Introducing Bastien

As I sat here rocking Lottie i began to think back how I ended up here. I was born in Galway, Ireland in 1983. My parents were thrilled because they had being trying for a baby for many years. They were extremely wealthy and owned a lot of property. My father was a banker and my mother had inherited a jewellery shop from her great aunt. I grew up never wanting for anything and i loved my parents dearly. I wasn't spoiled and i had a few close friends. I was especially close to my mother. She would call me her old patta and hug me close if i was upset and I was never afraid to ask her anything especially when I hit puberty. My parents were both very open and honest and they didn't care what my sexual conquests were as long as I wore protection. I was fully knowledgeable by the time I was 14. I didn't start till I was 15. I met a girl named Bianca, she was exceedingly pretty but her skin was always cold and she was very pale. She was very sweet though. She refused to get involved with me saying I wasn't like her. Her family would kill her if she messed with me. I thought that she was making excuses, that she didn't fancy me. So i continued to pursue her until one day to get her to kiss me. Her lips were so hard and firm and I wondered why. Did she have some sort of disease that made her like that? I couldn't find any answers, none of my friends wanted to go near her. My parents warned me to stay away from her saying there was something strange about her, but I couldn't help myself. I was drawn to her. One evening I was walking home after school from the library and I spotted her running in the woods. I decided to follow her, well tried to, she was too fast. Really fast. I was out of breath in not time and couldn't catch her. I was disappointed and started to turn around to go home when I heard cries of agony. Thinking that she was in trouble I got my second wind and ran after her again hoping to be on time to help her. What I saw when I did get there shocked me to the core. She was sucking a man's neck. He was punching her but it seemed to have no impact. She stopped when he was dead and I stood there staring at the scene. She started digging a hole when she turned around slowly and said
"I know you are there Bastien." She looked up at me slowly, like she was guilty of something which of course she was. She had just killed a man by drinking his blood???? What was she ???? A Vampire???? I laughed in my mind, pfft! There's no such thing as a vampire.
"You shouldn't have followed me Bastien" she said coming towards me. I told you i can't hang out with you, but you refused to listen so now you will have to pay the consequences."
"No, you can't, what are you saying? No!" I started to run away and she started to laugh.
"I don't want to do this Bastien but you leave me no choice." She bit my shoulder and started going for my neck when we heard loud shouts and roars and cheers. She dropped me instantly and ran off. I think she was glad of the excuse to leave me alive. Pain started to course through my body the burning that started at my shoulder was so intense I thought I was on fire.
"Somebody help me" I roared, "Please." The shouting of "where are you and who's that?" came nearer and I was leaning up against a tree holding my shoulder.
"Hey, it's Bastien, come on lads let's get him home. Did you fall Bas?" I shook my head and screamed as my chest was filled with burning heat.
"Kill me please, make it stop, it burns."
"We'd better take him to the hospital lads."
"Noooooooooooooooooooo" I screeched. Kill me please."
"Come on hurry lads." I continued screeching and roaring as the fire inside me continued to burn me to a crisp. In the hospital the doctors had me on all kinds of machines and nose drips and pain killers, but they did nothing for the fire inside me. My poor beloved parents were nearby. I could hear them crying whenever I called out to kill me. Each cry of agony as I screamed. Eventually I felt the pain leave my body. I felt strong but the burning got more intense. My heart started racing. I could hear my parents screeching for doctors and demanding to know what was going on and to please do something about it. Next thing my heart stopped beating and I could smell something delicious. I could hear my parents screaming with agony because I had died? What? I'm not dead. I'm here. I opened my eyes and saw everyone around me. There were several doctors and nurses each had beating hearts. I could smell and hear the blood pounding in their bodies. I looked at my parents and they were looking at me in shock. I looked back at the machines I was still hooked up to. I was flat lining. But I'm alive, what's going on? I must be having a nightmare. I tried to pinch myself to wake up. I caught hold of a doctor's sleeve.
"Doc, what's wrong with me? Am I having a nightmare? Please help me, anyone. But he tried to back away from me in terror. Why was he afraid of me? Why were they all screaming when they looked at me? Why did they all smell so tasty, good enough to eat? I caught sight of my face in the bathroom mirror. Everything about me had improved, better looking, nicer hair, but the eyes they were black. But I normally have light blue eyes? What was wrong with me? The sink broke in my hands I stood and stared at the crumpled up bits in my hands.
"Bastien, oh my poor boy is dead?" my mother moaned and fell to her knees in agony beside the bed.
"Mother, I'm here, I'm alright" i said. My father too seemed like he couldn't see me.
"Dad" I said and shook him by the shoulders. His head rocked too violently and I heard a snap. Oh Jesus, I've broken his neck. What the hell am I some kind of monster. I picked my mother up in my arms and gently snapped her neck too. There was no way she could have lived through all this agony. I couldn't bear to watch her go through with it. I carried both of my parents out of the room through the window and ran off into the night with them both. Once I got home I fashioned a coffin for the two of them and a cross. All the time thoughts racing through my mind. I was strong enough to carry them both at once, to break a sink with my bare hands. I was so scared, I kept looking over my shoulder expecting the police to come up and catch me. I buried my parents side by side in their makeshift coffin and put flowers from neighbour’s garden on the grave. I put up a cross then and said all the prayers that I could think of over them to rest in peace. I was so sad. I was only 16. What am I supposed to do now? What am I? Why did this happen to me and why was I so dam thirsty? The next day I phoned my grandparents and explained that my parents were dead, some rare disease and I had just finished burying them. I told them not to come down just yet because I was afraid that I was infected too. I put the house and its contents up for sale and changed all my access to their money so I could have enough to survive on. The police came around of course because of the hospital. I cried in front of them. The pain of losing my parents etched on my face. The female guard put her hand on my shoulder and gasped "You're so cold, in fact your house is freezing" in a surprised voice. I'm sorry I didn't notice, my parents are dead and I'm grieving." I ran away then and just couldn't stop running. I wasn't watching where I was going until I ran into a tree. I closed my eyes instinctively but when I felt the shards of the tree splinters hit my arm and not even get a scratch I began to wonder what I could actually do. First though I had to quench this thirst in my throat. I looked for water and saw a stream, but it smelled rancid. But I saw a house that had a tap outside the door so I snuck up and tried to get a drink from that. But a more delicious smell came from indoors. I had to investigate. I crumbled the lock on the door with my hand and walked in. A man, sat on a chair playing a computer game, I snuck up on him and inhaled him. God, he smelled delicious. Wait, what am I doing? I'm admiring a man? EW! But, no, it wasn't him, it was his blood. So I leaned in and bit hit neck, God his blood was so delicious, so hot and thick, sliding down my neck.
"Hey, what the fuck do you think you're doing It smelled so" he screeched at me. It freaked me out, because it reminded me of my mother's cries so I snapped his neck and kept on drinking, it was so delicious I kept drinking until he was empty in peace. I looked around his home when I was done and thought I'd live here for a while, hide out from the police and try and figure out what was going on with me. For some reason Bianca popped into my head. Maybe she was like me. In fact this only happened since she bit me. Realisation dawned on me. Was I a vampire? Nah, that's insane and I banished the thought. Jeeze this guy I drank lived like a total slob. Everywhere was filthy and messy and smells of rotting food came from every room. EW, NO, I couldn't live here on second thoughts. I dug a hole outside to bury Mr A in cause to be honest his freaked out face was freaking me out. So I buried the poor smelly sucker and covered over his grave. I looked around for something to cover the ground with and saw lots of junk. I thought I'd make a sculpture over him to hide the freshly disturbed ground. I was being very paranoid I know but with the cops after me I didn’t want to take any chances. So I built a mushroom over him from bits of TV’s and bikes and washing machines that were littered around the back yard. I was well proud of myself by the time i was done and it sort of looked like a mushroom. Then I cleaned out his house and went out and bought some paint and new furniture, including a bathroom and a bedroom suite. I also bought a really comfortable bed for when I got tired. I noticed a calendar and realised I hadn’t slept in a week and didn’t feel one bit tired. I scrubbed everywhere and washed walls and made it fresh smelling and clean, then when the furniture arrived I took time putting it in wherever I wanted. I was thrilled that I was so strong. I could balance the couch on one hand alone. I painted all the room in a soft white and the furniture was black. I know it sounds like a surgery but I liked clean neat colours. My parents liked greens and blues but I always felt cold when I walked into those rooms. I remembered the police woman had said that I was cold yet when I touched my arm I was warm. There was a knock on the door and I opened it cautiously. There stood Bianca.
“Hi, I was just checking up on you, making sure you survived.” I stared at her open mouthed.
“What you mean, from when you bit me and then fecked off and left me burning is it?” I asked her snidely.
“Yeah, sorry about that, but those guys actually saved your life.”
“In what way did they save me? I killed my parents, lied to my grandparents, I’m on the run from the police, I just killed the fungicidal owner of this place and I’m all alone. Just how did they save me exactly?” She had the decency to look contrite.
“I’ll stay with you if you like, I need a place to crash anyway. “ I stared at her
“Like you’ve got to be kidding me, you think I want to spend another second in your company.” I said to her. She smiled at me and said
“Well someone has to teach you the basic rules so as I changed you, I should be the one to do it.” She said, flopping down on my new couch. I heard it groan.
“Do you mind, that is brand new, I’d like it to last a while.
“Sorry,” but she wasn’t a bit.
“So what are the rules then?”
“Don’t ever let the humans know of our existence.”
“So what do you go to school for then?”
“Because it’s boring if I don’t pass the day doing something.”
“How long do we stay vampires? When do we die?”
“We are vampires forever and if we’re lucky and don’t die in battle or by the Volturi (the kings of our kind), trust me, you do not want to mess with them, then we get to live forever.”
“I stared at her and said softly
“Forever?”
“Yeah,” she said, it’s cool really, super speed, super strength, super senses. The only downside is the thirst in your throat and then you’ve to go, find a human and drink him or her, but other than that, it’s cool!@
“Wow, really, go kill a human????? What fun, isn’t that murder?”
“Yeah, but you don’t go to jail cause a) they can’t catch you and b) oh yeah, they can’t catch you!” she laughed then hysterically. All I could do was just stare at her. I couldn’t take it all in.
“Seriously?” was all I could utter. She stopped laughing and said
“Yeah” and then broke out laughing again. I sat back in my chair and closed my eyes. I opened them abruptly when I felt her kissing my lips and was about to push her off me when a new sensation took over, passion. When we eventually stopped she apologised to me for everything.
“I’m truly sorry Bastien, but now because you are like me I’m glad. Kissing you is just like I had dreamed it would be only better.”
“Are you ok Bastien?” I felt a soft hand on my face.
“I feel stronger now, thanks for staying with me” said a different voice. It took a few seconds to snap back to reality.
“Yes, uh, fine, why?” I looked down at the young girl on my lap.
“Lottie, are you okay?” she nodded.
“I was trying to talk to you but it’s like your mind was elsewhere” she said.
“Sorry, I was reminiscing about my life before meeting you. I’ll tell you about it sometime, but enough about me, tell me about you. Are you okay, I felt so bad for you, I didn’t know what to do except hold you. I miss my parents too. I kissed her gently, pushing her hair off her face. She was the gentlest creature in the world right now. She can be feral, we all can. Are you okay patta?”
“What is patta?”
“It’s a name my mother used to call me when I was upset; it’s kind of like pet, but more. Lottie would your friends mind if I stayed on here a bit longer. I just don’t want to live alone anymore. I promise I’ll be good and not cause mischief.” I looked at her hopefully.
“I’ll have to ask the others, but it should be okay!” she replied.
“Great, that’s just great, thanks.”
“So what were you thinking about Bastien, tell me about your life.”
“Nah, you don’t want to hear about the girl who changed me.”
“Actually, I do, I want to know about you!”
“Seriously?”
“Yah, please,”
“Ok, well I was thinking about Bianca after she found me in the house I was hiding out in. She offered to teach me our ways. She told me all the rules, all of which I was surprised at. She told me about the Volturi who will kill us if we expose the secret to the humans and…….”
“Ahahahahahahah, that’s so funny” Lottie said as she burst out laughing. I stared at her like she’d gone mad.
“I’m sorry,” she giggled again.
“It’s just…… it’s just” she couldn’t stop laughing. I just got cross with her and walked to the window staring out, wondering what I had said that was so funny. Finally she stopped laughing.
“Sorry, but I couldn’t stop once I started. I guess I needed to laugh.” She said while gently pulling my arm.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“I didn’t mean to laugh at you. What I’m laughing at is that of all the vampires in the world that you could have chosen to stay with, we are the very ones who defeated the Volturi and now they are dead. Alec, Faine, Jordan, Josh, Gabriel, Demitri, Valentina, Felix, Katy, Chelsea and Afton are my family and they co-ordinated together to bring down the Volturi and succeeded. All they wanted was their freedom. “ I stared at her speechless.
“So they were all part of the guard?”
“Yeah” she giggled again
“Oh, I can’t laugh anymore.” She said smiling. Realisation of what she said dawned on me and I began to see the funny side too and began to giggle and before long she joined me again and we were like two eejits cracking up laughing. When we finally stopped, we were hanging onto each other as if we were breathless and I was. I was caught up in her eyes. I knew I was falling for her in a big way and I was afraid of loving anyone. I had never recovered from when I killed my parents, I loved them and lost them.
“Go on with your story Bastien.”
“Well she told me to be careful of them ‘that are no longer a threat’.” I was afraid we’d start laughing again. I looked at the floor, but when I looked up, she was starting at me strangely. She pulled me to her and kissed me softly on the lips, she has such soft lips. She pulled back and said
“Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you. I’m afraid too.” Wow, so she felt the pull too.
“Ok” I said and hugged her close.
“Why did Valentina say you were dangerous?”
“Because I have a gift, I guess she picked up on it.”
“Oooh so do I, in fact all of us here are gifted.”
“Really, what’s your gift? Is it to do with the mind, because I remember hearing you in my head during our game? At first I thought I was hearing things, and then I thought you must have a gift like me.”
“Yeah, I can protect myself with a barrier around myself, when I can choose to hear and see things or not. Also if you touch me while that is up it will feel like I’ve burned you.”
“Wow, Lottie, remind me not to piss you off.”
“Good plan” she smiled at me.
“What is your gift then Bastien? Why all the mystery?”
“Well, I have a couple of gifts too, but I don’t know how to describe them.”
“Try me, I’m a good listener.” She said coaxingly.
“Ok, well when I stare at people they seem to forget what they are doing and only see me.”
“Yeah that happened to me in the woods with Simon.” She said.
“What would you call that?” I asked.
“Hmmmm,” she said
“Temporary amnesia?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I also have another gift which can prove to be dangerous or not. I can steal powers. Does that make sense?”
“Ya, like Faine, she can copy them and enhance them.” She smiled.
“NO” I said louder than I intended to. She looked at me puzzled.
“I mean I can steal powers but I can’t use them. I don’t know what happens to them once I’ve stolen them but it leaves the vampire vulnerable for me to kill them.” I said looking down dejectedly.
“Is that how you killed Bianca? Is that how you found out?” Wow she’s perceptive. I nodded unable to speak.
“Do you feel guilty about it?” I nodded again.
“We were having an argument and all of a sudden she fell to the ground, screaming she couldn’t hear me anymore, by then it was too late, I was too angry at her. She had just admitted to killing my grandparents in my home when she went looking for me. She followed my scent to the house I was living in.” I began to sob quietly and Lottie wrapped her arms around me. It was the first time I’d admitted out loud that my grandparents were dead and I had loved Bianca too in some ways. She was the only vampire I had known at the time.
“Could she hear thoughts? How did that make her weak?”
“No,” I whispered,
“She could control minds and she controlled mine to a certain extent. All was fine until I tried to ring my grandparents to see how they were. She told me not to bother then, that they were dead, that she was sorry, but she couldn’t help herself.” The rage I felt then, I could feel myself shaking at the memory of it. I was vaguely aware of Lottie hugging me tighter and crooning softly to me. It calmed me down before going on with my story, because I know what happens when I get really mad.
“I was so angry with her that I felt this energy enveloping me and then she began screaming and well you know what happened next. I was so enraged, it took me ages to calm down. I dismembered her body and burned her thinking at the time that I wish i had just killed her as a human and I could drink her blood. Wipe her out. It would have been far more satisfying. Then I went from town to town, hunting as I went, until I came to Adare and saw you. At first I thought you were just a pale human and I remember thinking at the time that once I drank you wouldn’t be all that much paler” we both giggled.
“Oh my God, that’s so freaky!”
“What? I’m a vampire! It’s what I do!” I smiled.
“No, silly, it’s freaky because I thought similar thoughts about you. Here I was a new-born, at a human wedding, looking for a drink and when I first saw you I thought, hmmmm you’ll do. It wasn’t until I got closer that I realised you were a vampire. Ha ha it’s destiny!!!!!” She collapsed in fits of giggles and I did too.
“So we’re both ‘special’ eh Lottie” I grinned at her. We kissed each other slowly then growing more passionate by the second. After a while when things were starting to get a little out of hand excuse the pun, we heard Valentina calling us.
“We better go and see what she wants” Lottie said. So we did and I’m still laughing at her suggestion. Get this, she wants to bring me and Lottie out to try and teach us to drink animal blood. Ha ha , we’re vampires, its human blood all the way baby!