The Wastelands
Chapter 8
Takuya jumped into the window and was horrified at what he saw.
There was a young man crumpled up, and although his face was hidden, Takuya could see a stake sticking out of the guy's chest.
He took a step forward and felt himself slip. Takuya quickly caught himself and looked down to see small pools of blood surrounding him.
"Shit! Zoe?! Where are you?" He cried out.
Takuya scanned his surroundings and noticed a trail of blood heading towards the counter. He rushed over, leaving behind bloody footprints.
"Fuck!" He fell to his knees beside her and gently lifted her head.
Zoe was barely conscious. She looked terrified and felt Takuya move the towel off her neck.
"Oh, god," Takuya gasped. He had to work fast, for her time was running out. Laying her back down gently, he ran into her bathroom. He began to look through her cabinets and moments later found exactly what he needed. By the time he got back to Zoe, she was staring vacantly at the ceiling, her eyes starting to glaze over.
"Zoe, stay with me. Okay?" Takuya put her head on his lap and took out a needle and thread. "This is going to hurt, but it has to be done. I've got no choice."
Ten minutes later Zoe's wound was stitched up and covered in gauze. Takuya cradled her in his arms, then carried her over to her bed. He laid her down gently and sat beside her. Zoe's neck was stinging like hell, but she knew that it was necessary. A moment later she began to cough.
"Drink this," Takuya said, handing her a glass of water. "Try not to cough, or else the stitches could pop open."
Zoe took a drink and winced. "That bastard," she muttered. Her throat was sore and talking was painful. "Takuya? What's going on?"
"Um.....well........" He was trying to think of the best way to tell her.
"Because that guy showed up and said that his 'master' was looking for me. What was he talking about?"
Takuya rubbed his eyes. "Zoe, I can't think of an easy way of putting it, so I'm just gonna tell you." He took a deep breath. "You're kind of being hunted down......"
Zoe looked at him. "Hunted? For what? Just because I don't want to be killed by a bunch of vampires?"
"Our leader, Latharius, heard about you and what you were doing. He knows that you're powerful and sees you as a threat. So, we were told to track you down and bring you to him. Alive," he quickly added.
"That doesn't make any sense. I only kill when I'm being attacked......or annoyed......."
"Yeah, but he still sees you as an enemy. Whether or not you're killing vampires for protection, he doesn't care. He wants you to join us......but if you refuse, he'll try to kill you."
Zoe looked at him. "Did you go behind his back just to tell me this?"
Takuya nodded. "I could be killed for this, but it's worth it as long as I get you to safety."
"Takuya! What on earth were you thinking?! Why would you defy your master?" She was furious but at the same time surprised that he would go through such lengths just to help her.
He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Zoe, I did this because I care about you. I don't want to see anything happen to you." He cast his eyes down and looked disappointed. "I was almost too late, though. You could have died and I wasn't here to protect you."
Zoe painfully sat up and tilted Takuya's face up. "It's okay. It's not your job to keep me safe. It's mine. Besides if you hadn't shown up then I wouldn't be here right now. You can't deprive yourself of that credit."
His eyes darkened. "Yes I can. I've never forgiven myself for the way I treated you and I don't know if you can ever forgive me. But I'll make damn sure to try my hardest to keep you safe. Even if it puts my own life at risk."
"I can't let you do that." Zoe cleared her throat and cringed. "These past nine years I've watched friends and family die right before my eyes. Sosuke was the last person I lost, and that was over four years ago. I vowed never to get close to anyone again because I couldn't stand to lose them. Including you."
Takuya was about to say something when Zoe interrupted him. "We'll talk in a little bit. First, can you help me up? I want to jump into the shower and wash away all this blood." She began to pull the hardening strands of hair apart and flakes of blood fell onto her her pillow.
Takuya helped her stand up and walked her to the bathroom.
"Thank you. I'll be out in ten minutes." She shut the door behind her.
The vampire sighed and plopped down onto the couch. He heard the shower start a moment later.
While the water heated up, Zoe carefully undressed and examined herself in the mirror. Her face looked okay, but her body was covered with bruises and scratches. She sighed and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash away the caked on blood.
Fifteen minutes later she emerged, wearing only a towel.
"Forgot to grab clothes," she said. Her face was tinted red from embarrassment as she headed toward her dresser.
"It's okay." Takuya looked down and swallowed. He couldn't help but raise his eyes back up and stare at her. Drops of water ran down her smooth creamy skin. It took all of his energy not to walk over to her and sweep her into his arms.
"Be right back," Zoe said as she headed back to the bathroom with a clean outfit.
"Dammit...." Takuya walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. "This is going to be a long night."
in case you can't tell takuya's horny. gee, wonder what gave that away. chapter 9 coming soon. read and review :D
