Nocturnal, BK 1 of Lightwalkers (completed)

X - Jonathan

Jonathan

I woke slowly, aware of Michaela's cold arms wrapped around me. I stayed as still as possible as I glanced around the room. Her private room. A single light was left on in another room, the bathroom, leaving a slash of bright yellow across the floor.

I closed my eyes against it and tried to focus my sleepy thoughts. A part of me was hungry. I ignored it. I couldn't stand the thought of taking blood again. Another part of me wanted to go back to sleep, but I also wanted to be far from here. Far from her cold arms, and colder eyes, when she awoke.

Last night had proven to me that even if I had nowhere else to go, I couldn't stay here. I wasn't going to kill people just so I could eat. I'd figure out where to go later.

I hesitated. If I moved, would I wake her? I racked my mind for all the knowledge I thought I knew about vampires, but none of it seemed to helpful for this situation.

I moved a little, struggling to keep my breathing even. Michaela didn't move. I started to inch away from her, slipping from underneath her chilly embrace.

As my feet touched the floor, horror froze me in place. Michaela didn't look like the same porcelain doll that had seduced me that first night. She looked like a corpse. Her skin was greyish, eyes sunken, lips tinged purple. She had called it 'dying with the night', but I didn't think a vampire could actually die like that.

Looking down at my own hands, I expected my skin to be the same color. But it wasn't. They still looked normal. But she'd said that we were the same now. I was a vampire now, as much as I didn't want to believe her. So, had I looked like that just a moment ago?

Muffled voices came from the hallway, growing louder as they passed the room.

I needed to get moving. I didn't want to be standing here staring at my hands like some idiot when Michaela woke up. I grabbed my shirt from where Michaela had tossed it and tugged it on before tip-toeing to the door. I pressed my ear to it, listening as the voices faded.

I pulled the door open a crack, looking to see if anyone else was out in the dimly lit hallway. It was empty. This was my chance. I stepped out, and softly closed the door behind me. I headed to the right, passing tall windows as I made my way down the hall. Lines of light fell on the floor beneath the curtains. It was still day out?

How could I be awake then? I was a vampire now. My hand went to my mouth, feeling the sharpened points of my canines again. So, why wasn't I still asleep? I dropped my hand.

I didn't care. It wasn't worth wondering. I wouldn't be alive, or undead, whatever you called vampires, for much longer. This was sadly perfect. I chuckled softly, it hadn't taken me long at all to figure out where to go.

Cracking the doors to the first room I came across, I peaked inside. When I was sure they were empty, I pushed the doors open and looked around. Bright light seeped out from under the heavy curtains on the windows. My feet felt heavy as I stepped closer to the windows. The material felt odd in my hands as I hesitated. It was a sin to kill yourself, not that I'd ever been very religious or anything. But the thought occurred to me as I stood there. I gathered my courage.

"Mom, Seth, ...Dad; I can't wait to see you," I whispered, and pulled back the curtain, bathing in the sunlight that filled the room. It felt warm, and as I stared out at the garden, I wondered what death would be like.

Seconds ticked by; then minutes. I looked down at my hands, my arms; I felt my face. Wasn't I suppose to go up in flames or something? Wasn't something suppose to happen?

I vaguely registered the sounds of foot steps on the carpet behind me. "Hey, what are you doing?"

A petite woman in her twenties, with a blazing red hair stormed past me, pulling the curtains closed. I could smell her blood, a faintly sweet aroma that surrounded her. I clenched my jaw, and let my stomach gnaw at itself.