Hello Everyone.
So, I was actually working on a different story when I got the idea for this one.
I had serious writers block going on the others, but this one came, and just took off.
It's Alt Universe, kinda out of character.
So here's chapter one... let me know what you think so far.
Updates will be every Sunday for sure, and possibly during the week if time permits.
But be assured, there will be updates at least every Sunday, and I wont leave this hanging.
I start a story, I finish it.
I'm terrible at synopsis as well, so basically, this is a different play on "Dead to the World". Our favorite vampire sex GOD Viking Eric finds a woman running down the road in the middle of the night. He stops to help the stranger.
Charlaine Harris owns the characters and whatnot. I'm just taking them out for a spin on the old keyboard. :)
Snoogans!
"What is your name?" I asked.
"I don't know." she replied.
"You don't know your own name? Where are you from?"
"I don't know that either." she said, and even in the darkness, I could see the tears welling in her eyes. I would do anything to avoid her crying.
I looked around at the surroundings. We were on the highway the led between Bon Temps and Shreveport. It was empty this time of night. "Where were you coming from? I can take you back there." I said, and walked around to the passenger side of my car, opening the door for the young woman. She didn't move.
"I don't know where I was coming from. I don't remember anything. My first memory was you pulling over and making me stop running." she said, motionless.
I stepped away from my car, and towards the young woman. She took a few steps back, and I could smell the fear in the air as it practically poured off her. "Are you afraid of me?"
"I don't know." she replied, tilting her head as if she was in deep thought over the idea of what exactly it was that she was afraid of. There was a slight gust of wind, and she shivered. I hadn't been aware that it must be cold for her. Something that I could use as leverage to get her off the road and into my car.
I took in the sight of her then. I hadn't really when I pulled over. At first, I had just seen a blonde woman, possibly early to mid twenties, running down the road. She had been wearing jeans and a sweater, but until now, I hadn't really taken in the entire scene.
The jeans were torn at the knees, and ragged at the bottom. She was barefoot. Her sweater was torn at the neck. I could smell blood, but I had pushed it to the back of my mind. I didn't want to hurt this girl, and I didn't want to scare her. I wanted to get her off the road and somewhere safe.
Pam would have laughed at me.
I could have very easily taken her off the road here. Fed from her, left her. Bodies can be disposed of. There would be no evidence. But there was something about her…
I shook my head. "You're cold. It's quite late. Please, I won't harm you. Let me take you somewhere safe. We can find out who you are. Get you back to your family." I said, and I reached out my hand. Not a typical gesture from me, or any other vampire for that matter, but like I said, there was something about her… something different. I wanted her to trust me. I didn't want her to fear me. I wanted to find out who she was.
She thought for a moment before she finally stepped forward. The fear was almost completely gone. As she stepped up to my car, I noticed it was her feet that were bleeding. I looked down, and her eyes followed mine.
"Does it hurt?" I asked.
"No. I didn't even notice until just now."
I gestured for her to have a seat in my corvette, but she just hesitated. She seemed to just now start to take in her appearance. "I'm gonna get your car all dirty."
"It can be cleaned." I said, and she let out a sigh and she lowered herself into the seat.
As soon as she was seated, I closed the door, and went around to the driver side. I made a mental note of exactly where we were before I got in.
The woman put on her seat belt, and eyeballed me as I started to pull away. "Aren't you going to wear your seat belt?" she asked. The corners of my mouth started to curve upwards.
"I don't wear it. I don't need it." I said. She stared at me as if I had three heads.
"But what if you get in an accident. You could die."
"I'm a vampire. I would be fine. If I even got into an accident. It's highly unlikely."
Now she stared at me as if I had five heads. I returned her stare.
"Well I'm human, and if you get in an accident from not watching the road, I might not be so lucky." she said before turning her head back to the road. There was no raise in her level of fear. I was slightly shocked, which was even more shocking. This woman had managed to shock me.
"You're not afraid of me?" I asked. She shook her head that she wasn't. "Most people would be fearful in your situation."
"Well, guess I'm not most people."
"Then what are you frightened of?" I asked. She still had a small amount of fear coming off her.
"That I don't know who I am." she sighed, then turned her head back to me. "And that you keep looking at me instead of the road."
I pulled into the parking lot of the bar that I owned, and parked in the back.
"Where are we?" she asked as I turned off my car.
"Fangtasia. It's a bar. I am the owner. Come. I'll take you inside, and you can get cleaned up. My associate Pam may have something that you can change in to." I said. I started to smell the fear raise from her. I turned to her and she kept her eyes focused straight ahead. "You don't have to be afraid. You're safe here."
"Alright." she replied, and then removed her seat belt. I exited the car, and was at her door before she even realized I had left. I opened it for her, and offered her my hand to exit the vehicle. She took it, and I noticed how soft and warm her skin was. I went to drop my hand from hers as soon as she was on her feet, but she tightened her grip when she sensed that I was letting hers go. I could have easily pulled mine away, but I let her hold on to me.
I led to her to the employee entrance, and we quickly made our way to my office unseen. I shut the door behind us, and she stood still in the middle of the room. I stared at her for a moment, and she stared back.
What had I gotten myself into? Pam was going to get a kick out of this. I would never hear the end of it.
"Wait here a moment. I will be right back." I told her, and took a few steps towards the door of my office. She stayed motionless.
"Pam." I said, and my child made her way to me from the bar. It was after two in the morning, and the bar was closed. The customers were gone. I took stock of who was left as Pam made her way to me.
"Eric. What took you?" she asked.
"I had an interesting drive back." I said, and told her about the woman that I had found running down the highway.
"Oh that's rich, Eric. She's in your office? I want to see her." she said, and I turned to lead us back to my office.
I opened the door to find the woman standing in the same place that I had left her. She hadn't moved, but her head turned to watch Pam and I enter.
"This is my child, Pam." I said, introducing the young woman. "Pam, can you please take our guest to the employee shower. Find something clean that she can put on." I ordered, and made my way over to my desk. I took a seat, and noticed that Pam and the woman were still standing in the same spots. I looked to Pam.
"Come." Pam said to the woman, and walked out of the office. The woman looked to me, and I nodded for her to follow Pam. She took a deep breath, and turned to follow Pam.
Thirty minutes later, I was lounging on my couch when there was a knock at the door. "Enter." I said, but stayed laying down. The door opened, and in walked Pam, followed by our mystery woman. She was wearing a clean pair of jeans and one of the Fangtasia shirts that we sold in the gift shop.
"Leave us Pam." I said as soon as the woman was in my office. Pam rolled her eyes and left, shutting the door behind her.
"Thank you." the woman said as the door shut. I sat up on the couch, and returned to my desk. The woman took a seat in one of the chairs on the other side.
"I checked to see if there were any reports of a missing woman while you were cleaning up, but I didn't find anything." I said to her, and instantly regretted it. Tears started to fill her eyes again, and this time, they spilled over. I handed her the box of tissues that sat on my desk.
I let her cry. I didn't know what else to do. She did this for about five minutes before she calmed herself down. When she had calmed to a whimper and a few hiccups, I spoke again.
"Perhaps it's time we leave here. I can take you to the police station if you like."
"Okay." she said with absolutely no emotion.
I rose from my desk and headed to the door. She rose, and followed silently. We got the door leading out to the parking lot, and I opened it for her. She took a few steps towards my car and then winced. I looked down, noticing that she still had no shoes. She noticed me looking, and took another step before stopping.
"Pam didn't have shoes that were anywhere near fitting. I thought I would be alright. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Here, let me." I said, and picked her up. She rested her head against my shoulder. I froze. She had taken me by surprise again. How was she doing this to me? After a moment, she looked up at me, and I continued to my car. I set her down as I opened the door for her, and she climbed in.
We drove silently to the Shreveport police station. I pulled into the parking lot, and turned off the car. I turned to the mysterious woman. She was on the verge of crying again, and now, she was more scared than she had been all night.
"You will be safe with them. They can find out who you are. They can take you to your family."
"What if I don't have a family? You said no one had reported me missing. What if there is no one who knows me."
"I'm sure there is someone looking for you." I said, trying to reassure her. I exited my car, and went around to her door. I helped her out, and we slowly started to walk to the front entrance to the police station. We were ten feet from the door when she froze. I stopped to look at her, and tried to urge her on, but she stood there shaking her head.
"I don't want to. I can't." she said. Her heartbeat had increased exponentially. Her breathing had quickened. I wanted to avoid a scene. I could have easily lifted her and carried her in. But I tried the more subtle approach.
"You want to go into the station. You will be safe in there. They will help you to get home." I said, staring hard into her eyes. And then the most astounding thing happened.
"What are you doing?" she asked. She was looking at me quite puzzled. I had distracted her, but I hadn't been able to glamour her.
"Nothing." I said. Peculiar. "Are you sure you don't want to go in?" I asked. She shook her head no. I turned and make my way back to my car, and she followed.
"I will take you to my home." I finally said after we sat in my car a few minutes. I had hardly believed the words when they left my mouth. I was inviting a human woman to my home. A human woman I didn't even know.
But in my defense, she didn't know herself either. I stared at her a few more minutes. She was a mystery. She was no threat, of that I was sure. If I hadn't been, I wouldn't have thought to take her to my home.
And I trusted her? Odd. Where had that come from?
She had said nothing the entire ride back to my home. We pulled into my garage, and I let the door shut behind my car before we exited. I went to her door, and opened it to let her out. I picked her up again to carry her into my home. At some point on our way home, a few of the cuts on her feet had opened back up.
I walked us into my kitchen. She kept her face buried in my shoulder. "Hold on to my neck." I said, and she complied. I paused for a moment as her warm arms wrapped themselves around my neck. Her hands found the base of my hair at the back of my neck, and her fingers lightly caressed it. But there was no hint of arousal coming from her. I took that moment to inhale her scent. Sometimes, you could learn a lot about a human that way. I had just learned quite a few interesting facts, and raised a few more questions for myself.
With her holding onto my neck, I reached a hand out and pulled out one of the chairs from my dining room, and into my kitchen. I sat her down, and slowly pulled away as she released my neck.
"Wait here." I told her. I searched the cabinets for a pot, and finally found one in one of the last places that I looked. I obviously didn't have much use for a kitchen, but I kept it stocked, just in case. I took the pot to the sink, and filled it with warm water. "I'll be right back." I said, and went to one of the bathrooms in my home. I found a washcloth along with a few large towels. I joined the woman back in my kitchen, and laid a towel down before I put the pot of warm water at her feet.
"You should take off your jeans." I told her, and she blushed. I smiled at her, and then rose and headed back to the bathroom, and retrieved a robe for her. I went back to the kitchen and handed it to her. "Take off your clothes." I said and handed her the robe. Without another word, I turned my back to her. At first, she didn't move, but after a moment, I heard her start to undress. I tried to be a gentlemen, but I caught a glimpse of her in the reflection of my stainless steel refrigerator. She was in panties and a bra, and reaching for the robe.
Stunning.
She finished and sat back down in the chair I had set out for her, and I turned back to her, and knelt at her feet. I picked up her feet and placed them in the pot. She gasped and I stopped my movements and raised an eyebrow to her.
"I'm fine." she said, and I lowered her feet in the rest of the way. I picked up the washrag, and wiped down her feet. I was as gentle as possible around the cuts on her soles. There were a few pieces of gravel still stuck in them. She winced as I removed them. A few were fairly deep, and I was surprised she hadn't been in more pain.
I paused for a moment, and I wasn't quite sure what came over me, but without really thinking about it, I brought my finger to my mouth, and extended my fangs. I pricked my finger and brought it down to one of her feet.
She tensed up. "What are you doing?"
"Healing your cuts." I said, and brought my finger to her feet, and rubbed the blood oozing from my finger on each cut. She relaxed after a moment. I could see the cuts already starting to close up on the first foot. I left it outside the pot of water, and then I took her other foot. The cut on my finger had all but closed itself, and I pricked it on my fang again before lowering it back to her foot.
Once I was done, I took the pot of water, and emptied it back into the sink, and left the pot there. The woman was still sitting in the chair, only now she was inspecting her feet.
"How did you do that?" she asked when I returned to standing in front of her.
"My blood, well, vampire blood, it heals."
"It sure does." she said, looking back down at her feet.
"It's not something that we like to share. I'm sure you can understand why, even in your current state. I trust you wont say anything?"
"Of course not. Besides, who would I tell?" she said, and for the first time, she smiled.
Amazing.
I stood there for a moment admiring her, and then beckoned her to follow me. "Come, I will show you the rest of the house." She rose and followed me. I took her around, showing her the bathroom that she could use, the living room, and then I took her to the spare room.
"You can sleep here tonight. You know where the kitchen is. I'm afraid there may not be much, if anything, to eat in there. Are you hungry?"
She seemed to think that over for a moment, and then shook her head that she wasn't. "I will make sure my day man takes care of food for you, along with some other items you might need." I turned to her, and then headed back to the door of the bedroom. "I will be in my office, it's down the hall to the right, if you need anything." and with that, I started to close the door.
"Wait." she called just as it was about to shut. I opened it back up, and my eyes met hers. They were once again filled with tears. "Please. Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"
I raised an eyebrow. I'm sure I looked absolutely puzzled. She looked so frightened. Not of me however. It seemed she was frightened to be left alone. I nodded to her, and she walked to the bed, and climbed in. I kicked off my shoes, and joined her. She got under the covers, and I followed suit. I laid on my back, slightly perched up against the headboard. I looked down at the mystery woman. She was on her side, facing me.
"Thank you." she said, and closed her eyes.
"You're welcome."
She closed her eyes, but hadn't quite relaxed. I slid down in the bed, and laid on my side to face her. She opened her eyes again, but I could tell that they were now heavy with sleep.
"What's your name?" she whispered to me.
"Eric." I whispered back. She smiled, and I felt around under the covers until I found her hand. I laced my fingers with hers, and I felt her relax completely. Her breathing and heartbeat leveled out, and soon, she was asleep.
I didn't leave right away. I laid there with her. I was… I couldn't put a name to it. Content? Perhaps… but I didn't know this woman. She didn't even know herself.
I found my fingers brushing the hair from her face. Some of it had blended with mine. Our hair color was the same. I couldn't tell where hers ended, and mine began.
I wondered a few things about her then. Things that I would discuss with Pam tomorrow night. I decided to lay there in bed with her for the rest of the night.
I thought about all the little things I had learned about her, but not shared with her, since I had pulled over on the side of the highway to pick up the woman running down it at nearly two in the morning.
First, she was a virgin. I had smelled that when she had wrapped her arms around my neck before I cleaned her feet. It wouldn't have been notable, except for she appeared to be in her early to mid twenties. Now a days, that was something unusual.
Second, she smelled of Fae. Fae magic to be more precise. I hadn't noticed that either until she had wrapped her arms around my neck. Someone had tried to mask it, but there was still a slight trace of it.
And then there were the scars. They had traced up her legs. I had noticed them first around her neck, and then more when I had bathed her feet. They ran up her legs. It was when I was cleaning off her feet that I noticed that the smell of Fae magic was coming from her scars specifically. A Fae had healed her to an extent at some point. But they hadn't been able to completely heal her scars. I wondered how much more of her body they covered.
Well, what did you think?
Hope you enjoyed. More to come next Sunday if ya'll seem to be enjoying it. ;)
Snoogans and Snoochie Boochies!
