Diary of a Newborn Vampire (BOOK #1)

The Blood Complex

     Ava

"We have to help him!" I shouted at the group of vampires surrounding Luke and me.

Bernard checked under the scarf that was still pressed against Luke's neck. "We're trying to, Ava. You have to be patient with me. There's only so much I can do right now. We don't have a medical kit in this house. We are vampires. We never needed it before."

Angelina stood over us, her eyes down on me. "How do you know him, Ava?"

"He's..." A friend? No. The guy who had been in love with me since the eighth grade? Yes. "He's from Newberry. I don't know how he got here though. I don't know how he knew where I was. I haven't even seen him since before I was turned."

"He mentioned that someone sent him here," Victor said. "That he had to tell us something. We had to 'go' somewhere."

William was still crouched down behind me with his hands on my shoulders. "Isn't it obvious? He means Newberry. And by the look of the fog in his eyes and his blank expression, he has most likely been compelled by a vampire."

"So, 'them' we have to stop is the hunters," Angelina concluded.

Victor nodded. "And the 'there' is Newberry."

"But who is 'he'?" William asked no one in particular.

I glanced around at the faces of the vampires around me. Some of them still breathed, letting the smell of the fresh blood entice their senses. But they continued to keep control. I didn't even pay attention to the blood. My vampire instincts weren't was I worried about right now.

Jane sat up straighter; I hadn't noticed her creased eyebrows and quivering lips before. "Can we please cease pondering over the boy's words and help him."

Jacqueline kept her eyes on the rise and fall of his chest. "He might not have long. We don't know how much blood he's lost. If he drove all the way from Newberry after the vampire bit him..."

"We have to do something!" Jane shouted.

I'd never seen her so worried. It was as if she was in my position. As if someone she knew from home had their life on the line. I hadn't noticed until then that her hand was place on top off Luke's.

"Give him blood," William said. "Someone needs to give him their blood."

Jane's eyes shot over at William. "You truly are mad, aren't you? What if he dies? He'll be cursed to a life just like ours! Bernard, fix him with whatever human remedies you can find! Do something!"

Bernard hung his head low, continuing to add pressure on the wound. "I am sorry, Jane, but I don't have anything. Even I did, it might not work at this point. The only thing that could possibly guarantee him life would be our blood."

Jane shook her head. "You can't damn him to this life!"

Her reasoning and concern for Luke all of a sudden became clear to me. She said that as vampires we were cursed—monsters, even. She felt for the life of a human. She would do anything to keep them far from this life—this curse. She didn't want anyone to lead the life she lived.

William now moved towards Jane. "Giving him blood could heal him into a better human form," he said. "It doesn't mean he'll become one of us. He may make it. He may survive, but..."

"But what?" Jane's voice squeaked.

Angelina stepped forward. "We know the chances of each of us giving him blood will do to his survival. Whoever gives him their blood has to know that if he does turn into a vampire, he'll most likely have a bond with them? Just Bernard and Jacqueline. Just like William and Ava."

I swallowed, staring at Jane. No, she was nowhere near my favorite person on the planet. And her having any connection to the boy I knew for so long made my stomach churn in the worst sense. But at the same time I couldn't imagine a world without him. If he because a vampire, at least he would survive.

I glanced over at William. He gave me my second chance at life.

Jane gazed back at Luke in the realization.

"No," Jane whispered. "I can't do that."

Jacqueline grabbed Jane's other hand and wrapped around in both of hers. "Jane, it doesn't promise anything. It's noncommittal. But it's a hope. A hope that your blood will heal him. That he'll find himself in a better human state."

"And if it doesn't work he'll be forced to become one of us," Jane said through her teeth. "He might as well blame me because I was the one who turned him. Just how Ava blames William."

I opened my mouth as William's eyes fell.

"That's not true," I said in a low voice. "I don't blame you for me becoming a vampire, William. My reasons for being angry are my own. I'm mad that I got myself to this point. I'm mad that after the life I lived, after all the things I did and everyone I hurt, I got a second chance of all people. I'm mad that I didn't get to say "yes" or "no". Maybe that makes me sound petty and ungracious. But that's me. And I realize that you might as well throw selfish into the mix. I shouldn't have pressured you and everyone else into going Newberry. Not if you didn't think we were ready."

"You weren't being selfish," he said. "At least not then. I know you wanted to help. You're stubborn, if you want to add that to list. You only want to protect your sister and friends. I should have understood that from the start, and I shouldn't have pressure you either. You have every right to say 'yes' or 'no'."

Jane cleared her throat, interrupting our little moment. "Can you two please stop apologizing to each other right now? We don't have time for that."

"Jane's right," Bernard said. "We need to do something soon. He's fading."

I saw Luke's eyelids flutter as he let out a long moan. Luckily I couldn't remember the pain of the bite, but I knew it was nothing relatively fun. I slid closer to him, patting his hair down which was now damp with sweat.

I looked up at Jane my eyes pleading. "Please, Jane. Give him your blood."

Jane didn't even glance at me. She kept her eyes on Luke's pain-stricken face. He twitched, and Jane's hand fell off of his. But she brought it back squeezing his fingers. I no longer saw the girl full of insults who begged for my dismissal. I saw someone who actually care for someone. Someone who wanted to do the right thing. Someone like me.

She took a deep breath. "I'll do it. But if he turns...I can't say I'll stay here. I don't know if I could bear living here knowing I caused this. I can't possibly live with such a weight on my shoulders."

Then she bit into her own wrist revealing two puncture wounds and a gush of blood to come pouring out. Gently, she place her wrist into Luke's mouth. He gagged the first coupld of second before finally giving in. Slowly, he began to accept it. Possibly accepting the life none of us really wanted. A life we had been given as our only option. Either this or death.

Suddenly, he sat up, his mouth covered in red. Jane began pulling away, but Luke only gripped her arm tighter and pulled her closer as he took in her blood as if the roles of vampire and human had been switched.