So I'm very excited to be updating and happy that you are still reading, I know I've gotten no reviews but I'm not deterred! Still in the process of wrapping this bad boy up, but it won't be too much longer. I'm both excited and saddened at the admission. Anyway please enjoy this chapter, I want to say it's one of my longest to date. Lots of stuff going on down there. Drop me a review if you're feeling up to it, if not see you next time!
The old truck rolled gently down the dirt road; Edward at the helm, and Sam at his side. He was thankful that he had taken the money to put in cameras and screens in his father's old pick up. He had supposed at the time he had done it out of some strange loyalty to his mother. She had ridden around in it long after his father left, and she had taught Edward to drive on it in the back fields of their house. It had worked out in the end though, as this way they could drive in daylight without much suspicion if they happened to pass someone, which they hadn't so far as they neared the three quarter mark in their journey to Audrey.
It had been an immediate consensus between the two men the moment Edward had found his bearings that they would go to Audrey, staying in the house could pose a problem because Edward had no way to protect them if something went wrong. It hadn't taken them long to gather their supplies and hit the road. Edward hadn't yet, mentioned that Sam could and had spoken while fighting for his life in the deep end of his pool; he wasn't sure he would bring it up at all.
He looked over the boy next to his as he drove and tried not for the first time to make a decision as to what he should do. Sam stared down at the map Edward had given to him. His brown eyes and small fingers traced the road they were on, taking to his duties as navigator with gusto. Silently Edward had been reading the map over his shoulder, making sure they were truthfully headed in the correct direction, but he didn't make it known because as he had reached the end of his mother's driveway, and looked expectantly to Sam for direction. He had lifted his head slightly to gaze at the road, and let his finger come off the map and point, croaking hoarsely "Left."
Edward had done little more than nod, and turn on the appropriate signal. He didn't want to spook Sam's voice back into whatever cage it seemed to have tentatively crawled out of. But more than that Edward didn't think he had much more room in his mind for another massive revelation today.
In the cab of the truck, Edward listened. Everything seemed so quiet, he couldn't hear the drum of insects or pick out the individual pistons firing inside the engine, and he couldn't hear the creaking revolution of the tires. But he could hear his heart. Pumping strongly inside his chest, he could feel his blood moving through his veins and after a decade of essentially silence inside his body, three hours wasn't enough time to get used to it again. Being human was something he had longed for since the moment he had realized his heart stopped, though he continued on. Now that he had been effectively dropped into his lap, he didn't know what he should do with it nor what he wanted to do with it.
His mind slowed on that last thought, and strayed to Audrey; he decided that he knew of at least one thing he wanted to do with his humanity. He was human now, just like her. The possibilities that opened up under that particular train of thought sent his heart slamming in his chest, and a flush rising in his cheeks. He figured that he better not exhaust his heart on the first day it was back in service. Instead he let his thoughts lead him to a safer line, but still with no small amount of awe. He had realized some small amount of time after they had left the house that he was hungry. Hungry for food, for the first time in a decade; the smile that came to his face was wide as he made the designated right onto a back road. Glancing down at the map in Sam's lap, he figured they couldn't be more than a half hour away from the compound; and that now was as good a place as any to stop for lunch. Who knew how they would react to newcomers, even if they did know Audrey and Elvis, and what if they had heard of Edward? How would they react to his sudden beating heat, and flowing blood? Elvis didn't disclose to too many people that he had once counted himself among the undead for very specific reasons; what had happened to them was a one in a million shot as far as Edward could tell. It would take perhaps years of testing to be able to determine if something like this could be recreated. Both Edward and Lionel's results were untested, and Edward couldn't explain to you how it was supposed to have work without proper and controlled testing. Even Edward didn't trust what had happened to him, and he had experienced it for himself, how could he expect others to understand.
Instead of letting his fears, and lack of knowledge get the better of him Edward pulled the truck off to the side of the road. Letting it rumble to a stop on the side of an abandoned gas station with an attached auto shop. Edward looked fondly up at the old building, it reminded him of the place he had worked as a kid. Bringing to the forefront of his mind the many hours he had spent after school, performing small miracles on older cars. This place was in a heartbreaking state of disrepair, it was obvious that it hadn't been loved for many years, the windows were covered in at least ten years of dirt and grime, there was graffiti covering the side; but that to was cracked and fading. The pumps were missing, large holes littered the ground where they had sat, and many wires hung exposed and Edward wished he could listen for a faint hum of electricity already realizing that his humanity left with his certain disadvantages.
Sam looks expectantly to Edward when they roll to their stop, taking a small glance at their surroundings. Slowly Edward looks around the truck, and off into the distance, and closes his eyes as he listens to the world that has gone quiet since he shut the truck off, "Hungry?" He asks Sam after a moment.
Carefully Samuel opens his mouth, with a contemplative expression on his face, because closing his mouth again and nodding slowly. Edward nods back and throws the truck door open and rounds the cab to grab the small cooler he had packed in the bed of the truck. It was warm from the sun, and Edward stood for a long moment. Basking in the waves the sun gave off. He cast a long shadow over the ground, and he felt goosebumps race across his skin as the heat sunk into him. After a long moment he climbed back into the truck, and slid the door closed. Samuel was watching him expectantly as Edward unpacked their provisions. Which consisted of two sandwiches, two cool bottles of water, and a handful of some kind of nut; Audrey was always getting them, he thought it might be almonds, but he couldn't know for sure.
Handing over Sam's food to him, the boy tucked in with vigor and looked up at Edward with a very full mouth, and gave a toothy smile. Edward returned it, and stared down at his own food with a certain degree of trepidation. It had been years since he had eaten anything properly. Most food tasted dull to his vampire senses, far too stale and molecular. He had quite forgotten what a ham sandwich was supposed to taste like, and in a way he was very nervous to find out. What if after so many years he had simply developed a taste for blood. What if now that he was human he wouldn't like actual food, what if it was been terrible becoming human again. Edward hadn't ever asked Lionel why he had become an alcoholic; he thought it imprudent at the time. But perhaps becoming human again, had been such a trying experience that Elvis needed to drown himself in booze to forget about it.
Taking a rather large breath, and listening to his heart beat loudly in reply, he took a large bit of the corner of his sandwich deciding whatever happened, he would be okay because he would have Audrey in his very human arms in less than an hour and nothing could make that a terrible thing. For a moment nothing happened, but then Edward was transported back to his childhood. The ham was salty, and the bread was moist, in the way that only white bread can be. He let out his breath and bit into the sandwich again, fighting the urge to laugh out loud. It was delicious. It reminded him of sandwiches he had made for him and Frankie when they were kids, and their mother worked late. It reminded him of school, and of his old life.
It was easily the best thing he had consumed in years. This moment was one of the best he had had since being human again, or possible since he had ever been human. But I was over all too soon. Samuel tapped Edward's shoulder, and was staring out in front of the truck with a wide eyed expression.
Edward followed his line of sight, and there in the field was a tall figure, moving slowly through the grass, a gun in hand, and completely covered. The bread turned to ash in his mouth, and he could hardly swallow with his throat suddenly so dry. He reached down into the floorboard and retrieved the firearm he had stashed there, also grabbing the small handgun that he had grabbed too. Samuel had lowered his meal to his lap, and struggled not to start crying.
Carefully Edward turned his safety off, and stared out at the field. Without looking at him Edward passed the handgun to Samuel. He knew that Audrey had been training Sam with it in their spare time. How to hold it and aim how to reload and safely handle it, but as far as he knew Samuel had never fired the gun. A thousand scenarios ran through Edward's head, all fighting to be at the forefront. But all he could think about was the fact that if they perished here, it would be entirely his fault. He was human and couldn't protect them; he had been so wrapped up in the idea of being with Audrey he hadn't even stopped to consider the consequences.
The body in the distance didn't appear to have scented them yet. It was moving slowly in a vague line towards them, and looking to his left, and the again towards his right. Edward had shut the engine off when they arrived, and the truck was dilapidated enough that it fit the surroundings of the disused gas station. But if he drew much nearer, Edward knew the vamp would catch their scent. Another thought was the start the truck and tear away as fast as possible, but where would they go? He wouldn't make directly for the compound, and he liked to think he valued the lives of the humans who lived there, but really it was because Audrey and Elvis were too precious to him to risk it. What if these vamps in the field were scouts for an entire team of vamps who were coming behind soon. If he left now they could be alerted and would no doubt run them down and catch them.
Everything was up in the air and uncertain, and Edward felt more useless than ever. He wasn't equipped to handle this type of confrontation anymore, never had been truthfully. Even in childhood, when he had been forced to fight many a battle that Frankie found himself in; he almost never fought. He used the growth spurt, which he had taken before most others, and his intelligence to convince others they had no chance of winning and he wouldn't want to humiliate them if they did indeed go to war. But now it had been ages since he had felt true pain, real fear of another being. Being top of the food chain had its own advantages he seemed to realize now.
The figure grew nearer, and he heard the quiet click on Samuel switching off his own safety. The sound sent Edward into a deeper panic, he couldn't protect them and Samuel was caught in the middle of it. Edward moved silently, grapping the door handle of the driver door with his unarmed hand; tensing every muscle he could find, preparing himself for a fight. His only hope was that if he was turned in the fight, he would be able to protect them both afterwards. But the thought of never being able to see Audrey with human eyes hit him in the gut, and he experienced a prickling in his eyes that he suspected was the beginnings of tears.
The element of surprise was all they had going for them, carefully he pulled on the handle, and the door softly clicked open. It was light enough outside that the interior light didn't offer much more of a giveaway. But the immediate reaction to the sound and the careful swivel of the vampires head told Edward it had indeed heard him. Deciding at long last to thrown open the door, and fire as quickly as he could at the being in the field, hoping that he could slow it down, he looked to Samuel for a long moment.
The boy's eyes turned to him, and were watering over. But he said nothing, and didn't utter so much as a noise. Edward put a hand to his shoulder, and desperately hoped that Samuel understood to stay hidden as long as possible, as long as Edward didn't have to worry about him the whole fight, he could be focused on his target.
Throwing open his door, the figures head turned a zeroed in. But it was strange. It was facing the wrong direction, turned away from the gas station, and facing back out into the field. After what felt like an eternity, Edward saw why. Humans, running; no charging the figure, guns and crossbows drawn, screaming some strange war cry and Edward sat in his seat too stunned to move.
Two resounding thunks, and bolts from crossbows, hit his arms. The vampire slowed, but didn't stop. He raised his weapon, aiming at the various humans rushing him. Three more crossbows, and one bullet wound, and the vampire collapsed to his knees. The humans surrounded him, and bound him by his wounds in thick chains. Before throwing his body into a large burlap bag; which four of the men then carried away.
A tall black man stood tall among the few people who remained by his side. Edward felt sure this was their leader, he let the weapon he had in his hands move to sling back over his shoulder and turned to face the truck. Zeroing in on the pair in its cab, "Go ahead and step out into the sunlight if you can!" H called loudly. The others around them hadn't holstered their weapons, and still faced them, as the group moved slowly closer to them.
Samuel moved carefully and pushed open his door, Edward shook his head silently when Samuel tried to hand his gun back to him. Dropping to his feet outside the truck, Samuel raised his hands above his head, gun hanging from one finger, pointed at the ground. The few who came nearer to them noticed the gun, but the way the tall, dark man moved with relaxed strides gave his followers the ease to leave their fingers off their respective triggers.
Edward threw one leg out of the cab, and stepped out into the sunlight himself. Squinting, and trying to get a head count, as several more were coming around the truck from behind them. Finally the group reached them, and the dark man stepped forward to receive.
"Well that was a close call," He said, his deep voice letting an easy, cordial humor to slide across his words. Edward nodded silently, and stood with his sounds back and his muscles still tensed for a fight, never letting his gun fall too far from his grip. The man seemed to notice this, and gestured to it, "You are welcome to keep your weapons. But I assure you, you won't need them. Humans have to stick together in this world now; we don't harm humans."
Edward nodded, but continued to size up the group of people around him, and watched Samuel's head over the bed of the truck, as he was encouraged by the individuals in front of him to come to Edward. Which after a moment of careful deliberation Sam turned his back to them and walked calmly around the back of the truck, and came to tuck himself into Edward's leg. Resting a hand on his head the man smiled down at him, "We have a compound, you're welcome to come back with us and stay there. It's safe, and we have room for you. You two look like you could use a night's sleep in a bed."
Samuel was gripping Edward's leg tighter, and he was having trouble deciding if he should go with them, or continue on his way. He was unfamiliar with this area, he didn't know if this compound he was talking about was where Audrey was, and if it wasn't he didn't know if they could be trusted. Silence stayed around the group, as they listened only to the hum of the insects that buzzed their way around them.
"Well," the man said, seeming to grow impatient at Edward's continued silence, "let's start small then, I'm Ben," his hand came out towards Edward, and slowly Edward traded his gun to an opposite hand, and took Ben's offered shake, "and you are?"
Slowly realizing that they weren't going to get out of this situation without some type of communication, Edward retracted his hand, and dropped it to Samuel's head, "This is Sam, and I'm Edward."
For a brief moment, startled light shone in Ben's eyes, and he seemed to hesitate in stepping away from him, "Edward," he played with the sound of his name on his tongue, "you wouldn't happen to know an Audrey and an Elvis would you?"
Sam and Edward stop for food, and run into vampires. Ben and his people save them.