The character of Alice and the basic idea for Alice's back story was created by Stephanie Meyer.
This is my first attempt at fan fiction. So let me know what you think
Chapter 1
Little white mice
Hampton Women Asylum for the Insane. New Hampshire March 1922. Since the retirement of Dr Peter Ramsey nine months earlier the asylum had had a difficult time finding a suitable replacement for the supervising physician's position on the overnight shift. Dr. Marcus Dermont was one of only a hand full of applicants for the position. "Toddlers and incompetents" was the term that Jackson Greer the hospitals chief of staff used to describe the stream of doctors that had worked the evening rotation in the past nine months. The interview wasn't much of an interview, really. With the new doctor's credentials being so extensive and the fact that the pay made the already unattractive hours even more unattractive, he could have been the son of Satan and still would have gotten the position if he was willing to take it. And in this case Satan's spawn wasn't that far from the truth. "Are you sure you want the job?" The short portly chief of staff asked . His tone more suspicious then concerned. "I like working nights. I have never been much for the sun" Dr. Dermont smiled as he rose from his chair. A cold chill cut through the usually unshakable chief of staff.
"This guys perfect for the graveyard shift" Thought Greer, looking at the pale skinned handsome man that stood across from him. "Something strange about this one. But beggars can't be choosers. The last one was a bit of a freak show too. "
"Welcome to Hampton" He said as he gave the customary nod and smile. He went to shake the new doctors hand, but he was relieved when the pale man turned for the door seeming to miss the gesture.
After the interview Greer resined to make it a point to avoid the Dermont as much as possible, and to try to keep their exchanges short and only when necessary. He was grateful to have the position filled but even the brief social exchanges between them in the interview left him with an uneasy cautious feeling that he didn't like.
It was evening and Dr. Dermont, the asylum's newest staff member, was at the beginning of his first shift. He sat at his large wooden desk reading patient charts. The office was dark except for one small silver desk lamp. His office was painted gray and spotting the walls, were various paintings of landscapes. He ran his hand through his black and gray hair. "Hmmmmm....Sort of dreamy for an old guy." The young nurse mumbled as she passed his open office door. Her voice too low for human ears. The corners of the doctors mouth turned down. She smiled as she passed then quickly looked down at the clipboard in her hand. It was11.30PM and, with the exception of a patient's faint weeping from a distant room, the ward was quiet.
"How wretched these humans are.......so vulnerable and weak. I am amazed that they can even last 60 years? " He thought to himself as he skimmed through another chart. He slid the chart on the finished pile and reached for the next. The name on the tab of the folder read Elsie Galliger. She was committed by her husband two years earlier after she attacked him with a hammer while he slept. Inside, notes scribbled in different hands, described repeated incidents of her violent outbursts. The latest entry written in small blocked print described how she bit a doctor Shale during an examination. "INTENTIONALLY ILLMANNERED, REBELLOIUS, AND A HOPELESS CASE!!" was written in large red letters underneath, signed Dr. T. Shale. Of coarse her behavior only followed after two weeks of her being tied with restraints to her bed . Each day she was subject to three doses of her medication and meals of beef broth all via a long rubber tube shoved down her throat. Her punishment for refusing to eat her breakfast. Not even a hint of empathy touched Dr. Dermont as he read chart after chart. He was a scientist and they weren't anything more to him then experiments. Like watching little white mice in a cage.
He was working backwards through the alphabet. The filing, like most things in this hospital, was left to the young and inexperienced nursing staff. And had been filed in reverse order in the filing drawers. He was 3 1/2 hours into his first rotation and he was anxious for rounds. Especially eager to see the "Incurables" in the "Blackout" ward. These were the patients that were considered so dangerous and past the point of treatment that they were left in the dark and given regular injections of strong sedatives to keep them comatose. "Why not just put them down like you would a lame horse?" He mumbled to himself "But then where would my fun be?" A sinister smile crossed his lips as he imagined what their reactions would be when he suddenly reduced their medications and began his "treatment". Will they panic or just be confused when he describes to them the monster he is and the things he will do to them? Their hearts thudding in their chest like base drums....their pulse pumping hard, the sweet blood purring through their vanes. Even if they had someone other then him to tell, no one would believe them because they are clinically insane. The venom filled his mouth at the thought of their terror.
" Dr. Dermont!! Dr Dermont!!" a nurse flung her head through the door, holding on to the door frame to steady herself. "Elsie got out of her restraints and I can't find Stan!!"
They hurried through the hall, the nurse leading the way. He looked through the small glass window into the room to see a tall blond women standing behind her bed slamming her head into the wall, one hand still in a leather restraint attached to the bed rail. "Let me out!!! Let me Out!!!" She screamed, her voice rough. He imagined that her shredded throat was probably the result of repeated insertions of feeding tubes by the young unskilled nursing staff. "I think I like this one" The thought colored his face with a slight smirk just as it colored his mind with the gruesome possibilities. The nurse was too busy fumbling with her keys to notice the momentary change on his face. She ran her fingers through the ring trying find the right key. Dermont reached into his pocket and had the right key out, pushing her aside and unlocking the door before she could say a word.
As he stepped in, the nurse called to him "Be careful doctor, she is a lot stronger then she looks!!!"
"I think I can handle it." He calmly replied.
The nurse stood in the doorway trying to decide whether or not she should step into the small room, reaching her hands out in a gesture seeming to find it's motivation somewhere between wanting to help and in a defensive stance just in case the out of control patient got past the doctor.
"What do you want me to do, doctor?!!"
"Block the door!" He said in a firm voice, knowing that that would not be necessary. But he wanted to make sure the young nurse stayed out of his way.
Reaching across the bed, he yanked the girls free wrist toward him and the girl's body followed. Her head snapped to the side, missing the wall by a fraction of an inch. Her other hand tugged hard at the restraint still attached to the rail. The back of her legs hit the side of the bed , sending her sprawling across the mattress. A high pitched noise filled the room as the metal bed scraped across the floor. Still holding on to her hand, he pulled her legs onto the bed with his free hand and climbed on top of her pinning her shoulder with his knee, careful not to break her. Not so much concerned with hurting her , just not wanting to provoke questions on his first day. "Calm down Elsie, or we'll have to sedate you." He warned as he refastened the restraint with one sharp tug. The girl gasped in pain. This pleased him.
"Nurse?"
"Y-Yes doctor" She was obviously shaken by the incident, which pleased him as well.
"See to her head."
She nodded but didn't move. As he walked from the room Elsie started screaming insults and obscenities at him. He smiled. "Yes, she might be a bit of fun."
He waited in his office until he was sure the nurse had enough time to see to Elsie's head.
"Nurse, time for rounds." He bellowed. As he rose from his chair and stepped into the hall. She hurried to stand beside him. He handed her a stack of charts.
"But.....but Stan isn't back yet. Shouldn't we wait?"
Stan was a very big young man whose sole purpose was to restrain and protect. Ridiculous!! I don't need protection...In fact Stan is more likely to need protection from me, then me from the patients.
"No nurse Clara, I think we'll be fine."
"But this is ward G!" She spoke clearly but obviously with great distress as she looked at the files in her arms.
"Doctor! These are patients in the blackout ward!!" Her voice was pleading.
"You are a nurse in this facility, aren't you?"
"Well yes, but.." He cut her off before she could continue.
"Then do your job1" He scolded
"And your job, in case you have forgotten, is to assist me with patients."
"Do you think these are not our patient?" he continued soft but patronizing.
"No, but they are supposed to..." He leaned forward and looked into her eyes. This simple gesture sent a wave of menace through her body causing her to shrink back, clutching her clipboard tight against her chest like a shield.
"Between 8PM and 8AM I am the one that says what is and isn't supposed to be around here." His tone still soft and level.
"Please............. tell me you understand" He leaned closer and smiled. His sweet breath on her face. He could hear her heart thud hard in her chest as she froze in fear. "Good" he casually tapped the top of her clipboard with his finger and turned. It took her a few seconds to clear her head enough to move. But then with a shiver she followed him down toward the long ominous hallway.
As he turned downed the hall, she was just steps behind him. Clara looked back, hoping to see Stan. When she didn't, her body filled with panic. But she still kept following.
They reached the first door in the hall.
"First patients chart" Dermont reached his hand out without looking.
The nurse sifted through the stack in her arms. Pulling out one from the middle. The doctor sighed impatiently.
I will never get used to the sloth-like pace these ridiculous creatures move at. How do they get anything done? Better question 'Why don't I just snap her neck and find the chart myself?' Easy Marcus...remember behave...you just got here. It might look bad if your staff starts disappearing on your first day.
" Rose Glover......" She opened the chart trying to decipher the women's history to read it aloud for the doctor.
Oh.....I have not lived long enough to have learned the patience I will need to deal with this girl. No...300 odd years is just not long enough time.
Hearing the doctors sigh, the girl quickly handed him the chart. She then Reached for the keys in her pocket to unlock the patient's door but then paused to wait for the doctor to do it. She was afraid to be the first in the room. And besides, remembering the earlier situation with Elsie, she knew that he would probably be able to open it much quicker then her.
Mm...maybe this girl isn't as totally useless as I first believed "It" learns. "It" might be of some help.
6/12/1914 Drowned her three small children in a bathtub
Robert 4, Sarah 2, Henry 2 months. Slashed her wrists.
Repeated attempts at suicide. Spousal committal
Pt does not respond to questions and doesn't speak.
Pt In shock due to psychotic episode. No meeds-waiting for shock to pass
Dr. P. Ramsey
6/21/14 Pt Woke screaming wouldn't stop
6 /22/14 20cc morphine 11:32 PM JT
6/22/14 50cc morphine 4;18 Am JT
:
Dermont followed the entries as the doses and frequency that they were administered increased with her increasing tolerance for the drug. She's been here for eight years. He stood in the open door as he read. He realized, with great disappointment, that the hell he could make for this one could be no more torturous then the hell she has made for herself. Too easy of a game. He left without approaching the bed.
The nurse had the next chart ready as they reached the second room. "Mary Alice Brandon" She said eagerly with a smile. She couldn't possibly be looking for my approval. Like a child with a shiny apple for the teacher. Save the apple, give me the child. Perhaps my earlier assessment of 'it" might have been a bit rash. To absurd to be useful.
He stood in the open door as he read.
Mary Alice Brandon.
Birthrate: February 22 1905
Delusions.
Wonderful!!!
Parental committal January 1912 Nash Children's Hospital. Hmmm, Family must be affluent. He knew that Nash was a very expensive hospital because he had worked there for a short time. He decided to quit when he realized, to his great disappointment, that the staff was more likely to form a protective attachment to the young ones. This made it very difficult to experiment without interference.
Not yet six, and her parents commit her?
This surprised him. Most humans love their little spawn. At least when "It" is not fully grown. How bad this creature? How wild to be locked away at five years of age? Lovely!!! This night might not be a total lose after all.
He flipped the pages one by one reading about her lifetime of institutionalization.
Multiple sessions of electric shock treatment since she had arrived at Hampton 6 years earlier.
Too bad, that tends to dulls the edges. The responses are a bit less vibrant. But still, a very interesting little mouse.
The light from the hall crawled along the floor of the padded room to shine on a small creature laying in the corner of the room on the floor. Her back was to the door. Her short black hair stuck up in all directions in tangles. And that's when it hit him. The smell. Dazed and thirsty. She stood there fitting his will....all his years of control but now he was having difficulty stopping himself from lunging across the room and devouring this tiny creature. "It" smelled too good. Like sweet spice and flowers but a hundred times more enticing. It was like a voice calling to him. Whispering....No screaming. It filled his throat with fire and filled his head vile thoughts of brutality. But he know it just wouldn't do to kill this creature so soon. He hadn't had time to play. He stopped breathing and stepped forward. He knelt down beside her. He took her face in his cold pale hand and turned her it toward him. Her eyes struggling to open as she groaned. Her eyes, half closed, were hazy but not dead. In fact they sparkled just a little. Curious. Pretty petite features reminded him of a doll. He slapped her face hard on both checks to make her more cognizant. Her body twisted as her delicate hand reached up to block her eyes from the hall light. Her gown hung lose around her small shoulders.
"Do you know who you are?" He asked loudly as he bent down closer beside her. Making sure not to breath in her intoxicating scent.
"I know you." Her voice was barely a whisper. Her eyes starring at the wall behind him as she began to rocked from side to side.
"And who am I?" He was amused
"Thirst and Blooo" She seemed to slip back into her head as her sparkling eyes closed "Bridges falling down....." She sang in a sweet childlike voice. "they are 12" Her body relaxed as her shoulders dropped flat on the floor. She was asleep again.
Thirst? Lucky guess......Was she trying to say blood? No, impossible.
"Cut Ms. Brandon's medication to half a dose" He said flatly to the nurse. "And instead of four times a day, Make it twice a day...8:00AM and 3:00PM."
The nurse opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it and nodded instead. The rest of rounds in ward G continued in much the same way. The doctor would assess each patient, deciding who he thought would be the most interesting "Experiments". When he found one with potential, he ordered a reduction of their medication. Leaving the others to live out their sad days in the same dark hole he had found them in.
Mary Alice Brandon. Pretty thing. Appetizing smell. My first experiment.
Dr. Dermont walked to his car in the shadows of the morning under the overhang of the large red bricked buildings. Feeling a bit hungry....Must hunt before work this evening.
That night, Dr. Dermont sat at his desk and patiently waited forhis sadistic orchestration to start. The chaotic symphony of pain and confusion that would surely wrap around these wretched damaged minds. And spill out into the halls of the asylum.
Like music , the screaming , the pleading...mmmmmm. And me it's Mistro.
On the edge of his desk sat that day's paper. His eyes quickly scanning the headline.....Dolton County's Chatanew Bridge collapses. 6 injured, 12 dead.
It took him less then a seconds to process the information. Bridges falling down....they were 12......She couldn't have known.
He reached into the pile of charts on his desk. Retrieving the one labeled Mary Alice Brandon. Quickly he read through her history and her diagnosis for any clues he might have missed the first time.
Patient has paranoid delusions. Draws pictures of death and catastrophes. Speaks in nonsensical half finished sentences. Has moments where she appears to be staring at nothing and refuses to respond to staff. Prefers the dark.
DR. Cooper.
Second sight? Possible, I suppose. But after the amount of shock treatment she has received she shouldn't be able to see the present more less the future.
Chapter 2
The return
Mary Alice stood in the corner screaming. Her words weaved together in a mush of hysterics.
I suppose this would be where the others would call for electric shock. But not me dear Mary. I want your screams. I want your pain!!!
Dr. Dermont grabbed her by the shoulders and swung her around shoving her onto the bed.
"Scream sweat Mary scream!!" He growled.
"Tell me what you see!! What will happen to you next? Can you feel the pain now? Or do you only see your fate as if you were watching a play?"
"What do you see!!! Tell me!!" He growled as he shook her shoulders. Her eyes wide with fear.
"D-Dr...." She stammered.
"Yes. Dr. Dermont!!! That is the name of your fate....Your misery....Your god! Me ....Dr. Dermont!"
"Dr....." She began again. "Dr. Ramsey" She smiled as she looked past him toward the door.
"Yes my dear. It is me" A calm voice spoke from the open doorway.
Dermont spun to see the silhouette of a small man standing behind him in a white doctor's coat.
"Wrong place at the wrong time, little man" Dermont hissed as he lunged.
The old gray haired man stepped aside with blinding speed and agility, sending Dermont stumbling into the hall. Shock spread across Dermont's face. What? What is this?
The old man grinned, amused by Dermont's confusion.
"Now, you don't think you're the only vampire who has worked at Hampton Asylum. Do you?" And as quickly as it took for Alice's heart to sound another beat, the old man had his mouth to his neck. With one swift jerk Dermont's head rolled to the floor. The old man picked Alice up off of the bed and placed her gently in the corner of the room. He then pulled the rest of the decapitated doctor into pieces throwing the pieces onto the bed. Then he struck three matches and dropped them across the mattress.
" Let me get this for you my dear" Dr Ramsey whispered as he reached for the light switch "I know how the light hurts your eyes." He bent down beside her and reaching into his white coat and pulled out a syringe. He gently took Alice's arm and pushed the needle into her vane. "This will help you, my dear"
"I have missed you my lovely" He purred as he brushed a tangle of hair from her forehead. The affection in his eyes quickly turned to worry as he spoke. "The hunt was unsuccessful"
"Alice....My sweet, sweet Alice. Our Artimus is gone. James got him. I barely got away myself. It won't be long now. And I am not strong enough to protect you on my own."
He looked into her wide brown eyes, filled with confusion. She looked frightened as she glanced at the fire. The room was lit with the flame of the makeshift bonfire. Or more appropriately...vampfire.
"Don't worry my little one. The fire won't get you. And your journey will only hurt for a few days and then you will be safe"
He scooped her into his arms with ease, took one more look at the fire just to make sure all of the pieces of the doctor's dismembered body were sufficiently burning. Satisfied, he swept Alice from the room. She rested her soft cheek on his cold granite chest and looked up at him. As the sedative began to take effect she smiled and slowly closed her eyes. He reached the stairwell to the back exit in a fraction of a second. But before ducking through the doorway, he called down the hall "FIRE!!! FIRE!!!" As he heard the shuffle of feet in the employee lounge down the hall he felt assured that the rest of his friends would be safe.
Chapter 3 James
Dr Ramsey carried Alice to deep blue Ford. He placed her in the passenger side seat. He had the car cranked, engine growling in the blink of a human eye. Maybe I should buy one without a crank. He thought. It would definitely make things easier for the next time I am being hunted by a crazed tracker. He laughed but his laugh was grim and humorless. As he got in the car he reached around Alice and nestling her under his arm. He made his way down the dirt road that lead to his home, carefully watched the the woods on either side of the road for any signs of their deadly pursuer. I just have to make it home. The urgency and danger of their situation made him push the bumpy car to it's limits. The car backfiring every so often in protest. I should have ran. It would have been much faster. And much quieter. He scolded himself.
They finally reached the small white farmhouse. It was just what you would expect from a farmhouse. Right down to the porch swing and the green flower boxes hanging outside the windows. The only thing missing were the flowers, having died in Ramsey's nine month absence. He hurried Alice into the house and up the stairs to his bedroom. He placed her on his bed for the transformation. After all it was not as if he needed the bed for any reason. It was just there to set the scene for any curious visitors who happened to drop by. Beside the bed was his and his wife's when they were alive. Before he was the undead. And he just couldn't part with it. He had only been a vampire for a relatively short time. It was 1849 and the vampire who turned him had killed his wife first. His two young sons had managed to interrupt the vampire feeding on him, leaving him barely alive and full of venom. The boys fending off the hungry Vamp long enough for Ramsey's transformation t start. The hungry vamp killed and fed on his two sons, and his most beloved 13 year old daughter Ruth, leaving him writhing in the agony that comes with the change. Alice reminded him of Ruth. The same Raven black hair. The same big brown sparkling eyes. If he let James take Alice now, it would be just like losing Ruth all over again. And even though his heart no longer beat he knew the pain would surely kill him. He sat on the edge of the bed next to Alice. Leaning over her he could smell her lovely scent. Your lucky I love you so much dear Alice or I might not be able to stop. You smell too sweet for your own good. Even with the amount of affection he held for her, he knew it would be the hardest thing he ever had to do. And deep down he knew that her chanced with him were small. Because he had never changed anyone before. Oh Artimus my friend, how I wish you were still here. You could have done this much easier then me. Artimus was much longer to the life of a vampire and he had changed several humans in his time. When James had first set his sights on Alice, Ramsey and Artimus had spoken of the possibility that they might have to change her in order to save her. But it was always to be Artimus who did it.
Ramsey knew his time was running out. He bent down and placed his arms around her, pulling her up to him. He placed his mouth on her neck just above her collar bone.
"Don't worry dearest." He murmured.
As he bit down, Alice's body tensed. He could feel her warm sweet blood on his lips. The venom moving into her body. As his throat filled with the fire of a thirst that caused his whole body to ache, he thought of his love for Alice. But it wasn't quit enough to stop his violent thoughts, and the thirst overpowered him. It crashed down on him like a wave of brutality, sucking him under. He felt her body weaken in his arms. He was giving in. He felt his restraint slip away. He struggled with all of his will and against his hunger. His heart fought against the beast inside him. But the beast was winning. Growing stronger and louder. Fed on Alice's delicious blood. And as the beast grew stronger and louder, his heart fell weaker and weaker until it's voice was silent. And he knew he had lost. But for one brief moment he saw his daughter Ruth's face. The day she was born, cradled in his wife's loving arms. Her first day of school, as she held tight to his leg not wanting to go. The night when she was eight and she had gotten so sick that he thought the fever would take her. He held her all through the night singing her favorite hymn until his voice was almost gone. He remembered the relief he felt when the fever broke and he wanted that relief now. More then the warmth of Alice's sweet blood in his throat, he wanted her to be okay. He pulled back, knowing he had taken too much. But not enough to kill her. He slid himself off the bed onto the floor. And if his eyes could shed tears he knew they would be wet. He dropped his face into his hands. "I did it it Artimus ...I did it." He sighed with relief.
"Yes you did. You stupid old fool! And now you will pay for spoiling my meal!!!" James stood just inside the open bedroom window. His hands curled into fists at his side. A rage on his face that froze Ramsey where he sat.
To be continued...... written by Stacy M Paul