by Sophia Sharp
“I’ll do better tomorrow,” Laura promised. Alexander started to laugh.
“You see?” he said, still chuckling. “You have a steely resolve. Just like I told you earlier today.”
“Very perceptive,” Laura said drily.
Alexander smiled. “It’s good to be perceptive. Those who survive the longest are those who can see their surroundings most clearly.”
“And what are our surrounding, then?” Laura asked.
“Ours?” Alexander stepped back. “We are at a place where we can behold some of the greatest landscapes in the world. There is wilderness on all sides, and the air is ripe with a sense of adventure.” His voice became dramatic. “Our surroundings take us to a place where destiny may yet await, where we can learn the truth of our own race. Where secrets that have lain dormant for thousands of years may be discovered.” He began gesturing grandly, and his voice started to boom. “Our surroundings give us the backdrop to our journey, on our quest to find truth and good in a time of great uncertainty. To discover the mysteries of the Vassiz, to uncover the elders’ spectacular rise to power!” He looked at Laura, his head held high. “We journey onwards, not to find a relic of the past, but to pave the way for a new order, and usher in the age of a paradigmatic shift of the power hierarchies of the Vassiz. We journey onwards, to find truth, and honor!” He looked at her, his chest held high, and stood frozen in place for a long moment… and then burst out laughing.
Laura looked at him in confusion. “What did you mean by all that?”
Alexander, still laughing, answered her. “Lighten up girl, come on, I’m only having some fun.”
“Oh!” She was relieved. And a bit surprised too. “…But…?” Then it all set in. He was mocking their journey! Just poking fun at where they were going and at the question she asked. She didn’t know why it took that long for everything to make sense. She must be very tired not to have understood it right away. Alexander was still laughing, though, and Laura started to as well. Although it was a bit of an uncomfortable laugh.
“So,” Alexander said finally, motioning with his head to Gray, “you never did tell me the story about the bear.”
“Gray?”
“Yes. He’s an unusual companion for you.”
“He likes me,” Laura said while motioning Gray over. The cub came and sat by Laura, pawing at his nose. Laura scrubbed his neck. “His mother as killed by hunters that… Logan… and I met in the woods.” Even the memory of that, not so very long ago, threatened to stir up some put aside feelings, but Laura pushed them down. “If we left Gray, he would have died. So, I took him with me.”
“Strange,” Alexander mused, “that you would care for another animal so.”
“Is it?” Laura asked. “I’ve liked animals my whole life, and I couldn’t just let this one die.”
“Yes, your whole life as a human. But since you’ve become a vampire, certain things tend to change.”
“I’m still me,” Laura defended. “I still like the things I liked, still care about the things I cared about.”
“Right,” Alexander agreed, “most newborns would say similar things. But that bear truly is interesting.”
“Why?”
“Animals and vampires don’t tend to mix well. I think it is because they sense something about us, something… foul. Something different than from humans.”
“Logan told me that,” Laura said quietly.
“Right. I have known women who were transformed, most long ago, who claimed they loved animals when they were humans. But as soon as the transformation takes hold, they lose anything they’ve ever felt for the creatures. It is the same with all of the Vassiz. Our eyes tend to just… glaze over… other animals. It’s nothing you can control, but you just don’t sense that they’re there. You pay no attention to them, and they to you. No more than you would to, say, the feel of your knee, on a regular day. But that seems not to be the case with you.”
“No,” Laura replied thoughtfully. “It is not.”
“That is why I made the comment on the bear only now. Truth be told, I hadn’t even noticed you had him until mid-day today.”
“Really?” Laura was surprised. Gray was always right there beside her. To not notice him would be… like being blind.
“Really. Like I said, something about being a vampire makes you lose your affinity to animals. It’s almost like they don’t exist. That is what this was like for me.”
“Then how did you notice him? Just out of curiosity. And can you see him now?”
“Now,” Alexander laughed, “I can see him easily. It’s like I explained just now, it’s not like bear is invisible to me. He’s just not… conspicuous. Nothing he does really warrants my attention, and my mind just blanks him out. As with all other animals. When I finally did notice him, however, I see him whenever I want.”
“Because your attention was brought to him?”
“That’s right. It’s like the blue elephant.”
“Blue elephant?” Laura asked, confused. “What’s that?”
“A psychological trick.”
“How does it work?”
“Easy. I sit you down and tell you that you are free to think about anything in the world except blue elephants. Go on, try it out. Think about anything you want, as long as it’s not a blue elephant. Now, I’ve told you what you can and cannot think about, and yet… right now, what are you thinking about?”
Laura squinted at him. “…A blue elephant,” she said reluctantly.
“Exactly. It’s a psychological process where if you try to suppress particular thoughts, they actually become stronger. So, with the blue elephant – the concept of it was always in your mind, just tucked away in a corner somewhere. And me telling you to not think about it brings it right into focus. Earlier today, when we were running through the woods, you weren’t thinking about it. Yet right now, you can’t get it out of your head.”
“That’s true,” Laura said, feeling oddly frustrated that she could fall so easily to such a simple trick.
“It’s the same thing with the bear. Now that I’ve seen him, I’m aware he’s there. And thinking back, I realize that he’s always been. But before I noticed him for the first time, he was all but invisible to me.”
“That’s… fascinating,” Laura said.
“It’s like that with all the Vassiz. You are the first I know of who doesn’t share that trait.”
“Hmm,” Laura said, again in thought. “I wonder why.”
“I couldn’t tell you. It’s something you have to figure out on your own. But I have a feeling it’s not mere coincidence that you’ve picked Gray up on your journey.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some things, Laura, are meant to be… more so than others. And sometimes, gifts can come from the most unexpected of places. Fate lays our lives out before us, and all we do is traverse the course as best we can.”
“You think that Gray has a part in my… fate?”
“I think he might have a bigger part than you and I yet realize,” Alexander said. “What that might be, of course, I don’t pretend to know.” He paused, and smiled. “Then again, he might not have a part to play at all.”
“I guess we’ll see eventually,” Laura said. Something about what Alexander about Gray’s role in her life said resonated with her because it sounded so familiar. So… similar to what she’s heard before. Then she remembered that Logan had told her nearly the same thing, when she first picked Gray up. She looked down at the bear, who stared back at her sleepily.
“His fur is also an unusual color,” Alexander continued. “I don’t think there are many bears alive like that one today.”
“That’s why I intend to keep him alive,” Laura said with unexpected determinedness. Alexander spread his hands.
“I meant no offense, Laura. Simply curious.”
Laura shook her head. She didn’t know what brought such strength in her last words. Certainly Alexander hadn’t said anyth
ing that offended her. “None taken,” she told him.
“Anyway,” Alexander said, stretching his arms, “you’ll want to get a good night’s sleep tonight. We’ve got a long, hard day ahead of us tomorrow, and we’ll be nearing the village, where the archive sits.”
“So we travelled as far as you had planned today?” Laura asked somewhat proudly.
“Further,” Alexander told her. Then he paused thoughtfully, holding a finger to his lips. “You know,” he started, “it has been a long time since I have last been there. It will be interesting to see how the years have changed the place.”
Laura went to sleep deliberating what Alexander told her. That her affinity with Gray was not the normal way of being for the Vassiz. She wondered if it had anything to do with the latent ability that she had gained during the transformation… the one that she hadn’t realized yet.
When she dreamt that night, Gray was in her dreams, and he warded off all her nightmares.
Chapter Ten
~The Run~
“Ready to go?”
Laura was woken up by Alexander’s voice, along with a gentle nudge on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, and saw that it was just past dawn.
“Already?” she mumbled. It was the first night she’d slept without nightmares, but despite that she felt like she barely had any rest.
“Already,” Alexander smiled, and helped her up. “We should be able to get to the town by nightfall.”
“What’s it called, anyway?” Laura asked, realizing for the first time that she didn’t know the name of their destination.
“Nakusp. Natives have lived there for hundreds of years, but it was only settled by Europeans at the turn of the last century. They came and made it a mining town, before realizing there weren’t many minerals to be found. So, most abandoned it. But the people who stayed still safeguard the archive. Most are aboriginals, now.”
“And the archive… do you know when it was established?”
“A few hundred years ago, at least,” Alexander replied. “Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you. But come; we’ll find more when we get there.”
“Alright,” Laura said, stretching her arms out wide in an effort to more fully wake up. “I’m ready to go.”
“Good,” Alexander smiled. “Make sure Gray feeds enough this morning, because the path ahead is going to be harder than yesterday’s.”
Laura looked at Alexander. “I didn’t think you’d care enough about him to mention that.”
Alexander frowned. “Just because I tend not to notice animals, Laura, does not mean I can’t see what’s important to you. Gray is, and he’s our third companion. We all need to be ready for today’s trek.”
“Alright,” Laura said. She knelt down to shake Gray up. He looked at her drowsily, and yawned widely. “Come on,” she told him, “we’ve got to get going. Go see if you can find some berries in the woods.” To her surprise, almost immediately on those words, Gray scrambled up and ran off. She had been training him, yes, but she did not think he would respond so well so quickly.
“Impressive,” Alexander noted, “how well he listens to you.”
“He’s more intelligent than other cubs,” Laura said, standing up. “He’s learned everything I’ve taught him on only the first or second go.”
“And I don’t believe bears are naturally domesticated animals,” Alexander offered, “which makes what you can do all the more astounding.”
“It’s not so much me, I don’t think, but more him.”
“Either way, it’s something I haven’t seen before.” In spite of herself, Laura smiled. To have impressed Alexander, who had lived through more than six centuries already, must really take something. As if she had said it out loud, Alexander laughed.
“What?” Laura defended, feeling her cheeks grow hot.
“Nothing,” Alexander said with an amused smile. Then he looked back. “Alright, come on. I can hear him coming.”
Laura listened, and realized that she could hear rusting noises getting closer, too, from the direction that Gray first ran off. He must have stumbled on a full berry bush to come back so quickly. When Gray emerged from the trees, mouth stained with berry juice, Alexander took off. Motioning to Gray with one hand, Laura followed.
They ran through the trees at an easy pace, at first. Laura knew she could go much faster, especially after running all day yesterday, and despite still feeling slightly groggy from sleep, her legs felt fresh.
She ducked around heavy tree trunks and under low-hanging branches. Alexander led the way in front of her, just as he had before, and she suspected he picked out the easiest paths for them to take. Still, every once in a while Laura caught herself just short of tripping over the uneven ground.
As she ran, her thoughts turned to Logan. Logan, and who he really was; what his character really was. She had known him so briefly, but in the short period of time, that little bit of something that she felt… it must have been real. But what was it that she even felt for him? A schoolyard crush? Nothing more than that, most likely, but even now, thinking of him… it made her slightly unsteady.
She jumped to narrowly avoid an old fallen tree, already heavily rotted and thick with fungus, and landed softly on her feet. She kept running.
Why did Logan take her away, try so hard to protect her, only to throw it all away? Could it just have been due to a sense of obligation? Obligation to her, for getting her into the entire mess? Did it mean he was always planning to leave as soon as he thought he had sufficiently helped her out of it all? A pretty mess it was, for her to be in. But despite all that, despite those facts, something inside Laura still stirred when she thought of Logan. Could she have even known him long enough for that something to build up and blossom… into love?
Laura curved hard to the right, following Alexander’s path. The ground became more rocky, but less solid. It felt like it should be more difficult to be able to balance yourself, but Laura managed it without problem.
So. Now she was with Alexander, and had Gray by her side. Alexander was like… a father. Or maybe an older brother. That’s the way he spoke to her, and that’s the way he looked at her. He had given her advice, when she needed it, and stuck with her when Logan would not. Logan, who she thought at one point would be by her side forever. It was a stupid, naïve thought, of course.
She ran, a little faster as Alexander picked up speed. The trees were less dense, here, and it made for an easier run.
Laura wondered what the place they were going would hold. She wondered what they would find there. Alexander seemed to think it was something big. And he had been there before. Together with Rafael, he said. But if there really were secrets to be uncovered there, why wouldn’t more people – err, more of the Vassiz, she meant – try to get there already? Maybe they just didn’t know about it?
A small creek ran beside them, and Gray lapped through it happily as he trailed them. Alexander looked back, to make sure Laura wasn’t too far behind, and when he was satisfied that she wasn’t, continued to lead.
She wondered what Rafael’s fate really was. She hoped he survived, but despite Alexander’s conviction he had, she wasn’t so sure. Alexander seemed to be unshaken by the news of what happened, and had that unflappable belief believed Rafael survived. Then again, so did Madison.
Laura ran, enjoying the feeling of the wind in her hair, and the feeling of being absolutely connected to nature. The air was pristine, and the only sounds she could hear were Gray’s footsteps and the odd birds singing in the distance.
What Rafael had done for her had been nothing less than a sacrifice. He sacrificed himself completely for her to survive. Her and Logan, actually. She felt indebted to him for that, but knew she could never pay it back.
A wild fox appeared beside them, running alongside Laura. Laura surprised herself by noticing it – it blended extraordinarily well with the surroundings. Gray barked at it, and it ran off.
Something didn’t make sense in Laura’s mind. S
he had avoided thinking about it so far, but… why had Logan shown her the world of dreams if he knew it was forbidden? If he knew it would get him in trouble, and if he knew it was breaking the creed, how did doing it make any sense? He had been surprised that they were noticed, but if it was really such a crime, would he have taken that chance in the first place?
Up ahead, Alexander laughed and picked up speed. Laura kept up easily. She was zipping amongst the trees, now, and racing through the wild tangles of the forest with nary a stumble. She felt surefooted, and graceful.
A sudden pang of guilt overtook Laura by surprise. All this while, she realized she had avoided thinking about probably the most important thing of all: her family. They were probably worried sick. They didn’t know where she was. They didn’t hear from her since she’d left. The whole community must be searching for her.
And then there were all her friends. This was the longest time she’d gone without seeing any of them. Could she… maybe call her family to say she was ok? Once they got to Natsuk, or Naksup, or whatever the town was called. It would be her first opportunity to do so since all this began. But then again… deep down, she knew she could never go back. She knew that going back was impossible. A clean break from her former life, as much as it pained her to admit, was probably for the best. She didn’t want to endanger her family or her friends by making contact with them. With the Vassiz after her, there was no point in risking turning their attention to her old town.
Gray was clambering behind them, and Laura noted he was getting faster, too. And bigger. His silver fur coat was almost fully in. A little hint of brown, remaining just above the shoulders, gave it graceful elegance. She felt a bond to him already, but he was more than just a pet. Alexander had put it best. A companion. Gray listened to her; he knew his name and could behave. Laura wondered what she would do with him later. She shook her head at that thought. What did she mean, “later”? The only choice, really, since she adopted him, was to care for him… for life. But what kind of life it would be, Laura had no idea. No idea what kind of life it would be for him, or for her.
