3

Alex felt a stinging pain in her upper teeth. She clasped her hand over her mouth, putting pressure to the hurting teeth, and opened her eyes. She was still in the motel room, lying on the bed again. After a few moments the pain subsided and Alex cautiously ran a finger across her teeth, trying to figure out where it had come from. Here canines seemed larger and pointed… Alex groaned. She'd had enough of this vampire shit.

She got up and went into the bathroom. A large part of the mirror was missing, but someone had cleaned up the shards. Alex avoided looking at her reflection – she could imagine only too well how awful she was looking. She looked down at her wrist where she had cut herself earlier – there was only a thin scar visible now. She stepped into the shower and turned on the hot water.

She stayed like that, letting the hot water warm her cold skin, for a long time and when she finally got out of the shower she felt somewhat more alive again.

Alex found clothing on the bed, including a pair of jeans and a shirt, that wasn't her own, but that Victoria had probably left there for her.

After putting on the clothes she went to the door. She was half-expecting to be locked in again, but was surprised to find she could step outside unhindered. It was early in the night and the sun had already set. She looked around and found Victoria sitting on a bench a few meters to her right.

Alex stood there for a few moments, not sure what she was supposed to do.

"Hey," Victoria said, standing up and turning to face Alex. "You alright?"

Alex just nodded.

"I see you found the clothes."

"Yes. Thanks."

"Are you… hungry?" Victoria asked carefully.

Alex just stared at her. This was sick.

"No. I'm fine."

"Alex, it's alright. You don't have to feed on humans… Actually, you had better not! That's exactly why I hunt other vampires… Were you a vegetarian?"

"No."

"Good, that makes it easier. Come on, my car is parked a few minutes away. We'll drive a bit out of Newport and find a quiet spot were we can… find you something to feed on."

"No, really, I'm fine!" Alex said quickly. She was hungry, or rather thirsty, but the thought of sucking blood out of another living creature was entirely repulsive to her.

"Look, I know it's hard, but you'll get used to it. Do you want to make Darian pay, to give him what he deserves?"

Alex looked at Victoria, surprised. "I thought he was impossible to catch?"

Victoria smiled a devilish smile. "I never said that. I'm sure we'll manage – together."

The more Alex thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her. She felt anger building up inside her again at the thought of her 'creator'. She slowly breathed in and out a few times, until she felt herself calm down.

"Yes, I want to help you to get rid of him," she said slowly. "Once and for all. At least that gives me a new goal in life… Or non-life… whatever."

"That is good. But that will, of course, have to wait a while. The first thing we have to do now is to go hunting. You'll get used to it, I promise."

"Can't I just continue eating normal food," Alex asked desperately, although the thought of eating pizza or even a salad seemed strangely sickening to her.

"You can try if you want. But you'd probably through up," Victoria stated dryly, confirming Alex' fear.

So, with the thought of revenge in mind, Alex gave in and followed Victoria to her car.

That night Victoria taught Alex how to hunt and to feed on animals. Though Alex was still disgusted at herself, she could not deny that the taste of blood on her lips was more than satisfying.

They spent the next days in another motel, outside Newport. Victoria told Alex everything she needed to know about being a vampire.

Alex learned that it was enough if she went hunting on animals once in a few days or even a week. She was told – and experienced it herself – that sunlight was not harmful to her, unlike in many myths about vampires.

Victoria also told her the whole story of Alex' 'death'. Darian had hunted her and bit her, but had apparently been disturbed by an approaching car. The driver, a witness in the case, had later told the police that he saw a man holding a lifeless girl in his arms and stopped the car. As soon as he had stepped out of his vehicle, Darian had let Alex fall to the floor. Apparently, Darian had then taken Alex' mobile and smashed it, and it was at that point that the witness became aware that he was in accurate danger. But before Darian did anything else, he must have sensed Victoria coming closer and shortly before she arrived he had run off. The witness had called 911 and Victoria had tried to follow Darian – without success, of course. What happened after that was left somewhat vague by Victoria. She didn't explain to Alex how she had managed to put another corpse in Alex' place, and Alex didn't ask.

"I can feel the presences of others of our kind," Victoria explained one night. "The thirstier they are and the more murderous they feel, the stronger I can sense them. And of course also the geographical distance plays a role. That is how I usually track them down. I feel their presence shortly before they attempt to kill their victims. Sometimes I succeed in saving their victim's lives; sometimes I come to late… I did not have this special talent immediately. It was only over the many years that it slowly became stronger… I don't know if it is common among our kind. The feeling is also stronger if I have sensed that specific vampire before. It won't be all too hard for me to locate Darian again – although it may take a while –, the only difficulty lies in catching him."

"What do you do when you catch a vampire? How do you kill them?"

Victoria looked deep into Alex' eyes. "I trust you, so I will answer your question. But first, answer one of mine. Will you swear never to feed on humans and to only kill those vampires that are murderers?"

"I swear," Alex said without hesitating. She didn't even want to imagine herself drinking human blood.

"Here, look at this dagger. It's blade is partly of iron and partly of wood. The iron makes sure the knife finds its way to the vampire's heart – the wood frees its soul. That's what I believe, at least. I don't know why the wood is really necessary, but it is. My theory is that our souls are kept prison in our dead bodies and they can only be freed by a piece of wood piercing our heart."

Alex shivered. "And nothing else can really harm us, can kill us?"

Victoria shook her head. "Nothing. All other wounds heal."

They were sitting in their motel room as ever so often, not wanting to risk bumping into anyone Alex knew. Alex thought about everything Victoria had just told her. Was this how she would spend the rest of her existence? Hunting down and killing vampires? Though she had grown fond of Victoria in the last days, she suddenly felt extremely alone.

"Can I ask you something, Vic?" she asked quietly and looked up the meet the other woman's eyes. "Don't you ever feel lonely?"

Victoria saw the desperation in Alex' eyes and smiled sadly.

"I do," she said simply.

Alex let her shoulders hang in defeat. "I miss her so badly. But what can I do? I couldn't ever expect her to love a monster…"

Victoria took Alex' hand and squeezed it gently. "You could tell her everything, tell her the truth. From what you told me, she seems trustworthy enough."

Alex shook her head. "No… Even if she wasn't disgusted by me, I don't want her to give up her life for me. She deserves something better than a vampire."

Victoria nodded slowly. "Yes… I know how you feel. I understand how you think. But maybe you would not only do yourself, but also do her a favour by telling her the truth…"

"No," Alex said again. "No. She has been through so much already… She really deserves better. I want her to remember me how I used to be. I don't want her to see me as a monster."

Alex turned her head away from Victoria, trying to hide the fact she was almost crying.

"She- she'll get over me," Alex continued. "Maybe she'll find a nice guy. And then she'll have the family she always dreamed of. She'll have children of her own…"

Alex felt tears burning in her eyes, but she didn't allow herself to shed them.

"Alex…"

"I wonder if she misses me as much as I miss her…"

"I am sure she does…"

They sat next to each in other in silence for a few minutes. The thought of living on for ever without being with Marissa was devastating for Alex. For the last few days, she had tried not to think of that problem, but now that she had finally decided not to show herself to Marissa, she still felt strangely torn. On the one hand she felt as if something had broken inside her, as if a part of her had died, but on the other hand she felt as if an invisible weight had been taken from her shoulders. Alex knew that this was the right thing to do. Surely, Marissa would be sad about having lost her for some time. But she would be alright, eventually, and on the long run she would be happier this way. She would be able to lead a normal life.

Alex suddenly noticed Victoria was still holding her hand and she squeezed it gently before letting go.

"Thanks," she said, looking at Victoria who smiled at her.

"Of course."

Alex looked out of the window. They had chosen a motel room on the second floor, so that there was no need to put down the blinds. It was completely dark outside and it took Alex a moment to realize that it was raining softly. What a strange summer… Alex thought.

"Wait a moment," Alex said turning back to Victoria. "What day is today?"

"It's Tuesday…"

Alex swallowed hard. "The day of my funeral. So, by now I'm officially buried," she said dryly.

She stood up. "I need to go."

"Alex, wait…"

"What? Are you gonna try to stop me?" Alex demanded her voice becoming an angry hiss.

Victoria stood up as well and took something out of her pocket.

"Here, take the car," she said softly, handing Alex the keys.

"I-I…"

"It's alright. I understand."

"Thank you," Alex said quietly. Her anger had gone as fast as it had come.

"Oh, and here, I almost forgot," Victoria added hastily, as Alex headed for the door. "I got you a new mobile… Just in case. My number's already in."

Alex put the mobile in her pocket, nodded a good-bye to Victoria and left.

Alex parked the car close to the graveyard. She was dressed all in black and was practically invisible in the starless night. She wandered passed countless tombstones, appreciating the complete silence. At some point she saw a wooden cross ahead, indicating a fresh grave, and somehow she immediately knew it was her own. Kneeling before the grave was a person… Alex' heart beat would have increased madly, had her heart not stopped beating for ever a week ago. She crept closer until she was as near as she could risk without being seen. So there she stood, in the shadow of a large tree, watching from behind as the girl she loved mourned at her grave.

An eternity seemed to have passed when Marissa suddenly stood up. She looked up at the sky and Alex could see the soft rain running over her face.

Then the wind suddenly carried Marissa's voice over to Alex, making the latter shudder involuntarily.

"Alex," she heard Marissa whisper. "I will always love you. I know you can hear me – I can feel your presence."

Then Marissa turned away from the grave and walked away, leaving the graveyard in complete silence again.

Alex stepped forward slowly and looked down at her grave. She ran a finger over her name engraved in the wooden cross.

"Yes, I can hear you," she whispered into the wind, the tears running down her cheeks mixing with the rain drops on her face.

A/N: Thank you all again for reviewing! You guys rock! : ) I've got no school today… So I'll continue writing! :D