A Vampire Story

By
E. Patricia Gonzalez
Pain.  All I felt was pain.  Darkness.  It surrounded me.  I didn’t know whether my eyes were
open or closed.  Burning.  Like flames blazing down my throat, up my nose, inside my chest.  It
was like a need for something I didn’t know. A hunger. A thirst.

Finally, the pain started to subside.  But the thirst was still there.  My eyes started to open and I
saw light from in between the trees.  I didn’t recognize the place where I was.  Trees
surrounded me, but it was not silent like I would have thought.  I could hear noises close by,
but, how close?  I could hear cars driving by, but I didn’t see the road.  I heard someone coming.
I could smell it.  I could smell it?! Yes!  There was a sweet scent getting closer, becoming
stronger.  The crunching of the leaves felt as if they were right next to me.  It was almost
deafening.  But, where?  I looked around me, and saw nothing.  The smell, sweet scent was
getting closer.  I slowed down, calmed down, and saw a path close by.  A trail deep in the
woods?

I try to stand up, and was up faster than what I thought I would be capable of.  I thought to
myself “how could this be?  Wasn’t I disabled?”  I checked myself to see if I had any wounds,
broken bones, where did the pain I had come from?  Nothing in what I could see on my body
showed any sign of struggle, but my clothes, my hair, had blood on them, but no wounds.

The scent was so potent, it made my throat burn with thirst.  I sat on the ground, and waited,
but not a second later I saw her walking closer to me.  What kind of perfume is she wearing?  So
sweet and desirable.  I felt so hungry and thirsty.  I turned and saw her closer and closer with
every step, not even noticing my presence in the deeper part of the path.  I felt a monster
inside wanting for her to get closer.  The burning was getting worse and worse, and some sort
of an instinct told me to walk, no, run towards this person I did not know.  This instinct pushed
me to jump in front of her, and then what?  I followed it, but still didn’t understand it.  I wasn't
certain of what I was doing.  I jumped right in front of her and startled her.  There she stood
motionless, looking in to my eyes, as if time and space had stopped.  I could hear her heart beat
though, as if it was beating outside her chest and right in my ear.  It was strong and fast, and
loud, clear, healthy.  I grabbed her arm, and still she did not make a sound, but she did look
terrified.  What did I look like?  Was I a monster?  I brought her closer to me and she turned her
head to one side, still not making a sound, just a quiet weep, as if she was going to cry.
Instinctively I brought her closer.  Still not understanding, I let her face rest on my hand, and
she stood still, like if she was hypnotized, or immobilized by something.  Then, something
inside, the monster, showed me the source of the sweet scent.  I could see the throbbing
motion of the flow of her blood through her neck; the smell was like sweet vanilla, sugar
cookies, honey.  I couldn’t place what it was, but it was so inviting, so engaging, it made my
mouth water, and it came from inside her neck.  How could that be.  The monster told me to
bite, as if I was biting a piece of delicious food.  YUM!

Wait! No! That’s not me, I thought to myself.  It wasn’t me.  I took a step back, releasing the
woman, and started running, as fast and far away as possible.  After a few moments I heard a
scream in the distance.  For how long have I been running?  Not more than a couple of seconds,
but I kept running, and running.  I finally stopped, alone and in the middle of a wooden area.  I
looked around, and there were no paths, no people, no sounds.  Silence.  I waited for heavy
breathing, my heart beat, panting. There was no nothing.  I realized I was not taking a breath,
and as I touched my chest there was nothing there either.  How long have I been standing
here?  Why do I not hear my heart beating?  Where was I?  Suddenly another scent, not as
strong, not as appealing, but my throat was burning again.  What was this feeling?  I turned
around and a little critter came around a bush… no more hunger… no more thirst… at least for
now.

It seemed like I wondered for hours. I kept going through the events that brought me to my
current situation. I didn’t know where I was, where I came from, why was I where I was. I
found a clearing and I sat in the middle of it. It seemed like there was some light coming
through it. It felt good at the beginning, but soon enough my energy started really fast. I
crawled to the shade and darkness of the forest, and little by little my energy came back. I
couldn’t understand what was happening to me. I sat in the shadows of the forest and tried to
think back at what had happened. What had led me to my current state?

I had flashes of a past that seemed like too long ago: I saw me walking alone in the dark. Was I
going home? Around a corner, and ambush. Three men were met me asking for directions.
Their faces were shady, but I started giving them the directions they asked me for. One of them
started walking behind me and sucker-punched me on my side. I dropped to the ground
grunting. Another one of them kicked me right on my face. The memory brought images in my
head of pain and more pain. I could see these men kicking me and punching me on and on.
One of them kneel down to look at me and told his friends that he thought I was “done.” I
could barely see them all kneeling down and felt them rummaging through my clothes. I don’t
think they were looking for money. They got my wallet, took something out of it and dropped it
back on my almost dead body.

I stopped thinking about this flash back and realized that the blood on my clothes were from
the beating from those men. I took my shirt off and it looked very bloody, but I didn’t feel any
pain, I had no cuts or bruises. I kept trying to remember. I remember feeling something
carrying me back somewhere. I couldn’t move. I was letting whomever was carrying me take
me with it. I couldn’t open my eyes. I think I was giving up on life. I wanted the pain I had to
be gone. Then everything went black. The next thing I remembered was waking up with
another pain. A different kind of pain.

Darkness was fast approaching. And I could feel stronger as the sun was setting. Hunger was
also setting in again. My incertitude was growing. I wanted to eat something, but the more I
thought about eating food like a sandwich or a salad, it didn’t settle correctly. I searched my
pockets for something and found a piece of candy in one of them. It reminded me in a way of
the sweet scent I felt earlier, but it didn’t add up in my head. I looked at this piece of candy and
started to unwrap it. I slowly put it in my mouth thinking I might need some sugar in my body,
that’s all. But as soon as it was in my mouth, it tasted like nothing. No sweet taste, no sugary
flavor. What is going on? I looked up and saw it was dark already, but I could see perfectly
around me. What is going on?

A sound was approaching fast around me but I couldn’t tell what it was. I stood still, closed my
eyes, and got a scent. I concentrated for a second and realized where the noise was coming
from. I opened my eyes and saw an animal jumping around trees running. It came close to
where I was standing and sharply it changed direction. I noticed it was a deer. The sweet scent
followed very close behind, and my throat started to burn again and the monster inside pushed
me to follow the deer. I could see in the dark quite easily. And I was running as fast as the prey
I was following. The incertitude was still there, but the hunger was stronger. My hands were
almost reaching the animal when something jumped in front of me and took the deer away
from the path I was following. All I felt in that instant was pure rage. I followed who took my
prey and could not reach them, but I was close. I followed and followed until my energy was
almost drained. I stopped. For a moment there was only silence. And then I heard a snap
sound, like the breaking of a tree branch. And then another, and then another. It sounded like
if it was right under my nose, but I couldn’t see anything as far as my eye could reach, and all
around me.

I tried to follow the snapping noises, but I could not reach them. I finally decided that I needed
to find a place to spend the night, but I couldn’t see a human soul anywhere around me. I
walked for what it seemed like forever, until I smelled something. Like something sweet;
something delicious. It was difficult to place it, but it was enticing. I followed the smell until I
saw a light in the distance. As I came closer the smell was even more enticing. I heard people
talking and I realized it was a house in the middle of the woods. The bright lights were almost
hurting my eyes, even though they were not close. I stepped in closer to the gathering of
people and now I could see clearly. The lights were still bugging my eyes. I could not tell where
the smell was coming from. I didn’t see any baked goods anywhere around.

I finally decided to step out of the darkness and into the gathering thinking that maybe I could
blend in. I didn’t realize I was only wearing a bra, and pants. The people in the gathering were
cooking burgers and talking, but once I stepped in the middle of the gathering, everyone was
looking at me. I saw a quick reflection of me in a window and noticed that I had twigs in my
hair, dried mud in my face, and dirt all over my pants. For some reason there was a light behind
the reflection that kept following me.

A middle-aged woman from the group of people came crying to me “Oh! You poor thing! What
happened to you? You must be cold, you have no clothes on. Are you ok? Did someone do this
to you?” I couldn’t think for a moment. The aroma of the food I had smelled before hit me like
one-thousand volts of electricity as the woman got closer. I jumped back.

“It’s all right dear. You’re safe here. Come with me, come on in” said the woman with a softer
tone this time. Everyone else resumed their conversations as she walked me inside her house.
The place was nicely decorated. The lights inside were still making me squint at times. We
went in through the kitchen, which had speckled granite counters, big windows overlooking the
forest and the patio where the gathering was taking place, maple wood cabinets, and modern
looking stainless steel appliances. She led me into another room that seemed to be for
entertainment, decorated in a lavish way. Big flat screen TV with fancy leather furniture, big
enough for 10 people; behind it a mini bar and small fridge, and a small faucet and sink. The
theme matched the kitchen’s theme. The next room was a large dining room, very elegant and
subtle at the same time. Each placement on the table was setup with fancy blue and white
table linens and a crystal chandelier. Around a corner for the dining room I saw an elegant
staircase. Once we reached the top, she took me to one of the many bedrooms, which at that
point it seemed like we walked through at least 6 of them. This room had light-colored wood
paneling on the walls with a nice sage green color on the rest of the wall. The bed seemed
enormous with lots of pillows, and decorated with a neutral dark colored duvet that matched
the curtains. The lighting in this room was very soft and easy on my eyes.

She kept patting me on the back and holding my elbow as we walked, as if I looked too weak to
walk.

We finally stopped at a bathroom inside the bedroom. As the rest of the house, this bathroom
was huge. Two double doors led into it. It was very bright with two sinks with two smaller oval
mirrors by each sink, and a tub that was too big for just one person with all sorts of jets. For
some reason the sweet smell followed us upstairs, although not as strong. The woman looked
at me with compassionate eyes for a little while and then spoke. “Honey, what’s your name?
My name is Marie.” “My name is Abby.” I said automatically without realizing it. Marie
responded while going into what it seemed another room inside the bathroom, but it turned
out to be a closet “Nice to meet you Abby. What happened to you tonight? Do you want me to
call someone? The police? Anybody? Did someone hurt you?” Marie asked with a real
concerned look in her face. And I responded “No… no, thanks. No need to call the police. I
think I am ok, but don’t remember much of what happened.” As I said that I walked into the
bathroom and looked in the mirror. Again, I saw a light behind me that was following every one
of my moves.

Marie continued asking “are you hurt in anyway?” “Uh… umm… I don’t think so. I just
remember waking up in the middle of the forest and then trying to find shelter” I lied, I think.

“Oh dear, your look awful. Do you want to get cleaned up and maybe join us? Maybe some
food and clean clothes will clear your head up,” I could see in her eyes real concern. It made
me wonder why she was so trusting letting a stranger in her house. Marie went into the closet
pulled out a long sleeved t-shirt and a pair of jeans “These might fit you. Why don’t you take a
warm bath or a shower, whatever suits you better, and then change into these clothes. We can
cook you some food. We are making hamburgers out in the patio. You must be starving.” As
she said the last word, I realized that my hunger was still there, and the smell of food still
around. It made my stomach growl so loud that she heard it. “I’ll make you some food and
bring it up.”

“We are making Kobe beef hamburgers, would you like one?” The mere thought of the meat
made my mouth water. “Yes, thanks,” I responded and continued without thinking, “rare,
please.” I saw Marie flinch for a second and turn to me with a kind look, she grabbed my hand
looked at me, smiled, and said “there are fresh towels in the closet, and new toiletries under
the sink that we keep for our guests. You’re welcome to use anything you need dear. Mi casa
es su casa. I will be back shortly with some food.” She felt to me like the nice aunt everyone
loves, but it was weird being that I had just met this lady. A gut feeling told me I could trust
her.

The sweet smell that I had been sensing became stronger, and the warmth of her skin made
something jump inside of me. I tried to control myself and closed my eyes and took a deep
breath trying to not think about my desire for food in spite of the hunger pangs. She
sandwiched my hands between hers and asked if I was ok. I felt like jolting on top of her. I
could hear her heart beat like if it was pounding louder than normal right in my ear and realized
that part of the sweet smell came from her neck, and it was not perfume. I steadied myself,
until I could open my eyes. I forced myself to smile, nodded, and thanked her. She turned and
walked away going toward the stairs. I stood there for a while and tried to analyze what went
through my head while standing there with Marie, and I couldn’t understand it.

I looked at the enormous closet and walked in. On the left side there were a couple of shelves
with plush, cream colored, folded towels. I took one. I stood in front of one of the oval mirrors
above the sink as I undressed to get in the shower. I realized that the glow that had been
following me was my own. And even though my hair was in complete disarray; my face was
dirty, as well as my arms; my clothes were torn in several places, my skin was shining a brilliant
glow. I wondered if anyone else noticed and also what it meant.

I walked into the shower, which was big enough to be a room in itself. It had a seat to one side
and, where the actual shower was, there were several jets that went from above me to about
shin-height. I turned the water on and immediately felt the warm water on my skin. I felt
wonderful. I tried to look back at what had happened to me today and still couldn’t remember
much. I closed my eyes while under the shower and tried to remember. I remember feeling
pain, darkness coming over me. I was letting go, and then I heard a voice calling my name. A
voice I didn’t recognize and it sounded masculine. Next, I felt him pick me up. I must’ve
opened my eyes because I remembered seeing a shadow of his face briefly. He had dark, soft,
short hair; his skin was pale white and it looked flawless and perfect; he had a strong chin, and I
could see the contour of his face but not the details. I did remember his eyes, which looked
either powder blue or gray with the light behind him. They looked kind and generous, and
almost loving. I realized they got imprinted in my head.

I remembered him saying that everything was going to be alright and then I felt passing out and
thinking I was dead as I felt like floating. I felt air rushing around me (we were probably moving
fast –but how fast?). I didn’t understand. I didn’t care. I was still in pain. Every inch of my
body was in pain. I felt wet, sticky feeling as I was trying to touch my body. I couldn’t move my
left arm. My head was hurting. I remember trying to move my legs and it was impossible. I
must’ve fallen asleep at some point because the next thing I remember was moss under my
hand; moist earth under my body. There was only moonlight. It was difficult to see. I had at
least one eye opened when I saw his face again and remembered him saying something like
“everything will be alright” and then darkness. I felt the weight of his body on top of mine. I
felt short of breath, maybe because of his weight on top of me. What was he doing? Was he
another one of my attackers? Fog was running through my mind and it was difficult to
remember.

I opened my eyes in the present, under the shower. The water was still warm and comforting,
but my skin was still cold. My hunger was increasing though. I took a few deep breaths but
they weren’t helping much. While I was still under the water I closed my eyes and focused on
centering myself. Soon enough I felt the hunger pang ease off. I got out of the shower, dried
off, and put on the clothes that Marie had fixed for me.

As I looked in the mirror I could see the glow all over around me. It looked beautiful and
hypnotizing, but wondered what was that I was seeing. I went under the counter and found all
sorts of toiletries; from toothbrushes, to powder, and body lotion. It all looked expensive. I
took a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste. By instinct I started brushing my teeth. I
wanted to feel clean from head to toe. I started brushing, but soon enough I noticed that the
brush’s bristles were almost gone, like if I had used the brush to clean the grout on tiles. I
looked at my teeth in the mirror and noticed that my canines looked more like fangs, maybe
not quite that large, but they were definitely different than normal. I didn’t think they were like
that before, but I still couldn’t remember anything from the day before this one. I couldn’t
understand many things and I was feeling very frustrated. I took another toothbrush, and this
time I was more careful. I felt cleaner and in a much better mood. I looked in the mirror and
felt the hunger again. My complexion looked really pale, like if I was sick. I open the bathroom
door to go into the bedroom and a sweet aroma hit my nose like a freight train. There was an
elegant tray on a table by the bed with food. The burger was big, and it was open faced on a
big plate with all its condiments on the side. There was a drink, and some fries in a smaller
plate and ketchup in a small bowl. Without thinking too much I went for the burger. No buns,
no condiments, just the meat. It tasted like heaven, and when I was done I felt much better. I
felt I could eat more, so I went for the bread and the condiments but the first bite tasted like
dirt. I swallowed anyway. I didn’t want to seem rude to my gracious host. I finished the bun,
but left the condiments. I took sips of the drink, but it wasn’t quenching the strange thirst I felt.

I went into the bathroom again and noticed a little more color on my face. I took the tray and
brought it downstairs to the kitchen. The party or gathering seemed to have died down. I
didn’t know how long I had been upstairs. I went to the kitchen. I took the opportunity that it
was empty and cleaned up the dishes, tossing the food I couldn’t eat. I rinsed the dishes and
put them in the dishwasher to the left of the kitchen sink. It had a light saying “Dirty Dishes,” so
I was sure that it was safe to put the recently rinsed dishes in it. I wanted to somewhat repay
Marie, my host.

I walked towards the outside patio, and noticed that Marie hugging the last of her guests good
night, and leading them towards a side gate. She turned, looked at me and walked over
smiling. I asked her if she needed help cleaning up, but after she noticed an almost clean
kitchen she said there was no need. “The maid will be over tomorrow dear. You’ve done a lot
and didn’t need to. You seem a little better now. How do you feel?” Mary asked. I responded
“Much better thank you, and thanks so much for helping me.”

“Oh, dear. It’s only human to help someone in need. Do you remember anything at all?” Marie
inquired.

“Yes,” I lied again, “I was hiking, and I must’ve fell down somewhere. I remembered I rolled
down what it seemed like forever” I said while I smiled nervously. I woke up in the middle of
the forest, and felt lost. I must’ve been very close to a path.” At least some of it was true and it
was easier to tell it that way. “I think I walked for hours until I found your house. Where am I?”
Marie said “Mount Hood Village.” I had no idea where that was. “This is my summer home,
but sometimes I come here from Portland during the weekends or holidays. Are you from
Portland?” I didn’t know, but it was better to lie in the meantime. “Oh yes ma’am! I am.” I
was not sure if that was true or not.

“Is there anyone I could call for you? I don’t mind driving you to where your car is, if it is close
by. Heck, I’ll drive you to Portland. It is only a 45-minute drive.” I didn’t know what to say.
“Well, thanks. I think I’ll just go to the bus station and take the bus. Thanks you for your
hospitality.” I felt a little hungry again, and the aroma was not helping. I wanted to get out of
there. I stood up to start walking towards the door.

“Where do you think you are going young lady?” Marie said and stood up next to me. “It is way
past 11, and the last bus leaves at 9. You are more than welcome to stay here. I always
appreciate the company. There is plenty of room, and it will be nice for you to keep me
company tonight. I always appreciate company, and I can take you to the bus station first thing
tomorrow morning. What do you say?”

I didn’t know it was that late. “I gathered you feel better, but you must be exhausted. I am
tired myself. It was an eventful day and the party was a success, but I have been at it since this
morning. I need some rest” Marie confessed. I was relieved that she was heading towards
going to bed. “I am done for today honey. Feel free to eat more if you are hungry. There’s
plenty more in the fridge. I am a pretty good judge of people, and I can tell you are not going to
cause any problems. Maybe I’m too trustful, but I think I am right about you. Since Martin, my
husband, passed away, I often have a friend accompany me here for parties and such. Even
when he was alive we would have company stay over and he always complained that I am too
trustful. But that’s the way I am. So feel free to watch TV or grab a book to your room.” All I
could do was smile, and I think she saw it in my face that I wasn’t a bad person.

“Thank you Marie,” I said and smile again, sincerely. We walked upstairs and she reiterated
that I could eat more if I wanted. I nodded, smiled, and thanked her again. She took me to the
bedroom I had used earlier, and said that I could use any t-shirt in the closet to sleep in. She
said goodnight, I responded back, and thanked her again. She went to a bedroom across from
mine, and away from the stairs and went in her room. I did the same. I still felt hungry, but
this was not my house and didn’t want to impose. Although Marie had said several times that
there was plenty of food. I went outside the room and the sweet aroma was burning me inside
again. I remember earlier, and as if by instinct I leaped across the way until I was crouching in
front of Marie’s room. I started to open the door to her bedroom and stopped myself. What
was I doing? She gives me shelter, and what am I going to do to her? No! I thought for a
second, stood up, and turned around. Took another leap and I was downstairs. I noticed that I
didn’t make a sound. I walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. It had all sorts of
food. Anything possible was in that fridge: fruits, cheeses, sauces, meats. I glanced at one of
the shelves and there was an unopened package of ground beef. My mouth watered
immediately. Without thinking I took it and opened it, and started eating right out of the
container. I stopped myself for a second to analyze what I was doing, but it tasted too good
that I didn’t stop for too long and finished it. I felt much better afterwards and the hunger
feeling was not there anymore.

I cleaned up after myself, and went upstairs feeling much relieved. I went inside the bedroom
and fell onto the bed with the clothes I was wearing and fell right asleep.

I didn’t dream, I don’t think, but I woke up while it was still dark. I felt a jolt of energy, so I
decided it was ok to wake up. I looked at a bedside clock and it said it was 5 am. I didn’t know
when I went to sleep. I made the bed up and went outside. I was sure that Marie was still
sleeping. I didn’t know why I was up. I barely had any sleep.

Downstairs felt desolated; very silent. Some lights were lit and I could see the whole house. I
went into the living room and turned the television on. There was a morning show on TV.
There had to be something to do, but this was not my house. I turned the TV off and in the
silence of this house I started thinking about what to do next. Marie had been a kind host, and
she didn’t even know me. Heck, I didn’t even know me. Although there was a feeling inside
that there was something unusual about me.

I stood up and decided that I needed to keep moving. I found a pen and paper and wrote a
note for Marie thanking her for her hospitality and telling her that I would just walk to the bus
station so that I wouldn’t inconvenience her any longer. I wrote a bogus phone number and
signed my name. I hated to do that, but she had been nice to me, and no matter how much of
this world I could remember, I imagined there weren’t that many nice people left in the world.

I walked to the patio doors and made sure I locked the door before closing it. There was a bit of
light from the approaching dawn. I felt a little energy escape away from my body, but I pushed
on. I remembered from the day before what happened in the clearing, so I stayed close to the
shaded areas. I walked and walked through the woods as if I knew where I was going. There
was a dense area with trees, so instead of walking I decided to run. It felt as if the ground was
moving from under me. I felt as if I was flying instead or running through the woods.

I must’ve been running for just a few minutes when I felt a presence. That feeling when you
enter a room and feel something’s there. But I was out in the forest, and I was feeling a
presence; even if I was running so fast. I slowed down and finally stopped and listened. Then I
saw a blur a few feet right across from me, and then another one to my side, like someone
going around me. I stood still and finally saw what the blur was. It was a man. What you
would call “tall, dark, and handsome,” only the dark part was more than what most people
think. There was darkness in his eyes. He approached me as he said “Who sent you?” I didn’t
know what to answer, so I just stood there. “WHO SENT YOU?” he asked again with a little less
patience. I raised my hands as if I in a stickup. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I
said. This man raised his head as if trying to smell the air. “You are a young one. I can still
smell humans on you. You shouldn’t be outside. How did you get out?” He asked me. I still
didn’t understand what he wanted.

In the blink of an eye he was standing next to me. There was something almost irresistible
about him. He had short golden blonde hair, and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen, like two topaz
stones, glimmering in the dim light of the deep forest. His face looked like one of a Greek god.
He had a perfect complexion, muscular body underneath the half opened, leather trench coat.
But even though he was beautiful, he had a menacing expression that would’ve chilled the
strongest person to the bone.

I stood still just watching him from the corner of my eye. “What’s your name?” I answered
right away “I’m Abby. Who are y--” “And what are you doing out here Abby?” The man
interrupted me in a soft, but menacing voice. “I’m sorry; I really don’t know what you are
talking about. Out of where?” I could see the little patience he had vanishing into thin air.
“Out of the complex, my dear Abby” the man responded, his voice still soft but lacking any
tolerance.

“Sorry, but I don’t remember what I was doing even yesterday. I want you to understand that I
don’t know what complex you are referring to. I woke up in the forest by myself, and no one
around. I am lost. I don’t know what is happening to me. And I barely know what my name is.”
At this point I started crying. I was bawling, but no tears were coming out of my eyes. Another
weird symptom of whatever I had.

“Oh! This is just DANDY! Who turned you? Why am I asking? This one is a complete IDIOT!”
He screamed in my ear and it felt like a rumble. I cringed away. Then I saw another figure from
behind a tree. Another man, just as handsome or even more than the blonde one. He had
long, chestnut colored hair. His eyes were also blue, but like a sapphire or the deep ocean. And
there was a glint in his face that made him seem like an angel. He was in front of me, and
pushing the other man out of the way in a blur.

“So your name is Abby? I am Dominik. I am sorry about my friend, his name is Malise. I
apologize for his manners. So you are saying you don’t know why you are here?”

“That’s right,” I responded, feeling totally at ease. “I woke up in the middle of the forest and
don’t know anything about what happened to me. What am I doing here? Why do I feel so
weird? I feel lost and don’t understand what is going on with me. I feel like I am almost
learning how to walk, sort of speak.”
“Who could’ve turned her?” Malise asked looking at me. Dominik smiled slightly at the
question. “You are not supposed to be wondering about. You should come with us. We can
help you figure out what happened.” Dominik said changing his expression to a stern one. And
then he continued, “You can trust us. We can try to explain to you what is happening to you.
Although… have you come across anybody?”

“Well…” I tried to respond, but Malise interrupted right away, “the counsel is going to be really
upset. They will…” Then, looking at me, Dominik interrupted Malise, “let’s just bring her with
us… it will be alright.”

I am guessing my apprehension was palpable. Dominik looked into my eyes and took my hand.
With some reservation I took a step back, but he grabbed my forearm and gently slide his hand
under it until he was holding my hand in his. I felt like if I was standing on a cloud. I followed his
gaze as he walked backwards, and I felt in a trance, not sure of what I was doing, and
completely trusting him… and Malise. “Can we trust you to follow us?” Dominik asked. I just
nodded and he let go of my hand. “We’ll go slowly so that you can keep up.” They started to
run, and I was going at the pace I was running before, and it seemed like the forest became a
blur, but I was not hitting any trees or obstacles.

The forest seemed to get denser as we went on. Time seemed like if it was slowing down,
because soon enough it was getting darker. I was running somewhere with two men I didn’t
know, and yet I didn’t hesitate to go with them. Dominik extended his arm back as if inviting
me to hold it as we ran, so I extended mine, and the speed increased, but I was able to keep up.
I felt a tickle in my mind.

Close your eyes. I closed them. A message I obediently followed, even though I didn’t know
where it came from.

We’re almost there. I heard the strange voice in my head again.

I felt like we were slowing down and opened my eyes. I wasn’t sure how long I had my eyes
closed, or if we were so deep in the forest that it looked dark. We were coming close to a large
building surrounded by vegetation, so it blended easily with its background.

As we were getting closer, the building looked larger and larger. It almost looked like an
ancient, lost fortress.