This installment was inspired by the following songs:
Sunday, December 27, 2009
"Hidden"
A week had passed and John was released from the hospital. He was still a little beat up and Alex thought this was the perfect time to play doctor. She decided that John would be safer at her house where she could watch him closely, and keep him safe. She never showed anyone where she lived before, especially anyone that wasn’t already dead (vampire wise that is).
It was a clear cool night outside so Alex went out to clear her mind. She had a lot going on right now and she didn’t know how to handle it. She swooped from the roof over to John’s window. He was sleeping peacefully. He always looked that way when he slept, until he’d mumble something about Damian. He probably was going to need therapy after dealing with her. But how is someone going to help him when he tells the he was attacked by a vampire because he was with his ex-girlfriend, who was also a vampire, along with her twin brother? Alex smiled at the thought of John being hauled away to a loony bin for telling the truth. Mental institutions usually scared her, but this time it was kind of funny. She imagined John looking like the Riddler at the end of Batman Forever, rocking back and forth saying “Vampires do exist! My girlfriend and her brother are vampires. They have fangs and drink blood through crazy straws!”She laughed again. John stirred in his sleep. Alex listened closely. He was quiet. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued to watch him. Her heart belonged to him now, whether she liked it or not. Realizing this, questions swam through her mind. Is this the right thing to do? No. ? Yes Can she love him without hurting him? No, I wanna eat him. Yes. ?. Did she really love him? Yes. No. ? Her inner debate with herself was interrupted when John rolled over in his sleep.
“I can feel you staring at me you know.” He said eyes still closed. Alex smiled and climbed quickly to the roof. John opened his eyes and looked to where Alex and crouched. Nothing was there. He smiled as Xander walked into the room. He looked serious and concerned. He grabbed a chair from the desk and sat down. For what seemed like the longest minute on record, they just stared at each other. Xander broke the silence first.
“You know there’s more to all of this than what she’s telling you, right?” John looked at the floor.
“Yeah, I kind of figured that. She seemed like she was hiding something from me, but who am I to ask?” he questioned in a low voice. He almost sounded hurt.
“I think its best that she didn’t. She’s not stable enough to tell you something like that.”
“Something like what?” John asked concerned. Alex was hiding something from him and he didn’t know if he really wanted to hear it.
“Something like she has three different personalities.” Xander said calmly. John’s eyes widened.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I mean that she can be one of three people. Alex-the nice/good girl you know. Alexandria-the bad and evil girl she used to be, and possibly wants to kill you, and Lexa-the girl that’s a little bit of both.”
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.
“I want you to know who she is. You claim you care for her, you’re going to have to accept her for everything.”
“I’ve accepted that she was a vampire. Is that enough?” Xander shook his head.
“You just accepted that she’s a vampire with a troubled past, and just discovered she could change into a whole different person fairly quickly. Are you able to handle all of that?” Xander asked. John didn’t answer. He actually had to think about this. He cared for Alex, but was this too much?
Alex stood on a branch high on a pine tree in her yard. It overlooked the lake. She liked to think there when the roof just didn’t feel right. The debate within her from before continued.
You can’t have him and be who you are. You’re a vampire and he’s a human. Look at what happened already. It’s bound to happen again Alex. Thin k about it. Remember Jacques. Soon you won’t be able to control yourself and end up killing him anyway. You can only survive so long as his blood tortures you with each passing day.
You can be with him. You did it before with Jacques. Yes, you killed him, but not because of your hunger, but because of your temper. Plus Damian manipulated you.
As her different personas battled, a cool breeze brushed past her and Alex shivered. Alex sniffed the air around her. Something’s not right. She thought to herself. She sniffed the air again. It smelled different. It didn’t smell crisp and of damp soil and leaves. Something smelled wrong. It felt wrong. It was just wrong. Just all out wrong. Alex gathered herself and headed back to the house. She could hear that John was talking to Xander. She scaled the house and swung into John’s open window. She landed in the middle of the room and slowly stood up as she felt the room out. Xander and John looked at each other, and then at Alex.
“What’s wrong Lex?” Xander asked first.
“Yeah, what’s wrong? You look guarded.” John asked. Alex looked down at the floor and closed her eyes. Her breathing got heavier and sped up. She raised her head; eyes still closed and sniffed the air. Alex brought her head back down and opened her eyes. One of her eyes was crimson red, the other deep honey brown. Alex had left the building and left Lexa in her place.
“Something’s not right.” Lexa said coldly. She turned to look at John. He stared at her. Lexa was something new to him since he really didn’t get to experience her presence at the warehouse. He wanted to say something, but decided against it. Instead he looked at her as if he could read her thoughts. He looked deep into her eyes and saw Alex, his Alex. He didn’t know if he could handle this, but he knew he had to try, if not for him, than at least for the woman who carried his heart.
Lexa looked at John again and nodded her head. She shot a look at the window, and was gone with a flash. John and Xander raced to the window to see if they could see her. They searched for something in the dark and a saw a shadow bouncing from tree to tree. It was Lexa; she was heading down towards the beach on the other side of the road in front of the house. They watched her until she was completely out of sight. Xander turned around and headed for the door. He stopped before he hit the hallway and looked at John.
“Are you sure you can handle this?” he asked again. John said nothing. He just shrugged his shoulders and sat on the bed staring out the window. Xander turned to walk into the hallway.
“I’ll just have to try.” he said before Xander left. Was he really able to handle this or was he just lying to himself to keep Alex. He accepted she was a vampire, she was a good guy. Alexandria? Not so much. And Lexa was an enigma wrapped in a puzzle and candy coated with a question. He had a lot to think about as he looked into the darkness.
Lexa jumped from the tree and land gently on the cool soft sand on the beach. She looked around…nothing. Why was she pulled here? She took off her shoes and walked along the shoreline, water crashing over her feet as she walked, her eyes constantly scanning the beach. She got the sudden feeling that she was being watched. Lexa quickly turned around and saw a shadowy figure of a man. She couldn’t make out who it was in the pitch black of night. She stared some more. Damian. She thought. She crouched low to the sand, ready to attack if need be. The figure walked toward her, and she let out a low growl. This figure moved closer. Fangs bared, fists balled, she growled again as he moved closer into the moonlight. She was ready to attack as everything that Damian put her through in the past few weeks replayed in her head. He stepped into the moonlight and Lexa gasped. She had seen this face before. She knew this face once upon a time. The face that looked back at her wasn’t Damien’s, it was another.
“Jacques?” she asked with a quiver in her voice. Lexa closed her eyes, and when she opened them again he was gone. Had Jacques really been standing there? She shook her head. It couldn’t have been. Alexandria killed him over a century ago. This was impossible. An eerie feeling overcame her and she shivered. There was only one way to prove to herself that she was imagining things. Lexa walked over to the spot where he stood and saw not one single footprint. She sniffed the air around her; it smelled the same as before. Was she losing what was left of her mind? She must have been if she thought she saw Jacques standing in front of her not too long ago. Lexa ran her fingers through her long jet black hair.
There’s no way that you saw him. There’s just no possible way.
Of course there’s no way! I killed him a long time ago. Trust me; he was dead when I left him.
Lexa ran back towards the house. She had to get down to the bottom of this. Maybe she was sleep deprived. She had been looking after John for a while, surviving off small cat naps. She hadn’t been eating too well either. She had a blood pouch every now and then, but that wasn’t nearly enough. As she ran back to the house she ran every possible reason of why she didn’t see what, or who she thinks she saw.
When she reached her house she jumped into her open bedroom window. A loud thud echoed throughout the house. Xander rushed into her room to see what was going on.
“What wrong Lex?”
“Something’s not right.” She said calmly.
“I know, you said that earlier. Something else is wrong, I feel it. Spill.” Lexa closed her eyes. She’s never been this rattled before in her life. Had she seen a ghost, or had it been her imagination playing tricks with her mind?
“I think I saw Jacques. Or I didn’t see him. I don’t know what I saw, but I saw him.” She whispered frantically. Xander looked at her as if she was crazy.
“Jacques? I hate to tell you, but he’s dead. He’s been dead. You just imagined it. There’s no way you saw him. You need some rest. Lay down.” Xander directed her. He left the room and the internal debate between personas began.
There he goes being the big brother again.
Oh please! He’s always been that way. We’re only apart by five minutes. Plus rest is for the weak. We have things to figure out.
Maybe he’s right. We have stretched ourselves fairly thin these past few weeks. Between school and Damien we haven’t rested well. Let’s eat and then rest up. We can figure out the rest later.
Eat? You mean those latex abominations you call blood? Please! Don’t be pathetic. We need REAL blood. Fresh blood and we have some right next door.
Shut up Alexandria! No one is going to hurt John. You may not care for him but we do.
The both of you shut up! This is exhausting. We’re not going to hurt John. It’s my turn to bat and I’m getting some blood from the fridge and I’m going to bed. WE need the rest.
No need to go downstairs. There’s a mini fridge over there in the corner.
Lexa looked and saw it. She nodded as her mouth began to water. She walked over to the fridge and picked a pouch of B-. She smiled at the irony of her choice. She placed the pouch into the microwave and watched it as it rotated slowly on the carousel. She grabbed her favorite blue crazy straw and removed the pouch from the microwave. Lexa slowly made her way to the bed. She stabbed the straw into the pouch and began to drink. As soon as she swallowed her first sip she could feel the blood’s energy spread throughout her body, warming and relaxing it. By the time the pouch was a quarter full she started to drift. Finish it! They told her. Instead of using her energy o drink through the straw, she ripped the pouch open with her teeth and gulped down the last of it. As that last drop hit her tongue, she lay down and closed her eyes. As she was about to drift away, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in.” she said sleepily. John walked into the room. Lexa looked up at him and laid her head back onto her pillow.
“Xander told me about you needing some rest. Thought you could use some company.” He said as he walked onto the other side of her bed. John climbed into bed with her. He laid next to her and wrapped his arm around her. She looked like Alex. She smelled like Alex, but she wasn’t. She was like this Alex hybrid. Could he trust her? Could he love her? John’s heartbeat quickened, and his body stiffened. Lexa took notice.
“John, I’m not going to bite you. Obviously, you knew that because you’re all cuddled up with me. You know who I am. It’s ok, relax. Your heartbeat is keeping me awake. Lexa buried herself into John as she tried to go back to sleep.
“Maybe this won’t be so hard.” He whispered.
“It’s not as complicated as you’re trying to make it. Now let me sleep.” Those were the last words Lexa spoke before she drifted off to sleep. John turned on the T.V. while Lexa slept in his arms.
***
Damian looked angrily at Alex’s window. He’d been there the entire time, hiding, spying.
“You think you may have won this time mortal, but she will be mine again, even if I have to kill you to do it.” He snarled at the window. He looked to the left of him. We will have out revenge, that’s what I turned you for in the first place. I need you, and you’re going to help me. We were enemies and now we are partners.” He spoke to the person next to him.
“When do we strike Damian?” he asked.
“Soon.” Damian said. “Soon my friend. Now let us leave, we have things to plan and havoc to wreak.” He smiled sinisterly as he and the other sped off into the shadows of the night with the moonlight guiding their way.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Blood Memories
John looked over at Alex. She was standing at the window fully alert. She scanned over the parking lot repeatedly. She was almost guardian like. This was obviously an attempt for her to stall having to tell John everything about her. John looked at her again. He studied her. She hadn’t moved for an hour. She just got up and went to the window and stood perfectly still. The dim, pale fluorescent lights created a shadow of her body that was just as dark as the times that she was going to eventually recollect. I have to know everything else she’s kept from me. I just have to! John thought to himself. As he thought again about how she lied to him his heart ached. He felt a chill roll up his spin at the thought of what type of things her past held. He shook. Alex turned to check on him.
“Are you ok?” she asked concerned.
“I’m fine. Alex, you’re going to have to tell me eventually. You promised.”
Alex shivered at the thought. She had promised, but she didn’t think she had to deliver on it. She just figured she’d say yes and he’d go to sleep, wake up and forgot about it. You can always work some of your vamp mojo and he can “forget” that he asked. She thought. She shook off the thought. She couldn’t do that. She was going to have to tell him eventually, so she might as well get it over with.
“Alex?” John asked.
“Huh?” she responded. She slowly turned to face him and sighed. Suck it up and do it. If he leaves after this you can always kill him or make him forget. Either one is ok with us. Great, now they were giving input. Alex rolled her eyes and sat in the chair in the corner.
“What exactly do you want to know?” she asked reluctantly. John tried to sit up and groaned in pain. Alex looked at him, seeing how fragile he was made her think that this whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing was a mistake. John looked at her and smiled. Alex loved when he smiled. It made her feel, well…good.
“So are you Team Edward or Team Jacob? I assume since you’re a vampire you’re all about Team Edward.” he laughed. Alex shook her head and rolled her eyes. She never saw that coming.
“Well actually, I’m Team Jacob. Edward is too sissy for me. He sparkles! I don’t know about you but that doesn’t sit right with me. All infatuated with some girl. Ugh! Don’t get me started on Edward and the Cullens, except Alice and Emmett. I like them. Plus have you seen Jacob?!WHOA!” She ranted while she smiled. John smiled and laughed a small laugh.
“What are you over there smiling about?” she asked. John looked at her and smiled a slick, flirty smile.
“I made you smile. It’s the first time you’ve smiled since you’ve been here. It’s kind of nice.” Alex looked at him and hung her head as she felt her cheeks warm. She pulled her knees to her chest and started messing with her nails.
“What do you want to know?” she mumbled. John’s face turned serious. Now it was time to get down to business.
“How old are you?”
“I told you that before. I’ve been 21 for about 333 years.” she said as she still fiddled with her nails. John thought for a moment and then his face changed from serious to concern.
“Do you know who bit you?” he asked. Alex shook head still looking at the floor.”Was it your choice?” Alex shook her head again. John’s heart broke as he saw the slight change in her face. It pained her to think about that, and he saw it.
“How was your life before it happened?”
“It was pretty good. I was from a wealthy family. I had my brother Xander, my little brother Christian,my little sister Anastasia, and my parents. I had friends, and I even had a boyfriend. My life was together and then it was snatched from me.” Alex sighed to keep her from feeling too much about her past.
“How did it happen?”Alex‘s body stiffened. John noticed this and realized the question made her uncomfortable. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Alex looked up at him and saw that he was sincere. She looked back down at the floor and shook her head.
“No, it’s ok.” Alex said. She crossed her legs and looked up at him. “It was December 23rd, 1632. I was helping my mom decorate the house for Christmas and we got into a fight.” Alex’s eyes started to fill with tears. She sniffled and continued. “I got angry, yelled at my mother, and stormed out into the night. It was freezing and very snowy outside. I just kept walking, and walking. I didn’t know I was in the woods until I smelled pine trees. I realized how far I was, and turned around to head back. I heard a twig snap on the side of me and looked around and saw nothing, so I kept walking. Then I heard another one and looked around and when I looked in front of me I saw crimson red eyes staring back at me deep in the darkness. I got scared, turned around and ran. I didn’t car where I went I just didn’t want it to get me. Then when I ended up in this clearing, I stopped running and thought he stopped chasing me.” Alex took a deep breath to gather herself and looked at the floor. She gulped and continued.
“I looked around and didn’t see anything. I heard another twig break and saw the eyes again. I saw a shadowy male figure step out from the woods and smile as he walked towards me. I froze and then screamed and he lunged at me and sank his teeth into my throat. I could feel him sucking on my neck as I slipped into unconsciousness.” Alex sniffled and John saw a single tear run down her cheek. There was nothing more he wanted that to leap out of the bed and console his hurting girlfriend.
“You ok Alex?” he asked sincerely. Alex looked at him and nodded. He didn’t know what to do, this was obviously upsetting her. “What happened afterwards?”
Once I regained consciousness later that night, I was dizzy and disoriented and freezing. He left me in the snow. I looked down and the pure white snow was sticky, red and tainted. There was blood everywhere, my blood.” She stressed the word ‘my’ while she choked back a sob. “I weakly made my way back home in the cold, using trees to prop me up whenever I got too weak.” She took another deep breath and paused. “When I made it home to my town I saw blood everywhere, bodies of people I knew were strewn across the ground, some in the snow, some on the roads, and some more in their houses. I rushed to my house and opened the front door. I looked down to see my entire family dead on the floor, slaughtered like livestock.”Alex shook at the thought and the image of that night crossed her mental vision.”I saw my sister, mother, and both my brothers with their throats ripped open. I turned to go back into the night for help when I heard a groan. I turned around and it was Xander. He was reaching trying to grab me from far away. I walked over to and lay next to him. I took his hand, knowing that now he was the only family had left and we both passed out. When we came to we were vampires. We cleaned the house, buried our family, and walked into the early morning with England, and our family behind us.”
“Wow, Alex. I didn’t know that that happened to you. I’d thought you were just bitten and moved on with your life.”
“Nope, I just pretended I was ok with it for Xander’s sake. He worries too much you know.” John looked out the window. He knew Xander was there in the parking lot, waiting, watching carefully to make sure nothing or no one interrupted them. John could only imagine what Xander was feeling right now.
“So when did Damien come in?” he asked. Alex looked up when she heard a small ting of hatred in his voice. Who could blame him? It was because of Damian (and herself for bringing him into this because she listened to her stupid emotions.) that he was here in the hospital. Alex sighed and continued on.
“Damian came in around June 1740, we met in Italy. Damian was cute and he seemed more comfortable with being a vampire, while Xander and I still resented who we had become. Damian was tempting and had his ways. He showed me it was ok to be who I was now, and humans, needed to fear and respect us because they were below us. Vampires were higher, better beings because we are immortal. I didn’t want to believe him; I still had faith in the human race, until that day came along.”
“What day?” John asked. He thought he sounded a little more interested than he should be.
“The day the humans betrayed me. The day I lost my faith in humanity and became a monster and just didn’t give a damn.” Alex started.
“What happened, Alex?”
“They locked me up.” She said flatly as she stared blankly at a spot on the wall.
“Who?”
“The vampire hunters.” She said still not moving her eyes from the spot on the wall. “They stormed our house one night because they followed Damian home after he killed some girl. Damian and Xander weren’t home so when they stormed the house they shot me with a silver bullet that knocked me out, and dragged me somewhere. When I finally came to I was hanging by my writs in a dark room, dark even for me, and I could hear screaming and rapid mumblings of spirits and the devil coming to murder people. I knew then where I was, I was in the insane asylum in town.” She shook at the memory. She heard a sound at the window and saw Xander in the tree by the window. He looked her in the eyes and Alex shook her head, and with that Xander was gone.
“What happened to you there? I mean, it had to be pretty bad for Xander to react like that after just a thought.” John said as he looked out the window.
“Yeah it was. They beat me, shot me, electrocuted me, and tortured me beyond all means of even a vampire’s tolerance of torture.” John raised an eyebrow and Alex knew exactly what he was thinking. “Yes vampires can feel pain. Especially after being staked numerous times and shot with silver bullets, after something like that we’re almost human. Anyway, they hated me for what I am, so they tortured me for it. They wanted to prove their “dominance” over me. One day three men came in laughing and carrying on. It was as if they were at a party. They smelled cigar smoke and wine. I will never forget that smell. One of them walked over to me and slapped me. He kissed me on the cheek and then my neck. His hot breath was on my shoulder.” Alex cringed, shook it off and continued. “My breathing started to become rapid, and then he put his hand on the waistband of my pants. I snapped. I kicked him in the balls and then snapped his neck with my legs when he was kneeling on the floor. I pulled whatever strength I had and released myself from the ropes. The other two men ran and I took that as a challenge. I ripped both of their throats open and drank ‘em both dry. When I opened the door Xander and Damian were in front of it. We walked out of the hospital into the night leaving nothing but a trail of bloodied and mangled dead bodies behind us. From that day forward I swore that humans had to pay for what they did to me, I didn’t care who they were, they were going to pay.” Alex looked at John and saw that he had a worried look on his face.
“So you were responsible for the Pacifica Mente Asylum massacre?” Alex nodded slowly.
“You must think I’m a monster huh?” she asked him shamefully.
“No, of course not Alex that was who you were, not who you are now. You were scarred, tortured, and violated. I would have done the same.” He gave her a reassuring nod and she felt as if she could continue. “What happened after that?”
“We wrecked havoc everywhere we went. We were the demonized harbingers of death, destruction, and chaos and we loved it. Eventually, Damian and I fell in love. We had a relationship full of passion, rage, and lust. It was something for the vampire ages, until I met Jacques.”
“Who was Jacques?”
“He was my first human boyfriend. We met in Paris. He really loved me. He accepted me for who I was.” Her voice started to quiver and she gulped down a large breathe of air to loosen the lump in her throat.”Damian hated that I moved on from him. We were together for 113 years, and he didn’t want that to end, especially not to a human. Damian went on a jealous rampage and killed anyone in his way, and he even convinced Xander to go along with it. Damian came to me and told me that Jacques never loved me, and that he was using me and was unfaithful. He took me to see him and I saw him hugging another woman. I couldn’t control my emotions and out of anger, took part in the blood filled rampage. When I cornered Jacques in an alley, I killed him.” Tears ran quickly down Alex’s cheek. She sniffled. “The last thing he said to me was ‘I love you’.”
“Wow , Alex.” was all John could say about what he heard. He was speechless to the fact that his girlfriend killed the one human man she loved, the same spot that he now filled in her heart. Alex looked up at John, her eyes pleading for something more to be said.
“After that I couldn’t live with what I did, so I left Xander and Damian. I traveled the world and every year visit the graves of my family, which were preserved because the massacre was famous, and my family was kind of a big deal. Xander and I marked our own graves, so people wouldn’t get suspicious. I visit my family, and then I go to Paris to visit Jacques grave. I feel like it helps me remember why I want to be good. I’ve gone to school and done the best that I could to shorten the time I spend around humans so I wouldn’t lose control. I was doing pretty well until Damian found me at school. That’s why I wasn’t there that day. I wasn’t sick, I had things to do to prepare. I don’t know what happened after that but all I know is that I have three personalities, Alex, Lexa, and Alexandria. Alexandria is the one you met and did all those horrible things back then. I tried to leave her behind, but she caught up with me. Now I’m scared that I can’t control anything and you might get hurt. I can’t take it if I lost control around you and something happened.” She looked up at John with her eyes full of tears. He motioned for her to come to him. Alex slowly walked over to him and sat next to him on the bed. She snuggled next to him and lay down. John stroked her hair and kissed her head. She felt safe, cared about, and human. What she was feeling scared her but she mentally shook it off.
Monday, December 7, 2009
"Revealed"
Alex stared at her phone for what seemed to be forever. In all reality it had only been an hour. Xander stared at his twin sister. He knew she was thinking about something, but what exactly? Before he could even come up with a plan in his head the phone rang. Alex picked it up on the first ring.
“Damian.” She said coldly.
“Aww my love, now that sounded like you weren’t happy to hear back from me.” He teased.
“Considering the circumstances of the situation, no I don’t want to hear from you, but since you have John I had to change the game plan.”
“Aww, how sweet. I just might vomit. The time is ticking for your little boy toy and you want to make snarky remarks. Bad move on your part, love.” Damian laughed. Alex balled her hands into a tight fist. Her knuckles were turning almost stone white. She was holding herself back from destroying everything Damian stood for.
“Let me talk to John.” Alex demanded.
“I’m the one calling the shots here darling. You’ll talk to him in due time.”
“NOW DAMIAN!” Alex yelled. Damian always knew how to push her buttons and telling her no was one of them.
“Alex?” a shaky voice asked. She shivered at the sound of his voice.
“John are you ok?”She asked frantically.
“I’m fine. I just don’t know where I am. Who is Damian?”
“He’s nobody. Don’t worry; I’m coming to get you. I-“ She was cut off when she heard John grunt and a punch land.
“John!” she heard herself scream.
“Now if you want to see him alive, you’ll do as I say, understand?”
“Yes.” Alex replied weakly. She hated Damian having the upper hand in any situation. The worst part was that it involved John’s life, so she had no choice but to sit back and cooperate.
“That’s a good girl. Now my sweet, if you wish to “save” your little human boy toy, come to the old abandoned Calvin Klein warehouse in the Garment District in an hour.” Damian commanded. He hung up the phone and Alex stood up. She looked at Xander and then her cell phone. She stood up with her head hung low. Her hair covered her face. Damian had John. Damian hit John. Damian was playing games and using John to get to her. She was a pawn in his sick, twisted game of chess, and that pissed her off. Alex balled her fists tight again and began to breathe heavily. As her back rose and fell as she stood slumped over, Xander heard her growl. He ran over to his sister to check and see if she was alright, afraid that she may have turned into her more than slightly evil and twisted counter persona.
“Lex, are you okay?” Xander asked. Alex said nothing. She just stood there breathing heavily and growling. She was statuesque in her stance. She looked like the little girl from “The Ring” just all grown up and brown skinned.
“Lex?” Xander asked again. Alex twitched her head to the right. She heard him call her name and something within her stirred. “Lex, are you ok?” Xander asked once more. He was getting more concerned with every passing minute. Alex twitched her head to the right. “Lex!” Now he was very worried.
“The name’s Lexa!” a voice said. It sounded smoother and a little deeper than Alex’s voice. Who was this? This was Alex’s body that that was standing in front of him wasn’t it? Who’s Lexa?
“Lexa?” he asked with a small amount of fear in his voice. Alex was powerful, Alexandria was more powerful, and now Lexa? He didn’t know who she was. Alex lifted her head; a thin layer of hair still covered her face. She quickly opened her eyes. Xander saw something that he never wanted to see, one crimson red eye. Xander shook in fear and reached for the gun that he stashed in his belt, and cocked it. Alex flipped her head back, causing the remaining hair to fall into place. She hung her head slightly and moved her eyes upward to look at Xander.
“Lex?” he asked again. She slowly raised her head and looked into his eyes and smiled an evil smile. Xander let out a gasp and a small shiver went up his spine. He couldn’t believe the eyes that looked back at him. Her left eye was red and the other was a deep honey brown.
“Lex?” he asked with more confusion in his voice. Alex shook her head slowly with an evil smile on her face. “Lexa?” he asked. This time Alex nodded her head. Xander looked at his sister up and down. She looked like her, but this wasn’t Alex, nor was it Alexandria. He was so entranced at the new person standing in front of him that when she spoke he shook.
“I’m the best of both worlds before you ask.” Lexa said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’m what happens when Alexandria and Alex come together. All the bitch and bite without the murderous attitude.” She smiled. She’s a hybrid mix of the two of them. That’s why her eyes are two different colors. I wonder what brought this along. Xander thought to himself.
“I was brought here out of necessity. I’m what happens when they both stop fighting each other and decide to work together. Now let’s go, we have work to do. First I have to change.” Lexa walked up the stairs to the bedroom. She went into the closet and grabbed a black tank top, some black jeans with a chain that clipped onto her belt loop, a pair of fingerless leather studded driving gloves, and some black, knee high lace up boots. Lexa changed into the clothes she picked out and headed downstairs. Xander looked at her and smiled a smug smile.
“What are you going to do to Damian in 5 inch heels?” he snickered.
“More than you know. You wanna try me?” she asked slickly. Xander’s smiled disappeared. Lexa was like Catwoman, a woman on a mission, and right now that mission was 6’4” with a country accent and a cute smile. She straightened her spine and looked at Xander.
“Come on, we need something to roll out in.” she told him. Xander headed towards the front door. He felt Lexa’s hand around his wrist pulling him in the opposite direction.
“I thought you said you were leaving.” Xander stated.
“I did. I didn’t say anything about taking the car.” She smiled at him. Xander looked at her with a look of confusion.
“Then how are we going to get there?” he asked. He was just short of saying “Duh dummy!” but he was unsure of Lexa’s amount of humor. Lexa laughed. Her laughed sounded like exactly just what she was, a mix of Alex and Alexandria.
“Hmm I guess you don’t know everything. Follow me.” She smiled and led Xander into the garage.
“I didn’t even know she had a garage. I never cared to look.” Lexa looked at him and shook her head. She walked over to the side and pressed a button. When she pressed it the floor in the center of the garage separated and a platform started to rise from the bottom. When the platform was completely raised, there were two motorcycles. They were both Suzuki GSXR 750s. One was red and black and the other was black, silver, and blue. Xander was in absolute awe as he looked the bikes over. Lexa walked over to the wall and pressed another button. A panel in the wall turned to show two motorcycle jackets with matching helmets. She grabbed the red and black jacket and put it on. When Xander turned to look at what she was doing she threw the jacket at him.
“Here, you’re going to need this too.” She told him as she threw the helmet at him.
“Thanks.” He said. “How did you know about all this and I didn’t?” Lexa didn’t speak she put the helmet visor down and pointed to her head. She then climbed on the bike, Xander followed suit. She opened the garage and started the bike.
“Let’s roll.” She said and peeled out of the garage with Xander right behind her. Before she merged onto the highway she popped a wheelie and rode into the night with Xander behind her to get what belonged to her.
They rode up to the old warehouse and parked. Lxa got off of he bi and took off her helmet. She looked the building up and down. The building looked old and run down. The windows were boarded up and the door was open. He must have left it open for them. Lexa looked over at Xander and motioned for them to walk in. As they walked in Lexa looked around, her night vision was better that Xander’s and Alex’s had always been better than Damian’s. She heard a board creak behind her and turned around quickly.
“Hello my love.” Damian greeted sweetly. He looked into Lexa’s eyes and his widened. “Who are you? You are not my Alexandria!” he growled.
“Aww what is it Damian? Scared that your little plan didn’t work?” Lexa taunted with a slick smile. She loved that Damian was thrown off. “So you thought you could make Alex remember her past, bring Alexandria out of her and wreak havoc on the world without Alex having a backup plan?” she laughed. Damian glared at her and growled and headed towards a light switch. He angrily flipped it and illuminated the empty room. It was very big and there were some tables scattered around. It must have been the main sewing room. In the middle of the room was John. He was tied to a chair and his head hung down lifelessly, bloody and bruised.. Lexa gasped as she looked at John and fell to her knees. She started to breathe heavily. She rested her body on her hands and shook. Once her body stopped shaking she spoke.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt him.” She said weakly. She sounded like Alex again. Damian smiled an evil smile.
“There you are, ‘Alex’.” Alex looked up at Damian. He stared deeply into her honey brown eyes. He could sense what was going on within her. He was always able to do that and it made her sick. “So you thought you could create a new persona to come and face me? Silly girl. Nice attempt though, I was almost upset. By the way, I said I wouldn’t kill him. I just roughed him up a bit. Clearly he’s still alive Alex” He laughed. John weakly raised his head.
“Alex? Why are you here?” he asked in a weak and raspy voice. Alex couldn’t bear to look at his face. His eye was blackened, his lip busted and bloody, his cheek bruised, he looked so defeated and it was all her fault. Their eyes met and her heart squeezed. This was all because of her, because she didn’t listen.
“I’m here to save you.” She told him weakly as she looked down at the ground.
“Alex he says he’s a vampire! How r u going to beat him? Run while you can!” he yelled weakly. Damian laughed evilly and loudly.
“Tell him!” he yelled.
“No!” she whispered. She looked up at Damian and repeated herself.”No!” she said louder this time. She narrowed her eyes and Damian punched John in the face.
“Tell him!” he screamed again. Alex hesitated.
“No!” she yelled again. Damian smiled and hit John again. Alex jumped when she heard the impact of Damian’s fist against John’s jaw.
“Tell him what you are! Tell him!”
“No!”
“So you want him to die? Tell him or I kill him!” Damian threatened. He smiled a slick smile as he walked slowly behind John. He leaned over him and opened his mouth only inches from his neck. His fangs gleamed in the light and he smiled an evil smile as he leaned in closer. He sniffed John’s neck and saw John shiver.
“Tell him or I kill him, and he smells delicious!” he laughed.
“Tell me what, Alex!” John yelled shakily. Her heart squeezed again as she saw the fear and pain in his eyes. Damian inched closer to his neck. Alex could smell and hear John’s pulse racing. She looked over at Xander, who was too scared to move because he thought if he did Damian might kill John.
“Fine!” she yelled. “Fine.” she repeated in a defeated whisper as her head hung low. Damian laughed.
“Tell him what you are.” He said in a cruel calm voice with his fangs just barely touching his neck.
“John.” She whispered. “I’m-I’m a—”
“Tell him or he dies!” he yelled again.
“I’m a vampire!” she rushed. Damian let out a laugh.
“Now was that so hard?” he taunted.
John looked at Alex, who was now on her knees sobbing. “Is it true?” he asked her weakly. Alex couldn’t do anything but nod her head as her body shook violently. Damian laughed and cut the ropes that bound John to the chair and slid his weak body over to her she pulled him into her arms. He walked over to her and kneeled down near her ear.
“I will see you again my love.” He whispered. A loud whoosh went past her ear. She didn’t have to turn around; she knew Damian had gone, leaving nothing but chaos and destruction in his wake. She looked at John who was lying in her lap looking up at her, too weak to move. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He tried again to speak and he slipped into unconsciousness. Alex pulled him closer to her and whispered “I’m sorry” in his ear. Xander ran over to her and pulled at her arm.
“I called an ambulance, but we have to go, NOW!” he said as he tried to pull Alex from John. She gently placed his body on the floor and rushed out of the building and hopped on her bike and reluctantly sped off.
They rode the back way to the hospital and stopped in the back parking lot. Alex stood next to her bike and looked up at the back of the hospital she could smell exactly where John was. She stared blankly into the window that belonged to his room while Xander rambled on about Damian.
“What does he gain from outing you to John? Lex? Lex!” Alex snapped out of her trance and looked at Xander.
“Easy, he gets me alone and vulnerable for me to hate humans again, just like before.” She said solemnly.
“How is outing you to John going to do that?”
“He planned on John hating me for lying to him and fearing me because of what I am. That alone would cause him to alienate and hate me, and in turn leaving me heartbroken once again and cause me to hate humanity.” Xander looked at his sister and his heart wanted to break for her. He was helpless in relieving the pain that he was feeling through the connection that they shared. She really cared for John and if she lost him, the whole world might be in trouble.
“I have to see him, even if it’s for one last time.” She told him as she stood against her bike looking up towards the sky. Alex dropped her head and looked at John’s window.
“Well how do you plan to do-” his sentence was interrupted by a whoosh and he saw Alex running towards the building and disappeared into the tree that reached John’s window. Xander saw a shadow enter his window and he sighed.
The room was dimly lit. She looked at John laying there all bloodied and bruised as he was hooked up to an IV drip. This is entirely your fault. This would never have happened if you left him alone! She thought. She looked at John again, her heart felt as if it was shattered into a million pieces. The sound of the heart monitor reassured her that he wasn’t dead, and that made her feel a little better, until she realized that it was her fault he was there. She stood still in the corner by the window and just watched him.
Alex didn’t say a single word, didn’t move a single muscle. She stood there watching him as he slept. He looked so peaceful, with the exception of his many injuries, including a broken rib, a fractured arm, and the numerous cuts and bruises. Alex stood there for two whole hours before she saw John start to stir in his bed. He slowly opened his eyes and groaned. He looked around the room and his blurry vision landed on Alex. He gasped and tried to back away from her.
“Get away from me! What are you!” he yelled weakly. His heart monitor started beeping rapidly. Alex’s heart broke. She should have expected this.
“John calm down.” She said softly. John took a deep breath and calmed down as he heard her voice and his vision became clearer.
“Alex?” he asked. Alex nodded. “What are you? Are you really a-”
“Vampire? Yeah I am.” She interrupted. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.” She said sadly.
“Who was that Damian guy?” he asked.
“Damian is my ex-boyfriend from a long time ago.”
“How long is a ‘long time ago’?”
“About 120 years.”
“How old are you?” Alex cringed at the question. She decided to answer anyway.
“I’m 333 years old, and before you judge me I don’t feed on humans like Damian, so don’t worry you’re safe.” She said guiltily. John gave a slight chuckle.
“Come sit with me.” He requested. Alex pulled up the chair next to his bed and sat down. Alex looked at John, confusion filled her face.
“You’re not afraid of me?” she asked. John shook his head and tried to sit himself up. He winced in pain as he tried. He looked up at Alex and his eyes smiled.
“No, I’m not afraid of you. If you wanted to hurt me you would’ve done so by now. I just want to know why you didn’t tell me sooner.” He asked.
“Yeah right, I can just say ‘Hey John can I borrow your class notes and by the way I’m a vampire’. That doesn’t sound like something that you discuss in the hallway before class.” She was serious and John laughed.
“You’re right, but can I ask you a few questions?” Alex nodded and John started to ask her questions to sort the things that were reality and fantasy.
John and Alex played “Vampire facts 101” for over an hour dispelling common misconceptions of vampires or confirming things they’ve heard. After the last question John looked at Alex with a look that was mixed with anger, fear, and concern. She didn’t know how to read him.
“Why did you lie to me?” he asked. His voice sounded like he was hurt and his face said the same.
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you at all. You never asked me if I was a vampire.” She smiled sheepishly.
“True, but why didn’t you think you could trust me enough to tell me?” Alex gazed over John’s beaten body. He looked at his bandaged torso and nodded.
“Oh, that. Good point, but still you’re my girl; I think you’d have to share that eventually.” Just as soon as he finished his sentence, he had an epiphany. “Is it because of what you are that you didn’t go out with me the first time I asked you last year?” Alex nodded.
“I liked you, man did I like you, I just couldn’t put you in danger.” She looked at John’s body again and hung her head in shame. “Look what good that did me.” John grabbed her hand and moved over. He tugged Alex’s arm, and she climbed into the open space he just left next to him. She snuggled close to him, glad that he still wanted her around, and smiled as she breathed his scent deeply into her lungs.
“John?” she asked gently. John tuned his head to look at her.
“Yeah?”
“Why aren’t you running away and pushing me out of your life?”
“Easy, you’re still the same Alex that you were when I met you, just with fangs, red eyes, and superhuman powers.” He laughed at how ridiculous he sounded. “Alex? Do you remember anything from your past?” he asked seriously. Alex’s body stiffened ad she nodded slowly.
“I need you to tell me everything, now. I want to know it all from the beginning to the present. Don’t leave anything out, or things between us might change.” Alex’s body gave a slight shiver and she sighed.
“Ok, but you’re not going to like a good chunk of it. Promise me that no matter what, your opinion of me isn’t going to change.” Her voice shook as she waited for his answer. John looked deeply into her eyes and smiled.
“I promise.” John pulled Alex closer to him and kissed her on the forehead. Alex looked at John and her eyes started water. He didn’t judge her, or shun her for who she was. He didn’t run away or hate her; he just wanted her closer to him. This was something new to her. Maybe this could work out. She smiled to herself and looked at him.
“I guess I should start from the very beginning.”
Saturday, November 28, 2009
"Missing"
Xander looked at his sister lying there in her bed. How long had it been? Why wasn’t she awake yet? Did she miscalculate the dosage? His mind was swimming with questions. He looked over at the clock. Alex had only been out for five hours. She had another one to three hours left before she awakened. He was anxious. He thought back on the conversation they had about this day. He was just as unsure about the accuracy of this concoction then as he was now, but Alex was sure about so he had to be too. He slowly glanced over Alex’s still body. His eyes traveled to the bullet hole that was in his sister’s chest. He looked at it and shivered at what happened that brought that hole there. As if he could feel his gaze traveling, Alaska looked at the wound too. He let out a whimper and then looked at Xander.
“I guess I should get something to bandage that up, huh boy?” Xander looked at Alaska and nodded. “Watch her for me. I’ll be back in a second.” He told the dog as he got up from the bed and headed to Alex’s bathroom. He opened the cabinet door and took out the gauze, some tape, some antiseptic spray, and some clean towels and made his way back to Alex. He sat on the right side of the bed so he’d be closer to the bullet wound. He pulled Alex’s shirt back and winced. “I have to do this for Lex or this could get ugly.” He coached himself. He cleaned it out as best as he could and covered it with the gauze and the tape. “Now it looks like she got a tattoo instead of getting shot by her own brother to keep her from turning into a complete monster and wreaking havoc on all of Manhattan with her depraved vampire ex boyfriend.” Xander said to himself in one breath.
Xander sighed and looked at the clock. Only thirty minutes had passed since the last time he looked at it. This was getting ridiculous. He looked at Alex one more time and something around her neck caught his attention. “What’s this?” he asked as he touched the necklace around Alex’s neck. This is the necklace Damian gave her. Why does she have it on? He thought. Thinking it would help he reached around and took the necklace off. “I’m going to get rid of this once and for all.” With all his strength he tried to crush the necklace until it turned into what looked like silver dust. He got back up from the bed and flushed it down the toilet. He looked at Alex.” Sorry Lex, you’re gonna thank me later.” He whispered to himself. Xander walked back to the bed and went in Alex’s drawer in her bedside table and took out her Nintendo DSi. Video games always make time seem to pass faster.
Xander played Mario Brothers for what seemed like forever. He was really into. Just as he was about to face Baby Bowser he heard a groan. He looked over at Alex and she was still. He stared at her for a second. Alex groaned again, opened her eyes and grimaced. “Lex you’re awake!” he said excitedly. Alex turned her head to look at her brother then tried to sit up. “Here, let me help you.” Xander helped Alex sit up. Alex grabbed her shirt and looked at the bullet hole that was in it.
“Aww bloody hell!” she said in a raspy whisper with a slight English accent. “This was my favorite shirt!” Xander pulled the gun from off of the table and pointed it at Alex.
“Dude chill out it’s me.” She told him. This time her voice almost sounded as it was hers.
“If it’s really you, then what was the name of my imaginary friend when we were kids?” he asked hastily. Alex looked at him and then down at the bandage. She took it off and her face screwed up in pain.
“Bo Bo McMonkey. Now put that gun away because the last thing we both need is for you to accidently shoot me...again.” She said through clenched teeth. Xander lowered the gun and gave his sister a big hug.
“Welcome back!” Alex shook. She was in pain and Xander wanted to throw all his weight on her. “Oops, sorry Lex.” He smiled sheepishly.
“I take it by the bullet hole in my favorite shirt the fact that I don’t recall anything from the past and the gaping bullet wound in my chest, I was right?”Alex asked as she pointed to the bullet wound. Xander nodded.
“Yep and she almost tried to call up John and eat him.” He said absently.
“What?! Did she call him? Is he ok?” she asked frantically.
“No, that’s when I shot her. Umm I mean you. Ugh you know what I mean.” He said frustrated.
“Yeah, sadly I do.” Alex laughed. Xander was comforted to have his sister back.
“Lex, I have something serious to ask you. How long have you been blacking out like this?” he asked seriously. Alex looked down at the bullet wound. She noticed the bullet didn’t fully disintegrate. It did its job now she was left with the hassle of getting the rest out.
“I don’t know. Oww. Two weeks I –Oww guess.” She said as she dug in her chest to retrieve the bullet. Once she freed it from her skin she threw it on the floor and lay down. She did too much and exhausted herself again.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Xander said heading to the microwave to retrieve the blood he’d put in there while she was digging out the bullet. He sat own ext to her and handed he a pouch of blood.
“Why so you could feel bad because you couldn’t help me? No thanks.” She said as she took a sip. Xander shook his head. He obviously disapproved of her thinking, but she was here now, but for how long? He didn’t want to think about Alexandria ever returning. He shrugged it off and looked at Alex. She was sleeping soundly. This time she was asleep by choice, being knocked out and going to sleep are two different things. Xander put the blanket back over her and walked out the room to let her sleep. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and texted John.
It took about a week for Alex to recover from her brush with her other side. Xander wouldn’t let her leave the house until he was sure that she was ok and not going to turn into Alexandria again. He never left her side. Other people would have found that annoying, but it was her brother so she just dealt with it. She looked around the living room and then at Xander. She was going to go crazy if she was in the house one more minute.
“I don’t care what you say, I’m not letting you out.” He told her. Alex smiled.
“I’m not saying much of anything. Come on! I’m going crazy in here all day. I feel like an animal. No wait I take that back. At least Alaska gets to go outside.” She joked. Xander laughed. “See I’m better. I’m fine. Plus, who stays in on a Friday night anyway, especially when they have tickets to go see Trey Songz with her boyfriend?” she asked grouchily. Xander laughed.
“You like him?” he asked.
“Uh yeah! He’s a great singer and plus he’s drop dead gorgeous. Plus if I’m not there he’s gonna call me and ask me where I am.” She said with a slick smile.
“Whatever. Well call him and let him know you won’t be able to make it.” Xander joked. He didn’t know Alex was serious until he saw her grab her cell phone. She dialed a number and put her phone on speaker.
“Hello?”A man answered.
“Hey Trey, it’s Alex. I just wanted you to know that I can’t make your show tonight because my brother is holding me hostage because I was sick and he doesn’t believe I’m ok now.” She explained.
“Aww well that’s too bad baby girl. You ok?” Trey asked concerned.
“Yeah I’m fine. I just didn’t want you to think I ditched you and forgot.”
“Aww no problem baby. I hope you feel better though. I got go right now, but I’ll text you later and send you a video of your favorite song.”
“Ok by Trey.” She hung up and looked at Xander, who’s mouth was wide open in shock.
“Two years ago he saw me in a club and we hung out for a bit and talked. He liked me enough to give me his number and we’ve been friends ever since.” She laughed. Her and Xander laughed about old” Trey and Alex” stories for two whole hours then her phone rang.
“I swear that’s how it happened. Hey baby!” she laughed.
“Wow now that’s the type of greeting I like.” A voice said. It wasn’t John. Alex’s face turned pale and he body froze.
“Damian. Where’s John?” Alex asked slightly frightened.
“Oh, John’s fine…for now.” Damian told her coldly.
“I want to speak to him.” She demanded.
“Well someone’s getting a little demanding. I would let you talk to him, but he’s a little tied up right now. I’m going to let him live…for now. SO don’t worry your pretty little head love, but if you want to save your little boyfriend you’ll have to do exactly what I tell you.” He demanded devilishly. She hated being at Damian’s mercy, but she had to save John. That was her main priority.
“Fine. What do you need me to do?” she asked angrily through clenched teeth.
“That is simple my dear. I’m going to call you soon with instructions on how to find your little boy toy then you can have him.”
“That sounds way too simple even for you Damian.” She smiled smugly.
“Oh, but that’s not all my sweet. There’s more once you get here.” He teased. Alex hated when he played games with her. “I’ll call you in a few, darling.” Then he hung up.
“That was Damian?” Xander asked shocked.
“Yeah, and he has John.” Alex said staring at her cell phone. She was scared to even think about what Damian had planned for her, but more scared of what he was going to do to John.
“He said John is fine I just have to follow his instructions and he lives.”
“Well what does he want?”
“I don’t know yet. He told me to wait. Damian’s too smart for us to pull off anything, and he knows that. So we’re going to do the only thing we can do…wait.” Alex looked up at Xander and they both stared at each other. They were completely at Damian’s will if they wanted John to be safe. So they both sat there quietly, waiting, waiting for the phone to ring again with their instructions.
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