Light's Shadows - On Hold

Chapter 14 - Truce

Our feet padded against the filthy tarred pavement, matching the erratic beats of our terrified hearts.

We were frightened beyond belief. Every fibre in our bodies was thrumming in panic. Sheer, terrifying,  paralysing fear overwhelmed us till survival was the only thought on our minds.

I grasped my twin sister, Emma's hand in mines tightly and urged her to run faster.

"Come on Emma! You have to run faster! " I pleaded with her desperately, stealing a glance behind me.

Her warm brown eyes, identical to my own were wide and panicked. I hated seeing her so scared and helpless.

"Come on Emma." I whispered.

We knew our attempt at trying to get away was futile. But we did it anyway: we couldn't lose each other...

I woke up with a start, panicked and scared. I looked around not knowing where I was. As the last strings that connected me to the world of dreams severed and reality set in, I realized I was in my bedroom.

I laid back down on my bed trying to steady my breathing. My heart started beating normally again but my mind still lingered on my dream.

No. Not a dream. A memory.

It had been a long time since I had dreamed of Emma. My subconscious had pushed all thoughts and memories of her deep within my mind only to be retrieved forcefully when someone had brought her up. This time, I could thank my father for that. 

His cold words from two nights ago still cut through me like a steel sword.

"I won't have you kill my family the way you killed your sister. "

I rubbed my temples trying to sooth the pounding headache which I could feel coming on.

Popping a mild pain medication into my mouth, I walked to my en suite bathroom to get some water.

Walking back into my room I noticed the annoyingly bright digits of my digital clock which sat on my bedside. 04:25.

Everybody would be asleep.  Not that I was in the mood for human interaction.

I guess I should check on vampy.  Although I was curious I had been avoiding her these past two days. I had silently left her bottle for the day at the entrance of the panic room while she was asleep.

After our dealings the other night I had been a bit torn between my intrigue and my hesitation of giving into my curiosity. These conflicting emotions had kepy me away and I still wasn't sure about how to approach the matter at hand.

She was the enemy after all. A vampire. That's what I kept telling myself.  But a part of me acknowledged the smidgen of good that could possibly exist in her.

I opened the panic room and tried my best to silently leave her bottle there without waking her.

No such luck.

She rolled over and got up with a fright. I wasn't sure whether it was me or if she too was plagued by nightmares as I've been.

She looked scared and frantic as she looked around the room. Her eyes settling on me, she seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

I stepped forward wanting to confort her but I stopped myself. No matter how desolate and scared she looked, she was a vampire and I could never let myself forget that.

Instead, I decided to at least try to treat her more civilly than I had done before. And that started with introducing myself.

I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"Hey, I'm James." I said feeling uneasy standing in the middle of the room.

Her green eyes looked shocked at first and then speculative. In the end she seemed to have decided to accept my pathetic attempt of a peace offering.

"Arianna. " she said softly.