The Venatrix

Chapter Two

I never expected to see a for sale sign in front of the cabin. Some old geezers must have killed over and willed it to his kid. It's dark outside but the scent of humans lingers, they couldn't have been here that long ago. My throat aches and my mouth waters at the mere thought of running into them. They never would have seen me coming; it would have been an easy kill. I shake off the thought. I may be one of them, but I will never be like them. I have to remind myself of that constantly.

The real question is how did they get here without me knowing? After wandering around for a few minutes. It appears that they just drove up to the cabin, put up the sign and left. I don't need to sleep but over the years I have found that sleeping is an easy escape. I have gotten too complacent; this encounter could have led to me doing something that I would have regretted. 

For their safety and my sanity, I have to leave. 

I head back inside the cabin and find myself standing in front of the closet that used to hold hunting equipment. Now it just holds a piece of my life that I thought I had left behind. A part of me knew that I would never be able to stay here but I also never envisioned myself leaving. It's going to be dangerous for me to be walking around wearing my old gear but what choice do I have? 

I start putting my gear on little by little. First the thermals, then the fireproof suit, the tool belt, the sling that holds extra ammo and stakes, the backpack that holds a very large propane tank that feeds the flame thrower attached to it, black leather boots and finally the gas mask. I do it once over, to make sure my gun is fully loaded and that the flamethrowers levels are in the green. 

Lastly, I grab Light's ring from the hook hidden in the back of the closet. The cord is threadbare; the black metal is stained with blood, but it is mine. It symbolizes the only happy time in my life. I carefully put it on before closing the door. 

The night is still very young, but that doesn't mean much when you have a lot of ground to cover with no destination in mind. Not to mention that I have to find somewhere to hide out during daylight hours.

Honestly, I don't know where I am now. I just kind of ended up here. If I remember anything from geography class, the states up north tend to be colder and have extremely unpredictable weather patterns. It's a sound plan for now.   

I give the cabin one final look, a silent goodbye before heading outside, running full speed up towards the northern peninsula. The trees blur around me, the wind hits my mask thankfully blocking out any smells, but my loose hair is flying free behind me. I forgot how liberating running can be. Traveling also used to be a favorite thing of mine. I loved seeing the sites, eating the local food and being a part of the culture. Maybe I can try to do that once I find somewhere to settle down and learn how to control my thirst. I mean who knows maybe I can be the local weirdo in the gas mask.

A shimmer of light snaps me out of my thoughts. The sun looks like it will be fully risen in roughly thirty minutes. If I don't want to burst into flames I have to find somewhere to hide. I run through a maze of trees, following the sound of water. After a few minutes I find myself standing in front of a lake. I break off some tree branches that have been blessed with thick leaves. I quickly strip myself down to my undergarments and do my best to disguise my gear with the area around me. I take a running start and dive headfirst into the deepest part of the lake. 

I sink all the way down to the murky bottom of the lake. All I can do now is thank the vampire god that being immortal means that I don't have to do normal bodily functions and pray that sunlight doesn't reach me.