"Screaming in the night, fighting for my life, I'd die for you
I knew it all along, headed for the sun, our love was true, oh"
- Screaming In The Night by Krokus
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters and content.
Chapter Ten:
By the time I made it to the comic shop, the boardwalk was in full swing as tourists eagerly flocked every available inch. The sun beat down on me aggressively, a grotesque amount of sweat seeping through my fresh clothes. The shop was bare, not a single customer in sight as I crossed the threshold. I sighed in relief, no longer feeling the sun's deadly rays on my back.
"Edgar? Alan?" I called out, wiping my brow.
There was shuffling from the back room, before the two boys emerged, grins on their faces.
"Took you long enough, eh, Rowan?" Alan teased, nudging my side. I playfully shoved him off of me. They absentmindedly started to rearrange comics out of habit rather than necessity.
"Sorry boys, I had a hot date last night. I was out pretty late," I winked. Both boys stopped their shuffling to give me a puzzled look before their eyebrows rose in disbelief.
"You're kidding," Edgar said. "Who was he?"
"You wouldn't know him," I shrugged. "Just some tourist looking for a good time."
These boys are too gullible, I swear! There was a beat of silence before I could no longer keep the charade up and I burst with laughter.
"That was too priceless! You should have seen the looks on your faces!" I laughed again. The brothers both gave me the finger before resuming their monotonous task.
Even though I disagree with the Frog brothers' ideals, I do admit to liking them. I never had any siblings growing up, so hanging out with them, even for this short amount of time, was refreshing. I only hope that I am able to prevent them from making a terrible mistake.
Whatever it takes.
"So, what's on the agenda for today then? More lessons? Experimental weapons?" I asked.
"Actually..." Edgar began.
He was interrupted by a boy coming into the shop. He was dressed in eccentric attire, clashing funky patterns and colors, and had his hair sticking up in the front.
Now that was an outfit! Only someone extremely bold could wear that and feel comfortable in public. Maybe that's my 'from the future no one dresses like that ever' attitude.
He had a bright smile on his face and looked harmless, yet strangely familiar. When his eyes landed on me, his happy-go-lucky expression faltered, but not enough for the Frog's to notice. I did.
"Who's this?" He asked, pointing in my direction. Edgar and Alan looked at me, then looked at the boy.
Edgar cleared his throat before he replied, "Sam, this is Rowan. She's the reason we told you to come over today. She's going to help us terminate the blood suckers."
Oh. So this is Sam Emerson, Michael's younger brother. The one I had caught glimpses of in my dreams. I'm surprised I didn't recognize him before, but I was more concerned with the man pinned to the wall than who he was.
Sam nodded in my direction, uttering a quick hello. Something was off with him.
"It's nice to meet you, Sam," I responded politely.
Silence.
Too much silence.
"So is that all you wanted me for because I have plans today," I said, breaking the silence.
I obviously didn't really have plans today, but I needed to get out of here. The way Sam started studying me has made me uneasy. He recognizes me, that much is for sure. He may not know from where yet, but once he realizes it, he will not hesitate to tell the Frog's.
"Another hot date to get to?" Alan smirks.
Impishly, I grinned at him. "Yeah, something like that. I'll see you boys later!"
Once out in the heat again, I released the breath I was holding. This isn't good. Another hitch in the plans has sprung and I don't know how I'm going to avoid the fallout.
Sam Emerson Point Of View
As soon as Rowan left the shop, I turned to the Frog's.
"I don't trust her," I said, matter-of-factly.
"Why not?" Edgar said defensively.
I wasted no time going into detail about seeing her with the blood suckers that turned his brother. Mike also mentioned a girl, not the one he was chasing, but another one, hanging out with them.
"That doesn't mean shit, Sam. If you'd hear her rant about those blood suckers, cursing them, than you would know she's cool. Ever hear of the term 'covert operations'?" Edgar gruffly responded.
I wish I could believe what he says to be true, but he hasn't been there. He hasn't seen her eyes light up in the presence of that lead blonde dude, she looked like a lovesick puppy. Disgusting. How a girl who looked like that could be into a vampire like him was unbelievable, a disgrace to the human race.
"I don't know, Edgar..." I began.
"Exactly Sam. You don't know, you don't know a damn thing," he said walking off. I looked to Alan for support, but he just shrugged and followed after his brother.
I stood there, mouth agape. Are they so daft that they can't see what's right in front of them? Rowan is playing them, has been from the beginning. Something just isn't right about her. What is she playing at?
Rowan's Point Of View - Later that night
"All right boys, let's go," David said, climbing out of his chair.
I was sitting on the couch, my legs folded underneath me. I just got comfortable, dammit!
"Where are we going?" I groaned, standing up.
David looked at the others, obviously having a conversation they didn't want me to hear. They each nodded, giving me a look, before leaving the cave.
"You're not going anywhere," David told me. "The boys and I are taking Michael to feed tonight. To make the transformation permanent."
My eyes all but bulged out of my head. He isn't serious? He's really going to do this?
"David, I don't think you understand what you're doing here. I..."
Growling, he pushed me back down on the couch before leaning in close. The vicious glint in his eyes was there. He pointed a gloved finger in my face.
"No, Rowan. I don't think you understand. I'm following orders, so unless you want Max to personally deliver my head on a platter to you for disobeying him, you should do the same. Stay here."
My face reddened in anger and I pushed his fingers out of my face and pushed him back. If he is trying to scold me, it isn't going to work. I stood up so we were eye level before speaking.
"First of all, David, don't you dare threaten me like that again. And second, do you realize how stupid and careless you are being right now? Max is delusional if he thinks by turning Lucy's children into vampires, she is miraculously going to fall in love with him. That's not how it works!"
The angered vampire grabbed me by the shoulders, a savage look on his face.
"Dammit, Rowan! Max is my maker! I can't ignore an order. Especially one like this. You don't seem to understand how this works. I do what Max wants when he wants it done. My feelings on the issue don't matter."
I crossed my arms in frustration. I understand to a certain extent, but the fact that David, Marko, Paul, and Dwayne are nothing but lap dogs for Max is ridiculous and infuriating. His bizarre idea is not going to work. You can't force someone to love you. And you sure as hell can't turn a woman's unknowing children into creatures of the night and expect her to be okay with it.
After a few moment of avoiding David's gaze, I turned to him. His grip on my shoulders loosened a bit, but he still held on to me. He was still pissed, but some of the fire dissipated in his eyes.
"Fine, David. You win. I won't argue with you about it anymore. There is nothing I can do to stop you," I relented.
Not because I wanted to, lord knows I could have fought him on this until the sun came up, but I couldn't risk Max retaliating if he didn't. The risk of getting Michael to feed is nowhere near as risky as Max's revenge. There's a reason he has survived this long.
Just as I was going to sit back on the couch, David did something unexpected. He pulled me in close, hugging me to him. My arms wrapped around his waist, my head coming to rest on his unmoving chest. His arms gingerly wrapped around me, his head on my shoulder, face in the crook of my neck, breathing in my scent. It only lasted for a few moments. Enough for us to calm down a bit more, before he pulled away.
"Come on, I'll take you to the boardwalk," he said, lighting a cigarette.
A small smile formed on my face. A compromise. He wouldn't take me with him to get Michael to feed, but he wouldn't leave me here either. The boardwalk was middle ground, close enough to him that it wouldn't take long to get back to me.
"Thank you," I whispered, kissing him quickly.
We were sitting by the railing, laughing and enjoying the night while searching for Michael, when he suddenly showed up. I was sitting on the railing, David standing in between my legs, when an infuriated Michael tore into our group, grabbing at David.
"What the fuck, Michael?" I screamed.
He ignored my protest, his full attention on David. "Where is she?"
David laughed, blowing smoke at Michael, who had his hands on David's collar. "Take it easy Michael."
"Where's Star, David?" Michael growled.
"Michael, if you ever want to see Star again, you better come with us now," David replied, a menacing grin on his face.
"Stay here," David warned before starting up his bike and taking off down the beach.
There was an uncomfortable feeling in my gut telling me that I needed to follow them. Even though David warned me about following them, and the rational part of me agreed, the reckless part said fuck it and I chose the latter.
I waited until their tail lights disappeared on the horizon before jumping off the boardwalk and jogging in their direction. The salt air and ocean spray blew past me as I pushed myself to keep trudging through the sand. I slipped quite a few times, but thankfully managed to stay upright. Quicker than I anticipated, the moon illuminated the five bikes parked at the base of a sand dune with a tree. Instead of running straight towards it, I decided to veer off to the left and circle around wide. A familiar sight clouded my vision. A huge bonfire, teenage dirtbags milling about singing to the radio, five starving vampires lost in the shadows salivating at their meal. I shiver ran up my spine as the realization dawned on me. The dream that started it all, the dream that repeatedly haunted my nightmares for a month was a reality right now. Before I could think much more about it, four out of five boys attacked causing shrill screams of terror to erupt into the night.
A shot of adrenaline coursed through my veins at the sight. The boys viciously attacked the hoodlums, but the way they went about it was graceful. I was enthralled by the grotesque scene in front of me. I wanted to join in on the fun.
I averted my attention to the sand dune where Michael still say, a wild look in his eyes, yet he refused to move. Unconsciously, he licked his lips, but suddenly threw himself back and I lost sight of him.
The screams faded and were replaced by the familiar sound of waves crashing along the shore. As I turned my attention back to the boys, my presence did not go unnoticed. David wiped his bloodied face and motioned for me to come to him. I was hesitant to do so, as I could not tell how upset he was that I defied him once again. I knew there was only so many times that I could get away with it, but I continued to push the boundaries. Silently, I made my way over to him. When I was close enough, he grabbed me roughly by my elbow and led me towards the dune, the other boys following.
"Stay here," he repeated his words from earlier. I nodded and he let go of me before stalking up the sand alongside the others.
A few minutes later, they returned to my side. Their clothes were tattered in some places, their hair in disarray, and blood spattered across their faces.
Michael was not with them.
I furrowed my eyebrows, but before I could ask, David silenced me. "Later," he grumbled, pushing past me to help his brothers clean up their feast.
I stood there, momentarily stunned by David's dismissal. I know I ignored his request, but did he really think that I would listen to him? I know he has my best interest at hand, but I was sent here to save him. If I didn't do what I felt to be necessary, than the cycle would continue and the boys that I have come to love would once again die. Come hell or high, I'm not letting that happen.
With a burst of bravery, or possibly stupidity, I surged forward and grabbed David before he got too far.
"No, David. Tell me what happened now," I growled.
He turned to me, a smirk on his face. This shocked me enough, that I stood there with my mouth gaping for a moment before regaining my composure.
"So you're not mad at me?" I questioned.
"Oh, I'm furious," he chuckled. "Your punishment will come soon enough."
I felt myself flush, arousal coursing through my veins at his threatening words.
"You didn't answer my question," I said changing the subject.
He sighed, his eyes darkening in anger. I knew it wasn't directed at me, but at Michael.
"He refused to feed and then took off. After we're done here we're going to find him before he does something stupid," David replied simply.
For fucks sake.
"I don't mean to tell you I told you so, but..."
"Rowan," he growled, pulling me closer. "Shut up."
"Make me," I smirked.
He pulled me into a searing kiss, his frustration pouring out of him. He pulled away a few seconds later, much to my dismay. He smirked, reaching forward to wipe his victims' blood from my lips. He wiped most of it away, but instinctively my tongue darted out to lick my lips. A metallic taste filled my senses, which didn't bother me as much as it should.
Maybe I'm meant to be a vampire after all.
A/N: A little OOC here, sorry about that! So we've reached Rowan's dream becoming a reality, that's exciting! This story will probably be wrapping up in a few chapters and I have yet to decide if there will be a sequel or not. The ending definitely has the potential to be the start of a second half, but we shall see! Let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated and I love hearing from you guys, so don't be shy! Thanks for reading!