Chapter Twenty-Four: Fire Maze:

Lauren looked out the car window through the darkness. She could still feel them nearby. But, they didn’t act to attack the car at all. The vampire gritted her teeth.

“Come on, you bastards,” she muttered. “Why aren’t you attacking?” She pulled on her short black hair. “I don’t like this. Come on, do something!”

“Calm down,” Fred said. Lauren looked up.

“Hm?” she asked. The driver glance behind at her.

“You are doing good so far,” he said. “You have to keep a clear head. You are the one in control. I will just drive.” The vampire sat, staring. She moved her feet to the floor.

“You’re right,” she said. She dug her nails into the seat.

“That’s it,” Fred said. “Just take deep breaths. We’ll get out of this soon.” But then, Lauren winced. She gave off a choked up scream. The driver quickly turned his head.

“What’s matter?!” he asked.

“Blood!” Lauren cried. “I need some blood! Gah!”

“Okay, hang on,” he said. “I’ll get you to a blood bank as soon as possible.”

“No!” the female vampire cried, shaking her head.

“No?”

“We have to keep going! Don’t worry about me! If you detour now, they will catch us. It’s me they want.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine for now. Keep driving!”

“Okay!” Fred stepped on the gas. Suddenly, Lauren’s body froze. Her vision clouded black again.

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Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Lauren’s eyes scanned the darkness. She took slow steps backwards. The dripping water made the body in her stomach unbearable.

“What’s the matter?” that same voice asked. “Why don’t you stop the car and feed already? Why not feed on your little driver friend?”

“Shut up!” Lauren snapped back. She clutched her stomach as she looked for a way out. However, a strong heat breathed down her back. The vampire, against her better judgment, turned her head. A swirl storm of fire raced towards her. Lauren’s eyes widened as she started running.

“What the hell?!” she screamed. The laughter made her head hurt along with the dripping water. Wait, that laughter sounded so different. That clearly wasn’t the person who trapped her into this darkened maze. The original voice sounded like high-pitched, almost like a little girl talking. No, this laughter sounded richer. Huskier and elegant.

“Who are you?!” Lauren shouted.

“Hello there, pet mouse,” the new voice said. “Run for your life!” The female vampire looked around in the endless for an escape. The fire seemed to chase her down faster. Lauren desperately ran with her hunger getting worse. She could barely hear herself screaming.

“Aw, what’s the matter, little mouse?” the second voice asked. “Can’t keep up because you’re hungry? Tell you what, if you can get out of this maze, I will give you all the blood you want. How does that sound?” The target growl as she ran so low to the ground.

“Go fuck yourself,” she muttered. Lauren pushed herself to keep moving. Through her pain, she figured that there would have to be a source of this maze. If she could find that, she could destroy and break the spell. But who or what was doing this? So far, she only had eyes, a hand, and a mouth. Lauren didn’t even have her full powers or her senses back yet. Plus, being hungry didn’t help her much either.

Suddenly, the car stopped. She couldn’t see anything. The last thing she could remember was a car door opening, faint footsteps, a car door closing, and another door opening.

And then, it became silent.