The Vampire Zone

Chapter 6

     He walked around the house in search of another possible entrance. He had promised Josie that he was coming back to her this evening, and he intended to keep that promise. He wouldn’t stay long. He knew the danger was extremely great now. He had been expected by his brothers hours ago. There was no doubt now that they were looking for him. He circled the house multiple times and finally spotted a cracked window to the living room. He heaved himself up and through the window quietly.

     He entered her room to find her lying awake. The bed squeaked obnoxiously as she rolled over to look at him.

     “Are you doing okay?” Alex said to her, walking over to sit down beside her on the bed. He was now positioned at the top left corner of the bed looking into her eyes observantly. Josie eyed him warily. She was still upset with him for walking out on her the way he had earlier.

     “Yeah.” She hesitated. “I’m fine. It’s just that… the way you acted earlier and...” She paused. “It’s just that not long ago, something came over me and woke me up. I don’t know what it was. I can't describe it. It was like I felt a presence. Everything is just so confusing. I don't know...” She looked away from him as a tear trickled down her cheek. Alex stared down at her with an expression on his face that she couldn’t read. He reached down and brushed the tear from her cheek, then stood up. He walked from the bed a few steps in thought. He rubbed his chin with his right hand and shook his head.

     “How long ago was this?” He asked turning to face her again.

     “I don’t know. Maybe twenty-thirty minutes ago. Why?” Josie said. Alex looked away from her. Now he was certain, but he couldn’t tell her what he knew. The incident was when he had observed the stranger outside her window. Josie had clearly felt that stranger's presence, but how? What was her connection to him? He knew that the man was of the same species as Josie, but there had to be another connection that he wasn’t seeing. He walked back over to her and sit back down beside her again.

     “It was the strangest thing.” Josie said looking up at him. He reached down, lightly brushing the stray hairs out of her face with his fingertips. He was glad to see that her tears had stopped flowing. Her hair was a mess, and he observed it smiling internally.

     “I’m sure that all will be well.” He encouraged her. He knew that he needed to tell her the truth about what she was, but now wasn’t the time. She was having trouble with so much as it was. Confirming to her that she wasn’t human would put her over the edge.

     “It just didn’t feel normal. And something is going on with you. I just can't seem to figure it out.” She shrugged her shoulders looking down at her bedsheets helplessly, then looked up again to meet his gaze. Her trust in him was waning, and he felt it heavily. He had to do something to repair the rift he had created.

     “I've just got family stuff that I am dealing with. Remember? It wasn't too long ago that I lost family myself. I am glad to see that you seem to be feeling a bit better though.” Alex felt like he had just drunk battery acid. He had just used his parents to get out of a situation with Josie. Nevertheless, he managed a smile for her. She sat up and leaned forward, resting her head on his shoulder. She scoot closer to him, without moving her eyes from his.

     “I'm so sorry. I completely forgot about that..." She paused a moment keeping her head on his chest. "How long are you going to stay?” She questioned him sweetly, half smiling.

     “I can’t stay long. It’s getting very late.”

     “I wish that you could stay here with me tonight. For some reason, I only feel safe when you are around. I wish you wouldn’t go.” She pouted. “Would you stay with me?”

     He continued to look into her pleading eyes in wonder. She didn’t realize the hold that she had over him as she rubbed her right cheek on his shoulder lovingly. He looked away with a heavy sigh. He couldn’t stay. There was too much danger that came with that. His brothers would eventually track him here, and things would not go well after that. He was struck mute when he looked over into her eyes again. For a split second, her eyes looked like they were glowing. It had to have been the light from the moon reflecting off of them through her window.

     “I can’t stay. I wish I could. I’m sorry but I do have to get home.” He told her. There was disappointment in her expression now. “But I will see you again tomorrow.” He reassured her.

     “It’s alright. I understand.” She said.

     “Another thing. I’m very concerned about this stalker that you have. Do you have any idea what it could be?” He wanted to see if she knew anything of what she truly was, but he didn't mean to let it slip. She picked up on his mistake immediately.

     “What it could be?” She inquired. “What do you mean?” She sat up off his shoulder looking directly in his eyes. She raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

     “Oh sorry.” He quickly tried to correct himself. He giggled at his previous statement to throw her off. “I meant to say ‘who’ it could be. She eyed him a moment longer this time observing him.

     “Now if I had any idea as to who it could be, don’t you think I would have already told you?” She continued to stare at him.

     “I’m just worried for you. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I have found that you are important to me.” He reached over and brushed her chin with his thumb admiringly. As he did so, the sound of her blood pumping through her veins grew louder. The sarcastic and suspicious expression on her face melted away at his touch, and she momentarily closed her eyes to the sensation. When she opened them again, she looked at his lips. They were slightly parted as he observed her face. She realized that he was looking at her like she was the most gorgeous creature that he had ever seen. Oh yes. There it was in his eyes. He wanted her. He wanted her more than anything. His eyes trailed over her face, down her neck, and then back up into her gaze. He leaned forward, his hand still touching her chin so lightly that she could hardly feel it now. He was behaving as if she was fragile and precious. He placed the softest kiss on her delicate lips that it nearly took her breath away. As he leaned back again, they held each other's gaze entranced. He took a deep breath once again breathing in her scent. Her blood smelled of the most beautiful honey field. The smell of her blood was changing and growing stronger every hour. He imagined how much pleasure he could give her, and she him with more than just her blood. His mind once again wondered back to her life. She was not ready for something like that. He had to do what was best for her and keep his restraint. 

     Alex wanted more than anything to be completely honest with her. But right now, it was too much of a risk. It took all his will power, but he stood up stepping away from her ripping his eyes from hers. The sound of her blood pumping through her sweet veins was beginning to overcome all his senses. He turned his back from her regaining his composure. The sound of her blood was beginning to be too much for him.

     “Alex. What’s wrong?” She begged him with his back turned to her. Had she done something wrong? She wasn’t sure. Out of concern, she climbed out from under her covers and stood up off her bed taking a small step in his direction.

     Alex heard her begin to whimper with worry. He turned to look at her and was shocked at the sight of her as soon as he turned around. She was no longer on her bed. She stood a few feet from him watching him in dismay. She wore a short, slim, white slip nightgown, with her beautiful reddish-brown hair flowed around in a messy perfect waterfall of beauty. Her green eyes were like the most beautiful green stars in the darkest of nights as the moonlight reflected off of them in the darkness. Her white slip almost seemed to glow. She was small and radiant, and almost completely irresistible. What was this? In all his years he had never felt so drawn to anyone. He stood still and unmoving afraid of what he might do, unable to tare his eyes from her indescribable beauty. Everything around him faded except for her in that moment.

     Had she said something? Had she asked him a question? He couldn’t recall. He couldn’t tell how long they had stood that way. Was it thirty minutes or thirty seconds? His thoughts came back to reality when her words came again, this time almost in a sob.

     “Did I do something wrong?” She begged. His words almost caught in his throat when he responded.

     “No…No…of course not. Please don’t cry. Would it make you feel better if I told you that in all my life, I had never thought that I would see a more beautiful sight.” Alex could feel his hands begin to shake. He struggled to regain his control. He wanted her. He wanted to take her in his arms right now at this very moment with no hesitation. But if he did that, he wasn’t sure what he might do. For the first time in hundreds of years, he didn’t fully trust himself. He hadn’t felt this way since he was a young vampire first learning to control his impulses. He continued to stare at her unable to tare his eyes from the sight of her.

     “Alex…How do you expect me to react? I can tell that you are hiding something from me. I told you everything so that you would be able to help me through it. Keeping things from me is not helping me. I don’t want more secrets and lies. It seems like I can’t trust anyone, apparently not even you.” Her accusation stung like the perfect shot of an arrow. She put her right hand on her hip and looked away from him defiantly.

     “Josie, of course I would tell you if something were going on.” He stung himself this time with the words he spoke. “I’m just…well…I want you and your family to be safe. I don’t want anything to happen to you. Please look at me. You can trust me…truly.” It was true that he his only desires were for her safety and the safety of her family. When she still refused to look at him, he walked over to her, grabbing hold of both her hands. When he touched her, he could feel her sadness and fear. Her thoughts were clouded as if she didn’t know what to think or believe. He reached up and gently tilted her head up to look into his eyes. “You can.” He whispered holding her gaze passionately.

     “Alex. I just don’t know how.” A single tear trickled down her cheek.

     “What do you mean ‘you don’t know how’?” He questioned.

     “I mean that I never trust anyone. The truth is that I can’t trust people because everyone always ends up betraying me one way or another. I’m scared that if I try, it's all just going to come crashing down on me like it always has. Besides that, I’m scared of everything right now. I have a psycho stalker. My mother is on the verge of death. My brothers are depending on me. My stepfather isn’t around. My mom has been lying to me, although I don’t know what about, but she has been. I am getting strange new abilities that I don’t understand. My own dad ditched me when I was only 5. He found out that Jason wasn’t his before Emerson was even thought of. My life couldn’t get any worse.” Josie was out of breath.

      You left out the part that you are pretty much dating a vampire, and that you aren’t human, and that you might have vampires coming after you to kill you anytime, Alex thought to himself bitterly. This was exactly why he was unable to tell her what she was wanting to know. It would only make her feel worse. The best thing for him to do now was to protect her himself and be there for her anytime she needed him.

     “Josie.” He said firmly getting her attention. “Listen to what I am saying.” He paused making certain he had her attention. “You are NOT alone anymore. You’ve got me. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I promise.”  Alex had all intentions on keeping his word. He pulled her close and hugged her tightly. He could tell as he held her that this was what she needed. She sighed heavily in his embrace, and he heard her heart steady. He wondered how long it had been since someone had actually given her a true, long, hug full of love and comfort.

     He had never said those words to a mortal before. But in his heart, they were true, except for one thing. How could he not let anything happen to her? She was mortal. He couldn’t protect her from old age or disease. He had no control over mother nature. The thought occurred to him that What if she was no longer mortal? NO. He had never heard of one of her kind being turned vampire. He didn’t even know if it would work if he tried. Besides that, fact, it was out of the question. He would never put this curse on her. For the first time, he realized that it was inevitable. He knew that one day, he eventually would lose her. And there wasn’t going to be anything that he could do about it. They just stood there, as the clock ticked on and on, holding each other. Finally, Josie spoke up.

     “Is Emerson and Jason both asleep?” She asked. Alex nodded. She raised an eyebrow at him and smiled. “Then how did you get inside?”

     “Uhm… well. You see. That’s a funny story.” He reached up to scratch his head. “I made you a promise to come back tonight. And no one came to the door to let me in, so I sort’ve came through the downstairs window. I hope that’s okay. I didn’t want you to think that I broke my promise to you.” Alex said defending himself. She laughed lightly at his franticness and worry.

     “Yeah. It’s alright. I get it, as long as my brother Jason doesn’t find out and see that you snuck in like that. He’s been in protective mode of everything since all this stuff started with mom. If he caught you, he would probably attempt to beat you with a household object or something.” She giggled.

     He could try, Alex thought smugly. He wondered if Jason knew about the stalker. He didn’t want to ask. Josie was smiling again. He didn’t dare put her back into those terrible thoughts. Especially after what just happened, he definitely didn’t want to upset her again. Josie turned from him and casually walked back over to her bed to sit back down. He could tell that her body was still aching somewhat. He followed her walking over too and sit down beside her. She scoot closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder again. Alex’s thoughts wondered to the identity of Josie’s stalker. The more connected he felt to her, the more his protectiveness grew. He was dying to know who that man was and at this point, he was willing to do anything to find out. If he lost this mortal, he didn’t know what he would do. He didn’t know how he would go about dealing with it. He looked over at her, pushing the negative thoughts to the side.

     “Alex, why are you shaking so bad?” She asked with concern, setting up to look at him. She lifted her tiny cold fingertips to touch his cheek. She could tell that something was plaguing his thoughts by the retained hardened look he wore on his face. “Now it’s your turn to trust me. If you want to say something, why are you holding back? Just tell me.” She leaned forward whispering sweetly in his ear. Alex shivered to his bone at her breath on his earlobe. He couldn’t stand it any longer. Surprising her, He turned her in one quick motion and pulled her to him mashing his lips to hers in a heated passion. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap. She didn’t try to pull away. She just let him, enjoying his embrace and the comfort it brought. They were together in that moment, and that was all that mattered; here and now. He placed sweet kisses from collarbone to collarbone. She grabbed his upper arms. He tipped his head back and she kiss him deeply on the lips. He didn’t want to lose her. Not now. Not ever. He flipped her over onto her back getting on top of her. Her heart pumped wildly with excitement. He growled in anticipation. He pulled back, admiring her beauty as she ran her hands down his chest to his stomach, hating the shirt that separated her hands from his skin. He scarcely noticed as he was unable to take his eyes off her throat, were her sweet intoxicating blood flowed through her veins.  He felt the familiar ache in his canines as they began to elongate. He dipped down quickly on top of her crashing his body into hers. He trailed his mouth down the right side of her exposed throat parting his lips. His fangs elongated as the smell of her warm skin entered his mouth. He lightly brushed his canines along her throat, and she groaned in ecstasy. The aroma of her blood was so strong. He opened his mouth a touch further about to sink his canines in. She groaned again and the sound of her voice brought him back to reality. I hit him like a brick wall, and he pulled back instantly. He jumped off the bed putting distance between them. She sat up looking at him in shock and disbelief.

     “What’s wrong now?” she asked breathlessly.

     “I’m going to head out.” He said nervously.

     “Right now?” She said with a hint of anger rising in her voice. He had made it to the bedroom door and stopped, turning to look at her.

     “I get very very worked up.” He said wide-eyed. That in trust was an enormous understatement. “I don’t want to accidently hurt you.” That statement was the full truth.

     “You won’t.” she encouraged him, turning to get off the bed. She was going to come over to him. He had to stop her, holding up a hand and taking a step back. He didn't know if he would hurt her or not. And she was in a situation that she didn't fully understand.

     “Yes. I very well could. And out of respect for you. I would like for you to be able to get to know me better before we go that far. I don’t want to mess this up. You already mean too much to me. I don’t want to go too fast. You don’t understand how much you mean to me already.” He prayed he made her understand. She stared at him a moment then nodded reluctantly in disappointment.

     “Okay.” It was all she could say. She had never met another boy her age that showed so much care. Granted she still retained her virtue as a female, and maybe he was right. They should get to know each other better before it went any farther. There was still a great deal that they had yet to learn about each other.

     Alex walked out the front door to the house. He was furious with himself. He had almost bitten her. He had been right there on the edge and nearly went off of it. Just hours ago, he had been telling himself that he was never going to feed on her. Not to mention, if he had, she had already lost so much blood when she had injured herself, he could have killed her. He stormed out onto the pavement in the road, kicking a small pebble from his path. He instinctively sent out a probe of power in search of his brothers. They were bound to be near by now. He was bewildered when he found that they were still not around him anywhere. What was going on? Maybe something was wrong. He looked up at the night sky. The stars twinkled clearly in the heavens. It was definitely time to make his way home.

     Alex walked in the front door to their cabin after detecting his siblings inside. But to his surprise, it wasn’t just his family there. He sensed the presence of two other vampires also. When he walked in, he noticed right away that they were both Evelinic vampires. There was no mistaking it. Their marks were covered by their clothes, but they were dressed in the usual attire of the Evelinics. All black. No surprise. For a moment, fear struck him, but he quickly shoved the feeling away. These evil vampires were not going to get his fear. He refused to give them any power over him. That would just make them even more arrogant than they most likely already were.

     He shut the door behind him looking over at his two brothers then back to the strangers. He was not mistaken. They were Evelinic without a doubt. He knew their kind all too well. They were all looking at Alex now, unmoving. He knew they had been waiting for him; this damn’d war going on. They just wouldn’t leave him alone. Evelinics were constantly hunting down the Nomolics trying to add to their ranks. It came as no surprise. It was an awkward feeling though, knowing that they had been waiting for him all this time. His brothers looked at him suspiciously. But he handled it without saying a word just staring at them all. One of the vampires walked over to him and observed the Nomolic mark on him collarbone. Alex got a better look at this man now. He had short black hair, bright blue eyes, and a very round nose. He wore a black sweatshirt with a black leather jacket over top of it. He could see blood stains in the clothing that would normally be unrecognizable in the dark fabrics. He didn’t need to guess where all the stains came from. Alex’s eyes moved over to the other new vampire who turned and was walking over to take a seat at one of the kitchen chairs. As the other vampire walked, his eyes never left Alex. There was no mistaking it. They were here for him. The vampire in the kitchen looked more English. He had shaggy blonde hair and a pointier nose. He was dressed in the same attire. He didn’t speak but continued to stare at Alex sharply as if trying to intimidate him. His mortal years looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three, meaning he was turned vampire at that time of age.

     Finally, Alex broke the silence when the other vampire that had been observing him, moved away to a safe distance. The black-haired vampire walked back over to stand beside the blonde Evelinic residing in the chair.

     “Why are you here? And what do you want?” Alex had gotten straight to the point. These vampires being here had been the reason as to why his brothers hadn’t come looking for him. Now it made sense. Alex wasn’t in the mood for games. He was bored with their intrusion. He had no use for threats or small talk with vampires that were only there for one of two things: either to sway him to their side, or to kill him. 

     “I’m offended.” The vampire in the chair stated with false wounded emotion, pressing his open palm to his chest. There was a small hint of sarcasm in his tone. “I am Malu, and this is Darrel.” He said abruptly dropping the act. The Vampire in the chair gestured to the black-haired vampire who nodded. “We are old acquaintances of your parents.” Alex looked over to his brothers for confirmation. Neither one of them spoke, but Nathanial’s eyes told Alex that he himself did not believe their claims.

     “Our parents were respectable Gromolic vampires, and they were of honor to their beliefs. I am positive that they never would have befriended the likes of you two.” Alex replied fearlessly. This was some ploy to win Alex over to the Evelinic side just as he had suspected. And these wicked vampires were trying to use his dead parents to do it. He glanced over at his brothers again. Joshua seemed somewhat entertained by the interaction, whereas Nathanial looked worried. This was not going to go well. Nathanial smiled at Alex’s reply, as Alex had defended the honor of their parents.

     Malu didn’t respond to him. He was quiet with a smirk on his face as he turned his head to look up at Darrel. "Spirited, this one is." said Malu. Anger and annoyance were beginning to overcome Alex, but that outcome was most likely what Darrel and Malu were there for; to pick a fight, to find some source of entertainment for themselves so that they could be given the benefit of slaughtering Alex for not swaying.

     For a time, Alex said nothing. He didn’t plan to play into their game, giving them what they originally came there for. Malu was starting to seem nervous in the silence, repeating his glances up at Darrel trying to think of what else to say.

     “I think it’s time for you to leave. My brothers and I are at peace. We want nothing to do with this war. All we want is to live normal lives and be left alone.” Alex stated plainly. He looked over at his brothers once more. Nathanial nodded with no expression, but for some reason Joshua didn’t seem to be too overjoyed by the idea of peace. Darrel looked down at Malu who was still sitting in the chair. Malu seemed to be the one in charge. Suddenly, out of the blue, Malu began to laugh. He stood up walking towards Alex. Nathanial and Joshua went on alert, watching Malu’s every move. If he made any strike towards Alexander, the fight was going to be on. Alex nodded to his brothers, narrowing his eyes at Malu unmoving and unphased.

Author Note

- This is A.R. Simmons. I apologize for the pause in daily uploads. Dreame has instructed me to pause uploads until the contract for the book in finished. Stay tuned to continue following Josie's incredible journey. In the mean time, I also have another book available in most book stores called "A Shaded Sanctuary". It is available in digital and paperback format. Please feel free to leave me some feedback on how my book is. I am always excited to know the opinions of my readers. Thank you everyone. You all are amazing!-