Free Being Human by Patricia Lynne Page A

replied.
    “I have to go.”
    “Why?”
    “I'm hungry and you look tasty.”
    “Funny. You said you go on smell.” A flicker of panic flashed across his face.
    “I do, but I'm hungry. I haven't fed in over a week.”
    “Oh, well, have fun,” he awkwardly replied.
    I tilted my head at him, waiting for him to explain how I was supposed to have fun hunting. He remained silent, avoiding my tilted gaze. Finally, I slid down the roof, dropping off the edge and let my need lead the way.
    Tonight I felt bold, taking to the city to hunt instead of the highways. Like usual, most humans were in packs, staying in well-lit areas. Except for the homeless, but I remembered the first and only one I fed on. I wasn't that desperate.
    In a run-down neighborhood, a lone human sat on the steps of a shabby house. A dim light shone above her, casting sharp shadows on her face. Streetlights kept the shadows small and I carefully picked my way towards her. I froze when her head snapped up, eyes falling on me. There was no time to reach her, the distance between us too great. I expected her to scream, alert other humans and run inside the shabby house. Instead, she continued to stare. Then, just as quickly as she looked up, she looked away.
    I remained frozen in my spot, confused. She saw me. Why wasn't she running to safety?
    “Aren't you going to come closer?”
    I walked over to her. She looked up at me expectantly, right into my eyes. Her gaze didn't waver, letting me see her thoughts.
    “Why are you waiting for a vampire?”
    “No questions, just do it.”
    I could have listened to her. She wasn't fighting, she wanted to die obviously. It would have been so easy to sink my fangs into her neck and feed. But her compliance confused me. Why did she want to die? I couldn't see that when I looked in her eyes, only the desire to die.
    “Why are you waiting for a vampire?” I repeated.
    When she refused to speak, I grabbed her arm, intending on forcing her to speak. She cried out in pain, tears springing in her eyes. Dark bruises covered her arms when I pushed her sleeve up. I looked back at her, noticing more bruises covering her face, the make-up she caked on flaking around the edges of the wounds.
    “What happened?”
    She refused to meet my eyes now. “I walked into a door.”
    I grabbed her chin, forcing her face up. I locked eyes with her and willed answers. They filled her eyes, pouring into my head, telling me what I wanted to know. I looked at the shabby house, listening. A rhythm beat inside, steady and strong.
    “He's inside?”
    Her eyes widened and she tried to break my grip.
    I pulled her back to me, trying to understand. “He hurts you, threatens to kill you, but you want to die. He should be the one that dies.”
    “No,” she whimpered.
    “If he's dead, he can't hurt you,” I replied darkly. “Welcome me in.”
    “No.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because it will upset his mom, she doesn’t know. It's better if I die, then she'll be protected from the truth and I'll be free,” she whispered.
    “You'll be dead,” I stated. “And I don't care about his mother,” I added when she opened her mouth.
    Her eyes widen in horror, thoughts speaking loudly. The rumors are true. Vampires are monsters that kill whoever they want. He'll kill me, then her!
    I glared at her. “You don't know anything about me. You think I don't have feelings or that I don't care. If I didn't care, I would kill you. I'd kill you, then him and anyone else I came across tonight. But I'm not going to do that, I'm only going to kill him, he deserves it. That human needs to see the truth about her son. She needs to see that he is the monster.” I focused my will, hissing my next words. “Welcome me in.”
     
    ****
     
     
    “Guidance counselors suck,” my brother sighed.
    “Why?” I asked, only half paying attention. I was almost winning this round. His character's health meter was nearly empty and mine was half full. This would be the first time