Dream [h.s.]

eighteen

There's something wrong about the house. Harry knows it already and he's not even to her street yet. Katerina's smart, but he made sure to get rid of anything she could use to shield herself from the sun while she was still partially dead. Katerina can't possibly have gotten out already unless...

Brief memories of their fight flood his eyes and immediately he starts running back to the house in a blur of motion that only a few neighborhood kids catch as they're finishing up a game of basketball.

Harry breaks the front door off its hinges and sends the wood flying into the living room wall. The curtains are all open and she's sending him a message. She's going to do what she wants and she doesn't care.

During their fight, she distracted him with her thoughts long enough to take the ring from his pocket without his notice.

He's pissed at himself for slipping up like that, but it's too late to do anything now. She's already gone and so is the moment he slipped up. Katerina could be anywhere by now. Only five minutes have passes since he left, but she knows she can move faster and that he'll be looking.

Warm rays of sunlight are gradually fading away into soft and silvery moonlight. The air has started to cool and the city is steadily falling into a rush of activity as the morning workers head in for the night and the evening workers ready themselves for a long night.

There are too many people out.

If he doesn't find her soon, there's going to be a massacre and it will be his fault because he wasn't careful enough after she turned.

Laughter and meaningless conversations fill his ears. Too many people are talking and there is too much noise. Finding Katerina is going to be a challenge he wasn't anticipating until much later.

A couple down the street is fighting and blocking nearly all other noise from his highly sensitive ears. Harry groans and flies out of the house in a panic. In his haste to get out, he runs into the mailbox and smashes it. The small metal box is a crumpled mess on the ground and splinters from the wood that held it up are scattered in his clothes and under his skin.

Someone screams. Harry immediately changes direction and pushes his legs to their maximum speed. Who knows how many people she's already killed and he hopes he can at least save this one.

Houses fade away in colorful blurs and trees that have withstood the strain of time and manmade devices take their place. More chatter and laughter fills his ears, blending with the sounds of cars and machinery as the city refuses to rest its head on the soft light of the moon for a night.

Now that he's made it to the forest, the farther he goes, the more natural sounds become prevalent. Birds are chirping everywhere, twigs snap with the slightest breeze, water gurgles and bubbles as if it's taking it's dying breath, and teenagers share excited conversation as they pass around illegal substances and alcohol they shouldn't be drinking.

Women's voices catch his attention and he pauses his sprint towards an unknown destination. He's still too far away to really make a distinction between vocal tones, but he strains his ears to listen anyway.

"I've got something you haven't tried before."

"Really? And what would that be?"

"Come with me and I'll show you. I keep a stash hidden over there."

"This better be good."

"Trust me, it will be."

Similarities with Katerina's voice pinch at his conscious and he still isn't close enough to be sure that it's her. She's changed tremendously and even her speech patterns have adjusted to the new personality.