Chapter 8:

Sorry for not updating; i forgot and then had other things to do and write & then some really long oneshots.

Samelie lovers, check out my new long one: Is it the love of the name or the person inside?

I don't own anything

Claire's POV:

After about another five minutes of sitting together, just in silence, I decide that it's high time that we get on with searching for Sam. I mean, we know he is here, due to the amount of deaths around his grave; it's just whether or not he's got enough strength in him now to have move someplace further away. If he does… then we're screwed!

"Let's go," I say softly, standing up and putting my hot chocolate (what's left of it) flask back in the box. I'm going to leave it all here: it isn't as if anyone is going to come nick it all… I mean, all humans are at home, asleep, and every vampire is still living it up at the ball. I'm almost sad that I'm not at the ball, if that actually makes sense, because if I was, I would still be having… well, it wouldn't be what I call fun since I was forced to attend, but it would be a billion times better than this. I wish I didn't have to investigate Sam and all these murders, especially since Sam is most likely the murderer. I... I can't put into words how I feel about Sam being back; I'm overjoyed, of course I am, but this… this just complicates things. If only Myrnin had told someone; then Amelie wouldn't have moved on with Oliver (which is so obvious that it is happening) and… and nobody would have forgotten Sam.

"Claire?" Myrnin's voice interrupts my reverie and I jump as I turn around to face him. he's much closer than I expected him to be, a static electricity suddenly appearing that causes every hair on my body to stand on end for some reason. I feel a blush rising high in my cheeks and I turn away, looking as far into the distance as possible. The night is dark, hardly any stars in the sky, and all the shadows around are large and prominent. This isn't anything but an ominous sign…

"Mmmm?" I answer him as soon as I turn further away, juts for him to move around. He stands in front of the headlights he left on for my benefit alone, his entire frame highlighted by the band of light surrounding him, casting him in a warm glow. But it also darkens the shadows under his eyes and somehow enhances the light and the darkness inside of him. How, I don't know.

"Stay close to me; do not leave my side," his order annoys me, causing a frown to appear on my face… after all, we are partners in this investigation! True, he is the one who has caused it to happen, but Amelie sent the pair of us (actually thanks to me, since I pissed her off about saying that she didn't love Sam anymore) to investigate. She didn't sent Myrnin and his assistant; she sent Myrnin and Claire. And that makes all the difference, in my book.

"And why can I not go on my own?" I ask indignantly, stepping back to prove the point almost.

He sighs again and steps forwards to close the gap between us, heightening the tension between us. It confuses me; I shouldn't feel this for anyone but Shane… but here I am, feeling it with Myrnin. It hits me that I have never felt like this with Shane – we got together straight away, without all this. Why can't I just be normal and love my boyfriend and ignore this strangeness caused simply because it is dark and I need someone to protect me?

"Claire, you realise that we are not only searching for a vampire, but one who is so in need of human blood he would kill his own child if he had to?" Myrnin says, his voice almost amused… but it is the flat amusement of irony. "If you stray from my protection for one minute, you can be dead. You know how long it takes for us to drain you? I'll tell you. If we're thirsty – and, believe me, Sam is thirsty – it doesn't even take a minute, trust me on that," something in his tone suggests to me that if the circumstances were different, I really ought to be running away right now. Why do I spend almost my entire time with vampires who, according to Myrnin, could kill me in less than a minute by getting rid of every drop of blood in my body?

I shudder slightly and he smiles, proud that he has proven his point. "Alright, alright, I get your point," I concede this fact and he nods, taking a step back to give me some room.

"I also need to keep you safe from Amelie's guards who are… currently patrolling around the north east quadrant of the graveyard," Myrnin continues thoughtfully, his eyes trained on the section of the graveyard where, in the far distance, Amelie has people.

"Why? We're working for Amelie; they should know that," I protest, thinking that Amelie would've told her guards that we are here simply so that we don't have to get arrested for suspicion of being murderers/body snatchers and waste some of our precious three days.

He shakes his head, amused once again. I'm really not seeing what he seems to find so amusing. "No, little Claire, she wouldn't have told them simply because we do not register on her radar… her good radar, at the current moment in time," he sighs. "She said to me that it would make her life easier if we were not around… so, though she wants us to find Sam, if we were disposed of, I doubt she would care."

I shake my head furiously, unable to accept that she has sent us out here and doesn't care if we live or die. "She needs us… she definitely needs you to run the machine; what if it broke down?" I ask sharply, no part of me believing that Amelie thinks she could live without us.

"I cannot say what Amelie thinks, for I am not in her mind, but I know that she is not emotionally stable right now and she probably doesn't have a clue what she is doing," Myrnin comments thoughtfully, furthering my belief that she doesn't really want rid of us. "She… she is like a startled fawn with this news of Sam being missing, unable to see the consequences of any of her actions in her blind desperation to have him back. If getting him back means she loses us two valuable pawns, or more so in my case, I believe she would make that switch instantly," he continues, bragging about his importance.

"So… to clarify, we don't want to be found by the guards she has sent out on the off chance that she hasn't told them that we're looking for Sam, as they would probably almost kill me but keep me alive enough to take back to Amelie to insist that it is us who have killed them all and nabbed Sam, where they would then expect her to kill me and to lock you away in a room underground for the rest of eternity?" I confirm, jabbering away as I try to see if I have it right.

"Spot on, Claire, spot on," he says grimly. "However, she hasbeen gracious enough to ensure that they do not patrol this area whatsoever, so we have a greater chance of finding him… I theorise that we have a good square kilometre in which they are forbidden to step. So, are we going to head on our quest to find the good Samuel, or are we going to stand here until dawn breaks and we have to go home?" he asks me, his voice getting a little strained.

"Let's go," I agree, repeating what I said at the beginning of this little conversation between us. So Myrnin nods and picks up the bags containing the blood, ignoring my tentative offer to assist him… what would I do that he can't do with one finger? Normally, he would have me carrying it all – since, after all, I am his assistant – but I think since we are equals here, he needs to take it all as he is stronger than me.

I snap on the torch as we depart from the area which has the comforting glow of the headlights. This instantly lights up a path for me to see between the headstones, making sure that I don't fall over the twisted roots of trees intermingled with the graves forgotten long ago… Morganville is a place where the dead are forgotten, the need to survive more important than remembering the dead. It's sad, especially since if Sam hadn't been forgotten we wouldn't be in this situation right now.

"Closer, Claire," Myrnin murmurs, listening intently to the area around us. I shiver involuntarily as I think something is grabbing the back of my jacket, just to find it is simply my rubbing against the bristles of one of the many bushes around… silly Claire! Yet it's scary out here and I'm not scared to admit that I am absolutely terrified.

I take a step closer to Myrnin and brush up against his jacket. Though he ought to be cold, since he is a vampire with no body temperature, I get another electric jolt from his body… it's as if he is 100 degrees Celsius, with his temperature making me realise just how cold I am. I shiver again and this time it's from the cold, causing me to find myself clinging to his arm in a matter of seconds. It sends jolts of heat through me that I know ought not to be happening… I think it's all in my head, which is possibly more worrying since it means I'm finding a connection between myself and Myrnin.

"So… how are you?" I ask him as we walk, my head turning from side to side as I try to see if there is the gleam of eyes watching us… if that happened, then I think I'd know we'd either found Sam or perhaps someone else who Myrnin has given this tonic to and then forgotten about it.

His brow furrows as he tries to process the question, even though I ask him the question nearly every time I see him. "I… I'm good, I suppose," he answers after a long pause, his voice basically telling me that he doesn't feel that way. Why do no men have the emotional ability to be able to confess how they feel? Even vampires seem to have an issue, I've found. Or maybe it's just the men I associate myself with… I should probably go to Harvard or something and find a really, really sensitive boy who knows how to behave with a girl and knows so much about science.

But they wouldn't have Shane's lovability when he isn't being a prick. Or Myrnin's knowledge of science.

Wait… did I just think about Myrnin as in someone who I would choose over a sensitive college boy? Moving on from that thought…

"What's up, Myrnin?" I ask him gently, turning closer to him to get a look at his face as he talks.

He looks down at me and his face… it's haunting. He's trying to have a mask akin to Amelie's but he doesn't have the self control to be able to keep it up and it's only half working. The other half shows a man half broken and barely holding back tears… something which confuses me.

"Nothing," he blatantly lies, turning away from me and beginning to increase his speed so much so that I can't even contemplate talking – I'm having enough trouble breathing enough. He keeps this up for a good ten minutes until I am so worn out – hello, human girl in the middle of the night who has already been threatened by like three different vampires thisevening (some new sort of record for me) and is out in the graveyard searching for a vampire who would kill her given the chance – I have to let go of his arm.

He doesn't realise for a few seconds, my grip on his arm evidently nothing to him, but I get the idea that the volume of my panting to get my breath back startles him into realising I am no longer next to him.

"Claire," he hisses my name, anger prominent on his face as he returns over to me. He sets the boxes down on the floor and grabs my arm in the exact place where he, Amelie and Michael all grabbed it earlier, causing me to wince. But he doesn't realise this, his face inhumane with anger. "You were supposed to stay with me; what did I tell you about Sam wanting your blood?" he continues in the same tone.

Something snaps in my brain; I didn't get majorly mad with him earlier when I found out that he had given Sam the tonic to make him appear dead, but I get mad now.

"You don't own me," I snap at him, wrenching my arm from his stunned hand. "And, anyway, the only reason you can be so sure that Sam wants my blood is because you want it as well. Just admit it, Myrnin; that's the reason you always want me in the lab – so that you can see how far you can stretch your self control but we both know that if you want the damned blood so bad, one day you're going to ki-" I begin to screech the end of it, until his hand shoots out and clamps across my mouth, rendering me unable to say another word. In fact, he gets me so hard that I stagger backwards and fall against a tree, him moving with me effortlessly. My torch falls to the ground with a clatter as I process the injuries caused by the tree.

The crash causes my head to instantly throb on the right hand side and one hand tentatively reaches up there to see if there is any blood – if my previous statement is the truth, then that could be the most unwise thing that has ever happened. Meanwhile, my eyes frantically roam his face, trying to draw out any of the humanity left in there, flickering between his eyes (which are a deep crimson colouring) and seeing nothing there either.

"You," he begins slowly, his voice unrecognisable. Gone is the chimes of charm that normally shine through; he is the monster through and through – but this monster is different to the charmingly dangerous one… this is all harshness – like Oliver. "You are a very silly girl, Claire. I thirst for your blood, of course I do, but it is not the main thought in my mind when you are around. I have you in the lab to work, Claire, so that we can further our knowledge of science and create discoveries nobody else has! And yet you deem it right to bring out the fact that I am a vampire and insinuate I only want to kill you? I…I don't know what to say," the anger fades slightly, turning into a sense of deep upset and betrayal that I could think this way.

Tears begin to fill my eyes to the brim and they fall out onto his hand, causing rivulets to run down onto his sleeve. They create little patterns down his skin, almost drawing my attention from his face which seems to be returning to a human's… but with so much more pain and angst in it that he could never be mistaken to be human. He isn't human, I know that, but never before have I seen it so obviously in his face.

I try to talk against his hand but can't, him suddenly realising that he is still constricting my mouth. He nods slowly, removing his hand and turning away, just as I pick up my torch. I shine it around, to make sure that there aren't any lurking creatures anywhere (vampires are in the world; now I'm not so sure that the other mythical creatures are mythical), before opening my mouth to reply.

"Myrnin… I…" I don't know what I'm about to say, but my phone suddenly vibrates in my pocket. I know in my heart that it's Shane. "Dammit, Shane! I told you not to ring me!" I mutter to myself, digging it out. It's already been vibrating so it isn't as if confirming who it is will make Sam run away if we were close to him anyway.

I get it out of my pocket and see that it is Shane ringing me. So I look up at Myrnin for permission to answer, something he does with an almost melancholy nod and smile. "Shane?" I answer the phone in a whisper, turning away from Myrnin for the little privacy that this offers.

"Claire, where the hell are you?" he yells down the phone, causing me to wince as I realise that he will be heard probably on the far side of the graveyard.

"I left you a note," I whisper again, cursing the fact that he cannot look at stuff without having to bolt straight in.

"I know, I read it!" he continues to yell, meaning I have to turn down the volume on my phone so that I'm not deafened. "What the hell does 'Sorry, I had to go out – I really wouldn't if it wasn't important… it's to do with Amelie; I have to do it' mean?" he snaps at me, reciting part of the note I left for him.

"It means exactly what it says it means," I retort, unable to keep the sharp edge from my voice as he angers me. "I have to do something for Amelie and if I stay on the phone, Shane, there is a very good chance that I could die. So excuse me for telling you not to ring me!" I continue, debating about hanging up the phone. However, I don't think that this is me and I don't want to be changing at all, so I simply take a deep breath and stomp the ground with my foot… hard.

"I don't like you being out there… who are you with?" Shane asks suspiciously.

"With Myrnin… we have to do something Shane and it's dangerous, so I need to go," I try and get off the phone but he simply laughs without amusement.

"You're out with Myrnin? Alone?" he confirms and I nod mutely, even though he can't see it. The extended silence seems to confirm this for him and he laughs again, more sarcastically this time. "Well I'll be seeing you when I see you… if he doesn't kill you first."

"Shane, it's not like that!" I cry out before hearing the click of him putting the phone down. Oh, just how polite of him!

I barely manage to refrain myself from throwing my phone into the nearest tree or screaming so loudly that it wakes the people in the graveyard whoareactuallydead. But slowly, so controlled that I feel like a robot, I force myself to put my phone back in my pocket and turn back to face a Myrnin who instantly turns away before I can look at his face.

"So…" I trail off, not knowing what to say. But then the slight tinge of pink creeps up high enough on the horizon for me to be able to notice: dawn is coming. The dew I saw on the grass earlier must have been there at the right time unless we've been walking for hours… actually, that wouldn't surprise me.

His head rises to the sky, as if he hasn't either felt the pull of the sun or noticed the lightening of the air around us, and he turns back to me with his eyes shut. "We ought to leave, little Claire," he tells me in a voice devoid of emotion. "Amelie's guards are going to drive through this area on their departure, to see if there are any disturbances of the area around Sam's grave. We cannot be here."

"But… but we didn't see Sam's grave!" I moan, not wanting to leave yet. To leave now would be to admit that we have only two days left and I can't accept that.

He opens his eyes and looks at me softly, his face open and kind. "You are falling asleep on your feet; if we stayed out now, not only would I be a liability, but you would be also. We would be trapped," he tells me gently, putting the strange fog in my head into focus as I realise it is sleep deprivation. Of course.

"But where is Sam's grave?" I ask as he takes my arm, steadying me. I'm going numb so I can't feel what I know is happening in my arm as he touches me – sleep deprivation is a bitch.

"Over there," he gestures vaguely towards the east of where we are standing. "Now, Claire, we have to leave. Do you mind if I carry you?" he doesn't wait for a response from me, simply lifts me into one arm as the other is filled with his equipment.

We are flying through the forest at a lightening speed, too quick for my fog filled head to be able to comprehend – it just came down on me like that… I was fine before, but now… now I can barely force my eyes to remain open.

I feel us slowing and him opening the car to put me in, but it is too hard to keep my eyelids open now. "Sleep, Claire, sleep," he tells me gently, strapping me into the car.

And I do as he tells me. I fall asleep.

And if I could possibly have ended that in more of a cliché, please tell me!

Oh, wait, I could have had her toddle over to Sam's grave, not taking 'vaguely over there' for an answer & then have her fall unconscious into the hole. Now that would make a good twist… mwahahahahahha

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Vicky xx