Unsettled

Chapter 1- Abandoned.

   It had been centuries since states had names. Since  cities had even a glimmer of light that was power generated, but as I sat here flipping through the pages of the dusty, almost ruined book I couldn't help but chuckle at some of the names of different counties. I had found myself  in the geographic section of the old abandoned library. I spend most nights here, it's safe. It occupies my mind from boredom and keeps me hidden from the skin walkers that dig their way out of the earth at sunset searching for food. I shudder at the thought of them and flip another page, sighing when I reach a county that's name matches the eerie  feeling I now couldn't shake- Hell, Michigan. Now how bad does a town have to be for its founder to name it that? I couldn't imagine it was any worse than the god awful way the world had ended up now.
  Pondering the thought too much, I decided the contents of my tiny book with feeble pages were no longer funny. I closed it and put it back on the shelf where I found it.  I sat in a simi-comfortable couch i had hauled in from a near by junkyard and placed in front of my makeshift fireplace. I used the sound of the popping embers to distract myself from the roaring hunger I had felt for a day and a half. The thought of feeding again made my stomach churn. As I stared into the flickering flames I felt something I hadn't felt in about a month. Fatigue. Relieved at the tiniest possibility of sleep, I let my exhaustion engulf me.
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"Rainn!" An upbeat perky voice called me from a distance.  I twirled my knee length purple dress as I  turned to listen for the familiar, calming voice to say my name once more. "Rainn! Over here love!" My eyes  trailed the field full of bluestim grass in search of the voice holder. She appeared out of seemingly nothing 10 feet in front of me and my heart filled. "Mommy!" I screamed as I skipped to her, parting the sea of  green and blue weeds between us. It felt like forever since I'd last seen her or my dad. The thought of him made him appear beside her with open arms. I crashed into him first, knocking the wind out of him and making him chuckle. "Daddy I missed you!"  "I missed you too baby bat", he had chosen my nickname, I completely adored it to the point it was my costume every Halloween. I smiled into his chest and looked up at my mom standing behind us, her brown hair almost sparkled as it flowed in long locks with the wind. Her smile brought a feeling of serenity only a mother could bring. I stood, bringing myself out of my dads grasp and smiled up at her, "Do you like my dress?" I asked, looking down at it once more.
I became confused instantly as my legs grew taller, my hair longer and my childlike dress turned into a navy blue tank. My legs were now covered with black jeans and a wallet chain draped down the side of them , my once bare feet were now covered in tight combats. I looked up almost as if in slow motion, my father lie in a pool of his own blood with an appalling yet human looking monster attached to his neck. My mother, who still looked the same but with hallow eyes spoke one word. "Run".
"Do as your told" an unfamiliar voice echoed in my ears. And so I did, or at least I tried. As I turned on my heels to sprint into the dark woods that the once beautiful field had turned into  , the ground beneath me crumbled. I screamed at the thought of falling, but I stayed running in the same place, going nowhere. I felt a hand wrap around my mouth and my heart sank. Terrified I'd end with the same fate as my father, I bit down on my attackers finger until I tasted metal. As soon as the sensation of blood hit my tongue I sank to my knees forcefully. My body was not my own, it did nothing I willed it to. Tears streamed down my face as once more I heard that sickening unfamiliar voice.
"She'll be a nice one, yeah?"  A sharp pain went through the right side of my neck, followed by a burning sensation, like acid running through my veins and to every inch of my body. At some point I felt myself slipping, and gratefully so, gave in to the darkness that took away the pain.
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   I unfurled my giant black wings and shot up, laying flat against the ceiling with my feet sturdily positioned on a piece of wood that once supported a section of the libraries roof. My heart pounded and continued to nearly jump out of my chest even moments after I realized it had only been a dream. A repetitive dream. A dream I often had of a memory locked deep within my mind of 84 years ago. My body stayed at the state it was when I was unwillingly turned at 19 although in reality I've just hit 103 years old.
  I caught my breath slightly only to have it knocked out of me again by a recognizable yet unbearable pain that shot through my stomach, up my chest and to the sides of my throat... thirst. The pain knocked me off my feet and without time to catch myself, I curled my wings around me for safety as I plummeted and hit the hard concrete floor.
My vision was blurry when I finally got the strength to stand. I didn't worry about checking for broken bones, anything broken would heal in the time it took me to get back on my feet. The pain was still there, just dull. It would return full force in 30 minutes if I didn't find something to eat. I glimpsed out a nearby window to see the sun high in the sky. I had been asleep for a day? Maybe two? Hard to tell with no working clocks anywhere in the world.
  I retracted my wings once more,  through the slits cut in my shirt and as flat against my back as they would go, then wincing at the realization that my shoulder had popped out of place. I put back my hair and used my uninjured arm to pull up my shirt and pop the base of it into my mouth. Chomping down hard I took a deep, shaky breath and slung my arm into a near by wall to force it back into socket.
  "Buckle up buttercup" I said to myself through gritted teeth as I shook the pain away. As much as I hated it. It was time for the hunt.