I'M NO ORDINARY MAN

Chapter 4

The air was still around me. The frost flew around me and pricked my toes. My body did not seem to respond to cold touch. That angered Jack Frost, who in turn flew away in rage searching for others.

Eyes closed, something told me that three people were watching me. Two males and a female on a pine tree. Questions buzzed my head, most of them wondering about what they were doing on top of a tree.

The surrounding was rather silent. A new possibility swept in my mind. Could it possibly be me whom they fear? I had after all transformed into a vampire. I am a newborn, but what was there to fear? I remembered facts telling that humans who transformed into new vampires were usually out of control, at an utmost.

Am I such an extreme threat? I mean, I still felt like myself. Almost completely, except for my eyes. There was still a little leftover heat that lingered there, but otherwise, no. The heat decreased quickly and cooled down. That’s when they started communicating. ‘It’s over,’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah, he’s thinking about something…’ ‘WHAT?’ came a surprised cry.

‘That is very unusual,’

‘Yes, it will be safe to approach,’

It? My heart boiled and bubbled at that voice. Why was I being referred to as it? My anger level was rising.

‘Oh! He’s angry. Mind your words,’ ‘Before saying, I know,’ Came another grumble.

‘Yeah, right? Like you all care,’ I groaned as I stood up.

My eyelids flickered as they fluttered open. For a moment, everything was white and blurry, as though I was staring through a crystal. Then, my vision became clear, refined even.

I adjusted to my eyes and found that I could gaze to distant galaxies. I readjusted and found myself face to face with face with three familiar figures standing at my sides. That’s when I realized the place I’d been lying on.

A dark, grey stone slab in the centre of a rocky room, a cave after observing the ceilings. Stalactites and stalagmites rose like thorns from both floor and ceiling, looking rather threatening. Moonlight seemed to fall into the cave – room and filled the slab that I had been lying on. There was a circular, man – made hole at the top.

‘What am I doing here?’ I asked out of curiosity.

‘And did I really go to hell?’ I questioned, looking at them.

That’s when they burst into mounds of laughter. I couldn’t get it. Why were they laughing at me? I had just come back from hell, and all they do is to laugh out loud. ‘Of course, NOT,’ Jacque replied, snickering. ‘So what did happen to me? All that fire, pain and terrible heat,’ I sighed slowly. ‘Vampire venom excruciates the human body. It depends on the pain of the human and a new theory, as well as the number of vampires that bit you. Like you for example, you were not in any form of pain and the fact that three vampires bit you gave all the reason the world for the venom to create an illusion of hell. The more the pain, the quicker the transformation and the less the extreme heat…’Jack explained.

‘OK. So, where am I?’ I asked, again.

‘This is the Cave of the Moon. A cave under the special control of the Goddess Deliphio,’ sighed Jack.

‘Who is Deliphio?’

There was a moment of silence as the three vampires gave an awkward glance, a glance of uncertainty and agitation. I mean, what did me mentioning about who – knows – who Deliphio is…

‘Allow me to suggest something… Can’t we leave explanations aside first, I want to get going already!’ shouted Jacque, and surprisingly he growled.

‘Patience, love. We’ll all go in good time,’ Rose whispered.

I have to admit it that her voice sounded chilling like the East Wind. It sent a powerful surge of freakish – excitement into me. ‘Oh! I can’t stand it anymore,’ shouted Jacque as he stormed off, stamping his foot. My first thought was that he was acting rather childish. I looked at the ground and found the ground below me was cracked and a gaping hole stretched below.

That’s when I felt someone push a white handkerchief onto my pale hands. The white handkerchief was lifted and the golden diamond lay once again within my clutches.

I waited and ironically, I held my breath. I knew that I didn’t actually need to but I did it for the fun of it. The golden diamond lay on the palm of my hand, still and motionless.

Three seconds passed, and nothing happened.

‘Maybe his deoxyribonucleic acid has changed completely, leaving no trace of any human genetics information within him,’ theorized Rose in a scientific way.

‘No…It’s not that. Nothing about DNA,’ Jack exclaimed, obviously directing it to Rose. ‘Maybe it’s our supernatural powers that are affecting him and thus affecting the diamond as well…’ stated Jacque all of a sudden. ‘Had fun destroying the village nearby?’ Rose asked in a sickly kind of voice to Jacque, who now appeared rather calm.

‘Of course! Rose, yours was the force field, Jacque , telepathy and mine, the Shield. That would exactly be the very thing that is acting on you…’ Jack concluded, at the top of his voice, the entire thing.

I stared at them with a queer expression. What were they exactly asking me to do now? Then, I felt something open up in my head. I could see Jacque and Rose’s thought. I ignored it when I found it a mere unimportance and utter annoyance.

‘Close your eyes and imagine a lush green meadow filled with life…’

What the hell was that supposed to be? Anyway, I followed what he asked me to do and I closed my eyes. But I had something else on my mind. I decided whether or not to follow the instructions.

My mind decided that there was no harm in doing it. Instead of an immediate image in my mind, my brain began to form it pixel by pixel. A far stretched field curved into a hemispheric shape.

A long stream of water appeared from thin air and plopped to the ground around the meadow. It looked just like a moat from my point of view. The Sun in the sky shone its piercing sun rays and lightened the complete meadow, casting a beautiful view.

I felt rigid for a single second. Something snaked its way out of me and rushed away from me, swooping as it went. Then, I opened my eyes and for a moment, all seemed silent.

‘I can read your mind now!’ Jacque cheered happily.

But his cheers and happy whoops were drowned by a loud ear splitting scream. All of them turned their eyes to Rose, but she shrugged. Rose’s power was also the Gift of Silence, the power to silence people verbally by a single shriek.

Don’t ask me how I knew it but I just did. It popped into my head without me even noticing. Their eyes turned to me. Not exactly me but the object on my hand. The same object had started vibrating madly and non - stop.

And the Golden Diamond was screeching like an angry bird. The Power of the Diamond was finally being bent to the inner strength of a vampire, me. That wasn't supposed to happen, ever...

A golden ray erupted but I realized that my eyes had been fooled. The golden ray shot out of the diamond and twisted like a thin strand of string around the cave walls.

More golden strings erupted from within it. It spun all around us and thickened against the rocky walls of the . The diamond began to emit a bright glow of light. Then, a thought of realization struck me.

‘Quickly! Grab my hands all of you…’ I yelled loudly.

The diamond screeched louder and it rose up into the air. Mysteriously lifted into the air, was something even I couldn't give a possible, reasonable explanation.

Cracks appeared along its sides as the diamond opened up, miraculously. The light produced was too much and it blinded me from seeing anything.

The cave walls started spinning around us, as we were lifted off the floor and whooshed right into the very heart of the diamond...