by Alice Sweet
The wind blew hard on their backs as the boat finally reached its destination. Autumn watched another storm system approached fast and hard, and within minutes it was at their heels. The men on board this new ship seemed particularly concerned by the current turn of events appearing exceptionally boisterous when they spotted the docks. Soon afterwards, the rains had overcome them and the misery in their faces set in.
In spite of the weather though, lightening quick, she watched as the boat hands jumped to the docks tugging hard against the pull of the current. The men struggled for quite some time, as wet lines and wet feet slid on to the wooden docks. Minutes later, they had finally secured the boat enough to allow Autumn and the other passengers on board to disembark safely.
The hope and desperation that flooded her was instantaneous. Where would she go now? She knew that she needed to get away but to where? The craggy rocks of the shore and water slammed violently into them, bringing a flash of Gregory’s face to her mind. His blood shot eyes and heaving breath so close to her face, so hot and sick. She closed her eyes against the memory. Then she took a deep breath in of the rain laden air, it helped to chase away the unpleasant thoughts. She struggled against herself to stop the change for the twentieth time that day.
The rain would help to mask her scent, or so she had hoped that was how it worked. The island was at least a six day boat ride from there. She had changed her mind as she grew closer to the shore on the cargo ship that she started on, and began switching boats so often that she didn’t even remember the name of the vessel that she had just ridden. Just that this one was a passenger ship that headed north. She looked back at the boat and could not even make it out in the rain; it was coming down so hard now. But since she had not seen a single vessel or mention of one, since she left the island, she was hopeful that she had made the right choices in travel. Though to be honest she was not even sure if she needed to be careful.
The storm clouds turned the sky nearly pitch black and thunder could be heard in the distance. As it closed in, people cleared the streets in fear, and the vision snuck back into her mind again. The look of satisfaction on Gregory’s face when he had seen her reaction to the words, “He will not be coming for you,” was unforgettable. He knew what he was doing and he knew exactly how to manipulate others. Autumn had thought about it for a while. Gregory needed to pay for what he had almost done. Once she knew no one was following her, she intended on tracking him down and killing him, plain and simple.
First, she needed to help her newest allies, by running away from them. She was sure that she had made the right decision to leave the boat and avoid the island. She could not bear to watch Ivan be killed, because she wanted to be close to him. Her mind jumped, flashing to another sore topic. It was strange and painful for her; he had seemed so loving when he had kissed her. She smirked bitterly and then huffed, her hormones where getting the better of her. She needed to focus on evasion and keeping hidden, not being captured by her vessel maker, or whatever he was to her now.
The rain begin coming down in sheets as she reached a sign for an Inn in the small town. Soon after bedding down for the night, Autumn laid down trying with all of her might to stay calm. She pushed the negative thoughts that threatened to bring out the darkness that lay inside her, feeling it shifting inside her body, restlessly waiting to be released. She finally closed her eyes, and slept hard and long, awaking the next morning when the maid came in to service the room.
She dressed quickly and headed straight out of the town. Then she took out the compass that Travis had given her and headed north. Ultimately, she hoped to travel north until she felt safe enough to settle down for longer than a night. Then she would make longer term decisions, once her head had cleared and she could not feel this annoying pain any longer.
That was as close as she could get to a plan, as her mind, was mostly preoccupied with keeping her darkness at bay. Days and then weeks pasted and slowly her anxiety of being followed began to fade. She had felt her body weaken as the time passed, since the since she had first fed became longer and longer. The pain in her chest was also becoming stronger and stronger keeping her from sleeping now. The creature inside of her was becoming nearly unbearable and her skin began to bruise from the struggle within her chest.
It soon became obvious that she could not trust herself to be around anyone else; for fear that she would lose control and slaughter an entire village. Her newest idea, for a food source, was to attempt to put herself in a dangerous situation to solve her problems. She had heard that there were extremist groups that kidnapped foreigners on the news. She had also learned that there were drug runners in the area that killed on sight, to prevent from being captured and more importantly, to keep from losing their products. Those were the kind of men who she knew she could stomach to kill.
It only took her two hours to find a road that smelled strongly of drugs and she sat waiting for a passing vehicle. The next morning the opportunity presented itself. Autumn heard them long before she saw them and she was for once in her life glad that there were bad men closing in on her. She stood smack dab in the center of the road and waited for them to see her.
The truck pulled to a stop and the doors opened swiftly, two men jumping from the truck. She smiled sweetly and walked towards them, wondering why her chest was not warning her of the danger that she was most certainly heading for at the moment. She watched as two more men peeked out from the back of the truck bed, one with a machete in his hand. She swallowed, this was becoming complicated, beheading and burning was definitely a possibility with these men. Still no warning signals in her head, so she smiled and waited for the men to begin to flirt as she knew they would. The driver was the first to grab her arm and within seconds she had convinced him to come into the woods with her alone.
She figured that this would be her safest bet since she was not sure just how strong she was having starved herself for so long. Also the thought of being shot was a bit unnerving especially since her skin was bruising now. One wrong move and she could truly be in trouble. Plus she had not actually felt danger since awakening with Gregory so she was uncertain if it worked with humans as it should. The man did not seem to mind the bruises and even seemed eager to get started, once she began unbuttoning her shirt.
He smiled at her and pushed his hand through his greasy hair, saying something in Spanish that sounded vulgar. She smiled and pushed him to the ground with ease ensuring his gun was out of arms reach. Then she slid on top of him, as if she planned to do the things that he undoubtedly spoke of before. Only to rip his throat out and drink greedily from the new gaping hole in his neck just as she had seen Ivan do to her before. The rest of the men were a blur, screams and a few shots fired, but no one but the birds heard them on the isolated road.
They where all decapitated and drained dry without as much as a scratch on her much to her chagrin. She did have to go to a near by stream and wash herself off though since she was covered from head to toe in the warm red liquid. These men had tasted dirty, their blood undoubtedly polluted by years of misuse and in one case disease. She felt a little worried about drinking from that one but her body cleaned out the virus, lickety-split. Then she vomited, just the affected cells, next to the body. The newest healthy cells, stayed inside her, and she grew strength from them happily. She had become one efficient beast, it appeared.
Now that she was strong again, she dressed again and pulled the cargo from the back easily. Then she drove to the boarder and ditched the truck. She knew she could not go home but she also found that her mind was being drawn back to the city that she had lived in for so long. She wanted to see her place again desperately, and she missed her cat Jack. She knew that he would not be there but her heart still wanted to see it.
She found herself wanting to be comforted, wanting something familiar and warm. Her skin was almost always cold now and she carried a mirror with her checking her eyes often. Focusing as hard as she could to keep herself calm and keep the ir
ises tight, desperately attempting to stay hidden. Though she knew that the men on that road were probably found a few days later, she burnt them all. But the decapitations were probably enough to lead the vessels in the right direction.
Slowly, she experimented with her abilities and increased her strength by feeding on random strangers. She was more careful with the processing of the bodies tough, burning them and then dumping the ashes, though she still was frustrated with her inability to stop herself from draining them dry. She speculated that it had something to do with her time between feedings.
She found that she could go weeks without eating and felt fine until around week three then another part of her body would awake. Then until she fed, she would have terrible pains in her chest and head. Like a heart beat that thumped so loudly it forced her to kill to stop it, it was insane. By the time she was finished, and was able to feel whole again, and her mind would clear from the fog of need.
Then she would be able to push herself to incredible feats. Her strength was incredible and for nearly a week afterwards she would not have to concentrate on keeping control. The most bothersome part was still trying to appear normal in front of others. As it appeared that her normal state was quite different from her old appearance, her eyes giving her the most discomfort. She took it in stride though, as one time slipping in front of a couple who announced their impending nuptials to another, reminded her just how important it was to keep them hidden. She only flashed them for a moment but the screaming that took place was unforgettable, sheer terror. She did not make that mistake twice.
She started to wonder if she should avoid society altogether, but the human side of her missed the company of warm bodies. Plus being on guard all the time seemed to keep her on her toes, so she decided against it, she needed to feel normal, whatever that was now. During her travels she had run into two new potential vessels and had, as promised, sent them to be picked up.
The second time, she gave the girl a letter and a phone number to a cell phone that she had purchased just for that occasion. The girl promised that she would text the word yes as soon as she was picked up to let her know that someone had gotten her. Then she was to destroy the phone immediately following it. The next day she received the text at around seven in the morning. Then a few minutes later, the phone rang, and she destroyed it leaving the city at once.
She had also learned that she was quiet the cat burglar with her particular set of skills, speed and strength. Assuring that, from that point on, she traveled in style, and wore clean fitted clothing. Her stress level began to lower as well, especially after sending off the last female. They had picked up the girl, and had not sent anyone after her as far as she could tell, easing her worries. She had finally been able to sleep a little more each night, until she was finally rested enough to feel more like her old self again, more like the old Autumn.
When she awoke a few weeks later, even the voices began to slowly fill her head again. That was surprising for her, but it had also filled her with joy. Now she would be able to increase her chance of not being caught. She made sure not to call out to them and if at all possible to clear her mind all together before closing her eyes, to ensure that no one else picked up on her errant thoughts. Grayton was easily picked out from the voices and she smiled the first night that she had pulled it out of the well.
Apparently, he had not listened to her urging and he was in France once more. She huffed at that thought and realized that after a quick visit home that he would be her next stop. He was trying to torture himself, she was sure of it now.
Eventually, she learned that they were still searching for her, but that they had no clue where she actually was asides from being in the states again. They had received the vessels but they were concerned for her safety. She finally had the green light to head home. Out of the dark a voice warned, Someone will be waiting for you at your old home. Autumn nodded knowing it was true. She would feed before she made that stop. She just needed to see it, it was irrational but the longer she stayed away from anything familiar the more she felt that she wanted it. No correction, she needed it.
She dreamt that night of kissing Ivan on the boat for her first and only time. The pain hit her chest then and she shot out of bed in alarm. The pain was excruciating and she looked at her watch. Strange it had only been a week and a half since she had last fed. She gripped her chest and then dressed quickly, the thumping increasing three fold as she did. She knew of a night club in this town that she could easily attain a meal.
As she sat in the alley next to the club she picked off two males within an hour of each other. Not even spilling a drop and the pain finally subsided to a bearable level. She disposed of the bodies without incident. Then since she knew that she was not going to be able to sleep anyways, she finally headed for her old home. She watched the outside of the building for some time, feeling a strong pull to go inside.
Then she spotted this newest pull, jumping from the window and taking flight, it was Galen, she was sure of it, her newly fed eyes saw perfectly in the dim light. He swooped back and forth through the neighborhood looking for something, her she guessed. Then she wondered if he could feel her as well, probably, though his did not seem to be as targeted as her ability. He landed two alleys down and she heard him moving slowly looking for her, though happily he was heading in the wrong direction.
She waited until a cat at the end of that alley drew in his attention and took a running jump landing in the window of her living room, three stories up. She took a deep breath and realized that she was alone, no additional scents remained. The condo was also empty though, and she walked through it, taking it all in fondly, eventually finding a letter addressed to her, left on the kitchen counter. As she turned she was surprised to find Galen standing next to her.
She smiled and greeted him warmly, “Hello Galen.” Galen did not speak he merely stared at her unblinking. Autumn shifted then and so did he, his intensity becoming unnerving. Her smile faded as she watched his eyes begin to narrow. Then she decided to take another tack, “I am not running Galen. Please relax, you’re starting to make me nervous.”
He blinked, “How do you know my name?”
Autumn smiled knowingly, “Ivan mentioned that there was a man who could defy gravity.”
Galen winced at the mention of Ivan’s name. Alarmed, Autumn quickly nailed him for it, “What is wrong? Is Ivan alright?” Galen winced again and her eyes widened, “What is it?” His eyes widened and Autumn cut him off, stepping in closer, “I didn’t feel any danger, was I wrong?” Galen shook his head solemnly, “What happened then? Why did you wince when I said his name?” Galen looked confused then, and shrugged.
Autumn sighed, “Fine, I got the letter.” Then she put her hands up and backed away slowly. Galen looked as if he was going to pounce then, and Autumn stopped her retreat. “Does that mean that you still want to talk, or are you stalling for time until back up comes?”
Galen looked confused then, “Why would I need back up?”
She smiled a toothy grin, “No one else is coming?”
Galen took a step back then seeing the look in her eye and his posture changed. She continued, “So you still want to talk then?” Galen nodded, and she relaxed a bit sitting upon the ground, and leaning her head back against the bare wall. “So tell me, how has Grayton been lately?”
Galen shrugged, “He is still depressed.”
Autumn nodded sadly, “They picked up the two new vessels that I sent?”
“Yes, they are interested to hear how you managed it.”
Autumn nodded and frowning saying, “I would have come when they wanted to test me before but I don’t want to be a council member. Besides I hadn’t even fed yet and they were going to test me. Not to mention leaving me with Gregory.”
Her eyes narrowed, and Galen nodded and stepped closer, “And taking you from Ivan.”
Autumn nodded asking seriously, “How is he?”
Galen answered her question w
ith a question, “Why do you want to know?”
She looked at him seriously, “That doesn’t matter, please just tell me.”
Galen snapped, “He would not want me to talk about him.”
Autumn winced, “Helen doesn’t want me to know how he is doing?”
He looked confused, “What?”
She snapped her eyes narrowing, “His girlfriend Helen, is she the reason you aren’t telling me anything about him? Or is he angry because I didn’t get tested?”
Galen blinked, “His girlfriend?”
Autumn snapped, “Yes, the girl that he sleeps with every night, his girlfriend.”
Galen’s eyes widened again, “They aren’t sleeping together.”
Her eyes narrowed, “I saw her in his room, half naked, and friends do not sit half naked in each others room.”
Galen blinked, “You are mistaken, he has thought of no one but you since he met you.”
Autumn looked at him disbelieving, “Are you certain?” Galen nodded watching her carefully. She thought, Perhaps he has not realized yet that he loves her, or vise versa, either way…Then she asked, “If that is true then why does he not want you to talk to me about him?”
He shrugged, “He wanted to speak to you himself.”
Autumn cringed at those words and patted the center of her chest, “I don’t want to see him, just thinking about it makes my chest hurt.” Then she mumbled, “It hurts so badly sometimes.” Galen stepped forward his eyes filled with concern.
Autumn saw this and realized that something was wrong. Galen looked unnaturally gaunt, compared to what she remembered before, and his eyes, were red rimmed. He saw then that he had made a mistake and stood perfectly still waiting for her to speak again. Then she twisted her head unnaturally, standing alarmed asking, “Why aren’t you twitching?”
He asked in confusion, “Twitching?”
Autumn moved evasively, “Yes you were twitching before, wait...” Her voice faded away and her eyes grew wide, “Who are you?”