Chapter 1
"Come on! You're so slow!" I yelled to John, who was yards behind me. A giggle escaped from me as I picked up my pace a little bit, easily dodging tree branches and plants that got in the way. Running through the forest was one of the many things I had perfected with years of practice, but to John it would take a couple of months for his full ability to show. Running came easy for him, but every now and then he would run into the occasional tree branch. I found it funny when he did.
"Rose! This isn't funny. I'm new to-" I heard the swoosh as he blocked a branch. "this. Cut me some slack." John said, his breathe even but a humored tone was added to it. I laughed even harder then, immediately stopping and turning around. He wasn't expecting that, and I watched as his eyes widened and his legs froze. One inch separated our chests. The smile stayed.
"You're blood is more powerful than mine is. Suck it up, princess." I told him, and gladly watched as his cheeks became a pale color of a dark red. I giggled again, and silently thanked mother nature for the beautiful day. I don't know why, but I preferred light over dark lately. I had only gone out at night once this week. I guess darkness reminded me of the last couple of weeks and I was ready for a change. The wind gently blew across the trees, causing the sunlight to move around us and the forest to look extra green. It made John's eyes an even more appealing shade of blue.
"Stop daydreaming, Rose. I'll get you back for that comment of yours." he said, and it was then that I realized I had been staring at him. I didn't flush in embarrassment. Instead, I kept looking at him, appreciating the love in his gaze and the rush of blood in my ears.
"Not right now." I told him, and it was then that I breathed in something other than the forest around us. My care-free world was taken at that moment as I felt something other than us within a couple of miles. Something that I didn't recognize. I put my arms around John and whispered, "Do you feel something?"
His rigid figure gave away that he did, and I listened closely to everything around us. The leaves rustling, the bees buzzing, the stream rushing. And I barely heard the steps of something running at a steady pace. The steps were light, a padding on the dirt that led me to believe that we weren't the only inhuman thing around. My eyes left John's face as I looked around, narrowing my eyes and taking in everything around us. John did the same, and while I was watching I felt his body change, almost as if in recognition. A breathe escaped. Relief. It was then that I could hear the breathing patterns of the creature.
Anna.
I let out a sigh and turned back to John, a smile on my face. He wasn't smiling and his eyes were trained on something in the distance. I felt my eyes narrow as I turned around. Running through the trees, was Anna, holding the limp body of someone I didn't recognize. A heartbeat could be heard as she got closer, and in a couple of seconds, she stood in front of us, worry etched on her face.
"What is this?" I heard myself ask, my voice sharp. I wasn't necessarily happy that she had ruined a moment. Anna could hear the way of my voice and she nodded like she understood not to interrupt again. Her long blonde hair blew with the wind as she set the body on the ground. The smell of blood was strong, and I quit breathing. I didn't want to deal with having to want to have an early dinner.
"I found her lying on the street in front of the restaurant. She's unconscious and has been badly beaten. I didn't see who did it or where she came from. She just showed up. I didn't know what to do, so I just came to you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but-" I cut her rambling off with the raise of my hand.
"How do you expect me to help?" I asked her, and John took my hand. I think it was a warning to 'go easy on Anna.' No. Anna looked down at my question, almost as if she was ashamed. Almost instantly I felt myself become a little softer at her movement. I shouldn't be so rough on her. She's young.
"She's dying, Rosemary. I thought maybe...maybe you could help her." She whispered, her voice low and shaky. A little thought came to my head. She's a vampire, why would she be acting like this to a random person? I let go of John's hand and walked a few feet away to where the body lay in the dirt. It was an older woman, pale and ready to be on her last breathe. There was wounds on her neck, like she had been strangled. Perhaps she was mugged as well?
"You want me to turn her?" I asked Anna, looking up at her from my spot on the ground. Anna's sad eyes hesitated a moment before she nodded. Lately, Anna had been out of it. Home-sick. She had been distancing herself from John and I, working her shift at the restaurant and then coming home to read a book. She had been locked up in her room, wishing she were human again. I knew the feeling, but she would have to get over it. She was a vampire now.
Which is why I turned the woman into one of us.
It was a few minutes after I got done that I looked up at Anna, narrowing my eyes and giving her a look. A look that meant "I'm not stupid."
"Don't think I didn't know she was your mother. You're lucky I'm such a nice person."
Anna's eyes became wide, and that was when she burst into tears, leaning over her mother and whispering, "I'm sorry." over and over.
I didn't look at John behind me, instead, I looked at Anna, and for the first time in a couple of years, I cried. I cried because I didn't have any real family. I never knew who my future family were, and for the first time since I had found John again, I felt alone.
Alone, that's a good way to describe a vampire.
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sorry i havent upload in a long time! please vote and comment! i might not continue the sequel...just to let you know. But if i get a lot of comments i probably will. :D
