Savior(GirlxGirl)

Chapter Four

(Parker's POV)

"If vampires really exist, does that mean other mythical beings exist too?" Raine asked. This was the first thing she'd said since we left the house. I just figured she was just upset about the dead humans, but maybe she had really been lost in thought.

"What kind of mythical beings?" I asked, glancing in Raine's direction.

She shrugged, "Like werewolves, angels, demons, mermaids. You know, every creature from any fictional book ever written." Her eyes were glued to me, obviously very interested in my answer.

"Of course some of them exist, or did exist anyways. I'm not sure how this virus is affecting other species." We were silent for a moment, only the sound of gravel crunching beneath our feet was present. "I'm sure other species are immune to it too, that is if I'm actually immune to whatever this is. My assumption that humans are the only ones who can be infected is probably wrong."

I glanced around our surroundings, nothing but open fields for miles in every direction. We decided that leaving heavily populated areas was for the best. Possibly our best bet for survival. Raine had argued that her parents would never find us if we left the city, but I assured her that they were smart enough to know that a big population of people means big trouble when dealing with an outbreak.

"Mermaids in real life aren't like the mermaids you see in movies by the way."I said, deciding it was probably best to avoid talking about the virus until it was absolutely necessary.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they don't befriend sea creatures and fall in love with sailors." I glanced her way, hoping to catch even a glimpse of a smile.

Raine rolled her eyes, but I succeeded. "You have to give me more details." She said smiling.

"To the untrained eye, the eyes of a teenage girl perhaps. A mermaid would look just like any other human. There were a few at your school actually, they made up most of the swim team. To those who have trained sight, like me. Mermaids are a human and fish hybrid. They fall on the light side of the magical spectrum. They live among humans peacefully."

"The light side is the good side right?"

I nodded. "Put into simple terms yes. The dark side would be the bad side. Vampires fall under the dark side of the magical spectrum because we have to feed off of the human race to stay alive." I looked back to Raine to see her reaction.

Raine stopped walking and turned to me, her eyebrows crinkling in thought."But that's not fair. How can your race be categorized as bad just for doing something that they have to do in order to stay alive?"She crossed her arms over her chest. "I think you need to find a better judge of good and bad."

"How can you categorize my race based solely on my actions? The day before yesterday you didn't even know we were real. You thought we were just creatures of myth, only real in fictional books and movies. " I replied.

Every minute or so I did a quick survey of our surroundings to ensure our safety. Detecting the dead was a much greater task than detecting the living. The living have heartbeats, something I've hunted since I could walk on my own. The dead have no heartbeat, do not smell rotten as of yet, but they do emit strange gurgling and growling sounds.

"You saved my life Parker. Now maybe you just saved me so you could eat me later, but you saved me. I mean how many other vampires would risk being bitten to save a human?" Raine questioned, her tone firm.

I smiled, amused by the seriousness of her tone. "I can't actually think of any off the top of my head."

"Are the others of your kind really so heartless?" Her brows furrowed together. "None of them would step in?" 

I could tell that it was hard for her to believe that a species so much like her own could be so indifferent to their suffering. I swallowed hard, keeping my eyes off her. "My kind would only step in to preserve their food supply. The majority anyway. Some would ignore the situation all together. The minority, myself included, would intervene out of the goodness of our cold, dead hearts."

"Well, it's a good thing you were there and not one of the majority."  

"Indeed." I took another quick survey of our surroundings. "So what other mythical creatures do you have questions about?"

"How about I name one and you tell me if they're light or dark?"

I was momentarily mesmerized by the deep swirls of brown that colored her pupils. Her eyes were a brilliant hazel. When she was happy they were warm, lively, and sparkled with mirth. When she was downcast they seemed to grow dim and dark. The smooth green on the edge contrasted beautifully with the amber color in the middle.

"Parker?" 

"Sure. Name a few for me." 

Raine smiled. "Werewolves."

"Light." 

"Unicorns."

"Don't exist." 

"W-what."  The look of sadness on her face made me regret ever agreeing to this game.