Eighth glance
The Legend
Roy and Bess were resting leisurely on the benches. The park was enveloped with trees’ shadows and the space was empty and quiet. It was rare to see nobody there as usually it was occupied by kids after school. The sun was still blazing bright and a drop of sweat tripped down my forehead. It was a relief when a breeze came by. I slightly brushed away my fringe.
“Alice!” Bess called out to me passionately.
I returned a smile.
“So, what are we doing out here?” I asked. Frankly, I really could not fathom what fun was there when these three people in front of me were actually doing nothing.
“Alice, do you know recently there are some pets disappearing in the neighborhood?”
“Yes, I was attacked by the pet-murderer last week.” I said, taking a seat next to Bess. “And…”
“And?”
I paused, trying to work out the meaning behind their questions.
“And George saved me.”
Bess opened her mouth but hushed.
“George saved you?” Roy asked.
“Yes.” I confirmed. “Len was there too.”
“I see.” Jim said. They all looked as though they had understood something but I definitely got nothing.
“Why do you ask?”
“Oh, we just came up with this case.” Bess said. “You know, not all the pets’ corpses were found.”
“Do you know how they died?” Jim questioned.
“I am not interested.” I muttered plainly.
Jim smiled. “They were found with severe holes on their necks and they lost a great amount of blood before they perished.”
“And it was clear that they struggled for survival before being strangled to death.” Roy added.
There was an instantaneous flood of creep to the atmosphere. I shuddered yet still fixing my eyes ahead.
“So?”
“So!” Roy clapped his hands and leaned back. “Do you feel any fright, Alice?”
I shook my head.
“Not a bit?”
“No.” I finally flashed my eyes to Roy. “What are you guys getting at?”
“Nothing.” Bess said.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“We never make sense.” Jim gurgled. “Why must things make sense anyway? There are plenty of bunks in this world.”
“Because it’s the way we should be.” I said. “We don’t say things without reasons. We don’t do things without intentions. A consequence doesn’t happen without a cause and we don’t talk nonsense for nothing.”
“Well, if one day you have realized something is totally out of any logic and natural explanation, what would you do?” Roy challenged.
“That won’t happen.” I said firmly. “Things without logic are supernatural and belief in such things is superstition. That’s why we have science here. It’s to eliminate every single misconception and to explain every baffling phenomenon.”
“Somehow you just have to admit, Alice.” Bess grinned. “There are unlimited things which can’t be explained by your science.”
“Like?”
“Like what you are going to see and what you have already seen.”
“You…mean the truck?”
It was getting more and more unbearable to feel as if I had no intelligence at all. They seemed to expect me to know everything but the truth laid flat- I did not understand anything.
“Partially….yes.”
“You said there were some engine problems.”
“We can’t be sure though.” Jim folded his arms.
“Why are you bringing up this topic?” I said. “Are we some gang of ghost fighters or is it a horror-story sharing session?”
Roy and Jim laughed.
“Alice, this is no story.” Bess said.
“What’s the point then?”
Bess did not answer back. Jim had already left the group and was standing next to the swing. Roy lowered his cap and checked his watch.
The afternoon was long-lasting and I could feel the heat behind me. The sun had to be illuminating directly on my back. I rolled up my sleeves and it was when I noticed I was still in my uniform. I had forgotten to get changed after the incident in the morning. I looked around and examined the others. They were more or less straight-faced and frozen. I glowered at their long-sleeved clothing. Didn’t they feel a bit hot? Something convinced me they were different. Even the air surrounding them seemed to be cooler. It felt all wrong for a moment but I didn’t plan to wander off. I remained still in my seat.
After about thirty minutes, I could no long put up with the boredom. My patience had almost reached its edge and I knew in any case I would explode.
“What are we waiting for?” I finally asked.
The sun was already setting and it was getting darker and darker. I took a quick look at Jim, who was having fun standing on the swing. I checked on Roy and he seemed to be taking a nap. Bess was the only one who could have heard me.
“We’ll see.” She muttered.
Another half an hour passed and the sky was immersed in sheer darkness. It was night.
“I’m going back.” I stood up but before I could act, Bess had my hand.
I shivered the instant she touched me. Her skin was icy cold and her face was as pale as a piece of white paper. There were simply no colors at all. Why had I not noticed that before?
“Bess?”
“Alice, wait.”
Roy had woken up and joined in. “It’s hard for us to explain with words, so maybe you’ll understand more with your own eyes.”
I held back as soon as Roy and Bess got up. Their eyes were sparkling in the dark and they were bright red- the color of blood.
I drew back hurriedly, fear beleaguering me. I could feel my heart beat fast and I was grasping for air.
It was suffocating.
It was terrifying.
I took more steps backwards and felt hands gripping my arms before I fell over.
“Alice…” Jim’s voice was no longer encouraging but bloodcurdling.
“You are…not a human.” I stammered. I dreaded I would break down anytime.
It all came clear to me then. For anyone to possess such inhuman strength and speed, scare a intimidating bully like Edmond without actually doing anything and live to stop a truck running down the road with bare hands, it could never be achieved by humans.
“Right.” Bess nodded. “We’re not.”
“Who are you?” I asked. There was no room for me to escape though I had this silly thought. Jim was right behind me and the other two were in the front. I considered picking up some broken branches as weapons but it would be useless again. I was certain the second I wielded them in the air, they had already got over me.
“You should know it.” Roy said.
“I am not as clever as you think.” I shook my head.
“Give it a try.” Bess urged.
“Devils?”
“This is not what you’re thinking.” Jim said.
He caught me. The answer “Devils” never popped up in my mind.
“Va…” I found it hard to breathe. Too much pressure was building up within my body.
“Yes?”
“Vampires?”
“We don’t call ourselves vampires.” Bess’ face brightened. “But you’re right.”
“What do you call yourself?”
I was making myself a fool for sure. At a time like this, I should be asking “What do you want from me?” rather than getting interested in what they called themselves.
“We do have a specific name, like you humans.” Bess explained. “And the word ‘vampire’ doesn’t exactly match our characteristics.”
I recalled from my knowledge about vampires. There were old myths about them where mostly they were described as creatures coming out in the night for hunt. With their fangs sticking out, they were like zombies or monsters. In some recent books I had read, v
ampires were always gorgeous and dexterous, with unanticipated abilities and skills. They were no longer some crazy mad creatures which only crept out at night but rather something that had invaded our life without our knowledge.
One common trait about Jim, Bess and Roy was that they were indubitably beautiful, physically powerful and unpredictably speedy. These features all matched those of vampires. So, which characteristic was Bess talking about?
I must have calmed down because my heart was not beating that fast anymore. The atmosphere also became less tense but relaxing.
“We are very similar to you.” Roy said. “It’s just you are from the human race but we are from the blood race.”
In what way did he see similarities between us? Whatever he could do could never be any one of our abilities and whatever we could do, it was just the edge of an iceberg to him. Perhaps the only similarity was that they could do things we could do.
“What’s blood race?”
“Another race where we feed on blood.” Jim said.
I trembled. Bess placed her hands on my shoulder and I nearly lost my breath.
“We are not going to suck your blood.” She scowled. “Why are you so scared?”
“The only misconception about us in your world is that you think we take innocent blood from humans.” Jim added.
“In fact,” Roy said. “We are quite civilized. In our world, blood is taken from animals and people serve them in bottles like the juice in your world. We don’t go around sucking blood from live animals. That would be too disgusting.”
The idea of drinking blood was disgusting enough to me.
“We feel the same when we see your food.” Jim admitted. “How can you stand the meat?”
“The same way you stand blood.” I answered straightly.
“She’s smart, isn’t she?” Bess turned to Roy and whispered.
“You talk wise, Alice.” Jim grinned in a friendly way. “I am starting to feel why Len fell for you. You’re very different among the crowds.”
“Len is also a vampire, is he not?”
“I am.” Len’s voice echoed from behind and we all turned to his direction.
He was waving at me with his remarkable smile. His eyes were burning red. Behind those pupils were lust and longing.
“Len, you’re late.” Roy complained, pointing to his watch.
“Yes, I’m sorry.” Len apologized.
“Are they still chasing you?” Jim asked.
Len nodded but kept moving towards me. My heart ordered me to run away and never look back. Yet, I stood still as a statue.
“I am sorry, Alice.” Len’s smile broke into remorse and misery.
“For?”
“For…” He paused and then went on. “For being late and not telling you anything.”
He must have added the last one in his line because it was what I was thinking at that moment. Vampires could read others’ mind, right?
“You know what I want you to say.”
Len raised his brows and shrugged. “Alice, I said I am sorry.”
“I heard it.”
“You are not forgiving me?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You did.”
My mind did just a second ago. He sensed it again.
“Well, we’d better go.” Jim patted on Len’s shoulders and left with Roy and Bess. “Catch up with us later.”
Len nodded okay to Jim and soon they vanished in the dark.
“Alice.” Len stepped forward and I dodged from his hands. I could see how startled and upset he looked.
“Can we just…” He looked up and guided me to the swings. “Sit down and talk?”
I took a deep breath and followed him.
The park at night was frigid and windy. I sneezed as I rubbed my hands against my bare wrists.
“Here.” Len wrapped his jacket around me. He was only wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt then.
“You need it.” I said as I stared at his arms. His skin was as white as Bess’.
“Not really.” He smiled. “We have very strong immunity. We hardly get cold.”
I sneezed again. My hands started searching for tissues when Len handed me a pack.
“You don’t have tissues.”
I thanked him.
“Are you still angry at me?” Len asked softly.
“Yes.”
“May I know why?”
“You can read my mind, can’t you?”
“Not always.” Len confessed. “Sometimes, I get lost in what you’re thinking.”
That was normal because most of the times I did not understand what I wanted.
“You lied to me.”
“Did I?”
“Yes. You didn’t tell me you’re a vampire.”
“But you didn’t ask, remember?”
He was right. He never did really lie to me. He just didn’t happen to tell me because I never inquired!
“You told me you were fasting because of your religion.” I claimed. “But the fact is you can’t eat.”
“Huh?” Len seemed incredulous. He must think I was weird to bring up something so old to blame him for. The truth was clear. I had nothing to accuse him of so I just came up randomly with a situation where he actually lied to me.
“Alice, you are angry at me because of that?”
I hushed. I was not even sure if I felt any anger. When I saw his face, the underlying happiness was indescribable. The week without his presence was a mess to me. I had soon realized I could never live without him. His smile, his help, his love…all meant too much to me.
“Not anymore.” I said. I could forgive him for every sin he committed if only he never cheated on me like Edmond.
“I’ll never cheat on you.” Len said. “Do you know there’s a legend about blood race?”
Slowly, I turned to face him. His eyes were blue again and he was no different from any ordinary teenage boys.
“No.”
“They say once a blood soul falls in love with someone, he never changes his love.”
“A blood soul?”
“That’s what people in the blood race are called, though it’s not a universal name. In your world, we are called vampires.”
“Why? I mean how can he do that?”
“Because one big difference between blood race and human race is that…” Len placed his hand on his heart. “In our eyes, eternal love always exists.”
“So, there are no divorces?”
“Divorce!” Len exclaimed. “What’s divorce?”
“Er…” I found it hard to explain but Len’s eyes were filled with inquisitiveness. “When two people get married and they get fed up with each other, they get divorced. It’s like they separate and step out of one another’s life.”
“That’s so sad.” Len shook his head disagreeing. “We don’t have that thing in our world. After people get married, they stay together forever!”
“What if they quarrel?”
“They seldom do because we understand each other so well.” Len said. “And we don’t fall for someone too readily. We can sense who the right partner is to spend the rest of our life with because once the decision is made, we can never love another person again.”
“That means Roy and Bess will have to stay together for eternity.”
Len nodded. “It sounds chilling to you, doesn’t it? That’s why Jim never bothers such thing. He’s afraid he cannot deal with the rule. Love is a rule from the very beginning.”
“Len, do you love me?”
I was determined to know the truth. Half of me didn’t believe Len actually loved me because if he did, he would have to stay with me forever and we were people from two entirely different worlds. Instead, he might just be testing on and playing with a human girl like me, for it was not the first time I got let down.
“I love you.” Len blurted out sincerely.
“But…”
Before I allowed my words out, Len had already gripped
my wrists and kissed me. His lips were unexpectedly warm and soft. I shut my eyes as I felt his caress.
“Isn’t that real enough?” He asked after releasing me. “Do you believe me now?”
“Yes…” I murmured, my heart still racing.
“I’ve made up my mind the first day I saw you in the street.” He said. “Even having undergone such terrible thing, you still stood brave and strong. And soon I knew it’s time for a girl like you to be protected and truly loved. I fell for you at the first sight.”
“I am not special. I am just a…”
Len clamped his hands across my mouth. “If I had a chance, I wished I were a human too.”
“Why?”
“You see, I’m not an ordinary blood soul.” Len said. “My family is notable and prosperous in the race. We have certain dominance and power among the population and what we have is like a kingdom in your world.”
“You’re a prince?”
“You can say that. But that’s not what I want. I’ve got two older brothers. My father is planning to give away his throne to one of us and he chose me.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“No. They despise me.”
“Your siblings are just jealous of you.”
“Alice, how do I look?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Just tell me what you think.”
“Well, I think you’re handsome.”
“What if I tell you I am not?”
“Are you joking?” I laughed. “If you’re not handsome, I am probably nothing!”
“We don’t see things the way you do. I don’t want to deceive you but…” Len sighed. “I am the ugliest in my family.”
“What?” I thought I had misheard something.
“Our family stands out among others in every perspective including beauty, wisdom, and wealth. All the members are mostly the top in any fields. Unlike them, I am very average in all aspects. In fact, I don’t look like anyone of them. That’s why they don’t feel comfortable with me. From the day I was born, I was treated as a freak. They don’t think I deserve what I’ve got. In terms of appearance, skills and intelligence, I am actually a shame to the family.”
“It can’t be true.”
“It is so.” Len persisted. “They treat me as an outcast with defect.”
“Len, if your family thinks you are a shame, why is your father…”
“Because he knew what my brothers are going to do with the family’s power.” Len interjected me. “He doesn’t particularly like me. He just thinks I am more reliable and dutiful. That’s all.”
“Are your brothers going to do something bad?”
“I am not quite sure but I’ve heard Carl, my eldest brother, is bonding with our family’s enemies. Perhaps they want to destroy and rupture my father’s prominence.”
“Can’t your father notice that?” I argued.
“He must have. That’s why he wishes for me to be the next leader of the family and that’s a mistake because according to the ancient rule, only the eldest son can inherit the family’s property. My brothers are now after me and I am on my escape, in fact.”
“Are they trying to kill you?”
“I guess so. I thought it would be safe to find a shelter in human world and then things went out of schedule. I met you and even went to school.”
“Len, were the bats real?”
“Yes.” Len nodded. “Alice, I am sorry I’ve brought you trouble. Those bats are our family guardians, most likely under my brothers’ control. They must have been stalking me when I went to your house last time.”
“And those pets…”
“Those were probably done by my family’s agents. Since I have left home, my parents have been out looking for me. They knew I could not stand witnessing innocent lives claimed because of my selfish behavior. It was actually a way to force me to return but earlier, George and I handled that blood soul who tortured the pets. I went missing for the previous week to make sure no one would find us and that we are safe. It seems like another miscalculation though. My brother’s spy found you this morning and it’s a good thing I have Jim and the others to protect you in advance.”
“Len, you’re being hunted by two parties.”
“I am.” Len made a faint smile. “Pretty harsh, eh? Once I considered ending my own life but then I thought of you.”
“Don’t.” I reached for Len’s hands. “It doesn’t worth it.”
“I know it doesn’t. But as long as I stay with you, you are in danger.”
“You saved me last night, didn’t you?”
“It was only lucky you called out to me. If I hadn’t arrived on time, you could have been injured.”
“You can’t leave me without reasons.”
“I have every reason to leave you.”
“No…”
Len opened his mouth and two fangs slid out. I silenced as I gawked at his scarlet eyes.
“Are you scared, Alice?”
“No.”
“Bess hasn’t told you under certain circumstances, we will also attack humans.”
“You wouldn’t do that to me.” I said.
“You’re right, Alice.” The two sharp fangs sank back into his gums. “I wouldn’t.”
“Your way of scaring me is not very effective.” I noted.
Len sighed. “It’s because you’re too gutsy.”
“I don’t really mind being a vam…I mean a blood soul.” I grinned. “It’s quite exciting.”
“Alice, it hurts like hell. You’d wish you were dead.”
“Len, how old are you?” A sudden question arose in my mind. In many books about vampires, the creatures never aged and a teenage boy could possibly be a decade year old.
“Fifteen.”
“I’m not a fool.” I said. “You know even Edward Cullen is over hundred.”
“ But I’m really fifteen.” Len protested. “We may look young for centuries but as time passes, we age like humans. Our strength declines and eventually degenerates.”
“Er….”
“Alice! You just thought I am an old man!” Len nagged, dissatisfied.
“You can’t blame me for that! You can be hundred years old and still look fifteen, right?”
“No one’s look really matches their age. The real you is not fifteen either.”
He was right. I could be a teen but thought like an adult. There was nothing wrong about being old. A heart could always stay young and it was what made feelings special. That’s why love never ages or dies.