Alive

Chapter 13

A few days had passed since my spat with Scarlet. Mel had pointed me to a small rogue county of vampires who were rejected the life of tribes or clans. Most of them were crazy, or cannibal. Others were just plain stupid. I tried to escape them countless times, but was always caught by one of the youngest group members. One time I had tried to escape a mother to three vampire children, who looked to be starving. Normally that wouldn't stop me from trying to escape, but the thought of starving children and a mother who couldn't hunt made my heart lurch, so I decided to stay with the family.

The vampire family made me feel at home in return for my kindness and hunting ability. Strangely I liked it there, and felt as if I fit in there, but I always continued to wonder if Scarlet had forgiven me. And I wondered if maybe, perhaps Crystal missed me as much as I missed her.

These thoughts continued to creep in my mind every day, and every day I still hunted for the lonely family of four who had given me shelter. More days had past and I had almost begun to lose hope in ever rejoining Scarlet and the tribe of friends I once knew. One day I finally had given up, and went out during sunset to see if I could find any late day game to hunt, when a small but muscular figure caught my eye. It was Chris, the young boy from Scarlet's camp that I had wished to train, and he was armed with a sludge hammer, ready to strike. He must've been on a search party because his brown gaze was bright and focused, and his expression was determined. I walked up to him calmly and his eyes quickly shown fear.

"W-what are you doing here? This is Scarlet's land!" Chris stuttered slightly, his voice quiet but firm to my ear.

"I was only banned from camp." I say in an expressionless tone. "And this beach belongs to the tribeless." I finish, crossing my arms in a forceful manner, standing my ground.

"I can still kill you, ya know." Chris said, his gaze hardening. But his eyes shown that he was lying. Something deep down was wrong, and that was why he was so nervous. I was determined to find out what that thing was.

"You couldn't kill me even if you tried, Chris. What's going on?" I asked, my point being made clear almost as soon as the words slipped out of my mouth. Chris stopped for a moment, almost paused in time as he stood, staring at my deathly pale face. I snapped my fingers close to his eyes and soon he snapped out of his odd thoughtful trance.

"Scarlet's ruined." Chris admitted. "Crystal sent me to get you. She says you're the only one who can get her back to normal."

"Why should I come back? After you agreed to my death." I retorted. My tone now cold and stern.

"I was caught up in the moment." Chris said. "And Scarlet is a wreck! Crystal needs you there, now." Chris added and I felt my heart lurch again. Would I really leave my best friends for some crazy strangers? Or was Chris leading me to a trap? I didn't know what to believe, so I nodded in agreement.

Chris lead me to Scarlet's camp, the entrance was left without guards, and the camp seemed to be trashed. Chris wasn't lying, Scarlet was either having a huge mental break down, or she forfeited leadership and gave it to Sara. Either way was bad, but I was mostly worried about Sara taking Scarlet's place.

"She's in her sleeping quarters." Chris said, almost expressionless as we entered. "She never leaves."

I would nod to Chris as a sign that I understood, making my way over to Scarlet's sleeping quarters. There Crystal was sitting outside, hugging her knees. When she looked up to see me her eyes quickly brightened and a smile grew on her face.

"Arrow. You came back!" She said excitedly, standing quickly, and wrapping me in a hug. I swear that if my heart was beating it would be pounding. She must've really missed me.