Victoria slowly opened her eyes, blinking rapidly as she tried to adjust to the light of the room. As her vision cleared a little, she sat bolt upright on the bed, looking around in panic at the bedroom she'd never seen before. Dread filled her and she had to swallow down a scream.
A sudden cramp in her stomach had her doubled over, clutching at her abdomen, and she stifled a groan. If there were people close by then she didn't want to alert them to the fact that she was awake already.
At that moment, a memory suddenly tumbled into her mind. A memory of an oncoming car swerving all over the place on the road. A memory of headlights coming straight towards her car. That was the last thing Victoria could remember, but she was certain that the other car must have crashed into hers. After giving her body a quick pat down and stretching out each of her limbs, she couldn't seem to find any other injuries, which gave her at least a little bit of relief.
The pain in her stomach gripped her again, a little more than before. Her brain started rushing at a million miles an hour as she tried to stand up from the bed. Maybe she had been in an accident and she had some kind of internal injury. Maybe she had concussion and that's why she couldn't remember how she had got here. The only thing she knew for certain was that she needed to get out of this strange house and to a hospital.
Slowly, Victoria tip-toed over to the window as quietly as she could, peeking out to see how high up she was and if an escape might be possible, but it was pitch black outside. Before she'd even had a chance to work out what floor of the building she was on, she heard the bedroom door open behind her.
Ignoring the pain ripping through her middle, she span around quickly to face whoever it was that had taken her. The man was stood in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. His long blond hair came down almost to his shoulders and Victoria's first thought was that he looked like a stereotypical surfer. As her gaze travelled over his body, she realised that he certainly had the physique of a man who exercised regularly. He seemed tall, at least 6 foot, probably even more, and with her petite 5'3" frame she knew she wouldn't stand a chance if she needed to fight her way out of this. All of this rushed through her brain in a couple of seconds, but he continued to stand there and watch her.
"Who the hell are you? Where am I?" she almost screamed at the stranger.
Adrenaline rushed through her body, making her want to throw herself at him and push her way through the door. But luckily her brain was switched on, telling her not to do anything stupid.
He gracefully pushed away from the doorframe, uncrossing his arms and holding out his hands in a gesture that she was sure was meant to placate her.
"It's okay. I promise I'm not going to hurt you. You have no need to be afraid of me."
"Just answer the damn questions!" she snapped back at him, taking a step backwards until her back was pressed against the window.
"Okay, okay. I'll answer. I'm Alexander, but you can call me Alex. You were in a car accident and I found you. You were badly hurt, almost dead, but I... I took care of you."
"How did you take care of me? Are you a doctor?" she spat at him. "I've got a bad pain in my stomach. I think I need to get to a hospital."
"If you just give me a moment, I promise that I can explain everything. Please will you listen to me?"
Victoria let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. I will listen. But then after you've explained, you will take me to hospital. I need to find out why my stomach hurts so much!"
She watched as Alex cautiously took another step towards her. His voice remained calm and soothing despite the rising hysteria that was so clearly evident in her own.
"The pain in your stomach is nothing serious. It is just caused by hunger. And I promise that I will take care of that for you once I have finished explaining everything to you... ummm... what is your name?"
She just stood and blinked at him incredulously for a moment before her brain finally registered his question. "I'm Victoria. And if you believe that this is just hunger then you really must be crazy! I need to get out of here..."
"Wait, Victoria. Please." Alex took a step closer to her. "There is more that I need to tell you before we go anywhere."
"Okay. But tell me quickly."
"This isn't going to be easy to hear but just please let me talk, okay?"
Victoria gave him a curt nod but stayed silent, waiting for him to explain, and he paused a moment before starting to tell his side of events.
"When I found you in that car you were in a bad way, Victoria. Your heart was barely beating and I knew that you only had a few minutes left. If you were lucky then you may have survived until help arrived but I'm not so sure that they would have been able to do much for you at that point."
She couldn't stop her mind from spinning as she tried to focus on his words. What the hell was he talking about? Surely she couldn't have been that bad otherwise she wouldn't be stood here talking to him now. She would be in a hospital somewhere. Or a morgue.
"I was the only one there and I had to make a quick choice," Alex continued. "Call for help. Or help you myself. And I honestly didn't think there was time for the first option."
He paused again, rubbing his hands over his face before looking her in the eye. "Victoria, I pulled you out of your wrecked car and I... I fed you a few drops of my blood before you died. And now that you're awake again, you are like me. A vampire."
The silence in the air now seemed heavy as Victoria tried unsuccessfully to comprehend what he was telling her. A vampire? Of course she wasn't a vampire. They didn't exist! Obviously Alex was just crazy. Deluded, maybe. Either way, she wasn't safe here.
Victoria rushed towards the bedroom door, but she never managed to reach it. With a speed that she'd never have believed possible if she hadn't witnessed it herself, Alex dashed towards her and gripped her wrists before pushing her back against the wall, holding her there with seemingly little effort no matter how much she struggled.
"Let go of me, you fucking psycho!" she screamed in his face. But it did her no good. With the fingers of one hand wrapped around both her wrists like a vice, his other hand came up to cover her mouth, muffling her screams.
"Listen to me, Victoria. I know this is a lot to take in. But I can prove it to you and I can help you. I really want to help you, if only you would let me."
In that position, with Alex keeping her pinned against the wall with his hand over her mouth, he began to show her all the changes that she hadn't noticed until now in the midst of her panic. He pointed out that he had found her glasses shattered in the car, but she realised she didn't need them anymore. Her vision was crystal clear without help for the first time in years. He showed her how easily she could hear conversations from his neighbour's home. The sounds of their laughter and light-hearted conversation flowed easily to her once she had managed to tune into those sounds.
Once she seemed calmer, Alex released his hold of her and pulled his hand away from her mouth, but he stayed close enough that his body kept her pressed up against the wall behind her. And with great tenderness, he guided one of her hands up to the point on her neck where her pulse should be. Panic gripped her again for a moment as she couldn't find that little flutter beneath her skin. She spent a full minute searching for it, but it wasn't there.
Victoria slumped back against the wall. Could all of this really be true? Could she really be a vampire? God, was she crazy for even thinking it might be a possibility? But when another wave of pain washed over her, emanating from her middle, it was suddenly hard to think about anything at all.
"You really need to feed now, Victoria. The hunger, and the pain, will only get worse if you don't. I went out to feed just before you woke up. I wanted to make sure that I could take care of your hunger."
Her eyes suddenly widened as it dawned on her what he meant by feeding, and she shook her head vigorously. But as she watched him with equal parts horror and fascination, his fangs elongated and he brought one of his own wrists to his mouth. Quickly, he bit down hard on the inside of his wrist, and when she saw the drops of crimson liquid that started to flow, she couldn't deny the hunger it created in her. In that moment, Victoria's instincts took over and she knew without doubt that this was what she needed to take away the pain that had been consuming her since she had awoken.
When Alex pressed his wrist to her lips, she made no attempt to pull away. Instead, she brought both hands up to his arm, holding onto him while she drank. She suckled greedily at the small puncture wounds and with each sip of that red nectar, Victoria felt her body come alive. The pain in her stomach disappeared completely and every cell in her body seemed to tingle with an intense energy.
After what must have been only a few moments, Alex pulled his arm away, leaving her whining softly and licking at her lips, eager for any remaining drops that might have been left behind. Victoria realised that her own fangs had elongated and her tongue played over the sharp points, fascinated by the feel of them within her mouth.
"There you go. How are you feeling now? Is your stomach better?" He smiled warmly down at her before taking a few steps backwards, giving her some space.