"One hour." She echoed, as the door slammed shut on that chapter of her life. Never again would she step foot in that house… if she survived the next forty-eight hours.
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As soon as the door closed behind her, she sprinted for her car. Shoving the key in the lock and twisting it, she yanked the door open—jumped into the seat, fumbled with the ignition. The car roared to life and her sneaker slammed down on the accelerator.
The car lurched forward with a horrid grinding sound. The human panicked glancing down at her console for any check engine lights—Surely, Eric didn't disable her car! If so… she was definitely stealing his Ferrari!
The brake light was on? …Oh. Mentally throttling her brain, she grasped the gear shift, pushing it into drive and disengaging the parking brake. This time when she pressed the accelerator against the floor mat, her car spun off in a squeal of burning rubber.
Residential houses flew by as she sped twenty miles over the sedate speed limit. Fifteen minutes later, she swung into the parking lot of a grocery chain. The huge sale poster exclaimed: Buy More, Save Lots! Wasting no time, she locked the doors to her precious station wagon. Then stopped at the covered bench for the shuttle service, rubbing her scent across the support beams and the bench as she slid up and down the wooden length. Ignoring the raised eyebrows and suspicious glares, the human jogged back to her car. Quickly transferring purse and self into the nondescript grey rented car, she exited the parking lot and headed for her next stop: The Bus Station.
Buses ran every fifteen minutes in a multitude of directions. She wasn't sure how exact the blood tracking system was, if he only received a vague location then the multitude of smells and mingling people might throw him off and buy her more precious time. Making a bee-line for the rented locker, she pulled out both duffel bags and headed for the restrooms. There were changing rooms, showers, and even large padded benches in the spacious women's area. Quickly stripping down to nothing, she scrubbed at her skin and hair with non-scented shampoo and soap.
While drying off, she checked her time. Twenty-seven minutes remaining of her head start… if Eric kept his word. Quickly dressing in a fresh pair of underwear and bra, she then added the same thoroughly cleaned silver mesh from her last turn in the hunt-a-human-thon. She paused for a moment lost in thought; Wonder if that would be a good charity event or a promotion for Fangtasia? Bunch of fang-bangers and vamps romping around in the woods. Rather like a date-night scavenger hunt… as long as nobody died…
Shaking her head, she readjusted her silver coating. A couple extra loops of silver necklaces and bracelets extended the silver garments until it completely covered her from her ankles to her wrists… all the way up to her chin. "Suck on this Eric Northman!" She posed dangerously in the wide mirror that covered the back half of the giant changing station. A long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans covered the attention-grabbing silver. Thick socks, running sneakers, fingerless gloves topped off her vampire survival outfit.
Twelve more minutes gone.
Quickly stashing the phone in her locker, she made her way back to the rental and drove off in the opposite direction, towards the slums.
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Vampires collected knowledge like nations collected weapons of mass destruction. Though the pay was mediocre, the cutting edge technology and breakthrough experience coupled with the unbeatable health benefits of immortality attracted some of the best and brightest minds in the world.
There were only a few downsides to being a privately funded vampire scientist. Diagnostic lab work was one of them. The scientist on duty ripped open the priority mail envelope. Extracting the clear vial, he set to work compiling an in-depth description of the remaining few drops for a Mr. Godric of Area 5.
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As the grandfather clock across the street and two houses over struck 10:00 o'clock. Eric reached into his pocket and swiftly scrolled through his phone options. Godric watched with interest. "I did not expect you to remain here after her head start had expended."
Eric grinned, stretching comfortably on the couch. "I planted a tracker in her car and rerouted her phone GPS information directly to my phone. Her car is parked a few miles south, but her phone is directly east. Interesting. Both are stationary targets."
Godric smiled serenely. "It seems that she expected your tracking. Which one will you investigate first?"
"She shows great attachment to that beat-up hunk of metal. I shall return, Godric. Thank you for your… hospitality."
"Of course, child." As quietly as the day turned into night, his progeny disappeared before he finished speaking.
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Her head start expired while she was still traveling, pushing the rental firmly past the speed limit; she raced down the highway. Her strategy was fairly simple, leave a few false trails, make it to a safe location and then lay her own trap. It was already ten o'clock, she could try to evade for 8 more hours until sunrise or she could fortify herself until the sun forced him to ground.
Deciding to fortify herself, she took the next exit and headed towards safety.
The car was a waste of time. An airplane brochure was half-wedged between the passenger car seat and the console. Eric studied it for a moment, before extracting it. It stuck out half-way and was obviously ear-marked. Judging from the angle and crinkling at the bottom, it did not fall or land in the gap, but was shoved there. She wanted him to see this.
He grinned, smart girl. He thought: Trying to throw me off the path. He could still smell a trace of her that led to the small shuttle stop and towards an empty parking space. Kneeling on the blacktop, he studied the empty parking space. A small fraction of dirt and dust had settled near the top of the parking space. A small car had been parked here, long enough to accumulate that much. At least one day, perhaps two?
What was more likely? That she decided to hop a flight or parked a getaway car here and changed vehicles. He focused on the blood bond. She was slightly anxious, but mostly determined and definitely still somewhere in Dallas. He would investigate the bus station first; if she was on a plane he would feel it when she quickly exited the state.
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The phone trace lead to a small locker squeezed in the bottom shelf, half hidden by a bench. The phone rested in the bottom of the locker alongside a folded note. Eric carefully unfolded the note and skimmed its contents. It read:
I'm impressed that you were not only able to turn on your phone, but also track mine.
Good job, old man.
But not good enough.
Eric growled, tempted to shred the locker into itty bitty confetti-sized pieces. He would teach her to taunt him!
Snatching the phone and slamming the locker shut, he stalked past the unobservant humans caught up in the mystery of their phones and petty lives. He had prey to catch.
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The call of her blood to his guided him northern. It was a good direction, one he had crafted into his very name. He crossed over the interstate, flying high enough to avoid surveillance. He arrived at the overgrown house as she pulled into the winding driveway.
Dropping down to the ground, he followed behind her. Watching her in the rear-view mirror, he relished the moment she caught a glimpse of him.
Grinning as her eyes widened and she screamed.
BAM!
He didn't expect her to stomp on the brakes, his head collided with the rear of the car. He dropped to the ground, slightly dazed. The car was severely dented, the frame bent with the outline of his cranium.
The car door slammed as his prey sprinted for the front door. Shaking off the impact, Eric blurred into action. The human dove across the threshold as his hands latched around her waist. Her fingers dug into the wood, splintering the nails.
Belatedly, the pain struck. Eric yanked, refusing to release her through the burn of silver. He hissed as his flesh smoked. Her legs flew back. The right foot connected in a mule kick, catching his chin. A loud pop sounded and suddenly his spine surrendered. His body buckled, smacking into the concrete as his grip weakened.
Must have still been healing from head-butting the car, he realized collapsed in a heap on the front step. His whole body crumpled across the three shallow steps and his foot squashed three tiny yellow petunias.
Slowly, his back knitting back together, bone fusing to bone as excess spinal fluid pooled in his legs. The healing cost him precious time as his legs refused to support him. Time that she used to dart across the threshold.
The door slammed shut as his feet finally gathered beneath him. He snarled, clawing at the wood leaving gouges the size of bigfoot pranks.
The snarling monster on the doorstep was terrifying. But, he did something twenty thousand times worse. He took a deep breath, exhaled and just stood there staring at the door. Silently. Creepy to say the least. The vampire calmed, controlling his emotions, instead of allowing them reign over him.
"Human!" He cajoled sweetly. "Your clever use of resources almost delivered you to a safe threshold before I arrived. How intelligent of you to garb yourself in silver again. Quite advantageous for you." He complimented in a gravelly purr. It was his sex voice, gravel and rocks wrapped in soft velvet that he had whispered into her short-circuiting ears during some of the most pleasurable sex of her short life. The door cracked open and she peered out.
"You really think so?" She questioned, feeling very safe and daring behind the threshold.
"Yes." That silky smooth voice continued. Heat pooled pleasantly in her nether regions. "Very smart girl." The purr coaxed her nearer. "I wonder what other tricks you have tucked up your sleeves." He flashed a smile that caused her heartbeat to elevate. Unconsciously, she leaned closer and the door creaked further open.
Eric peeled his shirt off, slowly stripping the dark fabric up his chest and over his head. It landed on the ground beside him. With a large flexing of his pecs, he shifted his stance stretching his arms above his head and rotating them back down to his sides.
Her wide eyes tracked the graceful movements, the bunching of muscles, shifting into high definition at his motion. She stepped backwards into the house, beyond his arm reach as the door swung completely open. Eric's teeth flashed in the porch light.
Entranced, she missed his right hand sliding into his back pocket. His left arm twisted forward, hooking into the belt-loop of his skin tight jeans. Her tongue darted out, moistening hungry lips as her eyes focused on his package.
Distracted, she completely missed the tazer leads that sprang out, latching onto the silver weave and discharging. She fell backwards with a thud, feet pointing straight up to the ceiling, in an unconscious stupor.
"Stupid humans. After seeing fangs, they never expect a weapon." Eric tugged at the tazer, hoping that he could slide her body out of the house. The leads broke before her knocked-out form shifted more than a few inches. With a sigh, he puttered around the backyard looking for a rake or shovel. Otherwise, he would have to tear the front wall down before she woke up.
The shed yielded easily beneath his giant paws. Shovel, rake, a strange set of curved hooks… hmm… He grabbed one of the hooks just as a door slammed in the distance. Blurring to the front of the house, his suspicions were confirmed. The glass paned wooden door stared back at him instead of an unconscious human.
Very well. Demolition time.
"I will dismantle this house from corner to corner." He warned, pitching his voice to carry. The thudding of a heartbeat quickened at his words. His fangs popped out as he wrapped his hands around the overhanging gutter. "Your protection will crumble to dust around you." He swore.
He body slammed the old house shaking it all the way down to the foundations. The deadbolt turned in the lock. Eric laughed and tore the drainpipe off of the house with a wrenching groan. He could hear her thumping frantically around inside.
So, he started with the roof.
The shingles gave easily under his fingers, flying off like post-it notes. Shingles, tar, and rafters, then she would be exposed to his view.
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Inside the house, she kicked back the rug and peeled open the trap door in the living room. Sirens sounded in the distance as she slid halfway in the dark passage. Adjusting the strap of her duffel bag, she yanked the rug back over the door and let it fall shut as she dropped into the sewers below. Wary of a nasty surprise, she dug her flashlight out of her bag and switched it on.
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Glamouring the cops was a waste of time. Seconds ticked away before they drove back off in their tiny squad car and the nosy neighbor was thoroughly convinced that there was nothing unusual with the one-man demolition squad levitating on the roof next door. More time spent eliminating every room in the house. Prying up the floorboards quickly revealed his mouse's escape route.
In a matter of seconds, he was speeding through the sewer access tunnels chasing a scent and the pull of her blood.
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He caught up with her roughly two hours before sunrise. He could sense the sun looming closer, it's threatening presence as sure as a compass needle. It was absurdly simple to strike the back of her knees before she realized his presence. Catching her as she fell, he silenced her shrill screeches with his palm. Her fists bounced off of his flesh like the blows of a baby seal. Every inch a hungry polar bear, Eric shook his mouse until the cries ceased.
"I severely overestimated you." His blue eyes pierced hers, leeching the fight from her. He released her, slipping a pair of black leather gloves on his hands. "Did you learn nothing of our last adventure?" He questioned. "For I certainly did." With a hiss, his fangs launched out of his gum line.
Well and truly caught, a gazelle with broken legs, she quaked under his hungry regard. In a mockery of a lover's caress, his fingers brushed her cheeks and ventured under her chin. The thick leather shielded his skin when he grasped the collar of her silver chain-mail shirt.
With an animalistic grunt, his hands flexed, muscles leaping into focus, jaggedly tearing the silver shirt in half. The edges parted and fell open with a heavy thud, exposing the unblemished skin of her neck and chest. "Poor quality." His fangs scraped against her skin and then he bit her.
She screamed as he ground his jaw, fangs sawing through her flesh instead of piercing it. Blood surged to the wound, overflowing into his greedy mouth as he sucked her down like kool-aid. She could tell the precise second when the Hep-D hit his stomach. His heavy weight slumped on her chest, boneless and malleable. She pushed him off of her, satisfied at the heavy thud of his poisoned body against the unyielding floor.
He fell over on his side, staring up at her in horror. "What have you done?"
"You sick bastard!" She yelled, jumping to her feet and kicking him. He grunted, reeling from the blow like a normal human. "I was happy! With Godric and Pam and you, you idiot! I cared for you guys and thought I was more than just a blood bag and an easy fuck to you!" She sucked in a deep breath and pressed against her neck wound, swaying slightly. "No one will ever drink my blood again! You hear me? No one!"
She grabbed her duffel bag and stepped over him. Barely managing to roll over, he watched as she gathered up the silver chains and stakes. "If you come after me again, I will kill you." She vowed.
"It was a mere game. Cease this foolishness."
"I am done playing."
Silently, Eric called his progeny. "Please…" He whispered; hand outstretched in wordless plea at the livid human.
She paused, resting the bag on the concrete ground. "Out of respect for what you have done on my behalf, I will listen to you before I go." As she spoke, Eric could see the influence that Godric had welded on her; hear the shape of his words within her speech.
Beseechingly, he spoke baring all to the first human this century to grow so closer to his entire bloodline. "I begged for this opportunity and bluffed when I threatened your life. Hate me if you must and I will never bother you again if you wish it. But please, do not leave us on bad terms. That he cares for you is plain to see. I beg your forgiveness." Eric confided, blue eyes shining with
To see the vampire that towered over all the rest, laid low and vulnerable before her wrenched at her heartstrings.
His blue eyes pierced her to the core, watching her as if nothing else in the world mattered, but this one moment. That her forgiveness would make or break him. She folded like a house of cards, landing on her knees beside him. Tears dotted the unforgiving cement as her heart rained.
"Eric…" Callused fingers caressed chalky skin as she knelt before him. "I knew what I was getting myself into when I met you."
"And what was that?"
"An early grave." She whispered. "Its too soon. I can't forgive you today and I can't return."
Then she did the worst thing imaginable. She cried. Tears fell from her eyes and landed on his chest, splattering him with sorrow. A human emotion that he had not felt in a long time: Guilt unfurled where her tears landed, invading his body with regret and despair.
"Stop leaking." He commanded weakly, strength ebbing as the virus spread. The leaking worsened, flooding over her cheeks in a torrent. Emotional pain forced his eyes closed. Desperately, he tried to block out the sounds of her sniffles and the accusing salty drops. "Please, Godric will kill me if I do not return you whole."
"You can't just return me to him like a library book. I don't—choose—to go back." She drew back, wiping her tears on her sleeve. Silver clanked at her movements. "I am tired of just being a human surrounded by vampires. It's time for me to be a person." She whispered her heart breaking as her resolve strengthened. "I have to claim my own life back. You've shown me that. I've had enough fun and games for one lifetime. Never will I forget you Eric." She vowed, pressing a kiss into the curve of his cheek.
He grasped her hand weakly, barely squeezing the flesh before his arm thudded back to the ground.
"I will call Pam for you once I reach topside. There's an access hatch two turns away." She fluffed her shirt and gingerly propped his head up with the makeshift pillow.
"Please reconsider. You know that he will not accept this as an answer. He will track you down." Eric warned. "It would be better that you returned with me."
"He can try." She withdrew from all things vampires, grabbed her bag, and ran—this time not from danger, but to her new life.
And so, the human was released back into the wild to frolic among other humans and was never mixed up in vampire affairs ever again!
==================THE END===================
JUST KIDDING!
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It was time for the last step in her plan. After hurriedly hanging up the payphone as Pam snapped through the speaker, she made her way to Texas Southeastern Medical Center. It was one thing to declare one's self free from a vampire; it was quite another thing to actually break the blood bond between human and vampire. As far as break-ups going… this was hands down the messiest and most painful yet.
She checked into the hospital that very morning.
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Pam's presence on his doorstep was the herald of horrible news. Instead of keeping order in Eric's new Area, her pink coated appearance told Godric more than her words.
"What has happened?" Godric tilted Eric's head back, peeling his eyes open. They were bloodshot and unfocused, wildly spinning in unconnected directions.
"Hep-D. Self-infected before he bit her." Pam snarled.
Immediately, Godric tore his wrist open, pushing his ancient blood into Eric's mouth. "With my blood he will recover faster. However, he will remain weakened for some time." There was a long pause as Eric drank.
"The sun draws near. Secure him in the basement. No one will enter. None can learn of his vulnerability. Did any see you arrive?"
"None."
"You shall stay here to watch over him. This has gotten out of hand. I will take care of this." Godric's face fell as he watched his child struggle to stand of his own volition. Pam supported the bulk of his weight.
"Godric." Eric grabbed his Maker's arm before Pam could tow him away. "The way she fought… it was glorious. Be wary."
Godric smiled, his eyes growing dreamy. "She bested you. Doubtless that was a sight to behold."
His little human was shaping into quite the budding warrior. But, Godric had leveled whole armies and caused governments to topple. It was time to bring his weight to bear. She would not outwit him.
Pam vanquished with her Maker, leaving Godric to his own thoughts.
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Before the sun had sunk below the horizon, Godric stirred out of a deep sleep. A sense of wrongness gripped him. Disturbing his rest. He searched within his mind, seeking out his human's emotions. A faint ripple of feelings slowly floated to him. Confused, he tugged harder. It strengthened slightly, but paled in comparison to the crystal clear bond of a few hours ago.
Godric was in the basement before the trapdoor to his hidey-hole slammed shut.
Pam snarled as he pried Eric's coffin up. She lay on top of him, stake in hand squished into the small space. Godric helped her out and quickly surveyed Eric's status. His color was better, but still pale… even for a vampire. His skin had a slightly translucent sheen like an onion.
"What is it?" Eric rasped, pulling himself to a seated position inside the padded double-wide coffin with extra leg space.
"The bond is fading." His words rang with the finality of a funeral bell.
"She was alive when she left me. Pam arrived shortly after. I could not sense where she went afterwards."
Godric was pacing. Pacing! Pam watched him anxiously; Godric was not a pacer. "I can no longer locate her." Silence reigned over the damp basement as Godric swished back and forth and back and forth. "Eric—I can barely feel her!"
Pam's stress hit the roof; her unflappable Maker looked weak and shaken—fuck, even Godric was panicking… then this was beyond bad.
"She is dying?"
"I'm uncertain. I can vaguely sense relief… no worry or pain." Godric's eyes closed as he focused inward on the fading link.
Pam and Eric exchanged wordless glances, silently communicating their worst fear: suicide.
"A broken blood bond does not necessarily mean death. There have been unusual circumstances in the past that have resulted in such. She's just a human, she's not untraceable. We can utilize human means to track her." Eric reassured his trembling Maker. "What was her name?"
Godric lips pressed together whitely. "I do not know."
Eric blinked in surprise. "She has resided with you for over a year now."
"I had no need to know it… What of you? Do you know her human identifier?"
Eric shook her head slowly. "No, I always called her human…"
"As did I."
"And I."
Silence fell over the room.
"Well, fuck." Pam summarized.
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A.N: Well, well... Hopefully, that was a surprise, right? I'm sorry about the chapter... I had a little trouble writing it so it came a bit choppier than I would have liked. But... ta-dah! Hope it wasn't too terrible and you guys enjoyed!
I can has reviews? -puppydog eyes-