Immortal

Chapter One

The alleyway was almost pitch black, rubbish just thrown about, bags ripped open with the ripe smell of urine persisting throughout. The bins were perfect to hide in, but he wasn't hiding, he was running, yelling and begging for help.

The fool had given up begging me for mercy, he knew I wasn't about to offer it. He thought I was just there to kill him, fool.

The thrill of the kill was nothing compared to the hunt, the kill was a means to an end, to satisfy my hungry lust for blood, the primal urge to kill but the hunt? That was exciting, for once I felt it, the rush as I chased my prey. The poor guy, he looked so helpless, young, probably in his twenties, a little shorter than me, in a smart pair jeans and stained white top.

He saw me. I wanted him to see me.

He ran and ran, panting as he panicked, running into a blocked off alleyway. The idiot, he was right where I wanted him. I got the chance to pounce but... I didn't take it. There was more thrill in vanishing before his eyes, jumping up onto the roof, silent.

He couldn't hear me, he was too terrified to see me. Perfect.

I jumped down, he screamed as I clamped around his neck with my teeth.

He died screaming and I fed, happily.

I sat up, gasping for air as I looked around before my eyes latched onto Nick, onto his covered neck. I gently lifted his hair up, to look underneath it. A brief sigh of relief when I realised... there was nothing. He grabbed my hand, I struggled to break his grip as he sat up and turned the light on.

"Jack, that's the third time this month"

"I'm sorry" I whispered, almost tearful.

Nick held my hand as he looked me dead in the eye. "Stop apologising and just tell me, I need to know"

"It's getting worse... I don't know what or why... I don't know what's causing it, I just... I feel it... Nick, I feel them"

"What?"

"In my dreams, I attack someone, and I can feel their fear, their pain... I can hear them begging for their lives and I know their reactions, I can sense it all, Nick, this isn't just some bad dream, this is... something worse" I admitted.

"A vision?"

"That's what I thought but... I can't seem to find anything matching. Whoever this vampire is, they're good... they're good at covering their tracks, anyway"

He hugged me as I shivered. It had been four months since I killed him, Leo, since then we'd ended the lives of another vampire, on the trail of another but this one was odd, something was off. Matt didn't mention the visions and I didn't ask him about it and Lena, being human, had the luxury of not sharing the visions. Whoever it was, they enjoyed the hunt, they enjoyed hunting their prey. The poor guy never stood a chance against me... him. It felt like me, like I'd done it, killed him, fed from him.

"Do you want me to get the papers? I'll see if I can find anything" Nick offered.

I nodded but I couldn't speak, it was like I was lost in my own head, still confused about everything, everything I felt... everything I wanted to do. The hunger... it was intense, only intensified by the need to hunt.

I got up and threw some clothes on as Nick threw his own on. Moving cities was easy enough for us two but for Matt and Lena? It seemed harder. We had to be careful, Matt was unfortunately a little daylight sensitive, at least his eyes were, sunglasses in spring wasn't always a good look for him.

I hated having to sleep but blood bag runs weren't always an option, buying them was expensive and stealing them was dangerous. As a part vampire, I couldn't hypnotise, so forcing policemen to forget me was not an option, besides, I didn't want them to notice that something was wrong with me. The fact that sometimes I forget to pretend to breathe wasn't helpful at all, in fact, it could be dangerous.

Matt looked outside, his eyes protected by the glass. "Looks like it's another sunny day, kill me now"

"Dramatics don't suit" I commented.

"And you have bags under your eyes, large enough to stuff with tea and dip into a hot mug. Is Nick keeping you up all night?"

"Lena's snoring" I commented, breaking out into a smile.

We both laughed hysterically but Lena's bed was usually empty, she spent her nights at Jared's rather than our four-bedroomed house, rented because we found employment. Without knowing where the vampires were, we had to be careful, I worked with Nick, bar staff, it was what I was good at, Matt and Lena? Lena met Jared at work, working in KFC and Matt was a nightshift warehouse assistant.

"Are you going on a blood run soon?"

"I hate going" I admitted.

"I'm sorry"

"No, you're not" I joked.

Matt shrugged as he sat down at the breakfast table. "Do you want me to try this time?"

"No, I'll do it, I just don't like doing it"

"If you need a hand...?"

"No, thank you" I replied with a quick glance.

It wasn't easy alone, but I didn't want to run the risk of Matt getting caught too, especially if I was forced to fight my way out, run from police and hide until they gave up. It hadn't happened, yet, but I was aware it could, nothing was certain nor set in stone, it could go really well or really badly, depending on what happened next.

"Are you going tonight?" he asked as I pulled on a black hoodie. I nodded as I picked up a large bag. If I was going to get some, I'd get a lot and run with it, save me having to come back for it.