something else. "What's your name?"

"Alex. Alexander Ivanov." The teen said with a dominant Russian accent mixed with others.

"Nice to meet you Alexander." I said, standing up and reaching to shake his hand. "I'm Cory. Cory Selini." And for the first time in a few years, I finally felt like I met someone I could actually talk to. After a little bit of silence, I said, "So, what now?"

"Well, you just keep living your life, but now, you have a vampire friend." Alex said with a smile. "And anyways, I gotta leave. If the vampires see me here, with a werewolf, they might not like it that much." And Alex started walking towards the door.

"Hey, Alex, one request. Could you stop popping up unexpectedly?"

"I'm gonna be honest. No." He said smiling. Then Alex walked out the door, disappearing with his vampire speed.

"I have got to get a new lock on that door." I said, talking to myself, and I walked over to the couch, deciding to sleep before the new moon, so that way, in case any vampires showed up, like Alex was warning me, I might not be as weak.

"Cory, wake up." I heard someone mumble, breaking into my dreams, but I didn't want to move. "Cory, wake up." They said, shaking me. This time it sounded like they were yelling, and were the person yelling the first time.

All of a sudden I was partially lifted up, being shaken by someone yelling "Cory, get up! Your house is on fire." And I woke up, completely, immediately. I saw Alex there, holding me by the shoulders, having just woken me up.

"What's happening?" I asked, yelling. Then I smelled it, smoke. And I saw the walls of my house, aflame.

"Come, get up. We have to get out of the house." Alex said, rushing me off the couch.

"Okay," I said, kind of in a blur. I got off the couch, heading straight towards the door. "Wait, I have some stuff upstairs that I need."

"No, we have to get out the house." Alex said, urging me to leave.

"No. I need to get something." I said, and I started running up the stairs.

"Wait." Alex said, but he was too late. I was already up stairs, and it was a lot worse up there.

I started running towards my room, where everything I was looking for was. I saw my backpack and grabbed, then ran over to my dresser. I grabbed a few pictures, all of my family, my necklace, which was the symbol of Aquarius, and my pocket knife. Then I ran over to my closet. I knew my life was in danger, but I needed clothes from there. After I got a few shirts and jeans, I was satisfied and started running towards the door. All of a sudden the doorway collapsed, bringing some of the ceiling with it, and trapping me.

I tried moving some of the rumble, but I couldn't even get close to it because it was so hot, and everything was starting to get blurry. I turned around, heading for the window. I stood near it, trying to see if I could jump out, but it was too high, and thanks to the new moon hanging outside, I was too human. And I couldn't even open the window; the second I touched the glass, it burned my hand.

I backed away, trying to find a way out, while still keeping my mouth covered with my shirt. "Alex!" I yelled, hoping he was still near. But I got no response, and I was beginning to feel light-headed. I moved to my dresser, going through the drawers. After about minute, I finally found what I was looking for, my machete. I ran over to the doorway and started trying to chop up the pieces of the wall and doorway blocking my way, but, unfortunately, the machete got so hot that I dropped it, and I could barely breathe.

I didn't know what to do anymore, so I just walked over to my bed, barely able to breathe. I sat down, unable to even think of a way to get me out of the room. Damn. Why'd I have to go up here? I thought. I opened my backpack, going through the things I collected. I saw the pictures of my family, the family I wouldn't see again, and the pocket knife I risked my life for, the clothes I could have lived without, and necklace I was about to die for. I lay down on the bed, feeling like my lungs were on fire, and everything was getting dark.

All of a sudden I heard a crashing noise. I couldn't see what was happening, but I figured the house was just caving in. I wanted to get up, but I couldn't muster up the energy. "Damn it Cory." I heard someone say.

"Alex?" I mumbled.

"Come on." I heard the person say, and they picked me, and my backpack up. I felt myself swaying a little as I was carried somewhere. I heard the sound of glass crashing, and all of a sudden, I felt like I was falling, while still in the hold of my savior.

I woke up to the sound of a siren. Where the hell am I? I thought. I looked around, and I saw that I was in the back of an ambulance. I saw a male nurse sitting there. "Hey. Good you're awake, now stay with me. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah," I said, my voice sounding rough. "Fire, smoke, et cetera."

"Yeah."

"Who saved me?" I asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone saved me. Someone picked me up and brought me out through the window."

"No one saved you." The nurse said. "We found you outside, alone, collapsed in the street."

"But-"

"No one was there. Now rest. You're gonna be fine." The nurse said, interrupting me. I decided to take his advice. My lungs were still burning, and I felt like I needed rest. I stayed asleep until they brought me into the hospital.