Night World
Till the End of Time 2 A New Life
Happens far in the future and mostly centers around Ash and how he finds his soul mate again after many years once Mary-Lynnette passed on. Sorry I don't know how this got taken off or how long it's been gone.
The year was 2152 and Ash Redfern was a very unhappy vampire. His soulmate Mary-Lynnette Carter had died sixty-three years ago of old age. He was hoping she would be born again, but you could never be sure. She had died at the age of 98, which was extremely old for a human. He had promised Mary-Lynnette just before she died that he would continue to work with Circle Daybreak and do good works for her and he had done as she had requested and been a good person—well basically anyway.
~~~A New Life~~~
Meanwhile in another part of the same city
Maria Cutler had just turned 17 a few months ago and was graduating that year, but she always felt something in her life was missing. Other people considered her strange she never went out to a basketball game or even had very many friends. She always had her head stuck in an astrology book and at night was always seen gazing at the stars though her telescope. She had, had her share of boyfriends of course, but they had always broken up after the first or second date, because Maria just knew they were not the right ones for her. Not to mention the fact that she kept having flashbacks about a girl with brown her that looked like her—kind of, but also about a boy with ash-blond hair and ever changing eyes. She felt as if she knew this boy, although from where she did not know. She also felt this boy could tell her about her past, but she wasn't even sure he actually existed. It was weird she had never used to like to gaze at the stars until she had turned 14 then she had begged her father to buy her a telescope for Christmas. He had thought it was a strange request, but even he had to admit it got a lot of use.
Finally, school ended for the day and the bell rang. Maria sighed and got up from her seat just as her best friend Lynn approached her. Lynn's long hair was so blond it could almost be called white, but through it ran reddish highlights which gave her hair an almost shining silkiness, especially when standing in the sun. Maria sometimes felt so plain standing next to her beautiful friend that she wondered why Lynn even bothered to be friends with her. But when Maria had mentioned it to her, Lynn had told her she was very pretty just in a different way. Lynn's face was what could be called exotic, with her slightly slanted gray eyes, straight nose and full, but slightly pouting lips. Her face was a sculptor's dream. While Maria's face with her blue eyes, slightly crooked nose and straight black hair was pretty she would never be as beautiful as her friend would.
"Hi Lynn," said Maria. Lynn was the only person that knew about her flashbacks and dreams. Not even her dad knew that she had been getting flashbacks since the day she had turned 17, not to mention the dreams. It was as if she had, had another life and those memories were leaking out. The only trouble being that she didn't believe in reincarnation.
"How's it going Maria?" asked Lynn.
Maria getting the meaning instantly said, "Pretty good." Which; meant that she had not had any more dreams or flashbacks recently. It was their private code. If she had said terrible that would mean they would be talking later after they got home.
"That's good," Lynn responded. The people watching shook their heads at the weird conversation, but neither Lynn nor Maria really cared what other people thought.
Maria remembered the day she and Lynn had met. Lynn had just moved here from out of state and she had made no friends, because people considered her weird. What was weird anyway? Nobody knew, but her that Lynn could sometimes see things other people couldn't, like a vision and if she was really mad cause stuff to happen. They were called the weird sisters behind their backs and there were rumors about them that just weren't true. Maria snapped out of her thoughts when Lynn snapped her fingers in her ear. "Let's get going we have a test tomorrow after all," said Lynn.
Maria nodded and followed Lynn out the door of the school and to Maria's car.
"So what were you thinking about?" asked Lynn, as Maria drove out of the student parking lot. Maria didn't answer lost in her own thoughts. The cars nowadays were more hovercrafts then cars for they could hover in the sky. Well most of them anyway. Maria's could only be driven along the ground for her car was what was considered a classic. It was a 20th century station wagon. They had stopped making ground cars about 50 years ago. And that was another thing Maria was laughed at for, for having an old antique of a car and not one of the newer models. The thing was she had fallen in love with this car from the moment she had seen it and when the car salesman had found out what she had wanted he had laughed at her and given it to her for almost nothing. Saying if she could fix it she could have it and Maria had surprised not only the salesman, but her father as well by fixing it and having it running so smoothly it was purring like a kitten in no time. The car had just been sitting in the back of the lot going nowhere and it had been there for years. The company had never gotten rid of it for sentimental reasons. The only thing was she was not sure how she had fixed it all she could remember was following her instincts and nothing else. She could have had the car converted into a hovercraft of course, her dad had even offered to have the work done, but she had refused she wasn't sure why. Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted as she heard her name being called. "Maria, Maria," called Lynn.
Maria shook her head and turned to look at Lynn. "What?" she asked.
"Man your thoughts were a million miles away," said Lynn. "I've been calling your name for five minutes."
"Sorry I was just thinking," said Maria.
"Yes I've noticed you lost in your thoughts a lot lately. What's going on?"
"I'll tell you later I need to get my thoughts sorted out first," said Maria.
"All right, but I'm holding you to that," said Lynn, shaking her finger at Maria in a joking gesture. Maria nodded and continued to drive. A few minutes later they reached Maria's house where they both entered and headed to Maria's room to talk and study. "Hi dad," Maria called as she saw him in the den.
"Hi sweetheart," answered her dad, Fred Cutler. "You and Lynn; going to your room to study?"
"Yes we have a test tomorrow," answered Maria.
"Okay I'll bring some snacks up later," said Fred Cutler.
"Thanks dad," answered Maria as she walked past the den and up the stairs to her room, Lynn following. Her dad was the kind of dad most children dreamed of. He let her do basically what she wanted as long as she kept her grades up in school and didn't get into drugs or anything. The only problem was there was it was only her dad and her. Her mother had died when she was about ten and her dad had never remarried. So he had been raising his daughter on his own. Her dad was also a great cook unlike most fathers who could burn water without even trying. The Cutler family was considered weird among other things and they were not invited to many social functions because of it. One of the reasons why they were considered so weird or at least her father was because of the fact that he gave her mostly free rein to do as she pleased as long as she kept out of trouble.
The rest of the parents thought children needed rules and regulations to live by but her father didn't believe in all that junk, especially now that she was old enough to make her own decisions. And he had been proven right, even if the parents wouldn't admit it.
"So what's been on your mind lately?" asked Lynn, curiously.
"I know I've been a bit distracted and I'm sorry."
"Distracted? You call me saying your name for five minutes distracted?" Lynn asked her friend incredibly. "I'd say you were totally out of it."
Maria grinned slightly at her best friend's outburst and then started to laugh. Lynn looked surprised for a minute then joined in. When the laughter finally died Maria said, "Remember when I told you that we got my car for almost nothing because it was so old?" When Lynn nodded she continued. "Well the one thing I didn't tell you was that the only reason he gave it to us so cheaply was because it wasn't working at the time. He challenged me to fix it. He said if I could fix it I could have it. Well I not only fixed it, I had it purring like a kitten in no time."
"But how did you fix it?" Lynn asked in astonishment. "You don't know anything about car engines."
"See you know that and I know that, but it was as if in a past life I had, had to fix a car engine at one point or another and my past self was telling me how to do it. I so surprised my father he practically had a heart attack and then he was grinning from ear to ear he was so proud of me and the salesman practically fainted," said Maria with a grin remembering the salesman's expression.
"Don't tell me you believe in reincarnation," said Lynn, seriously looking at her friend curiously wondering what her answer would be.
"You know I don't, but sometimes I wonder—" said Maria, thoughtfully.
"Have you had anymore dreams lately?" asked Lynn.
"Not really, except one or two, but nothing major." After that all was silent for awhile as they studied for their test tomorrow.
~~~A New Life~~~
Half an hour later there came a knock on the door.
"Enter," said Maria looking up from her textbook. The door opened and her father stepped into the room with a tray full of brownies.
Lynn looked up as she smelled chocolate and her eyes lit up like candle flames when she saw the brownies. "Yum," said Lynn. "You always make the best brownies of any one in town Mr. Cutler."
"Why thank you Lynn," He put the plate on the edge of the dresser then left them to their studying. Lynn was on the brownies as soon as the door had closed and she started gobbling down like there was no tomorrow.
"Hey save some for me," said Maria in amusement as she watched her friend eat.
Lynn handed her the plate sheepishly her cheeks turning a beet red. "I'm sorry, but I never get brownies like this at home. Why do you think I'm over here so much, my mom is a health food freak and she absolutely does not, believe in chocolate."
"I know," said Maria, her amusement showing in her expression. "But you are going to make yourself sick, either that or you are going to gain so much weight you'll look like the blimp."
When Lynn's expression turned from one of glee to one of horror Maria couldn't resist any longer and laughed out loud. Lynn looked insulted for a minute then joined in for laughter is sometimes the best medicine in the universe.
~~~A New Life~~~
The next day
Maria awoke to the sound of her alarm clock going off. She groaned and pushed the snooze button. 7 minutes later it went off and Maria groaned again, but this time rose and slowly got out of bed. She and Lynn had both been up late studying. She just hoped she at least passed that test for it counted as fifty percent of her grade. Just that one test could pass or fail her for the entire grading period. Maria just wished for the day to be over. Maria hopped into her car a few minutes later and went to pick up Lynn. What she didn't notice was that she was being followed. "So how's it going?" asked Lynn as she threw her book bag in the back seat and climbed in the front. "I had another dream last night," said Maria as she drove.
"Oh what was the dream about?" asked Lynn.
"Well it was like this," said Maria slowly. "There was this brown hair girl. She looks kinda like me and then there was the ash-blond haired boy I've dreamed about almost every night since I turned 17. There was also this other boy with dark hair and he and the other girl look like sister and brother. I can't shake the feeling that I know him. Now here's the weird part. The boy got into a fight with a wolf and the girl came to his rescue with a silver letter opener—silver against a wolf? And the other weird thing is I don't know if I'm going crazy or what, but the wolf had a glint of intelligence in its eyes." Maria finished just as they pulled up to the school.
"Maybe it was a werewolf," said Lynn only half jokingly.
"Oh come on, werewolves don't exist," said Maria. But she didn't say it with utter conviction for somehow the words rang to true. For if werewolves existed did vampires exist as well? One thing she had never told Lynn was that the ash-blond haired boy-no man she corrected herself was exceptionally handsome. Maria and Lynn entered their first class together just as the bell rang and sat down.
The teacher passed out the tests and Maria tried to concentrate on hers, but it was difficult she could not stop thinking about the ash-blond haired boy. She had to solve this mystery or it would drive her insane. Who was the boy that could get this kind of response out of her? She felt as if she knew him, intimately.
Finally, one hour later, the test ended and Maria just hoped she had at least passed it or she would fail the class. After the first test of the day the rest of the day seemed to go maddeningly slow. Finally after what seemed like an eternity it was over.
Lynn and Maria left the school together and headed towards Maria's car. "I'll take you home then I'm going someplace," said Maria.
"Let me come with you," said Lynn looking at her friend worriedly, afraid she was going to do something extremely stupid.
"No this is something I need to do alone," answered her friend almost sadly.
Her friend nodded not understanding her reasons, but complying anyway.
~~~A New Life~~~
A few minutes later Maria dropped by her house and told her dad she was going for a drive and didn't know what time she would be home.
Since tomorrow was Saturday, she didn't have any particular time she needed to be home. "Okay honey, don't come in too late," said her dad.
"I won't dad," answered Maria. Maria left and started the car. She needed to go somewhere where she could think without being interrupted. She had to solve this mystery before it drove her crazy. She drove to the beach and just sat in her car thinking for more the half an hour. Finally, she got out, locked the doors and walked along the beach. The night was warm and there was a slight breeze blowing. Maria walked for what seemed like forever trying to sort her thoughts out. She knew there was something about her that was strange, but what she didn't know what.
~~~A New Life~~~
Ash parked his car and got out. He headed for the beach wanting to walk along the shore. Mary-Lynnette had used to love to come to the beach and walk along it with him, holding hands and kissing. Sometimes she had brought her telescope to gaze at the stars. How he missed her. Sometimes he missed her so much it hurt. He sighed unaware that anybody else was on the beach, but him.
~~~A New Life~~~
Maria unaware that anybody was following her gasped in surprise as someone grabbed her from behind. "You're mine now girlie," whispered a voice in her ear.
Maria who had stiffened asked, "What is it you want?"
"You," answered the voice roughly as he held a knife to her throat.
Maria tried to scream, but the hand on her mouth was clasped to tightly for her to do anything, but talk softly. Suddenly all the terror of having a knife held at her throat finally broke the last barriers in her mind and her memories of her other life came flooding back. She remembered her other life, her father, Claudine and her brother Mark. She remembered her name used to be Mary-Lynnette. She remembered Kestrel, Rowan and Jade the three sisters that had come to live in Briar's Creek with their grandmother whom had been murdered before they had ever arrived. She remembered that all three of them were vampires and for some reason that did not frighten her. And finally she remembered Ash her soulmate whom she could actually sense was not all that far away. Ash! She screamed mentally. Followed by; an extremely loud, wordless mental yell.
~~~A New Life~~~
Ash! Ash looked up suddenly when he heard his name unaware at first that the scream had been telepathic. It took him a moment to realize it was a woman's mental voice calling his name. Could it be? Ash thought. Could it be Mary-Lynnette be down the beach being attacked? Could she have been reborn again after all? All of this raced through Ash's head in an instant as he ran down the beach. What Ash saw made him mad as hell a werewolf was attacking what looked like a seventeen-year-old girl. Ash couldn't tell what she looked like in the dark but he was almost certain it was his soulmate. He knew deep in his soul that something had made him come to the beach tonight instead of going back to his hotel. "You let go of her," said Ash in a furious voice. The werewolf looked up noticing Ash for the first time. He dropped the girl to the ground and came towards Ash. But Ash was ready for him. He quickly bared his fangs and as the werewolf tried to grab him in a crushing grip, but Ash sidestepped and punched his adversary in the face. The blow was so powerful that it knocked the werewolf down on one knee with a broken nose. The werewolf rose slowly; and asked, "Why do you care about this human anyway?"
"That is none of your concern," answered Ash, throwing another punch at the werewolf. Finally, the werewolf decided the girl was not worth the fight and slunk off with his tail between his legs leaving Ash and the girl behind. Ash as soon as the werewolf was gone gently dropped to his knees beside the unconscious girl checking for a pulse. He found one and as soon as bare skin, touched bare skin it was almost like, an electrical spark jumped from her neck and onto his fingers. He gave a little gasp as the spark touched his skin and he couldn't keep himself from grinning. He gently picked the unconscious girl up and carried her to his car. There he laid her down on the seat waiting for her to wake up, kneeling beside her on the sand. He was that much happier then he had been in a long time that was for certain. He had found her at last. As he was thinking this Maria's eyes began to flutter and Ash's heart skipped a beat when he saw it. But suddenly he began to feel self-conscience. Would Mary remember him? He had no idea. All he knew was that he had found her. Suddenly Maria's eyes snapped opened and she looked around the unfamiliar car slowly until they finally fell on Ash's face. She sat upright all her memories flooding back including those of her other life.
"Ash," she said quietly.
Ash's eyes changed from black to gold to green all in an instant. "You remember my name what else do you remember?" asked Ash.
"I remember that we are . . ." Maria came up with the word slowly, "Soulmates, meant to be together down the ages."
"Yes," said Ash, grinning so widely that it almost split his face in two.
"And I remember that you are a vampire," said Maria.
"And that doesn't scare you?" asked Ash.
"No, for some reason that doesn't scare me," said Maria. "Thank you for rescuing me by the way."
"It was my pleasure," said Ash, kissing her hand. "Something brought me out to this beach tonight. I don't know if it was fate or what. I just know it used to be one of Mary-Lynnette's and mine favorite things to do. She used to. . ."
Before Ash could finish the sentence Maria finished it for him, "She used to like to bring her telescope and look at the stars."
"Yeah," said Ash. "How. . ." He let his sentence trail off.
"When that werewolf attacked me it was if the last barrier in my mind was broken and I remembered almost everything about my other life. It's good to see you Ash," said Maria, quietly, touching his face gently with her fingertips causing tiny sparks to ignite where she traced the outline of his jaw, then his cheekbones and finally his lips. He groaned in pleasure her touch caused him. Then Maria leaned over and kissed his lips gently and he responded in kind. The kiss lasted for a long time for they had not seen each other in over sixty years and they both needed each other desperately.
Finally, they broke apart and Ash made love to her right there in the sand. By the time they were done it was full dark and getting quite late. "I have to go Ash it's going to take me an hour to get home as it is."
Ash nodded and kissed her goodbye. "Here's the name of the hotel where I am staying and the number. Call me," said Ash.
"You know I will," said Maria. "Besides, I'll see you tomorrow."
"You will?" asked Ash, sounding eager.
"Yes silly, tomorrow is a Saturday I don't have school," said Maria. Ash walked Maria to her car and opened the door gallantly for her.
He looked the car then and his eyes got that far away look. "This car brings back so many memories," said Ash. "Mary-Lynnette used to own one just like it."
"I know remind me to tell you sometime how I came by this car," said Maria an almost wishful expression in her eyes. As Maria got behind the wheel Ash silently slipped a black iris pin onto her finger, "What's this for?" asked Maria, looking at it curiously.
"For protection," said Ash, simply.
"Oh," said Maria, studying it intently. After that Maria drove home thinking of Ash the whole way there.
It was well after midnight when she got there and she snuck into the house as quietly as she could to find her dad asleep in the chair. Maria shook him gently, touched that he had waited up for her. Her dad awoke with a start to see Maria standing over him. "Time to go to bed dad," said Maria, gently helping him to his feet. "You didn't have to wait up for me you know."
"Who, said I was waiting up? I just fell asleep in the chair that's all," said her dad, gruffly.
Maria grinned to herself and said, "Whatever you say dad." She helped him up to bed and then she went to bed for she was dead tired, no joke, intended.
~~~A New Life~~~