Upon Waking (Youngling Series) (2 page)

Tessa
screamed.

The sound was so loud and sharp that the mirror in front of her cracked and she shot back in surprise, tripping over her own feet and landing hard on the cold floor. With a soft groan, she pulled herself up with the use of her autopsy table, because that’s what it was. Her legs were so shaky they hardly seemed reliable enough to support her own weight.

“This is a dream, it has to be. I have to go…I have to go home.” Only one problem with that. She was completely naked so she quickly pulled her long hair in front of both of her shoulders to cover what she could. Glancing around sharply, Tessa caught sight of a long white lab coat hanging on the back of a door and quickly snatched it off its hook, wrapping it around her body and buttoning it up. “Shoes, shoes, shoes…” She dashed over the desk, pulling open the big bottom drawer, relieved that it wasn’t locked. “Bingo.” In the bottom of the drawer was a pair of strappy black heels and what looked like a set of spare clothes. Not caring that the shoes were at least a whole size too small, Tessa pulled them on and quietly pulled open the door that led from the room.

Darkness.

Or at least she thought the corridor beyond was dark. Her eyesight was a little strange; instead of the inky black she knew should fill the hall, it looked more like quicksilver covered everything, highlighting every nook and cranny clearly and in great detail. A mouse scurried across the path in front of her and instead of silver it was more reddish brown and it was surrounded by a faint pulsing red light. Normally, the sight of a mouse would send her running but instead the smell of its blood caused her to stop and sniff the air. While her body knew it was the same as the life giving liquid she had taken from the man back in the room, this small creature’s blood just didn’t seem as…
interesting.

Once the mouse was out of sight she was on the move again, heading down the corridor to the large elevator at the end. Tessa quickly jabbed the button to send for the elevator and didn’t take another breath till the doors opened to allow her entrance. Glimpsing at the floors, she found the button with the L and hit it, hoping that no one would be in the lobby when she got there. This situation was not something she wanted to try and explain.

Luckily, when she stepped off and the doors slid shut behind her, she found the entire lobby empty and dark as well. Heading swiftly for the front doors, she noticed that the silver of the room faded as she got closer to the doors where light from a street lamp outside spilled a warm glow in through the huge window filled front of the building. After unlocking the door and stepping out onto the sidewalk she looked around to get her bearings, trying to figure out where she was and where she was going. Everything from
before
was still fuzzy but something was trying to break free. A name but what name? Tessa squeezed her eyes shut then smiled.

Penelope. Penelope Byrd, her very best friend who only lived about 2 miles from the city morgue, the building that Tessa was outside of. That meant she was a good hour from home with no car and no cash for a cab. Things were slowly coming back to her but nothing else seemed so very important at that point. She had a friend and that friend had an apartment filled with clothes, had a shower, and a spare bed that she knew Penelope would let her crash on. She still wasn’t sure
what
city she was in but that didn’t matter at that point.

“Great. Penny’s it is. She is going to flip…” Hunkering down further into her borrowed coat, she set off down the street, refusing to look up at anyone she happened to pass on the mostly deserted streets. For the most part they left her alone as well, only one or two drunks whistling and calling out to her as she passed bars that seemed to be closing for the night. That meant it was nearly two in the morning and she could only hope that Penny was home and not staying somewhere else for the night. Despite the fact that everyone mostly ignored her, Tessa still felt like she was being watched. Also, she could hear faintly the sound of footsteps that matched her own. It was amazing what differences her ears did pick up though. The stride, though quiet, was heavier than hers and longer spaced as well so she knew it was a long legged male that followed her, if he was indeed following her. About a mile into her walk, she turned down a side street and, sure enough, the footsteps followed. Every turn she took, the man followed until finally her curiosity got the better of her. Besides, what did she have to be afraid of now anyways? Weren’t vampires supposed to have superhuman strength or something?

Without giving any warning, Tessa stopped and turned to face her stalker. He was maybe 50 feet behind her and she could see him clearly. The man had stopped directly beneath a streetlight and its light allowed her to see him in complete detail. The moment their eyes met, Tessa’s memory of the last couple of days slammed into her, tearing a shocked gasp from her throat. Her breathing became rapid and ragged as she seemed to lose herself in his gaze.

Her and Penelope at a café, studying. Then at Penny’s apartment changing for a night of fun. A dark club and cute guys buying those drinks till Tessa could barely stand on her own two feet. Something was….off though. She could remember catching glimpses of the guy she was looking at now throughout the night. But he had never approached her and she remembered having been upset about it. At least, she didn’t recall them ever speaking. So why was he here, now, following her after she had escaped death? Did he have something to do with her…change?

“Who the
hell
are you? What do you want?” The man tilted his head slightly to the side and held out his hands to show that he didn’t have a weapon. Not that Tessa was particularly worried.

“Tess. Do you remember me?” His voice had a soft lilt to it, like a long forgotten accent that only showed itself when he was distracted or something. But it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. Tessa couldn’t explain it but it was like it wrapped itself around her like a warm breeze, caressing her in all the right places. In fact, everything about him was beautiful. His black eyes, pale porcelain skin, even his black hair that fell into his eyes every two seconds. But the man didn’t bother brushing it back. Tessa seemed to recall doing it for him at some point. She could remember the silken feel of the strands running through her fingers, could remember thinking that she wouldn’t mind always being the one to do it for him. But other than those few fragmented memories….there was only darkness. And it was frustrating. 

“Who are you?” Her voice no longer sounded steady and even. She sounded small and even a little scared. Something told her that all the strength in the world wouldn’t save her from him. Leaning down, she peeled both shoes off her feet as she waited for his answer. But it never came.

A car zipped past them and when he turned to look at it she threw both shoes as hard as she could which at this point was pretty damn hard. The toe of one shoe hit him square in the forehead while the heel of the other struck his chest, impaling him in his right side. The man grunted and fell to his knees, one hand on his forehead as the other pulled the shoe out of his side. Blood ran down his side, soaking his white shirt and jeans, dripping onto the sidewalk.

Tessa turned and ran as fast as she could, the buildings flying by at an incredible speed. She heard him scream her name and she could feel the power in his voice. Something in her head was telling her, no
commanding
her to stop but she ignored it. And before she knew it a building loomed up in front of her and Tessa smiled. It was Penelope’s apartment complex and a light was on in her window.

She was home, thank god.

Tessa was safe.

When
Penelope opened the door, she turned ghostly white and would have screamed if Tessa hadn’t clapped a hand over her mouth. Her friend started to hyperventilate as Tessa walked her backwards slowly and shut the door, locking it behind her.  Glancing around, she located Penny’s purse and snatched the inhaler that was poking out of it. Silently, she removed her hand and replaced it with the inhaler which Penny quickly used, the color slowly returning to her cheeks.

“T-Tessa….what the HELL?” Tessa didn’t say anything; she simply wrapped her arms around her friend, hugging her as tightly as she dared. Penelope gasped softly then began to sob, hugging back. “I thought…we all thought you were…”

“Dead? Well, it’s a long story and I’m kind of hoping you can help fill in the blanks. But we’ll talk about that later. First, can I use your shower? I feel disgusting.” Her best friend nodded mutely and they let go of each other slowly.

When Tessa emerged the shower she felt immensely better. Wrapped in her friend’s thick cotton robe and rubbing a towel down the length of her long hair, she wandered back out into the living room still trying to figure out how to explain what had happened to her.

You can’t tell her. You’ll only put her in danger.

The voice in her head was strangely insistent and completely foreign to her. Tessa ignored it and made her way into the kitchen, breathing deeply the scent of the fresh coffee her friend had made while Tessa had showered. Normally fresh coffee was her drink of choice but now it just smelled gross. With a sigh, Tessa sat at the kitchen table. Penny had her back to her as she fiddled with something in the sink. Obviously, Tessa wasn’t the only one conflicted with recent events.

“Penny? Penny.”

“Hmmm?” Penelope finally turned, brushing a red curl behind her ear. “Oh, sorry, I was…lost in thought.” Tessa smiled gently and pointed to the chair across from her. Penny slowly pulled it away from the table and sat down. “Tessa, what happened? Where have you been? Your parents got a call from the city earlier this morning saying your…your
body
had been found. That you had been killed by some wild animal? And then you show up at my doorstep, extremely alive? Not that I'm complaining, of course.” This was something that Penny always did. Whenever she was nervous or scared or confused, she would start talking a mile a minute and Tessa always had to break in at some miniscule pause whenever Penny decided to suck in a breath.

“Penny, I don’t know what happened. I barely remember the last time I saw you.” Penelope jumped up and poured two hot cups of coffee, setting one in front of Tessa who smiled and wrapped her hands around the hot mug but didn’t drink it. She didn’t continue with her story until Penny had sat down again. “Like I was saying, I hardly remember anything. But what I do remember…you have to promise not to freak out. I’ll tell you what I do know but…you’re not going to have an easy time with it. It’s…strange, to say the least.”

Tessa quietly told her friend about waking up and what had happened since. When she finished telling her about the man that had followed her, Penny sat up a little straighter, a little frown sliding onto her face.

“Wait. What did he look like?”

“Well, he was about 6’2” with a nice build. Black hair, dark eyes, pale skin. I don’t know. I didn’t stop to make a sketch.” This was mostly true. But she could remember every little detail. Like the tiny scar on the right side of his upper lip. Or the way both his palms had a single, corresponding slash across them. She had only gotten a glimpse of them when he’d raised his hands up but the image had burned into her mind. She’d wondered how someone got scars like that.

Penelope was staring at her with wide green eyes now. “That was Harper. You stabbed Harper with a shoe?”

“Harper? Who the hell is Harper?”

“Harper was the guy we met at DK Hollow. You were so drunk and so was I, no wonder you don’t remember anything.” Penny's cheeks flushed red. “I sort of…ditched you for Louie. I’m so sorry. But you said you didn’t care. That you would find your own way home or you would take a cab. That was when Harper came up and introduced himself. He seemed…charming and you were obviously into him so I left. Crap, Tessa, if I had known he was dangerous I
never
would have left you alone with him.” Penny's eyes had filled with tears and now they spilled down her cheeks in remorse. “I'm a horrible friend. I'm just so happy you’re okay. We can call your parents; oh they’ll be so relieved!” She jumped up to the grab the phone and Tessa darted after her in a blur, snatching the phone right of her hand. Penny's jaw dropped and her hand started shaking. Tessa didn’t realize it but she had moved so fast that Penny hadn’t even seen her get up. “Tessa…”

Not having wanted to completely freak out her friend, Tessa had left out the part about her not being human anymore. She took a deep breath, slowly setting the phone down. “Penelope…I haven’t told you everything. There’s one more thing I need to tell you and it’s…well it’s intense. Something happened to me after you left. And I think that Harper guy is the only one that can explain it to me.”

“How did you get away from the guys in the morgue, Tessa?” Penelope's voice was barely a whisper but Tessa had no problem hearing her.  As Penny's fear and confusion rose, so did her heart rate. It was only then that Tessa realized that there was a slight tickle in her throat. Also, she could now make out a faint pulsing red light that framed her friend.  She took a deep breath and before she could stop it, her fangs extended, filling her mouth.

Penny screamed then hit the floor in a dead faint.