After Dark

1.

I'm sitting in my hut listening to the wind sweeping the fine snow off the roof.
My name is Amber. I'm 17 years old, for centuries now.

Barefoot I walk on the floorboards, looking at the clock. Five o'clock in the morning. I put on old boots I've stolen a few years ago, still in good condition.

I'm wearing nothing more than a gray sweater and black, ripped jeans. No jacket.
In winter. I should dress warmer, but wouldn't that be senseless?

I'm standing in front of the mirror, looking at my face.
Pale, unaltered and golden eyes are staring back at me. I run briefly through my hair.
When was that again?
Oh, next month, I say to myself.
Then I'll leave my home and go back to Washington. I live in Alaska for many years, in complete solitude. It's really boring here.

I take a quick look around, then open the door and head outside. It's just starting to snow again.

Since the hut is on Mount Denali, where in my opinion hardly anyone shows up, I have my peace here and can hunt undisturbed. I know exactly where to go.
Deep into the forest.
There you'll always find animals looking for food.

Once in the forest, I stop at a tree and close my eyes, trying to get on a track.

I concentrate and finally smell something. Maybe a deer.
As in trance I run through the forest, and stopping at a clearing. To my disappointment, it's not a deer.
It's a wolf.

After seeing me, it disappears in the bushes. Instead of following I let myself fall into the snow. I try to ignore the fire burning my throat. It's not working.

An hour later I smell something again. This time I know for sure that it's a deer. It doesn't take long to find and catch it.

After the thirst is satisfied, I make my way back. I stop jerkily, hearing voices. Quickly I climb on a tree and sit down on a branch. Two blond-haired women walk over. They stop moving.
"Are you sure, Kate?", one asks, while the other looks around, nodding.
"I saw her walking in that direction, she's still here", she says.
She?

I keep listening, but hear a crash and land in front of them a little later. Crap! The branch I was sitting on wasn't that strong to carry me.

I jump up, gaining some distance. They look at me calmly.
Then they nod to each other.
What's wrong with them?, I wonder. They start to smile.
"What do you want and who are you?", I ask carefully.
"We'll tell you later, come with us first", one of them says, Kate, I think. They are clearly vampires.
I can see it in their eyes. I follow them out of the forest. I know I shouldn't go along with strangers, but I haven't seen any vampires for a long time.

~ Flashback ~

I walk along the streets of my hometown, near the future city of Washington DC. It is already dark. A carriage drives past me.

I've spent the day with my best friend. We had a long conversation about the next month. I'm supposed to be married to a rich-skinned boy I've been promised to since birth. I've known him for a long time.
We were allowed to play together so that we learn to like each other, maybe even love. That wasn't that hard for us. We became friends very fast. As we got older, it quickly became more. We had a wonderful relationship.

Her gaze falls on my dress. I got it as engagement present. It's beautiful and has my favorite color, light blue. After a while, I say goodbye to her and make my way home.

I'm looking forward to the wedding. What could go wrong, I think with a smile. Suddenly I get pulled into an dark alley. Before I can scream, something, or someone, bites my neck. Shortly thereafter, I lose my consciousness.

When I wake up, it's still dark.
I feel, for the first time in my life, a burning in my throat.
I get up and start to smell something. It's alcohol.
A drunken man. I can't see him, but it smells like he's standing next to me.
Strange.
He stumbles and falls on the ground.
Still swaying he gets up again and holds his nose. Something red drips out of it.
Blood.

I can't concentrate anymore. The smell almost drives me crazy. With every drop that lands on the ground, the urge becomes stronger and stronger.

I can't manage to escape that and move in inhuman speed, then I catch him and bite in his neck, tasting warm blood running down my throat. As the burning weakens, I realize what I'm doing.

After I drank all of it, I look at the lifeless body and shrink back, startled. I run away, faster than I thought.
After a while I stop, but I don't know where I am. I see a cave and hide in it. Soon someone will find the man and want to know what happened. I stare up in the air. Later, I look at my dress. It's totally bloodied. I wrap my arms around myself.
It isn't cold, somehow I don't feel the temperature. It all feels strange. I become suspicious, put my fingers on my neck and try to feel my heart beating.
Nothing.
Actually, it should beat as fast as never before.

I lean forward and look shocked in a puddle in front of me. My eyes are no longer in their normal color. Actually, they were blue. But now they are red. Like the blood I drank before.
What's wrong with me?
I have certain delusions. That must be the reason. That's my only explanation.

I don't know what to do. Slowly I leave the cave, start running and don't stop. As fast as possible, I flee from New England.

Many, many years, to be exact, almost 400 years later, I'm here now. I have visited most states and have been to many other countries, such as Germany, UK, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland and Russia. I always stayed for just a few years. Until I came to Alaska.

~ Flashback end ~

We arrive at a house. It has a modern architectural style. How could I not realize that they also live here?
As we enter, a man and a woman come to meet us.
Also golden eyes.
They start to introduce themselves, then ask questions. I answer shyly. They are all smiling at me. It's strange.

After a while, I begin to tell my story.