Hellfire - The Awakening (Complete)

Chapter Two *

I gasped as I came to all I could feel was pain; a dull ache which radiated through my entire body as if I no longer had control over my muscles. I had no recollection of what had happened, all I knew was that I clearly been in some kind of accident.
I tentatively tried to move, testing my body to see which parts were the most damaged. My head lolled as if my neck couldn't support its weight, my throat was burning as if I'd inhaled a ton of smoke and my insides were so cold that it felt like I'd been injected with ice. Every fibre of my being ached and my eyes felt like lead, begging me to let sleep consume me, but I refused to give in. I had to get out of here, wherever here was.

I groaned as I eased me sore and aching body into a sitting position, I attempted to stretch out my legs only to realise that my movement was restricted. Confused but relatively calmly I examined the space around me only to realise that I was trapped inside a huge glass cylinder.

Forcing myself to breathe slowly to prevent a panic attack, I checked my pockets to see if I had anything on me which could help. That was when I felt silky fabric instead of soft denim. I looked down to see myself dressed in a white dress which just so happened to be caked in dirt.

Confusion became anxiety and a sense of panic overwhelmed me, causing my memories to emerge as snapshots darting through the forefront of my mind. I remembered Sophie at my house, we'd gone to the pub...No I'd never made it to the pub, I'd been attacked, there had been a knife. A blinding pain erupted in my skull as I struggled to remember what had happened next.

I looked around me trying to work out what was going on, I could have been drugged and this could be a hallucination or I could still be unconscious, I may have hit my head and I could be in a coma. My mind was full of rational explanations for my situation yet none of them felt right and my instincts told me that they were wrong. That I was alive and awake and this was very much real, maybe my attacker had brought me here to fulfil some dark, twisted agenda...

A chill ran down my spine at the thought, the fact that I never had been a fan of small enclosed spaces did not ease my agitated nerve. As I tried to calm myself down I peered through the thick glass, I couldn't see much, it was clouded in condensation which had been formed by my steady exhalation of oxygen.

With great trepidation, I pressed my hand against the thick glass. I had a choice here I could remain silent and wait for whoever had brought me to return or I could fight and get the hell out of here. Although I was scared I knew that I had to at least see where I was. I wiped away the condensation and looked through the glass, it wasn't what I had expected.

I had expected some kind of grey dungeon filled with torture instruments yet I found myself in a large room. I blinked before taking in my surroundings; every wall was painted with white paint as was the ceiling, at the back end of the room was a long workbench which was painted white, complete with a large white sink which reminded me of the chemistry lab in high school. Whitewashed cupboards lined the wall above the workbench and each cupboard was fitted with a shiny, steel lock.
In the centre of the room was a large, white marble table devoid of anything except a white vase containing a wilted rose. To the left of the table was a white leather recliner which resided behind a large, white shag rug which was probably designed to make the room feel more homely; it didn't.

The entire room was too still, too white and it reminded me of a doctors surgery or a dentist. The worst thing was that it was eerily silent. There was no whirring of a fan or chatter from a television or even a chink of glasses just silence. I wondered if I was in some kind of sanatorium.

Finally giving in to my overwhelming fear I pounded at the thick glass separating me from everything that I wanted but couldn't have; answers and freedom. As I attempted to smash the glass I imagined never seeing my family again, my heart ached as I imagined my mother trying to explain to my sister that I was never coming back, Lissa would think I had abandoned her just like my father had.
I hadn't even had the chance to kiss my crush who had invited me to the pub that night, I hadn't started university or learnt to drive or got a job. I was eighteen I was way too young to go missing or die.

Whoever had bought me here had signed my death warrant and sealed away my freedom, there was no justification for this and I felt robbed. Fuelled by rage I continued to beat at the glass, the more it deflected my blows the more I cursed and yelled until finally a door which I hadn't seen opened and a woman entered the room. I froze in fear and confusion as she glided in front of my prison and silently gazed at me. She tilted her head and stared at me curiously causing me to blush, still angry I glared at her.

She had an ethereal beauty which compelled you to stare at her and it wasn't hard to imagine how many bachelors had become obsessed with her. She was so incredibly beautiful that words couldn't even begin to describe her appearance, but it was the kind of beauty that every teenage girl and woman alike longs to achieve.

Her heart shaped face was framed with long, platinum coloured ringlets which fell to her breasts, she had a block fringe which was styled to sweep her perfectly arched brows. Her lips were the exact shade of blood and appeared to be as delicate as rose petals, her porcelain skin was of the palest hue I had ever seen, like snow and her slender frame was tall yet delicate and was clad in a tight, powder blue dress; she looked like an angel.

She smiled revealing even teeth and sharp canines, I mustered the courage to meet her eyes and gasped as I realised that they were unlike anything I had ever seen, they were almond shaped with long sweeping lashes and she had luminous, yellow irises with catlike slits for pupils, they were inhumane. Feeling intimidated I averted my gaze and shrank to the back of my prison.

"There's no need to be afraid, after all you have questions for me," she said in a cool, musical voice.
I narrowed my eyes in response, she was right a thousand questions were buzzing through my brain: Where was I? What had happened to me? What was happening to me? I paused, shifting my weight from one foot to the other as I attempted to prioritise them.

"What are you?" I eventually asked.

"I am a vampire queen," she replied immediately.

I stared at her, she had to be crazy, did she actually think I'd believe her? I mean she could have easily slipped contacts into her eyes and got a pair of fake fangs, right?

"You're lying," I spat.

She stared at me, her piercing yellow eyes boring into my green ones. I wondered if I had already agitated her, yet her expression seemed to be neutral.

"Do you think I'd bother answering your questions if I just planned on lying?" She asked.

I shrugged recklessly, knowing that I was playing a dangerous game. This was a woman who could easily harm me, yet I didn't think she would,. Someone had obviously gone to the effort of bringing me here so it made no sense for her to kill me. I lifted my head, cringing as I realised that she was looking at me expectantly.
"You need convincing," her answer was rhetorical.

I shivered wondering if she was going to kill someone and feed in front of me, I sincerely hoped not. She sighed as if dealing with a stubborn teenager was a regular occurrence,she drifted towards the workbenches and unlocked one of the cupboards taking something from it. I didn't catch on to what she was doing until she flicked the object and a single flame danced along a matchstick.

I screamed as she held the match to her dress and it instantly caught fire. Flames danced along her body licking away at her dress. She remained impassive even as the fire began to envelope her. I jumped to the back of my cylinder whimpering in fear. Acrid black smoke had begun to fill the room. There was a thud as she collided with my cylinder and I screamed again as I saw her pressed against the glass, forcing me to take in the sight of her ablaze.

Eventually, as if she had tired of her own game, she walked towards the sink, poured out a tankard of water and threw it over herself, quenching the flames. Her beautiful dress was now simple scraps of charred fabric littering the ground. She was entirely nude as she walked towards me and pressed her fingertips to the glass.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, but fear is the best way to get humans to understand," she said matter of factly.

Composing myself I hesitantly moved closer towards her and surveyed her body. She was absent of any burn or scorch marks, her face was completely composed and she did not have a single hair out of place. When I looked closer I realised that the water droplets which should have peppered her skin had evaporated, she was exactly the same as before only naked.

"Is that enough proof or do I need to drink some blood for you as well? We have plenty of donors in the blood bank," she suggested.

I shook my head in fear, a cold sweat had pooled on the small of my back and I gritted my teeth for a moment forcing myself breathe as I mentally adjusted to what I had just seen.

"No human could have survived that fire, I told you I am a vampire, next question?" She asked.

Swallowing nervously I decided not to challenge her and forced myself to look her in the eye.

"What happened to me?" I asked.

She bit her lip, choosing her words carefully. My stomach flipped something told me that whatever she was about to say was not going to be good.

"You were attacked exactly five days ago by a rogue vampire. He sucked you dry but he must have been wounded as some of his blood entered your system. You died there on the street and your funeral was two days later," she paused for a second allowing her words to sink into my frazzled brain.

I clenched my fists at the revelation. So I hadn't been kidnapped, I was dead. Did this mean that I was in the afterlife?

"The minute your funeral was over we brought you here," she finished. I nodded feeling numb with the reality of what had happened, her crazy story matched up with my fragmented memories and she had no reason to lie.

"Who are you?" I asked carefully.

"My name is Evangeline Schwarz, I am the current vampire monarch. We have specific rules which we all abide to, for example we do not turn humans into vampires unless there are extreme circumstances nor do we force humans into giving us their blood. We use human donors who have given their consent, or we drink bags of animal blood. Every vampire in existence is under the rule of the vampire council," she explained patiently.

"So what is a rogue?" I asked.

"Any vampire who goes against our rules is known as a rogue. A rogue does not have the protection of our council when we catch a rogue they are condemned to death," she answered.

"So I was attacked by a rogue?" I questioned.

Evangeline nodded gravely, "Yes, there has been no rogue movements in several decades so this is quite new to us, we also do not have the identity of your killer," she replied angrily.

"So if vampires are immortal how do you kill the rogues?" I asked hoping that I didn't sound like I was planning on killing any vampires myself.

"There are several myths and legends which we planted in human minds to protect ourselves. For a start we are no allergic to garlic the biggest problem it causes us is bad breath, holy water does not kill us either, in actual fact it heals us," she continued.

"What about sunlight and stakes?" I fired.

"Sunlight does not kill us but if we linger in it for too long we do get severe burns. As for the stakes... A stake on it's own will not harm us, however a stake wrapped in wolfsbane through the heart will kill us, that is the only way in which we can be killed," answered Evangeline.

"Why wolfsbane?" I wondered.

"Legend has it that wolfsbane was associated with werewolves, a mythical creature who was said to be placed on earth to counter the vampires. Although there has never been a sighting of a werewolf and it is highly unlikely that they exist, wolfsbane still affects us, it poisons us and then begins to break down the cells in our bodies before they have time to regenerate," she explained.

I nodded weakly, this was a lot of information to take in, so far Evangeline had answered all of my questions except for one, the reason what I was doing here.
"You say I died, am I in the afterlife?" I asked confused.

"No Ebony, you are neither alive nor dead, when your attacker bit you he infected you with his own genes and DNA. Most likely he didn't mean to turn you but may have had a cut which caused his blood to enter you. You are currently in the process of changing into a vampire, the change is painful, and when you awaken you will be in agony, thirsting for blood and until you are fed you will be violent, aggressive and uncontrollable. That is why you are sealed away,” she explained.

I stood still in shock, I couldn't believe that I was already changing into a vampire and I hadn't even had a say in the matter. I wasn't one of those twilight fans who had always dreamed of becoming a vampire. I had been comfortable with my life, I mean sure I had problems, I didn't have many friends and my father had left but I still had my mother and my sister. I wanted to be out drinking and complaining about typical teenage problems, I wanted to be concocting excuse to skip work, I did not want any of this!

"Change me back, please Evangeline, there has to be a way I can get my old life back!" I pleaded.

Evangeline looked at me regretfully, "I'm sorry Ebony, I cannot prevent the change, it is too late for me to do anything for you now," she said sadly.

I shook my head violently and my hair fell into my eyes causing them to water. Tears streaked down my cheeks,"No, I don't want to be a vampire! Change me back or stake me!" I screamed as I pounded at the glass.

"You're very close to the last stages of your change Ebony, you will fall unconscious, I will return in three days to help you," responded Evangeline calmly.

"Let me say goodbye to my family!" I begged.

"You're family have already said goodbye to you, even your father. How on earth do you think they would react if they saw you now? We cannot take that risk, the humans must not know about our race. In three days you will change into one of us, there is nothing you can do," she replied finally.

"No!" howled pounding at my glass cage.

Evangeline stood still her head bowed, I continued to attack the glass until the room started to swim and for the second time I fell unconscious, only this time I went down fighting...