A/N: I'm so thankful for how much positive feedback this preview has gotten! I was going to wait to start this until Night was finished but you guys have inspired me to go ahead and start it now, and then I'll see where it goes. I hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think!
[Unedited]
Vampires didn't sleep very often. When they did, as was with most things in the world of vampires, it was done more so out of pleasure than necessity. At least, that was what Jez had told me. I didn't have firsthand experience of this because when I slept, my dreams were plagued with darkness and unpleasantries. For that reason, I always tried to stay as awake as much possible. Awake and alert—for that was the fate of a vampire, a night creature.
Turning on the creaky sink that was rusting slightly around the edges, I wet my hands with cool water and then proceeded to comb through my hair, moistening my forehead and my neck. We had taken up an old residence and lived as simply as possible. Vampires has to live inconspicuously and luxuries drew too much attention. I was supposed to be cold, I thought, peering into my own green eyes that were staring back at me from behind the dusty mirror. But instead, I had been cursed with thin blood, almost as much as when I was human. When a sharp memory of my mother and I joking about me being cold-blooded pierced its way through my staling mind, I quickly pushed it away. No memories, Jez had told me.
No memories.
I kept all of my memories bottled away in the silver pendant I always wore around my neck. It was my mother's and it was the only acknowledgement I allowed myself to have of her. It was also the only secret I really kept from Jez and the rest of the group.
Jezebel had found me a few months ago on the streets. She took me on and allowed me to travel with her group, despite my differences. I had only been living as vampire for a short time when she found me, undergoing constant pain from thirst coupled with an intense fear of my own self. Terrified at the prospect of killing someone, I had isolated myself in a forest. I took to living like an animal, hunting for mammals and taking my frustrations out on the plants around me. I set forest fires then put them out, ripped flowers from the ground then replanted.
During that dark period of time, I had seen a lot of things. I had watched monsters, the same species as myself, tear humans apart for fun. I had become aware of the fact that so many loved ones who had been reported missing on TV's and in newspapers were because of creatures like me.
This only helped to solidify my morals, or what morals I had left. I had made a vow to myself—to my mother, to my sister, to everyone I'd left behind, as well as to all of the innocent people who had died in the past, that I would never harm a human being.
Living that way had also made me keenly aware of something else. I was weak. I'd like to think I had grown mentally but physically, I began to realize that I didn't have the abilities that other vampires had. I was fast, yes, but nowhere near the speed of other vampires I had come across. I figured I was probably only marginally faster than the Olympic runners I used to watch on TV.
As for strength, it had certainly increased tenfold since I was human. But that didn't really mean much given the fact that I had barely passed gym class my senior year of high school because I couldn't lift weights. My looks had changed, but I didn't feel like they had changed enough. Sometimes I wished that becoming a vampire would have given me an entirely new identity, a new face to look at so that I could start fresh without feeling weighed down by my previous life and all of the emotions that I had experienced as a human. But alas, the same green eyes always stared back at me, hauntingly familiar and binding me completely to who I'd always been.
Jez had told me time and time again that vampirism is supposed to make you feel beautiful—enhanced and new. I hoped someday I would understand.
"Diana, hurry up!" Jez's voice came from outside the thin bathroom door. Running my hand through my crimson locks one more time, I made my way out of the bathroom. After having cooled myself down with water and changing into a pastel tank top and jeans, I felt better.
Jez was waiting for me in the kitchen, typing something on her phone. She looked up as soon as I was in sight. She was wearing a grey fitted tank top with thin lacy cardigan, khaki skinny jeans, and boots. With her dark hair in a side braid, tall and slim stature, and smokey eye shadow adorning her brown eyes, I couldn't help but to admire how well put together she always looked.
"Took you long enough," she huffed shoving her phone into her pocket.
"Sorry," I told her simply, grabbing my phone from the table. "Should I drive?" I asked, grabbing the keys. All 6 of us shared one car and I usually drove.
Jez nodded and then turned around, opening the fridge. "Want a bottle for the road?" She asked me, turning over her shoulder.
"Please." With two bottles of donated blood and a bag of chips, we were off. As anticlimactic as it seemed, we were headed to the beach just to relax and let off some steam. The others had left early in the morning and were meeting us there. I didn't usually have much to look forward to but trips to the ocean were always a highlight of my life. There was nothing I liked more than the salt, grit, and wildness of the ocean. I loved how it was untouchable and untainted; how it went on for miles without interference. During my human years, I used to go to the beach all of the time. I spent most of my time in the water, loving the inevitable aftertaste of salt, the pull of the currents, and the way the seaweed tangled in my hair. Afterwards, I would sit on the sand, digging into the grains with my hands as I watched the crabs.
The first time I had come to the ocean after having been changed, I was surprised to see that nothing had been changed. It was the only constant in my life that I had ever found.
Jez and I talked for the entire half hour car ride. She was fun company and the kind of person who could make anybody laugh at any given time. When we pulled into the parking lot, Jez looked over at me with a mischievous smile. "Are you ready to swim? Who knows, maybe this time you'll actually place." She was referring to the races that we always had; races where I always came in last. Though it was a sensitive subject when we first met, we had all started to treat my abnormalities in a lighter manner.
Life was too long to be overly sensitive.
I smirked back at her and raised my eyebrow. "You're on." Laughing, we jumped out of the old vehicle and ran toward the sound of bustling waves. Since the beach was empty, I threw my bottle on the sand and began to undress. I unhooked my pendant and hung it on a branch near the sand. I never wore it in the water as I wanted to keep it in good condition. Living hundreds of years made rust much more plausible.
Stripping my body quickly of the tank top and loose summer jeans which I quickly discarded into the sand, I sprinted into the water without even bothering to look around me. Feeling a euphoric chill run through my body as I submerged myself in the cold water, I couldn't help but smile. I looked up at the pale blue sky, covered with a thin layer of transparent clouds, and then out at the ocean which carried that same blue.
I turned my body around and looked back over at the sand to see Jez folding up her clothes and setting them down on a towel that she had laid out. Another smile broke out across my face. "Hey Jez," I called out. She looked at me immediately. "I won the race into the water. Does that count?" With my enhanced vision, I could make out her amused smirk.
"Nope!" She called back. "I'm afraid the records speak for themselves. You're still in 6th place!" I fake pouted and then dove underwater, letting the water cool my head and soothe my thoughts. As soon as I came up from the water, I felt arms wrap around my waist and I instinctively let out a small scream as I turned. Standing behind me was Jamie, a member of our group smirking cockily.
"Jamie, you asshole!" I shouted through my laughter, slapping him on the arm.
"You just looked so peaceful," he mocked, "that I had to ruin it." His face was so full of expression that I couldn't help but to laugh and stick my tongue out at him like a 5 year old.
"Yeah, well we'll see who's looking peaceful when I come in first today," I challenged.
"Ooooh," he called out amused. "Looks like someone's getting a little too big for their breeches." And before I knew it, his hand was on my head and I was underwater. That bastard dunked me. When I came back up, my hair covering my pissed off expression Jamie was laughing hysterically. I approached him, mock vengeance on my face, as he dodged my advanced.
"I'm gonna get you when you least expect it," I settled, laughing because we both knew I wouldn't be able to catch up with him.
"Uh oh," another voice called from behind me. I turned around to see
Benji, Karla, and Tobias who had all swam to where we were. Benji had his arm wrapped around Karla, and Tobias looked like he hated being in the water. "You pissed off Diana," Benji continued. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to piss off a redhead?" I smirked and splashed Jamie out of the blue.
"Yeah, didn't she?" Jamie scowled playfully at me as he wiped the water from his face.
"Are we ready to get this race started?" Jez asked, who was now in the water with the group. "We're racing from bay to bay, got it? And when you get there, make yourself known. We don't want any cheats," she glared at Tobias and we all laughed. Everyone gave their confirmations and then we were off.
~*~
Later that night, we were all hanging out in the house, the TV on and beer bottles spewed about. I was eating chips and salsa, pleasure eating, and absently watching whatever survival show was currently playing. I reached my hands up to play with my necklace as I always did by habit and then felt my heart plummet when I only felt skin. I shot up from my seat at the couch, capturing the attention of Karla, Benji, and Jamie who were sitting in the living room.
"Guys, I forgot my necklace," I muttered panicked, already making a beeline for the door.
"Wait, Diana," Karla stood up, breaking free of Benji's grip on her. "We can go get it tomorrow. It's dark out."
"It's fine," I told her hurriedly, slipping on my jacket and boots. I grabbed the keys and then looked back up at Karla. "Vampire, remember?" I smirked. She didn't smile back.
"I'm serious, Di. You don't know what's out there." Karla was definitely the worrier out of the group.
"I have to get it," I told her with no hesitation. Not even a tornado could have kept me inside. "I'll be back soon."
Sensing the futility, she sat back down and bit her lip worriedly. "Just be careful," she said.
"I will." I gave her a small smile and then made my way outside. I appreciated the silence of the drive there. I didn't listen to any music, just cracked open the windows of the car and felt the night's breeze. It seemed like no time before I got there. I parked the car quickly and hurriedly ran outside. With eyes trained to see through darkness, it didn't take me very long to scan through the area and find the branch where my necklace was swinging from. Breathing a sigh of relief, I picked it up and ran my fingers along the metal, basking in its familiarity. I carefully wrapped it around my neck and found the clasp with my nimble fingers.
But just as I clasped it, I heard a low voice speak out that made me let out a small, terrified gasp.
"Well now, what do we have here?"