feet when my senses were flooded with an increasingly familiar and all-too-enticing aroma.
The undeniable, sweet-as-hell scent of blood.
There was a vampire very close by. And it had just killed a human.
5
. KILLING TIME
I had no clue how I knew a vampire was near, I just did. Kind of like how Chance just knew something was wrong with me when he saw my face.
“What is it?” he asked, his body tensing and that tasty vein running his neck flexing along with his muscles. I tried but really couldn’t speak. The smell of blood was so intoxicating my mind was floating. I couldn’t focus on anything except my bloodlust. I wanted some so badly, but at the same time the thought of it repulsed me. I hated myself at the moment.
“Vampire.” I managed to get a single word out between bouts of blissful nausea. Thankfully Chance understood its meaning. He spun very slowly in a tight circle, surveying the school hallway that had mysteriously become a ghost land void of other students.
“Not in here,” I managed to say after semi-controlling my thirst. “But close.” I forced my eyes to focus on Chance’s face. His controlled determination was refreshing. Knowing he was there for me—that I didn’t have to go through this alone— made me feel better.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed my hand (again, that intense heat) and practically dragged me toward the large, metal doors at the end of the hall.
“Wait,” I interjected, reluctantly pulling my hand from his. He stopped with a firm grip on the door handle and turned to look at me, anxious nerves lighting his face.
“For what? We have to stop it.”
“What about class?” It was a dumb response, I know. But it was the only thing I could think of saying to keep Chance from going outside. The truth was, I wasn’t quite ready to kill someone. I knew I had to, but actually going through with it was something I wasn’t prepared to do.
“Ava,” Chance said, stepping away from the door and moving in close to me. “You have to do this. This is how you get your life back. All of it.” Somehow he seemed to know exactly what was wrong with me. He took my hand again and gave it a firm but gentle squeeze. His eyes never left mine. “I’ll be right there with you. I promise.” That was the one thing that bothered me. I still didn’t understand why he was so willing to help me basically commit murder. Why did he care?
“Okay,” I said, though it barely came out a whisper. Every cell in my body was on fire, every nerve alive and very aware of what was about to happen. My breath was ragged and coming in short spurts and I didn’t exactly know why. I’m sure it mostly had to do with the fact I was about to kill a vampire (or at least try) but part of it had to be the fact that Chance was more than willing to go into a fight right beside me. I did my best to ignore that last part.
“Let’s go.” Chance kept my hand locked tightly in his, and as we headed out the doors and sprinted across campus, my mind drifted away from the lurking vampire and went to the tiny current of warm electricity I was feeling from him. Did all guys feel that way? I had no clue since I couldn’t remember ever touching one before Chance, but somehow I doubted it. Chance was obviously different than most guys— all guys I was willing to bet. Maybe his extremely warm body temp was nerves or something. Maybe he wasn’t always like that. Either way, it was weird. And unsettling. And kind of nice. I forced that last thought out of my head and focused on the impending death I was about to cause. As we crossed the frozen, brittle grass toward the white-capped trees, I was worried we would be spotted by someone and reported to the school principal. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed only a few windows looking out over us, so I felt confident we hadn’t been seen. I finally exhaled as we came to a stop just inside the forest.
“Where to?” Chance asked, clearly on edge but ready to strike.
The undeniable, sweet-as-hell scent of blood.
There was a vampire very close by. And it had just killed a human.
5
. KILLING TIME
I had no clue how I knew a vampire was near, I just did. Kind of like how Chance just knew something was wrong with me when he saw my face.
“What is it?” he asked, his body tensing and that tasty vein running his neck flexing along with his muscles. I tried but really couldn’t speak. The smell of blood was so intoxicating my mind was floating. I couldn’t focus on anything except my bloodlust. I wanted some so badly, but at the same time the thought of it repulsed me. I hated myself at the moment.
“Vampire.” I managed to get a single word out between bouts of blissful nausea. Thankfully Chance understood its meaning. He spun very slowly in a tight circle, surveying the school hallway that had mysteriously become a ghost land void of other students.
“Not in here,” I managed to say after semi-controlling my thirst. “But close.” I forced my eyes to focus on Chance’s face. His controlled determination was refreshing. Knowing he was there for me—that I didn’t have to go through this alone— made me feel better.
“Let’s go.” He grabbed my hand (again, that intense heat) and practically dragged me toward the large, metal doors at the end of the hall.
“Wait,” I interjected, reluctantly pulling my hand from his. He stopped with a firm grip on the door handle and turned to look at me, anxious nerves lighting his face.
“For what? We have to stop it.”
“What about class?” It was a dumb response, I know. But it was the only thing I could think of saying to keep Chance from going outside. The truth was, I wasn’t quite ready to kill someone. I knew I had to, but actually going through with it was something I wasn’t prepared to do.
“Ava,” Chance said, stepping away from the door and moving in close to me. “You have to do this. This is how you get your life back. All of it.” Somehow he seemed to know exactly what was wrong with me. He took my hand again and gave it a firm but gentle squeeze. His eyes never left mine. “I’ll be right there with you. I promise.” That was the one thing that bothered me. I still didn’t understand why he was so willing to help me basically commit murder. Why did he care?
“Okay,” I said, though it barely came out a whisper. Every cell in my body was on fire, every nerve alive and very aware of what was about to happen. My breath was ragged and coming in short spurts and I didn’t exactly know why. I’m sure it mostly had to do with the fact I was about to kill a vampire (or at least try) but part of it had to be the fact that Chance was more than willing to go into a fight right beside me. I did my best to ignore that last part.
“Let’s go.” Chance kept my hand locked tightly in his, and as we headed out the doors and sprinted across campus, my mind drifted away from the lurking vampire and went to the tiny current of warm electricity I was feeling from him. Did all guys feel that way? I had no clue since I couldn’t remember ever touching one before Chance, but somehow I doubted it. Chance was obviously different than most guys— all guys I was willing to bet. Maybe his extremely warm body temp was nerves or something. Maybe he wasn’t always like that. Either way, it was weird. And unsettling. And kind of nice. I forced that last thought out of my head and focused on the impending death I was about to cause. As we crossed the frozen, brittle grass toward the white-capped trees, I was worried we would be spotted by someone and reported to the school principal. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed only a few windows looking out over us, so I felt confident we hadn’t been seen. I finally exhaled as we came to a stop just inside the forest.
“Where to?” Chance asked, clearly on edge but ready to strike.
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