Page 14 of Losing The Vampire King

“I miss you, Eddie…” I murmur softly.

I know he can’t hear me. It would be impossible to think so. But saying these words out loud makes me feel closer to him, wherever he is right now. I knew that life with the vampire king would not be easy. I knew that there would be difficult times, but I believed that we would go through them together, that he would always be by my side to protect me. I never suspected that he would be the very person who would growl at me and threaten to attack me.

I try to remind myself, this wasn’t him. But another part of me is disappointed that his love for me isn’t stronger than the poison.

You’re being ridiculous, I hear these words echo inside my mind. I know they are right. I know I am asking too much. I am questioning everything, but that is all because I miss him too damn much.

I close my eyes, allowing a stray tear to roll down my face. It has managed to gather my fears, my hopes and my dreams. I don’t know what will happen, but I know I can’t allow my fear to take hold of me. I can’t. I have to fight… for us all.

Chapter Eight

Edmund

Please, stay inside.

Her words echo in my mind, reminding me of my promise. A part of me wants to obey. A part of me has given my word, and what is my worth, if not the worth of my given word?

Yet, I cannot help but fight this. It is night time. I know she is sleeping in the other cabin. I also know she wants to sleep in mine. But she hasn’t suggested it yet. The thought of her next to me, in bed, seems… wrong. There is no other word for it. It’s just wrong. It shouldn’t be.

In fact, everything about this seems wrong. I feel like I’m not in danger with her, but a small part of me keeps telling me to keep my guard up, not to relax, not to trust everything I hear and see.

Please, stay inside.

I hear her voice again. It managed to worm its way into my mind somehow. Did I allow it? Maybe. Maybe it managed to go past my defenses and nestle in my mind, despite me wanting to keep my own thoughts to myself. I guess that doesn’t matter at this point. What matters is that I’m at the door, with my hand on the doorknob, ready to turn it.

If she catches me, she won’t like it. It will prove to her that I’m not remembering anything, that I don’t trust her. It’s not that I don’t trust her… well, actually, it is a little bit of that as well. Being in this situation, where I can’t trust my own memories, which are at this point almost nonexistent, where I can’t trust my present either, all I have to rely on is my instinct. Hopefully, that is the only thing that has remained truly mine through this ordeal.

I push the door open, and I enter into the night. The woods are quiet, beckoning me with their silence and darkness. The animal in me, whatever it is, wants to go out and explore. It wants to find out who I am, and where I belong. We’ve both had enough of this limbo, where we have no idea who to trust.

I glance at the cabin opposite my own. The lights are off. There is no movement by the window. I inhale deeply, with my eyes closed. There is a faint scent of something strangely familiar, yet I can’t figure out what it is. I am desperately drawn to it. I can’t fight it any longer.

I start running towards it, looking left and right, desperate not to lose it. As soon as the scent becomes fainter, I stop, looking about, trying to find out in which direction I should turn to now. I am impatient, more so than ever. I fight my way through bushes and branches, which dig into my flesh, but I pay no attention. Nothing will stop me.

I don’t know how long I keep running. It feels like forever. I’m not even sure if I will be able to find my way back to the cabin, but I don’t care about that right now. I’m not sure I even want to go back. There is nothing to go back to. I have no memories; I have no past.

But this scent is awakening something inside of me. I feel like there is a memory inside of me that can recognize this scent, if only I manage to find out where it’s coming from. That is why I can’t stop. So, I keep running until I can’t feel my legs any longer and my breath feels like shards of glass inside my chest. I keep running despite all this, filled with hope that I am running towards something that might reveal the past to me.

Finally, I stop in front a small clearing, hiding behind some bushes. I look at my arms and legs. They are all bruised and bloodied, covered with mud and leaves. That’s a good thing. They won’t be able to catch my scent the way I’ve caught theirs.

They…

I keep looking at them. They are a small group of four men, huddled together in the clearing. They are talking, but I can only catch glimpses of what they’re saying.

“…not here… lost… find him… vampire king… hopeless…”

The wind scatters their words about, but I’ve managed to hear enough. They’re looking for someone, someone important. The vampire king. Are they vampire as well?

If they are, I should feel the need to attack them, no? I’ve lost my memory, but I still know that vampires and skin walkers are mortal enemies. There are only four of them. I would be able to take them on easily. I immediately create a scenario in my mind. First, I would take out the one closest to me, by jumping behind him and snapping his neck, while the others won’t have enough time to react. That means one down, three to go. Next, the one to the right will attack me second. I see his entire body leaning slightly to the left, meaning that is his strong side. I need to attack his weak side. Kick him in the knee, make him drop down to the ground, twist his elbow up and snap it. One of the other two will attack me for sure while I’m doing this, so I have to be vigilant.

Then, one of them turns to me, seemingly staring right at me. My breathing intensifies. I know he can’t see me. I’m also pretty sure he can’t catch my scent either, but maybe I’m mistaken. I stare back at him, without him even being aware of it.

“What is it?” Another one asks, joining him in their effort.

“I thought I heard something,” the first one says.

They’re closer now, so I can hear them better. The wind has calmed down as well, as if it also wants to see what will happen here.

“Should we check it out?” the third one asks.

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