Chapter 2

"You're a…. are you sure?" I stammered.

"Yes" He replied and pulled his hand free from mine then took a step back.

It seemed like neither of us could actually say the word out loud.

"How? What happened? Who did this?" I did not think for a second that Eric chose this. He seemed happy with his life.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Can you step inside please? I'll know you're safe there. I don't want to hurt you."

I wanted to scoff at him, like he could ever hurt me! However the serious look in his eyes made me take two steps back so I was within the threshold of my home. I got a much better look at him now. He had on the same clothes as the night he left here a week ago. A grey tee with blue jeans and black shoes. It was all covered in dirt and stains like his skin. I noticed the blood stains around his mouth and tried not to think about how that got there. He could have been hit but likely that was not the case.

"I left your house the other night and when I got back to my place someone jumped me from behind while I was getting my keys out. Whoever it was bit me and started drinking.. I tried to fight them off but eventually I blacked out. When I woke up I was buried in the ground. I had to dig my way out…I was all alone. I don't know who did this." He explained with sadness.

So Eric had been a vampire for almost a week. Where had he been all those other nights? "They buried you alive? Are you okay?"

"I guess that's how they turn you." He shrugged. "I didn't have anyone to explain it to me. They just did it and left me there."

This was overwhelming. What were we going to do? "I should call your dad." I turned to grab the phone.

"No!" Eric's very blunt command stopped me in my tracks.

"Why? He's so worried about you." Jack was barely sleeping or eating these days.

"Because I barely have control of myself right now, I don't want him to see me like this. I didn't even want you to see me because I'm scared of hurting you. I stayed away all week… but I need someone to talk to. You're the only person I can trust."

I just wanted to hug him. Someone did this to him and left him all alone to handle it. What a bastard.

"Why don't you just come in Eric? We can talk and try to figure out our next step." I guess I would not be professing my feelings for him tonight. There were much more pressing matters at hand.

Eric darted in the door faster than lightning. It was all a blur and his nose was against my neck inhaling my scent. I squealed and jumped back a few steps, startled by his quick movements.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… you just smell so good." He licked his lips while he stared at me and it was not in a sexy way either.

"Are you going to be able to control yourself? Maybe I should go buy TrueBlood?" I hated not trusting him but I knew nothing about vampires just like him.

"That's probably a good idea." He looked ashamed of himself.

"Okay I'll be back in a sec" I quickly hopped in my car and went to the Quickie Mart.

I came home with three six packs of TrueBlood. I had no idea how much he would need for one meal. When I walked into the house Eric was sitting at the kitchen table looking much more cleaned up. He must have taken a shower. He had on fresh clothes too but I didn't know where he got them.

"Where'd you get the clothes?" I asked as I read the instructions and began heating up the TrueBlood.

"I ran home and back in under two minutes." He stared at the kitchen table in some kind of daze. He was probably still in shock. I know I was.

"Wow…. Okay, well here's your TrueBlood…." I popped open the cap and handed it to him.

Eric took a sip and grimaced. "This doesn't taste anything like blood. It's terrible."

"You've tasted blood?" My voice was just above a whisper.

"Umm…." Eric forced down some more TrueBlood before he started talking. "I sort of attacked his guy the other night. I was so hungry and I even tried forcing myself to eat food but it smelled rotten to me… I hadn't eaten anything and I just cracked…. It was like someone else was in control of my body. I bit him Sookie and I hurt him."His head was in his hands and I wondered if he was going to start crying.

"….I killed him… I didn't mean to I swear." He was definitely crying now.

"Eric…" I had no idea what to say. Was this normal behavior for a new vampire? Hell he had no one to teach him what to do. I heard through people's thoughts at Merlotte's that vampires had makers that raised them sort of like a parent would. Eric's had ditched him.

When he looked up at me I almost screamed. His eyes were red rimmed and there was a trail of blood running from his left eye. "Oh my god! Are you okay? You're bleeding!" I rushed to grab some tissues.

"I'm fine… I think it's normal. It happened a couple days ago. I guess our tears are different." He took the tissues anyway and wiped his face clean.

"Is the TrueBlood helping at all?" I handed him a second bottle since he forced down the first.

"A little… not much…" I thought this crap was supposed to be a blood replacement. Why was it not making Eric feel better?

"Where have you been staying during the day?" I asked as I started heating up a third bottle.

"In the ground" He replied between long chugs of the gross looking drink.

"What?" I couldn't imagine sleeping in dirt.

"I dig a hole and cover myself up. It's the only thing I know of that's safe right now." He frowned and took the third bottle of blood from me.

"Oh… well I would offer for you to stay here but I wouldn't want to risk messing up the light-tight space thing." If I made one mistake and a blanket covering a window fell down during the day Eric would burn to a crisp and truly be dead.

I would much rather have vampire Eric than no Eric at all. For now I was also not thinking about the man he accidentally killed. It was definitely an accident, he obviously felt terrible. My only worry was that he might hurt me by accident too. I wished we had more information… I could always snoop into people's minds for more right?

"It's okay. I wouldn't want to stick around too long anyway. I could hurt you if I get too hungry." He polished off the third bottle and seemed a bit calmer for the moment.

"We will figure this out Eric, I promise. I'll help you. Tomorrow at work I can eavesdrop on people's thoughts. I know Dawn has had sex with vampires before… I'll just ask the right questions and listen in. She must know something." Dawn was one of my coworkers who had no problem letting any man or woman into her bed. She came to work with fang marks on her neck one time.

Eric still looked pretty down in the dumps.

"And you can stick around here as long as you want. I'm not afraid of you just like you were never afraid of me." This was my chance to be a better person and return the favor Eric had gifted me with since the second grade. He gave me a chance when everyone else thought I was a freak. I would not give up on him now.

"You're stupid to not be afraid…" He muttered and stared at his feet.

"Am I little nervous about how you might not be able to control your instincts? Sure… but I know you would never intentionally hurt me. We just need a little more knowledge and we can figure this out." Yes I had thought about him draining me but I was not going to push Eric away right now.

He was silent so I decided to peek into his mind. I rarely did that since it seemed like an invasion of privacy, I spent most of my day trying to block out thoughts. However no matter how hard I tried there was just silence. I stepped over and touched his hand quickly and still nothing.

Eric pulled back, obviously not wanting to test himself with physical contact. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to read your thoughts… you were so quiet." I admitted with a hint of shame. "But I can't hear anything. You're brain is silent. Is that a vampire thing?"

"I don't know but you've got to be fucking kidding me if it is. This is a sick fucking joke." He stood up and pounded his fist on the table, which proceeded to crack into three pieces and collapse on the floor.

Holy shit… he was strong.

"Fuck… I'm sorry. I'll pay for that." He knelt down and started picking up the pieces. "I keep forgetting how different everything is…stronger… faster…. And now I'm finally silent to you, but only after my life has been ruined. This is all one big twisted joke."

If this silent brain was a permanent thing then I could see his frustration. It was something we both wanted for a long time. I never thought Eric's mind being silent would be how it could work, I only ever thought about my telepathy one day magically turning off. His life was a big price to pay for a fix to our problem.

Plus neither of us could look at this as a fresh start, Eric had no idea if he could control himself right now or how to live life as a vampire.

I assume Eric buried himself in the dirt again last night. As I filled ketchup bottles in Merlotte's the following morning I tried to go over everything from last night. It felt like a dream I would wake up from any second now.

When Dawn came waltzing in I immediately smiled at her and said good morning. I was always polite so she wouldn't think it was out of character.

"Morning!" The greeting was a little too peppy so I tried to regain my composure while she put her purse in Sam's office.

"What do you need me to do? Looks like you already got quite a bit done." Dawn said as she walked up, flipping her perfectly shiny brown hair over one shoulder.

I always found it unfair how perfect her hair was, even in the humid southern summers it remained smooth and fell in perfect waves. However those waves were not enough to cover the fresh fang marks on her fair skin. This would be my chance to get some intel on vampire living. Hopefully Dawn paid attention to whatever her lovers said.

"Some silverware needs to be rolled up if you'd like to get started on that." I said with a smile.

Dawn grabbed the bin of silverware and some napkins to roll them in. She sat across from me and quietly hummed while working.

"So… are you seeing anyone these days?" I usually stayed out of her personal life. Lucky for me Dawn was the type of person who thought the world revolved around them. Therefore she was delighted I asked and it gave her the opportunity to blab about herself.

"I do have a new late night lover, if you know what I mean." She winked and pointed at her neck shamelessly. It was like she was fifteen and proudly displaying her first hickey. "He's tall, dark, handsome… amazing in bed."

As she mentioned this I opened up my mind to her thoughts. I needed to hear any information she had on vampires. The first images were all of her vampire sexcapades with this new guy. It was a bit gross simply because it was someone else's experiences and far too adventurous for me… but apparently this guy lasted for hours. Would Eric be like that as a vampire?

No! Not what I was supposed to be focusing on! I shifted my attention back to Dawn's thoughts. She blabbed on with little encouragement from me. I only asked a few key questions to trigger some thoughts besides sexual ones.

He says he sleeps in a coffin but I dunno if I believe that.

I don't know why he doesn't stay over longer, he's probably lying about meeting with his boss.

"Do vampires have real jobs?" I asked curiously since her last thought peaked my interest.

"Oh, I don't know. On the TV they claim to and my guy says he has to go see his boss all the time… but who knows." Dawn had only rolled up one set of silverware. She was a slow worker.

Who has a boss named Godric anyway? That ain't even a real name.

Godric? Who was that? At least I now had a name. I spent the rest of my shift repeating it in my mind so I wouldn't forget.

When I arrived back at the farmhouse in the evening it was not completely dark yet. It was late summer so days were still fairly long. If Eric was around he was not awake yet. I had a few things to talk about with him, coffins and Godric.

I took a quick shower and changed into some shorts and a t-shirt while I anxiously waited for Eric. I didn't even know if he was coming over but I hoped he would. Fielding a call from Jack Northman proved to be quite difficult and I hung up the phone feeling insanely guilty about lying to him. He was still distressed over his missing son.

As the sun started to set I busied myself with cleaning the house.

"Sookie?" Eric's voice came without the usual clamber of his boots on the porch. He moved silently now.

"Hey!" I turned to open the back door for him and was happy to see he was blood stain free. "Did you sleep in the ground again?"

"Yes, it's the only thing that's safe." He looked clean so he had to have showered before coming here.

"How come you can get into your apartment? " Did the human ownership no longer exist since Eric was turned?

"I don't know, I guess because technically no human owns it anymore…" He shrugged and went to the fridge for TrueBlood. He took out four bottle and put them all in the microwave at once.

"Have you… you know… fed on anyone?" I felt bad asking but it was pretty important to know if he hurt someone else.

"No not since the one I told you about. But this stuff is barely getting me by Sookie, I'm starving all the time." The looks in his eyes was one of desperation and helplessness.

I wished I had the answers.

"I'm sorry…. I don't know how to help you there. But I did catch a name from Dawn's thoughts, there's a vampire named Godric that is some kind of boss around here. Maybe he could help you." I assumed if he was a boss or business owner he would have more connections. Maybe he would know who turned Eric.

Eric pondered this while he consumed three bottles of TrueBlood in less than five minutes.

"I also had another idea today, we could go to that vampire bar and ask around about Godric." It was the only place I could think of where we might run into other vampires and not get killed on the spot. We could ask our questions and hope someone could direct us to this Godric guy.

"I don't know… that sounds like a recipe for disaster. What if you get hurt? Or I hurt you? Or someone else does? You smell better than all the other humans Sookie. That might just be me, or it's like that for all of them. They'll try to go after you." Eric shook his head and took a few steps back until he was completely on the opposite side of the kitchen. He liked putting distance between us these days.

"What? How?" I was not normal but how could my blood be different?

"All the other humans I've been near so far smell like a cheeseburger, you smell like filet mignon." Well that was one way to put it into perspective. I don't know how much I liked Eric comparing me to food.

"That doesn't matter." I shook my head "This is the only plan we have to help you with being a vampire. Do you have a better idea?"

Eric was silent and stoic.

"Ok then, we're going to Fangtasia. I'll change into something more appropriate for a bar, you probably should too." His sneakers and tee were not going to cut it.

An hour later I headed to the front door in skin tight black jeans, heels and a sparkly dark grey tank top. We needed to sort of blend in with the crowd out for a fun night. As I opened the door for Eric my heart felt a little pang of sadness. This felt like the beginning of a first date that we never had, probably never would have now.

Eric was standing there in all of his 6'4" glory, wearing dress shoes with dark jeans and a black button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The only thing that gave away his vampire state to me was the sudden disappearance of his summer tan. His short hair was even styled with some gel or whatever hair product men used these days. I tried to not think too much about the long lost first dates.

"You look…" Eric's tongue darted out and licked his lips while his eyes scanned over my body.

Then the next thing I knew I was screaming. Eric had me pushed up against the wall and his face buried in my neck. I heard his fangs click down.

"Eric… please don't…." My voice was shaky and I could feel my entire body trembling with shock. He had completely taken me by surprise.

He leaned into me more to the point that his weight against me made it hard to breathe. I felt his fangs scrape against my skin and then he was gone.

Well… not gone… but on the other side of the room.

"Eric?"

"I'm so sorry…. I can't be around you. I'm going to hurt you, it's just a matter of time." He was obviously very distressed over his behavior.

He definitely scared me but he stopped himself. That was what was important. The Eric that was my best friend was still in there.

"It's okay Eric. You didn't hurt me, I'm fine, just a little surprised." Before he could announce he was leaving and this plan was shitty I ran into the kitchen.

Once I was there I did something that grossed the hell out of me but might help us get through tonight. Eric seemed to need real blood to satisfy his hunger so I carefully gave myself a tiny cut on my arm. By the time a small amount had drained into a cup Eric had zipped into the room and his fangs were back. It was strange to see him with those…

"Wait!" I commanded as I quickly wrapped up my arm to stop the bleeding. "Here, maybe this will help you." I slid the cup across the table and without questioning it he lifted it and drank.

It was a very small amount but hopefully it would help him with these urges. Watching Eric lick the cup clean of my blood made all of this very real. He was no longer human, he was a predator.

"You taste amazing." He licked his lips and tossed the cup into the trash.

My cheeks reddened at the comment while his eyes were still on me. I had thought about him saying that to me before but in an entirely different context.

"Thanks? Um, do you feel any better?" I carefully cleaned the small cut on my arm and placed a bandage over it. Hopefully this would not cause an issue with going to Fangtasia… then again, human women must go there when they have their period right? And they did not get murdered on the spot. This tiny cut should be nothing.

"Yes, much better. It's strange… when I attacked that man it took a lot more to feel anywhere near satisfied. But just a small amount of your blood and I almost feel not hungry. Do you think it has to do with your telepathy? Genetically you're different somehow?" Eric stepped closer and examined my arm.

This was the first time he had voluntarily been close to me. His cool fingertips left a trail of goosebumps on my arm. He seemed satisfied with my patch up work.

"I really am sorry about before, and I'm sorry you had to injure yourself. I hope someone can help me tonight. I don't want to be a burden to you." Eric dropped his hands to his sides and headed for the door.

"You're not a burden Eric, you're my best friend and I'm here for you." I gave him a small smile and headed outside.

I drove to the bar in my yellow Honda while Eric chose to run. He was still worried about being in a small enclosed space with me.

I could only hope Fangtasia would hold some answers for us.

a/n: Hope ya'll enjoyed! Next chapter we get to see who is running Fangtasia and maybe find out a little more about how Godric fits into this AU.