Equinox

Simmer

Angela couldn't move. She knew she was bleeding out. The blood from her wound had travelled down her neck and down to her dress, staining her dress a deeper red. She felt weak, her limbs unable to move from where she lied on the forest floor. The earth was hard and cold underneath her and the blood left that metallic acrid smell in the air. She didn't know how long since Maria and James left.

She wanted to call out for help but the blood was thick in her throat making it hard to make out words. She was having trouble breathing. The sky was above her, the stars brighter than she'd ever remembered them and if she tried hard enough she could pretend she was back at the Hall of Mosses with her dad as he thought her about the constellations. Things were so much simpler when she was a child and the monsters in the dark were all in her head.

There was rustling in the darkness and she was afraid for a moment that the animals would be coming to finish her off. Vampires weren't the only things that lurked in a forest. She was too tired to even cry. She had screamed and pleaded as Maria bit her and the woman hadn't cared. She felt exhausted and all she wanted to do was sleep.

"Lauren, I don't think Angela would be in here..." Her ears perked up as she recognized Mike's voice. Mikey came for her. "She probably just went for some air somewhere and-"

"Mike, shut the fuck up!" Lauren exclaimed, impatient. "Something is wrong, okay? I can feel it. Angela wouldn't have left without telling one of us!"

Oh Lauren. Lauren who protected her and pushed her because she knew that's what she needed. Lauren knew there was something wrong and got everyone together to look for her. Angela willed herself to cry out, to tell them where she was but she was so tired. Even turning her head to where she thought they were took a lot of effort.

"They never caught the bear," Jessica said, fear and panic in her voice. "What if the bear got her?"

"Come on, guys, this is Angie," Mike tried to reassure them. "Angie would never get attacked by a bear. Even the bear would like her and-"

She finally yelled out as loud as she could even as the blood was thickening in her throat choking her. "Mike!"

"Wait, is that..." She could hear them running and they burst through the circle of trees, their faces worried and shocked. Mike's face went pale when he saw her and he got down on his knees. "Oh my God, Angie. What happened to you?"

She couldn't speak, she was choking and she couldn't breathe. She grabbed unto Mike's hand desperately, clinging as hard as she could. She didn't want to die yet. She didn't want to die and leave them all behind. She had so many things she still wanted to do.

"It was the bear," Jessica gasped. "It had to be the fucking bear."

Lauren snapped out of the shock she was in and turned to Tyler and shouted, "Get help! Now!"

He didn't even hesitate as he turned and ran. Lauren got down on her knees beside Mike and assessed the wound on her neck and the amount of blood. Her fingers came out red as she touched the stream of blood. Always calm Lauren turned to her and tried to keep herself collected.

"You're going to be okay," She said, even as she sounded unsure. "Tyler is getting help and you're going to be recover from this."

Jessica sobbed. "I don't think she's going to be fine, Lauren-"

"Shut up, Jess!" Lauren shrieked. "We don't need you falling apart right now!"

"Look at her, Lauren. She's dying-"

"No, she's not!" Lauren held on her to denial with her stubbornness. She didn't want to believe that Angela was fading. "She's going to be fine!"

Mike's eyes were wet as he held on to Angela's hand tighter as her grip started to loosen. "You can't go, okay? You promised me Europe, remember? You and me? We'd go to Italy. Finally eat authentic Italian food?"