Defy

  I awoke, just as I have been doing for the past 320 years of my beautiful young life.  Trust me being a vampire, 320 years isn’t old, it’s actually pretty young for my kind.  I have grown tired of shutting my eyes when the moon rises, then opening them as the sun blinds me in the early afternoon.  Usually my senses wake me up a good few minutes before the sun sets that way I can get a good enough time to get ready for my night.  I have only come up for a short period of time and for one reason: to eat.  Living in the mountains of Nevada has its advantages and disadvantages.  For one it is covered in forest and mostly fog covers up the area, plus animals run free through here, the only things that would miss them would be the hunters.  Disadvantages mostly would be the sun is closer in the sky and not many of my kind are in these parts.  I get up from my dark corridor of a room and get my black as night tank top out of the dresser, getting dressed is easy.  I put on my dark resin blue jeans and converse and head outside, the weather has never bothered me, I guess because everyone says a vampire’s heart is black and cold.  Then I walk into the line where the trees meet up with my spacious yard, so I can start my hunt.
I have always been alone.  Except for when Kiley comes and visits me but like everyone else she hates the wilderness, unless she is picking up a quick bite to eat when she comes over. My kind sees the mountains as isolated areas, where the mortals of this world don’t go, yet unlike most vampires I find human blood to be bad for the souls of those who are meant to rot in hell.  I pick up the scent of a male deer, not much of a thing, but I don’t judge my food, first come first served.  Just then I pick up another scent of something bigger than it and just as hungry as I, the deer runs scared and out jumps a female mountain lion.  This would be the perfect specimen to satisfy my hunger.  As it has turned out, I have put myself in the perfect hiding place so she cannot see me, as she gets ready to pounce.  I watch her intently, planning every move she makes, from the time she puts up her hind legs to the time she pounces.  Then ever so swiftly she goes for the kill, next is my turn.  I find the right maneuver to get this victim into my grasps, finally she turns her back perfect for the situation, and then quickly and quietly I lunge for her.  I hit her as if she didn’t try to stop me, her blood tastes sweet on my tongue, and now all my senses are fully awake.  I leave her for the scavengers to pick off her remains.  Finally my night has started.
  What else would I have to do on a day such as this?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I always get bored, till hunger sets in later or Kiley comes and hangs out but this time I do not wish to stay in a cold forsaken house that I am meant to dwell in till the Earth comes to a stopping in time.  It has been forever since this morning and I realize that I need something to occupy my time.  Not far below the mountain a small city dwells, I have not been there for 150 years, maybe now I can go explore and see what else the world has done.  Maybe even this time I can get new clothes, this way I can fit in without being noticed or thought of.  The first thing I do is grab my cell phone, which Kiley bought for me, and call her, she would hate to be left out of a shopping trip.  Her Voice machine picks up so I inform her of my plans and that I hope she calls back.  My black Lamborghini Murcielago sits in the garage, waiting for me to get in and drive off.  I open the garage, get in my car, and drive down the twisting and turning road.
  I thought my eyes hurt more when I woke up, but I am undoubtfully wrong.  I have never seen lights so bright, full of neon colors and pastels of all kinds; it excites me and scares me at the same time too.  I have found what looks like a perfect store for my all black ensemble look. I park my car in the first spot I see, get out and head in not making eye contact with anyone.  The store’s sign says Hot Topic, must be a gothic thing, because it looks like just my style.  I walk in and the lights are dim, much different than they are outside, and I head over to the graphic t-shirts.  I have had the same shirt size since I could remember, so I grab all the medium graphic tees and go up to the counter.  Behind the counter was a girl about my height, with bleached blonde hair and purple, baby blue, and pink streaks spread throughout it, and the most tropical color blue contacts I have ever seen.  She is as pale as a ghost, and wearing all black make-up with a spiked choker around her neck, along with a gray jacket and tank, and black skinny jeans.  The jeans look young and popular, since everyone in the store is wearing them, so I go find all size 2 pairs I can get.  When I got back to the counter with my multicolored arm of skinnies and tees, right by the girl is a boy.  He looks to be seventeen, the age I was when I died, he is dressed matching the girl, and his hair is in an awkward shape on his head.  I pay for my things trying not to pay much attention to the two teenagers.  When my check out is complete, I hurry out the door, and get in my car.  Outside, right next to my car I see Kiley.  She looks just as she always does; black hair, tall, same skull earrings and choker necklace.  She always loved the whole rockstar thing, but I knew as well as her that she was girly at heart no matter what.  We had been friends since before I could remember.

“Hey!!”  She called out when she spotted me.  Her face lit up instantly.
“Hey, why didn’t you call?” I answered back.
“Cause I just saw you pull up here, and I just got your voice mail.  So I decided to stop on over.”
“Oh, well that makes sense.  So you wanna come back to my house?”
“Yea, you mind giving me a lift though.  Today I decided to walk out here but seeing you here… yeah I didn’t think these kinda things through.”
“It’s cool, I’d be happy to, I mean it won’t matter.”
“Thanks, let’s go”
We got my stuff in the trunk of my car and then headed off.  Along the way we talked nonstop
  I never thought that what would happen next happened. I had my window rolled down and as the air rushed into my face I listened to Kiley talk about much everything had changed in the city so far.  Then a huge thudding sound could be heard from the back of my car.  My car shook, Kiley and me were too afraid of what we would find in the backseat, so we sat there patiently, till finally someone’s hot breath was in my ears, and my foot went down on the brakes.  I had no control over my emotions then, I turned around and sitting there was another vampire, I knew from the red in his eyes, the taste for blood was haunting him, and he didn’t care who he got tonight.  Kiley was the first to jump out of the car and then I followed behind her, we ran as fast as we could into the forests being careful not to hit any trees.  The next thing I knew I was stopped automatically, and my vision blurred.  Kiley was far away by now and there was nothing I could do, but to yell at her to run.  Before I passed out though, I saw those red eyes.  I should have remembered looking into vampire eyes would have this effect; next I was on the ground.  And God did it hurt!

  I guess I expected the worst thing in the world: death.  Death by your own kind shouldn’t be too bad in my opinion; at least you wouldn’t have to live with the pain for too long.  Plus what about dying in the place you felt alive or where you felt like yourself.  Here I am jabbering when lord only knows what could be going on in the outside world.  The outside world, Kiley, oh lord only knows what is going on with her; I hope so much that she’s ok.  My head finally started working again, and now a small bit of pain began seeping in through the back of my skull, I guess from when I hit my head.  I can’t seem to open my eyes, but I don’t think I want too; it might be too terrible for me.  Hahaha, I laugh at myself, I’m a vampire, most likely the most feared being in the world and I’m worried about myself.  A door opens, I try not to stir but this position I am in hurts like hell, as I try to move, steps are being taken towards me, so I freeze up like a statue.  Voices that’s all I hear now, they don’t sound familiar, but they don’t sound like the ancient vampire language either, and now I can tell something’s not right.

“What are we gonna do with her, she might not cooperate, we can’t have an unstable one, not this time, no one would be able to bear it.” This was voice number one, a girl I would say, smelled of the faintest scent of strawberries.
“Yes I understand, but we can do what we did with the last one then.” This must have been the one in charge.  A male, he spoke to voice number one like she had better keep her mouth closed.
“We don’t need to, the more of them we kill, the sooner we might get infiltrated. We don’t even know where this one came from, she doesn’t look city, or country rugged either, are you sure Levi was right about her?” answered voice one.
“Yes Levi is right about her I’m sure, plus he said he followed her, she didn’t look hungry so he went after her.  Plus he had Anya, Caleb and Dèvon with him.  They are all are specialists, they wouldn’t miss something as to who she was or where she came from.” This being spoken professionally by the one in charge.
“Well then since they wouldn’t miss that, then who is she?” again voice number one.
I could tell they were talking about me, I was the only vampire in the room, and whom else would they talk about.  Just then another door opened.  Just like that the room grew quiet, and the feeling of coldness swept throughout, almost like being on an iceberg for a human.  I could smell the fear of voice number one, who ever had walked in had put her in place, without another word from her mouth.
“So nice of you to join us,” the man sounded pleased, “we were just talking about you, and look here you are.”
“We knew you were talking about us idiot, that’s why we came in, we would rather you discuss us with us actually present in the room if you don’t mind.”  This new voice was not happy, and it sounded male, plus I could then tell they were the people the doctor was speaking of and referring to, then suddenly he was hushed by apparently the leader of this small group.
“What Caleb is trying to say, is that talking about people behind closed doors is not nice and should be disapproved of Doctor Tellim.”
“Yea sure that could have been what came out of my mouth.” Caleb had said with much displeasure.
“Levi, boys, y’all must understand, we were discussing the girl and the fact of who she is and was, the conversation just happened to be turned into the advantages and disadvantages of your powers and skills,” said Dr. Tellim.
“We can’t help it, we aren’t the best of our kind out there, and we just could match up almost, what do you expect from us?”  I now realized that this must be Levi, he was the leader, and he sounded like he didn’t take any of this too lightly.
“Where are the girls, they should be here with y’all, I am not very approving of this.” Voice number one must have finally decided to get her courage back; including speaking to people that could have killed her right then and there.
“Mrs. Frang, we understand you are concerned but we decided that we could handle this on our own, the girls would just try to talk to her instead of use force if needed, which force might be the best way to go.  If there’s one thing I’m sure of is that, that vampire girl unconscious on the table is fast, smart, and is not gonna be easy to understand.”  This was Caleb, even though he seemed as if he was talking about an immature child, I could hear in his voice that he wanted to figure me out just as much as the next person standing in the room.
  Then all voices stopped, movement ceased, and then I realized I was being stared at, I could feel the pressure of the eyes.  Then the thought struck me, I’m in a different position than I was, damn I had moved.  I knew the point of pretending to still be unconscious was no use anymore, so I lifted my eyelids open and the world became clear instantly.  I was on one of those metal tables, looking up at the whitest ceiling I have ever seen. I turned, the walls were an off baby blue color, I could’ve puked up colors at that moment, but not eating…
  I just realized I haven’t eaten, ugh and the hunger is strong, maybe I can hold them all off till I can get some food.  I finally turned the opposite direction from where I was looking, and 5 pairs of eyes were staring at me.
  Three boys about the age of 17 or 18 were watching me with intensity, with colors of light, light blue, envy green, and chocolate brown, which were all so beautifully colored in.  The first boy was tall, he had on a muscle shirt and you could see he didn’t have a problem showing off his muscles either, his hair was black and covering one eye, he had on a pair of black jeans with black converse, he could’ve been the perfect model for the Hot Topic store.  The next guy, had blonde hair, he was lanky but with muscle, you could tell he loved music, for his shirt had been decorated with musical instruments all forming to make a skull, his jeans were torn up, and he had no shoes on, even though it seemed cold in the room, his mouth was in a shocked expression, probably trying to figure out how long I had been awake.  Finally the last guy had chocolate brown hair to match his eyes.  He was wearing sweats and a gray t-shirt, with regular running shoes on, this would probably explain why he looked like he had just got done hunting something down.  They must have been feeding.
  I didn’t notice till I looked over at the doctor and voice one, Mrs. Frang, that they were actually not as old as I thought.  Dr. Tellim looked pleased and happy, almost as if his own creation had come to life, he had on a doctor suit, and was holding a pad and pen, his eyes were dark hazel, while his hair was a light dirty blonde.  Mrs. Frang was a petite woman with small features, she had brown hair that was put up in a ponytail, and her eyes were like puke green.  She was wearing a doctor suit just like Tellim, and she seemed angry that I never opened my eyes sooner than now.
  I didn’t know what to do, so I kept my mouth closed. Finally, I knew I couldn’t stay sitting up look at all five people, so I decided that getting to my feet was probably best.  I jumped off the table, when all of a sudden dizziness swept over me and I felt myself fall, till I realized that the one that must have been Levi had caught me.  I looked up surprised that he got to me so quick; he looked down at me with a bright smile, as if nothing was wrong with this picture.  But I couldn’t stay like that, so as slowly as possible I got up and tried to steady myself.  Then I heard the grumble in my stomach, so I did the only thing I could’ve done at the time, to be polite and nice sounding, I looked at the five people and spoke calmly and coolly, “I need food, for my stomach is about to burst for hunger.”  The next thing I knew was that I was being given trays of newly packaged deer blood.  It felt good to finally not be hungry anymore.  I then knew I had to cut to the chase with these people so I simply stated, “Yes, I overheard what you said, and I feel that since this has to do with me, then I should be informed of what is going on, where I am, who y’all are, why I’m here, and what are y'all gonna do to me?”  They all stared at each other, and then finally one person spoke, or better yet a vampire spoke, “It all started in the beginning, when the first vampire came to be………..”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  These people are actually vampire hunters.  I’m in a room with vampire hunters, and they are working with vampires, that could either be a good thing or possibly the worst thing in the world.
“…We couldn’t let these people stand alone when we knew just as well that our kind was doing these terrible things, which are against vampire laws.  The fact of it is, is that the Council members won’t do anything.  So we decided to follow these people and defeat those of such vampires that were disrupting the peace.”  This all coming from Levi, he seemed so sure, so exact, like he knew just what he was talking about.  I couldn’t stand not to listen.
“Why then doesn’t anybody in this room go and tell the Council. I’m sure once they hear complaints, that they will finally handle the situation more clearly and better than y’all trying to kill vampires as soon as you see them,” I stated clearly, I was getting mad, this was outrageous and it was wrong, “You three are vampires! I understand that you are doing this because you think it is right and just, but, your own kind and working with humans to do so.”
I think Dr. Tellim finally realized that we were about to go into an all out war and debate over right and wrong, which I don’t think he wanted at the moment.  “Ok, ok, we understand you are not fully on board with this, but right now, you must be briefed and shown around the place.”  He said this as if I had no choice; I was not about to let a human male being tell me what to do.  Then he added as if he read my mind “and no you cannot leave, you know too much, and if you try, then yes you will die.  So what will it be cooperating or running away and getting shot down?”
I wasn’t about to put my life on the line, and if it was cooperation they wanted, then fine.  But only until I found a way to get out.  “I’ll stay but I won’t like it, and for your further information about my background, my name is Sabrina Kale Lorrick, but you can call me Kali.”  I said matter of factly without losing the grip I had on my anger.
“Very good then, boys please take Kali around the area, and then show her, her quarters,” then looking at me he added, “I hope you find it comfortable.”
That was it.  Levi, Caleb, and their other friend helped me stand up and took me to the door.  I could feel Mrs. Frang and Dr. Tellim’s wariness go down as they let out a slow intake of breath.

  The doors opened and down a hallway we walked, I looked around studying the pictures on the walls and looking down each other hall we walked past, and staring at every door.  We came to one particular open door.  The wood was cut beautifully, and it had what looked like vines carved into it.  Two of the boys stood outside, while Levi walked in the room with me.  The walls were painted a light gray, and no windows were to be seen.  The bedroom had three dressers, a nightstand, and a four-poster bed inside of it.  The dressers matched the pattern of the door, but were made more intricate and were colors of green, pinks, and reds.  One dresser I would guess would contain clothing, another had shelves for books and little knick-knacks, and the last one was apparently for just extra things that might have been needed.  The nightstand was bare and white, not much beauty in it, but it worked with everything in the room.  The four-poster bed had been put in the center of the room. It was draped with a black and white flowered bedspread with sheets to match; the pillows were black and white too.  To put it in short description: the room was beautiful and perfect to a capital T.  I then remembered that Levi was standing right next to me.
“So is this the part where you look at me with an angry expression, tell me to sit down, and then you stalk at of here unhappy that you had to help me out?” I asked with the straightest expression.
Instead of getting mad, he kept his calmness still and answered in a polite tone. “No, you really have thought this through haven’t you.  What do you think we are gonna do, lock you up and feed you rubbish garbage?  Anyway I’ll be back in a little bit to show you around the place.  Then maybe if all goes well, we can go ask the doctor if it would be ok if you had an escort to go and get anything you might need from your home.  Would that be fine with you?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut
“I guess that’s a yes.  I’ll be back in a bit.” Levi said
I stood there watching as he left the room with all his pride and glory.  I couldn’t help it, so what I have an attitude.  Hello I’m being held against my will, and being threatened to get killed, what else could I do.  So I went to the four-poster bed and sat there looking around, trying to figure out how I’m gonna get oughta here, which I highly doubt I will.  Look at the position I’m in, I’m stuck, nothing to do, now I have to follow rules, now I can’t go out and do what I want.  Listen to myself pouting and feeling bad for myself.  But he was right I have put thought into this, I did think they were gonna do all those things to me, and I wasn’t even trying to give it a chance.  Wait, why should I, they’re crazy they think they can fix it all by themselves.  They shouldn’t put fate into their own hands.  Ugh… this is what I call pitiful.  Plus here I am sulking about me when Kiley could be in trouble or dead.  I have completely forgotten about her till now.  What kind of person am I?  My thoughts could have gone on forever, until I realized that I was being watched by a pair of familiar eyes, I knew there was no point, and I might as well let them come in.
“It’s cool,” I said, “I’m perfectly calm and sedated, nothing is gonna happen, I promise.”
“Please, I hope you realize that you don’t have to invite me in and tell me you won’t hurt me.  For one reason, you do you get shot by me, and we don’t want a big bloody mess now do we.  No?  Didn’t think so.”  Mrs. Frang said, no matter what she said I could still feel the fear in her soul.  She was a really bad actress.
In she walked and she looked at me with intensity, that’s twice today or night, what is wrong with these people?  Then she simply stated that they have discussed the situation and decided it would be best if I went out to my house to get my belongings, then she added lastly with emphasis that I had to have an escort.  I knew there was no point than to follow her rules and terms, so I went along with it.  Then in had to come mister tall, dark, and handsome, Levi.  What was wrong with me, I had to stop thinking that.  He looked at Frang with an icy stare and gestured her out of the room, which she did only after she huffed and stomped her foot, such an immature adult.  Levi waited a moment, and then looked at me, he gestured for the door, and I got up and followed him out.  No argument needed.  He showed me the living area, as he called it, the kitchen, the other rooms, and then finally the garage.  Apparently they didn’t leave my car on the road, cause right there in the garage it was parked, Levi threw me the keys and I popped the trunk to make sure I had my clothes from earlier, which I did, thank god.  He came over and took the keys from me, popped in the car, and revved the engine.  I was too happy to have gotten out of the place for awhile, that I had forgotten that I had gotten in the car, only till we were in the open air, did I realize that I had moved from where I was standing, to sitting in a Lamborghini.  The evening air felt good against my face and going back up the winding path to my mountain home felt more normal than anything had all day long.

We got to my door, and being walked up the path by Levi made me feel as if I was being brought home by a date, or even a too intense guard.  I fumbled with my key in the lock, till finally I got the door open. The fresh scent of my home rushed into my face, that I finally felt warm and cozy inside.  I told Levi he could raid the kitchen for food or look around for anything he could get for me that I wouldn’t be able, and surprisingly he did just that.  He grabbed food from the pantry and the fridge, not leaving anything behind apparently, what did he think we were all gonna starve?  I, on the other hand, went straight to my dark corridor of a room.  I raided my drawers and closet, getting all my tops and pants that I could fit into my six bags.  I pulled my radio off my dresser and stuffed that too, then Levi came in and picked up all bags and everything else I had gotten and went out to put it all in the car.  He seemed in a hurry, he probably felt weird being away from the “sanctuary” of his, that he calls home.  I felt bad for him and the others that were with him, they probably didn’t go outside much unless they went to go on a wild goose chase for another experimental vampire, it is actually sad when I think about it a bit more.  He came back in and motioned toward the door; I didn’t want to piss him off yet, so I did as told.
The car seemed quiet, and at the moment I couldn’t stand quiet, it was bugging the crap oughta me, so to keep my mind busy I turned on the radio.  I have grown use to the new music nowadays, so it is normal to me.  A Paramore song was on, and ever since I had heard their music, I swear I had fallen in love.  Before the song got to the chorus, Levi’s hand went up and turned it off.  Ok, he can boss me around and help me out, but he kinda crossed the line with the radio.  My car, my rules, so my radio!  I flicked the radio back on, and again he seemed to turn it off, this notion kept going on till finally I couldn’t stand it.  I shot him a look, and he looked at me like nothing had happened.
“You can’t turn my radio off, ok.  I like my radio on, and it stops me from thinking about the silence and awkwardness.  So if you could keep your hands to yourself that would be great.”  I said coldly.  Then I flicked the radio back on, and the song had gone off, ugh!
He looked at me and turned the radio off again, then said, “I like silence, it allows me to think, and having the radio blasting in my ears isn’t helpful either.  For your information, there’s no point to have it on.”
  I couldn’t believe he did it again, ugh; this was gonna be a long trip back to the “sanctuary”.  Now since my radio wasn’t on, I had nothing to do, and I didn’t feel like fighting with him, I was too tired anyway.  We finally go to the “sanctuary” and Caleb, and I could only guess Dèvon, the other boy from earlier, were there to help me get my stuff into the room.  Once we were all done, they left, and I was alone.  I contemplated the situation for a moment, then a thought struck me, they never said I couldn’t go wander around the halls, and besides I wanna go explore on my own.  So I got up, opened the door, just to make sure my room wasn’t being watched, and then silently walked out and down the hall.  I came to one door and I could hear snoring, apparently someone was sleeping, and I figured I would rather not wake him or her.  So as I continued down the hallway, I finally saw a light come from one of the rooms and decided to peek in, since apparently whoever it was didn’t want privacy.  A short pixie girl about my height with blonde and brown mixed hair was going through her clothing making one pile for dark colors and another for light colors.  I had accidentally rocked back on my heel, and sure enough she heard me.  She turned around, and gave me the first welcome smile I had gotten since coming here, and then she beckoned me inside her room.  I walked in and shut the door behind me; she gave me a quizzical look and then made room for me to sit down on her bed.  She had beautiful light hazel eyes and a small mouth.  She finally made room on her bed for herself, and then set down as well.  I had been wondering for a bit, if she always let strangers into her room, for she seemed not to mind that I was a complete stranger and I was sitting on her bed.  Almost like reading my mind she stated, “Trust me I know who you are.  You looked darker last night when we caught you, now you just look scared, confused, and frightened, trust me unlike some of the people around here I won’t hurt you, I’m too wonderful as I’ve been told.”
“Oh, well since you know who I am, do you mind telling me who you are?” I asked.
“Oh yes, I’m Anya.  I can hear thoughts just like the next person, but I can also control animals.  I consider myself the best, haha.”  She said with a small laugh.
“Wait you have powers, no vampire I have ever met has powers.”  I said dazed and confused.
“Oh yea, the doc did some tests on us when we first got here.  After that he did some experiments, and now we all have powers.”
“Really, so what is everyone else’s power?” I asked quizzically.
“Oh well you know mine, Caleb can get into people’s minds and mess with them, Dèvon can walk through inanimate objects and move things with his mind, Adriena can take any form she wants, and then Mr. Winters can control elements.  I despise him for that, but we all have some things in common: strength, beauty, speed, hear thoughts, and fly or levitate.  We feel pretty special cause of it too.”
“Oh, wait who is Winters?” I asked.
“You should know you met him.” She responded back.
I thought about it for a moment, but still couldn’t figure out whom she was talking about.  She must have seen the look on my face because she sighed and looked at me weirdly.
“Wasn’t it Levi Winters who helped you earlier, and showed you around?”
“Oh, yeah he did.  I just didn’t know the last name.” I said.  Then trying to get off the subject, I added, “So what are you doing with these clothes?”
“Oh, I have to raid my closet.  It has gotten so full that I’m taking things out.  And for a while now, I have been out of the whole ‘I’m gothic’ deal.  So I am throwing out all my black and gray clothing.”
“Well I’m into the whole goth deal, have been since I was made.  I don’t know maybe instead of throwing them out, you could give them to me to try on?”
“Oh of course, they should fit you perfectly.  Umm, just let me get finished sorting through the rest and I’ll give you what you want.”
  I stayed in that room half the night, helping Anya pick out the right color choices for her style.  I modeled some of the clothing for me, and they had all seemed to fit.  Once I was done and had all the clothing piled up in my arms, I left the room.  I came back to my own and dumped or better yet threw it all in my closet, then sat on my bed.  I realized I couldn’t sleep, probably from being asleep for three days and then having to start my first afternoon here at the “sanctuary”.  I went through clothes after a little bit and found a white camisole and a pair of plaid green, purple, and light blues sleep pants, I put them on and washed my face, which was full of so much dirt and filth, sweat had dried on my face so it was slightly sticky.  I came back in the room and decided to pick up a book and start reading, which I haven’t done in probably a long time.  Reading had always scared me sometimes, I guess cause the end was always something bad or happy, which I would never get.  The first book I picked up was The Host; I read the back and decided it would work, since it was about an alien girl being held hostage by a group of humans.  It was ironic since I was in the same situation almost.  I started reading it and then the next thing I knew I was in my unconscious mind, dreaming.

  At first I had no idea where I was or what was going on.  I had materialized into a black and red sparkly ball gown with black stitching and black stunning high heels, then the next minute I was at the top of a grand staircase with eyes of all colors watching me.  Some people were dancing the waltz while others were just standing on the staircase conversing and socializing.  As I started down the steps everyone would give me nods as I passed them.  Then I was on the black and white checkered marble floor.  The room was full of golden yellow walls detailed with petite flowers in intricate designs, floor to ceiling windows, grand arches were in the ceilings design as well, and many chandeliers with hanging raindrops ascending from them.  The room was full of blooming dresses of every color, with men in black suits spinning the women around in small circles.  It was a beautiful sight for any mortal or immortal eyes.  I stood there for a minute taking in everything; just then a hand was put in front of me.  I looked over to see the face that could have been an angel’s.  It was a young boy that was about 17 or 18, his hair was black and slicked back, his eyes were light, light blue, and his… wait a moment the face was exactly like Levi’s, the only difference was that this Levi was smiling.  He had a beautiful smile, and his teeth looked as white as pearls.  I accepted his hand and he took me to the middle of the room.  There we became part of the dance, almost as if we had been dancing the entire time.  Once he drew me close to himself, his eyes had turned back to the usual worry and watchfulness and his mouth was no longer in a smile but more like a depressed face, I didn’t understand until the sounds of screaming broke out.  The room stopped and I turned around to witness what had happened.  Some chandeliers had been broken and windows were in shatters.  Numbers of vampires were seeping into the room, all with red eyes full of hunger.  They were attacking everyone, and then the next thing I knew the floor was covered with blood, and I had been taken in the arms of a very muscular vampire, with fangs as long as daggers.  As he took me with the rest of the vampires leaving the room, I turned back to catch a last glimpse of Levi.  His eyes were full of hurt, and I couldn’t understand why, he was yelling something that couldn’t hear.  Then quickly my vision blurred as I was sent into utter darkness, in the grasps of a very evil vampire…

  I awoke screaming, at first it seemed so terrible like it was all happening but no I was in the room still.  I don’t know really what possessed me to run down the hall but I did.  I ran as fast as I could still dazed and scared, the next thing I knew I was on the floor crawling into the living area and sitting in a dark corner by a fire place.  I guess this goes to show that I’m not all tough.  I started hearing voices calling me left and right.  I wasn’t going to move still in shock of my nightmare.  Then footsteps grew closer and closer, I looked up to see Levi staring at me with relief.  He knelt down and looked me in the face, using his hand to look at my face just to make sure nothing was wrong.  He let out a cold breath of air and took my hand.

“I’ll be right back, ok. I promise I won’t leave you but just for a second.” He said coolly, and then he got up and went down the hallway.
He was right he was back in a second or so, and he came back with several people.  He came over and picked me up like a small child and took me back to my bedroom.  I was put down on my bed with eyes all watching me intently.  Anya sitting on my bed trying to comfort me, another girl trying to help her, Caleb discussing something with Dr. Tellim, Mrs. Frang was watching me intensely apparently I had disturbed her beauty sleep, Dèvon was standing at the door not bothering to get a closer look, and then there he was again, Levi, he was on the other side of my bed sitting beside me trying to talk to me and stop the tears coming out of my eyes while holding my face in his hands at the same time.  I felt terrible. First of all, I was crying, I haven’t cried since I was first changed and I didn’t want to seem vulnerable at the moment either.  Then second of all, I couldn’t stop thinking about how everything in the dream seemed so real.  Almost as if I had actually gone through a situation like that, it was like a memory that had come back to haunt me, and show me that my kind are possibly the worst in this world.  Once I had calmed down, everyone in the room had almost left.  The only ones still there were Levi and Anya, apparently discussing the activity that had just gone on.
“Do you think she’s ok?” Anya asked, she sounded scared as hell.
“She should be, Caleb kinda did all he could to her head to make her stop.  She might not be human, but she has a connection to her human past in a way or….  Dr. Tellim might be right, she might be getting mad feelings and visions are starting to come up and she might not be able to help how they affect her.”  Levi sounded sad but the way he said things was like he was trying not to let his emotions get the best of him.
He probably saw me as one of the team now, since I knew mostly everything, most likely he probably didn’t want to lose a valuable person that might help out in the near future.
“So it’s true, Dr. Tellim broke rules and experimented on her, why?”
“He said that she could help out, if she only had the right powers.  So most likely he thought about it, didn’t give it second thought and took the chance.  Although he could’ve killed her in the process.”
“But he didn’t.  So then explain Levi what was up with the whole drama a minute ago?”
“Anya do you remember when you first got experimented on, and the doc said that things might happen to show that your power has come?”
“Yea so, that’s differ….” She suddenly stopped; I didn’t like the way her voice went from scared to astonished.
“Exactly, her powers are forming and that explains why doc said something about her seeing the future.  She saw something either from the past or the future.  So my guess is that maybe for the next few nights we all might be getting up at around 3 in the morning.” He laughed after that, almost as if he found it funny.  His laugh wasn’t shrill but it had a very deep way of coming out, I could’ve lost myself then and there, but I had to stay awake and figure out what else could be going on.
“So what are we gonna do?” Anya asked.
“Well for the rest of the morning night Dr. Tellim wants me to stay in here to calm her down in case things get out of hand again.  Then if all goes well, things might get a bit better.”
“So, Levi Winters, you’re staying in a room with a girl.  A girl that just got here.  So the first chance you get, you’re going to take an offer to stay in a room with her, are you crazy?” I thought she was going to go off on him cause when I thought about it, it was true.  The first chance he got, he did say yes to stay with me. Instead Anya said in a happy perky voice, “You’re genius, its perfect, this way now if something happens, all you have to do is soothe her, and then off she goes back to sleep.  I love the plan.  So what am I gonna do?”
“You my little could-be-vamp-sister are going to go to bed.  We might not need that much sleep but it wouldn’t hurt some of us.  I’ll see you in the morning, and I promise, I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Oh I know you will.  My problem is that for some reason, she’s not the one I’m so worried about.”  Anya said that last sentence quietly then left the room, leaving Levi and me in the same room.
  All of a sudden I heard a voice, soft but not for my hearing.  Maybe they were right, I have been experimented on, and now my senses are somewhat getting better and I had a vision.  From the past or the future, I don’t know, but for sure, I know that all of this crap so far has scared the crud out of me.  What worried me the most was the fact that I wasn’t angry with the doctor for experimenting on me, for some reason I had wanted to be like everyone one else with powers and all, but I highly doubt I wanted this.  I could sense footsteps being taken toward me, then a shadow was looming gray and black.  It was the same as its owner: tall, dark, and handsome.  He breathed in and out for about 2 seconds then he sat down.  He was in the chair by my bed, taking his hands through his hair.  Then when I thought it was ok, I turned over completely and looked at him.  He looked at me right back and sighed, then got up and picked up my book.  I didn’t want there to be any awkwardness, so I set up in the bed watching him still.
“It’s not a bad book. A little bit out there but not a bad book.” He said as soon as I sat up.
“Oh I know. I’ve kinda read it, or skimmed through it better yet.” I answered.
“Then why read it again?  If you know what happens, then what’s the point?”
“Well when I read I fall into a world sometimes where anything can happen, then when I finish what I read I come back to real life.  So once I finish all the books I have I go back and reread them.  This way I don’t feel alone, plus it gives me something to do in my past time.”
“So is that your only reason, or is there more to it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well sometimes being a vampire, you read or do things that make you feel human again.  Trust me I should know, I did the exact same thing when I wanted my human life back.  It gave me ideas of how my life sometimes could’ve been.”
“Yet when you got to the end of the book, you didn’t think that you could’ve had a happy ever after, or a sad ending?  When I get to the end of any story I always become unhappy, because I know that I will never get that.”
“So that’s your reason.  Well I wouldn’t say we don’t get happy endings or sad ones.  True we get the bad end of the bargain.  Yet we do get those same endings.  The only difference is that we can let those endings go on for eternity instead of for just a hundred years.  If you ask me, I think we get the best part of everything.”
I thought about it for a second.  No matter what I thought, I knew he had a point. Being what I am, I get to let my ending go on and on, instead of it stopping abruptly.  Before I knew it a small smile had formed on my face.
“So is it true?” I asked after a few seconds of silence.
“Is what true?  Oh the whole part about Caleb getting in your head and calming you down?”
“Yea that part.”
“Ummmm… yea he did.  I’m sure you’ve been informed about the powers that we all possess.  I promise though all he did was put some good things in your head and move that nightmare of yours to the back.  This way it won’t resurface in your memory for a while,” He sighed for a second, “well I also guess you know by now that you are developing powers.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.” I said.  I guess he sensed some depressed feeling because he came closer to me.
“Are you ok?  Hey, your powers are coming from inside you.  I swear you have not been experimented on.  I highly doubt any of us would allow you to be experimented on.”
“Oh, of course, it’s just.  When I first saw y’all I thought I don’t wanna be like you.  When Anya told me that you possessed powers though, I grew envious a bit.  I know it is kinda selfish but I wanted powers just like you.  Now that I know that I am getting them and I am having these problems.  Well I honestly don’t know if I really still want them.”
“It’s ok to second guess yourself sometimes.  I mean really I get how you feel.  You want something and then when you get it, you really don’t know if you want it anymore.”
“Yea I guess.”
“So about earlier?  What happened, or better yet what did you dream of?”
I didn’t know what to say.  I wanted to say it was all about him, but I became so scared almost as if my mouth had shut itself off and my brain had shut down for a moment.
He must have noticed my reaction, “It’s ok to be afraid, but you can tell me.  I promise I won’t push the conversation though if you don’t want me to.”
I decided then that it wouldn’t hurt to tell him, just leave out the parts about him.  “I umm… I was in a ball gown at a party.  The room was huge with gold walls and white and black marble floor.  I was dancing and then all of a sudden the entire place turned black.  I turned around and vampires full of hunger were swarming in.  Once they had all had their full, the floor was bloody and few people were left, then one snatched me up and took me out of the room.  After that he jumped.”  My voice was shaky when I told him, then I added, “That’s all I remember.”
“Are you sure, nothing else at all?”  I shook my head and still stared and him. “Well I don’t know what it could mean.  It might be from your past or it could happen in the future.  Just do me and everyone else around here a favor don’t think about it too much.”
“Ok, but what could it mean?”
“I’m not really sure but if I had to guess then I would have to say that maybe it was warning you to be careful about what you do every once in awhile.”  The way his voice sounded, I could tell he was sleepy, and I wasn’t about to let him stay awake the rest of the morning just to talk to me.
“You need sleep, no matter what you say to anyone else, you still need sleep.  So if you want you can go to sleep, it won’t bother me.”
“No, I can’t.  What will happen if it all happens again?”
“Then instead of getting up, I’ll look over, see you, and know that everything will be ok.  Trust me, no matter what y’all think; I can take care of myself better than I did earlier.”
  He thought about it for a moment, and then he plopped off of the bed.  A smile was playing along his face; he got up and picked out a blanket from the closet, took a pillow from my bed, and then made himself a place on the floor.  He spread himself out slightly, and then he drifted off to sleep with that same smile still on his face.  I kept thinking about what was happening to me, and then I looked at Levi fast asleep, probably dreaming of all the good things in his life. I laid back down looking at the lamp that was still on, the light bulb hurt my eyes so I got up slightly and turned it off.  I was then in the dark, my thoughts still moving a hundred miles per hour giving me a tremendous headache.  Finally the headache overtook me and sleep washed over my body, my vision blurred and I fell into another dream, hoping that I wouldn’t have another nightmare while the day was still young.


  In another part of Nevada, Kiley roams around scared and alone.  Her thoughts keep taking her back to Sabrina.  The air is cold and the moon begins to vanish away.  It has technically been all night and yet still no sign of civilization

Crap I should know these parts.  I’ve been all over Nevada and I can’t find my own way to a town or something.  Ugh… I hope Sabrina’s ok.  She has always been alone in that house, but she has never really been in an enclosed area for so long.  Maybe if I had stayed behind I wouldn’t be in this situation, but Sabrina had told me to keep running, and I wasn’t going to defy her.
  My thoughts could have continued but my stomach was aching for hunger.  My senses picked up a small scent of a squirrel and as Sabrina would have said it doesn’t matter what it is, it’s still food.  I hate animals though, it has always been humans, but I guess in this case it really didn’t matter.  I stopped and looked up the tree beside me.  There it was chit-chatting with itself and looking for acorns.  My stomach got the best of me then, and I lunged.  The squirrel’s blood wasn’t as appetizing as humans but it filled me up for the moment.  I continued on my way.  Tree after tree, I was gonna get tired of these big wooden things.  Just then, up ahead of me was movement.  I opened up all my senses, after what had happened earlier I wasn’t gonna let another creature get the best of me again.  Out of the corner of my eye, that same movement was getting closer.  All of a sudden the thing leaped into the air.  I was on the ground, pinned against my will, with this big dead weight being on top of me snarling and hissing, I reacted the exact same way.  I opened my eyes and the richest chocolate brown eyes were staring straight at me.  Suddenly all my energy got together and I pushed him off me quickly; he bounced off a tree and landed on both feet like a cat, facing my direction.  Still he was snarling.