The feeling that radiated through Tara Thorntons body as she awoke for the evening, could only be descibed as unpalatable.
She was stiff, sore, cold, and her stomach was in knots, which was odd and almost laughable considering her status as a newly made member of the undead. Vampires werent affected by temperature or miniscule aches and pains the way humans were. And yet...as her stomach continued to flip she began to feel nauseous.
She shook her head and reached up to rub her temples in an attempt to calm the anxiety that was currently running rampant through her as well. "What the hell?" She grumbled outloud.
Pushing open the lid to her coffin, and sitting up she was greeted by the familiar, yet strangely comforting silence of the dank, musty basement beneath the bar she had come to consider home over the past eight months.
It was the same sight she awoke to every evening, but still...something was amiss.
She could feel it in her bones. She could smell it and practically taste it. She didnt know how or why...she was still getting used to her vampire senses and newly razor sharp intuition...but she was certain that something terrible was either about to happen or with her luck, had already happend.
She scanned a wary eye over every inch of the pitch black room. There were no obvious threats to speak of, but the feeling in the pit of her stomach remained and even intensified as she continued to look around.
When her eyes landed on her makers pink coffin just three feet to the left of her own, her anxiety was momentarily forgotten. It was soon replaced with irritation and an intense hatred for the silk covered inanamite object.
She and Pam had been arguing that morning before Tara went to ground and the blonde had apparently opted to sleep in her own coffin instead of joining Tara in her like she normally did, or vise versa and they both slept in Pams. Bitch.
It was such a ridiculous fight and Tara could barely remember what had even started it. Well actually, she remembered exactly what started it...but it was ridiculous none the less...
She found herself growling deep in her throat as the memories of that morning flooded her mind.
X
It began as a simple enough misunderstanding about Taras whereabouts earlier in the evening. She had been sent to retrieve mail and packages from the clubs post office box, and decided to take a slight detour on the way back and stopped by Bills mansion to see Jessica.
Sure, she may have lost track of time and got home a little later than expected, but she made it back by five, a good hour before dawn. She didnt think it was that big of a deal.
Her maker however, didnt seem to share that sentiment, and had jumped down Taras throat the moment the young vampire crossed Fangtasias threshhold.
Never in her life had Tara seen some one go on such an endless fucking rant...
Pams lecture quickly turned into world war three between the two of them. Which was to be expected as Tara had never done very well with any kind of authority. She didnt like having to answer to other people and that hadnt changed since she became a vampire. Well, to a certain extent anyway...
She generally obeyed her maker (as much as that word made her skin crawl) and for the most part she fell in line where it counted, but she hated being treated like a child and Pam had a knack for making her feel like one.
Tara knew how much Pam cared for her and that everything she did and said was purely out of concern for her well being, and maybe it wouldnt have killed her to have picked up the phone and called Pam or even texted saying she would be late...but goddamn she didnt have to be such an insufferable bitch about it.
She never meant to worry Pam at all, it had been an honest mistake, but Pam didnt seem to want to hear anything about that. She wouldnt even let Tara explain, let alone apologize.
Instead, she insisted on yelling and spewing insults at her progeny in that condescending ass tone of hers that could make Tara feel instantly aroused when she heard it directed at someone else, but made her bood boil when it was geared towards her.
By the time dawn had made its appearance, the two of them were left standing across the bar from each other, matching glares plastered across their faces, and surrounded by the broken glass and barstools that had suffered as casualties of their dissagreement.
The silence that had suddenly overtaken the room was deafening and after a few more moments of angrily staring each other down, Tara sighed mightily.
"Fuck this shit." She grumbled, her expression exhasperated. "Im going to ground."
Pam didnt respond. She pursed her lips and dismissed Tara with a single curt nod of her head. Sparing one final glance at her makers pouting expression, Tara turned on her heel and headed downstairs, rolling her eyes hard as soon as she was sure Pam couldnt see...
X
The sound of the bar being unlocked from upstairs pulled Tara from her thoughts. She figured she had better get up and get ready as the bar would be opening soon and the last thing she wanted to hear right now was Pams mouth about being late for her shift.
Climbing out of her coffin, she nearly lost her footing as another wave of intense nausea shot through her. She had to grab ahold of the edge of her coffin to steady herself.
" FUCK!"
She gathered her composure after a few moments and the feeling began to fade. Glancing at the clock near the closet, she frowned. It was almost nine oclock. She couldnt believe Pam had let her sleep so late. In any other case she would have woken her almost an hour ago, especially on a work night. She must still be pissed, Tara though bitterly.
Pride pushed aside, Tara knew she had fucked up last night, and as much as she despised the thought, she knew she was going to have to apologize. She cringed visibly at the idea, even though she knew very well that Pam would forgive her as soon as she did.
Her maker liked to play the cold and merciless bitch, and she typically played it well, but Tara knew that when it came down to a select couple of people, underneath all that harshness and sass, Pam was a big softy.
Well...maybe not a "softy"...but she definitely had a soft spot in that cold, dead heart of hers, not a very big spot but it was there, and Tara was proud to say she had successfully managed to worm her way into it in the short time since her turning.
She pushed her discomfort to the back of her mind temporarily so that she could get ready for her shift. She was showered and dressed in less than ten minutes, and begrudgingly made her way up the stairs.
As she exited the stairwell, she paused staring contemplatively at the office door. It was closed and for a moment she thought about going in. She quickly decided against it as she wasnt ready to swallow her pride just yet. She also thought it would be best to give the blonde some more time to cool off, or atleast give herself time to gauge how angry she still was at her.
As she entered the main room of Fangtasia, she was met by a frantic looking Ginger who was scurrying about looking for keys to unlock the register and scrambling to get things in order.
"TARA!? Oh thank god.." The blonde squeaked, her voice full of relief. "Wheres Pam?!"
Tara wrinkled her forehead as she met the womans unsteady gaze curiously.
"What?" She asked, confusion evident in her tone and on her face.
"Pam! Is she still sleepin or somethin?...I was just fixin to come down there and check if yall were ok...but I know yall vampires aint fond of bein snuck up on while your restin and all..."
"Ginger what in the hell are you talkin about?" Tara interupted quickly, desperate to stop the incessant babbling. "Pams in the office..."
Ginger gazed back at the young vampire for a moment as if she were trying to solve a rather difficult puzzle. Then she shook her head slowly.
"No. No ones in there..." She began rambling again..." I didnt know where yall were...and I had to go all the way back home to get my keys to get in...Pam always has everything open by the time..."
A gust of wind cut through the space between the two women and a split second later Tara was downstairs in the basement yanking open the lid to her makers coffin.
Finding it empty, Tara immediately felt her heart drop into her gut. She sped back upstairs, busting through the door to the office only to find that empty as well.
"Fuck!" She whispered harshly, as she felt tears stinging her eyeballs. She refused to let them fall however. She wouldnt allow herself to show weakness in the presence of a human, even if it was only Ginger.
She was vaugely aware that the human had followed her into the office, and was still going on and on about who knows what, but all she could focus on was the increasing dread that filled her body.
Pam would never just up and dissapear without telling someone. No matter how angry she was. It just wasnt how she did things. Something wasnt right.
Reaching into her back pocket with shaky hands, she retrieved her cell phone and quickly dialed a familiar number. A sharp ringing sound soon began emanating from inside the desk. Tara stalked over to the desk and angrily yanked open one of the drawers revealing her makers pink blackberry.
"Goddammit..." She groused under her breath, shaking her head hoplessly. In a sudden fit of anger, she kicked the desk as hard as she could, causing one of the legs to snap in two and sending pieces of wood and metal flying every which way.
Gingers shrill, blood curdling scream effectively broke through her rage filled haze and brought her back to reality before anymore furniture suffered her wrath.
"Sorry...look, bars closed tonight ok? Actually...its closed until further notice! Go on home, we'll call ya when we need you to come back..."
"Everythang ok?" The blonde stammered nervously, eyeing the tense vampire wearily.
Tara sighed. "Fine Ginger. Just...just go... ok?" She pleaded lightly and the waitress eventually nodded but continued standing behind her.
Rolling her eyes, Tara sped in front of her and locked her dark eyes with the humans.
"Ginger..." She began, her voice taking on a slow and seductive tone as she took hold of her chin, "I want you to focus now, are you listening..?"
The human nodded slowly, her gaze becoming lazy and unfocused as the glamour took over her mind.
"Fangtasia is closed tonight...and possibly the rest of this week, but someone will let you know when your needed back...understand?"
"Uh huh" She mumbled and nodded.
"Itll be like...a vacation! Just keep your phone turned on and with you at all times incase we need to reach you...got it?"
The human nodded again and Tara smirked.
"Have a nice evening, Ginger." She drawled and qurirked her brow.
"Ok...then...night Tara..." The human stammered softly, before turning to head out.
Tara breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the front door slam shut and looked back down at her phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she found the number she needed and pressed send.
He answered on the third ring.
"Tara." Came Erics sardonic greeting and she couldnt help but cut her eyes a bit.
"Pams gone...I dont know where she is..." Tara felt the blood tears welling in her eyes again, but this time she let them fall. If she actually lost Pam she didnt know what she would do.
"Hello...?" She said after being met with silence, confusion lacing her tone, but there was noone there. She sighed defeatedly and dropped her phone on the black leather sofa before plopping down beside it, her head resting in her hands.
Five minutes later, the front door was nearly ripped from its hinges and before she could run to see who it was, there was six foot of viking standing in front of her, a troubled expression marring his normally bored and impassive features.
When she looked up to meet his steely blue gaze, they stared at each other silently for a few seconds, locking eyes and wordlessly comunicating their shared worry and fears about the current situation, when suddenly Tara stood and threw her arms around his large body that towered over hers.
The usually stoic and unemotional vamp didnt hesitate to comfort his grand progeny and he allowed her to bury her face in his chest for a moment as he tightened his long arms around her small frame, running a hand down her back soothingly.
The moment was broken however, almost as quickly as it had been initiated. Pulling back from their embrace, Tara wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and forced herself to regain some composure.
"Can you feel her at all?" Eric asked quietly, scanning a critical eye around the room not really sure what he hoped to find. Some type of clue maybe...atleast something that would initiate that there was a struggle.
Tara shook her head hopelessly. "Shes shut off her end of the bond. Shes alive...but thats about all I can tell ya..." She whispered, casting her eyes down at the floor. She convieniently left out the part about them fighting. Truth was Pam had closed off her end of the bond that morning and it had been closed ever since.
"Hey..." Eric stepped forward and took ahold of her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"We're gonna find her. I promise." He asserted, his voice a mixture of softness and forceful conviction, and the young vampire nodded rapidly after a moment.
"And as for whoever is responsible for this, I can assure you, junior, they will die screaming..." He finished with a smirk, and Tara couldnt help but roll her eyes at the nickname. She supposed anything was better than 'baby fangs'.
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So as per request Ive decided to write this little story, which was originally intended to be a one shot, but my muse doesnt always do as I say, therefore Im officially writing TWO multichaps at one time. Idk how many chapters this will be but im gonna guess atleast 3 or 4. Enjoy! Please review and also know that im not abandoning anything...I aint no quitter and Im currently working on BOTH of my stories. The next chapter of Bonded is about halfway done and will be posted asap. Please bear with me and keep the reviews coming as they motivate the fuck out of me! Thanks for all the support thus far! Love you all TAMELA 4 EVA!