This is an alternate universe and although I try to respect the core of each character, their actions and personnalities might change base on events. Please don't forget this is the end of times, people are bound to change. If you don't like it, it's completely fine and you are welcomed to stop reading if it really bothers you. I don't write to piss you off or upset you :3
Thank you Lady Doughnut for your awesome beta as always. Love you!
Chapter 24- There Is Nothing Left!
As the first rays of sunshine filled the room, Sookie opened her eyes slowly. She turned to her side in an effort to snuggle with Eric but was cruelly reminded of his nature and his need of darkness. The empty bed felt cold and lonely which only encouraged her to get up and get ready for her guard shift. She put on a pair of beige cargo pants, a black t-shirt and grabbed her grey sweater. She also put on the pair of combat boots she always kept for long walks. The ankle boots were black and very comfortable. It provided good support and allowed her to walk longer without the strain on her muscles. She looked at her leg closely and admired her perfect skin. No scar was visible from where the gash had been before Eric had healed her. She smiled thinking about him, about what he had said the night before.
She, too, had finally understood the meaning of Godric's words. You do not really live until you love. For the first time in years, she felt at peace when she woke up, as in nothing in the world could touch her. She felt rested, she felt happy to be alive, to spend time with him. Happy that she had something to look forward to. She had finally experienced hope.
As she finished lacing up her boots, she heard voices coming from the main street. She paused to listen closely as the voices got angrier and louder. She could tell one was Alcide and maybe another was Sam but couldn't distinguish any other. A scream louder than all the voices made her lace up her boots faster. It was one of those desperation scream which made Sookie shiver.
As soon as she was done, she headed downstairs to the main street. There was a group of members gathered up in the middle of it. Some were shouting at each other while others were crying. She could hear Alcide yelling for them to calm down. She then heard clothing ripping and growling and assumed someone had transformed into their wolf state. When she reached the crowd, she couldn't see what was going on but at that point, the growling had transformed into roars and she could hear at least two wolves fighting. Sookie's effort to look above people's shoulders was futile as she was too short to see anything. She then decided to crawl to the middle of the crowd determined to see what was happening. She first saw an arm lying in the middle of where the crowd had gathered. The wolves were still going at each other drawing blood with every snap of their jaws. There were a couple of knives on the ground near the arm which appeared to be of a man. She then saw Sam on the other side in his dog form lamenting to Alcide who was yelling at the two to stop fighting. As he transformed into his wolf state, Sookie got up in front of some of the members. She didn't have time to be fully up she felt an arm grabbing her and bringing her closer to a man's body. The arm was wrapped around her throat with a knife at the end of it which made her gasped and put her own hands on the forearm as if she could remove it herself. The embrace got tighter as she fought to get away and she could feel she needed more air.
"STOP OR I WILL KILL HER" the man behind her said which caused the other wolf and Alcide to transform back into their human shapes as the other wolf had done. Sookie guessed in the process of changing he had managed to grab one of the knives on the ground and had grabbed her, which also meant he was naked but Sookie was too busy trying to breathe to notice.
"Calm down" Alcide growled at the man.
Sookie stared into Alcide's eyes in a plea for help. She didn't dare look anywhere else in part because he was naked but also because she was terrified at the idea that if she let go, she would die. She felt the rage starting to bubble up in her lower abdomen. The more she thought about it the more she got pissed off. For the first time since the dead had started walking, she had hoped for a better life, she had experienced happiness and she wanted to live. The man holding her was threatening to take that all away from her and she couldn't bear the thoughts of such tragedy. The same situation would have happened a month ago and she would have let him cut her throat too tired to fight anymore, but not today. Not when she knew as soon as the sun was down, she would see him again. Not now, when she smiled at the thought of living instead of surviving.
'' Stephen, let her go, she did nothing to you'' Alcide added still growling.
''I didn't kill anyone! I don't know what happened to Simon. I don't know how his arm got here'' Stephen yelled at him holding Sookie even tighter.
At that point, Sookie had started evaluating her options instead of panicking. If Stephen had wanted her dead, she would have been. She knew she was his escape plan. By his words, it seemed as though everyone thought Stephen was responsible for someone's death. Sookie guessed people hadn't forgotten about the knife incident but she also remembered the thoughts she had read and how it had seemed to belong to someone else. She debated whether she should let her shields down to get a reading but at the same time she knew she would get overwhelmed and even if she did get something that was useful, she wouldn't be able to communicate it. She then thought of a physical option. Sure she wouldn't be able to take him on, but she could make her body limb causing her to drop to the ground. It is much harder to hold someone who's limbed but unfortunately she wasn't held at gun point, she was held with a knife at her throat which would surely cut her if Stephen panicked and pressed instead of letting her go. She judged that it was a risk she was willing to take counting on the fact that Stephen didn't seemed to wanting her dead.
She signalled Alcide with her left hand pointing down hoping he would understand her intentions. He nodded very discreetly so Stephen wouldn't be aware. She let go of his arm and made herself very heavy and limb. Like a ragdoll, her knees felt to the ground. Just liked she had hoped, Stephen's reflex was to hold on to her, holding the knife in one hand and while placing his arms under hers to shorten the fall.
Alcide didn't give him the time to catch Sookie completely he was already pouncing on him taking the knife away. Sookie made sure she was out of reach and got up as two other wolves grabbed Stephen by the arms and go him on his feet. Alcide faced him growling.
''You keep claiming you didn't kill anyone yet we found you with blood on your hands, you keep disappearing and now Simon's arm, which you were on a gathering trip with, is found ten minutes after you come back claiming you don't know what happened. '' He paused for a small breath and continued even louder ''and when confronted about it, you decide to take Sookie hostage and threatening to kill her. I don't know about you guys '' he turns to the crowd with his hands facing up ''it sounds like guilty behaviour to me!''
The crowd started cheering obviously agreeing with Alcide. Sookie thought about witchcraft and trials and somehow the scene reminded her of a book she had read about burning people alive. She imagined that is exactly how it happened. As long as a leader was convinced a woman had been a witch, she would get burned no matter her plea. She looked at Stephen wondering if he was truly guilty. She knew in today's world, there was no trial. Alcide would never kill a member of his pack but she knew he might choose to exile one which was a death sentence on its own.
''You are lucky we don't kill anyone here'' Alcide declare looking back at Stephen. ''I move the motion for exile'' he added looking back at the crowd who cheered even louder.
''What if he tells the truth Alcide?'' Sookie asked out loud. ''Can we really risk exiling him not knowing?''
Alcide started growling and stared at her for an awkward moment. She blushed and looked away in an effort to hide her discomfort.
''Can we afford not to?'' he wondered back, the crowd agreeing with him. ''We are not killing him, we are just banning him''
Sookie didn't reply. She was not about to argue with Alcide, to undermine his authority in front of everyone. She tried to buy time for Stephen by asking if he should be glamoured before leaving since he could very well comeback as he would know the location of the community. Alcide thought about it for a minute and accepted.
People were looking at each other in agreements when a chilling scream was heard at the back of the crowd. Sookie was too short to really see what was going on but she started hearing whispering which turned into yelling and screaming and as the panic quickly made its way to the center of the crowd which was thinning by the second, Sookie got a glimpse to what had caused the mass panic. A woman was on the ground and feeding from her was a dead corpse. Sookie's eyes widened as Alcide was yelling and asking who was watching the wall. He ran to the tower with other wolves and closed the door behind him. Sookie heard shots coming from the tower which made her get out of her temporary trance. She grabbed one of the knives that were left on the ground and she ran to the feeding corpse stabbing it to the head. She left the knife in the corpse as it was stuck probably on its skull and she ran to the middle of the main street where she could see the south wall and the main field. The scene was horrific, not only had the wall been breached, but the swarm of corpses that were entering the field was coming at her fast. She saw groups of running corpses grab community members who were shooting at them. Their dying scream as the corpses took their arms and legs away from their body chilled Sookie to the core.
She ran to the closest building with an open door and closed it behind her. She then placed a table and whatever furniture she could find against the door to block the corpses from entering. She barely had time to place another filling cabinet as the corpses were already banging at the door. She took a second to look around and realized she was in the community kitchen. The window blinds were open and she saw other members getting grabbed by the undead runners like an insane game of tag. The blood was splatting all over the windows which painted the kitchen with shades of red. Sookie knew the door wouldn't hold too long so she went to the sink, grabbed the biggest knife she could find and headed upstairs to the apartment part of the building. Her room was in the other building beside the one she was in. It didn't look as if it was breached by the corpses and in her room she had left an AR-15 and a shotgun. Since the tower was closed and the community was chaotic, Sookie did not want to take any chance and wanted to acquire her firearms.
She reached one of the bedrooms where she knew the building's attic access was. She grabbed a chair and a broom and pushed on the little trap door which seemed to be stuck. She tried harder and harder until the broom broke in half. Desperately, she grabbed a dresser, which she brought right under the trap, and then placed the chair on top which make the trap more accessible. She heard the main door, downstairs, giving to the corpses and heard them swarm the kitchen. The quick steps went up the stairs as she rushed to get the trapped door open.. She barely had enough time to go through the trap before a corpse was grabbing her ankle. She managed to break free of the corpse ripping the bottom of her pants in the process. She then kicked the chair off the dresser so the corpse wouldn't be able to climb it. She watched it reaching endlessly for her not understanding it would not be able. It was moaning and mumbling and Sookie watched it as other corpses joined it. The four of them had extended their arms and kept pushing each other. Three out of the four looked like old corpses. Their skin had melted off their face and left their bones and decaying muscles exposed. Most of their eyes had popped leaving an empty hole full of maggots. Sookie wondered how they knew where she was. Was it possible the corpses did not need to see, they just felt?
She did not want to stay there and wonder for an eternity so she placed the trap back on hoping it would discourage the corpses from going after her. That and the fact it was putting a barrier between them and her which made her, somehow, feel safer.
She got up and walked around the attic looking for something. She had no idea what she was looking for but when she noticed the round window, she knew that was going to be her escape plan. The roof was in a triangle shape and if she had any hope of jumping to the other building, which was only four feet away from the one she was in she had to gain access to the top. She opened the window by kicking it off as it was one of those old metal one. She looked down and saw a dozen running corpses enter her building as well as the one in front. There was no longer anyone walking the main street. With a heavy heart, she knew the community couldn't have been forever. She looked down to see if the window had an edge, which it did. She climbed on it and grabbed on to the gutter praying it was solid enough to support her dead weight.
It was amazing what adrenaline could do to someone and without much effort, Sookie grabbed on to the ledge, jumped high enough so she should use her feet to push her up onto the roof. She then sat down for one minute, took a breath and witnessed member after member being grabbed and eaten alive. Sookie closed her eyes and let the wind blow her blond hair behind her back. The screams and the cries were carried louder by the wind and Sookie silently cried as she heard the music of death playing over and over again. But what was the most discerning for Sookie weren't the screams, the yells, the plea for help or the mumbling and grunting. It was the silence that sometimes took place for a couple of minutes which had seemed like hours. These moments where nothing could be heard and the community sounded as peaceful as it had once been. The silence was more terrifying than anything else because it was an announcement, a pause to what was coming.
As death continued to rage over the main street, Sookie knew there wasn't going to be a lot of survivors. She wondered if it was her fault. Maybe she could have protected them better by warning them of the running kind. Instead she had listened to the vampires, and had said nothing. The corpses had taken the community by a perfect blind storm.
''Almost too perfectly'' she wondered to herself.
How convenient was it that most of the community was gathered around an arm, which by the smell of it, wolves had deducted it was one of theirs; Simon. What is the chances of the wall and the tower being unprotected as a swarm of running corpses made its way to them. What about the ward, how come was it not working?
Sookie sighed with a heavy heart. The desperation and desolation she was surrounded with just added to her despair. She focused on her feelings and tried to tug on the bond she had formed with Eric. She could feel his presence and somehow she felt where he was. She wasn't sure how that was possible but it comforted her. If she could tell, he could too. She looked up at the sky and stared at the sun too long. Her vision got blurry and the sunspots were clouding her own judgement. Having decided she had sit and waited long enough, she crawled down to the other edge of the roof carefully as the decline was not too pronounced. She looked at the four feet that was separating her apartment building to the one she was standing on and judged she could make the jump without much trouble.
She slowly stood up and counting mentally to three she made the jump taking a leap in faith that she was going to make it.
As her feet left the roof she heard a shot coming from the tower which took her by surprise. She looked in its direction and was horrified by her arms cramping up barely able to hold on to the ledge of the roof she had missed because of the intensity of the shot. Her right arm let go right away as her shoulder had absolutely no strength. She felt no pain at that very second but she knew she had been shot. She heard other shots and felt something penetrating her leg. It was cold, almost to the point of frostbite but then immediately it felt like it was caught on fire and she heard herself scream. Her fingers started to let go one by one as she heard even more shots. Panicked, she let go of the edge and fell between the two buildings. As she landed on the ground, she rolled to soften her fall. The shots were still coming her way but had seemed to be missing her. She crawled, holding her right arm, to the nearest bin in order to take cover from where she thought the shots were originating. She still couldn't feel any pain at all but the trail of blood she left behind told her she would have to take a hole and wait the shit storm out.
Luckily for Sookie, there was a basement window near where she had taken cover. Without hesitation, she grabbed a bottle that was lying on the ground and broke the window entering her building's basement. The room was pitched black with the window has its only light source. She paused a moment to collect herself back together but barely had time to stop for a couple second she heard the running footsteps in the small alley. Within seconds, a body was obstructing the light coming from the window and was entering the basement. Sookie was already limping to the other side of the basement; her ankle had been damaged during her fall. She knew there was a room with a metal door on the other side since the community had used it for water supplies for a bit before moving it closer to the kitchen. The corpse was running behind her and she could hear it getting closer. When she reached the door, she opened it and turned around to push the corpse that had already reached her. She was mortified when the corpse's head came into the little bit of light there was in the room. Sookie managed to keep the corpse at bay but was backing up into the room. She was too stunned, too shocked to be able to do anything else but the bare survival. The corpse was opening its mouth over and over again trying to bite her and scratch her with its hand. Half its face was missing but its head was in perfect condition. It's the long grey hair Sookie had noticed first. The hair was tangled with blood and leaves but it didn't stop Sookie from recognizing her Gran. She felt the tears flowing but her survival instinct was stronger than her despair and she just watched Gran biting the air and grunting. As she cried silently she held onto life moving her head back and forth in an almost perfect synchronisation with Gran's, or at least, what was left of her.
''Oh Gran'' Sookie whispered.
She held on for a while, not knowing if she was even capable of killing a body she had once loved. She couldn't help to think that there might be a cure. A way to bring back those whom had crossed over because of the virus. She sniffled a couple times, tiredness taking over her body. She wouldn't be able to hold on too much longer and she knew it. Using the last bit of strength she had, she pushed Gran as far as she could, liberate her good arm. She then grabbed her knife and in a perfect rhythm she pushed it in her brain screaming in disheartenment. She managed to take the knife out as Gran fell to the floor. Sookie felt to her knees and entered it a second time, and a third, and a forth, yelling her despair as she killed her grandmother's body. She was desperately crying out knowing no one could hear her. Tired and covered in blood, Sookie placed her head on her Gran's chest but didn't have time to grieve; she heard more corpses coming into the basement in the other room. She didn't wait for them to come to her; she closed the door and locked it from the inside. She put her back against the door and took deep breath for a minute as she heard the loud banging of the corpses on the door. She stumbled to the other wall where she had killed Gran who was lying on the floor covered in blood. Sookie had mutilated what was left of her face beyond recognition. She sat in the corner, defeated by her condition. The pain slowly creeped up to her as she let herself cried every bit of tears she had left. Her Gran had passed and was now truly dead by her own hands. She yelled as she felt both mental pain and physical pain hit her in waves. She gasped for air as she reached for her grandmother's hand. She cried as the smell of death reached her nostril. She sobbed for everything she had lost and everything she would never have again.
She knew she had dislocated her shoulder as she felt a strong burn coming from her wound. She also knew her leg had been hit as she felt it cramping up with spasms. Her tears slowly faded away into a silence and her eyes felt heavier by the minute. She wanted to dose off, she wanted to forget. Sleep was calling her but she reminded herself that it was most likely death that she had been called to.
Her tearless sobs were the only thing keeping her awake. She didn't want to die. Not now, not when night was so close, not when her salvation would kick in the door and swoop her off her feet. She couldn't bare the thought that now she had found happiness, she was going to die and become one of them. She tugged at the bond searching for comfort. She let its warmth embrace her as her breathing started to slowdown. She imagined him there with her, holding her tight, keeping her warm and comfortable. She smiled and let him rocked her to sleep. She was happy she had found him. She was at peace, forgetting she was holding her Gran's hand. Forgetting she was in a dark and cold room surrounded by nothing but death. She hadn't notice the absence of pain or that the loud banging were now an almost inaudible noise. She had failed to keep herself awake as sleep was taking over her small body. She had been oblivious to the fact her chest was barely rising anymore and that death was knocking on her door.
TBC
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