Noctura

sixteen

jinwoo

MY TEETH almost sink into the girl's chest.

Almost.

Minho rips me off of her, throwing me onto the floor.

Then the girl stands up and jumps on top of me. She traps me underneath her body and glares down at me with her black and violet eyes.

Moments later, Minho is above me, too. He keeps my hands pinned to the ground. His eyes are still normal, though.

"Mariela, Jinwoo, stop!" He yells.

The girl glares at me for a couple seconds longer before her eyes change back to their original color.

I struggle against her and Minho for a few seconds longer.

All I can think about is how hungry I am. I need more. I need to eat more.

But eventually, the feeling passes.

I feel the intensity behind my eyes burn away. I stop struggling and lie still.

I'm no longer shaking. I don't feel sick. I'm still hungry, but definitely not as hungry as I was before.

I'm still weaker than the two Nocturas above me, but I'm stronger than I was.

I'm no longer dying.

They let up and both stand up, taking a step away from me.

I slowly get to my feet, wiping the blood off of my mouth.

"Sorry," I say quietly. "I don't... know what got into me."

"You waited way too long to eat," the girl says. "That's what got into you."

Minho steps toward me. "Are you okay?"

I nod. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose it like that. I didn't think—"

"It's okay," he tells me.

The girl turns to Minho. "I'm going to leave now, and let you deal with this."

She starts heading toward the door. Before she leaves, though, she turns around and looks at me.

"You're different," she says quietly. She gives a small smirk before leaving Minho's house.

I turn to him.

"Don't say anything," he says. "It's okay. I'm just glad you're okay now."

I nod.

"Go get cleaned up in the bathroom, okay? I'll get all this cleaned up."

I do as he says and go into the bathroom. I scrub my hands until the blood comes off of them. Then I scrub my mouth and lips, but my lips stay stained a little more red than usual.

As the water runs in the sink, I look at myself in the mirror.

My hair is dirty and messy. My skin isn't as sickly looking as it was before. My eyes are intense, but not as intense as they felt when I was feeding.

Feeding.

So, I really am a Noctura after all.

I really do have to feed off of people's life essence.

I didn't get a memory while I was feeding. I guess it's not really significant to eat, though. It's how I always ate. There's nothing significant about that.

After I'm finished cleaning, I head back toward the kitchen.

Minho has the body in a large trash bag, sitting near the front door. He's scrubbing at the floor with bleach, making sure all the blood is cleaned up.

"I'm sorry about the mess," I tell him. "I just didn't really remember how to feed."

"Don't worry about it," he tells me as he stands up, done cleaning. "I planned for this to happen."

I look down at the floor awkwardly. "Thanks for... saving my life."

Minho lets out a laugh. A big, hearty laugh.And as Minho's laughing, I start laughing too.

It feels weird and foreign, but it also feels good.

Minho looks at me after our laughing has quieted down.

"Don't ever do that again, okay?" He grins. "Saving your life twice is definitely enough for me."

I nod. "Yeah, it's enough for me, too."

He lets out a big sigh. "I'm glad you're better now. But you didn't eat in so long that I'm sure you're still hungry. We might have to go and get you food again in a couple days."

"Yeah," I say. "I'll do it, now. I can go out and eat now."

Minho smiles. "I'm glad, because I do not wanna do this again."

I give him a sheepish look.

"I have to, uh, go do something about this." He picks up the garbage bag.

"Oh, yeah," I tell him.

"I'll be back soon, alright?" He tells me.

I nod.

Minho leaves, the garbage bag in tow, and I stand there in the kitchen, the smell of bleach lingering.

Now I know at least some truth about my past.

I'm stronger than others. I can heal more quickly and efficiently. I feed off of a human's life essence.

I'm a Noctura.