Chapter Three
She loved the feeling of running, she felt free and untethered when she ran. Her body hummed in anticipation for the hunt. Her fangs protruded from their gums. Lorena tried to calm herself but it was in vain. She could see the others in the distance. Siree`s long light brown hair was pulled up in a tight bun her matching brown eyes searching in the darkness of the forest for Lorena. Adam, Siree`s fiancée, stood at her side. His dark brown hair was windblown and in disarray, his dark brown eyes were shining with anticipation. Ian, Lorena`s ex husband, stood slightly away from the other two. His features matched that of Adams so perfectly they could have been mistaken as twins even though no blood was shared between the two. Anticipation and excitement radiated from all of them. They all wore jeans, including Lorena herself, along with t-shirts. Lorena wore a fitted white tee, Siree wore a lacy white tee, Adam wore a gray one and Ian wore a black tee. The shirts were tight on their bodies. They all wore sneakers, except for Lorena who wore her trademark black leather high heeled boots. As Lorena emerged from the shadows, she was greeted by hugs from Siree and Adam and a wave from Ian. She gave a fanged smile and her smile was returned with other fanged smiles. Lorena could see the dull shimmering wall of light in front of them. It surrounded their entire realm. In this particular spot was weak and allowed them to pass through into the Realm of Mortals. Lorena walked into it. At first she was met with resistance, put she kept pushing her body through. It allowed her to pass. It was an odd feeling, like walking through Jell-O but a constant pressure surrounded her. The pressure faded and she could hear the bustling sounds of the human city. Her eyes automatically adjusted to the alley devoid of light that she found herself in. They hunted the humans at night because the sun in this realm burned them. It didn't kill them but it was unpleasant so they wished to avoid it if they could. Another reason was that it was much easier to go undetected during the night. Very few people knew of the weak spot between the two realms and even fewer were brave enough to pass through it. There were vampires whose only job was to come to this realm and collect blood to sustain the vampire population. Lorena stepped aside as she saw the shadowy form of the others coming through. After everyone was through the group parted ways, off to hunt and feed on their own.
Lorena heard the steady thumping of the man`s beating heart around the corner of the dark alleyway where she crouched waiting. His footsteps and loud laughter bounced off the narrow walls of the narrow alley. The strong smell of alcohol and drugs floated off the man in waves. He had friend with him, whose blood wasn't tainted by drugs. That was the man Lorena was after. The drugs in the others mans system wouldn't affect her in any way but she preferred the pureness of the untainted blood. She purposely stumbled out of her hiding place feigning drunkenness.
"Would you boyssss mind helpinnn a lady out?" She slurred her words perfectly. She was getting too good at this. She had changed her outfit to a revealing top and a black leather mini skirt that matched well with her black leather high heeled boots. As she had hoped the men's eyes traveled down her body practically drooling. The sober man was the first to respond.
"Sure ma`am. I was about to hail a cab for my friend here so it would be no problem getting you on too"
Lorena gave him her most beautiful and dazzling smile.
" Thatsss very kind of you ssssirrrr. But im gonnaaa need a man to help me into my home..."
The man smiled back at her.
"Of course. I'd be happy to help."
The man opened the cab door and helped her out. The man looked around at the townhouses. Smiling, Lorena handed him her keys and pointed him to the right door. She suppressed the thought of how she got those keys. She followed the man up the stone steps to the doorway and he unlocked the door for her. She walked inside and turned to face the man again.
"It would be rude if I didn't invite you in, after you helped me out."
Lorena stepped aside so the man could enter. He hesitated for just a moment before smiling at her and stepping through the door way. That was his biggest mistake.
Lorena walked amongst the shadows so silently she was never noticed. When she got back to the alley way where she and her friends had come, the others were waiting for her. They each had crimson eyes, Lorena knew hers were too, a sign that the hunt had gone well. Before they reached their realm, their eyes would be back to normal, and their fangs retracted back into their gums, but the incredible feeling they got from feeding would last a couple hours. In two weeks, they would do it all again. One by one, they all stepped through, gone before they could ever be noticed. The remains of their victims wouldn't be discovered, they never were.