Standing in a place called Walmart with a grinning vampire and a huge banner in front of you that showed a large faded, yellow smiley face could seem kind of comical, but not to me.
I raised an eyebrow and looked skeptically at Sam who apparently couldn't quite fathom that I didn't find his revelation funny. Did this Walmart place used to be humorous back in the day? I'd never heard of this place before in my life.
I took a step forward, stretching my arms out, using them as a balance as I nearly tripped over something that could only be described as a square metal box with a lid and numbers, and when I bent down to inspect it further, I saw It had two small handles; the top one could be turned both left and right, but the one below could only be turned left until a certain point, then it got stuck. I frowned at it and left it in its place, standing back up I quickly located Sam who had started walking away from me and towards the other end of the store.
I made my way through the maze of mess to where he had decided to stop, standing with his back to me. I stopped behind him and noticed we were in a section with a lot of old and dusty furniture.
"So, what exactly is this Walmart?" I asked, kicking a small round and half deflated ball that I knew was called a soccer ball. It awkwardly rolled a couple of feet away before hitting an overturned table and coming to a standstill.
Sam turned to me. "It was a place where people came to buy everything from food to clothes, to furniture."
"Food?" For the first time since entering this building I looked closely around, trying to spot anything that might resemble something that could be eaten. "Is there still some here?" I asked with a small hope entangled within my voice.
"I doubt there's any left. Shax made sure to clean out all the food storage buildings he could find so humans had no choice but to either leave the city and get by on their own, or work for him in return for food to survive. Most chose the latter, thinking it was a way to live longer." Sam huffed. His voice was bitter and I looked up at him, for the first time since meeting him at the hotel room, seeing a guy who appeared disgusted with what his race was doing to the human population.
"What kind of work did they do for him?" I asked, though a small voice in my head told me I already knew the answer.
"Daytime labor and blood donations," he said with a grim face, emphasizing the word donations as to show it wasn't as much a donation as it was a demand.
"Humans gave blood in exchange for a small ration of food, which would only last them a few days, if they were lucky, and then they'd have to come back to their assigned vampire and let them feed from them to get more." Sam's voice was hushed and I realized with regret that he must have gone through the same thing, feeding from a human so they could get food themselves. He did not seem overly joyous about it at all.
"Food for food." His voice had turned dark and sarcastic. How clever of Shax to know just how to operate to keep people in this city. If you weren't a good gatherer or hunter, you were practically screwed if you were on your own out there, like I had been.
Thankfully, I had had two guys who seemed to know just about anywhere people could have stored food, or else I might not have made it this far in life. We had been so dependent on each other, and now? If I made it through this would I be alone? Or would I stick with Sam and Nox and either leave this city or do whatever they had planned after taking out Shax? I could just picture it in my mind: two vampires and a witch. If that wasn't odd coupling then I didn't know what was. I was bound for quite a trip.
***
"Focus Emily!" Sam's voice boomed behind me as I had yet again failed to hit one of the large pieces of furniture in front of me with my energy bolts. Instead I had aimed too low and left a smoking hole in the floor. I gave a cry of frustration and shook my tingling hands. Why couldn't I aim properly? It really shouldn't be that hard to just point and aim, but I guess it was.
We had been at it for hours, the sun had begun its descend, leaving the sky outside Walmart with a pinkish glow as it slowly disappeared behind the tall buildings.
"What good is it when I can't even hit a freaking... Whatever it is I'm trying to hit," I waved a hand towards my target, and clearly heard the sigh that escaped Sam's lips.
"It's a TV-shelf," he said, his voice egging me to turn and face him as I wondered just how exasperated he would look. But I held it in. I wiped my forehead that had produced a thin sheet of sweat. My hands were throbbing and I felt dizzy after trying to pull out energy for so long without any former practice. I felt drained and cranky.
"Well it's hard to hit." My voice cowardly low, because I knew how ridiculously it sounded; the target was huge. A blind and deaf bird could probably hit it on accident.
"You just need to focus and concentrate, like I taught you."
"Well maybe my teacher needs to do a better job at teaching," I retorted.
"Who do you think I am, fucking Merlin? I don't know the first thing about magic or how to use it or how to conjure it!" I kept my back turned to him, silently wondering why the name Merlin sounded so familiar. I shook my head and tried to focus. Come on Emily, you can do this.
I trained my eyes on my target; it was probably about fifty feet away from me. I rubbed my hands together to try and get rid of the tingling before sticking the out and going into myself, searching for the pool of electric blue light.
Having been at it all day it was easy enough to find; it was there, bubbling just underneath the surface of my conscience. I grabbed hold of it, and with my target in sight I released the current of energy, letting it surge through me and out of the palms of my hands. I had come to find that I felt relief whenever I let it go. I felt at one with myself for the first time since, I don't know, since ever.
The bolt connected dead on with the TV-shelf and catapulted it from its spot to further down the aisle, leaving a trail of smoke and charred wood behind.
I cheered, something I had never done before in my life, and then quickly stopped to get a grip.
"See, not that hard was it?" I said with an eye roll and looked back at Sam, but he was gone. I frowned and looked around, but I couldn't see him anywhere.
"Sam?" I went to the concrete post where he had been standing moments before and looked around. Was he that infuriated with me? I couldn't help the fact that I had only known about my magic for only a couple of days. Why was he so impatient?
I found him standing in the shadows by a window overlooking a parking lot; few cars where still there, rusty and falling apart from years of neglect. The sunset had cast a warm glow over everything, the trees and bushes almost looked aflame.
The route we had taken through the tunnel had brought us away from the towering buildings in the inner city. Their gleaming facades reflected the light from the setting sun. It was almost beautiful. Then I remembered who was currently there, determined to use me for his selfish gain. None of us spoke; we just stood there and watched how everything outside steadily turned darker and darker. Like everything in life right now, I thought grimly.
When the sun had completely disappeared from sight Sam turned and looked at me with haunted eyes. There was still an after glow left behind by the sun, which clad his frame in a warm embrace.
"I'm sorry." His pained voice was enough to forget about him going off earlier. I took a step closer and stopped. I didn't know what I was doing, or what I wanted to do. I felt awkward and out of place somehow.
I bit my lip and simply nodded, showing him I understood. I didn't really know what else to do.
It was Sam who made the first move. In three brisk strides he was in front of me, gazing at me with those brilliant red eyes that used to make me squirm with discomfort. Now they sent shivers down my back. I realized by looking at him, just how much I had changed since that fateful night when Nox had found me. It was like I was a completely different person; a more understanding and less judgmental person. The old me would never have let a vampire get this close. The old me would have trashed and kicked and screamed when the vampires tried to take her from her friends. She would probably have gotten herself killed, but it would have been worth it.
Sam opened his mouth to speak, but I shook my head, taking a small step forward so that the tips of our shoes were touching. I reached out a slightly shaking hand and placed it where I knew his heart was, or at least when it was still beating. But that didn't mean it still wasn't there. I stared at the spot, so fixated that I didn't see anything else. I scrunched up a fistful of his shirt, clinging onto it as if he'd be gone in a second. Then I met his eyes again. The redness felt warm, warm and inviting.
His cold breath tickled my cheek, but I didn't feel the chill when our lips pressed together. On the contrary I felt like I was on fire. Heat filled my body in a strange, but pleasant way. Our lips were moving in sync, fitting perfectly into each other. I reached around with a hand and pressed it to the nape of his neck, urging him closer.
The kiss transformed into a passionate and somehow desperate one - one that made me want to rip off his clothes and.. I broke the kiss and looked away, panting heavily. And what? I wasn't ignorant; I knew where this would have gone, had I let it continue. I wasn't quite sure I was ready for that, especially with a vampire for crying out loud.
Stepping away from Sam felt like a mistake, but I couldn't afford losing myself like that. He searched my eyes for clues, but I gave nothing away. This just couldn't happen, not now and not like this.
"Emily," he began, but I cut him off.
"I'm tired. I want to make a bed for myself." I turned and stalked off towards a section I had spotted earlier, which seemed to have bedrolls that I could sleep on. Sam didn't come to find me, which was both a relief and a little hurtful. I had found a couple of moth-eaten rolls and other soft items and had managed to make a decent makeshift bed for myself.
Since there were no electricity in the building, it became dark as soon as the last rays of sunlight vanished. I sat on my bed, thoughts whirling around in my head, half of them not even making sense. It was all upside down right now. I didn't know what to believe or where to go from here. My mind drifted to Nox, wondering if he was still alive or if Shax had ripped his head off already. I closed my eyes, trying to get rid of the picture that was manifesting already.
I didn't hear him come over, but I felt his presence in front of me. Opening my eyes I could barely make out his shape, though his eyes were casting off a dull reddish glare.
"Yes?" My voice was low and monotone.
"Emily what happened? Should I not have kissed you?" Sam sounded confused. I didn't blame him. I was too.
"We can't. I can't. You." The words were tumbling out of my mouth in a messed up chaos. Sam crouched down in front of me and took hold of both my hands. The lack of warmth in his touch seemed to make my head focus better.
"We can't kiss, it's wrong." Even with my statement he was caressing me; letting his thumbs move in soft circles on my skin. The touch made my insides squirm and my head go all fuzzy.
"Emily, everything in this world is wrong." He sounded dead serious - forgive the pun. I stared into his eyes, knowing he had no problem penetrating the darkness to find mine. It was all so quiet around us. It was like we weren't hiding in a vampire-infested city. We were just us, alone. But dreams were made of wishful thinking, and I could not afford to think like that right now with my life at stake.
"Can we forget it? Please?" I regretted the words as soon as I said them; I did not want to forget the incredible desire that had unleashed itself inside of me when Sam's lips were on mine. But I had to say it, to stay focused on what was important. Our survival.
Sam released my hands and stood back up.
"Sure, all forgotten. Get some sleep, I'll watch the place." He stalked off without another word. I must have hurt him. But how could I? He was a vampire. He was not supposed to have feelings. I had been raised on that assumption. They didn't have beating hearts, so they could not feel any emotion. All they could do was kill and drink human blood.
Was I really that narrow minded? It had been obvious since the first time I had met Sam in the hotel room that vampires did feel things. He had been compassionate and not stone cold like the rest of them. I laid down on the make-shift bed and wiggled around to try and find the most comfortable position. It was impossible so in the end I was just lying on my back, staring up into the darkness. I sighed and listened for any sounds to tell me that Sam was nearby, but of course he was silent as a, well, vampire. Fatigue overpowered me and I closed my heavy eyes, drifting off into a deep and dreamless sleep.
****
I was startled awake by a cold touch to my arm, and before I knew it I had conjured up a bolt of energy, somehow keeping it in my left palm, ready to fire as my eyesight came to.
"Woah, Emily it's me Sam. Don't fire." I finally saw him, standing with arms stretched out in front of him, surprise written all over his face. Finally realizing what was happening, I willed the energy bolt to retreat into my skin. It felt odd, yet normal somehow. It was finally becoming a part of me, being a witch, or mage as Sam had also called me. I liked that name better. Witch sounded evil.
We had been at Walmart for several days now, each one passing along like the next one; training my powers and my concentration. None of us had mentioned the kiss since I had rejected him; in fact, Sam had committed to his word and acted like it had never happened. I tried to do the same, but every night I l lay in my bed thinking about his lips and the stomach clenching thrill that occurred when I felt his breath on my skin.
"What's up, Sam?" I said groggily, quickly putting my shoes on, tying them up and getting to my feet.
"I'm worried about Nox."
My senses were immediately on alert and I felt my heartbeat quicken.
"What's wrong? Have you heard anything?"
"No, and that's the problem. It's been too long for him not to contact me." Sam was looking genuinely worried and it scared me. A worried vampire was not to be taken lightly.
"How do we know? How do we know that Nox is still alive? We should just leave town immediately? We should have left days ago!" I couldn't believe I was going to risk my life for a vampire that may or may not have still been alive.
Sam's eyes blazed, enough to make me coil back a little.
"I am not leaving with out him. He's still alive, I can feel it."
"Because he made you."
Sam nodded and I thought about how it would be to know when the person you most cared about was no longer with you. If I had had that bond with my father I guess I would have still known that he was alive.
"Does the bond work, no matter how far away you are?"
Sam sat down on a pile of garbage.
"The older the bond, the stronger the connection, but it can only stretch as far. If I left town I wouldn't feel it anymore."
I guess that was it. We couldn't flee Los Angeles. We had to stay and get Nox out, but that meant taking on the Mad King and his band of loyal followers, and I was in no particular mood for that event to unfold.
"What are you thinking?" I asked hesitantly, slightly dreading the answer I knew was coming.
"I think we've waited long enough. We have to go back for him. We have to end this." His words were final. I knew that, by listening to the tone in his voice and seeing the look on his face. There was no going back. We were going back in and confronting Shax.
"Every night you sleep I go and stake out the hotel, watch what they're doing and such. Any information would help." This surprised me.
"You've left me here alone?"
"Nothing has happened to you. Which makes me think that Shax is busy with something else. And if he has Nox then I'll bet everything that he's planning on using him for it." My stomach felt like it was tied in knots and I thought back to the machine that the professor had invented. If Shax was planning on making his move, I would bet everything that he was getting ready to use that machine. With me hooked up to it.
"He'll be coming for me." Sam looked up at me, his crimson eyes giving nothing away. This was one if the times I wished it could have been different between us. I wanted so badly for him to hold me, stroke my hair and kiss me senseless. But no. We had a vampire to rescue and a vampire to kill.
"How would we manage? The two of us against Shax and his gang, not exactly even teams."
Sam rose up and for a second I thought he would reach out and take my hand, but he took a few steps away, a smirk on his lips.
"We're not the only two people in this Emily. For years vampires have tried to escape from Shax, realizing that they didn't want to be a part of his insane quest for power. Some managed to flee and they've been in hiding ever since." This made no sense. Vampires in hiding? They were the ruling species on this planet. Hiding out like rogue humans? I hadn't thought I could be baffled anymore, but this just proved me wrong.
"Let me guess. You have a way of contacting them." The smile on Sam's face grew and I knew my assumption was spot on. It was a relief I had to admit. Knowing we weren't entirely alone to battle it out against the tall blond King.
"Nox has been plotting for a long time, scoping out where some of the closer refugees are. Just so happens, some are still within city limits."
"Why? Why haven't they left the city. Why stay?"
"They know the source of food is greatest here in L.A." I shuddered. I was still trying to come to grips that the only person with me craved human blood like I craved canned food. I forced the image out of my head and took a deep and calming breath.
"You think I'm ready?" I glanced down at my hands, imagining hitting Shax squarely in that stone cold face of his with one of my energy bolts.
"Hey," Sam lifted my chin with one of his fingers, smiling softly at me.
"I know you're ready." I wanted him to kiss me so badly. I should have kissed him right there, but he was taking my rejection so seriously I was amazed that he was actually touching me right now. We just stood there, staring at each other. His finger went from supporting my chin to cupping my cheek. The touch was so light and so soft I thought I was almost imagining it.
Oh fuck it, I thought and stepped forward, grabbing his neck and forced it down, making our lips crash together.