Book One Chapter Eight: Saja's Arrogance

Nick discovers one of Saja's only apparent weaknesses: Arrogance. Can he exploit it in order to escape?

Chapter Eight Saja’s Arrogance: I woke up in a different position; I was chained above a pit with my wrists bound by chain tied to a grate. Saja must have found a flaw in the other cell, she must not have wanted me to escape. The air in here was cool and damp. I had had enough of being held in this... wherever this is... like a prisoner. I forced myself to come up with a plan. I thought back to all those old vampire legends; how to kill a vampire. Then it hit me: Stakes. But the issue of me getting out of the chains was the main issue. I was sizing up my situation, I looked at my bonds. A wooden bar that was a foot wide spread my hands apart, and one spread my ankles apart. There was a thin chain loop on either end that connected the bar to the chains that lead up to the grate above. I wiggled my wrists, but nothing happened, man, Saja was clever. And Scary. Scary and clever was not a good mix for someone who is your enemy. I lost track of time thinking about escaping. If I did think of an escape plan, it would need to be a pretty good one. Saja was smart. Even if I did escape, Saja would most likely try to recapture me. She wouldn’t kill me until she got the ‘information’ that she thinks I have. She won’t stop biting me until I give her what she wants, but how can I give something that I don’t have? If Saja caught me escaping… I didn’t want to imagine what she’d do to me if she caught me trying to escape. I needed to come up with a plan that wouldn’t arouse her suspicion. I had another question as I thought of escape; since Saja is a vampire and I am only a human, she could easily kill me, right? She had no worries of me killing her, because I didn’t even know for sure how to go about killing her. My best theory was stakes, so I had to assume that they worked, but I didn’t want to place my life into the hands of that theory. Anyway, why does Saja have me chained up when I can’t even kill her? I don’t know if she noticed, (who am I kidding? She totally noticed) but I am pretty powerless in this situation. Why does she need me chained up if she can just bite me if I try to kill her or escape or something? I assumed that Saja was paranoid. She must have really, really wanted the information that she thinks I have. After considering escape plans, no matter how outlandish for a few hours, I fell asleep with thoughts of escape.

 

                    

 

                              ***

 

I woke up to something in front of my face. It was a book. It was tied open and a rope suspended it in front of my eyes a foot away. Puzzled, I began to read:

 

The bloodsucking creature has been feared for generations.

 

It first came to small villages and preyed on the blood of the villagers.

 

They had superhuman strength speed and stamina.

 

They only way to kill one is to drive a wooden stake through its heart

 

Or pierce it with a silver sword.

 

I read no more. Well, that confirmed my theory about the stakes, but Saja was giving me a chance, an advantage and for some reason it felt... wrong. I didn’t know what it was, just that it wasn’t right. Was Saja arrogant to the point of stupidity? I didn't think so. I wondered why she would leave me a book on how to kill her. I heard footsteps coming from somewhere.

“Saja!” I called to get her attention.

The door opened and she walked in. I looked at her with curiosity.

"Why did you leave me a book on how to kill you?" I asked.

Saja looked puzzled, then the book caught her eye.

"Ah, yes, that. Well, I figured that since you are a human, and I am a vampire, I figured I would even the playing field a little." She explained.

“Playing field?” I asked.

“You want to escape, don’t you? This is like a game that you humans play. What is it? Cops and Robbers? Anyway, I have captured you and you must want to escape, correct?” Saja asked.

I wasn’t sure what to say, so I said nothing at all. I didn’t want to get bitten again. I also didn’t want Saja to come any closer to me. Saja really scares me and the farther away she is from me, the better.

“Anyway, I am bored just sitting around. Observing you is just so drab and killing humans… well… I just get tired of hearing their agonized screams, I am tired of hearing pleas for mercy. I figured that I would make things interesting.” Saja said.

“You mean… You want to give me an advantage to help me escape… Just to make things interesting?” I asked.

Saja smiled and nodded.

“Precisely.” She said.

I remained silent. I considered calling her crazy, but she would probably bite me again.

“Are you afraid of me?” Saja asked.

My heart began to race. What should I say? The answer was yes, I was terrified of her, but should I really let her know that?

“Why do you ask?” I asked, avoiding a direct answer to her question.

“It’s just that every time there is a moment where you can insult me, you keep quiet. You must not want me to bite you again.” Saja said with a small smile.

Saja’s glance flicked to my neck. My heart raced even more. Was she really thinking about biting me again? My heart sunk as I silently begged her not to. Saja stepped closer to me. My heart leapt into my throat. She was coming even closer. My body was consumed by my fear of Saja. She leaned down to the right side of my neck. I could hear her pull her lips back to reveal her fangs. I heard her open her mouth. My body tensed up in anticipation for the bite. After another few seconds, Saja closed her mouth and pulled back slightly to look me in the eye. Her crimson eyes that I feared so much bore into mine.

“You are scared of me.” Saja said with a grin.

She must have heard my thundering heart beating like helicopter blades! My body tensing up was also probably a dead giveaway.

“You should be scared of me. Do you have any idea how many people I have killed? Do you have any idea how much blood I have drank? Do you know what I am capable of?” Saja asked me.

“Well… Uh… No.” I said.

Saja leaned in to my neck again. I felt sure that she would bite me and my heartrate skyrocketed as fear almost paralyzed me. Instead of biting me, Saja turned her head so her mouth was facing my ear.

“If I told you the answers to those questions, you would be so terrified, you would beg me to kill you for fear of what I might do to you in the future.” Saja whispered.

My heart sank in fear as I took in what she had said. A shiver ran down my spine as I imagined the answers to those questions.

Saja pulled away from me and she looked at me once more. She leered at me with her deep crimson eyes. She knew that she terrified me. She gave me a small smile that showed her fangs. Her small, yet incredibly sharp fangs. She looked at me for a little longer, then once she had deduced that I had nothing more to say, she left the room. I was very confused. She acted like keeping me here was a game, did she want me to escape and try to kill her? Was there more to my situation than I thought? I read on in the book that she gave me.

 

Little is known about these creatures.

 

Some swear that they have supernatural abilities.

 

Some vampires can pick up abilities from other vampires.

 

Others just have them and have yet to discover them.

 

 

 

I looked past the book and examined my surroundings even further, trying to devise a clever plan to outsmart Saja and escape. She wanted to 'even the playing field,' whatever that meant. So that meant she underestimated me, good. I was not a hulking, muscular guy either, but I wasn't a toothpick. I looked down, I was around ten feet above the ground, and so if I did somehow manage to get free from my bonds, I wouldn't fall to my death. I looked over at the hole in the wall that was Saja's entrance. If I could somehow manage to get over there, I could escape, if I was free from the chains of course. I decided to get some more sleep while I could. I knew that this wouldn’t get any easier from here on in and I think that sleep will be less common in the future, as Saja may bite me more often if she doesn’t get her information soon. This gave me all the more motivation to escape.

 

 

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Author's Note

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Reviews

[John Mcnab]

I... Am... Stunned. Turning Nick into a vampire was the perfect way to end the book! I loved the dramatic scene when Hemlon was exploding, it just added to the dramatic climax when Saja bit Nick and turned him into a vampire! I will be reading book two, I love your work, I will start reading book two right NOW! :D 10/10 would read again!