Chapter Ten
1366 Words
To my embarrassment, the path home isn’t exactly paved in gold, and I almost immediately find myself lost in the forest.
Disoriented is putting it mildly as I attempt to figure out what time of day it is. With bloody clothes and no wounds, being found by someone who might be willing to rescue me won’t go in my favor.
Without even thinking, I use my fingers to feel my way down to the hole in my shirt, expecting the hard, crusty blood to appear beneath my touch.
Smoothness meets the pads of my fingers.
Silk.
As I look down at my pale hands, I expect to see a dark brown, tattered t-shirt in stark contrast to my skin. Instead, the silk beneath my touch has me taken aback.
White silk.
There I stand, in the middle of the woods… some random woods on the outskirts of town… in a white, silk dress.
While I am beyond thankful for the lack of blood on my clothes, who in their right mind will help a damsel in distress wandering through the forest in a fancy gown?
I won’t find out, though. I’m not a damsel. I don’t need to be rescued.
Still wearing my thrift-store-Chucks, my body now sheathed in a tight, pearl-colored dress, I continue through the woods, stepping over weeds and hoping none of the hitchhikers cling to my pretty gown… or my expensive black Converse shoes. Even though the shoes are used, worn, and threadbare, I still love them. Bright green sticky things stand out on both black and white.
I’m seriously screwed.
It comes as no surprise that I have zero directional intuition. I’ve never had the need for it considering I never travel—or drive. So I’m shocked when I actually spit myself out into the city only a half hour after walking.
I’m actually beyond surprised, and rather out of breath, as I walk a bit farther on a sidewalk, finally gathering my bearings of where I am in the city.
Still, if I’m right about my location, I’m a good twenty-three blocks from my apartment complex.
Thank Christ I’m still wearing my trusty Chucks.
Which are now untied.
Grand.
Bending over, I crouch down in the nice, pearl dress to tie my sneaker, totally avoiding anyone who dares to look my way and judge my attire.
I’m rocking the whole dress and chucks look, no matter what people think.
Just as I finish my bunny ears, tightening them and double knotting, I see the bills snaking their way out from between my socks and the tongue of the shoe.
“The hell?” I whisper, grabbing at the greenbacks before they disappear along with my sanity. Thankfully no one is around to see me pull money out of my shoe.
Without hesitating any further, I flag down a cab, the yellow vehicles plentiful in this city. In the past, it has been hard for me to trust those who drove the minions of this city around—day in and day out. But when I need them, they’re always there. So why judge now?
A man pulls over, and I immediately hop in, giving him the strip club’s address with hope that he can drop me nearby.
“You a dancer?” he asks, his broken English a bit of a familiar comfort in a world that has decided to go ass over teakettle on me.
I nod and don’t make eye contact. I am no longer ashamed to say I’m a dancer at Crimson City Club. It’s honestly not a profession to be ashamed of considering my upbringing. With my recent promotion from bartender to dancer, I try to take pride in what I do. But, that doesn’t mean I will lead any man on.
The cab driver doesn’t say more, and for that, I’m thankful. I honestly don’t know if I can talk much with all the thoughts racing through my mind.
An evil, magical man kidnapped me.
A man who claims to be a vampire eludes my need for answers.
And I’m supposedly a vampire.
Well, a recovering vampire.
Is there such thing as a recovering vampire?
Hell if I know.
All I do know is I am now wearing clothes I didn’t wake up in, and I was stabbed but didn’t die.
I didn’t die.
Or did I?
According to Semion, I was brought back to life. Which doesn’t make any sense at all whatsoever. Then again, being an undead vampire doesn’t make sense either, so what the hell do I know?
“This it?” the driver’s voice says from the front, his eyes looking at me through the rearview mirror, his expression bored.
I nod again. “Thank you,” I say as I look at the meter and hand over enough cash to make him happy. Hell, a tip like that would make me happy too. But someone clearly put that money in my shoe to probably assist in getting me home safe.
Semion.
It’s an odd feeling, walking around during the day. I usually don’t have to be at the club until dusk. There are some day dancers, but for the most part, the place gets busier at night.
As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time I’ve interacted with any of the dancers during the day. Kat included.
Oh, s**t. Kat!
I hope she’s okay. The last I saw of her, Semion had her in a grip that still has me wincing.
I’ll kill the bastard, vampire or not, if he hurt my friend.
My only friend.
I have to wonder just how real all of this mess is. We’re talking vampires. There’s just no way such a thing exists… right? And did I really want some massive guy coming to my apartment to tell me lies about some fictional monsters?
Pushing through the door into my apartment, I immediately make my way to the bathroom and look at myself in the mirror.
It’s like I don’t even recognize myself. Aside from my hair being a mess, my face looks flushed and pink—a flesh color I haven’t seen in years. My skin has always been ghostly white, a stark contrast to my raven hair.
Then it dawns on me…
Pale skin. Nighttime life. Insatiable hunger. Penchant for blood.
“f**k,” I whisper as I peel the fancy dress from my body and climb in the shower.
Makes me want to go to the store and sniff some garlic to see what will happen. Then again, if Semion is right, I’m no longer a predator of the underworld.
While I lather my hair, a laugh escapes me before I have a chance to rein it in. The whole thought process is damn ridiculous.
I spend a bit of time cleaning myself up, still unsure of what to do with the random dress, and get into something a bit more comfortable before grabbing a bite to eat.
Thanks to dancing, I actually have some food in my fridge, but upon inspection of my stock, nothing looks good, not even the meat. It’s the first time in my life I haven’t had an appetite, and the thought of my lack of hunger continues to plague me as nightfall nears.
Maybe this is what it’s like to feel human for once? The mere thought of it is absurd to me.
I can’t believe I’m spending my evening thinking about such absurdities as vampires and magicians. Then again, if I want to get some answers about Kat, I might need to at least pretend to be open-minded once Semion gets here.
“He was a mage,” a voice booms from near the door, causing me to jump out of my socks as I leap from the tattered couch in my living area.
“A what?” I screech. It doesn’t take a genius to know it’s Semion, but how he got in is perplexing. I had the deadbolt latched and everything.
He steps deeper into my home, his eyes still in shadow as he speaks.
“The man you killed. He was more powerful than you realize.”
- Writer
