Spooning chili into my welcoming mouth I looked out the window and saw the beautiful sunset. Splashes of orange, red, and pink filled the sky. Soon it would be dark. Better hurry and finish eating. I didn�t want to be alone outside in the dark, but I couldn�t remember why.
The night proved to be another cold one. I flipped up the collar of my jacket and walked with my head down the rest of the way. All of the sudden all the sounds stopped. No crickets, no rustling leaves� Nothing. I looked up to see that I was completely alone. I turned in a circle to survey the main lawn, normally the busiest place on campus; empty. How strange. As my body became completely covered in goose bumps not caused by the cold, I picked up that pace and nearly ran to my hall. As I approached the place which normally provides me refuge I saw a figure standing in the doorway. It was a man, which was odd because my dorm is strictly women and no men were allowed in this late.
I tried to ignore him and simply walk past, but something stopped me when I got the porch. I attempted to turn away and run but I couldn�t. My legs wouldn�t move. The man walked up to me and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed me softly on the lips and I slipped into unconsciousness.
Soft candle light greeted me as I opened my eyes. Slowly the rest of the room came into focus. I was amazed to see that it was my own dorm. I slowly sat up and put my hand to my head. I was so dizzy. He was standing over me, smiling softly. I furrowed my brow and he sat down next to me.
�Don�t worry your beautiful head, my love,� he said running his hand over my head.
I closed my eyes and smiled. Something about him made me feel safe.
�Yes. You�re safe with me, my love.�
�Your love?� I asked in a whisper.
�Yes.�
�Who are you?�
�I�m afraid there are not enough hours in a day to fully explain that to you. For now you may call me Aeneas. That should suffice for the moment.�
�Aeneas,� I repeated quietly.
�Are you feeling alright, my love?�
�Yes.�
�Good. Do you remember now?�
I thought for a moment and the previous night came flooding back into my mind. I shot up quickly and he gently pushed me back down.
�No! Let me go!� I yelled thrashing my legs.
�Shh.�
I calmed down and was soon lying still on the bed staring into his bright blue eyes. His eyes� So beautiful.
�There�s no reason to be afraid, my love. I�m not going to hurt you.�
�Then what do you want? Why are you doing this to me?�
�I�ve come to answer your call, of course. You�ve been calling out to me, and I�ve finally found you.�
�I�ve been what?�
�You�ve wanted to die without actually dying. I�ve come to grant your wish.�
�What are you going to do?�
�Make you what I am.�
�Wh-what are you?�
He leaned close to my face and whispered in his seductive voice: �Immortal.�
Chapter III
Intervention at the Reunion
�Immortal?� Morgan mocked.
�Yes. Now would you please let me finish?� Val said.
�I�m sorry, but was he a nut?�
�No, he wasn�t. Now, do you want to hear about the atrocity which is my life?�
�I�m sorry. Yes, I do. Even though I doubt it�s really that bad.�
�How wrong you are, my friend.�
Chapter IV
He Comes for Her
I thought I would cringe at the mere mention of the word �immortal,� but I did no such thing. It was as if this sort of thing happened to me all the time. Nothing out of the ordinary. He smiled and I finally noticed the shining white teeth. His k-9s were elongated and touched his lower lip. I had the incredible urge to touch them. He took both my hands and held them down.
�Don�t. I don�t want them to hurt you.�
�Why? Isn�t that what you�re here for anyway, to hurt me?�
�No. I�m here to give you what you�ve so longed for.�
�To give me that you�re going to have to hurt me.�
�How na�ve. It doesn�t hurt, my love. Not unless you want it to,� he said leaning even closer to me.
He kissed me on the lips and I felt his teeth through the skin. How I wanted to feel them. How I wanted to be like him. He stopped and looked me over.
�I�ve been searching centuries for you. I�ve crossed countries and been to places no mortal has ever lain foot. I�ve finally found you. You: my love.�
�Why me?�
He smiled again.
�You�re the one I was promised by the gods. They told me that I would hear you calling for me. I�d know if it were you.�
�The gods?�
�So many questions. They will all be answered, but not yet. Rest now, my love.�
I began panicking. I sat up but he gently pushed me back down.
�Are you leaving?�
�For tonight.�
�But I want you now,� I said desperately.
�Patience, beautiful one. All will be fulfilled, but not yet.�
He leaned down and kissed my neck. My eyes fluttered shut and a slight stinging sensation went over me. His fangs were in my neck and I felt a passion unlike anything I had ever felt in my life. Finally� Everything I�d ever wanted was coming true.
The next day I woke up and turned to the clock to see that it was three o�clock in the afternoon. I sighed and smiled. I didn�t care that I had missed two classes. Nothing mattered anymore. After a moment I realized the phone had been the thing which had awoken me. I picked it up.
�Hello?�
�Val, are you ok? You missed another class today, and we had a test,� Denise said.
�I�m fine. I just slept a little late.�
�Did you just wake up?�
�Yes.�
�I�m coming over. You need to see the nurse.�
�Why?�
�Because you never do this. You�re the only person I know who wakes up at the crack of dawn without an alarm, and now you�re sleeping till three? No, I�m coming over and we�re going to the nurse.�
�I don�t need to go to the nurse. I�m fine.�
�No you�re not. I�ll be there in a minute.�
Without enough time for me to get a word out she hung up.
�Have you been using any drugs?� the nurse asked after she put the thermometer in my mouth.
�No,� I mumbled.
�Eating anything out of the ordinary?�
�No.�
�Doing anything new things outside of your normal routine?�
�No.�
�Have you been staying awake longer than normal?�
�No.�
She got out a syringe and wrapped a rubber band around my arm. I knew this routine well, so I began to clench my fist. She took two syringes full of blood and I felt that I would faint. I got dizzy and leaned against the wall.
�Do you have a needle phobia? You�re awfully pale,� the nurse said taking the thermometer out of my mouth.
�No,� I said with a sigh.
I felt myself falling over and things went black.
When I woke up I was lying in a bed in the hospital. Denise was at my side, looking her normal spastic self. I tried to move but couldn�t find the strength to do so.
�Oh thank God, you�re awake,� Denise said.
�Why am I here?�
�You passed out in the nurse�s office and we couldn�t get you to wake up. The doctors here did a few tests and you have an abnormally low blood count.�
�Well she did just draw blood.�
�But she didn�t draw four pints of blood.�
�How much am I supposed to have?�
�Eight, but you only had four.�
�Hmm�.�
�Are you sure you�re not getting into drugs or anything like that?�
�What would that have to do with losing four pints of blood?�
�I don�t know, but I just want to know if my friend is in trouble! I�m really worried about you, and everyone here is too.�
�Well they shouldn�t be.�
�What do you expect them to do when you won�t tell anyone what you�re doing? You know why this is happening, I know you do.�
�That�s ignorant. Why would I withhold that kind of information?�
�I don�t know. I don�t know much about you anymore.�
�Listen, I�m fine. Nothing is wrong with me and I don�t need to be here. So, if you don�t mind, I�m going to leave now.�
�You�re not going anywhere right now,� a doctor said entering the room.
I furrowed my brow and sighed. How can they keep me here?
�I�m glad you�re finally awake. Now, I have a few questions for you, but first, is there anything, anything at all, that you can tell me about what is happening to you?� he asked.
�No.�
�Ok then. I know you�ve been asked this by your nurse, but I absolutely have to know, are you doing any drugs?�
�No,� I said trying to hold my anger in.
�I�m sorry, but I had to ask. Do you have any history of this kind of thing in your family?�
�Not that I know of. Why can�t I just leave? I feel fine.�
�You may feel that way, but you�re not. We can�t take the risk of your condition worsening.�
�Ugh, fine. What time is it?�
�Eight.�
�At night?�
�Yes.�
�Good. Maybe he�ll come and get me out of this hell hole.�
�Who?� Denise asked.
�Uh, no one.�