The Bat Fights

Chapter Three

Shedding is one of the worst things a vampire goes through. It's painful, it's disgusting, and frankly just annoying. It only happens maybe once every five years, sometimes longer. Once I went eleven years without one.

But it's here, now, and it sucks. So first my nails come loose. Now keep in mind this is the only time a vampire can go without food, during a shed. We are generally in too much discomfort to think about food. So I say goodbye to Ray, because we hide out in our bedrooms while this takes place.

So anyways, stage one is my nails fall off. No biggie. Then slowly, stage two; my mouth became so swollen I can't speak. Then my teeth fall out.

I look in my mirror and run my tongue across my enflamed, bumpy gums. They are practically always bleeding, because the new ones are coming in. I gently tussle my long, straight golden blonde hair and a large clump comes off with my fingers. It's only been three days, but on the forth day, stage three; hair loss.

By the next day I am bald, have only half a mouth of teeth and no nails. There's a reason we avoid others during a shed.

By the end of the week a layer of skin has peeled off, and I'm bleeding everywhere. I'll spare the disgusting details, but everything grows back and by the beginning of the following week, I'm fresh and ready to be out again.

After the pain of vacuuming the nails and hair and throwing the skin in the garbage (I really hope no one goes through our trash), I finally sit down with a mug of warm horse blood (don't ask), and I switch on the television. I listen as I hear Ray shuffle around upstairs, cursing as he drops something. He enters my view in the stairs holding a big black bag presumably holding the same contents as mine. He drops it near the back door and goes to the freezer. "Oh, bollocks."

I turn. "What?"

He looks at me, wide eyed. "I'm out." I wrinkle my eyebrows together.

"Can't you call Alexis?" I ask cautiously. I can see from here he's visibly shaking. He goes and grabs his jacket. "She would take too long." He answers quickly. "I got to go." Before he closes the door behind him he turns back and looks at me. "Don't go anywhere. Don't let anyone in." He nods politely and leaves me standing in my fluffy orange robe and holding a mug that says: "Slurp me up!" on it.

I sit waiting almost all night until at about 5:25 he rushes through the door. He flings off his jacket, and keels over groaning. I jump off the couch and rush to his side. "Ray, are you-"

He looks at me with bloodshot eyes. "What on earth are you doing still up? It almost dawn!"

I turn my head and look at the clock. In winter the sun's usually up by about six. I nod, and start to help him walk to his room before we black out.

During the day we completely black out. I never remember any dreams, or hear anything. It's just like.... blinking. Except its been hours.

We get him to his bedroom door, and I give him a look. "Ray, wait."

Wincing under his breath, he glances at me.

"What happened to you?"

He opens his mouth to speak but I blink.

Then my eyes open, and I'm laying in the hallway with Ray curled up beside me. I'm grateful that every window is shielded by heavy curtains and taped up cardboard, or else a ray of sun could have burnt off a limb. Ray rolls over and his eyes snap open and they dart around.

"Lacey..?"

I shift myself to look at him. "Are you alright?" He asks. I nod and smile. But then I remember the events that occurred last night. I punch him in the shoulder. "Dude? What the hell was that last night? You stumble through the door, minutes before black out, and you're sick and didn't tell me what you were doing!"

He avoids looking at me as he stands up. "We don't have any blood. Not human at least." He offers a hand which I take and stand up. "I had to drain someone." I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand. "Ray..."

"I know. But it was necessary. I used it as a last resort."

I shake my head and bite my lip hard, drawing a long drip of blood down my chin. Without hesitation, Ray pulls a handkerchief already caked in dry blood and wipes it off my face. "Sorry I worried you." He whispers. I pull away from him. "Yeah, whatever. Be all aloof, see if I care."

I storm past him, balling my fists. He grabs my wrist. "Lacey!"

I turn and punch him square in the jaw. He stumbles backwards, holding his face in surprise.

"I've put up with your shit for so long!" I yell. "Every day I help you feed, I don't complain. I know nothing about you, nothing, but do I complain? No!" I want to punch him again but I think he might be in shock with how stupid his face looks right now. "You were the one that turned me! You took me away from my family! It was your fault I wasn't holding my mom's hand while she died!" I can feel blood gathering in my mouth from screaming, but I honestly don't care. "It's your fault my brother spent years looking for me! It's your fault I'm stuck with the most broody and secretive man on the plant for infinity!" I have to start coughing now, there's a lot of blood in my mouth. It drips onto the multicoloured carpet (you would be amazed at how many blood stains there are all over the house, people would think the house was a constant murder scene), and I just wipe it off with my hand. "You know what? Fuck you, Ray." I walk into my bedroom and he follows. "Lacey-"

I ignore him as I find some clothes. I slip on a pair of ripped jeans under my robe and turn my back to him while I put on a bra and shirt.

"Lacey, I don't have to tell you everything about me." He continues kind of angrily.

I grab my sunglasses and jean jacket and I accidentally push over an old picture of me. I glance at it, it's faded to an orangey colour. The picture is one I remember being taken quite clearly, because it was a nice memory for me. That's most likely why I kept it.

The picture is of me at a park with a can in my hand. I'm wearing a Rolling Stones tee shirt and high waisted bell bottoms (don't judge, I love bell bottoms) and I have a flower head band. That day my brother had taken me out to a music festival, and after we had gone to the park and got beers. It was for my birthday, and it was the first time I had legally drank alcohol. He had snapped the picture and given it to me as a present, and even though my long hair was frizzy and I wasn't smiling, I still loved the picture.

I shake the memory from my head and go downstairs.

Ray follows.

"We aren't friends, you're just my responsibility. I didn't ask to know about you, and I'm sorry that you were the one I turned. I can't fix that now."

I slip on a pair of red converse and open the back door.

He grabs my jacket. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" I shove his hand off of me. "As I said, Ray. Fuck. You." I walk out the door even though I know he'll follow me in a couple of moments. He would never let me out on my own. He's not that fun.

Suddenly I get an idea that I know will teach him a lesson and will be adventurous for me. And I may also spend the rest of my boring life paying for it.