**SPOILERS!!** Reach for Tomorrow spoilers. If you don't want to be
spoiled, don't read this. There, now I don't want any complaining that I
didn't warn you. Sorry this chapter took so long. It was crazy with the
holiday weekend, ya know?
Mrs. B. ~ Thanks for the nice praise. You seem to have done a 180, which is great. I'm glad you like it!
herseybar ~ Hey, I was wondering where you'd gone to. I'm glad to have you back.
sky-bleww ~ Thanks for your reviews, both on this story and my other one. If I do anymore songfics, it won't be for a long while. I have something else in the works, as you can see.
Erriy ~ Hi. Do you feel better now? Now I have a couple of comments for you. "That thing with the vampires is nasty." Nasty how? Gross nasty or mean nasty? That doesn't even make any sense. "The story was good before all that crap." Aww, thankee kindly, ma'am. "you write about it like you know everything about it." Why do I feel like I need the word 'crossover' tattooed on my forehead? Of course I'm writing like I know all about it. I took the particular myth that L.J. Smith used in her Night World series to write this. All the information was there for me to use. "vampeires are just made up." So is Jenny House. Besides, LM uses lots of vampire references in her stories. Her characters are constantly getting blood transfusions and going, "This must be what it's like to be a vampire." I decided to take that and make vampires real in this story. Artistic license. "and they ain't Godly either." When did I ever claim to be Godly? I really don't care that you don't like my story . . . you don't have to read it. At any rate, I found your review amusing.
All right. Here is the very late Chapter 10.
Chapter 10
They were out trail riding a few days later when it happened.
The fun has arrived. Miss me? Emma heard in her head.
Max, Emma thought with delight, reining in her horse for a moment. She wondered if she'd be able to telepath back to him.
I can hear you loud and clear, Emmykins Max replied. Meet me later, okay
But how would she know where he was?
I'll let you know. Trust me, babe.
"Emma! Are you asleep?" Courtney had turned her horse around and gone back in the trail to where Emma had stopped.
"Oh, sorry," Emma said smiling, "Got a bit distracted there. Dreaming of handsome boys," she added to Courtney's quizzical look.
"Good, I was afraid that maybe you'd gotten sick."
Emma had thought she would explain a bit more about her illness over the past couple of days. That way, everyone wouldn't be quite so shocked when she "died." Courtney, however, was now fussing over her, which was slowly starting to drive Emma nuts. Susanna was actually being the best about it. Having had cancer herself, Susanna knew what a pain it was treating you like you were fragile.
"The pain meds my doctors have me on are pretty good," Emma assured Courtney, "And I'll know if I'm getting worse because the pain will start again. I'm fine, Courtney, don't worry. Now come on, let's catch up to the others."
They quickly did and headed back to the Jenny House. There, they were in for a bit of surprise. Because in the lobby, Richard Holloway was entertaining guests, which consisted of a red-haired man, a black-haired woman, a boy who looked to be about two, and a baby.
"You know we're glad to have you come visit anytime, Katie," Mr. Holloway was saying warmly.
"The others should be coming up later," Katie replied, "But I'm glad you agreed. I couldn't think of a better place than Jenny Chapel to baptize our own little Jennifer." She stroked the baby's cheek tenderly.
"It's our honor," said Mr. Holloway. He finally noticed the group in the foyer, "Ah, come in everyone. I'd like you to meet a very special guest, Mrs. Katie Martel. And this is her husband Josh, their son, Aaron, and their daughter, Jennifer."
"Hello," everyone said in unison.
"This is Susanna Chen, one of my 'big sister' this year, and her cabin. In some ways, they remind me of your group your first you here," Mr. Holloway told Katie.
"Pleased to meet you," said Katie, shaking Susanna's hand.
"You too," Susanna replied, "And these are my roommates, Emma Kinney, Courtney Graczyc and Adora Foster, more fondly known as She-Ra."
Katie laughed and shook three more hands.
"Excuse me. Not to be rude or anything, but I kind of promised to be somewhere about now," Emma broke in quickly. Courtney gave her an odd look.
"So, you won't mind if I leave, will you?" she continued.
"It's not a problem with me," said Mr. Holloway, "Go ahead."
Would he be so willing to let me go if he knew I was meeting my vampire boyfriend . . . in Jenny Chapel itself, Emma thought as she pushed open the door.
"Hello Emmykins," Max said, lounging against a pew.
"Could you have picked a better place to meet?" Emma asked him sarcastically.
"Haven't you always wanted to exchange blood in a church with a demon?" Max said innocently.
"Oh, you! If I know anything about you, Maxwell Jude Pine, I know that you're no demon."
"There are some that would say that," he reminded her as they sat down in a pew.
"And I wouldn't be choosing to become a vampire if I was one of those people," Emma replied, pushing her long brown hair off her neck. She could see a light go off in Max's eyes and smiled.
"I'm not getting any healthier," she said, "Let's get on with this."
Max traced a line along her neck. "It will sting at first," he said, "But if you don't struggle, it won't hurt. I promise."
"That's good enough for me," Emma whispered.
It did sting, at first, but Emma hardly noticed. Because she was thrown into a whole other world: Max's own mind. Their two souls intertwined as one and Emma found she could speak without words.
This is absolutely . . . there are no words!
Sharing blood is known to heighten the connection between two minds, Max explained, But the soulmate principal definitely has something to do with it.
How could she have ever pushed Max away, scoffed when he called them soulmates? THIS was what was right, the two of them as one. They were two halves of the same whole. If this was what her mom had had, no wonder Stephanie had gone crazy upon losing it.
When Max pulled away, Emma whimpered, not wanting this wondrous experience to end.
"You have to take some of mine, too," Max said, making a quick cut in his wrist.
That's right, Emma knew that. I'm going to be doing this everyday, she mused, I might as well start now. With that, she lifted Max's arm to her mouth . . . and drank.
The blood was nothing like Emma had expected it to be. Max had called it 'the ultimate elixir,' but she hadn't known it would be so tangy, so heady, so absolutely addicting and intoxicating. Why would anyone use chemotherapy treatment? Susanna had described it to be absolutely horrible. But you needed something this wonderful to combat such a horrible disease as pancreatic cancer.
"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" she smiled at him.
"I always enjoy hearing it," he replied, "Now, we'll have to exchange blood about two or three more times before the change is complete."
"I'm looking forward to it," Emma said honestly.
Just then, they heard the chapel door opening.
"Hurry, leave," Emma whispered, "You're not supposed to be here."
Max was gone in a flash; vampire speed was definitely an advantage, Emma thought with awe. She quickly got herself into a prayerful position. Never mind that she'd just been exchanging blood with a vampire in the Lord's house.
"Emma? Are you in here?"
It was Courtney. That girl is going to meddle herself in too much some day, Emma thought with mild annoyance. Instead, she turned and smiled.
"Hi. I just thought I would stop here for a minute. It's so beautiful," she said.
"It is," Courtney sighed, "But come on. It's dinnertime. And Mr. Holloway's guests are staying for it."
Emma followed Courtney back to the lodge where they joined all the others in the dining hall. Susanna waved them over from where she was sitting with Adora, Mr. Holloway, his guests, and Kimbra, a one armed woman who helped with recreational activities.
Emma and Courtney joined them.
"I see you got us the good seats, Susie," Emma teased.
"You are so dead, Kinney," Susanna said, whirling around in her seat.
"I'm shaking in my skin, Miss Dinosaur Bones," Emma laughed, sitting next to Susanna. She ducked a punch. "Come on, Susanna, you know it's all in fun."
"Fun, my foot," Susanna grumbled.
"Emma, why don't you tell us a little something about yourself," Katie cut in. It was obvious that she was trying to stop the fun, Emma thought. With a resigned sigh, she answered.
"My name's Emma Kinney, I'm 17, and I'm dying of pancreatic cancer."
"Pancreatic cancer?" Josh asked, "I thought that only attacked the elderly."
"So did the rest of us," Adora cut in.
"You look pretty healthy to be dying," Katie observed.
"I'm actually feeling pretty good right now," Emma observed, "They've got me on strong pain medications."
"You LOOK good," Courtney observed, "Your skin looks less yellow."
Emma looked down at her arm with a jolt. Courtney was right. Her skin WAS less yellow than it had been. Her tan looked almost healthy. It's starting, Emma thought with awe; her transformation into a vampire was really starting. And with it, a new phase of her life.
Mrs. B. ~ Thanks for the nice praise. You seem to have done a 180, which is great. I'm glad you like it!
herseybar ~ Hey, I was wondering where you'd gone to. I'm glad to have you back.
sky-bleww ~ Thanks for your reviews, both on this story and my other one. If I do anymore songfics, it won't be for a long while. I have something else in the works, as you can see.
Erriy ~ Hi. Do you feel better now? Now I have a couple of comments for you. "That thing with the vampires is nasty." Nasty how? Gross nasty or mean nasty? That doesn't even make any sense. "The story was good before all that crap." Aww, thankee kindly, ma'am. "you write about it like you know everything about it." Why do I feel like I need the word 'crossover' tattooed on my forehead? Of course I'm writing like I know all about it. I took the particular myth that L.J. Smith used in her Night World series to write this. All the information was there for me to use. "vampeires are just made up." So is Jenny House. Besides, LM uses lots of vampire references in her stories. Her characters are constantly getting blood transfusions and going, "This must be what it's like to be a vampire." I decided to take that and make vampires real in this story. Artistic license. "and they ain't Godly either." When did I ever claim to be Godly? I really don't care that you don't like my story . . . you don't have to read it. At any rate, I found your review amusing.
All right. Here is the very late Chapter 10.
Chapter 10
They were out trail riding a few days later when it happened.
The fun has arrived. Miss me? Emma heard in her head.
Max, Emma thought with delight, reining in her horse for a moment. She wondered if she'd be able to telepath back to him.
I can hear you loud and clear, Emmykins Max replied. Meet me later, okay
But how would she know where he was?
I'll let you know. Trust me, babe.
"Emma! Are you asleep?" Courtney had turned her horse around and gone back in the trail to where Emma had stopped.
"Oh, sorry," Emma said smiling, "Got a bit distracted there. Dreaming of handsome boys," she added to Courtney's quizzical look.
"Good, I was afraid that maybe you'd gotten sick."
Emma had thought she would explain a bit more about her illness over the past couple of days. That way, everyone wouldn't be quite so shocked when she "died." Courtney, however, was now fussing over her, which was slowly starting to drive Emma nuts. Susanna was actually being the best about it. Having had cancer herself, Susanna knew what a pain it was treating you like you were fragile.
"The pain meds my doctors have me on are pretty good," Emma assured Courtney, "And I'll know if I'm getting worse because the pain will start again. I'm fine, Courtney, don't worry. Now come on, let's catch up to the others."
They quickly did and headed back to the Jenny House. There, they were in for a bit of surprise. Because in the lobby, Richard Holloway was entertaining guests, which consisted of a red-haired man, a black-haired woman, a boy who looked to be about two, and a baby.
"You know we're glad to have you come visit anytime, Katie," Mr. Holloway was saying warmly.
"The others should be coming up later," Katie replied, "But I'm glad you agreed. I couldn't think of a better place than Jenny Chapel to baptize our own little Jennifer." She stroked the baby's cheek tenderly.
"It's our honor," said Mr. Holloway. He finally noticed the group in the foyer, "Ah, come in everyone. I'd like you to meet a very special guest, Mrs. Katie Martel. And this is her husband Josh, their son, Aaron, and their daughter, Jennifer."
"Hello," everyone said in unison.
"This is Susanna Chen, one of my 'big sister' this year, and her cabin. In some ways, they remind me of your group your first you here," Mr. Holloway told Katie.
"Pleased to meet you," said Katie, shaking Susanna's hand.
"You too," Susanna replied, "And these are my roommates, Emma Kinney, Courtney Graczyc and Adora Foster, more fondly known as She-Ra."
Katie laughed and shook three more hands.
"Excuse me. Not to be rude or anything, but I kind of promised to be somewhere about now," Emma broke in quickly. Courtney gave her an odd look.
"So, you won't mind if I leave, will you?" she continued.
"It's not a problem with me," said Mr. Holloway, "Go ahead."
Would he be so willing to let me go if he knew I was meeting my vampire boyfriend . . . in Jenny Chapel itself, Emma thought as she pushed open the door.
"Hello Emmykins," Max said, lounging against a pew.
"Could you have picked a better place to meet?" Emma asked him sarcastically.
"Haven't you always wanted to exchange blood in a church with a demon?" Max said innocently.
"Oh, you! If I know anything about you, Maxwell Jude Pine, I know that you're no demon."
"There are some that would say that," he reminded her as they sat down in a pew.
"And I wouldn't be choosing to become a vampire if I was one of those people," Emma replied, pushing her long brown hair off her neck. She could see a light go off in Max's eyes and smiled.
"I'm not getting any healthier," she said, "Let's get on with this."
Max traced a line along her neck. "It will sting at first," he said, "But if you don't struggle, it won't hurt. I promise."
"That's good enough for me," Emma whispered.
It did sting, at first, but Emma hardly noticed. Because she was thrown into a whole other world: Max's own mind. Their two souls intertwined as one and Emma found she could speak without words.
This is absolutely . . . there are no words!
Sharing blood is known to heighten the connection between two minds, Max explained, But the soulmate principal definitely has something to do with it.
How could she have ever pushed Max away, scoffed when he called them soulmates? THIS was what was right, the two of them as one. They were two halves of the same whole. If this was what her mom had had, no wonder Stephanie had gone crazy upon losing it.
When Max pulled away, Emma whimpered, not wanting this wondrous experience to end.
"You have to take some of mine, too," Max said, making a quick cut in his wrist.
That's right, Emma knew that. I'm going to be doing this everyday, she mused, I might as well start now. With that, she lifted Max's arm to her mouth . . . and drank.
The blood was nothing like Emma had expected it to be. Max had called it 'the ultimate elixir,' but she hadn't known it would be so tangy, so heady, so absolutely addicting and intoxicating. Why would anyone use chemotherapy treatment? Susanna had described it to be absolutely horrible. But you needed something this wonderful to combat such a horrible disease as pancreatic cancer.
"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" she smiled at him.
"I always enjoy hearing it," he replied, "Now, we'll have to exchange blood about two or three more times before the change is complete."
"I'm looking forward to it," Emma said honestly.
Just then, they heard the chapel door opening.
"Hurry, leave," Emma whispered, "You're not supposed to be here."
Max was gone in a flash; vampire speed was definitely an advantage, Emma thought with awe. She quickly got herself into a prayerful position. Never mind that she'd just been exchanging blood with a vampire in the Lord's house.
"Emma? Are you in here?"
It was Courtney. That girl is going to meddle herself in too much some day, Emma thought with mild annoyance. Instead, she turned and smiled.
"Hi. I just thought I would stop here for a minute. It's so beautiful," she said.
"It is," Courtney sighed, "But come on. It's dinnertime. And Mr. Holloway's guests are staying for it."
Emma followed Courtney back to the lodge where they joined all the others in the dining hall. Susanna waved them over from where she was sitting with Adora, Mr. Holloway, his guests, and Kimbra, a one armed woman who helped with recreational activities.
Emma and Courtney joined them.
"I see you got us the good seats, Susie," Emma teased.
"You are so dead, Kinney," Susanna said, whirling around in her seat.
"I'm shaking in my skin, Miss Dinosaur Bones," Emma laughed, sitting next to Susanna. She ducked a punch. "Come on, Susanna, you know it's all in fun."
"Fun, my foot," Susanna grumbled.
"Emma, why don't you tell us a little something about yourself," Katie cut in. It was obvious that she was trying to stop the fun, Emma thought. With a resigned sigh, she answered.
"My name's Emma Kinney, I'm 17, and I'm dying of pancreatic cancer."
"Pancreatic cancer?" Josh asked, "I thought that only attacked the elderly."
"So did the rest of us," Adora cut in.
"You look pretty healthy to be dying," Katie observed.
"I'm actually feeling pretty good right now," Emma observed, "They've got me on strong pain medications."
"You LOOK good," Courtney observed, "Your skin looks less yellow."
Emma looked down at her arm with a jolt. Courtney was right. Her skin WAS less yellow than it had been. Her tan looked almost healthy. It's starting, Emma thought with awe; her transformation into a vampire was really starting. And with it, a new phase of her life.