Ch.8: Leap of Faith

Squall awoke some time later, with a pulsing pain that would not let him rest. His right hand flew to his neck, hoping that it had all been a nightmare, it hadn't truly happened, he wasn't really… He cursed as his gloved hand found and quickly flew away from the punctures in his neck. Pain prevented him from touching it for more than a few seconds, pain he was willing to bear. He gritted his teeth against his neck's protests as he continued to survey the wound with touch, rather than sight. He felt the small divots, and the barely caking blood that covered them. He could have sworn that he still felt the woman's face beside his neck, as well, the chill from her presence still lingering against his flesh.

He fought the urge to scream out in rage, to cry out and yell his frustration before running out and staking the whole group of vampires. He knew he couldn't do it, that it was suicide to do so. As everything new completely sank in, he noticed something else that made him scowl. Suicide? That wasn't possible anymore; he was a dead man, a dead SeeD whose body would never be buried with the rest of the normal human beings. Then again, he wasn't human anymore, either. He snarled in rage as he dipped his head, placing them into his hands. Life… or death, rather… would never be the same again. There was no returning from the land of the dead.

He knew now… they had gotten what they wanted from him. He didn't know why they had taken him over an entire city of innocent civilians, but they had obviously completed their mission. They had turned him, sired him into the undead beast he was to become. His heart was still beating… he assumed that it took time for the transformation to be fully completed. Unsure of what was happening, he walked to the door… if they were going to just transform him like this, then it would be rational to believe that they had answers, as well. He was unpleasantly surprised to find the door locked, the handle remaining stubbornly motionless as he tried in vain to turn the knob.

Despite himself, his frustration took over, resulting in him slamming on the door with his fist. He ignored the slashes he endured against his fist, blood racing down his hand as he unwittingly split some of the wood on the doorframe. Realizing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with a dislocated arm, he gritted his teeth as he thrust his shoulder against the door, feeling the excruciating pain of the bone being forced back into its socket. He snarled a bit from the pain, all the while continuing to lean on the door for support. Rinoa heard this, but did not turn from her spot. She knew now that he had awakened, and was not a happy man at the moment. She never had a willing victim before, either, so was not at all surprised by his reaction and newfound life. Angelo proceeded to whine softly before stepping out of her whicker basket, her nails clicking against the floor as she dragged her bed as far away from Squall's door as possible. She didn't even bother trying to go back to sleep; the noise had been so jarring, she knew that she'd be pacing for quite some time before she ever got a chance at forty winks.

Staring at his wounded hands, he felt the pain as they wounds were separated from the wooden door. He quickly realized that, since he still bled, it took longer than he expected to be fully transformed… and he was going to make the most of it. He was going to get answers… before the transformation prevented him from even speaking to the ones who could get him the most information. He turned to the windows, only now realizing the bars on them. His heart sank; he knew he wasn't able to bend them last time, and there was no way now…

That was then he realized another one of the vampire's advantages; strength that surpassed that of any normal human being. If someone was able to twist the bars so that they stayed steady, it was a fair bet that an almost-vampire like him would be able to bend them as well. Though he preferred to think of himself as more a human than a vampire, he knew it was only a matter of time before the new bite changed that. It was a strange transfer for him, almost like an identity crisis; in less than two days, he'd been called a human, a Knight, and now was to be called a vampire. Reaching up, he clasped the black bars in his hands, wondering if he truly could bend them and earn his escape. This was much different than D-District Prison, one he had personally visited, that was for sure.

"Come on…" He murmured under his breath, flexing his muscles and gritting his teeth against the steel and diamond bars, inwardly cursing and praying for his vampiric qualities. Soon enough, the metal began to creak, twisting only slightly under his grasp like an exercise bar in the hands of a child. However, after a few more minutes of grunting, groaning, and straining, the bars were finally opened wide enough for the SeeD to make his escape. Shattering the window with the Gunblade, he climbed into the sill using his bed as a lever before peering out at the ground below.

Or rather, the lack of it.

The ground was a long ways away, and there were no ladders or ropes down. It looked like a few stories high, from his perspective. His heart sank; a full vampire could easily make the fall, but a transforming one? Judging by the dark, red-brown stains that remained on the concrete, it appeared that luck was most definitely not on his side. He swore before weighing his chances; if his legs were to be broken, he'd be sucked dry or bleed to possible death on the road, and if he didn't, what then? Would he be able to make it back to Quistis, Sora, and Kairi? It was only a few blocks away, but even a cut attracted the undead like sharks to a gallon of ground fish.

"Go ahead and jump, if you want. Run, if you'd like. Just see how far it gets you." Cloud's voice rang through the door. The blonde swordsman was sitting on a wooden chair, just outside of Squall's door. This situation happened to just about every single one, none of whom thought that becoming road soup was very appealing. Some were foolish enough to make the fall, and others had enough sense to stay back. Squall stopped, turning around to glare at the still-closed door, as if it were the actual vampire instead of a plank of wood that separated them. Cloud smirked, his smile invisible from the SeeD's sight not only by the door, but by the crimson sash that he wore before his face as well, whose hue matched that of his liquid diet.

That's right, go ahead and jump, if that's what you see fit. I could care less. Just what does that woman see in you, boy? Cloud thought to himself, silently wondering why Rinoa had been so intent on turning just one person… just one… out of countless hundreds of others whose necks were virtually in their grasp. What did she see in the teen that made her act this way? In the years he had known her, never before had she done such; bartering was an almost unknown concept. For her, it was take all, no questions asked. And yet, she had done so, just to get this one scarred boy. Why?

"Don't think so hard, Cloud. You're going to hurt yourself." Tifa fidgeted a bit before giggling from her roost, leaping down from the boards in the ceiling to join him. She landed perfectly in her boots, a routine that had taken quite a while to master. She walked over to Cloud, walking behind his chair before leaning over, wrapping her arms around his neck and placing her head in the crook of his neck as she whispered into his ear.

"And don't encourage him. He looks headstrong to the point where he could easily do that." She scolded, still smiling as she saw Cloud's forced expression of annoyance spread across his face. She knew it was half-hearted, giggling at him for doing so before lightly kissing him on the cheek. They'd been considered mates for several decades now, and their love was still strong. So much for the 'vampires can't feel love' scenario.

"I'm not encouraging him. He can make his own choices." He muttered, trying his best to look discontent. Giving up on the act, he raised his right arm, running his hand through her chocolate colored hair before bringing her low enough to the point where he could kiss her on the lips, good and proper. This made her snicker again as left her spot momentarily, causing Cloud to frown a bit as she moved to Squall's door. She moved aside the one part of the door that slid open… it was for them to see in, not for the captive to see out. She looked confused, turning her head left and right, then up and down, causing Cloud to look in concern as she approached him with a bewildered expression on her face.

"What's wrong, Tifa?"

"He did it, Cloud… he jumped out of the window, and ran off. Just like you told him to." She slapped him lightly on the side of his head with genuine annoyance as she huffed a bit, rushing off to get Rinoa. They all knew that he never wanted to be there… but jumping out of a three story building and living without being a full-fledged vampire was extraordinary. She'd broken at least half the bones in her body when she'd tried that, and it seemed that only Cloud, Lulu, and Auron had been the only ones smart enough not to try. She sighed, rapping on Rinoa's door.

"What do you want, Tifa?" The voice called from inside.

"Um… you're not going to like this, Rin…"

He'd done it… he'd actually made it out. He grasped his wrist, which had been caught by a nail on the way down, but was otherwise relatively uninjured. However, the gash in his wrist was a wide and deep one, running from the thumb area all the way up to the middle of his palm, and exposed quite a bit of muscle as the blood continued to flow. He gritted his teeth against the pain, trying to make his way back to Sora, Kairi, and Quistis. There was no time to heal his wounds; every second that passed called the undead to him with his continuously flowing blood. Squall turned into a desolate alleyway and followed the shortcut; his sense of direction was keen, and he knew every shortcut in the city. Though Esthar was technically not a normal stop on Balamb's agenda, Laguna would insist on boarding the Garden to visit his son if Squall did not meet him first. The last thing he needed was for his father to humiliate him… as such, he was forced to learn the shortcuts not only to evade the crowds, but the possible Balamb students that might have followed. It was just bad for his image for him to go visit his father… perhaps because the president's hair was longer than Selphie's.

By the time he'd gotten to the door, the blood flow had slowed to a trickle as he knocked carefully, between the crosses that held the door shut. When no one answered, he yelled instead, out of anger, pain, annoyance, and frustration. Nothing was going right today, and almost killing himself by falling from so high was bound to make his mood even worse.

"QUISTIS! Open this damn door!" As soon as he banged on the wood a few times, he heard the flurry of boot clicks that he knew signaled her approach, followed by a low, "All right, all right! It's not like you can't open the door yourself…" before the door opened before him. Squall stopped as he saw Quistis, adorned in her SeeD uniform. The black outfit seemed to suit the darkness of the town, but not the woman who wore it.

"Squall! You're back!" Kairi ran up to hug him before being promptly flung back onto the couch by a silver haired boy. Naturally, she didn't understand, staring at the glassy-eyed teenager with confusion in her eyes.

"Stay away from him. He's been tainted." Riku approached the almost-vampire, holding up a stake to his heart…

((I can't wait to put up the next chappie… it's my favorite. Well, thanks to all my readers… and review, too! XD))