Behind These Troubled Eyes ((Chapters 1,2,3, 4)) [CONTINUED]

Behind These Troubled Eyes
By: Brittany Dulin


Chapter 1

Visions



I walked into our cabin; I inhaled the sweet lavender smell of our little home. I stood in the door way as the wind blew the sweet essence around me. I opened my eyes and looked around the tiny kitchen. The wooden floor had suds of soap all over the place, I figured Sam had tried to help with the dishes. I chuckled. My mother was washing the dishes and she smiled up at me. My mother was insanely gorgeous; her fluorescent, red hair was up in a pony tail. I was glad that I had gotten my red hair from my mother, mine was much longer of course, I couldn’t stand short hair, my hair was grown out to past my lower back. I always wore my hair down; I liked to watch it swing behind me as I ran or danced. My mothers green eyes sparkled at me, they always seemed to have that sparkle in her eyes, and I loved it. I hadn’t got her green eyes; I had my father’s dark blue eyes. My father had died a few years ago, mother had never told me how he had died, but I’m sure it was best I didn’t know or she would’ve told me. “Have a good walk Alexandra dear?” she asked cheerfully as I sat at the table. My mom was always so perky, it sometimes got annoying. This was one of those times because I had a horrible headache; it had come suddenly as I was walking. The shock of it hurt even worse. My temples were pulsating so fast and hard that it felt as if my head was going to explode, I rubbed them with two fingers and closed my eyes. “It was fine mother.” I replied to her.
She looked at me when she noticed me rubbing my temples. “Are you okay darling?” She asked me, the concern filled her voice and I could see her face in my head, filled with concern.
“I’m fine; I’m just going to go to bed.”
“Are you ill?”
I opened my eyes and smiled at her. “No mother, just a headache, I will be fine after a nice nap.” I wasn’t really tired but I didn’t want to look at my mothers face so concerned and I wanted her to believe that I was okay, even though the headache was getting worse. She nodded and turned back to wash another plate. I sighed and walked to my bedroom, still rubbing my temple. I touched the door handle and went to turn it when I felt something tugging at my shirt, I looked down to see my young brother Sam. He smiled his cutest smile and his dark blue eyes sparkled just as my mom does. I smiled back. “Hey kiddo! What’s up?” I asked him as I ran my fingers through his brown hair, my father’s hair.
“You should’ve been here Alex! Toni came by today and he tried to climb through my window and got stuck!” he told me excitedly, “Then when we couldn’t get him out, we had to call the fire department and they had to rub butter all over him and some other slippery stuff! It was so funny, Alex!”
“Sounds like it Sam.”
“You have no idea.”
“Well I’m going to go to bed; you can tell me more when I get up, okay?”
“Promise?” He demanded.
“I swear.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
“Bring on the chains.” I smiled at him and he laughed.
I watched him as he ran off towards the kitchen. I sighed and opened my door. I walked over to the side of my bed and turned on the lamp. The light hit my eyes and the headache ripped through my head. I bit my lip to stop from screaming in agony, tasting the blood from my lips. I grabbed my head as the pain got worse, the agony of it made me feel as if I were dying, perhaps I was dying. It hurt so badly. What was happening to me? It felt as if my brain had just split in half. I fell onto my bed and drifted away into unconsciousness; Sam was crying, I wanted to reach out to my little brother and calm him but it was a dream, but yet it felt so real, I heard a scream and turned to the doorway and watched as my mother fell to the ground, blood covering her torso, she was dead and I knew this. I looked away from her. Sam screamed and ran to his room, he locked the door and the angry man banged on the door, he yelled at him. “Open this damn door or I will break it down!” The voice hissed. Sam and I shuddered together at his voice that was as icy as a snake’s hiss. This dream seemed so real to me…I have never had a dream so strong and scary before. I shook it and watched the scene; Sam looked around the room desperately, he found the small window above his bed and ran over to it. He got onto his bed and struggled through the tiny window, He fell out of the window and into the bushes. I looked around at the horrible scene in front of me, the people of the village were running and screaming in horror and some in agony as men on horses ran after them and cutting them, but I hadn’t seen any swords or daggers in their hands. I turned my head as blood splattered against the walls and on the ground, more of my family and friends fell, dead. I looked up and in the sky was a big red X, I wondered what it meant or how it was cast above the village, was it some kind of magic? None of that mattered now, Sam still had a chance, I wanted to tell him to run but I could not speak. Horror washed through me as a horseman rounded the corner to face my brother, whose eyes were wide in fear. The horseman raised his head and a pair of glowing red eyes stared into my brother’s dark blue. I too stared into the horseman’s eyes in fear, his eyes were so cold, even with the color of fire, and this man would not pity the life of my young brother. I managed to take my eyes away from the cold, red eyes to look at Sam. Run Sam! Run! I wanted to yell but I couldn’t speak. There was movement from the corner of my eye, where the horseman was on his horse, I turned my head fiercely to look at him in fear. He walked forward and Sam stepped back, the horseman smiled harshly at my brother’s fear. I wished I could stop this, make myself wake up before I had to watch this evil creature kill my young brother. The horseman was running now, Sam turned to run away but ran into another, stronger, taller horseman. He looked up at the man and the man grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air so that he was looking into the horseman’s cold, red eyes. Sam kicked at him and screamed, the horseman merely laughed in his face and the other horseman laughed with him. Sam fought against the man and punched him in the nose, the horseman growled in anger. . I looked away and heard a sickly snap that was surely my brother’s neck. Horsemen ran through the dirt road and caught the village on fire, the smoke was suffocating me, I couldn’t breath, and it was filling my lungs…
I woke up coughing as the taste of the smoke still stuck into my throat; I sat up and coughed harder. I was sweating…or was I crying? Perhaps both. I grabbed my throat as the violent coughing continued, burning the back of my throat. I looked around and listened for a sound I heard my brothers snore and sighed in relief. It was just a dream. But the smoke was still in my throat…perhaps it was my imagination. I laid back into my bed and wiped the tears and perspiration from my face. They were alive…just a dream…thank god. I closed my eyes again, hoping, praying for a dreamless sleep. A few minutes of laying there and I finally drifted back into unconsciousness, thankfully without dreams of murder and chaos. I awoke again a while later. I sat up, it was quiet…too quiet. I turned over in my bed and planted my feet on the cold floor; I stood up slowly and listened for sound, nothing. I was growing anxious now. I walked forward and took my coat from the rocking chair in the corner of my room; I put the jacket on and walked out of my room. It was dark inside of our little cabin and no sign of sound. Where had they all gone? I walked into the tiny kitchen and looked for a light. I was walking when I almost slipped in a hot liquid. I looked down to see a dark puddle of the liquid on the floor. I light from the sun rising shone through the tiny window above the stove. I looked down and shrieked in horror and threw my hand to my mouth to silence myself so that my scream was merely a loud muffle. I looked down, wide-eyed at my mother’s body, just as I had seen her in my dream. The feeling of Déjà vu washed through me. I ran outside and looked up and down the abandoned and destroyed streets. Bodies of my friends and family lay dead in the streets, the houses were blackened and smoking from the self-extinguished fires, and a cold wind brushed over the village and I shivered not of cold, but of horror. The dream wasn’t a dream. It had all happened; it was real, like…like…a vision? That’s not possible. I can’t have visions, I am a human. I fell to my knees in the street, too shocked to cry. Then I heard them and my heart stopped. I looked up and there stood the man that had killed my brother in my…vision…his cold, red eyes stared into mine, a slight humor in them. I felt an odd rush of rage wash through me but my legs were rational enough to stay beneath me as I fought the impulse to lunge at him and bite at his throat. Bite at his throat? That was strange.
He laughed and in a flash second he was gone. I stared into the spot where the horseman had once stood not just seconds ago. So many different emotions and thoughts ran through me as I tried to take in all that had happened here today. I was lost on where to go or what to do now. I was alone; everyone I had ever loved now lay dead in the streets. I was mourning the loss of my family and friends. I was miserable, broken, everything…gone and I knew this was going to happen…I had already foresaw it…I could’ve stopped it, somehow. But the fact that I had seen this before it had happened confused me, how was this possible? I had had a…vision. Was that normal? I never thought it was actually possible but I knew that it wasn’t just a normal dream, I didn’t even sleep, I wasn’t tired when I had fallen into my vision, was it always going to be like that? The headache before I had fallen into the vision was horrible; I hope it wasn’t going to be like that. I shuddered as I remembered the mind splitting pain that had led into the horrifying vision. I stood up and looked at my feet; I couldn’t bear to look up. I walked forward, not sure of where I was going to go but I couldn’t stand being her, not another second of it, I broke into a run. I ran and ran, not paying attention to where I was going. Flashes of trees sped by as I ran by them. I tripped over a root in the ground and fell forward. I hadn’t realized it, but tears were rushing down my cheeks and I was hyperventilating. I sat up and held my knee that I had scraped on the ground. I heard a twig snap from behind me. I jumped up and looked into the trees. A man walked out from the woods and looked at me. His eyes were red, like the horseman’s; I felt a sudden rage rise from inside of me. He stared at me for a moment and then snarled. Without realizing what I was doing I jumped at him and growled. I landed on his back and put my teeth to his throat, he grabbed me and flipped me over his shoulder, I hit the ground hard and growled. He kicked at my ribs. I grabbed his leg and twisted it, I heard a sickening snap and he fell to the ground screaming in agony. I stood up and looked down at him. “Where is your leader headed?” I asked him in a harsh tone.
“I will never tell you, you *Swearing is not allowed, edit your post and this will go away*!” He screamed. I snarled at him and put my foot on his throat with all my weight and he cried out again.
“Tell me.” I loosened up on his neck to allow him to speak.
“He is heading west into the next town.”
“Good.” I helped him up and turned to walk away.
“You will not get out alive.” He told me threateningly. Losing control over myself, I lunged at him and bit his throat. He fell to the ground, dead. I stared at him when I heard a gasp behind me. I turned and a woman was looking at me in horror. I wiped the blood from my mouth and turned toward her.
“You monster!” She screamed. I snarled at her and she cringed. “You are a creature of the devil, you are.” She held up a cross to me and I tilted my head in curiosity. She was surprised when I just walked closer. She screamed and threw it at me, it hit my face and I growled. I grabbed her throat and held her up. She spit in my face and kicked at me, scratching at my hands. I was getting annoyed and she was of no value to me so I snapped her throat and threw her to the side. I walked forward towards the next town, rage taking over my mind. The crickets were chirping loudly and the wind was wild, my mind was blank and my eyes were filled with rage, vengeance was taking over my heart. The horsemen will pay and anybody who got in my way would suffer the same fate. Nothing was going to stop me from getting my revenge.

Chapter 2

Rage



I finally came to the light at the end of the trees. There were voices in the beyond them, they sounded curious and intrigued. I walked out of the trees and into the town, they were all looking up, I looked up as well to see what had caught their interest. What I saw bewildered even me; I had seen this sign before. I shuddered as I remembered the scene that had taken place under this very same sign. This meant that they were coming, to do to this small town what they had done to my village. I snarled as I heard hooves in the distance. I turned towards the sound and the townspeople turned in the same direction with the exception of a few of them eyeing me curiously. I avoided the curious eyes and waited for the horseman that were surely drawing closer. My fist clenched and my body tensed as the first horseman came into sight. He was the leader, the one who had killed Sam. He was going to suffer the same fate and I meant true suffering. I took a step forward and the townspeople all looked at me, again I avoided their stares and kept my eyes on the horseman that were drawing closer, I could see all of them now, their red eyes glowing beneath their purple cloaks, the smell of decay surrounding them, their long, skinny hands holding on tight to their skeletal horse’s reins. I clenched my teeth and my fists tightened where they were almost bleeding beneath my sharp nails as I stood in the horsemen’s path. The townspeople stood behind me, their eyes flashing to me to the horsemen, wide with curiosity and fear. The horseman stopped in front of me, as did the others behind him, I felt the townspeople cringe away from them. I was shaking, but not from fear, from rage, I wanted nothing more than to rip all of their heads off, to watch them bleed, to hear them scream in pain, to watch them die. Finally the leader spoke in his raspy, cold voice; “Why do you stand in my way girl?”
I didn’t speak, just stared into his cold, red eyes in rage. My silence angered him. “I have spared your life once girl, I will not do that again, I advise you leave now!” He hissed.
Finally, I spoke. “I will not leave until you are dead.” I was surprised by the harsh tone of my voice. It was almost as cold as the horseman’s own voice. The horseman was also surprised by the hatred and rage that filled my voice, as well as my eyes. He studied me for a while; I could swear that I felt a twinge of fear in his red eyes. Fear….of me? Why would a strong creature such as this horseman have fear of me?
“Ah. So this is about revenge for your village?” The horseman asked in an amused voice, interrupting my thoughts.
“Yes.” I replied plainly.
“Hmm. Interesting. You are willing to die for the death of your village, for revenge?”
“I am willing to take the chance of dying for revenge, but I will take you and whoever else I can with me.” I told him, the townspeople stepped back away from me in fear. The horseman smiled at them and looked back at me.
“You are scaring the humans.” He said; his voice still amused. I stared at him curiously. Was he not human? Why didn’t he count me as a human? How was I scaring them? I had almost forgotten they were behind me, I hadn’t heard their breathing because they seemed to be holding their breath. I turned around to look at them and they cringed away from me. I tilted my head to the side and stared at them confused. Did they not understand that I was saving their lives? If only I could make them think I was a hero, who could kill these guys so that they will stay out of my way. As if they had read my thoughts, they smiled at me and stepped to the side. That was strange but it worked. I turned back to the horseman and the townspeople cheered. I turned my head to look at them and couldn’t help but smile. I didn’t understand why they had changed all of the sudden but at least they were no longer in my way.
“They don’t look too scared.” I told him smugly. He looked at the townspeople in bewilderment.
“How did you do that vamp?” He asked me. Did he just call me a vamp? As in vampire? Was he insane? I am a human. I know I am. But what would make him think that I was a vampire? I had read about vampires and the elders of the village had told me stories about them and I knew that you had to be bitten to become a vampire, unless you were born from a vampire and I knew my mother and father was not vampires. At least I didn’t think they were. I shook the thought from my head. No that’s not possible, this guy was insane, I was a human. I scowled at him.
“I am a human.” I told him, trying to convince myself more than I was him. I had to be a human, I am, and I know I am. I am normal, I have to be. I watched as his expression turned to confusion.
“Then why do you smell of a vampire?” He asked me as if questioning my sanity. I smelled like a vampire? Had one been close to me? I hadn’t thought that I had been around any vampires. I suddenly remembered the woman from in the woods, she had called me a monster, a creature of the devil; that was what the Christians in the village had called vampires…Was it possible that I was a vampire? Is that why I so badly wanted to bite at peoples throats? Why the blood had tasted so good, the smell of it intoxicated me? Could I be a vampire? But how was that possible? I had not been bitten. Perhaps my mother and father were vampires. Then why hadn’t they told me? Did mother not think that I would want to know that I was a monster? I shook it from my head. None of that mattered now; the man who had killed my brother was standing in front of me. The curiosity that had come over me was again replaced by the rage.
“It doesn’t matter what I am, its time for you to die horseman.”
“I have no desire to fight you vamp.”
“But I do have a desire to fight you.”
“It is your funeral vamp.” He looked back at one of his horseman and the horseman got off of his horse, he stepped forward and looked me in the eyes. I tensed up and looked back at him. We stood there staring for a while before he pointed a finger at me. I tilted my head in curiosity. Why was he pointing at me? Before I could react a purple beam came at me and hit my chest. I screamed as a piercing pain went through my body. The pain was horrible. I dropped to my knees and my breathing became huffs. I could feel my insides burn and tear. This was it. I had come this far for nothing. I was not going to avenge my village’s death but only join them in the life after death. Memories of Sam, running and laughing as we ran through the village flashed through my mind. His eyes sparkled in enjoyment, how that boy loved to run, but he would never get to run again. All because of these monsters; who I was now appearing weak to, as I screamed and wreathed on the ground. Then another memory took over my mind, my mother, smiling as always as I helped her cook. I cut a carrot into the boiling water and it landed with a plop in the water, splashing small droplets of water over me and my mother. “Sorry, Mom, sorry.” I apologized repeatedly but she just simply smiled at me, then she started to laugh her graceful laugh, it was as if she was singing, like bells chiming. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, never again will I get to hear my mothers beautiful laugh or have the comfort of her bright smile. The memory of my beautiful village and all of my friends waving at me as I walked down the streets, me and my friends on the ground laughing as we pointed shapes out in the sky. My best friend blushed as we laughed after she had pointed out a cloud that she deciphered as Mr. Peanut. More tears flowed out of my eyes, along with it laughter about how weak I was and how intimidating I thought I was before. The anger returned to me in an instant I was not going to be made a mockery of. I will avenge my family and my friends and if I did die today, I would do it with pride. I ignored the searing pain and stood up, though my knees were shaky and my body screamed in protest. But I must stand, I must fight. I looked at the man that had sent this attack at me, stared into his red irises. I wanted him to be in pain, worse pain, feel the pain of my fellow villagers. I stared at him more intensely and to my, and everyone’s surprise he started to scream in ear-splitting agony. He fell to the ground where he wreathed on the ground. I kept my eyes on him, my shock turning to satisfaction; he was getting what he deserved. More, I wanted him to be in worse pain, to feel the pain of all his victims times by ten. As if my thoughts were controlling this attack his scream grew louder, his eyes popped open, blood shot, real pain, horror was in his eyes. Was it me doing this to him? He was looking directly at me, this caught me off guard and I stared back. The wreathing stopped and laid there motionless. Was he dead? I took a step closer and the other horseman backed away. I looked up at them and none of them met my eyes but I could feel the fear radiate from them. Did they think it was me that had caused this? The invisible pain that had tortured this man? They all looked at him, also to see if he was dead, I too turned my attention back to him. His chest was moving, he was alive, and I was surprised by how much this enraged me so I jumped when the sharp rage ran through me. I wanted him dead, forever gone like my village. I stared at him wanting his death, needing it. As I thought this his eyes popped open and he let out one, loud, agonizing scream. His torso raised, arching his back, then he fell back down to the ground. His tense body, went limp, I no longer heard the thud of his heart or the fast breathing, or any breathing. He was dead. I looked up at the horseman challengingly, challenging one of them to come forward, I was ready for them. But to my surprise they were on their horses. They were fleeing? They weren’t going to fight me? Why not? I opened my mouth to yell at them but in a blink of an eye they were gone. I growled in frustration. I heard whispers behind me and I turned to look at my audience. Their faces were filled with fear, some were crying, some were even angry, some was holding sharp objects in their hands, some had guns; they looked to me like an angry mob. Then a light bulb came on in my head, they were an angry mob. But they weren’t staring at the horseman, they were staring at me.
“What the hell are you?!” One shouted angrily.
“Please don’t kill us!” Another cried.
“Get away from here you monster.” A man yelled from the front. This ripped at my insides. Monster? I hated the word. My hurt was replaced by the familiar rage. I growled at him and the mob cringed back. I lifted an eyebrow. Did they not understand that I had just saved their lives, that I was not the bad person here? They could not prove what had happen to the horseman been me. It wasn’t me….Was it? Not even I was sure. I felt something hit my shoulder but it did not bother me. I looked down to see a large rock. They stared at the rock then looked back up at me in astonishment. I stared back at them dumbfounded, shouldn’t I have been hurt by that. My look must’ve been a mistake for they tensed again and the astonishment faded back into anger and fear. They ran at me now, gun pointed at my head and the sharp objects also aimed in my direction. A gun shot went off and it hit my shoulder, many others came at me before I had time to react. It was really starting to irritate me. I ran forward and snatched the lead man’s gun. I bent the barrel up and he shot in shock, the bullet went straight up in the air and then fell back down inches from us. “I’m warning you now to stop.” I told him through my teeth. He stared at me in bewilderment then in disgust. He spit at me. I grabbed his throat and threw him into a building far from us, making a cloud of smoke at the impact, breaking the wall. The townspeople looked at the direction I had thrown him then back at me in fear, I stared back daringly. But to my surprise three more attacked me. Two grabbed my arms, holding me there as one pointed his gun at my head. “Do it then!” I yelled at him. He dropped his gun a little and stared at me.
“I will do it!” He threatened.
“Then why aren’t you shooting?” I yelled back at him.
“Come on! Shoot it Wade!” The one holding my right arm yelled. Wade hesitated but put the gun back to my head and put his finger on the trigger he slowly pulled it back. I growled and then threw the two off my arms and lunged at Wade. He dropped his gun as I tackled him to the ground. I heard a thump in his throat, it seemed like a target. I bit into it then and the taste hit my throat, it was beyond describable. It was so rich and warm. A new kind of deliciousness, the taste of it mad fireworks go off from inside me. I pulled away as I heard cries and gasps behind me. Suddenly they all were attacking me, I snarled and tried to fight them all back, the sharp objects ripped at my clothes but I barely felt a thing. I punched a man in the face and heard a crunch that I knew was his skull. I didn’t have time to be bewildered that my fist had cracked his skull for more humans were joining in the fight against me. I threw more off of me and they flew far away from me. I grabbed two men with guns by the throat and dug my nails into them; the blood spilled from their necks and gushed out onto my hands, running down my arms. The smell of it was so mouth-watering it was hard to resist. I dropped them and liked the blood from my hand. There were sounds of disgust around me; so much fewer than there was in the beginning. Their lives meant nothing to me, I wanted this over with, they were wasting my time. I snapped the necks of one group on my left. Then more charged at me; I barred my teeth and crouched, waiting for the attacks. They stepped back, all but one, I know to the humans he must’ve been big and strong, the strongest and the bravest. Just what I needed a bit more of a challenge, but really no challenge at all. I smirked at him. His face stayed hard and cold as he stared at me, but I could feel fear coming from him. All an act for the hopeful townspeople; they expected him to be the one to stop me, to kill me? I fought back the laughter as I stared at the on person act in front of me. This man was so intimidating to them; to me he was a scared little child, although he was so much older than me. I showed no fear for this man and I wondered how such a man could give these people hope. It was incredible what they thought was strength. I had to hand it to him; he was brave to step out like this while others held back and only came at me in groups. I straightened out of me crouch when he did not attack. I eyed him curiously. “What are you waiting for?” I asked him.
“I am not going to fight so foolishly.” He replied. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms at my chest.
“Oh, really? So you will let me go now in peace?”
He scowled at me.
“No monster I will not, I am here to slay you.”
“Slay me?” I chuckled once.
“I am a vampire slayer.” He announced.
This got me. I threw my head back and laughed out loud. I watched as he frowned at me.
“What’s so damn funny vamp?”
“A vampire slayer?”
“Yes.”
I laughed again. “And what makes you think you can slay me?”
“Its my job.”
“And how many vampires have you slain?”
His frown deepened and he didn’t answer. I knew the answer and laughed again. The people behind him hopes were gone; they no longer felt protected.
“I will be proud to make you my first!”
“Ah. Will you now? Then let’s go ‘slayer’.” I laughed again and lowered into a crouch. He took out a stake and a cross. I shook my head and chuckled. “That isn’t going to work.”

well as far as creativiy and raw talent goes you have it
hey you know that frank guy the one that was going to publish you the one from:
http://houseofnight.niceboard.org/forum.htm did he ever get back to you

*frowns* Nope he dropped me. Because I'm not taking it seriously and I wont stop being a teenager and be a writer.

He scowled but still charged at me with the stake. I moved quickly and flew right by me, coming to a halt and turning to look at me, dumbfounded. I smirked at him. He snarled and launched himself at me again. I grabbed his arm and twisted it; he screamed out in agony. I kicked his back and I heard a bone snap, the townspeople flinched, he fell to the ground away from me. He held his broken arm as he stood up. “Damn you!” He snapped at me. I simply laughed. He ran at me again. I had to hand it to him, he had guts and he was too proud to lie down and let me kill him, he was truly going to fight. He hit me in the chest with the stake. He looked at me wide-eyed as I simply stared at it as it broke in his hands. “Impossible.” He murmured. He looked up at me and I smiled. I grabbed his head and twisted it. His head came out in my hands. The townspeople screamed. I turned to look at them as they ran away from me. I smirked. Pathetic. Then it finally hit me as I stared at most of the town, dead, around me. What had I done? I was a murdered. I had killed them, for no reason, I was worse than the horseman. This was no different from what they had done to my village. I fell to me knees and cried. I was a monster, just as they had said. A murderer. Murderer. Murderer. Murderer. I repeated as I scorned myself for my mistake. Then they changed into a different line. Monster. Monster. Monster. And I was, I was a monster, I had murdered innocent people, their blood covered my hands. I stared down at the hot, red liquid on my hands and shirt. What had I done? Then I heard footsteps behind me. I was on my feet and I turned quickly and I got into a defensive crouch. It was an old woman. She stared down at me with kind eyes, as if she had not seen me murder hundreds of people. I looked up at her with tears still streaming down my face.



Chapter 3

Madam Mehilda



You need to come with me Alexandra.” Her voice was calm and nurturing. I stared at her confused. I studied her appearance, her face appeared so young and beautiful but her silvery hair that flowed down to the back of her knees showed that she was an elder; her wise eyes stared back at me, they were very beautiful and golden. I shook it from my head and stood up. “How do you know my name?” I asked, demanding a straight answer.
“I saw you coming.” She answered me with a smile of assurance. My eyes widened. Did she also see the future? Yes. A voice answered my thought. It was the old woman’s voice. How did she do that, she studied my expression and her smile widened. She could see visions just like me. Could I also say things mentally? I had to try. You can here my thoughts?
“Yes. And you can hear mine.”
“I can?”
“Yes, or you would not have heard my answer.”
“How is this possible?”
“Come with me Alexandra, to my cabin and I will tell you what all I know about you.”
“How do you know anything about me?” I asked, stepping back. She raised her bony finger to her head, “Oh.” I nodded in understanding. “Who are you?”
Mehilda Grey. Came her mental reply.
“Mehilda?” I asked for confirmation.
“You will address me as Madam Mehilda.”
“Yes, Madam Mehilda, as long as you do not call me Alexandra.”
“What would you prefer I called you?”
“Alex would be nice.”
“Alex is so informal; I would rather call you by the name you were given at birth. Besides Alexandra is a beautiful name.”
I sighed. “Fine.”
“We should go now Alexandra.” She turned and walked back into the darkness of the trees. I stared at the spot in the trees for a moment and hesitated before I walked forward. I followed her into the woods and we walked in silence through the woods. We weren’t walking far; I already saw the light that led out of the dark woods. We finally walked though the trees and I froze where I stood and looked at the beautiful place in front of me. There was a large tree mad up of light pink pedals with blue humming birds fluttering around it. A garden of vegetables and flowers was on the other side of the beautiful tree. A big blue pond was in front of it all and in the middle of the pond a cabin was standing on pillars that came up from the pond, holding it high above the pond, a bridge extended from the porch of the cabin to the bank of the pond. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen, it was like a fairy tale. I felt Madam Mehilda’s eyes on me and I looked over at her. “You have a beautiful home Madam Mehilda.”
“Thank you child. Shall we go inside and talk?” I nodded and followed her up the bridge and into the beautiful home. I took in my surroundings in the homey cabin. It smelled so floral, like lavender. The old-fashioned, white curtains over the windows of the cabin had blue flowers on them. The couch matched the curtains perfectly. The kitchen table sat in the middle of the room and I took a seat in the blue, wooden chair. Madam Mehilda walked over and sat in the chair across the table from me. “Would you like anything dear?” she offered.
“No thank you Madam.” I looked around again then looked back at Madam Mehilda. “How do you know so much about me?” I asked her first.
“I have had many visions about you and the spirits have told me so much about you as well.”
I looked at her bewildered. “Spirits?”
“Yes.”
“What did they say, exactly?”
“I don’t think you are ready for the truth just yet dear.” She folded her hands into her lap and stared into my eyes, I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was not going to tell me but I was not giving up that easy.
“I want to know.”
“No Alexandra.”
“Why the hell not?” I snapped at her, the rage building up inside of me. “If it is about me, I want to know right now!”
“I will not tell you until you are ready.”
“What the hell does that mean? Tell me!”
“No.” She refused calmly with her eyes closed. I growled and stood up, throwing her chair to the ground.
“Tell me!” I demanded again.
“Sit down Alexandra.” She commanded me, again in her calm voice. Her calm attitude was only making my anger increase.
“Don’t tell me what to do, old woman!”
“Alexandra-“
“Alex.” I corrected her.
She sighed and opened her eyes. “Alexandra. I will tell you in time but right now there are more important issues for us to discuss. You have no doubt discovered that you are not ordinary. A vampire. I knew your father quite well, the best vampire, the kindest, anyone has ever met. Of course he was the strongest and the wisest as well. There were vampires who did not like your father, his superiority to them, made them bitter. In response they all gathered together and made a clan that would put your father down. But your father was not so easily fooled,” I listened to her story and began to find interest, my father, the vampire. I sat back down in my chair and waited for the old lady to continue. As I took my seat she smiled. Then she dove back into her story, “he found out about the clan and their plan to destroy him; he acted quickly. Your father was a great man, never quite believed in violence.” She smiled blissfully. I cleared my throat to indicate that she should continue. “Oh right. So his mind was only on protecting his village and to protect your mother and his first daughter,” She smiled at me and I couldn’t help but to smile back. Then it faded as I thought about it.
“What did he do to protect us?”
Her smile faded as well. “He sent them a message with a nomad. The nomad gave them the note that was strictly telling them how it was going to go. They were given simple rules. One, they didn’t touch any of his village’s people. Two, they never enter his village again. Three, the violence ends with him. He told them to meet him in a clearing between where they camped and the village, there he would be waiting…alone.”
I gasped. “Why would he go alone? If the village would have gone to help him he would’ve…” I cut off. “Did he win?”
She closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. “He did not. There was many of them, he expected as much. But he did go down with pride, my dear, that’s all you could ask of him, he fought for your village and boy did he fight. Let me tell you this dear Alex, one vampire who can stand up against 200 and die with only 29 standing, is quite a man.”
I looked at her in awe. “Only 27, that’s unreal.”
“No it is very real and very true.”
Another thought came to me. If my father was a vampire and my mother a human, then would make me half and half or was I full vampire? I never thought this was where my life would end up; a few years ago I and Sam would be sitting in his bed reading book about vampires. Oh Sam….I thought grimly as his mental picture faded away. I had almost forgotten my journey for revenge. She was holding me hostage, away from it.
“Is something the matter Alexandra?” Mehilda asked, interrupting my thoughts.
I ignored her use of my full name. “What am I then?” I asked her.
She nodded as if she knew I was going to ask that. Then I remembered that she could hear my thoughts. Why couldn’t I hear hers at the moment? I knew I could read minds but why wasn’t I now? I knew she heard my mental question but she answered my first one. “You are a vampire as I told you before.”
“But my mom’s a human.” I pointed out. To my surprise, she shook her head in disagreement.
“Your mother was half a vampire.”
I stared at her. “That’s impossible.”
“No Alexandra, nothing is impossible.”
I continued to stare at her. I couldn’t believe her; all this time…my mother would’ve told me. I thought back to see if had ever came up. Then I did remember. I was in the kitchen, it was the anniversary of my dad’s death and I could tell something was wrong with her. I had watched her as she paced the kitchen. Finally I had broken the silence. “Mother, what’s wrong?” I asked her in concern; she looked at me and bit her lip. “Alexandra I am…different.” She had said slowly. I had just stared at her and of course I got the wrong idea. “Mom, everyone changes after losing someone.” She stared at me as if I had missed something important, and then she looked as if she had been debating something, now I knew that she had been trying to tell me that she was half-vampire, that she was different. But instead she just smiled. “Yes hon. You’re right. It is hard to be the same way after losing a loved one. But you are strong, stay that way Alexandra. Don’t let anything change who you are, not even if something happened to me. Promise me that Alexandra.” I had promised her. She kissed my head then walked outside with the laundry. I thought of her words, and felt a twinge of guilt. I had let it changed me; it changed me into a monster. After promising my mother that I wouldn’t, I broke that promise, I had forgotten that promise. How would my mother look at me now? Would she be disappointed? Afraid? Hurt? Or would she understand and hold me and tell me that it was all going to be okay? I felt a tear roll down my face and I turned away from the old woman.
“You’re mother loved you very much Alexandra. She would love you no matter what.” She told me in a nurturing voice. I looked at her.
“I’m a monster, all those people…” My voice broke and I just looked at my feet. Mehilda walked over and put an arm around me comfortingly.
“It was beyond your control, child. It was your instinct.” She spoke soothingly.
“What can I do to make it stop?” I asked her, while tears fell from my pale cheeks.
I felt like a child again. Like I did when I had a high fever and I would cry to my mother as she held me. Madam Mehilda was so motherly, for a moment I did feel like I was in my mothers arms again as Madam Mehilda comforted me. I looked at the woman and she smiled at me.
“I will help you. Then I will tell you all about what I know, first I will need to get you under more control. Can you agree to that?”
I looked at her considering. I wanted to know what she knew about me, what my mother had failed to tell me. I also wanted to learn to control myself; I didn’t want to kill any more innocent people. I had one goal, and that was to kill the horsemen that had killed all the ones I love and I would not stop until they were all dead. I clenched my fist at the thought. I nodded. “Yes I can.”
She smiled, her ageless face brightening. “Good. We shall start in the morning, for now, you must rest.”
I smiled back. “I am very tired.”
She gave me mental directions to the guest room. I nodded and walked down the hall, last door, on the right. I turned the crystalline doorknob and walked into the room. I took a deep breath of the sweet air, and felt a tear roll down my cheeks again as the familiar scent of lavender hit my face; it felt like home.
I smiled and took in my surroundings. The walls of the cabin had beautiful artwork of flowers, mountains, and one of a very beautiful girl. I walked over to the picture of the girl. Her elegant, long, brown hair waved perfectly down her shoulders and past her breast. Her smile was warm and kind. Her eyes matched the kindness of her smile, they were beautiful and golden. Recognition hit me as I stared into the portraits eyes and I knew that I was looking at a younger Mehilda. The perfection of her younger self shocked me, I could not look away form her. I heard footsteps behind me. “That seems so long ago…” Mehilda’s voice said blissfully behind me. I turned to look at her.
“You were very beautiful.”
She nodded. “Yes I was. Its funny how you get older and look at a picture of your younger days and it feels like you are looking at a stranger.”
I stared at her. “I’m sorry Madam Mehilda I didn’t-“
She held her hand up to stop me. “Do not fret dear. It is okay. I do not miss those days much, nor do I miss my beauty.”
I shook my head. “No you are beautiful now Madam.”
She smiled at me. “Thank you child…” She handed me a quilt, “It gets cold in here, I thought you might need this. Now get some sleep.” She looked at the picture with one sad look then walked gracefully from the room. I stared after her. Why had she looked at the picture like that? Was there something more to Madam Mehilda? I looked back at the picture and into her youthful eyes and now that I looked, I swore I saw pain behind the portraits eyes.
I lay down on the oak framed bed and snuggled into the soft, blue sheets. I lay the quilt on the end of the bed until I needed it. My head was filled with the events from today. Trying to block out all of the thoughts of the horsemen, my mother and brothers deaths, the innocent people I killed, and the bloodlust I had felt through it all. Instead I thought about the fear I had seen in the horseman’s eyes. What had it meant? Were they scared of me? Why? I had no clue what I was doing, I was angry and then the guy just died. Had I truly done that? Had I caused him to writhe around like that? Had it really killed him? I stared absently at the mirror across the room. Who was I? I closed my eyes and changed my thoughts to my father. He had been brave and kind and strong, as I had always pictured him. If I was a vampire that is how I would want to be. I wanted to be like my father and I would avenge his, my mother, my brother, and the rest of my village’s lives. With that I fell asleep.

I woke up the next morning to a wonderful smell, a mouth watering smell. I smelled maple and...oh my Jeeze! PANCAKES!! I sat up quickly and in a hurry to get to the sweet smell and taste the wonderful taste, I got out of bed. I ran to the small kitchen where I foun Madam Mehilda in a long white robe, again she reminded me of a goddess. She smiled up at me, her smile seemed to brighten the whole room. No matter her age, she still looked beautiful enough to still be in her youth. "Good Morning Alexandra. How did you sleep dear?" She said perkily, reminding me horribly of my mother.
But I smiled back at her. "Good Morning to you too Madam. I slept very well."
She smiled in approval. "Thats good, I was hoping you would." She sat a large stack of pancakes in front of me and some warm home-made maple syrup. I could've just kissed the old lady! This was the most delicious thing I had ever seen, even if I hadn't taken a bite I already knew it would be delicious. My mouth was watering as I stared at my plate. Her brows scrunched up together. "Are you not hungy dear?"
I shook my head. "No thats not it. It just looks so good!"
She smiled proudly and I smiled back at her. Then my smile faded and so did hers. "Is something wrong Alexandra, dear?"
"I thought vampires only drunk blood? Not ate pancakes."
She suprised me by laughing. "No, no my dear. That is all books and movies written by silly humans. Vampires prefer blood and it does make them stronger but they can eat and drink just like a human. But they do need blood every day, too...to stay alive."
I gulped and looked at my plate. She put her hand on my shoulder. "Its okay...its who you are. Eat."
I nodded and took my first bite and the taste seemed to explode in my mouth, it was so much better than it looked, it was by far the greatest thing I had ever tasted, well...Except for blood. I mentally shook my head, no this is human, you are not a monster.
She just smiled at me as I ate.
I stuffed my face full of the delicious food. I swallowed it down and took a drink of milk. I put the glass down and repeated the moves. Bite, chew, swallow, drink.
I finished up the food and pushed it aside. "Thank you."
She nodded and took the dishes and put them in the sink. "You have a long day ahead of you today Alexandra."
I raised an eyebrow. "I do?"
"Oh yes. Your training starts today."
I frowned. "Training?"
"Exactly. It will help you, being a vampire contains having alot of control, that is what we will be practicing today. Control."
I nodded slowly. I bit my lip then asked. "What about my powers? Will you help me control them?"
She smiled. "That will be much harder and take much longer. No today we only practice controling your bloodlust."
I grimaced.
"Don't you worry dear. It makes you no different than the rest of the vampires, its nothing to be ashamed of." She said comfortingly. She gave me the calming smile and I relaxed.
"Why do I feel like such a monster?" I asked her quietly as I looked down at the table, making shapes out of the pattern in the wood.
She stared at me for a moment as if choosing her words carefully before she spoke. Finally she did in a motherly tone. "It is only how you see yourself, because you are not seeing this as you...but as what other people, who do not know who you truly are, would see you. This is you and this how you are...and that is not a monster...that is simply who you are."
I watched as my own salt tears fell as two drops onto her wooden table. "I don't feel like me..."
"But you are." She put a hand on my shoulder. "And you are a wonderful woman."
I half-smiled. Woman. I didn't feel like a woman right now, I felt like a small child; and looking at this strong, wise old woman in front of me made me feel even smaller. Instantly I felt horrible for how badly I had treated her yesterday, how I had shouted in her face. I shuddered as my own face flashed in my head but it was like looking at a stranger, even I was scared of this face before me. My face. I looked like a monster then, how could she say that was a wonderful woman? How could she say I wasn't monster? I was a monster, that was me. I couldn't see how she saw so much in me, how she had such faith in me, when I couldn't even have faith in myself. I looked up at her and her face suprised me. My face softened as I looked into her glistening eyes. They seemed to stare right at me but they seemed do far away, in a different time. I remembered the picture in my bedroom the same look was in that pictures eyes and now I stared at that same beautiful woman, aged, but still as beautiful. I stared at her for a while then she seemed to remember that I was there. "Oh!" She gasped. "I'm so sorry." She wiped away a tear.
"Are-Are you okay?" I asked her in concern.
She laughed. "Yes. Sorry, you just...you remind me so much of myself when I was your age."
I smiled, although I didn't see how she ever got that.
"Time to start your training."
"How am I going to control my..." I hesitated then gulped. "bloodlust?"
"By helping you resist the wrong kind of blood."
I looked at her cluelessly.
"Human blood." she explained.
"Oh." I said nodding.Then I was confused again. "But I need blood to survive?"
"Yes."
"Okay, you lost me."
She laughed. "Alexandra, there is other kinds of blood."
"Like?"
"Animal blood."
"Oh." I said in understanding. I would feel less like a monster then, its just like when the men in the village went hunting for wolves and bears. "I can do that."
She nodded. "I trust you."
I felt guilty, could she trust me? Could I really be trusted? Would I be able to resist? I didn't want to let her down, I didn't want to fail. I concentrated on hearing her thoughts now. So much like her father. So much like me. She doesn't understand her power yet. If only she knew how extraordinary she was...I can't believe her mother never told her she was a goddess...I gasped and stared at her wide-eyed. "A goddess!?! What do you mean a goddess? I can't be a goddess!"
She stared at me in shock or was it anger? Maybe both? "Alexandra! How dare you read my thoughts!! You were not suppose to know that. You weren't ready!"
"NOT READY! HOW COULD YOU HIDE THIS FROM ME!!"
"Alexandra, please." She said calmly, trying to calm me down.
"NO!" I cried. "YOU AND MY MOTHER BOTH HID THIS FROM ME! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?! I TRUSTED YOU! I TRUSTED HER!"
"You have to under-"
"I DON'T WANT TO UNDERSTAND!" I shouted, interupting her. I was crying now. So many lies. So many things I didn't know about myself.
"Alexandra I was going to tell you when the time was right." She explained.
"My mother should've told me." This made us both look down. We were silent for a long while. I had calmed down and sat back in my seat when she finally spoke in her soothing voice.
"I'm sorry all of this is pouring down on you now, sweetie. I know its tuff and I know how you feel but you have to understand that it is best you didn't know then, you weren't ready."
"I'm not sure I'm ready now.." I mumbled. Who was I kidding? Of course I wasn't. I was only eighteen! I wasn't ready for this, I could lose my life....or I could cause more lives to end. I gulped. What was I going to do? I trust this old woman but can she really help me? Or am I beyond help? I thought how much I enjoyed killing those humans, tasting their blood, watching the horsemen look at me in fear, but most of all (and the scariest part) I enjoyed the power I held and felt inside me. Hell! HELL!! HELL!!! What was I thinking! This is why I needed her help. I shouldn't be thinking this way, do I want to be like the horseman? The thought made me stop short in my rant. Oh. My. Was I really different from them? Had I not slaughtered a whole town for no reason at all? I was a hypocrite. I put my own face, red eyed and covered in blood, next to the horseman's; the resemlance of evil in our eyes scared me. That was me, nobody else, me, a monster. I didn't want to be that way. No I had to do this, I could do this. I looked at Mehilda now. "I'm ready for my training."
She smiled and nodded in approval. We both stood up and she offered her hand to me, I stared at it for a bit then hesitantly took it. She led me back outside and over the bridge, back into the dark forest.

Training

Chapter 4


"You are not concentrating, Alexandra."

I growled as I pushed myself deeper into her mind. "Well its not my fault that your a stronger telepath." I was trying to find her recipe for Berry Cobbler but there was a strong wall that kept me from it. Today was the day that I was to learn to lengthen my venture into anothers mind. "Why are you protecting your Cobbler so?"

She laughed softly. "I happen to be famous for my cobbler, Alexandra. I can't risk a telepath coming by and just taking my special secret recipe."

"Oh, yes, because them finding out that you hide most of your fortune under a floorboard in the living room is so much less important."

She giggled and I swear she sounded like a younge girl. "You are being easily distracted, Alexandra. You can not do that, you must only concentrate on furthering yourself into my thoughts. You must break the wall that gaurds it. You have the potential of a strong telepath, if only you would try harder.

I sighed and closed my eyes again. I found myself again in the colorful mind of my trainer, but as I sped through the halls of her mind doors slammed shut around me. I wondered again what the secrets she was trying so hard to hide from me could be, though she has been very honest with me. Again, I pictured the image hanging above my head in the room I was inhabiting the eyes of that beautiful younge woman who showed her age not in her face but in her eyes. Even as an old picture I could see the knowledge and secrets that they hid away from the world. Those eyes knew and saw more than you would ever believe and I could not keep myself from being curious about what they were hiding and more than anything I wanted to know. Suddenly, distracting me from the goal I was trying to reach before a door could close in her mind I saw my own face looking back at me, only I was a thousand times more beautiful than I really was. Automatically I swirved towards the door, hoping to get there before it closed but when I got only inches from it the door slammed so hastily that I was thrown back from her mind and I fell backwards on to the hold ground. I gasped and looked up at Mehilda with shocked and questioning eyes but she turned her back to me. I gulped back the lump in my throat and guilt filled my heart. I shouldn't have pryed into her mind, I knew that it was wrong to stir away from the lesson's goal. But I had accomplished something, even if it was hard to see as an accomplishment. Mehilda knew something about me, something I didnt even know, and she was hiding it from me. Questions seemed to bounce around the corners of my mind. What was it that she knew about me? Why was it so important to keep it from me? Why was shes keeping it from me? Should I ask her about it?
Would it matter? Would she talk to me about it. Even now as I realized that she was already walking away, I knew that the question was never to be brought up to her. She was leaving in a hurry in to avoid giving an explanation. "Lesson is over for today. Tomorrow we will work on your blood lust."

"Was that not suppose to be today's lesson?"

She sighed at the edge of the trees. "I told you Alexandra that I could not help you with that, that my partner will know more about it than I. Tomorrow will be the day that he can get make it." She sighed again, this time in exhaustion and walked away into the darkness of the trees.

I looked around the clearing and almost wanted to run the other way, to leave this behind. I was wasting so much time by staying here, the horsemen were furthering themselves from me and I would have to make up so much ground. But the fear of how out of control I had gotten before and how I would be again made me follow after her. If I could not control my powers I would have no luck in catching and killing the Leader that killed my family.

I really love this story...keep going!!!

thank you its my favorite. will do.