Chapter 64 Marylin's journey

Marylin’s POV…

Father Jacob helped me bury the dead worker’s body and helped me leave town. He would have followed me, but he had to ensure that things were ok back at home and that no one ever found out how that poor worker died. So, I was all on my own.

I journeyed into the wilderness for days, the canopies from the trees formed a shade that protected me from the blazing sun, as father Jacob had told me that I could never see the sunlight again. At first, I was scared, being all alone in those dark woods and with the wild animals that lived there. It was not until I realized that I could feed on animals, a very useful piece of information father Jacob ought to have given me before he left, that I found it easier to adjust to this strange new life of mine. A wolf that wanted to attack me on one of such nights I was resting, I was sitting by the small fire I had created and singing one of the hopeful songs Gerome used to sing to me, how I missed when he sang me those songs. Somehow, I had already sensed the wolf coming close, I sensed it when it went into hiding, and I continued singing just to let it think I was distracted, I realized that this new power father Jacob had given me, somehow made me smarter and stronger than humans and animals. The wolf jumped out of hiding almost immediately and ran towards me like a cheetah. I sat there, remaining calm and singing my precious song. The only thing I had to do was hold out my hand and grab the neck of this animal that had planned to ambush me. The wolf who had prepared his large canine dentine to devour me, was now at the mercy of my claws, whining like a little puppy.

I wanted to let it go, I swear, but I hadn’t eaten for days, and the blood of this wolf now began to call on me like it did at the mortuary. I ripped the animal with my fangs, and drank to my satisfaction before continuing my journey.

The nights were dark and cold, I could feel it and if I were still human, I would never have been able to survive this but my new body adjusted pretty well to this life. Even though I was very lonely, I continued my journey, not knowing how many days I had spent in there, but I knew it was a lot. I decided not to pass through any towns where delicious humans lived, for fear of what had happened back at the mortuary.

I journeyed until I reached the mountains. I was lucky to have reached there before the snow started falling, at least I would find a cave where I could stay until the season passed. By this time, I didn’t know how to use any of my powers, I didn’t even know I could fly. And because of that, I spent days climbing that mountain in the snow, because I had spotted a cave up there, just near the peak.

While I was going through all these, death suddenly felt like a better option. I don’t know what could have been worse than living in a jungle with no place to go, no family, no idea of who you are or what you’ve become. It was torture. After about three days, I finally reached the cave, and made it my new home. I couldn’t climb all the way down just to feed, so I set bird traps and whichever bird that flew into my cave would become my next meal. It was as if the birds that lived in those mountains knew that there was a new monster in town, and they stopped flying into my cave because of that. For days I would be there in that cave, starving and lonely.

Things changed for me for good when I spotted a very big bird that flew into my cave one day. Seeing it from afar, I thought it was a bird until it came closer to where I was and entered. I then noticed that this wasn’t a bird, but a human like I was before. So, humans could fly now? I wondered. How long had I been in this cave?

I looked closely, and saw that it was a pretty lady, but there was something different about her, I did not feel any affinity for her blood like I did with other humans and animals, else I would have pounced on her and gulped her down the minute she entered, because I was starving like the hungry beast that I was. But her blood didn’t call to me at all.

I sat there on the ground, watching her as she entered, I was weak, unable to even stand up to meet her.

“Hello,” she said to me. “What’s your name?”

I looked at her, unsure of what to say. She noticed that I was nervous and continued speaking.

“It’s ok, I didn’t know that there were other vampires that lived here.”

So, she knew who I was! That word, vampire! Father Jacob had told me that was what I was now. I had heard of those things before, but as a Christian with strong faith in God, I thought those things along with demons and witches, belonged to the devil, and I wanted nothing to do with such, so I had no interest in finding out what they were or what they could do while I still lived with the humans.

And now that I became a vampire, I have no idea who I am or what I could do. But this lady that stood in front of me, she had just spoken like she was a vampire too.

“My name is Marylin,” I said to her. “I am a vampire.”

“I know Marylin, I was feeding nearby and I sensed your thoughts, my name is Dana, and I am a vampire too.”