Chapter 6

• Quickening through the windy streets, I found myself wishing I hadn't worn something so short--and relatively warmer.
• My apartment wasn't far from Char's, so I could count on making it there soon on foot. The wind blew in my direction once again, whipping my hair into my face. With a scowl, I roughly secured it behind my ear, continuing down the quiet trail and over to an alley.
• The lights seemed to go off with each building I walked past, indicating the people in there were retiring for the night. I suddenly felt alone.
• The heels of my pumps smacked against the hard concrete in quick successions, producing eerily loud clicking noises. Pinpricks of gooseflesh rose up my arms as the night air grew chilly.
• I tried to mute out my thoughts as I turned into the rear of another apartment complex. A highschool was up ahead. If I could just cut across it, I'll be home in no time.
• I hoped mum was asleep, w--
• Something sounded behind me.
• Spinning around, my eyes flew across the narrow space. I noticed a dumpster had been overturned. Once I saw a black cat step out from it, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Its yellow eyes shining brightly, it meowed at me and I took that as my cue to turn back around.
• And once I did, I saw it.
• At the end of the alley stood a shadow. Still, frozen, and staring right back at me.
• I blinked and it was gone, but a new presence slowly took camp in the pit of my stomach. Fear.
• Feeling faint, I quickly dug into my clutch and retrieved my phone, then I checked the time.
• 10:02pm.
• Blood rushed to my ears and I made a snap decision. Heart racing, I reached down with trembling fingers and took off my shoes. Straightening, I gripped them tighter, and then made a run for it.
• A burst of noise went off around me. Terror heightened my senses, making me painfully aware of the tiniest sounds, the closing of a door, the flick of a switch, the hoot of an owl. They all merged together to form a horrifying din.
• My breaths tore out of me in frantic puffs as I pounded down the street. The open avenue beyond the alley teased me, the highschool across it beckoning me.
• Just as I got to the open road, I felt something whizz over my head. It landed before my feet, prompting me to a sharp halt. I looked down, and felt my heart stop.
• The black cat that'd stepped out of the trashcan.
• But now it was dead, a bloody hole gaping in its chest. I could only guess what had been taken out.
• Was this a mimic of what was going to be done to me?
• Chills zipped down my spine and slowly, I backed away from the dead cat, unable to take my eyes off it.
• The rouges... They were playing with me, like a cat would with a mouse.
• Right before it ate it.
• Standing in the middle of the empty road, I lifted a trembling hand to my necklace, feeling an unexplainable urge to cry. I steeled myself. In the past, I'd always taken comfort in crying, opting to breakdown rather than face what was breaking me, w--
• My hand instantly dropped when something moved to the right. Whipping around, I made out a thin figure at a distance, leaning against a lamppost. It stayed hidden in the shadows, but the white light shinning down illuminated parts of the figure's body.
• With each detail of him I made out, my stomach sank lower. A whisper of a breath rattled out of me, my legs threatening to give out from beneath me.
• The light revealed a pale, skeletal hand, drained of blood, a pair of bony shoulders and a wide, malnourished chest the tattered remains of a shirt dangled from.
• I caught movement at the side of my eye again and I swerved to that direction, seeing another figure up against a lamppost. Danger and dark malice radiated off it.
• The only thing different from this rogue was, rather than stay hidden in the shadows casted by the light, he was fully immersed in it. His hollow eye sockets stood out in his oddly shaped skull, his lips thin and bloodless. The vampire's angry, bloodshot eyes regarded me for a split second, before he lurched forward with a violent hiss.
• I let out a cry, stumbling away in horror. I blindly ran towards the opposite direction, unseeing, hot pricks of tears starting to burn the corners of my eyes despite myself.
• I knew vampires could teleport. They could easily trace to where I was and sink their fangs into my neck, drinking me dry.
• The fact they hadn't yet made me increasingly aware they were having their fun, enjoying the thrill of the chase. This brought on a sharp feeling of dread and helplessness. I was a dead man walking. Running.
• But I didn't dare stop.
• Panting, I skidded into a dark passage, my bare legs burning with the effort it took to run under the tunnelly area.
• The mouth of the cave opened into a deserted service trail. Further down the road, thick woods became visible.
• Shooting a frightened glance behind me, I continued forward, my erratic breaths loud in my ears.
• Birds went squawking into the night as I came barrelling forward. Leaves slapped against me as I ran a disordered path through the forest.
• A low hanging branch tore at my arm and I released a sharp cry, my legs catching on a mound. I went tumbling down with a screech. Rolling down the rough terrain, my body tore through creeping vegetation to burst into a deserted clearing.
• Quickly I scrambled up to my feet, my breaths rushing out of me.
• With what little strength I had left, I crossed a belt of water. Looking down, I saw my reflection. My dress had several cuts in it, so did my arms. My hair was wild, leaves, twigs and heaven knows what tangled in it.
• And my eyes were wild with horror. For a moment, I was transported back to the bizarre night four years ago.
• I had narrowly escaped that night, and a part of me knew then that I had cheated fate. It had come to take its due now.
• It had come to take me.
• And I would let it.
• Robert wouldn't find me now. I could stop running, from my past: from what I had done.
• The leaves rustled behind me, and I slowly turned to it, waiting.
• The rogues came out of the path I'd fallen through, their claws extending. Their eyes were black with bloodlust. One tilted his head at me, surprised I wasn't running.
• I swallowed, choking back my fear. If I survived this day, I'd never forget the finality I felt in this moment. The knowledge that I was taking my final breaths, thinking my final thoughts...
• It terrified me. Trembling, I planted my feet on the ground, breathing past the tightness in my throat, past the alarms going off in my head: shouting at me to run. I stood there, blood rushing to my ears, my breaths tearing out of me in rapid successions while my face heated with rigid tension.
• Any moment now.
• As if on cue, a rogue leapt forward with a bone-chilling hiss, his fangs bared.
• Just when I made to shut my eyes, something odd happened.
• A towering man appeared behind the rogue and grabbed him by the scuff of his neck. His face expressionless, he snapped, severing the rogue's head from his thin body.
• Before the other one traced away, the man was on him. The rogue put up a good fight, but the man was quick on his feet, ruthless and as deadly as the dagger he sharply withdrew from his side and aimed at the rogue who was now quickly limping away.
• The dagger dug into the back of his skull and he let out a guttural yell, falling to his knees.
• His back to me, the man strode to the fallen vampire and calmly withdrew the dagger from his cracked skull.
• Sliding it into the little sheath at his side, he stood there for a moment. Then he turned around, and I saw who it was.