We walked on for more hours then I could count. I started to get extremely dehydrated and I was starting to hallucinate.
“Look! Look! Over there! It’s our town!”
“Merissa, there’s nothing there,” Jace said. He sounded far away.
“Yes there is! Right there!” I exclaimed, pointing towards the city. But as I looked at it. It seemed to waver, and it started to fade. Then it disappeared altogether. “What happened to it!” I yelled. I looked at where it had been in desperation. “It was right there! Where did it go.”
“Come on, we need to keep moving and find some water for you.”
“Jace.”
“Yeah.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Ok.”
“Why aren’t you dehydrated, you seem as healthy as ever.”
“Ah, well. Hey look!” He pointed to the left. “It’s a house!”
I looked towards where he was pointing and I to saw it. “Is it real?” I asked, dazed.
“Well, we’re both seeing it. So it has to be!”
We broke into a mad run towards the house. As we neared it we realised that it was a small shack. I walked up onto the porch and looked through the window. A drink machine with Pump bottles was leaning against a wall and there was a counter right ahead. I knocked on the door and waited. There was the sound of a door opening and I could hear footsteps coming towards the door. Suddenly a small round face appeared in front of me.
“Hello!” the face called.
Judging by the voice it was a lady. But her face looked like neither a man or a woman but something in between. The face disappeared momentarily. There was the sound of a key turning in a lock and then the door opened and a bell tinkled. The lady was small and plump and had a wide grin. But what I found odd was that when she smiled, which was practically always, she never showed her teeth. When the door was opened enough and she had stepped out of the way. I dashed to the Pump bottles. I tore open the door and a rush of cold air beated me. I sighed in relief. I grabbed the first bottle I could find tore of the cap and began to skull it all down. I was done in a matter of seconds.
“Merissa! They could cost money!”
“Oh no!” the lady exclaimed. “They are free. Everything for the traveller.”
“Well, actually we’re not travellers.” I heard Jace say. “We were trying to make our way back to our home city.”
By this time I had gulped down at least three bottles and starting on my fourth. The floor was littered with the empty plastic bottles.
“Oh, I have a map out back if you would like to have a look at it.” the lady offered.
“Thanks,” he said.
The lady started to walk towards a door and Jace followed. She opened it and they both went inside the back room. She closed the door behind her, I wonder why? I could hear muffled voices through the wall. Then there was a moment of silence and I heard someone scream out in pain. I threw down the bottle I was drinking spilling water everywhere. I tore open the door and ran inside. Jace was lying on the floor unconscious with a big and bloody cut down his arm. The lady stood over him, but now she looked taller and stronger and her clothes had changed from shorts and a t-shirt to tight black pants and jacket. They looked like they were made out of leather. Her hands had long and deadly sharp claws protruding from them. She whipped around and stared at me, blood was around her mouth and she was bearing sharp fangs. Her eyes were blood-red and had a look of hatred. She screeched at me and attacked. I was tackled to the ground and had the wind knocked out of me. She sat on top of me fangs beared, ready to suck out my blood. I grunted as I tipped her over so I was on her. I punched her in the face and stood up. I looked for something to use for my defence. I heard a bell ring from in the other room. Who could be here? I ran back out into the main room. A man and a lady were standing in front of the counter.
“You need to get out of here!” I screamed at them.
“W-why?” the lady asked.
I couldn’t answer because I was pushed to the ground again. I heard the lady scream in terror and then run away. The man stayed, I caught a glance at him in the attack. He was holding something in his hand. Then as quick as it had started, it stopped. The changed lady froze with a look of pain on her face. She fell sideways and lay still. A knife had been plunged into her back. I watched as her skin started to fall away revealing bone and then in a matter of seconds she was gone. I looked Up to see who had saved me but no one was there. Then I realised that the man had saved me. The thing I saw in his hand was a knife.
I suddenly remembered Jace. I stood back up and ran back into the back room. He was now sitting up but he looked pale. His arm and hand was covered in blood and there was a stain on the ground. I bent down beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Jace,” I said gently. “Are you alright?” I asked him.
“Yeah, what happened?”
“Well, you know the shop owner. Well, she was a vampire and she attacked us."
“Oh,” he winced in pain as he looked at his arm.
I looked at it carefully. “Here,” I said. I reached down to my shirt and ripped off the bottom half. I wrapped it around his arm. He winced in pain. “Sorry,” I said.
“It’s ok.”
“That should stop you losing most of your blood.”
He looked up at me and I looked at him. I felt safe with him, his eyes were like those of and angel. I looked away.
“We should start moving. I don’t think there’s long to go.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, when the vampire was attacking me a man and a lady came in. They looked fine as if they had just come out here from a town or something. Truthfully, the man is the reason I’m still alive.”
“Oh. Well let’s get going!”
