The First Touch

by Alice Sweet

  The First Touch

  By Alice Sweet

  Copyright 2012Alice Schneider

  Smashwords Edition

  Discover other titles by Alice Sweet at http://www.alicesweet.com

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-Book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  The First

  Follow Me

  Wake Up

  New Eyes

  Silent Bond

  Voices

  Home

  Guests

  Grief

  Possibilities

  Second Vessel

  Kiss

  The Change

  First

  Next

  The Next Step

  Eat

  The Boat

  Response

  Run

  Catch

  Practice

  Back Again

  New Developments

  Test Two

  More

  Challenges

  Attack

  New Eyes

  Twin Waterfalls

  Test Three

  The Beginning …Again

  Run Away

  New Plan

  Frightful End

  Home at Last

  No Worries

  I would like to dedicate this book to Nancy Schneider. Your encouragement made this book possible, thank you for being so awesome!

  The First

  Autumn stepped out of the overgrown jungle, to where the sky opened up, greeting her with the white sandy beach of her dreams. She came out to watch the sun set, as it almost always did, when she found herself here. The feeling of familiarity flooding her senses, as the light warmed her skin, and the sand danced on the tops of her feet, ticking her toes with scratchy delight. This was a special spot for her, this place where light and dark danced together, unseen by so many others, making her feel at once, home.

  Unexpectedly though, anxiety crept in, as she spotted a large black shape in the watery distance, interrupting her temporary reprieve. She tried to push it from her mind, and enjoy the fleeting moment in front of her, even turned away from the blight in the water, hoping to return her sense of calm. Her mind however, would not listen, stubbornly drifting back to the approaching vessel.

  The sun, meanwhile set, sending out its final warning, night approaches, as it filled the skies with amber light. Tonight, she knew she should be listening, but she needed to see something….Ultimately, the precious light disappeared over the horizon, leaving nothing but the beginnings of starlight to sooth her nerves.

  Autumn frowned then; turning her attention to the ever darkening waters and noted that the black shape on the horizon was getting closer now. Her chest tightened, as her anxiety grew, forcing her off the beach and back to the safety of the dense vegetation behind her.

  When she stepped backward though, she bumped into a solid figure, which seemingly appeared out of thin air. Somehow though, she was not surprised, or alarmed by the appearance of her newest visitor. He was a tall sturdy looking male with a commanding presence, and even though he did not even glance at her, she knew he was a good man.

  Autumn blinked, and instantly four more silhouettes came out to join him on the sand. They, like him, seemed completely focused on the boat that was heading towards their shores. She looked out at the water again and found that it was much closer than she thought possible, given the short passage of time. Immediately, she turned back to see if her companions had noticed the same discrepancy, they had.

  At least she thought so, they had changed, their eyes, black pits of loathing, and their skin…cold. She knew the last bit, because she felt it as well, and suspected that her eyes might be like theirs, except that she was straining in the ever dimming light. They however seemed comforted, by this limiting factor, as if it was a more natural state for them, lightless wonderment, easing their shinning black orbs.

  Her hands felt tight now and she looked down at them, flexing them cautiously before looking up again to find a line of rowboats, amazingly, already moored on the shores in front of her. Cloaked figures stepped out at once, moving swiftly towards the group on the beach, unnaturally so in her eyes. The growls that escaped the lips of her companions echoed her own misgivings about these visitors. They were uninvited, unwelcome by the people who lived here. Autumn felt compelled to step closer and investigate further but she was frightened since she was unsure of her eyes appearance at the moment, a valuable piece of information. Important to her alone because she knew that it could mean the difference between life and death… in this place.

  Hesitantly, she stepped forward, and cringed as a stick under her foot snapped, sending all eyes to her. Hisses instantly rose up from the cloaked figures. Autumn turned sprinting from the beach, while horrifying images, pounded her skull as she fled.

  The next thing she knew, she was zooming through the brush, her exposed skin, stinging as it struck every vine, branch, and thorny patch that she passed in her rush to flee. Most importantly, leaving blood sign on everything that she touched, sending a wave of panic through her. What would they do to her when they found her? She zigzagged frantically, feeling them at her heels, her heart racing in her chest all the while. Desperation hit her then; she could not outrun them, not them.

  When she made it into a small clearing ahead, she stopped turning to face them, screaming into the darkness, maddeningly swinging behind closed lids, hoping to bring on a quick death. When she struck nothing, she squeezed her eyes tighter, tensing in preparation for a deadly response. Instead though, moments of troubling quiet passed, waiting for her, she guessed, to unfurl…and then…nothing happened.

  She slowly opened her eyes, peeking out from behind her lashes to see the reason for the delay, but found none. It was a miracle. No one was standing there, not a soul.

  She tilted her head in disbelief, and certain that they must be just out of view, and began to back away again, instinctually knowing that this was not over. They would lull her into a false sense of calm and then rip her to shreds when she expected it the least… that was the kind of creatures that they were. Even in her muddled state, she knew danger when she felt it and this was the worst kind.

  When, as if on cue, she heard a ruffling in the brush, beginning in the direction that she had just come from, assuring her that she was in fact not alone. Then before she could turn and run, the rustling sounded all around her. Her heart nearly beat out of her chest, waiting for the end to come…just for her.

  Then without warning, a cloaked figure jumped out of the canopy and landed on all fours next to her. As he stood, he asked in a raspy voice, “Why are you here?”

  Autumn stepped backwards, raising her hands defensively, “I just want to go home.”

  He matched her step, pursuing her relentlessly, undeterred by her response, “Wake up.”

  She asked confused then, “What?”

  The figure leapt upon her, knocking her to the ground, snarling, “Wake up.”

  Autumn closed her eyes and whispered desperately to herself, “Wake up.” Then she felt the hot breath on her neck as she tried to pull herself out of the nightmare with no avail.

  She opened her lids again and watched as the figure pulled its hood off revealing itself to Autumn, and she gasped seeing the creature for the first time. It was Autumn, well a darker version of herself, shinny black
eyes and effervescently pale skin. Once the creature noticed her gaze, she went dreadfully calm, and began to bleed from her mouth. Disgustingly, her double began to wet her lips lustfully with the blood that she was shedding, her eyes twinkling delightfully. Then without warning she exploded, her eyes wild and her face distorted, shaking, and screaming, sending out a boom, which sent the ground trembling underneath them, “Wake up!”

  ***

  Autumn sat up in her bed, the sounds of car alarms going off outside in the alley. Another quake must have hit, she thought, as she reached over and flicked on the lamp, finding her sheets soaking wet again. She slid over and pulled out her journal, tucked under the empty pillow next to her, and began scribbling. Every detail that she could remember from her dream, flooding out of her on to the stark white pages as her hands shook from the adrenaline that still coursed through her.

  Once finished, she stripped the sheets off her bed, from her nightly mental marathon, and replaced them with crisp clean ones. This was near pointless, knowing that she would likely have to do it again in the morning, but she could not stand the clingy feeling of them on her skin. She huffed and lay back down staring up at the sliver of moonlight that streamed in from the doorway, as the sharp metallic taste in the back of her throat lingered, vexingly. She waited patiently for sleep to take her back under again, as the whispers began, yet another of her nightly eccentricities.

  Her life was not always this way; this path had begun, unexpectedly, when a loss so great that she never spoke of it again, struck her. It wiped her clean, gut wrenching and shocking as it was, death had come knocking and left something in its wake that she never could have expected. She was unable to move pass it, no matter how many years she put between her and it. The darkness, it appeared, had come to stay, and no matter how hard that she tried, it seemed she could not hold it back any longer.

  It started as these dreams, following a final change, which no one else could see, but that she felt from that night on. In that first one, the night before her loss, she stood in front of an ancient mirror in a familiar stone room and watched as vivid colored liquid filled her eyes… all the way to the brim. It was soothing and it cooled them, in an unexpected way. She watched, in awe, as it changed the world around her forever.

  From then on, the nights were suddenly hotter and the days were shorter, and soon her dreams became all-consuming. They were now a series of events that played out in her head each night, creatures hiding in the gloom, swallowing her whole and spitting her out again each morning. This night was much like the others, except that it would be the last for her. Autumn closed her eyes and listened to the voices that lulled her into dreamland once more...Three vessels, how could that be possible…

  ***

  It shifted somehow....out of the dark, a sensation began prickling his neck that caused him to stop in his tracks. He circled around, back towards the group of females that slowly filtered past him, each one of them watching him with ardent eyes. He blinked taking in all of their mouths, searching for the lips from his memories, none matched. The ladies had just come from the stop light on the corner, its digital display glowing, a familiar neon green. It slowly began its count down, blinking, seconds ticking, as more bodies scurried across the black lanes, to the relative safety of the sidewalks, slick as they were this evening.

  It was cold out now, though he barely registered the sensation on his never changing pale skin. He did note that there was a thin dusting of snow covering everything in a white haze of iciness, which melted glazing shinny metals and formed icicles under ledges. The inconvenient weather caused the warm bodies to slip and slide on the dark patches of ice that formed periodically on sidewalks and thoroughfares, providing a bit of comical relief via Mother Nature.

  Tonight, the walkways were flooded in light from the twinkling shops selling their wears for the holidays, and it appeared the occasion must be soon, as the majority of patrons had sacks filled with brightly colored packages. Another sign of change, a feeling that he was no longer connected to, and a celestial concept that was as meaningless as its traditions were to his ancient eyes.

  He stood still as the feeling ebbed and another group of pedestrians passed by him, none of whom were female. Then just as he was about to turn and walk away, his neck gave him a pull again. The wind suddenly changing and he felt cold, unnaturally connecting him to the moment again. He had always been able to disconnect from the present, until today. This place was not his; he was merely a visitor here in this city filled with humans.

  Suddenly his hearing became shaper and the feeling of excitement grew stronger, until it gave him prickles under his skin. He slid his sleeve up revealing his muscular forearm and watched as his arm hairs began to stand on end. He frowned, reaching down and pulled on his gloves absent-mindedly covering his skin again, and sniffing the air out of habit. His eyes darted around the streets looking for any signs of danger, feeling absurd as he thought, why did I come out tonight?

  He knew why, it had felt good, almost exhilarating to walk this street. All because of an inane dream that he had had months ago, a kiss from soft lips that had caused him to shoot straight out of bed. The only dream he had ever had as a vessel and he was certain that this was the place that he would meet her, someday. The feeling pushed him forward until he stopped in front of this same coffee shop on this corner night after night, for a month. However, tonight it had been different, A trap perhaps…or a rival clans attempt at manipulation? Suddenly he felt foolish and turned to leave, bumping into a female who was attempting to pass him.

  He vaguely remembered her appearance on the sidewalk, a few moments ago, as she had rounded the corner. Her pace curiously dragging and as a larger group of people crossed the corner behind her and flooded in around her, passing her swiftly in their rush. Meanwhile, she made her way towards him, steadily scribbling in a notebook; her hair hanging wildly, obscuring her face. She was obviously not aware of her surroundings barely missing a bit of black ice on the sidewalk, by sheer luck it seemed. His first thought was, clueless, and he even made a mental note to avoid the oddity.

  Which was why when he heard her grunt and bump backwards; he was actually amazed by his inability to avoid knocking into the little thing. It was a distinct sound that came out of the small female, surprisingly sensual sounding in fact. She wobbled upon impact, on the verge of toppling over, though obviously trying hard not to fall onto the icy sidewalk. It however, did not go well, and he watched as she lost the fight, her feet sliding out from under her.

  Instinctively, her hands flailed out, preparing to catch the brunt of the impending impact, when he took pity upon her, and decided to aid the woman. He reached out and caught her bird like ribcage, in the nook of his arm, with ease. To his astonishment, she reached her hand out, contorting unnaturally, and gripped the front of his shirt, not trusting his grasp. He was unexpectedly rattled by the creature’s apparent alarm, and watched as she dropped her things in the process. He could have snatched them, but he did not want to alarm her further feeling her heart jumping so violently he was frightened that he had some how injured her.

  Her head flew up and the dangling hair parted, just enough to get a look at her eyes. Her look of astonishment was followed closely by embarrassment, assuring him that she was in fact unharmed. She quickly averted her gaze and apologized profusely as he righted her, and then watched as she flexed her hand, rotating her wrist mumbling, “Strong.”

  Then she began to search frantically for her dropped items, as the light turned green behind them again, and another wave of bodies made their way towards the two. He scooped up her pencil and watched as she picked up the notebook, just in time. Suddenly he felt an overwhelming urge building up; a burst of energy that caught his breath, as a thought struck him, was this the one? He graciously held the pencil out to her, just to be certain, smiling politely in a practiced way, trying very hard not to look as anxious as he felt as he gazed at her lips. Unknowingly though, she nervously bit her
lower lip at that very moment, prolonging his agony.

  The completely forgettable moment was about to be over, when the crosswalk behind them started its countdown, perfectly timed to intervene on his behalf. It began with a man, a few steps behind them, noticing the count down. Then the time on his watch and suddenly he began pushing his way through the crowded sidewalk looking for the fastest route to cross. In his rush, he rudely shoved the disquieted woman, just as she reached out for her lost pencil.

  The look on her face changed from distress to anger, in a flash. She cursed as her hand smacked down on the pencil sending it flying, which he snatched easily this time. While her second hand landed on the bare flesh of his other wrist and she squeezed it in an attempted not to loose her balance again.

  She succeeded in staying on her feet but watched in horror as her companion toppled over as if he had just been shot, dropping her pencil in the process. His pale face grimaced as he cursed and fell backwards holding his wrist. She watched aghast at the turn of events, her heart rate tripling as she watched his stunned look of panic.

  Clearly troubled by the turn of events she asked with genuine concern in her voice, “Are you alright?” He looked at his arm, and then turned to look up at her, his eyes still wide. She stepped closer and knelt down to inspect his wrist, which he now held clutched to his chest, staring at her unblinking now. Sheepishly, she repeated her question with a distinct gentleness to her voice, “Did I hurt you?” He was trying to hold back the feeling of power that now stirred inside of him, as he nodded slowly.

  She reached her hand out to grab it, for a closer inspection, disbelieving his response, and he flinched. She halted her invasion, snapped her hand back, and took a knee, scooting back a bit, giving him some additional space. Anxiously she began rambling; attempting to explain the events, leading up to his fall, in hopes of providing him with some sort of comfort, and explaining that she meant no harm. To her dissatisfaction though, he did not seem to be listening as he stared at her blankly for a long moment, so she let the words fall off and stared at him uncomfortably.