Sorry for not updating sooner, guys. Classes got a little crazy and it was either write fanfiction or fail.
Anyway, enjoy the next chapter. I know it's a little short, but I was kinda planning on trying to update sooner next time. :P
The car wheels screamed as Sookie slammed on the brakes, parking her car in Fangtasia's lot. She quickly killed the engine and scurried out of her car; running to the black, padded door to the vampire bar. She reached for the handle, but hesitated before bursting through it.
If Eric was in the dance room or by the bar, he'd get burnt by the sunlight. Normally, Sookie wouldn't care, but she had no idea what kind of state the vampire was in. He may need all the darkness he could get. She bit her lip in aggravated thought before her anxiety created a sense of restlessness that overtook her. Caving in, she burst through the door.
It didn't occur to her until a little after she had entered Fangtasia that the door was unlocked. Should she have been concerned about that? Could someone have come in and attempted to kill the Viking sheriff? Or maybe Eric had simply gone out to grab a bite to eat.
She rolled her eyes at the stupid thought, but the joke had soothed her uneasy nerves. Everything about this situation and atmosphere felt completely off, and Sookie's couldn't help but think that something was horribly horribly wrong.
"Eric?" She called. Fangtasia was empty. Her eyes wandered over towards Eric's office: noticing the door was wide open as if someone had burst through it, but the room, although trashed, was unoccupied. She found her attention turning to the bar and she found her feet cautiously drifting toward the center of the room.
"Eric?" She called again, scanning the room for the Viking. On the counter sat a cold, untouched True Blood and below that a dropped, lonely blanket.
Sookie's eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps she had severely over exaggerated the situation. What if Eric was fine—or just messing with her? Oooooohhhh…. She would be so pissed…
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It came from downstairs. It was the most bloodcurdling, agonizing scream Sookie had ever heard in her entire life. Panic overtook her and her heart dropped to her toes. Before she knew it, she was in front of the basement door, struggling with handle.
"ERIC!" She yelled, her voice cracking. She pounded on the door; smacking it with the palm of her hand and then her fist, but the wood was winning. "ERIC NORTHMAN, OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR! FUCK!" Her attempt to keep her cool had slipped out from underneath of her and she was panicking now. Her heart was racing; throbbing painfully in her chest.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
An echo clung to the scream. It was followed by a strange hiss, spitting, and then gagging.
"ERIC!" She called again, almost whining now. Tears rolled down her face in frustration, and her eyes were sore from trying to hold them back. She pressed her ear to the door and tried to listen, but she heard no sounds. Inhaling deeply, she backed up and squeezed her eyes shut in determination.
She threw her hand out in front of her and a bluish-white light emitted from her palm. It blasted outward and hit the door handle, smashing it into pieces. Lazily, the broken door swung open: inviting her in. She smiled to herself; a sense of relief and triumph flushed through her body before she ran through the doorway and raced down the stairs. She abruptly stopped when she reached the bottom.
A coppery scent perfumed the dungeon underneath the nightclub. It was so strong, that Sookie was forced to cover her nose and try not to throw up. She took the time allow her eyes to adjust to the dark. The sight made her gasp; the smell no longer an issue.
Blood was everywhere.
In pools and puddles all around the dark, damp room; shimmering brightly and adding a sick color to the basement. Bloody handprints and drag marks decorated the floor like finger paint. Someone had clearly crawled through it.
Her eyes traced one path that vanished into a shadow-hidden corner. An odd noise was emitting from the darkness and she squinted her eyes against the lack of light; just managing to make out a figure.
Eric was sitting on his knees, hugging himself and rocking back and forth. He was noticeably shivering and gagging, occasionally letting blood drip down from his mouth and onto his already soaked shirt before he spat it on the floor. His blond hair (which he usually had slicked back and neatly in place) lazily hung in his face and clung to his cheeks.
He swallowed and muttered something to himself, but the language wasn't English. He shook his head as if trying to clear it and roughly blinked; trying to focus or stay conscious. He continued his one-man conversation, as if he was reassuring himself of something.
After a little while of doing this, he took a deep, shaky breath and reached up for his head. His fingers weaved through his messy hair and pulled tightly as he braced himself for pain.
Sookie took a step forward, clear concern on her face. She was about to reach out to him (it was obvious he had no idea she was there), but an ear shattering scream erupted from the Viking, bouncing off the walls and echoing throughout the dungeon. He violently began shaking, and thrashing around—throwing himself into the corner and bashing his body against the wall.
Sookie jumped. She ran over towards the vampire, baseball sliding next to his thrashing form.
"ERIC! ERIC!" She tried to yell over him, but even she couldn't hear her voice. Blood was oozing out of his ears and nose. It added to the amount he was coughing up.
Sookie was terrified. She had no idea what to do.
"ERIC! IT'S OKAY! IT'S OKAY! PLEASE! IT'S OKAY!"
She was afraid to touch him, but she finally gave in: grabbing the Viking by his shoulders and pulling him close to her, squeezing him as tight as she could. She didn't know what else to do.
Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest; secretly thankful the vampire didn't throw her frail form across the room. She hugged him tighter until his screams began to subside: transforming into coughs which turned to gags. Quickly, he shoved himself away from the waitress before vomiting up more blood onto the floor until he started dry heaving.
He was shaking uncontrollably. Sookie watched in horror as he pulled himself back to his knees and wrapped his arms around him: hugging himself in a weak attempt to stop his shivering.
It was the same position she had found him in.
"…Eric?" She asked, surprised she had found her voice. She slowly outstretched her arm to touch his shoulder, but they both slumped down in defeat. She braced herself from his slouching form, under the impression that he was going to start dry heaving again, but a different, much softer noise was coming from the vampire. His hands covered his face and his head fell to the ground in front of him.
Eric was crying.
It was the second time Sookie had seen him do it, but it still had the same effect on her as it did the first time. She scooted over toward him and gently lifted his head. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and sobbed into her stomach. Her Merlotte's uniform was immediately covered in blood, but she ignored it. She stroked his hair gently and raking it all to one side. Slowly, his sobs subsided and his grip on her uniform loosened.
"…Eric," Sookie began again, still concerned, but feeling slightly better about the situation. The vampire's head was still buried in her stomach. "Eric, please tell me what's going on."
"I was so close that time…" his words were muffled, and she felt his breath through the fabric of her clothes. "So close…"
"Eric?"
"Why are you here, Sookie?" he asked, finally acknowledging her.
"Because you were freaking out on the phone, and I knew something was up, so I drove over here. And I'm sure glad I did, look at you!" She scowled, "Now what's going on? Why were you screaming like you were in pain."
Eric pulled away and sat up, swaying slightly. His entire face was smeared with blood.
"Because I was in pain," he stated matter-of-factly.
She stared at him expecting a more elaborate answer. When she didn't get one, she asked, "Care to explain?"
"Not particularly, no."
"Well, I didn't drive all the way out here to let you cry on my shoulder and ruin my shirt!" Eric's eyes darted from her face to her bloody clothes.
"Sorry," he mumbled, his expression not changing. "Come on upstairs, I'll get you some new ones." He tried to stand up, but his knees locked and he fell back down. Sookie shot up.
"Did the bleeds do this to you?" she asked. She held her hand out to the Viking, trying to help him up. Eric noticed her posture and snorted at her attempt.
"No. Thank you for your concern, Sookie, but I no longer require your—"
"Oh, shut it! I'm helping you. Get over it," she snapped.
"It's perfectly normal to—"
"To bleed profoundly out of your ears, nose, mouth, and eyes? Even for a vampire, that's not normal. I'm not that blonde, Eric."
"Get off my property." There was no authority in his voice.
"No." Sookie smiled smugly, crossing her arms. "Not until you tell me what's going on and let me help you."
"I don't need—" he stopped himself and glanced at his bloodstained, trembling hands. He thought about his situation and sighed.
"Okay…" he mumbled. He sounded like a small child, and Sookie unfolded her arms and knelt down beside him.
"I'll be right back, okay?" Not waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and headed towards the stairs: darting up them and disappearing through the doorframe. Eric watched her until she was gone before glancing around the room.
His head felt like it had split open. One more attempt at trying to call Pam, and he probably would have killed himself. What the hell was blocking their bond? His first attempts were suggesting that Pam knew teleportation and was skipping from various locations.
Now, every time he tried to call or locate her, that earsplitting screech filled his ears. He had somehow attempted this five times before the weak aftereffect and blood loss finally made his body cave. He was angry with himself for giving in. He felt so close… so close to breaking the spell that was keeping him from Pam, but his body couldn't take anymore. He was furious with himself for failing her.
At the moment though, a bigger problem was arising. Eric must have been running on pure adrenaline at his constant borderline suicide attempts. Now that he had calmed down, his vision was swimming and his head felt light. Holding up his massive frame was beginning to be a chore. The cold cement looked so inviting. Without a second thought, he let his head hit the ground.
"Ow."
Sookie had come back down from being upstairs, a True Blood and washcloth in her hand. She jogged over toward Eric who didn't have the strength to move before she collapsed beside him, lifted his head onto her lap, and began wiping off his face.
The Viking tried to pull away, feeling like a child being babied by Mommy, but the waitress easily overpowered the weakened vampire and continued to clean his face. When she was done, she grabbed his hands and pushed the towel into his palms.
"In case you need it," she stated. Eric's eyes widened and he shook his head, trying to focus. Sookie sounded like she was under water. There was already an annoying ringing in his ears, and when the fairy spoke, she was barely audible over the obnoxious noise.
"Here." He managed to catch. She handed him something warm and round that he tried to grip but failed horribly. Sookie took it back, pulled him in an upright position, and held it to his lips.
"Drink," she commanded. She half expected him to start complaining about how he didn't drink True Blood, and how she needed to offer herself to him instead, but Eric obeyed her command and eagerly gulped down the liquid.
The blood still tasted metallic to Eric—it was the biggest factor in why he never touched the stuff, but when you're half-alive, you don't complain. He felt his strength returning slightly, but he still felt dizzy.
"Can you walk?" Sookie asked, her voice and figure was becoming much clearer. He nodded, believing he could. With aid from the wall and Sookie Stackhouse, Eric lifted himself up with difficulty. On shaky legs, he stumbled towards the stairs.
It was going to take a lot more than one bottle of True Blood to make this headache go away.
"So are you finally going to tell me what is going on?" Sookie demanded.
…And it was going to take more than True Blood altogether to make that headache go away.
Again, I'll try to update as soon as possible. Classes are slowing down, so I have more free time again which means I might be able to get around to updating. Hope you liiiiiiiiiked it! And review if ya want. And as always, I appologize for any gramatical errors you might've found in this chapter.
-Redd