CHAPTER 2
2207 Words
ALINA STUART
I back away further, raising my hand and holding the knife.
“Don’t come any closer to me. I don’t have anything you want. I’ll scream if you don’t get out of my way now!”
“Your screams won’t stop your long and slow suffering, human. We can do this the hard way, but we will get the key you possess.”
Key?
What is he talking about?
I shake my head, looking at the three men in front of me. They keep approaching, and I grip my knife tighter, hearing and feeling the rain on my body.
I’ve never fought vampires, but if I need to do it to try to save my life, I think that moment might be now.
“I know what you are; you’ve always been in my mind, haunting me...”, I whisper, pointing the knife at him, but he keeps getting closer.
“We’ve been searching for you for many years, and we’ve finally found you. I’ll ask one last time: give us the portal key.”, he says angrily, and I feel my heart pounding inside my chest.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about; I don’t know anything about any key.”
“You’re lying. We know who you are, Alina. We know the type of blood and power that run in your veins. My friends will be very happy to play with you.”, he says with a malicious smile.
I raise my hand forcefully, trying to strike him, when I feel the tattooed vampire’s hand on my arm. I blink before turning my body and trying to hit him again, but I fail.
Vampires are much stronger than I imagined.
I groan in pain as he twists my arm, forcing me to drop the knife on the ground. His gaze changes, becoming more intense, and the red in his pupils gleams like fresh blood.
I widen my eyes, seeing the moment he opens his mouth to attack me. I push his body away with all my strength before running in the other direction.
But I scream when I see another vampire flying through the air and landing in front of me. I struggle as his cold hands grip me tightly.
“Maybe you truly can’t remember where your mother hid the key we need, but the answer and your deepest memories lie in your blood...", the vampire says, approaching, and I realize what he’s going to do when I see his sharp teeth.
I feel horror taking over me, and I try to break free, using the defense and attack moves I’ve learned, but none of them work against vampires.
The man behind me, with a deep scar over his eye, forces my head to turn, fully exposing my neck to the vampire leader vampire.
I shut my eyes tightly, hearing him get closer. In my mind, I start thinking about what he said about me and my mother.
I never knew anything about my parents, but they seem to know a lot about my life.
“I have nothing! I’m just a normal girl!”, I scream, opening my eyes and feeling tears wetting my face along with the cold rain.
“No, you’re not. Your mother made sure of that; she protected you from us, but she failed...”
“You don’t know anything about me! Let me go!”, I scream, trembling, as the vampire behind me licks my neck.
My legs give out, and I bite my lips hard.
I think of the worst, and I think they’re going to kill me.
I’m going to be killed in a dark alley by vampires, and I’ll never get to learn more about myself or be truly happy.
I blink in fear, I fight, but nothing pushes them away. I glance at the vampire’s belt and see a shining dagger.
I look back at him, shaking my head as he opens his mouth, showing his sharp teeth.
“Hold the girl!”
“No! No! Please!”, I scream, trying to pull away.
I keep screaming, but no one seems to hear me, and I feel the desperation grow as a hand covers my mouth tightly.
I try to scream and ask for help again, but I can’t.
The feeling of being killed here is overwhelming. The fear intensifies, and so does my survival instinct.
I feel the leader vampire’s hand touch my face; he licks his lips as if he can already taste my blood.
“The Order will be very pleased to find you. We finally have a chance to change and become stronger. With your blood, humans will bow before us.”, he murmurs in my ear.
I don’t understand anything he’s saying, but something catches my attention.
The Order?
Tears blur my vision, and I lift my leg, kicking him hard between his legs as I feel his lips against my neck.
I use my legs to push him away from me. I manage to grab the dagger, and without hesitation, I turn and plunge the blade into the vampire holding me.
He screams, and I start running, almost reaching the busy streets again. My heart races in my chest as I hear the leader’s shout.
“Capture the girl now! She’s chosen the hard way, so we’ll show her what that means.”
I run faster, seeing the blonde vampire chasing me. He grabs my arm, and I fall hard to the ground.
I groan, hitting my head and opening my eyes to find him on top of me.
I try to push him away as he tries to attack me.
He pins my arms down beside my head, and I brace myself to be bitten, but the leader vampire stops him.
“We can’t kill the girl yet. She’s too important for us to find what we need. We’re too exposed here; take her!”
I struggle as I feel the vampire’s hands around my neck. He lifts me easily and shoves me hard against the wall again.
I growled in pain, feeling blood trickling down my forehead. My vision blurs, and I blink, trying to breathe as his hands remain around my neck.
“We should kill her now; we’ve been trying to locate her for years, and we can’t waste this chance. Smell her blood. So sweet...”, the vampire holding me says, licking my skin and trying to bite me.
The leader of the vampire group seems irritated with his actions, and I roll my eyes, gasping for air, but I can’t. I feel my body getting weaker as he grips me tighter.
“We can’t kill her yet, i***t! She’s important, and we can’t kill the girl until we know where the key is!”, he shouts, approaching and shoving the vampire away from me.
“Get away from her; you’re killing her!”
I fall to the ground, coughing and blinking as I feel the rain pouring down on my face.
I clutch my neck, finally able to breathe again.
I don’t have the strength to stand and run anymore. I sit on the ground, looking around and seeing there’s still no help for me.
“Please, let me go...", I whisper, and the leader approaches me.
“The Order will know what to do with her. We have to leave now.”
I try to scream when I feel his hand grab my arm and force me to stand. He drags me through the dark corridor, while I still feel dizzy and try to push him away.
“Let me go! Stop! Stop!", I scream, crying, and punch the leader vampire hard in the face, making him growl in anger.
I widen my eyes and groan, turning my head when his hand slaps my face hard. The impact is strong, and I can feel my cheek hurting.
Before I can do anything else, I feel a cloth being pressed against my nose and mouth.
They’re going to kidnap and kill me.
I groan, closing my eyes, but they’re determined.
“Don’t worry, human. We won’t kill you yet....”, he whispers, and I roll my eyes before everything goes completely dark around me.
I don’t know exactly where I am, but I hear a car moving, though my head hurts too much, and the pain prevents me from opening my eyes to figure out where I am.
I can hear voices—the same voices of the vampires—and I groan, blinking my eyes before realizing I’m trapped in a dark, cramped space in the back of a car.
Panic returns, and I lift my hands, banging them hard against my surroundings. I do the same with my feet, not wanting to let this continue and let them take me somewhere I don’t know.
I cry, feeling the tears in my eyes. I can’t see anything in the dark, but I keep fighting while the car keeps moving.
My body aches, and I’m injured. I don’t know how long I’ve been inside this car, but I stop breathing when I realize the car has stopped.
I tense up when I hear the vampires’ voices again. They get out of the car, and I prepare myself as the back is opened.
Before they can capture me, I use my leg and kick the first vampire I see hard in the face. He falls to the ground, and I quickly get out of the car, feeling the surrounding cold.
I blink and lift my head, seeing that I’m standing in front of a gloomy mansion. There are many cars parked, and we’re in the middle of a forest.
I’m confused and scared. I look around, seeing only trees—more and more trees.
“The girl is escaping! Take her inside now!”
I growl as I feel them capturing me and dragging me inside.
I’m far from the city, far from my apartment, and alone.
“Where am I?”, I ask the blonde vampire beside me, but he doesn’t answer.
The mansion is terrifying, a typical horror movie setting, and I feel like I’m walking into a house full of vampires, and I’m the only human.
Terrible combination.
They hold my hands behind my back, so I can’t try anything.
I take a deep breath, feeling my body trembling. I need to assess my situation and find a way to escape this place before it’s too late for me.
We enter the mansion, and the first thing I see are many people dressed in red in the large living room.
Not people.
Vampires.
I blink, seeing that everyone is looking at us with curiosity. There are many vampires, and I see they are holding glasses filled with...
Blood.
My fear grows with each passing second as I keep walking with the vampires. They look at us, and I notice glances in my direction as if I’m their dinner for the night.
My God.
“Where am I?”, I ask angrily, but no one answers. Then I hear a female voice.
“You are on our property. Welcome to the Order’s mansion, Alina Stuart. We’ve been waiting for your arrival for a long time.”
I blink, hearing high heels clicking on the wooden floor, and seconds later I see a tall woman with blonde hair.
She walks toward us with a confident look, wearing a black dress and smiling at me as if she knows me very well.
How does she know my name?
I brace myself, realizing I am in enemy territory. No one here is trustworthy to me.
I keep looking at the woman, who has maintained her red eyes on me the entire time, as if she has been waiting for me for a long time.
The strange part is that I feel the vampires releasing me and bowing toward the woman before lowering their heads as a sign of respect.
The Order.
I still don’t know what that means, but she seems to be someone very important and respected among the vampires—some sort of hierarchy among them.
She stops in front of me, studying me slowly, and I clench my fists, feeling uncomfortable with the way she’s looking at me right now.
“Hello, Alina. I’m sorry that your arrival has been so...unusual among humans, and I apologize for that.”, she says when she notices the injury on my forehead and looks at the vampires with anger, who seem to be afraid of her.
“Marcos was very clear when he said not to touch or hurt the girl.", she tells the vampires, who lower their heads.
“Forgive me, Countess, but the girl resisted until the last minute, and we had to use force to bring her here.”
Countess?
“Who are you, and why am I here?” I ask her seriously, and she blinks before nodding her head.
“Please follow me. Marcos will meet you soon.”
I look around, seeing that the vampires are not following me. I would never be able to get through the mansion’s exit without dying.
- Writer
