After I slipped into unconsciousness, time disappeared and there was nothing but immeasurable blackness. Was this death? Or was I still dying?
I didn't know, but at some point the blackness lifted and I became aware of my physical body. I moved my hand wondering if I was still laying on the pile of dead deer.
To my relief, instead of fur, I felt the cool glide of silk beneath my fingertips.
There was sound, like feet shuffling to the right of me, then a soft feminine sigh.
"She's waking up."
"Oh, my stars! Get the camera ready!"
I open my eyes and get blinded by a flash of bright white light that hurts my eyes
"Oh, Magda! You forgot to turn the flash off!"
That voice, it was the voice of the woman with the red hair. I recognised that warm southern drawl. I cracked an eye open and saw the red-head standing beside me with another woman.
"Francesca, I do not know how your phone works. I can't get the touchscreen to work properly," the other woman explained in a thick Eastern European accent.
She fumbled about with a thin rectangular object, tapping on its surface. The redhead watched her for a few moments and then took it off her.
"Baby, you know I love you... but, you need to learn how to use this."
"I do know how to use it. See, I'm pressing the right buttons but my fingers don't seem to be able to work the screen. They don't register, see?"
Magda jabs at screen and shows it to the red-head.
The redhead takes the metal object and lightly taps on it screen before pointing it at me. She taps it again and a noise like a camera shutter emits from it.
"Aw, look at her. She's got your eyes!" the redhead smiles.
"Yes-yes, she is very cute," Magda replies gruffly.
"I'll use this picture for the scrapbook. It'll go right next to the page with that little bit of deer skin, I snagged from the pit! And that leaf I took from the street where we bit her."
"Frannie, please. Calm down."
"Oh, I am going to cherish this memory for the next ten centuries."
"Frannie, she's looking at us like we're a pair of serial killers."
Frannie paused and glanced down at me. "Oh, sweetheart. I'm sorry. Are you okay? Did I scare you with my chattering? I'm just so thrilled to finally see you."
"Where am I?" I ask.
She fidgets with my blanket and smiles, "You're safe and sound in the beautiful city of Prague."
I stare at her blankly. "Where is Prague?"
"Oh my days, aren't you precious! Prague is city in the Czech Republic. That's somewhere below Poland and Germany. I figured you wouldn't know that, having a public education and all, but when get home, you'll have the finest tutors."
"Wait, what? Are you telling me that I'm in Europe?"I ask her.
"Oh yes, we had you flown over here a few months ago. We wanted the perfect babymoon."
"A few months! No, this can't be real. I can't be in Europe."
Magda walked over to the window and opened the curtains. "Here, take a look for yourself."
I pushed myself off the bed and wobbled over to the window. The view was definitely not American. Imposing gothic spires dominated the cityscape, reaching high up and piercing the evening sky. Below, a wide river cut through streets and buildings, reflecting the above skyline.
"Did you kidnap me?" I asked nervously.
"I'm sorry, flower. This must be awful frightful for you," Frannie said.
"Did you bury me alive on top of those dead animals?"
"Sweetie, I realise how this must look, but you had been bitten. We needed to get you to ground."
"I was bitten by a snake, I needed a hospital, not a hole in the ground!"
"You weren't bitten by a snake, you were... you were bitten by us - by vampires."
"Vampires? Garlic fearing, cross hating, sunlight dodging vampires?"
She nodded her head.
"This is bullshit," I snapped. "I want a phone. I'm going to call my parents and get out of here."
Magda, grabbed hold of my wrist and said, "I understand that this is a difficult truth to hear. However, the fact is that we are vampire... and so are you."
"Oh, so now I'm a vampire too!"
"Yes. You are no longer human. Francesca and I, eh, well, we are your parents now."
I shook my head, "Nah-uh. You are both crazy."
Magda leaned down into my face and opened her mouth. Behind her, Francesca shook her head and hissed, "Magda, stop it. You are going to scare her."
"The girl wants proof," Magda replied.
She came closer to me, her jaws wide opened and pointed to her incisor. She tapped it with her long french manicured nail and in a blink of an eye, a wicked sharp fang slid over the tooth.
"That's can't be real," I replied.
Magda quickly responded by lifting her lip and revealing the exact place where the fang was protruding out the gumline.
Francesca pulled Magda away from me.
"Stop it! You are scaring her," she snapped.
Magda unapologetically shrugged her shoulders. "She wanted to know."
"Lorna," Francesa said, gently squeeing my shoulders. "It's okay, we are your family now. We will look after you and teach you everything about being a vampire."
"Are you going to drink my blood?" I asked.
"No, sweetie. We do drink blood, but we won't drink your blood. You're our baby."
"Baby?"
"Yes, baby lamb. We choose you to be our daughter. When two vampires decide to have a baby, they find a compatible human and bite them. The human will need two bites from two different vampires. Once bitten, a conversion takes place and the human becomes a fledgeling. The fledgeling is then placed in a nest where it matures into a vampire."
My stomach lurches and ask, "By nest, you mean a grave full of dead deer?"
"That's right. The deer is placed there for you to snack on until you have matured."
"So how long was I in the ground for?" I asked.
"We turned you just before the millennium, so I guess maybe fifteen to sixteen years."
"Fifteen years! That's not possible. I was only asleep for a couple of minutes!"
"No, honey. You've been asleep for a while."
I turned away from them and staggered back to the window. I didn't want to believe them, but when I looked outside, the world was different. The cars were different, the fashion was different, even the lights looked different.
I sank down on the floor and thought about my parents - where were they? What did they think happened to me?
Francesca knelt beside me.
"I'm sorry. This must be such a shock."
"I don't understand," I replied, "How could you do this to me?"
"Honey, this gift. You won't die like parents and siblings. You'll never grow or get sick. You're immortal."
"I don't want to be immortal. I want my old life back."
"That's not possible, sweetie. Your parents buried you in an empty casket ten years ago. They have moved on with their lives, and in time, you will too," she said softly.
I shook my head in denial. My parents would never forget me. They loved me and they would be looking for me right now.
I had to get out of this place. I needed to get away from these crazy people.
Standing up, I ran to the door, crossing the room in a literal fraction of a second. My body felt different. Back at school, running had always been my worst sport at school. I'd always struggled to keep up with the other kids and ten paces into the run, I was out of breath... but now, I moved with intense speed. I was like the fricking road runner.
Behind me, Francesca sighed, "Oh honey, did you see that? She's got my speed."
"Fran, she's faster than you," Magda replied.
"Oh, she's already making me one proud Momma!"
"Fran, that's not good. We won't be able to catch her!"
Francesca finally caught on and muttered a curse, but it was too late. I'd opened the door and stumbled out into what looked like an empty hotel corridor.
I took a right turn and started running. Back down the corridor Magda yelled, "Michael, catch her!"
Francesca's voice quickly followed. "Grab her, Michael, but don't hurt her. She's just a little spooked!"
I had no idea who Michael was, but I didn't stop to find out.
I kept going, moving with such speed that my surroundings seemed to blur past me. Within seconds, I was at the end of the corridor, looking at a sign pointing me to the elevators. I followed the sign, glancing over my shoulder to check that no one was following me.
The corridor appeared empty, so I continued on.
The hotel seemed eerily quiet. Maybe it was good soundproofing or the possibility that everyone was asleep, but something felt wrong. No hotel was this quiet.
I progressed forward, down another corridor to an open elevator foyer. There were four elevators in total and I hit all their call buttons, frantically pushing the down buttons, willing the elevator to come sooner.
The second elevator pinged and I ran up to its sliding doors.
The doors parted and slipped inside.
I pressed the ground floor button and watched the elevator doors closing. The metals doors had almost shut completely when they suddenly opened again.
I dived for close door button, then stopped.
Someone's foot was stuck in the doorway, stopping the doors from closing. I took a step back and watched the elevator doors slide open. There was a man and he was carrying a gun.
I fell back, trying to put as much distance as I could between myself and the gun.
The owner of the gun watched me, with cold distant eyes.
I'm guessing this was Michael.
I looked past him, planning my next move.
The elevators were now out of the question, but there had to be a fire escape somewhere. I scanned the foyer for emergency exit signs and found one hanging over a doorway on the other side of the room.
"Okay," I said, "I'll go back to Magda and Francesca, now."
Michael said nothing.
"Great," I smiled, "I'll just be leaving then."
Again, nothing.
I skirted around the edge of the elevator and walked past him. The moment he was two steps behind me, I dashed to the fire exit.
Bursting through the doors, I entered a stairwell.
I didn't stop to see how far Michael was behind me. Instead, I started running down the stairs.
I soon heard Michael following me. He was fast, but not fast enough. I descended to the ground floor in a matter of seconds and threw myself through a set of alarmed fire out into a freezing ally way.
The cold night air nipped at my skin. I was only in a set of pyjamas, with no shoes. I took a few steps forward, wondering where the hell to go from here. As I tried to make a decision about what to do next, a thin green laser light was pointed at me.
I looked down at my chest and saw a green dot of light hovering over my heart. I went to touch it and a gunshot echoed through the alleyway.
It took a moment to register the pain, and it took a few more moments to recognise that I had been shot.
I stumbled back, trying to plug the blood flow from my chest with my fingers. Micheal appeared in front of me, staring down at the bullet hole.
"Fuck," he muttered, clamping his hand over the wound.
Looking up at him, I asked, "Am I going to die?"
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This chapter has been edited. Please remember to vote, comment and follow :D