Eyes of the Serpent

AN: Sorry it\'s taken me so long to post, everyone. It\'s been a crazy couple weeks, but hopefully I should be back on schedule now. It\'s so hard to get motivated when so few people actually take the time to write even a small review. The few I have had keep me writing because I know I at least have a few loyal fans, but...



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Slowly, the fog and fuzz which trapped the thin blond\'s mind began to clear away. Piece by piece and moment by moment, she felt the pressing confusion lift away, and her consciousness regain it\'s senses, until finally, her blue eyes flicked open to focus in on the pure darkness. There was nothing at all to focus in on; and for a moment, Josie panicked. Had she gone blind? A gentle squeak of her muted panic flashed out in the darkness, and instantly, she froze. Someone could have heard her, and she\'d never see them coming. She moved to clasp a hand over her mouth to prevent further squeaks, and quickly found that she could not move. Vaguely, she remembered that from what seemed like a moment ago; the cold steel beneath her, the bright light, that crisp English voice, the biting chill across her garb free form, and more importantly, the inability to move. Instinct went in to overdrive, and the thin, lithe American girl began to flail and squirm against whatever it was that held her down. There was one on her legs, and one on each wrist. She could sit up, but not without help, and she most certainly couldn\'t get away. She squeaked out again, and let a few panicked tears fall down her porcelain cheeks.



"Let me out, LET ME OUT!" she called out, fear overtaking her senses. "Let me OUT OF HERE!" she screamed, fighting hard, and futilely, against the binds. "LET ME OUT! RIGHT NOW!"



A bright light suddenly peeled across from a fair distance, which was quickly blotted out by a shadowy figure. It moved quickly towards her, and reflexes made her squint her eyes to close out the rest of the blinding light.



"Whoaaaaa lass, easy!" came a familiar voice, one that instantly made her feel a little calmer - but instincts were still driving wild. "You\'re alright, just calm down a little and I will set you free."



Free? The word seemed to make her stop for a moment. He would simply let her free like that? Something didn\'t add up.



"You\'re not going to free me, you\'re going to kill me! I wake up tied up and blind, after you\'ve given me some strange injection that makes me pass out for god know HOW LONG, and you just want me to trust you to simply LET ME OUT? You\'re not going to let me out. You\'ll just KILL ME because it didn\'t work last time! Haven\'t you put me through ENOUGH? GET AWAY FROM ME!"



"Oh god they experimented on you, didn\'t they? Those ravaging BEASTS! I promise you, I\'m not the one who gave you anything! I promise you! What do you remember? Think back for me. I\'ll step away until you\'re ready, okay? What do you remember?" the voice became almost sing-song like, melodic, and seemed to soothe away her inhibitions, little piece by little piece. "Tell me what you remember..."



"...I remember a badly lit room...in the ground. I could still see, but only just. Then, a needle, and just....darkness..." she spoke, almost as if unable to restrain her thoughts from spilling from her lips. "Then I remember a sea of pain and a fog, where I couldn\'t think straight, or anything...I remember the cold table, the cold air, and then a bright light and a voice...YOUR voice...asking about...the syringe...and telling me how I was..."



"That\'s right. The one who gave you the drug, who was it? Do you remember?" the voice probed, ushering her memory a bit more.



"...He was all black, he was...a wolf..."



"Yes, and am I a wolf?" he skillfully guided, tilting his head quizzically, even though she could not see him yet.



"No...But you could have transformed back just as easily. But if you were one of those things, then you would have killed me by now, not waiting for me to wake up, and wouldn\'t have taken care of me..."



"Exactly. Now, would you like me to free you?"



"Alright. I wouldn\'t mind being able to see, or some clothing, too..." she replied, resigning herself to the situation. Maybe this guy, whoever he was, would be able to tell her some more about what had happened to her.



"I\'m going to turn a light on, so you can see. I often forget not everyone can see in the dark, like myself."



Josie shielded her eyes with a helpless squint as a bright light burst forth from the ceiling above her. She glared from the sudden pain of it, but her eyes quickly adjusted enough to let her open her eyes with a gentle wince. She glanced around to see what she could; the room was large, painted white, and had no windows whatsoever. Just a lone door on the far side of the almost empty expanse, which had been left wide open. All else in the room was a wooden table covered in assorted papers, matching cabinet, and a ceiling fan that looked like it hadn\'t been used in years.



After a moment, the body belonging to the English voice had strode over from the light switch to stand beside the steel table she\'d been strapped to. Her eyes first fell on his own; they were deep dark blue, like the ocean on a winter\'s day, and they shone and glittered with knowledge, interest, and care. They flicked over her face and no lower with an analyzing glance, as if he had never seen her before. Then, she noticed the length of hair that hung over the man\'s shoulder. It was just as darkened blue as his eyes, and looked as though it would reach his lower back, maybe further down. It looked like it was in prime condition, like he washed it every day and brushed it 100 times after each meal. His skin was very pale, but it seemed to only enhance the dark colors of his hair and eyes, it made one notice them first. He looked to only be in his late twenties, and the perfection of his flesh echoed that he\'d never had a pimple in his life. Oh how she would kill to have skin like his. He seemed to notice the glimmer of jealousy in her eye, and it made him smirk. He looked quite handsome. The matching navy blue double breasted coat and pants enhanced it.



"I\'m going to unfasten your legs; please don\'t kick me. I won\'t be able to let the rest of you free, then." he explained, pausing shortly before reaching down to the leather straps that bound her down. As soon as they were off, Josie began stretching her sore, stiff legs. "Alright, now your arms. Please don\'t hit me, I don\'t want to have to let you simmer down." he paused again, then worked on releasing her palms. As soon as they were off, she sat up, and began to rub the spot they\'d restrained.



"So, who are you? Where exactly am I? How did I get here?..." she asked, frowning softly as she made an attempt to cover herself. The male caught the hint, and removed his navy colored jacket. Gently, he placed it over her shoulders, giving her a warm half smile.



"You may call me Marian; I\'m the medic around here. Where here exactly is, I can\'t really tell you - I\'m not allowed, you see. We will let my older brother tell you what he wishes you to know. All you need to know is, this is a large home, built to keep all the evil werewolves out, and you\'re perfectly safe here. As for how you got here, all I know is one of our scouts spotted a wolf dropping you off just outside of their land, naked, unconscious, and looking very grim. He brought you here, where we felt obliged to save a victim of those brutes...We got you just in time, too. The cold would have killed you."



Josie wrapped herself in the coat gratefully, and nodded plaintively. These people saved her lives. "Thank you, Marian. Death is not something a girl looks forward to, especially after all that...If you don\'t mind my rudeness; though I am very grateful for your coat, I would appreciate something a little more...feminine, and a little more covering?"



Marian let out a happy chuckle, and grinned absentmindedly at her.



"Of course little one, of course. We will work on finding something a little more appropriate for you; but you see, the only women that are here, aren\'t really your size, so we will need a little time."



"Mmmm..." she replied, not hearing him the moment she noticed his teeth. It dawned on Marian that she\'d had no clue who they were; she had no chance too.



"Now, don\'t panic, lass. We aren\'t going to hurt you at all. You\'re completely safe here; we have laws we abide by..."



"It\'s Josie...But...What...What ARE you, exactly?" she asked, standing up with a quickening heart beat. "Why...Why should I be at all concerned about my safety, here?..."



"You shouldn\'t, not at all." he began, slowly moving between her and the open door. If she ran off now, before many of the others knew about her....



"What are you?" she repeated, backing up slowly. The scent of him over his jacket disarmed her a wayse; why, she wasn\'t sure.



"Let me put it to you this way, Josie. We are stricken with a virus that causes us to only live off one specific kind of sustenance, and the only way we can obtain it is by taking it, since it\'s not something many are willing to part with - like air in a polluted country, or water in Africa. But, we do not simply steal or harvest; we are not brutes that take and force, like the wolves that you have just come from. No, we take where we are offered and given...You will not be made to give anything you do not wish to part with, and that I swear on anything you wish me to, even my own soul."



"...What are you..." she whispered again, though she assumed she already knew the answer.



"Sigh. Josie, we are Vampires - but, you need not fear--" he began, but the whoosh of a fleeing human female past his visage cut him off. "Oh bugger..." he cursed, and tore after her.