The Donor to a Vampire (Donor #1)

Chapter 15: Adrenaline Spike

Running with a phone to the ear was very troubling, especially if I also needed to listen intently to the person on the other side. At the same time, my heartbeat was too loudly beating in my ears, obstructing other sounds, while hysteria was nipping at my heels. I just had to stay until the Camaraderie was so empty it should be called a ghost town. Ignoring the previous lesson, it appeared I was destined to finally learn from it, permanently.

"Human?" Ly briskly demanded, wasting no words to form a more worldly question. He knew every second counted in peril.

"Have you ever met a human that can growl like an animal," Whimpering into the phone, I was angered by his question.

"Get your shirt off and throw it in the opposite direction."

I didn't argue, yanking the shirt off and dashing down the hallway, pumping muscles in my legs hard until I approached a fork in the road. I forcefully threw the shirt as distantly as possible, then sprinted the other way, clad in nothing but jeans and lacy lingerie that Renée had sneakily stashed in my closet. The prospect of being discovered lifeless in a lacy brassiere would undoubtedly ignite the voracious appetite for scandal among the populace of Camaraderie. Kendra would probably take a picture and hang it on the wall to marvel at with triumph. A single snarl sent shivers down my spine, making my blood freeze in my circular system, signalling that the screaming banshee was now closer, fixated on me as its prey.

"Hide—sight—there—" The line broke up, making Ly's instructions completely fragmented and useless.

In answer, my phone announced that the line was dead.

These "smart" phones are utterly useless when you need them! With my old phone, I could talk, run, bang a nail into the wall, and it would still work!

Running was taking its toll on me; however, I discovered that Lys's workouts greatly improved my stamina. Despite feeling tired, it wasn't as if I would roll over and die from the pressure in my lungs. The usual wheezing I felt whenever I ran was gone, as was the familiar stabbing ache my heart protested during exercise.

If I survive, I will work out every day I sware; just let me live!

As if a sinister force had taken hold, darkness engulfed my surroundings instantly. I had bite my tongue not to whimper with terror. The lights flickered and died, leaving me shrouded in an unsettling obscurity. The only illumination came from the eerie glow of emergency green neon lights that lined the marble flooring on either side, casting ghostly shadows that danced and twisted, distorting the very fabric of reality. Deciding to listen to Ly's advice even further, I hastily removed my shoes and hurled them with all my strength in different directions. I didn't wait to hear the thumping sound of their landing. A shadow appeared on the wall of something with long hair approaching me as though it caught the scent of my stinky feet, staking me. If I lingered, I would soon come face to face with a thing to whom the shadows seemed to bow. I tried to quietly tiptoe in only socks, feeling the walls for hopefully a place to hide. A cold metallic kiss of a doorknob almost made me sigh with relief. A sheen of sweat appeared above my brow as I tried to silently twist and open the door. When the door crack was wide enough for me to shimmy through, I nearly cried while stifling the sobs and squeezing into the room. Not wholly closing the door behind me because the click would make too much noise to non-human ears, I retreated and submerged myself into the sanctuary's darkness.

And not a moment too soon.

Terrified stiff, I could hear the creature drawing closer, its menacing growls and sniffing echoing through the air, tracing my scent to pinpoint my location. I daren't even peek through the narrow gap the partially closed door left, fearing my gaze would meet its malevolent eyes. Instead, I cautiously glided deeper into the room, my heart pounding in my chest, desperately hoping to avoid objects that might betray my presence if I bumped into them.