Thanks to everyone whose been reading and reviewing- I really appreciate it. I think next chapter is the last chapter to this story, but there is definately going to be a sequel. Hope you enjoy the "season finale".
Marko dragged me back into the streets of the Boardwalk and sat me on his motorcycle. It roared to life, making me jump, and that's when I saw the sun, barely peeking up over the horizon. It shed hot orange light, bleeding it into the dull blues and grays of nighttime just like it was bleeding fear into my body.
"Go!" I hissed to Marko as his bike lunged, stalled slightly, and then raced off. We were doing about a hundred, jetting through the woods like bullets. When we skidded to a halt on a cliffside overlooking the ocean, Marko wasted no time in grabbing me and jumping off the cliff.
"What are you doing?" I screeched as terror coursed through me. We were going to be killed! "What do you mean, 'what am I doing?'" my cousin muttered as he dive-bombed and then swooped skyward.
"Vampires can fly?" I asked, appalled, once I realized exactly what was going on. "Yeah, didn't you know?" he replied as we entered the dark seclusion of a large cave. No, it wasn't really a cave…It was the old collapsed hotel! I'd visited Santa Carla enough to know the story of this former hotel, the hottest resort in the city…eighty-five years ago. Or at least, so I'd thought. I didn't know it was a vampire hot spot, though.
Marko landed slowly, and then gently set me down. I still felt winded and a little dizzy from the flight in here- I hoped it wasn't too obvious that I'd never flown before.
"That was close…" the blonde vampire muttered uneasily. "We shouldn't have stayed out so long," the dark-haired one agreed. "Next time we'll be more careful. For now, we have other business to attend to," the white-haired one growled and turned his eyes to me. I shivered under his cold stare. "What exactly do you want?" he demanded.
"I-I was hunting and I came across you all with that body," I stammered, caught off guard by his anger. "Well that was our kill, understand? Learn to hunt for real next time," he warned.
At that I felt a bubble of indignation rise from the pit of my stomach up through my throat and then it rolled off my tongue. "Don't tell me what to do!" I yelled and the white-haired vamp's eyes widened in surprise. And then, to my amazement, he grinned. "You know what? You're okay…for a new vamp," he said, still smiling, and I blinked. Was there respect in his voice? No, I must have imagined it…
"Hey, David, do you think maybe we could teach her to hunt?" Marko asked hesitantly. It was blindingly obvious that Marko respected and admired the lead vamp, that he must be his role model.
"I'm cool with it. What do you say, Paul?" David asked, turning to the blonde, wild-haired vamp. "Eh, whatever. We'll give her a shot," he said with a shrug. "Dwayne?" David then turned to the dark-haired vamp. "It's cool," he replied evenly. David turned back to me and smiled. "Well, I guess it's settled then. Welcome to our coven," he said warmly, if not a little dangerously.
I gulped. What about the Frog brothers? These guys were the enemy, were they not? Or was I now the enemy, too, because I had been Turned? Edgar and Allan had said that they would accept me no matter what, and it had been clear in the way they'd acted around me. But what if I betrayed them? What if I attacked them? What if I killed them? I could never forgive myself; the guilt would plague me my whole life.
That's what decided it. I couldn't go back there. If I did anything wrong, anything that could get them hurt or killed, I couldn't live with myself. My heart broke in two in that moment as I realized that I could never see Edgar or Allan again. It didn't completely incinerate because I realized that I would have Marko by my side…but the thought of never seeing Allan, never seeing Edgar…it made me want to curl up and cry my eyes out. C'mon, crybaby, it's for the best, my inner voice urged in my head and I choked back tears as I met David's eyes.
"Thank you," I said, knowing that my words were the acceptance to his invitation, and that it was the final step to becoming a vampire and leaving Edgar and Allan. Well, almost final…there was still something I planned to do, but I would save that for tomorrow night.
Marko placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled encouragingly at me. "Everything's gonna be alright, Megs," he reassured me, unaware of the turmoil my heart was in at that moment. I still couldn't truly believe that I had to leave the Frog brothers…my best friend and my boyfriend, whom I loved enough that I would give him up to save him. But if that's what it took to save their lives, then I would do it.
I forced myself to smile back at Marko. "I know," I replied. "Well, then, let's get to sleep now that this is all settled," David cried and the others nodded in agreement. The soreness in my muscles and the tiredness seeping into my eyes with every blink suddenly almost overwhelmed me at the mention of sleep. I yawned and leaned against Marko's sturdy frame as he gently guided me to a smaller cavern in the hotel.
"Follow me," he murmured and then crawled inside after the other three vampires. I scurried in after him and when we finally got to our destination, I was covered in dirt and pebbles.
"We sleep up here, Megs, but it's cool. You won't fall, I promise," Marko explained when I gawked. We were standing in a cylinder-shaped cavern with a tall ceiling. About three feet away from the ceiling hung a long metal bar, held up on two A-frames.
I watched closely as the four vampires floated up to the bar, flipped in mid-air and attached their clawed toes to it. Wait a minute, their clawed toes? Wonderingly, I took off my shoes and socks and sure enough, my toenails had grown at least five inches. Ugh, I'll have to clip them on a daily basis! I groaned in my head as I climbed up the A-frame. I was still a little hesitant to try flying just yet.
Marko reached out and grabbed me, and then I swung myself onto the bar and flipped until my claws were curled around it. Surprisingly, my toenails held me there without any effort, just as Marko had said.
"Good-day, Megs," Marko murmured and then closed his eyes. I gave a short peal of laughter at his 'good-day' and then nodded at him: "Good-day." I then closed my eyes and fell into a deep, but troubled, sleep.
R+R please! No flames.