NEON LIGHTS jane volturi

THREE

Bree found her several hours later. Valerie wasn't sure where she'd disappeared to, but judging by the fresh stain on her shirt, it wasn't hard to guess. She greeted her friend, sitting beside her on the cold ground. Valerie laid beside her, resting her head in Bree's lap.

"You should eat," Bree suggested absentmindedly.

Valerie shuttered at the thought. She'd had enough with killing to last her a life time. "Not hungry," she muttered.

Bree sighed, placing a comforting hand on Valerie arm. "Seattle's full of scumbags so just take your pick and get it over with because I can't lose you now." She argued.

Valerie sighed. It wasn't the worst plan she'd ever heard, and she'd certainly feel less bad about eating some disgusting, sexist dirtbag than she would some innocent stranger sentenced to death for the crime of walking down the street. She thought it through, "I don't know B, it's still murder."

Bree sighed sadly. "I hate to be the one to say it Val, but either you eat or you die." She lowered her tone, "You can't leave me V. You're all I have now." Bree regretted having to pull the you're-all-I-have card to manipulate her friend, but honestly it was all she could think of. Valerie was too stubborn and selfless to feed for herself, so Bree knew that if she had any chance of convincing the girl she would have to appeal to her protective side. The side that had stayed by Bree's side for years. "Besides, refusing to eat might not even kill you. It might just build up inside of you until you snap and go on a massacre." If Bree's guilt trick didn't work, surely the thought of murdering several innocents at once would.

Valerie almost felt her dead heart clench. She nodded, raising her head from Bree's lap and turning to look at her. "Alright, lets go."

It didn't take long for the girls to reach downtown. It took even less time for them to find someone suitable for their needs.

A dirty looking man, maybe mid-twenties, was traipsing down the street. The sinister looks he sent to every woman that passed him made Valerie's lips curl in disgust. The decision was made as soon as he put his hands where they didn't belong and shouted a crude insult upon being rejected by some redhead. Valerie sped into the alleyways few yards in front of the man, making sure she was hidden in the shadows. When he passed by, Valeries hand darted out, wrapping around the mans wrist and yanking him into the darkness.

Most sympathy Valerie would have felt disappeared as the burning thirst that had been creeping up her throat since they left intensified at the close proximity to a meal. It made her mouth water as her pupils dialated and hunger consumed her. Checking her surroundings and finding no one was around, her hand wrapped around his neck, shoving him further into the cold brick wall.

She made the mistake of glancing at his face. All drunkenness has seemingly faded, leaving a terrified man staring back at her. She thought of the words Bree'd spoken to her earlier before she decided to back out. Her other hand rose to cover his mouth to muffle his screams as she sank her teeth into his carotid artery.  His body shook as he tried to push her away with the last bit of his strength, but within minutes he was drained and lying motionless on the concrete ground.

Valerie wipes her mouth on the back of her sleeve, suddenly feeling much better. She stepped back, turning away from the lifeless body as the guilt crept back up. Valerie did her best to push it back down. Bree was right, this is what they were now and if she couldn't force herself to feed and stay for herself she had to stay for the only person she'd ever really considered family.

"Come on, let's go for a walk." Bree suggested. Under most circumstances, it would be a very bad idea for two young girls to walk around Seattle alone, especially at night. However, they no longer applied to most circumstances and anyone that attempted any sort of foul play would surely be handled. They made sure to stay clear of any humans.

They made their way down to the docks Valeries parents used to take her to when they visited the city when she was young. The freezing water was pitch black below the dock, appearing like a never-ending void. Valerie used to be so scared of the possibility of looking down and seeing some sinister sea monster staring back up at her. She outright refused to go anywhere near the railing that separated her and the water. As she got older, her fear of the water never subsided. It really only got worse as she aged. Learning that the thing she had grown up fearing so deeply held terrors worse than she could of imagined on her own was enough to keep her dry. Why anyone could enjoy splashing around in a giant, wet graveyard full of bacteria and rip currents and whirlpools was beyond her.

While Bree made her way forward to stand at the edge of the dock, Valerie hung back a few feet. Before if anyone had asked what her greatest fear was she would of known her answer. Many people were scared of the ocean and it's unknown darkness. Now Valerie wasn't sure if the oceans darkness could even compare to that of the terrifying black hole she'd been sucked into in just a few days. She could avoid the ocean. She couldn't avoid what she was.

"Still scared V?" Bree teased, looking back at her friend with mischievous eyes. Valerie scoffed, rolling her eyes and looking away in annoyance. She didn't answer, instead opting to turn her back on the boats and her friend to scan the area. She could hear faint voices from somewhere far away. The night would do it's best to cover their crimson eyes, but their faces were probably plastered all over the news by now, replacing which ever poor soul had been yanked from their life before the girls. Seattle had a long list of missing persons and Valerie knew exactly where they were.

"Let's leave, someone's coming." Valerie turned and sped off, leaving Bree with no choice but to follow her. They raced back to warehouse, giggling and pushing each other like they used to when their parents signed them up for soccer together. It filled Valerie's dead heart with joy and nostalgia, happy to have some semblance of the past, even if it only lasted a few moments before they were thrust back into their dreary circle of survival.