BLOOD AWAKENING CHAPTER 2: Fangs or Howl

Her head is throbbing, burning like wildfire. Uncontrollable. Painful. Her hand deepened in her bed as the blanket crinkled. One more time feeling her pain would make her tear it. Her back arched in pain. Her arms have visible purple bruises. Every move is painful.

“Oh, thanks, you’re finally awake, Mari,” her Aunt Lily spoke in worries, rushing to her bed. She was in the kitchen preparing their meals when she heard Mari’s miserable screams.

“What’s happening to me? It’s so painful for goodness sake!”

Lily paused surveying her niece. "Yes, right. That must be your migraine." She responded, giving Mari her medicine.

“You came home last night showered in rain. When I opened the door, there I saw you and then you collapsed in front of me. You should have called me."

Perfectly crafted lies. All lies. Lily knew more.

She took her pills. Last night was horrible. Mari felt the sting of that bite.

"How exactly did I come back home?" Baffled, she checked her own temperature by hand.

"You just came home. Knocking..." Lily's heartbeat is in a chaotic melody. She has to be careful with her words or else her efforts of keeping their family's secret would go to waste.

“I’ll get you something to eat. Stay here.”

She nodded, not asking more questions about what happened last night.

When she was younger, she remembered having the same kind of headache. She was tormented that she was afraid to sleep, go out or do anything to trigger her extreme headache. However, her Aunt Lily introduced a tincture. Aside from her prescription, she takes another form of medicine.

“Here,” Lily came rushing, offering her a glass of tincture. “That might work. This might be the headaches similar to the ones you have before.” Using a piece of cloth, Lily wiped the sweats out of Mari's forehead. "And I have some porridge too. Please eat."

“Thank you, Lily. I would never know what to do without you.” Mari had quickly consumed half of it.

“Better sleep again. She pulled the blanket covering half of Mari’s body.

“I will.” Mari slid underneath the blanket. Its warmth had somehow assured her that everything’s gonna be alright.

Mari closed her eyes, exhaled a few deep breaths yearning for the pain to never come back. In between her breaths is fear. She remembered vividly the same scenario when she felt this traumatizing pain. This is the same reason she opted to study nursing. She thought that somehow her experiences could help people experiencing what she had been through; to make them feel they’re not alone in the battlefield of aches and illness; to make her more able to resonate with them. She’s been there, suffered, and had endured it, but to encounter it again is something so familiar but still haunts her.

She heard the loud bang as the door closed. It was intentionally done to let her know Lily has left. She opened her eyes, staring blankly at the ceiling. She can't sleep. She glanced at the old clock on the wall that said 3:00 pm.

She rose from her bed, slightly feeling the itchiness of her throat. She scratched it many times but it didn't work. Her throat is dry. She went to the kitchen to drink a lot of water. That didn’t help her. She’s craving something…like blood. Abruptly, she snapped at such a thought. That can't be. Why on earth would she want blood?

But her attention was caught by the knife near the kitchen sink. Momentarily, her gaze was glued to it. She never knew why until her ears began hearing sounds that normally she couldn’t hear without a stethoscope. She hears blood come rushing on her own veins and arteries. It is like a raging river after a strong rain or a flood.

The beating of her heart is so loud like drums simultaneously used. Every pulse is ringing. And there it goes again. She scratched and scratched her throat and after a few more scratches it left visible marks.

She reached for the knife and out of her instinct, swiftly cut her wrist. Blood came flowing. She drinks it, sipping in an attempt to quench the thirst. There she felt it. The itchiness is gone and for the first time came into her senses a different gratification that she never knew she could have. It feels like it's on cloud nine.

Blood’s dripping from her wrist, from her mouth after consuming a satisfactory amount of her own blood. Blood is everywhere.

She realized what she had done to herself. Right above the sink is a cabinet where she has stored an emergency kit. Hastily, she avails of its purpose. Its content spilled on the area. But she only needed something to clean and dress her wound. Or that is what she thinks. Her eyes dilated; shocked and confused at the same time. The wound closes itself like a zipper; it didn’t hurt at all. She was taken aback. Confused and afraid, her whole body shivered. Maridelle couldn't think of something to make her mind sane.

Not knowing what to do, indecisive whether to speak of it to her Aunt Lily, Mari went to her room, grabbed a hooded black jacket and wore it.

She needs time to process everything. One place she could do the thinking without any trouble is the old tree near the lake. She went there until the sun got heavy on the west side of the horizon; dusk is approaching. And Mari hasn't figured it out yet. She has a strange notion but she didn’t like it. It is very impossible to think of her transforming into a vampire. That is very ridiculous. Thinking of letting the event pass and a decision to bury it to oblivion, Mari strolled towards home.

On her way, a strange feeling is creeping in. The crowd had brought it. This time every conversation seemed to be within her earshot. Even the sound of cockroaches was amplified. She can hear every gossip, laughter, and worse—she has made up an image of a pulse on everyone’s neck. Remembering what she had in the kitchen awhile, she rushed to escape from the crowded street.

Hours had passed, she found herself on the corner of a quiet street. Mari found an asylum. She sat wrapping her knees with her arms like a child afraid of monsters. But to her mind, she is the real monster. She stayed there till almost midnight weeping for the lives she had taken. Her profession is supposed to make her help people live, but to her own cruelty and hands, they died. A while ago, she couldn't control herself. She was thirsty and her body and senses had directed her to consume human blood. She tried to get away but there were just too many people—too many; the sound of blood pulsating on everyone's body was too loud; she was tempted and submitted herself into temptation.

Tonight she has concluded, she’s turning into a vampire. Whatever the cause is, she doesn’t know; and she doesn’t like it. The fangs that had grown on her haven't retracted; it smell of demise, tasty metallic sweet blood, aches and regrets. She’s certain of becoming one but for whatever reason, she doesn’t know.

Steadying her breaths, Mari’s determined to go home and then escape all of this. She’ll just bid goodbye to her Aunt and isolate herself to harm no one. However, the clock strikes twelve. Mari suddenly collapses on her knees, a hand squeezing on chest, and she feels like she’s been robbed of good oxygen. Strange hairs are growing on her skin and there was a tickling sensation on her butt. The next thing she knew she had become both a vampire and a wolf.