Friends Don't Eat Friends
Harkat and Dylan jump over to me, but I easily dodge them and get them off of me. My eyes blaze molten silver and I hiss inhumanly. Dylan backs away while Harkat gets closer again. Glaring at him, I let my energy escape and create a force field around Sam and me. Not conscious of my actions I latch my mouth onto his cut.
Sam screams and looks up at me in fear. I barely register this however and start sucking his blood. And I don't know why anyone would say it tastes disgusting. The taste is hard to describe, but it was a mix between chocolate and steak and ice cream and pickled onions. Hell it was better than pickled onions, not by much though. It seemed to be the elixir of life and I couldn't get enough.
I see myself hunting for small game. Dead raccoons, squirrels, rodents and such. A small blue hooded figure with a limp is to my far right. To my far left is a figure who changes from child to adult before my eyes. His skin is made of scales and his tongue is up in his nose. We laugh as we toss carcasses into sacks on our shoulders, Octa crawls up onto my shoulder.
Some older man and I are walking through cave halls lined with illuminating moss. We head deeper and deeper into the cave until we enter a cavern filled with millions of spiders. He smiles at them and I do too. Something about the room gives me peace. Some spiders are brown while other are more colorful. Octa walks out of a crevice with what seems to be the spider king. Seba and I laugh at the sight.
An image of the me that isn't really me flashes through my eyes and I'm sitting in a theater watching the orange haired guy. I'm standing in said theater with the orange haired guy and yell at him. I hand him a colorful spider that I swear is Octa and he looks at me appraisingly. He smiles at me and takes my hand and pricks the ten of them with his fingers. I see him prick his own scarred finger tips and press them against mine, whispering a name that leaves my head as suddenly as it comes. Blood courses from me to him… my sire.
Pain erupts throughout my veins and threatens to reach my heart. Freaked out about the images and possessed by a shadowy voice telling me to back away, I do get off of him and back up until I collapse onto the floor against my bed. Lifting my hands up I stare at them as if they were soaked with blood, an image straight from Macbeth even though I've never read it.
Wait that isn't exactly true. Paris had an old copy straight from Shakespeare's days and I was forced to read it to the illiterate people around me.
I know there's no blood on my hands, figuratively and literally. If anything there is blood around my mouth. And I didn't kill Sam. His heartbeat is still constant and loud, the sign of health. But at the same time it's as if his life is on me. Guilt rushes into me and I don't want it to ever leave, I don't deserve for it to leave. I ate my best friend…I frickin ate my best friend
Looking down I sigh, Sam's passed out. That might be better though, if he was awake he'd still be screaming at me. Harkat looks at me with sympathy and an air of condescension. He opens his mouth as if he's going to lecture me. But he doesn't. Dylan is slowly backing away from me and is holding up my MVP trophy from football season as a weapon. His back hits the door and he stares at me.
He's scared. Scared of me. Scared of what I could possibly do to him. Scared of the possibility that I would eat him. Scared of the best friend he's known for years. Scared of me.
I look at them and gulp, a lone tear escaping, "I'm sorry." It comes out as a whisper and I hope they heard it.
Harkat purses his lips, well I think he did, "We need Vancha or Evanna."
"is h-h-h-h-e a-a-a-a-a-a-a-alive," Dylan stutters. I don't think I've ever seen this freaked out.
"Yes," Harkat nods and Dylan and I sigh in relief. "He's lost a little too much blood is all. It should only be an hour or two before he wakes up. And before you ask I only know that from living with vampires for my entire life."
For some reason I get the sense he knows that firsthand too, but I don't mention it. Sam's still passed out on the floor. Bleeding. His blood doesn't look good anymore though; it looks downright sickening. And as much as I'm glad I'm able to walk in the sun…it would be nice if my spit could heal him right now.
I don't even bother to think where that came from.
Sighing, I walk over to him and press my hand against his injury. A bright light blazes throughout the room in a brilliance of white and blue and gold and red. It dies down and besides from a small cut, Sam looks normal. His shadow smiles at me and winks before whispering to me that he won't remember anything after he fell, he'll imagine it was a dream. I nod and thank it.
Dylan looks at me as if I'm crazy. Definitely a possibility saying that I just had a conversation with a shadow, but I know I'm not. Glancing from Sam to me, his fear grows and I exhale loudly. A sharp pain shoots through me again and my heat tremors.
I drop to the floor groaning in agony. Harkat looks towards me and shakes his head, "This isn't supposed to happen yet."
"What?" Dylan asks.
"His memories are threatening to come back, his body's making the change."
"So he is going crazy? Because I'm pretty sure he just talked to the air."
The little person shrugs, "I'm not quite sure. He's never done that before. It could be a part of the prophecy and what he's becoming though."
"Then if it's going to happen why stop it?" he wonders, although years of talking to him make me realize that Dylan doesn't want it to happen either. If that happens I'll be this other guy, not me.
"It's too soon, he isn't ready. Dylan call Evanna now and get her over here."
"What about Vancha? I mean it's going to be dark soon."
"Vampires don't use technology," Harkat snorts. "It's annoying as hell in times like this though."
Dylan is obviously curious about this, but doesn't ask. Instead he takes out his phone and dials a number that Harkat relays to him. With the little energy I have I put my hand up in front of me and tell them to stop.
Standing up I move my neck in a circle to get rid of the stiffness. "I'm fine I swear just a little chest pain and a bit of a headache. Nothing to worry about, seriously."
Both of them look at me disbelievingly and Harkat frowns, "Matt if it is your past resurfacing there could be a huge problem."
"Isn't that what you want?" I snap at him. "You want him to come back and save the world again."
"Are we really having this argument again?"
"Not really, let's just drop it."
He nods and I turn to an uncharacteristically quiet Dylan. I can't remember the last time he hasn't has something to say. It's more than a little uncomfortable and, well weird. "Dylan you're quiet."
"Sorry man, I mean I know we joked about this, but you just sucked your best friends blood."
Oh right, I almost forgot about that with all the excitement of regaining some unusual memories. "Um," I trail off when Sam comes to and moans.
"What happened? I had the weirdest dream."
The three of us look at each other and I answer, "You fell and hit your head. What was your dream about anyway?"
"I could have sworn you were sucking my blood like a vampire creep Matt," he laughs and I join in halfheartedly. In all honesty my ire threatens to boil over at the fact that he called me a creep.
"That's crazy," Dylan tells him without any emotion. "If Matt ate anyone it would be Anna."
And even though it was a cover story to hide the truth we all start laughing at his joke. That was the Dylan I knew, even if it was an act. With all that happened it was nice to see something normal happen.
"I have to go," Harkat says quickly. "Matt Vancha's going to want to see you."
"I know, tell him I'll be there tomorrow I guess."
Harkat leaves and Sam looks at me, "Who's Vancha?"
"His brother," I lie.
"Should have figured with a name like that. Since when have you known them anyway? I thought we were your only friends?"
"Funny," I roll my eyes.
"What?" he asks all innocently. "Not my fault that you're that unlikable. I don't even know why I put up with you."
Picking up a shoe next to me I chuck it at his head and he dodges it. "Come on dude I already have an injury! You trying to kill me or something?"
Dylan laughs uncomfortably, "Yeah because Matt would never try to kill you right?"
I glare at him and Sam looks at him awkwardly, "And that's supposed to be funny why?"
"No reason," we say together.
"You're just weird," Sam chuckles. "Now get me some ice cream!"
"And I should get off of my ass and get you food why?"
"It's your house," Dylan points out.
"Screw that! I'm the one who almost died today because of your frickin screwdriver so you owe me food."
"You already ate half my house?"
"Yeah now get me the other half," Sam reasons.
After that our afternoon turns average again; video games, making jokes, teasing one another and of course eating the other half of my house. Sam really didn't think anything was wrong and that I didn't eat him. Dylan on the other hand is still looking at me as if I could snap and turn on him at any second.
In all honesty I don't blame him. If I was in his position I would be damned scared as well. And even though I don't think or foresee myself biting him, I really don't know. Wait do I even bite people? Either way it's as if this foreign creature is living inside of me and could come out at any second.
About an hour later they leave and my family comes home with carryout. Sitting at the table I take a bit of my burrito and listen to my family talk. I'm silent though. It's weird sitting with them and realizing that I'm not like them. I'm not even the same species as them. A little discerning if I think about it.
Mom and Dad look at me with worry in their eyes and I try my best to avoid them. It doesn't help me at all to see them look at me like that. And really how am I supposed to get them to believe that I'm okay and not doing drugs if I'm really not okay. Thinking about it too, well it is easy to imagine that I'm on drugs with how I've been acting. Drugs would probably be an easier issue to deal with than my non-humanness.
Sarah tries her best to talk to me, but I give her one word BS answers. Knowing her she doesn't even notice though. She tends to ramble so much that a few words sounds like a whole conversation to her. At the moment I'm pretty thankful for that.
Once dinner ends I run upstairs and after doing as little bit of homework I can get away with I take out my laptop to search anything I can about vampires. Being ignorant about my own race is probably not a good thing. Plus I have to admit I am curious about what this whole vampire thing means for me.
Unlike last time I searched about this stuff my answers come up, well at least the ones about vampires do. According to the websites I read I am eventually going to grow fangs and become so evil that the sun and garlic and holy water and crosses will burn me alive. Or I'm going to become a demon or an angel, I read both, with the powers of a succubus. Or I'll become immortal by bathing in blood. Or my favorite, I'll become sparkly and be able to read minds.
Anna may be a Twilight fan, but she likes me without me sparkling in the sun.
Eventually I do stumble upon a sight that sounds more legit. It's made by a group of vampire hunters and fascinated I enter a chat with some guy.
Me-My cousins were captured by what they called vampaneze, do you know what they are?"
Vampfighter334- idiot, that's not even a real thing. Vampires give fake names to confuse people
Me-are they purple?
Vampfighter334-some are, are you interested in killing them?
Me-I just need more information. How do you kill one?
Vampfighter334-a stake through the heart.
Freaked out I exit and wince at the image. Suddenly I'm transported to another place, at least in my head again. This time it's a field where I see Vancha in the sun. I walk over to a convenient store and run into a group of hunters. Back in my room, Octa crawls over to me. I sigh; this research thing isn't going to work. Even the "real deal" guys don't know a thing. Fed up with this I change and lie in bed.
The most frustrating thing is that the answers are locked up in my head somewhere; everything I need to know is within reach. Yet it isn't, learning the truth will whisk me away into nonexistence. I already feel it happening too. Part of me doesn't know who I am anymore. It's no longer just a few memories. A part of me feels different.
Thinking about anything, a second opinion pops into my head. Looking at something intrusive thoughts enter my head. And I am slowly starting to feel myself slip away. It's as if I'm becoming one of the shadows that it stalking me. I wonder if shadows coming alive is a part of being undead?
I don't think I'm actually dead though, my heart is still beating. Harkat says I'm going to go through a change soon. When that happens will my heart stop? Will the blood pumping through my veins from the orange haired guy reach my heart and change me forever? Or will it simply kill the me I've always been?
With these thoughts racing through my head, I drift away only to dream of a life as someone else. Someone who is me, but isn't me. And as I fall into unconsciousness a shadow crawls across my wall and bows to me. Half asleep I can't tell if it's just my imagination though.
I pray it is.
Next chapter will see more Vancha, sorry he hasn't been in it but it's taken placed during the day.