Distant Lands

Now that it’s morning, I wonder if it was all a nightmare. I look in my bag for my baton and it’s gone. No, this nightmare really did happen. I change quickly and head out to the orchard. Damon probably escaped. He is a strong guy. I’m sure he broke the tree to pieces. As I get closer I squint and see that he is still there. “Oh shit.” He didn’t escape. He was out there the whole night. Why do I feel bad? He deserved it. I run into the orchard. The sun is not entirely out yet and the cold morning air is irritating my lungs. I slow down. His head is hanging forward and his black hair covers part of his face. I slowly get closer to him. He looks pale. Is he dead? I slowly get closer and closer to him, and I touch the side of his face; he feels icy cold.

“Damon?” I whisper.

Oh no, I think I killed him. I run and pick up the baton. I press the button that deactivates the metal rope, and Damon falls. I rush over to him, and I unwind the rope. I sit him up with his back against the tree. I kneel in front of him; his hair falls over his face. I lean his head back on the tree and move his hair away from his face. I touch his face, his neck, and he’s so cold. I’m freaking out. I can’t even find a pulse. I place my hands on his shoulders and hold him back to help him stay in a sitting position.

“Damon?” I shake him. can’t believe I killed Damon. What do I do? How am I going to explain this? Tears escape my eyes. He deserved to be punished, but not killed.

“Damon? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.” I squeeze his shoulders and sob.

“I-I’m sorry-” In a split second, Damon’s head comes forward, and bites down hard on my left wrist. I scream in pain, trying to pull away, but he holds on to me. The pain is unbearable. I punch his head, “Let go!”

He lets go, and the pain is quickly replaced...I...I feel a strong debilitating tingle run down my whole body. It weakens me, and my legs become jelly, making me sit on his leg. I look up at the sky and gasp loudly, “Oh!” I moan, feeling good. A second wave comes through me, and I feel intense heat rise to my face. I moan again and feel light as a feather…like I’m floating. I can see Damon lean back on the tree, having the same reaction, smiling.

“W-What the hell is this?” I try to slap Damon’s face, but I miss and fall to the ground, breathing hard. I lay on my back, looking at the sky, enjoying this feeling. I close my eyes, feeling weak and good...

I hear Damon laughing. I open my eyes. He is standing over me, “Did you enjoy that? Little human?” He kneels.

“What the hell did you do to me? What was that?” I ask.

“That was my DNA coursing through your veins.”

“What? That’s disgusting.”

He smiles. “Are you sure? It looked like you enjoyed it. I know I did.”

Becoming aware of my surroundings, I see that I’m still at the orchard and the sun is shining brightly now. I try to get up quickly but feel weak and sit back on the ground. Damon gets closer, “Take it easy, it was your first time.”

“Go away, Damon. I don’t want to see you right now.” I look away from him. “I can’t believe what just happened,” I mutter.

He sits on the floor in front of me, laughing. “You deserved it for shocking me and leaving me out here to die,” his intense eyes stare at me.

“I didn’t mean to do that, I had planned on releasing you quickly," I lie, "but I had fallen asleep. I thought you were dead. I’m sorry. But, you shouldn’t have used my blood for the blood tree.”

His face softens and sighs. “Yes. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.” He places his hand on his chest. I feel my face growing warm again. This is embarrassing. I don’t know how his blood has that effect on me, it must be some kind of magic, or his blood must contain something, some kind of venom or hormone.

“How long have we been out here?” I ask.

“An hour or so.”

“An hour!?” I struggle to get to my feet. Damon stands and holds onto my arm to steady me, and I pull away.

He looks calmly at me, “Since it was your first time experiencing it, you should spend the day relaxing.”

I shoot him a furious glance and pick up my baton. For a second, Damon tenses up and looks worried. I reel in the rope and stash the baton in my backpack, and put my bag over my shoulder. “Damon, I would appreciate it if you didn’t mention any of this to Ivan… or anyone.”

He crosses his arms and nods, “I was about to ask the same of you. I won’t say a word, I promise.”

I nod and look straight into his eyes, “If you ever bite me like that again, I will kick your ass.” I walk off towards the road. Damon doesn’t say anything, and he walks off in the opposite direction. I walk up the road, thinking about what just happened. I blush just thinking about it, and I feel remnants of the tingle still running down my body. Oh, the feeling was so strong. I physically felt his touch, but it was all just in my mind, just some chemical reaction. It felt good. This is crazy. What the hell is wrong with me? This is a blood-sucking alien. He can slit my throat in a second and bleed me dry.

"I just need to forget this ever happened." I try to convince myself as I continue to walk forward. A sudden buzzing sound invades the air and I feel something buzz quickly by my ear, and I dodge out of its way. “What the hell?” Two big metal-looking bumble bees come towards me. I shriek and swat them away again and again. “Get away!” I manage to hit one and it flies away but comes back. Then, another one shows up. I reach into my backpack and take out my baton. I swing it around, trying to swat them away. When a third one shows up, I give up and start running up the road. I start to feel lightheaded but don't stop. The bumblebees are fast and swarm me. Their sharp needle-like tails sting me. I yell and fall to the ground, rolling to a stop. Swinging my arms and kicking my legs, I fight. I will fight to the end. The pain becomes numb, and suddenly, they all fly away. I get up and run the rest of the way.