Living For The Night - Chapter 1

Midnight was supposed to be the height of the night, with prime meat swarming the streets, unknowing of the evil lurking in darkness around them. Every vampire was well aware that the taste of a naive mortal was the best taste in the world. Every vampire knew this, except for one. Flame Hawks was an exception to every vampire rule in the book, including drinking blood. No matter how sick she grew from malnourishment, she refused to bite into human flesh. Once in awhile she would come across a freshly killed animal, and would drink what blood the carnivores of that area had not gotten to yet. But even this left a horrid taste in her mouth. She despised herself and her own kind, and had made a vow to herself never to put anyone through what she herself had been through.1

A year ago, at the age of seventeen, Flame was a joyous teenager. A great boyfriend, straight A's, a wonderful family...a great life. She was never seen without a smile on her face, and her long orange hair flowing behind her. Everything about her screamed grace and beauty. This is, until one night Flame was wandering the streets alone. Normally she would not have been out this late. But tonight, her late night rendezvous with her boyfriend had lasted a bit longer than expected. With a flushed face, she adjusted her clothing as she hurried towards home. She knew that if her parents caught her crawling in her window at midnight, she would be grounded for life. She was preoccupied with these thoughts, and never even noticed the footsteps behind her, keeping up with her pace. She didn't pay any mind to the shadows crossing the moon, gliding over her like a sheet.2

When at last she reached her home, she noticed that everything was dark. The streetlight, the porch light, and the kitchen light...even the neighbor's lights were off. Upon further investigation, she discovered that the terrace beside her window was gone. Bewildered, she backed up, staring into the night. At that moment she finally heard the footsteps, but now it was too late. Dark figures smothered her, and she felt a hand slide over her mouth, stifling the screams trying to escape. It was all happening so fast; it was hard for her to believe. Even harder to comprehend was what happened next. Sharp teeth sank into her neck, and she felt what was oddly like a sucking sensation. She began to feel weak, and her veins turned to ice. She gasped for breath but none came. Her pupils shrank into minuscule dots, and her toes curled. She managed to glance at her skin, and it had turned to a bluish color. As she lost her grasp on consciousness, she was sure she was dying.3

She awoke hours later in the dark, chained to a bed in a small, unfurnished room. It took her a few seconds to remember what had happened, and when she did her fear overwhelmed her. She yanked at the chains, trying her hardest to break herself free. After a few minutes she realized that her whole body was very weak, and there would be no use in trying. She slumped against the pillow, cold tears running down her face. She lifted her head up to observe herself, and noticed that her skin was no longer blue, but very pale. Her clothing had also been changed. Gone were her pink flip-flops, pink tank top, and denim miniskirt. In their place were black boots, a red tube top, and a black leather skirt. For a second she thought that she was being sold into prostitution. She panicked as she tried to tell whether or not she was wearing underwear. her efforts must have been obvious, because a male voice spoke out of the dark corner. 4

"Don't worry, you weren't raped." He laughed.5

Flame was clueless. "What the hell are you talking about?!"6

The man came into view, and Flame gasped. Standing before her was the most gorgeous member of the male species she had ever seen. He smiled at her.7

"I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Luke, but most people know me as Nightstalker." He began to pace the room, his dark wispy hair falling in front of his icy blue eyes. His lips were a dark red, and the tips of very sharp teeth protruded beneath his lips. His muscular form strained against his black t-shirt, and his arms seemed thicker than her stomach. He turned back to her, motioning to their surroundings. "I assume you are a bit confused on your current situation?"8

Flame swallowed hard, barely able to speak. "Um, yeah." He smiled once again, and despite her fear, she found it hard to breathe.9

"This is all going to be hard to understand, but you're going to have to believe it, because it's the truth." He sighed, and sat down on the end of the bed. "A few hours ago, I was sent out to scavenger the area, to find meals for us..."10

Flame interrupted. "Meals? Us?"11

Luke sighed. "I'm getting to that. Be patient, and don't interrupt." He ran a hand through his hair. "I scanned the area, and I saw you come out of your house. I followed you, and watched where you went. I returned here, and reported that I only saw one mortal. Even though I told them that you were too young, they persisted. Hunger overrules our judgement often. I returned to your location, and watched you until you left. Don't worry; I closed my eyes when it got too graphic." He grinned at her, ignoring the shocked expression on her face. "While I watched you, the others set everything up at your house, the lights, the terrace...I called them when you were leaving, and we followed you home. Then when you reached home, you realized we were following you, and at that moment we fed, and turned you."12

Flame shook her head. "Turned me? Fed? I'm confused."13

Luke stared at her. "You haven't picked up on that yet? We're vampires, now you included."14

She gasped, and struggled against her chains. "No! This cannot be happening! No!"15

He put a hand on her leg. "I know it's hard to accept but you're going to have to. This is wrong; you shouldn't have been turned so young. Actually it's a miracle you lived. Most people your age would die when bitten."16

She blinked away tears and shook her head. "Who bit me first? Who turned me?"17

Luke put his head down. "Me. I'm sorry; I wish I wouldn't have had to."18

She laughed. "But you didn't have to!"19

Now it was Luke's turn to laugh. "You don't understand. You don't know Lilith."20

Flame turned her head. "Who's Lilith?"21

"The most powerful vampire of all of us." He began to pace the room again. "She's our leader. If you don't do what she orders...well...you don't want to know what will happen." He stood beside the bed and looked down at her. "So what is your name?"22

"Flame Hawks."23

He smiled. "Good." He walked over to the corner and brought back a bag filled with a dark red liquid. "Now you need to feed."24

Flame shook her head. "I am not going to drink blood."25

Luke sighed. "You need to feed, or you'll just wither away to nothing."26

"That doesn't sound too bad."27

He shrugged. "If you want to be that way, fine." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a needle. He attached it to the tubing on the bag, and stuck it into her arm.28

She screamed and writhed on the bed, even though it was useless. The cold liquid streamed through her veins, making her colder. Her heart began beating faster, and once again her pupils dilated. At once she began to feel stronger, and she gave Luke a quizzical look.29

"I know what you're thinking. I felt the same way when I first fed. Of course you're going to feel more strength. It's like eating regular food when you're a human, it's giving you the nourishment you need. And you probably noticed how cold your body feels. Well get used to it. You're immortal now; it's how you're going to feel all the time. You're always going to look the same, feel the same, and remain the same age. One rule. Never eat regular food again. You will get very sick, and it's not pleasant."30

She rolled her eyes. "Let me guess. I can't go out into sunlight ever again either."31

Luke shook his head. "Actually, you can. We haven't been able to figure out why, be we can be in sunlight. Lilith says it's from a genetic mutation years ago, but who knows if that is true or not. But we won't turn to ashes or anything."32

Flame closed her eyes. "I can't believe this is all happening. Well can't you at least unchain me?"33

Luke shook his head again. "No. Lilith's orders. Once she comes in and explains things further, then you'll be unchained and given a tour of the house. But until then, you are to remain right where you are." He walked towards the door. "I'm going to go see what's keeping her." He left.34

Flame laid in the dark, staring at the ceiling. In her mind she refused to accept that any of it was happening, yet her surroundings forced her to believe the harsh reality. A strange sucking sound filled the air, and she noticed that her blood bag was empty. She wiggled her arm until the needle popped out, and then let her arm fall to the bed. At once she felt tired, and even though she was afraid to sleep, the exhaustion overcame her.35

Waking up in the dark again, it felt like a reoccurring bad dream. Once again, a voice spoke out of the dark, but this time it was a female voice.36

"Hello Flame. Have a nice nap?"37

Flame squinted into the dark, just barely able to make out a tall female leaning against the wall. "I suppose...Are you Lilith?"38

"Indeed I am." Lilith emerged from the shadows, so gracefully she seemed to be floating. "How did you know?"39

"Luke told me you would be coming."40

Lilith chuckled, and came closer. "He always ruins the surprise." She ran a long black fingernail up Flame's arm, right up to the spot where the needle had punctured her skin. "So I hear you don't want to drink blood?"41

Flame cringed. "Of course not. I won't bite anyone either."42

Lilith shook her head. "It will come in time. Like many things."43

"Many things?"44

"Many things. For instance, your wings." She stretched, and wings popped out of her shoulder blades. "I am a very experienced vampire. As you can see, I can bring them out at will. Nightstalker, however, is not yet advanced enough to control his, his are out all of the time. Until you gain some strength, however, they will come out when you need to feed. The older you get, the more you'll be able to control them. Same with your fangs. Mine can come and go. Nightstalker's stay. You don't have any yet."45

Flame was confused. "Luke said I won't age."46

"You won't age in the sense you are used to. Your body will remain the same, you will forever look seventeen. But mentally you will age. As a vampire you will age. I am four hundred years old. But do I look it? No. I still look twenty-five."47

Flame looked down. "Why me?"48

Lilith shrugged. "We needed food. You were the only prey out at that time. Some of us were very malnourished."49

"But I'm just a kid! I had a good life! What do people think happened to me?"50

"Ah. Something else I forgot to explain. When a mortal is changed, a special committee is called in. The SOC, the situational outlook committee, is sent in to assess the situation. If you are a high risk situation, your body will be left as is, and then more rumors of vampires are formed. If you are a low risk situation, such as yourself, we changed you and then take your body."51

Flame looked down again. "What do you mean by high and low risk situations?"52

"A high risk situation means that many people will be looking for you, and a big deal will be made out of your disappearance. Low risk means not many people will look for you, or no one will care that you're gone."53

"But I have people that are going to look for me."54

"Not that many."55

Flame was silent, and laid back against the pillow. "Can you please unchain me?"56

"Yes. Just don't try to run away. You don't want to find out what will happen. It won't be pleasant."57

Thinking back on her first night as a vampire, her situation hadn't improved much. There were a few immortals that were friendly, but most hated her almost as much as she hated them. Every night while the others went out to feed, Flame stayed behind. She spent much of this alone time thinking about how much she missed her family and her boyfriend. Right after she had been changed she had visited him during his sleep a few times, but now the group had moved so much she didn't even know where she was.58

Right now they had landed in a small town, where the population was barely five hundred. On their very first night, they landed on a deserted road, a dead end leading straight into the forest. ON the forest's edge, was the biggest house on the street, and this immediately became headquarters. Due to the fact that no one else occupied this street, it was perfectly safe to feed without anyone hearing the noise. Right away Lilith went out to scavenger the area, and found prey within minutes. This made everyone happy, as it was very easy to feed.59

Now they had been in this town for about a week, and even the daily paper was talking about how many people had gone missing. The area was full of ripe, young mortals, and deep down Flame knew that nothing good would come out of this.