She felt an ache in her chest as she read his name aloud. She gripped the skin above her unmoving heart and bent over in pain. It had only lasted for a moment but it had been the single most unpleasant thing of the night as the feeling of pins pressing into her chest grew stronger then stopped. She imagined that was what guilt felt like but she couldn't rid herself of it like she could the body. She shook her head as she covered him first with dead sticks and leaves and then with dirt and took off.
She found herself on an empty road, houses lining the street of the small subdivision. A light flickered behind her and she turned to it, putting her arms up to shield herself from the bright light.
“Miss, I need you to stay where you are and put your hands in the air,” a male voice called from behind the blaring light. Although hesitant, she stopped moving and threw her hands in the air. Coming up closely behind her, he flashed the light at different parts of her body until it fell upon her bloody hands. Despite the chilling air gnawing at his skin, his body got warm and sweat beads formed and rolled off the back of his neck. He reached for his radio and pulled it to his mouth but before he could speak into it Olivia had swept him up and disappeared. She dumped him onto the ground, sticks scraping against the back of his neck. He scrambled upwards and when he saw Olivia standing over him, he scooted backwards, terrified. Olivia didn't try to catch up with the police officer who hadn't moved as far as he thought. She just watched him with careful eyes and saw that he was bold enough to draw his gun. Clasped between his trembling hands, the gun shook violently as he was unable to steady it and aim for her heart.
“W-what are you?”
She cocked her head to the side as if she were not quite able to understand him. She finally took a step closer to him and he tightened his grip on the gun. His valiant effort didn't stop her as she moved in again only to be met with a metal bullet that went through her knee. She winced as the warmth spread through her leg but only for a moment as her blood ran cold and the wound healed itself. He widened his eyes at the sight and his mouth opened but before words could escape, Olivia had her hands around his neck and had pinned him to the ground. The smell of his blood dripping down his neck had been too much to push away and the bloodlust took over her as she dug her fingernails into his flesh. She felt something underneath the bloodlust, a small sense of humanity questioning her actions. She didn't know what to do with the guy, who was helplessly yelping as she involuntarily dug her nails deeper at the thought of her mother's words, about not having to kill. She knew it was true, that she didn't have to kill, that she didn't have to kill the other one but it was too late for him. She wondered if it was too late for this man as well.
He clearly knew more about her than she knew about him, and could be seen as a huge liability if she allowed him to walk away. How could she drain and not kill, she thought. It suddenly didn't make sense to her. As she contemplated it, two shots rang out and she just barely jerked back as the bullets went through her abdomen. Olivia grunted at the pain and bit her lip as she knocked the gun away.
“That wasn't necessary.”
He had nothing left to attack her with and he began to whimper. “Please let me go!”
I have no intention of hurting you, she wanted to say, but realized how untrue that would have been. She didn't want to hurt him now, but she had no idea what would happen when she felt the urge to feed again. “I can't,” she finally said. She forced tears out, none that she truly felt, and continued, “You—you're going to tell someone. I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you go.”
He could see the pained expression she wore on her face, and as her eyes met his she could see that he believed she had sorrow behind hers. Somewhere inside her, she did, but then again, not really.
“Please!” he pleaded. “Oh God, please....” he cried out as tears streamed down his face.
“I cannot,” she paused and then continued in a quieter voice, “let you go.”
“I won't tell anyone, I swear!”
Olivia looked at him and was taken aback by his cowardice. She felt almost ashamed that she was toying with the thought of letting him go. Here this man was, a police officer, a person of the law sworn to protect the citizens from danger crying for his life. Her mother had once challenged her with a thought, asking her who was looking out for her and who was protecting her. Olivia answered 'the police' but she couldn't believe in her words anymore.
“I do not know that,” she finally said.
“I don't have my radio but you can take all my other things, please!”
She sighed and nodded her head in agreement, lifting her body off of his and standing over him. She wasn't hungry and didn't have the energy to kill him, so she knew it best to let him go. He held onto his bloody neck and struggled to stand up. He took off his jacket and tossed Olivia all of his essentials then briefly glanced over to the gun but did not move toward it. She nodded at him and he was ready to take off but he suddenly realized he had no idea where he was; still he turned away from her and started running. Olivia called to the officer before he got very far and although hesitant he turned back around.
“Why did you become a police officer?” she asked. The question had been burning her ever since he began begging for his life.
“To protect people from the fate that befell my wife. Someone attacked her on her way home.”
“I see. Do you know what I am?”
“I used to not believe in ghost stories and I may not know much....” he said softly as he shook his head. “But I know when three bullets don’t stop someone, they aren't exactly human.”
“Do you think I am a monster?”
His eyes were wide then fell and he said his next words with the utmost conviction, “No one's a greater monster than the person who killed my wife.”
Olivia gave a gesture of allowing him to go and she watched his body disappear into the forest. She started digging another hole just a few feet from where she had dumped the body of Vic Pulaski and hoped she had made the right decision.
The police officer had broken into a sprint and continued sprinting until he was met with the harsh street lights in a small subdivision. He was still far from anything he could recognize but at least there were people who were likely to have phones here. He leaned over, placing his free hand on his thigh and panted heavily. After regaining his breath he lifted his head and a woman was standing before him, smirking. The face he saw wasn't smirking at him though, he only saw an elderly woman with a worried expression and was glad to see a non-intimidating face. He opened his mouth to speak but the woman put her hands on either side of his head and snapped his neck before he could say anything. She pulled a mirror out of her pocket and smiled at her reflection, happy to see that she had rid herself of that awful old lady disguise.
“Oh Olivia, you're ruining my plans entirely too soon,” the woman shook her head as she rolled her eyes. She then looked to the dead man, “Congratulations, you've met your wife's killer.”
Olivia had been walking for miles in search of the colony though to her it felt like she had only taken a few steps. The area had become more familiar but not in the direction to what she called home, it was a different kind of familiar and she finally figured out why as she came upon the recreation center. The harsh city lights filled the street and glowed orange against the pavement and there was a quiet howl of the wind but other than that she had been alone. She went to the door and tugged on it several times and she could feel it freeing itself from the metal hinges but decided to stop and left it cracked open at the top. She looked down at her hands and thought about how she was ever going to get used to this strength but even more so, how she was going to explain her new found immortality to her mother who was still in search of it. Looking up at the sky, its clouds gray against the dark blue backdrop she figured it was about ten o'clock and had enough time before the sun would rise.
She went in search of a store to get new clothes and thought about how much simpler this would have b
een for Natalie. When she had gotten into the center of town, she noticed the neon lights of the store signs beckoning consumers inside even though they were closed. There was a pump of bass blasting just a few blocks down and she could hear people yelling and screaming over the music. She could even smell the salt in their sweat rolling of their skin and the ping as droplets hit the metal floors but she ignored them. Instead, Olivia focused on the stores that lined the street and she walked down them, her fingers dancing across the glass windows and briefly touching the cold brick before meeting another window. It had been rows of endless stores that sported the flashiest of things but Olivia just wanted something inconspicuous and normal. Standing before her was a mannequin draped in a long sleeve white street of thin fabric, adorned with a black leather jacket and distressed dark blue jeans. She took her elbow to the window, ignoring the alarm that was blaring loudly and grabbed the clothes and fled.
Olivia had left the clothes on the beach and dove into the water from the high land next to the rocks which looking back on it made little sense when she hit the water. She could have easily walked into the water but Olivia couldn't put the curiosity behind her, she wanted to jump in. The water felt like nothing against her skin, much different from what she expected. She used to feel the sting of cold water when her shower would change so she imagined diving into an ocean of water on a cold night would be a little more refreshing but it wasn't. The water that ripped and roared pulling her head under for brief moments felt as if they weren't even there and it just felt underwhelming. She scrubbed her hair and dipped her head back letting the clumps of blood untangle themselves and continued to do so with the dried blood on her hands and mouth. Once she was rid of the blood she tucked the too long jeans that swallowed her five foot two frame into her sneakers and slipped on the shirt and jacket and once again, went in search of home.
She once again found herself near the recreation center as if by some magnetic pull she kept being forced there. It hadn't been too far from the beach and the center of town and it was clearly somewhere she had to pass to get to the colony but she always found herself stopping there rather than zipping by it. The road was still empty when she stepped onto it, orange street lights blaring brightly onto her skin and flushing it a warm glow, an uncomfortable warmth against it. She knew it wouldn't hurt her, but it was something about the light's heat that made her shy away from it and further down the road. She thought about darting into the mangled green to the right of her to avoid the harshness of the street lamps but her thought was interrupted by the sound of tires grinding against the pavement and the scorching scent of rubber. The sound grew louder and then it was upon her, blaring head lights at the forefront of the sound and distorting her view. The car swerved just before it could collide with Olivia and came to a screeching halt a short distance away from her, the front of it perched onto the sidewalk with smoke flaring from under its hood. A man tumbled out of the driver's seat and began dizzily stumbling toward Olivia who couldn't quite make out what was happening, even with improved vision. As he came in closer, his obnoxious scent drove Olivia back but didn't stop her fangs from elongating, now thirsty.
“Hey girl!” the man called out. He was a mess as he continued to stumble toward her. “You're the five mile girl. Remember me? I'm the burger and fry guy.”
Olivia's fangs retracted and her eyes widened as she recalled the man who had so graciously helped her out before and what he had turned into. He was just inches away from her body but stood almost a foot taller than her, his breaths ruffling the hairs on the top of her head. Olivia hadn't been exposed to many people who looked like this but she only needed one experience for it to be locked in her memory forever. She remembered the boy Seth who hated the colony's rules and tried to escape but was dragged back by Natalie. He reeked of something strong, something that burned her nose hairs when he had gotten too close. Seth's face was flushed red and he had been slurring so much that his words were incoherent when he spoke. That was the first time she had heard of someone being drunk. The next day they were visited by the state and it just so happened that they were mandating ADAP classes and Olivia had finally learned about alcohol and what it did to even the most scrupulous of men and women.
The alcohol was warm on his breath as he spoke, “You need a ride five miles?”
She shook her head. “Maybe you do though,” she suggested.
“I don't need a damn ride. I'm gooood.”
His lips pulled back into a smile and his skin stretched over his face, forming a web of creases that sprawled across his leathery skin. His dark eyes were glossy as he swayed, unable to focus on her. She watched every move he made with extreme caution and watched his less than graceful trip as one foot crossed over the other and he met the pavement. A flurry of curses flew out of his mouth as he tried to push himself up, still muttering.
Olivia drowned out the man's slurred rant as his heart raced in the heat of his drunken state. She caught an odd scent and looked down to see blood welling up in multiple scrapes. Before she could fight the bloodlust, her eyes turned to a clouded brown and her canines elongated into massive fangs as she rushed to the man and tore into his neck without mercy, blood spurting all over her face. His cries were silenced as her lower canines elongated with the taste of blood and she dug deep into his trachea, tearing it away. There was a faint voice in her head, gnawing at her brain and telling her to feed. She listened to it as she tore into her prey like the ultimate predator. The blood was warm as it went down, satiating her thirst. She pulled her mouth away, tilting her head back as she indulged in the blood lingering in her mouth. It felt good and if even for a moment, she felt alive.
Her cheeks were burning as she stumbled back into town. Olivia could faintly see men outside of a store, her eyes so blurred their bodies meshed together. Her left foot staggered over her right and she tripped over it and tumbled to the ground clumsily. She didn't see the man and woman who were at her side lifting her up until she felt their hands wrapped around her arms.
“Did you witness the robbery?” the woman asked softly.
Olivia drew back from her unable to take her loud voice. She slammed her palm against her forehead and slurred, “What robbery?”
The female police officer turned to her partner, “She must be part of the party crowd.”
They both looked at the crowd of club goers ogling the crime scene through dazed vision. Olivia could hear a girl crying and screaming to someone about why they were dancing with everyone but her, her words almost incoherent between slurs and sobs. She was escorted toward the crowd by the two officers and sat on the ground. The male officer looked disgusted as he looked down at her shirt.
“She must've spilled her Bloody Mary.”
Olivia giggled and pulled her eyebrows up. “Bloody Mary? Oh,” she waved a hand, “this is blood.”
“Sure it is,” he said and turned to the woman. “She doesn't even look old enough to drink.”
“Yeah, we need to check for some ID.”
The woman pulled Olivia's leather jacket open causing her to giggle uncontrollably. “Don't you need a warrant to strip search me?”
She rolled her eyes and fiddled around until her hand came across a tag. The woman yanked it and looked down at it in disbelief. She turned around to another officer and called out. “We've apprehended the thief.”
She felt something cool against her skin like wind and when she turned back to the girl she had disappeared.
Olivia's head was throbbing as she stumbled down another empty road. She could barely remember what had just happened but there was a voice telling her to move quickly and she did. She didn't know she would find herself in another unfamiliar part of town. She wished there was this home button for vampires that she could just click and be beamed back to wherever she called home, but instead she was left walking down a street leading to a large house. There was so much land separating the house from any other and in front of it was a wooded area leading into a forest. Sh
e didn't see a car parked in the lot but that was because she was still having a hard time focusing through the alcohol. As she approached the steps she could smell something familiar and knew right away what it was. When she rung the doorbell she expected to be met with Troy and she did see him standing in the back, his eyes wide, but before her was a girl who uttered just a single word, “Olivia.”
Six
When Alexa had said Olivia's name the first time it was in genuine surprise, astonishment even, but when she said her name again it was as if it were blanketed in absolute distaste. “Olivia! What are you doing here?”
“What's going on Alexa?” asked Troy. He had moved closer to her and his hand was placed on her shoulder. “Do you know her?”
“Yes,” she said, faintly. “She's my sister.”
It was almost as if Troy's heart had momentarily stopped beating and Olivia took two seconds to look at him and then her eyes went back to her sister. He could finally see it as he stared at her. She did look like her sister in some ways. They didn't have the same eye color or hair color and each time he had looked at Olivia her face was either expressionless or contorted into a scowl which was the opposite of Alexa's bright and cheery face but still something bound them together.
“I never knew you had a sister,” he spoke softly. “Should we invite her in?”
“No!” she screamed more at Olivia than at Troy. She lowered her voice but it was still as frightened and angry as it had been before. “How did you find me? Did Mar send you?”
Mar? Troy thought. It sounded familiar but he couldn't quite stick a face with the name.
“Mother did not send me.”
Alexa visibly relaxed and an image had finally affixed itself to that name as Troy said the name again in his head. The woman from the blood drive, he thought. Alexa had ironed out her shirt with her hands and tucked strands of hair behind her ears as she further calmed herself down but Olivia could still hear the rampant beat of her heart. She was scared. Alexa hesitantly put her hand toward Olivia and when the tip of fingers touched her skin Olivia pulled back. Alexa felt the iciness of her sister's skin and drew her fingers back as well. Her eyes were wide and she wanted to say something but it was if her voice had been stolen from her. She didn't have to struggle for a voice anyway as Olivia had turned and ran off. She was still stuck at the door watching her sister run off when Troy gently shook her shoulder. Her green eyes were glossed over when she turned and looked up at him.
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