Sookie rolled over rubbing her hand along the empty side of the bed; it was where she should have found Eric waiting for to her wake. Her eyes searched the room and the moonlight in the windows told her it was night, so when she walked through her empty house not finding any sign of Eric she started to feel panicked.
She told herself to calm down Eric could be anywhere and she tried to think, maybe there was an issue at Fangtasia, maybe he had business to handle with Alcide and his pack, or maybe he was out searching for Ocella.
The last one made a pain shoot through her chest and she hoped he was just at Fangtasia; Sookie picked up her phone and dialed Eric's number it felt like it rang forever but still there was no answer, she walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table and dialed his number again.
Sookie listened to the ringing of his phone and this time it had a strange echo,
"You have reached Eric Northman leave a message and I'll return your call" she laughed at how serous he was on his voicemail before she hung up the phone.
"Fangtasia the bar with a bite" Pam said smoothly "Pam have you seen Eric?"
She didn't speak and if it hadn't been for the background noise Sookie would have thought she hung up "hello Pam have you seen Eric?"
"How would I see him when he is always there with you and I have been banished?"
Sookie's heart sank she had hoped he was just working and not out chasing down the ancient vampire, she knew Eric would be angry with her for her little field trip earlier but could he be so angry that he would disappear without telling her.
Pam made it clear she wasn't interested in holding a conversation with her so they hung up without saying goodbye and a few minutes later Sookie heard a familiar sound echoing throughout the house, she had heard the song a thousand times before she knew it was a classical piece and Eric had told her it was one of his favorites.
Sookie quickly followed the sound to the back bedroom when it stopped; she stood staring at the closet door she wanted her legs to move but she was frozen in place. Eric had never stayed in the light tight hole after dusk he must have left in a hurry and dropped his phone, she told herself trying to be calm as she finally moved toward the closet.
The closet door creaked as she pulled it open and the sound reminded her of a crappy horror movie where the dumb blonde looks in the closet and the killer is behind her, Sookie shook away the thought and reached down to open the door to the cubby Bill had built so long ago.
Her screams filled the room when she lifted the door and saw what she had been dreading, Ocella lay smiling up at her with his arms locked firmly around Eric's body. Sookie fell to her knees rubbing her eyes trying to erase what she was seeing but it was no use every time she opened them Ocella was still smiling and he still had her Eric.
She looked into the hole her eyes searching Eric's body for any signs of injury before looking into his eyes,
"Eric." The look he gave her was one of desperation she knew he wasn't desperate for her to save him; he was desperate for her not to.
Ocella stayed completely still with a huge smile spread across his face as he spoke "I know everything about you little fairy" she didn't pay attention to what he said, the sound of his voice was like nails on a chalk board and all she could think of was finding a way to get Eric out of his arms.
"Our Bill was a wonderful record keeper, I have read up on you my dear I know who your friends are, I know about your little mind trick. Bill kept tabs on you for a mighty long time fairy I especially enjoyed the parts about him fucking you, I have never met a fairy are the all so eager to bed vampires?"
Sookie watched as Eric fought against Ocella's grip and she wished she had a gun with silver bullets so she could shoot him in his disgusting big mouth, Ocella tightened his grasp around Eric the breaking noises echoed in the hole. Sookie pleaded with Ocella to just let go of Eric and leave but she knew he would never walk away that easy.
Ocella taunted her from inside the hole the file had told him all he needed to know, Bill had made it clear she was a victim of her own circumstances she would quickly react and most times it ended up with her mixed in some trouble that wasn't hers to begin with.
"I can't wait to taste you and fuck you and drain you fairy" at this point the only thing that was keeping her from jumping into the hole was knowing that it was what he wanted. Sookie screamed again as Ocella started moving deeper into the darkened end of the hole dragging Eric's body with him.
She yanked her phone out of her pocket and called the only person she could think to call
"Pam, Eric" she sobbed harder just knowing she had to say it out loud
"Eric, Ocella has Eric." Sookie heard screaming and things being thrown around the room but Pam seemed to be of no use she was as panicked a Sookie.
Sookie flipped her phone shut and dialed the next number that came to her head
"Alcide Ocella has Eric I need help please" there was silence on the other end of the line and a few minutes later Alcide burst through the front door.
Sookie didn't move from the hole as she watched Eric's eyes as he was pulled into the dirt tunnel that was under her house. The dirt fell in around them and Sookie heard the same scratching sound as he dug his way out from under her house, the noise got louder and louder the deeper they went and Sookie felt horrible.
The noise she had assumed was a raccoon nesting under her house was Ocella digging through to Eric she could have saved him maybe even stopped Ocella in his tracks if she wasn't so naïve, she had assumed he was resting at Bill's and now here he was right under her feet moving further and further away taking Eric with him.
Alcide appeared behind her as the hole filled in with dirt and Sookie started to panic, she ran for the back door she couldn't just let Ocella take him not without trying to stop him. Alcide wrapped his arms around her yanking her back inside just as she reached the porch.
She fought against his arms making no progress in freeing herself but she couldn't give up not when it came to Eric, Sookie screamed for Alcide to let her go she begged and pleaded even promising she would stay inside which was a lie.
"Sookie are you crazy this is what he wants" he yelled as he pulled her back inside again.
He pulled her to the floor and held her until she came to her senses, once her sobs slowed and she was able to think clearly she asked Alcide to let her go again and he did
"I have to get Eric back" she said as she stood and walked over to the table throwing herself into a chair.
"Sookie you need a plan you can't just run out into the night and fight a vampire!"
Alcide knew better than to try and talk her out of going after Eric it was not in her to let someone she loved be in danger, he figured the best approach was to talk her into thinking things through before she went and got herself killed.
They sat at the kitchen table running through different scenarios trying to figure what would their best approach to hunting the vampire down, they knew they would have to search in the day but they also needed someone to watch for then in the night a vampire one who would be able to get close to them without it being suspicious.
Sookie knew Eric wouldn't want Pam to be involved with hunting for Ocella but she needed a vampire she could trust and Pam would do whatever it took to save Eric. Sookie picked up her phone and called Fangtasia, Pam answered the phone sounding slightly less frantic than the last time they talked.
Pam listened quietly while Sookie and Alcide explained how Ocella snuck under the house and took Eric by surprise; after Sookie told Pam about her burning down Bill's house earlier that day Pam laughed
"Ocella hasn't lived for over three thousand years by hiding in plain sight; Sookie he was probably hiding right in your back yard."
Pam's comment made her feel even more stupid for assuming she had killed him that easily, she was right he had lived a long time and from what Eric had told her about Ocella he was use to finding discrete places to hide. She should have never let Eric go to rest in her cubby knowing Ocella was out to get to her.
Her nightmare should have been a warning that this could happen but she was to wrapped up in planning how to kill the ancient vampire herself,
"Pam whatever you do don't bite him" Sookie said to her before explaining the burning sensation and the madness Alcide had experienced when he had swallowed Ocella's blood.
They told Pam what they were planning to do and she agreed to be their eyes and ears at night while Alcide agreed to have his pack sniff them out during the day. Alcide argued that Sookie should stay inside and not join the hunt with the Were's but she refused saying the wolves were as vulnerable during the day as eh was.
Pam ended the call letting them know she would be sending a crew of vampires out by dusk the next night and when they hung up the phone all Sookie had to do was wait. Alcide nailed the cubby shut to keep any unwanted guest from coming into the house before falling asleep on the couch; Sookie had tried to tell him she would be ok if he left but her words weren't convincing to her let alone Alcide.
Sookie sat in the living room watching old movies trying not to look at the clock while she waited for Pam to call; she hadn't realized how much everything in her house reminded her of Eric. Her chest ached when she looked out the window and saw the sun rising, It had been hard to face the day without him when she knew he was save in her cubby but not knowing where he is or if he's safe was just unbearable.
She was confident that Pam would be doing everything she could but she wished things would happen faster; her eyes were sore and sticky from crying as she watched the sun fill her house with light. Sookie walked into her bedroom and pulled the shades shut before crawled into bed pulling the covers over her head.
When she opened her eyes again the clock read one fifteen, She jumped up and checked her phone for missed calls and her eyes welled up again when she saw there were none; Sookie walked into the living room to see Alcide was gone and she wanted to feel angry with him for going off to search without her but she wouldn't have been any good without some rest.
Sookie sat watching some day time television wishing time would move faster when her phone rang making her jump out of her skin, she ran to the kitchen grabbing the phone from the wall in a panic.
"Hello" nothing the line was dead "Hello" her voice broken and she cried as she hung up the phone, Sookie sank to the floor holding the phone tight to her chest.
She had hoped the call would be Pam or Alcide telling her where she could find Eric and the longer it took to hear anything from them the more she worried they might never get him back. Sookie sat in the corner of the kitchen crying into her when she heard a knock at the back door; she stood wiping her face as she went to answer it.
When she pulled the door open Alcide stood in front of her looking angry, he held his finger over his mouth tell her to be quiet as he took her hand and pulled her out the door and across the lawn. Sookie looked down to see several wolves circling her house,
"Alcide what?" he held his finger over his mouth again and shook his head as they walked further across the lawn.
They stopped walking at the end of the driveway and he turned to look at her "Alcide what is going on here you're supposed to be out looking for Eric"
Alcide looked down at Sookie he had no idea how she would react to what he was about to say, "Sookie Ocella is under your house!"