17. THE LIGHT

Marcus' eyes tried to adjust to the blinding white light. His pupils throbbed as they constricted,

letting the speckled blue pigment of his iris' fill the space. There were sharp pains in his back and his

body felt cold.

What kind of afterlife is this? Marcus wondered. He would have thought that in death you would

cease to feel such discomforts.

He tried to blink several times and rubbed the crust out from his eyes. Then the setting became

clear to him. He was surrounded my gravelly gray stones and there was a body of water nearby. The

bright white light that had blinded him was the sun. THE SUN. Marcus was seeing the sun!

He realized that he was no longer in the underworld but instead back on the outer surface of the

earth. As he studied his surroundings even further and noticed the thinness of the air, he realized that he

was back on top of Mount Mauna Kea.

Then a thought occurred to him. Had he never left? Was everything that happened in the

underworld just a dream? Again Marcus felt the discomfort of the sharp stones beneath him. It couldn't

have been a dream because if it were then he would still be a vampire and if he were still a vampire, these

sharp rocks wouldn't hurt him in the least bit. He looked down and realized he was naked.

"Not again." He muttered under his breath, remembering when he had escaped from the nymphs

but without his clothes.

Then panic struck his heart. Didyme! He looked around but he was completely alone on this

mountaintop. His heart broke into a million pieces as he realized he had lost her yet again. She was

gone.

"This isn't FAIR!" He shouted towards the lake, hoping that the oracle would hear him. "I was

supposed to die if she didn't remember!" He longed for death now, anything that would end his centuries

of torment. His shoulders heaved and he began to cry into his dirty palms. All of it was for nothing.

"Marcus!"

Was he hearing things? There was a woman's voice but it sounded so distant.

"Marcus!" The voice shouted again.

He stood up and searched his surroundings. As his eyes scanned the horizon he caught a glimpse

of something that did not belong on this desolate mountain top. There behind a silversword bush stood a

woman with long brown hair.

"DIDYME!" The tears came easier now but they were happy tears. He ran across the jagged

rocks and they cut into his feet. "Didyme! You're alive!" As he drew closer to her he could see that she

was smiling. In the morning light she was breathtaking. It was almost as if her aura of happiness was

completely visible.

"Marcus! You finally woke up! Wait! What are you doing? Stay there!" She started laughing

as he tried to run around the bush towards her.

He laughed too. "What?"

"I'm naked! You can't see me!" She was blushing. My God, she's actually blushing. Didyme

was human.

"You're human." He said aloud with awe.

She smiled beautifully, "So are you."

They stood there smiling at each other, only separated by air and a giant silvery prickly bush.

"I want to hug you." Marcus laughed.

"I want to hug you too but we need clothes first." Her long dark hair was draped over her chest,

acting as her only source of modesty. She looked like Eve in the Garden of Eden.

In all the hundreds of years that had passed, the world had completely changed in its virtue and

morality. Yet Didyme remained the same, as innocent and pure as when he first met her.

Marcus glanced around, searching for any hints of other people that could be nearby. He didn't

see anything so if he was going to find them clothes, he would have to leave her.

"I don't want to be away from you." He said, his voice full of want and sadness.

She smiled at him reassuringly. "I promise, I'm not going anywhere."

"Alright, I'll hurry. There are some observatories up here, I'm sure I can find someone in them

and get some clothes for us."

"Alright." She nodded at him.

He took in a deep breath and sighed. He didn't want to take his eyes off of her. "Okay… I'm

going."

"Okay." She said, waiting.

"Okay." He said the word just to buy himself an extra moment in her presence. Then he turned

around and started to walk away.

For the most part Didyme looked away, it would be improper for her to watch him leave. But she

snuck a glance in his direction. How could she not?

Marcus made his way to the closest observatory. He saw a rusted white car parked outside of it

and he pressed his face against the windows to see if there were any clothes inside. He didn't see clothes

but he saw a small cooler in the backseat. He suddenly realized that he was hungry and that Didyme was

probably hungry too. The door was locked so he picked up a rock and smashed it through the back

passenger window. It shattered onto the seat and he unlocked the door from the inside. He opened the

door and then reached in for the cooler giving it a good shake to slide off the broken glass.

"What are you doing?" A deep voice called from the other side of the car.

Marcus looked up to see a slightly overweight man in his mid-40's staring back at him. He had

glasses and his black-gray hairline was receding. Marcus sized him up and knew that he could take him.

"Take off your clothes." He ordered.

"I beg your pardon?" The man protested in disgust.

"Take them off." Marcus said again sternly.

The man folded his arms across his chest and said "Why should I?"

Marcus thought of a moment. He didn't have a weapon to threaten him with so he just did what

came to mind. "I'm crazy!" He yelled. "Look at me! I'm wandering around out here naked! I'm

breaking into your car to steal your food! I'm a freaking psychopath! Now take off your clothes and give

them to me before I have to hurt you!"

The man suddenly looked very panicked and began to unbutton his long sleeved plaid shirt. He

tossed the shirt to Marcus and watched him with fear in his eyes.

"Pants too, please." Marcus insisted. The man hesitated for a moment but then Marcus tried to

put a wild look on his face and said "Remember, I'm crazy!"

This seemed to motivate him and so he took off his belt and khaki pants as well, along with his

brown leather shoes. The man was left standing in his socks, his boxers, and thin white undershirt.

Marcus hurriedly slipped on the pants and used the belt to cinch up the 'too-wide' waist. In the pocket of

the pants he felt a set of keys and a wallet.

"Are these the keys to this car?" He asked.

The man nodded with panic on his face.

Marcus reached into the wallet and took out the cash and then threw the rest of the wallet back at

the man who was shivering in the cold. Usually being stripped down in Hawaii would not be too terribly

uncomfortable but up at this elevation the summit was capable of collecting snow.

Marcus felt into the other pocket and found a cell phone. He knew that one of the first things he

needed to do was make a phone call but he also knew that the police who investigated this robbery would

also check the phone records. He couldn't afford to leave any traces but he also couldn't afford to have

the man call the police right away either. It was a long drive to the bottom of the mountain and he didn't

want a team of cops waiting for him there. He took the phone and smashed it on the rocks. The man was

startled and cringed at the action.

There were no other cars parked outside of this specific observatory so it was safe to assume this

man was at work alone.

"When does the next shift start?" Marcus asked him.

He stuttered for a moment. "I-I work an eight hour shift and no one comes until 5pm."

"What time is it now?"

He looked down at the broken cell phone forlornly. It was obviously his only way to tell time.

"When I came out it was almost 10am."

Marcus nodded. "Anyone else inside?"

The man looked nervous as he tried to think of the best answer. "Yes, there are a lot of people

inside. They would hear me if I shouted."

Marcus could tell that he was lying. "Good, let's go say hello to them."

The man looked surprised and started stuttering again but Marcus just pushed him along. Once

they were inside the observatory and Marcus was absolutely certain that no one else was there, he found

some cords and tied the man to a chair. He admired the giant telescope that took up most of the space in

the observatory and regretted that it wasn't night time so that he could take a peek up at the stars with it.

He went to the phone that was on a desk and took away the cords that connected it to the wall.

"Sorry, can't have you calling the police right away." Marcus said to him. He searched through

the drawers in the desk for anything else that might be useful but didn't find anything except for a hidden

stash of candy bars. He took a couple and shoved them into his pocket and then walked over to the man

who was tied up in the chair.

"Please don't hurt me…" The man begged.

Marcus smiled and unwrapped one of the candy bars. "Open up." He ordered.

The man truly looked mortified. He wondered if they were about to reenact some horror movie

where a man is murdered by being forced to eat too much food. He parted his lips just slightly and

Marcus put the candy bar in his mouth with three-fourths of it still hanging out. "I figure since I'm

stealing your lunch I can at least give you something to munch on. Now don't go biting it off and letting

the rest of it fall to the ground. Savor the flavor and enjoy being alive." Marcus smiled and patted the

man on the cheek.

"You really are crazy." The man muttered with the candy bar hanging out of his mouth.

Marcus turned around and went back out to the car. He climbed in and threw the rest of the plaid

shirt, leather shoes, phone cords, and cooler on the passenger seat. He turned on the car and drove back

to where Didyme was waiting for him.

When she saw the car approaching she panicked. What was this strange white box that was

moving all on its own? She had never seen anything like it in all her days. She ducked down behind the

bush to hide from it. The car door slammed and Marcus called out her name.

"Marcus!" She jumped back up, full of excitement. "What is that thing?"

He smiled at her and tossed her the plaid button up shirt across the bush. "It's called a car." Her

expression was confused. "It's like a horseless carriage."

"How is that possible?" Her eyes were wide with astonishment.

He laughed. "I'll explain everything later, but you need to hurry. We've got to get off of this

mountain fast."

"Okay." She said, and then hurried to put on the shirt and get all the buttons up. Before she could

finish with the top buttons Marcus's arms were wrapped around her from behind.

"I've missed you so much." He whispered into her hair.

She turned around in his arms so she could face him and tucked her arms under his to wrap them

around his waist. "I've missed you too."

He kissed her forehead. "Let's go." He knew they didn't have time to waste right now. He made

her put on the big leather shoes to protect her feet from the sharp rocks. They hurried into the car and she

sat on the passenger seat next to him. All of the dials and buttons on the dashboard astounded her and

Marcus just laughed.

He reached over and pulled her seat belt strap down and across her lap for her, his hand brushed

the skin on her still naked thighs. She blushed but didn't object. He put the car into drive and they began

their journey down the mountain.

"Marcus?" Didyme asked.

"Yes?"

"Why do you think we were naked?"

Marcus pondered that. "I'm not sure. Maybe this was sort of a rebirth for us. When newborn

babies come into the world they are naked. Perhaps the same thing happened to us."

"That makes sense." She smiled. "Marcus?"

"Yes?"

"How did you do it? How did you bring me back?"

He sighed heavily as his eyes remained trained on the road in front of him. He told her about

everything, starting from the day she died and what he went through. He told her about the centuries of

being a zombie without her. He told her about Aro and his deceit and greed and bloodlust. He told her

about all the wars she'd missed and about the different covens around the world. He told her about how

Corin had helped him as they searched for the special stones hidden around the earth. He told her about

the underworld and everything he went through to get to her. He told her everything he could remember

from what happened in the city of Tartarus and then waking up with the light of the sun in his eyes.

When he turned his head to glance at her, her mouth was gaped open and her eyes were wide with

shock. "You did all of that… for me?"

Marcus smiled sheepishly. "I did."

The car was silent for the rest of the ride down as Didyme absorbed everything that Marcus had

just told her. It was a lot to take in.

There was no team of police cars waiting for them so Marcus knew that the man at the

observatory was still tied up. They drove until they found a crowded beach. The heat and humidity took

away the mountain chill very quickly.

"We have to dump the car." He told her.

"Dump it into what?" She asked him innocently.

Marcus smiled, "I mean we have to abandon it. The police can track us if we have it."

The two of them got out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition but taking the cooler. They

walked down to the beach and onto the line where the ocean meets the land. Something about the waves

washing away their foot prints behind them comforted Marcus. It was as if it were somehow erasing their

past, allowing them to live in the present.

Didyme carried the shoes in her hand so that she could feel the sand between her toes. It had

been so long since she had felt anything, even something as simple as this brought her great joy. Once

they had walked for several miles Marcus spotted a cheap motel and pulled Didyme towards it. They

needed a place to get cleaned up and he still needed to make that phone call.

At the desk a short Hawaiian man spoke to Marcus in his local accent. "How long you need a

room for?" The inflections in his speech were so unique and different from anywhere else that English

was spoken.

"Just one night." Marcus answered.

"That'll be forty bucks." The local said.

Marcus reached into the stack of bills in his pocket and pulled out two twenties and set them on

the counter.

"You gotta give me a credit card, man." The Hawaiian insisted with impatience. It was a

practicality of the day to charge rooms to credit cards in case anything was stolen or broken.

Marcus reached back into his pocket and pulled out three more twenty-dollar bills and set those

on the counter as well.

The Hawaiian eyed him briefly and then nodded. He took the cash and slid a set of keys across

the counter. "You're in number 9. Enjoy your stay and mahalo."

Marcus took the keys and nodded. He guided Didyme down the set of paint peeling doors until

they made it to the ninth room. He opened the door and was surprised to see only one bed.

"I'm sorry," he glanced nervously at Didyme. "I'll go back and see if we can get a different

room.

Just as he was turning to go back out Didyme gently put her hand on his arm. "No, it's okay."

He paused to look at her and saw that her expression was warm, maybe even a little flushed. He

nodded and said "I can just sleep on the floor." Her face flushed again but she didn't say anything. He

closed the door behind them and set the cooler on the bed. He opened it up and found a ham and cheese

sandwich, a can of Hawaiian Sun Lilikoi flavor (a passion fruit juice drink), a small bag of potato chips,

and a small brick shaped item tightly bound in plastic wrap. On closer inspection it could be seen that the

brick had been purchased from a local 7 Eleven store and that it was called Spam Musubi. It consisted of

a rectangle of packed rice, a slice of fried Spam, and then it was wrapped in a thick ribbon of seaweed,

the kind used to roll up sushi. It didn't look very appetizing but he wanted to give Didyme the better

portion of the meal so he handed her the sandwich and the drink. After trying it he found that the Spam

Musubi actually wasn't that bad. Didyme didn't finish the whole sandwich so she shared that with him

along with the drink. The whole time they ate, Marcus always kept a hand on her whether he was holding

her hand or resting it on her shoulder or lap. A part of him was afraid that he was dreaming all of this and

that he might wake up at any moment.

"Thank you, that was very… different." Didyme said. She hadn't eaten anything during her last

life and the life before that she had only lived off of human blood. It had been a long time since she had

had regular human food. "Is there a place where I can get washed up?"

Marcus nodded and led her into the bathroom. She didn't understand any of it at all. He had to

give her instructions on how to use the toilet (and flush it), how to use the sink, and best of all, how to use

the bath tub. She was a little uncomfortable with the idea of a shower (Marcus explained it was like

warm rain) so instead he ran her a bath. Then he left her alone so he could finally make that phone call.

He picked up the heavy receiver on the bed stand and tried to remember the numbers. It was hard

not having an impeccable vampire memory any more. It was a long distance number but he was certain

that the extra sixty dollars he gave the hotel clerk should cover the cost. The phone rang a few times until

a familiar voice picked up.

"Hello, speaking." A voice answered in a thick English accent.

Marcus cleared his voice. "Greg Martin, this is Marcus."

There was a brief pause. "Hello Marcus, I'm so glad to hear you're okay."

"Thank you. Have you got all the paperwork ready for me?"

"I do, everything is organized exactly how you asked."

"Good. I'm in Hilo, Hawaii, how long will it take you to get here?"

"Let me see here…" Mr. Martin sounded like he was checking a schedule on his computer. "I

can catch the next red eye out tonight from London and get to you by tomorrow morning your time. Will

that work?"

"Yes, that's perfect." Marcus continued to give him the address to the hotel they were located at.

"I have to ask sir, is the lady accompanying you?"

"Yes." Marcus answered.

"Wonderful. That's good news. Have you got a name for her that you'd like on the paperwork?"

Marcus hesitated. "I'll let you know when you get here."

Mr. Martin paused for a moment. "Very well sir, I will see you in the morning."

Then they hung up the phone. Marcus walked over to the bathroom door and spoke through it to

Didyme. "I'm going to run out for just a little bit, I'll be right back. Wait here?"

"Okay Marcus." Didyme called back.

He was glad that going shirtless in public wasn't a big deal here on the island. He didn't want to

draw any unnecessary attention to himself. He walked until he found a set of shops along the beach. He

went in and purchased some more clothes, only guessing at what Didyme might like or even her size.

One of the shops was owned by an Asian family and it seemed as though their shop had a little bit of

everything, with no specific specialty. He lucked out and found a set of clippers for trimming hair. He

purchased that as well along with a few more snacks and some ice cream. There was a mini fridge in

their motel room that he'd be able to store them in and he had always heard about how humans loved ice

cream. He wanted to be able to watch Didyme try it for the first time.

When Marcus came back to the motel his arms were loaded with the goods he'd purchased and he

was struggling to get the lock. Then the door opened for him from the other side. Didyme was there

wrapped in a towel with a gentle smile on her face. He almost dropped everything right then and there.

"Hi." Marcus greeted uncomfortably. It was bizarre that he could love her for more than a

thousand years yet she still somehow managed to make the butterflies flit around in his stomach.

"Hi." She smiled back at him. "Need a hand?" She took a few of the bags from his arms and set

them on the bed and he did the same while closing the door behind him.

"I picked us up some clothes. We really lucked out that the astronomer had so much cash on

him." Marcus smiled.

She pulled the clippers out of the bag and asked "What's this?"

"I need you to cut my hair off for me."

She gasped. "No Marcus! Your hair is beautiful."

He shrugged. "We have to start a fresh new life and part of that is changing our identities. I don't

want Aro to ever find us."

Her eyes glossed over for just a moment but for a different reason than Marcus suspected. "Do I

have to cut off all my hair too?"

He smiled at her innocence. "No, you can keep your hair." This seemed to relieve her a bit.

They pulled a chair into the bathroom and he sat in front of the mirror while she proceeded to shave off

his hair. It fell in long clumps onto the ground and she watched as Marcus' appearance transformed right

in front of her. He enjoyed the feel of her hands in his hair, gently moving his head from side to side as

she tried to make it even. It didn't look bad considering it was her first time using the electronic device,

any electronic device for that matter.

When she was through he said he wanted to shower to wash all the hair off of him so she went

back to sit on the bed and search through the spoils that he had brought back.

The feel of the warm water against his skin was relaxing and soothing to his aching muscles. His

body was still tired and sore from everything he had gone through in the underworld. When he was

through he stepped out of the shower and wrapped himself in a towel. Then something on the mirror

caught his eye. "Didyme + Marcus Forever" with a heart around it was drawn onto the glass through the

steam on the mirror. Didyme must have done that when she'd steamed up the bathroom with her bath

without realizing the message would come back once the room had steamed up again. Marcus had to

smile. He went to the bathroom door and as he opened it he caught a glimpse of Didyme getting dressed.

He stopped himself and pulled the door back to be a gentleman but then another part of him won out and

he cracked the door open again and watched her through the small gap.

She was mostly covered anyways but as she pulled on a thin black sweater he couldn't help but to

appreciate the transformation she had been through. Marcus had never seen her as a human but even in

this flawed and weaker state she was absolutely stunning. With color back in her skin she looked warm

and inviting. With the red gone from her eyes, deep brown irises showed her innocence and kindness.

She could now cry when she was sad, blush when she was embarrassed, she could sleep and he could

watch her dream. It wasn't her vampiric beauty that had drawn him in before; it was everything that was

her. Now as a human, there just seemed to be more of her and everything that made her her. That made

him happy, because she was everything to him.

Marcus stepped into the room and grabbed some of the clothes he had purchased for himself. He

went back into the bathroom and got dressed. When he came back out, Didyme was sitting on the bed

waiting for him. Now it was her turn to admire him.

She didn't end up missing his long dark hair as much as she thought she would. No matter what

his hair looked like, Marcus was always handsome. His blue eyes were piercing and she was glad to see

the true color of them. She admired his strong jaw and gentle lips. She loved the way he made her feel

safe, even in his human form. She loved the way that no matter where she was in the world, as long as

she was with him, she felt like she was home.

Marcus went and joined her on the bed while pushing everything else off the edge onto the floor.

It was still early, the sun was just beginning to set and the light filtered through the cheap curtains making

the room look like it was on fire with its gold and pink hues. They were both exhausted. So much had

happened on this day. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

"Thank you, Marcus."

"You're welcome." He whispered.

"No, I mean for everything. Thank you for giving up everything and leaving your life behind just

to save me. Thank you for risking your life just to save mine…"

He furrowed his brow. "Didyme, I didn't give up or risk anything. You are everything to me. I

need you to live. It's like you're thanking me for taking in a breath of air. Without it, I'd die. Without

you, I want to die. Don't thank me for being selfish."

She smiled at his words. He somehow always knew how to say the right thing. She lifted her

face up to his until their lips met, soft and gentle at first. Marcus traced his fingertips lightly up the small

of her back, the movement made her shiver into him. This triggered something in Marcus and he started

kissing her more deeply and with more force. He had missed her so much; to have her in his arms again

was more than he could dare to dream for. Their breathing became heavy and irregular as their bodies

pushed into each other, holding each other tightly. His lips moved down to her throat to give her a chance

to catch her breath. Her hands cradled his face, never wanting to let go again, never wanting this ecstasy

to stop.

But it did stop.

Marcus slowly pulled back and looked into her warm brown eyes. "I still want to marry you, you

know."

She smiled and her whole face lit up like the sun was burning beneath her skin. "I still want to

marry you too."

"Good." He said, and he kissed the tip of her nose. "Then let's wait." Marcus was always the

gentleman. He remembered how much her chastity meant to her.

She smiled and felt a surging mix of feelings. Mostly happiness, love, and warmth but also a bit

of relief, gratitude, and a tinge of disappointment. She kissed him softly on the lips again, just to savor

the feeling. Then she curled up against him and they fell asleep.