Tainted: A True-Blood's Tale

Ravenelle  It was cold. It was really cold and dark, the only source of light was the faint moonlight. There was no one around, just me and an empty freezing road of snow. It was hard to breathe in that cold air, it felt like my lungs might burst. I needed to leave that place, I needed to go home, to somewhere warm. I looked down at my hands, they were freezing. I was running out of time. If I didn't move, I was going to die. But where do I go? There were no signs of buildings around, I would only get more lost. I had no choice. I took a step... but instead of moving forward, I was falling... right onto something warm. It felt like I was suddenly enveloped in so much warmth, the extreme cold I felt just a second ago might had been fake. I leaned in closer to the solid warm surface, my hands felt around it, trying to figure out what it was. I could feel arms, a chest, a broad back. A person? Who could be so warm? It felt like they had a fever. I looked up slowly, trying to see the face of that stranger. But just as my eyes would have reached their face, everything disappeared, the stranger, the freezing road, the snow, the darkness, the moon... I stirred in my bed... then I opened my eyes. It was just a dream. Not just any other dream... that same dream, again. How many times had it been now? The sixth time in a row? The sixteenth time? I lost count after the third time. I pushed the blanket away and sat up on my bed, looking around my messy room. Oh, right! It was another day... another day without Gammy... another day to face the harsh truth that I had no family left... That I was alone. How long was I asleep for? Was it morning? Night? I blinded my curtains weeks ago, so no light could come in through the windows. I fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The usual thoughts that flooded my head whenever I was awake came right on cue. Gammy was gone, and so were my chances of finding out who my parents were and how I could find them. Gammy was the only family I’ve ever known. I had no idea who my father was, or my mom; Gammy told me she’d tell me everything one day. That’s what I kept hearing ever since I started asking questions and now I’m twenty, she finally gave in to old age without telling me anything; all I knew was that she was my mother’s mom and my mom was out there somewhere. A part of me hoped that my mom would show up at the funeral, maybe say she’s been out in space all my life and now she’s back. But she never came. It was a lot to me and it didn’t help that I’ve been plagued with reoccurring dreams ever since the funeral; dreams about that road and that warm person I never get to see their face. I heard my front door open, followed by Emma's high-pitched voice calling from downstairs. "Elle? I got you dinner!" I heard her move around in the kitchen "Hey, you didn't eat the breakfast I left you?" Then I heard her footsteps coming up the stairs. I turned away in my bed, throwing the blanket over my head, just as she opened my bedroom door. "Oh my God! Elle!" I heard her gasp. "We talked about this already, I thought we agreed you'd get out of bed and finally clean up this mess." I didn't say anything, I didn't move... I didn't even breathe. Maybe if she thought I was sleeping, she'd go away and leave me alone. "I know you're awake. Get out of bed, now!" She said. I heard her moving around my room, but I still laid frozen. She grabbed my legs from under the blanket and pulled me off the bed and I landed on my butt. "Did you seriously think I couldn't tell you're awake? Come on, get off your butt and we can clean this mess together." She was offering a hand to me to help me up, but I ignored it. "I'm fine. I just want to sleep some more." I said and got back on the bed, laying on it. Her face fell and she sat next to me. "Don't you think it's time you got back on your feet? It's been weeks now and you're still a college student, you can't ignore school for long." I sighed. "I don't really care about school right now. It's not like I still have a way to pay tuition and all the other bills..." "What about your inheritance? Plus, your grandma left this house to you, so you don't have to worry about rent and..." She trailed off. "You know what? Let's not even worry about anything right now, let's go out and have some fun." I scoffed and turned away from her in bed. "I'm not interested." "Why not? It's been a while since we last went clubbing." "I'm not in the mood." "That's the point. You're feeling down, so let's hit the club, get high on booze and dance our worries away." "Emma, please just let me be." "I can't. I've let you be for two weeks now and your mental condition is only getting worse. I'm worried about you, so please let me help." God! I always gave in whenever she used that tone. She was right though, locking myself in and wallowing in self-pity won't bring Gammy back or provide answers about my parents. I had to get back on my feet, get on with my life and look for other ways to find answers. I sat up on the bed. "Alright, I'm in." "Yes!" Emma exclaimed, giggling. I took my first bath in days since the last time Emma forced me to take one, and we both got ready and left for the club. Stepping inside felt like entering another dimension – the music pounded against my chest, the lights were blinding, and the air was thick with sweat and excitement. Emma was hyped, already dragging me toward the dance floor, but my mind was elsewhere. I wasn't in the mood to dance; I just wanted to disappear into the crowd. Reluctantly, I let Emma pull me into the mass of gyrating bodies. The bass thumped in my ears, making it hard to think straight. Everyone around us seemed to be in their element, laughing, dancing, and letting loose. But for me, it was all too much. I felt suffocated, like I was drowning in a sea of noise and movement. After a while, Emma got distracted by someone across the room, and I seized the opportunity to slip away. I made my way to the out of the club, pressing myself against the cool wall, trying to catch my breath. The contrast between the chaos inside and the relative calm outside was jarring. I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing on the steady rhythm of my own heartbeat, desperate for a moment of peace amidst the chaos. "Tainted!" I heard someone growl and opened my eyes. Two men were standing a few feet away from me, glaring at me. They looked like they were about to enter the club when they saw me, their noses were wrinkled as if they were disgusted by an awful smell. I couldn't smell anything and it couldn't be me since I didn't even drink anything. "What's trash like you doing out here?" One of the men asked. I was confused. Were they talking to me? Were they drunk? I didn't like the way they were looking at me, I didn't like the tiny glint in their eyes. Murderous glints. I decided to head back inside, but I had just taken a step when something slammed hard into me, pressing me to the wall. My ears were ringing, the back of my head throbbed, my eyes were blurry and my heart was pounding. I couldn't make sense of what just happened. One of the men was standing directly in front of me, he looked enraged. Why? I haven't done anything wrong. He reached for my neck and grabbed me, lifting me off the ground with just one hand. He was choking me... He was going to kill me? Why? "And this is how we take care of budding disasters like you." He said in a low voice. Take care? Budding disasters? I didn't want to die. I had to do something... Emma? No. I was alone. I had to save myself somehow. Why would my life end just like that? I... His grip on my neck tightened. I was losing air. Just like back on that freezing road, my lungs felt like they might explode. I needed that warm person to save me. I needed warmth... "Don't struggle... Just die." He said, grinning. Just die? Who gave him the right to decide when I die? I grabbed onto his arm and held on tight. I didn't have a plan, but I had a wish... a desire... for him to let go. He suddenly gasped and took his hand away, cursing under his breath. "What did she do?" The other asked him, coming closer. "She burned me." He replied. The other one turned to me and began coming closer. "Stay away!" I screamed and for some reason, he went flying back, right through the windshield of a parked car. I couldn't understand it... nothing made sense. The first man ran to retrieve his friend and I saw them scurry away. That was when I felt all the strength in my body disappear. I blacked out.