Disclaimer:- So sorry about the delay, there seems to be some weird mix up with my beta. Silver Bow are you even getting my e-mails? Anyway, huge thanks to Clez who very kindly beta-ed this part for me. ::Hugs Clez:: Thanks! Now, on with the shout outs;
Clez:- Glad you loved this part! What's wrong with liking a line? Even more if it is a line like that... ;)
Funyun:- Yes, Tom has found himself yet another stalker. You think it may be Becky eh? Good idea, you will just have to read on to find out if you're right, and as for the tie thing... people have an amazing talent of not spotting unpleasant facts or seeing something uncomfortable.
Drowchild:- More you shall have!
Queerquail:- Well, Tom told Becky he loved her. Only it wasn't Becky, it was this crazy Vampire lady... glad you think its interesting.
Nobleblue:- :::League wander along the corridors, oblivious to the danger Tom is in...::: Yeah, this lot need to sort out their acts, don't they. Will Tom become a Vampire? Read on...
Ellina HOPE:- ah, but is it Becky? ::Grins:: Please don't die!
LotRseer3350:- If I told you who the woman was, it would ruin the plot. The same thing with the Tom becoming a Vampire thing, though I promise you, when the League find out, they will try and save him.
Graymoon74:- Stop filling my head with thoughts of yummy Tom! It's... distracting. ;) You think it's just some random weird-o? No, it is someone... :::Gags self before she can spoil the story.::: Yeah, Tom should have told the League but didn't... silly boy!
Silversnow:- Nasty? Wait, I'm nasty? The story is nasty? Leaving it on a cliffhanger is nasty? Which? So confused...
Stormyronin:- Thank you.
Now...
On The Wall
Marlene watches from the wall
Her mocking smile says it all
As she records the rise and fall
Of every soldier passing
But the only soldier now is me
I'm fighting things I cannot see
I think it's called my destiny
That I am changing
Marlene on the wall
Marlene on the wall, By Suzanne Vega
:::
Part 3- Baptism of Blood.
The sickly scent of the female vampire's rich blood rushed up into Tom's nostrils. It was everywhere, in his nose, over his mouth, on his skin. It really did feel as if he was drowning in the blood, even as Tom struggled, trying to break free. He closed his eyes as the burning sensation in his chest began to grow, his lungs on fire as they begged for another breath of oxygen. His chest contracting painfully, Tom knew that he would have to open his mouth. Even if he passed out, his mouth would relax and the hateful poison would enter it. A few tears sprung to his closed eyes and pricked at his eyelids, burning them with their salty heat.
Tom could take it no more and his mouth opened without his permission, his body trying to suck in a great lungful of air. Instead the thick blood coated his mouth, slipping easily down his throat. The blood entered his stomach and Tom almost gagged on the taste, still trying to pull free, the disgusting taste and reeking smell making him nauseous. But slowly, as drop after drop of blood entered him, the foulness of it lessened and he found it began to taste almost sweet, the coppery tang becoming delicious, a rare treat. He stopped trying to break free of her and instead held her in an embrace, willingly sucking on her wound now, greedily drinking the blood, the human and rational part of his mind dormant.
It was only when his chest threatened to cave in if he didn't breath that he stopped drinking. Even then it was the Vampire who pulled Tom free, not the other way round. She stood up, the thin cut healing in front of his very eyes as he remained on the ground, blood stained around his mouth, his eyes glazed as they opened slowly.
"Who... who are you?" Tom asked in a daze, staring up at the blonde vampire. She laughed before answering.
"Do you think me a fool, Agent Sawyer?" She said in a mocking tone. "Do you really think I will tell you my name so you can blab to your friends and let them in on our little secret? No. Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves. There will be time enough to let Mina and the rest into our game." The vampire bent down and kissed Tom lightly on the cheek. He could do nothing but lie there and let her.
"For now, you can call me Becky, Sawyer." The vampire – or 'Becky' as she claimed her name was for now – said. She laughed again.
"You and I, Sawyer... you are going to be my dark prince and we will create such destruction, such stories. We shall carve a blood trail wherever we go and we will have such fun doing it." Becky said in a dreamy voice. "People will talk of us with such fear, such terror, it will create the most lovely blood, that hint of fear... the world will have never seen such darkness. Together, you and I, we will rip down this old one and make a new one, built with the bones of humans." In an almost absent-minded fashion Becky ran her fingers through his dishevelled blonde hair.
"I once loved a Lord." Becky said suddenly. "There was also an American..." she mused. Tom couldn't stop the wave of jealously that swept up inside of him at her comments. How dare she love or be loved by anyone else? A weak growl of anger slipped out of Tom's mouth before he could stop it. Becky looked amused, a cruel smile on her bloodied lips.
"Oh don't worry, my dark prince." she cooed. "You are the only one for me now..." A delicate pale finger ran down the side of his face, a long nail resting on Tom's bloodless lips. "We will have such fun when the time is right." She promised then pulled the hand away. Tom's head tried to follow it, his body trying to rise but the shock to his system had been too great and he couldn't move. His attempts only served to amuse Becky further and she blew him a kiss before vanishing through the door.
Tom stared after her, a mixture of despair and lust showing in his eyes. He blinked a few times then looked around the bathroom as if seeing it for the very first time. The events of the last few minutes rushed to him, each second clambering to be processed first. Tom's breath caught in his throat as he remembered his growl and the feelings he had felt ? jealousy and then sadness, because he had not wanted her to leave him.
Oh God... help me...
Tom didn't know why he had felt like that, acted like that. And now he had that vampire's blood in his own body, the toxins invading each and every one of his systems. With the help of the adrenalin that was entering his bloodstream he managed to somehow stagger to his feet and pull himself to the nearest cubical – where he was promptly sick. Tom retched again and again, trying desperately to remove all of the blood from his insides. Tears running down his face due to his fear and disgust Tom threw up one last time, the mixture free of a reddish colour.
Panting hard, he backed away from the toilet and moved shakily over to the sink where – with his rapidly fading energy – he splashed some of the cold water of his face. That done he gripped the sides of the basin, staring deeply into the mirror at the stranger's face that was looking back at him. His eyes seemed sunken into the pale, almost translucent skin, his lips stretching as if they were pulling away.
"Nemo..." Tom whispered, the single word causing agony to his throat, which felt rough and dry, a painful sensation that was already slowly fading away.
God... forgive me for I have sinned...
Tom had grown up in a religious family but after meeting vampires, invisible men and monsters he didn't know what to believe any more. But like so many before him, in times of trouble he turned back to God, chanting the single line in his head, the terror freezing his memory of the rest. He didn't even know what he was asking or trying to say.
... I have sinned...
Tom let go of the sink, half turning to move towards Nemo. With a gasp, the room spun violently and his eyes rolled up in his head, his body falling to the ground as Tom sank into an unconscious state.
:::
A short distance away, Skinner and Dr. Jekyll were standing still, in a corridor near the bathroom, arguing quietly to each other.
"I'm telling you, mate, we should have heard from the kid or Nemo by now. Everyone else has checked back in except for them." Skinner said. Jekyll shrugged his shoulders helplessly, unable to gather up enough energy to argue any more.
"Fine, fine, we will go and find them." he said softly. Skinner nodded, his painted face showing his concern as the two walked along one of the many corridors, stopping every few feet to look in the rooms. There was no sign of either and by this time, Jekyll was starting to get worried. He frowned, pushing open a door and peering into the semi-darkness beyond. At the same time Skinner had moved ahead. The invisible man stopped by an open door, frozen in place.
"Jekyll!" He yelled, movement returning to him as he sprang into the room. Dr. Jekyll jumped slightly and hurried towards the room Skinner had entered. What he saw made him freeze completely, Skinner's calls for help falling on deaf ears. Tom lay on his back, his eyes closed, his chest moving up and down, even though each breath was a struggle. At the back of the bathroom Nemo was slumped against the wall, his sword still held in his hand, the fingers still gripping the hilt tightly, even though he was not awake or alert.
"Jekyll!" Skinner cried out again and again the doctor didn't seem to hear him, still staring into the room with a kind of glazed shock. Skinner jumped to his feet from where he had been crouched by Tom and moved over to Jekyll before slapping him on the cheek. The other man gave a yelp and lifted a hand to the violated cheek in confusion.
"Snap out of it!" Skinner shouted. "Come on, we need to help Sawyer and Nemo." Jekyll nodded and moved into the room, heading to the back wall first to check on the Indian. After satisfying himself that the captain was only knocked out, Jekyll then moved over to Tom Sawyer, his hands peeling back the collar and removing the tie that Becky had placed back on. He gasped as the twin bite marks were revealed, noticing the jagged edges and faint whitening of the skin around them.
"He's been bitten..." Jekyll muttered. He stared long and hard at the mouth, noticing the paleness and the fact it was still wet with water. The ugly thought that Tom had drunk from the vampire reared in Dr. Jekyll's mind and refused to leave.
"We better move him then, eh, Jekyll?" Skinner asked with worry. Jekyll turned his head to look at Skinner and slowly blinked before nodding in agreement.
:::
Mina hurried towards the infirmary, one of Nemo's sailors running after her in a vain effort to try and keep up. The moment news had reached her of what had happened she had set off at a run to see for herself. As she swept round the corner, her sharp eyes instantly lighted on Captain Nemo who was walking at a brisk pace towards her.
"Ah, Madam Mina, thank goodness." Nemo said, stopping before turning on his heel to walk beside her as the two now headed for the infirmary. The Indian looked none the worse for being flung into a wall, with only a few cuts on his face from where the bats had scraped at him to show he had even been attacked.
"I was just coming to find you, as you will hopefully know what to do." Nemo carried on. Mina nodded and the two lapsed into silence and didn't talk again until they had passed through the door to the infirmary. Tom was lying in the bed furthest from the door, a curtain placed around the bed for privacy. Mina stepped through the crisp white curtain, Nemo a step behind her. On the other side of the curtain Dr. Jekyll was busy checking his patient while Skinner stood at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed.
"He has lost a lot of blood and has yet to regain consciousness." Jekyll said, holding Tom's wrist in his hand and checking the pulse. Mina shook her head, her cool eyes fixed on the still form.
"He won't wake up again in this state. He's lost too much blood and possibly been forced to give a kiss of his own. He's dying." She said softly.
"Dying? There has to be something we can do!" Skinner shouted. Mina nodded, her eyes never straying from Tom.
"Oh yes. The only way to permanently save Agent Sawyer is to find the vampire that did this to him and kill it before the transformation is complete in him. If he was only drained then he will very slowly become one of the un-dead. If he drank some blood then it would depend on how much as to how fast the change takes place." She hesitated, her eyes breaking their contact for the first time so she could look around at the men standing there.
"Right now however, the only thing that will keep him alive is a blood transfusion." She said seriously. There was complete and utter silence in the room as her answer weighed heavily down on them. A blood transfusion was a dangerous operation, for both people involved. There was risk of infection and many more dangers besides.
"I'll do it." Skinner said suddenly. Dr. Jekyll shook his head.
"You still haven't healed properly from Mongolia. It was only three months ago." Jekyll answered. Nemo bowed his head.
"I will do it." He said quietly. There was another short silence as Jekyll and Mina thought about the Captain's offer before agreeing. Nemo calmly left the curtained off area, returning a few moments later with a chair to sit on. As he was doing this, Jekyll had also left, returning about a minute later with everything he needed to conduct the blood transfusion. With Mina's help he sterilised the needles and other equipment. Twice, Mina had to correct some tiny flaw that the doctor had not noticed.
The needle slid into Nemo's arm, extracting the blood, which then travelled into Tom's cold body. While Jekyll was overseeing this part, Mina was rubbing at Tom's hands and wrists, trying to force the flow of blood to return as it should. Slowly the colour faded slightly from Nemo's face and faint colouring entered Tom's face, delicately tinting his features to make him seem more human.
"That's enough." Dr. Jekyll said. Mina's head snapped up from where she was rubbing whiskey on Tom's lips, confusion on her face, but she nodded and let the moment pass. Quickly he removed the drip and needles, pressing pads against the holes to stop the blood.
"Now what?" Skinner asked.
"Now, Mr. Skinner?" Mina answered with a raised brow. "Now we can do nothing but wait for Agent Sawyer to wake up and tell us what happened."
TBC...
Hope everyone liked that part and please leave a review!
Sethoz