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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Fairy Tales & Fantasy
- Subject: Horror / Scary
- Published: 09/23/2015
This...Is Not My Life
Born 1985, F, from Waterloo, Iowa, United StatesThe iridescent orange glow from the street light outside of my bedroom window was the first thing that greeted me when I woke up at two in the morning. I groaned and rolled over. I knew why I was awake. I heard my front door open and closing. There was only one person that would be coming in my home at this time of night. And I shouldn't say he's a person...more like a force of nature to be reckoned with. And there has been a lot of reckoning lately. Aside from my apartment door opening and closing, I heard no other movement. I wouldn't hear any movement anyways. For as big as the bastard was, he was a stealthy bastard. Of course, most non human entities were. But most people don't have them coming and going in their apartments at all hours of the day and night. I suspected the damn things existed. I found out through a series of unfortunate events that my suspicions were almost entirely accurate. And trust me, I didn't want to really know to begin with. Mostly because I knew that if the others caught wind that I did know, I was going to be in some trouble. And sure enough, that is exactly what happened.
My name is Katherine Bruce. I'm 25 years old, living alone in a little fart of a town known as Dysart. I would say it's great but the only upside to living in a square mile town is that most of the time you hear about stories of things you supposedly did and think, "Damn, wish I was there. That sounded like a blast." For the first three years of me living in this town, I had a swinging door. They were half right. It was swinging when I went to work and swinging when I came home. Apparently, if you have a job that has odd hours, automatically you are tricking yourself out to make ends meet. I was cool with people thinking that. I kept to myself. I didn't go to the bars in town, I didn't really socialize with anyone. I went to work and I came home. I moved here when I was 18 for a fresh start. I had been in a foster home from the time my parents were killed in an accident when I was fifteen up until I graduated high school. The foster system here in Iowa is terrible. Once you reach adulthood, they kick you out. They don't care if you don't have anywhere to go. Luckily, I was anticipating this and started working and saving money as soon as I could. I was prepared. I began looking for a place to live a couple of weeks before I graduated. When I moved, I didn't even have a bed. I had three suitcases of clothes and nothing else. It was a full three years before I acquired all of the creature comforts normal people have. Most of those three years I worked two jobs. Now, I just work one that pays really well. But I still live in Dysart. Once you get accustomed to living in a small town, it's hard to leave it. You begin to enjoy the quiet and not having to lock your doors. You can trust people. Why would you want to leave that and move to some city where you can't even trust a stranger walking down the street towards you not to mug you?
I am actually kind of little. I am only five foot two and 115 lbs. I have long wavy red hair and green eyes. My skin is on the pale side and is that way naturally. I am half Scottish and half Irish. I don't tan. I burn, peel and then go back to white. I tend to stay out of the sun. Most would say I'm pretty, but I never did judge myself that way.
I got up out of bed slowly and stretched. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hair was wild from sleep. My body, while thin, still had a nice set of curves to it. My father always referred to it as "Good child bearing hips." I just called it a pain in my ass. My bed was on the floor. I didn't have a frame for it. I have arthritis so it's easier on my to get into that way. I grabbed my robe that was strewn over my desk chair located next to my bed and hurriedly put it on. I didn't want James coming in here. I opened my bedroom door and could see the faint light from my living room lamp down the hall. I sighed. I walked down the hall and into the living room. James was sitting on my couch, reading a book. Even sitting down, you could tell he was tall. Standing, he was about six foot two. He had long blond hair and sharp blue eyes. His features were chiseled, like they were carved out of stone. He was drop dead gorgeous. On surface, he appeared to be in his early forties. But he was much older than that. Much, much older. By about a thousand years. I asked him once exactly how old he was. He didn't even know. They didn't keep track of time the way we do now back then. He was wearing a white t shirt that clung to his muscular frame like saran wrap and a pair of dark blue jeans and black biker boots. His long blond hair was tied back in a pony tail. He didn't even glance up when I came in the room.
"Took you long enough." He muttered. Even at a thousand years old, you could tell he had spent most of it in Europe. His accent was a little muddled but it was clear he spent most of his time is Scotland.
I leaned in the doorway to my living room and crossed my arms and glared at him. "It's two in the morning, don't you have someone to kill?" I asked.
"Should I?" He asked, setting the book aside.
"Most of your kind is hunting right about now." I pointed out.
He gave me a look of disgust. "Please Katherine. I don't hunt for my meals, they come to me."
"Then why are you here? No unlucky bored housewives out to toy with and murder?" I didn't like him. I had good reason not to like him. He was the reason why I was in this whole mess to begin with and because of that, I couldn't get rid of him. He was the only thing standing in the way of me getting killed to ensure that I kept my mouth shut.
"The Council has been on my ass again about you. They want you to come in so they can speak to you privately." But there was also that. That, being my favorite thing about him was that he just came out and said whatever he had on his mind. I didn't have to try and read between the lines. It was very refreshing.
I flopped down on the couch next to him. "The Council can suck my left nut." I muttered.
"I'll be sure to convey your feelings to them." He said, heavy with sarcasm. "This time around, I'm afraid you don't have a choice. If I don't bring you in, they will send someone to find you."
Well, that was enough to catch my attention. And erase the irritation and cause me to go straight into serious mode. "They aren't going to take no for an answer this time are they?" I asked.
"I'm afraid not. I have told you many times my dear that I am terribly sorry for the predicament that I have put you in. You weren't supposed to be there when they finally let me out."
There was a story there. In a nutshell, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. James had been a naughty boy for about ten years he was imprisoned with little to eat and no interaction with anyone or anything. When they finally released him, it was about two years ago. They dropped him out here in the middle of the sticks so to speak thinking that it would be safer. Apparently not because again of my odd hours, that put me in harms way. I was attacked. And I was marked. I'll get into what marking is later. The thing is, he didn't intend to harm me. He was trying to save me from another that was hunting me. James marking me was a simple accident. My blood had already been spilled and he was nearly starving. But at the same time, it was a good thing. He didn't want to kill me, but couldn't let me live knowing what I knew. Marking me, even though unintentionally, told the rest of them that I was claimed by another and was untouchable. However, being untouchable only applied to Vampires that were younger than James. James wasn't the oldest living vampire. There was one other that was older and only he out ranked James. He was also head of the Council. That is also the other reason why I have no desire to go before the Council. I didn't want to give this guy a crack at me. I was perfectly content in my own little world, doing my own little thing.
"You've mentioned that." I muttered. "So what's the deal? Why are they all of a sudden so concerned about me? I've kept my mouth shut, I've went about my life normally. I've done everything that they have asked me to do and now suddenly it's not enough?" I asked.
"It's not so much about you my dear as it is me. I have yet to make good on my end of the bargain."
Bargain? Wait a minute, did I just hear that right? "You made a deal with the devil didn't you?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "I had to do something. They wanted to terminate you immediately. I convinced them not to on the grounds that a year from the initial marking, I would either turn you or kill you myself."
Holy hell. I felt like I had just been poleaxed. My face went into my palm and I just shook my head. Why did I have the worst luck ever? Did I piss God off in another life or something? I don't get it. No wonder the Council was getting nervous. The anniversary date of James and mine's little encounter was coming up. I felt like I was going to be sick. "Why me?" I moaned.
"I'm sorry-"
"That was a rhetorical question." I growled, cutting him off.
He fell silent for a moment.
"Victor will be here tomorrow night. He expects you to meet him at the Embassy in Waterloo at nine PM."
Wow, and this just keeps getting better. "He's coming to Iowa?"
"I thought it best to invite him and him alone here. Because he heads the Council, no matter how they vote, he can over turn it if he sees fit. I am hoping that by meeting you face to face, no matter what the Council votes, he will convince them to leave you be."
"You're expecting me to go meet this guy alone?"
"I won't be far, you can count on that. But as for the meeting, aye. I am not to be involved with that."
"Oh my God...I hate my life." I breathed.
"It won't be so bad."
Sure, I'm just going to meet with an ancient vampire, alone no less, who wants nothing more than to see me meet an untimely demise. Yep, it's going to be just peachy. "Keep telling yourself that." I said as I got up. Started for the hallways to head back to my room.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going back to bed. Not all of us can live with only a couple hours of sleep and unlike you, I work for a living." I called over my shoulder. That is when I slammed into a wall. Well, it wasn't really a wall, but it might as well have been one. James had me by the arms to keep me from being knocked down. That is the other thing I hated about them. They move unnaturally fast. "What the hell dude!" I nearly yelled.
"We aren't finished yet."
"The hell we're not. I'm not staying up all night entertaining you. You're a big boy and can take care of yourself. If you want to stay until morning, that's fine by me, but I'm going to bed." I tried to pull away, but a moot point since his grip was that of a death grip. I wasn't going anywhere no matter how hard I tried.
"I said we weren't finished yet." His eyes finally caught mine. And they caught my attention fast.
The blue had turned glowing, like almost glow in the dark. And the look in them was enough to make me freeze. I knew that look. I had seen it once before. But that was almost a year ago. I felt my heart accelerate. Instinctively, I tried to pull away. But he wasn't having that. He swung me around so my back was pressed against him and pinned me to the wall. One hand was locked on my wrist, with my arm twisted behind me. The other had a painful grip on my hair as he yanked my head back.
"Now listen to me very carefully. I don't want to do this any more than you want me to. Our only chance here is to make it look like I have been trying. If my scent is not on you when you meet him, he will know we have been lying to him and you will not leave that room alive. Do you understand me?"
I nodded, well tried to anyways.
"Good." I could feel his cool breath in my ear. "Then you will forgive me for what I'm about to do."
I felt the K-9 incisors press against my throat. I immediately began struggling again.
He gave a sharp tug on my hair, causing me to screech slightly with pain. "This will go a lot smoother if you don't fight me on it." His voice was a harsh whisper. "We have to make it look like an effort has been made."
I felt the teeth press against my neck again and braced myself. He bit down hard. It took everything I had not to scream. My whole body went rigid with pain. I didn't move. I knew that if I did, I could end up doing more damage to myself than what needed. I remembered this. I remember the pain. I remember how strong his grip was on me. And I also remembered-
I gasped suddenly, feeling a wave of pure pleasure course through my body. It was better than anything, even sex. That is when he let go of my arm and wrapped both arms around me, holding me rather than pinning me so I couldn't move. He groaned and bit down harder.
He suddenly stopped, pulling away with a low growl. The pleasure was quickly replaced by a dull ache where he had bit me. I could feel the wetness of the blood still seeping out of the wound. It would stop soon enough. I felt weak, dizzy. The room was starting to spin a little bit. "Now that is one habit I do not want to get in to." He murmured in my ear.
"Can you let go of me now?" I asked quietly.
"Can you stand on your own?"
"I think so."
He let go of me slowly and backed away.
I turned around to face him, and leaned back against the wall. "You could have warned me first."
"You would never have agreed to it and I would have had to force you anyways. I didn't want to force you, not like that."
I met his eyes again. They still held the same glow, but the hunger in them was different. "Well, I guess it was better than the first time." The first time was on the cold hard cement. I had been attacked by another of his kind. His teeth barely grazed me, but it was enough for the scent of blood to be in the air. James wasn't able to resist, not then. It had been too long. The other vampire took off while he had me on the ground, feeding. I had to beg him to stop. He almost killed me.
That brought a slight grin to his face. "I'm sure it was. We can be very gentle Katherine, even loving if you let us. Most of us don't want to kill. It's the young that kill. They don't know any better. But the older we get, the more control we have. And other...needs become more apparent as well. Come, we need to get you to bed so you can rest. And tomorrow, we will need to prepare for your meeting with Victor." He held out his hand to me. I hesitated but then took it. He led me back to my room and helped me into bed.
Once I was comfortable, he sat down at my desk.
I closed my eyes and felt myself falling into a rapid sleep. And just before I succumbed completely, I heard his voice again.
"A day is going to come when you will not have a choice Katherine. Let's pray that tomorrow is not that day."
And then I fell into a deep sleep.
To Be Continued...
This...Is Not My Life(Stephanie Lynn)
The iridescent orange glow from the street light outside of my bedroom window was the first thing that greeted me when I woke up at two in the morning. I groaned and rolled over. I knew why I was awake. I heard my front door open and closing. There was only one person that would be coming in my home at this time of night. And I shouldn't say he's a person...more like a force of nature to be reckoned with. And there has been a lot of reckoning lately. Aside from my apartment door opening and closing, I heard no other movement. I wouldn't hear any movement anyways. For as big as the bastard was, he was a stealthy bastard. Of course, most non human entities were. But most people don't have them coming and going in their apartments at all hours of the day and night. I suspected the damn things existed. I found out through a series of unfortunate events that my suspicions were almost entirely accurate. And trust me, I didn't want to really know to begin with. Mostly because I knew that if the others caught wind that I did know, I was going to be in some trouble. And sure enough, that is exactly what happened.
My name is Katherine Bruce. I'm 25 years old, living alone in a little fart of a town known as Dysart. I would say it's great but the only upside to living in a square mile town is that most of the time you hear about stories of things you supposedly did and think, "Damn, wish I was there. That sounded like a blast." For the first three years of me living in this town, I had a swinging door. They were half right. It was swinging when I went to work and swinging when I came home. Apparently, if you have a job that has odd hours, automatically you are tricking yourself out to make ends meet. I was cool with people thinking that. I kept to myself. I didn't go to the bars in town, I didn't really socialize with anyone. I went to work and I came home. I moved here when I was 18 for a fresh start. I had been in a foster home from the time my parents were killed in an accident when I was fifteen up until I graduated high school. The foster system here in Iowa is terrible. Once you reach adulthood, they kick you out. They don't care if you don't have anywhere to go. Luckily, I was anticipating this and started working and saving money as soon as I could. I was prepared. I began looking for a place to live a couple of weeks before I graduated. When I moved, I didn't even have a bed. I had three suitcases of clothes and nothing else. It was a full three years before I acquired all of the creature comforts normal people have. Most of those three years I worked two jobs. Now, I just work one that pays really well. But I still live in Dysart. Once you get accustomed to living in a small town, it's hard to leave it. You begin to enjoy the quiet and not having to lock your doors. You can trust people. Why would you want to leave that and move to some city where you can't even trust a stranger walking down the street towards you not to mug you?
I am actually kind of little. I am only five foot two and 115 lbs. I have long wavy red hair and green eyes. My skin is on the pale side and is that way naturally. I am half Scottish and half Irish. I don't tan. I burn, peel and then go back to white. I tend to stay out of the sun. Most would say I'm pretty, but I never did judge myself that way.
I got up out of bed slowly and stretched. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hair was wild from sleep. My body, while thin, still had a nice set of curves to it. My father always referred to it as "Good child bearing hips." I just called it a pain in my ass. My bed was on the floor. I didn't have a frame for it. I have arthritis so it's easier on my to get into that way. I grabbed my robe that was strewn over my desk chair located next to my bed and hurriedly put it on. I didn't want James coming in here. I opened my bedroom door and could see the faint light from my living room lamp down the hall. I sighed. I walked down the hall and into the living room. James was sitting on my couch, reading a book. Even sitting down, you could tell he was tall. Standing, he was about six foot two. He had long blond hair and sharp blue eyes. His features were chiseled, like they were carved out of stone. He was drop dead gorgeous. On surface, he appeared to be in his early forties. But he was much older than that. Much, much older. By about a thousand years. I asked him once exactly how old he was. He didn't even know. They didn't keep track of time the way we do now back then. He was wearing a white t shirt that clung to his muscular frame like saran wrap and a pair of dark blue jeans and black biker boots. His long blond hair was tied back in a pony tail. He didn't even glance up when I came in the room.
"Took you long enough." He muttered. Even at a thousand years old, you could tell he had spent most of it in Europe. His accent was a little muddled but it was clear he spent most of his time is Scotland.
I leaned in the doorway to my living room and crossed my arms and glared at him. "It's two in the morning, don't you have someone to kill?" I asked.
"Should I?" He asked, setting the book aside.
"Most of your kind is hunting right about now." I pointed out.
He gave me a look of disgust. "Please Katherine. I don't hunt for my meals, they come to me."
"Then why are you here? No unlucky bored housewives out to toy with and murder?" I didn't like him. I had good reason not to like him. He was the reason why I was in this whole mess to begin with and because of that, I couldn't get rid of him. He was the only thing standing in the way of me getting killed to ensure that I kept my mouth shut.
"The Council has been on my ass again about you. They want you to come in so they can speak to you privately." But there was also that. That, being my favorite thing about him was that he just came out and said whatever he had on his mind. I didn't have to try and read between the lines. It was very refreshing.
I flopped down on the couch next to him. "The Council can suck my left nut." I muttered.
"I'll be sure to convey your feelings to them." He said, heavy with sarcasm. "This time around, I'm afraid you don't have a choice. If I don't bring you in, they will send someone to find you."
Well, that was enough to catch my attention. And erase the irritation and cause me to go straight into serious mode. "They aren't going to take no for an answer this time are they?" I asked.
"I'm afraid not. I have told you many times my dear that I am terribly sorry for the predicament that I have put you in. You weren't supposed to be there when they finally let me out."
There was a story there. In a nutshell, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. James had been a naughty boy for about ten years he was imprisoned with little to eat and no interaction with anyone or anything. When they finally released him, it was about two years ago. They dropped him out here in the middle of the sticks so to speak thinking that it would be safer. Apparently not because again of my odd hours, that put me in harms way. I was attacked. And I was marked. I'll get into what marking is later. The thing is, he didn't intend to harm me. He was trying to save me from another that was hunting me. James marking me was a simple accident. My blood had already been spilled and he was nearly starving. But at the same time, it was a good thing. He didn't want to kill me, but couldn't let me live knowing what I knew. Marking me, even though unintentionally, told the rest of them that I was claimed by another and was untouchable. However, being untouchable only applied to Vampires that were younger than James. James wasn't the oldest living vampire. There was one other that was older and only he out ranked James. He was also head of the Council. That is also the other reason why I have no desire to go before the Council. I didn't want to give this guy a crack at me. I was perfectly content in my own little world, doing my own little thing.
"You've mentioned that." I muttered. "So what's the deal? Why are they all of a sudden so concerned about me? I've kept my mouth shut, I've went about my life normally. I've done everything that they have asked me to do and now suddenly it's not enough?" I asked.
"It's not so much about you my dear as it is me. I have yet to make good on my end of the bargain."
Bargain? Wait a minute, did I just hear that right? "You made a deal with the devil didn't you?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "I had to do something. They wanted to terminate you immediately. I convinced them not to on the grounds that a year from the initial marking, I would either turn you or kill you myself."
Holy hell. I felt like I had just been poleaxed. My face went into my palm and I just shook my head. Why did I have the worst luck ever? Did I piss God off in another life or something? I don't get it. No wonder the Council was getting nervous. The anniversary date of James and mine's little encounter was coming up. I felt like I was going to be sick. "Why me?" I moaned.
"I'm sorry-"
"That was a rhetorical question." I growled, cutting him off.
He fell silent for a moment.
"Victor will be here tomorrow night. He expects you to meet him at the Embassy in Waterloo at nine PM."
Wow, and this just keeps getting better. "He's coming to Iowa?"
"I thought it best to invite him and him alone here. Because he heads the Council, no matter how they vote, he can over turn it if he sees fit. I am hoping that by meeting you face to face, no matter what the Council votes, he will convince them to leave you be."
"You're expecting me to go meet this guy alone?"
"I won't be far, you can count on that. But as for the meeting, aye. I am not to be involved with that."
"Oh my God...I hate my life." I breathed.
"It won't be so bad."
Sure, I'm just going to meet with an ancient vampire, alone no less, who wants nothing more than to see me meet an untimely demise. Yep, it's going to be just peachy. "Keep telling yourself that." I said as I got up. Started for the hallways to head back to my room.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going back to bed. Not all of us can live with only a couple hours of sleep and unlike you, I work for a living." I called over my shoulder. That is when I slammed into a wall. Well, it wasn't really a wall, but it might as well have been one. James had me by the arms to keep me from being knocked down. That is the other thing I hated about them. They move unnaturally fast. "What the hell dude!" I nearly yelled.
"We aren't finished yet."
"The hell we're not. I'm not staying up all night entertaining you. You're a big boy and can take care of yourself. If you want to stay until morning, that's fine by me, but I'm going to bed." I tried to pull away, but a moot point since his grip was that of a death grip. I wasn't going anywhere no matter how hard I tried.
"I said we weren't finished yet." His eyes finally caught mine. And they caught my attention fast.
The blue had turned glowing, like almost glow in the dark. And the look in them was enough to make me freeze. I knew that look. I had seen it once before. But that was almost a year ago. I felt my heart accelerate. Instinctively, I tried to pull away. But he wasn't having that. He swung me around so my back was pressed against him and pinned me to the wall. One hand was locked on my wrist, with my arm twisted behind me. The other had a painful grip on my hair as he yanked my head back.
"Now listen to me very carefully. I don't want to do this any more than you want me to. Our only chance here is to make it look like I have been trying. If my scent is not on you when you meet him, he will know we have been lying to him and you will not leave that room alive. Do you understand me?"
I nodded, well tried to anyways.
"Good." I could feel his cool breath in my ear. "Then you will forgive me for what I'm about to do."
I felt the K-9 incisors press against my throat. I immediately began struggling again.
He gave a sharp tug on my hair, causing me to screech slightly with pain. "This will go a lot smoother if you don't fight me on it." His voice was a harsh whisper. "We have to make it look like an effort has been made."
I felt the teeth press against my neck again and braced myself. He bit down hard. It took everything I had not to scream. My whole body went rigid with pain. I didn't move. I knew that if I did, I could end up doing more damage to myself than what needed. I remembered this. I remember the pain. I remember how strong his grip was on me. And I also remembered-
I gasped suddenly, feeling a wave of pure pleasure course through my body. It was better than anything, even sex. That is when he let go of my arm and wrapped both arms around me, holding me rather than pinning me so I couldn't move. He groaned and bit down harder.
He suddenly stopped, pulling away with a low growl. The pleasure was quickly replaced by a dull ache where he had bit me. I could feel the wetness of the blood still seeping out of the wound. It would stop soon enough. I felt weak, dizzy. The room was starting to spin a little bit. "Now that is one habit I do not want to get in to." He murmured in my ear.
"Can you let go of me now?" I asked quietly.
"Can you stand on your own?"
"I think so."
He let go of me slowly and backed away.
I turned around to face him, and leaned back against the wall. "You could have warned me first."
"You would never have agreed to it and I would have had to force you anyways. I didn't want to force you, not like that."
I met his eyes again. They still held the same glow, but the hunger in them was different. "Well, I guess it was better than the first time." The first time was on the cold hard cement. I had been attacked by another of his kind. His teeth barely grazed me, but it was enough for the scent of blood to be in the air. James wasn't able to resist, not then. It had been too long. The other vampire took off while he had me on the ground, feeding. I had to beg him to stop. He almost killed me.
That brought a slight grin to his face. "I'm sure it was. We can be very gentle Katherine, even loving if you let us. Most of us don't want to kill. It's the young that kill. They don't know any better. But the older we get, the more control we have. And other...needs become more apparent as well. Come, we need to get you to bed so you can rest. And tomorrow, we will need to prepare for your meeting with Victor." He held out his hand to me. I hesitated but then took it. He led me back to my room and helped me into bed.
Once I was comfortable, he sat down at my desk.
I closed my eyes and felt myself falling into a rapid sleep. And just before I succumbed completely, I heard his voice again.
"A day is going to come when you will not have a choice Katherine. Let's pray that tomorrow is not that day."
And then I fell into a deep sleep.
To Be Continued...
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