I'm Not A Savior

Living on blood is not as romantic as it sounds. I’ve had to keep my distance from normal people most of my existence. And for good reason; I’m vicious when I fall under my bloodlust. It’s like I’m a feral animal, starving and willing to do whatever it took to satisfy my hunger, and I feel like I’m not in control.

And it’s all her fault. Carmina. She’s the one that sired me. She turned me from a twenty-six year old middle-class man looking to become a music teacher, into a vampire living in the shadows of society trying to blend in with the prey I was expected to hunt. I couldn’t move myself to give in to the natural instinct and chose to live off animals, mostly common game, to survive.

But the animal blood isn’t the normal diet. It leaves me weaker than my equals. It makes where Carmina can overpower me, even though I have height and size on her. But a thing about vampires is that the sun won’t burn us unless we were turned by a pureblood vampire. Carmina was turned by a Roman vampire, a pureblood one too, and she turns people so she has slaves to hunt for her. I was going to be one of hers, but I ran off as soon as I knew why she turned me.
Now here I am, 300 years later, living in Timonium, Maryland. I got my wish to teach music, but well beyond my time. The nice thing about being a vampire is that I have time to stay up to date on what they teach future music teachers.
--- I was hunched over my desk, going over my lesson plan for the day before the horde of students that came to Delaney High, arrived to attend class. I felt a small breeze, almost like a draft whisk past me. I looked up to find the only person I ever sired. Tessa, or Tess as I call her.
She was attacked by Carmina out of jealousy. Tess was far more beautiful than Carmina, and Carmina tore her throat apart to end her. I saved her from death and it earned me a chance to run away from Carmina. Tess and I kept in touch, being apart from time to time so Carmina wouldn’t find us so easily, staying close friends. She even sired someone, her boyfriend and vampire mate Matt.

“Tess,” I sighed and smirked a little, “I told you to not run into my classroom at vampire speed. You blow my papers everywhere.”

“I’m glad I remembered you liked being around Baltimore,” she sighed as she caught her breath, “I needed to find you fast, Alexander.”

“What’s going on,” I asked her, concern in my voice.

“Carmina is in the US,” she replied, worry and weariness reflecting in her tone, “She figured out we came across the Atlantic.” Tess still spoke with her blended French and Italian accent. My native British has been long gone since I’ve been here in the states much longer than her.

“Shit,” I groaned, having hoped she’d stay in Europe where she could stay hidden with her influence in the old villages in Eastern Europe, “You know that I’ve been careful to not fall for anyone so she can’t hurt me.”

“I know,” Tess smiled at me, “You were selfless when you told me that we can’t be together all the time. You wanted to stay fairly independent so Carmina didn’t think you’d created a clave to challenge her.”

“That’s why you and Matt need to run for the western states,” I told her, “Vegas is a great city to blend into. You can get away with being there, Tess.”

“We’ll come back,” Tess promised, “If Carmina comes close to Baltimore. She doesn’t deserve to have someone like you sired to her. You’re too good for her. You need freedom and a chance to find your match, like I did.”

“I know that,” I sighed. Tess was always right on that. Being alone was not good for me. I wanted to be able to love someone and be loved in return. I deserved that much out of my immortal existence, “But head out of town as soon as you can. Now if you don’t mind, I have class in twenty minutes.”

Tess left the way she came in, leaving me alone in an instant. I wrote onto the board my name and the class title I taught, Music Theory I. First day of the school year, and I already knew it would be a bumpy one.
--- The bell rang the end of my first class of the day, and I sat down in my desk chair. As my next class walked in, I spotted her for the first time. A new student to the school in my class, based on how she was slouching so much and an air of nervousness hung about her. Her vibrant, almost fiery, red hair draped around her delicate features. Her warm brown eyes were shrouded behind stray locks of her wavy hair, clouding their beauty from her peers. She was sort of tall, maybe about 5 foot 6 if she stood up straight. Her body was slender, with the right curves to her body that she looked healthy and not supermodel anorexic. To me, she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen, and I was drawn to her.

And being one of her new teachers; that put me in a bind. Worst of all, I’m a vampire, struggling to control the raging beast within me and trying to keep my distance so Carmina can’t torment me anymore than she can now.

“Welcome to Music Theory I,” I greeted the class once the bell rang and everyone was seated, “I’m your teacher, Mr. Gaskarth. I’ll be taking attendance first before going over the class syllabus.”

One by one I read off each name. I noted the faces that responded to the names. I was waiting for her name to come up, wanting to put a name to the face I would never forget. Then I finally found it.

“Mackenzie Tyler,” I called out.

“Here,” I looked up and I saw her hand held half way up. I found the name that went with her face.
“And do you have anything you want me to call you out as during the class,” I asked, waiting to hear her speak more.

“Kenzie,” she replied, “if you don’t mind Mr. Gaskarth.”

“Alright,” I smiled and wrote down Kenzie next to her name on my class roster.

Notes

My first story I've written in a long time. It feels good to write again. Enjoy my first story to the site. :)