If there was ever a time for panic, it is now.
The frozen wind rushes past my shivering body as if making me colder will make it happier. The leaves swirling in the wind whiplash my face as I try to keep trudging along. I hope and pray that somehow I will not be caught. Somehow, through all that has happened, I have no idea where I am going or what I am doing. All I know now is that turning back would be the end of me.
“Zoe,” I hear them call for me, but I will not answer. I will not go back.
As I creep off into the distance my foot finds an unfortunate twig. The resulting sound is ricocheted off the surrounding trees. Glancing around to see if anyone heard, I saw a movement in the trees. Any normal person would have dismissed it as a trick of the darkness, but I knew better than that. I was being followed, but they didn’t have to know that I knew.
The chill was creeping up my legs and into my back. There was no way to survive while standing still, I quickly assumed. This point reassured I kept moving, wanting to know who the stalker was, but not daring to call out and let it know, for they could be a worthy opponent and I had no time to stop for a fight.
Survival instincts kicking in, I quickly made a camp with the few belongings I had, and crawled inside my makeshift bed, and begged with the gods to let me rest peacefully for just one night.
My prayers were left unanswered.
The dream started out peacefully as always, but the harsh truth always kicked in. I saw myself having the luxury of traveling with my family and other people of good company, but they were soon replaced with the fact that I must not be able to trust anyone… not anymore. I saw myself walking with other girls of my age. We were playing and goofing off without a care in the world, but that is soon replaced with the image what I am now… a monster.
In this image I didn’t see what everyone else does. For they see someone more like a elegant human: long, vibrant red hair, perfect facial features, a body that any girl would die to have, the deepest green eyes that can pull you in so you can never look away. But in my image I saw what I really am, the painstakingly beautiful creature with fear and hate behind her eyes and droplets of blood dripping down her chin. I saw a human off to the side, just standing there picking the lovely flowers that were no doubt for me. He was probably hoping that he could win my affection by picking the flowers that seemed to paint the surrounding land. But even in my dream I could feel the urge, the wanting, the longing just to have a taste of that wonderful blood that was coursing through his veins. I knew that if I started I could never stop, and the last thing I needed was another dead human to have to hide from the rest of the world.
I woke with a start. Someone or something had just snapped a twig in my surroundings. I had no doubt that it was my stalker. The weather had changed for the better. Instead of the mind numbing cold there was a little warmth. The warmth that spread through my body was a reminder that I have a lot more of chance to beat my follower and I had to get it off of my tail.
“Ok,” I exclaimed, “I know that you are there might as well just come out. If you promise not to hurt me I will not purposely hurt you.”
After about five seconds of silence, he walked out.
His beauty was almost indescribable, but I will do my best. He, like me, had deep eyes that left you wanting more except they were gold. He had black almost blue hair, perfect facial features, full lips, and an amused smile that I could tell he almost never gave. He had wide shoulders, and you could tell that he has perfect abs through the material of his tight shirt. He himself was the image of perfection.
“You know we can’t make promises like that,” he whispered as he took two long and perfect strides towards me.
“If you come any closer I will attack you,” I barely whisper, but something in the back of my head tells me that he will hear anyway.
“I am not afraid you.”
“You should be,” I said thinking of what I had already done to countless humans.
With that threat hanging in the air, he lunged at me, no doubt hoping to catch me off guard, but I was ready. I dodged, lunged, ducked, blocked, and attacked. It seems like we fought for hours, but I know it was only for a few minutes. He is amazing, I thought, but in the end I knew I would best him just like all the others. It was that cockiness that lost me the fight. I was pinned to the ground under his enormously strong body. I glared at him with my most menacing glare, but he knew that he had bested me, for I could move no more.
With that knowledge, he gracefully leapt up and sat on a near by rock. I got up, but stayed away from him, for I was weary of his strength.
“You are very good,” he said acting very calm after our fight, “and you probably would have bested me if you hadn’t gotten all cocky and that is more than I can say for most of us.”
“My name is Herim,” he confided in me while looking at me with the same admiration that I got from all human males. As I thought back to what he said first I had to ask him a question.
“What did you mean by that couldn’t I make promises like that?”
“O that, you should know by now that we can’t resist human blood.”
I nodded, since that made since and suddenly I realized how tired and worn out I was, because of our fight. He must have noticed the weariness in my eyes.
“You can sleep now,” he said, “I will watch over you.”
“How do I know that you won’t kill me in my sleep?” He considered this.
“You’re just going to have to trust me.”
“I don’t have the luxury of trust.”
“Then maybe this is good practice for you.”
I stood there still unsure, but much too tired to protest. As I slept I was plagued with another dream.