Hey...

I decided that I wanted Chen to make an appearance in this story. He's been wired away in my computer for ages, I havent used him in anything. He doesnt really serve much of a purpose. I dont think...

xoxo

Tress.

Ps. You'll have to wait for the nxt update: nxt week at the latest, promise.Chapter 4. Chen.

Together we travelled around Asia and some of the southern hemisphere continents, like Australia and New Zealand and I was somewhat thankful for their company. I wasn't alone anymore, I had other somewhat human companions. The next of our coven was Chen. He was eighteen, like me, and was staying in China when we found him…

"Andrew, I swear if you don't get out of my way this instant-" Vee started but Andrew cut her off with a kiss. I smiled at them both. We were all taking a run around the mountains, looking for wildlife, not exactly hunting just getting a feel for the environment. I knew that as soon as they started kissing, Vee's anger dissipated in seconds. Call it Andrew's little power…except it was exclusively over Vee. "Andrew…that's…not…fair…" she murmured and I sprinted away to give them some privacy. Sometimes it was too much to watch them together. Don't get me wrong, I loved them both a lot but it was like dejavu of…him. I tried not to think about it too much. No point in making the gaping hole in my chest larger. I was racing up the mountain, barely feeling the cool air against my skin.

There was a strange scent in the air. Like the ocean, faintly winding its way over the paths. I liked it. It wasn't like any other I'd ever come across. Something about it was familiar, vampiric almost, but I'd never smelt something so brittle and weak before. Must be an animal. I thought as I followed the scent further into the trees. It lead me deeper and deeper into the shrub until I came across a small cave entrance.

The smell was making my curiosity flare as I went inside. The first thing that hit me was sadness. It hung in the air like an airtight seal, making it harder to breathe. Something was miserable here. I walked, at a human pace to the back. Curled up in one of the darkest corners was a shaking figure. All thoughts that it was an animal disappeared. This was no creature. It was a person. "Hello?" I murmured and the figure jumped back against the cave wall in a blur. Suddenly I wondered why I didn't have to reject this person's blood. Usually I would be concentrating very hard in such a confined area but at the moment, it was as if he didn't have any blood to speak of. As if, he was a vampire. A low hiss echoed around the cave.

"Get out while you still can." A horribly raspy voice said. I felt my non-beating heart swell in my chest. Agony was ripping from this poor man. I didn't move though. "Get out! I'm a monster! LEAVE!" he screamed, gripping the wall, almost as if he was trying to hold himself back.

"I'm not going to leave. Who are you? Do you have a coven?" I asked quietly, slowly moving forward. He froze and his hand ripped a rock from the wall in restraint. A tiny shard of light pierced the darkness and I saw that it was a boy, about my age with strong Chinese features and glowing skin. He was, like all vampires, incredibly handsome. The skin lit up the cave further and the boy hissed again, shying away from the brilliance.

"Who am I? I am a monster." He said, adding the last part to himself. He slid down the wall, landing with his head on his knees; dry sobs rippling threw his body, which was covered in dirty ragged clothes. I crouched closer to him, hopeful that he wasn't going to attack.

"Don't say that. You're like me. What's your name?" I asked, softly. He looked up and I saw that his eyes were black with thirst but cloudy somehow. Like he hadn't fed in an incredibly long time. Longer than I'd seen anyone go for. He seemed to take comfort with my own slightly darkened eyes and relaxed a bit.

"Chen. They called me Chen." He murmured. I nodded and smiled a bit.

"My name's Bella. Who bit you Chen? Why are you here?" I asked, hesitantly. Chen stiffened a little.

"A man named Jose came to my village. A true monster. We didn't know what he was until we let him in. The blood-drinker. The soul-stealer. He took many young women and drank their blood. One day he took my sister Lim. She was only 14. I went after him, trying to get her back but he'd already killed her. He told me that I looked strong enough to be part of his coven. I went through three days of horrible pain and when I woke up, I looked like the monster himself. Jose told me that I was to drink blood like him but it was too much. I ripped him to shreds and burned the room he kept me in to the ground. I tried to go back to my village but they cast me out. I was so tempted by them, to…to-" Chen shook his head violently in contempt.

I patted his arm softly. He smiled weakly and continued. "They cast me out and I found this place. I just wanted to die, to end my horrible existence but one woman wouldn't let me. She was a good friend to me in my village. She didn't know what I was. A few months ago, she followed me to this place and when she found me I-I killed her." he whispered. Despite myself, I gasped. Months and he hadn't fed. Starved himself so badly, so that he wouldn't be a monster. Chen must've thought I meant it differently and scrambled away, turning to the wall again. "I am a monster. Even among my own kind, I am a terrible creature." He said, disgusted at himself. I put my hand on his back again.

"Chen, you starved yourself too well. I understand you didn't want this but you cannot blame yourself. The only thing you're guilty of is being reckless. You should've fed immediately. You don't always feel like that if you feed often. My coven doesn't drink human blood, we drink animal blood. We try to be humane." I told him. He looked warily up at me.

"Animals?"

"That's right. We live among humans. We train ourselves not to kill innocent people. Would you like to try?" I asked. He seemed cautious of me so I stood and ushered to the cave entrance. Chen nodded and followed slowly. I wondered how long it had been since he'd seen the sun. We'd chosen a very remote place to hunt so no one would see our glowing skin so we should be fine, I thought.

I took in another deep ocean filled breath of air. Chen smiled. It was slightly crooked and sent a tiny ripple of pain through my chest. "Chen, smell down by the stream? Those deer-smelling animals?" I didn't know what they were called in China but they smelled exactly like elk. Chen closed his eyes and nodded. "GO down their and feed yourself. I'll be right behind you in case you need help." I said and took off after him. For someone who had starved themselves for about six months, he was surprisingly fast.

By the time I got there, a few seconds after him, he was done with his first deer. Chen looked solemn. "Thankyou Bella. This might be the first time I've felt hope in a long time." He said, gazing to the west where Andrew and Vee where playing around each other a few miles away. He tensed a little.

"Chen, they're fine. They're part of my coven. Andrew? Vee? Come over here and meet Chen! He might be staying for a while." I said and they were by my side in a second. Chen looked puzzled.

"You would permit me to stay with you?" he asked. I nodded.

"If you want to."

Chen had been with us every since.

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