Page 37 of Cursed Lifeline

Song: not strong enough | Apocalyptica

As I run after her,my feet pound against the earth with such brutal force, it echoes through the night with a threatening cadence that promises a swift death to whoever touches what’s mine. The hammering of my feet against the ground courses jolts of adrenaline through my body as I attempt to find Esmerelda through the thick forest at the back of her father’s estate.

It’s no secret that vampires like the chase. The hunt. The delicious tempting of their prey in the dark of night. Esme has given me just that and more as I race after her in the moonlight.

The problem is, she’s also giving every other undead the same pleasure.

Her training has benefited her greatly, but it has also slightly hindered me. She’s now faster, trickier, cleverer than I’ve witnessed her be before.

I trail her scent to a clearing deep within the evergreen trees. But she’s nowhere to be seen. Staggering back a step, I spin around, looking for her, and grin when I take in a bloody handprint on a nearby tree stump. Reigning in my thirst, I glide a couple of steps towards it and eagerly brush my gloved fingertips across the crimson wetness.

A jagged spike of wood penetrates my gloves. Underneath the leather, my skin pricks against the sharp edge of the wood and cuts into my palm. My blood pools, mixing with hers. A low growl escapes my lips as I bring my hand to my face, breathe deeply, close my eyes, and lose myself to Esme.

Consumed with her smell, I almost forget why I’m here. Almost lose sight of what drew me out into the night, until...

“Help!”

The voice is weak. Small. Fragile. So tiny I almost miss it.

“Please ...”

I turn around quickly. My eyes strain in the thick cloak of night as they try to make out where the voice is coming from. The smell of her blood mixing with mine clouds my thoughts as the shadows of midnight play with my eyes. Eventually, my senses are drawn to a cliff on the far side of the clearing.

“Someone… anyone...”

I rush forward, skid to a stop at the edge of the bluff, and look around frantically. I know I’m not imagining things. I heard her voice. I’m sure of it.

“Please,” she calls again, this time from underneath me.

I look down and my eyes widen in shock as I take in her fearful expression.

“Help,” she screams as she looks over her shoulder at the vast abyss below. Her feet slip, and a few small rocks fall from underneath her. Frantic, she glances around for a way to climb up off the ledge.

She hasn’t looked up, she hasn’t seen me yet.

“Esmeralda!” I shout.

Finally, she glances my way.

“Felix,” she sobs, as her hand slips and she lets out another scream.

All previous thoughts of her blood on my hands, her smell consuming me, flee my mind as I kneel to the ground in a hurry. The only thing that matters now is keeping her safe. The sharp rocks underneath my shins tear through the black fleece of my trousers and pierce into my skin as I quickly remove my gloves, stretch forward and reach out to her.

“Thank God,” she breathes in relief as she strains towards me just before her hand perched on the ledge slips again.

Rocks fall away under her feet, crashing sharply into the ravine below. My heart lunges into my throat. She lets out a deathly scream, this one more blood-curdling than her last. I stretch further forward and try to balance myself on the ledge so I don’t tumble down after her. Reaching, stretching, breathing heavily, I stare into her tear-filled eyes as my damned heart threatens to stop beating from the thought of losing her.

“Felix, please,” her plea comes in a hoarse whisper as she continues to stretch as far as she can to hopefully grasp my hand. Her eyes plead with mine as we attempt to claw closer to one another. Scared. Terrified. Practically paralyzed with fear, I’m suddenly overcome with the realization - I can’t lose her. Not this way. Not tonight.

“I’m slipping,” she cries.

Her ankle gives out on the rock ledge she’s perched on, and she starts to tumble to her death. She barely holds on as her feet find the last morsel of earth she has left to stand on, and her toes desperately cling to the ledge.

“Reach for me, Esme,” I shout.

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder,” I snap.

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