Frostbitten 2

by Destiny Hawkins

  Miles and miles of beauty and wonder…

  My lips parted, and tears slowly began to fill my eyes.

  Never in a million years did I ever think I’d see anything like this.

  Gravity suddenly vanished for the second time tonight, and I was lifted into the air, then slowly moved forward, a few feet away from the cliff, with the ground now being hundreds of feet below me.

  “Alexa…” I thought as I was slowly turned to face her.

  Alexa stood at the edge of the cliff with a soft expression on her face and a look in her eyes that I couldn’t read. It was soft, welcoming, and so breathtaking that I think I momentarily forgot how to breathe.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked, only I had the feeling that she wasn’t talking about the scenery behind me.

  “Yeah, it is,” I answered. “Very.”

  “Is that why you are crying?”

  Alexa slowly pulled me back to land and gently lowered me back onto my feet in front of her. I hadn’t even noticed how close we were until she took a short step forward and slid her soft hand over my cheek, then wiped away my tears. “Please, stop,” she asked softly. “You’re supposed to be the one that smiles.”

  I sniffled and lowered my head with a chuckle. “Sorry.” I raised my chin. “Just still getting used to this life. Everything is still kind of new.”

  Alexa slightly cocked her head to the side. “Well, you should start getting used to it, because there’s a lot more than this to see.” She reluctantly removed her hand and walked towards the edge of the cliff. “There’s a lot that I want to show you.” She tilted her head back to look up at the stars. “We’re nearly indestructible, we have abilities that no normal being has, and we can live forever. We’re immortal.” She sighed. “We have so much time...and I don’t know why…”

  I stepped beside her.

  “But I’d really like to spend it with you.”

  My chest warmed, and butterflies began to flutter in the center of my stomach, but I embraced the feeling. Since my mother and Desmond’s passing, I had felt completely alone, but then I was turned by Alexa, and that feeling of loneliness completely vanished.

  “I’d like that,” I barely whispered.

  Alexa turned her head to face me, and for a moment, I thought that she would say something, but then she turned towards the view with a serene calmness radiating from her. A moment later, she pulled out a black cloth from her pocket and placed it against her nose.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come to mind, so I turned away.

  I couldn’t help it, but I began seeing flashes of her standing up here alone during sunrise.

  Now, the two of us stood together in silence and enjoyed the view.

  Chapter Eight

  Ever since our night on the mountain, Alexa had changed. She still seemed on edge at times, but not as much as she used to, and even tended to come out of her room to spend time with me and Allie every now and again. We did more hunting in the city together with me taking the lead, and she sometimes took me hunting in the woods for moose and other delicious, blood filled animals.

  It was as if that hike opened a new door to our relationship, bringing us closer somehow.

  I also noticed that we talked more. Never about anything serious, but maybe a show on television or memories from my childhood. We talked about things that she had forgotten about being human, or things that she embraced from being a vampire. We talked about life, death, and what comes after, the things that we wanted, the things that we’ve seen, and the things that we’ve done.

  What we never talked about though, was her past, Esha, and the laboratory.

  Those subjects were strictly off limits.

  ~Frostbitten~

  I stood in the mirror and pulled my brown leather jacket over my shoulders, then examined my curls, making sure that they looked decent before going out in public. Tonight, was the first night that I was going to hunt on my own, and I wanted everything to be perfect, even the way I looked.

  “Your prey isn’t going to care about your good looks while you’re killing them,” Alexa stated.

  When I turned, I found her leaning in my doorway dressed in nothing but a black robe with her long hair hanging down her shoulders.

  I chuckled and applied my maroon lipstick. “They will before I kill them.”

  “Really? And what method will you be using to draw them out?” Alexa asked with a raised brow.

  “Seduction maybe?” I stood upright and checked myself out again. I was casual in dark jeans, brown boots, a white crop top, and my brown jacket. “I want to have that, you think you’ll have a great time with me until I eat you, look.”

  Alexa chuckled and shook her head. “And here I thought you were going for adorable.”

  My cheeks warmed in embarrassment.

  “I’m just kidding, Faith. I make jokes sometimes.”

  “You think I’m adorable.”

  “I do, but tonight you look…sexy.”

  When my cheeks grew hotter, I expected her to say that she was kidding, but she didn’t.

  “So,” she started. “You only go for one tonight, and when you’re finished, contact me so that I can have someone get rid of the body.” Her expression hardened. “I’m confident that you can control yourself, but if there is any chance that you think you can’t, stop what you are doing and come back home.”

  I walked towards her and nodded, checking off everything in my mind.

  Alexa raised her hand, dangling a pair of keys in front of me. “And don’t crash my car.”

  “I won’t contact you if I do,” I said sarcastically.

  Alexa didn’t even crack a smile.

  “It’s a joke. I make jokes too, Alexa.”

  She still didn’t respond.

  “Alright, I won’t crash your car.”

  Alexa grinned and handed me the keys. “Better not.”

  ~Frostbitten~

  I sat at a bar in downtown, admiring the people that were able to drink alcohol while also keeping a lookout for a black or dark blue aura. I was gunning for dark blue since I’d feel more satisfied with stopping someone from doing something horrible, like a superhero, but black would suffice as well.

  I knew that I was anything but hero, because at the end of the day I was taking someone’s life, but I enjoyed the thought that I may have saved an innocent person. Like that little girl on my first night hunting with Alexa. I had saved a child from suffering from her mother’s horrible abuse, by well, killing her mother. I could only hope that the kid started a better life than before.

  Looking around, I hadn’t spotted anyone in particular yet. I figured that I chose the right kind of low down bar where the alcohol was cheap, and the women were easy, so there was bound to be some kind of psycho around.

  The young male bartender approached me with a handsome grin on his face. “What can I get you?”

  I shook my head, barely even paying him any mind as I looked the other way. “Nothing. Thank you.”

  If only his aura wasn’t green.

  “Alright, well just let me know, Gorgeous. Your first will be on the house.”

  “Will do. Thanks.”

  I sat at the bar for about thirty more minutes before sighing and getting out of my seat. I would’ve probably had better luck just walking the streets for a while.

  Turning towards the door, I noticed something green flash on my left, but when I looked, there was nothing but a green light flashing on the dance floor. I thought that I saw someone standing there watching me, but there were only drunks dancing around.

  Shrugging, I walked out of the bar and back onto the street.

  “Did you let me out because you knew that there wasn’t any psycho’s roaming about tonight?” I asked Alexa.

  Alexa chuckled in my mind. “Just keep looking, Faith.”

  “Fine.”

  I did as she said and continued looking. As I walked the streets, I came across a lot of drunks, teenag
ers up to no good, a few junkies, and regular people that were just out to have a good time.

  I was going to call it a night and head back to the car when I spotted a man dressed in a black hoodie walking in my direction. I was excited to find that his aura was black, but a little disappointed that it wasn’t blue. I wanted to save the day or something, but now all I could do was remove a criminal from the world.

  When he passed me, I shrugged. He would have to do.

  Turning around, I was immediately faced with the barrel of a gun. If it were pointed anywhere but my head, then it wouldn’t have stunned me, but because a bad blow to the head could kill me, I momentarily froze.

  I thought about calling on Alexa but knew that I could handle this guy. He was clearly on drugs, looked exhausted, and was unbelievably pale like he was sick or something. Like he needed a fix.

  “Give me all the money you got,” the man said. When I didn’t respond, he took a step towards me. “Give it to me, or I’ll shoot!”

  Is he really doing this out in the open?

  I wasn’t exactly able to do what I wanted without risking exposure, but if I could control my speed just enough, I could make kicking his ass look natural.

  “Can you fucking hear!?” the man snarled.

  I slowly raised my hands and shook my head. “I don’t have any money.”

  “Fuck that. I know you have something.” When he stepped forward to reach into my pocket, I quickly snatched his gun and cracked him against the head with it. That was surprisingly easy, but I guess I really didn’t need fighting skills against a human.

  The man grunted and stumbled backwards, nearly falling, but caught himself. I stood there and watched as he ran away since I couldn’t drain him out in the open, but I wasn’t worried since I’d just follow his scent into a secluded area to feed.

  The man ran to the end of the street, then turned the corner where I could no longer see him, but I could still smell his scent. It was kind of like a game of hide and go seek, only I had a cheat code.

  Looking from left to right, I was relieved that there was no one around to see what happened and continued my hunt.

  I never considered that anyone would be hunting me.

  Chapter Nine

  I followed the man’s scent around the corner and down the street until I came up on a bunch of apartment buildings. I first thought that he went inside, but as I followed his scent, I noticed that it had grown even stronger than before, like he was wounded and bleeding.

  I figured that I may have cracked his head open, and he was just leaking out, but coming up on a parking lot by some apartment buildings, I realized that the aroma of blood was so strong that he had to be dead. There was just too much blood in the air.

  Dammit. I must’ve hit him too hard.

  I searched around the cars for his body but didn’t find anything until I came up on a truck. Blood oozed from under it, creating a large puddle on the ground, and coming from the other side were sounds of flesh being ripped apart.

  A werewolf?

  As I slowly walked around the truck, I thought that I’d find a beast feeding from the man, but I had arrived just as the mans head dropped to the ground like a flattened basketball. There was no one there other than what was left of my prey, which were arms, legs, a torso, and a head.

  It had to be a werewolf. Maybe even Loren, and if it was her, that could have been bad news for me. Especially since I couldn’t fight.

  Backing away, I bumped into something, or someone, and froze.

  The person behind me leaned down over my shoulder. “Thank you for the meal.” It was a mans voice, which was surprisingly calm.

  I thought to quickly move out of the way, or to contact Alexa, but it was as if he had read my mind already and somehow, someway, stopped me with a command.

  “Be still, and disconnect from your master,” he ordered through his thoughts.

  In an instant, I did as I was told, shocked at the control that this stranger had over me. I didn’t even know that I could disconnect from Alexa, and I definitely didn’t like the thought.

  How was he able to command me? I felt violated, like in some way, I had betrayed Alexa.

  I was also terrified.

  The man slowly walked around me with blood on his chin and hands. His glowing green eyes looked familiar, along with the rest of him, but I couldn’t remember where I had seen him from.

  The man cocked his head to the side with a smug grin. “So, you’re Alexa’s little pet, huh?”

  I bit my lower lip, knowing that any vampire with glowing eyes and a connection to Alexa could only mean that he had something to do with the laboratory. I would’ve thought that he was a werewolf if I hadn’t noticed the difference in his scent compared to Loren’s. No, he smelled like a vampire.

  “Answer me,” he commanded.

  “I’m sired to her,” I answered without control.

  The man chuckled. “Cute.” When he reached out to touch my face, I flinched back, but he continued to slide his bloody fingers over my cheek. “I wonder. Are you like her? Like us? Mr. Bardelos would be pleased to learn that it’s possible for her to turn another human into a M.O.D. through a bite. He’s been trying to accomplish that ever since she escaped.”

  I licked my lower lip. “I ― I’m not like you. I’m normal.”

  He smiled. “As normal as any vampire could be, I guess.” When he stepped closer, green veins climbed up the sides of his face. “Don’t mention a word of me to Alexa.” His command wrapped around my throat like a vice. “As a matter-of-fact, forget me again when I’m gone.” Once again, his command set in. “I’ll see you two very, very soon.”

  I swallowed when he leaned in and placed a kiss over my forehead, but when I looked up, he was gone, and then…

  Looking down, I found the man that I had been hunting was ripped into pieces.

  What the hell happened to him?

  ~Frostbitten~

  I arrived back at the mansion disappointed and confused. I wasn’t sure of what happened, or how my prey got torn into pieces, but if I had to guess, I’d say that it was a werewolf. No vampire would have a reason to rip someones limbs apart unless they just enjoyed the thrill of killing. Especially since we only needed the humans for fuel.

  I sighed when I turned off the car, dreading having to ask Alexa for her blood. I was supposed to be able to get it all on my own, but I failed, and even as a human in college, I couldn’t stand to fail anything.

  Preparing myself to be embarrassed, I got out of the car and headed for the front door. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but the closer that I got to the house, the more anxious that I became. The only problem was that this wasn’t an emotion of my own. I mean, yeah, I was slightly anxious, but this was something else. This was anxiety and fear.

  “Alexa?” I thought.

  No response.

  Frowning, I reached out and grabbed the door handle only to have memories fill my mind in an instant.

  First, I saw Esha at the dock, then Esha curled up on the couch while reading a book. Suddenly, she was strapped down to a table beside me, only she was unconscious and bleeding from her eyes, ears, and nose, and then finally, there was this blinding light and a pair of gloved hands reaching down for me.

  When the memories finally stopped, I gasped loudly and broke off the door handle as I pushed open the door. Looking upstairs, I saw that Alexa’s new doors were still in good condition, but the moment they shook and rattled, I knew that they wouldn’t be for long.

  I flashed up the stairs and down the hall to Alexa’s room. Allie was standing outside of her doors, barking at them. He was lucky that he didn’t get hurt since Alexa didn’t seem to have any control over herself when she was like this, and I was glad that he didn’t. Alexa would be filled with guilt, and well, I’d be incredibly sad.

  Without hesitation, I opened Alexa’s doors and was on my way to wake her up but froze when I noticed that everything in her room was levitated in the air.r />
  The shattering sound was from her window above, leaving the glass shards slowly spinning around in midair while glistening from the moonlight. Her dressers, chairs, small table, night stand, and basically everything in her room was suspended in the air.

  Including her.

  “Alexa…” My lips parted at the sight of her.

  Still sleeping ― dreaming ― Alexa was suspended in the air with an arch to her back and her arms spread horizontally, slightly hanging. She was dressed in nothing but a pair of lace black panties and a bra, revealing multiple lightning strike veins bulging from every part of her body, and blood dripped from her eyes, ears, and nose.

  When I stepped further into her room, more images flashed in my mind, causing a pounding headache and a slight pain in my chest.

  There was Esha’s smile, her touch, a burning sensation in my heart, and then Esha on the floor, giving Alexa one last order to run away and to never look back. Her sun colored eyes were filled with fire, but most of all, love. She sacrificed herself to save Alexa, and ever since then, Alexa’s been haunted with memories of her.

  Chapter Ten

  The sound of Alexa grunting brought me back to reality, and I was at the side of her bed in milliseconds, but I wasn’t entirely sure of what to do next. How was I supposed to wake her up? Was I supposed to just grab her? I didn’t want to startle her in fear that she would react from being half sleep, but that seemed like the only option. The entire house would be off the ground if she didn’t awaken soon, and she was losing so much blood that at this point, she was probably starving.

  Slowly reaching out, I gently wrapped my hand around her wrist to find that she was trembling. “Alexa, wake up.”

  I wasn’t sure how I was able to get through to her this time around, but everything in her room dropped to the floor, and then herself, but I caught her into my arms and gently placed her down on the bed.

  Alexa frowned with a low groan before opening her eyes. She stared directly at me in silence, and surprisingly, I found myself becoming wary of her. There was something off about the way that she was looking at me, and that usual feeling of her being on edge was gone, like she had completely gone over.