2009
Elisa took a deep breathe and smoothed out her gaudy, yellow dress. This wouldn't work. She knew it wouldn't work. There was no way it could work. Why they thought it would work was beyond her. Hell, maybe they didn't think it would work. Maybe this was a sick trick. How much could one vampire mean to the universe anyway?
Shaking her head, she took a deep breathe, expelling these thoughts from her head. She had prepared.
This had all started a couple months ago when she entered the church, crying, baiting, actually. A young man had come to her aid.
"It was just so awful. I didn't know where else to go."
She was a writer, she proclaimed, in town on research staying outside of downtown. On her way home, she explained, she witnessed a vampire feeding. She had never been so shell-shocked, so indisposed, so overwhelmed. She never realized how sick it all was. And she couldn't tell her friends, they would just call her a bigot. She couldn't tell anyone.
The Fellowship of the Sun ate that shit up. And so she became a parishioner, attending every mass, fellowship, and protest.
She hated herself. She felt icky. She didn't give a shit about vampires either way, but the immense hatred that permeated the church, and that she had to display, disgusted her. Unfortunately, it was necessary.
And the time was now. He was downstairs. She had trust. Trust she was surely about to ruin.
She had paid attention to everyone's routines. She had it down to a science. Once Gabe and Steve learned that Godric had given up, resigned, they had stopped placing so much guard on him and concentrated more on training their "soldiers." Elisa had planned it perfectly. The church was always unlocked: it was a place of rejuvenation and refuge, of course. She just needed to go downstairs.
And then what?
What could she possibly do? She was given vague instructions and limited capabilities. She knew nothing. She had to change his mind, somehow. And she tried-but it wasn't good enough!
What was to say she would be good enough now? And when he rips into her throat? Or walks into the sun? Or does some incredibly unpredictable, vampire thing that ruins everything?
She took the hair tie on her arm and snapped it against her wrist, once more attempting to expel the negative energy. She didn't have a choice, anyway. She had to try whether she liked it or not, whether she failed, which she would, or not.
She had watched gave leave the basement door unlocked earlier that evening. She stalked through the church before she found the door. Would he recognize her? Could he? Then what?
She gently closed the door behind her and turned on the lights.
He must know she's here now.
She walked down the stairs, cringing at every creak. If he didn't already know, he would now, if only by the loud snare drum that was her heart beat.
She looked around for a while, her body wanting to collapse to keep her from what she was going to do. Sure, she had met him before, but that's all different, somehow.
She finally found him. He stood, silver chains around his wrists. He stared at her, not an expression in his eyes. She stared back.
"Do you think they actually keep the late reverend's body down here?"
A beat of silence, then a very soft smile.
"I was wondering when I would see you again."