Awakening

I was floating in the black abyss, with no way out. I couldn't see anything, only the pitch black darkness that surrounded me. It was like I was lying at the bottom of a dark, bleak body of water with no way of swimming to the surface. I held my breath as the water crushed down upon my chest. As the pressure increased, I began to panic. Trying to flail was useless; my limbs were unresponsive. 1

I felt my lungs begin to collapse; the water flowed freely into my mouth then, suffocating me, killing me. It was then that the pain started. It was like no pain I had experienced before. Poison was burning, raging through my veins. My head should have split open from the intense pressure; it was like I was being ripped apart at the seams. It felt like I had just been dipped into a chemical bath, then straight into a pool of searing hot lava. 2

But I could not move; I had to lie there and endure the horrible torture. My breath was jagged and uneven as I strained to get oxygen into my lungs. I was no longer lying, helpless at the bottom of the ocean; the pressure I felt crushing me had disappeared. All that was left was the increasingly painful poison that now gushed through my blood stream. It was becoming less and less bearable as it grew more and more painful. 3

I didn't understand what I had done to deserve such a torture. My thoughts couldn't come up with a sin so great that this consequence could be appropriate. Of course, it wasn't exactly easy to think of anything besides the pain. I couldn't even recall where I was; what I had been doing before this occured. 4

As I was trying to remember, I noticed something. The pain was beginning to dull ever so slightly. Suddenly I could move my fingers, and twitch my toes. The feeling returned to my vocal cords; and the scream that followed echoed in my ears. My breathing was shallow now as it became harder for my heart to pump blood throughout my body.5

My heart thumped pitifully in the background as another scream ripped through my chest. Anything would have been better than this; even death. But how did I know? Maybe I was dying. My hands dug into the ground beneath me; what felt like dirt and grass clumped into my hands. I felt something pooling beneath me. Left over water, maybe? It felt hot, and sticky as it dripped down my neck and onto the ground.6

The screams ceased as the sobbing took over. Tears ran down my cheeks as my entire body began to shake; wishing, almost begging for death. The pain continued to lessen ever so slightly as time went on; only I had no clue how long it had been. As time passed, I felt my heartbeat slow more and more, but it never ceased beating. I felt a sharp pain in my neck; it was unlike the pain that ran through the rest of my body. It was direct, pinpointed in a certain spot. 7

After what seemed like an eternity, the pain was directly in my chest. Like the poison was attacking my heart, trying to finish me off. As if I wasn't already practically dead. I could feel it eating away at the lining of my heart; but my heart wouldn't give up. 8

But I could hear it slowing, it was giving up. Thud...thud....thud.....thud, and then nothing. The sound faded into silence. I knew then that I was dead. But, oddly, it didn't feel like it. I didn't see a white light; there was no soft angel-like voice beckoning me to 'go into the light'. Maybe this was hell; eternal pain and torture. But the pain was gone, there was no trace of it left. 9

As I tried opening my eyes, I found I was successful. Blinking, I stared up into the black sky where a shooting star cascaded across the darkness, leaving behind a trail of light that faded into nothing. Propping my self on one elbow, I viewed my surroundings. Stones were propped up on the ground everywhere around me. They were rounded on the top; some were large and others smaller. 10

Next to me was one with letters engraved in its surface. It read 'Lucy Hallenburg.' I suddenly realized that they were gravestones. 11

A giant tree towered above me; its bear branches held a few crows and a small nest left over from spring. I stood, finally, from the ground, and walked over to the dark wood of the tree. Running my hand over its rough surface, I found that it felt...alive. Just then I heard a voice come from behind me. 12

I spun around, faster than should have been possible, and found an old man was staring up at me.13

"May I help you, miss?" He asked, his eyes kind.14

I darted down the hill; finding his face was no more than two inches from mine. Again, all too fast. He flinched back as he stared into my face, his expression turning from kindness to blatent horror in less than a second. He stumbled backwards, nearly tripping on a root that jutted out of the ground. 15

I caught him by the elbow just as he fell, standing him upright. He jerked his arm out of my grasp, backing away again. An extremely strong and tempting scent hit me then, filling my nose with its delecate aroma. I couldn't quite tell what it was. But whatever it was, it was coming from the old man that stood before me. From underneath my hand, I could feel his blood pumping through his veins.16

"Get away from me you monster!" He shouted, running out the gates to the graveyard. 17

I stood, staring open-mouthed after him. Why had he called me a monster? Something was wrong; very wrong. A fog had settled above the tree tops, and a full moon shone brightly in the dark sky. I walked slowly towards the gates the old man had come through, peering anxiously around me. It felt as though someone was watching me.18

The wrought iron gates that led to the cemetery were old and rusted. The two stone pillars that the gates were hooked onto were also old and cracking. Spiderwebs covered the twisted metal, and long strands of vegetation wove in and out through the complex design. I could tell the gate used to be a beautiful piece of art work; but erosion and rusting had almost completely destroyed it. I doubted if it could even be closed any longer. 19

My footsteps echoed on the cobblestone that covered the streets; it was awfully silent, almost eerie. As I walked through the streets, an unsettling feeling crept into my thoughts. The feeling that I was being watched; or even followed was still there, this only amplified it. My eyes darted about my surroundings, searching for any reason to run. 20

As I passed an alley, a frightening pair of bright red eyes stared back at me. My eyes grew wide, and I darted away, running as fast as my legs would carry me. The one behind the eyes seemed to keep pace with me easily. They led me into another alley where they gained the lead. I slowed, backing against a wall. I had traveled nearly a mile in less than a few seconds; how was that even possible? 21

I backed into a corner, and looking around me, realized that there was no way out. I was trapped. As their face came into view, flashback images filled my thoughts. His menacing face as he cornered me like he had now; I tried to run, but he seemed to catch me without any difficulty. I ended up in the cemetery, where he attacked me. I remembered a sudden painful sensation that rolled through my entire body, and then he disappeared; leaving me to die. 22

Bending down, I cowered against the brick wall, waiting for him to finish what he began. 23

"Well, hello, nice to see you again." His voice rang in my ears, it was too familiar. 24

I merely glared up at him, saying nothing.25

"I'm sure you're in shock. Waking up like this. Alone, with no one to explain to you what has happened."26

Blinking a few times, I tilted my head in interest. "L-like what?" my voice sounded different than it had before.27

The man chuckled darkly; that was when I saw something. Something in his mouth, on his teeth. It looked like his canine teeth were longer than normal, and abnormally curved. 28

"What are you?" I asked in a frenzy, even more frightened than before.29

"Exactly what you are. Only with more experience." He winked, smirking. 30

"Which is?"31

"A vampire, love." He said flatly, his english accent distinct in my ears now. "You and I are both creatures of the night; demons destined to an eternal life of feasting on human blood, with no hope of ever going to heaven."32

So this was hell. 33

"Wait...what? You are...I mean, we are...vampires?" It sounded like some idiotic explanation for what had happened to me.34

"Yes. Is there a problem?" He seemed amused by the look of disbelief on my face. "Would you like me to explain?"35

Then something occured to me. "Why were you chasing me?" I asked darkly, my eyebrows pulling together.36

"I had to explain to you what you were before the thirst became too much for you to handle. You need a guide, after all. Who better than the one who turned you?" He explained cheerfully.37

"Okay...how about we start with your name."38

"Dimitri," he answered. "And yours?"39

"Uh...Grace," I mumbled, having to think about it for a moment before I answered.40

"Lovely name, Grace. Shall we begin?" Dimitri asked, holding a hand out for me to take. I did, standing, staring into his eyes. Their bright red color frightened me. "Ah, you are probably wondering about the eyes, aren't you?"41

I nodded meekly. 42

"It comes with the drinking of blood; no soul contributes also, I suppose." he led me out of the alley, and back onto the streets. As we walked, he explained to me about what I 'was.' I still couldn't bring my self to believe what I was hearing. But it all made sense. He described what I had felt in precise detail. The extreme pain, the loss of self-awareness, the feeling of intense pressure before the pain began. Apparently, he had gone through all of that when he became a vampire. Apparently, it was always the same for every vampire. Never different.43

We passed a small shop on the corner of another deserted street, and I caught the first glimpse of my self. I gasped, staring at the person that looked back at me from the glass. She had bright red eyes with a crazed look in place of her expression. Her skin was extremely pale, almost as white as the moon that shone above. Something bothered me, though.44

"From what I do know about vampires, aren't they not supposed to have a reflection?" I asked lightly.45

Dimitri chuckled louder this time; saying nothing, only shaking his head. 46

We stopped beside a small home--I wouldn't actually call it a home, maybe a large cardboard box--and Dimitri spoke once more.47

"Would you like me to show you the proper way of killing? Or do you want to do it yourself?" At least he was giving me the decision to make.48

"Uh, I suppose I'll try it my self. It's...instinctual, right?" I muttered.49

Dimitri chuckled again, nodding. "Yes, it is."50

The thirst was so intense, I could hardle resist as I approached the home. A man emerged from the flap in front of the 'door' and walked past me. He was whistling a cheerful tune, much too cheerful for what was about to happen to him.51

I darted in front of him; his eyes grew wide as he looked into mine. The smell of blood filled my nose once again; I was pleased that I could finally identify the delicious, intoxicating scent. Before my mind could think otherwise, I tackled the man, my teeth digging into his neck. His scream lasted only a moment, and then he fell silent. 52

The sight of my 'fangs' in the reflection off of the glass was shocking. Except Dimitri explained to me that they only...grow longer when we are about to feed. Otherwise, they look exactly the same as they would if we were human. 53

Dimitri tapped me on the shoulder, signaling for me to stop. I pulled my head from the man's corpse, and stood, smiling. The thirst was nearly totally satisfied, only a hollow feeling was left in my stomache. I felt my teeth push back into my gums, and my tongue ran over them in interest. Dimitri's teeth, too, had returned to normal. 54

I looked over my shoulder as we were walking away, and I saw the woman run out of the house and kneel over her husban's dead body. A feeling of regret washed over me, and I half-turned back towards the woman. Of course, I had no clue what I would have said. Her head snapped up in our direction just as I turned back around, Dimitri's hand guiding me forward.55

"What have you done?" She shouted frantically.56

Dimitri darted over to her, and snapping her neck with a violent twist, returned to my side. I stared at him in awed horror.57

"What?" He asked, looking at me. "There is no mercy in the world of vampires. Please, grasp that there is no way you can get away from this now. You are a killer, I'm sorry, but there is no other way to put it."58

"But I didn't choose this!" I felt horrible for the man and his wife. I stared up at him as I stepped in front, cutting off his stride; forcing him to look at me. 59

"Please, Grace, understand this. When I saw you, I knew you were destined to become one of us. At first, I was going to leave you alone, and not damn you to this life. But when you were walking home, I saw someone following you. Another vampire with the same focus as me; only he would've killed you. Somehow, I couldn't bear to let him kill you."60

"And this is a better alternative?" I asked; frustrated. This all confused me, I felt like ripping my hair out.61

"By far, in my perspective. That means we can be together, forever." Dimitri admitted, a smile appearing on his face.62

I was speechless. He cared enough about me, without meeting me, to save me from dying? Although, the process was worse than death.63

"Please, Grace, don't you see that even when I had no clue who you were, I felt protective of you? I couldn't stand to watch that other vampire kill you, I couldn't even think of it. If this hadn't been the only alternative, you would still be human. Because by the time I arrived, he had already bitten you."64

"And there's no way of escaping the whole mass murderer thing?" I asked still staring at his face.65

"Sadly, no."66

"What have I got to lose?" I grinned as he lifted me off of the ground, hugging me close to him. 67

"Forever," he whispered in my ear.68