Page 1 of This Blood That Binds Us
That was mynew life.Prowling through stupid trees in some stupid forest. I could have said stalking, but I hated that word. The night was stagnant as I waded through swarms of gnats and prickly cedar branches. It was like a scary movie—only I wasn’t the idiot who decided it would be a good idea to investigate the noise coming from the basement. I was the bad guy. Next, I’d be a cameo in someone’s shower.
My legs propelled me farther into the thicket. Twigs snapped with each step, sending a satisfying crunch into my ears. I wished nothing bad had ever happened. I wanted to be a typical college guy, playing shitty video games and getting too drunk on a Friday night, with my only real worries being money or failing all my classes. I wanted to be myself again, but as I walked and reflected, it was apparent my freedom would never come. I couldn’t go back.
Up ahead, flickering fire illuminated the trees. Its shadows bounced and danced along the tree trunks. The fire whispered through incoherent crackling and popping. A pine scent hit me first, followed by a strong aroma of burning wood. It was a surprise when I could pinpoint the smell of the dirt and decay orbiting my feet. I wasn’t used to my stronger senses then.
My body moved forward despite my screaming heart. I was almost close enough to see the source. Warmth pooled in my palms, and I wiped my hands on my pants, anticipating sweat I no longer produced. Butterflies circled in my stomach as I bent over and crouched on my knees. A girl sat on a rock overlooking the cliff in the distance. The blinding, flickering fire highlighted her auburn hair, igniting the long strands that framed her porcelain face.
My stomach sank. It just had to be a girl. I cursed under my breath, wondering why anyone would even consider camping alone. I was the perfect example of what could go wrong. Though, I couldn’t blame her for not anticipating a vampire stalking her in the woods. My shaky hands brushed against the rough bark on the tree beside me, my gaze unbroken as I inched closer.
Kill her.
The nagging voice was back. It popped into my head after the change, as if it had always been there. A part of me. I wasn’t alone in my head anymore, but it only came out to antagonize me when I hadn’t fed. Whatever it was.
The twigs crunched underneath my boots, breaking my focus. I wrapped myself behind the tree to hide from the warmth of the light. My fingernails dug into my palms, and I tried to get my hands to stop shaking. I peeked from behind the tree, and another branch cracked under my feet. I wasreallygreat at being stealthy.
She turned to face the tree line. The fire’s reflection glistened in her soulful blue eyes, while her breath caught in her throat. Her heartbeat. It was fast, growing louder by the second.
Get closer.We need her.
Fear struck deep in my chest. I took a step back, forfeiting a breath. My jaw tensed, and I moved my hands to my face, trying to regain my focus. Pushing past everything physical, I walked into the open.
With eyes narrowed, she examined the tree line. “Hey. Private campsite, and I don’t feel like sharing, so...”
Her voice was liquid nitrogen injecting into my veins. I was frozen. If I would have contemplated it for more than one second, I’d run back through the trees.
You want to kill her.You need to kill her.
It took every bit of strength I had to shut out the voice and drag my heavy body forward. Not only was the voice annoying, but it lied. I kept my eyes glued to her shoes. Fuzzy moccasins. She’d have a hard time running in those. More pain inflamed my chest. My beating heart hammered against my ribs. Blood. I had to stop thinking and think only about blood.
“Stay away from me.”
The strong conviction in her voice made me trip over my feet.
I had to stop thinking.
That’s right.Stop thinking.Let me take over.
I wanted to listen, but letting it take over wouldn’t help me. It hadn’t before.
Following her feet as she backed farther toward the cliff’s edge, I took another step. Her heartbeat was loud in my ears. I studied the way it fluttered in a consistent rhythm. Darkness of the night overtook the warmth in her eyes, her terror tearing my chest open.
Something deep inside me lit on fire, my body ablaze from head to toe. A strange numbness shut off every part of me. Herheartbeat. Her skin. Her blood. I lunged, grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her closer. I needed her closer.
Before I went for her neck, she twisted my arm down and pinned me into the dirt. I wasn’t ready for her to fight back. I hadn’t even thought of the possibility. One part of me wanted to tackle her, the other part wanted her to run. The flash of her yellow coat disappeared into the dense brush behind me.
Instinctively, I followed her reverberating footsteps. It took no effort to catch up with her. Everything was easy in my new body. I wanted her to run faster, to disappear into the trees where I could never find her. She should have pushed me off the cliff when she had the chance.
That was the last thing I remember thinking for a while.
The other part of me took over—the dark, scary, ominous part I liked to act like wasn’t there. The Thing I was sharing a body with begged me to feed it.
In seconds, our chase was over. Our bodies collided onto a rugged patch of dry leaves and dirt. I pinned her arms down beside her as she thrashed for leverage. Her fingernails dug into the soil. I went for her neck. My body moved as if it was an instinct. An instinct born of something foreign. It took over every thought. Every nerve. Blood was all that was left.
The taste rocked me momentarily. It was everywhere at once. Everything I could ever want but better. The numbness took over. Her cries were silent in that weird in-between place. Dull was the pain and any physical senses. It felt good in a strange way, like I could get lost there if I stayed too long. The voice won, consuming me with its carnal desire for destruction and death.
Her heartbeat reverberated in my veins. Electricity shocked my body in the form of fear. The numbness subsided, and the feeling returned to my hands. Like being chiseled from stone, one by one, I could feel my limbs again. As I thawed fromthat dark place, fear and horror filled my stomach. With every second, I regained my sense of reality.
Her heartbeat caught my attention again. The rapid beating echoed in my ear drums. It was so loud it hurt. Cupping my ears, I stumbled to my feet, then wiped the remnants of blood from my lips. It smelled sweet but tasted bitter.
