Sharing A Cup Of Blood With Death

Discovery

Author's note: And I'll be publishing a chapter every Monday. Please tell me what you think.

Disclaimer: I disclaim the idea and rules of vampires created by Stephenie Meyers. I only own the characters that I created (which is practically all of them) :P

Chapter 14: Discovery

Susanna set up a tent for me to sleep in. Living on the island was comfortable, but I could not dispel a sense of sorrow over my heart no matter what. It even infected my dreams. I didn't know which was worse the Erik induced nightmares or these new sorrow filled ones. Sometimes the two kinds combine in a new form of torture.

I tried to keep myself busy to push the sorrow from myself. I gathered wild edibles, gathered fire wood, set fishing lines and traps, but it wasn't enough.

A good portion of the island was covered in burning nettles and jewelweed. Thank goodness for the jewelweed or else I would have a constant nettle rash. And thank goodness for the nettles, for their leaves became my main source of food. Once boiled the nettle's sting disappeared and much of its bitterness.

Susanna's first animal kill was a deer that she brought part of it back, venom free for my consumption. It was a bit dry, but otherwise delicious even though bloodless. I usually like my meat rare and bloody.

Other than the venison, I've been surviving on fish, crawfish, frogs, and the occasional turtle with mostly boiled nettles and cattails. Wild mint and sassafras leaves seasoned my food. The bramble gave me my supply of fruit.

One day, Susanna decided to show me one of the towns as they were holding some kind festival. It was to be a farmers market, bazaar, flee market, and county fair all rolled up into one event. I did not want to go but there was no dissuading her. Her excuse was that I needed a different verity of food, new clothes, and to see people.

I only agreed to go because, she threatened to drag me there if I didn't comply. She reminds me of Violet when she was in this kind of mood.

Susanna had become quite motherly towards me bringing me the occasional furred or feathered creature to eat, making sure I had plenty of fresh, clean water to drink, and that I was warm and comfortable, but my chest was always cold and empty.

So, we went. We used the canoe I came in to cross the water. We hid the canoe near the town. The festival was in the center of the town. To get there, Susanna proposed we take a short cut through an alley.

Just before, we reached our destination, a mottled tabby cat shot out from its hiding place, startling me. My legs became tangled in some discarded cables causing me to loose balance and fall right onto shattered glass. As glass shards bit into the exposed skin of my arms, my reflexes fired the command to jump up into a sitting position.

The scent of blood, sweet and coppery, filled my nose overpowering the stench of trash. The blood was already accumulating and dripping onto the ground.

Then, I remembered about Susanna. Her golden ruby eyes were fixed on the dripping crimson. I could see her straining towards me fighting her instincts.

"Don't breath, Susanna." I desperately ordered. She seemed to shake herself of the trance before disappearing. It wasn't until then that I noticed that I was quaking. Cold sweat dewed my skin stinging the cuts.

Impulsively, I got up and ran from the spot. Blood drops leaving an obvious trail. I hid myself in a secluded alley. I knew Susana could find me in an instant, but the instinct was hard to overcome.

 I needed to stop the bleeding. I picked out the glass that I could find. A good sized pile of blooded splinters began to form. All the while blood dripped into small puddles from the cuts. Hurry up and clot already. I had nothing to disinfect them, and I can't go around with blood on my arms looking for the herbs that would do the trick. My scent would be all over the place. Not even the rain tonight would wash it all away.

Susana appeared a few minutes later with a bottle of iodine, a bottle of water, a needle, a spool of stitching thread, a bundle of garlic, yarrow, and aromatic beebalm, and several rolls of gauze. She came up to me slowly and cautiously like I was a spooked horse or something. She seemed to be under control for now. She wasn't breathing.

"Give me your arms." She whispered, gently taking my clotted arms. Her hands felt soothing against my throbbing skin. Soon enough my arms were cleaned and bandaged. Thankfully, no stitches were needed. The garlic and herbs were smashed and placed on the wounds. Each herb had antiseptic properties, and promoted healing.

"Garlic does not harm our kind, but the smell of garlic masks the scent of blood pretty well." She explained. "Now, you definitely need new clothes."

She of course was right. Not only were they torn, thread bare and stained in mud and chloroplast, but now drying blood splattered the worn garments. I looked like a murder victim.

"Wait here, I'll be back with something." Susanna said before disappearing again. About ten minutes later, she returned with a set of clothing. Her own attire was changed.

She got me a sturdy set of jeans, a button up shirt, and a buck skin jacket. I hid behind a dumpster and a pile of wooden pallets to change. The blood stained clothes were discarded in a dumpster. The sleeves of my new shirt covered the bandages perfectly.

"Shall we enjoy the rest of the fair?" She asked after I emerged from my changing spot. I nodded yes even though my heart wasn't in it. I could sense that she wouldn't take no lightly though.

The wounds were uncomfortable but not unbearable. They would heal, even leave some scars for my collections. Scars.

My attention was drawn to the crescent scar on my wrist always cooler than the rest of my skin and the one who healed it came to mind. My heart squeezed painfully at the thought. No, I must not remember. Nor could I be allowed to forget.

Susanna purchased fruits, vegetables, a book and another set of durable clothing for each of us before finally heading back to the island for the night where new nightmare tortured my sleep.