The Eternal Bloodlines: Shattered Reflections

Chapter Two: Survival

My body hit the ground hard, dirt spraying up around me as I squirmed and writhed underneath them. Their cold hands secured my flailing arms, forcing my wrists together. I tried to fight them, but they were just too strong. Ropes coiled tightly around my slender wrists and locked them with firm, scratching knots I had no hope of breaking.

The men stepped back, their black clothes flowing around them as thunder echoed in the darkness above, the wind beginning to pick up.

"Such an innocent little creature," a man spoke, drawing my frightened, teary gaze from where I lay on the ground.

I glimpsed the flash of fangs and the red of his eyes as someone struggled and grunted, fighting to get free. The movement was blurred, shadowy and forgotten. Details were impossible to find and I was lost, surrounded by faceless memories of people I wasn't even sure were real.

His cold, stiff fingers grasped my chin, dragging me to my knees, dirt smearing onto my jeans. I was trembling, seeing only those blood coloured eyes looking back at me. My body tensed, my throat tight with a scream that I couldn't let out.

"Such a pretty little girl," the red-eyed man mewed down at me. "A shame we couldn't make her fit with our way of life. But that is what happens sometimes. How unfortunate..."

"Let her go!" a voice shouted, echoing in the darkness of my fear. "Let her go! She's innocent!"

"She's seen too much," the man smirked at me. "And you know the penalty for your transgressions," he stood and let me drop back to sit, gesturing behind me. "Introduce her to her grave..."

"What?! No!" I tried to pull away in panic, but it was hopeless.

A large man, bald I think, grabbed me from behind, lifting me without any concern that my t-shirt, singlet and hoodie were lifting to expose my smooth, flat midriff. I squirmed and struggled, battling against the ropes holding my wrists in front of me as he effortlessly dragged me towards an open rectangle in the earth.

I screamed and closed my eyes.

New flashes assaulted my senses. I felt him moving, our naked shapes pressing together as fear thrilled my heart and brought a quivering nervousness to my body.

He thrust inside me, pinning me down as I cried out, his mouth shredding into my neck and shoulder, right at the crook. I gagged and coughed as I felt him sucking and slurping against my skin, my blood trickling over my collarbone and veering off just above my left breast. There was a thin trail of red on my skin, hot and sticky, making me somehow turned on and afraid.

He lifted his head, his inhuman eyes flashing as he licked my blood from his lips. He kissed me and continued to move in deep reaching thrusts, making me whimper and moan. He kissed me and I tasted my own blood mixing with his, trembling and squirming beneath his powerful, muscular hold.

"Drink, Ariel," he hissed down at me. "Drink..."

I wanted to refuse, but I couldn't. I was compelled to swallow every last drop that got past my lips and coated my teeth. Blood filled the air and flowed across my tongue, painting my lips red.

Blood just filled my vision and I cried out, the red overwhelming me like a flood...

I woke up with a start, my heart pounding inside my chest, sweat coating my skin and making a few stray strands of hair stick to the edges of my face. My eyes flew open, taking in the hospital ceiling tiles and turned off lights as the distant sound of cars on a road outside drifted through the curtained window.

Turning my gaze around the room, I jolted at the sight of a man standing there with a woman at his side. They were nurses, the scrubs making that clear as she inspected my IV drip and he was checking my chart. A gasp sounded from my lips and they both looked up.