Capturing Destiny
Chapter Ten
The Real World
Despite my efforts I did not have any visions like that again, I had odd glimpses of the doctor and the woman together, she was like him now, struggling as I had with the diet and I had also seen her introduced to the red haired boy but I did not hear them speak again and I could not tell where they were.
I moved slowly, remaining out of sight until late spring when I accidently stumbled across a small town. I had been concentrating so much on my visions, trying to see the auburn woman or the blonde angel that I did not realise how close I was until I could hear the sounds of radios, feel the heat of the people.
I skirted round, round the buildings and found a position where I could see the whole of the small town. It was quiet but obviously well off, the main street was wide, with trees planted strategically along it, with a river crossing it. Perpendicular to the main street was a street of small shops and I immediately recognised it. It was the same street from my vision the previous year.
I carefully pulled through the old bag I had been carrying and found the pale green dress at the bottom, slightly crushed beneath the weight of other, ruined dresses I had stolen at other times. I laid it over a tree branch with reverence; I had forgotten how beautiful it was, the colour light and playful, and the cut perfect for my thin frame, delicately laced around the neck.
I quickly stripped off the dress I was wearing, a sad affair that I had had on constantly for weeks and stuffed it into the bag, which I hid underneath a bush and pulled the green one over my head. The fabric felt even better on than under my fingers and it clung to me in all the right places. I would look underdressed for the cool evening but it didn't matter - I was going to walk down a street, with humans. I would get to rejoin the real world tonight.
I skipped and danced down the road, keeping out of sight till I was close to the town. I kept my breathing steady and managed to keep my mind clear and my mind myown. I had to keep reminding me of the fact I looked perfectly normal, that if I did not allow the bloodlust to overcome me they would never know what I was, they would continue to smile at me as I walked down the street, the young men would continue to look at me as though I were beautiful, despite my under developed body the young men who passed me smiled and whispered appreciatively when they thought I was out of earshot. For the first time I felt human again, part of the world. When the streets began to quiet and the sun fell below the horizon I slipped into an alley and ran back to the forest.
I carefully took the dress off again and put on one of my dirty ones to go hunt. I ran for many miles before I felt safe enough to let my inner demon go and properly begin hunting.
I didn't go back to the town, instead I planned to find somewhere larger, maybe spend a couple of days hidden in the obscurity of a nameless city, I could even try and find some more clothes.
I kept walking, finding another large forest and discovering the wonder of cougar, it was fantastic, just the right mix of tangy predator to satiate my thirst however the majority of the time I was still left with herbivores but I did not avoid human settlements as I had before, a couple of times I even walked into small villages at night, acclimatizing myself to the sensation of having so many people close at all times. Only once did I have any problems, I was nearing a small village – still many miles away when I smelt fresh blood – someone had cut themselves.
It took all my effort not to begin running towards the scent. I rooted myself to a large tree, clinging on once again for dear life and stopped myself from breathing. Even then it took a couple of minutes for the scent to move to the back of my mind and allow myself to let go, stealing away as quickly as possible straight towards the nearest predator.
The setback was disappointing but hopefully avoidable; I simply had to be more careful with my visions. I had to remember to check everything, to be extra vigilant of my visions.
I went back to the forest and it was not until Autumn that I dared to go near people again.
I was in northern California by the time I built up my courage enough to continue with my plan. I spent weeks planning my every move, making sure that nothing unexpected would happen, looking for different routes in and out the city, places to hide whenever the sun came out. Whatever I thought I would need and then finally I went.
I don't know what I had been expecting, my first evening in the city was disappointing, I wore my green dress and enjoyed walking up and down the long streets, watching the other people, peeping into the windows of the tall houses, but I did not feel a part of it, in the small neighbourhoods dotted around the city central the people spoke to one another, there was a sense of community, or family that I was not a part of, had I ever been part of it? Once again I could not answer.
I didn't stay for long, I kept moving north until I reached Seattle where I quickly found an abandoned building and holed up in it until the next night. The city was vast, sprawling nearly as far as my eyes could see and there were plenty forests round so I did not have to worry about hunting.
Settling down was surprisingly easy, I had a vision the very next day of a family who were travelling to care for an elderly relative for several months and had a daughter around my size, two days after they left a group of travellers would break into their house, taking what little they owned and burning it before they left. It was all the motivation I needed, I moved in a couple of hours after they left, it was secluded enough that none of the neighbours would realise I was there, but close enough to the city that I could travel into the city with ease. A neighbour was to check up on the house periodically but as long as I was smart I would always have enough warning to get out or at the very least hide.
The house itself was beautiful, small but homely. I did not enter the bedrooms, it felt like a betrayal of their privacy but luckily the wardrobe was in the hall and I was able to borrow some simple but well maintained clothes. I did not leave the house for the first week, I searched everything. I went through the kitchen, trying to remember using any of the various utensils but it did not bring anything back to me. I tried to numerous outfits, different hem lines, styles but there was simply not enough here to satisfy me, I even tried opening a couple of the few books dotted around the one, including one placed reverently on the bookshelf which I recognised as a Bible but as soon as I opened I began to feel cold. I could not bring myself to try and look at the words. Instead I busied myself fiddling with the radio, looking at the other books, examining the simple painting on the wall.
And soon I began planning my first expedition into the city. I decided to go at night, I could easily break in to one of the large shops in the city centre and spend until morning examining the various types of fabric, coats, shoes... despite my willingness to take the green dress I did not want to steal anything – I could always find a way to make some money and buy one if I wanted, even make something myself, I was certain it would take no time whatsoever with my eyes and deft fingers.
A/N: Thanks for the reviews and favourites guy! Keep letting me know what you think, up next Alice's first trip into a shop - you know it's going to be good!