by Toni Goode
Those things weren’t available anymore. Technology had advanced so much that phones now consisted of small devices implanted in the skin. They were used as computers and phones. All one would have to do is think of something or someone and then an image would form in that persons head, but she liked the idea of the old ways. She liked that phones could be held in hands and that computers could be typed on. Those things were obsolete now, but she longed for them. It was odd to want something that she never had but ever since she could remember she wanted those things. Hence the collection in her bedroom closet that grew bigger every day.
She pulled the shard of glass she had in her hand that had a torn label on it and she placed it with the other glass pieces she had collected. Her mind went back to that man in the dirt. She couldn’t stop thinking about him and so she grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper as she began to draw the image of him that she had in her head. She loved to draw, when she wasn’t obsessing about things from a past that she didn’t exist in, well she was drawing. She had a book full of different things she had drawn. Mainly they were objects and animals. She had a few of her friends. She began to draw the picture of the man in the dirt with those deep blue eyes.
It had been only the second time that she had been to that spot in the abandoned town. The place was rumored to be a haven for mutated species. The surrounding air was toxic, but Emma and her friends had used precautions, mainly health spells to keep them safe. They had never seen anything living there except for that one time. The man didn’t look mutated though, dirty but not mutated. Or maybe he was on the bottom half of his body. She hadn’t seen that much just the upper portion that she was now drawing from memory.
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Aidan looked at Sam as they entered the strip club. There was three large stages with vampire girls on each stage. “Not bad huh?” Sam smirked. “You can have your pick but let me tell you, the red head over there. Damn, she knows how to use her mouth if you know what I mean.” Sam smirked as he nudged Aidan.
“Yeah um, I think I may just watch for the meantime.” Aidan said as Sam rolled his eyes.
“Alright, suit yourself. I’m getting a drink. You want one?” Sam asked as Aidan shook his head. He didn’t want to drink that bullshit fake blood. He took a seat towards the back of the club, his mind on Natalie still. It was amazing how much time had passed and yet here he was still thinking about her.
He was still so god damn angry with those witches. Fifty years or not someone had to pay. He hated that he was sitting in that club now when he really should be out somewhere with her, but she was gone. Hell, he was even hallucinating that he had seen her. It was so obvious now as he thought back to when he dug himself out of his makeshift grave. The girl had dark hair, of course he would think it was her especially with it being the first female he had seen in fifty years.
A black-haired vampire came strolling over to him. She was topless and wore only a G-string and heels that resembled spikes. “Hey there sexy, want some company?” She licked her lips as she put her spiked heel dangerously close to his groin. He moved himself some on the chair as he put his hands behind his head and stared at her. “Alright then, you just sit back and enjoy.” She said as she began dance in front of him. Images of Natalie filled his head, he could see her black hair. He thought back to a memory of her sleeping in his bed as he watched her.
Before she even became a vampire, he had watched her sleep. She always looked so peaceful when she slept. He pushed her hair back behind her ear as she groaned a little. It was the sexiest sound he had ever heard. It had been so long since he had slept. He forgot what it was like. He envied her innocence. Leaning forward he placed a small kiss on her forehead. She moved closer to him as she slept until her head was resting on his chest. She was his human. She would always be his.
The feeling of the vampire chick dancing and grinding against his straining erection snapped him from his memories. She leaned forward to his mouth and he grabbed her arms before her lips touched his. She blinked a bit in shock at him. “Thanks for the dance now get off of me.” He said as he physically moved her off of him and he stood.
“Seriously? Whatever, your loss.” She said with annoyance as she walked away. He shook his head and walked over to the bar and ordered a scotch.
Chapter Fourteen
Emma headed to her classes early. She had finished her drawing of the strange man covered in dirt. It had taken her hours and now she was more curious then ever. She wanted to know who he was and why was he in the ground like that? She decided to take a quick detour over to the abandoned town. She contemplated asking her friend Clare to go with her but she didn’t want all the drama that came along with that. Clare was the type of friend who talked about everyone including all of their mutual friends like Tami for instance. Clare wouldn’t dare talk about her to her face but as soon as she was alone with anyone she would talk crazy shit about her and everyone else. Emma wanted to avoid the drama from that. She had enough going on in her life at the moment.
She felt nervous as she got to the old town. Most of the buildings there had collapsed onto themselves during the wars. She wondered if that is what had happened to the strange man. She made her way quickly over to the area he had been in and she looked around at the ground. Something shiny on the ground caught her attention and she walked over to it. She moved the dirt and pulled on the object. It was a dagger with the initials NM in it.
A sound caught her attention and she spun around. She gasped because a man stood there.
Aidan had headed back over to the abandoned area to look for a few missing items. One of them was Natalie’s dagger. He was surprised to see that he wasn’t alone when he got there. It was the girl from the day before standing there.
Emma swallowed hard as she stood there. This man was a vampire, she could tell immediately but she could also see that he was the man from yesterday. The one digging himself out of a hole. He was a vampire. She was sort of shocked because of his size, she would have bet money on him being a wolf. He had strong features and a large body mass, but it was all muscle that much she did know. Those eyes too, he had those deep blue eyes.
“What are you doing here?” He asked as Emma backed up some.
She was impressed at how much he cleaned up. He was incredibly good looking and clean now.
Aidan was shocked with the resemblance of this girl and Natalie. They could be related he thought to himself.
“I was just passing through, what are you doing here?” She finally said as she stood up straight and put the knife into the back of her jeans.
“What do you have in your hand, girl?” He asked, and she rolled her eyes.
“I have a name.” Emma said sarcastically.
“And? Your name?” He asked as he stepped closer and she backed up some.
“Emma and you are?” She asked nervously.
“Emma? Hmm?” He said as he really looked at her. The similarity was crazy. He stepped closer to her and she continued to step back.
He had an intense look on his face and it made Emma nervous but excited at the same time. “Why were you coming out of the ground yesterday? How long had you been there?” She finally asked as he stopped walking over to her.
“That was you yesterday.” He said as more of a statement. “I was waking up I suppose. What did you say you were doing over here again?” He asked.
“Waking up? As in sleeping? In the ground?” She asked quickly.
“Not entirely sleeping, more like waiting patiently.” He said seriously. “What are you?” He asked as her scent filled his nostrils. She wasn’t completely human. He felt incredibly hungry around her. His urge to feed was getting stronger by the second.
“What are you? You still didn’t tell me your name?” She asked as she swallowed hard.
“I think you know exactly what I am, Emma.” His mouth opened slightly, and she saw his fangs. She tried not to act scared.
“So, a vampire. I thought so.” She
said quickly.
“And yet you just stand here. Your either very stupid or very smart.” He said as she shook her head.
“I’m not scared of you. If that is what your trying to do.” She said seriously, and he smiled now. She was spunky. He liked that a lot. She reminded him of Natalie in so many ways.
“Your not?” He asked and then within seconds he was right in front of her as she gasped. “Still not scared?” He licked his lips as he stared at her neck and the vein moving there.
“So, your going to kill me then?” She said just above a whisper.
“No.” He stepped back some as he looked at her. He was insulted actually. “Is that what you think I do, I just go around killing people?” He shook his head.
“I don’t know, maybe.” She said quickly.
“If I wanted to kill you I would have killed you when you took this.” He said as he held the dagger in his hand and she gasped as she felt the back of her pants. He had taken it. She hadn’t even felt him take it.
“What the? How did you do that?” She asked, and he shook his head as he waved the dagger.
“You shouldn’t take things that don’t belong to you Emma.” He said seriously and then he turned from her.
“So, your just leaving now? You didn’t even tell me your name.” She said as he continued to walk away. She huffed as she stood there and then he was gone so fast that he looked like a blur.
She needed to find out who he really was, and she knew the only way to do that was to find information on this abandoned town. She would start at the shop, with her father’s books.
Aidan watched from very far in the distance as she walked away quickly. It took everything in him not to drain her. There was something about her. Something that was drawing him in. He couldn’t pin point what she was. He would find out though.
He followed behind her as she got into her car. She wouldn’t know that he was watching but he was. He needed to see where she was living. She pulled into a town that was about thirty minutes away. There was an odd barrier around it. When he tried to follow her in, it burned him though it was invisible. Odd.
He decided to take this new-found information to Sam. He would see if he knew anything about that town and that girl.
Emma got to the shop, but she felt like she was being watched. It was an odd feeling. She looked around as she got out of her car, no one was there except Alex was coming down the street and she sighed.
Alex was a good enough guy, but he was clingy, and he followed her around like a puppy dog. There was no physical attraction to him though he was a good-looking guy but he definitely wasn’t like that vampire she just talked to. That vampire had sexy written all over him and also danger. Emma wasn’t a stupid girl, she knew that her kind hated vampires and for good reason but just because there is one bad apple doesn’t make the rest bad too.
She was snapped from her thoughts as Alex smiled and came up to her. “I looked for you on campus and Tami said you didn’t go today.” He said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He was dressed so conservative in his polo shirt and khakis. Where was the excitement? The Fire? She thought to how that vampire was dressed. Ripped jeans and a tight-fitting black t-shirt. He wore black boots. He had trouble written all over him, but it sparked something in her. Something that she hadn’t felt before.
“Yeah I had some running around to do plus I handed my paper on socialism early so today was like a free day for me.” She said with a smile.
“I would like to read your paper after you get it back from the professor.” He said with a smile.
“Why? It’s just a stupid paper.” She said sarcastically.
“Oh.” Alex said awkwardly. “Want to grab some coffee?” He asked, and she fidgeted with her hands.
“I need to get to work. Another time ok.” She said, and he shook his head as she quickly got into the store and closed the door. Alex was so awkward that it made her uncomfortable most days. She quickly walked over to the books and she found a few on history. She placed them on the table and began to read each one. They were fairly big books and it would take her awhile but she would eventually find what she was looking for.
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Aidan made his way back to Sam’s penthouse apartment in record time. Sam was sipping a drink as Aidan came into the living room. He immediately saw that Sam wasn’t alone, Lana was there, and she beamed as soon as she saw Aidan.
“Holy shit there he is!” Lana ran up to him and hugged him tight. It caught him off guard.
“I thought it was time for a family reunion.” Sam said with a smirk.
“No shit sherlock!” Lana pulled back and laughed but then she punched Aidan in the arm. “That’s for the whole house falling on you bullshit. Don’t ever do that again!” She snapped at him and then hugged him again.
“Alright. This is definitely not anything I expected. How the hell have you been Lana except for the obvious working out, nice jab there.” He smirked at her.
“Thanks for noticing.” Lana said as she sat up on the counter and smirked. “So? What the hell have you two been up to?”
“Well my time has been spent sleeping for fifty years and Sam has a strip club.” Aidan said with a smirk.
“What? Oh my god, you don’t!” She said with shock as she looked at Sam.
“What? Is that too hard to believe?” Sam faked being hurt.
Lana rolled her eyes. “This is the same guy who spent almost five hours watching paint dry back in the day.” She laughed.
“Hey. It was interesting ok. “ Sam said quickly.
“Uh huh.” Lana playfully rolled her eyes.
“Why don’t you tell us what you have been up to?” Sam said quickly.
Aidan joined in. “Yeah Lana what has been going on in your world?”
“Well unlike you boring dudes I was starting a revolution and well when that didn’t work I followed wolves around and tried to start another revolution and then finally I ended up across the world in Ireland with some long-distance relatives. Just an FYI, Vampires can and do get drunk on alcohol.” She laughed.
“Ireland huh? So, the place is still in one piece?” Aidan asked with surprise. He expected the entire world to be run down like the mess he had seen.
“Ireland, Scotland and Italy all got their shit together fast. It’s one of my favorite places to go to. It looks nearly untouched by war.” She said with a smile. “Do I feel a road trip about to happen you guys!” She grinned big.
“Oh, you can count me out.” Aidan said quickly.
“Your not still trying to find some chick that looks like, you know who.” Sam said quickly.
“What chick? Is there a chick?” Lana asked with wide eyes.
“For your information I saw her again and let me tell you that the resemblance is uncanny.” Aidan said seriously.
“You know its not her.” Sam said seriously.
“What girl? I wanna know.” Lana whined some.
Sam spoke before Aidan did. “He ran into a girl who he thinks looks like Natalie.”
“No shit? Like reborn and shit?” Lana said with shock.
“Oh, not you too. There is no such thing.” Sam shook his head.
“Oh, hell yeah there is. Listen were alive for like forever and I have watched over the years people come back. Hell, over in Italy I ran into someone who looked just like an ex that was a goner.” Lana said quickly.
“Really? Did you say anything to him?” Aidan asked seriously.
“I cant believe you two are doing this.” Sam said sarcastically.
“Well he was with another chick so…” Lana began.
“So, you never got a chance.” Aidan said quietly.
“No, I killed her and fucked him. He still sucked in bed, but I wanted to prove a point.” Lana laughed.
“Your psycho, this is exactly why me and you didn’t work out.” Sam said with a shake of his head.
“Oh, whatever you big baby. Your basically prostituting you
r girls, so your basically like a pimp daddy.” She laughed.
“Yeah well I don’t ruthlessly kill people.” Sam said seriously.
Lana rolled her eyes. “Don’t judge me you ass hole.” She hopped off the counter now.
“Can you two take it down a notch. I really want some information.” Aidan said seriously.
“Yeah well if you hang out with her your likely to get yourself killed.” Sam said quickly.
“I am going to pretend you didn’t say that.” Lana said defensively.
“Or what? You will kill me too?” Sam said sarcastically.
“Maybe.” She smirked.
“Seriously you too, cut it out. This is some serious shit. What if it is her?” Aidan said quickly.
“Was she a vampire?” Lana asked.
“No but she wasn’t human” Aidan said quickly.
“A wolf then?” Lana asked.
“No. I think. I think she may be a witch.” Aidan began as Sam began to laugh.
“Oh, that would be fucking perfect. If she is alive then she would most definitely be a witch. It’s just the worlds way of giving you the finger.” He said sarcastically.
“Wow you really are a cocky bastard, huh?” Lana said quickly.
“More like a little shit.” Aidan rolled his eyes. “I’m going to find out one way or another.”
“And then what? You do know that the witches wont even come close to a vampire and they are strong as hell. I watched them take down a herd of vampires with just two witches. You do not want to screw with them Aidan.” Sam said quickly.