Walking into the kitchen I shook my head at the mess I had left. There were dishes all over the counter making it impossible to see anything. As I started the mundane work of washing, rinsing and drying dishes a thought came to me; I should have gotten theses chores done before I went out last night. Images of the beach were crossing my mind, the relaxing sound of the waves crashing on the shore. I was day dreaming again; it was too nice a day to be stuck in the house. Not wanting to waste any more time, I finished up my chores and dashed upstairs. I wanted to ask my mom if I could go out.
"Mom, can I go down to the beach and hang out with my friends?" I waited for the answer, hoping she would let me go. There had been too many unexplained disappearances. The news had been riddled with reports for two weeks now. Five from my street alone and all of them were my age, with similar features; long dark hair and green eyes with a petite frame.
Mom looked over at me, her eyes showing concern, carefully weighing her options before letting me leave. "Yes…” she paused.
“You can go Rayna, but please take your phone, the house keys and pre-paid card.” She reached in her purse and pulled out my card, I wasn’t allowed to carry it all the time.
“Why do I need to take my card with me?" I paced the room while my mom took a moment to think of an answer, weighing how much she should tell me.
Sighing she said “I won’t be home later, so you’ll have to eat out.”
With that in mind I turned and headed to my room, to change into more beach appropriate clothes. Putting on a black tank with purple shorts, I finished off the outfit with a pair of black strappy sandals. I paused, twirling in front of the standup mirror in the corner. I double check that I had a full charge on my phone and my keys before shoving them in the back with the pre-paid card. I wasted no time making my way down the stairs.
Reaching the front door, I called out, “Bye mom, I love you.”
There was no reply; she must have gone to sleep. I wonder what could be so important that she wouldn’t be home tonight. Without a second thought, I left, closing the door behind me. I started down the street like so many times before.
I gazed wistfully at the large houses as I passed by, with their manicured lawns and sculpted hedges. I was walking through the richer part of the neighborhood. Playfully, I matched my steps to the tempo of a classical song on my iPod. The beach was approximately thirty minutes from my house, with a few twists and turns along the way. It was nice for when I just wanted to get away and put my toes in the sand.
Glancing around once more, I noticed people peeking out from behind their curtains. Unease settled in, my stomach began to knot and my skin crawled; the sensation of being watched made me glance behind me. No one was there. Maybe my imagination was trying to play tricks on me.
The sun was beating down on everything, the only relief being a slight salty breeze. When I arrived at the beach I noticed it wasn’t busy as usual. The sound of the waves against the shore, lead me into a surreal tranquility. Shaking my head slightly I noticed I couldn’t hear the squawking of seagulls fighting over scraps of food. On a normal day, parents would be struggling to keep track of small children while teens played the bad ass, causing trouble. You would think with the heat there would be more people around.
Were the disappearances the cause for the semi-deserted beach? I thought as I chose a place to settle in.
Scanning the area, I noticed none of my friends could be found. I pulled out my phone and started texting each one. As I waited for a reply, I dug my toes deeper in the sand enjoying the coolness agains the heat of my bare feet.
The knots in my stomach hadn’t left me. I still felt someone was watching me, only this time it felt like they were closer. I took another look around, I scanned everything in my sight, but again there was no one. Shaking my head I was becoming irritated with the situation; I’d never felt like this away from home before. Looking around I started to notice a change in area around me. More and more people were gathering up their things as if an impending storm were on its way.
What could have scared them off? Still trying to shake the dread filling my soul, I took a glance at my phone realizing I still hadn’t heard from anyone. I was alone; just me and my little part of the beach.
Needless to say, I was starting to get hungry. Thinking of where I wanted to go, I decided to make my way over to my favorite pizza place. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been there.
Fear washed over me, as strong arms wrapped around my small waist, restraining me. At first I thought it was Aries, my old friend playing some kind of sick joke on me. Trying to get a better look, I twisted in my captor’s arms, struggling. When I found I couldn’t free myself, my breathing became rapid and my heart picked up pace. Terrified, I searched for help, but the area was deserted. The world began to spin as panic set in. My eyes darted around. Blackness pulled me further under, my eyes fluttering closed. Fainting I fell lax in my captor’s arms.
#
Stifling a sob I realized I had been kidnapped. Waking up in the back of a strange vehicle, I found myself lying on the floor of what I could only assume to be a van. It was in good condition, the seats and floors held no stains from everyday use. At first all I heard were low murmurs, but it sounded like something very important. Needing to know more I tried edging my way closer. I heard the words "she’s" and "soul mate." The first thought to cross my mind was that they were going to kill me. One of the men noticed that I was no longer unconscious and instructed his partner to “knock me out".
Terrified, I began to shake, the sobs wracking my entire body making it impossible for me to move. As the second man moved closer to me, I became even more hysterical.
"We don’t want to hurt you, but you have to come with us." he soothed.
I tried to scream, but found the gag in my mouth prevented it. The unknown man started to crouch next to me.
God help me, I thought as I looked up into the most piercing blue eyes I’d ever seen.
They looked like the sea itself. He leaned in close to me and started to whisper something I couldn’t understand. Listening to the rhythm, it sounded like he was singing to me:
Sleep now my beautiful rose.
Breathe deep and soft as the dawn grows
Dew touching your soft petals,
Drawing them down to the earth
Keeping you safe before the early morn.
Sleep now my beautiful rose.
Dusk approaches and we shall meet
With moonlight dancing on your leaves
Soft breezes blow gently on
I will be watching from afar.
Sleep now my beautiful rose.
I felt my eyes slowly start to close as a foggy haze seemed to surround me… that was the last thing I remembered.
As the fog lifted, I woke in a beautiful room. Rose and gold colored linens were draped across the bed. Heavy gold drapes covered the floor to ceiling windows. I remembered going down to the beach, and being grabbed from behind. My anxiety mounted in the passing minutes, images of being kidnapped floated across my mind.
I needed to come up with an escape plan, but I felt too drained from the events of the day. Looking around the room, I tried to take in everything, but it was hard to manage the fears and excitement I felt from my surroundings. I was on a large bed in the center of the room, with gold colored nightstands on either side. What did they want with me? I wondered, letting my eyes wonder the rest of the room.
The walls were painted a pale pink with gold vines. Never in all my life, as short as it might be, had I seen anything so extravagant. The feeling of sleep pulled my thoughts away from my troubles. I slowly lay back against the soft down pillows letting my mind drift, sleep wrapping its tantalizing arms around me.
#
The next morning I woke to the feeling of two sets of strong arms holding me. Panicking, I couldn’t move and started screaming. The two men Id seen the day before had me pinned to the bed, both of whom were lying on either side of me. Within seconds of my scream, they leapt from the bed, startled and confused, looking around for the cause of my alarm.
Hysterically, I started yelling, questioning them. “What do you think you’re doing, I’m only seventeen?! Why did you take me?” They both looked at me in shock, as if they thought I should already know some hidden secret they both seemed to share.
"Hi I’m Cale, it’s so nice to finally to meet you.” His eyes were the ones I remembered before the fog, singing me to sleep.
When the other man spoke, his voice was tender, I was caught off guard by the amount of tenderness I heard in his voice. “My name is Malachi. It’s a pleasure to have you in our home.”
I lost my train of thought when the room started to spin blurring shapes and colors together. There were too many questions I needed to ask, as if they read my mind. They grinned at each other, pleased to finally be able to speak to me. It was like writing on the wall for them.
Cale spoke first, answering some of my questions. “We were sleeping next to you.” He sighed, shaking his head he went on. “My brother and I didn’t want you to get lonely. I promise that no harm will come to you. We took you because you are our mate and you belong with us.” The more I heard the more questions came to mind but now the biggest was what he meant by mate.
Captivated with everything they had told me, I needed to know what a mate was. This time they looked at each other and shrugged thinking that I should know when I was around my soul mate.
Speaking at the same time with confusion in their eyes “Do you not feel the pull of your heart towards us?” For our kind and many others we rely on finding our soul mates. It completes us; it’s a process that allows us to finally become whole. We have been looking for you for centuries, this may seem like a very long time to you but for us, it goes by agonizingly slow.
This is where I stopped them, I needed an answer. “Your kind, what do you mean by your kind and others?” not wanting to hear the answer, that I held in the back of my mind.
Malachi answered with reluctance “We are vampires.” Fidgeting with his hands, you could tell he didn’t know where to start. “Vampires have different blood lines, in such creating family ties with one another.”
Looking at them I had to know. “Are there other creatures that are supposed to be myths?”
Cale took over in a carefree manor. “Yes there are others, Werewolves, witches, warlocks, and Fea, they all hide themselves within the human world.”
Looking over at them both like they were crazy, shaking my head at the story they were telling me. Did they think this would work to keep me here?
The rest of my morning was spent pondering my situation. The twins never left my side for more than twenty minutes, grabbing food.
How was I going to get away if they never left me alone? The thought slipped into my mind as I gazed out the window.