Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Doppelganger ❯ Bloody Beginnings ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: As I keep saying… I don't own Avatar. If I did, I would probably produce this instead of the main story. And I wouldn't have it on Nick for obvious reasons.

 

Doppelganger

 

Chapter four

 

. . .

 

The four travelers climbed on Appa and flew into the cloudy sky. Aang was talking nonstop about learning what Kyle had done in the training match, and how cool the moves were. Sokka was leaning back in the harness, his eyes closed. Kyle was looking off the side on the giant bison, looking over the passing forest, lost in thought.

 

`He must be trying to figure out how to tell us what happened.' Katara thought. She was looking at Kyle with a mixed expression. On the one hand, she was extremely curious as to how he could bend all four elements, even though he was not the Avatar. She was also kind of irked that he didn't tell them strait out. But Katara figured it must have been for a good reason. It looked like she would have to wait until they landed for the night.

 

She also noticed it was getting colder. They were certainly further north than they were a week ago. She would have to start wearing her jacket again. She then got an idea. If Kyle could indeed waterbend, could he teach her as well as Aang? She smiled in excitement and glanced at Kyle again. He seemed kind of sad as he looked at the passing clouds. Maybe she had better hear his side before she got excited. She sighed and took out her canteen of water. Popping the cork, she manipulated the liquid out of the container and floated it around her hand absentmindedly.

 

Kyle looked at her motions out of the corner of his eye. Her technique was jerky and testing, but he could tell she had good potential. With a right training, she could be a great waterbender. He smiled gently. `So much like Sanea.” With an almost unnoticeable motion, he moved his hand in a circle, hiding it so nobody could see him. Katara's mild concentration was shattered when the water she was bending started to warp and shimmer in the sunlight. She wasn't doing that! She looked at Aang. He was piloting Appa. She realized whom it was that was bending and looked at Kyle.

 

He was looking at his out of the corner of his eye and smiling slightly at her. He could waterbend. He was pretty good, too. Manipulating the water like this with one hand took much concentration. If he were as good with water as he is with fire… then he would be amazing. She could learn so much from him if he taught her. She smiled at him and he formed the water into a sphere. With a silent exhale, he froze the outside of the sphere but kept the inside liquid. Katara snatched it and shook it, swishing the water around inside. She giggled silently and reformed it to liquid, replacing it in her canteen.

 

The four travelers spent the rest of the day heading in the general north direction, and when it got dark, the found a similar beach like the one they spent the night in the previous night. They disembarked, and set up camp in relative silence. Kyle coughed and mentioned that he was going to go get food. Katara shot him a look and he stared at her in an exasperated fashion that seemed to say, `I'm not going to run.' She seemed convinced and Kyle left the campsite.

 

Aang was bouncing up and down with Momo the lemur chanting about how cool of a teacher he had and Sokka had sat down, starting to sharpen his boomerang. Katara sat on a rock near the shore and looked out on the water. It was a slower moving river than the last one, and it was going to opposite direction, too.

 

After a few minutes Kyle returned with one are full of wood, and the other had his burlap sack with food. He set the bag down near the sleeping bags and placed the wood down in a circular patter, then set it ablaze. Now that they had fire, they started eating. Kyle still didn't eat.

 

“Are you going to eat this time?” Katara asked. Kyle shook his head and leaned back on the ground, looking up at the darkening sky. He was silent for a while. Then spoke up.

 

“You guys want to hear a story?” He asked.

 

“Yes.” Katara said almost at once. Aang and Sokka stared at her for a second, then nodded and sat back, listening attentively.

 

Kyle thought for a second, scratched his cheek, and then began.

 

. . .

 

When I was about 18, I lived in the island town of Gehlair. It was offshore of the Earth Kingdom. My parents were farmers in the town. Nobody ever really came to our town on purpose. It wasn't really a popular place to live. It had a population of 30 people at the time. Everybody knew everybody, I'm sure you know what I mean. One night I was at the tavern with a couple of my friends celebrating his birthday. He had just turned seventeen. So we drank to his honor and all that stuff. We were having fun and everything when she walked in.

 

A girl walked in the tavern. She looked about eighteen or nineteen. And she was absolutely gorgeous. There was no doubt in anybodies mind. She had long silver hair, a light face, and brilliant green eyes, and… well… had a body built for bedrooms. She walked into the tavern and sat on the bar, ordering a… mulled ale if I remember correctly. My friend Ferenze, who's birthday it was, leaned close to us and whispered, “Hey, hey, Kyle! Hey, Blaine! Do you see that woman? The one who walked in?” We nodded of course. “How much do you bet I can successfully get her a drink and get her name?” He asked. Blaine bet his weekly earnings. Ferenze never had any luck with women. I just laughed quietly and shook my head.

 

“I'm not even going to bother. Good luck though.” I said and leaned back to watch the show.

 

So Ferenze got up and went over to the women. He sat next to her and said something, I never found out what. She replied kind of absentmindedly back to him and he tried to say something else. He never even got to finish. In mid sentence the women got up from the bar with her drink and walked to the other side of the tavern, sitting down at a vacant table. Ferenze got up and returned to our table, a sad frown on his face. He said that she basically blew him off and walked away. So we returned to partying and I kept looking at the woman every few minutes. Something about her made me keep stealing glances. After a while I saw that she was looking at me as well. Actually, she wasn't even blinking. She was just staring at me with an expression I can't even describe with words. It was… wonder… fear… excitement… I don't know. I was just in awe of her sheer beauty. I distantly heard Ferenze and Blaine say that they were heading home. I wished Ferenze a final happy birthday and stayed seated, finishing my drink.

 

After my friends left, the woman stood up and walked over to me. I nearly sputtered my drink when she stopped and asked if she could sit. Hey voice was smooth and precise. I swore my heart stopped when she spoke. I stuttered and motioned that she could sit down. She sat and looked at me, smiling lightly. I returned the smile, though I think I had little control over my muscles because I think I smiled kind of strangely, as she laughed at my face. Her laughter rang though our side of the tavern. It was like a bell. I remember blushing and mumbling an apology. She said I was entertaining.

 

“My name is Victoria.” She said lightly. “I am on a trip for a project on cultures around the world… What is your name?”

 

“M-my name is K-Kyle…” I mumbled and put my head behind my head nervously. Holy shit this insanely gorgeous woman was speaking to me! She wasn't talking to Ferenze… not Blaine… me! “I was born in this village.” I added in a desperate attempt to impress her. Only after I said that did I notice that living in this village my whole life wasn't something to be proud of. But oddly enough… she seemed interested. Victoria leaned forward and nodded, smiling at me.

 

“Please continue, Kyle. I would love to learn more about your home.” She smiled, showing her teeth slightly.

 

My life was relatively short so I finished with the paraphrase in a few minutes. She shared some of her exploits. She had traveled for the past few years. Around the earth kingdom and the islands surrounding it. After a few minutes Victoria lost her warm smile and leaned close.

 

“Kyle, come closer.” She beckoned and I obeyed. “Kyle, I must tell you openly…. I couldn't take my eyes off you most of the night. Even when you were still with your horrendous sexist pig of a friend and the other one, I still stole looks at you.” I would have laughed at her description of Ferenze, if my voice hadn't been stuck in my throat. I couldn't think of a reply. She looked at me nervously, gauging my reaction. My eyes flew from the tabletop, to Victoria's eyes, to the tavern's roof, to Victoria's eyes, to her chest and back to the table. She looked away from me and tears started leaking from her eyes.

 

“Gomenesai…” She whispered in a language I did not know and ran out of the tavern. I was stunned. She just up and ran away after she said something like that? I had to do something. I got up and ran after Victoria.

 

I caught up with her outside the tavern and stopped her escape. She turned to look at me. The tears in her eyes seemed to sparkle. Victoria smiled at me and pulled me to her. When I was close she pulled my face to hers and kissed me. I couldn't think... I couldn't move… all I could do is just stand there in this woman's embrace.

 

. . .

 

“I should have let her go.” Kyle reminisced and rubbed his shoulder roughly. “Looking back on that time I should have let her go… but I didn't. Now, before I continue, does anybody believe in vampires?”

 

Aang, Sokka and Katara were taken aback by this question. Vampires? Those mythical creatures that are supposed to only come out at night and feed off the blood of humans and animals? They were not supposed to exist… were they?

 

“Well… believe that they exist.” Kyle said sternly. “And Victoria was one.” His listeners perked up. She was a vampire? “I don't want to go into detail of how it was done for Aang here is a little too young.” Aang cocked his head to the side and Katara blushed lightly. Sokka laughed and scratched his head. “So I'll just continue to what happened after that.”

 

. . .

 

I woke up the next morning in the clinic. I saw the light shining from the window but it wasn't hitting me. The light made my eyes burn. I clamped my lids shut and brought my arm to cover my head.

 

“Oh, your awake.” Said a voice. I felt a warm cloth fall on my forehead and I put down my arm to see Elli. She was the nurse at the clinic and we had been friends since she was born. “Glad to see you well Kyle.” She smiled and handed me a glass of water. I accepted it and her hand to pull me up in a sitting position.

 

“Thank you very much, Elli.” I said to the young nurse. She blushed and turned away. I smiled at her back. She was always like that; everybody in the village knew she liked me. Hell, even I knew it. She was so cute sometimes. I drank the water in a mater of seconds and winced at the taste. Water always tasted bad right when you woke up. “How long was I asleep?” I asked Elli.

 

She turned back to me and looked at me oddly. “You've been out for about a week. What happened? You were brought in the morning after Ferenze's Birthday. Jon and Barbara said they found you in one of their fields, completely out of consciences.” I scratched my head and was about to respond when my stomach suddenly cramped violently. I lurched forward and immediately the water I just drank came spurting out of my mouth like a fountain. Elli gasped and grabbed a bowl from the nearby table and set it under me for my use.

 

After I emptied my insides of the liquid, I leaned back, panting hard. Elli wiped my forehead with a damp cloth and smiled lightly at me. “You remember last year? You came here with a snake bite.” I nodded weakly. “You were throwing up then, too.” She laughed and leaned down, kissing my forehead. “Get well soon, Kyle.” She said and got up, leaving the room. After she left the town doctor entered and examined me. After a day passed we found out that I could not ingest food or water, for I just regurgitated it right back up. My friends and family visited me from time to time, and every time they did I was worse than last time.

 

I was getting weaker and weaker every day. A week after I woke up in the clinic Elli was sitting next to me, reading a story. I was barely listening to her voice. I was in so much pain I could not bare it. My body seemed on fire. I whimpered silently as not to alarm Elli, but she heard it.

 

“What's wrong, Kyle? Are you in pain again?” She asked and put her book down. She walked over to me and felt my forehead. Her hand felt cool, immeasurably cool against my boiling skin. “Your cold, Kyle, let me get a blanket.” She pulled her hand away but I grabbed it back. Elli gasped at my sudden movement. I couldn't hear anything. I looked at Elli, but she seemed different. She was deep red. I could see her but I couldn't at the same time. I could smell her… I could smell something… something… metallic. I couldn't stand it… I needed to have it. I don't know what told me to, but I jumped out of the bed and pinned Elli against the wall. “Kyle! W-what are you doing?” She cried and tried to wrestle me away.

 

I growled at her futile attempt and turned her head away, leaving her neck open. I could see her blood red neck it so bright it hurt my eyes, but I didn't care. I pressed my mouth to her neck and I felt a rush of cool liquid drip in to my mouth and drain down my throat. Elli had stopped struggling and didn't move. She let out a small whimper and her legs started to give out under her. “Kyle…” She whispered and I felt the fluid start to slow. I released Elli and dropped her to the ground in a heap. I could not possibly describe how I felt then, but I need more. The doctor ran in the room and stopped dead when he saw Elli on the ground, blood dripping from her neck.

 

She was no longer bright red. She was now dark red, mostly black. I felt cooler now, the burning went away. I heard the doctor yell something, but I didn't hear him. I wanted more. The doctor turned to leave the room, when I grabbed him and drained him of fluid in a matter of seconds. I still wanted more. Nothing could be better than this. I don't know what exactly happened after that. It was a blur. But when I regained self-awareness I was on the ground outside in the cool night. The moon shone brightly on the town. Black puddles shimmered all around me. I didn't know what happened but I felt alone. That was when she came back.

 

“You passed, Koibito.” I stood up shakily and turned to see Victoria walking toward me. “Congratulations. I knew you could do it.”

 

I didn't know what was going on. I fell back and leaned on a wall behind me. “What happened? Where is everybody?” Victoria sighed and brought her hand up, stroking my wet cheek. She pulled her hand back to her and licked the liquid off. That's when I realized… It was blood! I was covered in blood! I tried to cry out in panic but I couldn't.

 

“I'm sorry I left. But it was the only way to do it. I had to let you pass on your own.” Victoria said in a sad tone. What test? What was she talking about? Where was everybody? Victoria seemed to hear my thoughts because she continued. “You are now a vampire. Last week I turned you into a vampire and left you to pass the test yourself.” I was shocked. I was a vampire? They existed? “Yes, we exist.” She shot at me and looked around. “Although I must admit, you performed much better than I gave you credit for.” I looked around and nearly passed out.

 

There were bodies everywhere all around me. I would have thrown up if I hadn't seen my mother's body right next to me. I was too shocked to do anything. I knelt down next to her and placed my hand on her shoulder. There was a mass of blood at her neck and her face was a mask of shock and pain. I couldn't cry thought, I wanted to, but I couldn't. “Who did this?” I asked, my voice shaken. I felt Victoria's eyes on me for a long time. Then she spoke in a tone that I took for mild surprise.

 

“You did, Kyle.” She answered blankly. It all suddenly came back to me. The hunger, the thirst… I remembered it all. I killed every single one of the townspeople. I shuddered and stood up. I still couldn't cry. I still down know why. Victoria looked at my with a small look of pity, then smiled and placed her hand on my shoulder. “I'll say it again, Koibito. You did splendidly. Not many vampires can succeed in erasing his or her existence in one night. You have promise.” I shrugged off her hand.

 

“Is that all what this was? This test of yours? Was it just to wipe out my whole existence?” I asked furiously. Victoria nodded. I yelled and tried to swing at Victoria. It all happened in a second. Victoria grabbed my arm and threw me against the wall on the other side of the street. In a flash she had me pinned against the wall and snarled at me. Her whole appearance changed; she seemed fierce and savage.

 

“As of right know, you have two choices, Koibito.” She whispered quietly. “You can die here with the rest of your miserable townspeople. Or…” She brought her face an inch away from mine. “You can come with me. And I'll show you how to live out immortality.” She kissed me softly. “Like a god.” With that she released me and walked toward the exit to the town.

 

I looked around at the carnage I had created. I wanted to curl up and die right there. But something made me follow Victoria again.

 

. . .

 

“That was… about… Three hundred and Fifty-nine years ago. Wow, has it been that long already?” Kyle sighed and scratched his head.

 

Katara, Aang, and Sokka were speechless. That meant he was… three hundred seventy-seven years old! He really wasn't kidding when he said he was older than he looked! Kyle smiled grimly and threw more wood on the fire. The sun had long set behind the far mountain and it was getting cold. Katara didn't know what to think. She had thought she saw fangs in Kyle's mouth. Now that explains it. But there were holes in the story… Where was this Victoria now, if Kyle was traveling alone?

”So…” Sokka started. “Where's Victoria now?” Kyle shrugged.

 

“No idea. I haven't seen her in a very, very long time.” He said. “She taught me the basics and kept me around for her… own reasons for about twenty or thirty years. Then one day she up and left me alone. Me, a newborn vampire had been left alone. I never did forgive her for that. I mean she could have at least let me know… Bitch.” He cursed and kicked the dirt.

 

Aang prompted the next segment of the story. “So how did you get the ability to firebend?”

 

Kyle held up his hand. “I was just getting to that.” He kicked the wood at the base of the fire, sending sparks and smoke into the darkness.

 

. . .

 

After Victoria left unexpectedly, I wandered around for several years. I cannot really be exact in anything, as time for vampires passed differently than humans. I wandered from town to town, from continent to continent, and over and over again. I barely remember anything from that time except for the fact that I fed on anybody and anything, and I killed anything that crossed my path. After a length of time passed the closest guess I have is two dozen years or more, I found myself in a fire nation town.

 

Some festival was happening at the time, as there was people dancing in the street and singing all around. I believe it was the fire-days festival. Skulking in the alleyways, I looked at all the villagers partake in the festivities with bloodlust in my eyes. But I couldn't take anybody in the middle of the festival, so I bided my time and waited until the festival slowed down, then I set out for a meal.

 

There were people here and there, supposedly coming home from the local tavern; from the way they stumbled. Those would be an easy catch. But an excess of alcohol makes the blood taste terrible. I would have to steer clear of them if I could. I continued walking in the shadows of the street looking from civilian to civilian. Too old… too young; what was a five year old doing out at this time, even with a parent? An hour must have passed until I came across her.

 

From behind, her long dark hair flowed down to her back and was tied at the end with a length of fabric. I couldn't tell anything else from that angle, so I approached quietly. The girl continued walking through the street and suddenly stopped when I was five feet behind her. I quickly jumped to the side and concealed myself behind a barrel. The girl sighed softly and turned around, facing where I had been a few seconds ago. I could see her face now. She looked no older that fifteen. He eyes looked gray in the flickering firelight. What was most intimidating about her was the sword strapped on her belt.

 

The girl cleared her throat and called out quietly. “You want to come out where I can see you? Or should I just find you myself?” I cursed silently, I had been found. Maybe I could silence her quickly. Standing up strait, I walked into the street and faced her. The young woman smiled and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face.

 

“Oh… I've never been stalked by such a cute vampire before. What can I do for you?” She smiled tightly. I snarled and crouched, ready to pounce. “I see.” She replied and put her hand lightly on the hilt of the sword. I jumped at her, my claws bared, ready to rip the girl to shreds. A split second before I reached her, the girl stepped to the side, dodging my attack. She brought her arm down in a chop, trying to catch my neck in a finish, but with my superhuman reactions, I whirled around and blocked her arm with mine. Even without superhuman speed, strength, and reactions, this girl was good. She wasn't a vampire, of that I was sure; it was all her own strength.

 

We traded blows and counterblows for a few minutes and we seemed matched in skills. Neither of us could achieve the upper hand.

 

“You're pretty good, cutie.” The young woman smiled. I growled and smacked her arm away with a fierce thrust. She jumped away and backed into a simple stance. I never had seen this stance before, I hesitated. “But not good enough.” She finished and pulled her arm back, taking a deep, slow breath. Before I could jump out of the way, she sent a pillar of fire strait at me. The flames hit me dead on and I was flung against the brick wall behind me. Before I could compose myself, she circled her arms around, and sent a thin trail of fire along the ground. The flames reached me and split into four strings of flame. The fire circled my ankles and wrists, and thrust them against the wall; I was pinned.

 

The girl strode up to me and ran her thin finger across my jaw. “You have potential, I think.” She whispered and at once, my vision went black.

 

. . .

 

Kyle stretched and rolled his neck around, emanating numerous cracks from his spine. “Just a second, gotta stretch for a minute.” He said and stood up. His listeners sat quietly and waited for him to continue. After a number of cracks, Kyle sat back down and threw another piece of wood into the flames “Alright, where was I?” He asked his listeners.

 

Aang piped up. ”You just lost to the firebending girl.” Kyle coughed and nodded.

 

“Ah… yes… I lost to Senea. Alright.” He cleared his throat and leaned back.

 

. . .

 

My eyes opened slowly and at once a bright flash of light blinded me. Letting out a groan I tried to bring my arm up to shield my face from the burning light, but my arms were heavy; I couldn't move them. I shook my head, trying to move it out of the light, but it didn't help. The light burned, sunlight always burned. I couldn't move away from the light and cringed in an attempt to take the pain away. Whimpering slightly, I thrashed around, trying my hardest to escape. Suddenly, the light turned out.

 

I opened my eyes and heard a voice come from a dark blur. “Well, well… You're finally awake, huh?” I strained to focus my eyes in the dark light and, with the help of my vampire senses, I saw the speaker.

 

It was the girl I had fought earlier. Where had she brought me? What was she intending to do to me? I only knew that I had to escape.

 

“I fastened you down, you cannot escape vampire.” She mentioned and stood up, shutting the window shutters, and walked to the other side of the room. She grabbed something from the floor. I then noticed that she wasn't wearing a shirt. Before I could get to excited, though, I was that she had a wrap covering anything interesting. I sighed and tried my arms again. The girl walked back to me, now with a shirt on, too my disappointment.

 

“So…” She began. “Now that I have your attention, I have an offer for you.” I looked at her, showing that she had my attention. “I can open the window and burn you alive… slowly.” She put her hand on the window. “Or, you can stay with me and help me train.” I stayed silent for a long time.

 

“Train you how?” I asked blankly. She took her hand away from the window.

 

“Just train. A vampire would be just about the only person alive, or not alive, that would be able to keep up with me, skill wise.” She rested her head on her hands. “One condition, thought, no… biting.” I narrowed by eyes at the girl. “I will kill you if you do.” I licked my lips and cleared my throat.

 

“I will have to feed somehow. I cannot survive, or even stay strong enough to help you train.” I whispered. With that the girl stood up and walked to her table. She picked up something and walked back to me. The girl cut my binds and I sat up slowly. When I was sitting upright, she held a cup out to me.

 

“I will supply you with blood, on a regular basis. Enough to keep you strong enough to train.” I eyed the cup and then her. She had a bandage wrapped around her wrist. A small red line was soaking through the gauss. I looked back to the cup. It was either be a training dummy, or dust. In the end, there was no contest. I accepted the cup and drank.

 

The girl smiled. “I'm Senea.”

 

. . .
. . .

 

And so I started my new life as Senea's training pet. I didn't mind, though. For the first time in so many years, I thought for myself. I was in control of my own actions. I was no longer a mindless killing machine wandering from town to town. She kept me supplied with her blood, and I trained with her every day.

 

Senea was an accomplished firebender and swordfighter. For a fifteen year-old, she was a prodigy. She exceeded most other firebenders that were older that I was. In training with her I also learned to fight with swords and, to perfect me combat, Senea taught be basic firebending stances to incorporate with my swordfighting. After I had seen how gifted Senea was, I felt privileged to be under the tutelage of such a powerful fighter.

Every day she would wake me up and we would go out for a morning run through the town. At first I was hesitant to be seen by so many people. It was a small town but it reminded me of where I was born. Luckily, though, the townspeople didn't seem to be that intimidated by me.

 

“If Senea thinks you're alright, then you're alright by us, friend.” They would say to me. That always made me feel welcome.

 

After an hour we would return to her house to eat a small breakfast. I wouldn't eat, though, Senea would eat while she gave me a book to study. The books ranged from history of the fire nation, to swordfighting techniques, to recipes for cooking.

 

“You have to train your mind as well as your body.” She would tell me between bites of rice or meat.

 

We then spent the rest of the day practicing our combat. She gave me a practice sword from the east. It was a curved sword, much like her own, though less ornate. We practiced Kenjutsu, as Senea called it, under the shade of trees. She explained that Kenjutsu was the art of weapon combat. Then in the afternoon she practiced her firebending on me. I would try and evade her flames and sometimes I would succeed, sometimes I wouldn't. I started to pick up her stances and techniques. Though they wouldn't do any good to me, I could use her firebending techniques with my swordfighting.

 

She wouldn't give me her blood every night, but about every two or three nights, she would cut a small cut on the inside of her left wrist, and pour her crimson blood in a cup, offering it to me, which I gratefully accepted. After dinner, she and I sat by a fire and read more books until she fell asleep. I stayed awake, I didn't need to sleep if I didn't want to. So I periodically went outside and practiced my katas more thoroughly. It would go on like this for a long time, wouldn't it?

 

Over the next few years Senea and I lived together and trained together. The townspeople accepted me and I was happy for the first time.

 

. . .

. . .

 

“Come on, Kyle, Come at me again! This time with more feeling!” Senea yelled and held her sword across her body, ready to shield herself. I looked at her, trying to find an opening. If I attacked her legs, she would sticker her blade in the ground. With it grounded, the impact of my sword against hers would be absorbed. She could easily counter with the impact being instantly absorbed. If I went for her head, she could lower herself to the ground, and swing at me. Even if I blocked that counter, she could break my block with her inertia against the ground.

 

She could easily block my sword if I went for her torso, as her sword was already across her body. I was at a skillful disadvantage. I had to think of what advantages I could have that she didn't. I then thought of something. I was taller than Senea. I could use my size to my advantage. My arms were longer at least by a couple inches. I had an idea.

 

I lowered my Katana, the curved sword Senea and I used, down so the it fell as such I grasped the edge of the hilt. Holding the edge of the hilt, I lifted the sword horizontal to the ground, pointed towards Senea. I had not seen anything like this before, so I mostly sure she hadn't either. I spaced my legs apart and shifted forward slowly. Senea narrowed her dark eyes and held her sword out further away from her.

 

It all happened in a few moments.

 

I rushed at Senea, and pushed my blade forward in a powerful thrust. She evaded to the side, trying to leave me open. Before she could counterattack, I twisted the blade to the side and slashed towards Senea again. She brought her blade up in a flash and was pushed back with a loud CLANG! Before Senea could recover, I rushed up to her and thrust the hilt of my sword into her midriff. It connected and Senea was pushed against a tree behind her. I jumped backwards and pulled the blade back into the same position I started.

 

Senea coughed and covered her mouth quickly. I put my sword in its sheath and rushed over to her. I tried to help her up but Senea shook her head.

 

“I'm fine, I'm fine.” She coughed again. “Just surprised me, that's all.” She sat down and whipped her mouth with her sleeve. “Ow.” She simply said and took a deep breath.

 

I started to apologize when she hacked again, this time a little bit of blood came from her mouth. “Ow, ow, ow.” She rubbed her stomach and winced. “What was that stance, Kyle? That was good.” She asked me.

 

I couldn't hear her. My vision was focused on the drops of blood on her face. She was talking, but I couldn't make out the words. I could feel her heartbeat. It was getting loud and louder. NO… not again. I couldn't let this happen again. Not again. I tried to stop myself, but the beating was calling me. She tried to say something again. I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the tree trunk. She stopped talking and started to look alarmed, almost scared.

 

“Kyle?” I could barely make out. But it was drown out by the sound of blood flowing through her veins. I started to tremble. I moved my face close to hers. I could smell her blood. Senea said my name again. I could feel her breath on my face, it smelled on blood. I could barely stand it. The blood was calling. Senea whimpered as I ran my tongue across the blood on her lips. It was sweet, and set my body on fire. Warm blood was always better than cool blood. I had gone so long without fresh blood.

 

I licked the last of the blood from her mouth and trembled as I savored her taste. I pulled my face away from hers and lowered my head to her neck. Her pulse was strongest here. It was deafening. I was about to press my mouth to her neck when her voice broke through.

 

“Kyle… please… no…” Senea cried quietly. My conciseness was back in a flash and I push away from the crying girl roughly. I looked at her tears fall down her face and I would have cried myself if I hadn't gotten sick right then. I keeled over and regurgitated the small traces of blood I stole and last nights as well. A few minutes later the dry heaves finally ceased and I lay on the ground staring away from the still sobbing girl. I couldn't think of anything. I heard Senea stand up slowly and run back to the house. I stayed on the ground staring at an ant that was finding its way back home.

 

If only it was that easy.

 

. . .

 

R & R