Chapter 80Fast Forward 8 - Silent Night

Back to hovering above the ground.

The feeling was odd, unusual but definitely not unpleasant. There was a slight tingling as my body adjusted to new sensations. In a way it felt like I was pulled up at every part of my body. Another way to describe it was like floating in liquid could support me but didn't restrict me to move. Yet with a little thought, and a little concentration I could float higher. Just a little, careful and precise. If whatever was making my body float was going to stop, I didn't want to plummet a hundred floors down.

Baby steps.

I felt how a sort of flow kept me up that was easy to obtain. Just like taking a long walk through the park where you can feel you can keep on walking for hours when you're not tired or underfed.

That was odd. I didn't feel underfed. I hadn't had any blood for a one and a half day. And the only blood I did have was Afentis's. yet I felt strong, capable and unafraid. The only thing...

The only thing was my skin that was horribly disfigured at the moment. At least it looked a lot worse than it felt but half of my body was burned. The clothes rustling softly in the wind as I was hovering in the air, rubbing against my skin painfully, but bearable. Focussing on my body like this made me very aware of the damage that had been done to it and the power I had received.

I guess in stress we face ourselves and learn.

Now, I need a plan.

I hadn't killed the guys back in there and didn't want to. I wasn't a killer. But I needed Kryss to stop. He had to leave town, leave us alone. Never bother us again. I decided to face him once and for all, on my terms. But if I was to do that I wanted to drink some blood first. But looking like this I had to be the predator for once.

A small plan. I let myself float up and toward the park. Above the apartments, stores and offices but not too high that a fall would kill me. Eerily silent I moved through the air. It was definitely troublesome to figure out my directions seeing the world from this viewpoint. But my strong memory, always sharp, led me flawlessly. Landmarks, pubs, cafe's, stores. With their help, I made an almost straight line toward the park.

I was kind of lucky, someone was still walking through the park. It was early still and this was a guy just tending to his thoughts. Kicking stones absentmindedly as he hoped the fresh air would cool his mind. Two options. Take quickly and leave without him seeing what it was. But it would startle him. Or seduce him enough to allow it. He wasn't wearing a ring so I presumed he had no girlfriend. He reminded me of someone I didn't want to think of right now. There was something intelligent about his movements. No, don't think of him now.

Option one it is then, silently sneak down behind him and take his blood, giving him a little scare but nothing that I couldn't push away mentally. I hated this option, as it made me feel so inhuman. But at the moment I considered it the best choice. He would have no memory perhaps some strange sensations that would give him some odd dreams.

Not even a sound or a misplaced pebble as I landed behind him. I swiftly took him, pulling his collar away and pushing at his mind at the same time. It wasn't easy to send serenity if you're chaotic yourself but I tried. It was enough, the strange sensation of the bite would take over and it would help him forget. The blood entered me.

Who was this man? His blood was rich with experience. Strong flashes of other emotions, not his, were dormant in the stream. He looked like a manager, but he felt like an artist. Such bright colors in his memories that flowed within, kisses, caresses. He held the best memories in the front of his being to help him remember how good his life was at times, regardless of the intense bad moments. They also appeared, his care for other's selflessness. He listened and shared the pain, took it away gently to leave people warm and well again. He reminded me so much...

I closed my lips and let his wounds heal. I felt the blood run through me and start on healing my damaged skin. I willed myself to float up and looked down. He had turned around, he shouldn't even be able to. I saw his face in the light, a simple smile. His mind was too foggy to discern but there was no ill will. He was surprised but that was all, not freaked out, just vaguely interested.

I left quickly, leaving him with nothing but a memory that looks like a dream.

Floating up I looked around the dark skyline of the city and knew what I must do. The blood did invigorate me more than I had expected. It might not have been needed, but it was welcome now. It made everything even brighter and fuller. The faint smells of the city as I floated over it, the sounds that washed over me and the moist caress of autumn.

I landed on one of the highest buildings of the city, closest to the center, and leaned against the cold stone of the building. My body enjoying the coolness as a refreshing caress. I let myself calm down and focussed on my eyes. They would be walking the rooftops, visible by their movement. Patience was all I needed. Patience and...

Ah yes.. The moon.

It wasn't a full moon, but it didn't need to be. The pale moonlight was like bright sunlight for my sensitive eyes. And despite it only lasting for a few seconds between the clouds, it was enough. More than enough.

I knew where they were.

This time I had the advantage.

This time Kryss was the hunted.