Star Crossed

by Louise Matchett

  Star Crossed

  Louise Matchett

  Copyright © 2016 by Louise Matchett

  ISBN-13:

  978-1539406327

  ISBN-10:

  1539406326

  Cover design by thecovercollection.com

  For everyone who read the original first draft on Wattpad.com.

  Star Crossed

  Chapter 1 - Midnight Walk

  A group of giggling students staggered past the hospital entrance, unaware that they were being watched from the hospital roof like mice being watched by a hunting hawk.

  As the students reached the end of the street and turned a corner out of sight, Julie Colray turned away and began to walk across the roof, all the while wondering if they were in for a late night clubbing and drinking, one which would properly leave them all with a nasty hangover the next morning.

  Although each step was silent and unknown to the many patients sheltered inside the building, sounds from within the hospital could easily be heard by a creature like Julie. From the occasional nurse talking to a sick patient, to the shrieks of a new-born baby, the hospital was full of life and death.

  Some days it was more of one than the other, but the irresistible scent of blood was constant, and as Julie’s fangs emerged from her gums, she was tempted to sneak into the hospital’s blood banks and feed.

  Shaking her head and with a small grin Julie stood over the dark car park. There wasn’t enough lights to cover all of the cars but it was midnight and Julie knew that the handful of cars which remained belonged to the few staff risking the darkness for the sake of doing their jobs and helping those in need.

  Julie launched herself into the air and, for a moment, she was free falling. The rush of air across her face was intoxicating and no matter how many times she jumped from impossible heights the urge to laugh in delight of what she could do was always there. She landed in the middle of the car park in a crouch. Without making a sound Julie straightening up glanced around.

  As a pair of glowing eyes met hers she opened her mouth to display her fangs and let out a low hiss. The fox stepped out into the poor light, its amber coat reduced to a dull light brown. With another hiss Julie sent the fox trotting away back into the night.

  Retracting her fangs, Julie made her way to the front of the hospital and from there she headed to the end of the street and turned the corner where she had watched the group of drunk students disappear around moments before.

  The street was busy; full of students and club goers, some were sober, one or two were high but most were just drunk. The music bled through from the different array of clubs, mixing together in a strange but invigorating beat. As Julie made her way down the street she dodged puddles, of what she hoped was just water on the footpath, but her nose told her otherwise.

  As she passed by a small gathering of four men, one of them called out to her but Julie kept walking. Suddenly the sounds of uneven footsteps came behind her and Julie turned and came face to face with one of the men.

  He was young, around nineteen with shoulder length blond hair, the tips of it sticking to his forehead with either sweat or hair gel. The man’s brown eyes were bloodshot and he had trouble of focusing as Julie watched his eyes travel down her face to her chest and then back to her face again as if she wouldn’t notice he’d been checking her out.

  The man grinned and Julie sighed. She turned to walk away but he opened his mouth at the last moment.

  “D…do you want to join me and ma’ friends for a little drink?” he asked, the alcohol slurring his words.

  Julie took a small step back as the smell of alcohol assaulted her sharp senses. She shook her head and with a small smile turned and walked away. But the man didn’t give up and he quickly caught up and was soon walking side by side with her.

  “Hey!” he said when Julie didn’t say anything. “Didn’t you hear me?” he asked.

  She suddenly stopped walking, causing the drunk to knock into her. He swayed but Julie steadied him and was rewarded with a grin and a glimpse of crooked teeth.

  “My name’s Kevin” he said.

  “Are you all right?” asked Julie.

  Kevin’s skin colour had gone from a flushed, drunken red to a pale and sickly white. He nodded but then suddenly he doubled over and was sick. Laughter echoed down the street from the group of Kevin’s friends as they watched the exchange, but Julie slowly helped Kevin to straighten up and together they made their way back towards his friends. As they neared them Julie gently pushed Kevin towards the nearest friend as he bent over and vomited once more.

  “I think you’ve had enough for the night, don’t you?” she said and turned on her heel, heading down the street. The further away she got, the weaker the smell of alcohol became, however the smell of vomit remained prominent. With a bad feeling in her stomach Julie stood still and she raised one of her shoes to glance at the grip.

  “For fuck’s sake” she muttered.

  Vomit was clumped to the grip of her shoe like chewing gum. She slid her shoes across the curb leaving a damp trail of sick in her wake.

  A few scrapes later, Julie had managed to remove as much of the sick as possible, but despite her best efforts, she knew her shoes were ruined. Julie grumbled under her breath but, not wanting to waste any more time, she sped up and was soon at the front door of an old house.

  Although the paint on the door was peeling away, there was a fraction of light glinting through the window allowing Julie to see the very people she could already smell.

  Chapter 2 - Feed

  Julie rang the doorbell and the door opened within moments. The woman who opened the door peered out, her face thin and her eyes tired-looking with large bags which caused the skin underneath to droop. The woman met Julie’s eye and gave a small nod before opening the door just wide enough so she could slip in. As soon as she was inside, the woman closed the door behind her and walked away.

  As Julie walked along the hallway, the smell of unwashed bodies and blood lingered. Although the smell made her fangs emerge, she made no effort to retract them. Entering the room on her left, Julie stepped inside and found it crowded with humans; some were standing whilst others were slumped on the floor. One or two weren’t breathing and that’s when Julie realized she wasn’t the only vampire in the house.

  A male in a long coat was feeding from a woman, her eyes closed and teeth gritted in pain. Julie watched as the male vampire continued to feed as the woman’s heartbeat slowed and then stopped altogether. The male tore his fangs from the woman’s throat and met Julie’s eyes from across the room. The body fell to the floor with a dull thud.

  “Show some respect!” Julie said.

  The male wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s what they came here for, why should I thank them for that? Does a cat show respect to the mouse it’s just killed?”

  Julie remained silent as the male hissed and ran past her using his increased speed. The front door slammed shut and Julie crossed the room to the woman’s cooling corpse.

  “I’m so sorry” she whispered as she closed the woman’s eyes.

  Getting up, Julie glanced around at the humans. It was true that humans came to houses like this to die. They had their reasons for putting their names on the list and breaking off all other human connections, but Julie couldn’t help but feel a little guilty, and unlike many of her species she and her husband Rome always showed their victims respect by making sure they were comfortable in their final moments and for being as gentle as possible when feeding.

  “You know why I am here,” Julie said softly, addressing the whole room. “I do not know why you are here or what circumstances brought you to this place but I promise that I am not like the one that just left. I will be as gentle as p
ossible. As it was your chose to come here, it’s only fair for you to decide whether to come with me or not.”

  The room was silent as each of them pondered on her words, whilst Julie herself waited for a volunteer. She could have grabbed the nearest person and tore her fangs into their throat but it didn’t seem right to help yourself, like the occupiers inside the house where your own personal buffet. It just meant that Julie was left waiting a bit longer than most for someone to make a decision.

  Suddenly a middle aged man wearing a faded green hat and a badly torn brown coat stood up and met her eye. He turned and walked out of the room and Julie followed him to the back of the house. They entered a small room where a single lamp stood in the far corner, giving just enough light for people to see their way around. A sofa had been placed next to the lamp, its once deep blue colour now faded behind the dried blood stains that encrusted its fabric.

  Julie listened as the man’s heartbeat began to pick up as he crossed the room and sat down, the sofa creaking under his weight. As she slowly walked towards the sofa she could hear the man’s heartbeat pick up. She sat down next to him and tilted his head to the side, exposing his throat. She watched the beating pulse in his neck for a few seconds before piercing the skin with her fangs. The man tensed up but didn’t dare to move as his blood was drawn from his body. With each swallow Julie took the weaker the pulse got until it stopped altogether.

  Gently pulling her fangs from his neck, Julie slowly lowered the man so that he was lying down on the sofa.

  His eyes where closed and his mouth had formed a small smile, as if he was happy to finally be at peace from whatever had made him sign his name on the contract that led him here.

  Wiping away a small trickle of blood as it made its way down her chin, she retracted her fangs. Julie stood up and with one last look at the dead man she turned and walked out of the room. The house was silent apart from the harmony of beating hearts that seemed to come from every room.

  Julie quietly opened the front door and stepped out of the house, into the night. Closing the door behind herself she began her walk home.

  Soon the signs of clubs faded into the occasional pub offering two drinks for the price of one. She could hear the cheers of people inside no doubt celebrating their team winning in a sport Julie had no interest in watching.

  Making her way through a small park she stopped and looked around before resuming her walk at a faster speed. The park was empty, the only heartbeats where those of the humans sleeping in the nearby homes and the occasional animal scurrying for food.

  Julie was powerless to stop herself from grinning as she broke into a run and was soon racing past trees at a speed impossible for humans to see. I should enter the Olympics Julie thought as she exited the park and made her way onto another street.

  She laughed out loud imagining the faces of those in the crowds as she ran past the fastest humans alive.

  From the other side of the town Big Ben chimed causing Julie to slow to a normal paced walk. She glanced at her watch; less than four hours until sunrise she thought as she resumed her run, heading for home before the sun broke the horizon.

  Chapter 3 - Home Sweet Home

  As Julie turned a corner on to her street, nothing stirred behind the tightly drawn curtains that shielded the nearby windows of the neighbouring houses from the street. Julie took her time walking past the houses keeping her footsteps light and in audible.

  Drawing her door key from her trouser pockets she slid the key into the lock and quietly turned it. The door opened and Julie stepped inside. Closing the door behind her she kicked off her ruined shoes and picked them up by the laces.

  Walking down the hallway, the soft pile carpet brushed against her sock covered feet. Up ahead the kitchen door was propped open and Julie entered, her shoes knocking against each other as she did so. She stopped and from her position at the door she could clearly see the swing bin that stood against the breakfast island. Drawing her arm back she swung the shoes and let go.

  They flew through the air twisting and turning, the laces flapping and wrapping around the shoes like a snake wrapping itself around its victims. The shoes hit the lid of the bin, knocking it back as they landed inside it with a loud THUD.

  Crossing the kitchen to where the bin sat Julie nudged the lid of the bin closed, before raising her arms and doing a small victory dance around the breakfast island. A small cough came from the other side of the island, making Julie turn and lower her arms.

  “Rome!” she said grinning at her husband. “I’m back”

  “Had a nice night?” Rome asked, his voice deep. His short black hair was pushed back as if he’d been running his fingers through it.

  Julie opened her mouth to tell him about Kevin and her ruined shoes but before she could he turned away from her and walked into the living room. Her good mood vanishing, Julie followed him in silence.

  The living room was lit by a collection of four small lamps that stood in each corner of the room, with a larger light hanging from the ceiling. The modest sized 39 inch television hung to the wall, its standby switch flashing, but the remote lay untouched on the small wooden coffee table that stood in between two black leather sofas. A pair of long, dark grey curtains hung at the windows, separated them from the outside world.

  Rome sat down on one of the sofas, the leather creaking and moulding to his form. Each sofa was dotted with serial cushions, each one a different colour, causing a mismatch that would drive many into a fit of irritation. But Julie liked the mismatching cushions and whenever she and Rome went somewhere new they always tried to pick a new one.

  She stood in front of both sofas, glancing over at its twin and debated for a moment about where to sit. With a small sigh, Julie turned away from the empty sofa and sat down next to Rome. Leaning towards him Julie gave him a small peck on his cheek.

  Rome didn’t smile. Instead a frown appeared pulling his lips down into the perfect image of unhappiness. Julie frowned and slid back, so that a gap formed between them on the sofa.

  After a few moments of silence Rome turned to her and held a small gold ring up to her. Most would assume it was her wedding ring but the black gem at the centre contradicted them. Whenever someone noticed and asked, Julie would often lie and say that it was her engagement ring.

  But its true purpose was to protect her from the deadly rays of the sun, enchanted with a spell only known to two people: Rome and the one that turned him, a vampire called Lawrite who had died three years ago, leaving only Rome who knew the secret to enchant normal gold rings into sunlight rings.

  “Why weren’t you wearing this?” asked Rome, throwing the ring to Julie who caught it with cupped hands.

  “It’s not daylight for another three hours Rome. I had it all planned out so I would be back before the sun had even ri-”

  “That’s not the point!” Rome interrupted.

  “Then what is?” she asked, rolling the ring between two fingers.

  “The point,” said Rome running a hand though his hair, “is that you should always be wearing this ring, even at night because you never know when you might be caught out in the sun”.

  Julie looked away and nibbled her bottom lip. Rome shuffled towards her, closing the gap between them until it was no more. He reached across and took hold of her hand, holding it in his.

  “I don’t know what I would do without you, love” he muttered as Julie leant against him.

  “I know, I don’t know what I would without you either. I’m sorry,” said Julie quietly, as Rome nuzzled her hair. “But I don’t like wearing it at night. When I’m out there at night I like to be free, unburdened by the constant thought of having to check my finger to see if it’s still there” she explained.

  Rome went still and Julie sat up and looked at him.

  “But I’ll wear it from now on, I promise” she said quickly.

  “What is it?” she asked when Rome didn’t move.

  “I, I thought I heard a vehicle
pulling up outside” he replied.

  Julie frowned and stood up, crossing the room and peeling back a small section of the curtain. A white van stood next to the road, its engine silent. Julie tried to make out a passenger or even the driver but the windscreen was too dark and the lighting too bad to make anything out.

  “Yeah, there’s a van out there but it’s probably just one of the neighbours” she said.

  Repositioning the curtain and returning to the sofa, she had no longer sunk back into the comfort of the dark leather when the doorbell rang.

  “Who could that be?” she muttered.

  She moved to get up but Rome gently pulled her back onto the sofa. She sunk back into the leather and raised an eyebrow at her husband.

  “Does this mean I’m forgiven?” she asked fluttering her eyelids, despite knowing that she looked ridiculous whilst doing so.

  Rome chuckled and lowered his head, pecking her on the lips before stepping back.

  “Possibly” he said with a grin.

  Julie grabbed the nearest cushion and threw it at him but she was too late, Rome had already left the room.

  Getting up Julie walked over and picked up the cushion, she launched it at the sofa and it landed with a light flutter. Placing the ring on the breakfast island, she sighed and crept through the kitchen

  Determined to discover who it was at their doorstep this early in the morning. Balancing on the balls of her feet she crept closer to the kitchen door, trying to remain as silent as possible so that Rome didn’t hear her.

  She could just make out the mumblings of a man but the words where lost even to her advanced hearing. Suddenly, a growl sounded from the hallway. Screw it Julie thought as she dashed out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

  The smell of blood hit her senses and she arrived in time to witness Rome falling into the arms of an unknown man. Julie froze and watched in horror as the man began to drag Rome down the footpath, leaving a thin but bloody trail in their wake. Whether it was the sight of her beloved being dragged away or the sight of the stake that she could now see sticking out of Rome’s stomach Julie didn’t know, but it was enough and with a growl she raced out of the house.