Hey folks! I'll say this once, and once only. Almost all characters and many references have been taken or adapted from Annette Klause's book, Blood and Chocolate. Suprise that. This is my first Fanfic... so please read and review my work!
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Chapter 1
Vivian Gandillon
Uncle Rudy talked to me one morning a few months after the West Virginia disaster. "There's no such thing as living in heaven or hell… imagine being emaciated from all restraints; free to rob a bank, kill your pup and howl to your own song. You'd be out of control, and a danger to everyone around you. No matter what you did it would be all for yourself. Now imagine that everyone in the world were like this." He reaches for his infamous morning vice; the coffee plunger and I picture a frenzy of faceless teenagers ransacking the local Banana Republic. "Oh, that'll be the end of the world," and the end of red dot specials, I add sarcastically. Rudy just looks up at me, as though to guess my thoughts.
"Exactly. It would be a form of anarchy, families would divide, religion decapitated and on grander scale the earth could not support all our needs." I pull out one of the Victorian style chairs with upholstery ripped within a shred of its life by the Five, no doubt. Slinging my loaded backpack onto the linoleum with a bang I helped myself to some coffee, never the one to turn down caffeine. I glance up at him again, barring the icy chill that had begun to creep back over my heart with his words. "The point is that a full life cannot be either absolute bliss, or an eternity of hellfire. The key to life is balance."
God knows why this perfect recollection springs into mind now of all times. Stretching my neck against the almost completely unpadded seat as we slow down coming into a small town, a seemingly pointless blip on the map I glance out the window. Trees that seem almost solid gold in the hot fall line the roadside and between them I can just catch glimpses of the huge Appalachian Mountains that have been getting closer all day. Finally. I don't even mind roasting on low heat (the air conditioning broke down three hours ago) in this 'car' as long as we get to Vermont tonight. I glance across at Gabriel, who must have felt my gaze because he looked at me and grinned slowly in the smoldering fashion he seems to have reserved just for me. His hair seemed more unkept after several days on the road and his shirt was plastered to his back just like mine. It's only been a fortnight since we ran together on the river, and I just don't know how I should act towards him.
I'm not worried… there aren't enough hours in the day to worry. Grabbing the remnants of a life that's as useful as knowing that Jupiter is one giant ball of gas and storms in the space of a few weeks is hectic (as an understatement of the century) but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I just need to get away from it all, seeing Bingo's look of pure hatred, the spot where we buried Astrid and most of all him. If a small voice in the back of my mind whispers that I'm running again, I'm ignoring it. I glance back out the window and suddenly find my hand wrapped in his huge hand tightly. Sometimes words are meaningless.
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When a qualified mechanic resorts to kicking the drivers door of the oh-so-faithful Ford Faloon 500 that wouldn't look out of place in a museum and has bucket seats to match the fluffy dice, you know there's something wrong. Or just maybe it's the smoke billowing out of the engine that gives it away. Who knows. At least one thing is entirely certain; there is no way that thing is gonna cool down before next Christmas. Grabbing a small steak from the chilly bin Mom decided would come in handy and insisted we drag on the boiling day through the acrid ………. Countryside I admit I'm a little grateful. Gabriel stands back and absently attempts to wipe the black engine smut off his hands with his white shirt making long stripes that would make a zebra proud. I smirk as he walks over and flops down on the grass beside me. Typical America; cars whistle past without even glancing at the stranded couple and thank their lucky stars they aren't in our place and make mental notes to catch up on the sky-high car insurance premiums.
"Hate to admit it Viv, but that car isn't going anywhere soon," Gabriel said, his voice a husky purr that seemed to rise like distant thunder. "Could have fooled me. Cant you just see that smoke thinning?" I commented and he laughed. "It's probably gonna be suspected as a new terrorist attack, trying to destroy the ozone layer above America. They're probably mustering the SAS as we speak." He joked sleepily and lay back on the lush grass, dragging me back with him against my protests so we were side by side staring at the azure sky. I feel safe for the first time in almost a month and suddenly the plan of being at Vermont by nightfall doesn't seem to matter.
I could tell that sound from a mile away; the muffler-less roar of a 2.6cc Ducati combined with skull wrenching vibes that seem to make the air shudder in their wake. The Five. On bikes. Opening my eyes I turned my head slowly to look at Gabriel's face. He looked pained, torn between smacking sense into the immature jerks or showing them how to really use a bike, I guess. Gabriel's inner thought sanctum isn't exactly left on display. "Did I miss something?" I asked, three quarters sun drunk. "There was a sale on at the same place I got this hunk of metal on four bikes" "and you figured that by some miraculous chance this might rein them in?" Gabriel smirked slightly. "Ever heard of 'bribery and corruption', babe?" I'll never say so much aloud, but he is probably right. Giving them hefty gifts will make them faithful and agreeable, or at the every least consider before they commit their next act of stupidity.
I just take a deep breath and prepare for 'fun'. Gabriel pulled me up as though I were the consistency of a butterfly and we watched as they arrived in a perfect v-formation, a mirage of black leather. Temptation to hit head against concrete wall: high. Gregory was the first to clamber off and kick out his stand and I could tell just by his strut that he was the official new leader. Not a bad choice considering their last. The ghetto blaster on the back of his bike was flicked off and suddenly I felt as though I could drown in the silence. "Gab! How you doing man?" He said extravagantly and Gabriel just looked at him, the muscle in his jaw twitching. You'd have to be blind and without any sense of smell to not realize our problem. Ulf walked over and gave me a friendly, innocent hug in greeting. It seems unusual after the last few years to receive a hug even vaguely innocent from any of the five, but here it is.
Somehow Gabriel managed to secure one of the bikes, and a phone call to Esmé and Tomas to pick up our baggage without pulling rank. We had agreed only to pull rank when necessary, as not only was it awkward but it's better to let people have their freewill and not always be forcing their help. Which all in all is why I am now perched on the back of a growling bike, holding onto Gabriel tightly as we rounded corners so sharply we risked skinning our knees. This guy has no respect for the speed limits, and I'm positive that after this journey I'll never need to exfoliate ever again. Still, there's something special about defying gravity and the laws of speed, it feels as though you're that much closer to the edge of everything the world hinges on. Don't ask me how I came up with, that, but there is. Gabriel speeds up as my arms tighten around him and I let out a howl of exuberance that gets lost in the wind.
By the time the sun dip's low on the horizon and every tree now has a long cool shadow we finally arrive. The homestead is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachians and looks out across the huge plains claimed by Homo Sapiens below. Vermont village is almost 15 minutes down the hill… close enough to be in contact, but distant enough that we can have privacy. The wild and completely untamed forest all around seems so tempting after the concrete jungle and a low whine forms in the base of my throat. The actual homestead itself is made up of several buildings scattered around a clearing and the surrounding bush. The main house is massive, in a Victorian castle style with two wings and a large veranda out the front built onto the house where the hill drops away so it feels as though you're walking above the trees.
There are almost 20 small apartments built into the bush behind the homestead that will serve as homes for our pack. Darkness comes quickly and without the moonlight we are practically blind and barely manage to stumble into the last apartment. It's slightly larger then the others, but has stark white walls instead of the uniform beige theme. Gabriel leans against a large table and watches me closely as though to read my reactions. I just close my eyes and smile. "Why are the walls plain?" I asked when I feel his strong arms wrap around me possessively. "I was hoping you could paint them…whatever you want." I smiled and turn in his grip to kiss him teasingly on the lips before I pull away. Not a chance of that; he grabs my hand and pulls me to him and kisses me hard, the heat of him almost searing. He bits my lip and I can feel it throb as sweet blood glistens on my skin and he pulls away briefly. "Welcome home," is all he has time to say.