Ever After (41 page)

“Who are you reaching for?” Will asked. “I’m right here.” He wrapped my out stretched arm into his own.

“My mom, she is here. I see her, but she wants me to go back.” I struggled to whisper.

“Listen to her; it’s not your time Corrine. It is normal to see loved ones who have passed before us as we die, but she’s telling you it’s not your time now. You must listen to her love. Listen to her please.”

Will’s voice was getting muffled, but I understood him. Slowly my mother’s image faded away. I knew somehow, it was not time for me to see her yet. I still had thing so many things to do here on earth, especially with William. I took a painful deep breath and did my best to fight the deep fog my body was trying to slip into. I felt so tired, and wanted desperately to just sleep, but the sleep I feared would be permanent, one from which I would never wake from.

I watched Roth shove Todd and Kyle, down making sure they were in fact knocked out. I was amazed at Roth’s strength, but it stood to reason, he was a power lifter in his human life, and he was in the military as well. I was thankful he came when he did, or William would be dying as I was now.

Chapter 28

Roth’s Past

Roth had been drafted to the Vietnam War shortly before his twentieth birthday. Will had told me the night before he was to be deployed; he went to China town in New York with some other guys from his barracks, to enjoy one last night at home. Roth had been separated, from his group and gotten lost, being drunk did not help.

A woman, who he had stopped to ask directions from, attacked him. It was an elderly lady or she appeared to be anyway. The woman led him to a small house tucked in a back alley. She gave him some coffee to sober himself up with, or so he thought.

The coffee turned out to be laced with opium, and it knocked him out cold. When he awoke he was in gut wrenching pain, the woman had bit his neck, and tied him to a steel post in her home. The woman turned out to be a vampire, and wanted Roth for a companion. She was not in fact old, but nearly his age and very beautiful.

Roth stayed with her, for a number of years, until he felt he could no longer take human lives, to sustain his own. He wandered alone for several years, until he ran into Taylor who was a member of the Followers. Roth had not known other vampires existed that hated killing humans. He was relieved to know he wasn’t alone.

Taylor brought Roth to the coven and to Doc where he stayed and found peace. It was amazing that I could think if Roth’s life story as I lay here, but so many things ran through my mind as we waited for Doc and Pratt to come for us.

“Hurry up, she looks bad, that jack ass Todd bit her...” I heard Roth on the phone; his eyes were on William and me as he spoke. “No, he’s ok he’s beat up but not too bad. I knocked out those two, one ran into the woods. I have no vial, or I would have killed his ass!”

I knew he was taking about Todd. I too wished he had a “vial” (of dead blood) of course. I hated to think after we left here, Todd would wake up and be even more hell bent to get me. Roth hung up and came to kneel next to Will. I could see how dark green his eyes were, as he seemed to be studying me.

“Is she breathing ok?” He asked.

Will took a staggered breath and blinked slowly. “No, she’s having long pauses in between, that’s not good at all. I don’t know what that venom will do to her. I know her body was weak, too weak for this, for all of this.” He pulled me closer to his chest as I shook.

“Damn.” Roth simply said, as was customary of Roth. He was simple but cared deeply for his coven, his “
family
”. “Doc and Pratt are two miles out, they ran into a chick from the Dark coven, she said she helped get Corrine out of there?” He looked at Will confused.

“Yes, Corrine told me about her. It seems she was taken against her will and turned into a vampire. I think she said one of those guys with Todd was her boyfriend.”

“Wow, well I guess she’s with Doc now, she wants to be a Follower.” I was happy to hear Sayann had found Doc and Pratt, and they were accepting of her. I knew how desperate she was to escape Kyle and the Dark coven. At least one thing had worked out tonight.

It was starting to rain harder, now. That really did not help me much. I was already frozen, despite Will’s efforts to warm me. He picked me up and he and Roth moved closer to the thicket under the pine tree where Will had originally hid me. The rain seemed to hit us less there, but the wind was picking up now as well.

“Will, hold her up a little she looks like she’s having trouble breathing.” The alarm in Roth’s voice scared me. I was in fact having trouble, but was so dizzy and afraid I did not realize the big pauses between breaths.

“God, she is.” Will knelt down into the frozen leaves and snow and angled me up wards. It helped somewhat, but not enough. “Damn it Roth what are we going to do?”

Will’s voice was now full force into panic mode. I must have really looked bad, as they both stared at me, terror in their eyes. It was hard for me to breath but I was holding my own. I thought so at least. I guess I was wrong from their reactions.

“I’m going to call Doc and see where in the hell they are. I told them our exact location!” Roth flipped open his cell and dialed Doc’s number.

I listened as he spoke; his voice was rushed and emotional. “You guys have to get up here now, take that frigging thing off road. Corrine’s getting worse dude I’m not kidding!” He was yelling now. I could hear he was talking to Taylor; he must have been driving the others. “It’s just past the bridge, were at the top of the hill, in a clearing of pine trees, haul ass man, its serious tell Doc to be ready!”

“Where are they?” Will snapped, his patience blown.

“Not too far from here, I told Taylor to just go off road, if they try to get here on foot it will take forever”

Chapter 29

The struggle

The rain was even harder, we sat waiting to be rescued I heard a scuffle from where Todd and Kyle laid knock out. I gasped as I saw Todd was no longer there. It was then I saw him behind William, he wrapped his arm around his neck putting him in a chokehold. He tried to hold on to me but I slipped out of his arms to the cold ground. Roth grabbed the back of Todd’s neck and tried to pull him off Will.

“Get the hell off him you pansy, fight your own kind!” Roth yelled, as Todd shoved Will all the way across the clearing into a tree.

He hit the tree hard with the side of his head. I covered my mouth as I let out a cry. Todd then grabbed Roth and threw him too. I was shocked, as Roth was ten times stronger than Todd was. Todd moved next to me instantly, he knelt down and looked into my eyes.

“Did you really think I would not make sure you were dead?” I curled into a ball, too weak to run or even try to move away from him. He grabbed my leg and pulled me closer. I clawed at the ground trying to stay away. I could feel the wet cold mud under my fingernails.

“No, please!” I begged. Todd only laughed as I felt his hand around my throat. He was squeezing so hard I could not breathe. I struggled and gasped trying to claw him and get away. It was no use he was so much stronger than me. I could feel it now, what I had been trying to hide from, out run and avoid for over a year, this was death.

The sounds around me were dulled, my ears began to ring. I could only hear the slowing sound of my own heart beat in my head. I tried to hold open my eyes but it was no use, my body had nothing left to fight with. My hands began to tingle, my legs were numb. The sound of my heart seemed to be louder filling my head, but the beats were getting slower and slower.

I felt my chest tighten, as I felt Todd drop me to the ground. It did not hurt, as it should have. I opened my eyes one last time, and saw Will and Roth yank Todd away from me. Will had a vile; I knew they were going to try to kill Todd.

Will had planned it all along should he get close enough to Todd. He had told me many times, he would do it. I never questioned him, as an animal like Todd did not deserve to live in my eyes anyway. I tried to see if they got him, but that’s when a pain so strong, so piercing tore across my chest. I cried out in sheer agony.

I could hear my own pleas for help now. I also heard something else as well, my heart stopped beating, and all went dark. I opened my eyes for a minute, to see William running towards me. He slid to his knees to where I lay.

I felt him take me into his arms. He whispered my name waiting for me to answer him. I could hear him and feel his touch, but it I could not respond to him. I had only been “out” for a minute, but now I was hearing everything and not able to move or speak. I lay in his arms motionless, as he fell apart right in front of me.

Chapter
30

Losing my self

William was losing his mind as I lay in his arms. I felt him move me; he put his ear to my chest, to listen for my nonexistent heartbeat. I felt him grab my wrist hoping to feel a pulse. I could feel his hands shaking, and his breathing was fast. He was freaking out.

He stroked my cheek and said my name, begging me to come back to him. I knew he was crying, as I felt his hot salty tears drop on to my ice-cold cheek. His tears that he shed would have to be for me too, because along with everything else I couldn’t do, I could not cry either.

I wanted to take his hand and kiss his lips, tell him I was ok but obviously, I was not. I could not understand why I was not able to do anything. I tried to squeeze his hand, or open my eyes but my body was in some kind of
off
mode. I was like a TV with the mute button stuck on. I was limp in his arms, unable to hold up my head. I bet I really did look dead, but was I?

Roth scuffled with Todd, again and from what I heard he forced him to drink some of the vial of dead blood, at least Todd got what he deserved. I heard him choke and gasp, trying to spit out the blood. Roth had forced him to swallow it.

“Die Todd, you deserve an agonizing death for all the hell you have caused Corrine and William.” Roth said in a low and deadly voice. “I would kill you with my bear hands, but that is not our way. The vial will deliver you to hell, where you came from, and where you will return.”

I could hear everything remarkable well; even the sound of the rain hitting the pine trees was magnified. I marveled at how I also could hear Kyle in the distance as he ran from Roth, he was cussing up a storm hitting every branch as he ran for his life. This was crazy, why was I like this, it was so much like when I was in the hospital after Todd tried to make it look like I had committed suicide.

I was in a coma then, and clearly recall feeling pain, when the drugs that had given me for it wore off. This was different. I felt nothing, not hot or cold, no pain of any kind. I could feel myself being touched or moved but that was all. I could not open my eyes, or speak and it sure as hell seemed like my damn heart had quit beating, to me and everyone else.

I hoped and prayed this was not my fate. I could be buried alive, or whatever you want to call it, just like this. I wanted to cry, but like everything else, I could not do that either. Will was self-destructing right before me, he was falling apart. He held me whispering my name repeatedly, the tears he cried falling on my cheek, could have been my own if I could have shed them.

I felt as if my heart was being ripped out. I was dead to him, to everyone. I was stuck in some kind of hell. I wanted to comfort Will, but it was not even possible. The pain he felt, in thinking, I was lost to him, I felt too. It was worse for me, because I knew I was not dead, but I could not tell him. I was trapped in my own body, it had become a prison.

Will seemed to be on the edge now. Roth was at his side. I felt him touch my wrist gently with his big hand. I knew he was trying to see if he could feel my pulse. I knew he wouldn’t, just has Will could not find one.

“Will, my God I’m sorry,” his voice was low and filled with emotion.

“I failed her, I let this happen, she needed me to protect her and look what happened.” I felt him stroke my hair softly. “I love you Corrine, you are everything to me, please don’t go, don’t leave me here alone without you.”

“Will, you did all you could, we tried to get her back. You did all you could for her,” Roth said.

I knew Roth was trying to comfort Will but he was inconsolable. I felt the rain drops mingle with Will’s tears now. He sat in the clearing on his knees. I was lying in his arms, like a rag doll, lifeless. He quit speaking, and it worried me deeply. I knew something was wrong.