I'm being swept off my feet, falling softly into a soft carpet that flies into the night. Cue „A Whole New World" song.
I wish.
I'm not flying around with Aladdin in some fancy fairy tale Arab clothing. I doubt he would even go for me.
No, life is not a fairy tale. Unfortunately. It's much harsher than that. Although I have to admit that my current situation can be classified in the fairy tale category.
It's so surreal that I can't really wrap my head around it. My mind is a mess. A trainwreck. I haven't recovered fully from my panic attack; my heart is hammering up some drywalls; my mouth is dry from taking all those repeated deep breaths; my hands and back are still moist from the sweat. The chilly air is not helping and sends shivers down my spine.
"Where are we going?" I ask, not bothering to look up and view my surroundings.
"Out of Anchorage. That's our first priority," Sophie replies, readjusting her backpack. She spots a puddle nearby the curb and proceeds to wash her hands in it.
"Might want to put your shirt in as well," I point out, grimacing as the puddle changes its color slightly, from a dull grey to a murky brown, due to the blood.
Sophie looks down and curses. "Shit!" she groans. "I forgot about it," She instantly unclasps the backpack, grabs a clean, black longsleeve out of it and undresses in front of me. I swiftly turn around. Sophie snorts. "Prude," she sneers at me.
"Shut up," I mumble awkwardly, feeling my face turn red from embarrassment.
"Alright, let's go."
I turn around and Sophie is already putting her backpack back in place.
"How are we getting out of here?" I ask glumly. It's not like I've accepted my fate with a smile on my face. I desperately want to turn back home, to my sanctuary but Sophie's right; There's no way that I nor my family can handle a pack of bloodthirsty vampires. My eyes widen as sudden realization comes crashing over me. "My phone!" I gasp, patting my coat and finding nothing. "I forgot my phone at home!"
"Good," says Sophie. "It's not good for us to have them. They can use the GPS in them to track us down."
"But, but-„ I splutter helplessly. That was supposed to be my lifeline, a sureway plan to know for sure that my family would be alright. At the same time, I would be able to contact them and tell them everything is okay with me. To an extent, at least. . .
"But I haven't let them know where I'm going or anything!" I whine.
Sophie groans. "What part of running away do you not understand? They're not supposed to know because they could accidentically tip the others off!"
I stare at her, not believing my ears.
"So I'm just supposed to disappear into thin air without my parents' knowledge?" My voice breaks as I struggle to keep the waterworks to a minimum. "Do you have any idea how much that will hurt them?"
"Not as much as finding your corpse in a ditch!" she snarls, baring her fangs at me.
I flinch, recoiling a few steps back in fear. Sophie must be at her limit as well, I suspect as this is the first time she has bared her fangs openly like that. Her breath is quick and heavy and she's shooting daggers at me.
"It's my family," I try again with a more pleading tone of voice. "They have a right to know at least something."
"And if they do, you're gonna be an orphan, just like me," Sophie huffs. "Trust me, Leia, they're better off not knowing."
It's no use. She's not going to relent. I take deep shuddering breaths, trying to hide my hurt and disappointment while at the same time trying to quell my anxiety. The knot in my stomach doesn't come loose but lingers painfully around instead. I guess I can't fully get rid of it as we're still in a state of panic of some sort.
"So we have to get out of Anchorage," I echo Sophie's plan. "Any idea how? Since we can't use phones and their handy GPS. . ." I trail off somberly.
Sophie scowls at me. "We can't use planes," she says, contemplating our next steps.
"Why not?"
"Firstly, they will monitor all flights, just to be on the safe side," she explains matter-of-factly. "Secondly, do you even have a passport?"
I shake my head.
"Exactly, neither do I, so flights are a no go."
"What about buses?" I ask, thinking of other possible means of transportation. The bag is heavy on my shoulders and my feet are screaming at me to stop somewhere and sit down.
This time Sophie shakes her head. "They'll definitely check the buses too," she remarks. "They're thorough sons of bitches, remember?"
I groan irritably. "Then what?" I ask her. "We're just going to hitchhike or something?"
"Exactly," Sophie nods.
"How?" I demand dumbfounded. "In case you haven't noticed, it's the middle of the night and not many cars take long drives around this time."
"Oh, there's one type of vehicle that does travel in the dead of night," Sophie smirks.
I can't think of anything even though my mind is racing. Sophie rolls her eyes at my ignorance.
"Trucks!" she exclaims. She grabs my hand and pulls me along. "There's a diner nearby the city entrance that truckers freaquent. We can hitch a ride from one of them."
I grimace at the plan but it's the best and, unfortunately, only option we've got at this point. Wait, that diner she talked about, can it be the Aurora Diner? It's the only one that I know of that's near the city limits. If so, I might just be in luck.
We walk through the city, the only sounds keeping us company are the occasional shifts and rustles from cats in the alleyways, or some other critters that I have no desire to be better acquainted with. I keep my head straight ahead on the road, even though my eyes betray me and dart sideways in search of someone who might be watching us. The flickering lights of the streetlamps are not helping with the general creepiness.
Sophie is silent the whole way but I can see that she's being cautious in the tensity of her body and how she glances quickly in every direction. She tries to be discreet about it but fails miserably. She's just as scared as I am, I realize, and I'm sort of relieved to know it.
"Aren't you afraid of muggers at this point?" I ask, grimacing as flashbacks of my first and hopefully last encounter of a mugger traitorously enter my mind.
"No," Sophie replies. "If anything, they should be afraid of me." She grins wickedly back at me and I can't help but think that was a cool comeback. I grin back, despite of myself. I guess it's alright to have some humour at this hour, even though it's a bit morbid.
"What kind of people would be watching us?" I want to know. If they are distinguishable enough, we would be able to hide ourselves better.
"We call them sangues but a better term would be "familiars"," Sophie explains. "They're humans that are willing to do anything in order to have the slim chances of being turned into one of us. Pathetic fucks, if you ask me." She frowns. "But crafty fucks nonetheless. They are always on the watch for something weird or suspicious and report it diligently to the other vampires in order to score more brownie points."
"And that could be anyone?" I press on. "Is there nothing that distinguishes them?"
Sophie thinks for a moment before replying: "Oh yeah!" she snaps her fingers. "They've got the symbol of Nox, Greek goddess of the night, tattooed somewhere on them." She frowns at me. "Their idea, not ours."
"That's not very helpful," I complain gloomily. "We can't exactly ask everyone we see to strip their clothes to check for a tattoo."
"Which is why, from now on, we can't trust anyone."
We say nothing further and continue our trek. It's eerie seeing all the tall buildings so dark and ominous at night. I suppose no one is burning the midnight oil at one of the offices, not unless they get major pay off from it. We do spot an occasional car driving but Sophie always pulls me into an alley and we hide in the dark until the car passes by. I don't like it as my heart shoots up every time and I become more and more on edge each time it happens.
At long last, we reach the city limits and that part of the city is completely different; Full blown lights are everywhere from various trucks that are either pulling into the diner's driveway or driving away from it. The noise emitting from them hurts my ears after all that silence in the streets. But I spot Aurora Diner from the midst of trucks parked around it. It's not exactly a big diner, just big enough to room people travelling around Alaska, cops, rangers like my dad and truckers. The blue-greenish paint meant to symbolize the glowing lights in the winter sky, is old, faded and chipped in many places. The windows are grimy from all the dirt sprayed from the trucks and the staff has given up on cleaning them. But while it's quite loud inside, the overall atmosphere is warm and welcoming.
"Great! There are still some truckers around!" Sophie exclaims in relief. "We need to find someone who's willing to take us as far away from here as possible."
We approach the diner and I can see Rose working the counter from the grimy window. I had been banking on it. Rose is a friend of dad, because as a park ranger who rarely gets to come home for lunch, he likes to have his lunch at the diner. I might be able to relay a message to her that she will get to dad when she gets the chance to see him. But I have to do it without Sophie noticing. I chew on my bottom lip, thinking hard.
The bell rings as Sophie enters the diner and, heart sinking, I follow hurriedly after her. Time is running out!
"I have to go to the bathroom!" I blurt out, hoping to God that Sophie isn't listening to my rapid heartbeat.
She raises her eyebrows, surprised, but I make a point to stare back. Avoiding eye contact would only make her suspicious. "Fine," she consents. "Just be quick!" She waves me off, searches the area for a willing trucker, spots one drinking coffee in a booth by the door and then saunters off in his direction.
I can hear her voice change as she approaches him. It becomes low and soft, almost seductive as she greets him. In fact, her whole demeanor changes; instead of being unsure and cautious, she is emitting a strong aura of confidence and self-assurance. Her head held high, she swings her hips with each step she takes. I'm momentarily blown away by this sudden transformation as I find it incredible how many heads are turning in her direction, despite Sophie carrying a big and heavy hiker's backpack on her shoulders. This must be the charm of the vampire, I think to myself in amusement.
Rose is no longer behind the counter and my blood turns to ice. Have I missed my chance? I search frantically around, moving further inside until I see her chatting with one of the cooks in the kitchen. I let out a sigh. The kitchen is next to the restrooms so it's the perfect cover. I hurry over to her.
"Hi Rose," I say breathlessly, waving my hand casually.
Rose, a dark busty woman in her forties, looks away from the cook she was chatting with and blinks at me.
"Why, isn't that little Leia Walker?" She greets me with a big toothy smile. "What are you doing here, in the middle of the night, I might add?"
I smile sheepishly, racking my brain on what to say. As luck would have it, it's empty!
Rose eyes the backpack on my shoulders. "You going somewhere, hun?"
I nod. "I'm going on a trip, actually."
"With your family? Awfully late for that, dontcha think?" She raises an eyebrow suspiciously. "I don't see your dad or mom around."
I clear my throat, it's become really dry in such a short amount of time. "Actually, I'm going on a trip by myself," I lie, my eyes darting behind to see if Sophie has accomplished her mission. Still chatting with booth trucker. "It's a research trip, up north in Denali. It's part of my final assignment in my Native Alaskan History class and I need to document the domestic living conditions of native tribes that are living there."
I blink, surprised at the speed of my own blatant lie. Rose seems unconvinced though, so I keep going:
"I want to be there early enough to see what they usually do in the mornings. You know, to compare what they used to do in the old days."
"Uh huh," Rose mumbles, clicking her tongue and her brown eyes are boring into mine. "And what do your parents think of you going alone on a trip like that?"
"That's the reason I came to you, Rose," I smile apologetically. "I just realized tonight that the deadline is this Monday and I need to finish it so I can get a good grade. I didn't want to wake my parents because I didn't want to bother them." I shift the weight of my legs while I continue my lies and hoisten the bag better on my shoulder. "There's also another reason. . ." I trail off, looking down at my shoes.
Rose leans over, eager to hear what I have to say. I glance up for a second and resist the urge to grin like a prankster child. She's taken the bait, hook, line and sinker. I hesitate to build up more drama and then take a deep breath.
"I haven't been independent lately and I've been feeling so guilty having to rely on my parents for so long," I explain, forcing my voice to be weaker, more frail. "My therapist has been suggesting that I take a solo trip, you know, to boost up my ego and self-reliance. So I just decided to jump on it and do it tonight."
Rose looks thoughtfully at me, a proud yet sympathetic smile spreading on her full lips. I figure my dad has probably told her about my mental problems to some extent.
"That sounds wonderful, honey!" she exclaims, reaching over to hug me but I step back, shaking my head. She seems to realize her mistake and chuckles weakly. "Might want to work on that on your trip," she winks at me.
"Yeah, I know," I groan, rolling my eyes playfully. "Listen, since I didn't have a chance to tell them, I was wondering if you could tell my dad once you see him?"
Her brows narrow in confusion. "Why don't you just call him in the morning?"
"Because I didn't take my phone with me," I mumble under my breath.
The suspicion in her eyes has returned and she puts her hands on her wide hips. Shit!
"I want to experience the whole no-technology with the tribe, see if it will be a good addition to my assignment," I hasten to add to my lavish, little lie. "But don't worry, I'll call them as soon as I get there!" I assure her. "But could you just relay the message to my dad in the meantime?"
I give her one last pleading look. Rose thinks it over for a bit and I use my chance to steal a glance at Sophie. She's not with the trucker in the window booth. My heart skips a beat. Where is she? I look around and see her flirting her way with another trucker who's sitting by the counter. She's twirling her hair around her finger as she speaks with him. Phew, I still have time.
"Well, I guess it's alright," Rose consents and I smile brightly, while much of the tension building up within me loosens up a bit.
"Thank you, Rose!" I exclaim as relief washes over me, filling my insides with heat.
She nods her head and then excuses herself to go help the cooks in the kitchen. I make my way to the restroom as I do actually need to go. All the tension and agitation has been hell on my stomach. It's better to leave on empty bowels and an empty bladder. Once I'm done, I sneak out, careful not to let Rose see me and not making eye contact with no one.
"About fucking time!" Sophie growls. She looks irritated; her arms are folded across her chest and she's tapping her shoe on the asphalt impatiently.
"Sorry," I apologize. "But I really needed to go! My stomach has been killing me."
She narrows her brows, glaring. I almost scoff at her. It's like she has never experienced stomach aches before. But I avoid her eyes and hope she didn't see me with Rose.
"Did you find anyone?" I ask non-chalantly.
"No!" she snarls angrily into the air. "No one wants to take us, even though I offered them money!"
"You've got money?" I ask incredulously, realizing that I not only forgot my phone but also my wallet. This is what happens when you pack in a hurry!
"Of course," Sophie huffs, pushing her hair behind her ears in frustration. "How could they refuse money?" she wonders irritably out loud. "They're men. Greedy little man-pigs. What else would they want?"
Her eyes widen as an idea strikes her. Her expression darkens as she curses under her breath.
"What is it?" I inquire curiously, yet I'm not fond of her current expression and mood. But we need all the ideas we can come up with and unfortunately, my brain just refuses to work with me now.
"Fuck!" she swears through gritted teeth and storms back into the diner.
I hesitate, then decide it would be better for me if I stayed out of her way and just guard our stuff. I watch her through the window as she approaches the third trucker – a fat man with a large beer gut and a red baseball cap on his dirty blond hair – and whispers something in his ear. He looks shocked and stares incredulously at Sophie who nods determined. The trucker glances around shiftily before nodding to Sophie and they both exit the diner.
"Where's your truck?" Sophie asks, frowning slightly.
"Over there," he points to a large blue truck beside the diner.
Sophie nods and turns to me. "You'll go in the back of the truck," she instructs me. "And stay there until I get back."
"Wait!" I grab her arm as they start marching towards the large blue vehicle. "What about you?"
Her eyes show such determination that it's almost as if they're glowing. But her voice is strained, filled with emotion.
"I need to be with the driver for a bit," she explains as casually as she can muster.
I may be childish and horribly inexperienced in various stuff but I know what she means.
"No!" I gasp horrified but she yanks her arm back with brute force.
"Stay in the back of the truck!" Sophie orders me with a steely glare.
I want to protest, to pull her back and away from that man. There's got to be another way! But Sophie merely gives me a grim smile as she watches me climb up the back of the truck.
I manage to let out a whimper before the hatch closes, enveloping me in darkness as I weep over my friend's hard decision.
-------------------------------------------------------------
That's it for chapter 12!
It got a bit longer than I expected but then again, I might have to edit it at some point. I just wanted to finish the chapter as soon as possible. And now my wrist is killing me! XD
Stay tuned for chapter 13 and if you liked this chapter, I encourage you to like it in the forms of comments or a vote :)