This chapter contains imagery of violence and assault. Reader discretion is advised.
If you are under 14, I strongly advise skipping over the second dream.
Enjoy!
~Jane
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A deep howl could be heard in the distance as the full moon shown on the narrow path ahead. The stars in the sky would have been a great accent to the moon but the air around her took a deafening silence. Not a sound was heard, save the wolf and her shallow breathing. Her pulse sprinted throughout her body as the fear in her heart spread to dangerous levels. The pain she felt was getting worse.
"The moon." A voice rang in her mind. "The moon will peak and the beast will emerge."
Suddenly she saw a majestic creature of bright fur, long talons, great height and build stalk its way through the surrounding trees. Its head was low and the beast was cautionary. The glowing emerald in its eyes spoke of want... and hunger.
"Stay still!" A man commanded quietly behind her, frightening her. It took her a moment to realize the voice did not come from behind her, but from the back of her mind. Panic began to rise as she became more and more confused.
What's happening to me? She thought brokenly and soon received her answer.
Her body unwillingly jerked and spasmed in unnatural places. Her bones cracked as they reformed into something more feral, more beastly.
The pain she was experiencing turned to unbearable and suddenly she was seeing her love place his hand on her cheek with a sad smile to kiss her forehead. The wind picked up and he was pulled away from her, taken by the inevitable departure, their hands grazing the other's while she cries for him to stay. Her cries rang in her ears as they turned into ear-splitting screams and her vision was ripped away and all she saw was the darkness that lead the night.
She screamed. She agonized over and over again. Her screams resonated throughout her mind until they were all she heard. She saw only blackness and heard only desperate cries.
"Jesse!" I say as I sit up from my bed. I'm sweating all over. My breathing labored as I struggle to grasp my reality. Jeremy and Sam barge into the room, panic written on their faces.
"Are you hurt?" asks Sam.
"Where's Jesse?"
"What?" Sam strides towards me.
"I said, where's Jesse?"
"He's about to get supplies from the blood bank, he just finished his shift. Why, what happened?"
"I need to see him." I rip the covers off from over me and run past Sam and a bemused Jeremy to get to the stairs.
"Ange, wait!" Sam calls.
"Angela, this is nonsense. Get back into your room." Jeremy demands.
I reach the stairs and faze to the first floor, almost tripping when I reach the bottom.
As my heart hammers in my chest, I scan the room anxiously. "Jesse??" I call out. He doesn't answer. Where could he be?
The garage door in the kitchen closes. I run towards it, feeling anxious and desperate. "Jesse!" I call out, panic filling my voice. I yank open the door and see him approaching the same van that was used for my transportation. He doesn't seem to hear me. I run to his side, making him jump and grasp at something on his belt.
"Angela?" He asks, pausing then taking out his earbuds. "Ange, what's wrong?" Jesse says as he takes in my disheveled hair and panicked look.
"I- I- I-..." My feet involuntarily move by themselves and I find myself embracing him as tight as I possibly can. He doesn't hesitate to hug me back. I breathe a sigh of relief and say, "I just needed to see you."
"It's alright, Ange. I'm still here. I won't go away anytime soon." Jesse reassures me. He pulls back just a little bit to see my face. He gently moves strands of hair out of the way. His face shows concern as something clicks. "Have you been crying?"
I look down as my cheeks turn a bright shade of pink. "I had a dream and at the end of it, you were taken away from me."
Jesse grabs my chin to make me look up into his eyes. "I will always be here for you. Nobody will ever be able to take me away from you." His thumb grazes my cheek. "Not until I die."
His eyes glow warmly. The emerald shining brightly as he stares back into my eyes. The world around us is no more. All I can see is him. All I can feel is him. Jesse and me.
Jesse leans forward and puts his forehead on mine. He sighs and whispers, "You have no idea." My heart swells for him, a warm feeling spreading throughout my veins. It pounds faster in my chest while my mind races with one thought.
Kiss him.
I open my eyes. His lips are so close to mine, just one little tilt and I'll be kissing him. His breath fans my face, making my pulse go into overdrive. I can no longer think, nothing is coming clear to me except for what I really want to do.
Closing my eyes again, I lean on my toes. My heart beats wildly each second I get closer. Wilder and wilder until I can't take the anticipation anymore and finally my lips are on his. He seems surprised at first, but then he presses his lips firmly against mine. Gentle, sweet, worth a thousand words. His arms find my waist again and pull me closer. My hands move to the back of his neck. We sway gently but the moment is soon over.
Jesse pulls away just enough to look at me with a lazy smile. "You do have an idea."
My cheeks burn even hotter. I bury my head in his neck and he squeezes just a little tighter.
"Come on," he says. "Let's get those very important blood pouches. It's almost the end of the month, and we need a refill."
"Already? My birthday's coming up."
"Really, what day?" Jesse asks as he walks me to the passenger seat.
"It's the twenty-second." I tell him, still smiling.
"How old are you turning?"
"Twenty-one. I forgot it was so close."
"Be careful. If you keep forgetting your birthday, it won't be as exciting when I surprise you with a kiss and a bouquet."
I blush at that and get into the passenger's seat as he walks back to the driver's side. He gets in, puts the seatbelt on, turns the ignition, and drives out of the garage.
"How long until we get there?"
"It's about a two hour drive. You could rest if you like. From what I know, you were supposed to be sound asleep."
"Yeah, but I had another nightmare, remember?" I tell him, suddenly feeling exhausted and yawning.
"Go to sleep, Ange. You need it."
"But what if I'm asleep when we get there?"
"That's alright, I wouldn't leave you alone." He says. I give him a pleading face. "Just rest, darling. I'll wake you up when we get there, okay?"
"Mhm... okay."
"You could recline if you like."
Reluctantly, I do as he says and try my best to get comfortable. As soon as I let my head rest on the seat, my eyes instantly feel heavy and I soon find myself drifting.
Ruffling was heard behind her. Something snapped and a cry of pain shot through the brush. She didn't know what had happened, her eyes were covered with a cloth that made her face itchy. Her hands were burning from something she touched. She reached for the cloth but pulled away with a hiss when it further burned her hands. "Angela!" Someone shouted. Panic was evident in his tone but his voice was cut off by a series of cracks and more shouts of pain. "Jesse?" she tried to ask but her mouth was gagged and her tongue felt dry. She was confused. Why was this happening to her? They didn't deserve any of this. She had vaguely remembered the voice of the creature who captured her, yet she couldn't place a name or image to the sound.
Suddenly, all was quiet. Not a single sound resonated. Then, as deliberately as a panther ready to pounce, her captor crept closer to her, his feet crunching on the dead leaves that lay above the soil. She could sense him in-front of her. He had stopped to examine his little prize, but she knew something was wrong. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, adrenaline coursing through her body.
The cloth over her eyes was roughly ripped away. There stood a tall man with a dark look. He towered over her as he loomed like a drape in shadow. He was handsome but his eyes glowed with a dark intention. He held a wooden stake in his left hand. It reeked of a poison, as if he had soaked it in liquid wolfsbane. The other held a picture of her, taken while she was outside in the forest, training with a trustee. The look on his face expressed hatred, anger, and little of the strain he had to endure. His voice was thick with darkness and deep with void. "You shouldn't exist," he spat. "You have to understand that this is my job. Your existence is filthy." She looked into his eyes, hoping to plead with him to spare her life. All she saw was a merciless blackness. A coldness so deep that she couldn't imagine this man had a soul. "Once he told me about this- about you -I had to see for myself." He clenched his fists and glared at her as if she had strongly offended him. "Now that I know what you are, I have taken it into my own hands to deliver this clan of war before it becomes inevitable. You are wrong. If you live, we will go to war, and there will be bloodshed. Everyone will die. Man and Beast." He lifted the stake, getting ready to deliver a fatal blow. Terrified, Angela shut her eyes so she wouldn't have to look upon the face of Death.
"Put it down, Timothy." spoke a cool, familiar voice. Her eyes snapped open as she realized her brother had come- quite unexpectedly. She looked up at the brooding man and choked on a sob. He had lowered the stake! A flood of relief flowed from her heart as she followed his gaze behind her. True to her ears, her brother Jeremy stood just seven yards away. He looked like a tornado in the middle of a town: ready to destroy anything that got in his way. Timothy spoke to his master, "I must abide by my oath, sir. This creature must die." She saw the muscle in Jeremy's jaw flex. "She is not a creature, she is my sister. My blood." Timothy hissed in disgust. "She is abominable! A thing which should not have been created. A mistake for our kind." Stepping closer, Jeremy growled, "You will hold your tongue! Abide by my orders and my orders only. Do you understand?" "Sir this is against protocol. You, yourself has taught me t-" "I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOUR INSOLENCE. You will listen to me or your services will no longer be required." She brought her gaze back to Timothy. His eyes were glowing with anger but she could see his resolve. He threw the stake into the soil beside her- just inches away. He walked behind Angela to remove her restraints and helped her up. His hands gripped her arms. "I'm fine, you could let go." she said. His grip became tighter, her arms started to sting. "No really, let me go." She spoke louder, only able to notice the pain in her arms. "Jeremy, wher-" She looked back but he was no longer there. The grip on her arms got so tight and painful she thought that if she were human, her arms would already be broken. Panic flooded her system. "Timothy, let go! You're hurting me!" she said, her voice cracking from the pain. The voice she heard was not Timothy's, but one which belonged to a man she only saw for a day. "Pain is a feeling meant to let us know we're alive. And you, hybrid, certainly are alive." a sickly voice hissed. A chill ran down her spine, the darkness seemed to get darker. The man spun her around violently. She gasped when she peered into his red eyes for she recognized the man's face and immediately began to fear for her life a second time that night. "No, it can't be you!" She said, trying to escape from his iron grasp. He grinned at her, a nasty smirk which revealed a set of yellow teeth and long, sharp fangs. "I love doing the dirty work." he said, confusing Angela. Wild Eyes's face contorted into one showing rage as he unexpectedly released her arms and began gripping her neck. Angela staggered backwards with her hands grasping his until her back hit a tree. She squirmed and writhed to try to get away but he had her trapped. His hands were preventing her from taking in any air. Any longer and her lungs would collapse. Any tighter and her neck would snap. Angela clawed at his hands, coughing and sputtering her last breaths, tears running down her red cheeks. Wild Eyes stared back at her, a devilish, maniacal grin on his cracked lips as he sucked the life out of her. She felt hopeless. She was sobbing internally. Her lungs burned for air. She couldn't get away.
I cough and take deep breaths while I grab the door and the seat's armrest. Holly mother of caramel macchiatos, what the hell did I just dream? I place my hand over my heart, it's beating rapidly in my chest. My throat burns and my cheeks are wet from crying. I can't shake the feeling I'm in danger.
I look over to my left but Jesse isn't in the seat. I suddenly realize we've stopped moving. Panic erupts inside of me and it starts to get difficult to breathe. Where are we? Why'd we stop? WHERE THE HELL IS JESSE!?!?
Frantically looking around, my hands fumble for the door handle. As I open the door, I flail out of the truck, landing on the floor on all fours, my hands scraping on the cold concrete. What? Heart pounding loud in my ears, I scramble to get up and around the van. On the other side, I'm blinded by a bright light.
"Angela?"
Befuddled, I look to my right. I blink rapidly to get the fog from my eyes to leave. There is Jesse, confusion and worry evident on his face... holding a gasoline dispenser. I keep blinking my eyes, adjusting to the light. I look around to find we're in a gas station. The lights are incandescent and the smell of petrol hits my senses. I look back to Jesse, who has finished filling the gas tank and has now taken out his earbuds. He pays for the gas using a debit card and an ATM thingy, then he closes the tank cap. He walks to me, pulling me into his arms and kissing my forehead. Jesse walks me to the passenger side and helps me in. Once he's on the other side, he turns the ignition, and rolls out of the gas station and back onto the highway.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"...and then he started choking me and I-" I couldn't finish my sentence. Emotion cripples my throat to the point where I have to take several deep breaths. Jesse grabs my hand and brings it to his lips.
"It's okay, you don't have to tell me anything."
"But I have to, or else it'll keep bugging me." I whisper. Jesse reluctantly allows me to relay every other detail about this dream to him. Once I get back to Wild Eyes, he winces as if remembering what happened weeks ago. "He said 'Pain is a feeling meant to let us know we're alive. And you-" I stop myself before I tell him anything else.
Wild Eyes called me hybrid. Why would he call me hybrid? Was that what he was going to say in the clearing? Hybrid.
What was it that Doctor McCalister was trying to say? He said there were hidden genes in me and that there was a catalyst making Sam's gift evolve. What did he mean? Apparently my genes aren't exactly human... but that makes me something else. And if the other half are my vampire genes...
If not Human and Vampire, it must something else supernatural. It obviously isn't a ghost, that'd be weird.
I've read a book in our library about some werewolf who had a voice in their head and could transform into another kind of feral beast. The character never felt like they fit in with any form of society and everyone was scared to interact with them. The plot goes on after that, and eventually they end up finding peace, but only after they're forced to fulfill a prophecy.
I thought I was crazy at first. The other day when Doc. talked to me, it clicked but I really didn't want to believe it. It makes so much sense I don't know how I couldn't figure it out earlier.
But now I understand.
I'm like that character in the book... a hybrid.
I'm half Vampire, half Werewolf.
So many questions come to surface in my mind but I can't answer them, not one.
"Ange, are you there?" Jesse says, bringing me back to the conversation.
"Wha- oh, yeah. He said I was very much alive and then he went to... you know." I tell him. I can't let him know. He can't know, not yet.
He looks at me strangely, trying to figure out what just happened. "Are you okay?" He asks.
"Yeah, I'll be fine now." I say, giving him a small smile. "How long did you say it was until we got the blood?"
"About seven minutes now." He tells me. He turns to watch the road again.
This time it's me who kisses his hand. He needs to know I'm okay. I can't tell him I'm a hybrid, but I know I have good reason to. Something inside me tells me I have to wait for the right time. It hurts to keep this from him. I'll just have to bury this fact deep within me.
He can't know.