Chapter 10: Blood, Sweat, and Jackals

Warning: There is some intense content in this chapter, and most of it contains blood. I won't give away too much, but viewer discretion is advised.

What had begun as an innocent luncheon was now a chaotic episode. Nobody was quite sure what to think.

However, one thing was certain- Henry MacArthur, one of John's housemates, needed medical attention, and fast. The bleeding had become extreme, and Chanticleer Washington, Henry's significant other, had removed some of the boy's clothing to see where the blood was coming from. It was at this moment that most of the children were ushered off a safe distance away from the fearful scene.

"Does anyone have a phone on them!?" John demanded to know, trying to keep Henry still. "We need to call 911!"

"I can do it!" Valentine volunteered, pulling out his phone. "What do I tell them?"

Henry yelped in discomfort, and Chanticleer ran a hand through his lover's hair. "Tell them that we have a vampire boy in severe pain!" Chanticleer touched Henry's forehead, and Henry whimpered in response.

As Valentine dialed on the phone, John took notice of the bump on Henry's stomach. "What is that!?"

Henry swallowed thickly, blinking back tears. "I-I don't know! I've…I've had that for a few months, now! I- ah!-th-think it's a tumor!"

Valentine broke in suddenly, leaning over Henry. "The operator wants you to describe your pain,"

Henry wiped at his eyes, letting out a pained sob. "It-it feels like…Oh, God!" he gripped his sides, trying to compose himself. "It feels like something's trying to…s-something's trying to come out!"

"Trying to come out!?" John repeated as he quirked an eyebrow.

Henry nodded, biting his lip. "Y-yeah! Something's pushing- it's pushing hard! Right here," he rubbed the lower part of the bump on his stomach. "Something's trying to come out!"

"He says that something's trying to come out," Valentine explained to the operator. "That's something's pushing." The more Valentine described the symptoms, the more he realized that what Henry was feeling and recounting seemed oddly familiar.

"Was he born a vampire?" the operator asked.

Valentine turned back to Henry. "Henry, were you born a vampire?" When Henry nodded, Valentine said to the operator, "Yes, he was,"

The operator took a deep breath. "Is there any chance he might be pregnant?"

Valentine froze. He hadn't thought about that. Yet, now that he was considering this, he remembered the night of Anne Marie's birth- that pain, that sharp, agonizing pain that began as a small cramp but escalated into a powerful convulsion that made him scream. He knew this, and he knew it all too well.

"Henry!" Valentine knelt down beside the young vampire, the phone still clutched in his hand. "Henry, is there any chance you might be pregnant?"

Henry's mouth fell open, and it became clear that he had not considered this a possibility. He covered his mouth with his hand, squeezing his eyes shut. "Oh, God…oh, God, please don't let it be that!"

John took a quick peek between Henry's frail legs, and he reached up to feel the strange distension of Henry's stomach. John's eyes widened. "Oh, my-!" John looked back up at Valentine, a frantic expression present on his face. "Yes! Tell the operator yes!"

Henry cried out, and Chanticleer held him close. "You'll be fine," Chanticleer reassured softly. "Everything will be fine."

Henry's body convulsed suddenly, and he gripped his stomach tightly. John reached up and shook Henry's shoulder to get his attention. "Henry, I'm sorry, but an ambulance may not get here fast enough. You're giving birth, and your baby is nearly out. All you need to do is push, all right?"

All of this was so confusing to Henry. He just realized he was pregnant and about to give birth, and here he'd been these past couple months- refusing food or purging it whenever it was ingested. There were times when the hunger became so strong that he eventually did eat food and keep it down, but they weren't frequent. If the baby's dead, it's my fault, he thought remorsefully. Nevertheless, he pressed hard with the pressure he felt, just wanting all of this to be over with.

All it took was that one push. A wave of relief swept over Henry, and his body settled. Chanticleer stroked his cheek lovingly. "Henry? Henry, how do you feel?"

Henry sighed, cracking his eyes open a bit. "Better…" he murmured, leaning lazily into Chanticleer's shoulder.

Everyone else held their breath as John removed his jacket and wrapped the tiny newborn baby into it, rubbing the child's back all the while. The baby didn't stir. As Valentine glanced over John's shoulder, he noticed just how skinny and sickly the baby was.

"John, do you think…" Valentine trailed off, watching as John sighed heavily and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, you guys," John said quietly to Henry and Chanticleer, his voice shaking. "It's hopeless. This baby is very malnourished."

Upon hearing this, Henry began to sob, though he barely had the strength to do so. Chanticleer held him close, kissing his cheek and caressing his hair.

The sound of the ambulance rang out, and then something happened. Perhaps it was the fact that the ambulance was so loud, or maybe the fact that John had stood up that exact moment with the baby clutched in his hands, or maybe it was just the bright sunlight. Whatever the case, everyone halted when a loud, shrill shriek erupted from the baby wrapped in the old jacket.

John looked down in shock, seeing the baby was writhing around and squealing. By some miracle, it wasn't stillborn, and it was clearly unhappy with this new environment.

Henry was up in a flash at the sound of his child's cry, and he reached out with trembling hands to hold the child in his arms. His distressed tears soon became tears of joy, and he cuddled his child in his arms and kissed it. "I'm sorry!" he wept, pressing the baby's body against his cheek. "I'm sorry; you almost died because of me! Forgive me, please!"

The baby calmed down a bit at the contact, squirming around a little and whimpering. Chanticleer took this moment to tip Henry's face up to his, planting a kiss on his lips. "He forgives you, I'm sure. Now, come on- you need some help." As Chanticleer helped Henry up, a group of paramedics rushed to their aid and helped them off to the ambulance. The cluster of partygoers surrounding the scene began to disperse, and another question came about: what was going to be done about Jared?

"Will Henry be all right?" Deuce asked, coming up beside Valentine. Valentine shrugged, sighing a bit sadly.

"I honestly don't know. After they fix his physical problems, he's going to need counseling. Lots of counseling."

"Oh."

There was a pause, and Valentine looked around. "Did Cleo come with you?"

Deuce groaned, turning away. "Yes. I don't know where she is, though. She saw some relatives of hers and she's with them."

"What about the girls?"

"They're with my mom."

Valentine nodded. "I see. How's it going between you two?"

"As of now? Not well. We had a fight, and it was pretty nasty."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Valentine said sympathetically. "I…I hope everything works out for both of you." That was a lie. Ever since Valentine and Deuce had even begun speaking, Valentine wanted so badly for Deuce to leave Cleo. He knew this relationship would not end well for Deuce, and he also knew that Deuce needed to be happy in his marriage. And now that he was seeing the couple begin to drift apart, he knew this only meant one thing: his desires would soon be in reach.

"Hey! Guys!"

Both Deuce and Valentine turned to see Heath coming towards them, a look of rage present on his face.

"Clawd and I are gonna go look around this place to find Jared," he said, his voice rough and heated. "We're gonna end him, for the second time! Wanna join us?"

Deuce clicked his tongue. "I don't know, Heath. What about Ramses? He seems to be pretty powerful, and if we anger him by killing his…pet, I guess, then we might be in serious danger."

"But Jared has to pay!" Heath protested. "He should've stayed dead! Come on, we need to take care of him once and for all."

After a few more minutes of arguing, Deuce and Valentine decided they'd help Heath and Clawd at least look. For two hours, they walked up and down the streets of Grand Island, peeking in windows and looking down alley ways. Finally, Heath could no longer stand it.

"Let's just break in his mansion! Icer said that was where he saw them the first time."

"No!" Clawd retorted, clearly upset. "The last time someone made me break into a building, serious trouble started! Don't make that happen again."

An argument nearly started, but then the group was approached by two figures.

"Why, hello, boys," It was Cladwell, and his daughter Maggie was right beside him. "So nice to see you! Would you be looking for Ramses and his jackal?"

"Yes!" Heath snapped. "Where are they so I can barbecue their asses!?"

Cladwell simply shook his head. "Poor, stupid boy. Why would I tell you? What are you to me? Stop looking, it's hopeless. Ramses and Jared are in the little, perfect world they created for themselves. The only you can get there is if you…ah, never mind."

"Perfect world?" Clawd asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Is it really that important to you?" Maggie asked, flipping some hair from her face. "He's just a jackal."

Heath was absolutely livid. "Just a jackal!? Do you even know what he did!?"

Cladwell nodded. "I know full well what happened. You can't change the past, though," he turned to leave, but turned right to Deuce. "Tell your mother I said hello," he told Deuce in a hushed tone.

As Cladwell walked away, Maggie brushed Deuce's cheek with her finger. "See ya 'round, you adorable serpent," and then, father and daughter disappeared into the alley ways.

Hello, everybody! Thank goodness I got this done…

I just wanted to finish this before I went to rehearsal tonight. I'll be there for about three hours tonight in a freezing auditorium…oh, well.

Thoughts? As always, I'm eager for feedback. Were you surprised about what happened with Henry? Are there any questions you have so far about this story? Do you have any theories about what might happen next?

See you next chapter, fellow monsters!