Katharine
The scorching sun beat down on my dirt and grime covered hands. My brother Nathan stood a couple feet over helping me pick the wheat. My mother was out in the apple orchards with my father plucking the ripest apples in the trees for our dinner and the rest of the town. I sighed as I remembered that after I picked the wheat, I had to go milk the cows.
I sighed and stood up, taking a long breath of the sweet, warm air. Nathan also stood up at looked at me concerned, "You ok Katharine?"
I smiled and fixed the farmers hat on my head, "I'm fine." I said as I leaned back down to pick more wheat.
This was my horribly boring life. Doing my chores in the fields and orchards, tending to the animals and going to sell what we had to sell, then I would help my mother with dinner. My life was already planned out, I would do this until I either died, or was killed by a vampire who was hungry for a midnight snack.
"Are you daydreaming again K?"
Nathan's voic broke me from my thoughts. I shook my head and got back to work, my hands started their normal rhythm. Picking and slicing the wheat.
Someone gave my shoulder a small nudge, "Earth to Katharine Jane Clearwater?"
"What do you want?" I groaned and looked up at Nathan.
"Nothing." He put his hands up in defense. I shook my head, and once more got back to my chore. Picking the wheat, slicing what was stuck deep into the ground with my small knife and gently placing it in one of the non-wheat filled baskets.
-
Hours later, after Nathan and I finished picking a whole field of wheat, we decided to settle down under a large tree near the now bare field.
"Here." Nathan walked up to me and handed me an apple. I smiled and took a huge bite. I felt the apple juice drip down my chin and quickly wiped it away as Nathan laughed.
"Oh stop." I laughed back and slapped his arm.
"Ow!" He yelled is mock pain and gasped as if taken aback that I hit him.
"Now I comm-" I was aburtly cut off by a hiss and a rattle from some tall grass to my left.
Nathan looked at me, a panicked look on his face and slowly motioned for me to get up. I did what he said and stood up as slow as possible. I slowly walked to Nathan's side as his face went pale. I looked over my shoulder to see a rattlesnake slither out of the grass.
I reached for my knife in my back pocket but it wasn't there. Also seems that Nath beat me to it. In his hand, he held his own knife and stood ridged as the snake coiled and rattled it's tail.
Oh fuck, was all I could think. You could not fight a rattlesnake with just a knife. You probably couldn't fight it with a gun, dagger or something bigger than a 3 inch knife!
I quickly turned my attention back to coiled snake. The snakes head rose with lighting speed, and aimed for Nathan. I stepped backwards out of reflexes to run from any sort of danger fell over a tree root with a loud thump.
I gasped for air, as the wind was knocked out of me. I propped myself up once I regained my breath and saw the snake turning its head to switch it's attention to me instead of my brother. It coiled again and prepared itself to launch its deadly, poisonous fangs at my leg.
I know my life is over as its head darts toward my leg and prepare myself for the agony that will be coming after it's fangs pierce me. Just as I close my eyes, begining to accept my death, someone basically tears me off the ground. I yelp with suprise and the wind tears at my face.
I try to open my eyes, but all I manage to see is red, brown, black and a bit of white. I close my eyes one again afraid of whats going to happen next. Within a heartbeat, I feel the ground under my feet again and hear loud, bonechilling crack of a spine breaking.
I open my eyes slightly to make out white skin, a dead rattlesnake, blood, brown shaggy hair and Nathan running towards me.
"Katharine!" He yells and reached me in a few large strides. I was in total shock and unable to anwser his call, "Katharine are you ok?! Are you hurt?! You stupid klutz, that thing could have killed you!" He bombarded me.
"I-I" I began to stutter but was cut off by a voice like silk, like water flowing through a river. Smooth. Dangerous.
"You shouldn't mess with snakes."
As I spun around, the first sign of trouble I saw was the red eyes. My heart stopped as reality struck me. I was saved by a vampire.
The only reason vampires ever helped humans was so he or she could kill or torture them themselves. I looked at my feet, trying to avoid the vampires gaze. It was dangerous to look directly at a vampire.
"Thank you." Nathan said, looking at the vampire, but not meeting his eyes. I also looked up and saw the vampire smile and hold out his hand to shake. Nathan, not beng and idiot, shook his hand. The vampire, almost being a foot taller than me, looked down a deviously smiled at me.
I didn't look up, I just looked at the ground again. I know my place. I will not give myself a death sentence.
Nathan gripped my arm tightly and spoke in a dead serious tone, "Let's get you home."
I nodded and let him lead me back to the farm. I could feel the vampire's eyes burning into the back of my head as we walked away. As Nathan and I walked briskly away, my mother appeared from our house, running with my dad closely behind her. My mom grabbed my and pulled me into a hug.
"Oh Katharine.." She says with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. I could hear Nathan and my father in deep conversation while my mom calmed me down. I wasn't paying attention though. I was still in shock. None of her words even made sense to me.
After a while of her talking and me nodding slightyly from time to time, she led me inside and began to treat my scratches. I am still in utter and complete shock. Not from the snake, but from the vampire. She brushes my hair so the wheat is out then tells me to go to bed. That is the only thing I understand from all her cooing and reassuring words.
Mindlessly, I walk up the stairs leading to the attic and walk into my room.
That's when I feel the hand close over my mouth.
