Wednesday 31 July 2013

Chapter 34 - Unexpected

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The silence accompanying the pictures at the bottom is intentional. I did have writer's block, but that's not the reason for it. The last scene will be addressed in the next chapter.
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(Other side of the world)
Greenwich
19.45 pm

Chadd walked over to the house clad in the dark orange hue of the disappearing sun. This was the 3rd time he came here; reliving the memories of when he lived there with his family. Those were the simple times when they didn't have a care in the world; just his parents and him and later the joy of a baby sister. His face lit up at the thought of her. He remembered her little round face that made you love her at first sight. The golden threads that made up her hair as it caressed the side of her face… He could still see the high noon sun reflect upon those beautiful curls. What he wouldn't give to see her bathed in the warm sun again…

A little girl's voice made Chadd look up. For a minute there he thought he had imagined it, but it sounded again and drew him closer to the house. There were two of them running around in the yard and he frowned. The last time he was here was over 4 months ago, but it was still empty then. Chadd quickly moved out of view and watched them play.
'Nikki, not so fast!', the little one yelled at what Chadd assumed was her sister. It brought a smile on his face when he remembered  playing with his sister in that same yard.

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Greenwich
25 years ago
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'Horsey', the little girl in pink giggled at a younger version of Chadd.
'Yes, horse. Mommy bought it for you; Wanna ride?'
She hurriedly shook her head. 'Horsey bad!'
'No, horsey not bad. I'll be here with you, okay? Don't be afraid', Chadd soothed the toddler. She still looked at it with fear in her eyes, but allowed her brother to put her on the horse. The minute she realized the horse moved when she did, she pulled on the handles and swung back and forth.

'Horsey! Horsey! Horsey!'. Chadd watched his baby sister as she grew  more comfortable on the spring horse. It made a squeaky noise with every move she made and he made a mental note to oil it later. He stepped back to take a picture of her as she played, but it was as if she felt that he wasn't at her side anymore. She became unsure again and looking behind her, lost her balance and fell on the ground.
Chadd was at her side immediately. 'Are you alright?', She brushed the dirt off her dress and looked as if she was getting ready to cry. With her hands balled up into little fists, she rubbed her eyes. 'Lotte, are you hurt?', Chadd turned her arms around checking for bruises, when she smiled a big, four toothed smile.

'Why you little--', Chadd picked her up and tickled her silly. 'No, Chadd', she managed in between giggles as she threw her little arms around her brother's neck. 'I love you, little Lottie'. Their mother's voice sounded from the house telling them to come in for lunch. The sound of his mother's voice made Chadd so emotional it was becoming unpleasant. It had been a long time since he last heard it. He waited for the second call. She always had to call them a second time before they would go inside and sure enough, she did. 'Chadd, Lottie! Inside now or you won't get to play outside tomorrow!'
'Yes mom!', they answered as young Chadd carried his sister inside; her arms still around his neck.

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Greenwich
Present
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'Nicole, Tiffany! Dinner's ready! Come wash your hands'
The sound of the unfamiliar voice brought Chadd back to the present. The girls were on the swings now; the one he helped his father build. Chadd couldn't believe they were still intact. 'Alright mommy!', the little one yelled as she jumped off the still swaying swing and went inside. The teenager lingered a bit longer before joining her sister.

'Excellent choice Chadd! I bet they must be tender and sweet! Which one were you after- the teenager or the little one?'.The raw predator voice behind him and the things he suggested made Chadd's stomach turn. Deveraux nudged Chadd's shoulder when he didn't answer.
'What do you want Deveraux?'
'I'm never too busy to steal your next meal. And by the looks of it I hit the jackpot!', he glanced towards the house again. Chadd noticed a dangerous gleam in his eyes and he feared for the girls the longer he stood there. 'Let's get out of here'

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Warehouse Hideout

Alex was out for little over half an hour. Her head was throbbing and so was her neck. She rubbed her sore neck and tried to recognize her surroundings. 'The warehouse… how did I get here?' Flashes of a confrontation with Kat and Charlotte came to mind; along with an alley and Chase or more importantly Chase's hands on her throat. Anger and hurt merged together in her mind and she searched the room for the cause, but it was as empty as she felt. She couldn't go back to HQ; Chase had left. In just one night she had lost everything. Alex felt tears well up behind her eyes. She knew she was playing a dangerous game the moment she got involved with a vampire and knew this would happen eventually, but now that it had, it was still a bitter pill to swallow.

She got off the bed and for the first time, albeit through misty eyes, really acknowledged the room she was in. It had a bed, a cramped up bath and an emergency fridge. It wasn't ideal, but it beat living in her car. With this she would at least have a roof above her head until she found better accommodations. It was a guess from the beginning that that was a bathroom since she'd never been in there; but hoping to find a sink to splash some water on her heated face, Alex walked to the door. No sooner had she put her hand on the door knob, a loud growl shivered her flesh. It came from outside.

Leaning against the wall next to the front door; her hunter instincts kicking in, temporarily removing the fear. Alex heard some heavy footsteps on the other side of the door; moving back and forth. They were inconsistent and fast moving. Then something slammed into the wall she was leaning against and Alex saw bits and pieces of brick crumble from the force of it. A vicious snarl sounded, followed by a pained groan before something once again was slammed into the wall. Alex closed her eyes and send up a quick prayer to help her survive this. Whatever was out there wasn't taking any prisoners. She looked around the room trying to form an escape plan, but the only exit was the door next to her. Alex searched her clothes for her firearm, but it was gone. She felt inside her boot and thankfully her knife was still there. Gripping it tight, she listened to the commotion outside.

After what seemed like a long time, the fight ceased. Alex heard voices, but because of the snarling, she couldn't make out what they were saying. She moved away from the wall and listened against the door, hoping to hear better. The door suddenly swung open, knocking her backwards. She stumbled a little before throwing her knife at whoever came through.
'Again with the knife', she heard that oh so familiar voice when he flung the knife in the other direction. A wave of relieve and happiness swept through her at the sound of Chase's voice, but it didn't last very long. Everything Charlotte and Kat said came back full throttle along with her anger.

Alex swung her leg up making Chase duck. 'You fucking used me!', Alex screamed in between kicks. Her voice was laced with as much disgust and loathing she could muster up. 'All those times I've been second-guessing why those vampires were in the basement. Considering letting them out... That was you, wasn't it? WASN'T?!'

'… and you've JUST noticed that? How?', he mocked, 'Been talking to one of your hunter friends, hmm! You knew that I was capable of entering your mind the minute I sent you those images of you writhing beneath me. Did you think it was all I could do? That my sole purpose was to make you feel good?', Chase grabbed her swinging leg and twisted it enough to make her drop to the floor before pulling her to him. 'I am the right hand man of an elite vampire. You are a hunter... Didn't it ever cross your mind that maybe I'd received orders to get you to release our men? Calum thinks you're weak, now tell me Alex... if you're that weak, wouldn't you have done it already?'

All those unexplained headaches she'd been having; all along it had been Chase trying to manipulate her. She was in danger all this time when she thought she had something good. Only now did Alex realize how careless she was following him into that alley earlier. He could've killed her and no one would know; buried her in some wilderness never to be found… yet he didn't. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't had any headaches for a while now too. 'Why did you stop?'
'What?'
'Probing my mind. I haven't had a headache in a week, so you stopped. Why? If it was an order from your boss, why aren't you carrying it through?' Chase smiled at her little brain putting 2 and 2 together, 'And in the alley. If you thought that I had set you up with my friends, why didn't you kill me?'

'Because I love you'

'Is that what you want to hear Alex? That I'm in love with you? Will it make it all better for you?', Chase mocked letting her go. 'That's not what I…', Alex voice faltered, not yet over the shock he just gave her.
'Sure it is!', Chase scoffed, 'Those words have crossed your mind because you can't make out what to call 'this' that we have. Let me help you with that. I stopped probing your mind because I don't always do what Calum asks of me. I already have a master and he's not it. Secondly, I didn't kill you in that alley, because I don't want your little hunter friends to hunt me down. I'd be the first they came after, after they saw us together earlier. But most importantly, I didn't want to lose a good meal source; that's you!! So there you have it'

'A meal source you have feelings for', Alex got a bit brave and stood up from the ground.
'You're really gonna run that 'feelings' thing into the ground aren't you?', Chase chuckled, giving Alex a good view of his protruding fangs.
'It's all I have right now', Alex quietly admitted. 'So you don't have feelings for me?', she asked a little louder, speaking directly to him although he had heard the previous too.
'I have feelings alright', Chase said flashing his fangs again, 'Feelings of a base and animalistic nature. But you can't explain those feelings… oh no, they need to be experienced' He blinked to where she stood and without much effort lifted her and dropped her on the bed. '…and I have worked up quite an appetite'

Alex didn't even flinch when he moved on top of her and sank his fangs into her neck. There wasn't any sexual pre-bite foreplay this time, just raw predator-like feeding; just like the night they first met… when all of this started. If she had been strong then, none of this would've happened and she'd still be a hunter. Alex thought back on every time they met. She had developed feelings for him… feelings he didn't return...Yet - She sighed. His actions told her there was more to this than just blood and sex. Those two were ever present whenever they met, but she refused to believe that that was all this was. No, he feels something. He's just too damn proud to admit it… The thought warmed her inside.

Her life as a hunter was over. No more hiding, no more sneaking around. She could be with Chase now and one way or another she would get him to admit that he cares for her… Maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but someday. Alex sighed again and listened to the low grunts coming from Chase as he feasted on her blood. For a moment she wondered how it tasted. Sure, she cut her finger more than once and tasted her own blood, but what was it like to him? What was so appealing? Thinking about it, she got a sudden urge to bite him and turned her face to his, capturing his earlobe between her teeth.

Biting on it hard she broke through the skin and felt a warm liquid fill her mouth and then slide down her throat. She didn't know why she expected it to be different and was disappointed it had the same metallic taste as her own blood. So vampire blood was pretty much the same as huma… Alex gagged. Chase who had looked up immediately after feeling his ear rip watched as she made a series of gag reflexes before clutching her throat. 'What have you done?!', he whispered.

'What is happening? It burns! My throat, it burns', Alex panicked.
'Shit! Breathe Alex, just breathe!', Chase started to panic as well. She drank his blood, while he was draining hers. That would be sufficient enough to count as an exchange. 'Shit, Alex!', Chase shoved one of his fingers down her throat. It was no use. She was already gagging with nothing coming up. It was too late… she was in transition…

'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!', Chase bellowed and started pacing the room. This isn't happening… this can't be happening. He touched his ear, the place she bit. It was already healing, but he could make out the size of the bite. That wouldn't give enough blood… He looked at Alex now writhing on the bed. She got enough blood to start the transition, but more would be needed to finish it. Hoping the little bit she had would pass out of her system, he got back to the bed and held her down. Just pass through… Just fucking pass through… he silently prayed. 'Come on Alex, you can do this! Just breathe' …Pass through…

'She can do what exactly?', Calum growled at Chase.
'Master Ca…'
'I told you to get rid of her a long time ago. And here she is – Alive and becoming a vampire. What a glorious day'. The sarcasm was dripping from his words like venom. Alex screamed as the burning went from her throat to her stomach. She could literally feel every drop of Chase' blood burning a path through her insides. The scream was for the pain, but the fear in her eyes was for the the Elite vampire. The moment the sound escaped from her lips Calum turned his head and stalked towards her; making Chase jump off the bed. Scraping his bare back against the wall, Chase slowly moved away from the scene in front of him.

The sound of her screaming was hurting his ears like nails scraping on a blackboard. Criiiiiiiiiiiiii. Calum didn't waste any time in snapping her neck. The cracking sound echoed in the room and then… silence… He let go of her and watched as her lifeless body fell back on the bed in an unnatural way. Due to the intensity of the transition her green eyes had turned hazy, showing almost no color at all. They made her corpse seem even creepier. Not that the sight of it would have any effect on an Elite vampire. Calum growled and turned towards Chase once more. 'Do you have any idea—'

Chase was no fool. He knew that female vampires were prohibited and here he almost created one. As soon as Calum was 'taking care' of the situation, he bolted from the place. No one he knew had ever slipped up with a female before, so he didn't know what would happen to him. Calum snarled at the fact that he didn't even sense that Chase was planning to make a run for it. Taking Alex' cell phone off the table he made a quick call. 'We have a situation and I need you to clean it up'. He gave the coordinates of the place and the job that needed to be done. 'Do I sound like I care about any of that? Just get it done!', Calum sighed at the string of questions that kept on coming.

'She's a hunter. Make it look like an accident. I will NOT tell you again!'. With that he crushed the phone between his fingers; taking care to destroy the sim-card as well. He opened the lid to the fireplace and threw the pieces into the fire. Tracing her cell would be impossible for the other hunters now, so the chance that they'd show up before the clean up were reduced to zero.

Calum was about ready to leave the area when a sudden gust of wind blew against the window. He could hear it just as clear as if he was standing outside. Another violent gust of wind and then nothing. The pressure in the air dropped and the wind ceased to blow. 'Shit!', his voice no louder than a whisper. He walked to the window and looked up into the night sky with its stars covered by heavy clouds promising nothing good. The highest trees two streets away from where he was, were suddenly bend over by the force of the wind as it did a complete turn-around and started blowing in the other direction. The hairs on the back of Calum's neck stood up immediately. He knew this wind-change… He had experienced it once before— way back in time.

'Shit!'




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For the none-believers:


...it did happen!

24 comments:

  1. :O
    ...What?

    I... I don't even know what to say!

    Alex is dead? Chase is on the run from Calum? Who the hell is Chadd? What's with the tomb and the other eerie pictures at the end? What's Raven looking at in that last picture? What's the wind all about? Where has Calum seen the winds before (r felt it, might make more sense)? And... And... What the hell is about to happen?! :O

    ReplyDelete
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    1. What, 'what'?

      1. Yes, she's dead.
      2. Wouldn't you be after that????
      3. He's a guy missing his baby sister. (Anyone else missing someone lately??)
      4. Alex' transition/death surely had some consequences...
      5. Nothing per se. All the people in the pictures are looking in the same direction. Considering 'what/who' they are, I'm guessing they sensed the same thing as Calum...
      6. Hmmm, don't think I can answer that (yet)
      7. Now this I KNOW I can't answer!!

      Haha, thanks for getting confused Gemma! (mission accomplished!)

      Delete
    2. Ah, Missed one!

      5b.
      It's just a wind change Gem!

      Delete
  2. WHAT THE HELL?????

    Yep that's all I have to say. Um yeah what the hell???

    You fussed at me about short and a cliffy what the fuck do you call this???? HUH it's not answers I tell you that, not answers at all. Not even a little bit. Just shock and confusion.

    Yeah I'm gonna hit refresh now and see if the rest of this is posted yet.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Hell would be a semi-accurate word!

      I call this, let's see, hmm tension, lol. It wasn't reaaaaly a cliffy. See I had to take care of Alex since she was in the story longer than planned. She wasn't supposed to go further than chapter 6!!!! Yes, 6!!! Kinda threw me off a bit! When she gave herself a place in this story, however, it gave me the 'thing' I needed to give this war a jump-start. So, on your marks... get set...

      The end pictures are more or less for the next update, but since they all reacted to the same thing Calum did, I included them. They will be explained in the next chapter. That's why they don't have any words, lol!

      If at first you don't succeed...
      Anything yet??

      Delete
  3. So there's some new players huh? Chadd and Deveraux. I'm curious who they are and how they will play into the story! Chadd seems sweet and caring, Dev, not so much. I'm wondering if Chadd is perhaps even related to the person crawling out of that tomb. Perhaps Little Lotte is Queen of the Damned. Then again that was only 25 years ago so my imagination is just going nutso it would seem. Interesting just the same though :P they are looking for or found Raven though...

    Damn Chase. Damn Alex. I mean really Alex? Damn. I can understand the curiosity to a degree but she really didn't think that one through at all. And then Calum shows up just at that moment and she was gone. Damn. Damn, damn, DAMN! Poor Chase I know he's in a world of hurt right now because despite what he said he did care for Alex but besides that he's now Public Enemy #1 as far as Calum's concerned. Then again he said he had a master already and it wasn't Calum so maybe he's big bad is badder than Calum and he has nothing to fear after all.

    Something's coming. My guess would be the Queen of the Damned. Did she perhaps feel a new female vampire in the making and it woke her from her slumber? Very curious those pictures were! Very curious indeed!

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    1. Lol yeah Aaliyah :P but it would have been fun seeing Alex the not-so-great hunter turn into the automatic Queen of the Vampires being the only female and then killing them all!

      GASP! Chadd is Charlotte's brother. Aww he's still so sweet though :( and misses her. I understand she has a job to do but I mean damn, he doesn't seem so bad. No gray for her though huh? It's all black and white? Does she think he's dead then? From the way she "remembered" him it felt like she does. If she knew he was changed though I wonder why she just cut all ties (besides the hunter/vamp aspect of it) because Chadd feels really endearing to me :(

      Oooh I want to meet Chase's master. He sounds PIMP! I can't wait to see what's ahead for them all :D

      Delete
    2. Chadd, yes! Deveraux, no! He was seen in the Titanic flashback with Rosalie. He had a uniform and different hair then. He's pretty modern now, lol
      Chadd is related to someone you know, but not the Queen of the Damned (last I checked that was still Aaliyah), lol, there's no such thing.
      Take a quick look at Little Lottie's face and then think about what Lottie is short for... I'll leave you to it :) THERE! You've figured out who Chadd is!
      Interesting you're linking them with Raven. True to an extent!

      When has Alex been known for thinking things through??? I guess that little vamp-info-chat with Charlie flew out the window there. When a turning happens, all the Elite feel it. A woman's more so after what happened with the queen. No one wants a repeat of that! Calum felt and tracked her. That's how he knew where to go! Just like that... she was gone!

      Chase is in a tight spot now yes. Hurt because, like you said he did have feelings for her, and he bumped up to #1 on the hunter's list. He should've taken more care not to be seen with her...

      You caught that huh, no Calum is not his master. He's not worried about becoming Calum's enemy, but right there in that room WITH the Elite, he really was in danger, hence the fleeing! His master is far worse... Calum is a schoolboy compared to what he's capable of!!

      Something IS coming!
      The presence of a female vampire in the making is indeed the reason for the awakening. That's the pressure drop and wind change Calum was 'shit-ting' about! Not the Queen though, but Elite for sure!

      Delete
    3. Haha, Alex the automatic queen..........TRAGIC. She'd probably get caught in a tree on the flight or something!

      Chadd is Charlotte's brother yay! She believes him dead. She was young when he was attacked by vamps, the family even had a proper burial for him....
      His lifestyle had become too dangerous to be around his family, so he stayed away, letting them believe he died. He always comes back to his old house though and remembers...

      I don't know what Charlie will do if she finds out. Like you said, she doesn't know gray.... and I heard it has fifty shades! LOL
      In her line of work, their paths will cross eventually so we'll see....

      Do you now? You will, don't worry!
      Thanks Deej!

      Delete
  4. I'll just say...I hope Chapter 35 is not too far away :O

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    1. They say - Hope does living!
      Thanks Aeon! :)

      Delete
  5. Wow, my print is nice and big! I must've been having eyesight trouble the last time I read an update!

    WTF! NO!!!! You killed her.
    Please tell me she'd changed enuf.
    If not, I'm really mad.
    Chase does love her. He just has to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. *spacing out*

      Correction, Calum killed her.
      Nope, Chase's pulled back when she bit his ear, so enough to start the transition, but not enough to change her.
      I take it you're mad then :)

      Sorry Brooke

      Delete
  6. My comment would just kind of repeat what gemly & mypal said,
    Please don't be dead, Alex! Chase loves you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Out come all the none-believers.

      I'm sorry you were all attached to Chase and Alex. But it had to happen for the story to move on!

      Delete
  7. oh oh oh oh... holy gods that was wicked.
    I can believe Calum did that. I wonder what he let loose with killing a female in transition. I can't believe Chase took off. I understand why, but still.... wow... and his higher boss... hmmm
    Poor Alex.

    Great stuff....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't get it twisted, Calum is a cold bastard. Especially when it's something that's not in his favor.
      Chase was right in leaving. As much as he cares for Alex and this is partially his fault too. Calum would do God knows what to him and then where would this story be?

      Thanks Zhip!

      Delete
    2. I know he is, he definitely is. No misconceptions about that for me. ;)

      But I guess I will need to find out what he released in doing that act. I was surprised a bit that Chase fled, but not surprised. Self preservation and all. ^_^

      Delete
  8. JM,

    I read this ages ago and I'm still mad one word here Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo :(

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    1. Oh honey! I'm so sorry!
      You guys were really in it for Alex and Chase!

      :(

      Delete
  9. Oh what the hell!!!!!!
    Alex is gone, Chase has run off, Calum is an asshole( no real news there but did he really have to snap her neck!) there's new people I don't know, there's this tomb or some kind of underground place that I'm not sure what's going on!!!My brain can't take it all in!!

    At least Raven and Marina are still at least intact for the moment, but Raven looks like he's seeing something or maybe remembering or feeling something?...edenz~

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Just breathe in and out! In and out!

      Alex is gone, Chase is on the run and Calum is, well Calum! The tomb is more or less a reaction to what happened to Alex. Let's just say it's gotten a whole other ball rolling...

      For the moment.....
      Raven reacted to the tomb-situation, he is a vampire after all!

      Delete
  10. What?? No!! Alex is dead?? :| But... no.

    That is all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Alex is dead... But... yes...
      A bit of a shocker, but she had to set something else in motion, so... sorry! :(

      Delete