Vampire Lessons (Completed)

Chapter 40 Hunger and Thirst

Chapter 40 Hunger and Thirst

I was angry. These people, these vampires, should be nothing to me but they weren't. I was angry because they should have taken better precautions to protect us. We shouldn't have been blindsided by what we were. We shouldn't have been separated. We should have always known about the world to which we were biologically connected. It was a small quirk of fate that Amy and I lived in the same town. How different would our lives have been if the Queen and King had planned better? I slammed my backpack on the concrete table.

"It's all their fault." I proclaimed angrily while swinging my legs into place under the table. The grass under the table brushed my legs.

"They didn't plan on this happening, Steph." Eric pushed his black bag out of his way as he sat across from me. 

"Exactly." I waved my arm in agitation. "They didn't plan."

"You're being ridiculous. You know they planned to place you with someone they trusted.  They had no control over the fire that took the agency."

"Agency?  Why are you still calling it that? They put us in an orphanage." I glared at him. He shook his head.

"You make it sound like they abandoned you."

"They may as well have. We were shuffled into the system like we were unwanted mistakes." I twisted the end of the strap around my finger. "If not for our parents we would have been nothing, had nothing." I pulled the strap through my fingers.

"Honesty... Would you really want to change it all? If there hadn't been a fire and mess up; you wouldn't have the parents you have. You wouldn't have lived here. You wouldn't have  met me or any of us, the friends you have. You would have lived with the vampire couple the king and queen picked. You would have lived somewhere else, other  friends, family, school. I mean, yeah, you and Amy wouldn't have been separated or surprised by the para-world but you wouldn't be the people you are. I would have never met you and Kyle wouldn't have met Amy." he dropped his hands on his bag.  He smiled, questioning, unsure.

I didn't know what to say. I bit the inside of my cheek. I was still angry. I wanted to have it both ways. I wanted the life the king and queen planned and I wanted my parents and my friends. Quickly I pulled the blindfold and earplugs from the small pocket of my backpack. "Are we practicing or not?" I pushed up from the table. I heard him sigh as I walked a few feet away. I put on the blindfold.

"Yeah." His feet crunched over the ground behind me. "Ready?"

I pushed the earplugs in and nodded. I didn't move. The dark silence took a moment to get used too. I noticed the cool air move over my arm. It brought the scent of pine, earth, oak and a hundred other smells with it.

One of those scents snagged my attention. Kyle. He smelled of warm cotton and male. I could distinguish between his scent and anyone else's. Everyone was unique but him most of all. I took a deeper breath. The distraction cost me. A blow landed in the center of my back.

I turned to face him. In normal conditions I would be watching for his next move. I would listen to his heartbeat. But those options were unavailable. I concentrated on my skin.

He managed to land three more blows. One blow was to my ribs, my thigh and just above my elbow, in that order. I grew frustrated with each hit.  I usually managed to block some of his attacks. 

Defensive I crouched slightly.  I felt the air move and blocked the blow with an upraised forearm.  I didn't even hold back my smile of satisfaction.  I stepped back  and stood up tall. Proud.

I'm not sure of the exact quote but it's something about pride before a fall. Maybe, something like, pride soars before it falls.  I'm not sure. But in this case that seems appropriate.