Immortal Heart

Chapter 4

I stared blankly at the window as I watched the road. The car was hushed. Hunter looked pissed while Hannah seemed like she was trying to weigh the situation. I was sitting next to Hunter while Hannah was in the back seat. I took a glance at them, and they seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

I closed my eyes as I recalled that guy’s face. I’m not really sure if I regret not talking to him or if I’m concerned about how Hunter would react. Hunter did confess to me last night, and he told me that he was only watching me from afar. It could be the reason why Hunter is doing that, or it’s because he’s a vampire, and I was a human during that time.

I admit that I did feel something towards that guy, but I’m honestly more concerned about how Hunter would feel. The fact that he’s the first person that I know after waking up is what gives me a reason to consider his feelings rather than the boyfriend that I can’t remember.

“Hannah, I noticed earlier that I didn’t have many friends. The only person who approached me was that boyfriend of mine. Why is that? Am I a bad person?” I asked her as I opened my eyes and didn’t take my eyes off the road.

“Like we said, you’ve been keeping a very low profile. You don’t interact with other people, and you don’t even participate in college and department gatherings. That’s why you never had a friend. You only talk to them when it’s school-related.” Hannah explained to me. I actually figured it that way, since no one actually cares when I showed up on the campus covered in bandages and bruises.

“Then how did he become my boyfriend?” I asked her again. I noticed how hard Hunter gripped the steering wheel. Is he jealous?

“T-That, I don’t know. I can only find information about you on a shallow surface. I can’t go deeper into your personal life,” Hannah replied.

“You’re right. We used to be strangers to each other in the past,” I replied.

What that guy said was true. He’s the only access that I have to my past, but getting involved with him right now is not the best choice. Even if I can’t remember anything about him, he’s still used to being someone important to me.

“What are you thinking, Raine?” I heard Hunter ask.

“Nothing. Just tired,” I lied. I’m not sure whether I should leave things as they are or look for answers.

I closed my eyes as I felt myself drifting away. When I woke up, I was in the middle of the ocean again. Unlike my other dreams, the ocean’s already tinted by the color of the blood. The smell of it does not scare me anymore. Instead, it’s making my throat run dry. I’m parched and hungry. I’m in the middle of an ocean of blood, but I am dry. I don’t feel the cold water. Instead, I can feel the chills that the blood brings.

I can feel the hunger and the thirst rushing to every tip of my body. My body is shaking, and my head keeps on throbbing. I don’t know what I should do. I want blood, but I don’t want to take it at the same time. I feel lost.

A hand pulled me up to the surface. Surprisingly, when I looked back down, it no longer had the shade of blood. The water was clear and blue. The eerie feeling that it had earlier when I was down there was gone. It’s calm, and the water sways as if following the breeze.

“Raine.” I heard a familiar voice call me. I turned to look at him and was surprised to find the guy who claimed to be my boyfriend.

“You! Why are you here?” I asked him, but instead of answering me, he just smiled at me and pulled me into his arms. I was taken aback at what he did, but I didn’t push him either. Being inside his arms felt familiar.

I was about to hug him back when I heard a whisper that was so quiet, I couldn’t even figure out what it was saying.

“H-Help us.” I flinched when I heard it again.

I looked behind his back while he was still holding me and found a mirror. It was unclear at first, but as the mirror got clearer and clearer, my body trembled in horror.

In the mirror, I saw myself holding his lifeless body. My lips are covered with blood, and my eyes are dark with thirst for blood. Chills immediately ran down my body as my reflection smiled at me before he put her finger to her lips, telling me to stay quiet.

“R-Raine.” I heard him say while holding on to his breath.

I let go of him and looked at him, but he immediately fell on the ground. He was bleeding immensely while he was breathing rigidly.

“I-I didn’t do it,” I said while my lips were trembling.

“Really, Raine?” I heard the voice again. I looked back at the mirror, and my reflection gave me an innocent smile.

When I looked back at him, I noticed I was covered in his blood. My trembling hands were covered in blood, and I was frozen to where I was standing when I tasted blood in my mouth.

“H-Help us.” I heard the voices say.

I fell on my feet and covered my ears to mute all the voices. I don’t want to hear them! I didn’t do it!

I was surprised and was pulled back from my senses when the car suddenly stopped, causing me to almost hit my head on the dashboard of the car. I looked at Hunter. He was wearing a worried look on his face.

“Are you alright?” he asked me. It was just a dream, but why does it feel so real? The fear felt so real that I could still feel myself trembling.

“I-I’m fine. I just had a dream,” I replied.

He leaned a little closer to me and caressed my face. Then he ran his finger from my forehead down to my nose like he did in the university’s parking lot, and just like what happened back there, my body started to calm down. What did he do?

“Hunter!” I heard Hannah call him. Hunter looked at her before he looked back at the road.

“f**k! It’s them,” Hunter said as he unbuckled his seat belt.

“Who are they? What’s going on?” I asked them.

“Just stay here. We’ll deal with them as soon as possible,” Hunter replied before he left the car.

Hannah immediately followed him.

I looked at the road and was surprised to find three black vans blocking our way. A number of men got out of the vans. They were all holding guns and swords. I was confused as to what was happening, but I was too anxious to even let the situation sink in.

The men from the van didn’t hesitate and rushed out to Hannah and Hunter. The two of them fought back. I noticed that there was nothing special about those men who were attacking us. They were humans, but they were skilled. The two of them are strong, but they were outnumbered. There are too many of them. Hunter and Hannah are having a hard time since they keep on looking back at me.

I was confused as to what I should do. They are fighting them, but at the same time, they are also protecting me.

I didn’t get the time to decide when someone opened the car door and pulled me out of the car.

“Come with us,” the man said as he pulled me towards their van.

“Raine!” I heard Hunter’s voice call to me.

When I looked in his direction, he was already in front of me. He effortlessly grabbed me away from the man and hit him, causing him to fly towards their van.

“Are you alright?” he asked me.

Before I could even answer him, I immediately noticed another man holding a sword, who was sneakily rushing behind Hunter’s back. My body immediately moved and pulled Hunter, switching our positions. My hand unconsciously reached out and grabbed the man’s sword. My left hand grabbed him by his shirt and, in one swift move, I threw him hard on the ground.

I looked at my hand and saw a cut that came from the sword. I was bleeding, and I could feel the pain, but it’s not something that I can’t tolerate. I immediately stepped back, surprised at what I had just done. That is not just out of reflex.

I heard gun shots. My body quickly reacted to it and avoided it. Surprisingly, I can clearly hear and feel it. I rushed towards the direction where the shots came from. I bent my body down, moving below the man’s arm. I effortlessly pushed his hand away and seized it. I went behind him and grabbed his other hand behind his back. While his hands were still on the gun, I pointed it at his comrades and shot them directly into their chest, above their heart.

All of them fall on the ground one by one as I break the man’s arm and toss him on the ground, agonizing in pain.

I felt something placed on my shoulders. When I looked back, I saw Hunter. I was confused about what I had just done, and I didn’t know how I should explain it.

“Let’s get you inside the car,” he said as he slowly guided me inside.

“Finish them Hannah. We can’t afford to let them know that Raine’s with us,” he told Hannah.

I heard another gunshot, but I did not dare to look back. I was more terrified of what I had just done than of what Hannah would do to that man.

Hannah followed us inside the car, then Hunter drove away, leaving all those dead bodies on the road.

I was lost in myself, asking how I was capable of doing all that. I annihilated all of them in an instant, and for some reason, my body seemed comfortable with it. I did not have any doubt when I fought back against those humans.

When we reached the house, I immediately went into Hunter’s room and took a shower. I didn’t have any single stain of blood on my body, but for some reason, I can feel it. I bit my lower lip as I recalled what had just happened. How I reacted at that time makes me even more confused and doubt myself.

I closed my eyes as I felt the water dropping and making its way to my body. I decided to go out of the bathroom, because I don’t like the chills that the water gives me.

I found Hunter sitting on the bed. He immediately looked away and handed me some clothes. I took it and put it on while his back was on me. When I finished, I sat beside him. We were in silence for a while before I spoke up.

“Who are those humans?” I asked him as I rested my chin on my knees.

“Those are some nimrods,” he replied.

“Nimrods?” I asked him.

“It’s a secret organization of mortals who hunt someone like us,” Hunter replied.

“Someone like us? What do you mean?” I asked him again as I looked at him.

“Vampires are not the only ones that exist together with mortals. There are plenty of us,” he said with a smile before he reached out and held my hand.

“But that’s something that I will tell you next time,” he said, then looked at my wound.

“Good thing it’s not deep. It’ll heal when the sun rises tomorrow,” he said.

I looked at him before I hugged him. His presence calms me and takes all of my anxiety away.

“I don’t know how I did it. It just happened so fast,” I said, referring to how I beat those humans on the road.

“I know, but that’s something that’s left in you from the past. Are you still going to find who you were before?” he asked while he rubbed my back.

“I don’t know.” I honestly replied.

I’m starting to fear the truth about myself, but I still don’t want to leave it lost forever. Maybe I’ll just trust how chances will go my way, and see if it’ll come back to me.