I have never thought I will ever be doing any of the things I'm doing now. Yet I'm surely doing all that, and more.

And what exactly happens when you do something you never thought you would?

You fuck up. Big time.

I plonk my tired ass down on the muddy ground, sighing the entire breath out of me, not giving a shit to the squelchy sound as I do. Any other time I would have jumped thirty feet into the air and run to the nearest bathroom first, and then to the laundry. But now is no other time.

I lean back against the tree, closing my eyes for the first time in seven hours. Enos's death seems like just a fact to me. My mind still can't process the weight of it. Yet. Only intense anger courses through me when I remember his lifeless eyes. Almost like the time I wanted to kill the kids who used him as a prop for the knife throwing board all those years ago. But he was hurt then. My mind is still thinking he is hurt, not dead. As long as adrenaline runs through me, I am going to be numb. And I want to be over and done with this shit when the actual breakdown hits. So that I can wallow in peace.

You can never understand how long the night is unless you actually try to stay awake the entire time. Akos, his own blood, seems to accept the fact that his little kid brother is gone. I have no doubt that a major part of him blames me for it. I'm grateful he hid it for my sake. I don't think I could have handled him belittling me more than me belittling myself. My thoughts wander off to the time my family bid me goodbye.

Only the Winnebago and my Phoenix remain in the large empty space now.

I squeeze my eyes together, trying to block out the hopeless distraught expressions of my family that seem to be engraved in the darkness. It wasn't easy saying goodbye. Everyone was being more clingy than a fucking leech. I had to go all vampire on them to make them fear me. Even then many people had to be tossed into their trailers.

One and a half hours since then, I am still searching for Vanessa and Elyss. I am literally searching the undergrowth for anything that might lead me to them. It doesn't help that ten minutes ago it started raining. Sheets of water that turn into muddy streams on reaching the ground are the only thing I can see. And the roar of splashing water is the only thing I can hear. Many times I have only just managed to stop five feet away from impaling myself on a branch.

"Never thought of ever being visually impaired, eh?" I grumble. "Motherfucking weather bent on pissing me off."

I groan and rub my hands down my face. Talking to my own self, the ultimate level of lunacy. 

I have searched every inch of the place I last saw them, only finding Elyss's silver stake at the foot of a tree. No sign of struggle, no footsteps, no directions. They seem to have vanished into thin air.

I sigh again, rubbing my hands down my face harshly. I am running out of clues. And energy. A good twenty four hours has passed since the last feed. The tell-tale signs of thirst are prominent in the form of my ever present fangs and burning of my throat. The effects of intense first day are feeling too obvious now. Extra shows always take too much of a toll on me. Yes, I can last long enough without feeding. But why would I willingly be so weak?

"Where are you shits?" I shout out one last time, straightening up to listen. Over the hours, the hope of them ever answering me has well left me. But still, that annoying, nagging feeling that tells me to try again. The wind howls louder. Branches shake. Leaves rustle more.

Of course, no reply. 

I slump down against my tree, bringing out the stake to examine it. It is foolishness to search in this weather. I have to wait for it to clear. Tropical showers don't usually last long. But I can't help feeling my sisters going out further away from my reach the longer I wait.

I know they are not dead.

I rub my finger against the smooth metal. Elyss feels repulsed by anything silver. She had a pretty bad encounter with it while a young vampire. But still she had taken the stake without fussing so as not to piss me off. Out of the three of us, only I can touch silver without it sizzling up my skin. I press the blade against me harder. Blood pools out of the cut as I yank it back. The skin around sizzles up and turns black, almost burnt, before healing back up.

I sigh and put away the blade, getting up. It's probably better to stay in Phoenix now, considering I'm as blind as a bat. Another reason to hate travelling south.

I trudge back slowly, deliberately walking in circles. I am soaked right to the bone, my clothes feeling ten times their weight. The jeans were already heavy with the knives, and now due to the rain, I can barely lift my foot off the clinging mud.

What a situation to be caught in.

I hack my way back through the trees, no mood to be jumping over the branches now. Funny how the thing that provides me so much comfort now seems like confinement. I can't wait to make it through the wall of green. As if sensing my despair, the trees seem to be coming closer. Branches twine together, stopping me until I cut through them. Vines curl around my ankles tripping me more times than I can count. Mud clings to my boots, so much that when I finally reach the clearing, I am dragging my feet, too tired to lift them.

I lift my head up to the skies, closing my eyes, resisting being pushed down to the ground by the water. For a moment I just observe the stillness. The roar of the rain is now less than a waterfall. But the closeness of the sound is now behind me. In front, the grass doesn't allow mud to form, and apart from the general silence of open grounds, I can hear nothing else.

Nothing else.

I pull my head down and kick off the boots. Positioning the stake blade down, I start walking forward slowly. Things are too quiet.

When I turn around Phoenix, a body suddenly jumps at me. I suck in the scream that threatens to lodge past my lips and jab in the foot-long silver stake in the neck. Right up to the hilt. My opponent sputters and falls down on me, pushing me to the ground. His fingers waste no time in curling around my neck and squeezing. I gasp foolishly letting go of the last breath. Adrenaline kicks in a little late due to being idle for so long. I flip myself over quickly and look down at him.

It's a him all right, struggling to not breath, for he will probably get blood in his lungs. His hands are much  feeble in trying to grab my neck now. I move past his weak attempts and twist the blade deeper. He stills swiftly and arches right off the ground, hands falling right where I want them- nowhere near me.

"This is why I like stabbing in the neck," I grit my teeth. "Keeps them mum and feeble." I pull the stake out of him fast. The sick squelching sound is louder than the rain. He pulls his hands around his neck, as if cradling the wound will make it heal faster.

"I'm done with you." I hiss, and stab it back in the heart. He gasps in a deep quick breath, his last breath, fixing me with anger and fear filled eyes, before turning them towards heaven and stilling forever. I grin.

That's when I notice the fangs. And the blackened eyes, slowly turning back to a normal brown.

I tug on the blade and hold it in the rain for a while, allowing the water to wash away the blood. I never like my weapons dirty. Then positioning it back, I turn around. 

My breath gets stuck in my throat and eyes widen in their own account as the scene before me registers in my head. Elyss and Vanessa, my poor sisters, bound tightly by chains around their wrists and ankles, pushed down to the ground. Of all the places to be in. Intense self loathing fills me up to the brim. And all this time I have been fucking about in the woods. The skins around their bindings are already black, the whiteness of the chains a stark contrast. I rush towards them and yank angrily at the chains.

The metal digs into my hands, but not harming me. I pause a moment to inspect the damage. The chains had embedded deep within the flesh, the silver preventing the healing. If I were a bit late, I suppose they would be falling unconscious by now. I snarl ferociously at the thought and work faster, crumpling some while heating the others till the metal melts. Soon, they are free.

Only now it registers that they have not said a word this entire time. I look up in their faces. Vanessa has her lips pressed in a thin line, Elyss was looking at me with wide eyes. Fear filled eyes.

Oh.

Oh no.

I sigh. "I had to do that. Save the crap." 

Vanessa nods. "Just the fact that lately you are killing more vampires than humans." Elyss gulps.

"Only lately have I known that other vampires exist," I say, pulling them up. "All of whom seem to be hell bent on killing me. Can you blame me? Whoa steady." Vanessa is wobbling like mad.

"You know I will never hurt you, right?" I peer cautiously at Elyss. I had never wanted her to witness this side of me so soon. But I guess, life had other plans.

As if I flipped a switch, her face clears off all emotions in the blink of an eye. She shakes her head hard and fixes me with the same fear filled gaze. But only now I seem to know I'm not the cause.

"Is there any use telling that you walked right into a trap?"

"No," I wrap an arm tighter around both of their shoulders, steering towards my trailer. "I kind of figured what I am getting into the moment I walked out of the jungle. The forces were against me coming out."

"The forces?" Vanessa croaks turning to look at me. "Since whe-" She opens her mouth to speak but stumbles again, pulling me down with her.

"Jesus, what's wrong with you?" I grip her hard. She is being worse than a dead weight. Supporting both of them is seeming like a problem, especially with my dwindling strength.

"She had her fingers in between my chains to prevent them from touching me," Elyss whispers. Oh God. "She has too much silver in her system."

Fuck.

"She needs to bleed it out," I hoist up both of them in Phoenix. "And feed." Her eyes are drooping. "And fast."

Elyss and I look at each other. Vanessa has shut her eyes tight, trying to concentrate on her breathing. I don't know how this thing works, I never had to go through one. The only thought coming to my mind was of Maa telling me how easily vampire blood can dissolve silver. How even a little amount can be fatal. And how too much concentration in the veins can stop the heart.

"Screw this." Gripping Vanessa by her shoulders, I let my fangs pierce the skin of her neck, ripping apart the flesh and slash the main vein. Blood starts pouring out in a steady stream, dripping onto the floor of my car onto the grassy forest ground. She will not heal as fast with the poison in her system.

I lay her down gently and bite her wrist too. More outlets, more quickly this stops.

Straightening up again, I run the back of my hand across my mouth, trying to wipe away the blood, succeeding only in smearing it against me. I cringe at the too strong metallic taste. It's far from ingestible. 

Onto the next step.

"Can you hunt?" My gaze lands on Elyss, who is supporting herself by the plywood, eyes squeezed shut, breathing in short, but steady gulps of air.

She jerks into awareness at my question. Her wide eyes and stooping shoulders tell me the answer clearly. But glancing down at our fallen sister, she tries to get up. I stop her, gripping her forearm tightly. 

"Can you?" I hiss. "Otherwise, you know there is a lively chance of the hunter getting hunted. I don't want to lose another one to a jaguar's claws tonight."

"Yeah, yeah," she glances at the bloody mess that we are and gulps down. "I can't. I'm sorry. I'm weak."

I'm too busy to adhere to her dwindling confidence. Bringing my fangs swiftly down, I tear at my wrist. Even after doing this many times before, the pain doesn't get any less. I wince at the burning and bring the open vein near Vanessa's lips.

Despite being almost three-quarters dead, this girl manages to struggle. "No…" the words are barely audible. "You'll… kill… me more…"

I growl and thrust my wrist in between her teeth. "There is a reason I am feeling the forces. Trust me when I say I'm free of silver."

At the end of the day, she is still a vampire. A wounded, dying vampire nonetheless. Her being cares for nothing more than blood right now. And with her life force beading right past her lips, there is only so much longer she can withhold. 

She suddenly lashes out, her fangs pierce my already torn skin, pulling strongly upon my vein with much force to have me stumbling. In a bout of energy, her hands come up to push me further in between her lips. With every pull, life runs back into her, while the fire within me dulls and flickers. The flame raises it's tendrils higher for a split second, urging me to act upon our assaulter before it's too late. I clench my jaw and keep still. This is not an attacker. This is family. Not the time to act high and mighty.

She releases me at the same time the fire extinguishes itself and vanishes in a puff of smoke. I gasp and stumble backward, feeling too lightheaded. The lack of flame leaves me in a frigid state. I bring back my wrist to my chest, supporting myself against my car's body, already wobbly on my feet. The torn skin slowly winds together, very slowly.

I sign, taking my gaze away from my healing wrist to Vanessa, who seems to have attained back her thoughts. And is now going into hysterics.

"Saw two!" She gasps, pointing frantically at the forest. "Into the trees! You were late, they went! Searching for you! You!" Unfortunately, she is just confirming what I had already suspected.

I straighten up, forcing the steel into my voice, ignoring the lethargy seeping into my bones. It seems to get the job done much faster, no matter the situation, or the job.

"Are both of you fit enough to drive?"

Elyss nods. Vanessa snorts. "I can go cross country right now and back."

I nod. "Good. Vanny, get into the Winne and follow Elyss. Elyss, slide into Phoenix's driving seat and step on the gas. Go back on the bridge as fast as you can till you catch up with Akos."

Vanessa stops her movements from shuffling out. Elyss stops from getting up. Silence.

I guess they have caught into the fact that I am saying nothing about myself. Smart girls.

"You will be joining us soon, right?" Elyss asks cautiously. 

I nod again. "Within a day." The lie flows smoothly past my lips. Anything to get my loved ones out of this place. "Get you lazy asses out of here right now. Before I put my throwing skills to good fucking use."

A shift in air, blurred movements, and there is no one before me. Thirty seconds later, both the cars' engines roar to life. Five seconds later, they are on the road waving me goodbye.

I watch them go, just as I watched everyone I have known my entire life go past me. I let them go. My heart suddenly feels heavy. But I have survived earlier alone. What are the odds that I can survive again?

I sigh and proceed to turn around slowly. Vanessa must have drank a lot. The edges of my vision are turning dark. My fire has gone for good. I am a cold, shivering mess here, all alone. A flicker of shame rises in me. I'm too weak to sustain my power now.

 During all this drama, sometimes in between, the rain has stopped. I will go back to my family. Eventually, I will. But not before I eliminate the threat to my life and the others around me.

But first, I need blood in me.

I walk forward a few steps, keeping my gaze on the ground as I take in the surrounding sounds. It's quiet. A bit too quiet, but that's expected after such a heavy rain. Gurgling sounds of holes getting filled and overflowing are still there. The birds are silent still. They are still sleeping. How many hours till sunrise?

I smile and continue walking. Just a day ago, I was just a normal vampire. As normal a pyrokinetic vampire can get. And now, my life is upside down. Enos is not here. He is dead. Killed. Murdered. By a vampire. I push down the gulp lodging in my throat.

The smile slides right off my face, making way for a frown when the sight black boots in front of me make me stop. I keep my head down. They are still, not moving. Slipping my eyes up slowly, I take in the owner of these shoes. Black fitting jeans, followed by a leather jacket comes into my view. Muscular arms and tall. 

When I come to the face, I only have the time to take in the cold look and the sinister smirk upon his lips, before something hard is struck against my head. Hard enough to knock the consciousness out of me.

I would have welcomed the darkness have I not been so hungry.

Hey guys.. 😩😩

It's two in the fucking night. And I have not got any sleep in the last twenty four fucking hours. Let me warn you that I'm hella cranky when I don't get my peaceful seven hours a day. I'm this 👌 close to burning down my school for the shit load of tests and practicals and assignments.

So, what do you think of the chapter??😆😆 Some pretty important things happened. 

Please tell me your thoughts. It is really important for a writer to know what their readers think.

So, don't forget the usual!!

Vote, and Comment please!! Hit the star button below and make me happy😘😘. At least then I can stop thinking about burning down buildings.

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P.S.--Any of my readers who knows German??