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Sunday, November 23, 2008

Crossroads5 - Incongruous

Crossroads
By Tina c.

Trevor ran a hand over his bare arm. It was the same spot where Tamlina’s spit had landed on his shirt. He felt ashamed of himself, he felt regret over what he had done and most of all he felt like there was no way out. No hope for someone like him. He had killed. It had not been his choice, but he had still been the one to drain those bodies of blood. He could still feel his victims inside of him, their feelings pumping through his veins. Ghosts of past sins.

He shook his head and pulled on a clean shirt.

Seth had broken up the fight and sent the murderous Tamlina Gray back to her room, but that hardly made Trevor feel more at ease. He looked down at the floor, not seeing the shady carpet, only the denial of who he really was…all he could see was the past.

****

Daniel H. Harris threw down a handful of change onto the countertop and waited impatiently for the waitress to pour him a coffee.

“Black.” He repeated loud enough for her to hear over the music.

She sent him a small smile laced with annoyance. “Yes, sir.”

She brought him a steaming cup, the smell making his empty stomach rumble. The red haired waitress raised an eyebrow.

“Did you want something to eat?” She asked doubtfully, eyeing the small pile of mixed change on the counter top.

Daniel took a sip of the hot liquid and relaxed. “No, this is fine.” He replied curtly.

****

Trevor sat on the edge of his bed, arms straight at his sides. This was a disaster, coming to the monastery. He shook his head and wondered what he could have possibly been thinking the night he agreed to let the werewolf protect him. This was not protection. He was being imprisoned on the same acre as a foaming-at-the-mouth vampire hunter. The young man rolled his eyes, forcing his betrayal beneath the surface. He could deal with it later, once he’d found a way to escape the hunter.

It would only be a matter of time before she tried to kill him again. He had read the insanity in her eyes. The human girl was more of a monster than Trevor would ever become. She had no soul, no remorse, no guilt. He felt certain of this and it frightened him.

His hands clenched around the light blue bedspread beneath him, twisting the fabric. He had wanted so badly for this sanctuary to be real, for the promises to be kept. He shook his head. No one ever kept their word.

Trevor looked out the window to the sky that no longer cried.

****

A blond haired woman entered the restaurant. She wore a scarf over her head, it was tied neatly beneath her chin and matched her purple dress. She had a string of pearls around her neck and large, black sunglasses covering most of her face. She had on high heels, purple gloves and a small purse. She looked monstrously out of place in that shady little diner. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of frying bacon as she made her way over to Daniel. He barely spared the woman a glance dwelling instead on the dark liquid inside his coffee cup. She took the seat next to his and waved away the waitress with an impatient flick of her wrist.

“You’re late.” The woman spoke first.

Daniel took another drink of his coffee. “So what. I made it didn’t I?”

“The others want a full report.”

“Marisa O’Connell. Did you really think I would Welch on this mission?” There was real humor in Daniel’s words.

The woman flinched at the use of her name and checked discreetly to be sure it had not been overheard. Her expression iced over.

“You should be more careful, Daniel Harris.” She replied coldly. “You never know who might be listening.”

He smirked and took another drink. “No, you don’t. And that’s H. Harris, thank you very much.”

“Report. I don’t have all day to listen to this.” She urged him.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. “Why the hurry? The leaders don’t meet until sundown.”

Marisa pushed back a bit in her seat eyes widening in shock. “You truly don’t understand the value of being discreet do you?”

“No. Now, as for the report.” Daniel reached into his jacket pocket, could not locate what he was searching for and moved to his pants pockets.

“Lose something?” Marisa asked snidely.

“The report…is right here.” Daniel finished in relief as he located the mini-tape that he had used to record his oral report. He handed it to the woman under the shield of the counter. She took it, readjusted her glasses and stood.

“Until next week.” Without having once looked at him, Marissa O’Connell walked back out the restaurant door.

Daniel watched her go with a self-righteous grin. He knew that she was not a real Reformer. She was in it for the money and nothing else. Daniel abhorred the woman and all the other Reformers like her, they were not true to the cause. Not like him.

****

Tamlina paced across the length of her quarters. This was ridiculous! Seth, her friend and ally, was harboring murderous vampires in the monastery. She gritted her teeth in anger and tried to think of some way she might have misunderstood. There had to be an explanation, but Seth had not given any and she could not see any on her own. That boy was a vampire. He had killed, he had admitted as much to her and now Seth expected them to live together in peace.

Tamlina Gray shook her head, long blond locks swaying at the movement. This was not right.

****

“I would appreciate it if you would talk to the boy.” Seth said to Jade Suon.

The Asian vampire ran a hand over her eyebrows. “This will not be easy.” She admitted softly.

“Just do your best, dear.” Her grandmother’s ghost spoke up from a corner of the room. “I’ll be there with you.”

“I’ll try.” Jade promised them both with a grim smile. “Where’s his room?”

****

Trevor heard a knock on the door, he bowed his head.

“Trevor? My name is Jade Suon.” A woman’s voice called through the door.

Trevor Snow ignored the woman. The last thing he wanted was visitors. What could they say that could possibly change what was happening to him - what had happened to him. He closed his eyes against the guilt that assailed him at every mental turn. Those people he had killed would never leave him.

“I know what it’s like.” The woman spoke softly, confessing. “I’m a vampire too, Trevor.”

He looked up then, his eyes focused desperately on the door. He had thought he was alone, but maybe Seth did know what he was doing after all. Trevor stood to his feet and took a step towards the door before hesitating.

****

Jade Suon heard his footsteps, felt the tension in the room beyond and promptly frowned. This was not acceptable. For a young man to be forced into isolation by the very injury that had victimized him sent shivers down her spine. She wanted so badly to have never been turned. To understand so completely what this boy was going through left her hungry. She had noticed a connection between heightened emotional states and her cravings for blood. What it meant, she was unsure, but if Trevor Snow was feeling half of the things she did, Jade feared for his innocence. Broken though it may have been - stained by the blood of humans.

“This is not your fault, Trevor.” Jade said. “You could not have understood what was happening when you killed those people. You had no way of knowing - there’s no reason to feel guilty.”

While this was not true it did get the boy moving again. She heard him approach the door and then it opened, swinging inward. He stared at her, hope sparkling dimly in his dark eyes.

“Can you help me?” He asked openly.

She smiled. “I will do everything that I can for you. May I come in?”

He nodded and stood a bit to the side to afford her entrance. She looked around the bare room with a quick glance. This had not been what she expected. Seth had put him in a room devoid of any furniture, save a bed and dresser. Jade’s smile turned to a frown. If the werewolf was making some kind of statement then Jade wanted to know why. This boy had done nothing beyond his nature, twisted though it may seem to most.

Trevor watched her scan the room. “What is it?”

She turned to him. “How long have you been here?”

She felt a vague suspicion that she would not enjoy the answer. Seth had not told her about the boy before that morning. Why had he hidden the existence of another fresh vampire in the monastery. Jade knew that she and Seth would have a long talk that afternoon and she would get answers.

“I think that you might feel more comfortable in my quarters.” She said in reply. “They’re just down the hall and more…spacious. There’s coffee.” She added unnesarily as an enticement.

The boy looked out the open doorway fearfully and then back at Jade. “Is that girl still out there? Tamlina Gray?”

Jade’s heart went out to the boy at his obvious fear. She could smell true terror in the room. A dark shadow fell over her soul. This was wrong. Trevor should not be forced to live in a cell, isolated and terrified by the threat of execution. She walked over to the boy and put an arm over his shoulders.

“I will keep you safe, come with me.”

With that, Trevor allowed himself to be lead out of the room and down the hall, across the small flight of stairs and through the doorway that lead to the large, four room quarters she had been given.

“Home sweet home.” Grandma Gray’s translucent visage spoke up as the two vampires entered the room.

****

Trevor took a sip of his coffee. He stared at the white apparition seemingly sitting across from him. He took another, longer sip of his coffee.

“Is she real?” He asked finally, disconcerted by the old woman’s stare.

Jade chuckled, pouring herself a cup of the hot liquid. “Of course she’s real. You act like you’ve never seen a ghost before.”

Trevor shook his head. “I haven’t. Well, not that I know of, anyway.”

Jade took a seat next to her Grandmother’s dead spirit and gave Trevor a quick smile. “She’s harmless. A little bossy sometimes.” The coffee cup jumped in Jade’s hands, but she was quick and was able to keep it balanced without spilling so much as a drop. “And mischievous when she has a mind.”

Trevor felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He still felt unnerved by the old woman’s presence. He rubbed his arm for the second time, that same spot where Tamlina had spit, showing all of her hatred and anger. He took another sip of the hot drink.

“Does she always have to be around?” He asked, pointing at the Grandmother.

“I’m sitting right here, you know, young man.” Gray muttered, crossing her arms in an offended fashion. “No respect these days, not even for the dead like me.”

“Calm down, Grandmother.” Jade interrupted before a monologue could be born. “Trevor has a point, why are you here? You don’t need to be and I’d much rather talk to him alone if you don’t mind.”

“If that’s what you want then that’s what you want.” Violet muttered with a hurt wince. “I’ll leave you to it then. Boy.” She nodded in his direction and promptly disappeared.

Trevor glanced about just to be sure that she was really gone and once satisfied that this was the case, he relaxed marginally. She had freaked him out more than somewhat. Trevor held the warm coffee mug in both hands trying to wish the warmth back into his body. It seemed like ages since he had been properly warm.

“Is there a reason for us?” He asked suddenly, softly.

Jade’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand your question.”

“Vampires. Is there a reason for us? Do you know where we came from - what started this?” He asked.

“Ah. The origins of the vampire legend are up for debate, but many think that it began in the story of human.”

“A human?” Trevor asked confused.

Jade smiled over at him and took a drink. “Well, now that I am more attuned to the subtleties of our reality, I doubt very much that this man was a human. Perhaps he had been bitten like us.”

“So it’s true?” Trevor leaned forward in his seat, gaze intensifying. “The stories that I had heard about vampires who were born and not bitten.”

“Yes.” Jade nodded. “It’s true. Some are born with this and no one, not even occultist historians and supernatural experts, are certain of the ‘why’. It is not genetic, that much we’ve been able to prove.”

“You sound like an expert.” Trevor noted. “When you were human did you -.”

“No.” She cut him off abruptly. Her focus wavered momentarily as she tried not to picture the apartment she had so loved and ultimately lost. It still hurt to picture those heavy drapes, the cozy kitchenette and the cold rug. She missed her old life so badly sometimes.

“Are you alright, Mrs. Suon?”

Jade pulled herself out of the daydream and realized that she was gripping her coffee cup almost too tightly. Fractures were starting around the rim. She relaxed her hands and shot the boy a reassuring nod. It took her a few moments longer to find her voice.

“I’m fine. There’s just.” She paused. If anyone could understand and empathize with her plight, it would be the young man across the table. She decided to be frank. “I miss things. Places. People even. I miss it all so much that it hurts.”

Trevor felt his throat close up painfully, choked by emotions that he wanted so badly not to feel. She knew what if felt like to be going through what he experienced each day. To wake up every morning and know that there would be no family, no friends, no home and no hope. He reached across the table, his outstretched hands stopping just shy of her splayed palm.

“I know what you mean.” The nineteen year old said. “I feel it all the time. It’s good to know that I’m not alone.”

Jade erased the distance separating them and took his hand in her own, grasping it firmly. She looked him in the eye.

“We will make it through this, Trevor. The curse will not break our spirits and it will not choose our destiny.”

He smiled softly. “Strong words.” The smile faltered. “We’ll see.”

****

Seth knocked on the door to Tamlina Gray’s room. He could hear her rustling around inside and he felt concern for her and for his other charges well up inside. He needed to know that the girl would not endanger the others. There was already so much inherent danger with the idea of the monastery. He did not desire more conflict.

“It is Seth.”

“Go away.”

He sighed heavily and leaned his tall, furred frame against the wooden door. He would not leave until satisfied that her grudge would not turn homicidal.

“I need to speak with you. May I come in, please.”

“No. Go away!”

Something hard hit the door with a resounding thud and Seth stepped back a foot. There was a dent in the wood and he could only imagine how bad it looked on the other side.

“Damaging your door is not going to make me go away.” He informed her sternly. “I need to speak with you about Trevor Snow, the vampire that you attacked earlier today.”

There was a suspicious absence of noise from inside the room and then the door was being flung open. Tamlina Gray stood just inside the doorway, chest heaving, eyes glaring. She pointed an accusing finger at Seth.

“You knew that thing was here and you didn’t warn me. It could have killed me and I had no way of defending myself.”

“Come now, Tamlina, you know that’s not true.” Seth argued.

“Perhaps.” She consented without giving an inch of her disgust. “I am not going to stay in a place that I don’t feel welcomed or appreciated or safe!”

With that she slammed the door so hard dust fell from the hallway ceiling and peppered Seth’s red facial fur. He shook his head, sparking a cloud of gray. This would be more difficult than he had first assumed. If she persisted with this destructive behavior he might be forced to exorcise her from the monastery. That was a last option, in his view.

“You are both safe and welcomed here.” Seth did not add the ‘for now’ that lurked on the tip of his tongue. “Please, I would only like to speak about what happened earlier between you and Trevor.”

*****

Tamlina froze, her blood going cold. That man, that werewolf, that thing wanted her to sit down and calmly discuss the fact that she had been betrayed by a friend. She shook her head. This was not going to happen. She had a job to do - the Teachers had trained her well. The vampire needed to die.

“Fine.” Her concession was anything but fueled by good intentions. “Come in and talk.” She spit out the last word bitterly.

The werewolf entered cautiously, his gaze flashing between her and the weapons spread out on the bed. It was her own personal stash that she had snuck in under the cover of night those first few hours. She stood protectively between Seth and the bed. If he so much as tried to take them away from her there would be a fight. Perhaps sensing this, Seth calmly took a seat in the corner of the room. Tamlina stayed standing, watching him.

“So talk.” She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Seth sighed heavily and rubbed a claw across his forehead. “I would first like to apologize for the way that I have treated this situation so far. You have lost your family and I understand how you might feel that I let you down in some way by harboring vampires here.”

“Vampires?” Tamlina asked in shock. “There is more than one?”

Seth nodded. “Yes, but that is not your concern. They are not a danger to anyone and I will see that it stays that way. They are only trying to survive.”

Tamlina ran her tongue over dry lips as she tried to wrap her head around the information she had just learned. “You’ve been shielding murderers, Seth? Here of all places?”

“It’s not what you think, Tamlina.” He defended himself. “I do not allow just anyone here…only those that I truly believe can be helped. Not all vampires are murderers.”

“Trevor said-.”

“Trevor Snow is an exception.” Seth interrupted. “He had no control over his actions.”

Tamlina snorted. “Yeah, I’ll accept that excuse when pigs fly!”

“It is true. He was awakened from the grave years after being staked to his body. He had no knowledge of what he had become and his starving body took over. It was a rare situation.”

Tamlina studied the werewolf critically. “Someone woke him up?” She asked.

“Yes.” Seth sighed again, his shoulders falling. “There is a new group, growing stronger by the month. They are called the Reformers and they have been freeing vampires.”

Tamlina’s first thought was for her family. She tensed.

“Your family is safe for now, I have been keeping watch.” Seth assured her, sensing her distress. “They will remain asleep in their graves for as long as I can help to keep them there. It is safe here, just as I promised, Tamlina. I have kept this a sanctuary for over a hundred years and this is not our first dealings with the Reformers. We have safety measures.”

“I don’t care. I want my family and I out of here and somewhere hidden today.” Tamlina demanded. “I need to know that I’m not going to get bitten in the middle of the night by a rabid vampire running loose on the grounds.”

“You won’t. You have my word that it won’t happen.” Seth said, holding a paw over his heart.

“That’s not good enough. I’m leaving.” Tamlina began stuffing the weapons in her coat pockets. She was determined to find someplace safe - she knew of several haunts that vampires would not dare to tread. She also knew that werewolves could not find them. Human access alone allowed her the safety she would need. Once all the weapons were concealed she walked to the door.

“Don’t try to follow me, Seth.” She warned in a low tone and then she walked away without a backward glance or hesitation.

Seth watched her go a concerned frown wrinkling his face. He twirled the ends of his red hair with a paw. This was not good.

THE END

2 comments:

TLC's said...

Very Good. I had a great time reading this. Loved it. Keep up the good work. TTYL
Luv U!

Ebbtide said...

:D Thank you!! Glad that you enjoyed reading it. :D. Because I am so pressed for time on the rest of novel...meeting the deadline and all..the writing is going to decrease in splendid-ness. :P. And increase in length. Once I'm finished - BEFORE the deadline - I'll be able to go back and make I sound pretty. For right now I'm just trying to meet my word quota