by K. A. Poe
I sighed and tried to shake my head free of the miserable thoughts. My life had never been simple, but perhaps this fountain was what I needed to live a life of simplicity. School had always been a bit of a struggle for me – not because I’m not intelligent or because I had a learning disability, I was often side-tracked by the on-goings of my home life that it was difficult to focus on anything else. Having been abandoned by my foster father at the age of six, it took a huge toll on me. I lost interest in practically everything, including spending time with Karen and Jason. Janet forced me into agreeing to have them over for dinner every once and a while to keep me from being cooped up in my room all the time, but it scarcely helped. It only took a few years for me to get over it and I was back to my regular self. I once again enjoyed playing the piano and put my heart and soul into it. That was my absolute passion. But everything went downhill again only eight years later when I discovered that my uncle Paul was in fact my father and a vampire hunter. And now here I am, running away from him because he wants to kill the boy I am in love with – the boy who is supposedly my soul mate.
There is nothing at all simple about that. I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of a yellow Jeep Wrangler, but so far none came into my view. When I really thought about it, it was nearly impossible for Paul to find us. He was unconscious when we left his trailer and I didn’t tell Richard where we were headed. With a satisfied smile, I convinced myself that it was all just paranoia and there was nothing to worry about.
The desire to be able to sleep was overwhelming. I had thought that the lack of sleep would make me incredibly happy because I could spend all of my time doing whatever I pleased – but right now my time was spent cooped up in a small old car. At least if I was mortal I could sleep away the boring hours. This was not at all how I imagined being a vampire would be, but then again I didn’t know what to expect. This trip would simply be more enjoyable if I could doze off for a while, or had I brought something to do. I eyed Salem again, wondering if he would be up to summoning something for me to read…but I didn’t disturb him. Instead, I discarded Ezra’s journal temporarily and pulled my laptop out of my bag. I booted up the computer and brought up the Start menu, then went to Solitaire. I wasn’t very familiar with the game, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.
I lost my first few games, and then shouted excitedly as I watched the cards cascade downward as I won. My excitement waned when I noticed Hannah was turning down an exit lane.
“Where are we going?”
“The San Juan National Forest is over here,” Hannah explained, “I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving.”
“I could use some nourishment,” Salem added, finally coming out of his stupor.
“Oh…” I mumbled, until now completely unaware of the thirst I felt. It was still taking time to adjust to the changes of being a vampire. It was hunger, but not in the same sense as a human would feel. “Is it legal to you know…kill the animals there?”
“Who cares? As if anyone could do anything about it,” Hannah laughed.
She was right. Not only could we defend ourselves against any mortal that might approach us during the visit to the park, no one could prove that we did any wrong. I had scarcely considered the fact that we would need to make a few stops every now and then for “food”. For some reason I had it set in my mind that this would be a quick straight shot to wherever we decided to go and there would be no purpose in stopping because we had no use for bathroom breaks. How could I have completely phased that out…possibly because my mind was a wreck after the incident in Willowshire? I glanced behind us again for a Jeep Wrangler and was once again relieved not to see one. Then I wondered if perhaps Paul rounded up his sister Kim to come after us and they could be in a completely unfamiliar vehicle as I had never seen Kim’s car. Would she be willing to do that to me – her only niece? If my own father was willing to, then I don’t see why she wouldn’t…
My eyes were now fixated on the surrounding nature. The sight of the large fir trees did not shock me as I had seen plenty of them back home. The Victorian that Salem and I lived in had a large forest in the back that was full of them. As we rode closer to the park, the population of trees grew further and wider around us. There was a mild breeze in the air that I could feel through the halfway rolled down windows, it blew my hair wildly behind me and I rolled the window up. Hannah pulled into a parking spot in a vacant lot and we exited the car.
A light breeze swirled around us and pushed a garbage bag down the parking lot. I took Salem’s hand in mine and gripped it tightly.
“Can you give me and Salem some privacy for a minute, please?” I asked Hannah.
“No,” she answered simply, “It’s not like don’t already know what’s up.”
I shook my head. “You best stay out of my head!”
“Well, when there are only two of you in the car with me and I’m bored out of my mind it’s hard not to take a peek. Of course, it’s still not much to look at,” she laughed.
“Well, stay out of mine!”
“Well, I would’ve checked in on my dear brother there but I can’t.”
Salem perked up somewhat and eyed Hannah curiously, “You can’t hear my thoughts?”
“Weird, isn’t it?” Hannah answered. “Maybe it has something to do with your gift or whatever you like to call it, I don’t know.”
“Perhaps,” he agreed then arched a brow. “I thought you could only hear thoughts upon touching your ‘victim’, as you put it?”
“I have been doing a lot of practice lately.” She shrugged and gave a short, melodic chuckle. “One look into Alex’s eyes through the rear-view mirror and voila.”
“I see,” he mumbled and turned his direction toward me. “Now, what is it you need to discuss with me Alexis?”
“Follow me,” I said glumly and led him into the dark forestry. The aroma of the woods was so strong now that I had become a vampire. The trees, the flora, a bee’s nest filled with fresh honey, fecal matter from the hundreds of animals roaming around the vicinity, I could smell and distinguish it all. I could hear hundreds of tiny hearts beating; hear the flapping of birds as they soared overhead in search of rodents to feast upon. I wondered how being bombarded with senses from every direction had never bothered Salem. How could he block all this out?
I led Salem towards the smell of sitting water and before I knew it we neared a vast lake that reminded me somewhat of home. All that was missing was the large white Victorian planted in front of it. It never occurred to me before how much I really missed being home. The comfort of the house’s shelter, the bed we shared even now that we had no use for sleep…would I ever see that place again? It scarcely mattered right now. I looked up briefly at the twinkling stars above us then giggled lightly as Salem scooped me up into his arms.
“Before you ruin the moment with whatever may be on your mind,” he said calmly, “there is something I would like for you to experience.”
“Oh really? And what’s that?”
He didn’t reply, but a mischievous grin played across his lips and he carried me to the watery depths of the lake. Once he was knee-deep in the water he let me down and I stood beside him, admiring the water as it gently lapped at our legs. The feeling was bizarre – it was neither cold nor warm, almost as if the water had no temperature.
“This is amazing,” I whispered.
“It isn’t quite amazing yet,” he smiled and dove under the water.
As he resurfaced a few feet away he called for me to follow him. I was hesitant at first, having grown somewhat of a fear of drowning after a few close calls during my childhood…then it occurred to me that drowning wasn’t a concern of mine anymore. I didn’t breathe at all now. With a great thrill welling up inside me, I sunk my head under the water and opened my eyes. I could clearly see Salem in the distance and swam quickly over to him, embracing him in my arms and kissing him deeply under the surface.
It was quite possibly the greatest t
hing I had ever experienced. I felt like a mermaid as I splashed around in the water, dove as deep as I could and watched the fish zip out of my way. The murky liquid appeared almost clear through my vampiric eyes and it was nice not having to resurface for air. I had thought flying was amazing, but something about swimming slowly through the water soothed my soul.
Salem and I met at the top of the water and he gazed momentarily into my eyes before cupping my face with his hands. I still hadn’t grown used to the lack of cold to his touch, but it didn’t make it any less enjoyable or familiar.
“I love you Alex, and no matter what you decide you want to do about the fountain, it won’t change the way I feel for you,” he said as he stroked my cheek. “If you want to remain immortal, don’t put my desires ahead of yours…just being with you is enough to satisfy me.”
“That isn’t what is bothering me,” I replied quietly, looking somewhat abashed, “I just got to thinking about how I am technically almost nineteen and you are well into your hundreds…will the fountain have any effect on that? Will you become a brittle old man, or,” I swallowed hard before continuing, “would you die because your age would instantly catch back up with you or something?”
Salem smiled gently and shook his head. “I might be one hundred and twenty-seven in terms of years, but my body has been trapped in the body of an eighteen year old this entire time. Nothing is going to change that. I will be an eighteen year old mortal, regardless how long I have been on this earth.”
“That’s good,” I said with a sigh of relief. “That’ll make me somewhat older than you.”
“There is nothing wrong with that,” he laughed. “And it isn’t a big age gap at all.”
“You’re right. It isn’t like say…a one-hundred year old and a teenager, “I laughed. “Do you think it’ll be worth it, though…to lose your powers I mean?”
“It wouldn’t take too much time adjusting to it as I only discovered those a few years ago, but I would definitely miss it.”
“I’d miss flying,” I said quietly. “But I guess I’d get used to that too.”
“Then, is it settled? We will do this?” he asked somewhat awkwardly, almost as if he was afraid to hear the answer.
“I think so, unless you can think of any reason not to. I mean, you know…if this fountain is even real.”
“I cannot.”
“Me either,” I said slowly, pondering if I was certain about this or not. “If for some reason we regretted becoming mortal again, we’d always have someone to change us back at least.”
“Right,” he nodded. “Although it would not give you back the gift of the raven, nor my summoning. Regardless, I have my doubts we will miss being undead.”
For a brief second I saw a glimmer of purple to his eyes and I looked at him suspiciously. What in the world could he possibly be summoning out here in the middle of a lake?
4. UNEXPECTED SURPRISE
It took me a few moments before I realized we were halfway across the lake. Salem took off toward the shore and I followed after him curiously. When we met the land he took my hand and turned me toward the sky and then wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. The stars above continued to twinkle brilliantly against the dark canvas.
“I have seen countless night’s worth of stars. But none of them will be quite as significant as this one,” he whispered quietly into my ear.
“What do you mean?” I attempted to turn my head back to glance at him but he reached up and turned my head back toward the sky.
“You will find out shortly,” he said and I felt him smile against the back of my head. “There is no promise that even if I became a mortal your father would forgive me – regardless if it was my fault or not. But I want you to know something, Alex…”
“What is it?”
“Whether we are immortal or not – there is nothing in this world I want more than to be with you. You are my life. My heart may not beat but it is overflowing with love for you,” he whispered sweetly and slowly released his grip from my waist. “Don’t move.”
I obeyed, standing still as I listened to him shuffling around behind me. My mind was racing with ideas about what he might be doing. My mouth fell agape when he told me to face him. Salem knelt against the soft dirt of the shore, one hand extended out toward me with a small black box against his palm. I gulped, half expecting my heart to race with excitement.
“Salem…” I whispered, gazing down at him but he stopped me from speaking.
“When all of this is through and we are human again, Alexis, will you marry me?” he said with a nervous smile and carefully pulled open the small black box.
I stared at him for a moment, wondering if I were delirious. Salem was kneeling before me, proposing to me out of the blue! Of course I loved him and wanted to marry him some day, but this was so unexpected. I had thought about it before, but would have never imagined to be proposed to here and now. Deep down I knew Salem was my soul mate, but was I ready for this? What else could I possibly say to him other than yes, though?
“Of course, I will!” I shouted with glee, shaking off my short moment of doubt. I marveled as he placed the silver-banded ring on my finger. The small heart-shaped diamond twinkled brighter than any of the stars in the sky.
Salem embraced me tightly in his arms and kissed me tenderly. Our moment was cut short by a figure appearing from the woods. Hannah approached us and gagged as she often did at the sight of us kissing. Although I was now one of her kind, I couldn’t help but cringe slightly at her blazing red eyes and the crimson stains on her lips.
“So this is what all the fuss was about? You two just wanted to run off and make out somewhere? Shouldn’t you like, oh you know, be hunting! That’s why we stopped if you can remember.”
“We were somewhat preoccupied, Hannah,” Salem answered.
“Yeah I see that,” she said in disgust.
“Hannah!” I said enthusiastically, “Salem proposed!”
I couldn’t decipher her expression at first. It was a mix of awe, disgust, confusion and joy. “Vampires don’t usually get married,” she commented dully.
“We won’t be vampires forever.”
“Oh, you’re still going on about that?” she sighed. “Even if it was true I don’t know who in their right mind would give up this life to be human. It’s just stupid.”
“It isn’t something you could ever understand,” Salem said glumly. “We’re going to finish hunting and then we will be ready to get back on the road, okay?”
Hannah frowned. “Sorry Salem, I’m not trying to be a snob or anything. I just wish-”
“Good,” he interrupted then turned and headed in the opposite direction of his sister. I followed behind him toward a scent I recognized: elk. Initially it was difficult to focus on the idea of feeding when I was overwhelmed with the excitement of the question Salem just asked me. The weight of the ring on my finger was difficult to ignore, I constantly wanted to look at it to ensure I hadn’t imagined the whole thing, and each time I looked I smiled.
We stopped walking when we approached a small herd of elk, most of which were unconscious, their hearts steadily beating as if they had nothing to fear. This was absolutely not something I would miss when I was mortal again. Salem tiptoed stealthily toward one of the elk and skillfully snapped its neck before it had even a second to wonder what was happening. The rest of the herd continued sleeping as if nothing happened. He repeated the action on a second, only this time the rest of the elk awoke. My fear that Salem would be gorged to death quickly subsided as they all immediately disappeared into the thick woods. No longer afraid of disturbing anything, Salem dragged the freshly slain animals towards where I stood. Despite the fact that I did thirst for their blood, I was still quite reluctant – even though they were already dead. Salem didn’t hesitate for even a moment. I looked away as he dug his teeth into the jugular of the deceased animal. My mouth touched the base of my ‘dinner’s’ throat and I bared my fangs, letting th
em sink slowly into the soft skin of the creature. The thickness of blood met my lips and it flowed into my mouth and down my throat. While a huge part of me found this completely disgusting, the vampire in me enjoyed every mouthful.
We left the empty carcasses were they laid and returned to the edge of the lake. Hannah was surprisingly still there, skipping flat stones across the still waters.
“Sure took you two long enough,” she teased.
“It’s a wonder every beast within ten miles hadn’t already ran away with you over here splashing,” Salem said, smirking slightly.
“I would expect Alexis to be a sloppy eater, being new and all but just look at you,” she laughed. “I’m not driving anywhere with you took looking like that.”
I had somehow not noticed the dark blood stains covering my hands and sleeves. There was no doubt my face was also soaked. Salem had fared little better. We both kneeled by the lake, scrubbing ourselves as clean as we could. Just as I thought nothing would completely remove the stains, I saw a purple flash momentarily reflected in the water. I turned to see Salem holding a bar of soap and smiling.
After we had both washed up the best we could, Salem summoned a new set of clothes for the two of us.
“Might as well use it as much as I can before I lose it, right?”
“Right!” I laughed.
Hannah rolled her eyes and started walking off in the direction of the Alero. After a quick change we followed her.
The freedom of being out in the wilderness had been relieving but was quickly stripped away as I sat in the backseat again. I buckled in my seatbelt and situated myself into a comfortable position and listened to the roar of the engine as Hannah started the car and drove out of the parking lot.
