A change of key

Chapter One

Last night I was fighting vampires again. I wandered aimlessly through the graveyard and I could feel the soft ground underfoot and the harsh bite of the wind as it whistled between tombstones. Somehow i felt at peace, there was something about being alone in a quiet place at night. I felt vulnerable, my hair was swept back by a frozen breeze and fine raindrops soaked through my clothes until i felt drown in them. I was exposed to the wrath of mother nature, and the cruel elements could do with me what they will because it had no effect on me, i just kept walking. Onwards. 

I'm not sure when I noticed it first. Maybe it was the shiver that was sent through my body, or when the chill in the air seemed to intensify. Maybe it was when the trees in the distance started to creak and moan, its possible they were trying to warn me. Or maybe, just maybe its when the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention and goosbumps ran down my arms. Like i said, i'm not sure when it happened, but i do know that i was no longer alone in the night, someone or something was following me. 

He was there too, I could see him from the corner of my eye, dipping in and out of the shadows, waiting for something, waiting for me. He was tall, a lot taller than i had expected and broader too. His hair was dark, it lay limp on his forehead, collecting rain into streams that flowed down his chiselled face. His jawline was sharp, so much that it looked like it would hurt to touch. He was handsome, very handsome. I had to shake away that feeling, that attraction, i thought this would be hard until he came into the light and i say him for what he truly was. His red eyes were piercing, violent and hungry, and they were fixed on me as he moved closer and closer at a speed that was beyond human. I should have been frightened, more than that i should have been terrified, i'm a lil 5 foot 5 lass that basically didnt take part in any form of exercise after being about 11 years old  and has next to no upper body strength. I'm usually a mess. But here, now, in this situation i was calm. I held my ground. I was quiet and more important than anything, i was confident. I dropped the stake that I had been hiding up my sleeve and i caught it in my hand. I was ready for this, i had been training for this, so i did it. He wanted to run to me, to have what he thought would be the upper hand, let him try, i know that he's there and i knew that someone would be coming tonight, I dont ever really get too much time alone. As he neared i stayed calm, stayed on path and kept my breathing steady, i knew that he would be able to hear my heart beating and so i had to stay as close to baseline as possible. He couldnt know that i know, not only that he is here but the fact that he is coming for me. Then the time came, it was like instinct, i dont know how i did it, i dont know how i did half of the things i had done tonight. I staked him. I knew he was behind me, so close that he could touch me, which meant with one small step id be close enough to touch him, close enough to stake him. And it worked, the stake went right into his heart with one easy thrust. He looked so confused after, the hunger drained from his eyes and if i didnt know better i would have said that he looked scared before he vanished, leaving in his place a little pile of dust and a kind of annoying cloud. It was like a kind of crap magic trick. In his defence the death was a lot cleaner than i'd imagined. Yes there was the whole dead person dust cloud thing that wasnt great but i just had to be careful not to breathe it in. It just kind of dissipated and settled in a heap in the mud. That, of course didnt mean anything. I was still going home for a 3 hour shower and to put these clothes in the wash about 4 times before i would even think about wearing them again. I'm not carrying around his vampire juju. 

And there i was, once again alone in a dark graveyard. I looked and felt powerful now, a lot less vulnerable. Well i felt it at least, i probably looked like a wet dog, but thats no fun to think about. The adrenaline was still gushing through my veins and as i stood undefeated, the last woman standing. In that moment i believed i could even give mother nature a run for her money, i wouldnt let the rain get me down, i felt triumphant. I felt like Buffy!