I've gotten used to you as a vampire. I barely notice now, even when you do that creepy head tilt. But there's one thing I will never be used to. It doesn't matter if I know the person or whether they're a perfect stranger. I can't ever accept you killing people. I know and understand why you need to, but I wish you didn't have to.”
“But I want you to be happy,” I insisted.
“You're not always going to be able to keep me happy. Look, don't worry about it. You do what you have to do to survive. I won’t condemn or hate you for it. I know you like it too,” he said gently. He closed his books and stood. “I'm gonna hit the sack for the night. See you tomorrow?”
I nodded and slid out the window.
A mixture of feelings churned in me as I hit the ground. My brother's words floated in my head, confusing me. I had been sure he wouldn't mind me killing bad humans. They hurt other humans, beating, cutting and even killing them. For no reason! Humans didn't like that as much as they hated vampires. Wouldn't killing the bad ones be a good thing?
“They think I'm bad and want to kill me,” I muttered as I settled down to rest for the day.
I no longer had to dig into the dirt to rest – not that it mattered. My safe place for the day was a small, enclosed cellar. The decaying house above was hidden by trees, grass covering what remained of the floor and vines crawling up the crumbling chimney. I would have missed the door leading to the underground room if I hadn't stepped on it and noted the different sound my footsteps made.
Despite the decay of the door, no light reached the room. A single ladder was the only entrance and exit, several rungs missing. Not that I needed the ladder, I could easily climb in and out. It was only a few minutes to the college and even less to the city where I hunted. I felt safe there, hidden from the burning sun.
****
I stared at the fourth story window. No light shined, the curtains drawn tight. I listened, but from the ground there were too many heartbeats to tell if my brother was in his room. Maybe he was asleep, in which case I didn’t want to wake him. Or he could be gone, out to another party or visiting friends. He had all day to visit his friends though.
Sometimes I mused about killing his friends.
With a sigh, I headed back the way I came, passing dorms full of sleeping humans, lots full of cars and dark buildings. As I walked, a scent kept drifting by me. It filled the air with its fragrance, tickling my nose. I knew this scent; it was Fallen's.
Letting the scent guide me, I headed toward the football field. It grew stronger, fresher, making me think of blood. Desire stirred and I pushed it back. I hadn't given into desire since the night I chased that human. I wasn't ever giving into it again.
I found Fallen on the bleachers stairs. She stared at her arm and the mark across it. It stretched dark against her skin, beads of red dripping to the ground. Her face solemn, she took a knife, drawing it across her arm and creating a new mark.
My eyes followed the blood as it ran down her arm and dripped to the ground. The desire stirred more, hunger and thirst started gnawing at me. It'd be easy. She'd never know what hit her...
No. The word blasted through the desire, hunger and thirst. I did not want to hurt this human, she was kind to me. A rare way for humans to act when it came to vampires.
Had I made a friend?
I mulled the concept over. Fallen interested me. She helped clarify my brother's behavior this past weekend, but a friend? I always considered them pointless.
Even though I dismissed the idea as quickly as it came, when she lifted the blade to her arm again, I stopped her. “What are you doing?”
The knife fell from Fallen's fingers, a smile filling her face. “I knew the blood would draw you.”
“I followed your scent.” Which was true enough, I had followed her scent, made more potent by her blood.
“Where were you the other night?” she
“But I want you to be happy,” I insisted.
“You're not always going to be able to keep me happy. Look, don't worry about it. You do what you have to do to survive. I won’t condemn or hate you for it. I know you like it too,” he said gently. He closed his books and stood. “I'm gonna hit the sack for the night. See you tomorrow?”
I nodded and slid out the window.
A mixture of feelings churned in me as I hit the ground. My brother's words floated in my head, confusing me. I had been sure he wouldn't mind me killing bad humans. They hurt other humans, beating, cutting and even killing them. For no reason! Humans didn't like that as much as they hated vampires. Wouldn't killing the bad ones be a good thing?
“They think I'm bad and want to kill me,” I muttered as I settled down to rest for the day.
I no longer had to dig into the dirt to rest – not that it mattered. My safe place for the day was a small, enclosed cellar. The decaying house above was hidden by trees, grass covering what remained of the floor and vines crawling up the crumbling chimney. I would have missed the door leading to the underground room if I hadn't stepped on it and noted the different sound my footsteps made.
Despite the decay of the door, no light reached the room. A single ladder was the only entrance and exit, several rungs missing. Not that I needed the ladder, I could easily climb in and out. It was only a few minutes to the college and even less to the city where I hunted. I felt safe there, hidden from the burning sun.
****
I stared at the fourth story window. No light shined, the curtains drawn tight. I listened, but from the ground there were too many heartbeats to tell if my brother was in his room. Maybe he was asleep, in which case I didn’t want to wake him. Or he could be gone, out to another party or visiting friends. He had all day to visit his friends though.
Sometimes I mused about killing his friends.
With a sigh, I headed back the way I came, passing dorms full of sleeping humans, lots full of cars and dark buildings. As I walked, a scent kept drifting by me. It filled the air with its fragrance, tickling my nose. I knew this scent; it was Fallen's.
Letting the scent guide me, I headed toward the football field. It grew stronger, fresher, making me think of blood. Desire stirred and I pushed it back. I hadn't given into desire since the night I chased that human. I wasn't ever giving into it again.
I found Fallen on the bleachers stairs. She stared at her arm and the mark across it. It stretched dark against her skin, beads of red dripping to the ground. Her face solemn, she took a knife, drawing it across her arm and creating a new mark.
My eyes followed the blood as it ran down her arm and dripped to the ground. The desire stirred more, hunger and thirst started gnawing at me. It'd be easy. She'd never know what hit her...
No. The word blasted through the desire, hunger and thirst. I did not want to hurt this human, she was kind to me. A rare way for humans to act when it came to vampires.
Had I made a friend?
I mulled the concept over. Fallen interested me. She helped clarify my brother's behavior this past weekend, but a friend? I always considered them pointless.
Even though I dismissed the idea as quickly as it came, when she lifted the blade to her arm again, I stopped her. “What are you doing?”
The knife fell from Fallen's fingers, a smile filling her face. “I knew the blood would draw you.”
“I followed your scent.” Which was true enough, I had followed her scent, made more potent by her blood.
“Where were you the other night?” she
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