Vampire Dream

Chapter 6 - The Escape

I gasped awake, eyes wide open and mouth burning. My teeth hurt a lot, and I had a faint taste of blood in my mouth. I was in an eerily dark room lit with only candles. I was sitting in a far corner of the room. This was a bedroom, but it was very spacious with a large canopy bed with Victorian drapes and a vanity. I stood up, having to use the wall for stability. What is the last thing I remember?

Gabriel holding my head in his lap with red, goopy-filled vials, me going delusional with blood loss.

Using the wall, I hobbled over to the vanity to assess myself. I was wearing a slightly tattered nightgown that had a lot of fresh blood stains - fresh? I lifted the gown to take a look at where I was shot: not even a scar. Looking at my reflection, I noticed no blemishes on my face. I looked very youthful. But blood was surrounding my mouth. My blood ran cold. I hesitantly opened my mouth, afraid of what I would find. Canines are slightly elongated to look like a vampire. Only slightly, but very clearly different to me. My heartbeat rose; I fell to the ground. This can’t be. And whose blood is this? It took a while for me to stand back up, and I cautiously gave the room a second glance. There’s blood splattered all over the bedsheets. Scrapes on the walls from long fingernails. I already know my fingernails are long because they’re pressing into my fists. Heading towards the door, I checked the knob: locked from the outside. So I’m trapped. My head begins to pang, something trying to protrude my mind. I try to shake it off, but the pull is enticing like a warm embrace into something familiar. The last remnants of my current life slowly slipping away... No. I shake away the feeling and began pounding on the door. In one swing I accidentally punch a hole through the door. I look at my hand with the splinters, but there’s no wounds or pain. Oh sh**. I pull apart the door and sprint down the stairs, running into some workers there. They took one look at me and screamed. I forgot to wash myself off or change. But there wasn’t any time. I had to check to make sure my suspicions weren’t accurate.

The d**n mansion was one huge maze, and I had to figure out the puzzle. I ran from room to room, praying that I could find what I was looking for.

Finally, I felt an urge. I followed it to a completely golden door with an intricate pattern. It was - inconveniently - the farthest room from mine. I checked the door knob and it wasn’t locked. Tentatively, I opened the door. It swung into the room until I was standing in a doorway with spears and guns in my face.

The room was also very dark, so I couldn’t see any of the faces. However, one face stood out: Kingston. He was holding a spear with his shaky grip. Making eye contact with him, I saw his fear and it was palpable.

As I took a step forward, a body slammed into me, knocking me to the side of the room. Gabriel was pinning me to the wall, teeth unfurled, up in my face.

“What the hell is your problem?” I demanded. His look of fury undid itself a little bit, confusion setting in his features.

“What’s going on here?” I asked, looking around the room. Kingston was against the back wall, far away from me. I shoved Gabriel off of me and tried to walk towards Kingston, but the line of weapons was still in my way.

“Josie, are you okay?” Gabriel asked.

“You!” I pointed at him with my finger. “You owe me an explanation. For everything!”

“What do you mean?”

“What did you do to me in that d**n library of yours. Why did I wake up locked in a decrepit room, and why the hell do I have blood all over me.”

Kingston’s shaking decreased and he walked through the crowd tentatively. He looked so shattered and weak, I wanted to help him. Cautiously, he reached for my right arm. I let him take it. He studied my arm carefully, tracing my skin and looking closely at my forearm. I wasn’t sure why he was doing that, but I wanted to make sure he was okay.

Gabriel appeared next to Kingston suddenly and startled me. Kingston jumped and everyone c****d their weapons at me. Gabriel put a hand on my shoulder and I could feel the warmth from earlier returning even stronger. I shook it off again and shrugged away from him.

“Stay away from me.” I told him. I glanced at the people in the room, all strangers to me except Kingston, who was afraid of me. I couldn’t handle this pain anymore and exited the room, running blindly through the halls to escape from this torture.

I turned into a room and slammed the door behind me, leaning on the door since I was out of breath and emotionally drained. The warmth came back, but I liked the numb feeling I had. It felt safe to not feel. Looking up, though, I was back in the library. There was a young girl in the back, peeking out behind a bookshelf. I paused for a moment, seeing what she would do. Nothing. I began to walk towards her. As I got closer, I felt a sticky liquid on my skin. Fresh blood was seeping through my nightgown as I realized my wound was reopening. My arm started stinging, and when I looked at it, deep scratches began to appear and gushed blood. But I needed to get to the girl. She had something I needed.

The struggle to stay up was intense. Blood was falling out of me onto the ground, leaving behind a trail. Each step was agonizing pain. A couple of steps away from her, I collapsed. But I refused to give up. Army crawling, I inched towards the girl until I was at her feet. I was about to touch her foot when a foot stomped on my hand. Looking up, it was a man with long blonde hair; very muscular and thin. He squatted down and put his face in mine.

“Why should I let you die?” He asked.

A door bursts open, causing the elvish-looking man to disappear behind a bookshelf. I’m still conscious, but can’t speak or move. I feel no pain as the person quickly but carefully turns me over and picks me up to take me somewhere.

I look at the shelves one more time, and the girl is still there, waving. I take a glance at the person carrying me, expecting it to be Gabriel. Instead it’s Kingston, a look of determination on his face. My focus phases in and out as we take different turns around the castle. He slips behind corners when someone is near, tiptoes when there’s people in the rooms around us, and continues to do so until we make it to the entrance. Feeling was returning to me slowly, starting with my legs. It was a prickly sensation as if I were being stabbed by needles, but I still couldn’t speak. Kingston set me on the ground beside the door and took off somewhere. The prickly feeling turned into seeping coldness. I had no clue what he was doing or planning so I took a look around.

Everything was in complete darkness still, like the room I had started in. The walls were lined with chandeliers and candles which gave the room an eerie feel.

I felt my consciousness dripping from me, my eyes beginning to close. The warmth was frantically pounding into my soul, trying to encompass it.

Kingston sprinted into the room with a packed bag. He saw my almost lifeless form and skidded to a knee-slide in front of me.

“Come on, Josie. We need to leave now! Don’t lose me, Josie” he whispered in my ear. His determination became contagious, and my eyes opened. I was ready to leave this place.

Creaking the door open, a strong ray of sunlight penetrated the room’s darkness. I couldn’t stop to react because Kingston was pulling me through the doorway to freedom.

As soon as sunlight made direct contact with my skin, my body was searing with pain. I felt that I was being boiled alive, but held silent for Kingston’s sake. I knew that if we made a peep, we would be caught. At one point Kingston stopped completely, making me bump into him. My skin’s contact with him made Kingston give a tiny yelp. Finally looking at me, his eyes completely widened and he opened his bag quickly, fishing out a huge trench coat as well as a baseball cap. I put these things on and we began to run. Past the grove I had stopped at before, past the long driveway to the building, past the entrance, and we felt free. We began to walk, still out of breath from all the running. The pain from the sun earlier was slowly dissipating, leaving me to sweat with all the layers on. My vision blurred a little, in small increments with long pauses, but soon my vision was going in and out, I was about to faint. Kingston felt the slack in my hold of his hand and looked back. He rushed me to the side of the road in the shade, the sun blocked by trees.

“Josie, get those layers off,” he said. Seeing that I made no move to do so, he started to help me take off the jacket, sweats, and hat. He then swung his bag in front of him and searched through it to find a couple water bottles.

“Where did you get those?” I asked.

“They forced me to go home that night at the library and to come back the next day, and I had a feeling you’d be out longer than they thought; so I packed provisions just in case I was right.” He reached a bottle towards me and I took it, ferociously twisting the cap open and completely downing the thing in one sitting. It took me a second to realize the water tasted the same as in the bathroom, and the cap had been pre-opened. Kingston stared at me in bewilderment as I realized this and began to open the bottle, tilting it towards his mouth.

“No!” I yelled again, smacking the water bottle out of his hand before a drop could leave it. My blood began to curl and boil, pain searing my body once more. Kingston looked scared but confused, not knowing what to do. My face felt it was melting and I was beginning to get a sense of blood-lust. Kingston was an easy target... no. I clutched the grass and pulled myself into the sunlight. Kingston rushed over and tried to pull me back in, but in my writhing I accidentally kicked Kingston so hard he flew into the tree. A figure rushed in, grabbing my arms and pulling them into me; taking us back into the shade where Kingston lay. The writhing took 5 minutes to subside, and I relaxed in exhaustion. The figure set me on the ground delicately, and I gave Kingston a visual check to make sure he was okay. He was breathing but unconscious - or so I thought.

“The longer you fight this the worse it’ll get, Josie,” the figure said. Gabriel.

“Why would you spike our waters? What would have happened to Kingston?” Gabriel gave a roll of his eyes at the mention of Kingston.

“He would’ve thought it tasted a little metallic, but nothing serious.” Gabriel kneeled down beside me and lifted my chin with his hand. “Josie,” he implored. “I’m serious. This is only going to get worse. For you and him. What’ll happen if I’m not near? You might kill him, or injure yourself again.” I pulled my face away, hating to look at that sad puppy-dog look on his face.

“I didn’t ask for this, Gabe.” I realized I wasn’t in control of myself. A cold feeling swept through me and I was defenseless against it. “I didn’t want to come back. Do you know how great it was? To be free? I was so happy, so carefree. Then your mistress had to ruin it.”

“Mistress??” He exclaimed. “Madame Red was my mistress like Kingston is yours!”

“He’s not mine, Gabe. But this body isn’t mine either. It’s not fair to her. Can’t you see that? You were selfish.”

“But I missed you... I... I didn’t know when or if I could ever see you again.”

“What about Shelby?”

“Shelby? I don’t know any Shelby’s-”

“The first person you murdered, Gabe! This is why we were sent underground. And now there’s another one of us running loose.” Tears began to fall from my eyes. “I’m so lost. I don’t know what to do.”

“Stay with me, Josie. Please.”

“No, Gabe. She doesn’t belong to you. Leave her be, denounce yourself from her, let her live her life in peace.”

“But Josie, if I do she’ll die. She’s not complete but if we stop now all her wounds will reopen at once and she’ll be killed.” Silence from both parties ensued.

“Can’t you let me make my own decisions?” I asked. Both jumped, surprised to hear my voice. “I refuse to let you control me, or what I do.” I said. The cold vanished, leaving me to deal with Gabriel alone. I clumsily lifted myself off the ground until I was on my feet. Gabriel sat on the ground, chuckling at my attempt at grace. I could tell he didn’t mean to mock, but I took it that way.

With a glare, I told him “go away. Now.” He got up laughing, but when he was at full height he leaned in and whispered.

“You’re never alone.” Then vanished, echoes of laughter all that was left behind. I looked at my arm and stomach, all healed once more. I zoomed back to Kingston to check on him again.

I shook him a little and his eyes opened quickly and very wide, accompanied with a gasp.

“Are you okay?” I asked him. He looked down and rubbed his face with his hands.

“Yeah,” he replied. “My back’s a little worse for wear, but I’ll be okay.” He made eye contact with me and gave a weak smile.

“I’m so sorry. About everything.” I looked down, tears coming to my eyes. Kingston wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him.

“It’s not your fault. I can’t believe Gabriel would do that to us, ambush us then leave.” I gave him a quizzical look. “That’s how I flew in the air, Gabriel throwing me. Did he do anything to you while I was out?” I gave a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t want Kingston to know yet.

“We just talked. He tried convincing me to come back with him, but I said no.” I felt a tiny hick in his chest - which should’ve indicated to me that he knew what happened, but he hid it well with a chuckle.

“I would hope you said no. Otherwise this trip would’ve been for nothing. You ready to move on?” I hesitated for a minute, not wanting to leave his arms, then nodded slowly. I got off of him and he got up, surveying the area. Our stuff was strewn about, clearly looked through. We began repacking except for the layers I had to put back on. We were saving that for last.

The water bottles were all in a neat pile. There were a few more added to our stock and the outsides of all of them had our names written: 4 for me, 4 for Kingston. We looked at each other, uncertain of these new supplies. I quickly helped him stuff everything into his bag, covered myself up again, and we set off for somewhere. Kingston wouldn’t tell me where we were going, but I didn’t mind as we held hands and walked together.