Unconditionally

20

Arabella's birthday evening carried onto the nearest bar of Arabella's choice. The music was loud, and Georgia could feel her head spinning as they entered the busy bar. Kian had noticed Nate obsessively following Georgia around and started to think he had an ulterior motive with her. He went over to them dancing and grabbed Georgia's hand, pulling her into a dark corner.

"What are you doing Kian?" she stammered.

"How well do you know Nate, Georgia?" he asked, sternly.

She looked at him angrily and went to move away, but Kian grabbed the top of her arm and held her in front of him firmly. "Don't trust him, Georgia. I don't get a good feeling from him. I think he is up to something."

Georgia pulled her arm out of his grasp, "sort out your own issues Kian. I don't need looking after. Leave me alone." She pushed past him and went back to the dancefloor.

Kian watched her, wishing she had some recollection of what had happened at the Cathedral and how much danger she was really in.

Arabella went over to Kian, seeing him alone. "What was that about?" she shouted.

Kian turned to face Arabella, "do you know Nate at all? What if he has got something to do with the Peterson's and that woman that keeps appearing with them?"

Arabella rolled her eyes at Kian drunkenly, "I think you are just jealous of Nate... He seems nice and is a good friend to Georgia. He has cheered her up since you decided to drop her like a pin."

Kian started to feel guilt and anger building inside him, "Arabella, I am serious. I don't get a good feeling about him. And it is not jealousy!"

Arabella looked at him, starting to feel rage burn through her body. "Look... a girl never forgets her first love, no matter how it ended. You will always be the person she will drop everything for. Just don't be the type of guy that plays on that." She kissed his cheek and got up to dance with Georgia, who had been watching them out the corner of her eye.

Arabella, Georgia and Nate were the last ones standing of their group. Kian had left an hour before, wishing Arabella a happy birthday. He was itching to get back to see how far Luke and Joanna had got with finding out information about the mysterious woman that kept appearing with the Peterson's. He knew it was too much of a coincidence that she had ended up in Winchester with Georgia and then in his dream that had coincided with Georgia's injury.

Georgia started to feel exhausted and looked at the clock on her phone – 2.30am. "Arabella, can we go home?" Georgia asked, tiredly.

Arabella nodded and followed Georgia out, quickly followed by Nate who was busily typing something in his phone. They grabbed their handbags and jackets and walked out into the fresh air, breathing in the cold breeze. The roads were quiet and there was an autumnal chill in the air. "Shall we get a taxi back?" Georgia asked them, "sorry Nate, I don't actually know where you live. Are you in halls too?"

Nate nodded, "I will order one for us." He got out his phone and made himself look busy.

Arabella cuddled Georgia's shoulders, the alcohol swimming through her blood stream. "I have had the best time, thank you!"

Georgia put her hands on hers, "I had a great time. What a great birthday eh?"

They laughed and giggled, not paying attention to where Nate was directing them for the taxi and soon enough they found themselves by the Cathedral. Georgia stopped and looked around them; the green park outside the Cathedral was deserted. "Nate where are we going? Where is the taxi picking us up? My shoes are really hurting me."

Arabella nodded, feeling too drunk to gage where they were and stopped paying attention.

Nate pointed to the road ahead of them where there was a humongous stone wall; it surrounded the road he was pointing to, making it unclear as to what he was exactly trying to pinpoint. "Come on girls, I promise, it is just up here!" he said, linking their arms and helping them up the steps into the quiet road.

"Nate, I still can't see a taxi. Are you sure they said here?"

Nate didn't respond.

Georgia realised he had stopped linking her arm and heard a thump on the ground behind her. She felt the walls closing in on her as her breathing picked up speed, slowly turning around to see Arabella's unconscious body lying on the ground, her hair halfway across her face. "ARABELLA!" Georgia screamed as she ran over to her, dropping to her knees as she pushed Arabella's hair away from her face.

Nate appeared beside her, smiling down at them.

"What did you do?" she spluttered, starting to shake Arabella, trying to get her to wake up. "Wake up wake up, please Arabella, wake up!"

Nate grabbed Georgia's bad arm and pulled her up to face him. She grimaced in pain as his fingers dug into the wound under her bandage. "What did you do?" she snarled at him.

"Look Georgia, if you don't stop screeching, Arabella will end up dead! I snapped her neck, but being a vampire she will soon repair and be fine... Unless you keep on then I can make her state permanent!"

Georgia shook her head.

Nate threw Georgia to the floor and looked towards the end of the road; darkness overshadowed everything, but as Georgia followed his gaze, she started to make out three figures coming towards them. She felt petrified. She made out the two men first, two people she hadn't missed seeing in the flesh. She then saw the woman that had occupied her life the last few months, her black hair flailing behind in the wind. Georgia looked down at the floor, terrified, as she crawled over to Arabella's body. "Please wake up Arabella", she whispered.

"Good evening Georgia, fancy meeting you here", Frederick said, sniggering. "I don't know if you have met my wife, Ava. We have been discussing all the different things your blood could do for us. We have been very patient in getting started. So, shall we?" he held out his hand to her.

Georgia looked up at him but stayed frozen to the spot. "I am not going ANYWHERE with you!" she shouted.

Zachary knelt down next to her and grabbed her bad arm. He turned her hand over and took the bandage off. The wound excited him as he drew his sharp claw across the scab, opening the wound again.

Georgia scowled, feeling the pain shoot through her body like a thousand knives were digging into her skin.

"Let's wake the sleeping beast shall we...", Zachary said, putting Georgia's bleeding forearm near Arabella's nose.

Georgia watched petrified as her blood trickled down her arm and dripped in front of Arabella on the ground.

Arabella started to stir as Frederick laughed, grabbing Georgia from Zachary. "You probably don't want to see this", he whispered into Georgia's ear as he pulled her away, covering her mouth and nose until she fell unconscious.