Crisis

The next morning was Monday, which meant Drina had to get up early and drag herself to work. She was acting, as a sort of veterinary's assistant. She didn't do much, just weighed and transferred animals and reviewed their information. But she loved her job. She had always loved animals and she loved being around them. They seemed to calm her.

She quickly dressed in her uniform, which consisted of her white shirt with the business logo, and her used and abused khaki pants. She gathered her hair into a high ponytail and hurried downstairs. When she got to work, the building's resident dog came up to greet her. As he licked her hand and wagged his tail, she bent down to pet him.

"Hey there, Ocho," she cooed, snuggling the dog. He was a gorgeous Husky and Drina's favorite co-worker. "Come on boy," she said, getting up and walking back behind the counter where her desk sat.

Drina's bitchy co-worker, Jenna, sat next to her fiddling with her French-tip nails. She barely glanced up when Drina sat down. Drina inwardly scowled and wondered why someone like Jenna worked in a place full of animals. Drina sighed, as she got ready for an inevitably long day.

Around lunchtime, the slowest time of the day, Drina sat back and did some good old eavesdropping on Jenna's phone conversation. It was one of Drina's favorite pastimes; Jenna's trite conversations amused her immensely.

"So good!" Jenna squeaked into the phone. "Oh my God, all the rumors are so true, trust me. I had like seven orgasms in one night and he never got tired!"

Drina turned a deep red when she realized Jenna was talking about her sex life.

"The biting's not so bad, it doesn't even really hurt. The marks fade after awhile." Drina glanced through Jenna's bleach-blonde hair to her neck. Sure enough, two long, purplish marks decorated her neck.

Jenna was dating a vampire or at least having sex with one. That made Drina wonder if Jenna was all talk or not. She rolled-up to her computer and opened an Internet tab and googled 'sex with vampires'. Of course several porn websites popped up at first, but once she skipped those she found a Cosmopolitan article that looked promising. It was about the benefits of sex with vampires. It included several things like a statistic that said that women who had sex with vampires had a 95% higher chance of having an orgasm than women who had sex with human partners.

She gasped at this and scrolled down right as she got to a section titled, "What Makes Them So Good". A message from Jonah popped up on her IM. She yelped and jumped about a foot. Jenna turned and gave her a dirty look, which Drina returned and then she turned to read the message:

2HOT4U: Hey sorry to interrupt you during work but you got a package.

AnimalGirl: So?

2HOT4U: And it's just sitting here all lonely. I'm dying to know what's inside!

AnimalGirl: You know opening someone else's mail is the against the law.

2HOT4U: I know! That's why I'm asking you if I can open your mail!

AnimalGirl: Fine, go ahead, but tell me what it is.

2HOT4U: What do you think I'd leave you hangin?

AnimalGirl: IDK, I wonder about you sometimes

2HOT4U: I'm offended! BTW BRB

AnimalGirl: Hurry up! Ya got me all excited!

AutoResponse from 2HOT4U: Opening your package. Hold your Horses!

Drina smirked at that and waited for him to return.

2HOT4U: Uh Drina didn't know you were planning on killing anyone

AnimalGirl: Only u, but how'd you find out?

2HOT4U: Because someone sent you a big ass dagger

Drina frowned.

AnimalGirl: That's odd. I don't remember ordering that from the S&M sex shop.

2HOT4U: Oops! Want me to send it back?

AnimalGirl: That depends, what's it look like?

2HOT4U: Well the blade itself is really long and the handle is made of some silverish metal with red and blue gems encrusting it. It's kinda pretty actually

Drina's heart dropped.

AnimalGirl: That's a sick-fucking joke Jonah!

2HOT4U: WTH are you talking about?

AnimalGirl: You just described the same kind of knife that killed my mom!

2HOT4U: … It's not a joke

AnimalGirl: Yeah whatever

Drina felt her eyes fill up with tears. Why would he do this?

2HOT4U: Drina! I'm not making this up! Look, I'll send you a pic on my phone

A few minutes later, Drina's cell buzzed. She opened it to find a new picture message from Jonah. She hesitantly opened it and nearly dropped the phone. That was it! The knife she had been seeing in her dreams for nearly 14 years.

2HOT4U: Did you get it?

AnimalGirl: I got it…

2HOT4U: And…

AnimalGirl: That's the one…

2HOT4U: You've got to be shitting me!

AnimalGirl: Check the return address on the package

2HOT4U: There isn't one

AnimalGirl: WTF! Jonah, I'm coming home right now!

2HOT4U: I'll be waiting

2HOT4U has signed off

Drina's heart was racing. Her palms had started to sweat. This had to be a joke, right? Yes this was a joke, she told herself as she numbly got up from her chair and headed for the exit. She distantly heard Jenna shouting, "Where the hell are you going?" But she didn't stop to answer; she kept walking and got in her car.

She drove slowly, dreading what was waiting for her. She somehow felt that if she couldn't see it, it wasn't there. Maybe this was all some mistake or a sick joke, she thought as she pulled up to the apartment. Her heart hammered in her ears as she opened the door. Jonah was sitting at the table, but she barely saw him, barely heard him because her eyes were fixed on it. The blade was gold just like she remembered and it glinted in the light. She gently touched it, then flinched from it as if it had burned her.

"Are you sure it's the same one?" wondered Jonah.

That's when Drina snapped. She turned toward Jonah.

"Yes it's the same one! The same knife that's been in my nightmares for the past 14 years!" she screamed. "You think I wouldn't know the knife that ruined my face, that killed my mother?" And then she burst into tears, long sobs that strangled her throat and drenched her cheeks.

Jonah reached out and gathered her into his embrace. His strong arms holding her close to his chest. He didn't say false words to try to comfort her. He didn't coo at her and stroke her hair. He simply held her as she drenched his shirt. When her sobs turned into dry hiccups, she slowly walked over to the couch and sat down heavily. Jonah sat next to her rubbing her back.

"How is this possible, Jonah?"

"14 years and nothing and then suddenly THAT shows up!" she said, jabbing her finger at the knife.

"I don't know Drina, I really don't. Who all knows about what happened?"

"Nobody, except you Jonah, no one. I mean Vinny might know bits and pieces, but not nearly enough to know the exact resemblance of the knife. You didn't even know that!" she said, not wanting to admit the truth.

"The only person who could possibly have sent it is the one who had it and knew what happened. The man who killed my mother," she said.

Slowly sensing the truth in her words, Jonah said, "But why now, Drina? Why after all of these years? Did they even know your name? How could they know where you live?"

"I don't know Jonah!" she shouted, and then teared up again. "All I know is they said they'd find me, they said…" she choked up again.

Jonah hugged her again, kissing the top of her head.

"No, Drina, no they won't! I won't let them!"

She knew that was silly if they really wanted to kill her, Jonah couldn't help. But it was nice to hear, regardless.

"We should call the police," Jonah said.

Drina snorted, a humorless sound.

"And say what? A mysterious package arrived from someone…we don't know and can't find…they sent us the knife I remember my mother being killed with."

Comprehension filled his green eyes.

"There's no proof in that Jonah. Even if there were, they wouldn't know what to look for. They'd just file a police report, then forget about it."

Jonah nodded, "Fine, but if anymore of these little surprises show up, then we're calling the police," he said firmly.

"All right," she agreed. But she had a sinking suspicion the police couldn't do a goddamn thing about it. Something inside her told her this was bigger than anything she could ever understand. That frightened her much more than the knife lying on her table.

"Jonah," Drina whimpered in a small voice.

"Yes."

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Of course," he answered gently.

And he did. When Drina went to her room to go to bed, Jonah followed and lay quietly with her until she fell asleep in his warm arms.

The rest of the week went by without incident. Jonah had done something with the knife and Drina didn't care what, as long as she didn't have to see it again. Even though nothing was happening at the moment, Drina knew the storm was far from over. She was scared and pissed. The moment she had seen that knife, a rage had woken inside of her, a rage that had been building for 14 years.

They continued playing gigs pretty constantly. Drina even heard Jonah mumble something about a record deal. But Drina was pretty sure that Jonah was full of shit. It wasn't until they played at a small, Goth club near Shreveport that Drina saw a familiar, if not unwanted, face. They had just finished playing and Drina's hair was sticking to the back of her neck. She was drenched with sweat. The best kind of feeling was after a show, when she knew she had done great.

With much dismay, Drina saw Eric's blonde head sticking out from the rest of the crowd. He was sitting quietly at a back table.

"Did you bring Godric?" she asked as she approached the table.

"No, just me tonight."

"Then maybe you should leave," she said flippantly. Eric smiled.

"You're not insinuating that you like him better than me, are you?" he asked, feigning hurt feelings.

"No, I'm not insinuating anything. I'm telling you outright that I like Godric better than you," she said sitting down. Eric chuckled.

"I like this whole sweaty disheveled look, it's nice," he said.

"Oh not as much as I like that smug bastard look," Drina deadpanned. He laughed in delight.

"Ya know you're pretty good at this bantering thing," he said.

"Ah, gee thanks. I practice," she said, tilting her head back to finish the remnants of her water bottle. She could feel Eric's gaze on her neck but she ignored it. "Why are you here?" she questioned, setting the bottle on the table.

Eric tried to look innocent and failed. "I heard that you were playing and I just had to come and see. I do very much enjoy your performances. It's quite tantalizing watching you sing, all sweat and energy and skimpy clothing."

Drina burned a bright red. He had someone managed to make her performance, her livelihood sound like a trite, little show for him. Her blood boiled. "It wasn't for your benefit!" she spat.

"Oh I know. I still enjoyed it, nonetheless."

"Well I'm happy for you I guess," she said still not understanding why he was there.

"Don't raise your hackles at me. I'm not here to upset you," he said.

"Then why are you here?" she asked.

"I came to apologize for the other night," he said, his voice ringing with sincerity.

She knew Eric was not the kind of person that apologized often and she was going to take full advantage of this rare moment.

"Oh, you mean when you rudely degraded and embarrassed me?" she asked, sweetly.

He rolled his eyed, "Don't be immature. Yes, for that."

"I'm guessing Godric put you up to this."

"I'm not a complete asshole. Godric may have made some suggestions, but ultimately, the choice was mine." Eric paused, seeming to be lost in thought. "He sees something in you. He keeps trying to convince me you shouldn't be thrown aside."

"Oh you mean fed from, fucked, and then left behind? That something he sees, Eric, is called compassion. But I know you wouldn't understand the concept."

Eric's eyes lit up with cold rage.

"Do not speak to me about compassion little girl! I've had many more years to grasp the meaning of it than you!"

Drina was taken back for a second, but then recovered quickly.

"That may be so, but that doesn't mean you understand it!" she retorted, before getting up and walking away. When she got back to the band, she turned back and Eric was gone.