Thud, thud, thud. Pant, pant, pant.
That was all I heard. My own footsteps, smashing against the wet earth below me. My panting, growing raspier as I ran farther. I weaved in and out of the trees, my pursuer never shaken.
"What do you want!?" I yelled, almost coughing up blood.
"You!" My pursuer yelled, his voice perfectly smooth.
We were almost at three miles, all through the woods. I was at the point of puking blood, and he was still breathing lightly. My legs were screaming, pain surging with every stride. I couldn't even hear his footsteps, only a ghostly swish. How did this all start?

"Clyde! Get up!" My mother yelled.
My abusive, neglecting, hateful mother. It was impossible to go twenty minutes without her screaming at me, unless I was at school. I got dressed quickly. I ran downstairs, and snuck a few pop-tarts from the kitchen, before my mom could yell at me. I grabbed my book bag and ran out the door.

School was the same as every day. Got called 'emo' because of my hair hanging over my face, my tighter-than-normal pants, and my jacket that I always left the hood up on. Got picked last in gym, even with my athletic skill. Stupid stereo-types, I almost wanted to lose my life.

Now I was being chased, running for the life that, just a day earlier, I wanted to lose. I knew I couldn't run forever, but neither could he. Or, so I thought. Five, six, seven miles. Then came the blood. I coughed up a small drop, and then a gush of it came through my mouth. My pursuer seemed... enthused. He ran faster, and started to catch up.
Crunch, thud, rip.
I felt my shoulders break as he hit my back, the thud of me hitting the ground, and then the rip of my skin. Then, everything was black.
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The first thing I felt was pain. Intense, burning, unimaginable, pain. After what seemed like days, it started to recede, becoming more violent in my stomach in chest. Then, it was only in my chest. It felt like my heart was trapped in an inferno. I wanted to scream, kill myself, anything that would get my mind off the pain. Then, like turning off a light switch, the pain was gone.

I opened my eyes. I was leaning up against a brick wall. Everything was bright, and I could see easily, but I knew it wasn't daytime. It was night, streetlights were on, and even the brightness had a dark hue to it. I smelled quite a few smells. Trash, probably the fact that I was in an alley. Bakery goods, probably from the local Bakery. I smelled a light, floral smell, but I couldn't pick that out. And last, I smelled... blood. I looked around, but didn't see anything that would smell like blood.

"You’re finally awake." A heard a man say.
I jumped up and turned quickly. It was much easier to move, and it was almost like I moved before I thought it. The floral smell became stronger. I recognized the man as the one who had been chasing me. The one who made me puke blood, the one who mauled me down, the one who broke my shoulders. Instantly, I grabbed my shoulders. Whole, unbroken shoulders met my hands.
"Who are you!?" I shouted.
"I know you’re scared." He said. "I have a lot to explain, but first-off, my name is Paul. I am... a vampire." He said softly.

I tried not to burst out laughing. Vampires? Who did he think I was?
"I'm not kidding. We are both vampires now." He said, becoming more serious.
"Prove it." I said, still resisting a laugh.
"Well, first off, it's night, but you can see. Second, I broke your shoulders, now they are completely healed. Third, all your senses are improved." He said. "Smell the smell, hear the sounds, taste the air, and see clearer. Everything you are sensing is completely incomprehensible to humans." He finished.
I began to believe him. I could feel all the different things that I had never felt before. My mind was more open, everything more organized. My body felt so much lighter. My teeth felt sharper, even though my lips felt harder.
"Okay, so how did this happen?" I asked.
"Well, I planned on killing you." He began, and stopped when my eyes went wide, but then continued. "I didn't though. You seemed to have... potential." He said, thinking. "And you tasted bad." He said under his breath, but I could still hear it.
"Okay, you lost me again." I said, chuckling lightly.
"Come." He said holding his hand out.
I walked over to him, and he placed his hand on my forehead. Suddenly, I knew everything I needed to. He was a vampire, and so was I. I did have some type of potential. I knew everything there was to know about vampires, all in a split second. I stared at him blankly.
"So, what happens now?" I asked.
"You are a young vampire, but apparently you have very good control. You haven't even attacked anybody walking past yet." He said.
That's when I realized the blood smell was coming from the people that were walking on the sidewalk past the alley. Just then, I was thirsty, but the thought of attacking a human made feel me sick to my stomach.
"You don't have to drink human blood, you can eat animals." He said, seeing my face.
"Okay. Do I still go to school?" I asked. "What about my mom, and school, and my human life?" I asked, suddenly worried.
"You can continue them normally, you just look... different." He said.
I walked over to a smashed mirror, leaning against a wall, and looked in. My face was smooth, flawless. My eyes were a deep red, it was scary. My arms and chest seemed more muscular. I looked... good.

The rest of the night went the same. He explained more to me about vampires. How I would never have to sleep, I was nearly indestructible, I didn't need human food anymore, and I was immortal. At first, I was scared, but as I began to learn, I was amazed. He explained to me that I would have to stay out of to-bright sun, because my skin would become like diamonds, and it may also burn, depending on me. So much was variable. My diet, my powers, everything. I didn't need human blood, I could have animals'. I may end up being strong, or maybe fast, maybe both. I most likely would get a 'superpower', because Paul could sense those things.

Soon, interrupting my learning, the sun began to rise.
"Time for school." Paul said. "I'll be right outside, if you go crazy, I'll stop you." He said.
"Thanks, I should be fine though." I said.
We were walking on a sidewalk, past person after person, and I never felt the urge to attack them. I would be fine, I knew it. We stood in front of the school. I was dressed normally; the only difference was my eyes. They were now red, but we put contacts over them, making them blue. My eyes were normally brown, but I could say I was wearing colored contacts, I could say that with the red eyes, but it would be creepy. I sucked in a deep breath air, taking in the sweet scents, and then walked inside.
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The first thing I realized was how different the school, and everyone in it, looked. To a human, it was completely normal, but to me, a vampire, it was so much different. Everything was more vibrant, I could hear each and every different conversation in the school. I could smell all the different colognes and perfumes, lunch being made, the smell of blood. That was the worst thing. My natural instinct told me to go nuts, but I fought it. I walked to my locker, and then my homeroom, keeping my head down the entire time. If people saw my new face, they would freak. They'd marvel at it, become entranced over the boy, who was just yesterday, the emo boy that no one liked.

One thing blew my plan away; Gym. I would have to change clothes, and I wouldn't be able to wear my jacket. In my shorts and T-shirt, my arms and legs would be visible. My skin was only a shade lighter, it was still tanned. My new muscles would definitely be a give-away though. I would just have to deal with it; I'd have to get it over with sometime anyways. I walked to the gym and into the locker room. I opened my locker and pulled my shirt off. I could feel the other guys' eyes on me. I pulled me gym shirt on, and then put my shorts on. I walked out of the locker room to the lineup. Everyone was staring. I stood with my arms crossed, staring forward. I didn't like being stared at; I wished the teacher would get here so that we could start class. The teacher came out, and we did stretches, even then I could feel people looking. We started jogging; it was so much easier than before. I barley had to breathe, and running was so smooth. I felt people running behind me, trying to keep up... and failing.
"We're going outside on the track today class. We're going to have organized 100m dashes," Our gym teacher said.
The first heat was the slower kids, the second was faster, and so on. I got placed in the third heat.
"Go," The teacher yelled.
I ran, I started off slowly, for me, but then started a flat-out sprint. I was done in seconds. My legs and arms pumped smoothly, my breathing never faltered. Everyone stared. I knew that I had just messed up. No human could run that fast, some cars couldn't move that fast.
"Finals.... go," The teacher said with no enthusiasm in his voice.
Everyone knew who would win, there was no cheering. The boy beside me, Chris, was almost my rival. He tried to beat me at everything. He was the best athlete, fastest runner, most popular, the only thing was, I challenged him. I ignored his demands, acted like he wasn't there. Someone would spread a rumor that I'd liked someone, he'd date her. Now, he started a sprint, determined to beat me.

I charged forward. Seconds later it was over.
"Damn it!" Chris said.
I was stopped on the finish line, he was barley halfway. He charged toward me. A few of his friends broke away from the watching group to back him up. A few more broke away. I recognized a few of my 'friends'. It was just people I talked to, some who acknowledged my academic and athletic skill, others who hated Chris as much as I did. A few seconds passes, and he was in front of me, fist raised, clenched into tight balls. The gym teacher watched. He encouraged fighting as a way to blow off steam. It was him and four others against me and four others. It was even, so the gym teacher would allow it. Chris swung his fist towards me, aiming for my stomach. I let his fist hit me, and then enjoyed the following crunching sound and the scream. His friends jumped on top of me. I grabbed one of their legs and through him down, another crack. One stuck his hand in my mouth, and I bit down; Big mistake. My throat screamed. I fought the urge to rip his hand off, to drink his blood. A second later, something hit me. Then the ground whirled under me. I recognized Paul's scent, and the scent of the boy I bit, Brian, and his blood.
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I forced myself not to swallow the blood, to spit it out. Paul dropped me, and I ran beside him. Brian was screaming in pain, the transformation had begun. Paul's eyes were wide, ravenous.
"Give him to me," I said.
He handed him over, relaxing slightly. I followed Paul to a small house. I smelled Paul's scent everywhere, so I knew it was his home. We rushed inside, not even opening the door. Paul threw down blankets and mattresses. I laid him down; he thrashed and rolled all around. Paul looked strained, still watching the blood rolling from Brian's hand.
"I can take care of him, go somewhere else," I offered.
"No, I'm not going to be a killer any longer. You haven't gone after humans, and you spit out human blood. I can do it to!" Paul said. He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself more than me.
We watched the cuts on Brian's hands begin to heal. He began to twitch up and down, he reminded me of a fish.
"How much longer?"
"It took you two days, which is the fastest I've seen," Paul answered.
"What about school?"
"After he is transformed, you can both go back. After people see you both, they'll know you're okay," Paul answered again.
"Okay. That's good. I'm going to hunt," I said abruptly.
"O...okay." Paul said, noticing the abruptness.

I ran from the house, heading into the woods. I realized these were the woods that I was chased in. I laughed at the fact now; I wish I would have stopped running if I knew this was what would have happened. I enjoyed being a vampire. It was so much more fun, the speed, the power, and the improved senses. I loved it! It was a few seconds later I realized where I was. I was back at the school. Three ambulances and four cop cars were all around. The people whose bones I broke were being put into the ambulances. I was standing in a spot where anyone that looked over would see me. Nobody wasted time looking around. On the ground was a girl, thrashing, much the way Brian was...
"No!" I said aloud.
I ran the events through my head. I had never come in contact with her, so how was she infected. I saw a small cut on her arm. When Paul rushed in his finger nails must have scraped against her arm. I ran forward, I knew I had to keep the secret safe. I broke into the crowd, people scattering as I hit them. I scooped her up in my arms, and ran again. No one had a chance to see that it was me, so I was safe. I recognized the scent, but couldn't put a name to it. I looked down and saw Kelly. She had brown hair to about her shoulders. Her face wasn't perfect... yet. It had small flaws, pimples and such, like any other teenager. I was back to the house quickly. I ran through the busted open door. Paul was waiting, already smelling the new scent. I laid her down without explaining, and Paul didn't ask. We waited for everything to be finished, waiting for two more new vampires to join us.