The Witch of Willow Lake

Chapter 8

    I watched as Alicia's eyes lit up as I told her about how Jacob had asked me to his family's dance while we sat listening to the radio in our cozy lounge.

    "Oh, Emmett, I can't believe our girl is going on her first date!" Alicia swooned like a doting mother.

    "I may not be your dad, but I feel like a proud father right now." Emmett grinned widely as he reached over to squeeze my shoulder softly.

    "Now, you be sure that boy treats you right, or we'll have to rough him up a little, won't we Emmett?"

    "Too right, can't have someone messing with our girl now." Emmett chuckled. "But first things first, who's going on the supply run?"

    "I think us two girls will today, how does that sound, Hallie?" Alicia smiled as she stood herself up.

    "I'd like that." I smiled as my head nodded in agreement.

    I couldn't deny I was nervous about tonight, I knew nothing about making friends nor dating. Back in Willow Lake, we weren't really friends, just one big family. You just became friends with everyone in the village because well, you didn't have many other choices.

    However, Alicia had been human once and was a human right until she was thirty-six. She'd become a Vampire when one had found her close to death from influenza, and he'd turned her instead.

    Alicia had told me how before that she'd been married; she'd done dating and relationships even if it was over a century ago now, and she'd found love as a Vampire too, with Emmett. So going out on a supply run just her and I would be the perfect time to talk to her about things.

    "All right, I'll stay here and get the place cleaned up, do some work, and prep for dinner. Be safe out there." Emmett pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head before he embraced Alicia and kissed her sweetly.

    "We always are. Come on pretty lady, let's go get those supplies, eat some food and get you ready for your date!"

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    Alicia and I trod carefully through the woods. Although the sun was still up, we knew with two wolf packs within the area; we needed to be careful.

    They didn't come out during the day often, but it didn't mean they wouldn't, nor remember our scent if we trod on their land.

    "Hmm, I was thinking maybe a rabbit stew tomorrow night, how does that sound?" Alicia pondered as we walked further in, towards the patch we knew grew the best berries.

    "I love your rabbit stew. When I was out on my own, the rabbit tasted awful, but I like the way you do it." I agreed.

    "Ah, it's one of those meats you have to cook just right. Although mind you, it tastes vile to Emmett and me, regardless. That's why after we've taken yours out, we add in a load of spices or herbs, it makes it a little more bearable to eat."

    "Why did you and Emmett decided you didn't want to, you know, drink human blood?"

    "I don't know." Alicia shrugged softly as she waved around some overgrown bushes, "Emmett was, in his early days, brutal and he could kill hundreds given a chance. He said it wasn't until he met me, who was already a...vegatarian shall we say he began to change. It was rough on him at first because his primal need to hunt and kill was far stronger than mine. However, with my help, he became the man you know now. As for me, I was just never wired that way. After my first kill, I felt so guilty that I cried for days, and I began to starve myself, but that was awful in itself."

    I shuddered at the thought of the things Emmett had done. The man I knew now, I would have never imagined being capable of hurting one human, let alone hundreds.

    "What was it like, starving yourself?"

    "I couldn't even tell you, Hallie, it was so dreadful. When we don't feed, we don't die — we just kind of become mummified, but you're alive, so you can feel everything, you just can't move, or even talk. Have you ever gone more than a day without water?"

    "Yeah, once. After I'd run from Silver Oak, I'd not found any suitable drinking water for almost three days. The thirst and dehydration had been horrendous. I could cope with hunger, but thirst was one thing I couldn't deal with." A shudder ran up my spine as I recalled those days.

    As I evoked the memory, it was almost as if I could feel how it felt again. Each breath I took burned, each time I swallowed felt like I was eating sandpaper, I felt weak, dizzy, and lightheaded, too.

    "Well amplify that feeling tenfold, then you get the smallest idea what it's like, but even that doesn't do it justice. I'd killed a squirrel out of sheer desperation and drank its blood. It didn't taste pleasant mind you, but I felt like me again, so, that's what I did. Sadly, I discovered if we're going to stay healthy, quick, on our feet, we have to drink human blood sometimes. But I can proudly say, one hundred and thirty-odd years, I can count my kills on both hands."

    "What's it like, being a Vampire? Besides the bloodlust?" It was something I'd always wondered about, but never really thought to ask before now. I had no desire to find out on a personal level, but I was curious.

    "No different from being a human really once you adjust." Alicia chuckled, "There are some significant differences, sure. For example, no heartbeat, and you get cold a lot easier too. You're faster, quicker, and more agile than a human also, but again, you can learn to control that. Honestly, once you adjust and learn to control the powers like you have your capabilities, I guess I don't feel much different."

    "Do you ever wish you hadn't become a Vampire?"

    "I used too. At first, the whole live forever as long as I don't get staked or decapitated was great. But after a hundred years, it got boring." Alicia turned to me with a soft expression and adoring smile, "Then we met you, and suddenly it didn't seem so bad and then you did one better by creating the rings. I haven't had one feeling of regret or wish I hadn't become one since. You made us feel human again, Hallie."

    I gave Alicia a small smile, "I'm glad I could help because you guys have helped me a lot too. I lost my family in that attack, but I found a new family with you."

    Alicia's arm came around my shoulder as she pulled me into her side, "Well, so long as we're around, we'll always be your family. Now anyway, enough of that, you excited for your date?"

    "Nervous, actually. I have no idea what to do, what to say, or anything, I'm a complete fish out of water here, Alicia."

    "Ah, pretty lady, that's the thing. You need not do or say anything, there is no right or wrong, so just be yourself. If he's a decent and a man who is deserving of you, then he'll take you as you are. Besides, this is just a chance for you to experience something all girls should at your age. When you're older, we can look at finding you someone for real, someone you can really be yourself with. If the men in your family can do it for millennia, then so can you."

    "Thank you." I sighed softly as we reached the berry patch.

    "As I said, we're family. Now, let's get picking, hey?"

    Once Alicia and I had picked enough to last us the week, being sure to leave enough for the wildlife we went to head home. However, we were stopped dead in our tracks at the sound of a twig snapping in the distance.

    "Hallie, get behind me. Now."