Vampire Lessons (Completed)

Chapter 20 The Feeling

I know it has been a long wait. I have had writers block. I'm sure you know how that is and the toll it can take. 

Chapter 20 The Feeling

I was trying to concentrate on my own heart. It felt faster than it should. I could feel each beat against my rib cage.

I had been to my mother's yoga class a few times and thought I would try one of the breathing exercises to slow it down. That was the worst idea I ever had. My hearing was not the only thing heightened. My sense of smell had increased to the point that smelling left a taste in my mouth.

More specifically, I could taste everyone. I know that sounds strange but think of how food smells. You can tell when something will taste good even if you have never tasted it before. You can imagine how it would taste before the first bite.

Intense pain stung my gums. It felt like fire and razors all at once. I tried to hold my breath but the pain made it impossible. Someone held a hand to my back and a warm cup was pressed to my lips the scent of licorice and other herbs and spices assaulted my nose. Before I could protest the tea was poured into my mouth. I swallowed so I didn't drown. I was forced to swallow more before my heart slowed. I would like to say that my senses were back to normal but they were not.

I'm not sure how long it took me to regain my ability to think rationally. The first thing I became truly aware of happened to be the feel of the my fingers wrapped around the edge of the arm of the couch. I could feel the fabric and foam being crushed between my hand and the wooden bones of the sofa.

"Stephanie?" It was a voice I didn't really recognize.

I blinked, confused. It felt like time had moved but I had not.

With my heart not pounding so wildly the other things didn't seem so intense. I found breathing was easier despite the fact that the air had a taste it hadn't before. For a moment my heart threaten to speed back up when I realized I could still hear too clearly, too intensely. I had to force myself to calm down. I darted my gaze around the room, at the others. I probably looked like a loon. I didn't spend more than a few seconds on the same subject. Not that it seem to matter. I could make out the greatest details without even trying.

"Stephanie?" This voice I knew. Amy. My best friend. I smiled, feeling more sure of myself.

"Sorry, I guess I drifted off a bit."

Amy looked to her left and I followed her gaze. Something was definitely wrong. Everyone looked concerned.

"What?"

"You didn't drift off, Mrs. Green. You passed out." Mr. Smith stated flatly.

"But, I'm fine."

"We managed to get a bit more tea into you. Unfortunately I don't think the tea will have much effect for long, or at all in the days to come."

I shifted my attention to Mr.  Angelov. Remember said I could make out details without trying? Mr. Angelov wore makeup. Under the makeup his the skin appeared smooth if only a bit pale. Under his nose and around his eyes his natural skin was easy to spot. It made me wonder why he worried at all. The point of makeup was to conceal flaws not create them. Why would he want to look older?

Amy looked pale to but her skin was just as flawless and almost untouched by make-up. She were just a touch of tinted lip gloss and foundation. The skin over her eyes had a slight puffiness to them where she had obviously plucked her eyebrows. The whites of her eyes weren't as white as they should have been. I could see tiny blue and red veins criss-crossing just below the surface. I thought she should have used a bit of contouring  as her face looked too thin. I wanted to wince at my own critical thoughts.

I had never really had a problem telling Eric and Kyle apart while others had. Now, I couldn't see how they can be confused for one another. Their eyes alone we're a giveaway. Eric's green eyes had tiny blue flecks scattered around the irises the pupil that should have been black held a purple tint. Kyle's green eyes had tiny brown flecks scattered around the irises. His pupils had the same purple tint Eric's held. Odd, I had never noticed this before. Their faces were more different than I thought as well. Eric's eyebrows were thicker in the center. At the moment they both looked nervous. Kyle more so than Eric. Kyle looked like he wanted to run. He looked at the doors, me, Amy, Smith and then at Angelo. The only person he didn't look at was his twin.

At that point it did occur to me to wonder how I could see these things but it was a fleeting thought. There was still too much to take in around me.

I noticed things around the room and Mr. Smith too. On our first visit I had wondered if a skull set high on the desk behind a pile of jars and junk paper. Now, I knew it was a real skull. It was the second bone I had ever seen, the first hadn't been human though. I was sure this one was.

Smith really was normal. He looked around 40 With this new perception. But his eyes had the same purple tint to the pupils as Eric and Kyle's. I looked back at Amy to see if all pupils looked this way. No. Hers had a silver–blue tint to them. I wondered if it was because her eyes were blue.

"Very good, child."

I wished that Mr. Angelo hadn't spoken. His voice pulled my attention back to him. Oh— he had a silver blue tint to his pupils as well. The tint was darker than Amy's and I didn't have to look back at her to compare them. For a moment it made me wonder about my own eyes.

"You're controlling it well." Angelo told me with a nod.

I could feel my expression change with my confusion. Angelov noticed too.

"The feeling of thirst. You're handling it well." He smiled.

Until he mentioned it I hadn't considered the feeling in the back of my throat. I had been interested in the new ability to really see. Now, I felt the burn, not bad at first but that lasted all of four seconds.

'Feeling of thirst.' as he called it didn't begin to cover 'the feeling'. If I hadn't known better I would have believed that I had swallowed battery acid in the middle of the desert. I doubt it could have felt worse. The acidic burn didn't reach my stomach it ended just above my heart.

My hearing intensified again. My mouth flooded. The air filled with the smells of everyone in the room. Some part of my brain identified where each scent came from. Mr. Angelos scent held very little appeal. Smith's scent seem to be flooded in something that turned my stomach in a horrible way. Amy's scent was interesting but didn't call my attention like Eric and Kyle's.

Kyle's eyes widened, he tensed, moved. At the same time Eric did almost the same thing except instead of retreating as his brother had he placed himself between me and his twin.

I have no memory of moving. I didn't intend to reach for them. I didn't intend to lunge. But I saw the distance between us growing smaller. Suddenly, I was face down on the floor. The coffee table had been tipped to it's side. Tea and china splattered the carpet. The heliotrope stone lay under one of the chairs. The room had descended into chaos once again.

Amy was crying. Kyle cursed, loudly. Eric yelled at him to check on Amy. Mr. Angelo knelt over me, a hand on the back of my neck. His grip painfully tight. My cheek pressed into the carpet, a small bit of broken china stabbed my jaw. But I hardly registered the pain. Someone held my feet still, I assume it was Mr. Smith.

Eric whispered to Amy. He assured her everything would be fine. I didn't believe him. I had attacked them, or at least I intended to, tried to. There was something wrong with me. My eyes burned as tears forced their way to the surface.