"Wake up Em..."
Sleep kept its claws deeply sunk into my consciousness, preventing any clarity to pull me out of it. "Emma? We have to hurry! Shit! Wake up Emma!"
I think that I can hear the faint sound of sirens blaring somewhere far, far away from this darkness. "If you're doing this to spite me it isn't funny!"
The claws sink in deeper into my mind until it feels like something is sucking away my ability to control myself. "I'm going to slap you now, so if you're fucking with me it better be worth it!"
A sharp pain suddenly explodes on my left cheek and I feel my head crack to the side. "Oh my gosh that was so fun!" A familiar voice gushes, and I can actually hear hands clapping now. Sleep is gradually losing its ferocious hold on me, but I'm completely ripped out of it when a second slap on my right cheek now throws my head to the other side. I groan and peel my eyelids open, staring groggily ahead as the drowsiness leaves me. Caleb's smiling face is uncomfortably close to mine. I jolt upright in my seat and tug at the restraints.
Then, a huge smile takes over my features. "DUDE!"
"QUEEN!" He exclaims back, raising his hand for a high five. I glare at him and he lowers his hand, snickering. In an efficient tug, he's freed my limbs from the restraints and pulled me up into a bone-crushing hug. "You smell like shit," he declares.
"I haven't showered in forever," I remind him. But relief fills my every sense, and I continue poking and touching him, just to make sure that he's really there.
"Stop that."
"Where are the others?"
"Hunter is currently ripping two dozen heads off down in the base, while Dominic cackles evilly. It's quite funny actually." At the mention of Hunter, my stomach erupts in butterflies, and I slap myself mentally. Stop acting like a lovesick schoolgirl! "Okay," Caleb says suddenly, and the confused frown on his face makes me tense up. He points to the bowl behind me. "What the hell is that?" I turn around and instinctively take a step back at the sight of that same shadow that the witch had conjured to suck up some of my humanity slowly unravelling itself from the confinement of the smooth glass. I grip Caleb's arm and together we begin to back away towards the gap in the floor that will lead us down to the others.
"Gabriel's creepy witch created it to take away my humanity, but it didn't end up taking all of it. I think it's hungry again," I whisper, watching as the dark shadow slowly spills over the border of the bowl and begins to snake its way towards us like a vicious serpent.
"Who the hell is Gabriel? And why would he want to take your humanity away?"
"Long story," I reply quickly. "I'll explain later." As if someone lit fire to his arse Caleb soars down the stairs while gripping my hand tight, which nearly causes me to facepalm three times in a row. "Calm - down -" I wheeze as we near the bottom. I stop short which jerks Caleb back abruptly towards me. He glares at me as he regains balance, but when he sees my wide eyes his features soften into a compassionate expression. All around us in the smooth, metal-covered halls are splatters of fresh blood and more of that haunting liquid pooling from headless corpses. My stomach tightens at the sight.
"When did you last feed?" Caleb whispers, and I shake my head at him.
"I don't know. They cut my arms to get more blood for the snake thing, but I never fed after that either." As if on cue I begin to sway and black spots cloud my vision. "Oh God..." I let out, just as my legs give in under me. I feel Caleb's quick reaction as he slides his hands under my legs and behind my back.
"Don't worry Em, I got you."
And then everything goes black.
...°...
When I open my eyes, the first thing I feel is the flutter of my heart as a familiar touch strokes my still hand by my side. I must be lying on a bed, judging from the soft mattress feeling beneath me. I groan and slowly push myself upright, and when Hunter notices that I'm moving he quickly places a strong hand on my back and helps me to sit up completely. "Hi," I breathe, taking in the sudden light that appears in his dark eyes, filling me with yearning and... love.
"Hi," he whispers back, bringing his hand up to gently place a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I lean into his touch, closing my eyes. When I open them again he's watching me with the kind of look that warms you from the inside out, melting your resolve and baring your soul. "You've been out for a while," he states, continuously stroking my cheek. I bring my own hand up to cover his, and that's when I notice the little tube that's been attached to my hand. Blood courses through the tube and if I look closely enough, I can see it coursing through my hungry veins beneath pale skin. I fully look around and notice that we're inside a small tent, barely lit up by a swinging gas lamp, and that I'm actually lying on a cot of sorts.
"Who-" I begin, but I'm cut off short by the zipper of the tent being roughly jerked up. I freeze up when Lily steps into the tent, a stern look on her face. She comes over to my side without a word, carrying a bag, and sets it down next to my cot. Hunter doesn't comment on her entrance but merely continues to watch my face with relief. My eyes stay focused on Lily's every move as she brings out supplies and begins checking the tube that's attached to the blood bag. She not-so-gently yanks the tube from my hand, and I wince at the short discomfort.
"I haven't seen you in a while," she states coolly, setting the tube back into the bag.
"Missed you too," I deadpan, remaining stoic in expression when she turns to glare at me. Hunter shifts uncomfortably in his crouched position by my cot and takes my hand.
"Well, this is all very interesting, but I'm going to bring Emma to see her sister now." Without another word, he pulls me up from the cot and guides me out of the tent. It's fully dark outside as night has settled in, and the little camp has been set up under the cover of the dense trees. I notice that my smelly clothes from Gabriel's base have been discarded, and instead I'm wearing simple sweatpants and a cotton tee-shirt. I find my fellow converse by the tent and hurriedly tie them up, before joining Hunter's side again who's been patiently waiting.
"What's wrong with my sister?" I ask with concern, that feeling only growing stronger when Hunter's eyes fleet away from mine as he avoids my stare. His lips thin into a small line before he sighs.
"You won't like it," he says simply, "At all." Fear for my sister's wellbeing knots in my stomach, and I feel like I've taken a punch to the gut.
"Is Chase with her at least?"
"He has been since the start," Hunter replies. I frown. Since the start of what? Before I can ask that he zips open another tent that we've walked towards and swiftly slides inside. I do the same, but when I see what's inside of the tent, I gasp and stop short. Alice is lying on a cot similar to mine with Chase cradling her head by his shoulder, but she's drinking something. Something incredibly familiar. Her skin is horrifyingly pale and her hair is matted to the forehead with sweat as if she's been to Hell and back. My dear big sister.
"You're drinking blood," I whisper, just as she focuses two hungry, red eyes at me. It's like my world comes crashing down, sending splinter after splinter flying into my heart. Vampire Alice completely ignores me, fully focused on engulfing as much blood as she can from that little, plastic blood bag. Chase lifts two sorry eyes to meet mine but doesn't say anything.
"When we were at the cabin she was badly hurt, so I had to heal her with my blood," Lily says evenly as she comes into the tent behind Hunter and I. "After that-"
"She died," I finish, voice coming out as barely a whisper. "How?"
"During the attack by the Elite, she was pushed down the stairs and broke her neck," Chase whispers, watching his beloved with a fierce protectiveness shining in his eyes. "She Turned quickly since the vampire blood was still fresh in her system."
"How come no one told me?" I ask, sterner this time. I feel Hunter place a comforting hand in the small of my back, but no amount of love can make me overcome this. I would never have wished this on her. She wanted a family, and even though Chase might be the love of her life, she would have wanted kids at some point, an ordinary life. But now she's stuck at the same age for the rest of eternity. The only good part about this is Chase. I look at his soft features and tell myself to calm down when I see the tears brimming in his eyes. He didn't want this for her either.
"No one knew," Hunter fills in when Chase can't bring himself to speak again.
"So how did you find out?"
"Dominic walked in on her trying to attack Julia and restrained her. She had just woken up and was ravaged by the thirst for blood."
"Where are Dominic and Julia now?" I ask, trying suddenly to differ the subject at the sight of Chase's face becoming more and more pained. I turn to face Hunter and he smirks, hiding something behind those beautiful features of his. "What?"
"I'm not sure, but they tracked down the base together and well, they're still together somewhere now." I shake my head with a sigh as Hunter's mischievous smirk grows wider.
How the hell did those two happen?
...°...
A/N: Hehehehehe *cackles evilly*
HOW DID YOU LIKE THAT?
I'm so pissed because I thought that I'd updated this chapter a week ago but I just discovered that I obviously didn't. So that's a bit crappy.
-xoxo, Sophia