I got up and went for the door, stumbling over a pair of Michael's shoes. I put my ear to the door and listened. If the monster was still out there, I'd have to find another way to escape.
No sound. No movement out there. The monster might've gone away. I took a deep breath and turned the door knob.
Michael stood in the kitchen, behind the counter, stirring a pot. His face lost all its blood when he saw me.
“Kelly...you're awake.”
I didn't know what was going on but I needed to get out of there. I looked for the door and knew that I wouldn't be able to make it before Michael would pounce on me.
Michael took a step towards me. I ran back into his bedroom and closed the door. I fumbled at the handle until I was able to lock it.
His voice came from the other side, calm and collected. “Can we talk, Kelly?” he asked.
“What are you going to do with me?” I yelled through the door.
“Nothing. I just want to explain what happened.”
“You mean how you sucked my blood like a vampire? You're an abomination.”
“I deserve that. I never meant to harm you. And I should have told you about my problem sooner. But things were going so well and you have this power over me.”
I stood there just staring at the door just waiting for Michael to knock it down in a display of super strength.
He continued, “My body can't survive without blood, Kelly.”
“And you kill people for it?”
“No of course not. I do occasionally drain people but they never die.”
My head was swirling. Was all this really happening? Was Michael really a vampire?
But that was a fantasy. Vampire didn't exist in the real world.
“Are you a vampire?” I asked him.
“Not in traditional sense,” he replied.
I sat down on the edge of his mattress. “What the fuck is going on here.”
“You're special, Kelly. When I'm around you, I don't feel the hunger anymore. It's something that's never happened to me before. I don't know why it's happening but I've never felt better when you're around.”
I pinched my cheek and howled from the pain. This wasn't a dream.
“Listen, Kelly. I'm not going to hurt you. I swear it. I can open this door if I wanted to. I have the key out here.”
I cursed silently. “And once I open the door, you're going to use your vampire powers to brainwash me into your slave.”
Michael laughed on the other side. “That would be a nice power to have.”
He sure was acting normal for a vampire. But could I trust him?
“Just please open the door and I'll explain everything.”
I don't know what came over me but I didn't feel scared anymore. I don't know if it was Michael's soothing voice or the fact that there wasn't any way I could escape.
I opened the door and Michael was sitting on the ground. I walked back to the bed and sat down. He stood up immediately and walked in. “Are you all right?”
“I feel lightheaded and I think I'm losing my mind.”
Michael pointed at my neck. “Does it still hurt?”
“What kind of question is that? Of course it fucking hurts.”
Michael hung his head low. “I'm sorry, Kelly. I was on the brink of death. If I didn't get blood soon I would've certainly died.”
I rubbed my tired eyes. “This is taking a lot to process. So you don't go around killing people and draining them of blood?”
Michael looked me in the eyes and I had to turn away. “I never kill them. I take just enough blood to keep me going.”
“So that's what you're doing at the club.”
Michael nodded his head in shame.
“And you've never been caught before? How do your victims not report this to the police?”
“They usually believe it was all dream.”
I pointed at my neck. “Does this look like a dream to you?”
Michael grasped my hand. My instinct was to pull it away but he was so warm. His holding my hand calmed me down a little.
“I do what I need to do to survive, Kelly.”
“And there's no other way to get blood? Can't you get blood at a hospital or something?”
“They don't usually give that out for free. I've had to steal from blood banks when times got tough.” Michael squeezed my hand. “But you don't understand. When I'm around you, I don't feel the hunger.”
“And look what happened when I left,” I replied.
“I don't have all the answers but I know what we have between us is special. I need your help, Kelly.”
Chapter Seventeen
Michael
Kelly was taking the news rather well. I was scared that she was going to try and fight me off. Run for the door and never be seen or heard from again.
But she was sitting on my bed still. Understandably distraught but willing to talk things through. That's more than I could ever ask for.
“I need some time to think about all this,” Kelly said.
“I understand. I'll give you all the time you need.”
Kelly stood up and swayed from side to side. I grabbed her forearm to steady her. “I'm sorry, I still feel a little lightheaded.”
“Lay back down and I'll get you some orange juice.”
I could tell she wanted to go but her body wasn't allowing her. She plopped back down on the bed as I went to the kitchen.
I returned with a glass of orange juice to find Kelly sound asleep on the bed again. I put the glass down on the wood floor next to the mattress. She was exhausted and so was I. But I couldn't assume to sleep next to her on the bed. I didn't want her to wake up and get scared.
I went back to the living room with a blanket and took a spot on the couch. It didn't take me long to fall to sleep.
–
I awoke as the sun was setting across the city. Shades of orange covered the walls of the apartment. I went to the bedroom to find the bed empty.
My heart dropped. Kelly must've left while I was asleep. I didn't know what else to expect. She had said she needed some time to think.
I heard the toilet flush in the bathroom and my heart came back to life. She was still here.
Kelly opened the bathroom door and stopped in her tracks when she saw me. “Sorry I didn't mean to wake you.”
“No, I actually had thought you'd gone.”
Kelly took a cautious step towards me. “I thought about it. I really did. I guess sleeping on it helped. You need my help and I can't run away from that.”
I couldn't believe the words coming out her mouth. “So you'll stay with me?”
Kelly took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I agree that there's something special between us. I don't want to throw it all away once things get hard.”
“I don't want to throw it all away either. I know I can conquer this problem with you.” I went to embrace her in my arms.
She put her hands up to stop me. “We need to take things slow. I'm not ready to just dive right back into bed with you.”
“Of course.”
Kelly rubbed her arms and looked around. “So how is this going to work? Do I need to be within five feet of you or something for you not to feel this hunger you were talking about?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea. I felt fine when you were sleeping in the other room so I think it's probably more than five feet.”
“And can I never leave you alone again?”
“Depends on the last time I had some blood. You could leave me right now and I'd be fine for a couple days. It's when I'm with you and forget about the hunger that's the problem. When you go, it all comes rushing back and I can't get out to feed.”
“That's what you call it? Feeding? Sounds like you're eating people.”
“Do you have better word?”
She thought for a moment. “No I don't.”
“So if I make you forget your hunger? How is this going to solve your problem?”
“I still feel like I'm going crazy but okay. Let's do it.”
Epilogue
Kelly
One Year Later
“Are you sure you don't need help carrying that, Michael?”
Michael lifted the heavy toilet and strained as he began the ascent up the stairs. “No I think I got it.” His face went red and he blew out heavy breaths as he juggled the large object.
I led him up the stairs, guiding him up each step since he couldn't see over the porcelain. “You're almost there. Be careful of the wall to your right.”
“I see it. I see it.” Michael turned the corner and made it into the bathroom. He squatted down and gently placed the toilet in its rightful place. Michael craned his neck side to side and cracked it.
“Looks good, don't you think?” I asked him.
“It's a toilet, Kelly. It looks exactly how I imagine a toilet would look.”
I playfully hit Michael on the shoulder. “I mean the bathroom is finally coming together.”
Over the past year, Michael and I had been renovating my parents' house together. I had wanted to do all the work myself but Michael's curious condition changed all that.
We were together twenty-four seven. All day every day. We had tried out leaving him alone for any length of time but the hunger always came back like a freight train.
But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Michael made a lot of sacrifices to make this relationship work. He moved out of his rich loft apartment and into my parents' house. He wasn't exactly thrilled about it but it was one thing in our negotiation that I wasn't going to back down from.
We didn't need to be in the same room all the time. In fact, we would spend a lot of time apart in opposite ends of the house. It gave me the quiet time I needed and I didn't feel suffocated. I think being so close all the time made our relationship grow faster.
I felt like we were truly meant to be together. Maybe it was the fact that I had this special power over him or it was the way he made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. Whatever it was, I could really see myself spending the rest of my life with him.
Our house had gone through so much work over the year. The flooring had been refinished, kitchen remodeled, every wall painted. The plumbing needed to be fixed on multiple occasions. A leaky ceiling was just a fixture of our life for awhile.
The guest bathroom downstairs was the last room to finish. I never thought we would get to that point.
When I first walked into the house, I thought it wasn't even possible. Even if it was, it would take decades to finish by myself.
That's why I have to give a lot of credit to Michael. He was beyond knowledgeable on house repair. I don't know where he learned it all from but it was much appreciated.
Michael slapped the dust off his blue jeans. “This house is really coming together. We only have the vanity and the tub to replace. Then we'll finally be done.”
“Doesn't seem real, does it?”
“You ever think about what we're going to do with all our free time when we are finished with the house?”
“I thought we could relax and enjoy the work we accomplished. But I can't live off your dime forever. I've let you pay for too many things already, including all the renovations on the house.”
“I think we should go travel the world,” he said with that dumb smile of his.
“Yeah that might mess with me needing to find a job.”
Michael waved my comment away with his hand. “You don't need a job. We can live off my money comfortably forever.”
“Oh so we're going to be together forever now are we?”
Michael nodded. “I was waiting until we were completely done with the house to do this but I can't wait a second longer.”
I had no idea what trick he had up his sleeve. Michael was always trying to surprise me.
Michael got down on one knee and produced a ring from his back pocket. “Kelly Marshall, will you marry me?”
Tears welled up in my eyes. I put my hand over my mouth. I couldn't believe it. The diamond ring was mesmerizing. The giant stone was set on a silver band with a million other tiny diamonds around it. I couldn't breathe let alone speak.
Our future together flashed before my eyes. I imagined us traveling the world and always returning to our perfect home.
Michael switched knees. “Are you really going to leave me hanging here. A yes or no answer will suffice.”
I snapped out of my daydream. “The answer is yes.”
Michael stood up and I jumped into his arms. He swung me around the half-renovated bathroom and we kissed. I couldn't stop giggling as he put the ring on my finger.
“Can we go traveling now?”
I nodded and wiped the tears from my cheek.
Michael rested his nose on mine. “I love you, Kelly.”
“I love you too, Michael.”
He was my Mr. Right.
The End
Warrior of Jeorn
Copyright 2018
All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: This ebook is a work of fiction. Any resemblance characters in this story may have to real people is coincidental.
No section of this book may be copied or reproduced without the author's permission.
Description
Sophia wasn't exactly planning on crashing onto an alien planet. She had dreams of living on an off-world colony. Starting all over in a place where nobody knew her. Now she was on a planet where there weren't any humans.
Tyrex is an impossibly strong warrior of the Jeorns. He has been ordered by the Council of Elders to find his Intended. When he comes across a sharp-tongued female in the forest, he knows his search is over. But can they both endure the Trials?
Warrior of Jeorn
Chapter One
Deep Space.
The Breach hurtled through the black void at a factor of seven on the warp scale.
The ship was built as a travel shuttle to ferry passengers from Earth to the various space stations across the galaxy. It could hold sixty-eight comfortably with only a crew of fifteen.
With its warp drive enabled, the shuttle could make the trip from Earth to Space Station 7756 in only two months.
But for the passengers on board, two months seemed like an eternity.
–
Sophia Jordan woke up in a cold sweat again, her heart beating out of her chest. She looked around in the darkness and finally remembered where she was.
“Computer, lights on,” she said.
The cabin overheads illuminated to an almost blinding brightness. Sophia blocked the light with hand until her eyes adjusted.
The passenger rooms on The Breach were tiny to say the least. A twin-sized bed, mini-fridge, and bathroom were all the comforts of space travel. If only she could've afforded one of the first-class cabins then maybe she'd have a TV.
Sophia rolled out of bed and the holo clock on the nightstand read three-thirty in the morning. After a month she still hadn't gotten used to the time difference. She dragged herself to the bathroom and stared at her sweat-ridden face in the mirror. Dark bags hung below her eyes and her short blonde hair was a mess.
She applied makeup with the auto brush that could do your face perfectly in minutes and put on jeans and a t-shirt.
The small porthole in her room gave her just enough of a view. At first, she couldn't could keep her eyes off the beauty of space. The stars were so dazzling but so far away. After awhile, the beauty faded away into loneliness. Now she did her best to avoid the porthole.
The nightmares never stopped. Ever since she first stepped foot on this vessel, she couldn't kick the feeling that something bad was going to happen.
Every night it was the same: a break in the hull and the entire spacesh
ip imploded on itself.
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