Shroud of Darkness (Eternity Series Book 1)

chapter 3

Lily and Beau spent the better part of the day together before she dropped him off at Jared's place to retrieve his car. Beau had enjoyed their time together. It gave him an opportunity to learn more about her and her life, which in all honesty, had been rough. Her mother passed away from cancer when she was thirteen. That was a year after her youngest sibling was born. After her mother died, everything went downhill for her. She had to take on a motherly role for her family, and her father became almost nonexistent even when he was home. On top of that, he was constantly getting fired for being drunk. Beau felt sorry for her and wished he could help, but how do you fix something so tragic?

They quickly shared an awkward hug before splitting. Lily got in her car and left for home, while Beau decided to return to the trail where he had lost his phone. Then the sun was setting, but if Beau moved quickly enough, he should still have enough light left to see the device. He parked his car in the trees like Jared had the previous night to keep it out of sight from cops potentially roaming the area; he wasn't sure he could take another run-in with the law.

Hopping out of his car, Beau followed the path, searching for the fork in the road that ultimately led to his current predicament. He was becoming frustrated as daylight began to grow faint, and he still couldn't find the fork in the path.

What the hell? How did I come across it so quickly in the dark? Beau questioned himself.

He was on the verge of giving up and heading home. His mom could easily replace the phone, but that would raise the question of 'What happened to it?'. That wasn't a conversation he was ready or willing to have. On his fifth walk back down the path to his car, Beau finally saw it. Several knocked-over trees were lining the route, which is why he hadn't noticed before.

Huh, I guess what they say about giving up, and success is true.

He then proceeded to follow the path hopping over the occasional tree. He would stop every few steps to observe closely the still moist earth for his phone.

Shouldn't be too hard to find. A white phone should stand out, out here.

His thought process couldn't have been more wrong. He searched and searched; he occasionally kicked around some of the mud, hoping to see the device. Nada. Beau was still exhausted from the constant sunlight exposure, so he took a moment to rest on one of the fallen trees. He lay back to look up and watch the remaining light slowly fade from the sky, and even though it was growing dark, the lighting didn't change for his eyes. Sliding the sunglasses off his eyes, he placed them in his pocket.

Guess I better head home, or mom's gonna play twenty-one questions.

At the exact moment he stood up, a breeze blew, causing the vegetation to rustle, and with that wind was a scent. He thought maybe Lily and the group had decided to return tonight, but it was unfamiliar. He wasn't sure how he knew, but the smell gave him chills. Without warning, Beau involuntarily hoped ten feet to his right. Looking back at the tree he had been resting on; it was now broken in half. In the place, he had been standing was a woman. Beau felt hope that it was the woman from last night, but he didn't get the same comfort from her. Something about this woman felt off to him, hostile even.

"Hello, are you the woman who saved me last night?" he asked.

Without any warning, she moved with incredible speed, planting a fist into his gut as she slammed him against a tree. She then took a deep breath as if inhaling her favorite perfume before looking at him with blood-red eyes.

"So, you're the rogue vampire who killed that young woman. You will die for almost exposing us to the mortals.", she said.

"I'm sorry, what? Rogue vampire, what are you talking about?" he asked, panicking.

She reared back her fist, planting it firmly in his gut again, "Silence beast, or I'll make your end a lot more painful."

Beau could taste blood in his mouth as all the air left his lungs. She really knew how to pack a punch. Coughing and spluttering, Beau did his best to speak.

"I-I r-really don't...*cough*...what you're on about. Last night I was on this trail when I ran into two giant wolves. Some woman saved me and told me to run, so I did..."

Crack!

Beau felt his bones shatter as his body slammed into a tree. Within seconds, the woman was on top of him again, and this time she dug her hand into his chest, closing her hand around his heart. The pain was excruciating, and it didn't feel any better as his bones began to reset. He felt dizzy as literal death stared him in the face again.

"So, you're a coward as well.", she spat at him.

"Ah! No, please...just, just listen to me. I was human until last night. I did my best to hide, but one of those beasts found me and attacked me."

She snarled at him, "If you were human, then why aren't you dead? If a were beast attacked you, then you shouldn't be standing here."

She began slowly squeezing his heart, making it even more challenging to talk.

"T-that's w-w-what I'm trying to tell you. The w-woman who helped me get away made me drink her blood. She told me...she was making me a vampire, to save my life." he was gasping for air.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because if I were a rogue vampire, wouldn't the chances of me putting up a fight be higher."

She ignored his statement, "Who changed you?"

"I don't know. It was dark, and she didn't tell me her name. All I know is that she changed me, and then when I woke up, she was gone. I was hoping you were her." he hissed from the pain still radiating through him.

"I would not be so foolish to create an illegal. I can't think of anyone who would be so foolish."

"Ugh, what the hell is...is an illegal."

"Don't play dumb with me.", she said, the fury behind her voice growing.

"I'm being truthful with you!" Beau shouted as he glared into her blood-red eyes.

This shocked her. Who the hell did he think he was to talk to her that way? On top of that, she was taken aback by the fact that he was indeed telling the truth. After looking deep into his eyes, she could see he wasn't lying; she had no reason to doubt him, but why? Why would anyone risk life to change a mortal?

She released her hold on his heart before painfully removing her hand from his insides. Beau howled in pain at her actions. He didn't move after that, just breathed as the gaping hole in his chest sealed itself, and the rest of his bones snapped back into place.

"I should kill you still, but if someone is risking life to save you, then there has to be a good reason.", she said before holding a hand out to him.

Beau looked at her for a moment before cautiously taking it. She all but jerked him to his feet before pulling him close.

"I assure you, though, if you are somehow manipulating what I can see in your mind, and you are indeed a rouge, I will kill you.", she said.

Beau held his hands up in surrender, "I promise I'm not lying, and I appreciate you not killing me yet."

She eyed him for a moment before pushing him back. He almost lost his balance but caught himself on a tree.

"Excuse me, but if you don't mind me asking, how did you find me?" he asked curiously.

She lifted an eyebrow at him, "I tracked your scent from the site where you almost exposed us to the mortals to here. That is where I found this." she pulled out a white phone covered with streaks of dried mud, "It reeked heavily of your scent, so I had a hunch you'd come back to this area. All I had to do was wait."

"Well, you were right about me returning to this area, specifically for the phone that you hold in your hand. As you can assume, it's mine, and I'd like it back.", he said with a confidence he didn't have.

She rolled her eyes before tossing the phone to him. Beau caught it and turned his attention back to the woman, who was now walking away.

"Hey, wait, where are you going?" he asked.

She turned back to look at him, "I'm going home, and I suggest you do the same."

He began to panic. There were so many questions to ask, and right now, she was the only one who could answer them.

"Look, I know I'm an illegal or whatever, and I almost exposed vampires or whatnot, but I... I need help. I'm alone. I don't know what I'm doing, and it feels like everything is out to kill me. I'm not asking for much, just a little guidance." he began to choke on tears at the reality of his new life.

He was alone with no one to help him or watch his back. He'd been dragged into a life he wasn't ready for, and now it was like living in hell. Things were quiet for a tense moment before the girl walked back up to him. This time Beau noticed the significant height difference. She was only like five foot five, and yet she'd mopped the floor with him. She raised her hand, and Beau closed his eyes, waiting for an impact. Instead, what he got was a pat on the head.

"Ok, fine. I will help you, but the second you let slip, you're an illegal. You're on your own. Until then, I will act as your sire until we can find your creator.", she said, this time her voice a lot calmer.

Beau took her hand in his, "Thank you so much, uh..."

"My name is Lauralye.", she said.

"Lauralye, thank you!" he exclaimed with relief.

She patted his cheek and spoke, "You're welcome. Now go home, little vampire, and I will find you tomorrow at some point."

With those words, she turned and was gone within seconds. Beau took a deep breath and sighed. She couldn't imagine the relief she had given him, but he had to admit her calling him 'little vampire' was not okay.

Thank you, Lauralye. You are my savior, and I may just make it through life after all. He thought.

The entire drive home was miserable for Beau. His stomach just wouldn't stop growling, which made it difficult to focus. He felt like there was a ravenous beast trying to burst out and take over his body. Unsure of what to do, Beau went straight to the fridge when he got home. Yanking it open and looking through its contents, he found nothing appealing. That was until he saw a package of raw roast lurking in the back. As if his body was on autopilot, Beau grabbed the package and began tearing into it without a care in the world. Drops of blood and a bit of plastic and raw meat were scattered as he devoured the roast.

"Beau, is that you?" he heard his mom call from down the hallway.

He could hear her footsteps drawing closer to the kitchen, which sent him into full-on panic mode.

Shit! Shit! Shit! He thought to himself.

With a face covered in blood, Beau quickly threw the destroyed container back into the fridge before rushing over to the sink. Turning the water on, he promptly began scrubbing his face with his hands, doing his best to erase the evidence. His mom came around the corner when he stood back up straight. She gave him a questioning look.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Nothing, mom. I was just washing off my face."

"In the kitchen sink?"

"Um, yes.", he said, giving her his most charming smile.

"You are aware you have a shower. Right?"

He nodded, "I know. I just wanted to wash my face right when I got home."

"Okay then. Speaking of getting home, where have you been?"

"I uh...I made some new friends at school, and they invited me to hang out, so I did.", he lied.

It was another partial truth, but how does one tell their mother that they are no longer human?

She arched an eyebrow at him, "I'm glad you made some new friends, but you could at least inform me when you're going to be out so late. You had me worried that you could have been another victim of that psycho that's roaming around."

Sighing, he looked down at the sink, "I know, and I'm sorry. I left my phone in the car, and I didn't expect it to get so late. Also, I didn't want to bother you because I know you've been working."

"Honey, it's okay. You're home, and that's all that matters. Just next time, give me heads up when you're going to be out late. Now I'm off to bed. I've had a long day, and I have to work again tomorrow. It would help if you also got some sleep.", she said before returning to her room.

Beau waited till he heard her door close before he exhaled.

That was close.

His stomach growled again. The raw meat had done little to satiate the growing void.

Damn it.

Sighing again, Beau accepted defeat before cleaning up his mess and throwing away all the evidence. After making sure it was at the bottom of the trash can and completely covered, he headed off to his room. Beau crumpled on his bed in the fetal position clutching his stomach. The pain was so excruciating that he ended up crying himself to sleep.

Finding himself standing in a room, Beau was confused. It was dingy and tiny. From what he could gather from looking around, it was a cell of some sort. The windows were barred, and the door was made of thick metal. He didn't understand how he went from his bedroom to here, nor the reason why he'd be here. Wherever here was.

He went to lift his hand, but it didn't move. Not understanding why his hand didn't move, he tried again.

Okay? He thought.

He tried to move his legs, head, anything he could think of. He even tried to shout. Nothing worked.

Maybe sleep paralysis can affect vampires? No, that's just stupid.

It wasn't until a rattling on the other side of the door that his body began to move. No, not his body. It was someone else's. Beau was puzzled as he caught the reflection from a small piece of glass on the floor. He was now a she, and that she happened to be the woman who sired him. To make matters worse, two men came walking in from the now open door.

"Hello, milady.", one of the men said mockingly, "Are you enjoying your stay?"

Both men laughed as if they were sharing an inside joke.

What the hell is going on? Beau questioned.

The woman proceeded to back up until she was against the wall. At the same time, the men moved toward her. One reached out to grab her arm, and in return for his actions, he was flung against the other wall, which cracked.

"Don't touch me, you filthy animal."

Yeah, it was definitely her. Even the voice is the same. Now the question of the day is, what the hell am I seeing?

At this moment, both charged at her, and that's when Beau sat up, holding his arms up to defend himself. Looking around, he saw that he was back in his own room. He slowly lowered his arms as he pondered over everything he had seen. It was too real to be a dream, and even if it were a dream, why would he dream of something like that? He didn't know a thing about this woman, and now she was invading his subconscious.

A woman bites you one time, and your brain will never let it go.

Glancing at the clock to check the time, he saw he had about an hour before he had to get up for school. He wasn't feeling tired anymore, so going back to sleep was off the table. Plus, the hunger pains had become worse. Groaning, he slid off his bed before proceeding to his bathroom. Beau needed a good wash to remove the stench of raw meat, blood, and mud off his body. He also hoped the water would help his aching stomach. The shower did absolutely nothing to solve his aching stomach problem, and at this point, it was making him dizzy. His fangs would also occasionally elongate as the beast within tried to escape. He started to get dressed, which took him almost thirty minutes to do after having to sit down multiple times to refocus. Somehow managing to get out to his car, Beau hit the highway. 

He pulled into the school parking lot, feeling like he had teleported because the entire drive had been a blur. It was like he blacked out, and he drove purely off his subconscious. 

"I can't take this.", he said to himself as he placed his forehead on the steering wheel.

Beau stared at his open hands and wondered what he did to deserve this. Whatever higher power is out there controlling fate really has a sick sense of humor. He felt as if he drew the worst possible hand you could be dealt with a bonus card of 'live in hell for free.' As if things couldn't get any worse, someone knocked on his window.

Just what I need, someone to annoy me when I already wanna rip someone's head off.

Refusing to look up, the person knocked again.

Don't look up. Don't respond. Ignore them, and they will go away.

He was wrong. Another wave of knocks hit his window, this time with more force. Beau gritted his teeth, and he could feel his fangs starting to push down. He sat back and turned to glare at whoever was dumb enough to piss him off. Lily was on the other side of the glass with a puzzled look. Even though it was her, his anger wasn't quelled. If anything, it got worse as his stomach growled, and all he could focus on was her neck—the pale skin with a beautiful blue vein running just underneath. The beast was really fighting him for control, but Beau didn't want to give in. He couldn't; Lily was his friend. The darkness of his mind didn't see it that way. It saw prey that had walked right into its very own demise. He closed his fists tight as he tried to focus.

Friend, not food. Friend, not food. Friend, not food. He thought this over and over until he felt confident enough that he wasn't going to attack Lily and drain her.

He pulled the handle and opened his door to step out. Beau was now standing face to face with Lily, and she was looking at him like he needed to be in a psych ward. She began making a move to speak, but Beau couldn't take it. He, as fast as he could, turned on his heel and began to speed walk away. This only made him feel so much better.

Good job, Beau! You can't keep yourself together, and now there goes probably the only friends you're going to make out here. Yeah, his brain was really laying it on him as he weaved his way through the hallways. 

Beau felt like a timebomb waiting to explode as he avoided all eye contact and physical contact all the way to his first class. He could hear all the comments being made as he passed people, but he ignored them because none of them knew that a dangerous predator was loose in the school. With everything going on internally and now the external factors of school, Beau was surprised he made it as far into the day as he did. Especially with the hole being stared into the back of his head by Lily. He had ignored her so far, but they shared one last class together after lunch. This means he's going to have to keep up his 'I'm sick' persona for the teacher and avoid Lily. The hard part about all of it was that they sat right beside each other. Overall, life was not going well for Beau Hayes. Turning the corner, he saw her already sitting at her desk, and the look she gave him was like a metaphorical punch to the gut, and it hurt. Oh, how he desperately wanted to turn right around and leave because he knew she was going to ask why he was ignoring her, and he didn't have an answer for her. At least not a truthful one. Sighing and fighting the ever gnawing in his gut, he walked over and sat down. In record time, she turned to him and began talking.

"So, what is it I've done? Did I annoy you that bad this morning, or was it the day we spent together that has made you avoid me? Maybe you realized how much of a loser I am." there was so much sadness and anger in her voice.

Oh yeah, there was no escaping it now.

Beau lowered his head and spoke without looking at her, "Look, it's nothing you've done, Lily. I enjoy your company..." she cut him off.

"But?"

"But I have some complicated matters going on in my life that is better left undisclosed, and it would probably be best for you to not be around me.", Beau said, hopeful she'd take that and leave him be.

Her voice changed, "Beau, we're friends, or at least I think we are. Anyways, you can talk to me. Maybe I can help you."

Of course, she couldn't leave it alone.

"This isn't an issue that can be helped, Lily, so please drop it.", he said, becoming slightly annoyed.

"No, I..." she went quiet as Mr. Williams spoke.

"Alright, class, let's begin."

Saved by the bell. Literally.

The class went on, and Beau did his best not to look at Lily because he knew that he'd want to tell her. He also knew it would make battling the horror lurking within impossible. The monster within was knocking on the door with every heartbeat and rush of blood that went through everyone around him. It was a feast to be had, but not an atrocity Beau wanted to commit. By the end of the period, Beau's teeth hurt, and he had cut the inside of his mouth on his fangs several times, but it healed almost instantly. He looked up for a brief moment at the person sitting in front of him. He couldn't help but to focus on the young man's beating heart. It made him drool and his stomach tighten. 

Feed. The little voice in his head said. It's yours for the taking. The life within those veins is yours, so take it. Leave not a single drop.

"Mr. Hayes, are you alright?" a voice said.

"Mr. Hayes?"

Beau blinked. He was now standing over the guy sitting in front of him. He was leaning back away from Beau, looking at him with fear, and so was everyone else who could see his face.

"What fuck is wrong with you, freak?" the boy said to him.

"Weirdo."

"Loser."

His classmates began to erupt in insults, and it wasn't until someone said something about his eyes that Beau's motor functions returned. Panicking, he quickly ran out of the classroom, leaving all his stuff behind, but he didn't care. He just needed to get away from everyone and everything.