CHAPTER ONE
It's hard to explain. I mean you probably won't even believe me. Or maybe I was just seeing things. I don't know, I was pretty drunk that night, but still...it had to be real. I mean that guy, that....that thing saved my life! How can a person imagine such a thing? And even if I was seeing things because I was drunk, why were the memories of the incident so vivid and clear? Wasn't it all supposed to be fuzzy and vague? Or is that something that just happens in the movies? Anyway, so here goes. I was returning home from a party. My best friend Celeste had just turned sixteen and we were at this club near the Bagmati Bridge. She too was pretty drunk, and let me tell you, a boozed Celeste is so not a pretty picture. Imagine a drunken Serena Van Der Woodsen and multiply that by ten. No I'm not kidding. Okay back to the story, so after the party her boyfriend volunteered to take her home. Ash was a nice guy, I trusted him with my friend so I let him. They don't make guys like Ash anymore. Why he was with a girl like Celeste I have no idea. Don't get me wrong, I mean I love her, but she can get a little Naomi Campbell sometimes, if you know what I mean. My boyfriend, Rayan, well not exactly my boyfriend, I mean we'd been going out for just about a week now and I still don't know where things are between us. I'll come back to that later. So anyway, that night I was behind Rayan on his bike. It was close to midnight and the road was deserted. The scene was good enough for a kick ass horror flick. The thick darkness, the chilly wind, the rustling of the leaves of trees, the howling of the dogs. You know the works. Not to mention the various stories that went around about the bridge. The river under the bridge was a cremating site. Hindus don't bury their dead; they burn them, preferably near holy rivers. And this was one of those rivers. Even now I could smell the lingering smoke around me. To think that I was probably smelling the burnt remains of a human body didn't help my stomach much. So it's no wonder that stories of the place being haunted and all were flying around. And I'm not saying I believe in all that stuff, but it was enough to make a girl really uncomfortable. I wanted us to cross the bridge as fast as possible. My stomach felt like a mentos had been thrown in a Pepsi and everything inside was going to burst out. I don't know what that guy at the bar had put in the cocktail and I really didn't want to find out. The cold air did lessen the queasiness a little. I held on tightly to Rayan's leather jacket and could smell its mustiness and that homely smell of old leather. Somehow it was comforting. I didn't know why I was scared that night. I mean really, what was there to be so worried about? I wasn't alone. Rayan was with me. So what was it about this place that made my heart clench with panic? What was I so worried about? That some spirit or ghost might come and eat me up? Come on! Some of them maybe vegetarians, herbivores even! Shit what was I saying? There are no such things as ghosts right? At least that was what I was thinking at that moment. Still this feeling of dread combined with the dizziness and the nausea made me wish that I was never born. So I shouted at Rayan to go faster. I just wanted to get home and curl up in my bed and drink a lot of coffee in the morning. Rayan asked if I was alright, but I just commanded him to go even faster. Rayan nodded and picked up the speed. Don't you just love guys who follow orders? So anyway we'd almost reached the end of the bridge when I heard the engine sputter and saw the smoke coming out of the back of the bike and before I knew what was happening we were down on the ground. The bike skidded across the road, the sound of metal scraping against cement was deafening. I heard Rayan let out a cry and saw him get hurled off the bike and hit the pavement with a loud thud. My elbow hit the road first and then my head followed suit. Man, that effing hurt! I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of its sockets. The pain was unbearable, I could taste blood in my mouth and I could feel a loose tooth by the tip of my tongue. And I'd just had my root canal last week! My vision was swimming and when it finally came to rest I saw the bike on its sides a few meters away from me, with its head light flickering and next to it was the still figure of Rayan. My heart began beating even faster and my mind began racing. Oh god! Please don't let him be dead, please don't let him be dead! We haven't even had our first kiss yet! I tried to move closer to him but a sharp pain on my side made me stop. I sucked in my breath and tried to suppress the pain. Tried to work some mental mojo you know, but didn't work. It still hurt like hell. I hoped I hadn't broken my hand or any bone inside me for that matter. I tried to call out to Rayan but all that came out was a gurgle and a moan. Let me tell you, it was really really frustrating. And that's when I realized that we were not alone. You know the feeling you get sometimes? Like somebody is watching you and when you look around there's nobody there? Yeah, that was exactly what I was feeling. Then I sensed something else. Total silence. No dogs barking, no crickets making whatever noise they make, I couldn't even hear the river flowing! I mean I was having a serious creep out moment here! Then I heard the growl. At first I'd thought I'd imagined it, I looked around but there was nothing there. I kept very still and waited for any other sound. I heard nothing for almost a minute and just as I was about to let out a sigh of relief I heard it again. An angry growl followed by a hiss. The sound sent chills down my spine. It was horrible, like nothing I'd heard before. Not a dog, not a wolf, I mean c'mon a wolf in the city? It was different. I don't know how I knew this but it didn't sound like anything of this world. Call me crazy. But that's what it sounded like. All of a sudden my mind began filling with these images of werewolves and every other possible creepy creatures of all the horror movies I'd ever seen. No, Twilight does not fall in that category. Those werewolves are cute. I mean Jacob anyone? No the things I was seeing in my mind were more of the Underworld type you know, big, scary, rabid, pluck your head right off the shoulder type and that creature from Alien, you know with the multiple mouth and the dripping saliva? I scanned my surroundings again but all I saw was darkness. But the growling was still coming from somewhere near me, but from different directions each time. My heart had gone into overdrive and I was afraid it might just explode inside me. My body felt like it was being pumped with ice in each and every corner. People always said that at the moment you're about to die your whole life flashes in front of you, but that wasn't what happened to me. All I could think about was that I was probably going to be chow for some whacko creature out there and that I was going to miss the season finale of Gossip Girl. Seriously, that was what I was thinking during what was probably the last moments of my life! One moment I was worried about rabid werewolves and the next I was wondering what the Blair bitch was going to do next! Does that make me a little cuckoo? Wait, don't answer that. So, moving forward with the tale. I was waiting for my inevitable gory death with my eyes closed and hands clenched, when the terrifying, blood curdling growling stopped. Everything went pin drop silent. I opened my left eye slowly, fearing to see red burning eyes and long pointed teeth with saliva dripping from it right in front of me. But there was nothing. I did a quick scan around me just to make sure the thing, whatever it was, was not lurking around somewhere to nab the poor, innocent, naïve victim, which of course would be yours truly. Once I was sure there was nothing out there I let out a sigh of relief and looked at the motionless figure in front of me. Rayan did not look good. We seriously needed help. I refused to acknowledge the fact that he might be dead. A dead 'almost' boyfriend was so not what I needed right now. I mean could you imagine what life was gonna be like with something like that in your past? The school shrink would have a field day with me! That was assuming I left this place alive. I tried moving towards him again and this time it was a little easier. I took in another deep breath and dragged myself across the road slowly and painfully. Thank god I was wearing jeans! As I was about to reach Rayan my jeans started vibrating and Taylor swift started crooning, love story. My cell phone! Shit! How could I have been so stupid? I mean that should have been my first move. Fall down from bike; get hurt like hell, check for cell phone, and call for help! Stupid, stupid, stupid! I quickly reached for my phone, and saw that it was dad calling. Thank god for the overprotective nature of parents! But before I could press the answer key, it was jerked off my hand and something grabbed my other hand hard, really really hard. I cried out, more due to surprise than pain, but the latter soon overcame the former. It felt as if my wrist was being clamped by a wrench. It was unbearable. I cried out even louder with pain and tried to call out for help but my voice still hadn't come back. I could still hear my phone ringing somewhere near me but I couldn't see where it was. The growling had come back and now it was sounding right next to my ear! I didn't dare look up for fear of what I might see. Tears began forming in my eyes and I was sure I was going to pass out soon. I hoped I would pass out soon. This was just too much; I couldn't take it any longer. Even death seemed better than this. I felt the thing leaning onto me and it felt like a large boulder had been placed on my chest. My breath started coming out in gasps and my chest felt like it was ready to collapse. Something warm and wet touched my neck and I realized that it was a freaking tongue! Then I felt like a pin was being pushed against my skin, actually make that two pins. I couldn't believe what was happening. I tried again to break free from its grip but it was no use. The thing was like a mountain and as hard as stone. What the hell was it? Weren't werewolves supposed to be furry and smelly? This thing felt smooth and cold and I could feel cloth underneath my fingers. Which meant it was wearing clothes. What the hell? Were werewolves getting fashion conscious now? I felt the pins breaking my skin and felt the blood pouring out. Damn it, that hurt! It felt like the thing was sucking on my neck, the thought that something was sucking blood out of my body made me want to hurl right then and there. And all of a sudden I began feeling extremely weak and tired. The pain began fading away and I felt extremely warm and relaxed and a feeling of extreme happiness swept over me. I felt like I was in my own bed and under my covers. I knew everything was going to be alright. All I had to do was go to sleep and this would all be over in the morning. Yes, I just had to fall asleep. I felt myself being surrounded by darkness and the urge to sleep was too overpowering. Somewhere in my a head a voice was telling me that that was bad idea, but c'mon? Who listens to the voices in their heads? I let the heaviness take over me and invited the darkness to take over. Just as I was letting myself succumb to the obscurity the pain came back rushing in and I felt like I was being sucked out of a wormhole and back to reality. And let me tell you, reality sucked! I cried out again in agony. It felt like my hand was on fire and my neck felt like it was wrapped with barb wire. I felt the thing being lifted off of me and I heard something crash into the bike. Relief flooded through me as the weight of that thing was no longer on top of me. I took in deep breaths and I felt the pain in my chest lessen a little. But my hand and neck still hurt like hell. My mind shifted its attention from the torturous pain to thinking, what the hell had just happened? I still had my eyes closed and was still scared shitless to open them, but I couldn't just sit there like that! So I opened my eyes slowly and unwillingly, creepy images of before again started dancing around in my mind. But what I saw was way scarier than what I'd been playing in my mind. There were three figures near the bike; one was the still figure of Rayan lying on the ground. The other two looked human except for the horrific growls coming from each of them. One was leaning onto the other holding it steady as the other struggled to get free and it looked like...like it was biting into its neck and then I saw it rip the other's neck out, just like that. I let out a scream, I couldn't help it. What I was seeing just could not be possible! The thing jerked its head around and I saw the eyes, red like burning fire, shining through the night, there were two pointed teeth extending from either side of its mouth. Or should I say fangs? But as soon as he...it saw me the brightness of its eyes seemed to dim a little and the fangs seemed like they were being drawn inwards back into its mouth. It got up and walked towards me slowly. This was it. This was the end for me. I was going to end up like that other thing, my throat ripped out and my blood drawn out of my body. God! I didn't want to die. At least not like this! I watched it coming towards me and I finally got a good look at its face. And as soon as I saw it, I sucked in my breath. It was pale, extremely pale but not in a ghostly zombie like way. It looked like it hadn't been in the sun for a long time and like it just needed a good nights sleep. It looked like its face was carved from stone by a sculptor who knew what he was doing. Perfect cheekbones, perfect lips, perfect nose, perfect everything. The fangs had now disappeared and the eyes looked black, extremely black. I couldn't believe I was thinking this at that time but yes, I thought it was extremely good looking. I was getting a crush on my would be killer! Go figure. The weird thing was there was no blood on its face, considering the fact that it had just ripped out a throat in an R rated sort of way, so wasn't its face supposed to look like...well...like it had just ripped a throat out in an R rated sort of way? But there wasn't even a speck of blood, its face was absolutely spotless and I mean that literally.
It stopped about a feet from me. I closed my eyes again and fear started pumping through my system madly. No matter how cute it was, this thing was going to be the cause of my demise, so that did reduce its points in my books. I waited for my inevitable and painful death to come. Tears began falling freely from my eyes. I didn't want to go out like that, helpless and scared but I couldn't help it. My body started shaking and the sobs became louder. I heard the thing come closer to me and with each step my heart thumped faster. I felt the thing stop right in front of me and there was a shuffling sound. I felt it touch my shoulder and the brief touch of its fingers on my bare skin sent chills down my body. Its fingers were as cold as ice! Then I felt something being wrapped around me and I instantly began feeling warmer. I slowly fingered what was wrapped around me. It felt like a woolen coat. What the hell? Now I felt both its hands on my shoulders. I felt its breath on my face. It smelled sweet and fresh, like our flower garden. I don't know why I did it, but I opened my eyes and came face to face with its eyes, its unnaturally black eyes.
"It's over, you're safe now, everything is going to be okay," it said. Its voice was silky and soft, like a mother's caress, not that I'm saying I thought of him as a mother. There was just something in it that made me feel safe and calm. Something in it that made me believe it. Made me feel like I was truly safe and that it was actually over. The fear I had just a moment ago that it was probably going to kill me seemed to disappear from my mind. I just felt at peace and relaxed.
That was when I felt the darkness creep over me again, but this time there were no warning voices crying inside of me. So I let it take me over as I closed my eyes and the darkness slowly enveloped me.
