Chapter 14

CW:

So far the day went perfectly. We went to a few high end stores and I let Chelsea and Tory do all the talking. It wasn’t difficult considering I didn’t have any experience shopping somewhere where the clothes cost more than my childhood house. Tory wanted everything to be designer and encouraged me to go the same route, but it all felt fake to me. I finally convinced them after the fifth brand store to just go to Macy's or something.

I was able to pick out a few clothes, with their help, that felt like they matched my new style. Shopping for shoes and makeup was a whole new fun experience. It was nothing like when I used to go shopping with my mom. We’d meander around the store and I’d just grunt, saying yes to whatever she picked out. The most ‘variety’ I could muster was choosing a few differently colored versions of the same shirt she suggested.

That was nothing like this experience. Tory would hold things out as suggestions, but my eyes would be drawn to things similar or totally different! There was so much to choose from. Different styles, colors, patterns, and feelings. I didn’t have to settle for anything either! I could just get whatever I wanted.

Makeup was a little different. Mainly because I didn’t know what the two were going on about. I eventually just let them pick out what they thought I needed. I noticed a lot of creams, bottles, and even something that looked like a colored pencil. I was sure I’d get a lesson at some point.

We finally went and got some lunch around the area. Deciding to go somewhere simple, we stuck to a small, but slightly fancy, building. The restaurant had several places for seating and the mirrors laid into the wall made it feel like a maze. Everything had a faux gold feel to it making it seems simultaneously high end and not. The lunch was nice. No major interruptions and I got to just hang out with both Chelsea and Tory. It was starting to feel like a fantastic day. There was nothing looming worrying me. There was no training threat. No nagging feeling of hunger. No danger.

We left and went to an upscale nail salon. There was barely anyone there and the whole thing looked too expensive. I went with Tory’s suggestion and just got acrylics with a solid color. I decided on a whim, and partly because of the nail tech, to let her shape the nails into a point. It gave me a dangerous feel and I liked it. I felt like I had miniature weapons on my hands, like I could slightly protect myself more. I chose a soft deep red color. My hands mimicked the deep red of blood accidentally. They were also sharp and pointed, almost making me look more dangerous than I intended. Regardless, I was still thrilled with the outcome.

It was getting close to evening at this point so we made our way to the blood bank for a pick me up. The ride over was simple and didn’t take long. At this point, we’d all been together for the whole day and I was more than content. If this is what the rest of my days would be, just living cushy with a new mom and sister, then sign me up. I tried not to let my mind drift to Hazel. I still cared about her and I didn’t want her to think I was becoming too stuck up and too stuck in vampire society.

Regardless, my mind thought of her. I thought back to a time when we fought and how similar it was to this. Back then she could never take being wrong or not getting her way. She wanted me to help her with her science fair project to test how electricity travels through different mediums. She was hoping I could be her guinea pig for ‘how electricity travels through humans.’ She begged me for weeks, even saying she’d fail if I didn’t help her because she couldn’t find someone else. She said I wasn’t being a very good friend and tried to guilt me in anyway she could. Eventually, I told my mom who then sat us both down and talked to us.

I remember her saying she wouldn’t tell anyone else, but made sure that Hazel knew she had to change that test and that I wasn’t going to do it.

“Hazel, that could seriously hurt Chris. Why do you think it’s okay to do a test like that and why are you trying to coerce him into doing it?” I remember my mom looking at her over the table. Her forehead wrinkled with concern.

“I don’t know,” Hazel said, looking down. “The teacher said we could do what we wanted and this sounded cool. Plus that’s how dad gets mom to do things. He always just keeps asking until she says fine. I thought it would work with Chris too.”

I remember my mom being more shocked at that than anything else. I didn’t understand the implications at the time, but I sure do now. I know it’s not easy to change habits, but I wished Hazel would’ve learned by now that manipulation is no way to show you love someone.

I was shaken from my thoughts as the car we were in rolled to a stop next to a street. I looked out the window.

“This isn’t the blood bank,” I said looking to my left to Tory. She shook her head and unbuckled the seat belt.

“No it isn’t,” Chelsea spoke from the from the front seat. “If we drive to it, we have to stop farther away from it. If we let anyone roll right up to it, there’s a chance humans might unintentionally find it quicker thinking it was a place people normally went. It’s much easier to hide it, if people sort of sneak into it.”

I guess that made sense. I unbuckled my own seat belt and went to push the door open. I did a little hop out of the SUV and walked over to the building wall. Chelsea was still talking to the driver, but Tory walked up next to me.

“Excited?” she whispered.

“For what?” I leaned toward her, thinking she wanted this to be between us.

“The blood dummy. I always get ansy before. It’s the best feeling. Not as good as the warm stuff but still good.”

“Oh yeah. Duh, I guess. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it, but I don’t really care right now I guess.”

“Hm,” she looked at me like she was studying me. “I’m sure that’ll change in the future, but most new vampires I’ve seen can’t get enough of the stuff until they learn to control their urges. I’m actually surprised you haven’t been asking about blood more.”

I shrugged. I had no idea what she wanted me to say. I guess I’d file that down to try and figure it out later. Chelsea finished talking with the driver and closed her door.

“Alright, you two ready to get a move on? We still have plans for drinks after this and I’m ready for something stiff.” She elbowed Tory and smiled. Tory just giggled. My mind immediately went towards the gutter and I felt myself cringe.

I couldn’t prevent it from coming out, “Ewwwwww!”

The other two just started laughing. “I honestly wasn’t sure if you’d get it Belle,” Chelsea said, pulling me into a loving side hug. Tory was still snickering. “Come on girls, let’s get a move on.” She got in between us and pulled us along the street.

As we started to round the street corner, I felt a chill freeze my bones from the inside out. I stopped in my tracks. The world seemed to slow down. Chelsea’s long black hair was slowly moving through the air and I felt like I could see everything start to stop. The words on Chelsea’s lips seemed to cease. Tory looked the same. The shimmer from her makeup was stuck in its iridescent glow. The sinking sun wasn’t dancing on her face like it was a moment before. The entire mood seemed to shift.

The freezing chill continued to shift all around my body. It almost started to hurt. Everything started to feel numb. I lifted my hand out of Chelsea’s light grip seeing it start to turn a bluish purple. The feeling was starting to extend to the rest of my arm. I looked at it completely unsure of what was going on.

My heart started to pump. I could almost feel the blood coursing through my body. The slow methodical rhythm it normally was since I became a vampire sped up to almost what my resting heart rate used to be. It felt like my heart was working ten thousand times harder than normal. It felt like all the blood I’d consumed in the recent days was being burnt up as my body tried to heat itself. I hadn’t felt cold since I became a vampire. I thought we were cold blooded and just adapted to our environment. The stark cold that held me in place felt different. It felt dangerous. It felt murderous.

It started to feel like I had an itch on my neck. Not a normal itch that’s just outside the realm of being annoying. Something you have to just scratch to get the feeling to stop. No. This felt like something was burying itself underneath my neck. Like something was tunneling into my spine. Like if I didn’t do something about it right now, I could die.

I swiveled around, turning my whole body as I started to scratch the back of my neck. The second I turned around, the feeling shifted from my neck to my throat. I was shocked. Not shocked at the new pain but the hooded person standing all the way at the end of the street seemingly staring right at me.

They were so far away that I couldn’t quite make out their features, but I could see a glow under their hood. It seemed like their eyes were unnaturally blue. The color was stark and looked like piercing ice. I was confused how I could see the glow from this far away. I decided to move to the side a little and the pain suddenly stopped. As soon as it did, their eyes stopped glowing.

They shook their head, like they were unsure where they were. Looking around quickly, they seemed unsure of what to do with me staring at them. They turned around and ran.

Heat started to return to my hands and I looked at it. Seeing the color return to it and the absence of the pain, I assumed that it was all caused by the mystery person in the hood. My bones didn’t seem to be freezing in place anymore and, rather, felt normal. The two or three people that were seemingly frozen in time walking towards where the mystery person had been started up again. Their legs were moving. Sound seemed to return to the world, making me realize that it had disappeared. A honk sounded through the air and the occasional bird chirp squeaked. Chelsea’s sentence finished and I heard the two stop suddenly, likely noticing my absence.

“Belle? How’d you turn around so quickly?” Chelsea asked, seemingly concerned as I looked towards her. I turned back towards them and knitted my brows, frowning.

“I don’t,” I paused thinking, “I don’t quite know. It was like what happened at training yesterday. The world seemed to slow down, I got cold, then–” I felt a searing headache shoot through me. “Aggh!” I stumbled forward with my hand rubbing my head. Both Chelsea and Tory grabbed hold of me and held me steady.

“Wow, you ok sis?” Tory asked

“Agh, I’m, ugh, fine,” I tried to get the words out, but the booming pain in my head was the clear winner in this fight. My vision started to tunnel as I got an overwhelming urge to feed. I felt my fangs extend out. “Agggggghhh!” I yelled. The pain was starting to become unbearable.

“Get her inside now! NOW!” I could barely understand the words as the world started to become dark. I felt myself getting dragged along. I wasn’t even sure what was happening anymore. Gosh I was hungry.

I felt my stomach twist on itself. My skin started to feel tight and uncomfortable. The pain was still shooting into my head. My eyes were almost all the way closed and I couldn’t comprehend the world around me.

I wasn’t sure how much time actually passed in the world, but it felt like forever. It felt like I was on fire as my body ached for something just out of my reach. I couldn’t understand the world around me. I felt like I was in my own inner mind. A sea of darkness stretched out in front of me as the pain continued. The fire. The need.

Feeling my fangs sink into something, the inner darkness exploded into colors. Brilliant reds, yellows, blues, and anything I could imagine. There were little feelings of lightning coursing through me, causing the need to dull, the fire to recede, and the pain to end. 

My fangs continued to sink into something again. And again. And again. And again. It kept happening until finally light started to return to my vision. The light felt awful on my eyes. It was like I was staring right into the sun. Slowly, I adjusted.

I was staring down at myself. My shirt I had picked out earlier was covered in blood, absolutely soaked. A pang of sadness shot through me as I realized I’d probably never get to wear it again. My mind caught up to the scene and actually processed the shirt and the blood. Why was I covered in blood? Immediately, my mind shot to the worst outcomes.

Oh god, I killed someone didn’t I? There’s no way there could be this much blood without someone dead.

I started to cry. Hot wet tears clouded my vision. They didn’t just seep out of me, they poured. “Oh god!” I yelled out. “Oh god, oh god, oh god,” I whispered to myself as I tried to move my hands to try to wipe anything off. My hands wouldn’t move. I felt my breathing start to hitch up. I could feel a panic attack coming. I couldn’t move and there was so much blood. A noise rang out. A heavy door was opening, I shot my head up to look at the source of the sound.

There was a door in front of me. Directly, in front and I was sat stuck to a chair. My tears were still falling, but started to slow as I was more confused than anything. As the door opened, I saw Chelsea and Tory standing there looking at me concerned. Chelsea looked heartbroken while Tory looked terrified.

“You back with us honey?” Chelsea asked as she approached me then leaned down on one knee, taking my head in her hands.

I recoiled. “What happened?” I pushed the words out with all my strength. Tears kept streaming, albeit, slowly.

Tory kept her distance, choosing to stay standing in the doorway.

Chelsea sighed, then looked to her right. I followed her eyes, expecting the worst. Surprisingly, there was a pile of what looked to be blood bags. Some torn to pieces, others with distinct teeth marks.

“We aren’t fully sure,” she said while she reached down and pulled the restraints off of me. “You seemed to be experiencing Blood Razing, something only Pures should deal with.”

I pulled my hands to my lap slowly and looked at her. “Blood what?” I asked quietly, trying to keep my voice soft, almost afraid of speaking.

“Blood Razing. Some chosen Pure bloods have,” she paused and looked at me, “special abilities. Using those abilities tends to come at the cost of blood in their system. The more an ability is used, the more blood it requires. If those reserves are drained then the vampire goes into a state of Blood Razing. They’re effectively returned to their most primal instincts and seek out blood any way they can.” She looked at me curiously. “We’ve never seen a Turned with any ability outside the norm. Let alone, one that could go into a Blood Raze.”

I couldn’t fully process her words. I just started to feel my cheeks get wet again as I looked up and saw past Chelsea. I was looking at Tory and her face said it all. She was scared of me. She didn’t want to be me near me. It was obvious. I don’t know why, but that crushed a part of me. My new found ‘sister’ already wanted to be rid of me. I could tell. She wished I’d never came into her life. Chelsea’s hand guided me back to looking at her eyes.

“Isabelle. Look at me.” We stared at each other for a second, until she continued. “You’ll be ok.” She wrapped her hands around me and hugged me. Her grip felt tight and secure. I closed my eyes and held them shut with as much strength as I had. I wanted to disappear into this moment. I didn’t want to see Tory’s terrified expression anymore.

Chelsea pulled back and made me keep my eyes on her again. “Listen to me. There’s something you need to understand. Very few, and I mean very few, people have ever gone into a state of Blood Razing. Anyone who has has been a Pure. They’ve had years to learn about it and understand how to never get to that state. Having a special ability is rare. From what I know though, it was given its name because of the outcome it causes.” She sighed. “It makes the vampire become rabid, hungry, and stronger than normal. We were only able to get you into this room and the chair because you passed out in the street. The second you woke up and started to scream, I knew what was going on.”

I was in shock at her retelling. I didn’t experience any of that, just the pain.

“We got you as many blood bags as we could. It’s been about 30 minutes since we got here. Everytime we handed you one, you just sucked it down.”

I tried to look down, but she guided my head back to being level with hers. “Look Belle, it’ll be ok. You didn’t hurt anyone because we didn’t let you. You’re not a danger to anyone. We can get you a special trainer for this. We’ll have to start your education immediately though. You need to know as much as you can. Those who have abilities have been chosen. We’ll have to present you to the council.”

My eyes went wide. The council? That seemed like the boogeyman. “Why?” I squeaked out. “Why can’t we just keep it a secret?” I wriggled my hands.

She sighed. “I would’ve loved to, but because we’re at the blood bank, a very public vampire location, I’m quite certain they’ll know sooner rather than later. We are better off telling them and gaining their support. You’ll be an interesting celebrity soon.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. I just wanted to go back to normal. Why did any of this happen to me? I looked up and locked eyes with Tory. Her fear was still there, but it was starting to be clouded by interest.

I looked away to my left. “I’m sorry Tory if I scared you.” I said, loud enough where she could hear. Tears leaked out and I tried not to let her see.

“No, no no,” she said, her voice sounded like it was coming closer so I turned back towards her. She was next to Chelsea now. “No, I’m sorry Belle. I didn’t know how to help and I felt awful. I was scared I was gonna lose you.” She reached out and pulled me into a hug. I felt myself melt into it. I wasn’t sure when I became so reliant on her, but I was ok with it. She was kind, regardless if she could be insane. I don’t think her hurting me was really ‘her,’ rather someone people forced her to be. I just was glad she didn’t hate me.

“Why didn’t you come in when Chelsea did then?” She looked at me with confusion.

“She needed to talk to you first. I had to fight myself not to sprint in and hug you.” She looked sincere. I let my fears seep to the excess of my mind. Her response calmed me.

“Come on,” Chelsea said, pulling my hand, “let’s get you up and in some new, cleaner clothes.”

She pulled me out of the seat. I tried walking, half expecting my legs to be wobbly, but, instead, they felt perfect. My whole body did. My eyesight felt sharper along with my whole body. I bounced on my feet, energy surging through me.

“Come on,” she said, not looking back. “We have to get you home.”

We left the blood bank without much fuss. I gave a slightly awkward goodbye to Jasmine, the concierge, and followed the two back to the car waiting for us. It wasn’t long before we were back home.