Chapter 35:
"Use my blood to save him. You can do it, can't you?" You pleaded, pushing your bare arms toward Lazarus' glinting eyes. Your hands were slick with blood and there was also blood covering the front of your shirt from when you'd caught Jungkook. You could hear him coughing and sputtering behind you and that feeling of panic and urgency pressed against your chest painfully.
"Oh Y/N..." Lazarus whispered, curling a white slender hand around your wrist. "You have no idea what I can do with this."
He pulled you toward the gurneys, one of which held your mother's vegetative form. He snapped his fingers over his shoulder and gave Jimin a pointed look. You turned to watch as Jimin knelt beside Jungkook and lifted him off the stone floor. There was a large pool of blood where he'd been lying, which made your stomach churn. Jimin carried Jungkook to the table on the other side. He laid him down on his back and Jungkook gritted his teeth, wincing with his eyes closed. You pursed your lips and looked away, blinking back tears as Lazarus pulled an empty gurney toward you. He patted it and you climbed on, lying on your back.
"Alright, let me tend to a couple of things and then we can get started." You tried to ignore the overwhelming fear that churned in your stomach, threatening to make you throw up as Lazarus pulled the machine closer. He pulled your shirt down a bit to expose most of your chest and started to apply the tabs of electrodes over your heart, over your shoulder, and under your collarbone. His fingers were cold and you squeezed your hands to fists, ignoring the thumping of your heart. Lazarus took your arm and brought a needle toward your elbow.
Suddenly, there was a crunching sound and Jungkook screamed. You sat up so quickly Lazarus almost stabbed your bicep with the needle. You looked over at Jungkook to see he'd passed out and Jimin was holding the bloodied wooden stake over his chest. You gaped and sucked in a choked sob when you saw the blood gurgling out of the hole in Jungkook's chest and his arm that hung limply from the table.
"He's... he's gonna bleed out—" You croaked, making to stand and run to him. Lazarus grabbed your shoulder and forced you back down on the gurney.
"Yes, so we don't have much time. Please hold still." He said peevishly. You swallowed, but did as he asked, wincing a bit when you felt the needle pierce your skin just under the elbow joint. He taped the needle and when you looked, you saw your blood traveling up from the needle into the tube attached and toward the machine on Lazarus' table.
Lazarus then moved away to deal with Jungkook's side of things. Jimin walked back around, his face crinkling with disgust as he tossed the offending stake into a box under Lazarus' table.
"Wait... Y/N, you can't do this." Jimin's head snapped up and Lazarus turned as Taehyung suddenly appeared in front of you, blocking your view from your dying vampire boyfriend.
"Taehyung..." You whispered. Taehyung was paler than usual, his hands were blood stained and fisted at his sides. He looked worse for wear and you winced when your eyes focused on the gash in his neck from where Jimin had bitten him. You reached out with your free arm to touch his neck, but he jerked back before you could.
"No, seriously, Y/N. You can't do this. You know this won't work. Jungkook... I'm sorry, but he's going to die. And you doing this isn't going to stop it happening, you know it won't." You winced at the harsh words and looked away from him, tears threatening to spill.
"Please, Taehyung, don't try to talk me out of this." You whispered sadly. You reached out to squeeze his hand, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
"No, screw that! I stayed silent already!" Taehyung yanked his hand back and his eyes flashed red, sending a chill down your back. "I knew this was not going to end well but... I could tell there was no changing your mind, so I stayed silent." He gritted his teeth and you saw a flash of his fangs and he looked to the side desperately before looking back. "I'm not staying silent. You can't do this, I won't let you!"
You pressed your lips together and shook your head. "If there is even a chance that this could save him..."
"You know he wouldn't want this for you." Taehyung said, cutting you off. "Jungkook would agree with me that you can't do this. You will die, or become a vegetable like your mother." You flinched. "I know you don't want to hear it, but I won't sugarcoat this! Get out of the gurney right now, we're getting out of here."
"It's my fault that he's dying. I have to make this right." You ground out through gritted teeth. He didn't understand. He didn't get it. if he felt even a fraction of the overwhelming guilt...
"This isn't your fault, Y/N. It's not!" Taehyung shouted, slapping a palm on your forearm. You shook your head, tilting up to look at the ceiling.
"I left Caden alive. I brought you all down here when we could have just left. I put you in danger, it's my fault. I let my emotions get the better of me and now I have to pay the price."
"Y/N, I need you to hear me." He grabbed your shoulders, forcing you to look him in the eye. "This isn't your fault. You spared Caden, who could have run away, but he chose to follow us. You chose to come down here because Lazarus had your mother. You didn't force me or Jungkook to follow you, we chose to. You don't have control on other people's actions. Don't put this on yourself, you'll go crazy and you'll never forgive yourself."
You turned away, unable to look at him. The words he was saying had reason and logic, but you couldn't take them for what they were. Not when he was still over there... dying...
"I can't... I can't forgive myself. He's going to die and I... I love him, Taehyung."
The words were quiet, but you knew he'd heard them. Taehyung pulled his arms back and you felt his mood shift instantly. You squeezed your eyes shut, prepared for the anger.
"Well... that's tough, because I'm not letting you do this." Taehyung snapped, causing you to blink in surprise. "And I know Jungkook would agree with me, so come on, we're leaving."
"Jimin..." You heard Lazarus growl.
"No!" You sat up and held out a hand as Jimin started to move toward Taehyung. He paused when he looked into your eyes. You grabbed Taehyung's wrist and pulled him forward, causing him to grunt in surprise. Then you threw your arm around him and pulled him into an embrace. Taehyung let out a sound in his throat that sounded suspiciously like a squeak as you squeezed him close and pressed your mouth into his shoulder.
"Thank you..." You whispered. "For everything you've done for me, for going through this with me, for trying to do the right thing by me. Thank you so much. I can never repay you."
"Y/N..." Then his arms swept around you and he was hugging you back, his shoulders trembling as his hands fisted into the fabric of your shirt.
You sniffed and blinked your eyes open to look at Jimin and Lazarus from over his shoulder. Jimin was watching the scene, his eyes intense and his eyebrows crossed like two swords over his eyes. He met your gaze and your eyes filled with tears as you nodded at him.
"I love you, Taehyung." You murmured as Jimin came forward, flexing his fingers. Taehyung tensed at your voice. "I hope you find all the happiness that you've been robbed of." Taehyung leaned back, his eyebrows furrowed. He opened his mouth, as if to ask what you meant, when Jimin grabbed him from the back and yanked him away from you.
"No!" Taehyung yelped and struggled against Jimin, who threw him back against the opposite wall. You grimaced and looked away as the two began to fight again. You laid back down on the gurney as Lazarus appeared above you again.
"Do it, quickly." You said through gritted teeth. Lazarus smirked and he began to speak over the sounds of violence in the background.
"There is something I forgot to mention. In order for me to draw the parts of your blood out that reverse the vampire curse, I have to put you under extreme stress." You turned to look at him, fear biting at your chest. Lazarus tapped the electrode tabs on your body. "This will be quite unpleasant, I apologize. Normally, I'd offer a towel for you to bite down on, but we don't have that much time."
"What—"
Then Lazarus pressed a button on the machine and a million volts of electricity shot through your body all at once, making every hair stand on end and every muscle tense and lock up. Your throat constricted, your nerves exploded in pain, and you slammed your wrists on the gurney, unable to move to breathe to see through the pain. You couldn't help it, you let out a bone-shaking scream.
You couldn't sense anything else around you, as your entire body, from your head down to the tips of your fingers and toes, were screaming in white, electric pain. You could only feel the blood rushing in your ears and the scraping of your vocal chords as you screamed and screamed for what felt like years, but was probably only for a few seconds.
Soon, the pain overwhelmed your body and you went slack, your eyes rolling into the back of your head, passing out into unfeeling, empty darkness.
~ ~ ~
Jungkook could hear her screaming. It was torture, more painful than when the stake had impaled his chest. Jungkook wasn't sure how he could hear her but feel nothing else. He was sure he'd been dying, but this didn't feel like death. He'd been expecting that warm light or his life flashing in front of him. But no, instead he was met with a black oblivion and the deafening sound of her screaming.
Maybe he was dead. Maybe he was in hell. Maybe this was the eternity of torture, her screams. It seemed fitting. This wasn't any less than he deserved. He never deserved her, so to hear her screaming for eternity was a punishment well suited for him. His life, ever since he'd been turned, had been nothing but darkness. Pain, revenge, torture, so it had just been easier to turn off the feelings. It was easier to feel numb than to allow himself to succumb to that darkness.
And Y/N... she'd been a breath of fresh air. Like the first flower that bloomed after a monstrous winter. Like the first drop of water from a leaf that's been collecting morning dew. With her staggering vigor, her confidence in herself, the way she missed nothing and observed everything, her critical thinking. And her eyes... those eyes that he could just drown himself in. Perhaps this punishment wouldn't be terrible. At least he'd never forget her.
Jungkook had been lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed when she'd stopped screaming. He felt strange, like he was filling with something, but he couldn't tell what. His chest was constricting and his throat suddenly felt swollen. He was confused. Was this what death felt like? The more time passed, the more uncomfortable he felt. There was tightness in his stomach, but it wasn't his stomach...
His fists clenched and he suddenly realized he had control of his body again. His eyes flew open and he was staring at the stone ceiling, panic shooting up in his throat. He started to thrash, the tightness in his chest becoming unbearable. He was blinking rapidly and it took him a moment to realize that he was blinking involuntarily. There was something making a loud thumping sound in his chest and he could feel it getting faster and faster.
He opened his mouth to yell, but there was something wrong. He couldn't speak.
"He's... awake?"
"Holy Mother of God, it worked!" There was a crash and suddenly, someone grabbed his arms as he continued to flail and thrash, confused and scared. Two faces swam above him and he recognized the younger one's to be Jimin. Jungkook grabbed his arms, opening and closing his mouth a fish, his eyes so wide, he was afraid they might pop out.
"What's wrong with him?" Jimin asked, looking at the other man fearfully. Jungkook looked over and foggily recognized him as Lazarus, the Elder.
"He's not breathing—Jungkook! Listen to me, you have to breathe! Remember? Inhale, exhale." Lazarus smacked Jungkook's face with his palm and started to gesture with his hands. Jungkook was even more confused. Breathe? He hadn't needed to breathe in over a century. Why did he need to breathe now?
Regardless, he did as Lazarus said, following his gestures. He inhaled and suddenly, the tightness went away and his mind cleared. He exhaled, feeling the air rush out of his mouth. In again, and out again. It was only the that he noticed other things about his body that he'd never noticed before. He felt hot, his cheeks were hot. He couldn't remember the last time he felt warmth. And that thumping in his chest? It was his heart. His cold, dead, vampire heart was beating again.
"How do you feel, Jungkook?" Lazarus asked, his face pressed close to Jungkook's.
Jimin grabbed his arm and helped him sit up. Jungkook winced at a dull pain in his chest. He pressed his palm to his shirt, realizing that there was a hole in the center. He looked down and stared in surprise at the circular hole in his shirt and the dried blood around it, but there was no wound. How had this happened?
Suddenly, the memories came back in a rush. The vampire hunters, Jimin and Lazarus, Taehyung and Y/N... and the wooden stake that had pierced him. He should be dead. But he wasn't dead. He was... he was...
"W-what happened?" He croaked, his voice hoarse. He felt a tightness in his chest and he realized he'd forgotten to breathe again. He gulped in air and Lazarus' face swam in front of him making him jerk back. The Elder's eyes were wild and untamed, but they were more animated and enthusiastic than Jungkook had ever seen. He looked between Jungkook's eyes and then grabbed his wrist, pressing his thumb over his pulse.
"Incredible..." he murmured, reaching out to touch Jungkook's chest. Jungkook grasped at the last threads of control enough to slap Lazarus' hand away from him.
"What happened?" He asked again, firmer this time. His breathed was ragged and uneven, since he couldn't find a good rhythm.
"That hunter shot you." Jimin said, staring intently at Jungkook, wary of his reaction. "And... well, you're human now."
Jungkook blinked, not quite understanding. "I'm... what? How is that possible?"
There was a sudden stinging pain in Jungkook's elbow and he gasped, looking down. Lazarus removed a needle from his arm and placed it gingerly on the table next to him. It was only then that Jungkook was able to see the rest of the underground bunker. He saw Lazarus' table full of vials and contraptions and he followed the tube that had just been in his own arm across the table and to the gurneys on the other side of the room. Jungkook's heart dropped.
There she was, lying on her back on the gurney closest to where he was. She laid next to her mother, her eyes were closed and as Jungkook stared, he couldn't quite make out her chest rising and falling.
"No... she didn't..." He whispered, when the realization of what had happened finally hit him.
"Oh, she did." Lazarus exclaimed triumphantly. "She did and now I finally have the missing piece of the solution! I now understand why all of my attempts never worked!" Lazarus grabbed a notebook and started scribbling as Jungkook tried to swing his legs over the table. He needed to get to her. If he could just stand up...
"Vampires and mortals are two sides of the same coin. The line that separates us is death, this much is obvious. Mortals live in life, while vampires life in the undead, but we can both die just the same and that's what connects us. I was just missing that piece, death! Because Jungkook was close to the connecting line, death, her blood was able to bring him from death into life again! Of course, of course! The subject must be close to the line, so, close to death, and only then can they be brought back into life!"
Jungkook ignored Lazarus' muttering and ranting. He could barely understand what he was even saying, but that wasn't the priority. She was.
He tried standing, but he felt weak, like he had no energy. It felt like he was making up for a hundred and fifty years' worth of oxygen deprivation, like no matter how deep of breaths he took, he'd never be completely filled. He panted heavily, feeling exhausted and out of breath, but he knew he had to push through.
"How do you feel?" Jimin touched his shoulder and Jungkook jerked back, baring his fangs... except he didn't have fangs anymore. He gasped again, running his tongue over his teeth, no points to be found. He raised a shaky hand to his mouth. So it was truly real... he was indeed human again.
"Tired..." he murmured in response to Jimin's question. "Like I could... sleep." He looked up into Jimin's eyes and the two shared a look of incredulity and awe. He couldn't remember the last time he'd ever slept.
Then Jungkook noticed a dark figure behind Jimin and reality crashed around him again. It was Taehyung, slumped against the cave wall, a blood trail rising from the wall down to where he lay.
"T-Taehyung!" Jungkook exclaimed. He tried to stand, but Jimin grabbed his arm, halting the movement.
"You might want to take it easy—"
"Don't touch me, traitor!" Jungkook yanked his arm away, staring fire at Jimin. "You let her do this? You let her give her life and her freedom just for this? You are the scum of the earth, of everything she stood for." Jungkook spat on the ground at Jimin's feet. "I hope you rot in hell."
"Well, at least now we'll get the chance!" Lazarus cut in cheerfully. He grinned and looked at Jimin triumphantly. "This is it, Jimin. At long last, we have succeeded! We can finally be human again!"
Jungkook gritted his teeth and looked away from them, instead focusing on Taehyung. Was he... No, he wasn't, Jungkook thought as Taehyung stirred. He lifted his head and met Jungkook's eyes. A soundless exchange passed between the two and then Taehyung gritted his teeth, painfully pushing himself to stand again and leaning one hand on the wall.
"I won't let you use her anymore." Jungkook said, turning back to Lazarus and Jimin. "She needs to get to a hospital. She doesn't need to be put through more of this."
Lazarus cackled. "See now, that's the beauty of this all! It worked, and you know what that means? You're human, as weak and pliable as every human out there. You can't stop me."
"I can't. but Jimin can." Jungkook looked at Jimin, who blinked ins surprise. Jungkook gave him an intense look, but Jimin's expression was unreadable. Lazarus laughed again.
"Jimin? He is my creation. He can't disobey me. Besides," Lazarus grinned and looked at Jimin maliciously. "This is what he's been dreaming of ever since I turned him. Isn't that right?"
Jimin stiffened, but still said nothing. Jungkook stared at him intently as Taehyung limped forward.
"Jimin, she was right about you, wasn't she? You're not some uncaring, unfeeling monster. You care." Taehyung croaked, leaning on Jungkook's table for support. "You could have killed me, twice. But you didn't. you could have let her drift into a depressive coma, but you didn't. you care about her. You won't do this to her."
"Enough! Jimin, dispose of them." Lazarus commanded. Jungkook cut in quickly.
"Jimin, remember what she said. It's your life, your choice, not his. Don't let him dictate you!"
It was quiet for a few moments as Taehyung and Jungkook exchanged an uneasy look. Jimin let out a large sigh and then turned to face Jungkook, his eyes flat. Jungkook's heart sank. Perhaps he didn't know Jimin as well as he thought he did. Perhaps Y/N had been wrong after all.
"Yes, Jimin. Kill them and then you and I can be human again! What is her life over ours?"
Jimin's eyes flashed red and suddenly, he whipped around and charged at Lazarus. Jungkook gasped as Lazarus yelped in surprise. Jimin slammed him against the table, causing vials and beakers to fall and shatter on the ground. Lazarus bared his fangs, but before he could counter, Jimin held something up and Jungkook's eyes widened. He barely followed the movement as Jimin plunged the wooden stake right into Lazarus' heart. The Elder's eyes bugged and he latched onto Jimin's arms, looking up fearfully.
"N-no..." he croaked, before sinking to the floor as Jimin jumped back.
It was deathly silent as all three vampire stared down at lifeless body of the Elder that had terrorized them for longer than any of them could remember. Jimin stepped back from the body, his hands shaking at his sides.
"Hospital." Jungkook rasped, breaking the deafening silence. "We have to get her to a hospital."
~ ~ ~
There was a throbbing in your head. There was a dull ache in your arm. You felt hungry, or possibly nauseous, it was difficult to tell. You peeled your eyes open and looked up and an unfamiliar white ceiling. Feeling like your head was filled with bricks, you leaned your head around, noticing a heart monitor to your left and a chair to your right. You looked down at the grey gown and white sheets over your body. It didn't take you long to figure out you were in a hospital bed. You blinked, your eyelids weighing at least five pounds more than usual just as a nurse rushed in with an unfamiliar man behind her.
"Don't try to talk yet, dear, we have a tube helping you breathe, one second." You hadn't even noticed and sure enough, just as she said it, you started choking against the tube in your throat. The nurse pulled the tube out and you gasped for air, coughing and gagging. Another man came in wearing a doctor's coat. He sat by your bed and flashed a light in each of your eyes and then pulled out his stethoscope.
"Welcome back, sweetheart." He murmured, listening to your heart. "Now, can you tell me your name? Do you know where you are?"
You blinked, looking up at the doctor's clear eyes. He smiled kindly at you, but your mind was empty. You stared at him, confusion and fear filling you when you realized suddenly that you couldn't remember a thing.
"I... I don't know where I..." You trailed off, looking around, trying to see anything familiar about the place. The doctor squeezed your hand.
"You're at the hospital, sweetheart, it's alright. Can you tell me your name?"
You blinked rapidly, a lump forming in your throat. "I... I can't remember... I d-don't..."
"Okay, it's okay, sometime this can happen, take your time."
Tears welled up in your eyes and your lip trembled. You couldn't remember anything. Not your name, not your family, not your friends. You didn't know what happened to you, or where you'd come from... nothing. Your mind was completely blank.
"Can you tell me who this is? Do you recognize him?" The doctor gestured and the young man approached, who you just now noticed. He was handsome and tall and staring at you with such worry and intensity. You stared at him, trying to find any familiarity in his features, but there was nothing. You let out a choked sob.
"I—I don't know... I don't know..." You started to cry and the doctor patted your arm gently.
"Y/N, it's me, it's Jungkook." The young man said hopefully. He smiled at you, but there was nothing familiar about him. The names he used were unknown and even though he seemed nice, you had no idea who he was.
You burst into tears. "I don't know who you are! I don't remember anything!" You started to panic and sat up, looking around wildly. The unfamiliar man reached out and you shrieked, slapping his arm away and backing away against the bedframe.
"I don't know you! I don't know you, get away from me!" You shouted, thrashing wildly.
"Miss, please calm down. You're not in danger, please!"
"No, no, no! This is all wrong! I don't—I can't remember—" You shrieked again, choking on your own sobs as you gripped your head in your hands, squeezing your eyes shut. This had to be a bad dream, just a bad dream.
"Sedate her, quickly."
"Y/N! Please, it's okay, it's me!"
"I don't know that name! I don't know you, I don't..." You wept desperately as a nurse grabbed your arms, while the doctor grabbed a needle from his tray. You cried and thrashed, trying to get everyone to stop touching you, to leave you alone, to go away. This was all wrong, this was all...
The needle pierced your arm and almost instantly, you felt all your muscles relax and you suddenly felt very tired. You sniffed and let out a small choked sob just before fading into blissful nothingness, the last memory of the man staring over you with a mixture of horror and intense sadness.