Elizabeth and the Vampire's Cabin(44)

Elizabeth couldn't help it. She started laughing hysterically. They all looked at her startled.

"Don't you see? It's like some stupid personal column! Am powerful. Am determined. Looking for companionship. Man for Woman. Woman for Man. Vampire for Half Vampire. It's friggin' hilarious!"

Aaron walked up to her and slapped her across the face. She stopped laughing and quickly apologized for letting her nerves get the better of her.

"Don't apologize," Aaron said. "We're going to leave right now. Kyla's boat will carry us far away from here."

"Wait a minute. Shouldn't we make sure Gar is really dead? Or at the very least pull his body down for a proper burial?" Kyla asked.

"I'm not touching his body," Ren said emphatically. "I know we can only die from the blood entering our own bloodstream, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Yeah, me neither. Besides, I can smell his decay. That is definitely a dead body. And I'm not superstitious. I don't need to bury people to feel like I've pleased any higher powers," Aaron said.

Aaron led the way off Gar's land. He was about to cross over the markers that established Gar's territory when he banged his head on...nothing? Aaron looked around confused. He put out his hand and felt an invisible wall.

"Oh my God! It's a forcefield!" he shouted. "The space aliens want Elizabeth?"



Chapter 19: How?

"That's impossible," Ren argued. "The aliens haven't set up a force field since the Upper Paleolithic."

"Are we so sure about that?" Kyla asked. "There has been plenty of reports of contact over the years..."

"But this is a force field!" Ren exclaimed. "I only saw the aliens use a force field one time before they took off from the Black Island for good."

"It's the only explanation," Aaron said. "How else can we explain the force field? The government? This doesn't feel like that."

"Well, it doesn't feel like space aliens either," Ren said. "I don't remember space aliens threatening to kill us all. No matter what the case is, it's getting late and we should keep our strength up. I say we hunt."

And with that, Ren morphed into animal form. Ren's animal was a prehistoric owl. She looked to be about four feet tall and had some very sharp talons for grabbing prey. The only caveat to all of this was that she was a flightless wonder. When Ren had explained to Elizabeth that she was incapable of flight, Elizabeth gave her a sympathetic look. But Ren assured her that this was not a problem. Prehistoric owls were runners. She was like the Road Runner from Looney Toons only more vicious. With her strength and speed she could bring down a deer if she chose.

Though everyone, with the exception of Ren, had lost their appetite, they all still hunted for the sake of their strength. Extra precautions were taken and they all promised to stay within each other's line of sight. Typically, Elizabeth and Aaron would hunt for hours together. But tonight they only hunted for about thirty minutes. They grabbed a couple of snakes and a beaver. Then they were done. They just weren't in the mood for a big meal. Kyla hunted for only fifteen minutes. She caught a wolverine and didn't even finish the whole thing.

Ren hunted for a good hour and half. All her frustration was taken out on small prey. Her animal was perfectly designed to quickly leap and grab onto smaller animals with her talons. Once she was done, she morphed back into human form and smiled from ear to ear. She had burnt off a lot of nervous energy.

"That was some hunt! I love getting my adrenaline going like that. Maybe that's something good that's come out of this. I'm a born predator, and my lust for the hunt is getting renewed."

She grinned at all of them and her eyes burned with power. Then she took a swig of water from Gar's canteen. Her face changed almost instantly. She quickly started to choke. At first Kyla, Aaron, and Elizabeth thought it was normal choking from drinking too fast. She coughed and sputtered a bit. They waited for her to stop, but she didn't stop. They watched in horror as Ren became wild. She paced frantically. Her face turned purple and she grabbed at her throat as if it pained her. And then she fell over dead.

"How...?" Kyla breathed in shock.



Chapter 20: Take Me

"There has to be vampire blood mixed in with that water," Aaron said.

And then Kyla started wailing. The air was rent with her screams. Elizabeth watched uncomfortably. Aaron started to cry quietly. He wasn't crying so much over Ren as he was over Kyla's reaction to it. It was very rare to see her cry like that. He hadn't seen her like this in centuries.

"Ren has survived thousands upon thousands of years. How could she die so quickly?" Kyla asked. “We’re all going to die!"