A New Vampire 8
By Rei Edogawa
There is no describing what was going through me. The desire to feed was overwhelming, but even then as the monster took over, the human side I had cultivated for the past year was doing battle. I've met vampires who have believed that to be human is to be weak.
That day, in that minute that lasted eternity, I knew otherwise. Humans may be physically weak, but mentally and emotionally they are the strongest creatures in the world. It is why they became the dominant species of the world. The human inside me did not want to be a murderer. It fought a war that seemed to have no end and it never fought harder than it did now. If the monster was unleashed, then everyone in the house would perish.
Slowly, I became myself again. The human in me was able to keep the monster at bay, but it couldn't do it forever. I had just enough time. I gave the keys to Jamie, who had passed his driver's test a few months earlier and told him I'd meet him at school.
I ran faster than ever before. I was through the city in seconds and back into the wilds of the everglades. I used every sense I had to find an animal. I found a panther and attacked without thinking. The panther tried to fight back but couldn't even touch me as I sank my teeth into his neck. I had him drained within minutes and was off again. I bagged the deer the panther had been hunting and drank them dry too.
Quickly I disposed of my meal and ran back to the city. My clothes had been untouched by claws or blood, thankfully. I was in front of the office with minutes to spare and I quickly got freshened up. I entered the office with my head held high, more myself than I had been when I arrived in Miami.
As expected, I placed high on the aptitude tests, testing out of basic and honors and into advanced. Six of the seven courses were advanced, meaning at the end of my junior year I could graduate. Before heading to my first new class, I got a text from Alice. She and Jasper had just taken off from Atlanta. They had been traveling since last night. They would be here in a few hours.
Today was shaping up to be better than it had started. I decided then and there that I wasn't going to let the person I was affect the person I'd become. I had proven to myself this very morning that I had an inner strength that I never had or realized I had before.
I walked with new confidence. People stared as I walked. It was no wonder. I was dressed and looked like a supermodel. They had all seen me yesterday in a brand new Mercedes. The stories about me had been crazy since the announcement of my return yesterday and today I was obviously a different person.
As I sat down in my English class, I never felt better or in more control. The rest of the day passed by in a sense of euphoria. Calculus, Spanish, Chemistry, History, and Physics were all easy for my brain. It was the mandatory PE class that gave me issues. I had to constantly remind myself to hold back. I became the favorite of all my teachers and I knew they were expecting an airhead.
I explained that my amnesia is memory only, not talent and I had spent the last year learning all I could. The only bad thing is that five of the classes had Nina in them. She wasted no time targeting me. Several times she made me the brunt of her jokes and snide remarks. She hadn't changed.
Several of my old friends reintroduced themselves to me. The explained who they were and how we had met. Several strangers also tried to integrate themselves as my girlfriend, but I came up with inventive ways to get rid of them, like I didn't want them to waste their time pining after me. I was spending my time finding out who I was. I didn't have time for a relationship. It worked every time.
We went home after school and that night and I had a message from Alice and Jasper. They had landed in Miami and were staying at the Hilton's penthouse suite. I immediately left the house and drove downtown.
Alice and Jasper were waiting for me at the door. They were happy to see me as Alice had seen me eating my family, but couldn't warn me in time. Jasper was impressed that I had kept myself in check. We ended up talking late into the night. That is the problem with being a vampire, you didn't get sleepy so time can pass you by.
When I realized it was after two, I panicked and rushed home. Mom was waiting for me. She yelled at me for over twenty minutes, until I couldn't take it anymore. She was more upset that I was with Alice and Jasper than anything else. I used my power to send her to sleep. Then I erased the whole thing from her head, and Sara and Jamie's as well for good measure.
I then spent the rest of the night contemplating what I was doing. I was using my gift too much, abusing it in many circumstances. Like Edward, I couldn't help hearing what I did, but the constant changes, while in some cases were necessary, were shaping a reality that didn't exist. One that I believed should be.
It gave me great concern that I had this kind of gift. I could remake reality around me, by altering the minds of people. If I kept at it, how long would it take for me to alter the Cullen's minds? The very people that took me in and saved me from myself. I needed to speak to Carlisle. I needed his opinion and no matter what had to accept what he said. I needed someone to give me an unbiased view. Or I would just be living a fantasy for eternity. And that was something I couldn't live with.