Eternal Damnation

Chapter 4

-Aurora POV-  

I strap the white coat around my waist as I walk through the unfamiliar streets. My feet touch the hot—what looks like a black hard cemented river—road. People look strangely at me as if I was from another world and I might just be.   

The automobiles look much different from the last time I was out into the world and so does the clothing people wear.   

“They must have kept me asleep for years again.” I mumble.  

Thankfully, I am not as frantic as I was the last time I got out. I did not understand what had happened then but I do now.  

My head suddenly hurts. An excruciating pain goes through it and images of Mathew and Andrew go through my mind.  

(A vision? A memory?) 

Then, the images change to the book in my mother's secret room. After that comes the fire and then the ashes of what was once my home. Then Mathew and Andrew come up again but this time, Andrew has the book tight in his arms. 

A loud noise brings me back, an automobile heads straight to me and sounds its horn as it abruptly comes to a stop. I immediately jump to the side.  

I take a deep breath remembering that this also happened last time I was out. I kept having these same visions.  

I compose myself and continue to walk, looking down at my clothes, making sure that the white coat is completely closed. I feel exposed. My legs are in view. No respectable woman shows her legs like this but I know it is different now. It is a different time. 

How I wish I was back, back to my boring little life. Back with my sisters. Back reading my boring books under my boring favorite tree. Everything seemed boring then but now I wish more than anything to be back to the safety of the world I knew.  

People walk past me with a small flat thing that they seem to hit with their thumbs. They do not even look where they are going. One of them goes past me and almost clashes with me. I move in time but if not for a metal thing colored in red that catches me, I would have fallen on the ground. I balance myself and watch as a small dog goes to the red thing and urinates on it.  

My face scrunches in disgust but I let it be. 

I continue to walk and my memories go back to those strange people I woke up to just moments ago.  

A different girl of which facial features I have never seen before. A big scary man who looked angry and a much kinder attractive man but there was something in his eyes that scared me. (...or maybe thrilled me?) 

Funny how faking innocence works like a charm. Men are so gullible. A pouty lip and a glance cast down makes me seem shy and innocent. I learned that men seem to favor that. I am no devil but I am no saint either though I can act like one. 

I now remember of when I tried to use my powers.   

I look at my hands.  

“I must still be weak.”  

The same thing happened last time I was out. My powers only started working by the time they caught me but I still wasn’t strong enough.  

I stop when I see these weird rectangular devices displayed on an invisible crystal wall with images coming from them. I am amazed.  

(Magic?) 

I read the words on top of them. (A television?) 

“Do they tell the future? Is magic a known thing now?” I ask myself. 

Images pass by and I am in awe but also confused.  

I look around wanting to ask someone about it but I feel like they would think I am being weird.  

The last time someone thought I was weird, I got burned on the stakes.  

My hand unconsciously goes to my left arm where it is horribly scarred. I cannot even bring myself to touch my face. The horrible memory of the screams, burning flesh, and pain is still seared into my memories.  

My mind now drifts towards my sisters and I start to cry as I continue to walk.  

I turn to an area where there are many—what I assume are stores—clothes on display.   

“I am sure I might need shillings to purchase these.”  

(But what kind of currency do they have now?)  

“My phone is dead. I need to charge it.” A boy says as he walks past while he talks to another person next to him.  

“Phone? Is that what that is called?”  

I am deep in thought but then I notice an automobile abruptly come to a stop in front of me.  

The strange men inside the car look at me and I instinctively take running. I hear when they get out of the automobile and run after me.   

I run into what looks like a place they sell food but it is strange. As I walk past people eating, I notice that they are using sticks to scoop up the food and eat it. I have never seen such a thing.  

I go all the way to the back and it seems I reach a kitchen. Everyone there starts yelling at me in a different language I cannot understand. I quickly go through a back door and make it outside.  

My heart is pounding inside my chest. I continue to run through a narrow passage through buildings. There is no other way to go so I continue following it until it leads me to a dead end.   

There are these small metal ropes intertwined together as you see in woven baskets but they are made of some kind of metal.  

I turn around to see the men following me come to a stop.  

“Come with us willingly, and you won’t be hurt.” One of the men says. 

“No! Stay away from me!” I shout at them and lift my hand up.  

They all instinctively flinch and almost run back but they stand their ground, knowing that my powers won’t work.  

The men make a move towards me and I quickly move back, cornering myself on the metal wall.   

When my vision focuses, the two attractive men from before, stand in front of me, facing the men who are after me.   

(Ezekiel and Wolf were their names.)  

Wolf growls at the men and they all seem to panic. Even I panic hearing this man do that. Never have I heard such a thing come from a human.  

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, three of them are dead, falling on the floor and Ezekiel stands behind them.  

My eyes widen noticing that he is the one who did that but I was not even able to follow his movement.  

Then, claws come out of Wolf’s fingernails and I gasp. With speed, he slashes at the other two men while Ezekiel takes care of two more.   

All the men that were chasing me are now dead.  

I am in complete shock. These men are not men, not human. They are monsters from legends but... I do not feel threatened by them in any way though I am still afraid.  

The blond man, Ezekiel, looks back at me with a worried expression.   

“Are you alright darling? Are you hurt?”  

I slowly shake my head.  

“Listen, we can protect you.” The big man says.  

He seems to be rough while Ezekiel seems to be gentle. 

“And what do you want in return?” I ask.  

Ezekiel smiles. “Just to understand what they were doing with you. What their plan is.” 

I stare at both of them for a few seconds. “What exactly are you?”  

Without any hesitation, Ezekiel says “I am a vampire.”  

“A... a vampire?!”  

“We need to go now. They could still be around.” The man named Wolf says.  

Ezekiel extends his hand towards me and I just stare at him.  I have never seen such a beautiful man in my life. His eyes are two big blue gems, his lips are full and the man has a strong jaw. He is tall, taller than the man named Wolf but not as broad and muscular though he is lean and I can still see muscles. 

He smiles. “I am not going to bite you, I promise.” He winks at me. 

That does not confer me though I doubt I would give him a fight. I have a feeling that I would let him. 

“Girl, it’s either us or them. Your choice.” Wolf says sounding irritated.  

I take a deep breath and take Ezekiel's hand. He gently takes my hand and we run. They lead me through the narrow space and into an automobile where the girl with the strange name—Theo—maneuvers the big mechanism.  

Wolf sits in the front next to the woman while Ezekiel sits in the back with me.  

“Are they following us?” Wolf asks.  

Ezekiel looks behind us. “I don’t see anyone.”  

Theo maneuvers the automobile all the way to the building I woke up in before, and throughout the ride, we are all quiet but I can’t help glance at the man sitting next to me. 

He is... just a pleasure to look at. (How Charlotte would be salivating herself right now as I am. Such a perfect-looking man.)  

His eyes fall on me and he smiles as he leans in. My body does not move.  

“Don’t give in to that. It is part of my abilities and I can’t always turn it off.” He says.

“What is?” I ask confused. 

“The attraction you are instantly feeling towards me.” 

My face heats up and I quickly look away. 

I do not dare look at him any longer and ride in silence. When we are back in the room, we all sit on the comfortable cushioned seats.  

I take a moment and take the whole room in. This is all new to me. The things in it, the style, it is all overwhelming. 

“So...” Ezekiel starts to speak. “...are you really... Aurora Sibyl? Born in sixteen sixty-eight?”  

I nod.   

“How is that possible?” Wolf asks.  

“Magic.” I say softly.  

“If that kind of magic was common, I’m sure witches would not be on the brink of extinction.” He says.  

I gasp in shock. That was information I did not know.  

“How has this happened?” I ask.  

Ezekiel sighs. “Hunters. They hunted your kind for years.”  

When he mentions that, I shiver, remembering when they got to me and my family.  

“What did those scientists in the lab want with you?” Theo asks.  

I shake my head. “I do not know what their goal was. They kept me asleep all this time.”  

Suddenly, my stomach growls. The noise it makes reminds me of the tamed boars my father used to keep and the way they grunted. 

I am quickly embarrassed.   

“Food time!” Theo says getting up. “We can talk about this later. How about you take a shower while we order some food." She says.

"Shower?" I ask confused and Theo also looks at me confused. 

"There weren't any showers in the sixteen hundreds." Ezekiel says. 

“Oh... well it's like bathing but... different?" Theo says. She looks like she is having a hard time explaining. 

I nod and suddenly notice that Ezekiel is staring at me. He gives me a smile and gets up, walking away. I can’t help staring at this most handsome man. Men in my time dressed differently and wore their hairs differently as well but this man looks almost timeless.   

(Could it be a vampire ability too?)  

I am now aware of this ability that drew me in almost in a mindless state but even now knowing this, I still find him intriguing. 

“Get me a steak. I want steak!” Wolf shouts desperately at Theo who has that phone contraption on her ear.  

Ezekiel comes back with clothes in his hands and hands them to me.   

“These will do for now. Tomorrow we’ll get you something that fits better and is much more appealing to your figure.” He says and at that moment, his eyes roam down my body.  

This excitement grows inside of me. Never have I felt this when a man stared at me before. Then again, I have never met a man like him either. It could also be the thrill of being half-naked in front of him.   

“Let me show you how to use the shower.” He says.  

I follow him and once he shows me, I am in awe. To get warm water I used to have to boil it. Since it was too much work, we usually bathe in cold water except in winter. But this... this is complete heaven.   

My body quickly relaxes at the warm water hitting my back. I can see how everything has changed. The contraptions that have been invented to make life easier are a delight. I could get used to this... as long as I don’t have to go out into the world. 

Once I am done, I put on the clothes that were given to me and I feel strange. Long puffy pants and a big shirt. I do not complain because at least I am clean and warm now but I have never worn pants before and I feel strange. 

I suddenly notice the mirror and take a good look at myself. Never have I seen me so clearly. But I do not like what I see. I am a horrible mess. My left cheek, neck, shoulder, and arm are completely scarred. I can't see my leg but I know it is scarred too. I feel like crying but I don’t. I can’t. There is no time for that now but I know I will later.  

I come out and I can tell they were all waiting for me.  

“The food will be here soon.” Theo says.  

I nod but then see Wolf staring at me, looking like he has a question.  

“Did you travel through time? Is it that kind of magic?” He asks.  

I sigh and sit, getting ready to explain to them how this all came to be.