The Last Human (Vampires Rule # 1) Read Online Free Page A

my skin and as
crisp air weaved its way through my lungs. I breathed in the life
around me, cherishing every moment, cheri shing every second of my life.
    During the days we were free. During the
n ights we hid under the
cottage.
    It was a happy life. I remember vivid details as
though it was only yesterday. I remember the first time I touched a
chicken. I remember the first time I climbed a tree, and couldn’t
get back down until my dad lifted me off the branch I was gripping.
I remember the sweet cakes my mother used to make. I
r emember my father’s rich
laugh.
    We were content. We were together. We were happy… until they came.

    I heard stories from
my parents of creatures that lurked in the darkness, hiding and
moving within the shadows. My parents told me during the days we
were mostly safe from the creatures, but during the nights we had
to hide. I was young then, and such stories kept me entertained. I
thought that’s what they were; just stories, until the night of my
birthday.
    It was past sunset and my father was outside, locking
the chickens in the barn. My mother was leading me downstairs, and
into the basement to sleep. We had had a long day, celebrating my
fifth birthday, opening presents, and eating cake. Halfway down the
basement steps we heard the noise. It was like nothing I had ever
heard before. I had hea rd
wolves howl out in the woods, but this was different. It was a high
pitched, ear splitting growl. And it was close.
    My mother froze and her eyes widened. I didn’t
understand what was happening, but I knew something was wrong - that we were in danger. I was
too scared to speak. My mother grabbed my hand and almost dragged
me down into the basement. She took me to a secret hideout
location, built under the floorboards. She hugged me one last time
before lifting me down into the darkness.
    Hot tears flowed along my face. She didn’t meet my
eyes when she told me to stay quiet and still. She told me she
loved me. She told me not to open the lock, no matter what I heard
or what happened. She told me if she didn’t come back, I should go
through one of the tunnels, which lead to the other side of the woods and into a cave we had
once visited.
    I wanted to tell her she had to come back for me. I
wanted to tell her nothing was going to happen. I wanted to
tell her I was scared of the
tunnel, but no words came out of my mouth. The last I saw of her
was when she closed the trap door, blinking back her tears, and
engulfing me in darkness. I just stood there, looking up at the
place where her face had been, until the savage snarls had me
backing into a corner.
    I placed my hands over my ears to block out the
screams and unnatural snarls and growls that were sounding closer
by the second. I curled up on the floor, sobs escaping my throat,
h iding my face between my
arms.
    I do not know how long I stayed like that, but there
came a point when everything went silent. I looked up as the trap
door was flung open and a face, hidden within the shadows, emerged.
The next moment, a body had jumped down into the hideout. I was
frozen in place with fear and
dread.
    The person had slowly walked towards me, his
movements cat like and sleek. He bent down and gently pried my
hands away from my ears. His emerald green eyes were soft and full
of pity. His next words I would go on to remember, probably until
my dying b reath, were: “You’re
safe now.”
    His name was Lexus.
And he adopted me as his son.
    Years flew by. He was always there for me. He always
had time for me. He always played with me. He always had a smile
for me. We lived together in my father’s cottage. But when I was
ten , I finally confronted him
about my past.
    I always heard the screams of my mother in my dreams,
and I used to wake up shaking, trembling, and shouting her name out
in the middle of the night. The monsters had gotten her. I never
found out what happened to my father. I never asked Lexus. But as
the years went by, as my
confidence and