I woke the next day to my alarm going off. The earsplitting beep was killing my ears, so I turned it off, then lay back down in bed. I stared up at the ceiling, because I could think of anything else to do. I rolled over onto my side.
Then onto my back.
Then over to my other side.
And back again.
From the silence, I could just barely hear the cars and trucks of my friends. Screaming only to myself, I picked up my pillow and crushed my head with it. Then I flipped over and started beating my head into the headboard. The sound was deafening. After things started to get blurry, I stopped and resigned myself to samwhiching my head in between two pillows.
And I waited.
For what, I have no clue. Probably answers. God knows, I had millions of questions. Everything you could think of asking, I wanted to know the answers. Some of the questions I already knew the answers. I wished I didn't. I wished I could have lived in ignorance; that would have been a great relief. But I don't.
Through the pillow, I heard my door open. Heavy footsteps headed towards the stairs, then up them and to my room. When I heard the knock, I told them to come in, but I had no intention of getting up. Several light clicks on the ground headed towards me, and then I felt a rough, wet tongue on my hand.
My back cracked as I sat up to rub the dog's head. His playful eyes met mine, and though I knew mine were filled with sadness, the dog didn't care. He stilled cared about me. I smiled and even laughed a bit as he trotted up to me and lay down next to me, exposing his belly. I began a very enjoyable belly rub. His leg twitched every so often, and his tongue hang out of his mouth, breathes expelling out in pants.
"Are you feeling well again, my friend?" Vlad asked.
"I feel fine."
"Then why do you sleep so much?"
"I don't feel well," I replied. Damn, I thought as the words spilled out.
"I think you do not rest because you are sick. I think you hide from light."
"What? I can't get infected, you know that. None of us can." Vlad walked over to my fireplace. On the mantel were several pictures in ornate silver frames, holding captive the images of my friends and family. He picked up the one in the middle. I knew that on that paper, my old girlfriend smiled at him.
"Where I come from, light means truth. You hide away now because you have seen the worst of this new world, and you wish it was not so. You hide to save yourself. That is what you think."
My mouth was half open. I had always hated these heart to heart mushy talks. They were always such a load of crap. I wanted to say something to disprove him, to show him that I wasn't hiding, just to argue, but I also knew he was right.
"When you are ready, come back out into the light, and you will see the best this world has to show. But until then, he will keep you company," motioning to the dog who lay at my hand's mercy. Before I could protest, Vlad walked out. Damn it, I thought,why does he have to be such a good speaker? He doesn't even speak proper English half the time!
----
The next hour passed slowly. I got out of bed and made breakfast. Then I went over to the TV and popped in a DVD. I didn't know what the movie was, but I watched it. After a few minutes I stopped the movie and picked up a book.
Heroditus.
I flipped open to a random page, then read. The battle of Thermopylae; were a force of under 2,000 stood to the last man, fighting bravely and dying nobly for a greater cause.
Freedom was what they fought for. Freedom from a dark empire bent on consuming Greece and her peoples. The Spartans and their allies had fought to the death for that higher cause. Together, from their sacrifice, every city-state of Greece was saved.
I put down the text.
They had fought against a monster they could not defeat, had died, and still had secured victory.
Maybe we could, too. Maybe we could defeat the vampires, save humanity, and fix the world. It was nearly impossible, but maybe we could do it.
Without the complete annihilation of ourselves in the process, hopefully.
And if we were to die, well, it would be one hell of a going out bang.
Sorry for the delay! I've been really busy. A huge thanks to the people who reviewed my work. However, there are some discrepancies. 331 hits and only 6 reviews?! I'm insulted! Review, people! I write this and put it up so I can know what other people think! If you read it, please review it! Just don't flame. Also, I would like to thank the people who have reviewed. All four of you. Thanks you so much. Really. No joke.
If you read the story, then review. If you like it, send it to other people. Its gonna be hard getting this fic to the people. Its been up a while, but only 331 hits? Help me out here people! Hugs and cookies for the person who can bring in the most reviews/hits!! Hell, I'll even give you money!
