Rushing Blood

Chapter 4: Kiss Then Kill

I must have walked miles and have ventured to the deepest part of the woods. My excursion had taken me to the heart of the unforgiving Evertrue Forest, far from any place inhabited by people. For days, I have been hiking up valleys of rocks, hunting and gathering food, only a few harmless berries made my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Survival instincts were all that had kept me alive for the past three days since I had embarked northwest. I hadn't slept, only taking breaks to drink if there was a river, eat if there was food, and rest for a few minutes if it was safe. My feet were tired, my eyes were heavy, and my stomach was completely empty, but I didn't stop walking, for I knew that if I stopped, I would expose myself to danger, better to keep on with the torture than make yourself vulnerable to death.

The sun was going down and the dangerous animals would begin to hunt. There was an invisible alarm in my head telling me to find shelter, make shelter, or die. As quickly as I could, I looked at the trees, trying to find one with lots of branches for disguise and camouflage, I went in circles until finally deciding on one a few feet away. I ran as quickly as I could and tried my best to climb up, my hands trying to hold on, but one had gotten infected because of that huge splinter I got, and my other hand had been aching for days, my feet were less help, the tired, worn out, blistering appendages had been moving nonstop for hours. I finally grabbed hold of a small branch and pulled myself up to the top of the tree, trying to camouflage myself with the leaves.

As I stood up, looking around to see if there were any animals hunting, I spotted lights. It was a town! Large buildings and wooden houses filled the horizon to my right. I had finally passed the forest! Excitement controlled every bone in my body as I jumped out of the branch of the large oak tree. Landing on my feet, I quickly pulled myself up and ran as quickly as I could. Adrenaline took me over, a rush of pure energy filled me and I suddenly found myself racing against the sun.

My eyes widened as I saw the entrance to the village: Welcome to Sparrow Hollow. I had made it! Is the academy in this place? The sun had already set and there were no citizens or vampires roaming the streets, it seemed so uncomfortably peaceful.

As I walked along the vacant streets, everything seemed so dreary, as if there was a large force of negative energy filling the air. I turned left at a corner and found myself staring at an orange and yellow building. The rectangular tower had several windows going all the way around. Large colored bricks made the place's exterior, a large lit sign read: Lost Child Motel.

I pushed through the double doors and entered the lobby. A small group of people sat around a circular wooden table reading the magazines that rested on the center. A small girl with pitch black hair and soulless crystal blue eyes lifted her head from her coral pink and white dress to look at me. Her hands suddenly gripped the dress, the cotton wrinkling as she focused her eyes on mine. Her face was young, she couldn't have been more than eight years old, but her entire body was full of stress, of danger, of awareness. It was almost as if she knew something I didn't, like she was trying to warn me about something, but what. I continued to stare as I slowly walked towards the counter, not taking my eyes off the girl in the lounge. When I was about to ring the small bell left on the table, the small child mouthed something like, "Stay away!" Her mouth opened wide, as if wanting me to understand them clearly, yet, I didn't. I wrinkled my eyebrows, trying to show her I didn't understand, yet I didn't really know why I wasn't talking. As my hand hovered over the bell, her unblinking eyes began to widen as she again attempted to tell me something, "Go, leave!"

What is going on? What am I supposed to run from? My thoughts all focused on the mysterious toddler. I began to get annoyed with the little kid, all I wanted to do was go to sleep, eat breakfast, and get to that school, all I want is that! Is it too much to ask for one night's sleep without someone warning me of impending doom, is it too much! My desire for comfort and rest won me over, my judgement became clouded and I got annoyed with the little girl that obviously knew something.