Cross

Book 1 Chapter IV - Prisoner

Terrified, Janice checked her heartbeat. It was far too fast and her skin was cold.

"Niall! Niall, call a doctor! Something's wrong with Dani!"

"What's wrong with her, doctor?" Janice asked anxiously. 

Dr. Carter shook his head, frowning. "She's lost an awful lot of blood, but I can't see any injuries. Certainly nothing that could have caused that amount of blood loss." He picked up his bag and got up, giving the unconscious girl a puzzled look. "I'll have to run some tests, but right now the only thing I can think of is some kind of disease. But right now, I'll admit her to hospital. She'll need a transfusion."

~~~~

Dani's absence at school caused a lot of questions. And when the headmaster explained at assembly that she was in hospital, and Edward and Legina explained at dinner that she was in hospital with blood loss, the students could hardly concentrate on their work. Instead they exchanged opinions on what could have happened to her. Even the new girl, Celeste, who had never spoken to Dani, went out during dinner and bought a "get well soon" card, which she gave to Legina.

They weren't the only ones who were rather distracted by the news. David Cross was stunned. In hospital? From blood loss? He hadn't meant to take that much blood! In fact, he hadn't meant to drink her blood at all.

He put all thoughts of humans, hospitals, and blood out of his mind during the classes he taught, intending to investigate further after school ended for the day. When the final lesson he taught arrived, however, something happened. Something that confirmed his suspicions about a certain student. And, it seemed, something that confirmed hers about him.

Halfway through the lesson, while he was explaining a ridiculously easy problem that humans called "algebra" and apparently thought was extremely difficult (it was lucky for him that they did - he had never been good at mathematics, so if Earth standards were as high as Vampiruan ones... he wouldn't have a hope of teaching successfully), he became aware of a constant, high-pitched whine. David clenched his fangs and attempted to continue, thinking it was one of the radio boxes humans called "mobile phones" that the students insisted on bringing to school. 

It didn't stop. It went on and on for agonizing minutes, and it drove him mad. Oddly enough, it didn't seem to have any effect on the nuisances he was expected to teach, which just added to his annoyance. How could they make it stop if they were so desensitized to it that they couldn't hear it?

The noise continued. And continued. And continued until he could stand it no longer. 

"Will the person whose phone is making that irritating noise please stop it?"

The humans looked at each other, baffled. So they hadn't heard it. Then, as one, they reached for their bags just to make sure it wasn't theirs that was making the noise. All but one.

Celeste LaMorgan.

David had had his suspicions about that fourteen-year-old "human" ever since he had first seen her. Maybe no one else had noticed the greyish colour of her skin, or the yellowish circles around her eyes, or the yellowish colour of her irises. Or maybe they had and had put it down to the make-up human females seemed to like covering their faces with. But he had seen enough of her kind to recognize one when he saw one.

Celeste met his eyes with a cold sort of triumph. She'd won this time, and she knew it. And now he knew he was in danger. Werewolves, unlike vampires, hated being alone. So there must be at least one other nearby. And he was alone.

~~~~

"The plan worked perfectly!" Celeste called to her mother as she undid her school tie.