How long had it been since I came up with the bright idea of taking a ship across the ocean. Someone who's never even seen a boat in person let alone been out on the water. I felt horrible, nauseous, light headed, but most of all, I was hungry.
The sun had come up and gone down twice since I left home, and in that time I had eaten every single snack bar I had pack but still my stomach ached for more.
I knew what I needed even though after all of my years living I had never once starved for it or been denied it. Blood. I needed blood and I needed it now. I couldn't think straight, all my plans for escaped were pushed to the back of my mind to make room for all of the cravings my body was having.
The ship docked after two days at a pier in the middle of the night. There were no people around except for the workers from this ship. Without the blood my system needed, the injury to my leg I got when I jumped out of my bedroom window hadn't healed properly. Getting to my feet made for a pretty difficult task. Not only was my leg still torn up but I also had what I heard some of the workers refer to as sea legs. I couldn't seem to keep myself steady.
Somehow, I managed to make it to the edge of the ship where the workers were unloading some of the crates. I noticed some of them staring at me in confusion. One of the workers even approached me.
"Hey! You can't be here." He shouted at me. When I looked at him, his face was blurry. I leaned against the metal edging of the boat, trying to will my vision to become clear again.
"Did you here what I said?" He came closer and waved his finger in my face. "How did you get on board?" He asked. When I didn't answer, he grew more agitated and instead of attempting to talk to me any longer, he grabbed me by my arm and pulled me to the ramp that led from the boat to the dock.
"Off now!" He shouted in my face. I guess the pace I was moving at wasn't sufficient for him, because after I had only taken a few steps down the ramp, he pushed me the rest of the way.
My body lurched forward and I fell straight onto the dock, hitting my head hard when I landed. My skull rattled and ached and my already blurry vision began to darken. I tried fighting off the sleepy feeling I suddenly had, but my body felt so heavy and all I wanted to do was close my eyes and hope that when I woke up I would feel a million times better then I did at this very moment.
Unfortunately for me as tired as I was, the pain racking through my body made it difficult to really contemplate sleep. I could still hear the workers moving about but no one came near me. Was this what my new found freedom suppose to be? Was the world outside of my fairy tale castle this harsh and cruel? My sheltered life did nothing to prepare me for this.
I must be strong though. I worked hard to break free of my family I couldn't quit now, not after making it this far.
It took every ounce of strength I had in me to even get to my knees, which means it was almost impossible to get to my feet. After stumbling back to the ground a few times, I somehow managed it. Everything hurt. My vision was blurry, my head throbbed, my leg burned and my stomach ached. I needed help but I was on my own, just like I always wanted to be.
I could barely think straight but one thing that was very clear, I needed to find some place safe to rest. Putting one foot in front of the other, I began moving away from the ship.
I don't know how long I'd been walking, but the further I walked the louder my surroundings became. Bright lights shone all around me. Several people even bumped into me, almost sending me to the ground. Another thing I noticed, was the more I walked the more my stomach began to ache. I needed food and I needed a place to rest. I wasn't sure how much longer I could go before my body decided to give out on me.
Turning down a dark alleyway between two brick buildings, I staggered back and forth against the side of each wall, even tripping over a glass bottle. This endless, agonizing torture I was experiencing, was it really worth my freedom?
I saw light at the end of the alley and moved as quickly as I could towards it. I stopped just short of the bright lights when I caught a whiff of something that made my stomach clench painfully and my mouth water.
I smelled food.
Moving quickly towards the smell, I smacked right into something hard, or should I say someone. I felt arms snake around my waist to keep me from falling over. Tilting my head back so that I could look whoever I bumped into in the face. All I could make out was the faint outlines of their face before everything around me began to darken.
Just before everything went completely dark, I heard someone asking me if I was ok.
*
How long I slept, I have no idea but I awoke in a unfamiliar place, on an unfamiliar couch. The first thoughts that came to mind was that I had managed to be found and they had taken me back. Considering I didn't recognize any of my surroundings, I felt a little relief that wasn't the case.
Sitting up more, I took in my surroundings which was kind of hard to do since my head was still swimming. White walls, black leather couch, black metal coffee table with a glass middle. A few house plants that were clearly fake and that was it.
"Finally your awake," said a deep, masculine voice. I searched for the voice but I couldn't see who it was. "I was worried that maybe I should've taken you to the hospital after all." Finally, a blurry figure came into my sight.
I tried to move as far way from them as possible but considering I couldn't really get my vision to focus, that proved to be very difficult.
"Who are you?" I asked continuing to inch away the closer they got.
I heard a slight laugh as he set something down on the table and took a seat next to me on the couch. "You don't remember anything do you?"
I still eyed him suspiciously but shook my head no. "You ran into me outside of Link's Bistro and before you had the chance to apologize," I could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice. "you passed out." That much I remember, how I got here is what needed to be explained. "Your head was bleeding so I thought maybe I should take you to the hospital but right before you passed out you asked me for help because you said they were after you. Obviously if you were being chased a public hospital probably wasn't your best bet."
I stared at him not sure if I should believe a word he just said. I don't remember anything but bumping into him and losing consciousness. While I was trying to decide if I should believe him or try to make a run for it, he reached his hand up and brushed the hair that had escaped from my ponytail from my forehead.
I flinched expecting him to hit me or something. So far my experience in this new place had been less then pleasant, so what else was I to expect. "Relax, I was just checking the wound on your head, but it doesn't look like it's bleeding anymore and considering you didn't die in your sleep I'll take that as a good sign."
Now I was really confused. Why was he helping me? What did he have to gain from this? Was he working with my parents after all? Maybe they hired him to keep an eye on me. "You didn't answer my question" I said moving away from his hand. "Who are you?"
Eventually he dropped his hand back to his side. "My name is Levi, this is my place. And you are?" He asked.
Should I trust him enough to tell him the truth or was it safer to keep it to myself? I contemplated my options until he spoke again. "It's ok if you don't want to tell me. You said somebody was after you, you're safe here."
I didn't know what to believe but I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that not everybody in the word was as cruel and heartless as the people I've encountered so far. I wanted to feel safe but was that even possible? "Tell me your name" he pressed.
I swallowed, my throat feeling really dry. Just my first name, that's all I had to tell him was my first name. "Fallon" I whispered. He scooted closer to me so that he could hear me better so I tried again. "My name is Fallon."
I couldn't make out his face enough to tell if he had any reaction to the name. Which means at the current moment being able to tell if he knew anything about me or my family was out of the question.
"Well Fallon, are you hungry? I made you some soup, I wasn't sure if you would be able to hold down anything else." At the mention of food, my stomach clenched and my mouth watered. It wasn't until he mentioned the food that the overwhelming scent of chicken and multiple different spices caught the attention of my nose.
All my attention was focused on that smell. I could no longer focus on anything else not even the fact that a complete stranger was offering me food. That I had no idea what his intentions were. For all I knew the food could be drugged or worse, poisoned. All I could think about was how it would feel to have my stomach full of the warm broth after nearly starving to death.
I nodded my head to let him know I was very hungry actually. "Help yourself" he said passing me a spoon. I slid off of the couch so that I came face to face with the steaming hot broth on the coffee table.
I dug into it greedily, eating so fast I even choked a few times. Before I knew it, it was gone and I was left staring at an empty bowl with an almost equally empty stomach. I heard him laugh before saying, "Would you like more? There's plenty."
"Yes," I nodded. "That would be nice."
"Great, at least you have an appetite. I'll go get you more." He reached for my bowl at the same time I attempted to stand. The room suddenly tilted and I found myself falling forward. Levi caught me and snaked his arms around my waist tightly to keep me steady.
My head fell into the crook of his neck and I inhaled his scent. He smelled good, really good. My stomach seized like I hadn't eaten anything at all. My heart sped up and my gums ached. I was suddey extremely hot.
I knew this feeling, it wasn't one I felt often but I knew it when I felt it. Hunger. Not just any hunger, no this wasn't the hunger normal people felt for normal food. This was a hunger for something else completely. A hunger for something red and rich that currently ran through the veins of this innocent human.
It was wrong, I know. I had always been given blood from a bag, never from a live human. The way his heart beat, pumping blood throughout his entire body. It was intoxicating to hear, to smell. I couldn't resist it. I must have it.
"Fallon, are you okay?" It was like I was in a trance. I pulled back enough so I could look him in the eyes. I watched the look on his face change from concern to horror as I felt my fangs slip pass my lips.
I couldn't resist it any longer. "I'm sorry" I said before I opened wide and bit into his neck.