tongue twister • paul lahote

i

T H E W I N D W A S harsh. It whipped at the skin on your cheeks and feel like it was cutting deep. The air was freezing. The night was dark and besides the howling of the breeze, you could hear anything it was so silent. The only sound around was the screaming. The piercing, ear shattering wails. The redhead was getting fed up, seemingly forgetting what hers was like. She knew it was painful, but this was just over exaggerating. Though annoyed, Victoria was excited to see Santana reveal the powers she would posses. Something mentally, she had assumed. With her will and strength when she was alive, there was no way she wouldn't have powers like many other supernatural beings.

Santana seemed to be writhing in pain for hours, but really it had only been one or two. The physical and mental agony was so strong that she could barely handle it. Pain consumed her body. She wasn't sure if she was screaming audibly, or her nerve endings were torturing her eardrums. Her arms felt like they were going to fall off, her feet felt like she was stepping on glass. She was on fire, or at least she thought she was. Her heart, though it wasn't beating, felt like it was covered in ice, yet searing with heat all the same. She was being tortured. Though no external force from another body was being applied, she was sure of this. It was like being locked in a room, nails on a chalkboard type feeling in her entire being. Her eyes were closed but darting side to side. She was in agony. Her throat ached and scratched. She wanted to rip her skin off, believing it would feel better than what she was feeling now.

She did not understand what she did to deserve the pain. She did not understand what was becoming of her. She did not know just what was happening. Everything was fuzzy around the edges, like waking up after a long slumber. She felt like she was going to vomit, but nothing was coming out. She had nothing left. Her whole body was empty but so full of something new. A desire. Something she was in the deep end of unknown with. She was dying, but not in a way many would believe. She was dead, but so, so much more alive.

Victoria left her there to turn. She didn't stray far though, she didn't want to leave her alone incase anyone found her. She knew they were far away from anywhere that they would look, but she stole a sister to the wolves. She knew she would be on the hunt list. If she ever got caught, no mercy would be spared. Of course, she was fast. Faster than any of them. She knew they wouldn't catch her. That is what help fuel her motive. She sat in the tree line admiring her work of art convulsing on the ground. She watched her screams diminish, and soon the girl fell into a deep slumber. She wouldn't wake for a while. She took advantage of this and grabbed the girls body, carting it effortlessly. She was bringing her somewhere even more secluded. She needed to hunt so she could stay strong. A fight was going to break loose.

Of course, Victoria knew that when Santana woke she would have a hard time recollecting her human memories. This was an advantage. She could morph her into anything she wanted her to be. She could teach her to hate the wolves and the Cullens as much as she did. She could teach her to fight and avenge her lost love, James. She left her in an abandoned house on the opposite end of Seattle. She wouldn't be long enough for anyone to discover her, she wouldn't be long enough for Santana to wake before she returned.

***

She jumped as she woke. Everything was intensified. She could hear the cars driving on the freeway over 20 miles away. She could smell the earthy moss and rotting wood in the forest behind the house. The feeling of the fabric beneath her was disgusting. She could feel every imperfection, old stain, and grain of dirt that laid on it. But her throat ached. She couldn't pay attention to any of those things. Her tongue was burning and a low gutty growl escaped her parted lips. She darted up off the broken sofa, and backed herself in the corner of the room. She saw the redhead, sitting atop what used to be a beautiful granite countertop. Now if was dirty and broken, just a slab laying atop some wooden cupboards.

The other vampire smiled at her and in milliseconds was beside her. She reached out to touch her, but Santana slapped her hand away, grunting in discontent. She wanted to speak but her throat was searing. It was so dry, words would not form in her mouth. "You're thirsty, I know. Let's get you something to drink." She raced out the door, and Santana followed her, not sure of why. She trusted this woman in front of her. She was so similar to what she was, she had to trust in her. She related.

Her sense of smell picked up a scent so overwhelming. So calming and exciting at the same time. She let her nose lead the way. Her legs carried her so fast that to a human, they would not be able to comprehend. But to Santana, was like walking at a normal pace. She saw the droplets of dew on the bushes, the ants crawling on the ground, and the squirrels hopping from branch to branch in the trees. Her body carried her to an old dirt road. A small opening where the blue Seattle sky shone on a small car, parked. The radio static jittered. She made out words here and there, but what she was focused on was the intensely beating hearts in the driver and passenger seats. They were arguing. She knew that much; a man and a woman. They smelled so different, but so infatuating in the same.

Santana sprung and landed on the back of the car agilely. The two stopped arguing, both struck with fear. Santana jumped off and walked to the passenger side, attempting to open the door. It was locked. In response, she ripped the door off it's hinges and threw it aside. Victoria watched her, impressed at her creation. The woman screamed, begging for mercy, terror filling the open air. Santana reached in and grabbed her by the neck as her assumed to be husband watched in horror. She placed her teeth to the woman's neck and fulfilled her thirst, but not fully. The temptation of the husband was still there. The man tried to get out of the car and run. He underestimated Santana's power. She threw the woman's lifeless body to the ground and chased after him.

Victoria was satisfied. She knew that she had just found her knew favourite. She laughed as she listened to the radio chatter.

'Darren Crowley, 48, of Forks was found dead in his home earlier this week. His daughter has been declared a missing person.'