A/N:
Released on May 9, 2018

Today was my last day of high school! Yay it's finally over XD

I hope you enjoy another long chapter!

Word Count: 2792

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Chapter 20: The Haunting Memory

When Zane and I entered the basement of the old house we were staying in, I instantly noticed that Ash hadn't listened to what I told him to do.

"Ash! I thought I said to remain on the couch!" I yelled, waiting for him to emerge from one of the rooms.

Ash exited the storage room, his face scrunched up a bit and his head down as if he was trying not to look guilty. "We don't have time to waste. I'm packing so that we can leave."

"You were stabbed earlier today, in case you forgot. Ash, you need to rest. Let us do the packing." I half pleaded and half ordered, attempting to convince him to do as I said.

He waved a hand dismissively and brushed past me, moving over to an open bag that I hadn't seen before. "I already had a few blood bags to restore my strength. I got some out for you two as well. The rest are packed and ready to go."

"Ash!" I snapped in order to get his undivided attention. "We don't know anything about that cure I gave you. Now sit down willingly or we'll have to do this the hard way." I insisted, giving him the death glare that I usually reserved for people I didn't like.

Ash stood stoically, searching my eyes for any hint of a bluff. When he found nothing but cold honesty, he sat down on the couch with a huff.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zane face the wall and bite his tongue to keep from laughing aloud.

I ignored the response so that Ash hopefully wouldn't notice. I wouldn't want to cause another fight between the two. Especially since their one huge fight triggered Ash to have a "bipolar episode" where he tried to kill Zane and I.

But we were all past that. Mostly. Ash was still undecided.

I downed half of the blood packets that Ash had left out, Zane taking the other half, while I was thinking about what to do to help my friend.

"Can we get dehydrated if we don't drink water?" I asked, thinking of what a doctor might have someone do if they were injured. Doctors usually have patients drink plenty of water.

I received two opposing answers. Ash said no and Zane said yes.

Ash groaned, leaning back with his head tilted over the edge of the couch and his hands over his face.

"Yes. We can get dehydrated if we've been majorly injured. He just doesn't want to drink water." Zane explained to me, rolling his eyes at the ridiculousness of it.

Ash sent him a look of hatred as he sat up. "Water doesn't even have a taste! What's the point of consuming something that you can't enjoy?" He exclaimed, glancing at me pleadingly.

"It'll help you get better." I argued sensibly, standing my ground on the matter.

"We don't even have any water. This house hasn't had regular plumbing in years." Ash countered, showing that he really doesn't like water.

"Then I'll go out and get some water bottles." I replied, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

Ash sat up straight, his gaze questioning and his tone condescending as he responded. "No. No way. The hunters are looking for us. You can't go out there. We need to leave as soon as possible."

"I'm going and there isn't anything you can say to change my mind. I'm going to go get water so that you can heal. And I'm doing it alone." I dictated, giving Zane a pointed look.

He opened his mouth as if to argue, but thought better of it upon seeing my expression.

"If Zane comes with me, they'll be able to spot him because of his eyes. It'll be less conspicuous if it's just me. And I'll read the thoughts of everyone around me to watch out for hunters." I insisted, turning around to leave before they could verbally battle me further.

I grabbed an empty bag from the storage room before heading upstairs. Zane followed me but I waited to face him until we were on the first floor.

"If you've come to stop me, you're wasting your time. Maybe you guys should trust me to do this one simple thing by myself." I lectured, sick of wasting time.

Zane held up his hands to signal his surrender. "I didn't come here to fight. I just wanted to say good luck."

I let out the breath I'd been holding through my anger, the tension in my shoulders evaporating just as quickly as it had showed up.

"Sorry." I mumbled, tinted pink cheeks debuting my embarrassment as Zane pulled me into a hug.

"Don't be sorry. Just be careful, okay? No confrontations." He uttered soothingly while I rested my head on his shoulder.

Being basically the same height as him, that was the only thing I could do, but it was comforting all the same.

We stood that way for a calm moment, one that I desperately needed, with the world at a standstill and nothing mattering but the two of us.

Zane placed a kiss on top of my head, stroking my air as I breathed in his scent, indescribable in its complexity.

When he pulled away after what felt endless and too short of a time, he had a serious expression that filled me with dread.

"Promise me you will stay away from the hunters, no matter what." Zane begged, his eyes full of more worry than I'd seen since the day I woke up after Ash snapped my neck.

"I promise." I vouched, my fingers curled around the fabric of his shirt at his sides. His hands remained on my hips, steadying the both of us.

We stayed that way for a bit longer, neither of us having the desire to move any time soon.

It's just a trip to the store. The hard part comes after. So why would I be so reluctant to go?

I cracked a smile at my next comment. "Do you have any money? Because I don't. Unless you'd like me to steal from the store?"

Zane chuckled at my remark, and letting go of each other at the same time, he reached into his pocket and handed me a bill.

"It's Alexander Hamilton." I pointed out as I held up the ten dollar bill. "Where did you get this, anyway?" I inquired, shoving the money in my pocket.

Zane shrugged with a slight smirk, his dark eyes lit up in amusement. "I took it from Ash. I knew you didn't have money."

"Zane! Stealing from him is just going to cause a fight." I hissed out, attempting to keep my mouth at a stern frown, but unable to keep it set.

"It's fine. No one else has money, so we're using his." Zane excused himself.

"Fine. Don't kill each other while I'm gone." I half joked as I squeezed his hand briefly, hurrying out the door to get the job done.

I didn't know where the store was at, but I figured I could wander around Topeka and find one pretty easily.

~*~

I got this eerie feeling as I looked around the busy streets, seeing hardly anyone walking by themselves. Almost everyone seemed to have at least one other person accompanying them.

It made me wish that Zane could've come with me. But I did need someone to watch over Ash. He was highly unpredictable. But I doubted my friend would take off without saying goodbye.

Like Zane had told me before, Ash wasn't going to stay with us, but I had a strong premonition that he wasn't going to split up from us while I was in town.

I did as I promised I would, listening in on every mind around me, letting in all of the thoughts.

It was a bit energy consuming, not just because I had to make sense of the thoughts, but also because I had to keep my mind that outstretched.

My mind naturally blocked out other people's thoughts, so it was overwhelming having to open up. And I only got snippets of thoughts so that I could survey all the people around me, which meant I couldn't be certain someone wasn't a hunter.

It was a precarious situation, but one that I could handle, having recently drank blood which helped to keep up my energy.

It dawned on me then, glancing around at the groups of people and the surrounding unfamiliar buildings, that I was in Kansas. I knew that, but I finally had that moment of realization when I really understood that I was in a different state where I'd never been before.

I never did much traveling with my family. We lived in Iowa before the vampire attack when I was a kid. So besides Missouri, where my family moved to and were currently living, I'd never been to any other state.

It was strange to think of being in a different state, and yet feeling the same as usual. I assumed something would feel different, but nothing did until that moment.

Then it was gone and I was back to normal, trying to scan the thoughts of everyone around me simultaneously to keep out of danger.

I finally saw what looked like a grocery store up ahead, so I quickened my pace and weaved through the crowd.

I noticed an opening to swerve around an obnoxiously slow group of people, so being the impatient person that I was, I went for it.

People around me were thinking about their normal lives, about their jobs and shopping trips and family.

As I made it to the edge of the crowd and made my move to go around the slow people in front of me, a familiar sensation of nearby danger went through me, the same feeling in the air as when a vampire was out to get me.

I was suddenly yanked away by an incredibly strong individual. An arm went around my waist and a hand over my mouth before I could make a sound, dragging me behind the nearest building.

Since my mind was already open to other ones, I picked up on my kidnapper's thoughts instantly.

"Thirsty." The man thought as his red eyes shone and my back slammed into the wall where he pinned me by one of my shoulders, his other hand still covering my mouth.

Horribly dark red eyes with no whites blurred my vision as I was pulled into a memory that I thought wouldn't affect me that much anymore with its haunting.

Storm's eyes, ones that were terrifying in a way no other vampire's were, filled my head and stopped my breathing.

Only my present dangerous situation and adrenaline from my recent meal pushed me through the memory so that I was able to defend myself.

My wide eyes were frozen like my mind, catching a glimpse of fangs as his head dipped to sink his teeth into my neck.

I snapped out of it at the last second, slamming my knee in between the guy's legs so that he doubled over, his fangs safely away from my neck.

I kicked him in the shin, causing him to stumble and give me enough time to slink away from him.

I backed up to the other wall, only twenty feet away from the vampire. I wasn't about to run away without any answers.

"Well, you're feistier than I'm used to." The guy commented with a smirk.

The arrogance wasn't what bothered me, it was the man's thoughts beyond his pretty face and long hair.

"She can't escape. I'm too fast. They never get away. Too thirsty to wait."

"What do you want?" I asked, wondering why he would be thinking that way if he was sent by Storm to kidnap me.

"You." He sneered, using super speed to pin me to the wall again.

"Who sent you?" I questioned, waiting to fight until the time was right.

"No one. Were you expecting an attack?" The vampire asked me, amusement sparkling in his red eyes as he studied me.

"Actually, yes. Why did you attack me?" I said honestly, becoming more confused by the second.

"Since you asked so nicely..." He hummed, moving my hair away from my neck as I willed myself to wait to attack. "I was getting an early dinner."

"Let me guess, you're a hunter?" He assumed, noticing my lack of surprise at his inhuman features and abilities.

"Nope." I quipped, finally getting my revenge. Using my vampire speed so that he wouldn't see it coming, I shoved him as hard as I could.

The vampire slammed into the opposite wall in the place that he'd pinned me earlier.

He slumped against the wall, attempting to catch his breath as I prepared for an attack.

"How- How did you...?" He gasped, his eyes back to normal and his fangs retracted while his body slowly healed.

"You could try to drink my blood, but it would make you sick. And others would call you a cannibal if they found out." I mocked the guy, just to get back at him for attacking me.

"You're-" He paused as he struggled to stand up. "You're a vampire? But your eyes..."

"Yeah, they're not dark blue. I've heard it before. Who are you? What are you doing in Topeka? Do you live here?" I questioned the stranger.

"My apologies. I was under the impression that you were human. I wouldn't have attacked you if I'd known otherwise. My name is Anthony. I was just passing through town. What about you?" He introduced himself.

"Just passing through." I answered vaguely, not trusting the vampire.

"Who did you think was attacking you? Vampire hunters?" Anthony asked, his dark blue eyes locked on mine, filled with curiosity.

I nodded my head, but the narrowing of his eyes told me that he was as suspicious of me as I was of him.

"If you're really a vampire, why didn't your fangs come out during the fight?" Anthony wondered aloud.

"I was fairly recently turned. I like to remain human as much as possible. I don't use my fangs much." I confided, seeing the information as not very valuable.

"Prove yourself. You've already seen that I am a vampire." Anthony demanded, crossing his arms as he awaited proof.

With a reluctant sigh, I closed my eyes and tapped into the inner vampire that I almost always kept pushed down. When I opened my eyes they were blood red and my fangs had descended.

Anthony nodded, accepting that I was a vampire. As quickly as possible, I got rid of my vampire features, letting my light blue eyes shine through instead.

"How are your eyes so light?" He asked, taking a step closer to me.

I backed up to show that I didn't want him any closer. "They just are." I replied, once again vague because I didn't trust the strange vampire.

"Why do you drink from humans instead of blood bags?" I snapped back, wanting the subject to stray far from me.

"I just do." Anthony retorted with the arrogant smirk I was coming to expect.

He tilted his head and watched me silently for a moment. "Why are you so wary of me? And why did you ask who sent me after you realized that I was a vampire?"

I glanced away, considering getting away before the guy could question me further.

"Unless... You're not being tracked by vampire hunters, but by your own kind. You must've done something awful to anger Storm." Anthony exclaimed, his dark eyes lit up with excitement.

"I don't usually kill, but I will do anything to keep him from finding me. I will kill you if I have to." I threatened him, fully serious on the matter.

Anthony surprised me by bursting into laughter. "You don't need to worry about me." He claimed after calming down enough to speak.

"I have not aligned myself with Storm. I've been looking for others apart of the resistance, but you're the first I've come across." He babbled in wonder.

I changed the subject once again, thinking that this sudden ally seemed too good to be true. "Vampire hunters are after me too. They have a base here in Topeka." I decided to warn him.

"Thanks for informing me. I'll leave as soon as possible." Anthony told me with a raised eyebrow as if he was shocked that I helped him.

"Since you so kindly warned me, I'll help you out as well. Whenever you're ready to fight Storm, give me a call and I'll be there. No matter what." Anthony promised, digging a piece of scrap paper from his pocket along with a pen.

He handed me his number and took off before I could decline the offer.