The Nememiah Chronicles Collection - Books 1-3

5. Decision Time-2

I walked through the trees, relishing the thought of being back here. I hadn"t been aware of how much I"d missed it, how much I had come to love these hikes in the wilderness, which called to my heart and soothed my battered psyche.

It took a little while to get my bearings, I"d stumbled across the falls last time, and the landscape had changed dramatically, making it much more difficult to find what I was looking for. All the trees looked much the same as each other and just as I was beginning to doubt if I would ever find it, I heard the sound of the water dashing over the falls. Relief flooded through me, I"d half expected the river to be iced over, but it seemed I was in luck and the water still flowed.

Accelerating my pace, I walked towards the sound, calm and at peace with my decision. Some people in Puckhaber Falls would wonder what happened to me, of course, but I hadn"t been here long – it wouldn"t take much time for them to forget. I could envisage their initial concerns and they might assume I"d gotten lost in the woods. It was doubtful they would ever find my body and that was exactly the way I wanted it. Besides, they were virtually strangers. It would have been different if they were family. I had no one to mourn me, no one to cry over my loss. I"d never felt more alone than I did now.

I reached the river and turned to the right, following the familiar path Lucas had carried me along weeks ago. Clenching my fists tightly, I dismissed thoughts of that day. I wouldn"t allow the thought of him to interfere with my plan, couldn"t allow complications to get in the way. Despite my resolve, I glanced behind me – with a mixture of hope and dread – to see if Lucas was on the path following me. Coming to the rescue again.

There was no one there.

About twenty feet from the falls, I heard an unexpected noise and twisted around hurriedly. On the path, a few feet away, there was a man. I stumbled backwards, shaken by his abrupt appearance and instantly wary.

“Good afternoon,” he said politely, his mouth lifting into a cold smile that didn"t reach his eyes. He was tall and powerfully built, wearing a black trench coat, faded blue denims and shabby leather boots. Despite the frigid weather, his trench coat was unbuttoned and his chest was naked underneath. His skin was pale, and long black hair hung unkempt and wild around his hard face. Looking into his eyes, I realized they were extraordinary. Dark brown and streaked with sparkling shards of silver, which glittered as he stared down at me, seeming amused by my bewilderment. Warning bells sounded in my head and I took another step back, glancing around for something, anything I might be able to use as a weapon. Beads of sweat broke out against my upper lip and my hands were clammy as I glanced around a second time, searching for a way to escape.

anything“I didn"t think you would come back here again,” he remarked, his voice low and intimidating.

Startled by the comment, my eyes grew wide – how did he know I"d been here before? “Do I know you?” I questioned anxiously, my voice high-pitched and panicky to my own ears.

He threw his head back and laughed mirthlessly. “No, you don"t. But I"ve seen you before, many times before, in fact. It"s extremely dangerous out here, for a little human like you. Particularly now the other vampire has lost interest in trailing after his pet. He made it extremely difficult to get to you, always following you around, never letting you out of his sight. The funny thing is, you weren"t even aware he was there; you didn"t have a f*****g clue that he was following you. Only that once, when you made that dismal attempt at killing yourself, and he raced in like a gallant fool to stop you.” He sighed melodramatically. “I"m so pleased he lost interest in you, but when you didn"t return to the forest, I thought he"d snacked on you himself and I"d missed my opportunity.”

My mind was playing tricks on me – I was sure I"d misunderstood what he said. “Vampire?” I repeated blankly.

He stared at me for a split-second, before throwing his head back, roaring with laughter again. “You didn"t know? How could you have not known?” His eyes filled with contempt and he took a swaggering step closer. “You humans are even more stupid than I could have believed possible. I saw him running with you in his arms – didn"t that strike you as odd? I"ll grant you, he did run far more slowly than he is capable of, but most humans can"t run like that, even when they aren"t carrying a load.” He looked skeptical, smirking viciously. “Surely you can"t be that dull-witted?”

I couldn"t comprehend what I was hearing and my brain refused to work. He must be out of his mind, maybe he was a patient who"d escaped from a mental hospital somewhere. What he was saying was completely impossible, an unbelievable concept, which couldn"t possibly be true.

He watched me curiously, observing the manifold emotions I knew must be crossing my face. “What do you want?” I finally demanded, wrapping my arms across my chest.

That appalling smirk appeared again, followed by a chortle that sent chills down my spine. “I could kill you right now, right this second, if I so desired. Candidly speaking, however, I"m afraid easy kills have begun to bore me. I have a preference for giving my prey a fair chance.” He stepped forward, the movement so rapid, I didn"t see him shift, and abruptly he was in front of me, his face mere inches from my own. “Run,” he commanded in a low voice. “Run, little human, and see if you can save your own life.”

RunI didn"t need to hear it twice. Without pause, I twisted around and stumbled along the path towards the falls, bile rising in my throat. I wanted to die, but this wasn"t the way in which I intended for it to happen. I wanted to be on my own, be in control of my own death. I didn"t want to be murdered by this… freak. I didn"t believe – couldn"t believe what he"d told me. Vampires were a myth, a fantasy, something in horror stories, and the stuff of legend. Terror overwhelmed me as I sprinted along the pathway, stumbling on the snow-covered ground as I ran to escape him. My heart pounded in my chest, my blood pumped with adrenaline and sheer unadulterated terror set my limbs to trembling as I sprinted, as quickly as I could, lifting my knees high to try to get through the heavy snow without falling.

freakcouldn"tI"d struggled across about seventy feet of ground, when he appeared in front of me, grinning savagely. I"d neither seen nor heard him approach. Whilst I was breathless, gasping icy air into my lungs in painful bursts, he didn"t appear to be winded at all. “What did he see in you? So pitifully slow, so pathetically, f*****g weak. Its little wonder he lost interest so quickly. Although,” he reached forward and rubbed icy fingers across my throat, “you do smell absolutely delicious.” With a laugh, he opened his mouth wide and long fangs extended from where his incisors should be. He grabbed my left arm, one hand on my wrist and the other below my elbow. “I do believe I should make this more fun. For me, at least.” With a rapid motion, he bent my forearm between his hands and I screamed in agony when the bones snapped. Falling to my knees, I was blinded by the intensity of the pain pulsating through my arm and gripped the limb to my chest, nauseous when I felt shards of broken bone beneath my fingers.

He dropped on one knee beside me, whispering in my ear. “Run. If you really want to get away from me, little human, run. Now.”

Runrun. NowI scrambled to my feet, cradling the arm against my chest as I ran for a second time. I didn"t know which way to go – there was no safety in the woods, nobody to hear me scream for help, nowhere to run that would get me away from this— this creature. Anxiety screamed through every nerve ending and my head refused to co-operate. It seemed all I could focus on was the excruciating pain in my arm and the disbelief of seeing those fangs extend in his mouth. It had to be a joke, an elaborate ruse. I searched from one side of the path to the other for an escape route, making a split-second decision to head off the path and through the trees, in the hope of finding somewhere to hide. The thought of him kept me moving, lurching through the heavily wooded forest searching for salvation, glancing backwards every few seconds to see where he was. Not fast enough, not fast enough! Go faster! The words ran repeatedly in my mind as I twisted and turned between the trees, the only sound the ragged staccato beat of my breathing and my heart. I caught my foot on a tree root and fell to the ground, wrenching my ankle so badly I feared it was broken. I lay on the snowy ground, gasping for air, my lungs on fire and panic filling my chest to the point where I could hardly draw breath.

creatureNot fast enough, not fast enough! Go faster“You aren"t making much sport out of this.”

He stood a few feet away, leaning casually against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest. The look in his eyes was terrifying – he was enjoying this – much the way I imagined a lion enjoyed chasing a deer. This was entertainment to him, and the knowledge had bile rushing up my throat. Dragging myself up onto my hands and knees, I retched against the snowy ground, seeing black spots in my field of vision as my oxygen-starved body fought against losing consciousness.

enjoyingHe appeared beside me abruptly, pulling me from the ground with my undamaged arm and dropping me onto my feet before him. Disorientated and faint, I tried to balance one-legged in the heavy snow. I gingerly placed my other foot down, but the stabbing pain that shot through my leg seemed to be confirmation that I"d broken my ankle.

“I"m wasting my time, you"re not making this pleasurable at all,” he growled furiously, glancing with distaste at the spot where I"d emptied the meager contents of my stomach. In a blur, his arm swung forwards, smashing into my chest with incredible force. I flew backwards through the air and landed some twenty feet away, hitting my head heavily against a fallen tree. Battling to stay conscious and struggling against crippling pain, I tried to formulate a plan, something that would let me escape from this— I shuddered as the word penetrated my throbbing head— vampire. I understood too late, what Lucas had been warning me about when he"d told me to stay out of the woods.

vampireHe stood over me, disappointment clear in his dark eyes. “Too easy. I must find prey that can put up a fight. This was ridiculously simple.” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “Of course, there are other ways I can amuse myself…”

He bent over my crumpled form, grabbing the waistband of my jeans with both hands. In one savage movement, he tore them from my body as if they were made of tissue paper. I knew what he intended and was helpless to do anything to stop it. My head was spinning, the pain throughout my body overwhelming and the knowledge there was no escaping from this animal hit me with a finality that was horrifying. Every breath was torture, the pain emanating from my ribs felt as if daggers were being plunged into my lungs.

He shrugged off the long coat, throwing it to the ground. “If I enjoy this, I might let you live. Or perhaps f*****g you will bore me, and I"ll kill you anyway.” He pinched my jaw between his thumb and forefinger in an acutely painful grip, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Which would you prefer?” He straightened up and I sobbed as he reached for the button on his jeans.

A monstrous growl echoed through the woods and I thought it came from him. Through the hazy fog of pain, I forced myself to look up into his cruel face. If this was how I was going to die, I wished it were over.

His expression changed and he looked almost… scared? No, he was more than scared – he seemed terrified.

terrifiedI couldn"t imagine what caused his fear, until something sprang from the trees and slammed into the creature. The sound of the bodies hitting together reverberated like a heavy clap of thunder and I cringed away from the noise. They battled together – their movements so abnormally swift, so rapid – they appeared to be shimmering. I grasped what it was that had come to my rescue with stunning clarity. Or rather, who had come to my rescue.

whoRelief flooded through my battered body when I knew it was Lucas. Which seemed a strange emotion, considering I"d been told he was a vampire. I watched the two creatures grappling together, spinning, and soaring through the woods as they clashed repeatedly. My eyes wanted to close so badly, but I needed to be certain Lucas was safe, that the creature didn"t harm him…

“Charlotte? Can you hear me?”

With difficulty, I turned my head and looked at the man kneeling beside me, recognized him as Lucas"s friend, Ben. His dark brown eyes narrowed when he caught my face between his hands. Icy cold hands. Which struck me as odd – why did he have such cold hands? I guessed it was freezing out here and I couldn"t feel my own feet or legs, but it seemed strange that his hands were so icy. Didn"t he have gloves? Ben wrenched off his jacket and threw it over my torso and when I looked at his eyes again, I shrank back in fear. The brown of his eyes had morphed, they were still a rich chocolate brown, but as I stared, I saw the flicker of golden streaks through them. Maybe this was a nightmare – it couldn"t be real. I closed my eyes, wanting to drift into sleep, to forget the pain that was superseding everything else.

“Charlotte, look at me! Keep your eyes open. Charlotte!” I forced my eyelids open, discovering Ben had been joined by someone else. A petite woman, perhaps my age or a little older. With pale skin and hazel eyes which sparkled with silver streaks. I almost smiled, despite everything that was happening. Another vampire? Good grief – I was surrounded by them – that must be what they all were. This one was striking, her silky dark hair piled into a ponytail high on her head. Ben spoke to her, in words so low and rapid; I couldn"t understand what he said. The woman leapt to her feet and disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if she"d never been by my side in the first place.

surroundedLucas. Try to locate Lucas. I wanted to see him once more before I died, and that was, undoubtedly, what was going to happen. I lolled my head to the right, watching through half open eyelids and struggling to stay conscious. Lucas stood behind the creature, which was being held between two other men, their grip tight on his arms. One of the men was heavily built, a mountain of muscle with long blonde hair and rippling biceps. The second man had closely cropped dark hair, and he was slender and tall. More vampires, if I was buying into the preposterous story I"d heard.

Lucas nodded to the two men and they forced the creature that"d attacked me onto his knees, pressuring him until he was bent forward from the waist. Lucas stepped in front of him and I saw he was carrying a sword, a huge, heavy bladed weapon, which appeared to be something that had come from a medieval movie set. In a quick movement, he raised it high over his head and a deep growl erupted from low in his chest as he slashed it downwards towards the vampire"s neck. Blood spurted across Lucas"s face and shirt as the vampire"s head was removed from its shoulders, rolling across the snowy ground until it stopped a few feet away, the glassy eyes staring directly at me, the mouth open in a deathly yaw, the fangs still readily visible. As I watched in horrified fascination, a drop of saliva ran down one of the glistening fangs, dropping onto the blood soaked ground beneath the head.

I heard screaming – loud, primal screaming, and realized with shock that it was my own voice. I couldn"t seem to stop the noise issuing from my throat and I continued to scream until I sank into a blessed darkness where the pain and terror faded away.