A Better Tomorrow

Chapter 3 – The drying of your tears

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes at the pain she could feel on her neck. She subconsciously tried to break away but the grip Eric had over her made the attempt futile. She felt the panic hit her like a wave but her legs were frozen in time while Eric was drinking slowly. She could hear the suction on her neck, she could feel him behind her. Her eye lids let a single tear escape onto her cheek. She felt her body slowly giving up while she couldn't possibly think of a way to escape.

As quickly as he came, Eric stopped drinking and laid her on the floor. His movements were soft, almost mother like but Sookie was terrified. She couldn't bare the thought of opening her eyes and see him yet, she slowly did. Her vision was blurry but she could see the piercing blue eyes staring at her.

Eric reached to her cheek and caught the single tear still hanging by a thread. His face was expressionless just like Pam's and Bill's but for a split second, Sookie thought she saw remorse.

Eric's fangs were still visible while he took his wrists to his mouth and bit. He didn't stop looking at Sookie while bringing his bloody wrist to her mouth whispering to drink up.

Sookie didn't really understand what was going on but she instinctively drank the blood from his wrists. As she drank, her vision was clearing up and the life returned to her body and her legs. She brought her hands to his wrists and drank harder. She wasn't sure if it was because her life depended on it or because she enjoyed it but she looked up at him while she kept savouring the red liquid.

Eric firmly removed his wrist after a while. He knew Sookie had enough to live, enough to be back to her old self. She got up while he was walking to the door. Sookie was confused by what had happened. Was he leaving her behind after feeding on her and then exchanging blood?

She reached out to grab his arm and was hit by a single image. The image of Pam standing on her side. She was dressed with an old dress from the 1800's. She looked up at Sookie and smiled.

Sookie gasped at the memory. She knew it wasn't hers.

Eric turned around when she grabbed his arm while he pushed her away.

"You know Pam?" Said Sookie shocked by her discovery. Sookie was used to see images coming from people but it was the first time she had experience it while touching someone.

Eric starred at her. She was now 2 feet away from him because he had pushed her away. He didn't move, he couldn't move. While exiting he had thought of Pam and couldn't understand why this human had seen what he had thought. He had exchanged blood with humans many times before but never did it have this effect.

"She is my child. Bring me to her."

Sookie was staring back at him incapable of breaking the gaze. She had the feeling he could reach into her soul which made her shiver.

Earlier that day, Tara, Alcide, Sam and herself had come to Shreveport with the sole mission of finding other vampires. Alcide was convinced that only vampires could aid the community in surviving. Pam had mention that there was other vampires in the area but never did she say where and who. They took weeks before finding Eric's coffin or at least the door that would bring them to it. It had seemed that the hunt for vampires was physical but also psychological. They had to remember their time in Shreveport before the plague, before the dead corpses, before the empty streets. They had to remember who they would only saw at night, who could potentially be a vampire. It was a work of deduction and suspicion that had brought Sam to remember Eric's bar and its owner; the tall blond man with extremely pale skin but also with a smell of blood. Sam was never really exposed to vampires before the plague but his guess had turned out true and they found the door. Tara had broken the jar of synthetic blood hoping it would make its way to the coffin. She had succeeded.

Without her friends, Sookie knew she was vulnerable and she couldn't understand why he had not drained her. Pam and Bill had warned them that a hungry vampire has no mercy and that they would have to stick together in order to calm and feed them.

Pam and Bill refused to help the group on their quest. Waking up vampires was not part of the orders they had received from their queen and they had every intention of not disobeying her. When Sam mentioned the bar owner, he could tell Pam was interested but he wasn't sure why. No one else had noticed her excitement.

"We have to find my friends first before we can go back to the community" said Sookie without breaking the staring match they had seemed to have entered.

''Why would I help you?"

His voice was ferm with no trace of aggression

"Because I cannot go back to the community without them and because we woke you up"

"I didn't want to be awaken" Eric growled with a low and deep voice.

Sookie frowned holding up her end of the contest. She didn't want to break the contact not knowing what he would do. She needed him to go back to Bon Temps with them. She had seen Bill and Pam fight the deads countless time. Vampires had definitely the edge over them in terms of force and brutality but lacked in numbers which made a crowd of dead corpses a real threat to her and her community.

"You don't know where Pam is, I do. I am not leaving here without my friends and it's going to be dawn very soon so you can either go on your own and find a hole to hide or we can find my friends and be on our way"

Eric was surprised by her authority. She had no idea who he was, what his intentions were. She knew he was a vampire and what he was capable of yet she was defying him in a way he had never seen before.

"Fine. Don't get in the way''

Eric left the little apartment while Sookie was trying to catch up. She felt safer around him but she knew she would have to protect her own self if need be mostly because she didn't trust him. She had just enough time to grab the shotgun that was on the floor before catching up to Eric that was now going down the tiny little stairs of the building. She had no idea how they would find her friends but she knew Sam and Alcide would eventually pick up on their scent. When they reached the empty streets, Sookie had the reflex of clearing both side holding her shotgun ready to shoot if needed.

It was very dark but she could see shadows moving at the distance. She looked at Eric who had already spotted them. He whispered in her ear that it was corpses. She didn't question it as she knew vampires could see better both at a distance but also in the dark.

Eric was standing still beside her. She saw at the corner of her eyes that he was sniffing the air. He looked like a hunter in the middle of the night looking for his prey.

After a couple of minutes, she could tell by his demeanour he had found something. Without a word he started walking at the opposite side of the corpses now walking slowly towards them. Sookie stayed as close as she could manage. Eric was both fast but tall and her little legs had trouble keeping up.

When they reached the end of the street, Sookie heard some groaning and mumbles. Eric had placed his back to the wall of the corner building and was now looking down the other street. Sookie got on her knees and peaked around the corner. It was harder for someone to see a head when the head was closer to the ground so anytime she needed to clear a corner, she would do so from the ground. She stared at the grocery store which was at the end of the street. A crowd of dead corpses had gather around the building and seemed to be trying to get inside. Other corpses were walking towards the building and didn't seem to notice her or Eric.

Eric gently kicked her back to the wall and looked down at her.

"Something interesting must be inside"

His eyes had a predatorial look she had never witnessed before. She saw a glimpse of excitement in his eyes and while he slowly grinned at her, he started running in the direction of the building. Like a kid in a candy store, he ripped walking corpses' heads in a graceful way heading to the grocery store. Sookie swore she could hear him laugh.

Review please. It's really appreciated! :)

xox

Z