Silly Little Games

Chapter Thirty One

“I’m going to kill you” he whispered in my ear and I scrunched up my eyes. The words shook through me and picked at my spine. I could feel him run his fangs down my neck and stop at the base, letting me feel the blood trickle from the small and not deep cut he had made. The sticky wet feel of the blood was the only thing I could focus on and I was frozen to the spot with fear.

I could only wish for it to be over quickly.

But the ending that I expected never came. Instead, I heard Drella pull Tommie away and they argued for a few minutes, but I was still stuck where I was. I dabbed the blood from my neck with the end of my sleeve. The pain ruptured through my veins and I fell to the floor as my knees buckled from the stabbing sensation that ran through my system.

I soon realised that I wasn’t going to leave this circle alive, and not even a miracle would save me. I looked up at the brightest remaining star in the sky and wished for some sort of salvation. Drella punched Tommie and walked towards me, pulling me up from the ground by my hair until I was standing.

“You’ve been avoiding us. Well done on surviving this long” she said from behind a fake smile. “But I have to admit you pushed the limit when you slept with Elliot” she growled, pulling at my hair again with a large tug, even though I had no idea as to what she was talking about. Yes, me and Elliot may have kissed but that was it. I passed out after that clutching a bottle of alcohol. You could still vaguely smell it on my clothes.

“We kissed, nothing more” I replied, cringing from the pain my scalp was being put through. She started to rip at my roots and I tried to pull her hand away; my efforts were only in vain though and she would only let go when she was ready to. I felt her grip tighten and I could hear the blood pump through my ears.

Snow smirked and watched as she tormented me and beat me up until I couldn’t move. I held my nose as it cracked and sobbed, looking up at her. Nobody helped me; in fact, they helped her. They broke my jaw and blood flowed from my mouth as I spat it out, screaming in sobs of pain with every spit. The wolves had woken from my screams and they ran towards us; the vampires held me down as I struggled.

The wolves bit at me and ripped my clothes, but they didn’t tear the flesh from my bones like they did with their other prey. They marked me and clawed at my flesh and let me bleed, looking up at the vampires for a nod or smile of approval. They sat like dogs and wagged their tails as Snow stroked them. One even jumped up at him and licked his face.

I thought of my tenth birthday, and how happy I was. When Aunt Liddie made me a rainbow cake and Donnie bought me the necklace I had just thrown away. When Brian kissed me on the cheek and then threw cake in my face (the memory was sweeter and nicer than it sounds) but I managed to eat five slices. The day that I got the biggest teddy and the whole slayer house threw me a party. The memory took away from the wolves pulling at my clothes.

“Looks like Elliot isn’t even here to save you, he’s more interested in his own safety than yours” Drella laughed, looking down at me. “I bet the people you’ve lost are glad they’re not here to hear you whine all the time” she sneered down at me as if I was lower than her because I was ‘a filthy human’. I opened my mouth to answer but one of the wolves growled as she clicked and clawed the side of my mouth.

I could feel my lip tear and blood gush from it, filling my mouth with its taste. I gagged but Snow forced my mouth shut. It felt like he had kicked my teeth with all his force and tears flowed from the corners of my eyes. I looked for any sign of sympathy but instead his eyes just showed emptiness and sorrow, but behind that had a keen interest in seeing me dead. The whole group did.

Ridley pulled Snow away from me and I watched as they talked, and Snow looked at Ridley scared as I sat up. Ridley gripped Snow’s collar and pulled him up, shouting at him in a different language and baring his fangs. When an old vampire gets angry it is the scariest thing you have ever seen times by ten. Ridley was now the oldest vampire alive, and he was turned from human to this monster.

Drella was right. I hadn’t seen Elliot since what had happened that night. He didn’t care anymore, and I would have to get over that. I remembered the day when he turned up at the slayer house after running away from home and asking if he could stay; Donnie agreed because he could tell that Elliot was a good kid, even with those gaudy neon green glasses.

Then there was Trent. Even though we never used to talk to each other (because he was ‘too cool’ to talk to me) he was still a nice person. His smile could light up a room even after the most horrible of situations. Demie was like that as well, but she was always shy and introverted. She would spend most of her time alone and would make her diary. I understood why now, and she’d died married to the person she wanted to be with.

Then there was Brian. I remembered how much I’d cried when I found him on the doorstep like that and how I cradled him in his last moments. It made my heart throb just thinking about the time we spent together. How I had screamed when Donnie had dragged me away from him in his last moments and how I fell asleep by him as he let go of life for the last time.

When they say on your deathbed you life flashes before you, it’s true.

I tried to remember anything about my true family, but it was like the memories had disappeared or been wiped away. There was just empty space where I had tried to walk. The ground beneath my feet crumbled into nothing and the memories ended there. I was dragged back through them and I blinked and looked up at Damien who cut my skin with my stake.  “Your infernal mumbling is giving me a headache” he growled, looking into my eyes.

“Go jump into a pit of stakes then!” I yelled at him, my ribs aching as the screamed words managed to come out of my mouth. I scrunched up my eyes as the pain washed through me but opened them to see his reaction. It was worth it. He stood up with shock and looked at Snow in confusion. He dropped the stake, which cut through my skin and made me writhe with pain, and walked over to stand by his dear sister.

Snow called the three vampires over to where he was standing and whistled for the wolves to join them as they discussed my fate. They bounded over to him like dogs. They talked and they looked distracted enough for me to make my escape. I staggered up and held the various bites to stop them from bleeding. A wolf looked up and whimpered but Snow shrugged it off as lunar behaviour. I cringed on my wobbly legs and tried to stand up as straight as my back would allow.

I ran, well it started off as a stumble, towards the horizon and the rising sun. I managed to get a good start and before soon I was running at full speed away from the vampires and wolves, the pain out-weighed with the glimmer of hope that I could change how it ended. I smiled and turned, running into the forest; well running until I bumped into someone.

Elliot.

“Leila?” he asked, looking at me. His face was cut and he looked as bad as me. He pulled me into a tight hug, pressing down on some bruised and bitten parts of my arms – but not intentionally and apologised after. I nuzzled into him and relished the warmth that he gave off because he still had his coat. “You look like you’ve been mauled”

“I know, the wolves and vamps got me” I replied as he wrapped his arms around me. “Elliot, promise to save me next time?” I asked, looking up at him. He bit his lip in thought for a second and nodded.

“I promise” he said with a smile. Snow looked around and looked at Drella with worry on his face now. Drella realised that I’d gone and with a scream she ran after me. I ran off and crossed paths with her, struggling as she pinned me to the dusty ground. I tried to call for Elliot but Damien was holding him back and made him watch as the events played out. Drella sneered at me.

Then it hit me, the pain. She ripped into my neck with her fangs and fresh blood glugged down my neck and the side of my face. The venom in her fangs burned and I sobbed in pain. She bit through my windpipe and I choked, and everything went blurry. Elliot screamed and sobbed, trying to pull away and run to me. I shut my eyes.

Drella stood up and wiped her mouth. “Sayonara, bitch”