The Awakening (4 page)

“I was worried you were going to say that,” he softly said.

Do you believe in vampires? Are they fact or fiction? What about Father Christmas, Angels, the Grim Reaper, or Ghosts? Are these all made up stories or myths? Films, stories, and legends would have us believe vampires are blood-sucking killers who think of humans as a food source rather than friend, that they would struggle to co-exist with us and go to work, play football, go to the pub and live a normal life. We are lead to believe vampires need human blood to survive, fear sunlight, wooden stakes and crosses, have incredible strength and speed and possess superior hearing and other skills. Most vampires are portrayed as evil and cold and, although looking like humans, usually have a pale skin and striking looks. Vampires are immortal and never age or die. What if all of this is fiction, made up by filmmakers and storytellers? What would you believe if you were told vampires have evolved and no longer resemble this fantasy version we so commonly see and hear about? What if you were told vampires had adapted to the human world and no longer posed a threat to us? What would you do if you were told vampires were real?

Over the next few hours, Gavin told me a long history of vampires as I sat transfixed with curiosity and fear. Gavin did not resemble a vampire he seemed normal, he played Sunday league football and went to the pub with his mates. He didn’t run for cover at the first sign of sunlight or go into frenzy at the sight of blood. He hadn’t leapt on me and tried to kill me when my nose had bled a few weeks ago. Until a few hours ago, I would never have dreamed vampires existed and if someone had told me, I would have laughed in their face. Was this all some weird dream or nightmare? How could this be true and why would I have felt it and been warned?

Gavin told me how vampires had evolved as they had been hunted to near extinction and over several hundred years, their skills had changed to allow them to survive and co-exist in the normal human world. They had learned to wean themselves off human blood and no longer had any urge to hunt or kill. He explained, they still needed human blood, but in much lower doses and it was administered via blood transfusions or tablets at specialist clinics; in much the same way that humans sometimes required blood transfusions or antibiotics. Along the way, they lost a lot of the strength, skills, and aggression of vampires from the past and began to resemble humans more and more. Vampires were still stronger than humans but not to extreme levels, they had higher IQ’s and speed but not so much that it would seem strange and provide unwanted attention. He explained how vampires were experts at reading body language and could easily tell if people were lying or felt uncomfortable in a situation. This meant that they could use their additional skills to their advantage and at times could be very persuasive and make people doubt what they had seen or heard. This skill had been passed down through generations and in the past would have lead to easy killings or means of escape. All the skills that remained meant that most vampires possessed good educational grades in school and university and were better at many types of sport. This meant they could succeed at a higher level in the human world and as a result were able to gain higher paid and ranking positions within employments and have a wealthier and happier lifestyle. My mind spun with the possibilities. Were some well-known premiership footballers actually vampires? From what Gavin was saying, this seemed highly likely and I mentally scrolled through the well-known names trying to picture if there was anything slightly different with them. What about highly respected doctors and science researchers?

He said vampires were not immortal and aged and died but the process was a little slower and it was normal for a vampire to easily live to 100, be in good health, and appear 20 years younger. If people commented, they just explained it was good genes and they were lucky. He said that they did age and die but could never get human conditions such as cancer, heart attacks, or broken bones, so they maintained a healthier and longer life. As a result of being immune to many human conditions, vampire venom and blood could be used to heal; but this was frowned upon and very rarely happened. The practice of healing was thought to upset the natural order of human life expectancy and could lead to vampires being found out and wide spread problems and confusion.

He explained how vampires were still in the minority but co-existed and was all around us. He said I probably worked with some and had maybe even come across a vampire working as a doctor, dentist, or teacher. Again, my mind whirled as I thought of all the people that had taught me over the years and my local doctor and tried to think of anything odd in any of their behaviours. I suddenly felt suspicious of any figure of authority I'd ever known and hated that Gavin was telling me all this information. I wanted him to stop, but my inquisitive nature wanted more and more information and I knew that there was now no going back.

He explained how a strict council governed vampires and they had to complete annual documents regarding occupation, permanent residence, age, and marital status so the council could make sure everyone was traceable. It sounded very much like the normal government census and I wondered how this vampire council could go about gathering this information without any normal members of the public or authorities noticing. Were our own government in on it? Were there some high level cabinet ministers in on it? I couldn’t comprehend what Gavin was telling me and felt anger course through my body. I realised that his cousin Nathaniel was a vampire and that was why I had felt a strange sensation near him too. I wondered how many other vampires I may have come across.

I suddenly stood up and screamed at him to leave and never speak to me again. He begged me to listen, but I couldn’t take in any more information. He looked exactly the same as this morning, but now I felt he was an enemy and threat to me. I had thought we might have a future together but now I couldn’t stand to look at him. Would he suddenly turn into a monster like in the films I’d watched over the years? My head was spinning as I pushed him towards the door and I felt frustrated as he barely moved and began pleading with me again to understand and listen. My head started pounding and I suddenly felt power surge through my body as I pushed Gavin again and this time he stumbled and looked at me in surprise. I straightened up and shook my head. The bulbless light fittings flickered, and the telly and radio turned on and off. I turned around in a daze as the TV hissed and my main concern was suddenly that the telly might explode. I lifted my arms to protect myself against any shards of glass and everything suddenly stopped. The room was completely silent apart from my beating heart and then nothing.

I awoke lying in bed fully clothed with a blanket draped over me. Everything was quiet, and my clock said it was 5 a.m.. For a brief moment, I forgot about the previous day’s events and lay in bed staring at the ceiling, then I heard a creak from the other room and Gavin and a woman appeared. I shot up and stood near the wall “Its ok she’s my mum and she’s here to help you.” Gavin softly said. Slowly he took a step towards me, but I stepped back into the corner of the room.

“Why are you still here? What do you want? Are you worried about your secret? I’m not sure it’s even true. Is this some messed up joke? If I told anyone, they wouldn’t believe me anyway. I don’t even believe me!” I shouted across the room as more and more questions formed in my mind. 

“Lauren you must calm down, I know it’s a shock and believe me we would rather you didn’t know about this but I can assure you it is true, and now you know we need to address the situation.” said the woman calmly, which just enraged me further.

“Calm down, are you joking? Have you any idea how I feel. Why are you here? Get out of my flat!” I screamed.

“Lauren we can’t leave you like this, you are in shock and you might pass out again. We want to help you.” Gavin gently explained, looking deeply upset and worried.

I sunk to floor with my head in my hands and started to cry, Gavin gently touched my shoulder and helped me to stand and lead me into the living room where we both sat on the sofa. The woman followed and stood awkwardly in the corner of the room with a look of great concern. “Why do I know this information?” I quietly said shaking my head. “What happened to all the light bulbs?” I said, as I looked about the room. “Is that a vampire thing?” I asked sarcastically. Gavin and his mother exchanged concerned glances and she nodded her head.

“Lauren you did that, it appears that you are a witch or Wiccan as it is commonly called,” Gavin explained quickly and edged away slightly on the sofa. I looked at him in utter disbelief, it was one thing him telling me he was a vampire but stating I was a witch was ridiculous. I think I would have noticed bursting light bulbs and rushes of power in my 20 years.

“What are you talking about? That isn’t funny you know, I think I would of noticed if I was a witch. Wouldn’t I have a liking for pointy hats and brooms? How about black clothing and cats.”

“Lauren we believe you had strong witch ancestors and the power and skill has lain dormant in your families genes for years. We have consulted a friend who knows about this sort of thing and it appears you are now a witch.” Gavin’s mother said calmly.

“The arrival of me has awoken your Wiccan side and the dreams and black outs were your Wiccan powers warning you.” Gavin explained. I just stared at him in shock and disbelief, I glanced at the woman who simply nodded her head and gave a small smile.

“Lauren we think you should come with us for a few days and we can explain everything and look after you. You must have a million questions and we need to find out more about your Wiccan powers as you could hurt yourself.” Gavin said as he gently held my arm. I flinched slightly, but left his hand on my arm. I desperately needed a hug and for someone to tell me everything would be ok. I wanted to rewind the clock and forget I knew any of this information. As I knew this wasn’t going to happen I realised I had little choice but to go with Gavin and his mother. There was no way I could go to work and see my friends and pretend everything was normal. Gavin was right, I did have a million questions but where to start, what to say, my head buzzed slightly and I felt weak and very tired. “Why don’t you close your eyes and rest for a while and let us sort a few things out.” Gavin said. So, feeling utterly defeated and desperately tired I rested back on the sofa and quickly fell in to a trance like sleep as Gavin and his mother tidied my flat, carefully picking up broken pieces of glass. They packed a bag with some essentials and made some rushed phone calls. Eventually they lead me outside and into a car. They drove me towards Pittsford in the Northamptonshire countryside where Gavin lived with his parents. Gently Gavin helped me out of the car and into the living room where I sat on the sofa and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

I awoke sometime later with a blanket over me. There was a glass of water and sandwich on a little table in front of me. I grabbed the water and, suddenly feeling intense thirst, drank it in one go. I got to my feet and looked around the room wondering where I was. It looked like any normal living room although larger than what my friends had, and family lived in. On the fireplace were family photos and it was then that everything came back to me and I realised I was at Gavin’s parents’ home. I picked up a family photo and stared at Gavin who was surrounded by four other adults and smiling happily. I recognised Nathaniel and another person on the photo was his mother, whose name I didn’t know yet. The whole room was decorated in pale greens, cream and wood. The room felt very calming, warm, and surprisingly normal.

I became aware of voices, so I opened the door and walked down the hallway. In another room I could see some people sat round a table talking. I could just about hear some of what they were saying, “Obviously she’s in shock.”

“But what can we do?”

“I don’t know she might refuse to stay once she wakes.”

“She was in a trance.”

“She’s uses a lot of power without any understanding.”

“I feel so bad.”

I moved closer so I could hear better and the floor creaked, they suddenly stopped talking, and a voice I didn’t recognise said, “Lauren come in you must have lots of questions, and we are here to help.” I pushed the door open and walked into a dining room, Gavin and his mother were sat at the table along with two other women, and a man who I assumed was Gavin’s dad, as they looked alike. A woman with dark curly hair and a heavily beaded necklace spoke “Lauren my name is Annalise and I’m a witch and a friend of the family. I have been filled in on your situation and am here to help. Please take a seat.” I pulled out the chair nearest the door and sat down.

“Lauren, how are you feeling? Do you want something to eat or drink?” Gavin asked. I looked at him as though he was a stranger and simply shook my head. Annalise spoke again.

“Lauren I need to find out some information from you and trace your ancestral line and find out which coven your family originate from. Is that ok?”

“I suppose,” I answered in a voice that felt detached from myself “What do you need to know?” 

“Just a few simple questions, your mother and grandmothers full names, date of birth and place of birth. If you know your great grandmothers details too that would be great. Once I have this information and do some research I will be able to answer some of the questions I’m sure you have.” Annalise answered. I gave her the information in a daze and then Annalise addressed the whole room “I can now do some research and then I’ll be able to help.” She then stood up as if to leave the room “What that’s it?” I suddenly said feeling panicky. “What about now? Are you leaving me here? Just turn it off, make me forget everything!” I shouted.

“Lauren it’s not that straight forward,” Annalise spoke calmly. “It appears you must have had the dormant Wiccan strength in your family for years and your closeness to Gavin has awoken your strength.”

“Well make it dormant again, I don’t want it, I don’t want any of this!” I said in an anxious voice. I looked around the room and felt extremely alone “You said you were here to help. Well help me. You can’t leave me here with these people.” I said waving my arms around the room. I briefly felt guilty as I saw Gavin’s stricken face, but then an overwhelming fear passed through me and I continued, “Where are you going? When are you coming back? Please.” I felt anger rise to the surface and felt a fizzing feeling bubble up inside me, a bulb in the lamp by the door flickered, and I suddenly became still.

“Lauren try and stay calm, I know this is all an horrendous shock to you. I will be back tomorrow once I have done some research. Lauren I need to know what coven you are from and the power you have been given, this is a very unusual circumstance, many witches were killed centuries ago and whole coven’s and family ties disappeared. I suspect a spell may have been performed by an ancestor to preserve your coven’s power and it has somehow been passed to you,” Annalise calmly explained. “Lauren you are safe here. Vampires are no longer a sworn enemy, they have evolved and changed and are no longer a threat in any way. We Wiccans made a peaceful pact many years ago and we can now help one another. Gavin is still your friend, he still cares very deeply for you.” she gestured towards Gavin as she spoke and then walked towards the door. Gavin’s mother followed and they talked in hushed voices as they went.

“Lauren it will be ok. I promise we’ll sort this out,” Gavin said. “Now let’s start with the straight forward things, this is my dad Marcus,” Gavin pointed towards the man sat at the table he smiled and nodded his head and the woman next to him waved and smiled too. “And this is my aunt Rebecca who is my dad’s sister. My mum is called Alice, she’ll be back in a minute. You must be hungry ,come with me?” He guided me out of the room and towards the back of the house taking great care not to touch me or stand too close. Along the back of the house was a large kitchen and sunroom, out of the windows I could see a large garden that backed onto a field and the rolling countryside. I stood staring at the space, pushed open the large door, and stepped outside. I instantly felt better and the air felt clean and fresh. I sat on a bench, breathed in and out deeply several times, and then closed my eyes wondering how any of this had happened. A few days ago, everything had been normal. I’d been happy and looked forward to seeing Gavin and meeting my friends. Now here I was, in a house in the Northamptonshire countryside with vampires as my only companions and the knowledge that I had been turned into a witch. How could this be true and how could I ever feel normal again. I wondered how I would ever be able to live a normal life again. Would I always be hiding secrets and stories from my closest family and friends, was I forever linked into this life? I suddenly felt overwhelmed with feelings as all these thoughts flooded through my mind. How would I ever be normal again? Panic spread through my chest and a rush of wind whirled around me. I looked up, noticed everything else was still, and wondered what was happening. Then suddenly I realised it was me and that somehow I had created this force of nature and shook my head in disbelief. The wind stopped and the leaves that had been swept up fell to the ground around the bench I was sitting on. I looked up and Gavin was staring at me with great concern “Lauren you ok?” 

“Not really,” I replied. “I can’t make sense of any of this. I feel like I’ve been plucked from normal life and dropped into a fantasy story or nightmare,” I reached up and touched his face half expecting him to vanish before my eyes. Gavin took my hand and gently spoke.

“I will help you through all of this. Lauren I’m real and will be here for you. I’m still the same person and so are you; we just have a few extra special skills.” He smiled and slowly put an arm around my shoulder. I allowed myself to sink into him and for a few minutes it felt like it had a few days ago. We sat like that for a while and then he helped me up and we went into the kitchen.

His dad and aunt were there cooking and chatting and a telly had been switched on in the corner of the room. It seemed so normal and I had a feeling it had been done for my benefit to create some warmth and normality. “We didn’t know what you liked to eat but I know you and Gavin have been out for Italian before, so I’m making a lasagne is that ok?” Gavin’s dad asked. I burst into hysterical laughter at the absurdity of it all, if it wasn’t for the bizarre circumstances it would have seemed like a normal question but it just seemed so odd to be in their home knowing they were all vampires. Over the next hour, everything calmed down and it did feel relatively normal, although meeting your boyfriends parents for the first time is always a bit nerve racking and the unusual circumstances did not help. Over dinner Gavin’s mum Alice spoke, “Lauren we would like you to stay at the house for a week or two. I’ve made a room up for you and I realise you will obviously need to get a few more things from your own home, we think it will be better for you.”

“Are you asking me or telling me to stay?” I asked looking into my lap.

“Well we really think it will be in your best interest. Annalise will hopefully be back in a day or two with some more information and you can get used to all the information you have been given,” Alice explained.

“I get the feeling it is also in your best interest to have me here. Are you worried I’m going to tell everyone your secret or start bursting light bulbs everywhere I go?” I looked around the room and Gavin, Alice, Marcus, Rebecca exchanged worried glances, and Marcus shook his head before speaking directly to me.

“Lauren I know this is a very difficult situation and yes we are a little concerned but in the main part we want you to stay for your own wellbeing. You do not know your magical strength and at the moment do you really think you could carry on behaving normally with your friends and returning to work?” I looked down at my plate and considered what Marcus had said.

“No I don’t think I could at the moment, but you have to understand I feel a bit like an unwanted house guest or worse a prisoner. You have to remember I didn’t ask for any of this. May I go to my room now, I’m not really hungry anymore?” I stood up and Alice rose from her chair too.

“I’ll show you your room, please make yourself at home Lauren we do understand more than you think.” With that, we left the room and went upstairs.

Alice showed me to a lovely bedroom at the back of the house. It was decorated in lavender and cream, and had a lovely large bed covered in cushions and blankets. There was a desk, TV, and lamp in the room and an en suite was attached. The room overlooked the large garden and felt warm and cosy. I lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling after a few minutes a tap at the door made me jump and Gavin appeared around the doorway “Can I come in?” he asked. I nodded and he entered and sat on the bed next to me. “Lauren it will get easier over the next few days and we’ll sort everything out together.”