Malignant

II.

Running. Why was I running? I passed dozens of large storage crates, informing me that I was in a loading dock. I stopped behind one of the many storage crates in the lot to catch my breath. Why was I here? "Emily, where are you?" A voice echoed throughout the area. Vincent. I was running from fucking Vincent. "I don't like this game of hide and seek we're playing." He said, his voice drawing near. I ran from my spot, cutting through a few more crates.

I found myself hiding behind a crate trying to catch my breath. My heart was thumping violently against my chest as I quickly patted my body down to feel for a stake. I slumped against the cool iron crate wall behind me when I discovered not one was on me. "Shit." I swore under my breath. I looked around the area in front of me, feeling around for something that would be useful for me to kill the bastard.

"I did my research on you after our little encounter yesterday. You are an interesting person. Grew up in foster care with your two siblings, stayed in a lot of trouble. causing the three of you to bounce around a lot. Not sure how you got into the hunting business, though. Thought they were exclusive." He says, his voice echoing throughout the dock.

"I see a lot of myself in you. Both of us have been alone for a long time," Vincent continued in the same calm voice he's been speaking in the entire time. "and we're both completely okay with that. We never needed anyone." He says. I peek around the corner to see where he was, only to spot him walking into the light a few yards down from me.

He turned his head to look in my direction, causing me to quickly duck back into the shadows. I covered my mouth so that he couldn't hear my breathing. "Just like me, you question everything you've ever known and constantly search for meaning to your existence." I begin to move down the crate trying to be as quiet as possible when his voice began to draw near. "You might not have felt it back in that alleyway, but we shared a connection. You see, Emily, I've roamed this Earth for—" I begin to move backward still before turning to run. "And where are you going?" Vincent said abruptly.

Suddenly, I was pinned against one of the giant storage crates. I yelped out in pain when my head hit the back of it. "I wasn't done talking." Vincent said, caging me in with his arms.

The blonde vampire lifted a single bony finger to trail along my face. "Gotcha." He whispers while studying my face. "What am I going to do with you, little bird?" He whispers to himself and sighs. "As of right now-" My knee jolted forward and connected with his groin. He yelled out in pain and tossed me to the side. I landed on my shoulder and heard a 'pop'. My arm suddenly goes limp and I feel pain. I yelp in pain as I push myself away from him, looking around at my surroundings as I did so. Slowly, he began to approach me as I moved backward.

"Stay back!" I exclaim.

Vincent lifts his hand and pauses for a bit before moving his hand back and forth to point between us. "I thought we were having a moment there for a second, Emily." He said in a hurt voice. My back touches a wall. I hold my hand up in front of me.

"Please! Stay back!" I beg. "Stay away!" I exclaim. "No!"

"Emily, wake up!"

"Emily!" I jolt awake in my bed. I grab my chest and then my arm. It wasn't broke. "The hell happened?" Beth asked. I looked at her with wide eyes. It was just a dream. It felt so real. "Jesus Christ, your arm." I looked down at the large purple bruise that was on my shoulder. The shoulder I landed on in my dream...

I looked ahead. "He was in my dream," I say, looking at Beth. "He can project himself into dreams." I said while pushing my hand through my hair.

"Who?" Beth asked.

"Fucking Vampire I ran into last night. He's an old ass vampire that the Council keeps trying to kill off." I explained. I sigh softly and furrowed my brows, still a little confused by the events that took place. Silence swept over the room as I attempted to gather myself before speaking again. It was then that I realized that Beth was inside my house. "How did you get into my house?" I ask. A look of worry appeared on the witch's face before she began to chew gently at her lip, a clear sign that she was nervous. A clear sign she used her magic. My eyes widen. "You didn't."