-Children of the Night-

Chapter 1~ Reborn

I woke up the next morning feeling. ....different. The birds were chirping loudly outside as the sun began to come over the horizon. I got out of bed and walked up to my mirror.Was last night just a dream? I noticed that my already pale skin was even more pale. My eyes were much darker now- they had a somewhat hungry and animalistic look to them. I put on my shirt and my favorite grey jacket, and went downstairs. My mother was asleep, so I walked quietly. I grabbed my bookbag and walked silently out of the front door. The weather felt nice; it was cool and foggy. All of my family and friends never understood why I loved fog so much. In all honesty, I didn't either. I made my way to school, and I noticed that the stalker wasn't watching me were he usually did at the corner. Thank god. My feet were moving quick this morning, I guess because I had so much energy. Walking seemed too slow for me, so I decided to run. I reached the school in no time. As I walked through the doors to wait for the first bell, my friend Austin exclaimed, "Last night was great man! Did you see the look on Eddie's face when we jumped out and scared him? Priceless." I nodded my head, smiling. We both fist-bumped and went to breakfast. The cafeteria was crowded and loud , as always. High school might as well be called the jungle. It's a looney bin. We sat down  and I realized that I had an immense craving. I didn't think about it. As we sat at the table, I could see Randall approaching me from behind. He tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned around quickly, expecting the worst. We were friends at one point, but after all that he had done to me, I could not forgive him. He had his group with him. His girls, the ones who liked no one else but him, under his "spell". The guys, who were like his lap dogs. They all sat around me and Austin. Randall smiled and said, "Hey, loner. Mind if we sit here?" He proceeded to flip me off and all of his group laughed. Usually, I avoided confrontation, but today, something felt different. I looked him in the eyes and said in a low, calm but threatening tone, "I was here first, Randall. If you want to mess with me, fight me. Don't keep running your mouth." Randall had a moment of silent disbelief, maybe even a hint of fear, but he then made a sarcastic face and said, "Ohhh i'm so scared, what are you going to do, stare at me all day? If it's a fight you want, then meet me after school, Vincent. Prepare for a beat down." His group walked away with him at the lead, all laughing. Austin looked amazed. " Why did you do that? Randall is strong. Are you sure you can take him?" I grinned and nodded my head. Randall had long hair, and he always was very egotistical. That overblown confidence would be the very thing that caused his downfall. We left the cafeteria. The day went on slowly, up until 5th bell. This was my favorite part of the day, because I got to see her. My crush/ best friend. Her name was Scarlett. I had a crush on her ever since the 6th grade, almost 4 years ago. She was my definition of perfect: she had long, dark hair, soft pale skin, and beautiful hazel eyes. I walked up to her, and we hugged each other tight. She studied me for a moment, and asked, "Vincent, why do you look different? " I was confused. She pointed towards the mirror and I looked at my reflection. My eyes were a different color. They were dark brown and orange. What was that color again? Amber. My eyes were amber. I shrugged my shoulders, and told her I didn't know. We both took our seats. I smiled, tapping Scarlett on the shoulder. I whispered "We have a substitute, and she's not writing anything on the board. No work today!" Scarlett laughed and high- fived me. We looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and I felt my heart beat faster. "You are absolutely beautiful." I whispered. She blushed and hugged me. "Thanks, Vinnie." We just sat in silence for the rest of the class, until finally, she kissed me on the cheek. I hoped my face wasn't as red as it felt. The bell rang, and we stood up. She kissed my cheek again, happily walking out of the class room. I had almost forgotten about Randall until I walked outside and saw him waiting for me. He walked up to me, shoving me. "Time to fight, loser!" By now, a crowd began to form around us. I saw Austin, cheering me on with a hopeful look on his face. I got in a comfortable fighting position. I remembered the 2 years of martial arts I had taken when I was younger. I looked Randall in the eyes. He spit in my face, and something inside of me snapped. I swung at him, and he ducked and punched me in the face. It caused me to bleed from my lip. For some reason, I drank the blood. And before I knew it, I was up and moving, lightning fast almost, and faked a punch. Randall dodged right into a powerful right hook. He stumbled back, a look of pain on his face. I moved in, with no mercy. I leaped through the air like a wild animal, and kicked him straight in the head. He fell over, and I still hadn't had enough. I picked him up off the ground by his shirt and punched him once, twice, three times, and threw him into the wall. At this point, he was bleeding all over his face, and began to beg me to stop. I got close enough to him so that I could feel him breathe. I looked into his eyes, and channeled all of my anger into my stare. He quaked in fear. "Never mess with me or any of my friends again." I said, growling. He nodded his head, and limped away, like a dog with his tail between his legs. His group was amazed. They all carried him away. The whole crowd seemed half amazed, half terrified. There were two things I knew for sure: I wasn't going to be a silent wallflower anymore. I would be respected. And whatever took control of me, I liked it.... But I was also scared of it. I felt stronger and faster now. Everything seemed more clear to me. What was a good word to explain how i felt......reborn. I felt new. I defeated Randall.I headed home, my head up high, and a smile on my face. Had I only known that this was just the beginning.....