Excerpt from Golden Eyes By Nia A. Dinah Matthews moves to Whitefish, Montana, discovering she is The Chosen Vampire to solve the mystery of missing girls. She becomes apart of a coven with four other vampires: Hillary, Blake, Jake, and Kenya. In this scene, Dinah is getting her first taste of blood. Hillary turns up the the radio, music blasting through the speakers. “What…?” Jake scoffs. “What kind of song is this?” “It’s called Dracula’s Wedding.” Hillary laughs. “Ironic.” I give Jake a look full of caution. “This doesn’t feel very good.” I frown, looking down and folding my arms. “Relax. That’s what you should do.” Jake’s hand rest in mine, sending a tingle of comfort down my spine. I look up to smile at him, his spirit was nice and kind. Blake stops the car abruptly. “Ok get out my car. We are here.” I get out, the smell of pine surrounds me like a blanket. Coming from South Carolina, there were no wooded areas like this. Mostly on drives my mom and I would notice farmland and long winded roads. I look around in wonder; the last experience here gave me negative associations with the woods. I didn’t want to think about the fangs or the pain. Like a little girl, I allow my eyes to wander various places where the light shone and my hands to touch everything in sight. “You’ve never seen a tree?” Blake removes my hand from the tree and stares at me. “I’m from South Carolina. Let me live ok?” Hillary clutches onto her handbag, Kenya invading her personal space to reach inside her blood. “I want blood. I’ve been dying all day. Where is it?” Hillary slaps her hand. “Patient.” She tosses Jake a pink plastic container. Blake sits on the hood of his car, sipping out of the purple bottle from earlier. He acts as if this “blood” thing is not new to him. Jake takes long swigs from the container. After he finishes wiping his mouth with satisfaction, he passes it to Kenya. She hungrily drinks the blood. Hillary slaps Blake, taking his bottle. “Ok your turn, Newbie.” Blake looks at me, his voice full of caution. “You’ll need to drink slow your first time. You could get carried away,” Hillary says, handing me blood. “That would be super duper bad,” Kenya adds. I nod, putting my lips to the plastic. Slowly, I raise the bottle, the blood rushes into my mouth. With each swallow, a savory taste fills my mouth. I close my eyes, maintaining a slow drinking pace. “She definitely is the Chosen One,” I hear Blake whisper to Kenya. She nods, looking at me in amazement. I remove my lips from the top, swallowing my last bit on blood. I wipe my mouth, revealing my fresh set of fangs. “That was perfect,” I say softly. “Perfection, my dear.” Kenya claps. “I’ve been a vampire my whole life, and I still get excited by the taste of blood.” I smile, glad to be approved by my new friends. Especially Blake. Jake and Hillary glance at each other. “Well, I think that’s all for today. Just go home today. We’ll talk tomorrow,” Hillary says. I laugh. “Doesn’t Blake have to drive us home?” Kenya shakes her head. “Well I am going to go wander in the woods like I normally do, and Jake and Hillary go off and do...I’m not actually sure.” “So looks like you’re just stuck with me,” Blake says edging closer to me. After a few minutes of saying goodbye, I sit in the passenger seat of Blake’s car. He starts the engine slowly, his eyes peeking my my direction constantly. I pretend not to notice. “I feel your anxiety.” Blake breathes, his voice low. “You know. From being in the car.” I look out the window. “Ok? What’s your point?” I turn to face him, but when he looks at me, I look away. Sometimes I found it hard to believe that he was real. “I’m sorry about it.” Blake starts to drive, the scenery moving fast through the window. “It doesn’t feel pleasant.” I nod. “It’s hard enough to feel my pain, but to have someone else feel it, too?” I scoff and let out a low laugh. “Do you want me to suppress my pain?” “Is that an option?” “No.” “I knew it.” Blake smiles, his signature wild smile. My cheeks flush red with embarrassment. “What?” He says, noticing my personality shift. “Why aren’t you being mean to me?” I ask. “You’ve been mean to me like all day.” “What? Tough guy can’t get a break?” Blake questions, jokingly. “Haha. Save that ‘break’ for Miranda.” His phone lights up with a text from her; U up? ;) “Really? You up? It’s like four in the afternoon not midnight.” Blake bursts out into laughter. “I take naps sometimes like every teenager.” We laugh then proceed in silence for awhile. I like silence with Blake. The sounds of his car engine comforts me as we return to the sight of houses and little shops. People walk across the street, laughing and smiling. I see a mother push her baby in a stroller. It reminds me of my mother when she adopted me. “You know my mom used to push me in a stroller all the time until I absolutely couldn’t fit inside,” I say softly, my hand touching the cold window. “She always wanted a baby, you know? She was so happy to have me.” Blake nods, his hands firm on the steering wheel. “I never needed a stroller. I aged too fast.” I face him with confusion. “What?” “I was born a vampire. Aging slows down after you hit like 17 so wrinkles are not really an option when I’m 50.” Blake explains, his eyes still on the road. “I don’t know. It was weird growing up because I would be in first grade, but I wouldn’t be because I was much more capable physically and mentally. So was Kenya.” “Kenya?” Blake nods. “She’s my twin sister.” “So are Hillary and Jake related?” “Far from it. They were turned vampires a few years ago. By my mother.” “Why?” “To complete the coven until the Chosen One arrived.” “Me?” Blake nods and glances over. I feel his eyes on my neck. Quickly, I place my hand on my neck, rubbing the smooth surface of my skin. I look out the window, the sunlight slowly burning my eyes. “You ok?” Blake asks. “No. The sun.” I sigh, a feeling of fatigue hovers over my body. Blake passes me black shades. I put them over my eyes. I always loved how when you wore shades, it was like seeing the world in a whole new perspective. It was like using the thermal camera setting and seeing a person’s body in shades of blue, yellow, and red. Blake turns into my driveway in the woods. He parks his car and sighs. I lower my eyes, tugging at my backpack. I look over at him once more, soaking up my last image of him for the day. “Hey.” Blake starts. “You up?” I burst out into laughter, easing me from my trance. “Yeah. I’m up.” I think of Miranda and stop smiling. I give him one last look, opening the car door. “Thanks, Blake.” I slide out, closing the door behind me. Colette stands at the door, the expression on her face filled with excitement. “You got a ride home from Blake?!” She squeals, grabbing my hands and jumping. I look back at him. Blake was already driving away. “It’s not a big deal.” Colette smiles at me and breaths. “He’s hot. I would be excited if I was alone with him, but then again I have Austin so I have no use for Blake in my life.” “Lucky you.” Nia is a Junior at Franklin High School. She enjoys reading, writing, and acting. Nia plans to pursue television or film writing when she gets older.
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About Epiphany
Epiphany Literary Magazine is a safe space for students at Franklin High School to share their creativity. Archives '16-'20
June 2020
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