The Awakening (5 page)

“How? Where do we start? Everything has changed we may be the same people but our circumstances are completely altered.” I said shaking my head. “I don’t want you to be with me out of a sense of duty or because you are worried I’ll tell everyone your secret and I don’t want you to have to stay with me out of guilt. I don’t want your family to have to like me because they have no choice. Everything just feels fake now, we may have split up if none of this had happened just because of normal things or we may have stayed together forever and got married and had children, how will I ever know.”

“Lauren I’m not with you out of duty or because I’m worried you’ll tell people I’m a vampire. I liked you from the day I met you at that BBQ. I felt a connection to you instantly; maybe it was because of our unknown supernatural bond or maybe it was just because we have so much in common. I’ll grant you meeting my parents and aunt and staying at the house has perhaps happened sooner than would have normally but Lauren I still love you. The last 3 months have been the best and I want to be with you and this will be ok I promise.” Gavin gently said.

“How can you promise? What future do we have? Can we be normal, have children, get married!” 

“Yes we can be normal it will just take a bit of time. Yes we can get married and I’m sure we can have children, they might just be that extra bit special.” Gavin smiled.

“See, the very fact we are talking about marriage and kids after a few months shows how odd we are now.” I half smiled and leaned against Gavin.

“That’s because deep down you know you have loved me from day one too and want mini Gavins'” he laughed and nudged me. I felt myself relax slightly, “See it will be ok. It will just take a bit of time that’s all.”

“What about work and my friends and family?” I said feeling myself tense up again.

“Don’t worry about it today we’ll sort some things out tomorrow. Do you want a drink or anything to eat?”

“No thanks I’m ok, perhaps an early night will help clear my mind a bit and I am feeling really tired it’s been a long day.” Gavin got up and made his way to the door.

“Lauren it will be ok you know, I promise. Goodnight.”

After Gavin left, I lay on the bed and stared out of the window for an hour or so before deciding to log onto the laptop that had been left in the room. I typed 'Vampires' into the search engine and lots of stories appeared; book and film titles and images of twisted figures with fangs and blood dripping down their faces and onto their victims. As I scrolled through, quotes and passages jumped out at me.

Vampires
are mythological
beings.
They only come out at night, because the sun can hurt them or kill them. Vampires rise nightly to seek out and feed on their victims. Vampires thirst for blood. Without blood they will die. Common characteristics of vampires are Fangs.
Drinking Blood -This is one of the vampire characteristics that are universal among all vampires. They do not – and cannot – eat regular food. They have alabaster white skin. They are extremely strong -It is said that vampires are practically invincible – their skin is said to be tough as stone.

All of what I read went against this new integrated family friendly vampire that Gavin had told me about and I began to doubt what he had told me and wondered if I’d just been tricked and brought to their home so they could brain wash me and protect their secret. I logged off the laptop and stared into the night sky and felt an odd shiver creep over my body and then I saw a reflection in the window. I jumped and stepped away from the window but a voice stopped me “Lauren its ok do not be afraid. Gavin is telling you the truth. I had hoped this would not happen, but you obviously love him and could not keep away. You will not be harmed in his presence.” I spun around looking for the voice but was alone in the bedroom. The voice continued, “I cannot explain everything now Lauren, but I will look out for you.”

“Who are you? And what do you mean I couldn’t keep away from Gavin? Would this not have happened if we had split up?” I whispered, feeling panic build up in my chest.

“I cannot………..Lauren don’t worry……………….its ok,” the voice seemed more distant and there were large pauses, I felt that the whole sentence wasn’t getting through to me and felt exasperated as I was desperate for answers. As I looked around I noticed the reflection in the window was clearer and appeared to be that of a young woman with dark hair scraped back from her face and pale skin. I stepped forward but the image began to fade and then I found myself completely alone. I felt confused as I couldn’t rationally explain what had just happened and my mind was striving to find a logical reason. A warm feeling began surrounding me and I started to relax. Eventually I fell asleep soundly for the first time in ages.

I awoke with a blanket covering me and some water on the bedside table. I drank the water and checked the time, amazingly, I had slept all night, and it was now 7.30 the next morning.

I called work, lied about being ill, and apologised for not calling yesterday. I told them I had been having trouble sleeping and really bad headaches, which may be linked to when I fainted a few weeks ago. Given that I had been to hospital and needed stitches on that occasion, my excuse seemed quite believable and I told my manager if I still felt unwell in a day or two I would visit my doctor. I then checked my phone and had a text from Sophie and my sister Katie, so I quickly replied telling them both I had been ill and might be out of action for a few days. I then logged on to Facebook via my phone and left an update also saying I was ill and on the sofa at home. I hoped this would mean no one would miss me for a few days although I feared my mum would be on my doorstep the minute she found out from my sister that I was ill. I really needed a few days to get my head sorted and hopefully find out from Annalise what Wiccan powers I had and how to get rid of them. I decided to have a shower, get changed, and then venture downstairs to see what the day had in store.

I found Gavin and Alice in the kitchen sat round the table and could hear the familiar sound of Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw show and general chatter between Gavin and his mum. If I didn’t know better, it would seem like a normal family breakfast; but of course I knew these people were actually vampires and the thought made me freeze in the doorway unsure whether to enter. “Ah, morning Lauren. Did you sleep well?” Alice asked as she noticed me hovering nervously at the edge of the room.

“Um yes thanks. Better than I expected actually,” I replied.

“Would you like some breakfast you must be hungry today as you hardly touched your dinner,” she asked with a warm smile.

“Mum, give her a chance she’s only just come down,” Gavin said to Alice with a chuckle “You ok? Feeling a bit better?”

“Yes thanks. I’ve called work and lied about being ill so they won’t expect me in.” I said, “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” I continued; as it occurred to me Gavin shouldn’t be home.

“I’ve called in sick too, I’ll have to go in tomorrow but am going to ask for the next two weeks off so we can sort everything out properly. I’m sure it won’t be a problem as I’m still a student and it’s a work placement not proper employment.”

“That’s good. I’m not sure what to do about work if I keep saying I’m ill they’ll get suspicious and I’ll need a doctor note.” I said frowning and feeling tired again at the thought of having to sort everything out. The three of us decided I should visit my doctor and lie about the headaches and dizziness and see if I can get signed off work for two or three weeks. Given that I had fainted and visited the doctor previously we figured they would probably sign me off to be on the safe side and it would give me time to sort things out and try and get back to some sort of normality.

Alice had also taken the day off work. Marcus and Rebecca had gone to work as normal, but would both be back later. Annalise had been in touch and was hoping to have all the information she needed by the next day so I felt a bit in limbo and unsure what to do. I couldn’t visit my family or friends and whilst being of work was nice, I felt awkward in Gavin’s parents’ home. I had so many unanswered questions and some I was afraid to think about let alone ask. I needed to see Gavin in his vampire state and see how I would react but was worried it would be too much and I’d want to run away and hide. Would he still seem normal to me? Could we really be together? Were vampires as harmless as Gavin and his family wanted me to believe? Alice and Gavin sensed my uneasiness and tried to lighten the situation with general chitchat and Alice insisted I eat and got up to make me some breakfast and a cup of tea. After I had eaten and we chatted for a while, I asked if there were any books or documents that I could see; so I could try to understand what was happening. Alice and Gavin looked at one another and Alice seemed to be having an internal battle and eventually said “Lauren we do have information but how much do you want to know? You may find it easier if you have fewer facts and try to move on from this situation.” 

“I can’t can I, it seems I am supernatural too and intertwined somehow. I need to know what I have got myself into or rather what Gavin has got me into,” I looked at him with a small smile and he shrugged.

“Some of it may upset you though and it may make it harder for you to accept us and yourself.” Gavin said.

“You told me you have evolved and are safe to humans. Is that true?” I asked.

“Of course it’s true we would never harm a human and we are truly integrated into the human world I promise you and everyone else is 100% safe.” Gavin implored.

“Well in that case I need to know more, I want to know your history and what has made you and I.”

Alice sighed and said, “I did think you may ask for more details and myself and Marcus discussed it last night. Come with me.” Alice took me upstairs to a study that had a wall full of books. It was unlike the other rooms in the house and had dark wood panelling on the wall, a large old-fashioned rug was on the floor, and two large wooden framed chairs were positioned near an old worn cupboard. The window was large and over looked the garden and had a window box with cushions and a throw. Some old paintings and portraits hung on the wall and it was extremely quiet. Alice unlocked the old cupboard and gestured for me to look “Lauren these are some old diaries and books we have that have been passed down through generations of our family. It may help you, but understand some of the stories are very old and may be upsetting. Just remember time has changed us. I know Gavin has explained how we have evolved, but we were more like the vampires you imagine in the past. I don’t want to upset or alarm you and I promise you are safe but be aware you may not like some of what you uncover.” Alice left the room and Gavin came beside me “Lauren remember I am the same person you met all those months ago, remember we went to BBQ’s, had meals together, went to the cinema, we did normal things and we will again.” I touched one of the books and he looked at me “I’ll leave you to it, but just remember I’m still the same.”

I looked around the room and examined some of the paintings they were mostly large portraits and I appeared to be relatives. All the paintings were of men and were obviously from different centuries as the clothes and hairstyles varied enormously; however, the jawline and nose shape of each man was similar and they all had striking eyes. One of the smaller paintings caught my attention as the face seemed recognisable and I wondered if it was a close uncle or grandfather. I studied the painting and felt an odd tingle the face seemed so familiar I began to wonder if it was from my dreams or if it was a relative, I’d maybe seen elsewhere in the house and not realised. I suddenly shuddered as it occurred to me that if they were old relatives they could very well have been of the generation that did drink human blood and were hunted by people centuries ago.

I went to the cupboard and took out the first book my hand came to and sat in the window and began to read. The book was a diary from the 1900’s and described day-to-day activities and seemed to suggest that what Gavin had said was true as this vampire used blood from animals and hospitals and appeared human. The vampire was called Benedict and he was wealthy, lived a good life, and seemed to mix with humans and have a normal lifestyle. I got the impression he considered himself superior to the humans he worked and lived alongside, but throughout the book no harm came to anyone he mixed with and towards the end of the diary it seemed he had fallen in love with a human woman named Eve. There was a grand ball held at his house and it was at this that his feelings for Eve developed. The diary explained how he had known of her for years but their paths had rarely crossed. Benedict asked her to dance at the ball and felt emotions that he had never registered before. Benedict wrote of feelings of nervousness and lust which he had never felt, he had known human women but none had evoked such a human response from him before. The diary only contained 5 months as the others pages had been lost or removed. I wondered what had become of them, if he had told her his feelings, and if they had embarked on a relationship together. I wondered if Benedict was a relation of Gavin’s and where the missing diary extracts were. It made me feel positive that what Gavin had told me was true and we could live a normal lifestyle. If a vampire from the 1900’s had managed human feelings and co-existence I’m sure we could.

The next book was dusty and some of the pages had faded as I began to read I understood what Alice and Gavin had meant as it detailed human killings and blood lust; dating back to the 14
^th
and 15
^th
centuries. I felt horrified as I read how they tricked woman and children, as they were more vulnerable and weak. Pacts of vampires could wipe out entire small villages in rural England and people believed it was the work of the devil. The book also went into some detail about the groups that hunted them and how one group of 18 vampires were captured and a whole house was burned with them inside but people did not possess the skills to deal with vampires in this age and truly believed god was punishing them and the devil was roaming freely. I decided to try another book as I wanted information about the evolution of the vampire race and found a book that contained lists that seemed to chronicle the years. It appeared that in the 16
^th
century in England vampires reached their highest levels in power and population. The vampire race took advantage of both the civil war that took part during the years 1642 to 1651 and the Black Death that took a great hold on the country in the years 1665 and 1666. There was great unrest and death during these periods and vampires took advantage and went on huge killing sprees. It is sometime after this that vampire hunters started to take control as they started to realise it was not the devil or punishment. Huge numbers of vampires were burned alive in broad daylight and stabbed through the heart with spears. I flicked through the book looking for information about the changes that took place and sometime in the late 17
^th
century, the book detailed a vampire called Luka who began experimenting with animal blood and integration within the human race. He had many successes, but did occasionally give in to human blood. He managed to get growing numbers of vampires to comply with him, and given the success of the vampire hunters and the vast reduction in the vampire population, many more were willing to try. I flicked forward again hoping that I would read no more about human death. It appeared that over the next 100 years vampires successfully evolved and fed on animal blood or that taken from hospitals or people dying from illness or poverty and reduced their consuming need to feed. As a result, some of their strength, speed, and hypnotic skills were reduced. Still, they decided this was preferable to being hunted and many found that they liked the lifestyle of a permanent settlement. They maintained some vampire qualities and they found they could lead successful lives in terms of wealth and women. Many possessed an ability to persuade people to agree to their requests through a milder hypnotic skill and so the transition continued. The vampires of the past had always been solitary characters and many travelled extensively throughout the world often when the human food source became reduced or a vampire hunter was on their trail. Luka and the vampires he enlisted found they liked the feeling of establishing relationships with humans and other vampires alike, although I discovered there were the odd renegade vampire that would still kill humans and threaten the new lifestyle Luka had been trying to set up. What happened to these renegade vampires was unclear as it simply said they were dealt with and I wondered if this was by vampires like Luka or vampire hunters and if there could still be vampires that craved fresh human blood. I discovered from reading the books that some of the myths had been passed down through generations by either humans or other vampires. It appeared the myth of immortality came about because vampires aged slower and therefore appeared the same for several years giving the appearance of never growing old. Added to the fact that the life expectancy of humans in the 16
^th
century was greatly reduced, this enhanced the perception that vampires of advanced age had a life that was never-ending. The myth of vampires being afraid of daylight also appeared to have come from generations ago, as vampires chose to strike at night because they were less likely to be interrupted and entire families were more likely to at home. These facts also meant often entire households were killed and the discovery wouldn’t be found until the morning, by which time the vampire would have disappeared without trace.