Whoever it was trying to frame Carmilla for the past couple of weeks, wasn't nearly the amateur they both had previously thought. The nameless foe they've come to encounter, has been nothing but persistent in delivering a message. That they would be relentless and unforgiving, throwing everything they had in their arsenal against them, to damage Carmilla's or even all vampires formidable reputations; in any and every way possible.
That whoever it was, was set to drive Laura even further away. To make Carmilla look like the very monster she had always seen herself as. They were smart, beyond smart, and have been steps ahead of both Carmilla and her sister for a good while now, and she was consistently falling right into their hands when the time came.
First, the acts started off small and hardly anything they had to cover up. Then, the body nearly torn apart was appeared in the quad. Not only has this anonymous source been soo gracious as to fuel the anti-vampire campaign's animosity at the best convenience, they are also the ones supplying the raging hunting parties. What makes it so much worse, is that they've made it abundantly clear that they possessed certain knowledge very few human's had access too.
"They're over there!"
Carmilla prepares and gathers her thoughts into scolding words to hurl at Mattie regarding her stupid plan, when a sudden pressure cuts through her chest. The pressure slices through her shoulder and out through her back, spilling blood over her from both ends of the wound.
The campus lights around her dim, every sound becomes muffled, as if she were spying on the event from another room.
She doesn't know how long she's been holding her breath since the object speared through her, until she finally tries to let one out, only for it to be cut short by a strangled cry.
She can't come to correct terms right now. She's just been shot by an arrow, and though it's deep, she can feel the tip of the arrowhead hasn't quite cleared out of her back.
Mattie manages to both drag Carmilla's mostly limp body and avoid the pseudo vampire hunters all at once. When Carmilla finally comes to, they are in the stairwell of one of the dorm buildings. It is less than ideal, and obviously nothing even remotely comparable an impenetrable compound, but it will have to do for now.
Carmilla snaps herself into their chaotic reality and ignores Mattie's babbling when she grips the protruding arrow. At the very thought of pulling the arrow that is jutting out haphazardly from her figure, she lets out a whimper. She feels like a wounded animal, the vibrations of her whimpers scratching painfully from the inside of her body.
Mattie's hand clasps over hers gently. Whether the motion was to comfort Carmilla who is shaking in pain, or to give the silent command not to do anything rash, it was impossible to tell.
Carmilla's ragged breath turns into desperate gasping. She feels the pain ripple to the rest of her body as she struggles to dislodge the foreign object. The taste of metal creeps into her throat and touches her tongue as the dark crimson liquids spills from the puncture wound uncontrollably. Mattie tries desperately to steady her shaking hands despite seeing her sister potentially fatal injury.
This wasn't how it was supposed to end. Children running around with bow and arrows do not get to take down a vampire. Not even a toddler vampire like her sister.
Mattie knows if the arrow shifts even a fraction of an inch, it very well could be the end of Carmilla. The thought sobers Mattie enough to get a firm grip on the slippery arrow. If Mattie got a grip on the arrow this means they are making progress, and progress meant that it can just as easily be taken away.
Just when Mattie's concentration was most demanded and Carmilla's pain peaked, they smelled it. The formidable and deadly scent they never hoped to encounter.
"Miss," Mattie chokes down the hollowness.
They both recognize it instantaneously.
If this situation was bad at first, it is now catastrophic.
Carmilla and, by extension Mattie, are being actively framed. Bodies have been mangled and disposed of publicly. It wasn't their style, but that didn't matter. Who would believe a vampire stating that sure, they kill people, but not those people and not ever in that manner? In the meantime even Laura was beginning to buy into it, which seemed to be part of their plan. Someone who hated vampires but knew them very well was determined to paint Carmilla and Mattie as absolute bloodthirsty monsters with an appetite for complete destruction. It's not true. Not completely anyway. Yet here they were, injured and in danger because of this intricate frame job.
Whoever it was supplying this insane band of hunting-super-freaks knew there was one thing a vampire couldn't bounce back so easily from. And they must have dipped every single arrow into it.
The scent they both recognized so well is essence of a werewolf. Who knows how they found out about the deadly toxin in the beast's saliva, but the biggest concern is where they got it.
The point is, the supernatural virus is now spreading through Carmilla's body at an alarming speed.
Carmilla's mind and body can only panic now. If she doesn't get this damn thing out of her before it invades her bloodstream any further, or the arrow itself shift in any which way, it could quite possibly be the death of her….
Pain explodes from all sides of her when Mattie wraps her discolored fingers around the arrow.
Carmilla felt fire begin to lick at every inch of her skin. Fever was the first sign of Essence being used. There might not be escape for Carmilla, but Mattie still has a chance.
"Mattie, just go. Please."
"What in gods name are you talking about kitten?"
"I'm telling you to get out of here. I will buy you as much time as I can from these lackwits. They are coming. We both know I'm too weak to run. I'm burning up anyway. Just go."
Mattie accidentally bumps against what remains of the arrow. Giving a sour face and a slight shake of the head.
"Don't be a fool. I am not leaving you here. I have no idea what is going to happen or what we are going to do. What I do know is that even if I have to kill every human within a hundred mile radius to get you to safety, then I will. Now shut your mouth and let me get this arrow out so you can stop whining." Mattie draws in a deep breath, scanning her eyes over the wound for a third time. "I have to break this end off first before I can pull the rest through. Are you ready?"
Despite Carmilla's urge for witty jokes in this moment, she managed to see the worry in Mattie's posture. Matska was not an easy read, her demeanor covered the minute details of her face and her body moved differently than a humans of course making it even harder to tell; but the worry she had was evident, and made her grit her teeth.
If she had to argue with her sister, she would. Honestly, she can't help fight with a poisonous arrow lodged in her chest, and if she isn't going to be of much use or in the right state of mind in the next ten minutes, she might as well run in the opposite direction to get the hunting party off of her sister's back.
Of course Mattie would ruin that plan. Selfishness was reserved for those outside of a sibling bond.
Opting for biting her tongue Carmilla waited till she reasoned it all out and couldn't help the triumphant smile that launched across her lips when Mattie tares off the ends of her shirt, and hands the loose fabric to Carmilla to bite down on. She popped it between her teeth, rolling her eyes when she was asked her if she was ready. Who would be ready? Who actually wanted to be in this much pain? She sure as hell didn't, and she doesn't want to feed her sister's worry any more than she already had, so she does her best in hiding the actual amount of pain she was in; almost too well. She tossed her a rather annoyed look which she rightly took as her cue.
"Just do it," Carmilla muffles through the scraps of her shirt shoved into her mouth.
Mattie gives no warning, and snaps the appropriate end in half.
It's so terrible, so excruciating, she wants to pass out just from the damn thing just being touched.
After the end is broken off, Mattie in one fluid motion, pulls the remaining end of the arrow quickly. The splintered remains of the arrow slide through Carmilla's pulverized flesh.
The world darkened and her whole body flinched, clenching in on itself like it would somehow release the blinding pain in her shoulder. A whimper escaped her, but she managed to bite back the sob that would have followed it.
For once in Matska's many lifetimes, her hands are shaking… and bad. So bad in fact, that she can't even manage to hold the spear head for more than a second before it clatters the ground. When Mattie applies pressure to the wound, it makes Carmilla flinch again and a flush of renewed humiliation spreads up her neck to her cheeks.
Her sister stilled beside her, when the stench reached her nose for a second time. Fear had the blood pumping harder, unknowingly spreading the life-threating vile throughout her body even faster; it wasn't going to be long until it started draining energy from every part of her body, relentlessly leaving her pale and shaking.
There were very few things either girl had been afraid of since turning, but this one would forever and always take the cake. Mother had always warned them about this, about how the werewolves had this advantage against them. She made sure her children knew the dangers of coming in contact with a werewolf, and that of the essence they carried within them. How it only took one bite to potentially be a death sentence. Not only would it weaken them to the astonishing, lowly levels of mere human battling this illness, but that wasn't the worst part of it. Aside from the supernaturally high fevers, nausea, chills, and unbearable body aches, there was something much more important one could fear losing in times of this sickness; their mind.
That was what struck the utmost fear.
Mother was sure to emphasize that while the physical illness is unpleasant and dangerous, the mental effects are far more taxing and can last long after the essence has left their body.
Not only would the essence cause incredibly realistic dreams, but they are next to impossible to wake up from. Additionally, they are unbelievably convincing, and it was hard to tell what is real and what isn't. This is where any vampire fell victim to the hallucinations, being lost in-between coherent states, would cause them to lose their mind. They lash out, killing anything near them, making a fatal mess. This lead too most vampires in the past, being put down almost immediately after one was known to have been bitten. Few vampires are given the chance, because very few have been known to bounce back.
It all comes down to circumstance. Are they alone? Were they brought for help in time? Mostly they needed to have something to fight to return to.
The mere thought of screaming causes pain, but even if she could, doing so wouldn't help anyone in this situation.
Exhaustion rapidly takes over, numbing all the muscles needed for a timely escape. Despite her pride in always taking care of herself, she needs Mattie more than she cares to admit. Carmilla doesn't feel like a centuries old beast of the night. She is a hurt little sister with pain caused from more than the physical wound. She is a burden to Laura's conscious and a burden to her sister's safety. One arrow brought Carmilla down to a level she never hoped to be on. A level she hadn't ever thought she would see again after being turned into the gloriously powerful creature that she is today. And yet, here she lay. Body broken and consciousness dwindling.
She can hear her heart struggling, beating furiously and off key to keep her broken body alive. Her veins feel like sandpaper under her skin, the sweat makes her hair cling to the sides of her face, and she's given up trying to stand on her own.
Carmilla feels one of her arms sling around her sister's neck, then she's being lifted to her feet again.
Mattie is speaking in one of the many foreign tongues that she had learned over her extensive time on earth. She madly questions what they should do or where they can go. Truthfully they haven't made many friends in the area and Carmilla is in no condition to travel. Though while Mattie blurts out random snippets of thoughts, Carmilla's mind begins to slip. Her thoughts mesh and mold into a mad mixture of pain and yearning for comfort.
Comfort in her life choices. Comfort in an intact chest cavity. Comfort in warm, reassuring arms, free of judgment. Comfort in being content, as she was not so long ago with Laura by her side. Past and present crash into each other and Carmilla struggles to ascertain what her current reality actually is.
"Laura, please Laura." Carmilla croaks out, fire traveling up her throat to steal her last remaining words.
Carmilla's vision blurs and then snaps to complete darkness; her last thought being of Laura's face, cookie crumbs and all.
Huge thank you to Can_i_keep_you80 for being the best beta / co-writer I've ever had the pleasure of working with.
All reviews and comments are loved!