Snippet #2305114

The phone vibrated in Derek’s hand. Alessa watched as he read the message, and then abruptly closed the phone. The look of mild disgust on his face would have been amusing if not for the situation they were in.

“Sometimes you worry me,” Derek said. At that, Alessa managed a half-smile. She worried herself, too. She oftentimes did things in the spur of the moment, without giving them a second thought or a thought at all. Derek, as if on cue, lapsed into a brief lecture about her feeding; don’t push off her feeding, do drink at least one blood bag a day. She felt like a child with her head hung low receiving a long talk about her responsibilities as a big girl. But, she was already a big girl – 1601 years old – and this wasn’t her first time hearing such a speech.

She did, though, giggle under her breath when her protector spoke of the horrid taste of the bagged blood. The longer away from a living human body, the worse blood tastes. The blood dies, until all of the life is gone. The sizzle in the taste vanishes, the electrifying feeling after feeding gone. Human blood is like a drug; once you have a little you can’t get enough. The taste is unlike any other in the world. You feel a buzz afterwards, as well. You step is lighter, and no one can rain on your parade. Alessa was marching in the eye of a hurricane. Her stomach was in her throat, and her head was just starting to lose the cloudiness it had.
She snapped out of her revere when Derek pulled her into a hug. The woman was just tall enough in her heals to be able to wrap her arms comfortably around his waist. “I’m serious, Ally. You’re killing yourself bit by bit doing things this way,” he whispered. She thought about what he said, nodding against his chest before he gave her a squeeze. He bent down, grabbing the momentarily forgotten man at her feet and heaving him over his shoulder.

“I’ll get this one outside and into the right position – cover up the bite marks and the stray blood.” He looked at her, and then gave her a shrug. He had given her the clean-up job. Killing humans wasn’t something she was unfamiliar with, but act itself never got easier. Someone had once told her that after the first death you caused, killing would get easier. She had imagined herself after many years becoming utterly expressionless, never blinking an eye after tearing out someone’s throat. On different occasions, killing was easy. At a time she was a lone wanderer, and sought out evildoers in the towns she visited, only killing those who were more of a danger to mankind than she was. Deaths never settled easy with Alessa, and this one was particularly nauseating.

“Don’t freak out.” Derek said before leaving, the limp figure in his arms thumping lightly against his back as Derek moved. The female stared at the back door briefly before sighing. She had a lot of work to do. The hall was drenched in red; the floor was a still river, the wall was a waterfall, and even the light overhead was dripping red rain. Shaking her head, Alessa began working.

The job didn’t take long. Cleaning supplies was in a nearby closet; mops, paper towels, etc. Her incredible vampire swiftness helped speed up the work, as well. Alessa smiled, remembering her workout this morning. She must’ve gotten a little faster, just a little. Being as small as she was, she was already faster than most, but Derek surpassed everyone in the house with his speed and strength. Alessa was hoping for the day when she could actually beat him in a race.

Her thought of racing kept her mind occupied while cleaning up the rest of the blood. After swiping away any trace of fingerprints, her, Derek, or “Luca” could have left behind, she exited the bar. She leaped onto a nearby trashcan, and caught hold of the edge of the roof before swinging herself on the top of the small bar. Again, she cursed her small stature she inherited from her mother. Getting on top of the building wouldn’t have been so hard if she wasn’t so darn short.

“Wow,” she said quietly. “Thanks for leaving me with cleaning duty. I sure made a heck of a mess in there.” She smiled slightly, gazing at the skyline. Alessa gave a low laugh. “’Though she be but little, she is fierce!’” the vampire quoted, wondering if Derek recognized it.