F.D. (Ch.13)

“But… I thought she understood why I went away? I left her with all that I could!” Queen Andréa’s sobs were shrieks of despair. “Why is she doing this to me?” She collapsed to the floor, pounding on the sandy marble.

            “Andréa, she does understand. She didn’t like the way everyone else left her, myself included.” He bent down and messaged the tension out of her shoulders. “If you really feel like there will be no end to this madness,” he taunted her softly, “you know you can end it here.” She placed her cheek on the cold floor, peering up into the inhuman face before her. She couldn’t remember being human. So long ago she had been made, but by whom, what? All of this torture, malice, and power had befallen on her for no reason. She felt tired, old, and weak. Maybe Lord Shavor was right.

Lori and Ashley sat by side on a stone bench outside the door of the lair surrounded by vampires awaiting Thelonious’ return.

            “What do you think he’s doing?” Ashley asked, her eyes starring off into the distance. Lori looked at her tired, human face. How could she be a vampire? She was too human, too delicate.

            “I don’t know.” They sat in silence, a painful reminder that what they had done may not have been the best decision.

            “Maybe we should go and find him Lori. I don’t want him to do anything stupid. What’s all this for anyway? I’m scared!” Ashley broke into a tumult of tears. Lori let her cling to her chest, letting the small hands grab onto her shoulders. A pain surged through her skin, but still, she let Ashley tighten her grip.

            “If it’ll make you feel better, we can go look for awhile.” Ashley lifted her head and nodded up at Ashley, big tears flowing down her cheeks. Lori held Ashley’s hand, feeling more like a mother than a friend, and the two of them walked in the direction they had seen Thelonious take Elizabeth.

Thelonious dashed into the back of the lair, sure that no one had seen them come in. He placed Elizabeth on a wooden chair and told a “guard” to watch her until he came back.

            “But Sir, what if…” Thelonious punched his shoulder, flustered and anxious.

            “Just watch her, Loren!” He sped off in the direction he had come. Something was pulling at him, and he wanted to find Lori and Ashley. He hated to admit, but he loved them, and the pulling sensation, he knew, threatened their lives.

Lori and Ashley’s pace quickened as the night drew around them, almost suffocating them from reality. Up ahead, they could see a throng of people, running fast, heading straight towards them. Ashley began to panic.

            “Do you think they see us? What are we to do?” Her breaths were coming fast, and Lori’s voice no longer soothed or calmed her. The people were getting closer, and Lori desperately pulled at Ashley’s arms, trying to get her to hide in the brush until they passed. Ashley struggled away from Lori, her wits clearly gone from her, fear-taking hold. She ran towards the oncoming mass, Lori yelling after her. What was she going to do, run into the mass of people? Everyone was a threat right now! Lori ran after her.

Thelonious searched all around him. He could see the men he had left, traveling in the direction he had paved; however, to his horror, he saw Ashley and Lori running as fast as they could towards them. Panic ate at him. What were they doing? Ashley ran until one of the men grabbed her arm and threw her down. He was a young fellow, almost as frightened as Ashley was. Without thinking he threw his torch down upon her and hollered for the others. Thelonious could barely stand it.

            “No!” He screamed he barreled through the circle around the disintegrating girl, trying to cease the flames. Lori stood by, watching with tears in her eyes. Thelonious could do nothing, even as he got the flames to disengage from her body, Ashley, being so human, died from the burns and the heat. Lori couldn’t contain herself. She ran up to one of the silent, awe struck men and grabbed his torch; setting him ablaze, screaming profanities as she did so. Thelonious saw her in a trance. He stood up, and everyone knew what he was. The men were shaking from fear, but all Thelonious did was grab Lori’s hand, bring her close to him and kiss her. She fell apart in his arms.

            “I’m sorry I’ve put you through this.” He began to sob, pushing back strands of loose hair from her face. “I thought this was what I wanted,” he motioned around him, “this vast land of power. To rule a species that had been created for us.” He paused, noticing that Lori couldn’t look at him. He pulled her gaze away from the burnt Ashley and gazed into her sorrowful eyes. “But then I realized,” he continued in a whisper, “I don’t want anything but you.” Lori nuzzled her head into his chest and let his arms enfold her. The men stood there, listening, watching, but Thelonious and Lori didn’t care. They had each other, no matter what. The man on fire was dead, and fear still played on the faces of those still alive. From behind them, an older man came running, another torch in hand.

            “What’s this?” he asked. He was wearing a gray cap that let his bangs fall just over his right eye. He saw Lori and Thelonious, unaware that the others were too afraid to touch them. “Well, who’re you? Do you know what’s happened to Miss Kelts?” Thelonious held Lori’s hand.

            “Yes, I do.” He answered. The new addition to the group started to take charge, and walked closer to Thelonious.

            “And what’s happened? Where is she?”

            “That depends on what you want to do with her. She’s a murderer now.” The man started getting impatient.

            “We have reason to believe she has been drugged, or, or….” He trailed off, unwilling to say changed. Thelonious, stepping closer, Lori still squeezing his hand, made his face apparent to the man who seemed to have no fear.

            “Do you now? And what makes you think that?” He hissed. The man began to step back, as did the others, as Thelonious bore his fangs, ready to strike, but something stopped him and he didn’t. There in the distance, was Elizabeth, running at full speed. Thelonious felt that pull again, that awful pull that led him to the destruction of his sister. He couldn’t help but let go of Lori’s hand.

            “Where…” she began but he dismissed her all together and jumped away from the group, meeting up with Elizabeth. It seemed the two of them were being controlled by the same force, as they both bent down and bit one another. In their ecstasy, one of the men flung the fire upon them. When a Tremor is in the rapture of the bite, they are most vulnerable. Lori knew this, but as she ran to them, the “fearless” man grabbed her arm, twisting it back. She watched as Elizabeth and Thelonious burned to their death, all the while fused together at each other’s necks. Lori’s wails were louder than the wind as it whipped through the trees. She looked at her captor; pleading with the last ounce of feeling she had left.

            “Kill me too.” She muttered. He looked down at her. He reached into his overcoat pocket, and turned her around.

            “Look ahead of you.” He said. Everyone stood back. As Lori turned around and focused on the tree before her, her body fell to the ground, landing in dirt. He had shot her in the back of the head, killing her instantly. The men dragged her body to where Josh’s lay, as they hadn’t gotten very far from him. The two bodies lay side by side, both beginning to decay from death.