A/N: well, here's my version of what I think the finale will be like ;)
"I warned you," Claudine sighed, looking downcast.
Sookie frowned in confusion, her head swiveling around, "What am I doin' here?"
"It's not too late you know," Claudine's eyes widened in earnest. "You can stay with us. Please stay, Sookie. They don't—can't—understand…"
"Who? Bill? I already broke up with him," Sookie protested, not understanding why Claudine looked so sad. "What's happening?"
"They're all after your light," Claudine whispered, taking one of Sookie's hands within her own. "You need to stay with us!"
Sookie suddenly coughed, feeling an odd substance sliding down her throat. After a moment, she recognized the metallic taste on her tongue.
Claudine watched her, her expression becoming almost hostile. "That Bill of yours…he tried to kill me, you know!"
"What? Bill wouldn't do that!"
"Why are you blinded, my dear? He nearly killed you! What would stop him from coming after me?"
"But…Bill—"
"Isn't good," Claudine finished. "Just look at what he's doing to you…"
Sookie coughed again, the liquid now pooling in her mouth. Confused, Sookie raised a hand to her lips. When she looked at her hand, it was completely covered in blood.
"You have blood on your hands," Claudine began to back away.
"But it isn't mine!" Sookie protested. Even as she spoke, a single drop of blood slid down her hand and fell to the ground.
The effect was instantaneous.
Sookie could only watch in horror as the ground surrounding the drop of the blood immediately blackened, the grass wilting; losing life.
Claudine began running away. "Wait!" Sookie called helplessly, "It's not my fault!"
Dark clouds gathered above them at an alarming rate, as the scenery around Sookie grew grey, deadly. It was rather like watching the winter season arrive in fast-forward mode.
"I'm sorry!" Sookie called again, but Claudine was nowhere to be found. Sookie fell to her knees, the darkness consuming her.
With a gasp, Sookie opened her eyes. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she saw a wrist hovering above her face.
Bill's wrist.
"You fed me your blood!" Sookie accused, sitting up suddenly and trying to ignore the head rush. "Why would you do that!"
To say that Bill looked dumbfounded would have been an understatement. "You were dying, Sookie! Russell and Eric...they took far too much blood from you! I was tryin' to save you!"
"I don't know what your plan is, Bill Compton, but I certainly don't want you doin' me any favors," Sookie snapped, looking around the empty room. "Where the hell is everybody?"
Bill looked distinctly annoyed. "Sookie, what is the matter with you? Why are you agreeing to put yourself in the middle of all this vampire nonsense? Eric and Russell...they're only using you."
"Like you didn't?" Sookie shot back, crossing her arms. "Claudine told me you tried to kill her."
That shut Bill up. "You...saw Claudine again?" he asked slowly, "When?"
"Just a few minutes ago, but then she ran away when your blood caused their world to like die or something!" Sookie hopped off the table and asked again, "Where is everybody?"
"Compton, you're missing all the fun!" Russell's voice called from the adjoining room. Sookie frowned and quickly walked in that direction, with Bill on her heels.
"Oh, you're awake," Russell said disinterestedly when she walked in. "Bill, why on earth did you feed her your blood? She would have been fine."
"Her heartbeat was very weak, your majesty," Bill answered stiffly.
Russell, however, had clearly already lost interest in the matter. He gestured to the security screens in front of him, his expression excited. "Would you look at that?" he asked, sounding amazed. "It's actually true..."
Sookie's mouth opened in disbelief as she took in the four large tv screens in front of her. Pam was seated at the front, managing the controls to the security cameras.
And on all four screens, was Eric.
He was walking around the parking lot, looking perfectly at ease as the sunlight shone down on him. "How long has he been out there?" Sookie whispered to Bill, her eyes never leaving Eric's face.
"A few minutes," Bill answered back. "As you can see, sire, the sunlight is not affecting him at all."
"Yes," Russell agreed eagerly. At that moment, Eric turned to face the cameras, a grin in place. He pointed up, and then gestured for Russell to come outside. Russell grinned, and patted his pockets before taking out his cell phone. "Take a picture of me, won't you?" he asked, handing the phone to Sookie. "I want to see what I look like in the sun, after all these years..."
"Uh, sure," Sookie answered, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. All these vampires were so...self-absorbed.
Russell grinned excitedly and practically fled out the door. Sookie opened her mouth to say something, but Pam held a finger to her lips. A moment later, the back door slammed shut. "Now you can talk," Pam announced, "He is out of hearing range."
"What's gonna happen?" Sookie asked urgently, her gaze flicking between Pam and Bill. "What's Eric going to do?"
"I have no idea," Pam answered, her eyes trained on her master. "Russell took a significantly larger amount of your blood than Eric did, so he will last longer out there."
"Why didn't—"
"If Eric took any more, he would have surely killed you," Pam interrupted. "He decided to save you, instead of himself."
It was clear from her tone that she didn't particularly approve of Eric's decision, but Sookie wasn't going to hold that against her. After all, Eric was her master and they had been through thick and thin together. "I wish we could do something," Sookie whispered nervously, watching as the two of them talked. "Can't you get audio on here?"
"These are security cameras. Having audio is illegal," Pam answered, sounding as though the response was memorized.
"Since when has Eric cared about doing things the legal way?" Bill pointed out.
Pam rolled her eyes, and then reached under the desk. After a moment of fumbling around, she pressed a button. Immediately, the words AUDIO ENABLED flashed in red across all four screens.
"I have to admit, Northman, I had my doubts when you started spouting all this fairy-shit to me..."
"I can understand why it would be hard to believe. To have a part-fairy in our midst after all these years is quite extraordinary."
"But do you understand what this means?" Russell clutched Eric's arm, "We can change the world forever! We can show these pathetic humans that VAMPIRES are indeed the superior race!"
"Yes," Eric agreed lowly, "Today, the world will change."
Sookie squinted at the screens. So far, they both looked fine. "I'm surprised Eric is holdin' out for so long," she remarked nervously, trying to calm the pounding in her heart.
Pam tutted and then exchanged a look with Bill. "Human eyesight sure must be troublesome," she muttered, then hit a few buttons. The screen in the top-left corner zoomed in on Eric. Or more specifically, Eric's hand. "Do you see it, now?"
Sookie's eyes widened when she detected the faint wisp of smoke emitting from his hand. "Holy shit, he's starting to burn! But...Russell didn't notice anythin' yet!"
"Russell is too busy imagining what the world will be like," Bill said, shaking his head at Russell's ranting.
"What are they doing now?" Sookie demanded as Eric pulled a couple cigars from his pocket and handed one to Russell. "Smoking? Is this really the time?"
"I don't believe Eric has a plan," Pam suddenly spoke, clenching the table in front of her. "He really doesn't..."
Sookie swallowed as tears began to pool in Pam's eyes.
She was already mourning the loss of her master.
"No," Sookie said desperately, "You don't know that! Maybe...maybe those cigars are laced with poison or something!"
"Honey," Pam's voice was raspy, "Are you forgettin' that Russell is already dead? Those cigars could be laced with devil's powder and it wouldn't have an effect!"
"I never thought I'd do this again," Russell gestured. "Smoking a cigar on a bright, sunny day...It's something, isn't it?"
"Yes," Eric answered shortly, turning his face away.
"His face," Sookie breathed, her gaze trained on the zoomed-in screen. "It's starting to blister from the sun."
And quite suddenly, she felt a strong emotion run through her body. She gripped the chair in front of her, surprised. What on earth was that? It wasn't an emotion she could readily identify...she felt fear, but that was her own. There was something else...
He's finally had your blood, a little voice in the back of her head told her. You can feel him now...feel his emotions...
"Russell knows," Bill said abruptly, and Pam stood up, tears now falling freely down her face.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, NORTHMAN?" Russell roared.
Eric turned to face him, one side of his face clearly being burnt by the sun. "Today, the world will change," Eric repeated, "It will be rid of both of us." With these words, Eric swiftly pulled a pair of silver handcuffs out of his pocket and trapped himself to Russell.
"NO," Russel shouted, falling to his knees. Eric fell down with him, the silver incapacitating them both.
"We shall meet the sun together, my King..."
"NO!" Sookie screamed. Without even thinking about what she was going to do, she began to run out of the room. A pair of strong hands grabbed her waist, pulling her back. "LET ME GO!" she yelled, fighting Bill off.
"There's nothing you can do!" Bill pleaded, "Don't go out there!"
"I have to do something!" Sookie pushed him off. For some reason, he let her go.
"It's the daylight. I can't save you," he said desperately, running after her to the door.
Sookie paused, her hand on the door handle. "That's okay," she nodded at him with a small smile, "I didn't ask to be saved."
And then she walked out into the sunlight, leaving Bill behind her.
*i'm working on the final chapter now, it'll be up soon. in the meantime, REVIEW! :)