All Hell Breaks Loose

Small Warning for mention of torture in this chapter.

Chapter 5 Home

Eric wanted to hear more from the child but he had to wait while Steve finished his long swig from the bottle of Tru Blood that was given to him. He glanced around the room and saw that the others had some form of liquid refreshment. Even though Pam would have probably rather have the blood from Stackhouse's thigh she was sipping at a bottle and Bill ordered Jessica to drink one. Jason and Alcide were nursing on beers.

"Continue," Eric ordered one Steve had pulled the bottle from his mouth.

"Not much to tell for the rest of the months," Steve explained. "The Golden One nodded at me when he saw how I distressed I was and he left, not before everyone bowed before him and made me bow as well. The following months were rough. I slept in a trunk in the basement during they day while they had coffins, some of them took turns beating on me, snapping my neck, filling me with regular bullets and using dull rusty knives to tear them out."

"Damn," Jessica gasped. "You didn't tell us this part."

"And your Maker allowed this to happen?" Eric asked in disgust. Newlin wasn't one of his favorite persons, far from it but the idea of a Maker allowing other vampires to torture their child filled him with a burning anger.

"Nicolette didn't like it," Newlin explained. "Begged for it to stop but Gerald ordered it to continue until spring. The physical torture stopped but they still verbally tried to attack me, taunting me asking me why would my God let this happen to me and if he exists then he sees me as an abomination, that I was a monster just like them and I slowly started to believe them."

"Måtte man röta liksom min ansikte," Pam growled under breath. "You do not do that to a child."

Eric nodded. If he came across this Gerald and by the description it sounded like Gerald Conners, he would break his spine.

"Nicolette told me to ignore them," Newlin continued. "She wanted me to accept what I was and embrace it, be proud of being a vampire. She taught me how to Glamour she had the blindfolded fangbangers bow before me, she held me close and comforted me when I became catatonic. She saw to it that I had my own coffin to sleep in."

"Did you two have sex?" Stackhouse asked.

"Jason," Jessica said in a scolding tone and stared at the human while Alcide made a sound that was part snort and part choke.

"Well I figured Eric and Pam here were an item," Jason said as he pointed at Eric. "And Sookie told me about Bill and his Maker."

"Bill and I didn't have sex," Jessica said.

"Nicolette and I did a few times," Newlin said before taking another long gulp.

"Does that mean I have to sleep with Bill?" Jessica asked before she turned to her Maker. "No offense I just-"

"Don't feel comfortable," Bill finished for her. "You don't have to sleep with anyone you don't want to."

"How did you escape?" Alcide asked. Leave it to a werewolf to get to the point.

"Gerald received contact from the Golden One about the location of Russell Edington," Newlin said. "He, Nicolette and several others left to go join him a few nights ago. Those that stayed back received a tip about the AVL coming this way to round up the rest of them since they don't agree with their views. They took off and since there was no one to hold me back I left." He smiled. "First time I ran at this speed. I cleared a few counties before I had to stop and figure out where was I going. I felt a connection to Nicolette but I don't want to be a part of them, can't really go into a major city, or to anyone I knew or used to know. I don't know any other vampires."

"That's why you came to me," Jason said.

The child nodded. "I remember you said your were from Bon Temps and I took off in that direction and looked you up, but by the time I got to your place I was famished and didn't know how to control myself."

"Do you know these guys?" Stackhouse asked while looking at Eric. "I don't mean that all vampires know every other vampire. I don't want to come off like that."

"He just knows Eric has been around for a while," Jessica explained.

"I don't know Gerald or Nicolette," Bill said. "But I have heard of the Golden One. He's nearly a thousand years old, loves to live lavishly works for both the Authority and the tribunal or at least he used to."

"We have crossed paths before," Eric said as he remembered hunting for stray humans in the Iberian Peninsula centuries ago with Godric and while they did not want to take any sides in any human conflict they felt sorry for the Moors who were being driven out and after saving a group of them they met with a vampire who called himself the Golden One who thanked them. "He once felt a connection with those who once had the same faith and ethnicity as him but centuries later he was living in a mansion where he had humans as servants, living only to do as his bidding."

"I'm not going to end up thinking that way am I?" Newlin asked after he finished his bottle.

"Not every vampire is the same," Eric assured him and he had a feeling Jessica felt the same ways as the reverend.

"What's the next move?" Alcide asked.

"Dawn will come in a few hours," Bill stated. "The mortals need to rest."

"I am off tomorrow," Jason said. "I could find a hotel."

"You are welcome to rest here," Eric told him.

"You can share a bed with me," Pam said with a smirk and earning glares from both Jessica and Newlin.

"I don't mind sleeping on a couch," Jason said as he placed his arm around the female child.

Eric nodded. "Pam show the children where they can sleep." He knew the werewolf would just return to his home to rest. They had a lot on their plate. They had to deal with Edgington and the Golden One and there was the subject of the Authority coming after them, but as of now they will rest.

"Sookie," the soft voice of Claude roused her out of her sleep. "Wake up."

"Claude?" Sookie moaned as she sat up. She was still in the pocket world and she was still wearing her gown. "How long have I been asleep?"

"A couple of hours," Claude answered. "Your friend has been restored."

"Tara?" Sookie asked as she stood up. She looked towards the direction of the large flowers and saw nothing. She turned around and felt her jaw drop as Tara walked toward her from the direction of the pool.

Tara was as clean as Sookie and almost seemed to have a glow covering her skin. The gown she wore seemed to move like a mist with every step she took. She also seemed like she was happy.

"Tara?" Sookie asked. "Is that you?"

"No I'm Oprah," Tara said and rolled her eyes. "Of course it's me." Come on Sook, what kind of question was that?

"I was just worried and had to ask that," Sookie said, relieved that Tara was still readable.

"What happened to that bitch who shot me?"

"I shot her with her own gun," Sookie answered. She turned to Claude. "Thank you again." She threw her arms around him and held him tight. "How could I repay you?"

"It is an easy task," Claude said. "I will bury the remains of Tara's old body on your property, from there an oak tree shall go."

"I take it this aint an ordinary oak tree," Tara said. She didn't seem phased by the idea of her old body being used as fertilizer.

"It is hope," Claude explained. "The tree will grow fast and beautiful. Next fall there will be acorns to harvest. I want the two of you to watch over the tree, gather the acorns and put them out in a dish on the night of a new moon and I shall gather them."

"What do these acorns do?" Sookie asked. "Grow more of the same tree."

"They will help repair our world."

"Repair your world?" Tara spun around and pointed at everything. "This world aint broke. This world is perfect."

"This is a pocket dimension not his home," Sookie explained.

"Is it okay to return to our home?" Tara asked.

"You may, but remember your promise," Claude said as he opened up the portal

"We will remember," Sookie said. She just hoped she would be able to find the tree. "Ready?" She glanced towards Tara.

"Ready to return to the living and undead," Tara said as she grabbed Sookie's hand.

Sookie inhaled deeply before she and Tara jumped through the hole and came out through a wall in Sookie's kitchen where Lafayette was mopping the floor.

"The fuck," Lafayette shouted as he dropped the mop and took a step backwards. "Sook?"

"Yeah," Sookie said and took a step to the side, she had guess right because not even a full second went by before Lafayette raced up to Tara and lifted her up as he hugged her.

"What the hell?" Tara asked. "I just came back to life and you are trying to crush me to death."

"Stop being a hero you crazy bitch," Lafayette said as he set her down but did not let go. "I can't lose you." His eyes were filled with tears. "Shit, Tara, you are all I have."

"You didn't lose me," Tara said as she took a step back and took a deep breath. "I'm still here."

"What did that fairy do?" Lafayette asked.

"Made me good as new," Tara answered. That's what that fairy man said. He just grew me a new body and I got to have my ears re-pierced.

"Do I have to start leaving animal teeth under a pillow or something?" Lafayette asked.

"You don't have to do anything," Sookie said and glanced at her clean kitchen floor. "Thank you for cleaning, but what happened to Debbie's body? Where is Bill and Eric? How long have we been gone?"

"About a half hour," Lafayette explained. "Bill went and buried that bitch. Eric got a couple of calls and ran out real fast."

Sookie wondered where he went. "Where did he go?"

Lafayette shrugged. "He mentioned Fangtasia."

"Well who called?" Tara asked.

"I heard him talking to some girl named Ginger and that was the first call. Second one came from your brother."

"What did Jason want?"

"I didn't listen," Lafayette confessed. "I was still feaking out over all the shit that happened."

"Ginger is one of his employees at Fangtasia," Sookie said and stepped out onto her back porch and looked for Bill. "Bill." She shouted out. "Bill are you still out there?"

"He aint there, Sook," Lafayette said from the kitchen. "He came in about fifteen minutes ago asked where Eric was. I told him and he took off."

"Great," Sookie said as she ran her hands through her hair. She was out of the loop and that shouldn't annoy her, but she had a feeling that Jason knew what was going on. She will call him in the morning. "I think we all should go to bed."

"Not going to call Eric or Jason?" Tara asked.

"Sunlight will be in a few hours," Sookie said. "I think we all need to get some rest. She wasn't sure about Tara, but Lafayette needed to go back to bed and while the nap helped she needed some more hours.

"Is it okay if I just watch some TV?" Tara asked. "I won't have it loud."

"Go ahead," Sookie said. "You going back to bed, Lafayette?"

"I'll try, Sook," Lafayette said. He dumped the bucket into the sink and put away the cleaning supplies.

"Good night everyone," Sookie said as she made her way up the stairs.

A/N: Pam's line in Swedish is "May the rot like my face."

I figure that even though Eric and Pam don't like Steve because of his past they would really get pissed at a Maker abusing their Progeny or letting someone else torture them and view it in the same way that most people view child abuse.