Chapter Twenty-three
Stunned by some invisible force, Livvie fell back onto the ground.
"Olivia." Caleb reached to pull her up.
"Caleb? What was that? Why can't I turn you? What's happening?"
"There's something wrong. Whatever.whatever that was that your psycho father shot into me - that's what's doing this."
"No. It's not true.it can't be!"
"Don't worry, please. Olivia.we will fix this," he replied as he held her close.
Inconsolable, Livvie lashed out at him and shoved him away.
"How? How can we possibly fix this? If I can't turn you, if you can't be turned, how will we ever be able to be together?" Livvie's voice trembled in anger, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Desperate to sooth her, Caleb replied, "I'm not sure right now, but we will."
Livvie turned, her mind racing, her thoughts coming out in a constant, bitter stream, "This is not how it's supposed to be. You and I, we are supposed to be together, to share our love the way we were meant to - for eternity. I was finally yours, finally and then Rafe and Alison, they had to ruin it. As usual."
"Olivia - that's not important now."
"Not important? Not important? Caleb - what the hell has happened to you? It's the most important thing!! They hate me. They hate both of us. They only care about themselves, what they want, what they believe. They think they "cured" you - what right did they have to ruin everything like that?"
"No right at all, but it's Joshua who has caused our current problem and going after Rafe and Alison will do nothing to fix it."
"Do you even hear yourself? This is not what my father has given you. This is what they've done. You're acting like them. Right now, I don't even recognize you." Livvie stared at Caleb, nearly in shock.
"Be careful what you say, Olivia. Just stop and listen to me." Caleb warned.
Livvie's eyes were now on fire, her words bitter and cold.
"I will NOT stop. Your power, your strength, your desire to control all you have around you, that is who you are Caleb, that is what you are. To let them just strip it away like that.to stand by and just let that happen - how can you not care? How can you just accept this?"
Turning away from her, unable to meet her gaze, Caleb tried to find the words to make her see reason. Emotions Caleb had long since forgotten kept surfacing. He was torn between the life he lost and the one he craved. Being human, it was so different - more different than he had remembered. It had been so long - he'd always been able to push these feeling away before - the pain of the memories of his life before too intense to dwell on. Tess had brought that out of him, dredging up these emotions before, but she was gone now. Livvie was here, his sweet Olivia. He knew, that as he was now, the two of them could never survive. His decision was made, then. Easily.
Caleb turned back to Livvie, his hand caressing her cheek as he spoke. "I accept nothing from them, but first things first, my love. Right now, we focus. We fix what Joshua has done."
"And then?" Livvie said. Her words were spoken nearly like a dare.
It was one he'd be happy to take. "Then we deal with what they have."
**********
Casey began to lead Abby into Elixir, Joshua's revision of the once friendly Recovery Room, but Abby's feet were firmly planted outside the door.
"Wait. Stop. There are vampires in there." Abby's quivered in fright.
"Girl, this is Port Charles. There are vampires everywhere. Get used to it." Casey pulled Abby across the threshold.
The room was decorated in shades of red and black; music came from a small band of musicians in the corner. A handsome man tended the bar, his eyes seemed kind and out of place amongst all this evil.
He was Alison's friend, Jack, Abby realized.
Abby looked over at Casey to reassure herself, and saw Casey's attention focused squarely on the drummer in the band. His name, she remembered then, was Ricky.
Abby knew that look well. Casey was head over heels in love with him.
Still too nervous to stay here for any length of time, Abby tugged on Casey's arm.
"Casey, who are we looking for?" She asked, her voice straining to be heard over the music.
"Jamal. But I don't see him." Casey screamed back.
Abby knew Jamal. He was Alison's friend, her first love. Abby also knew something else.
He was now a vampire.
"Casey," she said as quietly as she could and still be heard. "Jamal can't help us."
"Sure he can. He might be at the bike shop. C'mon, we'll try there." With a last glance at Ricky, Casey turned back toward the door.
"No. Casey. We won't find him there. Jamal can't help us."
"Sure he can. He's my boy. In fact, he's the only one who can help us at the moment."
"He can't. He won't." Abby repeated, her voice grave as she delivered the news. "He's one of them now."
************** Dazed, unaware of where he actually was, Jamal shook his head in disbelief.
"It cannot have happened to me, man. C'mon, not to me," he said to himself.
His hand reached to his neck and when he brought it back, his fingers were tainted with blood. He could not only see the truth now, he could feel it. There was a difference in how he felt. There was a power, a force coursing through his veins.
It was a feeling he wanted to both embrace and push away.
Easing himself up to sit on the ground, it was then that he realized now he was in the park. He thought back to the last thing he could remember. He'd been on his way to Joshua's freakish club, to try and reason with Jack for the hundredth time. Something had come out of nowhere and knocked him down.
He shook his head again and his vision cleared. He saw Frank, standing nearby, looking very proud of himself.
"So you. You did this to me." Jamal rose to his feet to confront him.
"It's a gift, Jamal. I advise you to take it as it is given."
"Some gift. You made me a freak-assed bloodsucker - just like you," he grabbed Frank by the neck and pushed him against a tree.
With an easy shove, Frank pushed back and Jamal fell again to the ground.
"No need to use such an ugly name, Jamal. If you know what's good for you - you'll see the light eventually."
Jamal sprang up again and looked Frank right in the face.
"What's good? What's good for me? Dude, you've forgotten what good looks like. First, you became that vigilante - dressing up in a creepy robe, terrorizing the town - and now you're at it again, and this time you're face is full of fangs. Being a normal human being just too tough for you Frank, huh? What does Karen think about this "new" you? Just so you know, I will never, ever accept this." Jamal spat back. "Not in a million years."
Staring right back, his voice almost too casual, "Karen will have to deal with her choices, if you fight this, so will you. As for a million years, Jamal, well, you could actually wait that long. Since, now, you're going to live forever."
The truth of that statement filled Jamal with conflicting emotions. He wanted to fight against this, but not sure he'd be able to. Not for eternity.
Frank saw an opportunity and spoke very carefully. "Jamal. This was no accident. You were carefully chosen to join us, and we have so much to offer you. All the things you've ever dreamed of. They can be yours. You just need to relax, just give in. You don't have to like me, Jamal. But, let me help show you what you're capable of. You're living in our world now. The Port Charles you knew before is history. As one of us, you'll control what happens here from now on."
Frank's words started to sink in. Look at this place, Jamal thought bitterly. It's overrun with bats. The good guys were getting their butts kicked. And the only ones who could beat them, the only slayers they've got - Rafe and Lucy - were nowhere to be found.
Frank's voice continued to taunt him, as if answering the questions he asked himself. "Ian is the only one who's tried to resist. And he's losing, Jamal. He'll be by our side in no time. If you chose to fight this, I guarantee you - you won't have any help from us. You want to starve to death? Feel the pain that brings? That's your choice. GH will soon be ours, so don't even think that grabbing a few meals from the blood bank will be possible for long. There are not enough slayers here to even try to get us all. We're here, we're getting stronger, and we're around for good."
Jamal's rage was building, gaining more fire each second. Rafe. Some kind of slayer he turned out to be. All he did was cure a few measly vampires. While Caleb was evil for sure, Rafe was so obsessed with just getting him that he didn't even see Joshua coming.
Jamal got angrier and more bitter as he continued to try and figure out what to do.
I can't believe I ever listened to him. I thought he could save us, I trusted him, I believed Ali was right. She's so blinded by her love for him that she can't even see it. Joshua was far worse than Caleb ever was. What a guy he is. Not getting the worst bat of all. No surprise, Rafe's been sneaky like that since I've known him. Supposed to be saving us and instead just left us all to face it alone. Now, he only thought about, Alison, always had since the time he moved in on her all those months ago. The rest of us could rot for all he cared.
"So what? You're saying, if you can't beat them join them?" Jamal said sadly, looking straight at Frank.
"There, you see? I knew you were smart. You're finally getting it, Jamal. Join us. It's the only way you'll survive."
Stunned by some invisible force, Livvie fell back onto the ground.
"Olivia." Caleb reached to pull her up.
"Caleb? What was that? Why can't I turn you? What's happening?"
"There's something wrong. Whatever.whatever that was that your psycho father shot into me - that's what's doing this."
"No. It's not true.it can't be!"
"Don't worry, please. Olivia.we will fix this," he replied as he held her close.
Inconsolable, Livvie lashed out at him and shoved him away.
"How? How can we possibly fix this? If I can't turn you, if you can't be turned, how will we ever be able to be together?" Livvie's voice trembled in anger, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Desperate to sooth her, Caleb replied, "I'm not sure right now, but we will."
Livvie turned, her mind racing, her thoughts coming out in a constant, bitter stream, "This is not how it's supposed to be. You and I, we are supposed to be together, to share our love the way we were meant to - for eternity. I was finally yours, finally and then Rafe and Alison, they had to ruin it. As usual."
"Olivia - that's not important now."
"Not important? Not important? Caleb - what the hell has happened to you? It's the most important thing!! They hate me. They hate both of us. They only care about themselves, what they want, what they believe. They think they "cured" you - what right did they have to ruin everything like that?"
"No right at all, but it's Joshua who has caused our current problem and going after Rafe and Alison will do nothing to fix it."
"Do you even hear yourself? This is not what my father has given you. This is what they've done. You're acting like them. Right now, I don't even recognize you." Livvie stared at Caleb, nearly in shock.
"Be careful what you say, Olivia. Just stop and listen to me." Caleb warned.
Livvie's eyes were now on fire, her words bitter and cold.
"I will NOT stop. Your power, your strength, your desire to control all you have around you, that is who you are Caleb, that is what you are. To let them just strip it away like that.to stand by and just let that happen - how can you not care? How can you just accept this?"
Turning away from her, unable to meet her gaze, Caleb tried to find the words to make her see reason. Emotions Caleb had long since forgotten kept surfacing. He was torn between the life he lost and the one he craved. Being human, it was so different - more different than he had remembered. It had been so long - he'd always been able to push these feeling away before - the pain of the memories of his life before too intense to dwell on. Tess had brought that out of him, dredging up these emotions before, but she was gone now. Livvie was here, his sweet Olivia. He knew, that as he was now, the two of them could never survive. His decision was made, then. Easily.
Caleb turned back to Livvie, his hand caressing her cheek as he spoke. "I accept nothing from them, but first things first, my love. Right now, we focus. We fix what Joshua has done."
"And then?" Livvie said. Her words were spoken nearly like a dare.
It was one he'd be happy to take. "Then we deal with what they have."
**********
Casey began to lead Abby into Elixir, Joshua's revision of the once friendly Recovery Room, but Abby's feet were firmly planted outside the door.
"Wait. Stop. There are vampires in there." Abby's quivered in fright.
"Girl, this is Port Charles. There are vampires everywhere. Get used to it." Casey pulled Abby across the threshold.
The room was decorated in shades of red and black; music came from a small band of musicians in the corner. A handsome man tended the bar, his eyes seemed kind and out of place amongst all this evil.
He was Alison's friend, Jack, Abby realized.
Abby looked over at Casey to reassure herself, and saw Casey's attention focused squarely on the drummer in the band. His name, she remembered then, was Ricky.
Abby knew that look well. Casey was head over heels in love with him.
Still too nervous to stay here for any length of time, Abby tugged on Casey's arm.
"Casey, who are we looking for?" She asked, her voice straining to be heard over the music.
"Jamal. But I don't see him." Casey screamed back.
Abby knew Jamal. He was Alison's friend, her first love. Abby also knew something else.
He was now a vampire.
"Casey," she said as quietly as she could and still be heard. "Jamal can't help us."
"Sure he can. He might be at the bike shop. C'mon, we'll try there." With a last glance at Ricky, Casey turned back toward the door.
"No. Casey. We won't find him there. Jamal can't help us."
"Sure he can. He's my boy. In fact, he's the only one who can help us at the moment."
"He can't. He won't." Abby repeated, her voice grave as she delivered the news. "He's one of them now."
************** Dazed, unaware of where he actually was, Jamal shook his head in disbelief.
"It cannot have happened to me, man. C'mon, not to me," he said to himself.
His hand reached to his neck and when he brought it back, his fingers were tainted with blood. He could not only see the truth now, he could feel it. There was a difference in how he felt. There was a power, a force coursing through his veins.
It was a feeling he wanted to both embrace and push away.
Easing himself up to sit on the ground, it was then that he realized now he was in the park. He thought back to the last thing he could remember. He'd been on his way to Joshua's freakish club, to try and reason with Jack for the hundredth time. Something had come out of nowhere and knocked him down.
He shook his head again and his vision cleared. He saw Frank, standing nearby, looking very proud of himself.
"So you. You did this to me." Jamal rose to his feet to confront him.
"It's a gift, Jamal. I advise you to take it as it is given."
"Some gift. You made me a freak-assed bloodsucker - just like you," he grabbed Frank by the neck and pushed him against a tree.
With an easy shove, Frank pushed back and Jamal fell again to the ground.
"No need to use such an ugly name, Jamal. If you know what's good for you - you'll see the light eventually."
Jamal sprang up again and looked Frank right in the face.
"What's good? What's good for me? Dude, you've forgotten what good looks like. First, you became that vigilante - dressing up in a creepy robe, terrorizing the town - and now you're at it again, and this time you're face is full of fangs. Being a normal human being just too tough for you Frank, huh? What does Karen think about this "new" you? Just so you know, I will never, ever accept this." Jamal spat back. "Not in a million years."
Staring right back, his voice almost too casual, "Karen will have to deal with her choices, if you fight this, so will you. As for a million years, Jamal, well, you could actually wait that long. Since, now, you're going to live forever."
The truth of that statement filled Jamal with conflicting emotions. He wanted to fight against this, but not sure he'd be able to. Not for eternity.
Frank saw an opportunity and spoke very carefully. "Jamal. This was no accident. You were carefully chosen to join us, and we have so much to offer you. All the things you've ever dreamed of. They can be yours. You just need to relax, just give in. You don't have to like me, Jamal. But, let me help show you what you're capable of. You're living in our world now. The Port Charles you knew before is history. As one of us, you'll control what happens here from now on."
Frank's words started to sink in. Look at this place, Jamal thought bitterly. It's overrun with bats. The good guys were getting their butts kicked. And the only ones who could beat them, the only slayers they've got - Rafe and Lucy - were nowhere to be found.
Frank's voice continued to taunt him, as if answering the questions he asked himself. "Ian is the only one who's tried to resist. And he's losing, Jamal. He'll be by our side in no time. If you chose to fight this, I guarantee you - you won't have any help from us. You want to starve to death? Feel the pain that brings? That's your choice. GH will soon be ours, so don't even think that grabbing a few meals from the blood bank will be possible for long. There are not enough slayers here to even try to get us all. We're here, we're getting stronger, and we're around for good."
Jamal's rage was building, gaining more fire each second. Rafe. Some kind of slayer he turned out to be. All he did was cure a few measly vampires. While Caleb was evil for sure, Rafe was so obsessed with just getting him that he didn't even see Joshua coming.
Jamal got angrier and more bitter as he continued to try and figure out what to do.
I can't believe I ever listened to him. I thought he could save us, I trusted him, I believed Ali was right. She's so blinded by her love for him that she can't even see it. Joshua was far worse than Caleb ever was. What a guy he is. Not getting the worst bat of all. No surprise, Rafe's been sneaky like that since I've known him. Supposed to be saving us and instead just left us all to face it alone. Now, he only thought about, Alison, always had since the time he moved in on her all those months ago. The rest of us could rot for all he cared.
"So what? You're saying, if you can't beat them join them?" Jamal said sadly, looking straight at Frank.
"There, you see? I knew you were smart. You're finally getting it, Jamal. Join us. It's the only way you'll survive."