Chosen or Cursed

Chapter 2

                                                                                       Gabriel

     I'm running after this pack of animals, my new family, and I hate myself. Part of me does anyway, this feeling of being splitting in two taking over.  One part of me wants to go back and help the woman I loved; love. But another part wants to rip this world to shreds one person at a time.  I would have ripped her throat open without even giving it a second thought.  Me; I've never even been in a fight, but these feelings, I cannot stop these feelings.  I am red raw energy, and even through my internal dilemma, I have never felt so alive.  My lungs burn, the muscles in my legs are screaming at me.  Nothing could have prepared me for this, I am prime evil.  A scream ripped through my vocal cords, and a deep animalistic howl of a scream, as we run.  Everyone running besides me returns the howl, I am delighted to add a feeling of divine amusement to the exhilaration I feel.  We are going to have fun!

    That was until everyone running around me came to an abrupt coordinated halt. I had to fight not to keep blazing through the forest. Anger becoming the only emotion I was able to process, “What is going on? Why have we stopped?" 

    "Inauguration!" I hear from all around me.  

    I'm grabbed, every part of my body is latched onto.  I fight, more as an attempt to show them that they can't handle me than of actual fear. I as no match for them, there were too many of them and by the looks of it they had done this before.  I hadn’t stood a chance. I did however manage to knock a few of them down before being thrown into an unimaginably deep pit.  I fell for so long I no longer knew which way was up and what was down. That didn’t last long though.  I was reminded as the side of my body finally hit the hardened muck on the bottom.  An immense crunching sound and a vibrating wave of bones breaking and healing instantly, accompanied the reminder.  If I had still been human I would have been killed for sure, but of course, I am not.  I am above human; they don’t know it yet, but I am above them all. I felt the smile pull at the corners of my mouth, and I will get out of this cave. 

    And then I heard something.  A low throaty animal growl, a soft thud of a padded pawl and a scratch of nails along the muck. I heard the animal that I could not see it. The darkness of the cave was beyond comprehensible.  It was a darkness that I had never experienced and it swelled around me.  My vampire eyes were just beginning to adjust as a spiked tail embedded itself in my leg.  I pulled grabbed at it trying to jerk it out as a scream tore from my throat.  The tale was slimy and left a thick coating of whatever it was all over my hands making it impossible to pull the spike out.  As I had screamed I heard the shoots of the vampires above.   Some encouraging, ‘you’ve got this’, ‘take its head off’, ‘you’re nothing, the mange is going to eat you for breakfast’ I’m going to have to find out who said that one.  The creature ripped its tale back, leaving a gapping whole, blood streaming from where the spike had been.   

    My vision adjusted and I could see more of everything around me.  The small well whole I had come down opened up into a seemingly endless cave.  The slimy creature stood very close pacing back and forth waiting to pounce again.  It resembled a lion with no skin and spikes for a mane.  Its tale struck out at me again but seeing it coming this time, I plunged to the side. My leg throbbing, my hands balled into fist. I need to find a weapon.  The animal moved again this time raising its paws, if that was what you would call them, they were more like webbed hands.  They didn’t end in claws either, the nails just extended into talons. And right now those talons were striking for my face.  I threw myself under the creature skidding under its belly, scrapping the my skin as it grated against the ground.   Not knowing my new vampire strength yet I had thrown myself into the closest wall were my momentum had been stopped by a huge rock.  Trying my new strength, I grabbed at the rock trying to free a piece of it, get to my feet, and watch the mange the entire time.  I got to my feet, as the creature was turning its body towards me, a soft growl opening its mouth to show it razor teeth. The shouts of the vampires from the top suddenly stop and the growl didn’t seem so low after all.  A piece of the rock pulled free into a pointy shard in my had. The animal pounced again, I dodged and spun to its side.  Plunging the pointed end of the rock into its pelvis.  Pulling it out quickly so I didn’t lose the only weapon I had.  It yelped and roared fiercely, turning its head towards me again. This time I didn’t wait for the creature to strike I flew at it, trying to jump on its back.  Its talon paw dug into my chest stopping me midair and flinging me into another wall. While my leg was just seeming to have healed my chest now was torn.  Long deep slashes, and there was blood dripping from the corner of my mouth. 

    I don’t know exactly how much vampires can heal from but that blow made getting myself to my feet seem an impossible task.  So I laid there letting the creature inch towards me. Trying to not move at all, which was easier than one might think, because in all actually I was dead, and didn’t need to breathe.  The mange sniffed at the air right above my body, didn’t seem to like what it smelled and was raising an arm to strike again when I threw myself upwards towards it face.  Giving it everything I had, I stuck the animal with the rock. It tried to move back but bowed its head in the process bringing its one arm around where I had just got it in the face.  With it not paying attention to me.  I picked up the rock and hit it a few more times in the arm that had been covering it. The monster had had enough.  It backed away slowly into the darker depts. eyeing me while it moved.  I stood there for what seemed like forever before I decided it was okay to move again.  I beat it.  I beat that creature and this was their challenge. This challenge that I beat with a measly rock.  

    I  felt like howling  again,  this time it felt time a howl of triumph. Really there was no time for that now though, I need to get out of the whole. Without hesitation I slammed my fist into the dirt in the opening I had come from above my head, threw the dirt I felt a clump of a hard roots system.  I am strong I told myself, and I kick my other fist into the dirt as well.   I pulled my torn body into a pull up.  With my arms in the dirt wall of the opening and knee against the wall.  I pulled my left arm from the root I held onto and slammed again into the dirt wall above.  Doing what I had done the first time again.  Now, I had enough room to rear back and kick my feet into the dirt giving them some hold.  And I continued slowly up the well in that manner fist, foot, slamming myself into the dirt again and again, fist, foot. This is not even a challenge I told myself.  The slashes on my chest all but healed.  I guess I’m going to have to show them what a real challenge is when I get to the top I laughed out loud so they could hear the triumph I felt in it. Maybe I was always a monster and didn't know it. I lifted weights like they were my salvation, who would have known that my salvation was nothing less than death.