Jane cautiously poked her head around the door, her eyes sweeping the area quickly. They were exiting the building into a small front garden, long since abandoned and overgrown. It was night, the moon providing light to see as it was nearly full. She took a step further out into the open air, realising how stuffy the air in the confined space of the hospital had been. Taking a deep breath Jane stepped fully out into the garden, following a small path the weeds had tried to reclaim.
Suddenly Jane found herself gripped by the throat and moved away from the door. She attempted to gasp for ait, but her throat was held closed. She couldn't see who had grabbed her, but there was only one likely suspect.
Maura had been waiting for Jane to give her a signal to come out of the building when she saw her suddenly disappear. Maura gave a wordless cry and rushed out of the building, her head whipping around to find Jane. She saw her being casually held by the throat several metres away by a small figure in a dark cloak.
"Dr Isles. Remain where you are." The voice indicated Jane's assailant was a woman, young by the timbre of her voice. Maura assumed this was the vampire Jane had mentioned earlier. Maura froze, not wanting to endanger Jane, who was starting to turn red.
"Please release my friend, I will do whatever you want" Maura pleaded. She had no idea what her life would be like now but she knew she couldn't even try to figure it out without Jane.
"First I will explain the rules under which you will be allowed to live. The fact that your friend is alive has proven our hypothesis about exsanguination prior to transformation. Your part in that experiment is now complete. Next you will assist us in containing certain rogue elements of our society. You have a month to get your thirst under control and learn to blend in with your old life. You will return to your position as Chief Medical Examiner and ensure that no further scrutiny is given to the mothers of hybrid children, or any other vampire activities. You will ensure that no human ever discovers your true nature or that of any other vampire in Massachusetts. Do you understand?"
Maura had listened intently to the vampire's instructions, not wanting to interrupt as Jane was clearly about to pass out. "Yes, I understand, please let her go!" The vampire looked disdainfully at Jane, who had now passed out, before looking back at Maura with a challenging smirk. Maura realised the vampire wasn't going to simply let Jane go, so she decided to try her new strength and speed, charging without warning at the vampire. She had only taken a step before a blinding pain knocked her to her knees screaming. The vampire held her there writhing in pain for several seconds before releasing Jane to crumple on the floor, her limp body impacting the grass with a loud thump. Maura continued to twitch and spasm in pain, her flailing arms hitting the path and leaving smashed holes. Eventually the vampire lifted her head slightly and the pain was immediately gone.
Maura flopped to the ground, gasping instinctively. She slowly regained her feet, looking cautiously at the vampire who was still standing over Jane's crumpled form.
"I will leave this human alive, she may be able to assist you in your efforts to blend in. She will be subject to the same rules as you, and she will be the last to die it you disobey your instructions. Everyone you have ever cared about will precede her." The vampire's face suddenly stretched into a cruel smile. "Good luck." She haughtily said before turning and speeding into the night.
Maura stared after the vampire's retreating form blankly before hurrying over to Jane. She was about to check for a pulse when she realised she could see the vein in Jane's neck throbbing strongly, hear her breath, feel the heat from her skin. Maura backed away as she realised she could also smell the sweet scent of Jane's blood under the sweat and fear.
Looking around the spot she had fallen Maura located the last blood bag, scooping it up carefully. She looked back at Jane thoughtfully, then decided that she would wait to have the last of the blood as she still felt in control for now. Holding her breath Maura moved back to Jane, straightening out her limbs and checking for injuries. Jane's skin felt too hot, her limbs too fragile, her flesh too soft. Maura realised that it was in fact her own body which had changed and that she would need to completely reset her basis for comparison.
Jane didn't appear to be injured; the vampire had managed to drop her more gently than it had seemed. Maura gathered Jane into her arms, amazed at how light she seemed. She continued to hold her breath, realising that she felt no need to breathe which felt extremely odd.
Maura moved out to the nearby street, looking around for any familiar landmarks. There didn't seem to be any occupied buildings nearby, only abandoned warehouses and run down houses. She decided to start walking to try to work out where they were.
Walking along the street, trying not to jostle Jane, Maura considered what they would do now. Her first impulse was to take Jane to a hospital, but a split second consideration of how many bleeding people there would be at an active hospital halted that train of thought.
Although Maura had been disbelieving of Jane's explanation immediately after waking up, she could not deny the evidence of her changed body and senses. When she had first opened her eyes she had been amazed at the bright colours of the dim room, the detail she could see in the ceiling, the dust motes in the air. She could hear Jane breathing next to her, as well as the hum of small fridge that had been behind her, a tap dripping several rooms away, small animals running around in the basement below. She could feel the heat from Jane's breath washing over her face, the warmth of the tear that had fallen from Jane's cheek, the cool ground beneath her.
As soon as she had breathed in to speak, she smelled the scent of prey right next to her and almost lost herself in the burning compulsion to rip and tear to access the sweet blood her aching throat was craving. As soon as the wave of air hit her senses her body had reacted to new instincts, smashing against restraints that she barely noticed. She hadn't even realised that it was Jane that she was trying to kill until after she had consumed about eight blood bags, although she had realised there was something familiar about the person crouched beside her between the seventh and eighth when Jane had said her full name. Unfortunately when she had taken in a breath she had again been overcome with blood lust. It wasn't until the middle of the ninth bag when Jane had mentioned helping the baby that some memories had finally stirred.
Maura remembered being with Jane in the warehouse and watching Jane holding the baby, looking for the source of an odd noise in the front room. At that moment the bite on her finger had started burning, the pain rapidly spreading up her arm and towards the rest of her body. She vaguely remembered falling to the floor and screaming as the wave of agony hit her heart and blossomed through her limbs.
The next days were a blur of constant burning pain. She remembered three distinct steps in the pain level, one where all her tissues felt like they had just caught fire, the next when her organs joined the conflagration, and the third when her bones felt like they had just turned to molten lava. She remembered the pain building suddenly into a thunderous crescendo, drawing back from her extremities and racing toward her heart, which gave a final shudder and then stopped.
Maura felt a strange detachment from the memory of all the pain she had so recently endured. If she had gone through that ordeal as a human she was sure that her mind would be shattered beyond recovery, but her new mind seemed to skate past the memory, still keeping it present but compartmentalising it away from her active thoughts.
Maura looked down at the lanky body in her arms and realised that her memories of Jane were similarly detached. She remembered who Jane was, but the specifics were fuzzy, as if she had been told her experiences rather than having lived them. She was also having trouble bringing anyone else from her previous life into focus, being vaguely aware that there were people who should be important to her but not feeling any connection with a face or name. She decided that if she got the chance she would ask Jane to help her remember some details, which would hopefully allow her to fill in the rest herself.
Maura realised she had gotten distracted from her original train of thought, which was what to do next. She decided that she needed to talk it over with Jane, as Maura felt uneasy coming up with a plan when she didn't remember her life properly and didn't know what she was now capable of. She had established that she was ridiculously strong and fast with an appetite for blood, which was a very dangerous combination.
When Maura reached the end of the road she saw a road sign indicating that they were in the outskirts of Boston. She remembered that she lived and worked in Boston, at the police department. Instead of turning towards the familiar middle of the city, Maura headed further into the outskirts of the city.
As there was nobody around Maura decided to pick up the pace. She started jogging, taking a few attempts to get used to cushioning Jane with her arms. When she could successfully step without jostling Jane she accelerated, quickly building up speed. Buildings and roads started whipping past at phenomenal speeds, but Maura could easily perceive everything she was running past, easily avoiding obstacles and turning around changes in terrain without disturbing her still sleeping cargo. The oddest part about this speed was that she still hadn't taken a breath since she had first picked up Jane back at the hospital, which had to have been at least ten minutes.
Maura quickly left the outskirts, following a dirt trail which split off from the road she had been following. The trail ended at an old farmhouse, seemingly uninhabited, which consisted of a main house and a barn. Maura ducked into the house, breaking the lock on the door effortlessly, quickly listening for signs of life. When she determined that they were alone, she gently placed Jane down on a bed in the first room she came to. Maura checked her vitals again, establishing that she was still resting comfortably, then left the room and quickly ran around the property to check for any inhabitants. There were no vehicles, animals or people, so she decided it would be safe for them to stay put until Jane woke up.
Maura was still holding the blood bag she had collected at the hospital. Re-entering the house she made her way to the kitchen and discovered a working but empty fridge. She deposited the blood bag on a shelf and closed the fridge before moving to stay with Jane until she woke naturally.