If I Die Young

Josh

Josh awoke as if he were still in a dream. His vision seemed hazy but also crisp. He could smell everything around him, the forest and the people surrounding it. He got up from the hard cold ground and tried to remember what had happened last. He remembered he had changed with Nora, for the first time in so long, and he could remember how the wolf had made him feel. He felt alive for the first time in years and wondered what he had feared so heavily. He found his way back to his duffle bag with clothes and changed. He found a box of baby wipes to wipe off the excess dirt on his body that he could find.

He could smell Nora and Aiden before they approached, and before his eyes could see. Were their scents always this sharp? He wondered if part of the wolf still lingered within him, ready at any second to turn back. He almost wanted to, but hesitated. Why had be been so afraid of it before?

"Josh!" Nora yelled and ran to him. She smelled like earth and lavender. He inhaled deeply, glad as always, that she was his.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked and looked at her with his arms outstretched.

Aiden followed behind him and gave him a pat on the back.

"Hey buddy, how are you feeling?" he asked and gave him a look.

Josh shrugged and gave a wide smile. "I'm feeling pretty good actually," he said and really meant it.

Nora looked him over and gave a half smile. "I was worried about you. You hadn't changed back in the morning and I was afraid you were stuck, and that you wouldn't come back to me," she said and brushed his arm with hers.

"I'll always come back for you," he said. He loved Nora with everything he had and couldn't imagine willingly leaving her. They had been through everything together. Josh grabbed his stuff and headed back to the car with Aiden and Nora. Josh lingered for a second before climbing into the car, his wolf was just below the surface, wanting to already go back and run wild again. Josh got in the car and wondered if the wolf was becoming more apart of him than his own human self.

Sally

"About time! Where were you guys?" Sally asked as they came in the front door. Aiden shrugged and smiled and sat down on the couch next to her.

"Fine, be all cryptic with your bad vampire self," she said.

"I'm not cryptic," Aiden said.

"Oh yes you are. You're always sneakin around and doing your vampire stuff and then you come home and nothing fun ever happens!"

"Did you want something to happen? Didn't we just get through a war with Donna the witch? I think I'm done for a while with having things happen."

Sally frowned and he rolled his eyes. "What did you do?" he asked and heaved a sigh, seeing that she was keeping something from them. Josh and Nora joined them in the living room. Aiden always knew when Sally had a story to tell.

"Well, you'll never guess what just happened to me," she said and smiled.

They all waited for her to finished telling them about Donna and her semi escape from hell.

"Wait, you were in hell and you just walked back out? Like nothing happened?" Josh asked. He looked worried and Nora tried to comfort him.

"She got out and no harm done, right?" Nora asked.

"Who was the guy?" Josh asked and looked at Aiden.

Aiden shifted in his seat. "Well, it's no one you want to mess with. He's Lucifer."

Everyone made the same noise of protest. "What? Are you serious? Then why did he change his name to Abe? That's not exactly an upgrade," Sally said.

Aiden rolled his eyes at her. "It stands for Father of Light. I guess he got tired of his old name."

"That's ironic," Sally said and snorted.

Josh jumped back into the conversation. "The name Lucifer actually means the Light Bearer, I guess he was sticking with the theme."

"What does he want with me?" Sally asked.

Aiden shrugged. "Probably nothing good. Try and keep low."

Sally playfully punched him though it did not hit. "Because it's so hard to be unseen as a ghost."

"You know what I meant," he said playfully.

Nora gave Sally a look that made Sally blush nervously. Did Nora guess what Sally was feeling? She knew it could never work, her being dead and he being apart of the undead. Something's could just never be, though she knew she had tested that barrier before.

They began to watch a movie then but were soon interrupted by a knock at the door. Josh moved his arm from Nora and went to get it. Sally followed behind because she was curious who would visit them.

Josh opened the door to a woman who was unfamiliar to Sally. The woman had short, light brown hair and startling bright eyes. Her smile was hesitant as she spoke.

"I'm looking for Aiden Waite," she said with a slight English accent.

"Aiden," Josh called.

Aiden

Aiden came to the door and froze immediately. Susanna stood before him and he did not know how to react. He reached out and touched her cheek, testing to see if she were real and not an illusion.

"Susanna?" he asked, shock in his voice and features. She touched his hand with her own. Her hand was warm and her eyes glistened.

"It's been a long time Aiden," she said. Josh stared at them both, as well as Sally.

"Susanna? You're wife?" Josh asked. Aiden hadn't talked much of his former life before becoming a vampire, but Susanna's name had come up in passing a few times

Aiden didn't know how to move, he had suddenly forgotten. His life flashed before his eyes, of times when he was human, and in love with his wife and child. How could she be here now? Was this real or fake?

"We have a lot to catch up on," she said and walked past them and into the house. She took a seat and introduced herself to Nora, who heard some of the conversation from the others at the doorway. Josh patted Aiden on the shoulder and shut the door, and then led his friend into the living room.

"You're alive," Aiden said but didn't know if he could believe it. "I saw you killed, drowned in the water…I looked for you."

She nodded and took his hand into her lap, holding onto it with a fierceness he returned.

"I was saved, I've been searching for you ever since."

Aiden shook his head. "How is that possible? You're not a vampire," he said and looked her over. She was not of his kind but something else. He sensed a strong power from her and wondered what had happened to her in the time they were apart.

"No, I'm a witch."

Josh and Sally exchanged a long look. "You're a witch?" Sally asked with an unhappiness to her voice. She was done with witches for a long time.

Susanna nodded and smiled. "Yes, but a good witch, I promise. I only try and help people who have lost their way."

"Like Donna," Sally muttered to Josh and he gave her a look.

Nora leaned onto her elbows and clasped her hands together. She didn't trust this woman and disliked even more that Aiden's long lost wife decided now to return, when Aiden was seeing her best friend Kat.

"How did you find Aiden?" Nora asked, a little bit of an edge to her voice. She could feel the wolf within her growl, as if it smelled something that was off about Susanna and wanted to snap it's jaws in warning.

Susanna looked at her with a fierce gaze that was almost cold. Nora didn't back down, but her unease at Susanna only grew.

"I've been keeping tabs on Aiden for a while. I've been keeping in touch with some witch associates in the area who spotted him for me. He is very popular, being one of the last vampires of Boston."

Aiden gave a small smile. He did not like being reminded of his loneliness. Her gaze grew warm as she looked at him.

"Why don't we catch up on old times?" she asked him.

Aiden got up from the couch and they walked outside, leaving the others to wonder where they were going. Josh was hesitant as he saw Aiden go. This would not be the first time Aiden had left with someone he didn't know, and usually when that happened, he didn't see Aiden for days or weeks, or a year.

"I'll be back," Aiden said and smiled reassuringly, following Susanna outside. He still could not believe his eyes. How could this be possible? What had happened to her over the long years, and what became of their son? Aiden had last seen him running for his life. He had tried to trace his son's trail when he was able, but it ran cold after a few miles. He had searched for his son, but was never able to see him again. Had Susanna found him, raised him without Aiden?

They walked in silence until they came to a park which he had last visited with Kenny. He tried not to think of the new vampire, deformed and most likely alone. He watched the children play around him and a sadness that he tried to ignore within himself became more apparent and he tried to choke down the loneliness rising inside him. They sat at a park bench and watched the world pass them by.

"I missed you," Susanna said after a long silence. Aiden wasn't sure what to say in return. He had missed her everyday since he had last seen her, but over the long years, he had learned to accept her passing. How could he accept her return? She had always know he was alive, yet he had always believed her to be dead.

"Where have you been all these years?" he asked at last.

Susanna took a long time before answering and she spoke as if the memories were almost out of reach, deep in the corners of her mind.

"I was awoken, near death, by a witch coven who had seen my struggle to stay alive. They accepted me into their group because they felt I had special abilities, one's that they themselves could not possess. I told them that I was against my religion, against my being to be apart of them, but they told me it was already too late to go back to my other life. From the moment they found me, I was forever changed."

Aiden listened and looked at his wife. She had not aged a day since he had last seen her. Her pale skin and bright, light eyes, were the same as they had been years and years ago. Her hand felt soft and complete in his own and he wondered if all the years he had been searching for love, might always have been in vain. His real love was always out there, searching.

"I had the ability to stop aging, and was able to give this power to them in return for their powers as well. Each had their own gifts, and one member of my coven had the power to see the powers in others. She knew mine before I did, and she helped me harness it. I've gained a lot of skills over the years and harnessed my strength. When I knew I was ready, I sought you out. I knew I would never find you unless I was powerful, and now I have finally found you after so long. I love you Aiden, always."

He was at a loss for words. He finally had his life back, the human life he had longed for, the normalcy. He had in his hands the part of humanity that he always struggled with. He had his wife back. In the back of his mind his thoughts drifted to Kat, his new girlfriend, and he wondered what he should do now. He felt more conflicted than he thought possible. How can you choose the future, when all you know is the past?