Marked For Life

Chapter 4

Samantha opened her eyes to a dark room she barely recognized. She looked around, and all the memories of the previous night came back. Samantha removed the blanket covering her body and left the bed in search of the door where she remembered her brother and the two other vampires had emerged from the previous night. She opened it quietly hoping no one would hear her as she left the room. As she exited the room and stood in the hallway she noticed the astonishing place. It was brighter than the bedroom; she could see clearly the large corridor that had stairs on each end. She walked towards one end of the corridor and began to descend the stairs that led to another hall with two large doors in the center. There was no way she could stay, even if Justin had brought her here, she didn't belong in the vampire's castle.

"Wow!" She whispered to herself as she looked at the paintings decorating the walls. Nothing about the palace seemed evil; on the contrary, it seemed quite exquisite.

She walked nervously towards the massive doors, fearing they might not allow her exit but to her surprise the doors opened easily and she stepped outside closing them behind her. Samantha took a deep breath as the morning breeze caressed her skin. The bright rays of the sun kept her a bit warm and gave her a perfect view of her surroundings. Now the place seemed fitted for a vampire king, she realized. There were many pine trees keeping the place private and from a distance she could see the large walls surrounding the entire palace. She remembered how the inside of the palace had looked like, what she imagined a king's home would look, but from the outside, it looked like a castle from a horror movie. If it had been night time she would have been terrified, even if she hadn't known who it belonged to. She saw a trail and followed it not knowing where it would lead; she had no choice but to trail the path.

"Thank goodness..." Samantha wanted to run to the gates, she had been contemplating the idea of returning to the palace when the path had seemed endless.

Now she was facing the closed gates that would take her to the visible road. Before she could figure out how to unlock them, they began to open automatically. She turned around to look behind her, but there was nothing, no one. She quickly ran out for fearing they might start closing. Samantha stopped running and began to walk calmly only when she felt far enough from the gates. She didn't have a clue where she was, but there was enough traffic to make her feel more comfortable in her circumstances. She was getting ready to flag a car down when she saw a gas station.

"Hi." She approached the girl at the register. "My car broke down, do you think you can call a cab for me?" Her mouth was dry.

"Sure." The girl agreed without hesitating.

"Is there a bathroom I can use?" She needed to freshen up and she needed water even if it was from the sink.

"In the back, you need the key." The girl reached below the register and handed her a small key with a piece of wood attached to it.

"Thanks."

Samantha took a look at herself in the grimy bathroom mirror and she felt atrocious; dark circles under her eyes, her hair a mess and she felt hungover. She splashed her face with water and ran her fingers through her hair, hoping it would suffice.

She rinsed her mouth before drinking some water from the sink, the taste had been awful but it had helped with her dry mouth. She went back to the register and handed the girl the keys.

"Thank you."

"Sure... hey the cab is right outside." The girl pointed to the door.

"Already?" The girl didn't respond and Samantha went outside towards the cab that waited by the curb.

Samantha sat comfortably on the back seat of the cab, thinking about Justin and their conversation. Yes, she knew he was different now, he was a vampire but he'd seemed so much like the brother she had admired and loved as a girl. It was hard for her still, but she felt like this was the right choice. Was she accepting him too quickly in her life? Could he be like the rest? Had he killed anyone? Were there exceptions to their kind? Why did he wait so long? Why show up now? Why show up at all? There were too many questions she couldn't answer on her own.