Hello! this is my first story so I hope you like it! I would love to know what you think so please feel free to comment, or maybe vote if you like? :) thanks
Lauren xxx
My original name was Jadeine Elizabeth Montgomery; my current name is Jade Maison. This is as close as I have ever gotten to the original since I began changing it. I have had many names over the last few centuries. People get worried if someone looks exactly the same for years so moving around is necessary. That way, people cannot become familiar with me and I don't get familiar with them, the humans I mean. Because I am not human. I am a vampire.
Pulling my newly purchased red ford into the drive of the house which I had bought the previous week I sighed. I have not been living here. I own many properties across Britain and many more abroad. I chose this town because of the recent number of violent murders that had occurred here, which I believe to be the work of a newly made vampire. Someone had to stop them before they exposed us all, and if there was no one else around to do it then it would just have to be me.
This is how my race operates you see. The older and hence supposedly more wise and mature vampires keep the younger ones under control. If you make a new vampire you should look after them until they know how to survive on their own.You teach them how no control themselves, how to blend in with the humans, how to be invisible. Its a good system, it makes sense. That is, until it doesn't work. Occasionally you get the odd one, maybe their maker was killed or maybe they just left them. Whatever the case they almost always end up out of control, savage.
Still that wouldn't be an issue, at least for most of us who could just happily continue with our lonely existences and let them get on with things. Aside from the fact that after a while the humans start to notice that people keep getting ripped apart, and that cannot be allowed. Too many questions would be asked, questions that have difficult answers.
So you see where this is going. Whenever reports crop up in the media of unexplained killings, or any other activity that suggests the actions of a vampire who is out of control or maybe even purposefully breaking the rules, any older vampire in the area is expected to step in and sort it out before the situation escalates too far. This is were I come in. Sure, there was nothing physically forcing me to do it but it was simply one of the unspoken rules that everyone just followed. I could have ignored it and someone else probably would have stepped in, but I was looking for somewhere to move to anyway. I assumed this town was as good as anywhere. Plus, I needed a new project to occupy my attention.
The house was very average looking, tall and thin with three floors, four bedrooms, fully furnished. It was quite late, 11.31 to be precise. I always know what the time is. I purposely arrived late because I didn't want my new neighbors to see me drive up alone in the car. Especially when I wasn't supposed to be above the legal driving age. My story was that I just moved here with my single mum (who was non existent, I have been alone for a few years now). I was 16 years old (even though I was 18 when I was changed) because the younger that I say I am when I go to a new place, the longer I can stay without attracting attention. Although this also meant I had to start school in the morning.
*
Weak sunlight filtered through heavy looking clouds the next morning as I walked through the school gates. Over the standard uniform, of black trousers, white shirt, and a dark red blazer, I was wearing my usual long, fitted leather coat and sunglasses. I left my long glossy black hair hanging freely past my shoulders and down my back. I had recently gone more modern, and had it layered, and spiked around my face, my fringe cut to the side.
Sunlight does not burn me; however it makes me uncomfortable, giving me terrible headaches and causing my skin to itch slightly wherever it touches. My eyesight is slightly poorer in any bright light, as my eyes are specially adapted for seeing in the dark. It also does drain my strength slightly, although as the years have passed, this effect has lessened, and I am still far more than a match for any human.
Small groups of people stood around chatting before their lessons started, most of them ignored me, but a few cast curious eyes in my direction, before hurriedly continuing their conversations as I walked past. It was a fairly small school; it was inevitable that any newcomer would attract some attention.
The school office was easy to find, right on the left of the entrance. It was small, with old slightly battered looking blue chairs along one wall. A small table holding assorted leaflets containing information about various clubs and activities sat in a corner. A small woman with bleached blond hair and thick-framed pink glasses sat behind a cluttered desk at the back of the room. She was typing briskly on a computer facing away from me.
I removed my sunglasses and slipped them into my small black bag, which I had on one shoulder, before folding my coat over my arm before she had a chance to notice. I had been to too many schools to not be familiar with the usual rules.
I made a noise as if I was clearing my throat to get her attention. She jumped and swivelled around quickly, knocking an empty mug from the desk, which I automatically caught quickly whilst I noticed that she had been emailing someone who appeared to be her boyfriend. She quickly minimized it. Her heart rate had sped up slightly in surprise, but it gradually slowed as she saw I was not her boss. She smiled as her eyes widened slightly at my fast reflexes, but she kept her tone polite and professional.
"How can I help you?"
"My name is Jade Maison, I'm a new student."
Her face had brightened with recognition as soon as I said my name.
"Oh yes, they told me that you would be coming today, your mother rang yesterday to confirm that everything was ok" that was me of course; I can imitate almost any voice that I desire. She continued,"Hold on a moment, and I'll find you your timetable".
She quickly began searching through files on her computer, clicking on the print button for one, and I heard the noises of a printer whirring.
"Here you are dear, your form teacher will be Mrs. Black, in room A2. Mrs. Sutton the headmistress, will speak to you later, to see how you are getting on, is that ok?"
I smiled and said, "Yes, thank you"
"And here is a map of the school, so you don't get lost dear, it's really not as big as it looks, will you need help with finding your form room?"
I took the map, and even though it took me about one sixth of a second to read and memorize it I held on to it to keep her happy, but I really wished she would refrain from calling me "dear".
"No thank you, I should be fine," because she looked slightly distressed I added "I'll remember the way better if I find it myself". I made myself smile again, hoping that she would let me go. I had decided that I was going to try extremely hard not to offend anyone this time. I find it is a lot easer to live if people like you; they then tend not to notice anything suspicious. To my relief she smiled back and said goodbye.
As I walked along the corridor, concentrating on walking slowly and not too gracefully, I realized I was attracting attention. People turned and stared as I passed, especially the males. This was nothing new to me. I am tall and slim; my features are perfectly angled and aligned, with eyes that, in my normal state are a deep icy blue. My hair is thick and long, my movements graceful. Enough to make people look, but the thing that makes them keep staring is the sense of danger they instinctively feel when I am around, the natural aversion all prey feel towards predators. They can't explain it. Some are intrigued, curious, but most stay away, intimidated. I am not being full of myself, or exaggerating, it is the same for all of my kind when we are changed; our natural features are enhanced, making us more attractive, every sense sharpened. We are naturally beautiful... and deadly.
In my new form room, I was seated next to a small, thin girl, with wavy brown hair and a pixie like face. She grinned tentatively and said hi to me as I sat down but I heard her heart rate quicken slightly. I noticed that her name was Anna Stanley, when Miss Black called the register. Filing the information away for future reference I smiled to put her more at ease, and she relaxed slightly, shyly smiling back before going back to the book she was reading; The word Vampire jumped out at me from the cover, I noticed with grim amusement.
I made my voice sound curious, friendly
"What are you reading?" She gave me another shy smile, and held the book up;
"It's very good." With sudden enthusiasm she continued, "I love vampire stories; well any horror stories really, what about you? Do you like to read?
I wondered idly if she would still like horror if she knew she was sitting next to a real vampire.However I have read a great many things, I have an entire library on one of my properties. One of my favourite novels is Bram Stokers Dracula. I know that it contains many terrible stereotypes which led to many misconceptions about vampires, but I find it extremely amusing. I wonder if he ever met a real vampire? It certainly caused many to be angry at the time. I replied;
"Whenever I get time, I like older things more though, most modern things are too... unrealistic for my liking, you cannot beat the classics." It was strange, finding myself saying something resembling my true feelings to a human, no matter how unimportant the subject is. I admired her enthusiasm. She looked thoughtful, but unsure,
"I find the opposite, all of these old classics have really strange plots and characters, I never really understand them, people getting married when they are really young and don't even know each other, and those strange manners... and the women were so pathetic and needy, always needing someone to save them from something. It's ridiculous!"
I found her ranting rather entertaining, though some of it was true,
"Yes, but it did really used to be like that." Not that I ever really spent much time behaving in such a manner. I like causing trouble too much.
The bell rang for first lesson, I winced slightly; the sound was so much louder to my sensitive hearing. I grabbed my things, gave her a small wave and was out the door before Anna had even stood up.
It was easy for me to find my way to my first lesson, which was chemistry. With the fairly simple school layout memorized from the map, I arrived with plenty of time to spare. However by the time I had explained to the teacher, Mr. Barnes who I was, everyone else was already seated. The only spare seat was next to a tall but thin boy, with dark wavy brown hair that stuck up in random places. He had quite a long, straight nose, above full lips. Thick glasses framed green eyes, which glinted with intelligence as he glanced up from his textbook as I walked over. I noticed his hands tense slightly on the table.
By the time I got there, he had his head down again; blood had rushed to his face, turning his cheeks slightly pink, his heart hammering. I felt a faint stirring of unease, had this boy recognized me from somewhere? But I dismissed it for the time being, he probably just didn't get many girls sitting next to him.
Mr. Barnes called over,
"Jade, you will have to copy someone's notes on what you have missed since the term started three weeks ago." I gave the boy an enquiring look, which he returned with a sharp nod. This surprised me; it was almost an angry gesture. I sent him another look, which he pretended not to notice. I decided that I definitely needed to find out what his problem was.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully. With no need to go to the canteen, I spent lunch in the library, flicking aimlessly through books. In form time after lunch, I had to sit next to Anna again; she was still deeply immersed in her reading.
After school, I walked back to my house. I couldn't drive, as I was supposed to be below the legal driving age. I was changed about 426 years ago, so in reality I am four hundred and forty four years old. Usually people cannot tell how old I am, I look like a young girl, but with the way I act, and talk, some people estimate me to be in my twenties. The younger I claim to be, the longer I can stay in a place without people noticing that I am not ageing.
I hadn't bothered to change any of the furniture that the house came with, although it wasn't really to my taste. Far too many pastel colours.
I don't really need much of it, apart from the fridge, which I had fully stocked with medical blood bags, which I had purchased yesterday. One of which I slit open with one of my long sharp nails, poured into a glass, and drank in one, before tossing the bag in the bin. I sighed in relief.
I don't know if I would die if I didn't drink blood, but the longer I go without; the harder it becomes to resist it. After a few days, all of my muscles get sharp cramps; I would find myself gasping for air even though my body doesn't need it, while the thirst grows stronger and stronger, and my mind gets weaker. It takes over everything. Every thought and feeling, until I am incapable of thinking of anything else, at this point I would be completely insane, uncontrollable. Unable to tell friends from enemies, willing to do anything to escape the crippling pain. Injuries make it worse; my body is only capable of gaining energy from blood, which it uses to repair any damage. My own blood is useless to me. I need other peoples. Food is useless to me. I can eat it if I want to, but I get no nutrition from it at all, and most things I find unappealing and pointless compared to blood.
I do sleep, but I only need a fraction of what a human does, an hour or two a day, at most. I also do not sleep in a coffin, I usually sleep in a bed, but I can sleep anywhere if it comes to it.
I didn't go out that night, although I love wondering around in the darkness. I slept for a couple of hours, and aimlessly flicked through T.V channels looking for a useful news report that may tell me something useful about the recent murders for a short while. I completed my algebra homework in two minutes and twenty six seconds, my vampiric mind can read and comprehend things at a much faster rate than a human, I can also think of far more things at the same time.
In the morning I got ready for school again, quickly showering, even though it was unnecessary. I never sweat, my skin naturally smells pleasant, one of the many things that makes me more attractive to my prey. Not that I need to be attractive to them, I could look like a hideous monster and still be able to catch them easily, being so much faster and stronger than them. But it helps me to blend in. I combed my already untangled hair, and brushed my white shiny teeth to remove any traces of blood. Didn't want to scare people did I?
I left with ten minutes to spare, and walked to school in six, with my brisk easy stride. I was once again wearing my dark sunglasses, with a black jacket, complete with hood. I have found that most people don't even wonder at my excess of clothes, even in summer, as the stereotypical average teenager in this age prefers to wear similar things. Plus, I generally stay in the far North West of the country, were they are a lot more rainy days.
Anna mumbled a "hi" from behind a new book as I sat down, I nodded to her and smiled. The thick scent of a floral perfume was irritating my nose, I glanced over at a girl who answered to Stacie, as Miss Black called the register; the smell seemed to be originating from her. She brushed her thick, perfect blond curls behind her ear, with a hand of professionally done nails. I noticed her skirt was six inches shorter than the regulation knee length, her shoes not exactly sensible for school. Though I noticed they were a designer make. The perfume did nothing to help cover the thick scent of blood in the air. Seeping from beneath the skin of every human in the room, as it was pumped through their veins and arteries by the warm, wet thumps from their hearts. Sharp pains laced down my throat at the thought. I did my best to ignore it. Keep myself in control.
"Jade?"
Anna was grinning at me; I lied:
"Oh... sorry I was daydreaming"
"I guessed, that's ok, so... where were you at lunch yesterday?"
"Oh... I was in the library" she looked sceptical,
"Didn't you want any food?"
"No... I wasn't hungry."
It was technically true, I haven't bothered to eat in years, I have no need to. She looked concerned, her eyes widened slightly. I could tell what she was thinking,
"Your not... I mean... you're ok right?" her voice was hesitant, as if she was worried she would offend me, I gave her a reassuring smile whilst my mind spun in alarm trying to work out what she referred to. Suddenly I understood.
"I eat fine don't worry, I always eat when I get home. I just don't feel very hungry most of the time... I don't care about dieting and all that rubbish" this also had elements of truth in it, I often drink blood when I get home, She seemed reassured, and continued,
"Well, would you like to sit with us anyway?"
I hesitated, it was dangerous to spend too much time with humans, they might start to notice little differences in me from other people. The way I moved, so much more graceful than any dancer, or model. The easy speed in which I did things when I wasn't thinking, the way my eyes would flash when I was angry, or excited. There was only one way to describe it, I was dangerous, and they could sense that. However... it was extremely rare that anyone ever came to the real conclusion. Many times I have been branded with names such as "witch" or "Demon." People have attempted to kill me before, they even tried to burn me once. Of course I couldn't allow them to go through with it; fire is one of the few things that can harm me. But this was still a rare occurrence. It was unlikely that they would come to any real conclusions. They would probably just get slightly unnerved by me occasionally...
I decided I may as well agree, Anna would be upset if I refused, and then I would have to deal with sitting next to her for the rest of my time here. I have enough enemies without making myself new ones. If it came to the worst, I could always kill her, or mess with her mind so she forgets. This had only taken me a fraction of a second to think through, so Anna hadn't noticed my hesitation.
"Ok... where shall I meet you?"
"I have English before lunch, what about you?" of course I had already memorized my timetable
"I've got English as well, so I'll see you then" Anna smiled happily,
"Great! I'll see you later then"
I smiled and left for my maths lesson.