Disclaimer: I don't own any characters from the Night World.
A/n: Thanks a lot to those who reviewed. Following chapter would never have come out if no one bothered to read and review this story.
God's gurl: Hey, thanks for the 2 reviews. It means a lot. Shows that you really like this story. And I'm glad that the amnesia thing wasn't so… old and cliché. Hope you enjoy this new chap I'm dedicating it all to those who review specially to you. ^_^
Eri: Thanks a lot.
DragonWriter: Thank you! I love your site as well! Signed your guestbook too. So full of Ash… I'll submit it! Have to read the submission guidelines first and all.
Shadow: A better review? Well this one was good enough for me to update. Thanks for the review!
Title: Underneath The Same Sky
Chapter 4: Black Hole p.1"The mind has a thousand eyes, And the heart but one; Yet the light of a whole life dies, When love is done."~ Francis William Bourdillon, Light
It's been 2 weeks already and Mary-Lynnette Carter is still missing along with more students. During those couple of weeks of not knowing, Ash has become a wreck and has become even worst each passing day.
"Alright let's get back." Jack Whintslow the man who was in charged called out to the volunteers in the forest. He was a big man in his mid-thirties with brown eyes and a burly attitude. He eyed the setting sun with distaste, as the last of the bright crimson and golden colors fled as nightfall began to ascend. He started to turn when somebody grabbed him from behind.
"What do you mean let's get back?" A handsome young man with ash blonde hair and peculiar colored eyes, ragged at him.
Jack looked at the man warily and got distracted with the man's eye color. "Probably those new contacts that's multi-colored." Jack thought.
"Listen-" Jack started.
"No! You listen. My girlfriend is still out there and it's been two weeks already." The guy spoke angrily with desperation.
"Look my own niece is out there too but this forest is dangerous. You don't know what wild animals are lurking out there. Besides I don't think we can do any successful search in the dark as we could in broad daylight." Jack spoke sharply. "Everyone's tired and we need a break."
"I'm not tired." The man spoke insistently.
"Well everyone else is! And I wont risk the life of you folks going on a blind chase in the dark for people that are probably all dead." Jack said calmly though it hurt. He had already accepted the fact that Jessa, his niece might be dead, and was only slaving the hours everyday in the forest to recover the body and give it a proper burial.
The young man didn't even flinch though his eyes seemed to have gotten darker. He said nothing but he was staring hard at Jack, furiously, in concentration.
Jack swallowed, his throat dry. He tried breaking off the gaze but found that he was unable to do so. There was something unnerving about this man.
For a moment Jack was lost in a trail of thought. He was about to announce something when…
"Ash Redfern don't you dare!" Rowan called his attention harshly. "Don't do it Ash, we need to feed anyway." Rowan spoke gentler this time telepathically.
Ash scowled and went away making Jack blink in confusion. He stared at the retreating figure warily and shook his head.
***
Bunny Marten struggled as she closed the shop. Her right arm was in a cast so she was having problems locking the door with her left. "Oh dammit." Bunny cursed as the keys dropped from her grasp. She glanced at her surroundings for a moment of precaution and gave a slight shiver unconsciously. The road was barely lit, in their age-old post lamp, which was also casting creepy shadows that gave Bunny the chills walking home alone.
She sighed and bent down ignoring the discomforting feeling when a shadow loomed over her. She quickly turned around in half-fright and instinctively took a step back at the figure that easily towered over her.
The stranger took a step towards her, his features brought out into the light. Bunny let out a relieved breath. "You scared me to death!" Bunny accused dramatically. She tucked her hair behind her ears, doing some last minute fixing up in front of this handsome stranger,
"Did I?" he asked with a one-shoulder shrug.
Bunny nodded. She looked at the guy before her in unhidden interest. Her eyes widened then in recognition, "You're Mary-Lynnette's boyfriend." Bunny spoke with an excited smile. She instantly became somber when a flash of pain entered the man's eyes.
"I'm sorry…" Bunny paused searching for a name.
"Ash Redfern, I think we met a year back."
"I'm sorry Ash. Mary-Lynnette was my friend too." Bunny said quietly.
Ash nodded and turned to go.
"She shouted your name during at the bus…when we were falling." Bunny swallowed. Ash's back was still turned to her. "I just want you to know that she was thinking of you during those crucial moments of her life."
Ash turned halfway to her and gave her a smile that on different circumstances, Bunny would've melted.
"I don't believe she's dead, cause it's wrong…y'know? So she can't be dead."
"Thank you." Ash murmured and disappeared.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Black Hole p.26 months and a week, the searching party organized by the school has long stopped, and Ash and the rest conducted their own search for a long while yet they never found her or anyone else. Quinn had dragged Ash back to Las Vegas since he had become a menace and a hopeless case. The town of Briar Creek was beginning to deal with its loss though lots of tears has been shed.
***
His hand stopped in mid-air, undecided, and after the hesitancy of two seconds, he slowly knocked. No answer greeted him. He opened the door without making a sound and went inside the completely gloomy room.
Something moved in superhuman speed that caught him in unawares despite his own inhuman reflexes. There were no sounds made except muscles flexing and hard contact.
Quinn grunted, lying slumped on the floor. His instincts were sharpened as he rolled away, got to his feet and proceeded to stand behind the study table, a shield against his attacker.
Ash stepped closer, shadow mauling his features, from the light down the hall that crept in the barely in the ajar door. He shrugged unconsciously, his hand was holding something but then it was gone or he hid it away somewhere in his clothes.
"Still mad are you?" Quinn mused.
Ash gave a slight emotionless chuckle and within the time-span of blinking, he moved so fast that he would've slit the throat of his prey already was it only an ordinary human. He jumped over the table, as Quinn backed away, fighting ferociously as though releasing every emotion, every frustration.
Quinn who is also well endowed with the gift of speed, minus that of the clouded thinking, evaded easily with the use of his refined concentration.
The fight went on, Ash on the aggressive side, throwing a punch, giving a kick, turning and throwing while Quinn merely side-stepped. This went on for a while till Ash managed to land a powerful punch on Quinn's jaw. Silence ensued as their movements both stilled.
Quinn rubbed the left side of his jaw.
"That was like seeing the old Ash fight again." Quinn commented.
Something was in Ash's hand again.
"A stake." Quinn eyed it. "Are you going to stake me now?" He asked half-seriously but was watching for Ash's every movement.
Ash was silent, he then did the unexpected that Quinn was a moment too late in stopping him… He tried to kill himself.
Quinn's eyes widened by a fraction in surprise, for a split second before he dove, wrestling Ash for the stake.
"What the hell do you think you're doing you SOB?" Quinn growled. "Attacking me and going for suicide!"
Ash answered him unexpectedly, his eyes for the moment a dull gray, and then it became darker and focused on him with intensity.
"I wanted to see if the old Ash was still alive without her y'know?, evil and all but kicking, or am I the man that she wanted me to be, reformed…Instead I am nothing, nothing without her."
Quinn was quiet and didn't say anything in respect to his friend's pain.
"It was killing me, being separated from her for all of those times and if I'd have known that this would happen, I'd have said 'to hell with it all' and spent my every day with her. What kept me going was the thought that she was waiting for me, missing me as much as I missed her, and I wanted her to be proud of me." Ash was choking in his words. A couple of years ago, he and Ash would've laughed if someone described this scene to them and killed the unlucky bastard who would make such a prediction. It was a rarity seeing a vampire cry over a human, much less the infamous Ash Redfern.
Quinn picked up the stake and was about to leave.
"I know I'm immortal, and she's only human but I figure she'll live till 50 for me to tell her I love her at least a million times… I'd do anything to get her back, go to heaven or hell just to be with her." Ash spoke with conviction.
Quinn shook his head and spoke dryly. "Don't do anything stupid, I don't think they'd accept you in heaven my friend."
A/n: What do you think? I was at first thinking of separating this chapter into 2 parts but then I decided to make it into one long chapter. So please review everyone. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes.