Untitled Chapter five

The plane trip seemed to go by too fast; I hadn’t really had time to get myself together. In no time at all I stepped out onto British soil; it had been a long time since I had been here. Unfortunately it did not bring the comfort or joy I had once had here. I was lucky and able to find a room for rent in a flat that was already housing three students from America. It made things a lot easier, I didn’t feel like I had to pretend to be anything I wasn’t. I also didn’t have to make excuses for my solidarity; I paid for six months in advance. My second bit of luck was being able to get a temporary work visa and then found me a job at a local pub and restaurant. And before I knew it life had slipped into a whole new form of normal.

I had seen several vampires on the streets in the evenings when I walked home from work, but they never took any notice of me. My goal was to keep it that way. I had been in England for a month when I finally decided to go and visit my aunt. Truth be known I was homesick for anything familiar to any of my old worlds; my past. She lived in a small house near Oxford, which was a day’s trip away from London. I felt bad for showing up on her doorstep unannounced but it seemed to be the best way, the only way.
“Oh my gosh, Jesse, is it really you?” my aunt Rose asked.
“Yes, I am sorry for just showing up like this.”
“No, that’s quite alright. Everyone is so worried about you.”
“I know, it’s hard for me too. But right now I need time to find myself. I feel so completely lost, like I’m not complete, a fake,” I couldn’t seem to come up with the right words.
“Is that why you ran away here to England?”
“I am not really sure why I picked England. I thought at first it was just because I’d spent so many years fighting to come visit you. But no offense I don’t feel like that is it. Which is part of the reason I waited so long to come visit. As long as I am not there I feel like I can do less harm to them than if I had stayed. I have a lot of questions I have to find answers too.”
“Your parents had their reasons for not wanting you to come here.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s too dangerous, too far away, too easy to get side tracked from life, the list goes on and on.”
“There is one reason I am sure that they would never tell you.”
“What reason?”
“They didn’t want me to ever tell you the truth,” she said as she got up and went over to the cabinet against the far wall and started searching through it.
“What truth?” I asked. I wasn’t really sure I wanted any more surprises; I had come here for a touch of my old life.
“The truth is that you are adopted,” she said as she stood up with a box and a piece of paper in her hands.
“I don’t understand,” I said as I stared at the carved box and paper she sat down in front of me.
“Your parents lived and worked here in England back then, your father had just landed his company a huge contract that would allow them to expand to America. I had gone out with your parents to celebrate, and when we arrived back at their home you were sitting on the doorstep. It was all so perfect; your parents had never been able to conceive and then there you were. They couldn’t believe their luck, everything was going their way. This is the letter that was pinned to you.”
I read the letter, ‘This is the hardest thing that I must ever do in my life, I must give up my Jessina. Her father has already passed away and I am soon to follow, please keep her safe. All that I ask is that when she comes of age that you give her the box so that she will know the truth, know that she was loved and always will be loved.’ I looked back up at my aunt.
“Your mother was more than willing to take you and make you her own but she did not want to ever have to share you, not even with the memory of someone who passed on. She tossed the letter and the box out into the trash immediately. I retrieved them before I went home the next day; I was sure that one day they would regret having tossed them out. When you were ten I let them know that I still had the box and letter; they were livid with me. After that they stopped bringing you for visits.”
“I remember they took me to Disney Land that summer, and to Florida the next. I never understood why, they just kept making up different reasons.”
“Your parents will probably never forgive me for this but I believe that you have the right to know. I’ll be honest though, I have tried numerous times to open it. I even have paid people to try and cut it open, but it just won’t open, it’s like it’s made of petrified wood or something. I didn’t want to risk destroying it completely so I quite trying. So if you ever do find away to open it and feel comfortable with sharing what it contains I would love to know.”
I nodded as I stared at the box, the carving seemed so familiar as if I had seen it before. I ran my hands over the perfect and intricate design. I looked up at my aunt and was so very thankful that she had saved this for me. She sat down across from me as she sipped at her tea.
“Aunt Rose, how open is your mind?”
“I’d like to think that I have a very open mind.”
“Open enough to believe in vampires and alternate dimensions or worlds?”
“I think of the two different dimensions would be much easier to believe. Why would you ask such a thing?”
“Because recently; I’ve had no choice but to believe. The three weeks that the doctors claim I was in a coma; well I was actually in that other world.”
“I don’t mean to sound doubting or negative, but have you considered that you could have dreamt it all?”
“That is exactly what I had thought, but since I have been back I have had reason to return there several more times. The hardest part to accept is having been marked.”
“What do you mean by marked?”
“Well that is where the vampires come in,” I went on to explain what being marked was and why I had to be marked.
“Surely you are not saying…” she started but I dropped my shirt so that she could see the bite mark scar.
“The thing is that I am somehow connected to that other world. I seem to have some sort of control over things there. I can enter it anytime and anywhere that I want to. It’s all sort of magical in a way, and if it weren’t for the fact that they want me turned I would enjoy it a lot more,” I said as she touched the scar.
“Is this why you left home?”
“My friends could have been killed because they came looking for me. Leaving without word is the only hope of them not becoming targets. But more importantly if they turn me then that world and this one could both be at risk, I can’t take that chance.”
“Jesse, this is all just a bit out there, do you really expect me to believe all of this?”
“I know it is, and no I don’t expect you to believe me,” I said as I created a small entry way into the box so that I could retrieve what was inside.
My aunt’s tea cup fell to the floor, as she stared at me with her mouth slightly gapped open. I looked around the room and then carried the contents over to the coffee table and spread them out so that I could see them better. My aunt was too busy reaching in and out of the box, studying the entry way that I didn’t bother with her. My focus was on the items in front of me.
There were several loose sketches, one I was sure was of me as an infant, and the others were of people I didn’t know and of the world I now called home. I had the feeling that I called it home once before. There was a journal and then a piece of rolled up cloth. I unrolled the cloth and found a necklace with a crystal pendant on it. I carefully stacked everything back together and put it back into the box along with the note and then closed it up again. My aunt began looking at the box again, thumping on it looking for the trick to opening it.
I slipped upstairs to her bedroom and picked the only empty wall space in the far corner and created an emergency exit for her. I carefully studied the pictures on the walls as I went back down, taking everything to memory that I could. When I arrived downstairs my aunt was busily cleaning up the tea cups and clearing everything from the table area. She looked at me, with what was becoming a very familiar sight, her eyes held the same conflicted look that Charlie’s had.
“Jesse, I don’t know what to say,” she muttered.
“It’s ok. I need to be leaving anyway. I won’t be coming back, I’m sure you can understand.”
She nodded with a look of guilt crossing her face. I can imagine that it must be hard to deal with the information that I had given her and the fear of everything. I explained to her about the emergency entry way and how to activate it. I said my good-byes and then left her home. As I rode the train back towards London I held the box firmly in my lap and wondered if it would really be of any help to me now. My biggest curiosity was how she knew I’d be able to open the box, was the ability to make entry ways something that ran in the family?
If this was all just to inform me of the other world I already knew about it. Gently I let my fingers trace the outline of the carving on the box. Then it dawned on me where I had seen the carvings before, on the mirror that started all of this. It had had very similar carvings on the frame of it. I had done the exact same thing, running my fingers along the intricate carvings.
I was so focused on this fact that I missed my stop and then had to catch a tube back closer to the flat. I walked slowly up the steps from the underground I realized that it was later than I had thought it was. Even though I didn’t have to worry about work or other plans I still didn’t care much for nights. In fact the main reason for this was coming towards me now; the very visible glow of the vampires.
I could see their glow all the time, but when they were hunting or had their prey the glow seemed darker more fierce. That was what the group coming this way was projecting now. I have found that the best way to avoid them was to just act like I hadn’t even seen them. They already had their prey with them which helped, I went and stood next to the store front and pretended to look at the displays. In actuality I was watching for them to pass by me; I felt a twinge of guilt for not warning off their victim, but I just couldn’t risk it.
Then I recognized the face of one of the vampires, it was Winifred. It had been over a month since I had seen anyone with a connection to that other world; I had almost been able to start putting my fears behind me. She came to a sudden stop and looked over towards me. I slowly moved on to the next window as I started for the corner; wishing she would just ignore me. I turned the corner and was relieved that they were nowhere to be seen.
“So you did recognize me?” her voice rang out softly.
“Winifred, so nice to see you again,” I said with a smile that took everything for me to paste on my face.
“Yes, well it seems that we keep missing you a lot these days,” she said as she stepped closer to me.
“Well you know how it is,” I said with just the slightest bit of bitterness starting to sound in my voice.
“Yes, Andrew was not very pleased with being stuck in the abyss again. Liz is still missing in there. Andrew will be very pleased to know that we have been in contact again.”
“Well give him my regards,” I said as I took a step away from her. She grabbed my shoulder, I could feel the bruise almost as quickly as her hand touched me.
“There is a big debate about who will be you third bite,” she laughed.
“Oh, I’m sorry you must not have heard. I’ve already been marked.”
“What,” she said as she grabbed my shirt and yanked it back, choking me as she did so.
“Gee and you missed out on a good meal for nothing.”
She didn’t let go of me, we both just stood there while debating on what to do. I tried to think about my own options and the only thing I had in my favor was opening entry ways. Yelling or causing a scene would just put other people at risk; I already felt enough guilt about the people I hadn’t attempted to save. She pushed me away as she released her grip on me; I stumbled backward, grasping onto a fence to keep from hitting ground.
“We will have to do this again real soon,” she said as she turned and walked away.
Once my breathing was somewhat normal again I walked slowly back to the flat being extra cautious in case I was being followed. I let myself into the flat and then closed the door leaning up against it trying to control the shaking. Two of my flat mates were there; John jumped up immediately when he saw me.
“Jesse, what’s the matter?” he asked.
I looked at him for a minute, trying to come up with a plausible excuse for my behavior.
“I failed to ‘Mind the Gap’ and my foot got stuck. I was afraid that I wouldn’t get free in time.”
“Here sit down, you look really bad, no offense,” John said.
As I sat down I noticed that Kevin was staring at my box. I gripped it tighter though what I really wanted to do was hide it. That of course would be too obvious and might cause more questions.
“Did you get that from the gypsy store by Piccadilly?” Kevin asked.
“No, I went to my aunt’s today. Why?”
“Because the last time I was there they had a box just like that on display.”
“Really, I’ll have to go see that,” I said with real interest.
“If you want I’ll take you there at the weekend, I have days off then.”
“Actually I will probably go tomorrow. Which also leads to the bad news; I have to leave. Something has come up that requires me to go home immediately. The room is paid for five more months, if you sublet it you can get some extra cash.”
“You can’t leave, you just got here,” John stated.
“I know, I’m sorry but I don’t have a choice.”
“If it has something to do with money we can help,” John stated trying to come up with some ideas.
“No it’s a family thing.”
“When are you leaving?” Kevin asked.
“End of the week, I have to give some notice at work.”
“Well we are going to have to have one hell of a going away party for you on Friday then. You’re quitting anyway take the day off, call in sick, whatever you have to do,” Kevin said excitedly. Of course any reason for a party was reason to get excited.
“Guys it’s been a rough day already, I need to get some sleep.”
I locked myself up in my room and I re-opened the box and pulled out the contents again. I opened up the journal and began to read it. The writing seemed so elegant and fine; she wrote about herself and my father, and about their village.
‘Baldemore moved us up to the cave near the upper cliffs. He said it was the safest place, things have become so volatile at the village since the blood drinkers have started to come all the time now. Baldemore had been bitten already several times before it got really bad, then we found out that I was with child and he didn’t want to risk anything happening. We have tried for so many, many years to have a child and finally it had happened. Others were fleeing the village at the same time. Some of the villagers had changed after being bitten, but most just died. The hardest thing to accept was that they looked just like any other mortal does.
We have been in the cave for a month now, the baby grows so steady inside of me. I feel the movements and can’t help but smile. I am so grateful that the baby is safe. One of the blood drinkers found the cave, I was alone when he attacked me. I became so weak, I was sure I would die when Baldemore showed up and sent him into the abyss of darkness just as everything blacked out for me. He said that I was out for two days straight and that he could still feel the baby move inside me so he knew I would be ok.
The odd thing was that when I was asleep I dreamt of holding our baby, a girl. She was so vivid and real; it couldn’t be false. As soon as I had the energy I immediately drew of her, so much so that even Baldemore could believe in my dream. My heart aches to see her again. I also drew the blood drinker that bit me, beware of him.’
I looked at the all too familiar face of Andrew. He was obviously familiar with the abyss which would explain how he had found his way back and Liz had not. I continued to read through the daily entries as she talked about how I was growing inside her and of the dreams that she had almost every night. When she was seven months along Andrew returned again and again my father sent him into the abyss. By this time those that were still alive from the village had all taken to hiding in caves. She talked about how she felt I was communicating with her through her dreams. She also talked about how she was preparing the cave for my arrival, as she described it I could picture everything about it so clearly in my mind.
I could see our world as she had seen it from the mountain cliff, she wrote about the floating forest and all the creatures that inhabited it. I finally had to put the journal away and get some sleep, I sealed everything but the necklace up in the box and then the box was sealed into the wall with my hidden stash of money. It was a nice ability to have, being able to open entry ways through something simple and thin as a wall to the wide vast space between worlds.
It was these worlds that I fell asleep thinking about, they invaded my dreams more often as of late. There was so much going on in my dreams that when I woke up I was more tired than when I had gone to sleep. But there were many things I needed to do this day, I had to give notice, I needed to figure out where I would go, and I needed to see about the other box at the Gypsy store.
My boss was very understanding; thankfully. I took the tube to Piccadilly Circus and walked around till I found the store that Kevin had spoken of. I went in and looked around; the box I noticed was up on a shelf behind the cashier counter. It really was identical to the box I had; I couldn’t help but wonder if she left more scattered around for me to find. Maybe it was just a fluke and happened to look like mine. I turned to the sales clerk.
“How much is the wooden box?”
“I’m sorry it’s not for sale,” she said as she eyed me curiously.
“Can I at least see it? I have one just like it,” I said hopefully.
“Hold on just a moment.”
I watched as the young girl went to the side door that was covered with a multi patterned drape of sorts. A minute later a tall, thin man appeared from behind the drape. His hair was curly and a dark steel gray, his skin was very tan which when he smiled seemed to stretch to accomplish this.
“How can I help you?” he asked.
“I was inquiring about the box, your associate here said it was not for sale and would not let me look at it.”
“She is right, it is not for sale. In fact we are just storing it for a friend.”
“I think it might be intended for me,” I said. Again just hoping I could get a chance to look inside of it.
“Ingrid, hand me the box,” he said. The girl climbed up the ladder and pulled the box down and handed it to him. He took the box and headed back towards the drape, as he held the drape back he motioned for me to follow him. He led me to a small office in the back. It was cluttered with lots of papers and boxes, he moved things off the corner of the desk and he sat the box down, before stepping back towards the door. I looked at him and then at the box; I had to know for sure. So I walked up to the box and created an entry way inside and pulled out the contents.
“I guess the box is yours,” he said as I looked through the items in my hands. He held out his hand and I took it. “My name is Max.”
“Hi, I’m Jesse.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you. Your mother was a very special lady.”
“I wish I knew more about her. I am reading the journal she wrote while pregnant with me, but there hasn’t been much about her in it. Here this has your name on it,” I said as I handed him the rolled up cloth with a hand written label with his name on it.
I pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the remaining items; a satchel with no opening, a carved wooden stick that was about twelve inches long and about 1 inch thick. I flipped briefly through the journal which seemed more like a sketch pad than a journal and then another rolled up cloth. Which when I unrolled it there was another necklace very similar to the one that I was already wearing. I looked over to Max who was holding four chains of gold, he looked up and smiled at me.
“Your mother was such a dear woman,” he said, then he held them up, “Payment for holding onto the box for you.”
“How long did you know her?” I asked as I slowly put the items back into the box.
“About a year. She came to our caravan after she had put you into the safe hands of your adoptive parents. She was heartbroken at having to leave you, but she carried the mark. She couldn’t survive here long term and since she said going back was not an option she would die. She said that her body was so much older than she looked. But her biggest fear was for your safety; she didn’t want them to ever be able to find you. As long as you stayed in this world you would be safe, if you were ever to go back to that other world you would start to go through changes and would no longer be able to survive here long term. That is why she left the boxes for you, one for your parents to give you when you turned sixteen then this one she knew you would find after.”
“I didn’t get the journal in time. I only got it yesterday. About four months ago I fell through one of the entry ways unexpectedly, I was injured and unable to return home for almost three weeks. And during that time I also was marked,” as I spoke I watched his expression change drastically as he grabbed a chair to sit in.
“Why didn’t your parents give you the box when you came of age at sixteen?”
“Actually they had no intentions of ever giving it to me; my aunt saved it and gave it to me. But I haven’t really had a chance to read through everything but I got a feeling from what you just told me it’s already too late on all accords.”
“The one who marked you, does he know about your abilities?”
“He knows that I can open up entry ways anywhere and time that I want. He knows that I was able to get what I wished, maybe in a perverse way, but it happened. He is not my biggest concern it’s the others that I worry about.”
“And how much do they know?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure that they know, but I know that they suspect that I have control of the entry ways.”
“That is all?”
“What else is there? I don’t know what you are referring to.”
“When you were a baby you could manipulate the forces. Your mother told me that from your first moments of life you could touch the ground and a flower would instantly grow. When you cried because you were upset the sky would grow dark, if you were scared a fog would start to roll in. As soon as you felt comfortable and safe again the sun would come out again. When she feared that they would try and turn her, she was afraid that if they did turn her she would reveal your abilities and they would try to control you. That is why she stayed here and died here, to protect you.”
Just the thought of her giving up her life for me like that was almost too much to bear. I just couldn’t understand what had sent her away, why she was so afraid that they would turn her. The tears escaped my eyes and hastily I wiped them away as I looked up at him. None of this seemed to make sense to me.
“I don’t seem to still have all that control or power.”
“What?” he asked with a concerned look.
“When I was there, things happened because of my unspoken wishes, or it could have been all coincidence. But maybe having been away so long has caused me to lose those other abilities.”
“Well now that you are in touch with that world again, maybe you will gain it all back again. After all you are a product of your mother and father and their gifts combined. How long has it been since you’ve been back there?”
“It’s been over a month or so now.”
“You had better plan on going back soon. It can be very dangerous to your health.”
“Going back could be just as dangerous.”
“I wish I could give you more hopeful news. Read what your mother wrote and hopefully she will have better news for you; but since she had set everything out to keep you away from there. I wish I could do more for you. But if you ever need anything that I can help with please let me know.”
“I will thanks.”
I walked away from the store even more upset and confused than before. I reached the safety of my room and hid the box with the other one, before getting ready for work. Work was thankfully slow, mostly just our regulars. I could not focus on anything but the bit of information that Max had given me. By closing time my boss expressed his concern and agreed it was probably best if I quit immediately so I could focus on what I needed to get done before I left.
That was one of the big problems, I had an idea of what I needed to do but overall I had not true clue what I was going to do about any of this. When I got back to the flat, the others were all sitting around watching movies. I only talked with them briefly before locking myself up in the room. I pulled out the journal and began to read again.
‘It is so hard to believe that I will deliver next month. Baldemore is due back soon, he tries to check on the few families that are left as often as possible. It keeps him away for many days at a time. Everyone that wasn’t killed or turned has moved into the caverns; he checks on them and helps to make sure that they have all that they need.’
The writing dropped off the page, I flipped to the next page where it picked up again.
‘My heart is broken up from the fear. The blood drinker returned again, Baldemore came back and a fight pursued. In order to save me he took the blood drinker through an entry way. I don’t know how many days I was unconscious but Baldemore still has not returned. The baby is moving so I know she is ok, I just wish he’d return.
It’s been a week since I woke to find Baldemore gone. I haven’t seen the blood drinker either. It is getting harder to move around too much. I have had to use the entry way that Baldemore set up to get myself down to the grove and then I walk to get water. After that I don’t get much else done for the day. The wood pile he stocked is almost gone now, I try to only use it if it gets really cold. One of the others came by worried since Baldemore had not come to see them, he brought me some wood but was too afraid to stay out in the open for too long.
Another week has passed, still no sign of Baldemore. I am afraid that I must accept that he did not survive. No one else has come to check on me or to even find out why Baldemore hadn’t come to see them. I worry that I won’t be able to care for our daughter alone, I do not know what to do. I could join the others in the caverns but I don’t think I could stand being that enclosed all the time, and I really don’t know that I would be accepted. For too many years I have been treated as an outsider and with everything that has happened I don’t think they trust me. All I know is that I am just so tired, she must be due soon. I don’t know which I fear more, delivering alone or trying to raise her alone.
I woke up today and found a blood drinker standing over me in the cave, I was a bit scared but for some reason he seems so different from the others I have seen. He didn’t try to bite me or harm me in any way. He went and collected fruit and water for me; helping me to stand up when needed. I was a bit nervous the first time he stepped forward to help me, but when he touched me; well I can’t even begin to explain the way it made me feel. The feeling I get seems to radiate from the baby on out through my entire body; guess she approves of him being around. He left before nightfall; he didn’t really say anything. I wonder if he can talk.
The blood drinker came again today he brought me more food; he even brought a rabbit which he prepared in front of me so that I knew it was safe. He seemed real angry when he realized that I was down to the last of the wood, I hadn’t been burning it but for a short time each day to make it last. He stocked the cave up very well after that. It was nice to have the cave warm and to eat something besides fresh fruit and vegetables. He finally spoke today; his voice was so comforting. He helped me down to the stream so that I could bathe. I was jumpy, every sound had me thinking the worse; he assured me that I was safe with him. I was almost completely convinced until two female blood drinkers threatened to attack while I was bathing. He stopped them and I don’t know what he said to them but they left; one of them seemed very angry about it. He turned and looked at me, the look in his eyes made me blush as I turned away. I have to admit he made me feel beautiful even being with child.
He was about to move away but I asked him to stay, in case they came back. He stayed nearby but kept his head turned till I was finished. There was just something so perfect about him, I couldn’t help but feel this way.’
At this point I had to put the journal down, and I began to pace around the small area of my room. At this moment my room seemed so much smaller than I had ever thought before. I was so agitated that the room felt as if it was getting even smaller as I stood there; as if it was going to suffocate me. Finally when I couldn’t stand it anymore I put the items away and sealed it all back into the wall. It was still the wee small hours of the morning, even the bakeries would not be open yet.
I left the flat and headed out; I didn’t want to be confined so I didn’t even consider the underground. About thirty minutes later I found myself in Hyde Park. There was a misty rain that made it all spookier being out at this time of night. Regretting my decision to come out I started to head back in the direction I had just came. I was almost out of the park when someone grabbed me and pulled me into the bushes, then I felt the bite. I waited for the scream and pulling away like Liz had done but it didn’t happen. I struggled to free myself, the pain was very intense.
When the fight to free myself didn’t work I put my hands on the ground and opened up an entry way. As we both started to fall through I screamed as I saw the gruesome look on my attackers face. Once we hit ground I scrambled to get up before he could attack me again.
“What the hell?” the angry but familiar voice sounded. I stopped and looked back as he was pulling himself up.
I froze not sure how to react after the image of what I saw as we fell from the other world; a minute ago he had been a frightening monster who was attacking me. Now he was just Christian; the Christian that had me so tied up inside. I reached up and felt the blood that was still trickling down my neck from where he had bit me. Suddenly it dawned on me why I was so agitated; I was afraid. I was afraid that Christian was the blood drinker that my mother had fallen for.
The fear that held me was Christian. My heart ached as my mind began to spin from the thought of it all. A fog slowly drifted around us as the sky turned stormy. Christian stood there looking at me as recognition seemed to flash across his face. The fog engulfed us completely and I turned to run.
“Jesse,” he called out from behind me.
I didn’t stop; I didn’t respond I just ran for the shelter of the woods. As I ran I could hear him still calling out my name. Ahead of me I saw Seymour as he stood in wait for me. I quickly climbed on his back and hugged his beautiful neck as he galloped away from there. The sky opened up and dumped out on the world around me, all I wanted was a place to calm down.
Seymour came to a stop under the shelter of a tree and I climbed down, thanking him for his help. With a blink he turned and galloped away. I looked around me; knowing that I had not been here before and yet it was all so familiar. It only took me a few minutes to realize that this was next to the cliff that held the cave my parents had called home. There was a small trail that led up the cliff side; you could tell it hadn’t been used for some time because of the plant growth on it.
As I carefully climbed up the narrow trail I thought of the things that Max had said. I had already known that this world had connected with me somehow. But as I reached the summit I thought about everything I knew and everything I had been told. Standing on the edge I looked out upon the constant shifting and changing world below. I looked around and almost wasn’t able to see the cave entrance because of the two bushes that were growing in front of it. I wondered if I could still manipulate things as Max had said that I had done as a baby. I kneeled down and placed my hand on the ground. I felt a tickle on my palm and as I moved my hand I saw a single blade of grass. Not exactly what I was expecting, but it was something.
I put both hands down and focused really hard, slowly I started to feel the movement of the earth deep down. Then I felt it, I felt the connection, the instant connection with everything around me; my heart beat matched up with the pulsation from the ground beneath me. And then the ground between my hands broke open as a stalk slowly grew out of it; I watched in amazement as the sunflower slowly bloomed before me. I laughed as I fell backwards, as I looked up at my creation.
“How in hell’s name did you do that?” Christian’s voice boomed from behind me.
Startled I pulled my hands instantly to my sides.
“Go away Christian,” I said the agitation sounding very clear in my voice as I stood up.
“How did you do that?” he asked, more insistent this time stepping a bit closer to me.
“I don’t really know how, but I was the baby that was born here.”
“How do you know that you were born here?”
“The same way I know about the vampire that helped my mother after my father died. It was in her journal.” Ok, maybe that wasn’t completely true. I had not reached the part where I was born, but I knew it was there.
“What do you mean a vampire helped her? Are you sure?”
“You mean it wasn’t you?” I asked a bit shocked and even more hopeful.
“I’ve never been here before.”
“Then how did you find me?”
“Your scent.”
I just looked at him, not sure what to do at this point.
“Are you ok?” he asked as he reached out and pushed my hair out of the way to reveal the bite marks that had finally stopped bleeding.
“Nothing I haven’t survived before,” I said sarcastically.
“Jesse I’m sorry, I never wanted you to know that side of me. I hate what I am, that’s why I spend so much time here in this world. I only go back because I have to feed.”
“I’ve seen Winifred there, she didn’t look like that. I couldn’t even tell it was you.”
“Part of how you saw me was because of the change that takes place when we attack, but I warned you, the longer you stay the more often you go back and forth, the more that you change. When I am there I don’t have as much control over the human aspect of my being any more. Here it is different. Speaking of which how did we get back here?”
“I opened an entry way.”
“You can’t be doing that. There are rumors already spreading about you.”
“What kind of rumors?”
“The kind that know if you were turned, then the vampires would have full access to where they could go to feed; they are talking world domination crap. About the endless options that would be suddenly available to us all.”
“And do you agree with that?” I asked, starting to feel the entry way open as I spoke. I adjusted my hand a bit.
“Jesse, I’m not a part of all that. Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather be feeding on people that have been convicted of a crime than some innocent person off the street, but not that way.”
“I’m supposed to believe that? Coming from the guy who just bit me.”
“I’m not like that, at least not here. Ironically that is why I like to go to the park there, between the two worlds I’m Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
“What about the conversation you had with Matthew? The last time you bit me when you made the mark visible. I listened to your conversation with him; where you would turn me if you had to. I don’t want to become the same self proclaimed monster that you are.”
As I said this I watched him flinch visibly. But I could still here the words that he had exchanged with Matthew and I couldn’t ever forget them. Nausea rose in my throat as I thought about it. I was a bit relieved that he had not been the vampire that seduced my mother. Or so I thought something about it still nagged at me, but I guess I should be able to finish reading it now.
“Jesse.”
I turned to look at him.
“Christian, I can’t deal with this now. Can we talk later?” I said the words even though I wasn’t sure that I meant it.
“You know where I stay,” he said. His tone implied he didn’t believe me either.
I watched as he went away, then I turned to the cave. I slipped through the bushes into the dimness of the cave. The fire pit was laid although very dust covered. I looked behind me there was no one around as I kneeled in front of the pit. I put my hands out towards the logs as if I was warming them.
I focused hard as I had with the flower, then slowly smoke started to rise. Then a spark and the fire roared to life. It took a minute for my eyes to focus; I looked around at the cave, it was everything I had imagined and more. There were drawings on the wall, a bit faded but I could still make them out clear enough. I sat down on the dusty bed and stared out at the place I would have called home if the vampires hadn’t caused the death of my parents. I wanted to blame them for their deaths but I didn’t know for sure what had happened.
I wondered what the village had been like, the place we would have been if the vampires hadn’t invaded this world to begin with. My chest hurt, I was torn between hating the vampires for taking away everything I should have had and for my feelings towards Christian. I had prepared myself to stay away from all of this, both Christian and this world here. But it was obvious that the fates had a different plan in store for me.
I woke up in a groggy state of mind as I tried to figure out where I was. I started to move but my neck hurt badly; I didn’t know if it was from the bite or from sleeping in an odd position. The fire was down to just glowing embers, I reached out towards the fire and it was as if I absorbed the heat. I reached into the pit and felt around; it was completely cold as if a fire had never been there.
I dusted off my hand as I stood up stretching, a smile playing on my lips. I had to admit it was pretty cool being able to manipulate the forces; it was a lot like the witches on the TV shows. I was curious if the power would ever carry over to the other world or if it would only be here. I wondered if there would be consequences about using my gifts in the other world. I would soon have lots of time to figure it all out. I walked down the hill to the grove. As I reached up for an apple someone grabbed my shoulder.
“I knew we would run into each other sooner or later,” Cassie’s voice almost cracked it was so edgy.
I pulled away from her, her nails dug into my skin as I did so. I could feel myself bleeding from the scratch marks.
“You are starting to become a sore spot with me.”
“Well I would be just as happy to avoid you in the future too,” I said.
“Oh, but I don’t want to avoid you, I want to see you turned. I want you and your ability to join us. I am just tired of waiting.”
“Not interested.”
“You will join us; I can assure you we’ll find a way. Christian is weak in the other world and it is much easier to manipulate him there.”
“Even if you can manipulate him in that other world doesn’t mean you’ll be able to find me there.”
“You bare his mark; everything you are is engrained into him. Think of that mark as a homing device with no limit to distance.”
“Cassie, I told you to leave her alone. Jesse, get out of here.”