My Own Human Read online

  My Own Human

  Arizona Tape

  Contents

  My Own Human

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Author's Note

  About Arizona Tape

  Stalk Arizona Tape

  Also By

  Recommended Reading

  My Own Human

  By Arizona Tape

  To my 17-year-old self,

  * * *

  I know you were broken, scared, and lost,

  but thank you for starting something worthwhile nonetheless.

  You sleep now.

  I got it from here.

  * * *

  — Your less broken 22-year-old self

  Copyright © 2017 by Arizona Tape

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication or cover may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to [email protected] with the subject line “COPYRIGHT: MY OWN HUMAN”.

  * * *

  But just don't steal stuff. Seriously. It's mean.

  Chapter 1

  The Heather

  I CLOSED the book and shook my head in amusement. Who ever wrote this was probably high. Why would anyone think we lusted for blood?

  I snorted. Although highly inaccurate, at least the author’s imagination ran wild. Who even came up with the idea vampires would drink the blood of humans? Why would I want to sink my teeth in the neck of an animal?

  But still. There were so many stories about “vampires” with all those cliché characteristics, at some point people must have believed them. If not, I just couldn’t understand why someone would make up those things.

  Coffins? No, we slept in beds, why would we sleep in coffins? Besides, coffins didn’t even exist anymore, they were out of fashion. We used urns. And you couldn’t sleep in urns.

  Transforming into bats? That would be weird. Why would we all want to fly around like bats? To be fair, it would be cool if there were still animals left.

  Glittering in the sun? That was ridiculous, I wasn't a walking mirror.

  “History? This is not history.” I muttered angrily when I noticed that this book belonged in the history section. I had to physically force myself to put it back on that same shelf instead of where I knew it belonged. Fiction.

  I made a mental note to tell my friend that although the story was amusing, it wasn't historically correct. But then again, there wasn’t much left that was. A lot had been destroyed and burned. Why?

  That was what I was trying to find. What happened to this planet that there was almost no information left from the years 2000 up to 3500? And why did everyone pretend there wasn't a 1500 year gap?

  “I need to find more ancient, authentic archives and sources,” I mumbled to myself, my finger gliding over the backs of the books for one I hadn't read yet.

  I grinned, recalling how Dad got me obsessed with books and history. He was a historian and instead of telling me stories about fairies or elves, he told me all these colourful tales about extinct animals. I used to be fascinated by one particular animal, the human. I made Dad read stories about them until his voice got hoarse and mother interfered with her annoying “Bedtime!”. Ever since, I had been fascinated by them. I loved reading about their little quirks and behaviour, their dreams and hopes, their greatest achievements and their worst downfalls. The older I got, the more and more intrigued I became by the facts. I became obsessed by the humans. After all, before us, the world was inhabited by them and I wanted to know everything there was to know about them.

  So I took history as my primary main course, making mum livid. I could recall the moment I told her I was majoring in the same field as Dad.

  “Another bloody historian. What’s so fascinating about the past anyway? Who cares about humans?!”

  Her exact words. Yeah, mother liked to believe the world before ours was just an animal kingdom. Father, on the other hand, always said we had to make a distinction between humans and the other animals. He believed that humans were a lot further evolved than the rest, but mother thought that theory was just pure and utter malarkey.

  I agreed with Father though. Humans had their own language, made funny homes, and more importantly, seemed to have a pretty decent understanding of science. They figured out electricity, medicine, technology, and many other things. That convinced me they were further advanced than we made them out to be.

  “You still here, honey?” A hand suddenly touched me on the shoulder. Frightened, I jumped in surprise.

  What the?

  Oh, it was just Dad. Oof...

  “Ehmm... Yeah... What week is it?” I asked, realising I was a bit dizzy. Must’ve been from all the reading. How long had I been here again?

  “The 44th,” Father answered, his eyes filled with concern. “How long have you been awake?”

  “Eehmm… I think two weeks and a half... I guess,” I yawned, rubbing my stinging eyes. As usual, I had been spending too much time in the library and had gotten lost in the books about another world.

  “You should get a couple of hours sleep,” Father gently ordered, closing my books and switching off the side light. I nodded sleepily and followed him to the exit, sneaking three extra books in my backpack.

  I know, bad vampire.

  But luckily we owned the library. So, ehhh...

  “You can take it easy, girl. History can change overnight, but the past doesn’t. And since we are interested in the past, we have all the time of the world.” He warmly smiled, making us both chuckle. There was no doubt he was as much a reading freak as I was. I remembered being the one finding him asleep on top of his books after reading for a whole fortnight.

  “I know, dad, I know, but it’s so captivating,” I mumbled, making him nod in agreement.

  “You don’t have to tell me that. You are your father’s daughter after all,” Dad lovingly complimented, patting me gently on my shoulder.

  “Thanks, Daddy,” I smiled, giving him a quick hug before jumping to my own floor. The scanner hidden in my balcony automatically reacted to the chip imbedded in my wrist and with a dull thud, the door clicked open. The lights automatically flicked on and I kicked the door shut, even though that wasn’t technically necessary. But I felt more at ease knowing the door actually closed if I did it myself. This wouldn’t be the first time an automatic door glitched.

  I dropped my bag on my desk and pulled out the books I took with me. I knew I should have a couple of hours sleep first, but I just wanted to read through these books as quickly as I could. There was still so much I didn’t know yet.

  “History since 1900,” I mumbled to myself, opening the thick book and checking the index to see to which year it went.

  “Just not far enough,” I grumbled when I saw that it stopped somewhere in the early 21st century. I smacked the old book closed in frustration and let my hand glide over the sturdy cover, enjoying the fe
el of the old paper underneath myfingertips.

  Ssskkrrruuttchh.

  “Oooooh,” I yelped, my mouth forming a perfect round “O” in shock. “Damn it, damn it, damn it,” I cursed under my breath, adrenaline flooding my system from the stress. I grabbed a roll of tape, but I knew well enough that I couldn’t fix a historical cover with some stupid household tape. I groaned and stared at the cover, hoping if I glared at it hard enough, it would miraculously fix itself. Of course, it didn’t. Stupid book. But because I was staring so intensely at the cover, I noticed something sticking out of from underneath the corner. It looked like a piece of paper.

  “Huh?”

  I looked around, worried someone might be looking over my shoulder, but of course, I was alone. Feeling massively guilty, but way too curious to contain myself, I grabbed a knife from my drawer and checked again if I was truly alone. I was.

  “Just a tiny, tiny bit,” I muttered to myself as I let the knife slip into the tear. I made a clean cut through the cover and carefully exposed the naked book. Hidden between the manuscript and the cover, I found an old sheet of paper, creased and faded, but with surprisingly tidy handwriting. I grinned when I recognised the script as Old English and was glad that I had taken that course 57 years ago.

  * * *

  26th March 3014

  We have been hiding for months now and going outside is still dangerous. The streets are filled with newborn vampires who are hunting for blood. Mary and I are currently in a shelter 10 meters underground, but we are running out of food and water. Josh’s death two weeks ago made it possible for us to stay down here a little bit longer, but I’m sure that in a bit, we’ll have to go outside. I’m actually surprised that the vampires haven’t smelled Josh’s blood or found our shelter. With their heightened senses, they are our superior in every way. They have better eyesight, better noses, better hearing,… We can’t outrun them, we aren’t stronger than them, all we can do is pray. Dear lord, what have you brought upon us?

  * * *

  19th May 3014

  Tonight is the last night I can stay in the shelter. I’m all alone. Mary caught a fever and died from it. The rotting stench down here is horrid, making it almost impossible to breathe properly. I opened the last tin and I’m currently drinking my last bottle of water. Tomorrow I’ll be forced to open up the shelter and risk my chances. I hope that the area is already desolated and that the vampires have fled to another region.

  I’m scared and I don’t know what to do. I can’t come back here because the rotting fumes are getting to me and are making my head dizzy. I don’t think it’s healthy to stay here, unless I move their bodies, but I don’t think I’m able to carry them upstairs. If I’m lucky I’ll meet some other people, but I’m afraid that when I’ll go out, I’ll be the only one left.

  * * *

  20th May 3014

  I just drank the last of my water and I’m mentally preparing myself to go out in the open for the first time in months. I don’t know what to expect, but I’m hoping that I’ll live.

  I’m so angry at that stupid bunch of scientists that created those monsters. What did they think they could achieve? Superheroes? Well, guess what, they made monsters. Every shred of humanity long gone, washed away by the experiments. I just pray that this isn’t my end, but what hope is there left?

  I turned the page and groaned when it was blank. Annoyed, I flipped all the way the front and again to the back, hoping it would somehow change and there would be a follow up, but there wasn’t.

  Damn! There had to be more, this couldn’t be the end? It felt like a diary, so even if this was the end, there had to be a prequel at least. This was the most interesting page I read in the last twenty years. There had to be more! I needed to know more! One sentence in particular captivated my attention.

  I’m so angry at that stupid bunch of scientists that created thosemonsters.

  What did she mean? If I interpreted it right, she blamed her fellow humans for creating vampires, but that sounded ridiculous. Humans couldn’t have created vampires, right?Right?

  “I need to find that diary,” I muttered to myself, ready to get it all done. Exhaustion hit my body and I was reminded of how tired I was. I really wanted find the rest of this written report, but my body needed a couple of hours sleep, so I stumbled to my bed and let myself fall down, immediately drifting off to sleep.

  Six hours later, I woke up, feeling refreshed but no less determined to find that diary. But where to start? Should I consult Father? That sounded like the most logical decision, but for some reason I wanted to find this myself.

  “I’ll ask him later, when I’m completely out of options,” I muttered to no one in particular, picking up the sheet of paper and putting it in a plastic folder to keep it safe.

  I should go to the lab to analyse it, but first I felt like going for a walk to get some fresh air. I nodded to myself, grabbed some a +pocket and walked out of my house. I speedwalked to my favourite place, which was an abandoned building, about 200km away from the city. Nobody ever came here anymore, so it was always desolated and empty. Perfect to clear my head from the never ending buzzing city.

  I inhaled the fresh air, my lungs expanding happily. The air near the forest wasn’t that much cleaner, but it still made a difference. I sighed and took another deep breath, suddenly detecting a faint scent that I didn’t recognise. Which was strange. I had been here so many times before, there shouldn’t be any strange scents left.

  If I wasn’t such a curious George, I could’ve probably left it alone, but I just had to know what it was. I stuck my nose in the air and followed the faint trail into the building.

  “What is that?” I asked myself, staring at a weird heap lying clumsily on the ground. I carefully approached the pile, feeling my heart speed up. It couldn’t be...?

  It looked vampire, but it definitely didn’t smell like it. What was it? An animal? That couldn’t be, there were no animals left... It seemed to be about the same size as me, but that didn’t mean anything. It could still be anything...

  “Ahh...”

  I jumped in the air when the thing moaned and moved. It was alive? What the hell was going on here?

  “Hello?” I asked, feeling silly. Why was I talking to that thing? It’s not like it could understand me.

  “Iiiieee,” the thing shrieked, crawling up in a ball, looking at me with big eyes.

  I studied the sight in front of me, but my brain couldn’t comprehend what I was witnessing. I couldn’t believe my eyes and my nose. I couldn’t. But I saw no other explanation. It was a human.

  A human.

  A real, alive, living, breathing, shouting human.

  This was an unbelievable find! I was going to be famous, this was better than finding a diary!

  “Don’t hurt me, please,” the balled-up human begged, making me silently thank the gods that I studied old English.

  “I won’t hurt you,” I stammered back, for the first time speaking a dead language.

  The human whimpered again and was hugging itself. I took a better look and tried to analyse it as best as I could. Long hair, fair skin, not too big. Female. She had smooth skin and looked fairly young. Probably about my age, maybe a bit younger.

  As annoying as it was, that was all I could figure out. I didn’t know much more about them, even if I studied the subject humans for decades.

  “You are a human,” I stated, still not believing what I saw. The female nodded and kept staring at me. I suddenly remembered what I read in that diary. The person who wrote it was saying how scared she was of us. Which was weird, because now that I thought about it, in none of my books, humans and vampires coexisted.

  “Please don’t hurt me, please. I didn’t mean to come up here,” the female begged again, tears streaming down her face. I shook my head, not understanding why she would think that. After all, we were a very peaceful race.

  “I won’t, I patronise,” I smiled, making her look at me in confusion. I repeate
d the sentence in my head, checking word for word. “I promise, I promise, not patronise,” I quickly corrected myself, laughing awkwardly at my stupid fault. Who would have ever thought that my week would start with me talking to a dead species?

  The thing just stared at me, frozen in its spot. I had so many questions, but I didn’t know where to start.

  “I’m Adrianna,” I tried, pretending that I was just talking to another vampire and not to a human thing.

  “I’m Heather,” the thing answered, making me shriek insurprise.

  “You have a name?” I squealed, earning a confusing glare from her. “Of course, you have a name,” I coughed, trying to hide my outburst. I knew this. Why was I so surprised?

  “So how old are you?” I curiously asked, letting my eyes travel up and down over her body. She was cute for a human.

  “I’m 21,” the Heather said, looking at me for the first time. I noticed how her eyes were a dark blue and admitted to myself that it looked far better than our purple eyes. Not that I cared.

  “Oh, 21 decades? Cool, I’m 26 decades,” I said, congratulating myself that I guessed her age right.

  “Decades? No, years,” the Heather thing corrected me, looking puzzled at me.

  “Years!?” I shouted, making her flinch from the sudden noise. “Sorry.”

  She meant 21 years? Damn, I was 244 years older than her. So I estimated her age wrong, damn. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of it.