Feeling like my energy was still drained, I didn't want to dress up much. I grumbled on my way to get food earlier, almost scaring the poor cashier, and barely kept my eyes open long enough to eat the bagel. I pulled on silk shorts and a tank top, slipping a long, black jacket over it to keep warm. Simple ankle boots finished the look.
I ordered a taxi and made my way to the club. The sky darkened from the clear sky to a sun orange, then warm pink, and finally the dark purple. Night came as I climbed out of the taxi and Pam appeared, all smiley fanged and dressed in pleasant shades of pink.
"Come on," Pam said, we exchanged kisses on the cheeks. "Only Eric and I are here, you won't see him though. He's in the back doing work so he will be busy."
The doors opened and I abruptly stood up, not taking my eyes off of her drink. Even without any sign or guidance, I knew this was part of the reason she was here.
I took a good look at them. The little shiver indicated that he was a vampire, holding a blonde woman with large and deep gashes on her back. She was whimpering and mumbling in pain, obviously, it was from the gashes. She was almost delusional with adrenaline through her system.
"Lay her down," I gulped the rest of my beverage before gesturing to place the blonde woman down. "Pam, get your Maker. You, put her on her front before you injure her even more."
I was surprised when the vampire listened, his obvious connection to this woman was strong. Eric came rushing in with Pam behind him, her disgust was obvious and not well hidden.
I kneeled next to the blonde woman, taking my jacket off. "Hi, darlin'. I'm Syn, I need you to stay very still now. What's your name?"
"Sookie!" She gasped in pain when I peeled her top from the wounds. "I'm Sookie Stackhouse, pleased to meet you, ma'am…."
She seemed hesitant to speak with me, yet grateful to be helped.
"Pleasure's all mine, now what happened?" I asked. I could tell these weren't caused by anything human, the sides of the wound were curling outwards as, what was most likely poison, advanced in her system. Bruises lined each gash and her blood wouldn't clot properly. "I sure as hell hope it wasn't you, was it?"
I had to make sure, I didn't know if I could trust him either. I couldn't trust anyone in the room, but his reaction seemed genuine.
"No!" He said, rushing forward with his fangs out. "I wouldn't do such a thing to Sookie!"
"Back off," Pam stood next to me, glancing down at me for a moment before disappearing.
"I've ordered her and Chow to get Doctor Ludwig, a Supe doctor," Eric said, staying a few feet away from Sookie.
"I-I was attacked by something, I-I don't know what!" Sookie cried, tears dripping down quickly. "Bill! Bill, I'm sorry for runnin'. I was angry."
"Sookie, hush. You can apologise when you aren't close to dying," I said, taking in her wounds. "We'll have to wait for the doctor, I'm not trained for Supe shit. How long will they take?"
"Not long now, I've already called Doctor Ludwig and so Pam has to just pick her up," Eric said, continuously glancing at the other vampire.
"Good," I said. "Go have a TrueBlood, all this blood has made your fangs drop. We both would be more comfortable if you would."
Eric nodded swiftly, using vamp-speed to get two bottles and handed one to the other vampire. "Here. Bill, take it or I'll force you out of the room."
I kneeled away, sitting my haunches on my heels. I was glad I wore comfortable and bendy shoes now. "Did your blood not work? I assume you gave her some, the blood on her mouth suggests it."
"No, no, it didn't. I gave her enough yet it didn't heal the wounds." The other vampire, Bill, sunk his shoulder down and sighed.
We sat in silence for the next few minutes, Sookie lost consciousness moments ago due to pain.
Pam came in with the doctor, a small elderly woman who reached my chest. She held a stern gaze through her rectangular glasses. She took one look at Sookie and dropped her bag and dug for gloves.
"This her?" She asked, looking at Eric. He sat in the chair by Sookie's head.
"Yeah," I said quickly, not moving. "My guess would be some kind of slow-acting poison. She lost consciousness a few minutes ago but she has no concussion or head trauma that I can see."
"And you are?" She looked over the rims of her glasses.
"Syn Alastair, UK medical resident," With those last words, Doctor Ludwig passed a pair of gloves. I had some difficulty to pull them on as my nails were long, so the gloves fell a little short but covered enough.
"What kind of doctor are you?" Sookie voiced weakly, her head turned to face Doctor Ludwig.
"The healing kind. I'm Doctor Ludwig, what's your-" She took her fingers and scraped the side of a gash, making Sookie whine loudly in pain. Behind her, Bill jolted at the sound of her pain.
"I mean…" Sookie took a breath in. "Sookie Stackhouse."
Doctor Ludwig examined the blood on her fingers. It was slightly discoloured, more yellow than it should have been. It took a moment with the small magnifying glass.
"Am I dying?" Sookie sounded so defeated, I almost felt sorry for her.
"Yes." When Doctor Ludwig said that, I snorted a little.
"Harsh but true," I muttered, wiping the edges of her wounds clean.
Bill jumped forward. "She cannot die. You will save her!"
Before I could say it, Doctor Ludwig said, without glancing back, "Back off, vampire. Let me do my job."
"Forgive him," Eric said, standing up. "Bill is abnormally attached to this human."
"Well, we don't have a lot of choices. You were right, she's been poisoned. Ever heard of Komodo Dragons?" She said, dabbing at Sookie's wounds. "Their mouths are teeming with bacteria. After one is bitten, it will track you for hours, days, just waiting for the toxins to slowly eat away at your nervous system until you are good and helpless. Then it will devour you alive."
"But Komodo Dragons are only native to their islands, so unless one got loose from a zoo, it can't be it," I said, remembering the little knowledge I learnt from the documentary I watched years ago.
"This poison is similar but way more efficient," She pulled a bottle full of blue liquid from her bag. "I don't think I've seen it before, but it's hard to tell without further testing."
"But we don't have that kind of time, her blood isn't clotting at all anymore." I cleaned the continuous trails of blood.
"Give us some privacy," Doctor Ludwig turned to the men in the room. "We need to remove her clothing."
Sookie tried to speak but failed, but Bill came to kneel by her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be just outside. And I'm so sorry."
She started to foam at the mouth and I motioned for him to leave.
"We're running out of time, Mr Compton." He still took his time in leaving.
"Get out already, or she'll die soon!" I snapped at him, he gave me a shocked look then moved away quickly and left with Eric.
I helped Doctor Ludwig get Sookie out of her top and bra, holding up my coat to her front to give her some sense of modesty. Silently, Doctor Ludwig gave me a vial of something and a cotton swab. I dipped the swab carefully into one gash and placed it into the vial. It quickly changed colour.
With a shaking hand, Doctor Ludwig pulled a small claw from a gash, confirming her suspicion.
"Sit on her thighs and hold her shoulders down," She ordered and I moved. There was enough room for her to move under me as I held both of Sookie's shoulders down. She began to administer an acidic liquid which foamed and sizzled as it hit Sookie's skin. "Hold her."
Sookie began to thrash as she felt the pain worsen, screaming in pain. It wasn't a pleasant sound but I held on. I closed my eyes and grounded myself, placing my hands on the junctions between her neck and shoulders. I tried to imagine that my hands were calm, transferring calmness into her. Luckily, she did calm somewhat but not the amount I wished.
"What are you doing to her?" Bill yelled as he came in.
"Hold her down or let her die, your choice," He kneeled by Sookie's head, taking her wrists and pulling them down to the ground. It stopped her torso thrashing and made her calmer as I could concentrate better.
It took several seconds, or minutes, I couldn't tell but Sookie's screams of pain turned to sobs and then just whimpers. Doctor Ludwig motioned for me to get off, which I quickly did. My back cracked slightly as I did.
I sighed deeply, calming myself before I began to help clean her back. The blood had increased, causing the poison to rise out of her gashes and drip down her back. Eric had made it way back in eventually, his fangs dropped instantly. He took a seat to the side of me, watching my every move as I dragged the cloth against Sookie's skin.
My hair covered my neck and so I wasn't so vulnerable. Eric had his eyes on Sookie's back, all her bloodied wounds still on display. I clicked my fingers in front of his face, gaining his attention which made him open his mouth a little more. I pointed my finger at him and gave him a pointed look.
"Stop that look," I said, watching the predator in him rise up to the challenge. I hardened my gaze to match his. "Control yourself, else leave the room until we are done."
He took an unneeded breath in and withdrew his fangs. "Happy?"
"Much," I said, going back to cleaning. Doctor Ludwig gave me an amused look before also returning to her duties.
"You can give her blood now," Doctor Ludwig turned to Bill, to which he went to bite his wrist. He was stopped by Eric.
"Mine is much stronger, allow me," Eric said, taking his fangs out again. Bill whispered fiercely and tore his hand away. Eric chuckled and forced an amused smile. He walked away and Bill began to bite his wrist, feeding Sookie his blood.
I slipped my gloves off and disposed of them. I sat on the chair a couple of feet behind me, sighing greatly and with contentment. Thankfully, Sookie would live, but I didn't know why I cared. I never met this woman before, so why did I care that she could live or die? Why did I help when I could have stayed away?
Doctor Ludwig placed a hand on my shoulder when I wasn't looking, she had a crooked smile on her lips. "You've got brains and powers behind that pretty face and heart of yours."
That was the closest thing I could get from her that was a compliment.
"Thanks, I know," I smiled tiredly.
"I expect my payment by the end of the week," She said to Eric as she walked.
"It's always a pleasure doing business with you, Doctor Ludwig," Eric said and chuckled when she swore back at him without a pause.
Now, I liked this old woman. She was funny and knowledgeable. But it concerned me when she mentioned the 'powers' behind my facade. Did she know? I couldn't tell but luckily no one else noticed her use of wording.
I ignored my surroundings, thinking of this and that until I heard Eric mention Pam's ruined pumps to her, which I chuckled at. I was getting tired now, it was nearing dawn and I could tell the vampires knew. They began to become agitated as they spoke.
"Will you be alright?" Pam asked me.
"I'm more concerned about your shoes," I said and laughed. "But, yeah, I will be fine. Dawn's nearing and that means no one will be able to leave soon. So go, go home, Pam. I'm a big girl."
"Sure thing, then," Pam said, leaving soon after.
It took a moment but Bill spoke up. "I-I don't want to move her,"
"And you shouldn't, not until she's completely healed. Moving her in such a state will jostle the wound and do more bad than good," I said, Eric nodded and turned to Bill. "I'll stay until when you rise, she'll need supervision until completely healed."
I yawned deeply, covering my mouth with a stretch. My back was sore but I was satisfied.
"There is a coffee machine in my office, I can trust you to use and only use that?" Eric said to me. I snorted.
"I couldn't care less about what you have in your office," I said, making my way to his office, I smiled. "But I sure as hell care about your coffee machine. Got any sugar and milk?"
He nodded behind the bar, he noticed the blood drops from Bill's nose. "I believe we should go rest now."
"See ya when the sun sets," I quickly waved and made my small quest to the coffee machine.
Soon enough I dozed off with one of the law books from Eric's office. I'd never read one that was made solely for America so this was an interesting read, but my human nature soon caught up to me. I laid upright on the closest booth to Sookie, the book over my face to remove the lighting from my sight.
I could hear Sookie's getting up, peeking from under the book to glance at her healed back. "You doing better now?"
"I am, thank you," She said, gaining a crazy smile on her face as she walked over. It turned confused. "Why can't I hear you? You're not a vampire."
Hear me? Telepathic or something? I dropped my shield for a split second. Can you now?
She gasped and her smile dropped. "It was so clear! How did you do that?! Are you like me?"
"Years of practice, and no, I'm not like you," I said then lied. "I was a medical student with some Supes as classmates. One had a knack for thoughts and I don't like being cheated with, my thoughts are my own."
Ginger interrupted and I went back into my doze until I heard the sound of a loaded gun. I took the book and placed it down, to Sookie aiming a gun at Ginger. Pulling my hand up in surrender and shaking my head, Sookie pulled Ginger downstairs somewhere.
Not my fault; not my mess; not my problem.
The vampires could deal with her when they wake up, which would be soon I hoped. And as soon as they did, I handed Eric the book. I had sleep to catch up on.
"Evening. Bill, you're telepath had a gun earlier." I said, getting my coat. "I am not gonna be dealing with a crazy telepath on an angry rampage. Eric, to you, I wish good luck. She found out about the dealer in the basement."
"How?" Eric asked.
"Ginger, you really need to Glamour your human staff better. Loopholes and shit," I glanced back, Sookie stormed closer to us. "Tell Pam I'm leaving, I haven't slept in more than twenty-four hours. Have a good evening, boys."
"You can't leave, Lafayette needs medical attention!" Sookie pouted, gesturing to an area. "You're obligated to give him some."
"Hon, I ain't obligated to do shit," I said, beginning to walk to the door. "As I always used to say, not my fault; not my mess; not my problem."
And as a last resort, Sookie yelled and waved a finger to me, "I can't hear her thoughts!"
I stopped mid-step, took an elongated breath to calm myself and turned around, a snarl at my lips. "You stupid bitch, you absolutely stupid bitch. All I want to do is fucking sleep and because of you, I will be interrogated on why you can't hear my fucking thoughts. I am tired, sleep-deprived and I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon. Do you really want to fuck with me right now?"
'These vampires are not what you should be scared of right now. I am not one to be trifled with, bitch!' I sent the thought to her, satisfied when she gasped and dropped her arm.
Sookie shrank back into Bill as he clasped his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her. I brought my hands to my face and rubbed my palms into my eyes. I sat on a chair and crossed my arms, now grumpy.
"You are correct on that account, Miss Alastair," I turned to Eric when he spoke, my gaze heated with annoyance. "But I will allow you all of tonight and tomorrow to sleep and rest, I needn't tell you what will happen if you try to run."
I rolled my eyes, nodding. "I'm not gonna go anywhere but to a cafe and my motel room."
"I doubt Pam would allow you to stay in a cheap motel," He said. "It wouldn't do if you were attacked before I could speak to you."
"She doesn't know," I felt a vibration in the air and dread filled my stomach. "But you just told her, didn't you?"
"She'll escort you to a hotel nearby, and she'll stay by your side all day until the evening," Eric smiled, it dropped when he saw the slightly defeated look on my face. He took his phone out and made two calls.
"I suppose this is one that accommodates vampires too? Actually, I don't care," I said, waving a hand. "I'm still not helping the dealer though."
"Why?!"
"Because he got himself into this mess," I said, then I made a jab at her. "But you put me into a corner, you're lucky I didn't do it back."
"Pam will be here shortly, I've made a reservation at the Styx River Suites Hotel, a joint room for you two will suffice?"
I shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me right now. I just want fucking sleep."