Lost in the Shadows

Chapter 9

'Where you going, Star?'

'I need a walk.' David stood up as Star shifted the comfort of her brother's arm from her shoulders. The small group had finished the beer in the cooler and a few other bottles Marko found in the old camper, and they had been sat around the glowing embers of the fire laughing and joking, as if they hadn't slaughtered two people only an hour or so ago.

'I'll come with you,' Dwayne said, kicking a heap of sand over Paul, who had pulled a face and pressed his thumb against his forehead.

'No,' David said. 'I'll take her.'

Star faltered but headed down to the beach. The cool evening air caught her hair, lifting it from the back of her neck and freshening her fire-warmed skin, making her tilt her head up towards the silver moon. The fine sand between her bare toes still held the heat of the day that was now behind them, though she could feel the change in temperature as she drew nearer the water's edge.

'Changing your mind, Star?' David asked, watching her from a little distance as she lifted the hem of her dress and let the tepid water lap at her feet. Her many silver bangles clinked, glinting with moonlight as she turned to David and shook her head.

'No.' He edged closer, hands in his pockets and collar turned up though he took care to keep his black boots out of the way of the playful water that sucked and pulled gently at Star's feet.

'We're dangerous. Monstrous, even.'

'No,' she said quietly, her tone suggesting to David that she was trying to convince herself. 'You aren't dangerous, not to everyone. Just to people who deserve it.' David snorted with something like derision.

'You think people deserve to have their throats ripped out? To die slowly whilst their heart pounds with agonising fear in their chests? As every person they've ever met, every mistake they've ever made and wish they've ever had flickers across their mind with longing and regret?' He flung a smooth, round pebble into the ocean that Star hadn't even seen him pick up. It skipped lightly across the waves, bouncing seven times before sinking in a circle of ripples that broke the calm surface of the water. Star swallowed.

'Maybe some do.' She shrugged and began to walk, heading away from the little camp. 'You said you only feed from the bad ones. That makes me feel a little better.'

'How much badness can one ingest before one becomes bad too, I often wonder?' David said lowly, as he followed Star along the shoreline. She fiddled with her collection of bangles, twisting a cheap silver ring on her finger as she shot David an uncertain look. 'It hasn't always been like that. We do have slip ups, occasionally. Some more than others. Marko more than most, he's still young.' Star caught an almost affectionate smile on his lips, but it was quickly replaced by that oddly emotionless gaze that was grey in the darkness. 'It's hard to keep control once you start feeding. It's like an animal instinct, to drink and drink because you never know when the next meal is coming. But I keep the boys in line. I'll keep you in line too, when you belong to me. You will not feed without my permission, we cannot risk drawing attention to ourselves. My colony has lived in Santa Carla for over eighty years and I don't plan on moving us out any time soon.'

Star nodded, stealing a glance at him from time to time as he kept in step with her. His short blonde hair shone platinum in the silver light, his strong, beautiful face enchanting. David laughed softly, knowing as he looked at her, that it was too late. Star was captivated by his very presence. This was often a useful side effect of his eternal youth, but it was presently irritating. He had wanted this to be an informed decision that Star had come to herself, having heard the truth of immortality. After over a century on this hate-filled, spiteful and corrupt world, David had grown jaded and the chance of living forever had lost its appeal that it had originally held for his nineteen year old self, back when he'd been David Williams – ring leader of one of the most fearsome bare-knuckled gangs in Santa Carla. He hadn't been given the whole picture before he was turned, and for that he would forever curse his maker.