The Vampire Zone

Chapter 4

     Josie opened her eyes to see the dim ceiling in her dark room. Her vision was blurry, and her eyes felt extremely heavy. The darkness that had overtaken her was threatening, unwanting to relinquish its hold over her. The voice that came to her ears was soft and gentle.

     “Are you okay?” Alex whispered. He had such a beautiful voice, so deep and exquisite that it rang like music in her ears. It was so sweet that it caused her eyes to drift closed once more to the harmony. She didn't comprehend who Alex. She attempted with all her strength to grab onto consciousness, but it felt as if it were slipping through her fingers like sand on a windy beach. 

     I hope she’s alright, he thought leaning forward to place his forehead on her open palm on the bed. She was so still, unmoving and weak as she lay there. He wished that there was something that he was able to do to help her. This was the worst reality to being a vampire. He was practically invincible, and others were fragile, and so easily broken. It was only a curse in situations like this. He always avoided fraternizing with humans, because he wanted to keep himself emotionally distant from lives that were so easily snuffed out. If he didn’t feel for them, he didn’t hurt for them. 

     He was fighting an unbearable battle inside himself. Should he stay, or should he go? Maybe he needed to leave and meet back up with his brothers. After-all, it was starting to get late, and his brothers would start to grow suspicious if he didn’t show. He hesitantly stood up; tearing is eyes from her beautiful form that lie still motionless. He decided for now that it was enough for him to know that at least she was breathing. In his 509 years, he found that no situation had ever seemed this hard. Had gone so long without feeling true emotion that he couldn't understand it now? What was this new spark that has come to life inside him? 

     How is this single human able to bring so much out of me without even trying? The question lingered in his mind as he turned to leave the room. He had to leave. The Evelinic vampires would use her as a weakness against him if they discovered her as a weakness they could use against him. There was, after all, a vampire war that was going on amongst all of this that he also needed to consider. Was this worth her safety? What was he thinking? He was a Nomolic vampire. He took neither side in the vampire war which made him a clear target. Evelinic vampires killed for fun and had no regards for human life. Gromolic vampires believed that all human life should be respected. Nomolic vampires, such as himself, were somewhere in the middle. They killed only to protect themselves and when the situation demanded it.

     He hesitated once more before opening the bedroom door. He could hear her brother Jason downstairs cooking food for Josie’s little brother Emerson. He had gotten acquainted with them in the hours before when he had brought Josie home. Jason had been very concerned when he had seen Josie in the condition that she was in wanting to take her to the hospital. But Josie had managed to grumble a tiny objection to the idea. Alex had considered this to be strange. Why hadn’t she wanted wanted medical attention? What was going on with this family? There was something that he wasn’t quite understanding. He twisted the doorknob to open it, and he was stopped.

     “Jason…Is that you?” Her voice was raspy. How could he leave now that she was awake? She had already seen him, granted she was unaware as to who he was, but he couldn't walk out now. He took his hand away from the door and turned to face her.

     “No. It’s Alex.” He answered her quietly. He gave her a small smile.

     “Oh…Um…Hi. What happened?” She asked, trying to sit up. Pain went through her when she attempted to move. Her face twisted in agony. Alex was beside her instantly.

     “Careful.” He cautioned, placing a hand behind her back for support. “Take it slow.” He smiled down at her. She was struck mute. They were so close. She hadn’t been this close to him since she had first met him.

     She looked at him with questions in her gaze. What had happened to her? She could only remember bits and pieces. She had been running at her superspeed and fell up the road. He withdrew his arm from behind her back. The memories were coming back to her now, but at a slow pace. She had cut up her legs badly. She pulled the covers back to examine them. The cuts were closing at an extraordinary pace; way faster than the speed of healing for a human. They were bruised badly, but barely cut anymore. Did she have the ability to heal at an incredible speed also? There had been so much blood. She couldn’t be mistaken. She reached down to run her fingers along the long scars up her thighs and calves. 

     Alex looked down at her bruised legs. He was astounded, and in complete shock. He had known her legs had been severely ripped up. But now, only bruises and deep scars remained. Josie pulled her hands back from her skin in disbelief.

     “How?” she asked looking up at Alex. Alexander scowled at her. ‘How?’ was a good question. It was a question that even he didn’t know the answer to. This made zero since. The wounds were there. He knew they were. Wounds like that don’t just disappear that quickly, not for a human. He shook his head at her in bewilderment. He didn’t know what to say. He was in total consternation himself.

     “I have no answer. Your legs were cut up and bloody. I saw them myself. I don’t know.” He went silent. They both did for a moment, then he spoke again. “Do you know what happened to you?”

     “I was running home in the rain and I fell…” Her words trailed off, and she looked away from him breaking eye contact.

     “You fell…?” He stared at her questioningly, one eyebrow raising in suspicion. “That’s it?” He said. She was keeping something from him. She knew something that she didn't trust him enough to share. Otherwise, she wouldn't have refused the hospital before. He knew that it was pointless to question her about that. She would most likely not have any recollection of it.

      He found it ironic that she was hiding things from him. That realization actually made him smile slightly, for he was also hiding the fact that he is a vampire from her as well. And now, he sees that she is keeping secrets from him too. He found it amusing that she was terrible at harboring secrets. Her eyes and body language alone told him that she was concealing something from him. He looked down at the floor shaking his head slightly. There had to be an explanation for this. Maybe she would have told him the truth if she trusted him. But he knew that the incident at his house yesterday evening had broken any trust she had had for him. He also had to consider that she didn't know him very well yet. The more he involved himself with her, the more complicated his position seemed to get. Josie broke the silence between them.

     “How long have you been here? And you never told me how I got here?” She slowly sat up and leaned closer to him, invading his space. His words caught in his throat. She had caught him off guard in his thoughts. Her eyes were so near to his now boring into him with an intensity that made his chest squeeze as he observed her. She smiled at him. What was it she had asked him? For a moment, he had difficulty remembering. He was too distracted by her closeness. It was almost as if she knew he had saved her, and she just wanted to hear him say it. Was she taunting him? He took in a deep breath, breathing in her scent. It was lovely, like the summer breeze in the middle of a flower field and... Wait a second, he thought, stopping himself. What is that? There was a tangy smell to her blood that was not in mortals. He didn't recognize it. She wasn’t fully human. She couldn’t be. Otherwise, the extra smell beyond the human wouldn’t be there. How had he not noticed until now?

     “Alex…” She teased, looking deep into his eyes keeping his attention. She giggled playfully. “Are you going to answer me?” He smiled back at her focusing fully on her face now. She was taunting him. He answered her trying to keep his composure.

     “I…was…uhm.” He stuttered. “I was walking home from the store, and I heard you scream. I found you in the ditch, hurt and knocked out. So, I brought you home. You were hurt pretty badly. I was worried, so I stayed here to wait for you to wake up. You will have to forgive me. I don’t keep track of time very well. I think I’ve been here for a few hours maybe.” He hated lying to her about what he had been doing when he had been out. He furrowed his brows continuing to look into her gorgeous face. She was so mesmerizing. His eyes were glued to her. How could he look away when she was this close to him? He relinquished his control leaning in even closer to her. She reached for his hand, intertwining her fingers with his, her lips were only mere inches from his now. And she spoke again.

     “Thank you, Alexander. I don’t know what could have possibly happened to me if you hadn’t come along. I’m very grateful.” She leaned in even closer to him, and his heart began to beat faster in his chest. What was this effect she had on him? He lifted his free hand instinctively and ran it through her long silky hair admiringly. He brushed the hair behind her ear and towards her back revealing the lovely tan skin of her neck and shoulder. His eyes lingered there a moment, observing the sweet pulse of blood beneath the skin.

     “You are beautiful Josie.” He whispered softly to her. Their lips met. It felt like an eternity for Alex. Was this the person he had waited for all this time? The kiss felt so intoxicating that it was hard to consider breaking free from it. Josie wrapped her arms around his neck, she and kissed him deeper. Her tongue brushed his lips requesting entrance to his mouth. He slightly parted them and their kiss deepened further. She loved the feel of him being with her. Their hearts seemed to almost beat as one. He released her hand and wrapped it around her back pulling her to him and nearly off the bed onto his lap.

     Her back hurt terribly, but she ignored the pain, not wanting him to let go.

     Alex wanted her. He wanted to be with her. He could feel the hunger rising. Was he falling in love? It wasn’t only desire for her, he realized. He wanted to feed on her. But this was different to him.  Catching himself, he stopped himself in what he was about to do, he immediately put her back down on the bed pulling away. His heart ached for her, but he refused to feed on her. Should he feel happy or ashamed. He had allowed himself to kiss her without her knowing what he was. Had he betrayed her with his deception? When he looked back into her eyes, he saw that he had hurt her. He shook his head. Then spoke to her calmly.

     “It’s not you. I just need to get back to my brothers. I told them I would meet them.” That wasn’t a lie. He really did need to go. He would not feed on her without her acceptance and consent. Yes. He was indeed different with her. But there was more to it than that. He didn’t want her to be his weakness. He didn’t want to put her in danger either. Everything, her safety included, was in the balance. But how could he resist her? He felt drawn to her like a magnet. It was the strongest and most intense thing he had ever felt.

     Josie didn’t understand. Was he just trying to leave? He hadn’t mentioned wanting to leave until they had kissed. His kiss had been so passionate and deep. Yet, he was now in such a hurry to get away from her. It didn’t add up. Did he not like her? She shook her head at him confused. Josie sit quiet, staring at him for a moment. She honestly didn’t know what to do.

     She spoke with sadness in her voice this time. “Alex…What’s wrong with you? Did I do something wrong?” She scooted away from him wanting distance from the embarrassment. Maybe he didn’t like her. She shouldn’t have kissed him. She sat there waiting for him to respond. Surprise registered on his face, and he quickly snatched her hand back up kissing it tenderly and sweetly trying to sooth away the hurt the only safe way he knew how. He pulled her back to him and back into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around her reassuringly. She was still trembling, but he wasn’t sure what from. Was it from the kiss, the injury, or the hurt she felt?

     “You didn’t do anything. I promise. I really did promise my brothers that I was going to meet them. I forgot because I was so consumed in making sure you were okay. Now that I know you are alright, I really do need to go. I promise I will come back.” He rubbed her back apologetically and laid his face into her shoulder while trying to hardest to retain his control. She nodded her head in understanding. He hugged her tighter. The closer she was with him, the harder he could hear her blood pounding in her veins. It was killing him. His mouth was so close to her neck now. His canines grew sharp, and he could feel his face starting to morph into his vampiric state. Her neck was exposed clearly from where he had brushed her hair back earlier. If he stayed any longer, he was fighting a losing battle in resisting her blood. He could feel the connection between them growing. It was so strong. What is this that I feel for her? He thought, holding her tighter. He leaned his face into her throat as his canines lengthened further. He was just about to sink his teeth into her neck, and he stopped himself. NO, he ordered himself sternly. He stood up, keeping himself under control and retracting his teeth back in. I will not. “Before I leave, I will go see if I can find you something for your headache.” He smiled warmly at her backing away to create distance between them. He tried to relieve the tension with a smile. He turned and walked out the door, heading down the stairs.

     That’s strange, she thought. I don’t remember telling him that I had a headache. She listened to his footsteps as he descended the stairs towards the kitchen.

     When he got down there, he didn’t see Jason in the kitchen anymore. He looked around not seeing anyone. The sooner she gets medicine, the better, he thought shrugging. Then I will go to my brothers. He used his vampiric speed to get the necessary things that Josie needed, flashing back and forth through the kitchen to find them, the glass, the medicine, and then filling it up with water. He also grabbed her an icepack from the freezer. When he turned to go back up the stairs, he saw Emerson standing in the living room staring at him. He must have seen everything. Emerson’s mouth fell open. Yeah. He was definitely about to scream. His mouth fell so far open, that his jawbones could have hit the floor figuratively speaking. Alex was to him in an instant to stop it. He looked deep into his eyes, putting his hand over the little boy’s mouth.

     “You saw nothing.” He whispered to him. Everything is perfectly fine.” Emerson nodded and the fear left his eyes. Alex released him and stood up smiling down at him. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again. He turned to pick up Josie’s things off the kitchen counter and stopped dead when he saw that Jason was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

     “What the hell was that?” Jason questioned in fury. “How did you run like that? And what did you do to Emerson?” Jason demanded angrily. This family is going to be the death of me, Alex thought dropping his head.