"Cade, I have a good news for you."
Lauren parked her car and couldn't wait to share her good news with him.
And she didn't notice the eerie silence or cold darkness that surrounded her home.
She'd just taken a few steps past her living room when she almost slipped and fell.
She turned on the light and immediately wished she hadn't.
Blood.
It was on the floor, the walls, the ceiling and her counters—everywhere.
Then she heard it.
Labored breathing; the kind taken by someone who was dying.
She felt her own blood rushing through her body. Felt her heart pumping it. Felt it drain from her face when she looked closely at the bodies. Felt it turn cold when her gaze landed on the one that was still breathing.
A gasp escaped past her numb lips. Lauren took an involuntary step back bumping into the hallway wall behind her. She braced one hand on the wall and the other she brought it up to her mouth to cover her scream of horror.
Slowly and weakly he turned his head to look at her. His face and body were disfigured; caught between human and something she thought only existed in movies. His eyes, she recognized those eyes. She would recognize them anywhere. They were the last pair of eyes she saw every night before she fell asleep and the first ones that she saw every morning when she first woke up.
Those eyes told her it was all real. Lauren shook her head. Before her eyes, his face was changing. His head returned to human form. The muzzle became a nose. The sharp canines became teeth. Her eyes widened even more than she thought possible and if she could've, she would have taken another step back.
It can't be! It's not true! They don't exist! This is not real!
"It is real. We exist. It's true and it is." He told her between blood filled coughs. Lauren hadn't realized she'd said it out loud until he spoke and she just shook her head in denial. "Don't look at me like that. I don't want to die with you looking at me in fear. I want to die with the memory of your smile." He coughed again and more blood came out of his mouth. Lauren couldn't stop shaking her head. She couldn't move. "Don't cry. God please don't cry."
She was so numb to everything, she hadn't realize that she was crying until he told her. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, he was dying and she couldn't do any of the things that she knew would make him smile one last time.
"I wish…" Once more he coughed up blood, "Listen Lauren you have to go. Run. Run as fast as you can and don't stop. Don't stop for anything. They can track by scent and they will be coming after you. You have something they want."
"There is a small box in my drawer take it with you and run. Run Lauren."
And she did. She only took with her the clothes on her back, her purse, valuables, the small box he'd indicated, a box full of memories and a very special gift.
The only true thing she had left of him.
Since then, she lived a fugitive life and vanished to thin air.
***
20 years later
She was meeting her parents for the first time.
Equal parts of dread and anticipation coursed through her veins. Perspiration rolled down her neck making the last leg of the ride even more unbearable.
The butterflies in her stomach urged her to pull over but she couldn't postpone it any longer. She'd dragged her feet as much as she possibly could, but she'd reached the end of the line.
"What if they don't like me?" she wondered. "What if they don't want me?"
Lost in her thoughts, Jessica almost missed her turn. She took a sharp turn and soon realized her mistake; a car was driving down the center of the street towards her.
Later when she thought back, she would realize that what followed only took a couple of seconds no longer than few minutes, but the ensuing adrenaline rush had her experiencing the encounter in super slow motion.
The car was driving down the center because they were on a residential area and cars were parked on either side of the street. Way too many cars which meant some kind of gathering and no doubt they would all come running out when they heard the impact.
Although crashing into a car would not kill her— this wouldn't be the first time she'd crashed into a car— she couldn't say the same for her bike—her baby. It would also bring her unwanted attention when she walked away from a near fatal accident with wounds healing faster than humanly possible.
One look around and she took in the scene with cool logical precision, a skill taught and later honed since early childhood.
She couldn't squeeze in between the cars, no riding over them either. Not enough room or time to turn around and if she hit the brakes and jump but she refused to abandon her bike.
And then she saw it up ahead; an unblocked driveway and something other than asphalt, grass. Unfortunately she wouldn't make it in time at the speed she was going. She had to go faster and it was a gamble, one wrong move and she was toast.
She took a deep breath, hunched over and revved her bike.
Channeling her inner Evil Knievel she sped towards the oncoming— now braking—tires squealing car. At the last moment she turned into the unblocked drive—way and took another sharp turn on to their front yard.
She switched off the motor and threw herself off the bike. And suddenly it all went wrong. Somehow the bottom of her jeans got tangled with the bikes' peddle. Thankfully, she managed to untangle herself before the bike could drag her along but the unexpected complication cost her.
She landed awkwardly on her ankle and felt it snap under her weight. She bit her lip to keep herself from screaming from the pain.
With eyes stinging from the pain, she watched her bike, now on its side, slide across the yard until it was stopped by some bushes. Jessica, ignoring her injury, jumped up, took of her helmet and back pack, tossed them on the ground and ran to pick up her baby before any long lasting damage occurred. She'd just set it back on its stand when a pair of hands landed on her shoulder and snapped her around.
Without her notice, the owner of the car had slammed on his breaks and now stood before her. He didn't shake her but she could tell he wanted to by the way his fingers tightened on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
Jessica looked up at the brown eyed stranger in shock. She shook her head while silently berating herself for letting someone sneak up on her, she was definitely not on point. She'd let her guard down, even if it was for a second and that was unforgiveable.
Jessica shrugged his arms off of her. Pushing him away, she stepped behind her bike, strategically placing it between them. He'd failed to notice the awkward twist of her ankle and she wanted to keep it that way.
With that in mind, she leaned on her bike with her hands on the seat and she raised her injured foot to relieve some of the pressure. Her ankle was already healing but the pain wasn't going away. Her adrenaline rush was ebbing and the pain was increasing.
It had taken everything she had in her to run to her bike and pick it up.
Now her energy was running low and she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up pretenses. She wiped the sweat forming on her forehead with the sleeve of her sweater. Swaying slightly she reached for her bike and closed her eyes.
"Are you alright?" He asked again.
Jessica took a deep breath. "Yeah, I guess I'm just having a late reaction."
"Maybe we should get you checked out."
"I'm fine." To prove it, she stood up straight, returning his dubious stare without batting an eyelash.
"Well if you're sure, we should at least exchange insurance information."
