Caught in Between

-29-

I watched as Keith and Kaleb sliced their arms with a knife, collecting their blood in a cup. Once the cup was filled with the right amount, they both wiped their arms with the same rag and their wound had healed almost instantaneously. "Whatever happens, we're here," Keith said to me as he took the cup and handed it to me.

I was sitting on the couch while they both stood in front of me. I was a bit nervous of what was going to happen to me.

After we had went inside, we all collectively agreed on turning me into a vampire while the others were gone. It was the perfect time and it would just be us three in case anything happened. My wish was finally coming true, and excitement crawled its way into my head, knowing that I'd be spending the rest of my forever life with them. I peered down at the cup and swished their blood around, watching it coat the sides. It was thick, a lot thicker than human blood.

"Is there anything I can wash this down with? I feel like I might choke on it," I asked, still staring at the blood, continuing to swish it around.

"I think we may have some cranberry juice in the fridge," Kaleb answered as he pointed his thumb toward the kitchen.

"Alcohol?"

"You want alcohol?" Keith sounded dumbfounded. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"It might burn more."

"Fine, I'll take the juice."

Kaleb quickly went to the kitchen and came back with the bottle of cranberry juice. He flicked the lid off and poured the liquid into my cup. "You can just pretend it's alcohol, and try chugging it," Kaleb suggested as he set the bottle down on the wooden coffee table.

"I feel awkward with you two looming over me like this," I said as I looked up at both of them.

"I know, but we have to be right here. There's a possibility you could die." Keith gazed into my soul with serious eyes. A hiccup escaped my mouth as I nodded my head.

"Okay, here goes nothing." I held my breath as I lifted the cup to my lips. I shut my eyes tightly as I tilted my head back, chugging the mixed blood and juice as fast as I could. After I finished, Keith took the cup from my hand and set it down on the table next to the bottle of juice. They stood there waiting, ready to jump in whenever.

It didn't take long before I began feeling a burning sensation in my whole body. It felt like my skin was crawling and my veins were about to burst. There was a tightness in my chest, and shortly after, my entire body went limp. I fell over and my body began to seize uncontrollably. I screamed and screamed, the only thing I could do while the brothers were right by my side, holding me down and trying to comfort me with words of affirmation. My vision grew blurry as tears flooded my eyes.

"Hang in there," Keith's voice rang out as my eyes began to close.

Everything went silent and there was a slight ringing in my ears. The whole world was black. Where was I? Was I trapped in my own thoughts? I couldn't hear Keith or Kaleb anymore.

Then, a woman appeared before me. She was extremely pale with glowing red eyes, long bright blonde hair and plump pink lips. She wore a black lacy dress that touched the bottom of her feet and she had her hands clasped together in front of her. She appeared to be really young, I would say early 20s, but she seemed like a vampire so I'd know that she would be much older. When she smiled, her fangs showed and it confirmed my suspicions. "Hi, Rebecca," she said with a calm and delightful voice. "I'm Liliana, the last Vampire Queen."

My jaw dropped. There was no way I was seeing her, maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I didn't even know what she looked like.

She reached her hand out to grab mine. Her fingers were ice cold, but they somehow felt comforting. "I didn't mean to startle you, but I was waiting for the moment you'd become a vampire. See, whenever a Vampire Queen dies, we don't leave the spiritual world as our calling continues even in the afterlife. We must always protect the dead and the living."