The Second Chance (Blood Of Eden Fanfiction)

Chapter 12: Jackal

"My feet are sore and my head hurt," she says, sounding annoyed. "And Parker obviously isn't used to walking great distances like this yet. We're stopping."

"You're awfully demanding," I snap, but there's a smirk playing in my lips and she finally smiles at me.

"You can't always get your way, you know," she teases.

The Pet coughs, looking uncomfortable as he sits down on the ground. "My feet are killing me," he groans. "And I'm starving. Got anything to eat?"

Abigail pulls some food out of her bag and hands it to the blood bag and he instantly begins to devour it. He chews loudly and breathes heavily as he does so, the sound giving me a headache and making my stomach turn. As we continue to sit there, I go through multiple ways of how I could effectively rip his head off and play it off as an accident so that Abigail can't get mad at me. The thought of ending the blood bags life puts a smile on my lips and I have to keep myself from snickering.

I'm so entranced by my dark thoughts that I barely hear Abigail say my name. She waves her hand in front of my face and I'm shaken out of my daydream. "Earth to Jackal," she says and I smile.

"Yes?"

"You alright there? Pretty lost in thought," she says, concerned.

I can't help but snicker as I turn back to the Pet. "Oh, don't worry. I am just fine."

She gives a nervous laugh as the Pet avoids all eye contact. "Anyways... As I was trying to say before, you never answered my questions back at the tower."

I look away, knowing what's coming next. "What questions?"

"Why did you save Eden?"

I straighten, not sure if I'm ready to talk about my blood sister and sire. In the background, I hear the Pet give a small gasp. "Eden? It's real? I thought that was only a fairy tale. Something to give us humans hope."

I give out a small laugh. "Oh, it's real alright."

"Jackal," Abby says, moving closer and taking my hand. "What happened after you discovered that the Crosse boy was in New Covington?"

I sigh and close my eyes, once again reaching out to my blood sister as if she could give me strength. "When we discovered that my sister's plaything was in New Covington, we of course had to do anything we could to protect him and his little gang of street rats. The Mole Men weren't too keen on them being in the sewers and had attacked, killing all but Zeke. Allison, the boy, and I managed to get out alive, though I don't think any of us were too worried about that.

"We made it Salazar and he treated us much like how he treated you and I. We were guests, but not entirely free. He kept Kanin down where you saw Weston. He was chained to a wall, just teetering of the edge of no return. He nearly killed Allison, almost broke ripped her head right off her shoulders, but she managed to get through to him. We promised to bring a cure back and Salazar told us we were to not return until then."

I stop for a moment, the memory of my sire forever haunting me. "Kanin had been more obsessed than I had been with finding the cure. He felt guilty for having been the cause of the Red Lung and wanted to do anything he could to stop it. We hated each other. I was supposed to be the last one he ever Turned, seeing that I was apparently a disappointment. But that all changed when he Turned Allison. Everything changed after that.

"Once we were out of the city, we came across the most pyschotic vampire you could ever meet. His name was Sarren. He was the cause of the new disease that took over New Covington. He called it Requiem. It was supposed to wipe out everything; humans, vampires, and rabids alike. A "fresh start" he called it. I had seemingly turned on my blood family and sided with the freak, knowing that I had better chances to stick with him rather than Kanina and Allison. Unfortunately, he learned that I was just using him and when I tried to drive a stake into his heart, he tore a hole in my stomach with a pipe."

I shudder as I remember the pain that had coursed through my body. "Later when we had all gone to sleep, Ezkiel wanted to play hero. Guess he thought he could get the bastard during the daylight hours. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. He killed the boy, leaving a video behind so that my sister would know he was gone."

"That's terrible," Abigail says, a tear running down her cheek.

I go on with the story, telling her how the three if us followed Sarren back to Old Chicago and the messes he kept leaving behind. I tell her how we found Ezkiel, a newly born vampire tied up in my tower, his heart having been ripped out and left for us to find, much to my sister's dismay. Once we managed to Ezkiel to come back to us and out if his pyscho sires daze, we made our way to Eden where he had already started to take over, the island having been evacuated due to the new form of rabids.

"It was a bloody fight," I continue, shaking my head. "I had never felt pain so intensely before. I really thought I was going to die. But I also knew Allison would figure it out. When Kanin died... I felt him leave. It was a powerful feeling. The old man had discovered what the cure was. The cure lied beneath his own skin, and was apart of every Master vampire. And, lucky for all of us, Allison just so happened to be a Master, herself. Once the fight was over and Requiem was cured, she healed me. I left not long after. I know I would have never been welcomed to stay. A vampire living in a human city? I can only imagine what hell they put my sister and her puppy through after I left."

Abigail takes my hand. "Wow," is all she manages to say.

"So," the Pet lets out a long sigh, his eyes slightly dazed and I can almost see the cogs turning inside his head. "You helped save a city of humans."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, I did. I'm not telling the story again."

He shakes his head and looks to me, his face almost in awe. "No, it's not that. I'm just... Surpised, is all."

I stand up and turn away from the two of them. "We should get going," I say and I hear Abby give a small sigh. "We've sat around long enough. It shouldn't be too far to Eden. Do try and keep up."

I begin walking again, not caring to look behind me and make sure the two are following. It's not long before I feel a hand grab mine and I look over and see Abigail silently walking beside me. She looks to me and gives me a small smile while giving my hand a slight squeeze. She doesn't say anything, but her presence calms me. I squeeze her hand back as a thank you and look forward again.

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be walking side by side with two humans on our way to go see yet, more humans, I would have laughed in their faces. So much as happened since I first saw my blood sister in Old Chicago. So much as changed. I've changed. Presumably for the better, but I could also argue that I've gone soft. I can only imagine the teasing I'll get when I come across Allie again. I close my eyes for not the first nor last time that night and reach out to my blood sister. Except, something's different now.

I smirk and shake my head. Oh, of course. Now you leave Eden just as I'm trying to return to you. Perhaps our paths are going to cross much sooner than I realized. See you soon, sister. I look forward to it.