FicWad

Alicia stared up at the moon, smiling. She just couldn't stay inside; the air seemed warm and stale in comparison to the fresh breezes currently blowing through her hair. It was colder than the previous night, causing her to shiver every once in a while. She didn't mind, though. Anything to escape the prison she lived in now.

Mikey crouched low in the grass, listening to the human carefully. He hadn't breathed since his arrival; it was too dangerous. If he attacked her and spilled too much of her blood, others might be drawn to the scent.

'And that would be a serious problem,' he thought to himself, creeping closer.

Alicia stared out across the field, her gaze lingering on the dark forest at the very edge.

'I wonder if any of the creatures live in there,' she thought, narrowing her eyes slightly. 'Maybe Jamia was wrong. There might not be any of them left.' Her heart leapt at the idea. 'Then we could come back outside and live here again. We could stop hiding.'

She froze suddenly as her eyes caught sight of movement. Standing to see if she could get a better look, her heartbeat began to quicken.

"Who's there?" she asked in a frightened voice. The movement ceased, but she continued to watch the patch of grass, retreating into the shadows in hopes of remaining unseen. She shook her head suddenly. 'I'm letting my nerves get to me,' she thought. 'No one's there.'

Mikey lay absolutely still at the sound of her voice, staying even lower to the ground. She couldn't know he was there; he would have to dispose of her soon. Then this whole situation would end and he could go back to his normal life. He was beginning to see why Frank hated them so much; wanting to drink her blood was driving Mikey insane. He began breathing again at the thought, the scent drifting into his nose eagerly. He swiftly ran forward without a sound. He could always be more silent when running than he could by remaining still.

He hid in the shadows of the cavern, no more than ten feet from her. She was trying to hide in the darkness as well, still fearfully watching the meadow.

'Silly human,' he thought with a smirk as his teeth began to grow. 'I'm not out there anymore. But don't be afraid; your death will be quick...and almost painless.' He watched as she stepped forward, face becoming pale as the moonlight hit it. He stopped breathing when he saw her. He had not expected to see someone so beautiful. She looked almost as pale as him, though he knew it to be impossible. Just a trick of the light. Instead of sprinting to her and killing her instantly, he slowly walked over, still cloaked in darkness.

Alicia turned upon hearing one of his footsteps echo on the stone, scrutinizing the darkness and hoping to see what was causing the sound. The footsteps only drew closer. She tried to back away, but ended up flattening herself against the cave wall. Her heart seemed to be pounding in her ears. Her legs went weak and she sank to the ground, hugging her knees and wishing she could run away.

Mikey stopped when he saw this. 'She's afraid of me,' he thought, contemplating his next move. 'Maybe I shouldn't-'

No! his mind screamed at him. Kill her now. He stepped ever closer, watching as she tilted her head back to look at him. He could see the blood pulsating in her neck, almost able to feel the vibrations through the air. He was standing right in front of her now.

'Don't hurt me,' Alicia thought as tears sprang to her eyes. She quickly blinked them away. She wouldn't show afraid she was, no matter what.

She was surprised when a pale hand appeared before her, offering to help her stand up. She breathed a sigh of relief. It was only another person. A pang of guilt hit her as she realized she had been caught outside, and she knew she was in trouble. Sighing miserably, she reached out a hand.

Mikey clenched his fingers around her wrist, pulling her to her feet and holding her in place with one motion. The warmth from her hand shot through his arm like electricity, startling him for a second. It had been so long since he had touched a human; he forgot how warm they were.

Alicia looked at the hand binding her wrist with complete shock. It was so cold, just like the icy hands that had slammed her against the wall and made her fear for her life. She opened her mouth to speak - or scream - but the person's other hand closed over her mouth and prevented any sound from escaping. Her fear was escalating, and not even five seconds had passed. The person turned just enough for her to see half of his face.

She nearly screamed. He looked similar to the person she had seen the previous day, but not exactly the same. His hair was just as dark, but instead of being short and spiked, it was longer and swept behind one ear. She could only see one of his eyes, liquid golden and gleaming in the moonlight, split in half by a vertical black pupil. Like a cat's eye, or a tiger's. A predator. And she knew she was the prey.

Alicia tried to break away from him, but he pulled her back when she was an arm's length away, never letting go of her wrist.

"You can't escape," he growled, holding her in place with iron grips on her upper arms. She lowered her gaze to the ground, shuddering slightly as her eyes finally released their tears onto the stone below.

Mikey was stunned. A wave of guilt washed over him, and he gently drew his hands away from her. He could see purple bruised already starting to form in the exact shapes of his fingers. 'Did I hurt her?' he thought as she once again sank down to the ground, now crying. Kill her now, his mind shrieked at him. He fought against the words and the lavender scent emanating from her, kneeling by her side and searching for something to say.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked quietly, unsure of what to expect as a response. She looked up at him with terrified dark eyes. She slowly shook her head, glancing at the bruise on her left arm.

"That was already there," she muttered through her tears, sniffling once and wiping the water off of her face.

"From what?" he murmured quietly.

"Someone...attacked me yesterday," she said slowly, unable to meet his eyes. He soon figured out why and closed his eyes, forcing them to return to normal and his teeth to retract. "He looked like you."

"Gerard," Mikey growled under his breath. "I'm not going to hurt you," he added quickly, noting the terror in her eyes upon hearing his voice.

No! You need to kill her. Slit her throat. Drink her blood. Now.

'I can't do it,' he told himself. 'She's hurt.'

Then finish the job!

"Just leave me alone," Alicia said sadly. He felt his heart ache from her words.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, raising a hand towards her face. She closed her eyes, thinking he would strike her, but instead he softly stroked the side of her face. She flinched away from his cold fingers.

"The other one asked me if I was human," she murmured, folding her arms on top of her knees and resting her chin on them. "Why?"

"Because we are not human," Mikey whispered to himself, just loud enough that she could hear. "We are monsters."

"That's not possible," she said in disbelief, frowning. "You don't look anything like the monsters I've heard about." She took one of his hands in her own, this time not surprised by the cold temperature. "You don't have claws."

"What else have you heard?" he asked with a smile.

"You're supposed to be shape shifters...able to turn into things like bats and wolves."

"Bats?" he asked with a lighthearted laugh. "That's a myth." His face suddenly darkened. "But there are creatures who can become wolves. They must be the ones you're talking about."

"Do you drink blood?" she asked flatly. He nodded. "Then you are one of them."

"You are wrong," he said shaking his head. "We are different."

"Then what are you?" she asked in slight frustration. He looked directly into her eyes.

"Your kind would call me a vampire."