Her Vampire Prince

Chapter V

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Faith was bored out of her mind. She had run out of work to do, and was simply watching the clock go round and round, searching for some sort of amusement. Most of the vets had been on a training day out of the office, and they had not received many clients making it extra boring. Faith had already rearranged the filing cabinet twice, trying to kill some time and stay out of Cynthia's way. Unfortunately, Nancy was off sick, leaving her without a chatterbox to waste hours of time away. But finally, the clock was rolling onto six. Just fourteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left, before she went home to an empty house (Hope was staying with friends) and had a quiet evening.

What could possibly go wrong?

After all, it was just another boring Monday. It sounds weird but Faith was sure she... smelt William earlier, his manly and fresh cologne that made her feel as though she was breathing for the first time. However, she had looked around and couldn't find him. It was now only her and Cynthia in the office. For the most part the woman conscientiously ignored her, only giving her haughty glances and unimpressed 'hmms' at times. As one of her last duties before she started to pack up, Faith collected the letters going out of the office tomorrow, and put them in the box for the postal worker to collect. One letter wasn't quite done up though, and Faith managed to slice her finger against it, causing a painful paper cut.

"Ouch..." She murmured under her breath, bringing her finger up into the light to examine it.

A bead of blood had already collected at the tip, making Faith wince, but before she could go to get a plaster, a primal growl to her left had her freezing and looking around with wide eyes. What she was greeted with made her eyes widen in horror. Cynthia was starting to pant heavily, holding onto her desk in a death grip so strong Faith could see the material beginning to crack. She wondered to herself if that was even possible. Faith let out a gasp of panic as she zeroed into Cynthia's face, whose eyes were diluting like ink onto paper, turning black, and thick veins were bubbling up from under her skin. Her eyes were locked onto Faith's finger, mesmerised by the blood slowly trailing its way down the length, about to drip on the floor. Faith's heartbeat was thundering in her ears, and terror had immobilised her. Cynthia did not look human any more.

"C-Cynthia... are y-you alright?" Faith stutters, shaking slightly.

Another inhuman growl rips from the black of Cynthia's throat, as her eyes snap up to focus on Faith's, who was sure she was looking into two swirling pools of darkness, waiting to draw her into the depths of hell. Cynthia's lips fold back revealing two very long, very sharp canines, gleaming in the light and looking ready to rip into Faith's flesh. She gulps at this thought. Surely she was dreaming. This was just... impossible! But then a drip of blood dribbles from Faith's finger onto the floor, and Faith felt as though time had frozen as Cynthia leapt from her chair and at Faith, merciless claws reaching out for her blood. Without thinking, Faith hurdles from her chair and onto the floor, the impact sending a shock through her, before scrambling back up and sprinting into the wall, looking back in terror. Cynthia had crashed onto the chair, and seemed to be even more crazed now, letting out a blood-hungry howl and lunging for her again. Faith lets out a scream loud enough to wake up the whole town, before running harder then she ever had in her whole life towards the doors.

She didn't know what the hell was happening, or what on earth to do, but she did know that her life was in danger, and Cynthia wasn't a human. She couldn't be. Faith manages to brush the handle of freedom, before cold, harsh hands curl around her thigh and smash her to the floor with unnatural strength. This was definitely not a dream. Before she had a chance to even breathe, what feels like two knives stab into her leg, making her let out a blood curdling scream. It was... it was sucking her blood out her leg! The pain was excruciating, the feeling of having your flesh torn apart and your life sucked out of you. She kicked and screamed and cried but whatever it was had an ironclad grip on her leg, so tight she swore she could hear her bones creaking under the pressure. She didn't look back. She couldn't look back... she couldn't come to terms with the fact that there was something else in this world.

But then suddenly there was a crash as a door is flung open, and the thing that was attacking her was ripped off, making Faith let out a relieved cry. The thing had taken a lot of her blood, and her leg was on fire making her seriously want to cut it off. Weakened, she stayed sobbing as a mess on the floor as a commotion carried on behind her, furious growls and painful howls filling the lobby along with the stench of blood. Knowing that she has to look, Faith lifts her head and turns back, just in time to see William snapping Cynthia's neck like a toothpick. Her eyes widen and she forgets how to breathe, before the lights are switched off and she is welcomed into the comforting darkness.

***

Slowly Faith's eyes flutter open. A light hum buzzes in her head, and she feels half-dead. She also doesn't feel as though she truly slept as the unsettling events of the night before buzz back into her mind, causing her to gasp and sit up in terror. What happened? What is Cynthia? Surely it couldn't be real. With a shaking, clammy palm over her heart, she examined her surroundings terrified, in the manner of a little mouse. Her heartbeat starts to slow down when she realises she is in fact at home, in her bed. She realised it must have been a dream... although it felt so real, and she had no recollection of going home or even changing into her bed clothes last night. And the pain... the pain was damning. How could it have been a dream? It was so vivid... but also how could it not have been a dream? The whole thing was wrong, and the way William snapped Cynthia's neck so easily made puke start to rise from her stomach. He looked cold... efficient... practiced. Faith wasn't sure what was worse. Of course, it had to be a nightmare. There was certainly no other reasonable explanation!

Realising what awoke her in the first place, her alarm to get up, a shaken and doubtful Faith starts crawling out of the bed, attempting to stand when her left leg gives out and a shot of pain fires it's way up to the tip of her spine. Collapsing back on the bed, Faith stills in shock. No, no, no, no, no! She whispers over and over in her mind, terrified to look at her leg. Breathing in deeply, trying to calm her terror-stricken body, she peeks downwards, feeling dread collect in her stomach as she sees a medical plaster covering the back of her calf. Biting down on her plump lower lip to hold back a sob, she knows she has to look, has to know the truth, as her fingers tremble closer to the bandage, mind blank. The area surrounding the bandage is sore and slightly swollen, but still Faith pushes herself on, needing to see her mangled leg. If it were real, surely she would have had to have stitches? Go to the hospital? Something was tearing into her flesh! Grabbing the edge of the bandage she rips it off, and staring back at her is red skin and two bullet hole scars. Bile rises in her throat, as she is sick everywhere, with no hope of running to the bathroom in time. Petrified and even weaker then before, she collapses onto her bed shaking so hard to anyone else it would look like she were having a seizure.

She just could not wrap her mind around it.

Was everything she had ever known a lie? Were there other... creatures out there? How? Does anyone else know? There was also the nature of her wound... Faith remembered the unimaginable pain she was in when something clawed at her leg, then thought she felt the thing rip a chunk of her flesh off! But now there are only two smallish-scabbed holes. Surely if it was real then the wound wouldn't have healed already! Faith's mind was going around and around in a carousel of thoughts that just did not add up. Her head was spinning and she still felt terribly sick. She wished she could start over the last twenty-four hours. Her mind may have witnessed things she just didn't want to know about.

She was perfectly fine with having a mundane, ordinary life. There was no issue with that! Now she was questioning everything she had ever known. Obviously, she was not ready for such revelations yet. Therefore, she decided to bury the memories and cover her leg, trying to push it out of her mind. It must have been a dream... there is no way... no... no way... Faith mumbles to herself. But still she called in sick to work for the next three days, locked up in the house with her worried sister and her mind, trying to sort out the jumbled mess she had suddenly become. She had never been so utterly perturbed and benumbed in all her life.

After all, fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all.

What do you think? Cynthia attacked Faith, but she's in denial!

How would you react if that happened to you?

Thank you for reading xoxo

Edited