Awakening

Present day

 

 

      “RUN!” the children screamed. I couldn’t stop from joining in with their laughter as they chased each other, trying to make it to home base before they could get tagged. It was a cool autumn evening in Shadow, Washington. Halloween. Dead leaves crunched under the kids feet as they ran through the playground. I watched as they scrambled about, remembering when I was that age. The players were different, but the game was the same. I was the fastest so I would always made it to safety first. My friends and I would play in this very spot for hours. We even used the same huge oak tree as base. The only difference was that back then it was my parents back yard. My mother had always thought our house was too big, but my father said he liked having the leg room. He was killed in a police shootout. Soon after, Mom became deathly ill. She had always complained there wasn’t a place for children to play in town, so I promised that I would change that. After she passed on I had the house demolished and turned the lawn into this playground. I smiled as the kids proved that I had made a good choice.

      The sun was starting to set, casting long shadows from the surrounding forest across the field. A cool breeze swayed the trees and blew leaves down the sidewalk. Soon the kids would be coming out for trick-or-treating. I took in a deep breath; the smell of the pine and oak trees filled my nose. That was why I loved it here so much. Well, one of the reasons.

      “Jacob?” a female voice ask from behind me. I turned and smiled wider. Amber stood behind me. We had been friends since kindergarten. She smiled pleasantly back.

      “Hey,” I greeted her. “What are you up to?”

      “Just running some errands. I also wanted to invite you to a costume party that I’m throwing tonight,” she replied. “What do you say? Want to go?”

      “Of course I do. What else would I do on a Friday night?” I answered. She smiled again while brushing her long dark hair from her face. The wind was starting to pick up, swaying the trees and blowing our hair around our faces. “Would you like some help on your errands?” I offered. She looked at the darkening sky, then at her watch.

      “Sure, if you don’t mind. I have a few things I need to pick up for the party,” she agreed.

*******

      After we had gathered all the supplies needed for the party, we headed back to her house. The sun had just vanished behind the trees. I helped her get the decorations up and then went back to my house to get ready for the party. I looked at myself in the mirror after I had gotten my costume on. My bright blue eyes stood out against the dark red of my hair, which lay straight down around my face. I whirled around quickly to make my cloak swish. I could defiantly pass as a vampire. My pale skin went perfectly, but it had been that way since birth. My eyes had only recently turned this shade of electric blue. I smiled, satisfied with how I looked. I glanced down at the clock and realized that I needed to hurry up. The party started at nine, and it was eight-fifty. Luckily it wasn’t a long walk to her house. As I was leaving, I wondered how she would be dressed up. She was always gorgeous, no matter what she wore. Her dark brown hair was just a shade or two from being black. She had the most beautiful brown eyes I’d ever seen, and a set of perfectly full lips.

      The sound of little kids laughing interrupted my thoughts. It was dark outside, but the streetlights illuminated the streets. I smiled as the kids stared at my costume; frightened amusement lighting their faces. I opened the gate and stepped on the path that led up to Ambers house. Though I was only a few minutes late, the place was already packed with guests. It was a grand three story house, with a large ballroom right at the entrance. The outside walls were an off shade of white.

      As I walked through the doors the most beautiful piano music wafted through the air. It was relaxing, yet, easy to dance to. Only one person could be playing the grand piano like that. The ball room was filled with people, so I had to be careful as I made my way towards the piano in the back. People greeted me as I went past. There were a lot of familiar faces, but only one I wanted to see. After a few more pleasant greetings from some of the local parents, I finally reached her. Amber sat at the grand piano, just as I knew she would be. She looked up and smiled when she saw me. She forgot about her song and stood to hug me. I just smiled and hugged her with one arm, while continuing her song with my other hand. I knew this song well, for it was one that he had showed her how to play. She blushed and returned to her song. She was adorable when her cheeks turned pink from embarrassment. She was dressed up as a white witch, a good witch. Her sparkling white hat had a blue band around the base and she wore a long white dress flowed down to her ankles. I sat next to her and, as she finished her song, began playing my own. The transition was so smooth that no one could tell the difference. To the guests the song never changed. She just rolled her eyes.

      “Showoff,” she muttered.

      “Then lets both play,” I suggested. She looked at me, confused. I finished the song I was playing early. “Do you remember the song you played at our graduation?”

      “Yes,” she replied, still looking confused.

      “Well, play it.”

      She was still confused but she began anyway. She looked over at me. “This?” she ask. My only reply was to begin playing a part I had made up for this song. She looked in amazement as our hands wove between each other, never touching, but delicately crisscrossing. The part I played didn’t change her song, it just molded around it, flowing perfectly with each note she hit. She stared in wonder as the song began to close. The final note put our hands right next to each other, touching for the only time in the song. The whole time we were playing the song I had forgotten about the other people there with us, so it startled me when I heard them clapping. I looked up to see Amber looking at me with a huge smile. I smiled back as we stood up and took a bow.

      “That was amazing Amber!” shouted a young woman I had never seen before. Amber looked around and gasp at the woman.

      “Tiffany!” she exclaimed, running to embrace her. “I haven’t seen you in a whole year. Where have you been?”

      “Sorry, I’ve been busy. It doesn’t matter though because I’m here now,” Tiffany said with a smile. “Who’s your friend?” she asked as she looked at me suddenly. Even though I didn’t know this lady, I didn’t like the way she had looked at me. She had long blonde hair, pale skin, and eyes similar to mine. She was very pretty, and seemed nice, but I couldn’t shake an uneasy feeling I had.

      “Oh, this is Jacob. Jacob this is my cousin Tiffany,” Amber introduced us to each other.

      “Hi,” Tiffany said, extending her hand out to me.

      “Hi,” I replied as I shook her hand.

      “You both can play the piano really well. I like it,” she complemented.

      “Thanks,” Amber and I spoke at the same time. We looked at each other and laughed. Tiffany joined in with our laughter, making us laugh harder.

      I couldn’t place it at the time, but there was something about Tiffany that I liked. Something told me that we would become great friends. Unfortunately I still had an uneasy feeling.

*******

      As the night wore on, I started feeling different. Things started to seem like they moved in slow motion. I figured that I was just tired, so I said good night to Amber and Tiffany. The look Tiffany gave me as I started to leave worried me a little. It was as if she was expecting something. I just brushed it off and headed home. It was just after midnight, so everything was dark, yet it all seemed so bright. I could see clearly even though the moon and stars were covered with clouds. The streetlights had already shut off, and all the kids were in their homes asleep. I could hear things clearly too. The wind rustled the trees way to loudly. I jumped and spun around, but was even more frightened by how high I had jumped. It seemed to take a longer time than usual for me to land. I turned and ran home, and was shocked again by the speed at which everything seemed to be moving past me. It was as if everything about me was changing. I made it home and quickly closed the door behind me. I had never noticed the smell my house had. It was a musky odor. It smelled old.

      Suddenly my throat started to burn. It was like someone had shoved a white hot poker down my throat. I was thirsty. I ran to the fridge and yanked the door open. I grabbed the jug of tea and started to drink, but I spit it all back out, the taste making me gag. I noticed a raw slab of meat lying on the bottom shelf. Pain shot threw my mouth. My teeth were growing. Fangs protruded from my mouth. As I looked at the bloody meat, my mouth started to water. I couldn’t control myself. I lunged.

Author's Note

Please tell me what you think.

Reviews

[Victoria Everly]

This is very good. Well written and very descriptive. I like it.

[Scarlett Secret]

Wow. Your descriptions are flawless. I want to read more!