After Eden [Book #1 of The Fall Trilogy]

Five ☾ ☽ Dying Embers

"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December, and each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor." - Edgard Allan Poe

Five ☾☽ Dying Embers

I woke up with a start, gasping for breath and drenched in cold sweat. My throat was tight, and it felt as if my chest was caving in on my lungs. Ripping of the duvets, I scrambled off the bed, seeking fresh air from the confines of my sheets and covers. I blindly groped the darkness to find my nightstand to stable myself on shaky legs, the image of her still etched into my mind.

Her golden waves entangled themselves in my mind, holding me hostage. I blinked furiously, but the image of the girl on the road never wavered. A burning sensation sparked in my stomach, sizzling all the way up through my chest. My arms and legs tingled. I felt lightheaded as if I had spun around in a circle fifty times. My knees felt like jelly and threatened to buckle underneath me.

"Holy crap," I whispered for the millionth time in under forty-eight hours.

Panting, I struggled to regain breath and calm down my frantic nerves.

"It was just a dream," I said to myself. "A strange, vivid dream, but still just a dream."

I wobbled over towards the window, peeling the curtain back a tad bit to glance outside. The view wasn't much besides the courtyard, more twisted, medieval building of St. Peter's, and forest so dense and tall that I could barely make out the rays of sun that peeked through. It was almost dawn and time to experience my first day of St. Peter's.

I felt my stomach do another cartwheel and flip as the curtain fell to a close. Even though Headmaster V had given me a quick run down of the schedule, there was no telling what might be thrown my way today. I knew my case wasn't exactly ordinary, and the fact that the other students I would be attending St. Peter's with had been here since the start of the school year or even longer. I wouldn't exactly fit in.

I opened one of drawers to the dresser, pulling out the school uniform that was given to me by the academy. Besides that, my wardrobe was basically empty. With my case, the academy had offered me two used pairs of the mandatory uniform, one set of causal clothes, some money, and a toothbrush. It wasn't much, but it was much better than going back to my blood stained clothes.

I quickly threw on the gray trousers, white oxford shirt, and blazer, the rumpled clothes sagging of my body slightly. I flicked the emblem stitched onto the blazer, eyeing the strange words and pictures. It was a shield divided into four pictures of a dragon, star, the letter R, and books. Underneath the emblem the words Ad Astra per Aspera were written in red.

"Latin, huh," I mumbled to myself.

I dismissed the emblem and turned my attention towards the tie that rested on my dresser. I stared apprehensively at the last article of clothing for a few seconds, grumbling in frustration. I threw the scarlet tie around my neck after a few seconds, deciding not to even bother with it.

It wasn't my fault that my memory was wiped clear, including my memory of how to knot a tie.

☾ ☽

The only part of the day that was never schedule was breakfast. Apparently, it was up to students on how and where they wanted to eat at the beginning of the day. You could rather pay for your meal in the dining hall or cook something up for yourself in your designated lounge area.

I decided that looking for a place to eat wasn't such a good idea. I was a vampire after all, and the one thing I knew for sure was that vampires drank blood. My stomach grumbled in protest, but I remained adamant. I wasn't in the mood to see, go near, and definitely not drink blood. I could barely get rid of the repugnant scent of my own blood out of my nose. I decided I could manage. And who knows? Maybe vampires could eat regular food.