She moved her feet from the bench to the ground. "No food today. I am glad you stopped by. Have a seat."
I sat down and shyly kept my eyes averted.
Sunnie rolled her foot over a small pebble as she looked down. "No activities for you?"
"Not really my thing. There is so much more to life than high school stuff. I try not to get so caught up with all the drama," I answered.
The speech had been stolen from one I had heard a human inside say minutes before as he espoused the multitude of reasons that all ended in the either he was too cool or above everything involving school.
Sunnie was impressed, or at least that was the impression she gave. "Yeah me too. Been at this school long?"
I couldn’t believe that bullshit worked.
"Nah. This is my first year here. I went to school on the base until this year."
She continued to use the tip of her boot to mess around with the pebble. "I am new here too."
Our conversation was strained and awkward and great.
Sunnie was different than the vampires. There was no plan. There was no struggle for control. No fight for my life or the possibility of having to kill her in a maddening game of survival. This was just two kids trying to figure the other one out.
The conversation waned as I became distracted by the scent of her blood. I had not been given any Inhibitors today and any natural resistance was wearing thin. The sound of her blood being pumped through her made me want to close my eyes and listen.
I knew I had to keep talking or risk finding my fangs within her neck as she withered in my arms. "Ah...uh...What do you do for fun? I mean...Never mind. That is too personal I guess. Heck, I just realized I don't even know your last name."
Sunnie giggled and looked flattered that I was babbling like an idiot. "My last name is Vass."
Silence ensued again. Surprisingly, we were both comfortable in the normally uncomfortable.
She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, but did not restrain the hair. Instead she chose to fan herself with her tattered copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. "This Alabama heat is awful. A girl could melt out here."
Her exposed neck brought back flashes of seeing her lie in front of me at the Tortured Rabbit. The beauty of her exposed slender neck filled me with a craving to taste her sweetness. It was sheer agony to be confronted with something you wanted so badly.
Sunnie got up to move around as she continued to fan. "Not even the damn wind here is cold."
I stuck to the shadow created by the angle of the awning and the rear wall of the building. "The summers here are miserable. Don't worry. In time you will get used to the heat."
She walked and fanned. "I am not so sure about that. How could anyone get used to this? I mean it is bad enough that they have to torment us with this rabble they call an education. They expect us to learn with the air conditioners ramped up to max trying to fight back this oven."
Sunnie wiped away the sweat forming on her neck. The sticky sweetness oozing from her pores made me want to lick the tiny droplets from her supple body. My mouth was excessively dry as I watched her dry her moist hand on the hem of her dress. My tongue flinched inside my mouth as the particle was wasted.
The longer she stayed in the sun the longer and more profusely she would sweat, driving me further into a frenzy of want. Seeing her skin glistening in the sun did nothing to abate the memories of the other night.
She had to feel me staring at her body and think me a pervert, but she didn't seem to mind or care that she was doing the bulk of the talking. I was at a loss about anything other than feeling the softness of her neck being forgiving against my fangs. The remembered sensation resonated through my fangs tips that began to grow within my mouth.
"Screw fanning, I need to get back in the shade. Slide over some," Sunnie said as she bumped me further down the bench.
Swallowing hard, I complied though said nothing in order to hide my fangs, which at the moment had a mind of their own.
The flesh and sweat of her body brushed against mine. Fighting back a desire to lunge at her by thinking hard about why I was imbedded in the school to begin with and how I could jeopardize it all, I was able to stave off the passion I was feeling. It was no longer about needing her blood, it was becoming about needing her.
The shade was dark enough that I hoped if I did have any features showing they were masked.
I could hear, see and smell every drop of sweat on her body as easily as I could hear her heart beat, see the blood coursing under the skin and smell every coppery and salty, honeysuckle infused pint.
Sunnie leaned in close. Much closer than I thought she should have and said, "I have a couple or three things on my mind. Ok?"
Helplessly, I bit my lip before I said, "Go for it."
There was a relaxed, yet frustrated look on her face. "You don't talk much do you?"
This deserved an answer. A great answer if I wanted to see where this could go. So far, I had been less like the suave vampire found in the culture of the age. I searched my brain to channel the fictionalized side of being a creature that could potentially live forever.
My answer wasn't slow forthcoming though she was anxious to hear my response.
I taxed my wits trying to think of anything that wasn't completely devoid of emotion and also not too over the top.
So I began, "Sunnie, you may find this difficult to understand, so let me finish before you go running away laughing your head off."
She didn't leave though she did inch away a small amount most humans would never have recognized. The great thing about being a vampire was that when everything was in the proper order inside of me, the world outside was amazing. Even the smallest detail was perceivable. Body language was a great gauge of whether or not a vampire had control and was becoming an important part in my understanding of the differences between the worlds in which I coexisted.
I continued, "I think you and I have an opportunity to be friends. There is a possibility we could be more than friends if we both are honest about what we want and feel. There are chances in your life sometimes that you want to take but are afraid to take. There are chances in your life sometimes that you take and shouldn't have. I don't want this to be a chance that we didn't take because I will never think this is something that shouldn't have happened."
Sunnie thought before she spoke, "Well, when you do speak you say a lot. I don't know where to start except to say that I am willing to give it a shot, but there is something I need to know before I allow myself to get any deeper into this and suffer having my heart broken."
"Shoot," I said.
"You have a female friend that is currently giving me a go to hell look through the glass. She has been staring at us for a while. Where does she fit into all of this?" She casually motioned in the direction of the door into the courtyard.
Caught up in Sunnie, I had failed to notice Veronica watching us.
Time had come for a half lie. "We were assigned female counterparts to ease the transition in the civilian school since none of the base kids had ever been allowed to attend school outside of the confines of the fence. The plan was to act as if we were a couple."
Perplexed, Sunnie harshly retorted, "That sounds like a loud of crap. Do you expect me to by that? I have had guys lie to me before." Her demeanor changed as she moved further away.
I thought fast, "You know how damn good you smell?"
Pausing, she faced the door.
I thought for a minute she was going to bolt until I realized she was sizing up Veronica.
Sunnie said, "I want to believe your story. I really, really do."
She peered over her shoulder to gauge my reaction.
Veronica walked away.
"Then believe it," I said as I touched her hand.
The bell rang signifying that the class was over and lunch period was about to begin. "Ethan, I need to get to the library to check out a couple of books for my English class during lunch. If you are serious then h
ow about a date before we devote our lives to each other." She smirked
We both laughed.
"What do you suggest?" I asked.
I was afraid to admit that I had no clue were to begin or even if there was a chance that we could do more than flirt at school.
Sunnie held out her hand then gestured for her book back as we walked into the building. "Well, there is this back to school bash in three weeks. I am thinking we kind of get to know each other first then the dance can be our first official date. You know if things work out."
We entered the school, though I held the book for ransom. Lightly kissing her cheek, I was prepared to bid her goodbye and go to lunch with a fair amount of dread about dealing with Veronica, but the kiss became a hug that lingered. Any thoughts of dread melted in her arms.
There was a sudden, urgent tapping on my shoulder from behind. I didn't have to turn around, but I knew who it was by the urgency and the odor in the air.
"Are we going to lunch today?" Veronica questioned impatiently.
Sunnie and I broke the embrace. Uncomfortable in the presence of Veronica, we parted without a word. There was not a chance for introductions as my new friend departed.
Starting to explain myself, I was cut off by Veronica. "I know what Liam did the other night by bringing that girl to you at The Tortured Rabbit. The arrogant bastard thought the idea was cute. Thought you might actually appreciate someone like her to be your first taste of human blood. There can be nothing more than flirtations with her. We can write it up as practice for infiltration, but that is as far as it goes. Do you understand?!" she paused, waiting for a response. "Well?!"
I did not appreciate her lecturing me even if she knew the boundaries and how cautiously they should be approached. "I understand Veronica."
There was a look of uncertainty that was hiding what I perceived as anger on her face. I had to deflect her from her animosity and fear about Sunnie.
I asked, "There is a question I have been meaning to ask you about the scents that we broadcast. You seem to change and mask your odor whenever you want. How does that work?"
The question worked as Veronica seemed ready to explain another mystery of the realm of vampires. "A select few of the newest generations have the ability to mask or change our scents at will. It is not really as much masking a scent as we can absorb odors, mimic or direct smells through learning to manipulate pheromones within us. You should be able to yourself since I was informed it was part of the virus that was uploaded to you. Liam, Logan and Chloe have other experimental abilities that are classified to the outside world. If you have not seen them thus far, then I am sure somewhere along the line you will have the opportunity. "
We started progressing to the lunch room as we continued to whisper.
The volume of my voice was below that of what a human could detect. "Chloe has already tried to work her charms on me with limited success."
Veronica retorted, "How limited is still in question. She almost kicked your ass on the bus."
I gave her a sideways glance as we passed through the lunchroom door. "Not exactly the way I remember how that happened, but I was talking about a different time in the school, but never mind."
The conversation ended as we found a table and sat down with the rest our group. We switched to a world of silence and smiles as we watched the people from the human world. We were now a part of their world five days a week from a perch in the corner of the lunchroom.
Chapter 33
The week after meeting Sunnie at a more personal level was uneventful. The vampires and I had finally settled into our integration amongst the mortals. Even the wolves had appeared to have been making the transition smoothly, though we saw very little of the new pack that still consisted of Tristan, who was now the alpha, Haley and two females named Alicia and Ava.
School was simple and care free, the perfect backdrop for my time with Sunnie. We would talk in the hallways and in passing in front of my friends, and then sneak away for time alone in which we would simply talk away the seconds or minutes we had stolen.
The week was ending, and I was thinking constantly about her. I told myself it was simply about learning to build relationships with humans and not the honeysuckle scented blood that made me want to feed uncontrollably whenever I got too close. Worse yet, I had to fight another problem that was arising and was beginning to be a larger issue than my blood lust; I was beginning to fall in love.
The long week had quickly become a single day. Friday to be exact. It was a day where my hunger for blood was making me feverish. Riding the bus to school, it was obvious to anyone that gave a damn to look there was something wrong with me.
Veronica snatched my arm as I staggered past. "You look like someone that could use a fresh taste. I think it is about time I showed you a couple of tricks to help you stay alive."
Staring into what should have been her face; there was nothing there but a white, fog of haze that was clouding my mind as I responded. "I wish someone would do something, because I since I woke up this morning, I felt like I was going to go insane today if I didn't get a drink besides the garbage in the fridge. My mind is in a funk that I am not sure I have experienced before."
The alluring vampire pulled my lower eye lid down on one eye then the other. "I know what your problem is and you are right the stuff in the refrigerator isn't going to cut it. Not this time. You are going to start having the equivalent of withdraws. The military doesn't know to what extent this occurs. In several of the newer model beings, the government has made a creature in which the formerly sufficient mixture of cold blood is unable to help satiate the desire for blood from live hosts. This can happen often as I have seen with many of the newest in our group. There is a cure that does have inherent risk. The cure is one that requires every few days you must feed no matter what or face a slow, torturous death from within your body."
Listening intently, I stared at the wispy fog covering Veronica's face as she continued. "Listen carefully because this can only be said once for fear someone else might catch wind if you ask me during school hours."
She scanned the bus to make sure she hadn't missed a member getting off the bus. The bus was deserted sans the two of us since the driver had already stepped off to get a smoke before driving back to the base.
"When school gets out for the weekend and we get home, I will exercise one of my privileges of being group leader. We will stay out past curfew, and I will show you how to hunt for real. There will no longer be a need to wait for your ration of cold blood. Meet me behind your house tonight after eleven and we can see if we can find you something alive to drink from tonight."
I think I said ok as we both stepped from the bus and into the hallways filled with viable donors to my thirst.
Doing my best to avoid Sunnie at school, I steered clear of her locker and our usual haunts for fear that blinding hunger and thoughts of her coppery blood bathing my tongue might not make for the best conditions for her survival at school. There was even help from Logan and Liam, who at Veronica's orders, blocked her from me and me from her, at every turn.
Thankfully the day ended, but only after it crawled along seemingly for days.
Soon enough I found myself within my home on the Farm, dealing with a ravenous appetitive that no amount of the blood in my fridge could end. Thirty seven bags of human blood I consumed, the final twenty-six bags I did not even bother to warm. Still, I wanted more until I forced myself to try animal blood. Those sixteen bags met the same fate as the human blood.
My home was awash with blood smears along the cabinet doors and countertops. There even a few along the floor which included my footprints. The bags that had contained the blood were piled in the sink, garbage can, counter, kitchen floor and even the bathroom floor where I had gotten pissed and flung them put of my sight. It was a fitful few hours of dealing with another pitfall of being a vampire.
I disgusted myself as I looked in the mirror. Skin was hardened and grayed. F
ace covered in dried, crusty with brown and dark red blood. Streaks flowed onto my neck and downward across the collar of my t-shirt where darkened stains had pooled. Others streaks had persisted the entire length of my shirt. Ripping the t-shirt from my torso, I half assed wiped at the blood with the tattered remains. When I finished I chunked the ragged garment over my shoulder into the shower behind me. Still staring into the mirror, a rage developed. Frustration and hunger slammed into each as I smashed the mirror with my forehead. The action obliterated the glass into thousands of dangerous shards that fell into the sink and onto the floor.
The thirst persisted. It was not like the first one I experienced or reminiscent of anything I had felt. There was no pain, just the frustratingly simple need to feed.
My forehead was unmarred by the blunt force trauma that had been perpetrated. Taking one of the few remaining shards of glass that were hanging from the mirror, I edged the four inch long piece of glass toward my wrist. I needed blood. A shaking hand lowered the razor sharp point toward the throbbing vein located there. I could see the vein bulging just below the surface. It was strange to see my own blood rushing there. The thought of the taste and it made me curious. The thin, jagged piece spread the toughened flesh, but did not penetrate. Curious as to why, I tried again then realized I could not bring myself to cut my own wrist.
I wanted to taste fresh blood. I wondered if Darby was home and knowing her fondness for me if she would mind sharing a small amount. The thought was disconnected, but apparent in my mind. I would have to make her understand this was nothing personal.
The thoughts abruptly ended in a wisp of vapor when a voice called from the living room. The voice was indistinguishable initially as I stood before the broken mirror staring at the fractured board left hanging after the reflective device had been destroyed. I strained to hear the words being spoken. Then as my mind continued to clear, the words became less garbled. The roaring that had been unbeknownst to me faded.
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