Dealing With The Devil

A deal is called an agreement made between two or more people to find a mutual benefit. Catch the last word? Benefit is receiving an advantage. You want to tell me the advantage of being taken by a vampire? You see, I wasn't kidnapped, I made a ‘deal’.  However, I was pressured into making the deal for the greater good of everybody else. Maybe I was the only one who would react to my situation the way I did, but maybe I'm not.  Let me tell you, vampires are real, and they aren't all glitters and sparkles, okay? Vampires are very complex creatures. They are also very powerful creatures. I think I should probably rewind a bit. It all started with an encounter that I had with a vampire. I wasn't the victim of the vampire's hunger, but someone else was, and I happened to witness it. That was what sparked this.  I'd say it was a Thursday but I'm not really sure. I had worked late and coming back from the shop I heard a muffled scream. First instinct: check it out. My feet moved of their own accord and I found myself staring at a man and woman in an alley.  At first I didn't quite comprehend what was happening, but when I saw the woman's eyes roll back and her body slump I knew something was wrong. Immediately I yelled out to catch the attention of the man, and it worked. He jerked up, letting the woman fall to the ground in a heap.  His face was shadowed but his piercing red eyes stood out in the dark. He stepped forward and bared his teeth, making a show of his glinting white fangs. Murder filled his eyes and I froze in my spot, wondering how I was even going to compete with someone like this. "Little girls shouldn't be running around in the dark." That was the first thing he said, and I felt like I could feel his breath cascading down my neck.  Before I could respond he was gone in a blur. I was in shock and didn't move for a minute, and just when I was about to I heard his voice hiss in my ear. "There are dangerous people that would love to hurt them." Even as I flinched I felt the breeze of him leaving.  Obviously, he wasn't human. That was the first thing that crossed my mind. Then the girl crossed my line of vision and I was snapped back into reality. I ran over to her, checking for her pulse. It was there, as small and feeble as it was. I called for help and the lady was taken to a hospital. I never saw her again.  After that, vampires were my life. I lived and breathed anything to do with them. My parents thought I was just in a phase for a few years. I think my sister knows almost as much about them as I do because I blabbed to her all the time. Yet no matter what I did, how many times I stayed up late, or how many books I read, I never understood them fully.  The vampire seemed to have disappeared, and I hadn't seen him for years either. It made me wonder if I was just dreaming that whole scenario. But I couldn't have been. My mind seemed fuzzy any time I thought about it, but I could always remember it if I tried hard enough. Some people think I am completely insane, and I guess I wouldn't blame them. But other people think it could be true. One of those people is my best friend Grace, and she is where this story begins. "I loved your party. Did you like your gifts? Did you like mine? Oh, who am I kidding? You're eighteen, an official adult!" Grace squeals.  We had just gotten done with my birthday party and I was going to her house for a break from people. We were both incredibly high on sugar and the fun of the night, so we weren't really paying attention to our surroundings.  "Do you..." Her sentence was never finished. She vanished in a blur of black and white. I stood there, paralyzed for a second, before I heard a cold chuckle behind me.  Turning around, I felt fear crawl up my spine as I took in the scene. There, standing in the moonlight, was the shadow of a man and Grace struggling in his iron grip. Suddenly, I was overcome with anger and I needed to get her safe. "Give her up!" I screamed.  "You want her? Come get her!" A gruff, authoritative voice called. I heard a whimper. Grace. The man stood in front of me. Grace was held loosely in his arms. She shook in fear, her teeth chattering, her hands shaking, her body slowly breaking down into sobs as she couldn't escape his grasp. I took a step forward and watched as the man tensed slightly but didn't move. I couldn't see his face due to his black hoodie shadowing it. Typical move, kidnapper. "Nichole don't. Go get help. I'll be okay." She whispered hoarsely. All of her breath was gone, probably due to the man's grip and her fear that was most likely paralyzing her as well. I glanced at the man. He chuckled dangerously low but I still couldn't make out features because of the black hood he was wearing.  "Now you're the little nerd who's been figuring me out. You saw me one night." I frowned, confused as to what he was talking about. Then he took off his hood and I suddenly understood. His eyes were red. They flashed with a strange light, shining across his eyes for a second before disappearing and returning to their original red. "I don't appreciate people figuring out my secrets." The man's voice screamed danger. "Especially when they were never secrets to be revealed." I watched in fear as his eyes narrowed on me. His grip on Grace was becoming tighter and tighter by the second and I knew Grace couldn't breathe.  I lunged for Grace, hoping that by some unknown force I would knock him over and he would drop her. The vampire did drop her on the ground, but then I was suddenly wrapped in his cold arms and pressed against his stone-like body. I pushed against him and it indeed felt like pressing against a rock, a large boulder is more like it. 'How does he not crush me?' I asked myself. Then realization spread through me. "Let me go!" I screamed and kneed him in his spot. That did the trick. He let me go with a grunt. Grace laid on the ground, heaving beside me. We were both frightened by this inhuman creature. Grace shook in tremors, gasping for the beautiful oxygen that she had been deprived of. My hands were shaking of their own accord. I stepped forward. Grace cried out, "Nichole don't! He'll kill you. You have to run." Running seemed like the obvious answer, but I knew better than that. No one could outrun a vampire.  "You think you can outrun me?" The vampire spat. He sent me a glare. I was scared for both Grace and me, there was no way we could possibly get out of this. "You really aren't that smart. Usually girls are." He inspected his fingers like they were the most interesting things in the world. This caused me to bust out of my shell, trying to find some hidden strength. "It's impossible for a human to outrun a vampire." I say slowly. The vampire looks me over, starting from my head and roaming down to my feet. I shifted uncomfortably. Kneeling next to Grace, I tried to ignore his cold eyes and see if she was okay. If I didn't show fear, he wouldn't be as amused. Vampire's feed off of fear.  "Grace, you okay?" I ask quietly, knowing that no matter how quietly I asked, he could hear. My heart was thudding loudly in my chest and even as Grace gave a small nod it didn't relieve any stress.  "I'll make you a deal." I spluttered to the vampire. Grace grabbed my arm, refusing to let me go. I looked at her apologetically. The vampire chuckled lowly. My eyes glanced over at him and it was a split second then he was suddenly towering over me. "What makes you think you have anything I would want?" I feel his cold breath drift over my neck and notice the cool silkiness of his voice. It was then that I got a close look at him.  His hair was dark and contrasted his pale skin greatly. The vampire's lips were bright red and in a thin, pursed line. He had high cheekbones that made his eyes look sunken in. The sunken look cast a shadow over his bright, red eyes, making them look even more daunting. His body was thick, and full of muscle. I could feel the temperature drop as he stepped closer. He had a rock hard body and a powerful aurora. The vampire's attire consisted of black, which again, highlighted his pale skin. He had a black hoodie on, dark jeans, and a black pair of boots. My head barely even reached his chin and I felt exceptionally small next to his cold presence.  "Spit it out." He hissed at my lack of an answer. My fear was only renewed.  "You come here every night. Or every other, right?" I gulped. His smirk dug into me like a dagger and I had a hard time looking him in the eye. Grace twisted my skin on my arm and I grimaced, causing a grin to appear on the vampire's face.  "Yes. What's your deal?" Grace shrank back at the sound of his voice and I felt myself flinch in fear. Yet, he was extremely fascinating. The way he portrayed himself, which he had every right to, was one that represented a king. It was as if he had no fear, and maybe he didn't. "You have an interest in this town. Why?" I questioned. Grace tugged me back a step. The vampire took one glance at her before returning his gaze to me.  "Because people like you have very tempting blood. I need blood to survive." He narrowed his eyes and cracked his neck. "Now cut to the chase before I cut into you." He threatened. Grace whimpered next to me and I saw a sparkle of malice dance in the vampire's eyes. It was scary, yet again, fascinating. What would make you want to strike fear into someone just because you could?  "Do you have a slave you get blood from? Instead of raiding towns?" I had often heard of the term 'blood slave' in the books I had read. Granted, the slaves were usually used for more than just supplying the vampire with blood, but it was a common term in many vampire books that people had written.  A confused look passed over the vampire's face. He quickly regained his composure though, and the answer he supplied me with was almost exactly what I had expected him to say.  "No. I enjoy seeing everyone's fear." Grace pressed herself tightly against me, trying not to fall to the ground in a panic attack. Honestly, I knew that it was a miracle that we were both still alive at the moment because the vampire could easily snap our necks. We would both be dead in seconds, but I wouldn't tell Grace that, she'd freak and pass out. The vampire was most likely 'toying with his food' right now, making us believe we actually had a chance of escape when in reality, we were screwed.  "But if you like them, they all move away. I mean I'm sure you could find them but why go through all of that if you can just keep one?" I was becoming less and less confident. My voice began to shake. I could feel my heart rate increasing even more and my breathing was beginning to become ragged as panic threatened to seize me. The vampire seemed to notice and smirked while, once again, stepping closer. Grace tugged me back once more and the vampire took another step. I felt the cool brick wall behind me and closed my eyes. Grace was pinned in fear next to me.  "Look, I'm hungry, you're food, if you keep talking I may have to shut you up. Get. To. The. Point." He was becoming angry and my eyes snapped open at the furious tone. I could hear Grace's fast breathing next to me. Stress was not something she was good at and we both knew she was going to pass out any second. I held her hand and she gripped it like I was keeping her to this earth. Maybe I was.  "I would be willing to become your blood slave if you promised not to come to the town, not to my friends, my family, my neighbors. You would have me." I raised my eyes to his. They sparkled with a bright light; malice. It was a bone breaking look of evil, that shoved a knife in your stomach and twisted before being pulled back out.  "Why don't I drink your blood? If I like it then I will accept it. If not, I will continue doing as I please in this town." He brushed my hair back. Grace screamed 'no' at the top of her lungs. One glare from the vampire sent her overboard and I felt her go limp next to me. She fell against me and I helped her to the ground, fear vibrating through every nerve in my body. Just as I was checking to make sure she was okay I was thrown against the wall with the force of a semi.  I was struggling to breathe but the impact of the blow made me scream in pain. A hand covered my mouth, making it even harder for me to inhale oxygen. My head was rolled to the side and my hair removed from the side of my neck. Suddenly a new sort of pain surged through my body. I was thrown into an ocean and I felt as though I was swirling around. My head was lightheaded and then suddenly an overwhelming amount of pressure was placed on it. I felt as if poison was running through my veins and I could feel my blood crumpling into nothing inside of me. As life seemed to be being sucked out of me, I could feel hands on my waist, keeping me against the wall. Fangs were in my neck, piercing me like a knife. Every cell in my body screamed for life and I jerked violently but to no avail. The fangs sank in deeper and I screamed once more, using more energy than I could spare. The fire that was growing inside of me was burning me up and then suddenly, it was put out.  I crumple to the ground. The vampire's boots block my vision of Grace and I struggle to stand. Being weak was not an option right now. I knew I had no chance of saving Grace if I couldn't get to her and so I tried, but a kick to my gut kept me away. "Don't move." I heard a voice say into my ear. I glanced up through my blurry vision, mixed with tears and dots of red and white, to see the vampire looking at me.  I could still feel the fangs grazing over my skin, even though the vampire wasn't near my neck. He licked his lips, slowly leaning towards me. His eyes were still red. He didn't drink my blood, otherwise his eyes would no longer be that color. Snarling at him, I attempted to move again but I felt a stinging slap across my face, rendering me useless as tears streamed down my face. I could feel my insides twisting in pain and anger but still I tried to get to Grace, who laid limply on the ground.  The vampire's hand gripped my hair and my head was slammed into the ground, almost enough to make me pass out, but not quite. "I said, don't move." He snarls. Then his face was once more coming towards my neck. I was too weak to even try to move, but all he did was inspect his puncture wound and then pull away. Relief flooded through me, but I still had to get to Grace. I had to, I knew I did, but I couldn't.  My body felt so weak and I knew I was slowly trailing into unconsciousness. The vampire stared at me, his red eyes gazing over my limp form. I sent him a glare and he smirked, moving the hair out of my face in a gentle action that seemed foreign to everything else he had done to me. I coughed and felt bile starting to rise in my throat, but it wouldn't come out.  He watched, as if captured in my pain. I curl into a small ball, feeling my stomach roll and my heart twist violently. My breathing threatened to stop and my eyes rolled into the back of my head. A cold hand was pressed to my burning forehead and I twisted away from it, knowing who it was, but all that action did was cause me more pain. Shrieking as a fire burned in me, I gripped my hair, trying to focus my pain on something else, but nothing would compare. Nothing would stop the monster inside of me that was slowly taking over my sanity. It seemed to last forever; the way my stomach kept tightening, my head kept pounding, my limbs kept refusing to work, but it was only a matter of minutes. Then it was over.  I could breathe again and my heart rate slowed. My eyes returned to their rightful position and even though I was still sweating, I had no other side effects of the horrible contraction. Breathing heavily, I slowly opened my eyes to see the vampire still watching me. I was beginning to hate him.  Struggling to stay conscious was becoming a task greater than moving a mountain. As I started slipping even further into darkness, with no real knowledge if I would wake up or not, I heard the word that changed my life forever: "Deal."