An Image that Intrudes

[Diana's POV]

Fear.

That was a feeling that I was all too familiar with.

The fear which engulfed me as I stood before a vampire that I'd only seen before in history books, although it wasn't as bad as before when I couldn't even move, it was firmly in second place.

It had been over a hundred years since the last sighting of one of these beings and I was unlucky enough to be the one to encounter one as he emerged from wherever he came from.

He introduced himself as Draven Church and after I collapsed to the floor, my knees giving out, he was able to lift me up into the air with no more than a little movement from his hand.

I thought I knew what he was planning on doing to me.

I heard and read stories of how vampires feed upon human blood to regenerate their mana and satisfy their hunger.

As his fangs plunged into my neck, I felt the energy leave my body and after struggling to keep them open, my heavy eyelids closed.

A change was occurring in my body. That was something I was aware of even as I drifted away.

'What is he doing to me?'

I half-opened my eyes and saw Draven was still attached to my neck.

'Please... please let me live,' I wanted to beg out loud but was unable to open my mouth.

As my eyes closed again, they didn't open for a while.

When it finally did, I saw a familiar face in front of me; not Draven but one that I had been haunted by for months.

It was Bell Agnus and I wanted to look around to see if the vampire was still around but I didn't even have the strength to move a finger, let alone my entire body.

I could barely see Bell with my vision a little blurry.

I felt like he was staring at me with apologetic eyes but I couldn't confirm them.

As I was trying so hard to regather my consciousness that was slipping away, he said to me in a voice that was calming, "It's alright. Just rest. You'll be okay."

Like a lullaby, his reassuring words caused my eyes to close and for my mind to drift away.

When I woke up, immediately I sat up in a panic, wondering if that vampire was still there.

But as I looked around, I realized that I wasn't still up on the rooftop but was instead in the nurse's room.

"How?" I uttered as I looked down at the blanket that was put over me.

Then I recalled Bell's face again and realized he must've brought me down here.

Many questions ran through my mind as I got off the bed.

First, what was he doing up there on the rooftop?

I was there because I saw the teachers from outside my window looking up at the sky and not wanting to evacuate with the other students, I snuck out to the rooftop.

'Was Bell there for the same reason?'

But then I remember that the class he had at this time of day takes place on the first floor so unless he ran up twelve flights of stairs without getting caught, I doubted that he snuck out during evacuation like I did.

Secondly, how did he get past Draven?

When I opened my eyes for a brief second on that rooftop, I didn't see Draven but instead, it was Bell who was assuring me that everything would be fine.

'Did he defeat the vampire?'

And as I asked myself that question, a shiver crawled up my arms and my hair stood up like an amplified goosebump.

I shook my head at first, refusing to believe that a human the same age as me would be able to defeat a being that was almost considered mythical nowadays.

Then I remember the story I read in the newspaper that was delivered to my locker.

He has a demon curse mark on him and those are only acquired through defeating a demon.

As I gulped, I wondered if Draven suffered the same fate as that demon.

It was the logical answer but at the same time, it also wasn't logical.

I'm pretty good at sensing the mana and strength of other students and in the two instances I had seen him since his return to the academy, he didn't feel that powerful.

'Then how?' I asked. 'How did he defeat the vampire?'

I wondered if I was hallucinating and I never saw Bell in the first place.

Perhaps in the face of death, I was imagining the first face that came to mind.

But if that was the case, then why was he comforting me rather than haunting me like he usually would do so in my nightmares?

Confused, I ran my hands through my hair until it was a mess.

Then as I placed my palms on the sink that was there in the nurse's room, I couldn't help but notice that the reflection in front of me wasn't one that I was used to seeing.

My skin looked multiple shades paler and if it was any lighter, it'd be pure white.

"What the..." I uttered, touching the mirror to see if it was real.

Then I noticed my fingernails and they were sharp even though I trimmed them every week to as smooth and pristine as possible.

"No, this can't be," I said, before opening my mouth. "No no no."

I looked down at the water that was running and placed my palm underneath the stream before splashing my face with it.

I was convinced that I was seeing things.

Then I looked up at the mirror once again and knew that this was now a reality.

I opened my mouth once again and like the same Draven that had made me faint on the rooftop, I had two fangs that were long and sharp.

With the palm of my thumb, I pressed up against the fangs and realized they were real.

They were extremely sharp and if I pressed a little harder, my thumb would be pierced and blood would begin to drip.

Placing my hand over my mouth, I shook my head over and over, refusing to believe that this was happening.

I was wrong. I was so wrong.

Draven wasn't sucking my blood like I assumed he was.

No, he had turned me into a vampire just like he was.

As I heard a door open, I nearly panicked and for a split second, I truly believed that a vampire hunter was on the other side with a stake in hand, ready to stab my heart.

But remembering I was at school, I was able to regather myself.

It was the nurse.

"Hey," she said, an eyebrow raised. "What are you doing here?" she asked while taking off her gloves and throwing them away in the trash.

"I was feeling a little under the weather so I was resting here," I answered her.

The nurse looked baffled. "When did you even... never mind. You're telling me that you didn't hear all that ruckus outside?"

I lied, "No. I fell asleep and just woke up a minute ago."

I didn't want her to know that I was on the rooftop because I didn't want to be investigated.

If I was investigated, naturally they'd question what I was doing up there.

Then as they question me, they'll probably realize that I'm now a vampire of sorts.

If they realize that I'm no longer human but instead a member of one of the most feared factions, they'll exterminate me.

That was my train of thought.

She must've noticed the panic that was bouncing around inside me because the nurse shook her head and assured me, "Don't worry. You're not in trouble. I was just curious what you were doing here went the other students have all evacuated."

"Oh..." I let out a sigh of relief, "...that's good. I thought you were going to punish me or something."

"Punish you?" she laughed. "The last thing I'll do is punish a student for feeling under the weather. You'll be fine."

She reached for her pocket and took out a piece of candy which she tossed to me.

"Are doctors recommended to give sick people sugar?" I asked.

"I'm a nurse," she said. "Not a doctor. A little sugar never hurt anyone."

As I chuckled, I saw the nurse's face brighten up a little and I realized that she was trying to improve my mood.

She must've realized that I was feeling down as she was speaking to me.

"Stay here," she said. "Just sleep a little longer as the teachers clean up the remaining mess outside. I'll wake you up when you need to return to class."

Accepting the offer, I laid back down on the bed.

I didn't feel fatigued. On the contrary, I felt like I had more energy than ever.

Despite that, as I began thinking back on what happened on the rooftop, recalling that fear and the scene of the bats ramming into each other until they formed a vampire, I felt like throwing up and closed my eyes, wanting to drift off into the realm between life and death.

Every time the face of Draven appeared in my mind, I quickly tried to toss it to the side with another image that was just as powerful.

I wanted to see fields of flowers, infinite rainbows, etc., but every time, all I saw was the face of Bell Agnus.

My teeth began to grind by itself and even though I appreciated that he saved me, 'If that's even the case,' but I also despised that he wouldn't leave me alone even in my attempt to fall asleep.

'Leave me alone Bell,' I thought to myself as he appeared again.

And the longer I laid there on the bed, the less often Draven Church's face appeared and the more often that Bell Agnus was there.

It was like a house cockroach that you couldn't remove.

'Leave me alone!'

Screaming, letting out all the emotions in my thought, I felt so tired by the end of this "brain exercise" that I ended up falling asleep.

My last thought was, 'Fuck off Bell.'