The Awakening

Prologue

"She told me she'd be a phoenix. 'They don't really exist' I tell her. She said that depends on whether or not there's someone who can see them"

                                                -Jodi Picoult.

"Hey, this is Carl, leave a message"

I expel a harsh breath when my call goes straight to voicemail.

Wasted coins.

I leave the phone booth, shivering under the strong April breeze.

"Yo! Wait up!"

I glance back to see a lanky pale guy with a cigarette clamped between his teeth walking towards me.

I walk faster drawing my jacket extra close.

Footsteps clamber behind me and I break into a jog. Damn it Carl.

I chance a quick glance behind me and my heart trips at how close he is to me. Sweat drips from my neck down the back of my shirt as my jogging turns into a sprint.

Christ, where's everyone? It's barely 9 O'clock on a Tuesday. Why is everywhere so eerily empty?

Why did my car break down today, of all days?

A hand grazes my lower back and I jump forward with a scream, running even faster.

"You can't run forever but I can" a voice says close behind me. Too close for my comfort.

My shoelaces come loose and I stumble over it, falling with a thud. Before I can so much as groan in pain a cold hand clamps over my left ankle.

I draw in a deep breath and open my mouth to scream.

"I wouldn't if I were you" his voice is arctic.

"What do you want?" I ask, shivering in fear.

"You" he says sniffing my neck "You smell heavenly"

I shudder in disgust.

"I'm going to release your ankle right now so I can turn you around. I'd advise you not to run or scream but I love it when my preys do that. Gives me a reason to rough them up, not that I need one."

He releases my ankle slowly then flips me around. I shudder in fear this time. His skin is so pale it's sallow. His brown hair is unkempt and his black eyes are lifeless.

Unable to stop myself, I release a blood curdling scream and struggle to free myself from his cold grip.

He grins his eyes dilating, the black spilling into his whites until his whole eyes are black "Thank you. Now shut the fuck up"

Against my will my mouth clamps shut. What the hell?.

"Good girl. Now bend your head, I want to see your pretty little neck"

Again, my body does as he asks. As my neck tilts to the side, my heart races in fear. "What are you?" I croak.

"I'm the stuff nightmares are made of baby" he grins and this time his incisors are prominent. The two upper ones scrape his lips, the lower ones are not as long but they are no less pointed and sharp.

Blood seeps out slowly from his lips where his teeth scraped him.

My blood curdles, goosebumps scattering over my skin as I shudder, croaking sounds escape my lips as my horror intensifies.