Volkodlak - The Beginning

11. Terra Nosferatu

All of sudden she felt someone's hand on her arm and pulling her out the water. She had lost her consciousness. She felt the air being blown into her mouth entering her lungs, causing water to repel out of her body.

Suddenly she opened her eyes and gasped for air as she gurgled the water out of her mouth. She kept on throwing out the water what had entered her lungs; she felt terrible, salty water made her throat and lungs achy and parched as if it has been replaced with the sandpaper. She could feel someone patting her back.

She opened her eyes to see the woman of her age with cerulean eyes smiling kindly at her.

"We. Wh... Where a..a..am ..I?" April asked pain laced in her voice. She had just died, and the salty water made her insides ache.

"You are in Ajbo, puella, Terra Nosferatu," The girl replied.

"Nosferatu?" April asked with crooked voice. The girl was close to her age. How did she find her? April tried to open her eyes and winced because of sunlight piercing her sensitive eyes. Every part of her body was hypersensitive. Even the mild light which came out at the crack of the dawn.

"Easy, there." The girl commented. She was exceptionally beautiful, with a tall frame of at least five feet and eight inches. She had a gorgeous face. Her eyes were almond-shaped and grey eyes with blue streaks in it. Her lips were of fuller shape with luscious red colour; April felt like she was a mere peasant in front of her. She had a body that any girl would kill to have that. April was always a chubby child, and she had a little inferiority complex when it was about her body.

"Yes girl, nosferatu!" The girl spoke. April was no fool to know what it meant. She was a fan of supernatural characters, and she knew what exactly nosferatu meant.

"You ..you mean.. like vamp...vampires?" She asked stutteringly.

"Yes," The girl answered with conviction.

"I don't believe you. Vampires don't exist." April retorted. Those creatures were the fragment of imagination; they were created by authors to make their readers fall in love with the book. They don't exist she was sure of it.

"Yes, they do. At least in our world. Come on now we need to get you out of these wet clothes. You can ask me questions, later on. And by the way, I am Talia." Talia spoke stretching her hand towards April so that she could get up. April was in a dilemma as she could not contemplate whether to believe the girl or not. Something about the girl's eyes told April that it was not a lie. April had to believe her as she heard voices inside her head, that would be insane in the ordinary world, but she knew that she was completely fine, and so April tried to believe in whatever she was saying. She was scared as she knew the girl in front of her may be the deadly predator. She started inching away from her.

"Go with her," She heard the soothing voice blew past her with a whoosh of wind.

"Relax, I am not a nightcrawler. It's a day now, they are the children of the night, I would have been burnt by now if I was one of them." Talia explained to April sensing her reluctance.

"Wh...What.?" She asked with a rough voice.

"Later, We have a long way to go," Talia spoke getting impatient by each passing second. April tried to stand and started feeling light-headed; her surroundings started spinning, and she fell. She winced in pain, and her head took the fall.

"I don't think you will be able to walk," Talia mumbled and suddenly whistled very loudly; April winced at the sharp voice. It was like all her senses have become hypersensitive. Soon she heard galloping sound of the horse, which was thudding in her direction. She opened her eyes to see a beautiful and yet a proud and powerful animal in front of her. He was a black coloured horse, who stood gracefully in front of her, displaying his strong forelegs. He was spectacularly magnificent.

"This is Midnight," Talia spoke loving as she caressed the mane of the beast in front of her.

"Midnight, this is .. Talia halted and looked in April's direction to ask her name, she bit her bottom lip and smiled sheepishly at her.

" I am sorry, What is your name?" Talia questioned the girl, whose life she had saved. She was peacefully sleeping in her chamber that all of a sudden Rowan barged inside her hut and urged her to go and swim in the ocean and that's how she found her. The girl was human that was what Talia had observed up till now, as it was taking a lot off time for her to recover. How did she survive? Talia tried to look out for another body besides the girl and found no one. "Where is her mate?" Talia questioned to herself. She can't survive if she didn't have a mate she would have drowned just like the others who had tried to cross the magical border of Seorne, and now their soul is forever lost in the hells of Ruirka.

"April," The girl answered weakly.

"Yes, Midnight this is April," Talia introduced her to the horse. It came forward and sniffed her, to get familiar with her scent. Talia knew April didn't have the strength to mount the horse, so she picked up April effortlessly, Talia realised that April had again become unconscious. She softly placed April on the horse, and she quickly mounted the horse and started riding it. She had to take her to the healer before night falls. April slowly stirred as she felt a very warm hand on her forehead.

"Her temperature has gone down; she will be awake very soon."

April slowly opened her eyes to find herself in a dimly lit room with the help of torch and fireplace in the corner of the chamber. The room was made up of stone and birch. The walls were of dark yellow ochre colour. She could see antique cauldrons and potion bottles lying across the chamber. She saw something being brewed in a black kettle. She felt something wet dripping at her forehead, at her feet and both of her hands. The substance was not runny like water, but it gave some heat on her body parts. She saw that she was not in her clothes and was tightly draped in a white linen cloth, like an infant who was just born.

"Water," She asked she was feeling incredibly thirsty and weak. The woman who was next to her got up from her place and brought a bowl filled with water and feed her the water with a spoon.

April felt incredibly relaxed as cold liquid passed down her throat. She looked at women who looked like she was in the late thirties and hard a very soft and warm aura around her. She smiled at her warmly.

"You know you are incredibly lucky, child. You were underwater for almost three hours as per my experience and by the condition of your body. It is enough for a mortal to be dead by now. I felt like you have been saved by someone as if someone had cocooned you from outside so that water doesn't enter your lungs." The woman spoke.

"But I was unconscious, how is it possible?" April asked her weakly.

"As I said, it stopped the entrance of water to a point where it would be the cause of your death. You had water in your lungs to make you unconscious, yes! But for you to be dead, No," The woman explained her.

Talia came forward and placed her hand in April's hand and smiled reassuringly.

"It's ok, you are safe now," She spoke.

"You need rest at least for one more week to strengthen your lungs." The woman informed. "One more?" April frowned. "Yes, a child you have been unconscious for three weeks now," The woman informed. "Three weeks?!" She thought.

Talia rushed to her side and placed her hand on the cheek and said, "At least, you are alive,"

"Why are you helping me?" April asked Talia as she didn't know about her motives. It was suspicious.

"E..even. I don't..know." Talia muttered unsurely, as even she didn't know why she was helping her. At that moment a strong, burly man walked inside the cabin. He stood next to Talia and was whispering something to her. He didn't move his gaze from April even once and just merely nodded at whatever Talia said. He stood stiffly at the door as if he was guarding something. It was all strange for April as she again found herself slipping into an unconscious state.

"Take rest, Child," April heard before she became completely unconscious.