Haunted Heart

    Her eyes snap open, red as fleshly drawn blood. Scared, so scared, but it was just a dream. Angela crawled out of bed and opened the nearest window in hopes that the cool night air will clear her mind. Its not real, none of it. The dreams that haunted her night after night. “Its not real” she told herself, over and over, begging her heart to slow and her breath to steady. She dies, always. Never in the same way but always.      She walked into her bathroom and took a long look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes had returned to their normal chocolate brown as her heart had begun to settle. The nightmares, so intense and real, caused Angela to loose control and show a glimpse of her true form. Thankfully there was nobody there to see her blazing eyes.     Angela left her bathroom and walked down the hallway towards her kitchen. “Why me?” She wonders aloud. She grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and took a long drink. Why her? And why now? Her life was finally coming together. She had a nice job, a small but cozy apartment, and she had finally found a guy she enjoyed spending time with. And then the dreams started.      At first she would wake scared and disoriented, but the dreams would fade quickly from her mind. However, as time passes they become more and more real. And its becoming harder to snap out of the state of terror that inevitably follows.      She would not be returning to sleep, that much was curtain. Angela decided to go for a run. The fresh air would help give her clarity. She quickly changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt, grabbed her running shoes and headed for the door.      The streets where blissfully empty as she made her way across town. As she relaxed her mind wondered.      A Dark room lit only by the glow of the fireplace. Screams coming from what seemed like every direction. “Don’t make a sound” her mother told her, “stay still in the cupboard and don’t come out for anyone”. What was happening? Why was she hiding? Her friends, she could hear their pleas for mercy. Her mother, Gwen sat in the large leather chair behind her fathers desk, waiting quietly, but for what? They should be fighting with the others, or running. They would come, they would find her too, and then there would be nobody left. Their family had been picked off one by one for centuries. They where the last of their kind. Hiding in hopes that they would someday find others. That they could one day fight back. But in all the years of her fathers research he had not succeeded in finding more. In the end they had taken him too. Her mother had dug through all of his papers in the hopes the he had found something or someone to help them, but after three long years she had given up hope. They did everything they could to throw the hunters off their trail, but it was no use, they had been discovered.      The door slammed open, and in walked a tall man. From her hiding spot Angela couldn’t see his face but she knew by the chills running down her spine that he was the lead hunter. He approached the desk and leaned forward to whisper something to her mother. As soon as he did Gwen’s eyes flashed red. There was no mistaking the smirk that crossed his face, he had found the one that got away. In seconds he had her mother pinned to the wall by her throat. As she gasped for air he pulled a knife from its sheath at his waist. Gwen pushed at his arm, trying to break free, but his grip was too tight, even for one with her abilities. Angela covered her mouth and closed her eyes as she saw the hunter lift his blade. In one graceful arc he pierced her mothers heart. As the light seeped from her eyes he released his hold on her. Pulling the knife from her chest as she fell to the floor. Angela uncovered her eyes but did not rom over her hand from her mouth for she knew that if she made a single noice he would find her and kill her too. The hunter bent over her mother and moved her shirt away from her neck. Not finding what he was looking for he stood. Next he moved to the desk, pulling out all the drawers and roughly shuffling the papers. Not finding anything of use there he moved to the shelves and began removing all of the books, still nothing of importance. Angela began to squirm in her hiding place, knowing the cupboards would be next. How would she get away now? He was blocking the door, and getting closer by the second. As he open the cupboard next to hers a voice shouted from the hall “Alec come quick!”. The hunter turned and headed for the door, turning one more time to look around the room before leaving.      A car horn sounded, and Angela stumbled as her mind came back to reality. The thoughts of her parents still clouding her mind as she continued on her run. Though it had been fifteen years since her mothers death, the memory still plagued her. Since then Angela had done her best to hide from those that had hunted their kind for so many years. Laying low and doing whatever she could to not draw any attention. Even going so far as to use fake names and move every few months. In all the time that she had spent running Angela still hadn’t found another like her. Her fathers research had been a dead end and she didn’t know what else to do. So she hid, and hoped and prayed that someday she would be able to be free of the constant weight on her shoulders.      Finally reaching the block the she lived on Angela slowed her pace. “I think its time to move on” she thought. Though she loved her new home, she couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that something bad was coming. No sooner at she thought this then Angela was grabbed from behind. She swung her head back in the hopes that she would catch her assailant by surprise and knock him out. Though the back of her head did connect with her attacker, she had the unfortunate disadvantage of being a good foot shorter than him. Her attacker made a low noise of discomfort but did not release her. Instead he picked her up and threw her bodily over his shoulder. After the initial moment of shock Angela began beating in his back profusely. She screamed and yelled but gained no response from her kidnapper. As a last resort Angela closed her eyes and began tapping into her abilities. “I wouldn’t do that if I where you” said the man. The words vibrated through her, causing her to pause in her efforts. Taking full advantage of the opportunity at hand her captor lowered her to her feet. Not giving her time to react he pressed firmly on a soft spot below her ear. Angela quickly lost consciousness.