Keeping Human

Chapter Four

The wind picked up, dragging dry, auburn leaves against the floor and swirling them around Nelly's feet. She shivered slightly as the air got colder.

The sun moved in the sky and the clouds split into pieces around it.

Her brother stepped closer. "What's the matter?" Caleb stared into her glassy eyes and awaited an answer.

Nelly swallowed and walked past him towards the house. Caleb scurried after her and pulled on her arm.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled involuntarily.

He looked at her, hurt glowing in his eyes. Nelly was just as shocked but shook it off and took off into the house.

"Okay, what's going on?" He demanded when he entered the house behind her. "Where have you been?"

Nelly glanced up at him. "How long have you known about mum and dad?"

Caleb's face found its way into a frown. "What are you-"

"-Don't lie to me!" Nelly yelled back. She slowly moved towards the table, talking a seat and sighed. "I know Caleb, you don't have to lie to me anymore. I know what mum and dad were..." she glanced up, "...and I know what you are."

Caleb's figure sunk. His face drooped sadly and he let all of his emotions out in one deep sigh; he picked up the stool that sat in the corner and sat down, defeated.

"I wanted to tell you someday, but it never seemed like the right time. How...how did you find out?" He asked with a quiet voice.

Nelly closed her eyes slightly and brushed her cheek against her shoulder. "I was at Lake Enara earlier today...after the police station."

Caleb held in his outburst. "What on earth were you doing there?"

"The vampires, they found me and asked me to join their side. They told me everything. They all work at the police station, that's how they tracked me down." She blurred out.

Her brothers jaw clenched and she noticed his hands tightening into a fist. "You find about vampires and werewolves and you just waltz into the lair of one of the most dangerous vampires on the planet?"

"You're one to talk, Caleb. You've been lying to me for years! You knew I would find out sometime. When did you plan on telling me?" She growled sadly.

"When you were mature enough to handle the truth. Which clearly, you are not," he snapped back, "do you have no regard for your own safety?"

"Of course I do! I didn't have many options, they were making me go either way." She sighed. "I had no choice."

Talking to her brother had never been stranger. It was like he had become somebody completely new - no longer her brother, no longer the only person she could count on.

And the beats carried on, the silence dragged out, the conversation dimmed and her heart sunk into the pit of her stomach.

"So...why are you not in your pack anymore?" She asked, taking a defeated sigh at the table.

Caleb moved forward and took a deep breath. "I left the pack after they suggested killing you; the wolves are usually the race that protect the humans, but it's something they considered mute after a while. It's a hard thing to do, leaving, I mean, almost impossible, but I did it for you. I could never let anything happen to you, Nelly."

Nelly furrowed her brows and shook her head slowly. "Maybe joining the vampires is the right thing to do. I mean, if I don't do this, who knows what will happen...to you or to Maddie."

Caleb began pacing around the room frustratedly. "Listen to me, okay, the vampires accept me only because mother belonged to them. Now that she's gone, I'm alone and they want me dead. I can imagine the vile stories they've shoved into your brain, but if you knew the half of what they are - you wouldn't even question what side you belong to."

"Your kind? You left them, Caleb! You're not one of them anymore! I am not a thing to be passed around. I am a person, a real person and I have feelings and opinions, and if mum was a vampire then maybe I was supposed to be too!" She panted.

Caleb turned to face her quickly and clenched his jaw. Storming forward, he grabbed her. "No. That is not happening, you will not become one of them, okay? You won't have to change for us, you can stay alive with us. I would never ask you to die for me!"

Nelly closed her eyes and looked down at the table, resting her head in her hands. "Are you going to hand me over to them?" She asked quietly.

Caleb sighed and moved over to the table, taking a seat ahead of her. "No, of course not. I'm just saying, if it comes to it...you're better off with us."

Nelly glanced up as he slumped into himself. "And that boy before...Jared?-"

"-Part of my pack, yes. If he's moved into town then the pack aren't far behind...and Oliver." He sighed and scratched his stubble.

"Oliver?" She looked up at him expectantly. "Who is Oliver?"

Caleb breathed a laugh. "The Alpha. Alpha's ordered get obeyed whether we want them to or not, which means Jared is probably planning to kill me for desertion." He moved towards the coffee machine. "It's like an unbreakable bond, when you're in a pack...and I left."

Nelly watched as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Where does the tattoo fit in then?" She asked curiously, glancing at the arm Jared had exposed before.

He smiled a little and pulled his short sleeve up. Gently, he brushed his fingers over his wrist and ever so slowly a black mark rose on his skin. "I hid it from him. It's only something you can do if you abandon the pack entirely...cut them from your mind. I tried to protect you, is all. I'm sorry."

Nelly frowned and shook her head sympathetically. "He called you a traitor."

"It's considered treason, not many people have the will to do it."

Nelly felt a tear drip down her cheek. "What do I do, Caleb? What do I do?"

"Oh, it's alright. It'll be okay." Caleb whispered as he took a hold of her. "We can move away, leave this town behind. You, me and Maddie. We can just go, tomorrow."

Nelly shook her head. "No, I...I couldn't do that to Ophelia. If I leave they'll kill her."

Caleb slowly released his grip on her and moved away. "Ophelia..?" He said quietly. "No," he shook his head rapidly, "she became one of them?"

Nelly furrowed her brows sympathetically. "She didn't commit suicide. She wasn't murdered. She was turned...she is one of them."

Caleb clenched his jaw and slammed his fist against the table. "Goddammit!" He yelled and Nelly jolted in surprise. "Listen, you are not leaving Maddie and I to join them, okay? We are going, tomorrow. Ophelia made her choice, now she has to live with it...or die with it."

"If I don't do this, she will die!" Nelly barked.

Caleb snarled. "She's already dead, her heart no longer beats. We are leaving tomorrow, and you're coming with me whether you like it or not."

•

That evening was cold and crisp and Nelly could feel the frost forming on her clothes as she sat in her bedroom window.

Curiously, she moved from the windowsill and opened the attic door. She crept her way to the box of things that her mum had left for her, her brother and her sister and took out the book.

Back in her room she read the book over and over again whilst turning the ring in her fingers. It was all true; those fairy stories you're told when you're young and the folklore you pretend to know as you grow. Everything was true. Fairies, witches, werewolves, vampires, mermaids...everything.

Nelly soaked in her newfound knowledge and realised that somehow she would have to come to terms with it before the fear of the unknown took over her.

She stood up and placed the book and ring on her bedside table. From the outside she heard a tapping against her window-pane as though small pebbles were being thrown at it. Curiously, she looked out of it.

Outside in the coming darkness, Nelly noticed a silhouette at the top of the hill overlooking her house; frowning, she moved closer and made the outline to be from her friend.

Ophelia watched her for a while before moving off into the woodland, gesturing for Nelly to follow her.

She turned, hopped from her windowsill and grabbed her coat from the hook on the back of her door. Scurrying down the stairs, she avoided her brother's room and left the house unnoticed.

Ophelia led her to their old spot. It had been decrepit for a while now, the leaves had been stripped from the trees and snow covered their seats.

"You're leaving..." Ophelia muttered from somewhere in the darkness of the woodland.

Nelly spun around, looking for the source of her friend's voice. "Ophelia..? Ophelia come out, come out please."

Ophelia took a deep breath and moved through the trees. Her face was pale white, practically glowing in the moonlight.

"Do you know how hard it is for me to be around you?" She spat angrily.

Nelly furrowed her brows. "I can imagine."

"But," she began, "I needed to talk to you." Ophelia walked closer and took a deep breath, controlling her thirst. "You're my best friend, and I'd never want to hurt you, but you have to understand something, unless you join us, I won't be able to control myself. I'm only a few months old, new-born..." she took a deep breath and let it out jaggedly, "...back at the house, you don't know how many times I wanted to rip your throat out and tear you to pieces," she moved closer, peeled a strand of Nelly's brunette hair behind her ear and bit her lip as she took a deep breath, "how much I want to now..."

Nelly breathed heavily. "You won't hurt me."

She shook her head. "I just...wanted to warn you, tell you how it is. If you leave this place, I may have to hunt you...if they leave me alive, that is."

Nelly looked up at her with caring and glassy eyes. "How did it happen? How did you turn?"

Ophelia furrowed her brows and bit the inside of her cheek. "It was...I was..." she sighed, "I wasn't truthful, when I told you before."

"It's okay, it's only me. You can tell me, they won't have to know." She said reassuringly.

"I knew it was going to happen, Seth had approached me earlier in the week, he...told me everything. He gave me the same choice as you, to join them, or to die. I suppose you die either way if you think about it." She chuckled lightly, it wasn't long before her forced smile was wiped off her face. "I was leaving our spot...when he found me."

•

"You're early." Ophelia said quickly after noticing the reflection in the pond of Seth standing behind her. "You haven't given me enough time to say goodbye...my mama, my papa, and Nelly. You're too early." She panicked through ragged breaths and felt her eyes well up with tears. "Please," she pleaded, "just one more day."

Seth walked closer to her, his boots crunching the leaves beneath them. "You've had more than enough time. We can't wait any longer." He said quickly.

Slowly, he came from behind her and brushed her hair away, exposing her pale-skinned neck. He gulped the burning sensation down his throat and sighed deeply. "You...you'll see Nelly sooner than you think, and your family will be safe when they leave town." He whispered. "I promise."

Ophelia sniffed and whimpered slightly. "Will it hurt?" She asked fearfully.

Seth could feel the uncontrollable thirst building up in his throat. The burning sensation was making him twitch. His eyes subconsciously turned black, and the veins in his face puffed out darkly. "A...a little." He forced out his words, as it was becoming more and more difficult to remain calm around her magnificent smell. The thought of tasting her was driving his mind crazy.

"You've done this before? You can control yourself?" She asked worryingly, realising his desire to feed from her. "It's just a bite...remember? Nothing more."

He nodded to himself, but he wasn't fooling anybody. He had no idea what she was even saying. He brought a hand around the front of her body and began to slowly drag his fingers across her bare stomach.

"What are you doing?" Ophelia whimpered.

He sighed gently and bit his lip in lust. "Stay...still." He ordered.

"S-Seth...stop it, please. It's just a bite. I-"

Ophelia let out a hearty, blood-curdling scream as he suddenly lunged his fangs into the side of her neck, just above her shoulder. He quickly moved his hand up to grasp a hold of her mouth and quieten her.

He could not hold back the groan he was so deeply holding inside and began draining her blood without notion.

Ophelia's breath was dragged from her as she suddenly felt light and weightless, her mind drifting away. "S-Seth..." she forced out, with barely any voice, "you're killing me."

He could not stop. He grasped a hold of her as tight as he could, as though she was a carton and he had to get out as much juice as it would allow.

Her jagged whines snapped him back to reality. He retracted is fangs and threw her forward. His face was shaking in complete desire, and held his mouth that dripped with her blood. He fell to his knees panting heavily, forcing himself to calm down, and watched intently as Ophelia began writhing around in agony, letting out involuntary screeches and growls.

•

"It was excruciating. I'm lucky he was able to stop." She said honestly. "My entire body was on fire, and it took about thirty minutes to stop. Even then it didn't completely stop hurting, my fangs stared to push through my gums, my eyes were burning and my throat was sizzling." She shook her head, "And that wasn't the worst part...the thirst set in a moment later, I couldn't help the fact that I wanted to practically kill everything in sight. I needed food...blood." She glanced up at Nelly. "It was madness, inhuman, monstrous. And it lasted months. A new-born vampire is the most dangerous thing in the world." She held back tears. "I left you the note because I knew I would come back to you. I knew, you were too important for me not to see you again."

Nelly scrunched up her face. "I'm sorry you had to go through that, I'm so sorry, Ophelia."

She shook her head and gave a smile. "Being bitten by a vampire provokes lust, you gain a bond with the person. You want them, you need them, you have to have them. Until of course you get over it and you don't need them anymore, you can survive without them." She chuckled. "I'll tell you, Seth couldn't be rid of me for weeks. I'm actually surprised he didn't use it to his advantage." She smirked.

Nelly smiled back, but it slowly faded. "Caleb wants to take me away, back to Veciba, where he can protect Maddie and I." She said truthfully. "He thinks, if we make it there, the vampires can't get past the packs that protect the area."

Ophelia looked away. "Your brother. He's a wolf...he wants me dead." She shook her head. "He never knew how I felt about him."

Nelly bit the inside of her cheek. "I'm sure he knows."

Ophelia shook off her feelings and sighed. "So you're definitely leaving?"

Nelly nodded. "I don't see any way around it."

"You could always become one of us." Ophelia said solemnly. She scoffed and shook her head, "Ignore me, I'm talking out of my arse. I know you'll do the right thing."

Nelly looked down at her feet. A tornado of emotions taking control of her. Fear, curiosity, anxiety, sympathy. "Yeah," she teared, "I suppose I will."

CHAPTER FOUR, END.