Blood Moon [a Twilight Saga FanFiction]

Kill The Duke Part 2 - Verity's POV

(CONTENT WARNING: this chapter has subjects of rape, violence and gun violence. Readers please read and own discretion)

AS DAD AND JOHANN DROVE AWAY, I'll admit I felt a little nervous. It was my first time at school alone since WWII. But I pushed on and my day went by. I didn't talk to anyone, I answered my teachers when they asked me questions. I was a good student.
     Then at lunch, I was surprised when Natalia Rossi came and sat with me.
     She smiled and began to eat her lunch. But didn't say a word for most of the hour.
     "The meeting's back on," she muttered into her salad. "And... and Johann can still come if he's up to it."
     "I don't think Mr Williams would be okay with that, but I'll let him know," I said.
     "And, thank you. I don't know any other girl who would have done what you did. It was very brave."
     "Or very stupid."
     "Either way, thank you."
     "So, I was right? It was him?"
     She nodded but was suddenly finding her food very interesting.

At the end of the day, it was Johann driving Dad's car to pick me up.
     "Natalia's meeting for the European Club is on if you want to come?" I told him through the window.
     "Best I avoid school activities for a while," he stated.
     "That's what I thought. I'm going."
     "Do you know how long it'll be?"
     "No, idea. There's a payphone around the corner, I'll call. Or I'll just run."
     He laughed, nodded and drove off. I turned and returned to Natalia.
     "He's not coming?" Natalia asked.
     "Not this time. He thought it appropriate to avoid school activities for a while," I explained.
     "Wish Duke Dustin thought of it that way."
     "Not all boys are as smart as my brother."
     At the event, I got to meet a few people. Natalia, Johann and I weren't the only Europeans at the school. One of them was even Germany. They just had a very American name.
     There were boys and girls and everyone was ultimately friendly.
     I had a lot of fun and then came time to go home.
     "I'll walk you to the payphone," Natalia said.
     Not even a hundred metres into the walk, we passed a house fuming with the stench of drugs and alcohol.
     "That's Duke's place," Natalia whispered.
     "Why does he drive?"
     "He likes to show off his car."
     Would be a pity if a tree fell on it.
     Once we passed, Natalia tripped a little and our future changed.
     Like a book, everything ahead changed.
     Not only was Edward considering visiting, he needed to talk with Dad, but Duke had seen us and our brief walk to the payphone was about to become deadly.
     "Shit," I said.
     "What?" Natalia asked.
     Duke and his mates burst out of their house, drunk and reeking of testosterone.
     "Oh fuck," Natalia groaned.
     I grabbed her when she went to move forward. They were armed.
     There were five men. Three of them were armed. There was no way I'd be able to fight them myself, on the street.
     I went to begin calling home.
     "Hang up," one of Duke's friends I didn't recognise, yelled. He was armed.
     I looked at them pretending I didn't hear them.
     "Duke, seriously?" Natalia said.
     "Farkas, residents," Dad said, answering the phone.
     "Hey! I said to hang up the damn phone!"
     He pulled out his gun.
     "Verity-" Natalia screened.
     Awesome, I could hang up.
     "If you know what's good for you, you'll shut up," Duke hissed, covering her mouth. Dad had already hung up the phone so I did and held my hands up.
     "Now, both of you, behave normally, and keep walking."
     I grabbed Natalia's hand and we did what they said. I felt the metal of the gun being pushed into my back.
     At close contact would the bullet actually affect me? Or would it destroy the gun?
     "This way," the demanding, armed guy ordered.
     The guns in our back told us to turn down the dirt driveway, it was a very long driveway, into a shed.
     I knew it would be completely empty. I knew I'd be pushed into a separate room and the door would be locked behind me. I knew they'd rape Natalia, bash her, and shoot her when she won't stop screaming. Dad, Mum and Johann won't get to us in time.
     I knew I couldn't fight all five guys without Natalia still getting extremely hurt, or killed, I knew that.
     I'm so sorry, Nat. I had to wait for the right time, which meant after she was shot and they continued raping her after she begins to bleed out.
     I knew I had to act. I knew I had to act and it was going to be hard. I knew if I didn't call out when locked in, they'd come in and investigate. They'd shoot me, learn I wasn't human. Escape before I could kill them all.
     I knew there was only one way. And I hated it.
     "You first, princess," Duke grunted.
     "Throw her in there," the boss said.
     I was thrown into the empty room with no light, and the door clicked behind me.
     I'm so sorry, Nat.
     I couldn't hear their hearts anymore, but I could hear Natalia's screams.
     "Hey!" I yelled and began banging on the door. "Let me out! Let me out!"
     I kept banging, kept trying for the door. Waiting. Listening. Waiting.
     Natalia would not survive this night human.
     Dad, Mum and Johann would come in time to help me clean up.
     BANG BANG BANG.
     "That's my queue," I growled and put all my force behind a kick that would send this stupid door to the other side of the shed.
     I knew what I was going to see, it didn't make it anymore easier.
     Natalia was spread on the ground, blood from the bullets, blood from the men forcing themselves on her, her clothes had been torn away from her, she was completely naked. She had been shot in her stomach, her leg and her shoulder. Her jaw was broken open.
     None of the five men was wearing pants, all of them were erect.
     They were still looking at the door on the other side of the shed, shocked and confused.
     The closest to me was one of the henchmen. He hadn't spoken a word and was only following along like a puppy. Sad, that he wouldn't survive but I couldn't afford mercy now.
     I snapped his neck and they all turned to me when he dropped to the ground.
     "How did you..." Duke muttered, still on top of Natalia.
     "You messed with the wrong family," I growled, grabbed his head and threw him into the room I had just been in. I got the full view. "She was right, you do have a small dick."
     The leader, the controlling, armed boss tried to shoot me, it ricocheted off and hit one of his men.
     "What are you?" he asked.
     "Here's a hint," I whispered and ran as fast as I could to him. I put either hand on his face as if I was going to kiss him. "I vant to suck your blood."
     I put a little too much force behind breaking his neck. His head came clean off and blood covered me.
     I froze up. Bad mistake, they had time to escape.
     Or not, Johann decided to take a shortcut and got there in time to kill the one that escaped.
     Before I had properly recovered, Mum was with Natalia and Dad was helping Johann clean up.
     Mum had her kit and was trying.
     "Mum," I said and I turned to Dad. "She's not getting through this human."
     "No!" Johann yelled. "No! No, Natalia, no."
     He ran to her, she was still conscious, which must have sucked.
     "Liz, please," he pleaded. "Liz."
     Mum looked at me.
     I looked at Dad and he nodded.
     "Jo," I said.
     "No! She won't join us in this eternal night! She deserves better. She deserves better."
      "Jo," I rested my hand on his shoulder. "Johann."
      "She deserves better."
      "So did you."
     "How much time does she have?" Dad asked.
     Her eyes rolled back and her heart faltered.
     "That long," Mum answered.
     Mum started chest compressions.
     "Johann," Igor said softly. "It's your choice."
     "She... she doesn't..."
     "I know."
     "Save her, Igor, please, save her. Save her. Save her."
     Mum stopped and I pulled Johann away to give Dad space.
     I recognised the sound of teeth tearing through flesh. Her heart was still weak. It stuttered when Dad's venom hit her system, so he bit the other side of her neck as well.
     Her scream was our sign to leave. I was practically dragging Johann to his feet but once Mum and Dad began running back to the house.
     Once there, Mum ran up to my room and grabbed Natalia some clothes, Dad put her on the couch and Johann stood back to watch as Natalia finally had the freedom to scream.
     Mum dressed her and only once she was dressed did Dad finally start backing away from her. He looked straight at me.
     "Verity," he muttered.
     "Go run her a bath," Mum said and once my dress was on Natalia, Mum approached me, only when she was there did Dad run up to the main bathroom and get the bath ready. "Verity, sweetheart. Let's go get washed up."
     I couldn't move. It was like the realisation of what happened just hit me all at once now she was safe. How not even an hour ago she was telling me and some other European Americans, that she was going to become the first female president of the United States. 
     Her screams still bounced around in my head. The sound of the bullets. Not the first I've heard. The blood of their alpha man. I... I tore his head off.
      "I tore his head off," I muttered.
     "Let's get washed up," Mum repeated.
     She took my hands and guided me upstairs. Dad had filled the bath and stepped out while Mum helped me take off the clothes drying to me with blood.
     I was waiting for my mind to snap. I wasn't a full vampire, I was part human and though I had gone through Esme's death and was with Rosalie when we found Emmett, this... this was something entirely different.
     The human half of me was curled into a ball, gripping her hair and screaming.
     I caught my reflection and what I saw there made me sick.
     I looked like a horror movie. My eyes looked darker than their usual blue. I had blood, everywhere. In my hair, all over my face, my arms, chest. I looked like a real monster.
     I killed people.
     My reflection suddenly changed. It was no longer catatonic me. Her eyes went red, and she smirked and chuckled.
     So I screamed and smashed the mirror.
     "Verity!" Mum yelled.
     She grabbed me from behind. Holding my arms in front of me. She slowly rocked me as I finally started crying.
     She carried me into the bathtub, never letting me go, constantly rocking and whispering things in my ear I couldn't properly hear. She got in with me, fully clothed.
     I was still crying when Dad walked in.
     Dad... he's killed a lot of people before. Probably a thousand more than me. He never curled into a ball.
     He's a vampire.
     "Verity," Dad said softly. He knelt beside the bath. He grabbed a little scoop bucket thing I never knew what it was for and began filling it with water. "Verity, you've done nothing wrong."
     He was saying exactly what Mum was saying but for some reason, his were the only words that mattered.
     "You did nothing wrong."
     "I-I... I-I k-killed, people," I sobbed. "Th... they're fu-t-t-tures, I-I-I took that from them."
     He tipped the contents of the small bucket thing over my head. Probably partially hitting Mum, too.
     "Remember what I did? What took us to New York?"
     Mum helped me wipe bloody water from my eyes and I was able to look at him.
     "But you're a full vampire," I muttered. "Had years of drinking it, knowing what it tasted like, and then centuries of resisting those memories."
     He was filling up the bucket again while I spoke.
     "Okay. Okay, you're right," he tipped it back over my head.      I watched the blood wash off me and into the bath. He filled the bucket again.
     "You shouldn't have killed those boys. You should have let them live." Tipped over me, begin filling it up again. "The same boys who raped and killed your friend. And planned to do the same thing to you when they were done." Tip. Refill. "You should have let them live. So they could go and do that to the next girl." Tip. No refill. So I looked at him, he was smiling at me. Smiling? "Verity Farkas, you've done nothing wrong. You are not a monster. You are a strong, brave girl who stood up for herself and her friends. You did the right thing and sometimes that isn't easy to see. Sometimes it's very hard to see that it's the right thing, but you did."
     "Shouldn't I have left them for the proper authorities?"
     "Would you have been able to live with that for the rest of eternity? Knowing you let them go and your friend, dead?"
     I had to look away from my father. I knew my answer. No, I would not have been okay with that. I would have hated myself for the rest of eternity if I had let them go to the authorities.
     "And Verity, they would have been let to walk free. If you had given them to the human justice system, they would have walked, and grown up to be even more vial of men, harmed more women like Natalia, like Rosalie, like Esme. One day, it'll change, but in this century, you did the right thing."
     "So why do I feel like it wasn't?" I asked. "Why does it feel like I've just..."
     He kissed my wet hair.
     "Because you take after me," Mum said behind me. "It takes me a bit to connect the dots between murder, and the right thing to do."
     "They should never be put together. Ever."
     "I completely agree."
     "Sometimes," Dad said. "Murder is the only way for the most positive outcome. Of course, you'll remember this. You'll remember the feeling, the rage, the fear. It will help you become stronger, it doesn't feel like it now, but it will."
     "You saved your friend today, Verity," Mum said. "And according to his actions, someone Johann was interested in."
     "I want you to focus on that," Dad added. "Focus on the fact that you saved Natalia. Okay?"
     "I'll try."
     "Okay. I love you."
     "I love you, too, Daddy."
     He looked to the door and chuckled.
     "How am I doing to get Johann away from her?"
     "You might just have to go yourself," Mum said. "I'm not leaving her like this alone."
     "What's happening?" I asked.
     "We're got to set up the story," Dad explained. "It would be easier if Johann came with me, but with Natalia how she is."
     "It's okay," Johann said from downstairs. "I'll... she's safe here. Natalia... I won't be gone for long."
     "Go, we'll be okay," Mum said.
     Dad kissed us both before rushing to change his clothes then he and Johann both left.
     "Natalia will be okay, Verity," Mum said as she helped me wash the blood out of my hair. "Like the rest of us she will learn to remember and still forget, she will have nights where she will look up at the stars and she will remember her family because we all do until she finds a distraction."
     "What's your distraction? Dad or art?" I asked.
     She laughed.