The Lost Girls (Chris Cerulli Vampire Story)

Chapter 21

The burn in my esophagus started to feel similar to having strep throat, but I knew that I had no way of fixing it at the moment. I decided to head to the fridge to grab a sip of milk, hoping that it would lessen the sting. I could hear Haylee put on some music as I open the jug and lifted it to my lips. The second the liquid hit my stomach an intense ache took over me and I had to immediately throw up in the sink. A steady heartbeat took over my hearing, but I slowly released that it wasn't my own. How was that even possible?

My feet seemed to have a mind of their own as I made my way out of the kitchen and towards the staircase, the music and pulsing sound only growing louder. As I ascended the steps I could make out the soft growls of Mimosa from the other side of the bathroom door. I found myself pressing my body against the door that separated Haylee and me, as my breath came out in ragged pants in my failing attempt to force myself to walk away. My hunger grew to a fever pitch and visions of horrible things filled my mind, thoughts of taring my little sister apart.

Despite the repulsion I experienced I gripped the doorknob and slowly opened the door. The second Mimosa and I made eye contact she bared her teeth at me in warning, before leaping onto my chest. The sheer force of her weight knocked me onto my back and made me yank the door shut in the process. I slid half way down the stairs before I had the chance to stick my hand up to defend myself. I tried to shove her off of me and her fangs sank into my palm. I screamed in pain as her jaw clamped down.

I attempted to wiggle out from under the dog, but that only made us fall down the rest of the staircase. Now that we were on level ground I found the strength to throw her off of me. Mimosa sprung back to her feet, snarling at me as she blocked my way to the second floor. I have never seen this animal behave this way in the seven years we've had her, so that meant she knew. She understood that there was something wrong with me and that she was going to do whatever she could to protect Haylee.

A moment later, the bathroom door flung open and Haylee demanded, "Ashlyn, what did you do to my dog?"

Her anger seemed to block out her logic as she thundered down the steps and hit the light switch. The sight of me and her pet having a standoff appeared to bring her sense of reason back.

"What happened?" She asked in a much softer voice as she peered down at my bleeding hand. "I swear to God if you've hurt her..."

I cut her off and spat, "I didn't hurt her. She bit me."

"What did she bite you? What did you do?" She demanded as Mimosa moved to stand between us.

I shakily got to my feet, dreading that I was even going to have to admit what I had almost done. "She was protecting you."

She gaped at me in horror and the shame that came over me was soul crushing. My voice came out weak when I told her, "I'm so sorry."

Her eyes became glassy looking as tears filled them and her voice shook as she questioned, "Were you going to try to kill me?"

I hung my head as I raked my uninjured hand through my hair murmuring, "I don't know what I was doing. It was like I wasn't even in control of myself in that moment"

"Like an animal?" She suggested with an edge to her voice.

I gave a small nod and before she could say anything in response, I dashed out of the house. 

I glared up at the thin crescent moon, as my mind reeled over what had nearly occurred. I was truly becoming a monster and this was starting to become something that I can't manage on my own anymore. I needed to find a way to turn back before I actually ended up hurting someone, so I decided that I wasn't going to wait anymore. My sanity must be choosing to take a backseat, because the only person that was coming to mind was Danielle. 

No matter how unprepared I felt, I wasn't alright with living with the knowledge that I had almost hurt one of the most important people in my life because of a bad decision I had made. I went to the gardening shed and sought out one of the wooden stakes my grandma had been using to mark the placements of the fence she had been putting up. Talk about convenient. I slipped the stake into my jacket, securing into the waist of my jeans. 

I did my best to ignore the rough martial that was now slightly rubbing against my skin as I made my way over to my bike. I noticed Haylee watching me from the kitchen window and I moved my leather jacket to the side to show her my weapon. 

Her eyes widened significantly and she retched the window open to call out, "What are you going to do with that?"

I moved my clothing back into place and shouted, "Doing something that I should have done awhile ago."

I swiftly started up my bike and sped off into the darkness, adrenaline pumping through my veins. Even though I was scared and unsure, I knew that this was probably the only choice I had. I was going to have to be one to kill the head vampire or at least die trying. I refused become like Danielle. I never even wanted to in the first place, but now this is the only way I can take it back. 

In the end, I knew that someone was going to have to pay with their life.