A sharp pain, as if a knitting needle was boring into her mind crumpled her to the ground. The world around her melted away and she was pushing through a crowd. Prudence's hand was not swollen. It was gripping a shawl wrapped around her head instead. A mixture of smells and voices filled her mind. The torches around her made her flinch. She pushed her way through the crowd until she was far enough to see what was going on.
A woman stood on a wooden stage with a rope around her neck. Her hair was wet and matted. Her eyes were red, and her face was swollen. Her frail, malnourished body was shivering in the wind. The man next to her pushed her over, and she fell down, closing her eyes. A crack echoed, followed by cheering.
The image faded and muddled with Prudence’s surroundings. Her breath stuck in her throat. She couldn’t stop seeing the woman’s face no matter how much she shook her head.
Prudence got up and started running. As if getting away from that spot would also mean getting away from those nightmares. She didn't care if the sun was shining on her, or if the stones she tripped on left bruises and cuts on her legs. After a while, she didn't even feel the ground under her feet.
When she finally tripped hard enough on a root, she didn't hit the ground. She flew out of the graveyard, and her body collided with something metal traveling at a great speed. Her bones cracked under pressure. The force warped her body in front of her very eyes. The metal stopped, and Prudence flew out, hitting the ground.
“Oh, fuck!” A rough male voice reached Prudence’s ears.
She opened her eyes, the massive pain radiating from every part of her body was the only thing she could think of. She saw her arm. That is not how an arm should bend was the only thing she could think of. The man above her was panicking.
“Okay okay, you're alive. Hold on, please. Come on you goddamn phone. Yes, there was a car accident. Please hurry, the girl's hurt badly. We're at…"
Prudence couldn’t stay conscious anymore. She let herself slip away. Her vision filled with white shuddering spots.
A gaggle of voices and lights brought her back to reality. She opened her eyes and her vision slowly cleared. There was a faint high-pitched sound coming from the outside of what looked like a metal box filled with things she didn't recognize. A man's face was hovering over her.
She wanted to jump up and scream. The pain she was in as soon as she moved reminded her that this wasn't the dream she had.
“My name’s Mike. Glad to see you’re back with us. You had an accident and broke some bones. You’re also dehydrated and malnourished. I gave you something for the pain. Nod if you can understand me.”
Prudence was too scared to do anything but nod. The man was all smiles and soft gestures.
“We’ll be coming into traffic as soon as we come to the main road.” A woman’s voice came up from behind her, startling Prudence.
“It's okay; it's okay." Mike reached over, trying to calm his patient down. Prudence's gaze shifted to Mike's jugular. Her glance focused on a vein on the side of his neck. Her vision tunneled, and all she could hear was the man's heartbeat. She could feel her mouth filling with saliva.
She tried to figure out why her stomach started growling. A strange smell filled her nostrils, making her even hungrier. Mike stared at her face, wide eyed. He pulled back, falling off his seat.
Prudence lifted her arm and touched her lips. She felt a twinge of pain. Something sharp had dug into her bottom lip. She looked at her hand and realized the smell that was making her hungry was the blood from her lip.
It was red and… pretty. She couldn't think of anything else.
Mike opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Prudence flew up from the gurney. She grabbed Mike's arm and yanked him towards her, feeling it crack under her grip. Mike hit her in the face with his other hand. Prudence took the punch, stumbling onto the gurney. She was focused on using her other arm to clench around the man's throat. Anything to prevent him from screaming.
She missed, but her hand was close enough to slash the man's throat with the claws extended from her fingers. Mike ripped his arms away from Prudence's grip to cover his wound, gurgling. He stumbled back, right into the ambulance’s corner. The sight of blood spilling over his shirt made Prudence fly into a rage.
"Mine," she growled and tried to grab the man's face. He tried to push her away from him, aiming for her injuries. Prudence didn't care about the pain. All she wanted was right in front of her. She tackled Mike, her hands slashing all over his body, desperately trying to keep him still. She pinned his legs under herself and swatted Mike's arms away. Gripping the man's chin, her claws sticking in the flesh part under the jaw bone, she exposed the wound she caused on his neck.
“You okay back there?” The woman spoke again.
Prudence sank her teeth into Mike.
Warm blood rushed into her mouth and flooded her throat. Mike was still trying to push Prudence away from him, scratching everything he could reach from his position. She could feel his hot breath on her arm, the sweat rapidly flowing out of his pores as he tried to worm his body away from her. Fear colored the smells exuding from him. As she drank deeply her body came alive. Soft cracking filled her ears, and she glanced at her arm. The broken bone shifted and set itself, healing under the skin. Mike slowly started struggling less and less. Then finally he went limp.
The woman in the front noticed the noise and glanced backward.
"What the hell?" The ambulance stopped with a screech. The woman scrambled for something in front of her.
Prudence's head snapped up. The next second, she had grabbed the woman by the hair. She yanked the woman backward through the little opening separating the two spaces, breaking the plastic divider.
The metal around the opening bent and the woman's bones cracked under pressure. When she tried to put a hand over her new victim's mouth, the woman bit her hand and hit Prudence in the stomach. Prudence sat down on the woman's torso, her knees exerting pressure on the woman's ribs. Prudence wrapped one hand around the woman's chin, while another one slid around the back of the woman's head. One sharp motion and the woman's neck snapped.
Prudence bent over, sinking her fangs into the woman's neck. She could feel herself draining the blood out of the corpse's body. The soft hush was soothing.
The pain faded, and all Prudence could feel was the warm feeling of a full stomach. If she focused just enough, she could feel her body fixing itself. Muscles were knitting back together, and blood was retreating into the now no longer burst veins and capillaries.
When the body under her was empty, Prudence smelled the air. There was still blood left in the other one. She got up and walked over, breaking the body into pieces to get to the slowly coagulating blood. She ripped the rib cage out and bent over, intoxicated by the smell.
A few minutes later, both bodies on the floor of the ambulance were completely drained. Prudence was sitting next to Mike, licking her fingers. Her light blue dress was soaked with blood, as were parts of the floor. She was trying to eat as much of it as possible.
After a few moments, Prudence heard a rumble outside. A lower sound than the wailing projected from the metal box she was in. Her hearing was enhanced by her feral state, she heard something slam and a heartbeat come within range.
