Fallen

by Stacy Claflin

  "I can't wait," I said and ended the call. I grabbed a book from my backpack. I had snuck the book when I was in the library trying to talk to Alexis there. I had sat next to her, planning to start a conversation when she looked up at me, but she never did. What was with her? How could anyone be so obsessed with studying? She probably dreamed about math equations.

  As I read through the story, I couldn't help laughing at it. It was ridiculous.

  "What's so funny?" asked a voice to my left.

  I looked up, surprised to see Alexis sitting at the next table over. How could I have let myself get so distracted by the story that I hadn't even noticed she'd taken her break? At least it had led to her to initiating conversation with me. I hadn't thought that was even a remote possibility.

  "This book," I said, showing her the cover.

  "I hear it's better than the movies," she said.

  "They made a movie about it?"

  "Five of them," she said with a laugh. "My friends dragged me to all of them."

  "That's hard to believe. Do people take this seriously? Vampires don't sparkle."

  She raised an eyebrow. "Vampires don't exist."

  "You don't think so?"

  "You do?"

  "Well if they did, they wouldn't sparkle. You really don't believe in vampires?"

  She looked at me as though I'd lost my mind. I was trying to provoke any kind of memory. I was looking to see if her heart rate would increase, even in the slightest, or if her eyes would dilate. There wasn't any clue indicating that she was even hiding a memory of being a vampire.

  I shrugged my shoulders. "The world would be boring if it only had people, don't you think?"

  "People keep things interesting enough. There's no need to worry about imaginary creatures being after us when so many people are degenerates. Just turn on the news." She looked at the clock. "I'd better get back to work. Thanks for the, uh, interesting conversation."

  "No problem," I said, and went back to the book. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as she got up from the table, shaking her head and whispering to herself about how insane she thought it was that anyone could even consider the possibility of vampires existing.

  I read the book until her shift ended and then I followed her home. Her entire family was in the kitchen so I sneaked around back and went through a wall, and then I listened to their conversations. There was nothing that interested me. Only talk of traveling across the country for some science competition.

  As I ran past them to the stairs, they didn't even see me. I loved how easy it was to get around mortals. I could have taken out the whole family and they wouldn't even have known what hit them. It was too bad that I had to wait and let Vince kill Alexis himself, but what Vince wanted, Vince got. I walked into one room and saw athletic posters covering the walls. That couldn't be her room. I went into another and saw academic awards covering the walls. Bingo.

  Opening up a laptop, I stared at the password box until it disappeared and opened the desktop. I scanned through her files, finding nothing aside from school-related work. She was looking to be the most boring vampire ever to live. And that was saying something, because some of the royal vampires were exceedingly dull. I closed the computer and rifled through her room, again finding nothing.

  Then I came to her jewelry box. Stuffed into a corner, I saw the necklace right away. I picked it up and held it to the light. She obviously had no idea what this was or she would have it in its own box, shiny and clean, locked away. The way she had it stuffed into a corner, one would think that it was a child's toy.

  I resisted the urge to put it on and take it with me. But I couldn't leave any sign that I had been there. I was actually holding the necklace that had once belonged to Ida Freysdottir, one of the first vampires, born three thousand years ago. Pictures of this exact necklace were in the ancient scrolls. It was one of a kind. I really wanted to take it for my own, especially since Alexis obviously had no clue what it was. She could easily just stick it in a garage sale.

  Stuffing it back where I had found it nearly killed me. It belonged on a display somewhere. My neck, for example. I tried to push it out of my mind as I went through the rest of her room. I wasn't surprised to find the rest of her wardrobe as boring and plain as what she'd had on at school. She didn't even own any makeup. I tried to imagine her as a vampire, but I couldn't.

  Alexis belonged at the castle where they drank all of their blood from a cup. At least most of the other royalty around the world had human volunteers that they drank from directly. I couldn't stand visiting the castle. It was as though they weren't even real vampires. They drank barely enough blood to survive and it was never fresh. It always lacked in taste, because they kept their volunteers relaxed, happy, and well-fed.

  Hearing footsteps, I ran to the closet and hid. Alexis came in and sat on her bed and I watched her do homework for an hour. She didn't get on the phone or anything. Not that any guys would ever have an interest in calling her. She was nothing to look at and she always had a book to her face.

  As soon as she left the room, I got out of the closet, went through her wall and jumped to ground below, landing soundlessly. I couldn't wait to run to Vince's hideout. I'd had enough of following that girl around. I may as well have been sent to watch paint dry for all the excitement I'd had all day.

  On my way back, I could tell that the run wasn't going to help me get rid of the excess energy from such a boring, and yet frustrating, day. Why couldn't she have been at least a little interesting?

  I saw a guy standing at a bus stop texting. I thought about the tasty blood from earlier and decided to go on a hunt, instead of taking him by surprise as I usually did. I slowed my speed and walked up to him. He appeared to be in his early twenties and in good shape. He might even prove to be a little bit of a fun challenge.

  "Who are you texting?" I asked, twirling a strand of my hair.

  He looked up and his heart picked up speed as he looked me over. He stuck his phone in his pocket and said, "No one important."

  I smiled. "Where does the bus go? I'm new around here," I said, trying to give the impression that I might be easy to take advantage of. If he thought that, then I could take him by surprise more easily.

  His eyes twinkled. "This bus goes to the station and then you can go anywhere from there. I could show you around."

  "Mmmm. I'd like that. What would you like to show me?"

  The smell from his heart picking up speed again danced around me. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to wait for a chase. This was why I was never able to let them build up real terror for the best taste possible. I was too impatient.

  "Anything you'd like."

  "What about the woods behind us?" I asked.

  He stopped. "The woods?"

  "They're always so mysterious and dangerous, don't you think?"

  "I was thinking more along the lines of a park or a restaurant."

  "Eating sounds nice," I said, feeling my fangs extending and my mouth watering. "Maybe we can find a bite in there." I looked toward the forest.

  "What? Like blackberries?" he asked, the scent of fear escaping. He could tell that something was up.

  Taking in a deep breath, I said, "Something like that."

  He swallowed. "You know, I think I actually should head home instead. I just thought of something that I have to do."

  "I'm sure it can wait," I said and then opened my mouth, showing him my fangs.

  His eyes widened and his pupils dilated. "What the…?"

  I lunged for him and he ran into the woods. I had decided to have a hunt after all. The smell of fear followed him like a beacon. I waited for him to get ahead a little and then I walked after him, actually able to see the trail of fear glowing as a trail between the trees.

  Humans had no idea how easy it was for predators to chase them. Their fear was a tantalizing scent, visible to sensitive eyes. Their heartbeat was loud, like a love song calling out. My mouth watered and my legs ached to go faster.<
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  "I know where you are," I called out. I heard him pick up speed and I raced after him.

  "Leave me alone! I'll do anything you want," he begged after looking back to see me right behind him.

  "The only thing I want is your fear-drenched blood," I whispered, closing in on him.

  Beads of sweat formed around his hair line. "Please…don't!"

  "Sorry. I don't let anyone get away." I jumped on him, knocking him to the ground. We rolled around, leaves sticking to our clothes and hair. "I can at least make it less painful for you." I nipped him, allowing the venom to run through his system.

  The venom had two purposes, the first being that it acted like a drug, giving victims an intense euphoric feeling; it helped them to resist less. Second, it was one of the two ways to turn a human into a vampire, the other being with vampire blood.

  As I watched him relax, I could smell the fear dissipating. I bit into his neck again, drinking him dry as fast as I could before the delicious fear wore off. I threw his body aside. It wouldn't be long before some animal came along and took care of the body for me.

  When I walked through the door, Adam greeted me with a glare. "You were supposed to call first."

  I narrowed my eyes. "I don't have to go through you."

  He got in my face. "When Vince says you do, you do."

  "Look, you don't have any idea what kind of a day I've had. If Vince is busy, I'll be more than happy to go to my room and relax. I seriously need to unwind."

  "Well, he is busy as a matter of fact. I'll let him know that you're back when I talk to him."

  "Fine by me," I said and pushed past him. He was annoying to begin with, but he had taken it to a new level after Vince had made him his sidekick.

  When I got to my room, I climbed into my soft, comfortable bed and tried to forget how tedious my day had been. I closed my eyes and fell asleep right away. It had been several days since I'd had any sleep. I could go a couple of weeks if I had to, but I really preferred to get a little each day. The consistency helped me to stay on top of my game.

  I woke up when I felt the weight shift on the bed. I opened my eyes to see Vince sitting beside me. He smiled. "You're beautiful when you sleep. What did you learn today? Adam didn't seem to know anything."

  "Why do I have to go through him?" I asked, making a face. "I'd rather talk to you directly."

  He ran his fingers through the length of my hair. "Here I am. Talk."

  "She's as boring as Hades and she has no clue about being born a vampire. If she wasn't royalty, I'd believe that she'd had her mind controlled. She doesn't even believe in us and she clearly thinks that she's nothing more than human—and the most boring one on the planet, at that. Her whole life is consumed with grades. Did I mention how completely boring she is? Please don't send me to spy on her again."

  Vince ran his fingertips along my face and down my bare arms, giving me the chills. "I have a much more interesting quest to send you on. You're perfect for the job and I'm sure you'll have fun."

  "What is it?" I asked, grabbing his hand and wrapping my fingers through his.

  "I don't want you interacting with her directly—"

  "Thank you!"

  He laughed. "You're going to convince some guy in that town to fall in love with her and then you'll use him to lure her to us. That way, we don't have to deal with trying to kidnap her. She'll come to us willingly."

  "You want me to what? How am I supposed to do that?"

  "That's for you to figure out, Samantha," he said and then leaned down and kissed my lips briefly. "Use mind control if you have to. I don't really care."

  "I'm sure I'm going to have to. You haven't seen her—she doesn't care about how she looks. Not one guy gave her a second glance all day. Not even the dweebs in the library."

  Vince laughed and ran his hand through his hair. "You had to go in to a library. Poor Samantha—you really do love me!"

  "Whatever," I said, rolling my eyes.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  I sat in the back of the cafeteria, watching all of the guys, trying to decide which one I would approach. I had to find one that would be easy to work with, although I knew it would be a challenge to talk anyone into working with me. I had to find an angle because none of them would want to approach Alexis.

  They all basically looked the same to me. Sure there were the ones who were obviously popular, usually they were the better looking ones. But there were also some good looking ones sitting quietly by themselves or in small groups. Which type would give me less trouble?

  My eyes stopped at a table of geeks. They were all engrossed in a role playing game on their laptops instead of eating lunch. Perhaps one of them would believe in vampires. I didn't need to tell them everything, but I needed to give them some information. That way he could approach Alexis about the changes she was starting to experience as she began her transformation. She would feel alone with no other vampires nearby and if I could get one of these guys to be her confidant, I would have her eating out of his hand in no time.

  The bell began to ring and I moved to cover my ears, but then I realized that it wasn't so loud as long as I wasn't right underneath. I had my eye on the table of gamers. All except one were closing their laptops.

  "Hey Jason," one of the guys said. "Time to get to class."

  "I have to complete this mission first."

  When only Jason was left at the table, I picked up my backpack and sat down next to him. He looked at me from the corner of his eye and then went back to his game. A few seconds later he looked back up at me, sitting up straight.

  "Done with your mission?" I asked, trying unsuccessfully not to smile.

  "No. What are you doing?" he asked.

  "I wanted to introduce myself. I'm new here."

  He looked me up and down. "You want to introduce yourself to me?"

  "I've been watching you," I said with a smile. "I'd like to get to know you if that's okay."

  Jason's eyes widened. "You do?"

  Nodding with thirsty eyes, I said, "I really do."

  He closed his laptop. "I'm Jason."

  "Don't you want to finish your mission?"

  "It's not important."

  The bell rang.

  "Uh oh," I said. "Sounds like we're late for class."

  "I can handle a tardy. Can you?"

  "Of course. Everyone has grace for the new girl," I said, scooting my chair closer to his.

  His heart picked up speed. "Tell me about yourself."

  "I'd rather hear about you. You seem so interesting. I couldn't keep my eyes off you at lunch."

  Eyes wide, he asked, "Really? Are you sure?"

  I scooted even closer. "Mmmm hmmm. I love a guy who isn't afraid to wear a shirt with a funny saying across the front. It takes guts."

  He blushed. "I…well, people just don't understand usually."

  "Tell me what it means," I said, tracing the words with my finger.

  "It, uh, it's a reference to the game I play," he said, his heart racing faster.

  "Explain it to me," I whispered, still tracing the wording.

  "I…I…you'd have to play it to really get it."

  Beads of sweat were forming across his forehead. I scooted back a little, giving him some space. He was obviously not used to attention from pretty girls, even ones dressed down. I was only wearing jeans and sweater. He'd probably pass out if I'd been wearing anything that exposed any skin. "Maybe I should let you get back to class. Do you want to meet after school?"

  He nodded. "You name the place."

  "Right back here," I suggested.

  "You want to meet in the cafeteria?"

  "Then you suggest something. I told you I'm new here."

  "How about the gym? I think there's a volleyball game after school."

  "Everyone sure likes volleyball around here," I said, remembering a conversation that I had heard Alexis have.

  "They're long time champions," he said, shrugging. "Everyone goes to their games.
"

  "Wouldn't you like to go somewhere a little more private?"

  More beads of sweat popped out around his face and his eyes dilated.

  "I'm sure the game would be a good place to get to know each other," I said.

  He looked relieved.

  A lady walked to our table. "You two need to get to class."

  I stared into her eyes, waiting for the pupils to shrink. "We're fine. Leave us alone."

  She nodded. "You're fine. I'll just leave you two alone," she said and walked away.

  Turning back to Jason, I saw that his eyes were wide. "What was that?"

  "I just told her to let us be."

  "Yeah, but she actually listened to you. She doesn't listen to anyone."

  "I'm not just anyone."

  "You did something. What did you do?"

  "Nothing. I just told her to back off."

  "And she did. She never does that. How did you do that?"

  I shrugged. "I guess she just likes me."

  He narrowed his eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"

  "I'm a vampire."

  His eyes widened and he stared at me for a few moments. "You honestly expect me to believe that?"

  "It's the truth."

  He shook his head.

  I sighed. "People are such unbelievers these days."

  "I want the truth."

  "Look, I told you. Either you believe me or you don't."

  "You're crazy, you know that? I don't know what you're trying to pull, but it's not going to work. I may be a geek, but I'm not stupid."

  I could tell this was going to get ugly fast. I stared into his eyes. "We never met, and we never had this conversation."

  He nodded and then he packed up his laptop and walked out of the cafeteria, not setting his eyes on me once.

  What was I going to do now? How was I going to find a guy who would be open to the existence of vampires? I walked around the empty halls just thinking. This was why I didn't like interacting with mortals, they never responded well to vampires. When they used to believe in them, they would round up groups to have us killed. I supposed this was better, but I didn't think I had much of a chance of convincing anyone that vampires were real.