The Haunted Town

#13 - Purpose

Simone let out a scream.
"HOW COULD YOU?" She shouted at him and thrashed against the chain holding her to place. Nathan just tilted his head and regarded her. Gone was the warmth from his face and his usual dimpled smile. How could this monster be her friend for more than a month now? How could he be the one she had trusted and considered a friend? "YOU ARE LYING, YOU PATHETIC MONSTER!!" She screamed once more. The chain refused to free her. It just rattled against the iron bed.

"Simone, I care for you. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have been here." Nathan said generously when she quieted down. She was breathing heavily and her arms hurt. She didn't want to see his face. For a moment, she thought she'd be able to remember who Nathan had been instead of the person standing before her. "I will never hurt you, rest assured."
"What about the people I love? What about the people of this town?" She snarled, still avoiding to look up at him. She heard him sigh before she felt the mattress compress under his weight beside her. She hid her face behind her loose hair.
"We are cursed to feed on the people of this town." He said softly but his voice still sounded unconcerned. With her heart sinking, Simone recalled how it had always been like this but she hadn't noticed. "Without...without harming them, there is no way we would survive."
"Then die!!" Simon shot back with her clenched teeth.
"That's what I'm planning to do." At Nathan's words, she stilled. What was he talking about? "But I can't just go without taking down Quinlynn and Juniper." He kept going. Now, Simone dared to turn around and look at him. He was looking unseeingly at something on the opposite wall. His hands indifferently caught a ball to and fro.

"How can I trust the words you are saying?"
"Whether you like it or not, I'm still the same Nathan you've known for more than a month now." He replied calmly before he stood up to leave. Simone closed her eyes, anger flaring through every inch of her. Above her, she shadows shuddered and went still once more.

༼;'༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽༼;'༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽

Thwack! Someone slapped her cheek, hard. Startled, Simone shrieked as she opened her eyes and saw Quinlynn bent over her.
"Oh, there she is." Quinlynn said in a sing song voice. When she stepped back, Simone gasped in shock. Vanessa was standing against the wall by the door. The girl just smiled at her with her pointy teeth. Beside her, two girls stood still. Their eyes were vacant and bodies lifeless. They looked like they were in a daze.
"What's....what's going on here?" Simone asked, her eyes wildly traveling from one girl to  the other. Her heart was thudding and her veins buzzing. What was Quinlynn up to?

"I'm sure Trar'en fancies you, you know but before you day dream about being safe and all, I wanted to show you something." Quinlynn chuckled, pacing around Simone's bed.
"What?"
"You see, Trar'en hasn't fed for a long time now. I'm sure he is low on his energy. Above you is the proof enough." Quinlynn winked before looking up. Following her gaze, Simone looked up. The shadows were shuddering. As Simone watched, one by one they fell like rain drops. Startled, Simone recoiled but she didn't feel cold. No shadow touched her. She dared to open her eyes at Quinlynn's gleeful laugh. The shadows were nowhere to be seen.

"He is weak and he dares to save you. From me." Quinlynn said, bending to level her face with Simone's. She was wearing bright red lipstick and heavy make-up. She looked unnervingly beautiful. Simone was afraid of her nonetheless. Very very afraid.
"We've followed Trar'en for centuries but now, we believe that he is not capable of leading us. I've stood by him all this time, I stood by him even when he killed two of ours in cold blood." Quinlynn actually sounded a little sad. When her long, red painted nail touched Simone's temple, she shrunk back. With a smile, Quinlynn tucked loose strands of Simone's hair behind her ear.
"I'm gonna show you something cool. Watch carefully." Quinlynn whispered. Before Simone could ask her anything, she heard footsteps beyond the door and then door being thrown open. She wasn't surprised to see Nathan there. His eyes were glowing bright ember, the only sign that he was furious at Quinlynn's presence in the room.

"Oh hello darling! We've been waiting for you." Quinlynn cooed as she sashayed towards him. Without even moving a finger, he sent her flying into the wall. Quinlynn managed to catch herself before she hit it. Vanessa faced Nathan, to protect her friend. He made no move against her though. When he shouldered past her, Simone knew why. He had made her immobile. Shadows, darker than the usual ones were holding her in place. Her arms were pinned to her sides.
"I didn't know you could become so pathetic!" Quinlynn said, pushing her tight skirt down and flicking her black hair over her shoulder.
"I'm afraid I can't say the same about you. You've always been pathetic, reckless and impatient." Nathan said calmly, facing her with his hands in his pants' pockets. Quinlynn let out a mirthless laugh.
"But not stupid, sweetheart." She said before she pushed one of the girls into the wall just like Nathan had done with her moments ago. Simone let out a whimper in fear and alarm as she heard a couple of bones crack.

The effect was almost immediate. Simone realized with horror what Quinlynn was aiming at. Nathan groaned as he hunched over, his hands pressed against his temples. He groaned in pain which made Quinlynn clap with triumph.
"Come on, go ahead and feed. Show that little girlfriend of yours what you truly are."
"Get....Get....lo...lost Quinlynn!!!" Nathan moaned, collapsing on his knees on the floor.
"Oh baby, you can't do anything to make it possible." She just chirped in response. With a flick of her finger, Vanessa was free.
"Stop fighting it, Trar'en. You can't deny who you truly are." Vanessa said, lifting the girl who had hit the wall from the back of her shirt. She pushed the girl in front of Nathan who jerked back as if struck by lightning. His face looked horrible. It was pale and he was shaking.
"Oh come on! Stop wasting the time fighting what you want most." Vanessa tutted. Quinlynn practically pushed the girl's face towards his. Simone saw fight leave Nathan as he fixed his eyes on the girl. When he placed his hands on the girl's temples, net-black veins appeared on every visible part of his body. Simone choked with terror when she noticed blood being drained from the girl's body. Nathan's eyes were closed but he looked like a monster. What he truly was. Simone welcomed the darkness that seemed to overtake her mind. It was too much. She could not handle it.

༼;'༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽༼;'༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽

She was trapped. No, someone was holding her. And running. She snapped open her eyes only to find herself looking right at Nathan's face. The image of him with black veins on his body was sudden. She shrieked and he let her go in alarm. Simone fell on the ground with a thud, sharp branches and stones pressed against her body, making her scream.
"I'm sorry. You startled me." Nathan was saying. When he reached out to lift her up, she batted his hands away.
"Get away from me, you monster!!"
"Simone, you need me right now." He replied impatiently. Groaning, Simone struggled to stand up straight. Her legs betrayed her though, they gave out under her and she fell on the floor once more. When Nathan made no move to come near her, she let herself study her surroundings. They were in the forest and the sun was setting. With a sinking feeling, she realized that he was taking her to where he had disappeared the last time. When he had been pretending to be hurt and had vanished in the mist. She looked at him with a clenched jaw. How could he toy with her trust? Oh, he was a monster.

"Why did you bring me here? To kill me where no one can know?" She growled. Rolling his eyes, Nathan sat down on a tree log. He narrowed his eyes as he regarded her.
"Like I said, I'm not going to hurt you. The only reason I've brought you here is that...help me break this curse on the town."
"How is that advantageous for you?" Simone stated bluntly. A look of hurt passed over Nathan's face even before she could register it being there.
"It'll set me free."
"Set you free as in you'd be free to roam the Earth and drain people of their blood?" A hint of derision coloring Simone's tone. Nathan just gave her a smirk.
"No, free as in to kill us for once and for all."
Simone's eyes widen. He was planning to kill himself and the other two. She opened her mouth to say that she did not believe him and that he was only toying with her but got distracted.

Behind him, she saw shadows rise. They were darker and bigger than Simone had seen up till now. Wind moaned through the trees. Following her gaze, Nathan looked back and jumped up. He ran towards her and shook her shoulders to get her attention.
"Simone! Listen to me carefully." He said. "You are the only one that can make it happen. Destroy the dagger in the cave I took you near once before. Destroy it and set us free."
"Why?" Simone whispered, her body visibly shaking from fear of oncoming shadows.
"Because I'm the creature of darkness which dreams of the light. And because I've began to care."

༼•̫͡•༽ ｡･:*:･ﾟ༼•̫͡•༽,｡･:*:･ﾟ༼•̫͡•༽