Luna

Two

I hung in midair by my shirt as the handsome man I'd tried to kill held me at a distance with one arm, showing no signs of strain as he did so.  He had a look of distaste on his face and it suddenly dawned on me that he could kill me as quickly as he could blink.

He was tall, well built, like most vampires, and like most vampires, he was ridiculously good looking. He looked like he belonged on the front cover of magazine, not hanging out with women who barely know who - or what - they are.

I realised while I'd been ogling him, he'd been trying to talk to me.

His accent was english and melodical, "Who are you?"

His voice was low and calm, his expression bordering on amusement.

I struggled but couldn't get free.

He placed me gently on the cold, stone floor and I realised I was barefoot.

Trying to regain any sense of dignity, I folded my arms, pushed my chin out and tried hard not to look intimidated by the man who was easily a foot taller than me and built like a national monument.

"Who are you and where are we?"  I asked, feeling light headed.

He watched me closely, a smile playing on his lips, "I asked first."

It was hard to tell in the semi darkness, but the tiny slit of light peeking through the block out curtains of the high windows behind me told me it was daylight.

I had no memory of how I got wherever I was, but I felt the overwhelming need to escape.

Watching the adonis in front of me carefully, I took a few steps back and flung open the curtain.

My triumphant smile faltered when he didn't flinch.

Squinting, I walked a step closer to him.  He was watching me with thinly veiled amusement and I wondered if I'd just made a bit mistake.

I flung open the next curtain and watched him again, breathing hard.

"Why... why aren't you shielding your eyes?"  I asked, confused; maybe it just took a while for it to effect him.

He smiled, "I'm not going to melt if that's what you're hoping for."

I winced, "Really?"

He shrugged, "That's more of a Hollywood thing."

"Does it at least hurt your eyes?"  I asked, feeling defeated and extremely stupid.

"The same as it would anyone else I suppose."  He said, still smiling.  "Don't you know this?  Wouldn't it be affecting you if it was affecting me?"

I decided not to tell him I'm... different... or at least I'd thought I was.  I'd only fought vampires at night and had assumed there was something wrong with me.  Perhaps my refusal to feed had made me part way human?  Maybe it was just wishful thinking.

I spun around, determined to prove him wrong and open one more curtain and gasped.

Faltering, I froze as the pain from my side radiated around my ribs and my stomach churned.

I grabbed the curtain, looked down at my blood soaked side and swore as I sank to the floor.

He was by my side before I even hit the floor and called out a name I didn't recognise.

"She's not healing the same as you."  The voice was female.

I waited for my eyes to clear and struggled to see the faces of my captor and the new arrival.

"Maybe she needs some blood..."  The female voice started to say.

That was all I needed to hear.  I leapt to my feet and shook my head wildly.

I felt like a caged animal; I had to escape.

The shape of the woman came into view in front of me and I shook my head, "Stay back."  I managed to mutter.

"Please let me help you."  The voice said calmly.

My stomach rolled and I gagged, but didn't vomit, "No blood."  I panted.  "Promise no blood."

The confusion in her voice was evident, but I believed her when she said, "Okay.  No blood.  Now please let me help you.  My name is Doctor Mulberry. Call me Emma.  I can help you.  Please."

I still couldn't see her face, but something about her tone made me trust her.

"No blood."  I muttered as I collapsed.

~

The next time I opened my eyes I was in my apartment.  My side wasn't hurting as much and I panicked as it occurred to me the doctor had ignored my request and given me blood anyway.

The pain that shot through me as I sat up was a surprisingly welcome sensation; at least they hadn't given me any.  If they had, I probably would have been healed by now.

I had no idea how long had passed, but the light coming in through the window told me it was heading towards dusk.  I just hoped it was the same day.

I remembered everything that had happened with the vampire and the doctor and wondered if they'd done anything to me.  I seemed fine.  They hadn't healed me.  As far as I could tell, they hadn't done anything except help me.

I wondered why as I slowly stood and winced.

I felt for my phone in my jeans pocket, but realised that I'd lost yet another one.  There's a reason I only buy cheap phones with prepaid credit; it's much cheaper to replace one than if I had the latest iPhone.

I sighed and looked out at the city I had once loved but now doubted.  I had grown up somewhere else... I knew I had... I just had no idea where.

Most of my memories are after I was turned; there's nothing much left of who I was before that happened.  I tried googling it, but 'I can't remember who I was before I was a vampire' doesn't exactly bring up a lot of credible articles.

I know my name.  I know I was in my mid twenties when I was turned.  I know I'm strong, fast, but not as fast as a vampire who regularly feeds and I know that whatever happens, I will do my absolute best not to lose whatever little bit of my previous self that's left.

I walked into my small kitchen, flicked on the coffee machine and willed it to heat up faster.

I thought about the doctor and the vampire who had wanted to help; who had helped.  I didn't know them and had never met a vampire I had actually had a conversation with, but it had been an interesting experience.  I just hoped they weren't watching me.

I thought about this as I gulped down my too strong black coffee, stripped out of my torn and bloodied clothes and stepped into the shower.

The hot water stung my wounds, but even under the bandage, I knew they had mostly healed.

Undoing the well wrapped bandage from around my waist, I let it fall to the floor of the shower and watched as my blood was diluted in the soapy water and disappeared down the drain.

Pushing the bandage aside, I sat on the floor of the shower and decided I was going to stay there forever.

I was sore, tired, confused and did I mention confused?

I sighed as I let the water wash over me; imagining it could take away my sins down the drain with the rest.

I closed my eyes and felt the cold tiles against my back.  My bruises were healing, my side was getting there, but something felt different.  Something primal wanted me to hunt.  Something called me out into the fading sun... it had been getting worse the last few weeks and I had no idea why or what to do about it.

Biting my lip, I turned all the cold water off and sat under the hot water as it flowed over my body and I swore I felt it less and less with each drop of water.

Was I losing my humanity?  Or had it been gone for longer than I realised?

I sat in the shower with the water almost burning my skin for what felt like hours.  When I finally emerged, the sun behind the curtains had gone and been replaced with darkness.  I silently thanked my landlord for the new infinite hot water service, but at the same time shuddered to think of my water bills.

I looked at the clock in the kitchen and swore; I was going to be late for work... again.