Chapter 7

The engine roared as the yellow car swerved down the dark road. I tried to digest everything that I just witnessed. Back at the Hamby's, I had been fully expecting Bill to kill us all. But rather than that, he seemed to convince the family that Jessica had never returned, and that none of this had ever happened. I had heard of vampire mind tricks before, but I never really believed those rumors to be true. Not until now.

"Bill, slow down, please," Sookie said, looking over at Bill, who had not calmed down since leaving the house. He jerked the car around the windy road, ignoring her plead. "Stop this. You're scaring me."

Bill pulled over abruptly, but didn't make eye contact with Sookie. In the backseat, Jessica wept tears of blood on my lap as I tried to console her.

"I'm sorry," Sookie told him. "She promised she was just gonna look in the window. I know I made a mistake, but they're her family."

"She is a vampire!" Bill roared. "She has no family!"

"I'm a monster and I'm gonna be one forever because of you!" the teenage girl spat. "I hate you so fucking much!"

"Be quiet."

"Eat shit!"

"I said, be quiet!" he yelled as Jessica slumped down back into me. Bill turned to Sookie. "You undermined my authority as her maker. You risked those peoples' safety and your own. Not to mention your friend's, who I'll probably have to glamour now too! I swear, if I had not glamoured them within an inch of their sanity, all of our lives would have been shattered." I shrunk into my seat at the mention of me. I just wanted to disappear and pretend the night never happened.

"I know. I'm sorry," Sookie said.

"You keep saying that! And I am expected to what? Forget this ever happened?"

"What else would you like me to say? I knew when she asked me to take her I should say no, but all I could think about was Gran and what I'd give to see her again."

"That does not give you the license to behave like an irresponsible child!" he spat. "She is a loaded gun, Sookie. Not a doll for you to dress up and play with!"

At that, Sookie turned and pushed open the door.

"Sookie?" I asked.

"What are you doing?" Bill asked, annoyance laced in his voice.

"Walking!" she threw back at him, slamming the door shut, making me wince. Bill got out of the car as well. Jessica sat up off me to see what was happening.

"Don't be ridiculous. Bon Temps is nearly 20 miles away," he yelled.

"I'd rather walk all night than spend another second in that car with you," she said as she stormed off and started down the dark and wooded road. I couldn't help feel like I was experiencing déjà vu, but I wasn't able to place my finger on exactly why.

Bill huffed as he got back into the car and slammed the door. I was scared into silence from being in a small car with two upset vampires that I hardly knew. I wished Sookie would come back for me.

"Oh, she wants you to go after her," Jessica told Bill, leaning into the front seat. "And she wants you to go after her and kiss her and tell her that you love her."

"She will come back," he said, not so much trying to reassure Jessica as he was trying to reassure himself. "When she calms down, she will come back."

Not only was I deeply unsettled by the two vampire strangers in the car with me, but there was something else unnerving me. The dark road, the trees, the crickets chirping… I felt like I'd been here before when I knew I hadn't. And then the argument seemed so familiar as well…

I gulped. My vision. I had seen all this before when I first met Sookie. And I knew what came next. I remembered the fear in Sookie's eyes.

"Bill…" I said nervously. He turned around to look at me, probably shocked to be hearing my first words to him of the night. "Something's wrong…" He and Jessica both looked at me in confusion as I said, "Sookie's in trouble."

As if on cue, a loud scream rang out from the forest. It was Sookie. Bill jumped and ran out of the car at vampire speed towards the sound.

"What do we do?" Jessica asked frantically.

"I don't know, but I'm sure as hell not staying in this car," I told her as I opened my door and stumbled out. I started running after Bill.

Jessica was beside me in half a second. "You're too slow, quick, grab my hand," she urged me. I skeptically reached for her hand, but my fear for Sookie left me no choice but to trust the newborn vampire. As I grabbed her ice cold hand, my focus on finding Sookie distracted me from realizing that I didn't have a vision when my skin came into contact with Jess's.

She pulled me along as she ran, so fast so that my legs didn't have a chance at keeping up. When Jessica saw this, she picked me up to avoid hurting me. The world was a total blur for a couple seconds before she put me down and my eyes readjusted.

"Oh, gross," I heard Jessica say as my vision spun to a halt.

"Get the car, now!" Bill ordered her. I felt Jessica run from my side as my vision cleared. Bill's fangs were out and he was holding Sookie; the back of her jacket was stained with blood and had three long tears slashed into it. Her body convulsed and she puked blood.

"Help me," she choked.

Author's Note: Good news! Next chapter will debut Eric! Ahh, I just love him so much, I'm excited to start writing about him. I know my past chapters have been really slow and boring, trying to set everything up, but I promise this next chapter is where the story really begins. Stay tuned!