The floorboards creaked as the wary figure made way towards the door. She was fairly successful until her clumsiness took over to trip on a certain shoe that her sister had carelessly tossed near the front door.

A loud thud resounded throughout the house as the figure’s body touched the cold wooden floor. A grunt and a few silent curses were unleashed before the female got up and hurriedly ran out the door to prevent herself from getting caught and restrained.

Tiffany was finally free. She ran through the sidewalk until she reached the end of the block. The cold morning air took hold of her as soon as she stopped to take a breath. The street lights were still lit and the skies were colored ebony as she raised her eyes to the heavens.

It was a good start for a long journey. A journey that will take her away from home but she had always ogled for this day. She is not losing any more of her chances. She had been caught many times but now, it’s different. This time, she will succeed. Heck, she had just succeeded!

Little did she know that there were eyes watching her every move on the street. Two onlookers. Two observers with soulless eyes found their sights resting on an oblivious young maiden alone on the sidewalk. Silence ruled the two observers until one of them spoke.

“What do you think, sister?”

Crimson orbs landed their gaze on the speaker. “It’s your choice, my dear. Just don’t leave any traces of our kind for the press to find. We do not want to run into trouble like last time, do we?”

A smile crept on the person’s lips. Fangs protruded as she, apparently a female, did so.

“Of course.”

With those words, the figure took a step into the empty space that stood six stories high. Her body plummeted straight onto the concrete floor but her descent was as graceful as that of a feather upon landing. The one left on the rooftop just stared with a hopeful smile on her face. Her cold eyes following the figure that had now began to walk casually towards the mortal situated at the corner of the empty block.

“Excuse me, miss. Are you lost?” the mysterious figure inquired of the young lady who happened to be named Tiffany.

Tiffany saw a young woman just about her height walking casually towards her with an expressionless face. There was something about the newcomer’s aura that sent chills down Tiffany’s spine. There was something in the beautiful stranger’s stare that awed and at the same time instilled fear in Tiffany’s guts. The stranger’s eyes had a crimson tint in them which made Tiffany doubtful of the newcomer’s identity as a human. 

“No, I live in this neighborhood.” Tiffany retorted with a questioning stare. “You don’t seem like you’re from around here though...”

The long-haired brunette who came upon her on an empty block directed a sinister smile at her. Tiffany unconsciously took a step backward. Whether it was intuition or just plain fear, she couldn’t figure out why she did take that one step that would reveal her true feelings towards the mysterious stranger who came out of nowhere to converse with her.

“I’m actually a newcomer here so I was just getting used to this place.” There was something in the person’s voice that betrayed Tiffany’s feelings. The high pitch of the stranger’s voice seemed to sound like heaven but the aura she exuded was just the total opposite.

“Oh…I-Is that so…Uh…I’m sorry but I gotta go. I need to go somewhere…” Tiffany said as she took erratic steps backward before fully turning away from the mysterious girl and running to a full sprint. She warily turned for a moment to see whether the stranger had followed her but to her surprise, the beautiful stranger was gone. She was about to turn and look ahead when she accidentally crashed into another body.

“Going somewhere?” The all too distinct voice resounded in her ears. Tiffany’s eyes widened to see the person she had bumped into. It was the long haired brunette that had chanced upon her.

Tiffany scampered backwards as she kept her wary eyes on the approaching young lady who strode slowly towards her retreating figure. “H-How…How did you…”

“Now now my dear… Let’s not delve on trivial things.”

“Who…What ARE you?” By now, fear was evident on Tiffany’s voice. Her whole body trembled as she took a step back every time the stranger strode forward.

“Call me Jessica.” The stranger replied with a calm smirk as she shuffled forward towards the frightened young woman. “And may I know your name before I ‘devour’ you?”

“P-Please…Please don’t hurt me…” Tiffany pleaded as she scrambled to get away from the stranger who had just hinted on ‘eating’ her.

A firm hand wrapped itself on her wrist as she tried to dash away from the mysterious person. When Tiffany turned to see who it was, she found Jessica whose eyes glistened with evil intent. Tiffany felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes as she found herself trapped in Jessica’s strong unearthly grip which she found impossible to escape from.

Regret had filled her conscience by that time. Tiffany wished she hadn’t snuck out of the house. She had wished that she had never run away. She wanted to scream but her voice had left her as soon as she began sobbing uncontrollably from the fear of what this unearthly stranger would to do her.

Her heart pounded hard against her thoracic wall and beads of sweat began to form on her forehead as she stared straight into the deceptive eyes of the female stranger. “Don’t worry, Tiffany… This will be quick.” The beautiful brunette whispered in her ear.
Tiffany felt pain. Where she felt it, she wasn’t sure. The only thing she saw was darkness that followed as the sight of Jessica’s beautiful façade began to melt into the blackness that soon engulfed her.
 

***

The smell of iron was everywhere. She couldn’t quite place where it came from. She felt soaked in her own clothes as she awakened from her supposed slumber. She thought she had died after she out. She thought Jessica had succeeded. But the only memory of it was the searing pain that irritated her neck and the unquenchable thirst that boosted her will to open her eyes.

‘Tiffany’

‘Tiffany’

The voice resounded through the recesses of her brain. It registered as a familiar one as she struggled to open her eyes that seemed to have been glued shut. She tried to move her limbs but they seemed paralyzed by an unknown force. She felt numb over all.