Chains » vampire l.t.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

June's POV

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as we ran into the shadows. Then I cursed my big mouth. He told me to be quiet! I waited for the slap. But it never came.

"Somewhere far away," he replied. A few moments later, he groaned, "This is taking too much time." He stopped suddenly, and I nearly rammed into him. He turned towards me, and I flinched, expecting him to kill me right then and there.

But instead he bent down slightly. "Get on my back," he said gruffly. "We have a long way to go, and not much time."

I hesitated. What did he mean by that?

"Now!"

I hurriedly climbed onto his back, and he straightened. I shuddered as I ran my fingers over his skin: white as snow, hard as marble.

"Stop it!" he snapped and I obeyed. "Hang on," he told me, and I grabbed his shirt. We took off.

The speed was amazing. No wonder he had caught up to me so fast! We zipped past people and other buildings, and they barely noticed us. When I looked back, there was a gust of wind and people looking confused or irritated, but that was about it.

He ran for about five minutes, then stopped. To my surprise, I didn't bolt forward or anything like I was supposed to, totally breaking Newton's Laws of Motion.

"Get off," the vampire ordered and I did gladly. As soon as my feet were touching the ground, his hand locked onto my wrist. I couldn't have run if I tried.

"We're here," he growled. I looked up. The house before us was huge, but very run-down. The boards were old and rotting, and broken glass and scraps of cloth littered the yard. Even the grass looked gray.

"You live here?" I whispered. He nodded stiffly. We started towards the house.

I stepped onto the porch precariously, and it creaked loudly. The vampire pushed me forward, and I quickened my pace. I looked around the foyer.

The wallpaper was tattered and fading, and some of the wood was peeling. It was extremely dusty, and it looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. This place was disgusting.

"Yeah, well, it's not like I have anywhere else to go," the vampire said sourly, breaking me away from my thoughts. I blushed. Did I just say that out loud?

"In here," he ordered, and thrust me into the living room. I sat down quickly on the saggy couch, and he disappeared from view.

I noticed something when I sat down. I reached down and felt the bulge in my pocket: my phone! I could call for help! But where was I? That's one vital detail the police would need.

But I didn't care, I would cross that bridge when I got there. I just really wanted to hear a human voice that wasn't cold or threatening.

I quickly dialed 999--the British number for emergencies--when suddenly my phone flew out of my hand and shattered against the wall. I gasped and looked over.

The vampire glowered down at me and slapped me again. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. I tried not to scream.

He gritted his teeth and took a couple steps away from me. I frowned in confusion. But that's when I realized something.

"What's your name?" I asked quietly. "I mean, do you have a name?"

"Of course I do," he snapped. I winced fearfully. He'd been snapping too much, in my opinion. "It's Louis," he muttered. "But nobody calls me that anymore. I'm alone now."

I blinked. He actually sounded kind of depressed. But then he was his normal cheerful self, and I guessed I must have imagined it.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"June," I replied. "My name, I mean, not the month." He nodded and glanced away.

"What do you plan on doing with me?" I whispered. He narrowed his eyes, which, I noticed for the first time, were now a beautiful blue color. Did his eye color change frequently?

"First, you're going to have to call your mother," he said. "And explain to her that you're not coming back."

I shrunk back and bit my lip again to keep from crying. "But-but I can't!" I protested. "My mother will think that I've abandoned her!"

"Too bad, so sad," the vamp--I mean, Louis--retorted. "You can use my phone." He took it out of his pocket, and my eyebrows shot upwards.

"Vampires have cellphones?" I asked curiously.

"Duh," he said, rolling his eyes. "I may be a vampire, but I'm not stupid. I'm like any other man on this planet, except I drink blood and live in this dump." He kicked the floorboard and I winced. No matter how much he told himself that, he was not like any other man on this planet. He was pure evil.

He tossed me his phone and I caught it in surprise. "Then what?" I asked nervously.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I do after I call my mother?"

He shrugged. "I'll think of something," he said, and walked away. I was grateful for the privacy. I was afraid I would start crying.

I dialed my mother's phone number and held it up to my ear. I realized I was trembling.

"Hello?" my mother's voice asked, and I choked back a sob. Right now, she would be preparing dinner for us, but if that didn't work out, she'd take us out to eat. Her voice was so smooth, so comforting, I just wanted to collapse in her arms and start weeping. But I couldn't.

"Hey, Mom, it's me, June," I said.

"Oh, hi, June!" she said brightly. "I hope you'll be back soon. We're having your favorite: chicken enchiladas with extra salsa!" I bit back a whimper.

"Um, yeah, about that," I said slowly, and glanced up. Louis was watching me, and he nodded. "Mom, I'm not coming back," I said.

A pause on the other end. "What?" she finally asked. "June, what are you talking about? Are you still mad about--"

"No," I said quickly, cutting her off. "I just... I can't come back. Don't come looking for me. Please. It's my last request."

"June, baby, you're scaring me--"

"Just promise me," I said urgently, my voice cracking.

"Okay, but--"

"I love you, Mom," I said, choking up. Tears streamed down on my face. I was still trembling. "And goodbye."

I hung up and tossed the phone to the floor. I buried my face in my hands and started to sob.

I didn't hear him approach me, but I did heard his voice murmur, "Good, good." I glared up at him as he calmly tucked his phone away.

"How could you?" I hissed.

"It's for my own good," he said, emotionless. "And your mother's too, if you really do love her."

I wanted to scream at him and kill him with a knife in the heart, but I knew that was impossible. He's a vampire, for Pete's sake! So I continued to sob to myself, completely and utterly alone.