Eternal Darkness - Book One ✔

Chapter Ten

Slowly and pleasantly, the laughter died out and so did the lightness of the situation. Seeing his face lit up like that, I felt easier asking him the question.

"Sam, how long do you think I'll be in here for?" His sweet boyish smile disappeared and his forehead crinkled into that of a frown.

"I don't know Em, I wish I did, but they don't tell me anything when it concerns you." His voice faltered and it made me wonder why.

"What about Nox? Surely he must know."

"He won't tell me anything." Now it was my turn to frown.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because he knows my feelings and doesn't want me jeopardizing everything."

That left me quiet for a moment as my brain worked to catch up. Feelings? Why was he talking about feelings? What kind of feelings? Feelings towards me? No, no that couldn't be. That wouldn't be right. Sick and twisted would be more like it. I tried shaking out the thought, but it was too late. It had manifested itself in my head and wouldn't budge. No good could come of such thoughts. No, no good would come of it because nothing was going to happen.

Sam was gazing at me, unsure of how to go from there. I got off the bed and trotted the few steps it took to reach the large window besides the bed. I stared out the tinted glass at the Los Angeles skyline. I knew it was around midday, but the glass made it look like it was night time. The buildings in front of me were fading in appearances from years of neglect and hardship. Apparently, from what Sam had told me previously, most of the humans inhabited the living spaces surrounding this area, making it easier for Shax and his lackeys to get their next meal. Convenient. Many of these places were also where they worked on a daily basis, mending clothes, cooking food for each other and cleaning the living quarters of the vampires. No one cleaned my room, and I had a suspicion that since I wasn't allowed to leave it, no one with a pulse would be allowed in here.

I had asked Sam if I'd ever be considered to work like these people, slaves, was a term he had used to describe them, but had shook his head. At least he knew that much of what was to become of me. I  had heard about enslavement from when I was younger. It had been a way of life for many people in the olden days. My mother had always found it important for me to learn as much about our past as possible. It was just always so hard to believe that not so long ago, everything was normal, pre vamp invasion. It sounded Utopian like. Too good to be true. There had been peace and humans has all lived their lives as they wanted.

But to me, born and raised in a vampire infested world, this was the normal. I didn't know better. But some did.

I didn't hear him move, but I could feel how the skin on my neck prickled when Sam stood behind me. We said nothing. We just stood staring out the window at the world surrounding us, watching it go by. Sam broke the silence first, his voice low and deep behind me, "This used to be such a beautiful and vibrant city."

Oh, this was new. Hearing about the past was always interesting.

"Sounds like you almost miss it," I stated, not taking my eyes off of the view. Sam moved around to stand at my side before responding.

"Yes, I do. If you could have seen it back in all its glory, you'd miss it too." A hint of a smile was on his lips as he recalled this city's grandeur. His eyes were on me and not the view. It was suddenly hard to look away.

"What was it like here, before vampires decided to take over?" It could almost have sounded like I didn't regard Sam as a vampire, excluding him from the fanged group of man-hunters. But that was something, no matter how much I wanted to, that I could never forget. Intruding thoughts like these - wishing Sam wasn't a vampire - occurred more and more frequently the longer Sam was with me. I didn't know what to make of them, or myself for that matter.