Bloodlust

Chapter 5

It was 3:45 and I decided to risk it and walk home. I pulled on my shoes and walked out the door, closing it silently behind me. I looked around, scanning the dim street before me for any signs of a cop car. Nothing. I started walking down the street, sticking to the shadows and looking for cars at every corner. While I was walking I thought about last night, tried to remember how it went down. Okay, okay I remember arriving at the house and talking to Aaron. Play fighting with Tom and then seeing Sapphire. She handed me a drink sometime during when we were flirting. Then. Nothing. I don't remember anything past talking to her. We danced maybe? Went up to the bedroom and- blacked out I guess. Or did we...no. Maybe. Ugh. My head was killing me. I just wanted to get home and sleep it off. I was half way there, passing into the freshman side of campus. I knew a short-cut to get to our dorm room faster. It was also hidden from site, a tiny little forest separating the administrations office from the rest of the dorms. I cut through the office garden, walking into the dark blur of trees and leaves. The trees looked rather beautiful in the dark, the moonlight hitting the fall colored leaves, creating a mirage of light, darkness, and fall colors, spread across the tree-line. As soon as I stepped foot into the brush I got a strange feeling. Like...someone was watching me. I turned around scanning the street. The streetlights lined the sidewalk creating a pattern of dim light and complete darkness. Nothing there. I peered into the darkness before me, wandering if this was such a good idea. Come on, Sage get it together man. I shook the feeling off and ignored the chills playing tag along my spine. I trudged on, through the treeline and into the darkness. I couldn't see a thing. My phone was dead and proved to be useless when I tried to use it as a flashlight. I figured it wouldn't be too bad, having to walk through the darkness, telling myself there was nothing to be afraid of. I remembered a poem my dad used to tell me to help me sleep when I was little. It went:

"Hush now little one

Nothing will bite

Your safe and sound

No need for a fright

Now close your eyes

And don't make a peep

For there are no monsters

Who will haunt your sleep"

The way the words slipped quietly out of his mouth always calmed me, making me feel safe. I always trusted my dad to protect me. If only he were here now. I snapped back to reality. I realized how grateful I was to have found that sweater, my breathe was visible and the cold bit the tip of my nose and lips. I hugged myself and pushed on. I got that feeling again. Except this time I heard something too. I could've sworn I heard leaves crackling under a foot, following me. I whipped around. "Who's there!?" I yelled into the dark void before me. Nothing. I walked backwards slowly, bumping into something. I screamed and turned around falling backwards, looking up. It was a tree. "Dammit, Sage. Get your shit together.", I whispered to myself. I got up, wiping dead leaves off of my jeans and kept walking, this time faster and more determined to get home. I got a couple of meters before I heard something else. This time it was a whisper.I stopped dead in my tracks. One solitary word rang out in my head. "Where...", the unknown voice breathed out. It was high pitched, and sounded like it could have been a foot away. Or a mile. It was hard to hear with my pulse ringing through my body and my blood rushing. I tensed up, ready to run at a moment's notice. Another voice broke the sound barrier of my ears. This one was deeper, a guy. "Over here", he said. This one wasn't a whisper. "Shush, why are you yelling, Aaron?", the girl said loud enough for me too hear. They were about 5 meters away, I could see Aaron standing in a clearing ahead, laughing. I crouched behind a bush, listening, as a smaller figure walked up to him, hugging him. "Is this the spot you were talking about baby?", the girl said. Due to lack of light and the fact that there was a bush blocking my sight, I couldn't quite make out who it was. I didn't recognize her voice from anywhere. "Yep.", he said and looked down at the girl attached to him. She was half a foot shorter than him and had to stand on her tip-toes to kiss him. I was surprised he was with her and acting all sweet to her. He usually treated girls like crap, sleeping with them then never talking to them again. He seemed reluctant to kiss her though, pecking her then pulling his face away before she could get another one. They moved a bit and I could see the girl's face. It was a girl in my chemistry class, blonde, pretty, and extremely dim-witted. Just Aaron's type. Aaron pulled away and looked down. "Babe what's wrong?", the girl said, concerned. "I dunno Amber. I feel like this is going nowhere fast." he replied quietly. Wow. What a shocker, Aaron has feelings. "What do you mean?", said the girl, Amber, with an empty-headed voice. "I mean I'm tired of having all of these meaningless relationships. And so far you're just another one.", he said with a sense of hostility that surprised me. "Wha...how could you say that?", Amber whimpered. "Because all we ever do is fuck. We never talk about serious things or discuss our future. I'm starting to feel like it's meaningless.", Aaron said in a defeated voice. "Well we're talking right now aren't we?" Amber shot back. "No. No we're not, we're fighting. Like we always do!", he yelled his voice rising higher in volume after each word. She yelled something back at him but I saw something that stole all of my attention away from the fight. There was a dark figure standing in the brush behind them. I couldn't see it's face or head. All I say was a 6 foot tall shadow. A quick movement across the clearing caught my attention. Aaron pushed Amber against the trunk of a tree and slapped her across the face. Before Amber even fell to the ground the shadow appeared behind Aaron and grabbed his throat, lifting him into the air. His legs flailed and his hands shot up to where the figure's pale fingers wrapped around his throat in a death grip. I saw a ring on it's pinky finger. A silver skull and crossbones. I got up and ran as fast as I could away from the scene. The last thing I heard before I was too far away to hear anything was the soul-wrenching noise of Aaron's neck snapping. My blood ran cold and I stopped running. I slowly turned around and what I saw will haunt me forever. Aaron's body lay in the center of the clearing. The figure pulled back a black shawl from his face, crouched down, and bit his neck, seemingly feeding on him. My heart was pounding and my mind was racing. Before it got up from Aaron and started to walk over to Amber. Was walk the correct term for this? No. No, he GLIDED over to Amber. I wasn't planning on sticking around to see what happened next. I bolted away, out of the woods and towards the dorms.