A/N: Hey everyone! I know I haven't updated Children in the Dark or A Different Today Than Yesterday. There is good reason for that. It's called AP Tests, College, High School, Stress, Writer's Block, and Laziness. All very powerful things. Lucky for ADTTY fans, A Single Silver Strand is actually ADTTY...rewritten! Yep, I am currently rewritting my first fanfiction. (Fans of CITD, I want to finish this story before I resume that story. But don't worry, I fully intend to finish that story as well.) As I tried to write the next chapter to ADTTY, I found that due to so many plot holes and Inconsistencies in my story (ex: in the first chapter Bishop drives, but suddenly, in the later chapters she doesn't even have a car), I couldn't write another word. So here is the new and improved version. I hope you like this Bishop better than the first. I felt she needed more personality. So enjoy!
A Single Silver Strand
Chapter One
The graveyard was filled with mourners dressed in black. Faces shined with tears and sobs filled the area. The preacher was almost in tears himself as he related a story about the deceased. They had been good friends and it was heartbreaking to see the gleaming ebony coffin suspended above a rectangular hole.
After a few words from a number of the people in attendance, the coffin was lowered into the ground. An older woman proceeded to erupt in fresh tears, her two daughters comforting her in vain.
Once that was done the guests slowly made their way to their cars where they began the trek to the repast at the church the family frequented. Soon only the mother, her two daughters, and the reverend were left.
With a heavy sigh, Reverend Newlin, Sr. stood in front of the distraught Pennington women. It took a few minutes for him to figure out what to say.
"Maria, let's get you to the church. Most of the congregation is probably there by now."
Maria couldn't speak so she nodded her agreement. The pretty blonde child at her side took her left arm while Newlin took her right. Together the trio walked to the black car waiting for them. The blue eyed brunette stayed behind, staring at the fresh mound of dirt.
"Daddy?" she whispered. There was no answer.
"Daddy, I…I," her voice stuttered. Words she needed to say, wanted to say were gone, buried underneath each inch of dirt that separated her father from her.
Soft footsteps sounded behind her and she was aware of a body hovering close. "Bishop, your mother's waiting for you in the car. I think you should go now," the familiar voice told her awkwardly.
Bishop turned to face Steve, Rev. Newlin's eldest son. For once, he didn't have his characteristic smile and handshake ready. Bishop kind of wished he did. It might have gotten her mind off tragedy.
"I'm coming."
"Did you hear? There's a vampire in the basement and we're going to sacrifice him at dawn!" the voice of Mrs. Louis trilled as she tried to whisper to her gossip buddies. Mrs. Louis never could whisper, even if it would save her life.
"Oh, yes! I heard it is over 2,000 years old! Can you believe it? It has been around for that long and no one's done the sensible thing and ended its miserable…being," one of the gossips whispered harshly. I could hear the disapproval in her aging voice.
As the old bats went back and forth about the mysterious vampire in the basement, I tried to lean closer and closer to them to hear. The laughter of little kids and the chatter of the adults were making it hard to eavesdrop. Really, a vampire in the Light of Day Church? That was impossible, right?
"Why if it isn't little Bishop Pennington! My how you have grown up! Steve will be shocked to see you now," the peppy voice of Sarah Newlin gushed causing me to give a startled shriek. Mrs. Newlin seemed slightly surprised at my squawk, but her smile never faded. Calming my beating heart I gave her my brightest smile. I had always liked Mrs. Newlin. When I was younger, she used to babysit me. She was the nicest person I had ever met. While I never admitted it out loud, I always wanted to be just like her. She was pretty, nice, and had a wonderful husband. She had the perfect life.
"Ms. Sarah, what a pleasure to see you! I didn't think we'd get time to talk with all of the people here. And it doesn't seem like the flood of people is going to stop soon!"
Mrs. Newlin gave a twinkling laugh. "Yes, that's just what we like to see. I just came over to say 'hi.' I needed a break from greeting everyone at the door," she confessed. It made me feel a bit badly that she had to greet all of us by herself. Normally Steve was right there with her.
"Oh, of course! You deserve a break, Ms. Sarah."
My remark caused her to blush with humility. We went on for a little while longer before she decided she had to get back to work. I offered to greet the members of the lock-in with her so that she didn't have to do it all by herself, but she rebuked me. She didn't want to take away any of the fun the lock-in had to offer.
Although, what fun she was referring to was still questionable. I had been to plenty of lock-ins, but none at the Light of Day Church itself. So far, it was more boring than the others I had been to, probably because of the sheer volume of people attending.
Absolutely bored, I began to pace the sanctuary. While pacing, bits of conversations attacked my ears. About 60% of the conversations were about the vampire hidden in the basement. Although, I guess he wouldn't be considered hidden if everyone seemed to know where he was.
A few of the organizers began to ask everyone to get situated for the lock-in, it was about to begin. With a shrug, I made my way to the bathroom, only to discover it completely filled with prepubescent girls asking if their make-up and hair looked alright. Sighing, I hurried off to a bathroom on the next floor. Thankfully, no one was in that bathroom and I was free from the shallow talk of girls. I changed rather quickly and decided that exploring was in order. It was my first time at the Light of Day Church, even though my family was good friends with the Newlins.
While exploring, I came upon a small door being guarded by three men with stakes, guns, and silver chains. It seemed logical to assume that room housed the infamous vampire I had been hearing so much about.
"Hey, what are you doing out of the sitting room?" one of the men yelled at me. He was sweating something awful and seemed to be shaking, but his expression was one of anger.
"I was changing for the lock-in. I used the upstairs bathroom instead of the sanctuary bathroom. It was too crowded," I explained nervously. Armed men yelling at you was never fun.
"Really? And who are you?" the same man asked.
"I'm Bishop Pennington. My sister is Laura Pennington. She invited me to the lock-in with her."
The men seemed to relax after hearing my introduction.
"Good. You're not a bloodsucker then," a different guard said.
"No, not the last time I checked."
The men ignored my sarcasm and instead handed me a handgun. I looked at the gun blankly. The weight of it felt wrong in my hand.
"You know how to shoot a gun, right? You point, aim, and fire. You got that? There aren't many bullets in there, so only use it if you have to, okay. Now get back to the sitting room."
With that, the man pushed me toward the sitting room doors. Flabbergasted I began sauntering toward them. I would have kept going if I hadn't heard footsteps walking behind me. Turning, I saw an absolutely huge blond man walking up to the guards. At first the trio seemed alarmed, however they soon calmed. I assumed they knew the man and resumed my stroll to the sitting room.
To my alarm, the doors of the room were locked. Feeling like a complete idiot, I began to bang on the large wooden doors.
"Hello? Let me in! Laura, it's Bishop. Why are the doors locked already? Hello? Anybody there?" I yelled into the door. I could hear talking through the doors, so I knew there were people in the tiny room.
Slowly, the doors opened a tiny bit. The face of a stranger greeted me.
"What are you doing outside the sitting room? Are you a vampire?" she asked. I went blank faced at her stupidity.
"If I was alive when I came here, there is no way I could be a vampire in twenty minutes. Let me in, dumbass."
After shooting me a nasty glare, she opened the door just a crack in order to let me slide in. As I stepped into the room I noticed a very peculiar thing. The members of the congregation were not in the sanctuary having fun, but surrounding the doors armed with guns, silver, and grimaces.
My sister, Laura, waved me over to her, a stake in one hand and a delicate chain of silver in the other. "There is a vampire in the sanctuary with Steve! Here, put this around you so you can protect yourself," she said as she wrapped the chain of silver around my neck, letting the ends fall to reach just above my knees. Yeah, gun or silver? I think I know which one.
A large man motioned for us all to file into the sanctuary. I was terrified. The first thing I saw as we marched into the sanctuary was a pretty blonde woman being restrained by a few male members of the congregation. The next thing was her giant of a companion, who looked coldly calm and very strangely familiar. I could practically taste the déjà vu. He was the man in the hall just minutes ago.
Steve began another one of his "vampires are evil" monologues while being interrupted every few minutes by the absolutely livid blonde woman, whom it seemed, was named Sookie Stackhouse.
I had to look away when the blond vampire was held down by a long chain of silver, but the sizzling sound that came from the action still rang through my ears. My suspicions were confirmed, the blond giant was indeed a vampire.
This wasn't right. I knew that much.
Suddenly, the doors to the sanctuary flew open and another vampire stood before us. Within minutes, what seemed to be a vampire army surrounded us all. I think we were all scared, trembling with absolute terror.
None of us wanted to die.
There was more arguing about things I didn't understand before Steve pulled a gun on Sookie. I was genuinely terrified for her. Without warning, Steve cried in pain as the sound of a gun shot rang through the air. I jumped in surprise and glanced at the gleaming handgun in my grip. Nope, the shot hadn't been from me. Behind me, a man that looked strangely familiar held a paint ball gun; clearly he was the one who had shot Steve.
It was then that I realized why he looked familiar; he was Sookie Stackhouse's brother. Their resemblance was more than a little striking. More fighting and arguing waged until suddenly, vampires grabbed as many of us as possible, pushing our heads to the side to reveal our necks. I almost screamed when the pale arm of a pretty vampire slid around my waist while her other hand yanked my hair aside.
Her cool breath chilled my skin, seemingly numbing my emotions. My fear had stopped. It was replaced with a strange sensation. Something like floating in the water only there wasn't any water and my body seemed too warm.
"Enough!" an unfamiliar voice reverberated through the room, breaking whatever spell I had been under. Everyone looked up to see a figure dressed in a pale cream outfit.
He was beautiful. Breathtaking. Exotic. Dangerous. He was a vampire. That much I could tell.
This new vampire addressed a male vampire in a cowboy get-up. "These people have not harmed me. See, we can co-exist."
He then proceeded to ask Steve for peace, which Steve readily turned down. "Kill me. Do it. Jesus will protect me," he said as he kneeled before the original blond vampire. Steve had never looked more pathetic than he did at that moment. I couldn't tell where the Steve I had grown up with had gone. In his place was this stranger with a cruel face.
"I am actually older than your Jesus. I wish I could have known him, but I missed it," the vampire said off-handedly. In a different situation, I might have laughed.
Suddenly, the beautiful vampire was pulling Steve up by his neck. "Good people, who of you are willing to die for this man's madness?" he asked the crowd. Silence echoed back at him. I could feel Laura's muscles tense next to me even more and I knew she was going to offer herself. "Don't," I whispered in her direction. She seemed to turn to jell-o in the arms of the male vampire holding her. The vampire gave a knowing look to us.
"That's what I thought," the sheriff continued.
"People, go home, it's over now."
Slowly, the vampires around me released their humans. The vampire that clutched me gave a final squeeze before she let her arms drop. Her touch was almost comforting. The juxtaposition of her icy skin on my warm body reminded me of the years of my childhood when I got terrible fevers. Mama's cool hand on my blazing forehead was always a relief.
Laura fell in a heap to the ground without the support of the vampire. She seemed dazed. I helped her to her feet and sent her with a shaken up family. I was hesitant to leave. Steve's weak cries begging us not to leave him sent chills up my spine, but still I didn't want to leave. I couldn't.
Apparently, neither did another man. He stood behind the vampire cowboy while I stood closer to the sanctuary doors. After a short time, the man apparently lost his guts and walked through the doors, forcing me to leave as well.
Trying to go as slowly as possible, I took baby steps to the front doors. My frustrating sluggishness was rewarded only seconds later, however. The vampire, the one the cowboy called "Sheriff," walked through the sanctuary doors.
Flinging my caution to the wind, I strode up to him causing him to halt his purposeful stroll. He stared curiously at me as I shook before him. I had never done this before. The whole, speaking to a vampire thing.
"Um…I, uh, wanted to, um, thank you…for saving us. You really didn't have to. I mean, I'm glad you did, but, uh, I, well," I stuttered before he cut me off.
"Truly, it was my duty to keep everyone safe, both vampire and human. I thank you for your manners, however."
"Yeah, sure. Of course." Yep, brilliance right there.
With that, I knew I was dismissed. He returned to his trek to where ever it was he was headed. With the last of my courage, for after a night like that my courage was down to its final drops, I managed to shout to him, "My name's Bishop! Bishop Pennington!"
He turned slightly with an amused smile. "Godric." And then he was gone.
"Bishop, what are you doing conversing with that creature of Hell?" Laura growled as she placed a steel grip on my arm. Even though Laura was my younger sister, she still managed to treat me as the younger one. With an angry frown, I yanked my arm from her grasp.
"Leave me alone Laura. I was just thanking him for saving us."
Laura looked at me with disgust. "He didn't save us. It was his kind's fault that it happened in the first place. It was God who saved us," she sneered.
I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Unfortunately, Laura noticed. Her eyes narrowed into slits and her mouth pursed into a straight line. This was a tell-tale sign that she was about to explode. With a sigh I grabbed her bicep and began to lead her to my car. "Forget about it, Laura. I didn't mean anything by it and I am most certainly not going to see him again. So you don't have to worry your yellow little head."
Laura didn't respond to me and instead threw herself into the passenger seat. She didn't even buckle up. The ride home was made in silence.