Sunday night, Mia came back over to Anna's house just before dark.
"You two ready to go out?" she asked as she walked in the door. She and Anna looked at Carmine expectantly.
"Umm...I guess." Carmine said slowly. This wasn't really something she'd planned on doing so soon. Actually, it was kind of something she'd skipped over altogether when planning out her new life. Still, it would have been nice to have a little time to enjoy herself before getting into the more disgusting parts of this.
"Don't worry – we'll help you." Anna told her reassuringly. "But it is something you should do a couple of times – before you get too desperate to be careful."
Carmine nodded. Somehow, Anna wasn't making her feel a whole lot better.
Since Carmine had a car, she got to drive the group downtown. There were a few bars in the area that Mia was fond of – allegedly, she could hang out there for hours without looking suspicious.
Carmine found a spot on one of the side streets, which was apparently perfect – Anna told her it was good to find an out-of-the-way place since they didn't want anyone following them on the way back. The girls stood outside one of the clubs, pretending like they were just out for a breather. Carmine wished she'd brought cuter shoes.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Carmine asked nervously. She was pretty sure she was supposed to do whatever Mia had done to her to make her forget. But she had no idea how that was supposed to work.
"It's kind of hard to explain." Mia said, thinking. "Basically, you just relax, and they follow."
"Make sure they're looking at you the whole time." Anna added.
"Yeah – that's important." Mia nodded. "But don't get too relaxed – make sure you stay focused."
"Wait – what?" Carmine asked. How was she supposed to do that?
"It's not that bad." Mia told her.
"Really? 'Cause it sounds kind of impossible."
"You'll get it." Anna told her confidently. "It's kind of like explaining how to wiggle your ears. It's hard to describe, but not that hard to actually do."
"Easy for you to say." Carmine mumbled.
"Just try." Mia told her. "If you can't do it, we'll help."
"Ok." Carmine said. And mentally, she was already preparing for her friends' help.
They waited for what seemed like a long time. A few groups passed them, but either Anna or Mia always shot them down. Either there weren't enough people, or there were too many. Carmine wished they would just grab a group and get it over with. Or maybe, she would get really lucky and they could all just go home.
"How about them?" Mia asked. She nodded towards a group of three women walking down the sidewalk. They were headed right towards the club Carmine and her friends were lurking in front of.
"I think so." Anna nodded.
Her friends moved casually, taking up the entire sidewalk. Carmine hung back. Suddenly, she was having all kinds of regrets about this. But it was a little too late to change her mind now.
She studied the group walking towards her. A tall brunette. A smaller blonde, talking with a thin girl in a green halter top. They looked so happy, so carefree. Too bad they didn't know what was waiting for them less than a block away.
Mia broke away from the group. Anna didn't follow, so Carmine stayed put.
"Excuse me," Mia said politely. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's up?" the blonde girl asked.
"We're waiting for our friends to show up." Mia motioned towards Carmine and Anna. "But we think we might be in the wrong place."
"Where're you supposed to be?" the girl asked. Mia took a step to the side. She peered at a street sign Carmine knew perfectly well she could already see. The girl followed suit.
"We need to be at Chestnut and Fillmore." Another step towards the alley.
"Well, that's not too far." the blonde told her. Mia stared into her eyes, as if she was absorbing every word.
Anna left Carmine and walked up to where Mia stood. Carmine hesitantly followed. It was only then that Carmine saw the blonde's eyes start to glaze over.
"It's that way, right?" Anna asked the tiny brunette, following Mia's lead. The girl looked at Anna, and Carmine knew she was supposed to take care of the girl in green.
"Hi." Carmine said nervously.
"Hi." the girl said back. She seemed detached, and Carmine spent a desperate moment wondering how she was supposed to do this.
Anna and Mia casually led their girls back down the alley. Carmine was still staring awkwardly at her own target. What did they say? Relax. Carmine took a deep breath, trying to force herself to calm down.
"What's going on?" the girl asked.
"I guess they're explaining the directions." Carmine really wished her friends had given her some hint as to what they were doing. "We're trying to get to get to R12."
The club Carmine mentioned was nowhere near where they were. But she couldn't help it – she panicked. Hopefully, the girl wouldn't notice.
"That's on the other side of town." the girl told her.
"Oh, is it?" Carmine asked. She remembered what Mia said and kept eye contact, doing her best to relax. Maybe she could still do it. She didn't want to mess this up for her friends.
"Yeah." the girl said slowly. She stared at Carmine but didn't say anything else.
As Carmine stood there, the girl still staring at her, an eerie feeling of calm came over her. Carmine knew that she was in control.
She could practically hear the girl's heartbeat slowing down. There was a kind of tingling sensation behind Carmine's eyes that felt...good – right, somehow. Carmine watched with a kind of fascination as the girl's eyes seemed to glaze over just the slightest bit.
She stared at the girl some more, trying to see if she could get that feeling to intensify. But she wasn't sure that it was working.
Suddenly, Mia came up beside the girl. She placed a hand gently on her shoulder. The girl looked blankly over to Mia.
"Your friends are over here." Mia said gently. "You should come too."
The girl nodded.
Mia guided her gently towards the alleyway where her friends were already standing. Neither of her friends looked all that steady on their feet.
"Now, listen." Mia told the girl in green. She sounded as if she was going to say something else, but Mia's eyes were already completely gold. The girl nodded, but Mia didn't bother to continue. Instead, she just stared at the girl, a small smile on her lips.
Carmine watched as the girl slowly crumpled to the ground. It was only then that she noticed the girl's friends were already passed out in the alleyway. Anna must have finished them off.
Mia looked back up at Carmine. Her eyes were a kind of gold, much different from their normal brown color.
"You ready?" Mia asked. And when she grinned, Carmine could see her thin, sharp fangs pressing softly into her lower lip.
"Yeah." Carmine said grinning back. She knelt down over the girl.
Carmine stared at the girl for just a second. She saw her chest moving just a little, and she could feel her blood moving through her veins. This girl is alive, Carmine thought to herself.
"I can't do this." Carmine told her friends. And suddenly, any desire to attack this poor girl was gone.
Anna turned towards Carmine, away from the brunette she was crouched over. Carmine noticed her eyes were the same golden color as Mia's.
"Why not?" Anna asked. Her soft tone was jarring when paired with those strange eyes.
"I just can't." Carmine told her. The thought of actually biting down on this girl was just too much.
"I know you don't want to. But you have to." Anna told her seriously. "If you don't, you'll attack someone else. And it won't be as gentle as this."
Carmine nodded. She knew that. She knew it even without Anna telling her. After she'd found out about her friends, Carmine had done everything she could to learn about them. She'd asked all kinds of questions, desperate to make sure they really weren't the monsters her old books had always warned her about. Still, reading about something and actually becoming it were two totally different things. What if Carmine wasn't cut out for this after all?
"Carmine. It'll be ok." Mia told her, touching her shoulder gently. "Just take a deep breath."
Carmine did, closing her eyes.
"Put your hand here." Mia led Carmine's hand gently to the girl's green shirt – on top of her heart.
Carmine could feel the girl's heartbeat. It was so strong and steady. And suddenly, she was hungry.
It was a kind of hunger Carmine had never felt before. It was like an aching need that Carmine just had to satisfy. And for the first time in her life, she knew that feeling wasn't from lack of food – it was way too urgent.
Carmine took a deep breath, and she thought she could almost smell the girl's blood. There was a tingling sensation in her face, like her sinuses were finally coming alive. Carmine saw Mia grin – fangs and all – and she wondered vaguely if her eyes were the bright color of Mia's. But she didn't worry about that now.
Carmine crouched down over the girl, laying so calm on the sidewalk. She tilted the girl's head and leaned down.
Carmine would have thought it'd be hard to bite into someone's neck – to tear into flesh like that. But it wasn't. Her own fangs slid in as smoothly as butter. Blood gushed into her mouth, and it actually felt good. Carmine drank and drank, feeling more alive with every passing minute. It wasn't until her friends gently pulled her off the girl that Carmine finally stopped.
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