Dark Side

Dark Side- Chapter Thirty Six

I don't know how long I was passed out for. Honestly I was happy to wake up, while I was unconscious all that I saw were vampire fangs and then the vampire community flashing in front of my eyes. All my memories turning into photographs shoved in a photo album and placed in the back of my mind. It was really fucked up. Then I woke up in hell. Every part of my legs felt like they'd been broken, bruised, shot and given a good Indian sunburn. I screamed, that's the first thing I did.

Erasmus looked at me grimly, his face echoing every word of 'I told you so' as I tried to hug my legs. I don't know why but I thought it would help. The pain moved into my abdomen, well most of it. Then it got worse, I curled myself into a ball, falling onto my side into.... pee. I screamed again and got off the bed Erasmus grabbing the shower curtain and throwing it into the empty basket. I felt tears fall onto my cheeks, running down my dry face and landing on my knees as I curled up again. I fell back as the pain took over my entire upper body and for a while I was nothing but pain. I started having spasms, I tried looking for Erasmus, I need help or something. God I don't know what I needed! But I couldn't find him.

Then he was by my side. He held out a bottle, what looked like a sippy cup and sat me up, shoving it into my mouth. I saw him make the words 'drink' but I couldn't hear it. My thoughts jumbled around my brain as the pain moved there. I tried to drink but I couldn't. I couln't do anything but scream. I was paralyzed. I took deep breaths until the pain settled into a migraine and I found myself on the cold floor.

"You'll be okay, that wasn't your first. You were lucky enough to be unconcious for the first one. It was horrifying. You should be done now. I hope." Erasmus was panting and he passed me the cup again, "This will help."

I sipped it and almost puked it up, blood. He was giving me blood?

He caught my expression and gave me a grim smile, "If you don't drink it you'll age, you could be dead before the end of the week. Only stop drinking it when you know you're solidly you. When you feel  you'll age normally again."

How was I supposed to know when that was? God I just wanted to sleep. Sleep! That's it. But Erasmus was persistant, he took me into the living room and brought the necklace. I sat down but got light headed and had to lay down. Erasmus crouched beside me.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Well I already explained most of the blood stuff. But now I'm going to explain this," He held up the necklace, "This is your blood. Your vampire blood. If you ever need to come back this is how you do it. Bitting won't work, your body can't handle it and will probably send you into a coma. Keep this, keep it safe."

"What if I was bitten by a werewolf?" I don't know why I asked, I just had to, it just slipped out.

He looked confused for a second, "Your mate's a wolf? Well that's new. I would say if you really want it, do it. But there could be weird reactions or something. I'm not sure."

"Is that it? All the rules?" I asked

"Yes." He nodded.

"Who was the girl who tried it before of me?" I asked silently.

As soon as it left my mouth I regretted it. So instead of waiting on an answer I quietly sipped the blood, it wasn't that bad. Not as good as when I'd been a vampire, but not that bad once you got over it. Erasmus was looking at his hands, but then suddenly he was leaning against the door frame to the kitchen. He rubbed his face like he was trying to erase the memory. Then he was gone.

I wasn't sure he was coming back, I sat there for ten minutes, long enough to drink the whole bottle. Long enough to run out of a distraction. I heard something fall in the back room, was he destroying the place? But then he was back. I gasped when he was suddenly by my head something gripped tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning white. But I was looking at his face. He looked like he was about to cry, or scream or something. He was holding back emotions. Or he had to poop. I wasn't sure which but I would bet on emotions.

I focused on the thing he was holding out to me, it was a picture frame, something that a rich family would hang in their foye to show people how rich they are. Erasmus smiled happily at the camera man his arms wrapped around a woman as they stood in front of the Sphinx. The woman smiled from ear to ear, her blue eyes sparkling, her blonde hair cut short so it just ended at her chin.  She had on a baseball cap that said 'Egypt' and had a diamond engagement ring wrapped around her finger.

"Her name was Angie," Erasmus laughed a rather depressing and dry thing, "You can't picture me married can you?"

"You always told me marriage was for the damned." I looked up at him, taking the photo out of his hands and putting it on the table, then replacing my hands with where the photo used to be.

"It was her idea, I never really cared. Honestly I was happy I had a symbol that told everyone she was mine." He sat down beside me, grasping my hands in his.

"Was she your-?" He nodded cutting me off. I looked at our hands.

He laughed again, it was a dark one again though, "I made her one of us-well me. It took me awhile to figure out she only wanted it so she could figure out how to cure me. My mistake was letting her go first," He grabbed my chin and made me look at him, still holding both my hands, "I can feel your pulse. Just like I felt hers right before she was gone. Only this time you made it."

He let go of my hands and curled in on himself, hugging his knees to his chest in a way I'd never seen him do before. It scared me. I could feel my heart skip a beat. I didn't know what to do, what to say. The strongest man I've ever known just feel apart right in front of me. He took in a shaky breath, looking back up at me I saw tears in his eyes.

"Isn't it ironic? She knew so much about you, she even idolized how you lived with your family while she had to watch hers die. She tried to change them but they spat in her face. All she wanted was to be like you. You two have so much in common. I guess that's why I loved her." He looked back at his knees.

"I'm sorry." Was all I could bring myself to say, I didn't understand his irony and I didn't want to. I just wanted to save Ian.

I grabbed the necklace on the table beside the photograph. I studied the design. Two grim looking hands held the bubble like gem, which held my blood. I put the necklace on, looking back at Erasmus to meet his eyes.

"That was Angie's." He mumbled.

I took a deep breath, "I'll keep it safe."

I didn't think he was going to say anything else. I honestly didn't want him to. So I stood deciding I needed to change out of the blood soaked hospital gown and into my clothes. As I walked by him on the couch he grabbed my wrist, "I want you to leave after your dressed, pack all the blood in the fridge and go. I won't be here, I have business to take care of."

He seemed to struggle on the word buisness, he wasn't leaving I knew that much. He just wasn't going to be here anymore. I'd opened an old wound, he wasn't going to try to close it. I fixed him with a grim smile and walked into the back room. Finding my bag I pulled on my black yoga pants, black long sleeve and leather jacket. I pulled them all on. Just as I finished Erasmus walked in, he flipped the bed up showing me his massive collection of daggers and swords, "Take your pick."

I felt like a kid on Christmas morning as I strapped a couple short knives onto the strap at my thigh, and took a long machete, sticking it in my boot. Erasmus didn't have to tell me I already knew that these knives and daggers were made for killing vampires. I was well trained with each one, I was ready for Vivian.

I followed his other instructions, taking all the packets of blood he'd gathered and stuffing them into the bag I'd brought. The clothes I'd worn here lay on the couch, I didn't need them anymore. Erasmus watched as I did all this making comments like a mother would make to her child going off to collage, 'be safe', 'make sure you make good decisions.' Things like that. When I was finally done packing I stood at the bottom of the rabbit hole starring at my creator.

"I guess this is it." I shrugged.

"You were never good with words, Sophie." He smiled

I hugged him then and he hugged me back, kissing me on the cheek before I walked out.

"You're always welcome in wonderland, Alice." Was the last thing I heard him say.