Everything At Stake {HOLD}

Chapter One: Strange

The evening sky glowed a murderous red as the orange sun sank deeper into the horizon. Jenny Clemons played with the elegant, silver ring on her left hand like she always did as she waited impatiently for night fall. Her empty belly rumbled with hunger. It is not any ordinary hunger, however, but rather a thirst. It is a thirst that is maddening if not quench.

Jenny is not an ordinary girl. She has been alive for over three centuries. Yet, time's sticky grasp has somehow surpassed her. Her body is of a young maiden, but her mind and tongue are of older times. She holds her chin up high and shoulders back with a certain pride while she strides. Her words seem to pour from a play. Her manners are simple but enough to appease a king. Jenny is not an ordinary female adolescent. Jenny Clemons is a exclusive member of the Undead: a vampire.

Looking down at her ring, her eyes soften, remembering memories of long ago. The sting of tears begin to form in her gentle eyes. Sweeping her dark hair from her eyes, she sighs, deciding that she should hunt now.

“Perhaps it will distract me from the past,” she thinks without hope.

Leaving the comfort of the shadows, she lets the sun shine through the sheer curtains to greet her albino-like skin. It stings just a bit, for she was not fully immune to the poisoning light; yet she walks out onto the filthy balcony anyway and gazes out into the city of Jacksonville, Florida.

Jenny hated Jacksonville. There is nothing neither special nor desirable here except an endless variety and supply of prey. Even on the day of her arrival, Jenny wondered why she had migrated to such a miserable city. The days in Florida were long and unbearable with thick, sticky humid. There was no peace in the evenings with downtown clubs roaring, cars flashing on the freeways, and she could not hear anything except the hustle and bustle of the city. Worst yet, she could not see the night sky's natural beauty. It was such a sad city to her. She had no idea why she ever dreamed of leaving New York. There was meaning in the beautiful valor painted in the high, rolling hills of Wellsville; a purpose in the life and a story that foamed from the run down, filthy cities like Buffalo. There was definitely something in New York that just did not seem to exist in Jacksonville. Yet, something was here. It had to be, for she still felt the constant tugging of her mangled heart. She was drawn here for a reason, but what?

Her mixture of fluid thoughts was interrupted by a scent. She raised her pretty nose to the air, smelling the aroma much like a cat. Dinner.

She walked with grace yet with the same stealth as of a tigress onto the balcony. Minding her balance, she stepped up onto the rusty railings. She stood there for a moment, taking in the last bit of warmth the sun had to offer before the night overtook it. As darkness began to spread, the city began to awaken. Its skyscrapers started to glow dull yellows as street lamps became luminous. She glanced down, peering at the tiny earth below her. Everything seemed so peaceful from above. She wondered if this was what the Supreme Being saw every morning...

A vast gust of wind came and fanned against her body, but she did not waver and remained still as stone. Closing her eyes she raised her arms. It was as though she meant to embrace the wind, to feel its strength. She stood up onto her tip toes, like a diver ready to jump from high platforms; then she let the wind nudge her off the railing. Her hair whipped wildly about, stinging her cheeks as she plummeted down. The air turned into a wind and howled in her ears horribly, yet with a certain peaceful and calm melody. Jenny closed her eyes, concentrating hard. She wanted to transform. The vampire then abruptly stopped in mid air, her thin, fragile wings catching the wind. Her eyes were still blind to the world as she flapped her wings, fluttering about. She forced an inaudible screech, repeating her cry over and over. The only way she could see now was through sound.

She swooped toward the ground. Speed was on her side, propelling her swiftly at the concrete ground. Her fury chest barely grazed the littered alley way as she continued beating her wings rapidly and slowed her momentum. Thrusting her wings and delicate head back, her tiny and fury body froze in air. Her bat wings once again became human arms, her chest became of flesh, and her eyes were opened. She smelled the air again, picking up on any scent she might be able to read.