With the bodies gone, washed out to sea, Paul went to dispose of one of the two motorbikes that had belonged to our victims. I took the other, checked it over, and wheeled it to where Dwayne waited, silent and thoughtful.
"Here you go. I said we'd get you a bike."
"This is how you live? Taking whatever your victims leave behind?" Dwayne smiled wryly. "You said you all had inheritances."
"I'm sorry. I couldn't tell you the truth then. It was the best I could come up with. If you don't want the bike—"
"I didn't say that." He examined the machine, his smile becoming more genuine. "This is a better bike than any of yours."
"Yeah, I noticed that."
"I think I'll keep it." He got on, started the engine, and roared away across the sand.
I ran a hand through my hair. I hadn't known him that long, but I knew him well enough to realise he was probably having some unpleasant thoughts about what he'd done. It was about to get worse, too. I still had to tell him what was going to happen to him over the next twenty-four hours.
"You'd better get after him," Paul said, appearing at my side.
"I know. Marko!" I beckoned the other vampire and he shot to my side in a split second. "Have you told Star what's going to happen?"
"Not yet. I thought I'd do it when we get home in case she freaks out. What about Dwayne?"
"Same. It'll take longer for him than her. She's much smaller."
Marko nodded. "I'll tell her as soon as we get back. They must have some idea, though, right? They know we're dead."
I nodded. "Yeah, just not what we went through to get this way." Grimacing, I began checking for any evidence left of the motorcycle boys. Other than a few beer bottles and the ends of joints, plus the clothes of the two that had been in the sea, there was nothing much. I tossed the clothes onto the fire and watched them burn, then kicked sand into the embers. Paul gathered up the bottles, tried each one for leftover beer, then threw them into the sea.
Marko led Star away and by the time Paul and I found our bikes, the couple were gone. We rode home fast, and I sighed with relief when I found Dwayne's new bike beside Marko's. He was back. I bounded down the steps into the cavern. It was empty, but Marko's voice drifted to my ears from the direction of the passage. He must be talking to Star.
"Dwayne?" I looked around the curtains and found him lying on our bed, hands behind his head. "Are you okay?"
"I think so. What happens now?"
"You must have an idea."
"Yeah." He sat up. "Tell me how it happens."
I kicked off my boots and sat on the bed facing him. After a moment, I took his hand and held it tight.
"That bad, huh?" He laughed.
"What's funny?"
"Nothing. It's kind of hysterical laughter. I'm going to die, aren't I? Obviously I am. Does it hurt?"
"It's painful and it's not pretty. Have you ever seen anyone die?"
"No. Well, yeah. That guy tonight. I didn't take a lot of notice of how he looked."
"Okay. Basically, any fluid, or anything that's left in your body, other than blood, has to come out. Any time in around twelve to twenty-four hours from now, you'll get sick and throw up anything that's left in your stomach. The blood you drank will have absorbed into your body, so that won't come out."
"Right, so I'm gonna puke, then die?"
"Yeah. Um, anything that's digested is going to come out the other way. You'll have cramps, palpitations, rapid pulse, sweating. Then you get sluggish, your heart slows down, and slows until—"
"I get the picture." Dwayne made a face. "I should probably go and find somewhere else to be until after."
"No. You're not going through that on your own. I did and it was horrible. Paul and Marko both had me. Star will have Marko. You have me. I'm not leaving you alone."
"Oh, hell no. If you think I'm gonna puke and shit my guts out in front of you, you're crazy."
"Fine." I let it drop. I could see him getting wound up over it to the point that he walked out. "When it's time, go down the passage to the sea. No one will be watching, but you won't be totally alone either."
"All right. I guess that'll have to do. What now?"
"Get in bed. It'll be dawn soon and we'll need to sleep."
Dwayne got up, stripped out of his clothes without a word, and slid under the bed covers. I undressed too and joined him. It didn't occur to me to try and have sex. It didn't seem like the right time, when Dwayne had only a few hours left in his current life. He clearly felt the same, as he moved into my arms and lay still, his dick soft where it rested against my leg. His heart skipped erratically, and his breathing grew uneven.
"It'll be okay," I murmured.
"If you say so."
"I won't let anything happen to you."
"I'm going to die, David."
"Do you wish tonight hadn't happened?"
"No."
"Do you wish I'd never found you?"
"No." He wrapped his arm around my neck and pressed closer. "I want this. I do. I'm just fucking scared, that's all."
"It'll be over soon." I kissed his forehead. "Go to sleep. I'm here."
I sounded like a sap, but it made me smile, nevertheless. Dwayne closed his eyes and gradually his anxious breathing settled, and his pulse slowed. I stayed conscious until he'd slipped away, then finally let myself sleep.
I woke in the late afternoon to the sound of screams. Star. I didn't worry—she had Marko with her, and probably Paul, too. Paul, in the absence of a partner of his own, had become like a big brother to the pair of them.
"It hurts!" she wailed, her voice echoing through the cavern. I listened, hoping Dwayne wouldn't wake. Mercifully he didn't, and after an hour or so, there was silence again.
"David?" Paul whispered from the other side of the curtain.
"I'm awake."
He pulled the curtain aside a little and stuck his head in. "She's okay. Sleeping now. Marko's going to hunt as soon as it's dusk and bring back something for when she wakes. How's he doing?"
"He's fine. Slept through it."
"I'll stay here until it's over," he said.
"Thanks, Paul."
He nodded and left us. Dwayne slept on. Darkness fell, and still he didn't stir. Marko returned after his hunt, and Star woke, weak, shaking, and starving. Marko fed her, then took her with him and went out again. I sat up and stretched my arms above my head, trying not to disturb Dwayne. It was better that he slept as long as possible, so he wouldn't have time to worry.
Another hour passed, and finally he opened his eyes. "How long did I sleep?"
"All day and part of the night. It's approaching midnight," I told him.
"How long do I have?"
"I don't know. It could be any time."
"It's hot in here." He threw off the bed covers, and I noticed his skin glistening with sweat. The scent of it reached my nostrils, along with the smell of his blood racing through his veins. His heart stuttered, lurched, and resumed racing. His eyes widened in shock. "Is this it?"
"Yes."
"I'm going outside." He stumbled off the bed, reached for his leather pants, then changed his mind and wrapped a blanket around himself instead. He headed down the passage towards the sea. I got dressed and paced around, clenching and unclenching my fists, while Paul lay on one of the couches, sickenly relaxed.
"You'll wear a hole in the floor," he said with a grin.
"Shut up."
"He'll be fine. You know that, right?"
"I know. I just hate that he's going to suffer first."
Paul chuckled. "Fucking sap."
I heard vomiting and shot down the passage at the speed of sound. Dwayne had discarded the blanket and was crouching on a rock, violently throwing up into the sea below. He held his hair back with one hand and clutched his stomach with the other. He didn't look around, but he'd know I was there. I stayed a few feet away, as much as I ached to go to him and hold him.
"Leave me… alone," he spluttered suddenly, then retched hard again.
I ground my teeth and clenched my fists. I had done this to him. He was dying, right in front of me, and it was down to me. I hated myself, but at the same time, I longed for it to be over so I could take him in my arms and have him the way I wanted, forever.
"Fucking Christ," he panted. "David, don't look at me." Groaning, he rolled off the rock and crawled on hands and knees into the waves lapping at the edge of the cave. Only his head and shoulders were visible, and he continued to splutter and choke, although very little came up. He moaned and cursed, squirming in discomfort as his stomach turned itself inside out. I knew exactly how it felt. It was like trying to shit out your intestines, but of course that didn't happen, it just felt that way.
I hadn't had anyone to help me. Max had left me alone in his garage, locked in, terrified, without telling me what would happen. I hadn't known much about vampires and I certainly hadn't known I'd have to die. I'd writhed on the cold stone floor, screaming, helpless and weak, and a complete mess by the end of it. I'd regained consciousness, such as it was, when Max turned a powerful hose on me to clean me up.
"I'm here," I murmured. "I'm not leaving you, Dwayne." He'd hear me, even above the sound of his own agony and the waves splashing the rocks.
Perhaps an hour passed, and Dwayne collapsed, becoming submerged completely until a second later I hauled him out of the sea. His body rolled limply onto the cave floor, the whites of his eyes showing. His heart was still beating, but only just. I wrapped the blanket around him, gathered him into my arms, and carried him back to our bed.
"David?" Paul leapt up from the couch.
"The worst is over," I said.
"Okay. Good. I'll go and get something to eat. You want me to bring something back?"
"I'll be fine. I'll hunt later, before dawn."
"Right." He left and I heard his bike start up and roar off into the distance.
I lay down on the bed beside Dwayne and listened to every sound his body made—the slow thump of his heart, breaths, taken only three or four times a minute. He was fading, but at least now he'd lost consciousness and didn't wait for the end in fear. I slid my arms around him and waited.
It didn't take much longer. Fifteen minutes later he took his last breath and his heart stopped. Stupidly, I wept, relieved the others were all out. They'd think I was ridiculous, crying over his human death. I pulled myself together and waited, my gaze fixed on his face. When he opened his eyes, he'd be starving.
Paul returned an hour later, bringing with him a giggling, drunken girl. He looked in on us, eyebrows raised.
"Not long now," I said. "Why did you bring someone back? This isn't the time."
"She's for you. You know what's gonna happen when he wakes up. He'll drain you, and we're only a couple of hours away from dawn."
"Okay. Yeah. Thanks."
"Not like you to be so unaware." Paul grinned. "Must be love."
"Fuck off. Does that girl know anything?"
"No, she's smashed. I gave her some wine. Actual wine."
I nodded and turned my attention back to Dwayne. Unconcerned about Paul laughing, I lifted a hand and touched my sleeping vampire's face. His skin had lost its warmth and most of its colour. I ran my thumb over his lower lip, then bent and brushed my lips across his cheek.
"Jesus Christ," Paul muttered.
I gave him the finger. Then Dwayne's eyes snapped open, gold and fierce. He opened his mouth, fangs protruding, and snarled before he realised he was with me. The growl died in his throat and he groaned instead. I guided his mouth to my neck and this time I didn't have to open a wound to encourage him. His fangs punched through my skin and opened a vein. After a few mouthfuls, his body came alive, strong muscles pinning me down as he fed greedily, drawing my blood from me at a concerning rate.
"Shit," Paul said under his breath.
"It's okay," I whispered. I was weakening. My hand fell from Dwayne's neck, landing limply on the bed covers. My blood rushed through my veins to the point where it was leaving my body, leaving me almost incapable of movement. I licked my lips, grimacing at the dry, cracking skin. I couldn't die like this, but soon I'd be desiccated and in a lot of pain.
Dwayne tore his mouth from my neck and licked his lips, yellow eyes meeting mine. Immediately, the colour changed to brown and a frown of concern wrinkled his brow. "Fuck. David! Shit, Paul, what have I done?"
"Stay there. Don't worry." Paul disappeared and a moment later returned with the girl he'd brought back.
"What are we doing? Ooh, three sexy guys. Is this an orgy?" She broke into hysterical laughter.
Paul pushed her onto the bed beside me, jabbed a thumbnail into her wrist, and placed it over my mouth. Blood flowed rapidly, trickling down my throat and out of the corners of my mouth. My tongue and lips grew moist again and my fangs emerged. I bit hard and swallowed rapidly. The girl began to struggle and shriek, and Paul and Dwayne grabbed her, holding her in place until I was strong enough to move and go for her throat.
"At least one of us has some sense," Paul said. "I'll be fine. I'll hunt later, before dawn," he mimicked. "Bullshit, David."
I finished feeding and released the young girl's corpse. "All right, know it all. You were right, so thanks."
Grinning, Paul took the body away. I turned my attention to Dwayne again and took his hand. "How do you feel?"
"Good. More alive than I ever felt before."
I pulled him closer and touched his face with my free hand. "Now we will never be parted."
