Gone.

Thrill Of The Chase

                  

Taylor knocks three times on her old family home before her mother answers. Andrea gestures Taylor inside quickly. "Dear, you know you don't have to knock. This is still your home," she says as she pulls her daughter in for a tight hug.

            Taylor does know this but since she moved out she feels slightly distanced from her family. "Force of habit I guess. Ready to go?"

            "Too right!", Austin shouts enthusiastically as he walks into the hallway from the kitchen.

            "Is Sophia not joining us?" Taylor asks whilst looking behind him to check her sister-in-law wasn't there.

            "No, she didn't feel like it. I think she's got flu. I offered to stay with her but she demanded I came anyway," Austin shrugs his shoulders.

            "Come on then, enough chit chat, let's go hunting," announces Scott as he too walks in from the kitchen.

            The four of them walk slowly through the outskirts of the woods. It was autumn so the leaves were beginning to change colour. They appeared to glow in the amber light of dusk. It's quiet. No one is around so the only sound is the gentle rustling of wind disturbing the leaves and the soft crunch of already fallen ones under feet with the occasional harsh snap of a twig.

Once they are deep enough in to ensure no humans are around, they let loose. Taylor has always been the fastest and her family are constantly a few paces behind as she easily ducks and dives through the trees, avoiding the branches and leaping over fallen logs. The vampires are going so fast that the forest begins to blur either side of them as the daylight fades.

            Merely five minutes into the hunt Taylor abruptly stops a few feet behind a deer, her family members slow as to not startle the creature. The blonde feels the familiar grating sensation as her fangs grow ready. Just as the dear pricks its ear and begins to turn its head, Taylor pounces on it, sinking her teeth into the unsuspecting creature's jugular in one swift movement. The girl almost moans as she feels the hot blood pulsing into her mouth and sliding easily down her throat. The animal twitches as Taylor drains every last drop of blood.

            Once the animal lay lifeless on the forest floor, the blonde returns to her feet and wipes the few remaining spatters of blood around her mouth away with her hand as she turns to face her parents and brother.

            "Nice one sis, thanks for saving me some," Austin claps and he receives a sarcastic smirk in return.

            "I was thirsty," Taylor shrugs.

            "Well done darling, next one's mine though," Scott says as he races off to get a head start on his younger and much fitter children.

            Taylor gets lost in the hunt. The feeling of breezing past the trees and seeing everything blur into slow motion. It has always been something that relaxes her, it helped to clear her chaotic mind.

            The Swift's carry out a very successful hunt and all four wander back through the woods feeling satisfied. Taylor hears her mother say something, at least it was a female voice and she assumed.

            "What mom?" She asks as she didn't quite catch the words.

            "I didn't say anything dear," Andrea smiles. Weird, Taylor thinks.

            "Good hunt."

            Okay her mother definitely just talked. "Yeah it was, I missed the thrill of the chase," Taylor replies as she looks up and all around her. It was pitch black and the woods had never looked as beautiful as they did in that moment.

Of course, being a vampire, Taylor could see fine, but she appreciated the darkness nevertheless. The darkness is like a cloak that covers the whole sky. It wasn't a cloudy day so the stars were out in full force, all individual and twinkling brighter than the day before. Due to this fact, there was a noticeable chill in the air, one that was becoming all the more common of an evening as the summer quickly transitioned into the autumn.

            "It was, but who are you talking to?", her mother questions, clearly confused.

            "You just said good hunt?", the girl asks, beginning to doubt herself.

            "No I didn't sweetie." Andrea begins to figure out what's happening here but Taylor remains completely oblivious. To the mother, it was obvious.

            Taylor continues to walk on with a furrowed brow as she looks down at her feet whilst her mother watches her from the side with a knowing smile.

Andrea's suspicions are practically confirmed when another family begin to come into view on the right of the Swifts. The colouring of their clothes is just about visible through the trees. They had initially met this family on their last hunt when Taylor wasn't present.

Scott makes a gesture towards them and the three of them sprint over. They cross the 100m distance in less than a second, their moving bodies briefly blurring and contorting as eyes try to catch up with the movements. The two families greet one another warmly. Taylor is introduced for the first time.

            There are three of them, Paul, Christine and their daughter Dianna. Paul was well built and tall. His hair was blacker than the night sky and his eyes the same.

Christine, however, seemed the complete adverse. Even in the black of night, everything about her glowed bright. Almost bleach blonde locks of hair fell just below her shoulders and her skin was the palest Taylor had ever seen.

Dianna seemed to take after her mother. She was shorter than Taylor but four years older at 28. She was also blonde but it was a noticeably darker shade than Taylor's and confidence oozed out of the girl. Hazel eyes complimented her golden brown hair perfectly and they were soft, almost inviting.

            Something finally clicks for Taylor when Dianna introduces herself without moving her lips. Taylor replies hesitantly in the same way and the two stare at each other, both equally shocked.

The expressions of shock easily transition into beaming smiles. Taylor's mother watches the girls in her peripheral vision, fully aware of what was happening.

            Finally, Taylor had found her partner.