We are the lucky ones

We shine like a thousand suns

When all of the color runs together

I'll keep you company

In one glorious harmony

Waltzing with destiny forever

My mother used to sing me that song. It's the only thing I remember for her. It calms me down but right now not even the memory of that song can calm me down.

When you snap, you snap. There was a part of me that died the day that I found Roman with Mino. I guess literally I had only died just 30 minutes earlier but that death was nothing compared to how it felt seeing my best friend sleeping with the love of my life. You snap when something like that happens. You don't hear whatever stupid excuse is offered. You see red. Literally.

I'm not sure what happened.

I just remember Mino in a pool of blood. He's just lying there. Roman is on the floor. He's gasping for air. I'm not sure how it happened. I'm not sure if Roman put up much of a fight. All I remember is him gasping for air and Mino...well he's not breathing at all. He's just lying there in his own ing blood and I wonder if he's dead.

Roman's voice is a low whisper when he says very softly, “Jr. You weren't...you weren't supposed to be awake yet.

It's no use. A part of me wants to snap his neck but I wonder what is the point. I don't feel bad. You would think I'd feel something. There is nothing that I feel except emptiness after I see that I've attacked them. I just feel empty.

The door opens and I walk out into the hallway. The strange hooded men are in the house.

Mino's adopted father comes out of his room.

“What's going on here---”

Before he can finish what he's saying one of the hooded men is on him. Fangs come out of his mouth and he jumps at Mino's adopted father pulling him into a room. I can see the blood coming out of his neck as it happens. It's really sickening but for some reason I'm not scared. For some reason I realize that I'm one of these people now. For some reason I have this strong desire to join him and help him drain the blood of the human.

“What's happened?” the other hooded man states.

“Killed my best friend,” I tell him, “My boyfriend might be dead too. Might consider him my ex-boyfriend now.”

Emotion. Where was it? Right now I could feel none. Right now I was a cold from hell. Was this part of becoming a vampire or was this something deeper? Had I really lost more of my humanity than I intended to tonight? I wasn't sure. The visitor questioning me keeps his eyes on me and motions to the other visitor. The other visitor walks into Mino's room. When he does I lean up against the wall. I look at the visitor who questioned me. He's handsome. He's no older than 21.

“You're cute. Like boys?” I ask him.

He ignores my question probably not amused by it. Truthfully I don't know where it came from. The Jr I was before would have been terrified by these strange men entering the house. Instead here I was trying my best to flirt with this guy. I had good reason too.

He's a brown skinned boy. I think he may be mixed but he does seem to have some Asian in him but he's of the darker breed. His hair is curly coming out of his hair like a curly afro. His lips are pink. I have to admit this guy is beautiful but hell I'm used to vampires being beautiful. The other guy who attacked Mino's father returns first. He's not as handsome as the one asking me the questions. He is mouth is covered in blood and I seeing the blood gives me an appetite.

I'm staring at the blood and the curly haired vampire seems to notice.

“You don't know much about vampires do you?” he asks me, “Who sired you?”

“Who did what?”

“Who turned you. Into one of us?”

I point to the room.

Just at that moment the other visitor walks out of the room. He looks at me with a strange look.

“There is a vampire in there...with a human. Looks like they were in the middle of something,” the man states correctly, “Looks like they were interrupted. Aggressively.”

“Alive?”

“Barely.”

The curly haired vampire gives me a stare. His eyes are looking hard at me, “Was there another vampire here? Who helped you attack your sire?”

I shrug, “I don't know what a sire is but only vampire here is that lying motherer in the room coughing up blood.”

“That's impossible,” the other man says looking at the curly haired dude, “He just turned we were just notified.”

The three of them stand together. They keep going on and when they notice me listening they start speaking another language. At first I think it's Spanish but then I realize I'm wrong. It's something different. It's a dead language. It's something much older. These people are speaking Latin. It has to be Latin. All the ums at the end of their sentences definitely seem to give it away. I'm watching curiously as these men are looking at me.

They seem more and more interested.

The questions don't seem to end. Curly hair looks over at me, “How long ago did you turn?”

“Does it matter?” I ask.

“We ask the questions here fledgling. How long ago did you turn?”

I have no ing idea what a fledgling is but it sounds condescending. This curly haired boy definitely doesn't seem to be the nicest guy in the world but I have to admit that he's cute as hell. I cross my arms and look at the clock on the wall in the hallway.

“Exactly 35 minutes ago.”

The three men look at one another. More Latin. Something has spooked them and I'm not really sure what it is. I thought I should have been the one afraid. I'm the new one in this situation. Clearly that isn't the case though. The one guy who went into the room and saw Mino and Roman seems more afraid than the other two.

“What's your name?” curly hair one asks me.

I think about giving him my full name but instead I just shorten it, “J.”

“Ok J. I'm going to need you to drink this...”

He hands me something. It's a plastic bottle. It's red. Blood. He's giving me blood. I look at it. I have this hunger for the stuff that I can't really understand.

“Eden,” I say, in between long sips, “Take me to Eden...”

***

“Where's the third guy?”

One of the visitors is driving through Harlem in an old Lincoln. I'm sitting in back with the y curly haired boy. He looks over at me. His eyes are like the stars. They run deep. I have to admit the fact that he keeps looking at me in the way he is actually turns me on a lot. It's almost like he's trying to figure me out.

“He's cleaning up the mess you left behind,” he responds.

“What's he going to do with Roman?” I ask.

“If he's alive? He will be brought back to Eden and punished for leaving as well as turning you into a vampire without permission.”

“Why can't he leave Eden?” I ask, “You left didn't you?”

He smiles, “That's because of who I am.”

“Just who are you?”

“My name is Jackson. I'm the head of the King's guard. King's Guard are allowed to leave the city.”

Jackson. The name suits him. Jackson with the curly hair and the dark skin. Now that he has taken off his hood I get a look at his body. He's covered in tattoos. He looks like a real badass. I'll have to give it to him. He looks like the type of motherer who'd somebody's girlfriend and then beat their if they say anything about it. He definitely didn't seem like he put up with too much .

“You nervous Jackson? You keep looking out the window.”

“Looking for Rogues.”

“What?”

Jackson shakes his head, “You really don't know anything do you. Your maker is definitely going to have a lot to answer for. Rogues are followers of the demon goddess Lilith.”

“That doesn't sound good. Demon Goddess?”

He shakes his head, “Lilith is a night mare. Humans call her work the Blood Holocaust. Remember that?”

“That was because of a vampire?”

“Yes. It was because of Lilith. Her attempt to destroy humans. Luckily the King's Guard found a cure for the disease just in time. Lilith went into hiding since then. Her followers are still around though. They are dark vampires. The types that humans know about. They don't care about rules. They only live for the thirst. The ones who kill the humans after they drink their blood.”

“I just saw your guy drink someone's blood back at Mino's house.”

“It's different.”

I sigh, “Sure it is.”

“We don't kill. The King's Guard leave the city. We fight off Rogues. We make sure there aren't any loose vampires around like you.”

He looks over at me. The way he says it makes me think that I'm a mistake or something. Maybe I am. Roman didn't have any permission to make me. I don't get it. Why did Roman leave Eden? Why did he come turn me into a vampire. Maybe I should have given him a reason to explain? Truthfully I don't regret attacking him but I could have at least waited a second longer.

“What happens to me? Back in Eden I mean?” I ask.

For some reason I don't know if I'll like the answer to this.

“You'll be tested.”

“Tested how?”

“It's called the Tasting. It's done by the Old lady. She is one of the oldest vampires we have in Eden. She's going to smell your blood for potency. If it's potent you pass the test. She'll then taste it to see what blood type you have so that we know what class you are assigned to.”

“What if I don't pass?”

He looks over at me, “Then