THE VAMPIRE'S FATED BRIDE

LISA (2022) "Lisa?" There was a loud banging at my door. It was so loud that it felt like my door would pull down. I seemed to hear a voice calling my name right from the dreamscape where I was swimming in the pool of scented water. That was the most bizarre dream I have ever had. "it's past nine already. You are late for work!" I froze. Then it suddenly clicked that I had a day job to manage. Then, like all other times, I suddenly switched from dream mode to consciousness. There was another banging at the door again and I yawned, stretching myself in the process. "I'm coming out Brenda." I called out to my flatmate and best friend who left the door immediately. I sighed. Those dreams-those visions, when will they stop? They were getting more lucid than ever and I feared that if I do not find a way to stop it, I might hurt myself at a point. But how could I stop something which I did not know how it began? If I didn't know better, I would say it's magic. But magic does not exist, does it? However, if it does, I really wanted to experience it, understand it. perhaps that would give me some closure on why I kept on having that recurrent dream. I rubbed my face and stood up from the bed, walking towards the large mirror that stood on a side of my room. I looked at my reflection on the mirror. Here I was in my big twenty eight and yet I had nothing significant to show for it. And I shouldn't even get started on my love life. it was a disaster! My hair was horrible and I was still in the black dress I wore to the club the previous night. How did I get home exactly? I had no memory of even coming back for I was really drunk by the time I saw the clock hit eleven. I think I was talking to some guy but I could not remember what happened afterwards. I really hope he did not take advantage of a poor drunk girl. I dashed into the shower and As the waters from the shower fell on my skin, I suddenly remembered the dreamscape. For some strange reason, this water felt like those pools I always found myself in. The pool was very wide and it was always filled with waters which were scented with roses. Then I would swim all around and when I felt like I was about to wake up, I usually saw a man walking into the pool behind me. I never saw his face but his form was the most attractive one I have ever seen. I did not know why but whenever he was near, I felt an overwhelming sensation in me. It was lust, severe lust. The dreams started when I turned sixteen and those times, I would weep whenever I woke up. But eventually, I began to accept the fact that perhaps such dreams weren't meant to be consumated. Maybe I was just supposed to savor the moment without doing anything. However, that theory did not really suit well with me, but what could I do about it? I quickly got dressed for work and looked at the little portrait on my table. It was me and my late older sister Camille. I walked closer to the portrait and slowly took it up. I looked into Camille's eyes, they were as blue as mine but I always had a feeling they were prettier. I kissed her face and placed the portrait down. I felt a lump on my throat and quickly resisted the urge to cry. I hurried out of the room and went downstairs. As I walked, I began to have a relapse of memories shared by my sister and I. They were beautiful. But that was all in the past now, a very long time ago. That was before she met the man that would ruin her life, the very man I earnestly hated and wanted to destroy even if it was the last thing I did on Earth. That was my purpose, avenge my sister and reveal the cause of her death to the whole world. I wanted to reveal the monster that paraded himself as a saint, the wolf that wore a sheep's clothing. I wanted to reveal the devil masquerading as an angel. I wanted to destroy the president and all he held dear to his heart. Brenda already made pancakes and it was cold by the time I got to the kitchen. She sat on the sofa, writing her book. She was an author and she pretty much worked from home. I began to eat the cold pancakes and I loved every bite of it. Afterall, the cold ones were my favorite. I walked towards her and she was so engrossed in her book that she did not notice my presence at first. Not until I tickled her and made her laugh from the effect. After mother died, Brenda was the closest thing I had to family. Even after graduation, we stayed together. She was also aware of what happened to my sister and she did all she could to help me avenge her. "You might just loose your job today Lisa. Those dreams are getting worse. Don't you think you should see a doctor or something?" She asked with real concern in her face. I smiled. And yes, she also knew about my dreams. "I'm fine. It is not a big deal." I replied and took another bite from the pancakes. "Still him?" She asked as she stopped writing and looked at me. I slowly nodded and seemed to loose my appetite. "I do not understand. I keep seeing him, and I think of all these wonderful things I would love to do with him but then it just vanishes into thin air and my hope gets knocked off. Perhaps it will be good to finally get to meet him, you know? Try and understand what this means. Or perhaps he might just be in my head." I said and sighed. she smiled and placed her hand on mine and looked at me encouragingly. "you've got this. And now that your job might be..." "I will not loose this job. I promise." I cut her off for I knew what she wanted to say. "You are a damn good journalist but even you have your limits. Do you think the reason why you have those dreams is the fact that you feel you haven't been able to find justice for your sister?" "I do not know. I feel horrible and my habit of partying hard on a Sunday night is almost ruining me. I feel like the whole world is crumbling right down at me and I cannot do anything to stop it. I do not know where to start from. I am so confused and tired. I think I have given up." Suddenly, Brenda began to laugh. I raised an eyebrow and looked at her carefully. "Why are you laughing?" "Lisa, you are a lot of things but you are not a quitter. Hell you are the most stubborn and persistent person I know. Confused and tired? Nah, that's not you. You always have an answer for everything and sometimes, I wonder where you got your intuition from. So girl, get down to work and show that boss of yours why he should not fire you." "I already lost two jobs due to my lateness." "Yes, but you always find your way. Just promise me you will not work on the president's case while at work. It is really dangerous." "Okay." I mumbled. "Lisa?" "Alright. I won't. I never do." Now that was a lie. A very big lie. The reason why I lost my previous two jobs was not because of my lateness. My employers always had a habit of giving me pardon when when I broke a rule. I was the best journalist they could ever get their hands on but I had a flaw, my sister's case. I always presented that case about the president being involved in a series of crimes against humanity and they always freaked out. What makes it worse is the fact that I tried to link the Bronze Gang to the crimes. The Bronze Gang was the most dangerous and influential gang in the country and anyone who dares publish a thing against them was trampled immediately. My employers always tried to make me see reasons why I should not try to write about their deeds but like Brenda said, I was stubborn. So they fired me. I tried to do my things in secret but they found out eventually. I wasn't so descreet. I could have done it from home but I needed their equipments and their access. So I needed to keep this job somehow. I took my bag and dashed out of the house while sending kisses to my cat. He was having his meal and did not even blink at me. I sighed and stepped out into the illustrious city of Maradona. That was the largest city in the country,and it was where the president resided in. It was the city of my childhood and as I walked to work, all of the memories flooded my brain like a tsunami. But I did not want to feel them. I wanted to keep this job I had. As expected, everyone at the office stared at me as I walked past them. I could even hear some of them whisper about how I won favours by making out with the boss. I scoffed. If only they knew how hard I worked. I got to my desk and quickly looked over the pile of files I had to review but as I was about to start, I felt a presence behind me. I turned around and saw my boss standing, arms folded and legs ajar. He had an angry expression on his face and I could tell that the anger was directed right at me. I smiled clumsily but he quickly scoffed. "Trust you had a great night's sleep Mr Moore?" I tried to sound polite but the uninterested man standing before me made me shiver. I could not believe I was about loosing my job again. "Lisa, you are a wonderful journalist. Infact, the very best I've got. But you need to understand that this is my company and I make the rules. What I say is the law. Now," he placed a newspaper on the table which revealed the large headline PROMISCUOUS SENATOR FOUND ABUSING ANOTHER VICTIM. I tried to look as innocent as I could but he was not buying it. Oh crap, was this me kissing my new job goodbye again? "I do not know what you're talking about sir." I said to him as polite as I could "Oh do not give me that crap. You wrote that article and after I forbade you from publishing it, you went ahead without my knowledge and did so. Do you have any idea what position you just placed me?" "He was a dog. Someone needed to stop his evil acts. Just because he is rich and influential does not mean he can abuse any girl he so desires. Someone needed to put him in his place." "And you thought that person is you? Do you know how dangerous this is? We can be sued for this. This is defamation." "It is not. I have evidence. I tailed him for three months and got all of the information I needed as well as testaments from his victims. I have handed It all to the police already and should there be any threats to my life, he will go down hard. The best thing he can actually do is not press charges. Trust me, I've got it all covered." My boss looked at me and sighed. The anger and worry I had seen on his face was beginning to wear off. "You may have gotten yourself out of this but the next time you publish an article without my permission, I will have you suspended. How did you even manage to do it? You do not even have the authority to do so." "I have my ways sir. And trust me, I will never publish another article without your permission. Never again. For real, this is the last time." "It better be." He said and walked away. I scoffed and returned back to work and the first thing I wanted to work on was my sister's case. I began to look at the information I had gathered on the Bronze gang over the course of the previous week but they were not enough to publish an article and bring them down. The gang was so descreet in their activities. My boss made it very clear that I was not to publish anything about the gang. It's bad for business, he said. Ofcourse I promised not to but that was me telling him exactly what he wanted to hear. Just then, my phone chimed and I checked to see a text message from Pedro, another of my good and trusted friends who was a detective. Pedro and I have been friends since we were younger and he was the closest thing I had to a brother. We were working on the Bronze case together for he also had a vendetta against them. The gang killed his family, to be specific, the gang leader Reagan. And he was also the same person who put a bullet on my sister. I quickly replied Pedro and continued the day's work and soon, it was dark and I walked back home. The evening wind was soothing and there appeared to be a full moon already. I always loved the moon. It felt like a guardian over me. When I got to my apartment, I wanted to open the door but then I saw that the lock was broken and the door was unlocked. I slowly opened the door and went inside. There was total silence in the house and the only thing I could hear was the wall clock ticking. As I walked, I stepped on my cat's feeding plate and when I looked down, I saw blood dripping all over the plate. I suddenly became afraid. I walked a little further and cried out when I saw my cat badly mutilated on the ground with a bouquet of flowers placed by his side. I saw a little paper placed in his mouth and I took it. The handwriting was horrible but I was able to make out the words. "A LITTLE PRESENT FOR LISA SHANE." Who the hell was this?