The Antiserum Novels

I stopped in my tracks and leaned against a tree a few meters out from what was drawing my attention. A group of teens sat around a small campfire. I closed my eyes and instantly concentrated. I immediately felt around with my mind, easily reaching the four teens sitting nearby; two boys, two girls. Yum. The sly voice in my head said. A buffet. For once, I agree. I thought back. I weeded out the strongest mind among the teens. His name was, Bruce Cavanagh. He’s one of two children, has divorced parents, and has lived with his dad for the past two years due to his mother’s new-found drinking problem. Ah, and the cherry on top, and he’s a skeptic. Even better. I thought with a smirk. I watched his thoughts as he kept wishing that a little more excitement would happen tonight considering his friends didn’t want to do anything but sit, drink alcohol, and gossip. That’s what he got for letting Dustin invite the girls. “Wish granted.” I murmured quietly and snapped a fallen branch under my foot with ease. All four of their minds turned into giant question marks. “What was that?” One of the girls asked, instantly thinking to grab the boy next to her. With some quick digging I learned that her name was Tabitha and the boy she grabbed was, in fact, Dustin – the friend that ruined poor Bruce’s camping trip. Dustin laughed and nudged Tabitha’s arm with his own. “It’s probably Bigfoot.” He said jokingly and poked the fire some more with a skewer he had been roasting a hotdog on. The two girls exchanged glances uncomfortably. Neither of them liked the joke – taking it too literally. Bruce rolled his eyes. We’re thirty minutes from our houses… are they that stupid? I rolled my eyes as well and snapped another branch. I smiled as Dustin’s mind stopped putting together jokes about Bigfoot and resorted to grabbing Tabitha’s arm in return in an attempt to calm his own nerves. “That sounds kind of big.” He said, attempting to sound light-hearted but coming off as spooked. That’s at least what Bruce was thinking of him. Bruce stood up and brushed off his pants. “Fine.” He started. “I’ll see what it is.” I smiled and ran a tongue over my fangs. Bruce had begun to walk in my direction but one of the girls stopped him. It was his sister, Bridget. “No, no. Don’t go.” She said, trying to be confident. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” I ruffled a nearby bush, Let him go. I persuaded her. She let go of Bruce and he continued walking my direction without a second thought. I started backing up casually, making noises to keep him interested. I stopped behind another tree and watched him walk by. “Your friends are easily scared.” I declared casually. Bruce jumped and turned around – squinting his eyes to try and see in the dark. He didn’t think to bring a flashlight. I stepped forward, illuminating myself in a spot of moonlight. His eyes widened once he focused and looked surprised as he pointed toward me. “All of that was you?” I smiled, “What was me?” Bruce shifted his weight to his right foot. “Those noises.” I widened my eyes like I just realized what he was talking about. “Oh, the noises? Yeah, that was me.” I nodded and pointed to myself. “Were you trying to scare us?” he asked, crossing his large forearms over his chest. “No not at all. I was trying to lure you out here to me.” I stated honestly, beginning to toy with him. Bruce looked vaguely confused but walked all the way up to me – only leaving half a foot of space between us. He may be a skeptic but he is very forward, I noted silently and noticeably looked him over. “Why would you want me to get away from everyone else?” He asked, lowering his voice. I laughed quietly. “So I could have you all to myself.” I leaned forward a touch and looked up to see his face. Come on… My mind beckoned. Kiss me. Bruce’s facial features went soft and he began to bend down towards me. Jocelyn Bairen, where are you? I’m finding it very difficult to track you down. Adrian thought fiercely. Follow your nose, love. I thought just as I maneuvered away from Bruce’s oncoming lips and straight for his neck, sinking my teeth in swiftly. I allowed Bruce to let out a yell long enough to alert his friends before I put up a mental block in his mind that prevented him from doing so any longer. It’s a neat trick I learned a few months ago while I was sneaking out. My eyes faintly rolled back as his blood slid down my throat. Gooseflesh came up my arms and down my back as I suppressed a shiver of satisfaction that I knew was fleeting. I stopped feeding on Bruce just as he was about to pass out, erasing the memory of me from his mind quick enough for me to let him fall to the forest floor and grab Dustin from behind while he was running by, trying to become Bruce’s savior. I clasped a hand tightly over Dustin’s mouth as sunk my fangs into his neck. His blood had more adrenaline running through it, giving more of a tingling effect that made its way through my body. I groaned and bit down harder to quicken the flow that ran into my mouth. Adrenaline is why most vampires love and live for ‘the hunt’, or that’s what I thought would be the reason. I don’t really think that a majority of them like it just because they usually end up killing the person they’re feeding on. My gums began to throb even more as Dustin’s legs started becoming weaker. He was almost unconscious. Adrian appeared a few feet away and turned toward me, unaware of my current circumstance. “Jocelyn…” He took a few steps closer. “You’re already on your second one?” He nearly yelled as he finally saw Bruce’s crumpled body. I didn’t answer. In fact, I’m not really sure that I even heard Adrian say anything. My mind was reeling! My instincts were switching from the taste of Dustin’s blood to the addiction that drove me to keep drinking from him and then finally to the newest feeling of being an even more dangerous predator. Adrian’s hands fastened onto my shoulders and ripped me away from Dustin’s neck making me fall on my back. I chuckled breathily as my senses continued to tingle. He was stayed bent over Dustin’s body for a moment and then he came over to me. Probably checking his vitals or something. I couldn’t get my mind clear enough to care. “You’re lucky I came when I did. He’s almost dead.” Adrian damn-near hissed.