Diary of a Vampeen (33 page)

After days of practicing physically
and mentally, the time had come to test myself. Al forced Kellan to
stay behind and he fed earlier to avoid temptation and focus on me.
Should I get carried away, he promised to protect my mission and
withdraw me. Nerves swarmed me as I prepared myself. The scary part
was only in not knowing what’s to come… You can only train so much
in simulation.

“I smell one jogging alone,” he
prompted.

“I don’t. Am I supposed to?” I
checked. I knew my nose worked because I smelled the dewy forest
floor and the pine of the cones scattered about. Maybe I was just
missing it. It was technically my first attempt to smell a human
that should be appetizing to me; I would never view my dad or
friends as a meal.

He stopped abruptly. “You don’t smell
anything?”

“Well, I smell nature – the trees, the
moss, the musky smell of a fire nearby but nothing else
really.”

“Hmm. This is not normal Lexi. The
scent of a human should entice you. Like a roast fresh out the
oven, their smell should make your mouth water and adrenaline rush
through you.”

I inhaled deep and released a quick,
“Nope, I’ve got none of that.”

“I’ll guide you to him. You should
retain more control than I anticipated without the scent to
hypnotize you,” he stated thoughtfully. “But we must look into
this. We rely on our scent far more than we should. You will be
crippled, especially in battle, without it.”

We resumed our previous pace. As we
got closer, I heard the pitter patter of a heavy sprint against the
smooth concrete path. I was confused by my nasal issues, but at
least I could default to my hearing.

Concurrent to each pound I heard two
heart beats muffled by upbeat alternative music. The closer I got
the more anxiety built within me. I thought no enticing scent was
making it worse. There was no allure to the man other than to rid
my throat of this bit of serum. I wished I was extremely thirsty,
so far hunger crazed that my mind couldn’t falter away to moral and
actions.

I sprung onto the path
slowing my pace to match the human before me. I heard Al following
a short parallel distance within the forest. The dark haired man
stood about 6 feet tall. Clothed in basketball shorts, a jacket and
earphones, I was momentarily distracted by his likeness to Kellan
from behind.
Ugh. Definitely the no scent
of humans thing is a hindrance!

Focus Lexi!

I located the major pulsing point in
his neck, the one I was prepared, or at least I thought I was
prepared, to tear into. Crouching slightly I increased my speed and
mentally counted one… two.. three!

Half a second later I was hovering
over the man I knocked unconscious with my abrupt attack. I lowered
my mouth, shaking in unison. I bit; my teeth punched through his
skin as if I’d only bit into a sandwich.

Just as Al predicted, the moment the
first drop of blood hit my tongue, my instincts dominated. The
warmth of the pulsing blood that effortlessly filled my mouth was
what drove me to want more. Kellan was smart with ice cubes before;
it didn’t taste the same. The blood was quenching a thirst I didn’t
know existed. Like a cold shower on a hot day, my body fell into a
hypnotic mode caressed by a physical elation.

The blood still steadily pumping
wasn’t fast enough to satisfy my desires. I felt like the desert
man who’d discovered a spring. I began inhaling, sucking the liquid
in large volumes until I heard a voice.

“Lexi,” Al called.

Though I didn’t want to pull away,
though my mouth still tingled and watered with an uncontrollable
thirst, I lifted my head slightly to acknowledge him.

It was then that I peered down at the
man I’d used as a life source. He was lying sideways and scattered.
Dirt covered his once clean attire and rocks were stabbing at his
arms. I saw the blood trickling down his neck just as the serum
regurgitated into my mouth. I spit it onto his red stained neck
where I bit into him.

Though I had consciously sketched
every part of this man into my mind, I purposefully omitted his
face. I refused to look beyond the healing wound of my unexpecting
donor. I couldn’t face myself in the mirror should it happen to be
someone I knew.

Seconds later I glanced at the wound
once more before rising and was surprised to see it entirely
scabbed over and beginning to fade. It had been no more than three
seconds from the time the serum touched his skin. I quickly rose
retreating into the forest swiftly as if I would be caught any
minute.

I ran fast following close behind Al.
Rounding back to his car my emotions and my conscience over the act
I’d completed set in. I didn’t kill the man, but I’d rendered him
unconscious, drank six pints of his blood and left him deserted to
awake in confusion feeling light headed. Avoiding murder, I still
was soaked in guilt over my actions. I realized in this that humans
are not at the top of the food chain like they boast. They are weak
and I felt weak for having consumed the life flow of most of one. I
knew this too would pass; I knew I would adjust to this new
lifestyle, this new means of survival, but not until I’d rid my
conscience of my human morals or rectified my senses.

I didn’t understand why humans carried
no scent to me, but I believed that was the key to pacifying my
conscience in this new appetite.

Arriving at my house, we found my
mother, Kellan, and my dad pacing the living room floor while Beth
sat casually at ease on the couch. They rushed me through the front
door and drilled me relentlessly.

“How was it?” my mother
started.

“Did you kill him?” Kellan
asked.

“Are you ok sweetie?” my dad pressed.
I could tell he felt uncomfortable, almost like he was encouraging
a crime but wanted to remain the ever supportive father.

Al answered for me. “Lexi did great.
She didn’t kill him and followed through in healing him perfectly.
I was impressed by her control. She pulled away the first time I
called, but…”

“What is it?” my mother rushed at his
hesitation.

“She told me she doesn’t smell
humans.”

“You don’t?” she pressed, crinkling
her forehead with concern.

“At all?” Kellan checked, tilting his
head a bit in attentive confusion.

“Do you smell other things?” Beth
chimed in.

I shrugged my shoulders unsure of what
I was supposed to say or do. “I didn’t know I was supposed to until
Al mentioned it. I mean, yea, I smell everything else – trees,
flowers, salt water, Kellan’s cologne – but not Dad or any other
human really,” I explained.

I heard my dad breathe a sigh of
relief. “Al, have you ever heard of such a thing?” my mother
asked.

“Never, this is definitely a doctor’s
call,” he replied.

“Beth?” she turned toward Kellan’s
mother anxiously.

“Call the doctor Sharon. I’m sure he
will figure it out,” she answered softly.

“I’ll call him. Lexi, why don’t you go
shower and change, you’re a little dirty,” she prompted.

I obeyed retreating to my room shortly
after I gave my distressed dad a hug and kiss. I knew he was
relieved that I didn’t desire to eat him or any other human, but he
was also concerned because he understood enough to know I should
have wanted to and that I definitely should smell them with
enticement.

Kellan, of course, beat me to my room.
“How do you feel?”

“Ok,” I answered robotically though I
hadn’t been able to look anyone in the eyes, especially him since
I’d walked through the front door.

He grabbed my arms and centered me in
front of him. He took my face in his hands and smiled brilliantly,
dimple exposed and teeth shining, as he spoke, “I’m proud of you.
Without smell driving you, I know you had to consciously bite
him.”

“Yea, I still feel horrible. I
couldn’t look at his face. And now I can’t think about my broken
resolve knowing I abandoned the man on a bike path half dead,” I
gushed as a few tears trickled down my cheeks.

“You can’t cry now,” Kellan said
quickly. “It’s blood.” He wiped away the liquid drops and held up
his red stained fingers. I broke from his hold and ran to the
bathroom alarmed.

“How?! Why?!” I yelled frantically. I
ripped the toilet paper from the roll and began blotching like a
mad woman.

“Calm down Lexi. It’s okay. It’s just
that when you drink human blood, you’ll cry human
blood.”

“What happened to my tears?” I pressed
anxiously.

“They’ll come back. When you drink
human blood, it’s quickly absorbed throughout your body. Like
water, it hydrates so many parts of you including the reserves in
your eyes. Once your body fully processes the blood, uses its fuel
where needed, the salt water will return in a balanced chart.
You’re still human in a lot of ways and still need to drink water
regularly like you’ve been doing,” he explained.

I laughed. “I didn’t understand that;
I’m too mentally jumbled right now. But as long as I don’t cry
blood forever, I guess I’m okay.”

He smiled tugging me into his arms for
a warm embrace.

“I’m sorry for being so crazy. It’s
just feeding was so much harder mentally than physically; more than
I assumed. I know I’ll get used to it, I’m just overwhelmed by the
memory of what I did,” I mumbled.

“You’re too innocent for your own
good.”

Hugging him provided more than
comfort; it surrounded me with his unconditional love and much
needed relief. I was able to acknowledge that I wasn’t the same as
I was yesterday and further different in comparison to last
Thursday. I felt like a soldier returning from war, I’d seen and
heard things most hadn’t and that’d altered me on a level I
couldn’t comprehend fully at this point.

Chapter 21

“Hello again Alexa,” Dr. H greeted
entering my room.

I stood from my bed and replied,
“Hello.”

Kellan copied my movement standing
beside me now. My mother, Al, and a man I didn’t know shuffled
in.

“Alexa, this is my colleague Dr.
Zhan,” he announced gesturing towards the short man. He must have
stood merely five feet and was at least two inches shorter than me.
He was quite the opposite of Dr. H with dark withered skin, salt
and pepper hair, thick bifocals despite what should be perfect
vision, and yet a strong aura of utter wisdom exuded
him.

“Oh my!” he exclaimed staring
wide-eyed between me and Kellan. He slipped into the tongue I was
growing familiar of hearing yet still didn’t comprehend. Kellan’s
stance tightened at my side.

My mother asked a question and now
gave the same astonished doe-eyed glare.

Al muttered something incomprehensible
in the foreign language, he sounded shocked and as if he was
discrediting the words of the old man near the end.

I leaned over cautiously and whispered
to Kellan, “What are they talking about?”

“You don’t want to know,” he answered
coldly never leaving the eyes of Dr. Zhan.

Whatever was said upset Kellan. A calm
façade was replaced with controlled anger, but what could he have
said that was so bad? I wanted to know. Regardless of the subject,
I wanted to hear it.

“I want to know; I have a right to
know. I am standing here listening, ok so more like being rudely
ignored, but you are talking about me are you not?” I huffed
towards anyone and everyone.

Kellan broke the silence, “He’s
talking about us.”

I was puzzled. The confusion clearly
plastered on my face.

“Forgive me. Please sit Alexa, allow
me to detail your destiny,” he stated solemnly.

“My destiny?” I wrinkled my forehead,
but obliged his request. I was curious, dying to know what had my
mother awestruck, Al dismissive, and Kellan angry. Such adverse
reactions towards the same words meant the words carried a heavy
weight.

“Nearly two centuries ago, you were
predicted,” he began before I interrupted.

“Predicted? Me?” I wanted to laugh,
but didn’t.

“Yes. Maximus Arturo depicted a young
couple, clearly soul mates by their unified red and purple aura
that never flickers or fades. You see purple is the highest
frequency, and the lowest frequency is red. You two are the perfect
balance of love, life, of the material and spiritual habitants, the
rarest of existence on this earth. Your permanent yellow halos
depict a solid strength beyond your awareness. There is no break,
no separation. Like two magnets melded together by their own pull,
neither distance nor harm can segregate your bond. It is clear you
act as one, love as one, and shall bring peace amongst our
quarreling species as Maximus and Sir Staten claimed long ago,” he
spoke thoughtfully, still awestruck as if he was in the presence of
a royal family.

“You’re joking?! Right? I mean I don’t
even know who those people are. And Kellan… me… we’re… we’re not
even together like boyfriend-girlfriend,” I stammered. I was
dismissive, angry, and awestruck; I was the combination of all
their reactions in one. It just didn’t make sense. To think me –
Kellan – us – together would bring peace to unruly ignorants ruled
by their history lessons teaching hate. The man was clearly
crazy.