Thirst of the Insane

Chapter 5

Ameera's eyes popped open as the sun went down. The smell of humans immediately filled her senses and she almost forgot what she was doing until a tug on her arm brought her to a halt. She blinked down at the chain on her wrist and plopped back down on the cot. She groaned and grabbed her throat as she swallowed hard. She allowed herself to lean back into the wall and let her head rest there as she tried to gain control of her hunger once more. The sleep had helped but she could still feel it and knew that after tonight, she wouldn't be able to control herself.

The servants brought their breakfast, and once again Ameera turned away from the food. She did find herself staring at the woman's neck and had to shake her head to get her thoughts straight. She knew she was going downhill fast when she found that she couldn't concentrate on anything at that time. It wasn't often she got this bad, but it wasn't helping that someone was drinking from her daily.

She rubbed at her throat softly trying to ease the burning sensation that filled it. She knew it wouldn't do any good, but she didn't mind lying to herself if it helped her get through the rest of the night. Her senses found someone closer to her than anyone had dared to go since the first day they found out what she was and she opened her eyes to see who had gotten a little braver.

Ameera was surprised to see Diana standing there watching her. She stayed quiet trying to figure out why the other girl was suddenly so close to her. She had stayed at the far end of the cell this entire time. Not coming any closer than she had to.

"I figured it out," Diana said taking a deep breath and looking Ameera directly in the eyes. Ameera watched her uncertainly.

"What have you figured out?" Ameera asked quietly, patiently.

Diana went to take a step towards her, but stopped when Ameera shook her head. A hurt look appeared on the other girl's face and again Ameera shook her head at the misunderstanding.

"I don't think I can control myself right now, and I don't want to hurt you," Ameera explained, her throat constricting slightly at the smell of the other girl.

Diana's eyes lit up with understanding and she nodded. The hurt left her eyes and determination filled them up once more. "I've figured out that you are still you. You may have a different name than what I thought before and a different species but you are still the Kristy that I've been knowing for the last few years. You don't act any different. Things have settled into place and some of the things at school now make sense," Diana said, looking down at her feet suddenly. "All this time I've just been trying to figure out everything. Trying to understand what you and that guy were saying and I realized that I couldn't really understand. Not fully. You are different from us, but you haven't changed...I'm probably not even making much sense."

"You're making more sense than you think. I never did try to act like someone else. My name had to be changed to keep everyone at school safe, not just myself," Ameera said. Even her sharp comments were being seen. So, Diana could see that it wasn't just Prissy that she could be so catty to. Only thing was Prissy couldn't do anything to her for her comments and Diana was realizing that the ones she was sharp with would hurt her.

"And your brothers...they always looked like they were looking for threats. I always assumed it was because of your modeling job, but they were looking for your breed. Ones that would attack you, like this guy," Diana said as she thought about the day before they left, when they were watching their surroundings so critically.

Ameera nodded, "They were watching for all. My breed that would want to attack me, or kidnap me, you humans...for various reasons, and for a Reg. There are a few who know about our breed, not many but a few and quite a lot of those few want our power. You humans...well I'm sure our teachers know how they can be more of a monster than any other creature out there. I'm powerful enough to win in a one on one, even a two on one, but three or more and it gets rather difficult. My brothers have had to save me from a few of those situations. Upir who live on their own are solitary people, only the ones that stay in our homeland are ones who like to be around others of our kind. They might be harder to kill but I can still handle one and most of them don't want to kill me, they just want my blood. Regs are also solitary creatures for the most part, though we have found some places that are like a haven for them. Most don't like being around others and they prefer to hunt alone unless they are a newborn."