“Tori?!” I called, looking around for any sight of her. “Where the hell did she go? I was right here!”

  “I didn’t see her leave.” Jean added in concern.

  I cursed under my breath and rushed through the irritatingly large crowd of people loitering around the area in search of the girl. Half-assed apologies fell from my mouth with every person I pushed past or into. Where would she have gone?

  ... god, where wouldn’t she have gone?

  If I was a feral zombie-vampire with no rational thought and lost in a shopping mall, I’d probably just attack the first person I’d see,I thought.Could she have maybe recognised something or someone?

  Sundays were always the worst time to come here. Even without my preexisting agoraphobia, being swarmed in a cramped space full of humans made staying in control a nightmare. All I could smell was blood, and it almost pissed me off that I still managed to hear the occasional heart beating through all the earsplitting noise of the place. But even that was with several years of exposure and practice, I didn’t even want to imagine how much worse it must be for Victoria.

  I managed to faintly pick up on her scent once I reached the start of the clothing stores area. There were so many people that it was hard to track it precisely. Up ahead, I noticed a small crowd, in which an older woman was panicking over a lost dog. I slowed to walk and listened in as I passed by.

  “I didn’t get a good look at who took him. Just -zoom - and he was gone! Right out of my hands.” the woman explained to the confused but supportive crowd.

  I quickly dismissed the conversation as irrelevant. As far as I was aware, Tori didn’t have enhanced speed. Or at least she couldn’t use it, if she did. The girl struggled to walk, the last thing she’d be able to do would be to sprint.

  ... unless she was hungry enough.

  “Ma’am, what type of dog was it?” I suddenly spoke up, my tone shaky.

  “A Pomeranian. Beige.” she replied. “Have you seen one?”

  I shook my head and tried to remember what exactly the scent of Pomeranian was like. “I’ll look around.”

  The next few stores I passed were normal. Shoppers were busy and unbothered. So when I found one full of distressed and confused customers, I ran in. No one was saying anything, but they would look amongst each other as if they’d witnessed something they shouldn’t have. The smell of dog shampoo and Tori both lingered heavily in here, and I tried to seem casual as I followed it to the changing rooms out the back.

  “Tori?” I whispered to each door. “Victoria.”

  My body froze as I picked up the scent of mammal blood coming from the furthermost stall.

  “Tori?” I murmured cautiously as I stepped inside.

  Jesus-

  The second I walked in, there were tufts of beige fur at my feet. Victoria was knelt on the ground, clutching the disheveled body of the dog to her chest. Her sunglasses and mask had both been discarded, exposing her signs of decay. Blood coated as much of the fur as it did the floor and her hands. I knelt before her, studying the sight before me in disbelief.

  She was crying.

  There were real tears streaming down her cheeks. Her brow was furrowed, her gaze distant. Her breathing was shaky with the occasional sob. There she was, feeling genuine emotions for the first time since she was human.

  “... what did you do?”

  I scooped the dog from her arms to inspect what remained of it, and to my surprise, her hands hovered in the air for a moment like she didn’t want to let go just yet.

  “It’s alright. I’m.. I’m not mad at you.”

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  While she shifted to hug her knees and continued faintly sobbing, I took off my sunglasses and turned my attention to the Pomeranian. It was dead, that much was clear, but what made me curious was that there were no bite marks I could find. The blood had come from claw marks Tori had etched into the poor thing. She’d killed it by snapping its neck, it seemed. So why, in a moment of primal hunger, would she have chosen to just kill the animal instead of feeding on it?

  Cough.

  Tori grimaced as she pulled out a clump of fur from her mouth. She tossed it to the pile around us and hugged herself tighter.

  “Oh.” I sighed. “Yeah. Bit too furry to bite into, huh?”

  She averted her gaze.

  I kept my eyes on her face for a while. It was so expressive. So human. For over a month, I’d spent my every waking moment trying everything I could think of to give her back just a moment of emotion, yet she’d done it herself just like that. And not just one, but a whole onslaught of them. Regret, shame, frustration, guilt, anger. A horrible bunch to feel all at once, sure, but it wassomething.

  “Can you hear me?” I couldn’t stop myself from whispering.

  She momentarily glanced my direction before looking away again.

  Oh my god.

  “Victoria. Hey!” I narrowed my eyes in almost anger. “Don’t ignore me!”

  She flinched slightly and shut her eyes tight.

  “... please.” my voice broke.

  She was there. She was right there! And she... couldn’t look me in the eyes.

  “Hey!” I placed the dog beside me and reached out to cup her face in my hands, trying to force her to meet my gaze. “Don’t do this to me. Don’t you fucking shut me out right now.”

  Victoria whimpered and more tears fell as she hesitantly opened her milky eyes, now full of such life. Such sorrow. I immediately regretted my harshness and apologetically caressed her cheek.

  “Please. Just say something. If you’re just gonna leave me again, say something.”

  Her shoulders shook as she opened her mouth and only cries came out. I winced and kissed her forehead in hopes of providing a little comfort.

  “... D-Don’t-” she almost managed to speak, only to be cut off as her body stilled and went limp. Her sobs faded away along with the light in her eyes.

  My heart shattered.

  “Victoria!” I practically screamed. “Don’t you dare!”

  Just like every day, every conversation, the only reply she gave me was a numb blink.

  I couldn’t bear to watch her soul leave her body again, and I couldn’t stop the bitter tears fogging my vision. Shaking her shoulders did nothing. Begging did nothing. Yelling at her did nothing. All that was left of her was the same damned blank stare she’d worn for weeks now. I burst into desperate sobs of despair and delicately kissed her forehead once again, before wrapping my arms around her and burying my face in her ash-toned hair.

  The hum of the tv was muffled as I ran the kitchen tap.

  “No, Tori, you’re not a cat person. No way in hell.” I chuckled, only to wince as I ran my lightly burned hands under the cold water. “You always hated them. You told me very specifically that if you ever got a pet, it would be something ‘cool’ like a lizard.”

  The girl sat herself down on the arm of one of the sofas, observing the nature documentary playing on the tv.

  “What?” I snorted. “Pet stores don’t sell those!”

  Her eyes tracked the scar-riddled lion on screen as he approached a watering hole. His auburn fur rejected the water upon first contact. But as he ducked his head under to cool off, the lion’s fur gave in, strand by strand, surrendering to the weight of the water. Tori tilted her head, running her fingers through her own hair, her razor-like nails slicing some of the strands.

  “No, you’re delusional.” I laughed. “An iguana would never fit in a fish tank.”

  She glanced down to her sharp nails as the camera panned to the lion’s claws.

  “You- ...huh?” I frowned at her, drying my slowly healing hands with a towel. “No, it doesn’t hurt that bad. It’s just from the light.”

  Victoria suddenly rose to her feet and marched over to me, her determination shattering my deluded scenario for a moment.

  “Hey, what’s wrong-”

  She grabbed my hands rather forcefully - which fucking hurt - and held one of her own beside mine. I narrowed my eyes, completely lost as to what she was thinking. Her gaze was so intensely locked on our hands, panning from hers to mine and back again. I followed her line of sight and realised it was our nails she was comparing.

  Mine were tough and not well taken care of. They grew obnoxiously fast to the point of me having to clip them back almost daily, and would sharpen so easily that I’d also have to file them every night as well. They wanted to be claws, I wanted to not pierce everything I’d touch. It was a pointless battle, really.

  On the other hand, Victoria’s nails weren’t punished for simply adhering to vampire biology like mine. Hers were long, sharp, and somehow still feminine. They likely could’ve passed under the lie of them being realistically coloured acrylics. But as I looked closer, I also noticed the dried blood under them from earlier. Time froze for a moment before I pushed those thoughts out from my mind and gently guided her to wash her hands in the sink. It didn’t take any convincing, but she wasn’t thrilled about the cold water.

  She looked back to the lion on the tv, as did I.

  “Hm.” I crossed my arms. “I don’t think we’re quite lions, but I see the resemblance.”

  Tori was just... fascinated by the screen. It almost made me feel guilty when the lion left the water to chase after a hyena that had wandered too close. I could feel the girl tense at the sudden bloodshed, after such a peaceful scene. I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind and rested my chin atop her head as we continued to watch, feeling somewhat somber. The lion was quickly swarmed by the hyena’s pack, and it didn’t take them long to overpower him. I held Tori tighter, protectively, as the blood spilled, and tufts of beige fur slowly fell to the ground.