Samantha smiled. She loved how annoyed he was, and she reveled in the fact that it was about to get much worse. She couldn’t wait.
She opened the front door widely, and walked out, heading right towards him.
His look changed to one of outright outrage.
“What the hell are you doing in this house?” he yelled from across the lawn, strutting right towards her. “Do you realize that this is breaking and entering? You young kids think it’s all a joke, that you can crash anywhere you want. I’m sick of it. You’re not gonna get away with it this time. I’ve had just about enough of this!” he yelled in a rush, as he pulled out his cell, still strutting towards her.
She smiled even wider, and this really set him off.
“You think this is a joke, don’t you?” he said, as he began to raise his phone to his ear, walking towards her with twice the speed.
As he reached her, he grabbed her roughly under her arm. He turned, thinking that he would drag her off.
His expression changed to one of shock, as he realized she had other plans. Before his fingers could fully dig into her skin, she had swept his arm around in one swift motion, and then twisted it back, snapping it cleanly in half.
His face contorted in pain as he began to scream. But before he could make any noise, she grabbed his head and brought it down right into her knee. There was a crack, and then nothing, as his body went limp.
Before his body hit the floor, she was already pouncing, sinking her teeth deep into his neck. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she fed, and fed. She felt ecstasy, as his blood coursed through her system.
When she finished, she picked up his lifeless body, went to his car, opened the trunk and threw his body in. Before she slammed it shut, she reached in and grabbed the car keys from his pants pocket.
She headed back towards the house, wiping the last remnants of blood from her mouth, and admired the morning sky.
This was going to be a great day.
FOURTEEN
Caitlin was running. She was back in the field, running through the knee-high grass. It was daybreak, and as she ran, the world seemed to rotate. She felt as if she were running right towards the large, glowing sun.
There, on the horizon, stood her father, his silhouette lit by the sun. His arms were opened wide, waiting to embrace her. She could not make out his features, but she did know that he was grinning, waiting to embrace her. If only she ran faster.
Caitlin ran for all she had, but no matter how fast she went, he kept getting farther.
She was not surprised. This was how the dream always went. A part of her knew this even as she dreamt it.
But this time, something happened. This time, suddenly, she gained ground. He was actually getting closer.
As she ran closer to him 50 yards, then 20, then 10, for the first time, she saw him. He was standing there, huge, so tall and proud, in all his glory, lit up by the sun. He was a beautiful man. A warrior. Somehow, he resembled Caleb.
She ran right into his arms and gave him a huge hug. He embraced her back. It felt so good to, finally, be in his arms.
“Daddy!” she cried.
“My child,” he said, in a deep, beautiful, reassuring voice. “I’ve missed you so very much. I have been looking down on you. And I’m so proud of you,” he said.
He took her by the shoulders, held her back at arm’s length, and stared into her eyes.
His eyes were bright yellow, the color of the sun, and shining right at her.
She couldn’t bear to look, but she couldn’t bear to look away either. They radiated such warmth and love.
“Do you remember, Caitlin?” he asked. “Do you remember, when you were young? Where we used to go? The cliffs. The red cliffs.”
An image flashed into her mind of huge, red cliffs, of gigantic rocks, spread all throughout the beach, into the water. A magical place. Yes, she remembered. It was coming back.
“Find me there,” he said. “Continue your search. And find me there.”
He started to fade, and as she reached out to grab him, he was suddenly gone.
Caitlin woke with a start.
She was flat on her back, looking up at the treetops. In the distance, she could see the passing sky passing, through the trees. A wisp of a cloud drifted by.
She had no idea where she was, but she still felt as if she were dreaming. She could hear the wind rustling through the delicate branches, leafless, and it felt as if the whole world were alive, swaying, making noise.
Despite being outdoors, she felt comfortable. She looked down and saw she was lying on the forest floor, in a pile of soft pine needles. A few feet away lay Caleb. Her heart swelled. It felt great to be sleeping so close to him. She hoped he wouldn’t wake anytime soon, that she could lie like this forever. Everything in the world just felt right.
She looked back up at the sky, and tried to remember how they had got there. Tried to remember the night before.
She remembered the feeding. There had been a small family of deer, and Caleb had calmed her, had taught her how to wait. He had taught her how to control it. She had remembered feeling clarity.
Once she’d charged after them, her body had surprised her, had told her what to do, where to go. She’d found herself charging with lightning speed through the woods, then pouncing.
She remembered wrapping her arms around a deer’s neck, and going for a ride. It had been fast, faster than she could have ever dreamt. But finally, she had found the vein and sunk her teeth in. And the feeling had been electrifying.
She had never felt so alive as the deer’s blood coursed through her. She had felt on fire. Rejuvenated.
Slowly, her pains had faded, as did her hunger. And she’d felt stronger than she’d ever had. She’d felt as if the world were hers.
She looked over at Caleb. He had fed, too, last night. They had met afterwards, both so exhilarated, and then, so tired. They had laid back, on the forest floor, near each other, and had looked up at the swaying trees. Listening to the wind.
And then, within moments, they’d both fallen fast asleep.
Now, lying there, she inched closer to him, wanting to test out the feel of herself in his arms. She was still wearing his leather coat, and as she reached out, its sleeves just covering her hands, and ran the back of her hand along his cheek. It was so smooth. She imagined that they were together, a couple.
Caitlin suddenly heard a rustling, and she sat up straight.
Right in front of her, slowly approaching, was a pack of wolves. She had never seen a wolf before, and had no idea how to react. Oddly enough, she wasn’t afraid. She was intrigued, mesmerized. In fact, as she watched them, she almost felt a strange sort of kinship.