Post by spottedpaw on Mar 15, 2009 9:51:13 GMT -6
Okay, I posted this in the General Board sometime ago, but it really wasn't seen that much, so I guess I should put it where it belongs: here. I'm sorry, but I don't feel like having to deal with the pics, but if I ever get bored sometime, I may stick 'em in there. Enjoy! =]
PS: Ideas are appreciated! I am working on Chapt. 11, I have my ideas for Chapt. 12 set out, but from there, I am lost! Help! Please!!! Thanks! ^_^
____________________________________________________
I clicked “Log In”. The word “LOADING” appeared on my screen. All of a sudden my character appeared in the game. There were a lot more characters, seeming to wait with blank stares outside a large light blue building. One of them flew at me and tackled me, biting my arms that were fighting back. “LIFE 3, GONE,” it said. I frowned. I started pressing different buttons to move, run, and…..fight?! I had a gun and a knife in my pouch. A couple of times I used the gun at random things and my knife at other random things. All of a sudden, I was attacked by another ambush. They all were biting me quickly. “LIFE 2, GONE,” “LIFE 1, GONE,” It said again. I gasped. How could I lose this quickly?! Will I have to join again?! In a quick blink, instead of being in my room, I was transferred……..to the game?!!!
I gasped, and someone came up to me. “Oh, hello,” the person said. “You must be new. Let me help you out. I’m Lang.” She had long hair the color of celadon, and it was halfway in a ponytail. Her eyes were bright blue, with long black eyelashes. She had a single gold earring in one ear; it was a sun with peridot set in the middle. I smiled, “I’m Kaira. And yes I’m new. How did I get here?” Lang stared up into a black hole in the sky. “Oh, when you first start the game, you have three lives. When you lose all of them, you are transported from the real world to here.” I was appalled. “But…But what about my family….” I stuttered. “Oh to them, you ran away,” she said. “Ran away?! But I didn’t!” She apologized, her eyes small, “I’m so sorry. It’s so astonishing…. But, we need all the help we can get here. Our population is decreasing and there might not be enough left to fight them…”
“Them? Who are they?” I asked. “Well… They are who are minimizing our population…. You see, they are vampires. And all they want is to bite and kill every human here, and then rule the game… Even though they’re zombies, they have a keen mind, sight, and smell. If they bite you, you know you’ve become one if your eyes turn red… That takes over your mind… And then you’re nothing but their minion, and all you want is to kill everyone…” I nodded at her words, taking in every terrifying word. “Let’s get out of here before they find us,” she said quickly leading us through the forest.
We came up to the same large light blue building, and all those characters that had been waiting there with pale blank stares were all over the ground, bloodied and dead. Their gleaming red eyes were closed. “Good job, team.” Lang whispered. I didn’t say anything, but only followed her into the building. While she locked the metal barbed gate, I looked around. There were lots of rooms; I guessed bedrooms, and one single large room in the center where I was standing. Lots of people sat there and stared at me, and then started cheering. I was confused, and then Lang came in and put her arm on my shoulder. “Why are they cheering?” I whispered to her. “You’ll see,” she replied. Then she stepped forward and said, “Jacob, report.” A man with blue eyes and olive short hair stepped forward, -he must have been Jacob- and said, “Greetings, Lang. My squad killed the ones outside the gates, and Lalia’s squad killed some in the forest. But…” “What is it, Jacob? Speak.” Lang asked. “But… Tarin was attacked… My squad could not save him… We had to kill him…” he said and stepped back with a glum expression on his face, and sat down. Lang looked horrified. There was mumbling between some of the people in the back, and with a stern look, Lang silenced them. She heaved a shaky sigh. “We must hold vigil for him. At moonrise tonight, everyone will gather in the tower and pray for him. He was my husband, and he deserves a proper funeral.” I could tell there was a tear on the edge of her eye, but she quickly wiped it away.
Then Lang turned to me and said: “Everyone, we finally have a new member since five years ago. May we give her a round of applause?” Everyone cheered again. “Her name is Kaira.” Then she tossed me a large gun and a knife. “Um, I already have some…” I said and took them out of my pouch. “Oh those are a piece of crap. Take these. Your training will start tomorrow morning.” She took my gun and knife and replaced them and then threw them to an old man sitting next to a girl with short blond hair, both of them had blue eyes.
She motioned them forward and they walked over to her and me. “Meet Aba”-she pointed to the elderly man-“and April.” Lang said and she pointed to the girl. “They will be your trainers. April finished training last week, Aba was her teacher, -a good one indeed.” April blushed and shook my hand and then Aba shook my hand with a grin.
As they and Lang walked away talking, everyone started to leave the room, entering the bedrooms that belonged to them. Everyone has seemed to have forgotten about me. I started to walk down the hallways, looking into rooms that were dim and gloomy from the sunset. I started walking back up the hall back into the large room. I decided to sit down on a chair. I stared out a nearby window, full of homesickness.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and looked up to see Lang and I sighed with relief. “Did you think you were going to have to sleep out here before moonrise?” she asked. I nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. She laughed and said: “Follow me. We have an extra room.” I got up and followed her. She led me to a door at the end of one of the hallways and said: “I’ll send someone to wake you up a little before moonrise for the funeral. Good night.” “Good night.” I said as she disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, her footsteps fading away.
I slowly opened the door. It was dark inside so I turned a lamp on that was next to the door. In the room there was a small bed at the right with a colorful quilt on it and a small chest at the foot of it, next to it was a bedside table with a lamp, a window right in front of me, a dresser at my left, a little chair in the top right corner, and a circular mirror on the wall. I smiled at the small room. I walked in and quietly shut the wooden door behind me. A chilly breeze blew in from the window. I walked over to it and closed it and locked it. I slowly paced over to the bed and sat down and took off my pouch and my poncho, placing them on the chest. Kicking my shoes off and setting them next to the bed, I laid down.
Finally feeling tired, I turned off the lamp next to me and snuggled under the quilt, all the while feeling empty and alone…
Someone nudged my arm. “Huh?” I asked, half asleep. “Wake up Kaira. It’s time for the vigil.” said a voice. I expected it to be Lang but it was someone else. I blinked my eyes open and saw the handsomest guy I had ever seen. I sat up quickly and pulled my hair back. “Oh hi,” I stretched. “Who are you?” I asked as I got out of bed. “I’m Tocho.” He said smiling. I got up and put on my poncho, shoes, and pouch. “Follow me; we are going to the tower.” He walked out of the room. I nodded and followed, staring at his beautiful long hair that was the color of cocoa.
We walked up stone stairs into a large stone room. “Wow…” I whispered. Everyone was sitting around a fire; it glowed a deep orange. I sat down in a nearby chair next to two men with black hair and blue eyes. I nodded a greeting to them and stared at the fire while I waited for Lang to enter the room and start the ceremony. I felt really sorry for her. I knew she couldn’t run this civilization by herself. I wanted to comfort her, and apologize to her about her loss. But it wasn’t my spot to; it wasn’t anyone’s. She had to pull herself through this one like she would with anyone else who was killed. I looked around, and saw that Tocho was staring at me. I blushed and looked the other way.
All of a sudden, everyone stopped talking as Lang walked into the room. She had a long silver dress on, its sleeves going past her hands and it trailing behind her. I heard someone whisper: “That was her wedding dress with Tarin.” Her eyes were dark blue with depression and her hands were clenched in weak fists, -I knew she was keeping back tears. She stepped into the circle and sat down in front of the fire, closer than anyone else. The silence was broken and she started her mournful speech: “My fellow people, fighters of our dead enemy. We gather here under this moon to sit vigil for my husband and best friend, Tarin. He lost his life fighting for all of us and we should give him thanks. By the power of my leadership, I grant him a peaceful life in Heaven.” She took a necklace off that was around her neck. It was gold with citrine set in the middle. “This was his necklace, one of his most prized possessions. It was given to him by his great grandfather and had been passed down centuries before that. It is our last memory of him and we must cherish it and make it last.” She laid it down in the fire, and gently watched it burn, a tear escaping her eye. “Its ashes will be sprinkled throughout this tower so his soul can be with us forever, even though it’s not.” her speech ended. Everyone sat there, looking into the fire, praying for him and Lang. At last, everyone got up and walked over to stone chairs along the walls, and sat down. I did the same sitting next to a girl with scarlet hair and blue eyes.
Once dawn came everyone got up. Lang walked away without a word, to large doors that she had entered through last night. She disappeared behind them after a blink and I turned around to look for Aba and April. They were talking with two females that had heliotrope hair with bright blue eyes. I walked over to them intent on starting my training. “Ah-ha! You’re here! We have been waiting for you. Come along April and Kaira, we must get to work.” He said. He turned to the two ladies he was talking to. “Farewell, ladies.” They giggled. I followed April and Aba out of the tower, down the stone stairs, and through a door I hadn’t seen yet, into a courtyard. It was inside large stone walls and short green grass growing all over the ground. There were a couple of wooden benches along the sides, and stone path ways leading to different doorways going back into the building. It was chilly; the sun was just now coming up a little higher. Clouds blew slowly across the sky, and I looked at April and Aba to see what they were doing. April had just entered one of the doors in the building; it was a closet. She was rummaging around along the shelves for what it looked like weapons. Aba had gone over to one of the sides of the courtyard and was setting up dummies for us to shoot at. Hopefully training won’t be too hard, I thought. After April had come out of the closet, she gave 3 knives and 3 guns to Aba, who set them around on the ground. I felt a little guilty that I wasn’t helping, so I walked over there to them. When I came up to Aba, he said: “Ok, so your training will start with short distance and long distance shooting.” He handed me a gun. “Go over there,”-he pointed to a corner of the courtyard, -“and when I say now, shoot all three of these dummies.” He motioned to them with his hands as I walked over to the corner, holding the gun with courage. From a high window I saw Tocho looking down at me and I blushed.
All of the sudden I heard “Go!” from Aba. “BAM,” “BAM!” “BAM,” I hit all three dummies in the center target. I grinned and saw Aba and April nod with approval. I looked up hoping to see Tocho smiling but he was gone from the window. I frowned, but walked over to Aba as he motioned me over to him. “Good job, Kaira. Make sure you hold your gun straight and don’t flinch at the noise. If you flinch strong enough you could end up it hitting someone in your squad.” I nodded understandingly. My eyes wondered over to April who was staring at me with admiring eyes. I turned hot inside, How could she admire someone like me?! I helped them put the dummies back in the closet and gave Aba back the gun.
He gave me a knife in turn and I stood there holding it. I slowly slid my finger along the blade, accidently cutting myself. Oops, I thought. Two drops of blood dripped off my finger and I quickly wiped off the bloody knife. I took out a piece of cloth that was in my pouch, and wrapped it around my finger with my back turned to April and Aba.
Then the closet door shut, and I turned quickly around. April and Aba where stabbing large stakes into the ground, stringing string from one to the other. Then they clipped up large pieces of cloth and walked off towards the side. It looked like a long clothes line. April took something out of her skirt pocket and walked over to me. “Here, put this on.” She said. She handed me a dark blue bandana and helped me tie it over my eyes. She helped me over to the first piece of cloth and told me to stab it anyway I wanted to, as long as I stabbed it. I nodded, a little confused, but still did what she said to do.
Spinning quickly to my right and jumping, I stabbed it straight down the middle. She led me to the next one. I made a large “X” in it. In the last one, I stabbed it in the center and ripped it upwards and then twisted left, and stabbed it downwards. I grinned, knowing I had done well. I took off my bandana and looked at Aba and April who were clapping. I beamed and walked over to April and handed her the bandana.
“We’re finished for today, and think for the rest of your training. You did very well, and I think you are ready to handle killing them by yourself, but still in a squad.” He said smiling. My cheeks turned red and I slowly shook his hand.
The sun was high up in the sky now, and I hoped that my first patrol would be today or tomorrow. We walked back into the building, passing by Tocho and a young man with dune colored hair and blue eyes. April and Aba kept on walking, but I stopped to talk to Tocho. “Hi Tocho,” I said smiling. “Hey Kaira, meet my younger brother, Ishmael.” I nodded to Ishmael. “Where are you going?” I asked. “Out to train with Ishmael. We’ve been behind lately.” “Oh okay, I’ll see you later.” I turned around to leave. “See you.” he said and went through the door.
I walked away blushing, into the big room. A lot of people were sitting there talking, and I decided I should mingle with them, so I could get to know them. I walked over to two older girls, one who had topaz colored hair and blue eyes, and one who had coral pink hair and bright blue eyes. I sat down next to them and said: “Hi.”
At the end of the day, I trudged to my bed, I was so exhausted. I took off my shoes, poncho, and pouch and set them near the bed. I laid myself back, resting my aching spine. And this isn’t even work!, I thought with a tired frown. I thought about Tocho and his beautiful smile. I knew he liked me, and I liked him back. I wish I could talk to him, I thought wistfully.
As if answering my thoughts, there was a knock at my door. I stiffly got up and answered it. And what do you know, it was Tocho. I blushed. “Hi, what brings you here?” I asked him. “I wanted to talk to you.” He said. “Come in.” I opened the door wider and stepped off to the side. He closed it and sat down on my bed. He motioned me over. “Kaira… I think you are so beautiful… And so smart and courageous…And I want to be with you forever…” He looked embarrassed. I blushed deep red and said: “Tocho, I love you too. I think you are the handsomest guy I have ever seen and a nice one at it too…” He placed his hand on mine, and I put my hand in his. I laid my head on his shoulder, and we sat like that for a while. “Kaira?” he asked me. “What is it?” I asked and looked into his sapphire colored eyes. “I love you.” “I love you too.” I said. He then got up and picked me up bridal style and set me on the bed so that I was lying down. Then he went to the other side and lay down next to me. I snuggled up to his warm chest, and slowly went to sleep. He laid his head next to mine, and fell asleep too.
When dawn came, we both woke up. I stretched and kissed him gently on the cheek. He smiled and helped me up. I put my shoes, poncho and my pouch on and followed him out of the room. Sunlight gleamed out of the windows and I walked into the large center room. Tocho had walked off to see one of his friends about something, so I stood there dreaming about him. I kissed him, I actually kissed him, I thought.
Then Lang came over to me. She was wearing her usual outfit; a green long sleeve shirt with a tan vest and kaki hiker shorts, with black boots. “Kaira, I think it’s time for you to go on your first patrol.” She said looking at me. I gasped, excitement jumping from my heart and nearly coming up my throat. “Ok Lang. I’m ready. Who will I be going with?” “Well this will be Rance’s squad, and he is taking you, Chameli, Eilert, and Mora.” she said. Out of one of the doors, came one of the two men who had black hair and blue eyes. “That’s Rance.’- she whispered,-“and that’s Chameli,”-she pointed to the girl I had met who had coral pink hair,-“and that’s Eilert”-she pointed to an older boy who had copper hair,-“and that’s Mora.”-she pointed lastly to a girl with dark purple hair. They all came downstairs to meet Lang and I. “Greetings, Rance, Chameli, Eilert, Mora.” I said and smiled. Lang nodded to them and they nodded back to us. “Well, you should be on your way.” She backed away from the door. “The sooner your back, the better,” Lang said.
“That’s right. Come on team, let’s go.” Rance said and led everyone to the gate. I waved to Lang as she walked away, and followed them through the gate. We entered the open forest, and Rance locked the gate and turned to us. “Alright, no splitting up. If you see any, kill them.” We nodded. He loaded his gun, and so did everyone else. I took my gun out and cocked it, and I kept it in my hand. I left my pouch open, leaving the knife right at the top so I could get to it if I needed it. There was a rustle in the bushes, and one came out. It moaned and launched itself at Chameli. “BAM!” It fell to the ground; she had shot it. I smiled and we walked on. A group of them crawled out from some bushes. I shot one in the head; blood splattering everywhere. While Chameli and Mora were killing the rest of them from the bushes, Rance had gone over to a tree and was stabbing one that had fallen out of it. Eilert was with me, and we attacked some from a clearing.
After all of them were dead, we walked on, into a clearing with abandoned vehicles. “Ok watch out. This kind of place is full of those ruffians.” Said Rance. Suddenly one leaped at out from behind a truck and attacked Rance. “BAM!” Rance had got it right in the chest, and actually shot a hole through it. More stalked out slowly, and we shot them. One got up after I shot it; I had only got his arm, and ran at me. I screamed and took out my knife and stabbed him, making an “X”. He fell to the ground and blood got all over my legs. I cringed but started shooting some other ones, and after a couple of minutes, all of them were dead. “Rance! Are you okay?!” Eilert asked running over to him. Rance had a deep gash across his arm from the one that attacked him. “Yeah.” He grunted. “We better get back now before it gets infected.” Eilert said, and he helped Rance. “I’ll help Rance, while Kaira, you, and Mora defend us if any get in our way.” He said to Chameli. She nodded and cocked her gun once more; Mora and I did the same. We walked back in silence. Rance was limping and Eilert nearly had to drag him since he was so big, while Eilert was just average size.
When we were nearly back to the building, some came out from a grove of trees. “Mora you go with Eilert and Rance. I’ll stay here with Chameli!” I yelled. Rance, Eilert and Mora ran off towards the building. Chameli and I, back to back, grinned and started shooting with all our might. “BAM!” “BAM!” “BAM!” “BAM!” They all dropped dead. Chameli and I high-fived and we ran back to the building. Mora stood on the inside of the gate, and she unlocked it quickly as Chameli and I ran up to it. “Where is Eilert and Rance?!” I asked after we had stepped in and she had locked it. “Oh they went to the hospital room.” She said and walked off. I nodded and so did Chameli and she strolled away also.
I was left to tell Jacob that we had came back…and that Rance was injured. I frowned and started up the stairs to his room. His room was the third door on the left. I walked over to it and knocked. “Come in.” he said. I slowly opened the door. “I’m here to report back.” He got up from his desk and said: “Good, good. Were there any injuries?” I turned deep red. “Uh, yes sir. Rance was attacked by one and he has a deep gash on his arm. He’s in the hospital room with Eilert now.” I said. Jacob frowned. “I’m going to visit him and see how he’s doing.” He said and I stepped out of the doorway so he could get through. He closed his door, and left the hallway and went down the stairs into a room.
I walked out of the hallway and back into the center room. What should I do right now?, I thought and sat down to wipe the blood off my legs. After I was finished I laid back to relax. Footsteps entered the room and I turned to see Tocho. “Hi Kaira.” He said and sat next to me. I sat up. “Hey, what have you been up to lately?” I asked. He put his arm around my shoulder. “Oh, the usual. I talked to one of my friends, Sam, about us going on a patrol tomorrow with Christian, Laila, and Rance.” My heart sank. “Oh um, I just got back from a patrol with Rance, and um…”I started. “What happened?” asked Tocho; he looked at me. “Well, Rance was attacked and he has a deep gash on his arm…” I said and frowned. Tocho frowned also. “Crap. I’ve got to tell Sam.” He said. “Eilert and Jacob are visiting him now.” I said as he got up. “Alright. I’ll tell Sam and ask him to come with me to visit Rance. I still want to see if he can come tomorrow.” He said, half to himself. Tocho leaned down to kiss me on the lips. “See you later, Kaira.” “Bye.” I said and smiled as he walked away.
Man, Rance must be very popular here. He’s already got four people visiting him, and who knows more! But what are you thinking Kaira?! That man is injured, plus he’s one of the strongest guys here!, I thought. It was about 3 pm. I was hungry. I got up and walked over to a door with a sign that said: “MESS HALL” right over it. I entered through the door way into a large room with many tables and benches everywhere. There was a kitchen off to the left. Some people were standing in line to get food while others sat in little groups at tables, talking and eating. I went over to line and got a tray. Time for some food, I thought as I set pieces of food on my tray.
The sun was high when I woke up the next day. I sighed and was angry with myself that I had slept late. I groggily stood up and stretched, slipping on my shoes. I put on my pouch and poncho and walked out of my room and down the hall.
When I entered the main room, Tocho stood there with a few other people. I ran over to him and hugged him, ignoring the perplexed and surprised stares from the others. He looked into my eyes and said: “I’m going out on a patrol with Elyse. Sam, Haben, and Uzi are coming with us.” I nodded hello to them all. Elyse had apple green hair with dark blue eyes; Sam had light grey hair fringed with white and light blue eyes; Haben was a short boy with golden hair and blue eyes, and Uzi was feminine and had curly aqua hair, her eyes camouflaging into it. They were ready to go. I kissed Tocho and stepped back, watching him go through the gate. When he was outside he turned around and waved. I waved back with a grin. He disappeared with the others into the shade of the trees and I walked away from the gate.
I wanted to find Lang, and see how she was doing. I walked up the stairs and looked for her room. It was at the end of the last hall on the left. I walked down the hall and came up to her door. I knocked and waited. Lang answered the door after a couple of heart beats. Her eyes were red with tears and there was stuff strewn all over her bed and her floor. “Um…Lang, is this a bad time?” I asked uncomfortably. “No, its fine, come in,” she said, opening the door wider. I stepped in as she turned around. She wiped her eyes and sniffed. I frowned. I went over to her bed and sat down on it, while she picked some things on the floor. There was a picture frame sitting next to me with a picture in it. I picked it up and stared at it. It showed Lang and a man, I guessed Tarin, sitting together in the tower, next to an orange, glowing fire. Tarin was kissing Lang’s cheek and she was smiling. A tear glimmered in my eye. She lost so much, I thought. I blinked and set the picture down just as she turned around.
“I’m sorry it’s such a mess.” She said blankly. “Here let me help.” I blurted out and got up. I picked up the picture frame I had looked at and set it down on her dresser. There was a pale yellow male shirt lying on the floor and I picked it up. It had a collar and a couple of buttons were hooked together. I folded it up gently and set it in an empty drawer in her dresser. There were a couple of small boxes on the floor, the kind used for birthdays, and they had little ribbons on them. I didn’t open them; after all, it wasn’t my business. I stacked them lightly and set them on her bed side table.
The floor was mostly cleared up and Lang sat down in a chair sitting in the corner. “Now what was it you wanted to speak about?” she asked, smoothing out her pants. “Oh um… I just um… wanted to see how you were doing… After what happened… I mean, you must be lonely…” I regretted it right after I said it. My cheeks turned bright red, and luckily she noticed. “It’s alright dear. I know what you mean. Don’t worry.” She sighed and glanced out the window. “Yes, it’s gotten lonely up here. I sit here for hours dreaming about him.” A tear slipped down her cheek but I pretended not to see. “I’m sorry.” I blurted out. “I know it’s not my place to comfort you.” I looked down in shame. “What can comfort do?” she asked, and I looked up. “It’s not hurting anyone. It’s helping them.” I nodded. “And I’m very proud of your generosity. You’re the first person to come up here and talk to me like this… and I like it. I can let my thoughts and feelings out without anyone thinking less of me and not be ignored too.” I smiled. To change the subject, I asked: “What’s your most favorite memory of Tarin and you?” She looked up at the ceiling and thought. “Oh, I guess the time we went on our first patrol together. It was Rance’s squad, right after he had been allowed to lead them.” She said with a reminisce smile.
I nodded, and got up. “Lang, I am sorry to leave now; I know we could talk on and on… But I need to see if Tocho is back with his patrol.” “Oh ok, that’s fine. Duties to tend to, I know.” She laughed and shook my hand, nearly leaning over to hug me. I shook it with care and tried to tell her with my eyes that I hope she feels better. She led me out and I walked down the hall. She closed her door. Yeah, she needs a nap…, I thought as I walked down the stairs.
I sat down near a window since Tocho wasn’t back yet. Thunder boomed in the distance. I frowned as it started to drizzle. Oh Tocho, where are you?, I thought as thunder boomed again, this time louder and closer. It started to rain a little harder. I laid my head back against the chair and closed my eyes. Images of Tocho flashed in my head. His smile, his hair; him. There was a scream outside the gate. I got up. There were gun shots. “BAM!” “BAM!” “BAM!” I sat down, tension stiffening my legs. I laid back a little. What’s going on out there?, I thought, filled with anxiety.
I could hear running foot steps up to the gate. “Someone open the gate! Hurry!” It was Haben and Elyse. I ran over to the gate and unlocked it quickly. There were uneasy butterflies in my stomach and I felt like I was going to throw up. They quickly stepped in and sat down on some chairs. They were panting deeply.
I looked at them for a second but then looked back at the gate as Uzi ran up. “Let me in! Let me in!” she screamed. I opened the gate with wet hands, and she hopped in and ran up to Haben and Elyse; also out of breath.
Where was Sam and Tocho?, I asked myself uneasily. I turned around to ask Elyse, Haben or Uzi but they were all walking towards Lang’s room.
There was a yell outside. I saw Sam and Tocho run out of the forest. He and Tocho were coming out of the shade when… I screamed as three of them leaped at Tocho and pushed him down onto his stomach on top of his gun. He tried to get his knife out of his pocket but it stabbed into his leg. He fought like a mountain lion. Hands and feet everywhere, they tried to bite him. I got out my gun and started shooting, so did Sam. I started to cry as they wouldn’t get off him. I screamed and went closer, shooting harder. They still wouldn’t get off. I started to sob. “BITE!” Tocho was lost forever. I took out my knife and leaped on top of all of them, stabbing them until there was nothing was under me.
Then Tocho got up. I stared at him; his blue eyes were dark red. Sam stood there, rain beating down on him. Tocho stood over me and then leaped at me, aiming for my neck. My only choice was to save myself. “BAM!” I shot a hole through him and he fell back. I closed my eyes and cried so hard. Blood slowly dripped down my legs. The tears wouldn’t stop. Sam walked over to me. I opened my eyes to him standing over me. It was slow motion as he leaned down to pick me up. I closed my eyes and sobbed, and before I knew it, I had fainted…
I found myself lying in my bed. It was dark outside. A figure sat in the chair in the corner and wept. It was Sam. I slowly sat up.
“Sam?” I whispered. He looked up. In the dim moonlight, he looked like he had been crying for days. “What day is it?” I asked nervously. “Thursday.” He replied; his voice was weak. Tocho was killed on Monday. I was in coma for three days?!, I thought, alarmed. He seemed to have read my thoughts. “No you weren’t in coma for three days, you were in coma for one day, and you were dead for two.” He said and looked away. “Dead?!” I nearly screamed. He nodded. “You had a heart attack after you woke up from coma. It killed you for about two days, and now after they saved you, you can live.” “I had... had… a heart attack?!” I was nearly in tears. He nodded again. “They brought you back to life this morning. You’ve been sleeping for the rest of the day. I was instructed to watch over you.”
He got up and walked over to the door. “Sam, wait, please. About Monday. About what happened… Why didn’t you kill him?’ I asked a tear slipping down my cheek. “I couldn’t kill my best friend. I just couldn’t.” he said, and sat down on my bed. “But I ended up killing him…” I whispered and remembered the moment he fell back onto the ground after I shot him. The image of the blood exploding from his chest was stuck in my head. My cold hands trembled. Sam moved closer to me and nearly hugged me. “Kaira, I’m sorry, I’m just so sorry.” His tears dripped onto my quilt.
He changed the subject. “They had his funeral on Tuesday before your heart attack. Lang was especially sad for you and him. She knew how you felt.” I nodded, tears fogging my vision. “Well I better go… Kaira, I’m just so sorry. Are you sure you’re ok?” he asked, getting up. I nodded without a word; on the inside I was furious with him. He made me kill my love, the love of my life. My life. He nodded and walked out of the room, and closed the door.
I laid back down and pulled the quilt up to my chin, pulling my knees to my chest, and laid there like a little child. I cried into the pillow about everything; how inconsiderate Sam was, how I had killed my boy friend, and mostly about how alone I was… I was finally able to go to sleep after my head hurt so bad from crying and my eyes couldn’t produce anymore tears.
*~*~*
I woke up next morning to a small amount of sunlight coming through my window. I got up and I nearly fell down from weakness. I got my shoes on and my poncho on, and slipped on my pouch. I walked over to the mirror. My face scared me. It was pale white; the whites of my eyes were dark red; my eyes seemed hollowed out on my face; and there was a crusty trail of dried up tears flowing down my cheeks. My hair was ratty and frizzy; full of knots. I looked for a brush in my dresser and started brushing my hair, and then pulled it back into a pony tail. Now about my horrid face, I thought as I quickly ran to the bathroom. I splashed water onto my face, hoping it would bring out the long lost pinkness back to my cheeks. It didn’t; I was ghostly pale still but the trails of tears were gone. I walked out of the bathroom and bumped into April. She hugged me suddenly and I weakly smiled. “I’m so sorry…” she whispered. She let go and stood back. I sighed and whispered: “I’ll get through it somehow…” She waved to me silently and walked past me.
I walked out to the big room. Everyone had been talking but they suddenly stopped. A mournful silence filled the room. I didn’t know what to do or say; no one did. The funeral had already been held and so sympathy for me was pretty much over. I didn’t want to be in there with their inconsiderate hearts. I just walked out of the room into the courtyard.
A stiff, chilly breeze blew around me, making me shiver. I sighed. Whoever comes out will still sympathize me, I thought. And I will know they actually care about me. I sat on a far bench and tried to hide myself: being alone just made me cry. Tears brimmed on my eyes, and when I blinked, the streamed down my face. The clouds blocked out the morning sun above. I laid down on the bench, my face facing the wall. Tocho’s red eyes formed in my head. They were like dark red circles of blood-thirstiness. I tried to blink them out of my mind. I just laid there, letting the wind buffet my face and sting my arms. Nothing mattered except for how I would cope with Tocho gone. I felt my gun press against my leg… It was the same one I killed Tocho with… I vigorously got it out of my pouch, and in anger I threw it across the courtyard. My eyes narrowed and the tears came down harder.
A thought came to my mind. What if I went out there and killed the idiots that killed my Tocho? I smiled. It was perfect. Revenge is what they deserved. I got up, and started to walk across the courtyard. I passed by my gun without a glance at it and I walked into the building. Luckily, no one was in the center room. I walked toward the gate. Unlocking it as quiet as possible, I stepped out of it quickly and closed it.
It was silent out in the forest. There wasn’t a rustle of an animal or one of them, or a movement of a leaf. The wind didn’t even blow. I felt uncomfortable. I walked on. Hopefully I would just find a single one; a loner.
There was a rustle in front of me, and one came out slowly. It had scraggily dead hair and its skin looked rotten and pale. It didn’t even look like it had skin. A hand was missing and it seemed to drag its left foot. I took one chance to kill it right then. I grabbed my knife and threw it at it, stabbing it and knocking it to the ground with a moan. I grinned and got my knife from its chest in case another came. I left it there to rot away; it deserved it.
*~*~*
I walked back glumly. I had only killed three. I frowned as I got back to the building. I heard a movement inside the gate. I quickly moved behind a twisted tree. The gate opened and out came Aba, April, Rance, Christian, and Haben. They were talking about something. I couldn’t be caught out here alone. I would get in big trouble.
There was a subtle movement next to me and I turned around to a distorted face, its eyes deep red. I screamed and jumped back out from behind the tree, but at the same time it leaped at me. I gripped my knife as it knocked me down and tried to get a grip somewhere. I stabbed it in the back, and felt it go limp on my legs. I got up.
April and Aba looked appalled at me. As I turned around to face them and explain, one came out from where the first one came out and leaped onto my back, sinking its teeth into my neck… My scream was cut off. I fell to my knees as it crawled away. Blood gushed out from the bite. I fell down onto my side like I was dead, and my eyes rolled back into my head. My eyes burned and I knew they were turning that horrid red color… My life was over and I could never come back to who I was before…
I aroused to a world that wasn’t a world of hell. Everything was the same color but it was just fuzzy. Funny, I thought I was going to wake up to a world of torment and disaster…, I thought. I could actually think! I crawled onto my knees and stood up. Aba and April stood there; their eyes were transfixed on my eyes. Aba stepped in front of April, who hid behind his back. He aimed his gun at me. I stopped right there. “Move any closer, you monster, and I can kill you in a blink.” He said, shaking. “I won’t hurt you or her. I promise.” I leaned down and picked up my knife, and stuck it in my pouch. When I stood back up straight, Aba and April looked a little less tense.
“See?” I asked. Aba nodded and let his gun down. April stepped out from behind him. “Kaira?” she whispered, and a tear slithered down her cheek. I looked down at my feet. “Don’t be scared…” I whispered. Aba took a hold of my arm and we walked back into the building. Rance, Christian, and Haben were told to also come in.
Everyone stared at me and a few people screamed. Lang ran out of her room when she heard the screams. She gasped. “Kaira…?” she whispered and ran over to me. “Lang, I’m okay…” I said and looked at her blue eyes; so different from mine. She told Aba and April to go sit down and called a meeting. “Everyone,” She started. “We have a crisis and a miracle on our hands. Kaira was bit but she is not possessed.” I nodded, knowing everything was true. She went on about how to not beware me and that I didn’t have a craving for blood and I didn’t have fangs.
*~*~*
I stepped out of the gate with Sam, Mora, Christian, and April. This was my first real patrol since Tocho died and since I had been bitten. It’s amazing they’ve come to trust me so quick…, I thought, looking around. The forest was quiet. April kicked some dead leaves and whistled. “Alright, let’s make this a quick patrol.” Christian said and started forward. I nodded and followed him.
As we walked, I looked through the trees wishing to see something prettier than more and more trees; maybe like an ocean. April’s hair glinted under the patches of sunlight. There was a growl near a tree on our left, and one pulled itself out with its left arm; half of its body was gone. I shuddered at its horrifying face and I heard April mutter: “Ew!” Sam shot it quickly. Its face fell and hit the ground as blood splattered everywhere.
I grimaced and thought what it would be like to feel like that; the life pulled out of your body like simply breaking a piece of thread. But that had happened to me, and for some miraculous reason, I didn’t “go to hell”. I was saved; saved by some powerful force; one that protected me and one I would be in debt to for the rest of my life. I wondered if this had happened to anyone before. Lang never recalled anything like it, yet she wasn’t appalled that I didn’t die.
We walked on; I was all the while wrapped up in my thoughts. I felt something was watching me, trying to mentally over power me. I looked around at times and thought I saw those penetrating eyes staring right through me in the shadows. I shivered when there was no wind blowing, and at times April looked at me with questioning eyes. I ignored her and looked up through the trees into the dim blue sky. My head started to throb and I tried to keep my focus on patrolling but my mind kept on flashing the thought of being watched over and a mental fighting was taking place. But nothing live was out here; technically everything was dead, right?
*~*~*
The patrol had ended smoothly; a total of 7 were killed. We walked back into the building, and I went over to the courtyard to watch some fighting, hoping I could pick up some new moves. I quietly opened the door and stepped outside. Sure enough, Lang was training with a boy I hadn’t seen before. His name was Ryan and he had dusty plum colored hair with small blue eyes.
Lang smiled at the appearance of me and told Ryan to stop. She walked over to me with Ryan trailing behind her. “Greetings Kaira. Meet my new apprentice.”-She motioned to Ryan with her hand-“His name is Ryan.” I nodded to him. “Why haven’t I seen you before? I haven’t heard of a new member…” I said. He shied away. Lang shifted her wait uncomfortably to the other foot. “Well… He was in the hospital for almost over a year; he had cancer. He finally finished treatment yesterday and now I get to train him again.” Her blank face turned to a smile. Ryan came out. He looked young, maybe about 9 years old. I never knew they trained kids this young, especially if they have been sick for a long time.
“Well, I came out here to watch you guys train together.” I said and went over to sit down at a bench. Ryan couldn’t stop looking at my red eyes. I blushed and started fiddling with the strings on my pouch to distract me. Finally Lang nodded and went back to training with him. It was unbelievable; a nine year old using a knife and a gun!
*~*~*
He turned out to be very good. It was nearly twilight when I finally went inside; long after Lang and Ryan did. I wasn’t in the mood for food. I went down the dark hall way and reached my bed room. What a day…, I thought as I laid down across the faded quilt. My shoes were already off; my pouch and my poncho were too. I turned over. It was a hot night. I reached back and felt my wound that “killed” me. I grimaced when I drew my hand back and saw blood on my finger.
I got up and tip toed to the bath room to clean my hands and put a bandage on the back of my neck. The cool water seemed to soothe me. I placed a fresh piece of cloth across it and it tingled when the blood sunk into it. I quickly went to the bathroom. My neck felt stiff as I flushed the toilet. Probably is just the bandage., I thought to myself. I blinked a couple of times when I finally saw my eyes.
I looked away. I was spending too much time in the bathroom; I needed some sleep. I glanced quickly at my daunting eyes. My gaze was trapped. I tried to look away but my eyes just kept on staring at each other.
I blinked and before I knew it, I fell back. My head hit the wall with a thump and I passed out on the floor. Blood seeped through the fabric of the bandage and made a puddle around me…
I felt water poured onto my face. Jacob and Lang stood over me, their eyes wide with fear for me. People crowded at the door trying to see. “Huh…?” I mumbled, blinking my dizzy eyes. Jacob helped me up. Blood dripped from the soaked bandage. Someone offered me a chair and I sat down. “Well someone’s gonna have to take it off.” Lang said and frowned. Finally she reached over and pulled it off. More blood leaked out of the wound. I moaned. Jacob pressed a rag against my forehead. My hair was wet with blood.
Lang faced me. “What happened, Kaira?! It looks someone was murdered in here!” Her words were unusually sharp. “I don’t know…” I said. “I went here last night before bed to put a bandage on my neck… And I don’t know what happened after that…I know I went to the bathroom… But…I don’t know…” I wasn’t completely telling the truth. I had gone to the bathroom and I had put a new bandage on, but I didn’t want to tell them about what my eyes did. I was so scared about it, and I know they would be even more scared…
*~*~*
A couple of hours later I sat in the main room after I had had a nap. I stared out the window. It was cloudy and patrols were rushed, in case of rain.
There was a scream from up stairs. I got up and ran to where it was coming from. People were coming out of other rooms and started to proceed towards the sound. I pushed a door open and saw the girl with topaz hair standing over someone. I had learned her name over time. It was Wendy. I walked closer and realized it was Chameli. “Chameli?!” I gasped. She lay on her back; her face turned toward the right; her eyes closed. Her arms and legs were sprawled out. Blood soaked into the carpet beneath her neck. Then I noticed the left side of her neck. It was bloody and two perfect holes where pierced into it; they were right next to each other, yet about an inch apart. Blood trickled out of them.
My stomach turned and the inside of my mouth went dry. The image felt familiar; like I had seen it before. Maybe it’s just a stupid feeling of déjà vu., I thought looking up at Wendy. “You just found her like this right?” I asked her. “Yeah, I nearly stepped on her!” She said and sat down the bed and started to sob. I stood there over Chameli. The image started to come back. I had seen it in the moonlight last night. Lang rushed in and pushed me out of the way. “What the…” she said and bent down over her. I didn’t want to stay; I had this strange feeling in my head.
I walked out and went outside into the courtyard. The sky was darker. I sat down on a far bench; I had to think. Why was this image familiar? I stared into the sky. This image of me staring at Chameli on the floor laying in the moonlight, dead, became more real by the second. I closed my eyes and focused harder. This wasn’t any night where I just got up from sleeping. Was this… last night?! But I was passed out! That’s impossible!, I thought, alarmed. A clearer image came to me. I was leaning over Chameli, now closer, and…bit her neck?! My breath caught in my throat. Somehow I had been awake from being passed out and had killed Chameli… My heart raced. If Lang figured this out…I would be casted off from the civilization because they would know that I would be capable of killing someone. But if I actually bit her, then I would have to have fangs… I opened my mouth and searched around with my finger. My finger touched something sharp and I gasped. I drew my hand back and when I saw my finger, it had blood on it.
My eyes widened at it and I sniffed it. It smelled like Chameli. I was astonished. I wanted to forget about this… It was unbearable; I had actually killed someone. I needed to sleep on it. That was the best way to get away from it. I laid back and hoped it wouldn’t rain. I closed my eyes and softly fell asleep.
*~*~*
It was raining when I woke up. Great! I thought as I got up. I dashed across the courtyard and pushed open the door. After the door closed behind me, Lang appeared in my way. She looked dismayed with a hint of resentment in her eyes. My heart beat quickened. She drew out her gun as I walked nearer. “Get out. Get out and never come back. I know what you did, and if you don’t get out now, I’ll kill you.” She said, aiming her gun at me. Jacob and Rance appeared behind her. “Lang…I can explain, please! I don’t know what happened! Please!” I cried. “Get out!” Jacob yelled and stepped towards me, his gun also raised. I ran between them and got to the gate. I stared at them with desperate eyes. “Please!” I exclaimed. Rance shot at me and missed me by about three inches.
I struggled to get the gate open. It opened and I hurtled out. I stood there in the rain. I could see people looking down from the stairs. Sam, Aba and April stood together. They stared at me. Then April started to cry into Aba’s shoulder. Sam looked at me once more and turned away, tears slipping down his face. Aba stared at me, his eyes broken with pity. He said something to April and she slowly waved to me. I started to cry. I looked at Lang; my first real friend. She even felt like a mother to me… Her eyes were navy blue with anger and commiseration. I saw a tear slip down her face. She aimed her gun and shot at me, and I ducked out of the way. The last person I saw was Ryan. He was sitting on the floor and looked like he was crying. Lang didn’t even care. Finally, Lang, Rance and Jacob shot their guns and I scampered off. I heard the gate close and then silence.
I slipped in a puddle and fell down into it. I sobbed and sobbed. I just wanted to die. I had nothing to live for. No one wanted me and there was no way I could ever survive in a place like this. I would be killed… but then I couldn’t be killed by one of these monsters out here. The rain beat down on my body. I faced the dark sky and screamed.
*~*~*
I pulled myself into a little gap in the roots of a tree. The rain was lighter now that a couple hours had passed since it had just started. I needed a place to sleep for the night. But it’s not like I would actually live through the night. One would find me sleeping and kill me. I didn’t care. I pulled out my gun and sat there in shadows, gripping my firearm until my knuckles turned white. I stared out into the shadows. I wondered what Lang and everyone were doing. Maybe burying Chameli, and having a ceremony for her. It was full moon, why wouldn’t they?
I blinked and closed my eyes. I heard a whisper as soon as I closed them. They flew open. There was nothing there. I sighed and closed my eyes again. The whispering came again. It was fluent and quick; I wasn’t sure what was being said. It kept on repeating itself. I finally realized three words were being said:
I woke up in a dark room. I blinked a couple of times to get used to the darkness. I was lying on a small bed in the corner of a stone room. I got up, but saw that my left leg was chained to the corner leg of the bed. I sat down and folded my arms. Where am I?! How did I get here?!, I thought.
I gazed around the room. There was a large mirror to my right and steps up to a large door on my far right. To my left, there was a long stone table with silver goblets and plates and silverware all over it. Large rubies were set on the silver objects. Above me, there was a large circular window. The moon was shining through the center of it; I could tell it was night. I sighed. It was chilly.
All of a sudden, the door opened and a dark figure stood in the doorway. Light shined behind him and it blinded me. “Who are you?!” I yelled to him, shading my eyes. Then I started to fear that he was one of them. But he didn’t moan like them; he didn’t drag himself; and as I started to make his face out, he didn’t look one of them at all! He started to walk down the stairs, his footsteps echoed throughout the room. As he got closer I could tell what he completely looked like.
I gasped when I saw he had the same red eyes as I did, but silver hair brushed over them so I'd only gotten a glimpse. “Hello. I am Demitri Vossen. And you are?” his eyes gleamed as he said it. “I am…Kaira; Kaira Sangry. How did I get here?!” I replied. “You will learn that in time.” He said with a toothy grin. I noticed that he had fangs like I did. I had a feeling he was going to kill me. “Well then, will you at least explain why I’m chained up?!” I said with a glare. He glanced at the chain that was holding me down. “Oh yeah; that. I had that put there just in case you tried to get away.” He snapped his fingers and the chain fell to the floor. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why would I want to get away? If I got up, I would just trip and fall on something in the dark. But better yet, why would I want to go back out there?” I thought about Lang, Jacob, and Rance. “My old home kicked me out…” I said. “Demitri’s eyes softened some. “Why did they force you to leave?” he asked and happened to sit down next to me. I scooted away and said: “Because I was bit…But I wasn’t “killed”…I turned out killing someone…And they found out…” I started to weep.
“Oh…” he said. “You know, I was bit too…” he stated. “It was long ago…” I looked up at him. “Really?” I asked and he nodded. “See? The wound will never go away.” He lifted up his shirt to show a long bloody scar along the left side of his chest. “Wow… You want to see mine?” I inquired. He shook his head and said: “I already saw it.” What?!, I thought and looked away.
“Enough of this. You must be hungry.” He said and got up. “Yeah kind of.” I said and got up also. “Come with me.” he said and started to walk up the stairs. “Wait! What is this room?” I said and started to walk over to the long table. I lifted up a silver goblet with rubies all over it and was about to drink the liquid in it, but he yelled: “Wait!!” I was so startled that I dropped the goblet and it crashed to the floor. I jumped away. “What?! I was going to have something to drink! Jeeze,” I shouted. “That’s poisonous! Now come on!” he said. “Fine.” I answered him.
We went up the stairs. “Now what was that room?” I asked as he shut the door and locked it. “The dungeon.” He simply replied. “Oh.” I said, following him through a hallway. “If you’re wondering why that drink was poisonous, that’s in case someone escapes out of the chain.” I smirked. We entered the third door on the left and went into a big room.
“Woah!” I yelled and it echoed around the room. A diamond chandelier hung at the center of the ceiling, with a portrait of some beautiful lady behind it. The white walls were encrusted in gold like angels had created the room. Golden pots sat next to doors and windows shone to my left“Be quiet!” he whispered. I rolled my eyes. He went to a door on the left and opened it. “Wait here. Idania will come and dress you for dinner.” “Dinner?!” I yelled but he had already closed the door.
I sat done on the floor and started braiding the strings on my pouch. Someone came through a door on the right, behind me. I got up and turned around. There stood a petite lady with long blonde hair and red eyes like me.
“Are you ready to get dressed, Mistress?” she asked. “Sure.” I said and followed her into a room with a big closet in it. There hanging against the broad door was a dress. It was sleeveless and deep red, with a diamond embroidered pattern along the lower chest. As it continued down to the thigh area, silver and diamond roses allowed it to flow out. The red fabric draped over heavy lace layers that hid mostly under the dress, but the outside fabric had been up with the roses. As much as I didn't want to wear it, I loved imagining how I'd look in it. But my first thought got the better of me.
“What the heck?! I’m wearing that?!” I yelled.
PS: Ideas are appreciated! I am working on Chapt. 11, I have my ideas for Chapt. 12 set out, but from there, I am lost! Help! Please!!! Thanks! ^_^
____________________________________________________
Chapter 1
I clicked “Log In”. The word “LOADING” appeared on my screen. All of a sudden my character appeared in the game. There were a lot more characters, seeming to wait with blank stares outside a large light blue building. One of them flew at me and tackled me, biting my arms that were fighting back. “LIFE 3, GONE,” it said. I frowned. I started pressing different buttons to move, run, and…..fight?! I had a gun and a knife in my pouch. A couple of times I used the gun at random things and my knife at other random things. All of a sudden, I was attacked by another ambush. They all were biting me quickly. “LIFE 2, GONE,” “LIFE 1, GONE,” It said again. I gasped. How could I lose this quickly?! Will I have to join again?! In a quick blink, instead of being in my room, I was transferred……..to the game?!!!
I gasped, and someone came up to me. “Oh, hello,” the person said. “You must be new. Let me help you out. I’m Lang.” She had long hair the color of celadon, and it was halfway in a ponytail. Her eyes were bright blue, with long black eyelashes. She had a single gold earring in one ear; it was a sun with peridot set in the middle. I smiled, “I’m Kaira. And yes I’m new. How did I get here?” Lang stared up into a black hole in the sky. “Oh, when you first start the game, you have three lives. When you lose all of them, you are transported from the real world to here.” I was appalled. “But…But what about my family….” I stuttered. “Oh to them, you ran away,” she said. “Ran away?! But I didn’t!” She apologized, her eyes small, “I’m so sorry. It’s so astonishing…. But, we need all the help we can get here. Our population is decreasing and there might not be enough left to fight them…”
“Them? Who are they?” I asked. “Well… They are who are minimizing our population…. You see, they are vampires. And all they want is to bite and kill every human here, and then rule the game… Even though they’re zombies, they have a keen mind, sight, and smell. If they bite you, you know you’ve become one if your eyes turn red… That takes over your mind… And then you’re nothing but their minion, and all you want is to kill everyone…” I nodded at her words, taking in every terrifying word. “Let’s get out of here before they find us,” she said quickly leading us through the forest.
We came up to the same large light blue building, and all those characters that had been waiting there with pale blank stares were all over the ground, bloodied and dead. Their gleaming red eyes were closed. “Good job, team.” Lang whispered. I didn’t say anything, but only followed her into the building. While she locked the metal barbed gate, I looked around. There were lots of rooms; I guessed bedrooms, and one single large room in the center where I was standing. Lots of people sat there and stared at me, and then started cheering. I was confused, and then Lang came in and put her arm on my shoulder. “Why are they cheering?” I whispered to her. “You’ll see,” she replied. Then she stepped forward and said, “Jacob, report.” A man with blue eyes and olive short hair stepped forward, -he must have been Jacob- and said, “Greetings, Lang. My squad killed the ones outside the gates, and Lalia’s squad killed some in the forest. But…” “What is it, Jacob? Speak.” Lang asked. “But… Tarin was attacked… My squad could not save him… We had to kill him…” he said and stepped back with a glum expression on his face, and sat down. Lang looked horrified. There was mumbling between some of the people in the back, and with a stern look, Lang silenced them. She heaved a shaky sigh. “We must hold vigil for him. At moonrise tonight, everyone will gather in the tower and pray for him. He was my husband, and he deserves a proper funeral.” I could tell there was a tear on the edge of her eye, but she quickly wiped it away.
Then Lang turned to me and said: “Everyone, we finally have a new member since five years ago. May we give her a round of applause?” Everyone cheered again. “Her name is Kaira.” Then she tossed me a large gun and a knife. “Um, I already have some…” I said and took them out of my pouch. “Oh those are a piece of crap. Take these. Your training will start tomorrow morning.” She took my gun and knife and replaced them and then threw them to an old man sitting next to a girl with short blond hair, both of them had blue eyes.
She motioned them forward and they walked over to her and me. “Meet Aba”-she pointed to the elderly man-“and April.” Lang said and she pointed to the girl. “They will be your trainers. April finished training last week, Aba was her teacher, -a good one indeed.” April blushed and shook my hand and then Aba shook my hand with a grin.
As they and Lang walked away talking, everyone started to leave the room, entering the bedrooms that belonged to them. Everyone has seemed to have forgotten about me. I started to walk down the hallways, looking into rooms that were dim and gloomy from the sunset. I started walking back up the hall back into the large room. I decided to sit down on a chair. I stared out a nearby window, full of homesickness.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped and looked up to see Lang and I sighed with relief. “Did you think you were going to have to sleep out here before moonrise?” she asked. I nodded, feeling a little embarrassed. She laughed and said: “Follow me. We have an extra room.” I got up and followed her. She led me to a door at the end of one of the hallways and said: “I’ll send someone to wake you up a little before moonrise for the funeral. Good night.” “Good night.” I said as she disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, her footsteps fading away.
I slowly opened the door. It was dark inside so I turned a lamp on that was next to the door. In the room there was a small bed at the right with a colorful quilt on it and a small chest at the foot of it, next to it was a bedside table with a lamp, a window right in front of me, a dresser at my left, a little chair in the top right corner, and a circular mirror on the wall. I smiled at the small room. I walked in and quietly shut the wooden door behind me. A chilly breeze blew in from the window. I walked over to it and closed it and locked it. I slowly paced over to the bed and sat down and took off my pouch and my poncho, placing them on the chest. Kicking my shoes off and setting them next to the bed, I laid down.
Finally feeling tired, I turned off the lamp next to me and snuggled under the quilt, all the while feeling empty and alone…
Chapter 2
Someone nudged my arm. “Huh?” I asked, half asleep. “Wake up Kaira. It’s time for the vigil.” said a voice. I expected it to be Lang but it was someone else. I blinked my eyes open and saw the handsomest guy I had ever seen. I sat up quickly and pulled my hair back. “Oh hi,” I stretched. “Who are you?” I asked as I got out of bed. “I’m Tocho.” He said smiling. I got up and put on my poncho, shoes, and pouch. “Follow me; we are going to the tower.” He walked out of the room. I nodded and followed, staring at his beautiful long hair that was the color of cocoa.
We walked up stone stairs into a large stone room. “Wow…” I whispered. Everyone was sitting around a fire; it glowed a deep orange. I sat down in a nearby chair next to two men with black hair and blue eyes. I nodded a greeting to them and stared at the fire while I waited for Lang to enter the room and start the ceremony. I felt really sorry for her. I knew she couldn’t run this civilization by herself. I wanted to comfort her, and apologize to her about her loss. But it wasn’t my spot to; it wasn’t anyone’s. She had to pull herself through this one like she would with anyone else who was killed. I looked around, and saw that Tocho was staring at me. I blushed and looked the other way.
All of a sudden, everyone stopped talking as Lang walked into the room. She had a long silver dress on, its sleeves going past her hands and it trailing behind her. I heard someone whisper: “That was her wedding dress with Tarin.” Her eyes were dark blue with depression and her hands were clenched in weak fists, -I knew she was keeping back tears. She stepped into the circle and sat down in front of the fire, closer than anyone else. The silence was broken and she started her mournful speech: “My fellow people, fighters of our dead enemy. We gather here under this moon to sit vigil for my husband and best friend, Tarin. He lost his life fighting for all of us and we should give him thanks. By the power of my leadership, I grant him a peaceful life in Heaven.” She took a necklace off that was around her neck. It was gold with citrine set in the middle. “This was his necklace, one of his most prized possessions. It was given to him by his great grandfather and had been passed down centuries before that. It is our last memory of him and we must cherish it and make it last.” She laid it down in the fire, and gently watched it burn, a tear escaping her eye. “Its ashes will be sprinkled throughout this tower so his soul can be with us forever, even though it’s not.” her speech ended. Everyone sat there, looking into the fire, praying for him and Lang. At last, everyone got up and walked over to stone chairs along the walls, and sat down. I did the same sitting next to a girl with scarlet hair and blue eyes.
Once dawn came everyone got up. Lang walked away without a word, to large doors that she had entered through last night. She disappeared behind them after a blink and I turned around to look for Aba and April. They were talking with two females that had heliotrope hair with bright blue eyes. I walked over to them intent on starting my training. “Ah-ha! You’re here! We have been waiting for you. Come along April and Kaira, we must get to work.” He said. He turned to the two ladies he was talking to. “Farewell, ladies.” They giggled. I followed April and Aba out of the tower, down the stone stairs, and through a door I hadn’t seen yet, into a courtyard. It was inside large stone walls and short green grass growing all over the ground. There were a couple of wooden benches along the sides, and stone path ways leading to different doorways going back into the building. It was chilly; the sun was just now coming up a little higher. Clouds blew slowly across the sky, and I looked at April and Aba to see what they were doing. April had just entered one of the doors in the building; it was a closet. She was rummaging around along the shelves for what it looked like weapons. Aba had gone over to one of the sides of the courtyard and was setting up dummies for us to shoot at. Hopefully training won’t be too hard, I thought. After April had come out of the closet, she gave 3 knives and 3 guns to Aba, who set them around on the ground. I felt a little guilty that I wasn’t helping, so I walked over there to them. When I came up to Aba, he said: “Ok, so your training will start with short distance and long distance shooting.” He handed me a gun. “Go over there,”-he pointed to a corner of the courtyard, -“and when I say now, shoot all three of these dummies.” He motioned to them with his hands as I walked over to the corner, holding the gun with courage. From a high window I saw Tocho looking down at me and I blushed.
All of the sudden I heard “Go!” from Aba. “BAM,” “BAM!” “BAM,” I hit all three dummies in the center target. I grinned and saw Aba and April nod with approval. I looked up hoping to see Tocho smiling but he was gone from the window. I frowned, but walked over to Aba as he motioned me over to him. “Good job, Kaira. Make sure you hold your gun straight and don’t flinch at the noise. If you flinch strong enough you could end up it hitting someone in your squad.” I nodded understandingly. My eyes wondered over to April who was staring at me with admiring eyes. I turned hot inside, How could she admire someone like me?! I helped them put the dummies back in the closet and gave Aba back the gun.
He gave me a knife in turn and I stood there holding it. I slowly slid my finger along the blade, accidently cutting myself. Oops, I thought. Two drops of blood dripped off my finger and I quickly wiped off the bloody knife. I took out a piece of cloth that was in my pouch, and wrapped it around my finger with my back turned to April and Aba.
Then the closet door shut, and I turned quickly around. April and Aba where stabbing large stakes into the ground, stringing string from one to the other. Then they clipped up large pieces of cloth and walked off towards the side. It looked like a long clothes line. April took something out of her skirt pocket and walked over to me. “Here, put this on.” She said. She handed me a dark blue bandana and helped me tie it over my eyes. She helped me over to the first piece of cloth and told me to stab it anyway I wanted to, as long as I stabbed it. I nodded, a little confused, but still did what she said to do.
Spinning quickly to my right and jumping, I stabbed it straight down the middle. She led me to the next one. I made a large “X” in it. In the last one, I stabbed it in the center and ripped it upwards and then twisted left, and stabbed it downwards. I grinned, knowing I had done well. I took off my bandana and looked at Aba and April who were clapping. I beamed and walked over to April and handed her the bandana.
“We’re finished for today, and think for the rest of your training. You did very well, and I think you are ready to handle killing them by yourself, but still in a squad.” He said smiling. My cheeks turned red and I slowly shook his hand.
The sun was high up in the sky now, and I hoped that my first patrol would be today or tomorrow. We walked back into the building, passing by Tocho and a young man with dune colored hair and blue eyes. April and Aba kept on walking, but I stopped to talk to Tocho. “Hi Tocho,” I said smiling. “Hey Kaira, meet my younger brother, Ishmael.” I nodded to Ishmael. “Where are you going?” I asked. “Out to train with Ishmael. We’ve been behind lately.” “Oh okay, I’ll see you later.” I turned around to leave. “See you.” he said and went through the door.
I walked away blushing, into the big room. A lot of people were sitting there talking, and I decided I should mingle with them, so I could get to know them. I walked over to two older girls, one who had topaz colored hair and blue eyes, and one who had coral pink hair and bright blue eyes. I sat down next to them and said: “Hi.”
Chapter 3
At the end of the day, I trudged to my bed, I was so exhausted. I took off my shoes, poncho, and pouch and set them near the bed. I laid myself back, resting my aching spine. And this isn’t even work!, I thought with a tired frown. I thought about Tocho and his beautiful smile. I knew he liked me, and I liked him back. I wish I could talk to him, I thought wistfully.
As if answering my thoughts, there was a knock at my door. I stiffly got up and answered it. And what do you know, it was Tocho. I blushed. “Hi, what brings you here?” I asked him. “I wanted to talk to you.” He said. “Come in.” I opened the door wider and stepped off to the side. He closed it and sat down on my bed. He motioned me over. “Kaira… I think you are so beautiful… And so smart and courageous…And I want to be with you forever…” He looked embarrassed. I blushed deep red and said: “Tocho, I love you too. I think you are the handsomest guy I have ever seen and a nice one at it too…” He placed his hand on mine, and I put my hand in his. I laid my head on his shoulder, and we sat like that for a while. “Kaira?” he asked me. “What is it?” I asked and looked into his sapphire colored eyes. “I love you.” “I love you too.” I said. He then got up and picked me up bridal style and set me on the bed so that I was lying down. Then he went to the other side and lay down next to me. I snuggled up to his warm chest, and slowly went to sleep. He laid his head next to mine, and fell asleep too.
When dawn came, we both woke up. I stretched and kissed him gently on the cheek. He smiled and helped me up. I put my shoes, poncho and my pouch on and followed him out of the room. Sunlight gleamed out of the windows and I walked into the large center room. Tocho had walked off to see one of his friends about something, so I stood there dreaming about him. I kissed him, I actually kissed him, I thought.
Then Lang came over to me. She was wearing her usual outfit; a green long sleeve shirt with a tan vest and kaki hiker shorts, with black boots. “Kaira, I think it’s time for you to go on your first patrol.” She said looking at me. I gasped, excitement jumping from my heart and nearly coming up my throat. “Ok Lang. I’m ready. Who will I be going with?” “Well this will be Rance’s squad, and he is taking you, Chameli, Eilert, and Mora.” she said. Out of one of the doors, came one of the two men who had black hair and blue eyes. “That’s Rance.’- she whispered,-“and that’s Chameli,”-she pointed to the girl I had met who had coral pink hair,-“and that’s Eilert”-she pointed to an older boy who had copper hair,-“and that’s Mora.”-she pointed lastly to a girl with dark purple hair. They all came downstairs to meet Lang and I. “Greetings, Rance, Chameli, Eilert, Mora.” I said and smiled. Lang nodded to them and they nodded back to us. “Well, you should be on your way.” She backed away from the door. “The sooner your back, the better,” Lang said.
“That’s right. Come on team, let’s go.” Rance said and led everyone to the gate. I waved to Lang as she walked away, and followed them through the gate. We entered the open forest, and Rance locked the gate and turned to us. “Alright, no splitting up. If you see any, kill them.” We nodded. He loaded his gun, and so did everyone else. I took my gun out and cocked it, and I kept it in my hand. I left my pouch open, leaving the knife right at the top so I could get to it if I needed it. There was a rustle in the bushes, and one came out. It moaned and launched itself at Chameli. “BAM!” It fell to the ground; she had shot it. I smiled and we walked on. A group of them crawled out from some bushes. I shot one in the head; blood splattering everywhere. While Chameli and Mora were killing the rest of them from the bushes, Rance had gone over to a tree and was stabbing one that had fallen out of it. Eilert was with me, and we attacked some from a clearing.
After all of them were dead, we walked on, into a clearing with abandoned vehicles. “Ok watch out. This kind of place is full of those ruffians.” Said Rance. Suddenly one leaped at out from behind a truck and attacked Rance. “BAM!” Rance had got it right in the chest, and actually shot a hole through it. More stalked out slowly, and we shot them. One got up after I shot it; I had only got his arm, and ran at me. I screamed and took out my knife and stabbed him, making an “X”. He fell to the ground and blood got all over my legs. I cringed but started shooting some other ones, and after a couple of minutes, all of them were dead. “Rance! Are you okay?!” Eilert asked running over to him. Rance had a deep gash across his arm from the one that attacked him. “Yeah.” He grunted. “We better get back now before it gets infected.” Eilert said, and he helped Rance. “I’ll help Rance, while Kaira, you, and Mora defend us if any get in our way.” He said to Chameli. She nodded and cocked her gun once more; Mora and I did the same. We walked back in silence. Rance was limping and Eilert nearly had to drag him since he was so big, while Eilert was just average size.
When we were nearly back to the building, some came out from a grove of trees. “Mora you go with Eilert and Rance. I’ll stay here with Chameli!” I yelled. Rance, Eilert and Mora ran off towards the building. Chameli and I, back to back, grinned and started shooting with all our might. “BAM!” “BAM!” “BAM!” “BAM!” They all dropped dead. Chameli and I high-fived and we ran back to the building. Mora stood on the inside of the gate, and she unlocked it quickly as Chameli and I ran up to it. “Where is Eilert and Rance?!” I asked after we had stepped in and she had locked it. “Oh they went to the hospital room.” She said and walked off. I nodded and so did Chameli and she strolled away also.
I was left to tell Jacob that we had came back…and that Rance was injured. I frowned and started up the stairs to his room. His room was the third door on the left. I walked over to it and knocked. “Come in.” he said. I slowly opened the door. “I’m here to report back.” He got up from his desk and said: “Good, good. Were there any injuries?” I turned deep red. “Uh, yes sir. Rance was attacked by one and he has a deep gash on his arm. He’s in the hospital room with Eilert now.” I said. Jacob frowned. “I’m going to visit him and see how he’s doing.” He said and I stepped out of the doorway so he could get through. He closed his door, and left the hallway and went down the stairs into a room.
I walked out of the hallway and back into the center room. What should I do right now?, I thought and sat down to wipe the blood off my legs. After I was finished I laid back to relax. Footsteps entered the room and I turned to see Tocho. “Hi Kaira.” He said and sat next to me. I sat up. “Hey, what have you been up to lately?” I asked. He put his arm around my shoulder. “Oh, the usual. I talked to one of my friends, Sam, about us going on a patrol tomorrow with Christian, Laila, and Rance.” My heart sank. “Oh um, I just got back from a patrol with Rance, and um…”I started. “What happened?” asked Tocho; he looked at me. “Well, Rance was attacked and he has a deep gash on his arm…” I said and frowned. Tocho frowned also. “Crap. I’ve got to tell Sam.” He said. “Eilert and Jacob are visiting him now.” I said as he got up. “Alright. I’ll tell Sam and ask him to come with me to visit Rance. I still want to see if he can come tomorrow.” He said, half to himself. Tocho leaned down to kiss me on the lips. “See you later, Kaira.” “Bye.” I said and smiled as he walked away.
Man, Rance must be very popular here. He’s already got four people visiting him, and who knows more! But what are you thinking Kaira?! That man is injured, plus he’s one of the strongest guys here!, I thought. It was about 3 pm. I was hungry. I got up and walked over to a door with a sign that said: “MESS HALL” right over it. I entered through the door way into a large room with many tables and benches everywhere. There was a kitchen off to the left. Some people were standing in line to get food while others sat in little groups at tables, talking and eating. I went over to line and got a tray. Time for some food, I thought as I set pieces of food on my tray.
Chapter 4
The sun was high when I woke up the next day. I sighed and was angry with myself that I had slept late. I groggily stood up and stretched, slipping on my shoes. I put on my pouch and poncho and walked out of my room and down the hall.
When I entered the main room, Tocho stood there with a few other people. I ran over to him and hugged him, ignoring the perplexed and surprised stares from the others. He looked into my eyes and said: “I’m going out on a patrol with Elyse. Sam, Haben, and Uzi are coming with us.” I nodded hello to them all. Elyse had apple green hair with dark blue eyes; Sam had light grey hair fringed with white and light blue eyes; Haben was a short boy with golden hair and blue eyes, and Uzi was feminine and had curly aqua hair, her eyes camouflaging into it. They were ready to go. I kissed Tocho and stepped back, watching him go through the gate. When he was outside he turned around and waved. I waved back with a grin. He disappeared with the others into the shade of the trees and I walked away from the gate.
I wanted to find Lang, and see how she was doing. I walked up the stairs and looked for her room. It was at the end of the last hall on the left. I walked down the hall and came up to her door. I knocked and waited. Lang answered the door after a couple of heart beats. Her eyes were red with tears and there was stuff strewn all over her bed and her floor. “Um…Lang, is this a bad time?” I asked uncomfortably. “No, its fine, come in,” she said, opening the door wider. I stepped in as she turned around. She wiped her eyes and sniffed. I frowned. I went over to her bed and sat down on it, while she picked some things on the floor. There was a picture frame sitting next to me with a picture in it. I picked it up and stared at it. It showed Lang and a man, I guessed Tarin, sitting together in the tower, next to an orange, glowing fire. Tarin was kissing Lang’s cheek and she was smiling. A tear glimmered in my eye. She lost so much, I thought. I blinked and set the picture down just as she turned around.
“I’m sorry it’s such a mess.” She said blankly. “Here let me help.” I blurted out and got up. I picked up the picture frame I had looked at and set it down on her dresser. There was a pale yellow male shirt lying on the floor and I picked it up. It had a collar and a couple of buttons were hooked together. I folded it up gently and set it in an empty drawer in her dresser. There were a couple of small boxes on the floor, the kind used for birthdays, and they had little ribbons on them. I didn’t open them; after all, it wasn’t my business. I stacked them lightly and set them on her bed side table.
The floor was mostly cleared up and Lang sat down in a chair sitting in the corner. “Now what was it you wanted to speak about?” she asked, smoothing out her pants. “Oh um… I just um… wanted to see how you were doing… After what happened… I mean, you must be lonely…” I regretted it right after I said it. My cheeks turned bright red, and luckily she noticed. “It’s alright dear. I know what you mean. Don’t worry.” She sighed and glanced out the window. “Yes, it’s gotten lonely up here. I sit here for hours dreaming about him.” A tear slipped down her cheek but I pretended not to see. “I’m sorry.” I blurted out. “I know it’s not my place to comfort you.” I looked down in shame. “What can comfort do?” she asked, and I looked up. “It’s not hurting anyone. It’s helping them.” I nodded. “And I’m very proud of your generosity. You’re the first person to come up here and talk to me like this… and I like it. I can let my thoughts and feelings out without anyone thinking less of me and not be ignored too.” I smiled. To change the subject, I asked: “What’s your most favorite memory of Tarin and you?” She looked up at the ceiling and thought. “Oh, I guess the time we went on our first patrol together. It was Rance’s squad, right after he had been allowed to lead them.” She said with a reminisce smile.
I nodded, and got up. “Lang, I am sorry to leave now; I know we could talk on and on… But I need to see if Tocho is back with his patrol.” “Oh ok, that’s fine. Duties to tend to, I know.” She laughed and shook my hand, nearly leaning over to hug me. I shook it with care and tried to tell her with my eyes that I hope she feels better. She led me out and I walked down the hall. She closed her door. Yeah, she needs a nap…, I thought as I walked down the stairs.
I sat down near a window since Tocho wasn’t back yet. Thunder boomed in the distance. I frowned as it started to drizzle. Oh Tocho, where are you?, I thought as thunder boomed again, this time louder and closer. It started to rain a little harder. I laid my head back against the chair and closed my eyes. Images of Tocho flashed in my head. His smile, his hair; him. There was a scream outside the gate. I got up. There were gun shots. “BAM!” “BAM!” “BAM!” I sat down, tension stiffening my legs. I laid back a little. What’s going on out there?, I thought, filled with anxiety.
I could hear running foot steps up to the gate. “Someone open the gate! Hurry!” It was Haben and Elyse. I ran over to the gate and unlocked it quickly. There were uneasy butterflies in my stomach and I felt like I was going to throw up. They quickly stepped in and sat down on some chairs. They were panting deeply.
I looked at them for a second but then looked back at the gate as Uzi ran up. “Let me in! Let me in!” she screamed. I opened the gate with wet hands, and she hopped in and ran up to Haben and Elyse; also out of breath.
Where was Sam and Tocho?, I asked myself uneasily. I turned around to ask Elyse, Haben or Uzi but they were all walking towards Lang’s room.
There was a yell outside. I saw Sam and Tocho run out of the forest. He and Tocho were coming out of the shade when… I screamed as three of them leaped at Tocho and pushed him down onto his stomach on top of his gun. He tried to get his knife out of his pocket but it stabbed into his leg. He fought like a mountain lion. Hands and feet everywhere, they tried to bite him. I got out my gun and started shooting, so did Sam. I started to cry as they wouldn’t get off him. I screamed and went closer, shooting harder. They still wouldn’t get off. I started to sob. “BITE!” Tocho was lost forever. I took out my knife and leaped on top of all of them, stabbing them until there was nothing was under me.
Then Tocho got up. I stared at him; his blue eyes were dark red. Sam stood there, rain beating down on him. Tocho stood over me and then leaped at me, aiming for my neck. My only choice was to save myself. “BAM!” I shot a hole through him and he fell back. I closed my eyes and cried so hard. Blood slowly dripped down my legs. The tears wouldn’t stop. Sam walked over to me. I opened my eyes to him standing over me. It was slow motion as he leaned down to pick me up. I closed my eyes and sobbed, and before I knew it, I had fainted…
Chapter 5
I found myself lying in my bed. It was dark outside. A figure sat in the chair in the corner and wept. It was Sam. I slowly sat up.
“Sam?” I whispered. He looked up. In the dim moonlight, he looked like he had been crying for days. “What day is it?” I asked nervously. “Thursday.” He replied; his voice was weak. Tocho was killed on Monday. I was in coma for three days?!, I thought, alarmed. He seemed to have read my thoughts. “No you weren’t in coma for three days, you were in coma for one day, and you were dead for two.” He said and looked away. “Dead?!” I nearly screamed. He nodded. “You had a heart attack after you woke up from coma. It killed you for about two days, and now after they saved you, you can live.” “I had... had… a heart attack?!” I was nearly in tears. He nodded again. “They brought you back to life this morning. You’ve been sleeping for the rest of the day. I was instructed to watch over you.”
He got up and walked over to the door. “Sam, wait, please. About Monday. About what happened… Why didn’t you kill him?’ I asked a tear slipping down my cheek. “I couldn’t kill my best friend. I just couldn’t.” he said, and sat down on my bed. “But I ended up killing him…” I whispered and remembered the moment he fell back onto the ground after I shot him. The image of the blood exploding from his chest was stuck in my head. My cold hands trembled. Sam moved closer to me and nearly hugged me. “Kaira, I’m sorry, I’m just so sorry.” His tears dripped onto my quilt.
He changed the subject. “They had his funeral on Tuesday before your heart attack. Lang was especially sad for you and him. She knew how you felt.” I nodded, tears fogging my vision. “Well I better go… Kaira, I’m just so sorry. Are you sure you’re ok?” he asked, getting up. I nodded without a word; on the inside I was furious with him. He made me kill my love, the love of my life. My life. He nodded and walked out of the room, and closed the door.
I laid back down and pulled the quilt up to my chin, pulling my knees to my chest, and laid there like a little child. I cried into the pillow about everything; how inconsiderate Sam was, how I had killed my boy friend, and mostly about how alone I was… I was finally able to go to sleep after my head hurt so bad from crying and my eyes couldn’t produce anymore tears.
*~*~*
I woke up next morning to a small amount of sunlight coming through my window. I got up and I nearly fell down from weakness. I got my shoes on and my poncho on, and slipped on my pouch. I walked over to the mirror. My face scared me. It was pale white; the whites of my eyes were dark red; my eyes seemed hollowed out on my face; and there was a crusty trail of dried up tears flowing down my cheeks. My hair was ratty and frizzy; full of knots. I looked for a brush in my dresser and started brushing my hair, and then pulled it back into a pony tail. Now about my horrid face, I thought as I quickly ran to the bathroom. I splashed water onto my face, hoping it would bring out the long lost pinkness back to my cheeks. It didn’t; I was ghostly pale still but the trails of tears were gone. I walked out of the bathroom and bumped into April. She hugged me suddenly and I weakly smiled. “I’m so sorry…” she whispered. She let go and stood back. I sighed and whispered: “I’ll get through it somehow…” She waved to me silently and walked past me.
I walked out to the big room. Everyone had been talking but they suddenly stopped. A mournful silence filled the room. I didn’t know what to do or say; no one did. The funeral had already been held and so sympathy for me was pretty much over. I didn’t want to be in there with their inconsiderate hearts. I just walked out of the room into the courtyard.
A stiff, chilly breeze blew around me, making me shiver. I sighed. Whoever comes out will still sympathize me, I thought. And I will know they actually care about me. I sat on a far bench and tried to hide myself: being alone just made me cry. Tears brimmed on my eyes, and when I blinked, the streamed down my face. The clouds blocked out the morning sun above. I laid down on the bench, my face facing the wall. Tocho’s red eyes formed in my head. They were like dark red circles of blood-thirstiness. I tried to blink them out of my mind. I just laid there, letting the wind buffet my face and sting my arms. Nothing mattered except for how I would cope with Tocho gone. I felt my gun press against my leg… It was the same one I killed Tocho with… I vigorously got it out of my pouch, and in anger I threw it across the courtyard. My eyes narrowed and the tears came down harder.
A thought came to my mind. What if I went out there and killed the idiots that killed my Tocho? I smiled. It was perfect. Revenge is what they deserved. I got up, and started to walk across the courtyard. I passed by my gun without a glance at it and I walked into the building. Luckily, no one was in the center room. I walked toward the gate. Unlocking it as quiet as possible, I stepped out of it quickly and closed it.
It was silent out in the forest. There wasn’t a rustle of an animal or one of them, or a movement of a leaf. The wind didn’t even blow. I felt uncomfortable. I walked on. Hopefully I would just find a single one; a loner.
There was a rustle in front of me, and one came out slowly. It had scraggily dead hair and its skin looked rotten and pale. It didn’t even look like it had skin. A hand was missing and it seemed to drag its left foot. I took one chance to kill it right then. I grabbed my knife and threw it at it, stabbing it and knocking it to the ground with a moan. I grinned and got my knife from its chest in case another came. I left it there to rot away; it deserved it.
*~*~*
I walked back glumly. I had only killed three. I frowned as I got back to the building. I heard a movement inside the gate. I quickly moved behind a twisted tree. The gate opened and out came Aba, April, Rance, Christian, and Haben. They were talking about something. I couldn’t be caught out here alone. I would get in big trouble.
There was a subtle movement next to me and I turned around to a distorted face, its eyes deep red. I screamed and jumped back out from behind the tree, but at the same time it leaped at me. I gripped my knife as it knocked me down and tried to get a grip somewhere. I stabbed it in the back, and felt it go limp on my legs. I got up.
April and Aba looked appalled at me. As I turned around to face them and explain, one came out from where the first one came out and leaped onto my back, sinking its teeth into my neck… My scream was cut off. I fell to my knees as it crawled away. Blood gushed out from the bite. I fell down onto my side like I was dead, and my eyes rolled back into my head. My eyes burned and I knew they were turning that horrid red color… My life was over and I could never come back to who I was before…
Chapter 6
I aroused to a world that wasn’t a world of hell. Everything was the same color but it was just fuzzy. Funny, I thought I was going to wake up to a world of torment and disaster…, I thought. I could actually think! I crawled onto my knees and stood up. Aba and April stood there; their eyes were transfixed on my eyes. Aba stepped in front of April, who hid behind his back. He aimed his gun at me. I stopped right there. “Move any closer, you monster, and I can kill you in a blink.” He said, shaking. “I won’t hurt you or her. I promise.” I leaned down and picked up my knife, and stuck it in my pouch. When I stood back up straight, Aba and April looked a little less tense.
“See?” I asked. Aba nodded and let his gun down. April stepped out from behind him. “Kaira?” she whispered, and a tear slithered down her cheek. I looked down at my feet. “Don’t be scared…” I whispered. Aba took a hold of my arm and we walked back into the building. Rance, Christian, and Haben were told to also come in.
Everyone stared at me and a few people screamed. Lang ran out of her room when she heard the screams. She gasped. “Kaira…?” she whispered and ran over to me. “Lang, I’m okay…” I said and looked at her blue eyes; so different from mine. She told Aba and April to go sit down and called a meeting. “Everyone,” She started. “We have a crisis and a miracle on our hands. Kaira was bit but she is not possessed.” I nodded, knowing everything was true. She went on about how to not beware me and that I didn’t have a craving for blood and I didn’t have fangs.
*~*~*
I stepped out of the gate with Sam, Mora, Christian, and April. This was my first real patrol since Tocho died and since I had been bitten. It’s amazing they’ve come to trust me so quick…, I thought, looking around. The forest was quiet. April kicked some dead leaves and whistled. “Alright, let’s make this a quick patrol.” Christian said and started forward. I nodded and followed him.
As we walked, I looked through the trees wishing to see something prettier than more and more trees; maybe like an ocean. April’s hair glinted under the patches of sunlight. There was a growl near a tree on our left, and one pulled itself out with its left arm; half of its body was gone. I shuddered at its horrifying face and I heard April mutter: “Ew!” Sam shot it quickly. Its face fell and hit the ground as blood splattered everywhere.
I grimaced and thought what it would be like to feel like that; the life pulled out of your body like simply breaking a piece of thread. But that had happened to me, and for some miraculous reason, I didn’t “go to hell”. I was saved; saved by some powerful force; one that protected me and one I would be in debt to for the rest of my life. I wondered if this had happened to anyone before. Lang never recalled anything like it, yet she wasn’t appalled that I didn’t die.
We walked on; I was all the while wrapped up in my thoughts. I felt something was watching me, trying to mentally over power me. I looked around at times and thought I saw those penetrating eyes staring right through me in the shadows. I shivered when there was no wind blowing, and at times April looked at me with questioning eyes. I ignored her and looked up through the trees into the dim blue sky. My head started to throb and I tried to keep my focus on patrolling but my mind kept on flashing the thought of being watched over and a mental fighting was taking place. But nothing live was out here; technically everything was dead, right?
*~*~*
The patrol had ended smoothly; a total of 7 were killed. We walked back into the building, and I went over to the courtyard to watch some fighting, hoping I could pick up some new moves. I quietly opened the door and stepped outside. Sure enough, Lang was training with a boy I hadn’t seen before. His name was Ryan and he had dusty plum colored hair with small blue eyes.
Lang smiled at the appearance of me and told Ryan to stop. She walked over to me with Ryan trailing behind her. “Greetings Kaira. Meet my new apprentice.”-She motioned to Ryan with her hand-“His name is Ryan.” I nodded to him. “Why haven’t I seen you before? I haven’t heard of a new member…” I said. He shied away. Lang shifted her wait uncomfortably to the other foot. “Well… He was in the hospital for almost over a year; he had cancer. He finally finished treatment yesterday and now I get to train him again.” Her blank face turned to a smile. Ryan came out. He looked young, maybe about 9 years old. I never knew they trained kids this young, especially if they have been sick for a long time.
“Well, I came out here to watch you guys train together.” I said and went over to sit down at a bench. Ryan couldn’t stop looking at my red eyes. I blushed and started fiddling with the strings on my pouch to distract me. Finally Lang nodded and went back to training with him. It was unbelievable; a nine year old using a knife and a gun!
*~*~*
He turned out to be very good. It was nearly twilight when I finally went inside; long after Lang and Ryan did. I wasn’t in the mood for food. I went down the dark hall way and reached my bed room. What a day…, I thought as I laid down across the faded quilt. My shoes were already off; my pouch and my poncho were too. I turned over. It was a hot night. I reached back and felt my wound that “killed” me. I grimaced when I drew my hand back and saw blood on my finger.
I got up and tip toed to the bath room to clean my hands and put a bandage on the back of my neck. The cool water seemed to soothe me. I placed a fresh piece of cloth across it and it tingled when the blood sunk into it. I quickly went to the bathroom. My neck felt stiff as I flushed the toilet. Probably is just the bandage., I thought to myself. I blinked a couple of times when I finally saw my eyes.
I looked away. I was spending too much time in the bathroom; I needed some sleep. I glanced quickly at my daunting eyes. My gaze was trapped. I tried to look away but my eyes just kept on staring at each other.
I blinked and before I knew it, I fell back. My head hit the wall with a thump and I passed out on the floor. Blood seeped through the fabric of the bandage and made a puddle around me…
Chapter 7
I felt water poured onto my face. Jacob and Lang stood over me, their eyes wide with fear for me. People crowded at the door trying to see. “Huh…?” I mumbled, blinking my dizzy eyes. Jacob helped me up. Blood dripped from the soaked bandage. Someone offered me a chair and I sat down. “Well someone’s gonna have to take it off.” Lang said and frowned. Finally she reached over and pulled it off. More blood leaked out of the wound. I moaned. Jacob pressed a rag against my forehead. My hair was wet with blood.
Lang faced me. “What happened, Kaira?! It looks someone was murdered in here!” Her words were unusually sharp. “I don’t know…” I said. “I went here last night before bed to put a bandage on my neck… And I don’t know what happened after that…I know I went to the bathroom… But…I don’t know…” I wasn’t completely telling the truth. I had gone to the bathroom and I had put a new bandage on, but I didn’t want to tell them about what my eyes did. I was so scared about it, and I know they would be even more scared…
*~*~*
A couple of hours later I sat in the main room after I had had a nap. I stared out the window. It was cloudy and patrols were rushed, in case of rain.
There was a scream from up stairs. I got up and ran to where it was coming from. People were coming out of other rooms and started to proceed towards the sound. I pushed a door open and saw the girl with topaz hair standing over someone. I had learned her name over time. It was Wendy. I walked closer and realized it was Chameli. “Chameli?!” I gasped. She lay on her back; her face turned toward the right; her eyes closed. Her arms and legs were sprawled out. Blood soaked into the carpet beneath her neck. Then I noticed the left side of her neck. It was bloody and two perfect holes where pierced into it; they were right next to each other, yet about an inch apart. Blood trickled out of them.
My stomach turned and the inside of my mouth went dry. The image felt familiar; like I had seen it before. Maybe it’s just a stupid feeling of déjà vu., I thought looking up at Wendy. “You just found her like this right?” I asked her. “Yeah, I nearly stepped on her!” She said and sat down the bed and started to sob. I stood there over Chameli. The image started to come back. I had seen it in the moonlight last night. Lang rushed in and pushed me out of the way. “What the…” she said and bent down over her. I didn’t want to stay; I had this strange feeling in my head.
I walked out and went outside into the courtyard. The sky was darker. I sat down on a far bench; I had to think. Why was this image familiar? I stared into the sky. This image of me staring at Chameli on the floor laying in the moonlight, dead, became more real by the second. I closed my eyes and focused harder. This wasn’t any night where I just got up from sleeping. Was this… last night?! But I was passed out! That’s impossible!, I thought, alarmed. A clearer image came to me. I was leaning over Chameli, now closer, and…bit her neck?! My breath caught in my throat. Somehow I had been awake from being passed out and had killed Chameli… My heart raced. If Lang figured this out…I would be casted off from the civilization because they would know that I would be capable of killing someone. But if I actually bit her, then I would have to have fangs… I opened my mouth and searched around with my finger. My finger touched something sharp and I gasped. I drew my hand back and when I saw my finger, it had blood on it.
My eyes widened at it and I sniffed it. It smelled like Chameli. I was astonished. I wanted to forget about this… It was unbearable; I had actually killed someone. I needed to sleep on it. That was the best way to get away from it. I laid back and hoped it wouldn’t rain. I closed my eyes and softly fell asleep.
*~*~*
It was raining when I woke up. Great! I thought as I got up. I dashed across the courtyard and pushed open the door. After the door closed behind me, Lang appeared in my way. She looked dismayed with a hint of resentment in her eyes. My heart beat quickened. She drew out her gun as I walked nearer. “Get out. Get out and never come back. I know what you did, and if you don’t get out now, I’ll kill you.” She said, aiming her gun at me. Jacob and Rance appeared behind her. “Lang…I can explain, please! I don’t know what happened! Please!” I cried. “Get out!” Jacob yelled and stepped towards me, his gun also raised. I ran between them and got to the gate. I stared at them with desperate eyes. “Please!” I exclaimed. Rance shot at me and missed me by about three inches.
I struggled to get the gate open. It opened and I hurtled out. I stood there in the rain. I could see people looking down from the stairs. Sam, Aba and April stood together. They stared at me. Then April started to cry into Aba’s shoulder. Sam looked at me once more and turned away, tears slipping down his face. Aba stared at me, his eyes broken with pity. He said something to April and she slowly waved to me. I started to cry. I looked at Lang; my first real friend. She even felt like a mother to me… Her eyes were navy blue with anger and commiseration. I saw a tear slip down her face. She aimed her gun and shot at me, and I ducked out of the way. The last person I saw was Ryan. He was sitting on the floor and looked like he was crying. Lang didn’t even care. Finally, Lang, Rance and Jacob shot their guns and I scampered off. I heard the gate close and then silence.
I slipped in a puddle and fell down into it. I sobbed and sobbed. I just wanted to die. I had nothing to live for. No one wanted me and there was no way I could ever survive in a place like this. I would be killed… but then I couldn’t be killed by one of these monsters out here. The rain beat down on my body. I faced the dark sky and screamed.
*~*~*
I pulled myself into a little gap in the roots of a tree. The rain was lighter now that a couple hours had passed since it had just started. I needed a place to sleep for the night. But it’s not like I would actually live through the night. One would find me sleeping and kill me. I didn’t care. I pulled out my gun and sat there in shadows, gripping my firearm until my knuckles turned white. I stared out into the shadows. I wondered what Lang and everyone were doing. Maybe burying Chameli, and having a ceremony for her. It was full moon, why wouldn’t they?
I blinked and closed my eyes. I heard a whisper as soon as I closed them. They flew open. There was nothing there. I sighed and closed my eyes again. The whispering came again. It was fluent and quick; I wasn’t sure what was being said. It kept on repeating itself. I finally realized three words were being said:
“She has arrived.”
Chapter 8
I woke up in a dark room. I blinked a couple of times to get used to the darkness. I was lying on a small bed in the corner of a stone room. I got up, but saw that my left leg was chained to the corner leg of the bed. I sat down and folded my arms. Where am I?! How did I get here?!, I thought.
I gazed around the room. There was a large mirror to my right and steps up to a large door on my far right. To my left, there was a long stone table with silver goblets and plates and silverware all over it. Large rubies were set on the silver objects. Above me, there was a large circular window. The moon was shining through the center of it; I could tell it was night. I sighed. It was chilly.
All of a sudden, the door opened and a dark figure stood in the doorway. Light shined behind him and it blinded me. “Who are you?!” I yelled to him, shading my eyes. Then I started to fear that he was one of them. But he didn’t moan like them; he didn’t drag himself; and as I started to make his face out, he didn’t look one of them at all! He started to walk down the stairs, his footsteps echoed throughout the room. As he got closer I could tell what he completely looked like.
I gasped when I saw he had the same red eyes as I did, but silver hair brushed over them so I'd only gotten a glimpse. “Hello. I am Demitri Vossen. And you are?” his eyes gleamed as he said it. “I am…Kaira; Kaira Sangry. How did I get here?!” I replied. “You will learn that in time.” He said with a toothy grin. I noticed that he had fangs like I did. I had a feeling he was going to kill me. “Well then, will you at least explain why I’m chained up?!” I said with a glare. He glanced at the chain that was holding me down. “Oh yeah; that. I had that put there just in case you tried to get away.” He snapped his fingers and the chain fell to the floor. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Why would I want to get away? If I got up, I would just trip and fall on something in the dark. But better yet, why would I want to go back out there?” I thought about Lang, Jacob, and Rance. “My old home kicked me out…” I said. “Demitri’s eyes softened some. “Why did they force you to leave?” he asked and happened to sit down next to me. I scooted away and said: “Because I was bit…But I wasn’t “killed”…I turned out killing someone…And they found out…” I started to weep.
“Oh…” he said. “You know, I was bit too…” he stated. “It was long ago…” I looked up at him. “Really?” I asked and he nodded. “See? The wound will never go away.” He lifted up his shirt to show a long bloody scar along the left side of his chest. “Wow… You want to see mine?” I inquired. He shook his head and said: “I already saw it.” What?!, I thought and looked away.
“Enough of this. You must be hungry.” He said and got up. “Yeah kind of.” I said and got up also. “Come with me.” he said and started to walk up the stairs. “Wait! What is this room?” I said and started to walk over to the long table. I lifted up a silver goblet with rubies all over it and was about to drink the liquid in it, but he yelled: “Wait!!” I was so startled that I dropped the goblet and it crashed to the floor. I jumped away. “What?! I was going to have something to drink! Jeeze,” I shouted. “That’s poisonous! Now come on!” he said. “Fine.” I answered him.
We went up the stairs. “Now what was that room?” I asked as he shut the door and locked it. “The dungeon.” He simply replied. “Oh.” I said, following him through a hallway. “If you’re wondering why that drink was poisonous, that’s in case someone escapes out of the chain.” I smirked. We entered the third door on the left and went into a big room.
“Woah!” I yelled and it echoed around the room. A diamond chandelier hung at the center of the ceiling, with a portrait of some beautiful lady behind it. The white walls were encrusted in gold like angels had created the room. Golden pots sat next to doors and windows shone to my left“Be quiet!” he whispered. I rolled my eyes. He went to a door on the left and opened it. “Wait here. Idania will come and dress you for dinner.” “Dinner?!” I yelled but he had already closed the door.
I sat done on the floor and started braiding the strings on my pouch. Someone came through a door on the right, behind me. I got up and turned around. There stood a petite lady with long blonde hair and red eyes like me.
“Are you ready to get dressed, Mistress?” she asked. “Sure.” I said and followed her into a room with a big closet in it. There hanging against the broad door was a dress. It was sleeveless and deep red, with a diamond embroidered pattern along the lower chest. As it continued down to the thigh area, silver and diamond roses allowed it to flow out. The red fabric draped over heavy lace layers that hid mostly under the dress, but the outside fabric had been up with the roses. As much as I didn't want to wear it, I loved imagining how I'd look in it. But my first thought got the better of me.
“What the heck?! I’m wearing that?!” I yelled.
