Roisin

V

    Pain envelops my whole body. I can feel every limb ache, every joint throb. My face is sore from the dried tears and my mouth is sealed shut from the drool. I keep my eyes closed.

    Through this, a soft being wraps me up nice and tight. It doesn't ebb the pain, but it feels safe.

    A warm paw bats my nose.

    "Not right now, Aradia," I wheeze, flipping over and massaging my throat.

    She chomps down on my ear and I yelp.

    "Hey!" My throat tightens and I go into a coughing fit.

    My body lurches forward and a river of tears start to flow down my face. I've felt pain worse than this, but this time, something I didn't know I needed was taken from me. That's the greatest pain.

    "Crying isn't gonna help Alfie, stupid," I scold myself.

    Wiping my face, I throw my sheets off and get ready. I drag myself to the kitchen and grab a few blood packs, stuffing them into a drawstring bag. Taking an extra for breakfast, I shut the fridge, quickly feed Aradia, put on my shoes, and walk out the door.

The muddy mix of blood invades my nostrils. I take a deep breath, searching for Alfie's sweet scent. I pick it up. It's so far away. A sadness courses through my body. How could I let this happen?

Sticking a straw into the pouch, I start off in the direction of the trail.

Winsley and his. . . clan of sorts are what the mundane folk think of— human killers— the ones that solely feed on the mortal. Winsley and company catch their victim, suck 'em dry, and leave their colorless bodies where they kill them.

I've only ever killed a few humans. Only because they stumbled upon my cabin and I got scared. I'm not sure of the hype of killing one. They scream and cry, they're messy, and most importantly, their blood isn't that good. I'm sure they only do it to assert authority. But who wouldn't automatically see that a vampire is the higher being?

Distant thunder rumbles from the north. I look yonder and see dark, boiling clouds, looming over the treetops.

I zip up my hoodie and tilt my head. Thunder in winter? I've never heard of such a thing. . . I wonder how this will go.

I walk along the trail they left, stepping over fallen trees, stepping out of the way of decaying animals. I could leap through the treetops, I could use my speed to get to Alfie faster, but I don't have a plan.

Do I want to kill Winsley? Or do I just want him to give me Alfie? If I kill him, I won't be in danger— neither will Alfie, as all other humans. I've read up on my vampire folklore over the years. I know for a fact that some of the myths are completely false. . . like the sun thing. I can be in the sun, my skin will get very itching, but I won't burn. . . and I will not sparkle.

However, there are many things that I've never encountered to be able to know if it's correct. I've never come in contact with garlic, I once saw something about a blessed bullet, and the biggest thing, that came up over and over again, was a stake through the heart.

As I begin thinking about the stakes, I pass by another fallen tree. I step over it, and notice a branch coming out of the other side. It's thick with one singular twig branching off of it. The tip is dull, but can easily be sharpened into a point.

"Should I?" I whisper to myself.

What could go wrong? I snap it off of the trunk and tuck it under my arm. I quickly find the pocket knife that I brought and start hacking away at the tip.