Chaos

Appetizer

Darren and Lucille were in the kitchen speaking quietly when Joanne and I returned from the clinic.

The psychiatrist asked me a lot of questions, taking note of each answer and drawing a conclusion at the end of what seemed like 1,608 questions. The questions fired rapidly, one after another and far more articulate than Darren's personal interrogation. There were questions i didnt anticipate too, questions about my feelings, to which i wasn't sure how to answer. How do you feel about being free? How did it feel to kill those people in the mountain cabin?

"Chaos! You're back! So, how did it go?" Lucille asked, plastering a fake smile on her lips. It looked forced to me at least, it might have to do with their conversation. Darren also turned to face us, feigning a slight smile for Joanne, who ran up to his side and kissed his cheek. I stood where I was until Lucille extended a hand out for me. I took it carefully and she pulled me to her side.

"I'm clinically diagnosed as a sociopath", I admitted. Joanne winced at the words spoken from Dr Gould himself. It wasn't unanticipated, i'd already received prior diagnosis from the doctors of Alpha-BET. Surely this is a reoccurring quota for vampires though... if not, i'd be in for a disappointing awakening.
"Oh, well what exactly does that mean?" Lucille tipped her head in curiosity, wrapping her arms around my waist. Was she not bothered by this?

"It means I show signs of being a sociopath, but I have the slight empathetic wants of a psychopath." I searched her face for a negative reaction and found none. But she did look worried- nervous, almost. Perhaps it had to do with the meeting from earlier. I decided I would act as a confidant for her and wished to press more on the matter. "Are you alright...?"

I touched her cheek to turn her face toward me. At first I felt a slight burn, then seething acid tore my skin away. I recoiled immediately, furious and confused. Darren and Joanne were looking on as Lucille stuttered, a perplexed look on her face. I leaned in to sniff her hair and the side of her face.

"Vampire", I spat. I didn't pull away from her, but Lucille's eyes widened as if she'd recognized what i'd meant. "You had a meeting with vampires", I repeated.
Now that I noticed this scent lingering amongst her own, it was hard to ignore it. How could I have not noticed the moment I stepped into the room? It was as if it embodied a hormone designated to infuriate me. I couldn't understand how a scent could evoke such a degree of hostility from me, that could overpower two centuries of meditated control.

"Yes but how did you know?" Lucille asked.
"Who touched you?" I could feel the ache in my jaw as my fangs elongated. I will not attack Lucille.
"Um, an albino girl with red eyes", she stuttered, glancing between me and Darren who shared an equal interest. That girl in the woods... how dare she approach my mate with such a disgusting aura.
"Stay away from her", I hugged Lucille possessively, even as her cheek seared my skin like fried food. "She smells awful."
"Why? Do you know her?"
"No." Must there be a reason? Can't they see how much agony I'm in right now? Is this rage I feel, really my own?

Lucille blinked in surprise.
"She came with other vampires", Darren interjected.

The thought of other vampires near Lucille made me lethal. I hugged her tighter, directing my deadly thoughts toward the fridge, half expecting it to explode as I grew more and more agitated by the second. Calm down, Chaos. Don't hurt Lucille.

"Who were they..." I spoke carefully, consciously hiding my agitation. I loosened my grip around Lucille, only vaguely aware of the scorch marks on the side of my face from embracing her.

"A duchess from a stem Vampire Coven within the city. They wished to know why we were harboring a vampire and wanted to meet with you", He spoke slowly, waiting for a reaction. Looking at Lucille, it seemed to me that she was hesitant to share this information with me, which was the cause of her unease earlier. I can't understand why though, it wasn't as if I would simply leave her for my own kind. After all, it was the vampire that abandoned me to Alpha-BET.