• “Run Thea! You have to get away. If you die this village will die with you,” my brother shouted, as he barricaded the door to keep the hunters out. I looked at him as if he were crazy. “But I don’t understand!” I screamed at him. “Go to Poppy. She’ll explain everything. Please! Go. I can’t hold them off much longer.” He whispered, struggling to keep the door closed. The hunters were fighting their way in. I turned and ran toward the back door. Just as I ran through it the hunters broke through the front door. I looked back, just in time to see my brother die. He looked at me with a look of hope in his eyes and whispered, with his final breaths, “I love you. Run……”
    Tears streamed down my face as I took off running for the trees. I heard the hunter yelled at his men, “Get her!!!” I kept running and not once looked back. I knew that there was nothing left for there. Not with Clement dead. He cared for me, he raised me. He was my father figure, even though he was only my older brother.
    I kept running until nightfall. I could hear the men behind me. They weren’t all that far. “They’re hunting me because I’m a vampire. How did they know? No one else around here could figure it out,” I thought as I hid in some bushes. The men ran past me. I waited until I couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore, before I took off running again.
    I didn’t stop running again for a long time. I was tired and hungry, but I knew I couldn’t stop. I had to keep running. I had to find Poppy and find out what was going on. Nothing made sense to me. I knew the people chasing me would find me and kill me if I stopped running. Then Clement would have died in vain. I wouldn’t let that happen. I stopped running after 2 days. I was too hungry to go on. I needed to eat or I would die. I caught a deer and fed upon him. I didn’t kill him, just drained him enough so that he would live. I found another deer and fed on him as well. After that I began to run again. I hadn’t seen Poppy in years and was trying to remember just how much further I had to go.
    I suddenly ran into a village. It was very much like my own. I’d been there several times before with Clement. It was a beautiful town. Their architecture was art. I remembered that Poppy lived only 2 more towns over. “That’s good. Not much further.” I thought. I began to walk around the town, as if I belonged. It wasn’t that hard. I knew some of the kids. We went to school together. I mingled a little while, but I had to keep moving. I couldn’t let them find me again. I said goodbye, and continued on my way.
    I was a while later that I began to hear footsteps behind me again. Immediately I knew they had caught up with me. I didn’t slow my pace, as I looked back to see how far behind me they were. They weren’t very close. Maybe a mile behind. I knew I could outrun them. I sped up, hoping I would lose them in the dense woods. The green and brown of the trees began to blur together. Their footsteps began to fade behind me, for a while. Faintly, I heard a man yell, “We can’t lose her again. Speed up!” Their footsteps followed the man’s orders. I sped up again. I wasn’t going to die just yet. I needed to know what was happening and why they were targeting me specifically. I focused all my energy and strength on surviving and getting away. I kept hearing Clements words in my head. It was all I could do not to turn around and kill every last one of them, even though I could lose my life in that process.
    They deserved to die, but I knew I wasn’t that kind of person. I can’t kill people, that’s just not who I am. So, I kept running, knowing what would happen if I didn’t.
    I was so lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t see the edge. I didn’t realize how the ground suddenly dropped off 50 feet ahead. I didn’t notice until it was too late. I walked right off the edge. I hit my head on some rocks, on the way down. I remember screaming, thinking this was it. I’d fought so hard, just for me to do something stupid like walk off a cliff. Blood from my head covered my hair and shirt. Without any warning, I was cold. I couldn’t breathe. All I could see was blue and specks of green. I knew I was in water. There must have been a river at the bottom of the cliff. I didn’t know which way was up, or down. I was slipping into blackness. My vision was being covered with purple dots. I couldn’t see anymore. Abruptly, my head broke through the surface. I blacked out. I don’t remember anything about how I got to land, but I did. I could feel rocks or pebble jutting into my skin. My head was pounding, making it harder to open my eyes. I heard 2 unfamiliar voices. I lie there, not sure what to do. Should I fight, or stay still? I just listened to them talk. “Do you think she’s going to be ok?” a boy’s voice asked. The voice was deep but not deep enough to be a full grown man. “I don’t know. She hit her head pretty hard. It’s a good thing we were here. She definitely wouldn’t have made it then.” A girls voice said. “Don’t talk like that. She might be able to hear us.” The boy said. I heard him walk toward me. I could feel his eyes on me, probably trying to figure out what I was doing up on that cliff. “Come on. We’ve got to get back to the village. We can’t be late for dinner again. Mom will be really mad then.” The girl said sounding anxious. “We can’t just leave her. She could be seriously injured. We need to find her help.” The boy said worried and kind of angry. That’s when I jumped up. “I’m fine.” I said hurriedly. I had to go. I couldn’t hang around one place for long. I ripped a piece of my shirt off and wrapped it around my head. This would help control the bleeding, until I could get to Poppy. I looked at the boy and girl for the first time. The boy was kind of tall. He had shaggy dirty blonde hair that was dripping wet. He must have jumped in to save me. His eyes were a deep blue. The girl was a little bit shorter than me. She had short brown curls that shaped her face. Her eyes were like glaciers. Cold and dark. They reminded me of mine. They were both deeply tanned. “No, you’re not ok. You’re bleeding really bad. We need to get you to a doctor.” The boy said. “No, really, I’m fine. I have to go. Thank you for saving me.” I said and turned to run into the woods.
    He grabbed my wrist, keeping me in place. “Let go of me!” I said angrily. “No, you need to see a doctor. You’re badly hurt.” The boy said determined to take me to a doctor. “No! I’m fine. Just let me go.” I said, getting angrier by the second. Just then, I heard men screaming and dogs barking. I looked up to see several men at the edge of the cliff. One man looked down and pointed straight at me. “There she is!” he shouted. I pulled my wrist free from him and took off into the trees. “Wait! Come back.” The boy shouted, but didn’t run after me. I ran for my life and I didn’t look back. I didn’t know how many guys were stupid enough to jump off that cliff to come after me. I do know that a few of them were swept down stream before making it to land.
    Right around night fall, a storm began to brew. I knew I couldn’t run all night, like I had the past couple of days. I needed to rest and the stormed looked like it was a bad one. It began to rain, and I had no where to hide. Finally, I found a cave. It was hidden by some trees and bushes. I figured that would be the safest place for me until morning. At least, it was shelter from the pouring rain I couldn’t light a fire because the smoke would alert the hunters to where I was. That would not be a smart idea. So, I went to as far back as I could go in the cave, and still see the entrance to it. I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest. I wrapped my arms around my legs and rest my forehead against my knees. I didn’t think I’d ever fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw my brother die.
    I don’t remember when I fell asleep. I remember seeing the rain forming puddle outside the cave and my legs shivering from the cold. The next thing I knew the sun was shining and the animals were running around.
    The rain was actually a good thing. It washed away my scent completely. This gave me a lead on the hunters. Maybe now they wouldn’t be able to find me. I knew I needed to feed, but I had to keep moving. There is no telling how far behind me the hunters really were. I found a rabbit and fed on it quickly. It wouldn’t last as long as deer would have, but it was enough to keep me going. When I reached the next town, I stopped at a small café and got some water. I was still tired so I sat down and read a magazine for a while. Just as I was about to leave, the guy from the cliff walked in. I quickly put the magazine in front of my face. I didn’t want him to see me. I knew I didn’t look the same as the last time he saw me, but he might be able to recognize me. The rain had washed the blood from my clothes and hair. It made me look normal again, instead of like a runaway. He ordered a muffin and sat down at a table near mine. I pretended to be engrossed in an article, but I looked at him in my peripheral vision. He kept looking at me strangely. I looked at my watch and figured I should get going. I grabbed my bottle of water, put the magazine back on a shelf and headed for the door. “Wait.” A voice called from behind me. I turned around to come face to face with the boy. “You dropped this.” The boy said and handed me my necklace. My hand automatically flew up to my neck. It was my mothers necklace. “Thanks. I really would have missed that.” I said smiling as I took the necklace from him. “I’m Ash.” The boy replied and held out his hand. “I’m Thea.” I answered and shaking his hand. “You look familiar. Have we met before?” Ash asked look me in the eyes. We just stared at each other for a minute before I looked way. He had an intensity in his eyes that I had never seen before. “No, I don’t think so.” I answered his question. “Are you sure? I feel like we’ve met before.” Ash whispered looking me up and down. “I don’t think so. I’m not from around here. I’m just passing through.” I said hoping he wouldn’t realize I was lying. “Oh.” He said sounding disappointed. “Yea. I have to go. I have to find Poppy.” I said walking away from him. I couldn’t believe I let it slip that I was looking for Poppy. “Who’s Poppy?” Ask asked catching up to me. “A friend.” I answered not looking at him. “Ok. Wait a minute. I know where I’ve seen you.” Ash said in realization. “You’re the girl that jumped off that cliff yesterday.” He continued. “What are you talking about? I haven’t jumped off a cliff.” I said lying through my teeth. ‘Crap! He’s recognized me. What should I do?’ I thought.