Preface

Preface

 

 

   My father always said life was like blackjack, you’re best to know your odds before you take on your next card. Of course there are always things that happen that are seemingly out of our control. Sometimes you can’t always wait to calculate your outcome, there isn’t always time. There are many such times where we are all faced with life altering decisions. When this happens there is no chance to think. Only to act.

     my hands eased up on the steering wheel, still a bit tense. I left the house anxious, happy, even excited. And now was driving back an emotional wreck. ‘Get it together Becca’ I told myself inwardly. If I could just hold it together just until I was safely in my room, so my parents wouldn’t see. Two things I was certain of. One I shouldn’t be this emotional at the wheel, even if it was just inwardly, and two if I started crying now, even if by some miracle I was able to stop before I pulled up into the driveway, the swollen tissue around my eyes would have been a dead giveaway if my parents happened to greet me.

     Despite my best efforts, my mind flashed me images from a recent memory. All but blindsiding me with their potent and painful nature. Nick had been standing in front of the screen door when I pulled up on the other side of the street, his bod y casting a shadow on the wall behind him from the living room lamp. My face uncontrollably contorted in a happy expression as I came to a stop. His lips were moving, obviously having an amusing conversation as his mouth turned up at the edges briefly every now and then. My hand grasped the keys that were still firmly in the ignition, ready to pull them out when I began to think I should come back later. He obviously had company of some sort, his family wouldn’t make him act like he was now.

     I disregarded this thought, getting out of the car. It was my intention to call him on the way to his place. Though when I was nearly have way there I realized I had left my phone at home. This unannounced visit may have been a bit…well unannounced, but he shouldn’t mind. I had left my homework in his car when he had giving me a ride home from school today, and I needed  it since we had a big test in Biology tomorrow. It would be a flat out lie if I said it didn’t make my heart race a little at the thought of seeing him again. And it would be yet another lie if I didn’t have some hope buried inside that was clawing at the chance for him to kiss me like he always did when we said goodbye. but to the  point, If he was busy I wouldn’t stay long. I would simply get my things and go.

     About halfway across street, I heard the screened door swing open, and once across the road I looked up. Nick was no longer alone. it took me a few moment to realize what exactly I was seeing, and another few to believe it. Janet, my friend since 8^th grade had her face pressed up incredibly close in proximity to his, and closing. The distance finally came to an end when he met her halfway, pressing his lips ever so eagerly to hers.

     My mouth fell open, watching these two people who had meant so dearly to me, fornicate in the doorway. They committed a deep betrayal, oblivious to my presence. Neither my friend, nor boyfriend, looked guilty, or in the least big aggrieved. ‘Run…’ the voice in my head told me ‘Don’t just stand there like an idiot! leave!’.

      While their lips continues to brushed in sensual movements against one another, even still I was trying to reason with myself, and it turned to face my father’s grey and brown stripped truck. ‘It has to be a mistake!’ my mind cried as I got into the driver side, freezing in place a mere moment after placing the key in the ignition. Glancing up, they were still committing the act. ‘No…there is no mistake.’

       He was cheating on me with Janet. The person of all people I had trusted so much. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw them break apart as I started the truck, and it’s all too subtle diesel engine came roaring to life.

        I had sped out of there like a bat out of hell. The tires burning rubber in an all to unpleasant screech, uncaring if it caused them to notice.  Tears did still sting at my eyes, but I kept repeating those words in my head. ‘Get it together Becca’ and hopefully I would. Somethings could not be erased as easily as those images that kept coming to me. even if I could avoid thinking about what I had seen, my mind couldn’t stop wondering if he had recognized this car. and would he call me out on it, before I had a chance to breakup with the cheating a*s�"my train of thought stopped.

      Before I had time to react, something jumped out of the tree’s, sprawling out onto the road. It couldn’t have been more than 30 feet in front of me. at the speed I was going, the distances shrunk rapidly until the tires screeched to a halt, to a mere yard or so. the thing sprawled out onto pitch black pavement suddenly sent a sick feeling to my stomach. Up close, it now appeared to be a man. ‘Holy s**t! What if he’s dead!’

    Fighting every instinct that was screaming on all my nerve endings, I found myself getting out of the car. this was not like blackjack. This wasn’t a game. I had to make a decision of what to do right now. every second that passed, could leave me responsible for someone dying. I called for an ambulance spinning around trying to give them a description of where I was when I heard a groan. It was your average waking up or not wanting to do something, groan. This was a pain filled sound, that of agony.   I should check on him, do something to see who he is, and how badly he was hurt. Shifting my body’s weight to my right leg, I prepared to take a step. At the same time, there was a rustle coming from the left of me, in the woods. On a creepiness scale this was definitely a solid eight and rising, fear raising Goosebumps along my skin, hairs on end.

     “Miss? Are you there? Hello?” I heard the male operator on the other end of the line say, as he sought to see if I was still on the line. I brought the phone tighter against my face. “Please hurry, I think there’s something…or someone else here.”

       “Is the man conscious?” the operator inquired. I leaned a bit closer seeing the man was turned on his side, facing away from me. ‘S**t…’ I closed my eyes taking a deep breath. I was going to have to touch him.

        “Hold on…I’m going to check”. Squatting down I lay my phone on the pavement, then crawled onto my knees. With this new close proximity I could pick up a combination of smells. An odd leather, old spice, and copper tang was present. “Excuse me?” I inquired stupidly, not sure how to address him.

     My hand reached out to his shoulder as I thought of something else I could say. Something a bit more settle than, ‘Hey are you dead?’ Before  my hand quite came in contact with the man’s dark jacket that  seemed slick with some kind of liquid in the moonlight, a low growl, came from behind me. my head jerked that way, seeing nothing. though I was relieved to find nothing, my fear had only escalated. I pushed the shy, naïve bullshit out of the way, immediately reaching for the stranger with a firm hand. I pulled at his jacket, getting him onto his back, watching a pair of black eyes roll up to meet mine. he was in no position to be moved by me, someone without the least bit of medical training. I wasn’t even sure I knew how to give CPR right for crying out loud!  Despite the way his head was split opens, running down in rivulets into his eyes with blood, this wasn’t the only thing abnormal about the man. I shook my head out of all the times to get snagged on appearances.

      “Come on�"we can’t wait for the ambulance” I urged my arm going under the man’s back trying to help him sit up.  “Can you walk?” I asked as he groaned his hand going to his stomach. There was a wide stain there on his grey looking shirt, wet and spreading. His head jerked to the woods, as if hearing something I didn’t.

      “Get to your car” he commanded, his jaw set. Despite everything telling me to flee, I didn’t move. this wasn’t right, I wasn’t going to leave him. “No f*****g way, I’m not going to let you die on the street.”

      My head went under his arm, helping him left himself to his feet. Under his weight, I staggered to keep balance, but somehow made it to the passenger’s side of the truck. After helping him in, I all but ran to the driver’s side. I couldn’t have been past the left headlight before something knocked me backwards, taking the breathe from me with it.

      ‘What the f**k was that?!’

      Barely enough time had passed for me to begin to think the thought,  when my back hit something hard that crunched with my weight. Still in shock my body slid to the ground, and slumped forward. My vision shook, knowing something was defiantly wrong. It had to be more than just shock that had taken over. I felt no pain in my back from the impact, I felt no fear, I was numb. It occurred to me that I was a bit farther away from my father’s truck than seemed possible. The grey and brown striped Dodge was at least 10 yards away, and it too didn’t look right. Something about the windshield looked off. When I finally came to my feet, it felt like years had passed. Though running on instinct, the instinct to survive, I was sure my sense of time was well skewed. Closer now, I saw the man I sought to save was in front of the fender, slumped over it. above him, crashed into the windshield was our attacker. His face was completely mauled, unidentifiable.

    My hands stretched forward to the man clinging to the fender, noticing he was extremely cold. He didn’t even budge as I put my hands to his neck, checking for a pulse. “N�"no!” I stammered pulling at him to lay flat on the pavement. It looked like I was going to have to learn how to give CPR. I sought to make the movements I had seen people do on movies, trying to save the man beneath my hands. repeatedly pressing onto his chest with both hands, trying to get his heart to start, and holding his nose, to breath for him. from my fingertips to my core, I was beginning to feel again. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling either. It was the fear I was working over a dead man, a corpse.

      “Come on,” I huffed out, finally releasing those tears I had held in. with a pleading whisper, hopelessly I added “Stay with me!” then proceeded to breath one final time for him.

     I leaned back, resting my head against the fender, my eyes locked on the man’s face. beneath the streaks of blood he didn’t look to be over twenty five. It seemed somewhat unusual the way his lips were parted, as if to take a deep breath. but corpses didn’t breathe, they didn’t have a heartbeat. this was undoubtedly good looking, and all I could think about was how his future had all but ripped away from him. if he hadn’t fought off the guy that was wedged in my father’s windshield, I may have had mine ripped away from me. my hand came to my mouth, feeling wet. Looking down I realized my hand was a bit messed up, bloodied. About a yard away, my cell phone still lay on the pavement.

     Coming to my feet from my daze, I limped over to it, and limped back to the truck. The clock revealed this all had transpired over the course of three minutes. It occurred to me, I should probably check the man’s body for some form of identification. It seemed somehow suddenly important to find out the name of the man who saved my life. When I grazed across his back pockets I could have sworn I had seen him move. his mouth opened a little wider, revealing abnormally long canines that made my eyes go wide as I looked. The word flashed through my mind. Vampire!

      I looked at my hands that were still bleeding then back to the man who was supposed to be things of legends and fairytales. My mind piecing it together. Of course corpses don’t breathe, of course a corpses heart did not beat….but do vampires?

        Glancing to his mouth, that seemed to move, if only a millimeter of a fraction, then back down to my wounded hand, I thought I must be out of my f*****g mind. ‘Am I seriously going to try saving a vampire!? Maybe there’s a reason these two were trying to kill one another. It was some freak accident I got caught in the middle of. Emphasis on the freak part.’

       “F**k it” I cursed leaning over him, placing my hand over his mouth. noticing the blood flow had slowed a bit I twisted at my hand, biting my lip, and my face contorting at the pain it caused. Sure enough though, blood began to drip from my palm. After a moment, I could see him swallow, and his head lift. Realizing I must be out of my mind for sure now, I lowered my wrist to his mouth.

      At first there was no response. Then too my horror, and somehow relief, his tongue snaked out past his lips, flicking across the vein. Inside I found myself preparing for what was obviously coming next, realizing nothing could have the moment it happened. His eyeteeth were deeply embedded there, only to retract slightly, and I felt every movement of it. ‘I could be saving a killer right now, and just not realize it…’´ my mind taunted as I watched intently as he swallowed a mouthful most eagerly. ‘What if he doesn’t stop…what if he ends up killing me and I can’t stop him because I’m just a weak human?’

      Maybe it was a combination of things that had just happened, or blood loss,  but suddenly I felt like my body was too heavy, and the world starting to turn black. My clothes brushed audibly against the fender, in synch with my movements. By the time I tried pulling my wrist away, I was already slumping sideways to the road. Before my head crashed against it, something caught me. my head lolled up to my savior who held me ever so softly in his arms. Was I going to die? His eyes stared back into mine, as black as the darkness that took me the moment that followed.