Chapter Eight

Present Time

Ash, Ace and myself stroll through the woods. It was quiet, but a nice day. The creatures were inconspicuous. They kept to themselves, avoiding conflict. We are all on edge, and everyone is waiting for what happens next. Nobody wants to admit that we can't survive here together. I can easily acknowledge that's the case. 

Letting the growl escape my mouth, my throat starts to burn viciously. 

"Snack?" Ace asks me. 

I nod. My eyes watch Ash as he walks in the other direction. Like usually he won't go on this killing spree. 

We walk towards the little store that many other locals have now labeled cursed, with so many people going missing. If only they could imagine that a clan of vampires were responsible, who live in a magical forest full of mythical creatures. What a completely crazy concept to grasp. Sometimes my brain doesn't fully understand itself. 

We finally arrived at the store, and I was glad to see a full parking lot. A full parking lot in a tiny store like this still only consists of six cars. We see the first victim. The pain enters my heart, I can't even explain it. The hurt that still lingers there. After all these years and after becoming immortal, it is still clear to me that if I had a heart, it would still be broken.

"What is your name?" I asked a girl who looks terrified standing outside her car. It is like I stepped out of a time machine and I am staring at my Eleanor. She looks exactly like her in every single way. 

"Eleanor," the girl answers in a shy quiet voice. 

I close my eyes, savoring the voice my ears hear. She even sounds like her. I know it's not her, but she has to be some sort of relative.

I pull out a picture of my wallet. My wedding picture is such a beautiful precious memory, it feels like so long ago, not only because it was, but because my heart misses the person in the picture so much.

"Are you related to her?" I passed the girl the picture. She analyzes it for a moment, and a smile breaks over her face.

She nods. "This is my great, great, great Grandma. Or something like that. I just know it was a long time ago."

I nod. "Too long."

She frowns for a moment. Her eyebrows crossed ,signaling that she was confused 

"And… your… A....B?" She stutters . 

I nod. "You were told about me?"

"Stories pat down by generation about a girl in love with a vampire," she told me. 

I smile. "Something like that."

"And you are going to let me go?" She looks at her feet, saying the words. 

I chuckle. "I would never hurt a relative of Eleanor."

She watches me for a moment before stepping into her car. Seeing her was incredibly hard and painful, but I'm glad I did. It gave me an eclipse of someone I dream of seeing again.