A Beautiful Mistake

I ran. I ran as fast as I could, never looking back. My pursuer was gaining on me and my heavy clothes kept weighing me down, making me tire quickly. I had to get away – get away from the horror that would sure come if the stranger caught me. I knew my body too well – if I kept running much longer, I would eventually collapse in the snow. So I tried to figure out another strategy – take cover and hide, or face whatever demon is coming. As if it could read my mind, the hooded figure said through short gasps of air as it ran,

“You know you can’t run,” A brief pause, then,

“And you know you can’t hide!” His racious laughter rang through the trees, stopping my heartbeat for an instant. 

Those words decided it for me then. I would have to fight my way out. I stopped abruptly and turned to face it, yet nothing was there. It was as if nothing was really chasing me at all. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching me, so I never kept my guard down.

My breathing slowed down a bit; maybe it had been my imagination.

But as I turned around to stare at the edge of the woods that surrounded the town, I knew for sure that it hadn’t been my imagination. There, standing before me, was the cloaked figure. I gasped and stumbled backwards, tripping on an exposed root. My head hit the cold soft snow with a faint thud, and I could feel the wet snow quickly seeping in through my clothes, yet I did not feel the chill. All my attention was focused on the stranger.

“Don’t be alarmed, girl. You shan’t be afraid of me, for there are far worse things out in the world,” he said suddenly. I could tell now that this was a man’s voice, one that was soft like honey and gentle in all its nature. It made me want to believe everything he said was true. He walked over and knelt down beside me. I could feel his cold breath on my cheek as he leaned in. I tried to crawl away, but his hand shot out and gripped my arm tightly. I knew now that this man was trouble.

“Oh, you don’t want to be going anywhere right now, the good part has just begun!” His sing-song voice ringed out through the open field and echoed off the trees in the woods. I struggled a bit, until I saw him reach up with his other hand to his face. He was wearing a black hoodie. I noticed everything he was wearing was black. It’s like he actually planned to chase me or something. He pulled his hoodie off, and I could see instantly that he was handsome. No, that was an understatement. This man kneeling before me was beautiful. God-like, even.

His dark, cunning eyes darting about seemed to change colour every second he moved. His jaw was strong and firm and his lips were full and rich. Under his light clothes I could see bulges of hidden muscle. This guy was strong. His unkept shock of dark hair waved about in the cold wind. I suddenly felt self-conscious next to him. I looked at his eyes again, startled that they were looking at mine with such intensity. It felt as if he was looking into my soul. I didn’t like it one bit, and I tried to glance away with unbelievable difficulty. Finally, he said very softly,

“You are not afraid. Do not run away, do not try to fight. You will obey my every command,”

Was this guy nuts or something? Did he really believe that I will ‘obey his every command’? But suddenly his words sounded reasonable. I glanced down to see that his grip was still strong on my arm, so I decided that I would listen to him. I repeated back to him,

“I am not afraid. I will not run away, I will not try to fight. I will obey your every command,”

By now, I knew there was no going back. As he held me in his vicelike gaze and grip, he could’ve told me to go jump off a cliff and I would have done so without question.

“Very good. Now, what I would like to know now is your name,”

I told him without question.

“Kaylee Everton,”

Every siren in my body was going off, telling me to try and get away. A little voice inside my head screamed at me,

What are you doing? He is clearly going to do bad things to you, yet here you sit, doing everything he says. MOVE girl!

Those words snapped me right out of my daze. I noticed that his grip on my arm had lessened a bit, so it was know or never. He seemed to be leaning towards me, closer and closer. Was this guy a freak or something? It’s like he is going to kiss me! He closed his eyes and it took all my will to lean forward, not so much, gather up my strength and swing my head forward. My forehead hit his and we both split apart in pain. He gasped, clearly not expecting this, shaking his head and groaning. I took this opportunity and got up as fast as I could. My clothes were soaked with snow now, and the cold was chilling me to the bone. I took one last glance at the man; his eyes alight with fury that no human could ever conjure. An inhuman growl rose from his throat and he opened his mouth. I could see his glistening white teeth in the moonlight, and screamed as I saw that the two front canines were big, sharp and pointy. This stranger was no human at all. My mind went blank, my insides turned to jelly. I didn’t know where to run, so I headed straight to the woods.

Icy cold fear sliced through me like a knife as I stumbled. My snow drenched clothes did nothing against the cold wind that kept blowing around me. I ran and ran, glancing back ever so slightly. I could see that he was running after me again, his steps quick and sure. And boy was he fast. I stumbled through the thick trees, running as fast as I could. I couldn’t stop now. If I did, I was dead. And even though he was eventually going to catch me, I wanted to die fighting. I tripped on a gnarled oak branch as I ran and fell into the snow, face first. My body was exhausted and unconsciousness threatened to swallow me up whole - I greeted it welcomely, but yet it did not fully take over. I breathed in short gasps of air, wanting everything to stop just for one second. I heard an involuntary sigh of relief behind me. A few footsteps and I could see the outline of the stranger standing before me. I lifted my head up with all my willpower. I could feel liquid running down my head, and I put my hand up and felt that it was blood.

The man knelt down in front of me, lifting my chin up to meet his steady gaze.

“You truly are a fighter, you know. You would’ve been a great companion, but you hurt me. And I do not like it when people hurt me,” he said to me quietly.

“If you’re going to kill me, do it quickly. Have mercy!” I replied. I was surprised that my voice sounded steady and sure – something I definitely was not feeling inside.

“Oh, I’m afraid I have plans for you, Kaylee.” His voice had changed now, it was sort of muffled. I wondered why, when he smiled a wide grin and I could see the long canine teeth of animal actually grow bigger. My breathing heightened and I could feel the blood rushing through my veins at a very fast speed. All the while, I was saying to myself,

This is just a dream. Vampires do not exist. Don’t be stupid – you are hallucinating!

I wasn’t so sure of myself now, and I knew that my life was going to end here. I sighed, not afraid of this man anymore. I just wanted death to come easy, to not feel any pain. The man lifted me up in his arms, cradling me close to his chest. I looked into his eyes, but they never met mine. He was continually changing view from the cut on my head to my exposed throat with an animal hunger.

“You never told me your name,” I said evenly.

He looked surprised, but answered in a steady voice.

“My name is Xavier. Xavier Jones,”

I sighed again, wanting this to be over.

“Just close your eyes,” he said quietly.

I obeyed, and was glad that the darkness was consuming me. The last thing I felt was a sharp pinch on my neck as he bit into my throat.