"Hold her tightly to you," Abel said as he moved back from the bed somewhat and started rummaging through one of his bags.
Leon looked at Abel, confused at that instruction.
"I'm afraid that she might hurt herself once the worst pain comes and you are much stronger than me."
Leon's heart sank, he had hoped this might be the worst of it. He moved his coat and blanket off of Sasha and gathered her up in his arms gently. She clung to his neck, like a child who was scared and hurt. Leon sat on the bed, his back against the wall as he whispered in her ear.
"I'm here, Sasha. It's Leon. Do you remember me?"
He could feel her tears, hot on his neck as she nodded, her breath catching in her throat as she tried to talk.
"It hurts…Leon. It hurts so bad."
"I know...I know."
Leon began to rock her gently as he brushed the hair back from her wet face. A sharp stab of pain went down her spine and she tried to arch away from him, but Leon held on tightly. He looked up at Abel who was leaning over the desk mixing things he had gathered from his bag.
"How long does this last?" Abel could hear the agony in his voice.
"The worst pain is several hours and then she will be unconscious for two days." Abel's voice trailed off. "And then it comes back, even stronger and more painful, but that doesn't last as long as this time."
Sasha was weeping against Leon's shoulder and he felt his heart sink even further into his stomach, if that was even possible. Several hours of this, and then two days of waiting for it to repeat itself? He looked at Abel and had to turn his head away. Sasha was sobbing against his shoulder, clinging to him tightly.
"Leon..." she gasped. "Make it stop... please... I don't want this..."
Her voice trailed off as she relaxed for a moment, and then another wave of pain washed over her as she arched back hard, her body shaking. Leon held her tightly as she fought to get free of his grasp.
"Sasha, some on Sasha, its me, Leon."
Hours went by. Abel paced the small room in worry and Leon held onto Sasha, refusing to let go of her. His arms ached so badly but he never loosened his hold on her. Leon had some rather ugly looking bruises forming on his arms and legs where she had lashed out against the pain. He had barely flinched or even thought of letting go- he just pulled her closer during those times when she lashed out. Abel glanced at his watch. Sasha had been like this for four hours, when all of a sudden, she let out a blood curdling scream, her body jerking violently, and then she went limp in Leon's arms. At first, Leon thought he had hurt her, but she had passed out. His arms shaking, he slowly loosened his hold on her, motioning for Abel to take her. Abel carefully lifted her from Leon's arms and cradled Sasha as she sat down on the bed. Leon got up off the bed and went to the door.
"I'm going hunting…" he said, his voice trembling.
"Negative. We have enough food. There is no need."
Leon ignored Tres and opened the door, shutting it softly behind him.
"Father Abel, I do not understand the need for sustenance at this time."
Abel tore his eyes away from Sasha's face. He knew why Leon couldn't stay, and he would never dream of stopping him. The man had just been through hell.
"It's fine, Tres. It's a human thing."
Tres filed the confusing data away and went back to guard mode.
Leon walked into the forest, not seeing anything. He had basically just watched a girl die and in a few days, she would be reborn as a Methuselah. He staggered to a tree and sat down, his back against it. He put his face in his hands and wept. Leon would never let Tres or Father Able see him weak like this- but he was weak. The man who had done time for killing hundreds, he was reduced to tears by what he had just gone through in the last five hours. His body was sore, his head was throbbing, and his heart was cold with fear. Even if Sasha did survive the next two days and final hours of pain, would she live much longer after that or would Abel have to do the unthinkable and kill her after all they had gone through? In no more than 48 hours that girl had become like a daughter to him- the daughter he had never really known, and now he had to face the very real possibility that she would die, just like Missa did. Leon clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it into the trunk of the tree and let out a blood chilling cry as he sank to his knees. How long he knelt there he did not know, but the tears finally ran dry as his breathing slowly returning to something that resembled normal. He staggered to his feet, his head in his hands and slowly started to make his way back to the small cabin.
I sat on the bed the entire time Leon was gone, holding Sasha. I was having such a hard time letting her go. Why? I had tried putting her on the bed, several times, but each time I tried to set her down, when I stood up I still had Sasha in my arms . It was like they had a will of their own. Finally, I just gave up and sat where Leon had sat, Sasha unconscious in my arms. I shifted her until she was more comfortable, or at least as comfortable as I could make her, and watched her face. Leon came in, taking in the scene before him, but I didn't notice Leon come in, I was too absorbed in Sasha's face. I saw Leon smile as I finally looked up at him, and I wondered what that look was for.
The next 2 days were going to be some of the hardest either of us had gone through. Leon and I took turns keeping watch over Sasha, though neither of us slept much out of fear and concern for her- and ourselves. I had been praying the entire time that there would be some warning before Sasha entered the final stage of the transformation into a Methuselah. I stood, watching the sun go down through the tiny window. The window was dirty and didn't let much sun in but it also gave us some privacy. I was nervous about tonight. Sasha had been unconscious for almost 48 hours and soon, the final part of the change would take place. I tried to write in his journal to keep my mind off things, but my thoughts were in such turmoil, I couldn't form a coherent sentence. Tres was on guard duty still. How I wished I could be cold and calculating like Tres, given the fact that I was no more human than Tres. However, I knew I just wasn't like that anymore. With a sigh, my attention turned to Leon who still lept sitting up on the bed, Sasha in his arms. If Sasha woke up suddenly and thrashed about, Leon wanted to be right there to hold her. And there was also the thought that kept crossing my mind, that just in case things might go wrong, to protect Sasha from me. My stomach sank at the thought of having to destroy this lovely woman.
Leon's head rested against the cold stone wall as he sat on the bed, Sasha held gently in his arms, his coat wrapper around her. I knew his mind was racing even as he slept- doing battle with itself. One side would be telling him that he would protect Sasha no matter what, even if it meant killing me. The other side would be screaming at him how could he kill his friend over a woman he barely knew? Leon gasped slightly as he snapped awake. He looked down at Sasha who was still motionless, though her breathing was a little deeper and stronger now, as if she was starting to wake from a sleep. His eyes drifted over to me and the dark black eyes met my smoky grey ones- both of us reading the pain in each other's eyes. Tres maintained his watch against the wall, the silent observer to our little problem.
Leon felt her head to see if she had a fever. That had been one of the first signs she had begun to change and we had wondered if she would spike another fever. I could see the rapid movement of her eyes behind her closed eyes, and I wondered if she was dreaming and if she was, what were her dreams. Were they pleasant dreams or nightmares of things to come? I gave Leon a trembling smile. Leon was so exhausted that he could only nod his head. Sasha sighed in her sleep, her fingers starting to twitch and her mouth began to move, as if she was trying to speak but nothing would come out. Leon held her gently.
"Sasha, can you hear me?" he asked softly.
As the minutes passed, Sasha started to groan in pain her body started to tremble. Leon and I looked at each other and he nodded as he wrapped her arms around her like he had two days earlier, trying to prepare himself for what was going to come.
"Is she going to be ok Abel?"
"I don't know Leon… I don't know."
How I wished I could honestly tell him this was all going to turn out fine in the end. I would have given just about anything to be able to say that.
"Leon, get her hands down… before she hurts you or herself."
Leon nodded and shifted her in his arms and held her close. Now her arms were folded up and trapped between them. Slowly Sasha calmed, that wave of pain passing as she relaxed slightly in Leon's arms, moaning softly. She reached a hand out to touch Leon's face. Her eyes were fluttering open. Leon looked at me, his broad shoulders relaxing. Maybe this would be alright after all. I had to admit I had never actually seen a Methuselah being "born", I was just repeating what had been passed down through the ages.
I glanced at my watch a few minutes later as Sasha stared moaning again It had been half an hour, things were probably going to get worse before this was all over. As if signaled by dome unseen sign, Sasha let out a blood chilling cry as powerful convulsions shook her body. Her hands clutched at Leon's jacket as she cried out in pain. Leon fought to hold onto her. I could tell he was getting tired already, his arms were shaking from fatigue, or was it from something else? As he looked up at me I shook my head slowly.
"I know Leon, it's not you. It is the strength of the Methuselah's."
"So what now? We still have a while yet to go…"
Walking over to the bed I sat down and took Sasha away from Leon. At first he wouldn't let go, but finally he did, his hands pulling back slowly as he stared at her. He stood there beside the bed as I gathered her into my arms. A few hours later, Sasha opened her eyes all the way. Leon's breath caught in his throat as he took in the blood red eyes which held an unnatural hunger in them. She bared her teeth at him and hissed. He could see her wickedly sharp fangs and he was frozen in place, too in shock to move. Leon had moved to the edge of the bed and was sitting by her head, gently stroking her hair. He had been fine there before, but now he was in danger there. She lunged for his throat, her hands snaking behind his head, forcing his throat near her mouth.
Leon gripped her wrists and fought to pull her hands away so he could get free. She was much stronger than she had been before, she almost as strong as he was- even after just having 'awoken'. I struggled to hold her back while Leon struggled to get free. When he was finally freed, Sasha fell back in my arm with a cry, thrashing wildly as I held her down on the bed by her shoulders. I glanced up at Leon who was gasping for breath and shaking slightly. I knew what I had to do… God I hated it.
Leon's eyes met Abel's and he gasped- He watched as Father Abel's eyes started to turn red, as even redder than Sasha's.
"Abel! No, not yet! Just wait... Abel!"
Abel felt Leon pulling at his shoulders and he tried to get out of the larger man's grasp. Tres's monotone voice could be heard above the noise made by the two men.
"She is changing and is a danger to you, Father Abel. I await your command to commence shooting."
Leon heard the awful sound of Tres drawing his guns.
"Tres, no!"
Tres ignored him, only looking at Abel.
"Abel, damn it! Stop!" "She's not Missa, Leon!"
Abel hated to say it, but if it kept Leon safe, it was worth the pain he caused.
"Missa is dead Leon! She's dead…"
Leon pulled back his fist, aiming at Abel's head.
"I couldn't save Missa, but I'm sure as hell going to save Sasha!"
Leon froze as he felt cold steel against his temple. He forgot about Tres for just a moment and the android took advantage of that.
"Leon Garcia de Asturias, please back away from Father Abel."
Leon stood his ground. Abel had Sasha under somewhat of control. She was no longer lunging at them, just laying there, hissing at them. Her eyes were still crazed.
"I do not wish to terminate you, Leon. Father Abel Nightroad is a Crusnik and is able to
control this situation."
Tres's deep voice was closer to Leon, telling him the android had moved when his attention was elsewhere.
"Help her, Abel. For God's sake, help her," Leon almost sobbed as he stared at Sasha.
"If you let go of me, I might be able to do something to help her!"
Abel's voice was deep and somewhat cold. With the gun still at his temple, Leon slowly let go of Abel and took a step back. Slowly Tres pulled the gun back, but did not return it to the holster. Leon stood there and watched, the words Abel had said ringing in his ears.
"She's not Missa... Missa is dead." His own words also echoed in his ears "I couldn't save Missa but I'm sure as hell going to save Sasha!"
That's what he had said just five minutes ago, yet here he was stepping away, feeling certain he was going to watch Abel kill her. Sasha lay on the bed, still thrashing and trying to free herself. Now and then she would arch off the bed and cry out in pain, hissing at Abel, but he held her firmly down on the bed. Abel was muttering something under his breath, his eyes closed, as he held Sasha down.
"CRUSNIK 02 LOADING. LIMITATION AT 40 ACKNOWLEDGED."
Leon watched as his friend of many years changed in front of him. Leon had heard of Crusnik's but had never seen one up close. They had been the Vatican's dirty little secret, talked about in whispers, feared, and often misunderstood. There was not much that separated them from vampires- in reality they were vampires themselves. Abel's eyes became blood red, even deeper red than Sasha's. His long silver hair came free from the black ribbon he used to tie it behind his head. Defying gravity, it became a silver crown around his head. Long pointed fangs came down over his bottom lip and his face lost the gentle look of Father Abel Nightroad and became like something in a bad dream. A deep fire burned behind those eyes, and his very presence in the room, caused a chill to run through Leon's entire body. So this… this was the real Abel Nightroad
Abel held Sasha down as she slowly started to relax; she lay on the bed still and quiet. Slowly Abel pulled his arms back and looked down at her. She was moaning softly, her eyes closed, and her body was trembling slightly. Then suddenly, her eyes few open and with surprising speed she grabbed hold of Abel's wrist and pulled it to her mouth. Abel pulled back hard. Then, his eyes meeting Leon's briefly, he loosened his pull, allowing her to pull his wrist to her mouth.
"Abel!" Leon cried out as he watched in horror.
Sasha held his wrist to her mouth as she opened her mouth wide. Biting down hard, the white fangs piercing the skin, she clung to Abel's arm. Abel cried out, feeling the fire rush up his arm- answering the question of whether a Crusnik could even be bitten by a vampire. Tres drew his guns, prepared to shoot. Abel gasped slightly and shook his head.
"No Tres.. It's alright."
She had her fangs into him and was drinking as if she was parched beyond satisfaction. Sasha was making whimpering noises, as if she couldn't get enough of Abel's blood. Abel was sitting on the edge of the bed, whispering something to Sasha, the back of his fingers stroking Sasha's cheek.
Each second seemed like an hour and every minute like a day. Finally, Abel gently pulled her back and pulled his wrist from her mouth. Two round holes were clearly visible on his wrist. Sasha groaned softly and struggled but stopped as Abel gently pushed her back onto the bed. Slowly, he stood, still looking down at her, his breath a little short and ragged.
"Abel! What… what the hell…"
Abel turned and looked at Leon with a sad smile on his face.
"There is an old ledged among the vampires, that if one ever drinks the blood of a Methuselah, then their craving for blood will be gone forever."
Abel turned and started to walk away from the bed, towards the desk but stopped. His head was throbbing and he couldn't see straight. He tried to say something but no words would come out as Abel felt himself start to fall. He knew someone had caught him, and figured it was Leon, but he wasn't sure…