Bloody Sheets

Rude Awakening

As my optics met the darkened room around me I gasped. I was afraid to move, afraid of how much it would hurt. I was no longer in pain as far as I could tell, though the memory of my final breath threatened to darken my thoughts. This was impossible, how was I alive? I reached slowly for the wound on my neck but felt nothing. No scarred flesh, no pain or sensitivity in the area. Had I imagined the whole thing? Surely not. I remembered being bitten, the metallic taste of blood lingered in my mouth. I quickly sat up, tugging at the white silk sheets below me for support. I was expecting my whole body to be sore, but instead, I nearly flung myself off the bed with my actions and again I felt nothing. The nurse in me was so confused, I knew what to expect after severe blood loss and this was not it.

My eyes went wide as my sudden awareness caused a sensory overload. Sounds of traffic and the bustle of the city outside quickly flooded my mind. The small light coming from under the door brightened as if I was starring into the sun. I could hear everything, car horns, footsteps, conversations of people all around me, though I couldn't make sense of them. There was so much going on I could hardly discern words as if they weren't speaking English, but I knew they were. I clapped my hands over my ears desperately, squinting so that the light stopped pouring into my brain through my eye sockets. The loudening sounds around me easily penetrated the soft flesh of my hands, and I felt as though my brain might burst at any moment.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I screamed, I could hardly hear myself over the noises. That's when the door burst open, causing me to squeal as I closed my eyes tight to unsuccessfully shut out the light that was harshly penetrating my eyelids. I heard a quick snap and the light was gone, allowing me to finally open my eyes cautiously to the darkness. They adjusted quickly, pulling in vibrant colors from the room around me. It was as if all the lights were on, every detail visible and pronounced, I could see that clearly. A man stood in the doorway, his face partially hidden by a mop of shoulder-length dirty blond curls. His skin tone was light mocha, a dark contrast against my own fair completion. His eyes sparkled like sapphires in the newfound brightness of the night, a chiseled jawline lending the same ominous aura of the one who had attacked me the night before. It was an interesting likeness I couldn't overlook, as well as the handsome allure of his face, the dark button-up he was wearing clinging to his body in a similar way. If his abdomen was half as chiseled as his face, it would make any girl swoon for his attention.

I watched his lips as they danced in an attempt to converse, but I couldn't tell which words belonged to him and which ones were coming from outside. The grip on my ears tightened as he crossed the small distance between us until he was standing only a foot from me. I looked up into the crystal waters of his optics a small grin painting his face as he towered over me. He must have easily cleared six feet, as I sat on the bed my eyesight was in perfect alignment with the button of his shiny leather pants. I blushed, looking back up to his eyes so that I was less... distracted.

He leaned down then, his face inches away as he placed his own hands over mine. His actions forcing deep eye contact and putting my mind at slight ease. His skin was smooth and sturdy like marble, and as I focused on his touch and the small glimmer in his eyes, his lips began to move again. This time I heard a small difference in the close vibration of his words, but I still couldn't understand them. The confused look on my face seemed to clue him in on my struggle because a slight smile formed on his lips. He took a deep breath, coaxing me with a hand motion to do the same. I did as I was shown, even though it felt quite unnatural to me, and while I focused intently the sounds around me seemed to distance from the moment.

"Is that better?" I nodded, finally hearing the soothing, sultry texture of his voice over the bustle of the city. He grimaced, gently pulling my hands away from the sides of my face. I flinched, expecting it all to come crashing back but instead, what was once unbearable was now a small hum in the background of the silence around me. "Do you remember anything?" he said quietly, clearly trying not to send me back into sensory overload. I nodded, not trusting the volume of my own voice.

"I-remember enough..." I winced at first, as the words clawed their way out of my dry throat. He straightened up, looking down at me once again from his tall vantage point.

"Yes, there is a matter we must discuss-" He eyed me, gauging my reaction before he continued. "You may feel a little different than usual..." He trailed off, not sure how to put my new existence into words. Did I really need him to? Though I admit it was pretty unbelievable, I was an avid reader of science fiction, and this situation was a massive cliche. I didn't need it spelled out, or printed in black and white to know what had happened to me. It was jaw-dropping, earth-shattering, dare I say even heart stopping. I was bitten, I was fed. I was TURNED.

"Is this the part where you cautiously tell me that I'm a monster and break me in so I don't get the newbie munchies and go all Count Dracula on the locals?" I winced, the surrounding sounds beginning to flood back in slowly as I struggled to stay focused. He stared blankly at me as if it had thrown him off, it was clear he hadn't quite expected my reaction. Who would though? It wasn't normal, was it? Centuries of novels and films have painted a much different picture of this situation.

"Erm, yes actually." He stifled a laugh as the grimace on his face widened, for the first time growing enough strength to reach his icy glance. "You aren't at all surprised, I must admit it's rather offputting. I am honestly quite impressed." I shrugged, his magnetic glare pulling my mind back into the focus needed to shut out the distractions in my environment. "Who are you?"

I paused. I wasn't exactly sure how to explain the events that had led me to my current demeanor. I looked down at my blood-stained clothes, wearing the evidence of my murder from the night before. The honest answer was I felt nothing, I'm not confident that it was my new transformation that made me this distant, cold. The only thing I really felt... was numb. The truth; I was ...

"no one."