Ever After (42 page)

“Do you have the other vial?” Will asked Roth, it had been quiet for so long, if I were capable of jumping I would have.

“What? Uh… yeah, but why? That Kyle dude took off. Todd hasn’t moved in twenty minutes, he’s dead I’m sure.” Roth sounded confused about Will asking about the vial.

“I just want to be sure he’s dead, let me hang onto the other one, just in case.” I could hear a strange edge in Will’s voice, an under lying urgency to get that vial.

“No, I have it don’t worry about it man.” I could hear Roth move back closer to me. I then felt him take my wrist once again. I marveled at how warm his fingers felt, I longed to feel that warm again.

“Did you check her over good, she might be in shock or something, and you know she may not really be….” He paused trying hard not to say the D word (dead).

“Gone… we have to be sure.” Gone, well I was so not gone if only I could just get up, yell at them both, and tell them.

“I did check. I found a weak pulse, and that’s when she was still able to speak to me, right after that freak bit her. I can’t believe he did that, why….. It’s just sick to hate somebody like that!” Will sighed.

“I want to be sure, Corrine’s system is pretty jacked up, so she could be having some insane reaction to the venom.” Roth was gentle as he placed two fingers against the un bitten side of my neck trying to feel for a pulse.

I could hear him sigh as he found nothing. Then he pulled back Will’s coat that covered me to listen to my chest, for
any
heartbeat. I felt him place his ear carefully on my chest, as he waited. I hoped he heard something. He quickly covered me back up with Will’s coat.

“Damn it! I didn’t hear anything, this is so screwed up I swear!” Will was silent, and that concerned me. “I will call Doc and Pratt, again. I know they will know what to do for her Will you know that too don’t you?” He asked cautiously.

“Do I?” Will’s voice was low and unsteady. I was really scared.

“No really, Pratt’s a genius he will know how to get Corrine back, I know he will.” Roth was trying to be convincing, but a slight waver in his voice told me Will’s behavior was worrying him too.

“Tell me cousin of mine, how does one bring back a human from death? I was not aware Dr. Pratt was God himself. God would have to be the one to give Corrine back to me now. Death is final Roth, of all the creatures that roam this earth; vampires are the authorities on that subject, especially full bloods wouldn’t you say?” Will sounded disgusted.

“Yes, death is the end all, unless you are a vampire, than it becomes part of you for eternity.” I was shaken by his words and disturbed by the silence from Roth. I knew he was too.

“Will, come on now, she’s not fully human. Pratt will know what to do and if he doesn’t I know Corrine wouldn’t want you to be talking like this.”

“Like what?” Will questioned.

“Like it’s over, everything you know. Corrine loved you….” He groaned at his past tense referral of me. “She loves you, ok? If she is gone… or whatever, she would never want you to do something stupid to yourself. You understand me?” Roth was getting short tempered now.

“Stupid? Really? That has a lot of definitions doesn’t it?”

“Will come on quit that, be real here, and listen to me!”

“I am and I know what Corrine wanted better than you.” He snapped.

“Really is that so?” Roth fired back.

“Yes!” He yelled.

“I know she didn’t want you to
die
, not by Todd’s hand or your own. That’s what I know William Darcy!”

Roth’s words stung me and sent me back to the afternoon he came to talk to me about Will. Roth had been worried Will would go off the deep end if I really did ever die. I made Roth promise me he would watch over him, and make sure he did not do anything foolish to himself if I was not here to look after him.

“Really? Well I know she did not want us to be apart, she did not want to be without me ever.”

“Yes, I am sure she meant that, but while you were both here on earth, not if she went before you. I got to know her pretty well, and I know she would never want you to hurt yourself over her!” Will still held me close to his chest. I could hear his heart beat increasing, as he got more and more upset.

“Look Will, let’s wait for Doc to get here before we do anything ok?”

“Eternity is a long time. I use to dread each day after I became a vampire, did you know that Roth?” Will’s tone was eerie.

“What? Uh… no I guess not.” He again was caught off guard by Will’s increasingly odd behavior.

“I wondered what good having eternal life was, without someone to share it with, someone to love. I tried to find things to interest me, like Doc had with his love of medicine. My mother loves astrology and the stars. I couldn’t …I had nothing to interest me. I merely existed, like a rock or a tree, an inanimate object… with hair.”

“Will …uh you’re freaking me out ok, what in hell are you getting at here?”

“What I’m getting at Roth, is that you don’t understand what Corrine was to me. I have waited my entire life, for her. I never knew love of her kind even during my short time as a human, and definitely not as a vampire. You don’t know what it is to have what little soul you still have to be brought to life by love, and then have it crushed when that love is gone.” His voice wavered with emotion.

“Corrine gave me life, she made me feel and think and want to live each day. I know she thought I saved her, and she always told everyone that, but really, she saved me. I don’t want this eternity, this gift they say we vampires have. It’s no good without someone you truly love to share it with. Corrine was to share it with me all of it. It just doesn’t work without her. I can’t comprehend my life without her in it, and I don’t want to.” Will sighed as he bent his head down to kiss my forehead.

“I can’t say I understand it Will, because I haven’t loved like you. I haven’t met any girl I would die for, or even cut my pinky finger for anyway. I can honestly tell you though; she loved you the same way and would not have wanted you to end your life over her.”

“I can’t.” Will gasped; he squeezed me tighter, as if he feared Roth might take me from his arms.

“You must honor her William, don’t give up, you must be strong now, for her for the coven. Do you know what killing yourself would do to your mom? It would destroy her, she loves you so much and Doc too. Think of the others who love you, you have to think Will, really you do!” Roth pleaded.

“I can’t think, I can’t even breathe anymore, it’s too much, all of it!”

“You are stronger than this, come on now!” I could hear Roth move closer to Will. I figured he was putting his arm around him or something.

“Give me the vial.” Will simply said. The low voice he used scared me, he meant business now.

“No, I will not. You might want to die but not while I’m around William, not this day!”

“Give me that damn vial now!” Will’s voice was louder.

“No!” Roth yelled back. “I told you I won’t. I know what you’re going to do and I’m not letting you.” I knew what he wanted to do, and I was terrified now.

I wanted to grab William and shake him, and tell him he couldn’t hurt himself. I forced myself to open my eyes; I wanted to see what was going on. I couldn’t stand not seeing what was going on, it was too much. I could see them after I blinked the rain out of my eyes. Roth was holding the vial out away from Will, trying to keep him from getting it.

Will was pushing him trying to knock him down; the ground was a mixture of ice and mud, making them slip. Will was a mad man; he was attacking his own cousin. I knew he had lost his mind, and it was because he thought I was dead. I tried to move but my body was frozen, as I watched Roth and Will fighting. The freezing rain was starting to come down and they began to start slipping more, as Roth struggled with Will.

“Come on Will, stop it!” Roth yelled, he had slipped in the mud and Will had a hold of the hand holding the vial. “Don’t make me hurt you, damn it you’re crazy!” Will was fighting hard to rip the vial out of Roth’s hand.

“Give it to me, now!” He slammed Roth’s hand down hard onto the ground hard.

I heard a sound in the distance, it sounded like a low hum. I strained my ears, trying to figure out what it was. I was praying Doc was near, Roth needed help with Will. I could not turn my head, but I was in shock when headlights cut through the rain. A vehicle barreled through the brush, climbing up over the fallen trees near where Will and Roth were fighting. I could see it was a black hummer, and it had cut through the thick woods off road to get to us. Roth looked over and yelled to whoever drove it

“Come on, hurry up!” He yelled.

I knew Roth normally would have been stronger than Will, but he was out of control with rage and anger, over my “death”. I watched Doc run toward Roth. Taylor, had been driving he ran out following Doc. Pratt got out next, he scanned the woods, until he saw me on the ground.

“Will its Doc, what are you doing here?” Doc’s voice strained. Pratt ran over next to Doc.

“He’s flipped. Corrine’s dead, she’s over there.” He motioned his free hand over next to the tree where I laid.

“What?” Pratt yelled, as he saw me laying there. “Jesus, this is a nightmare.”

Pratt ran to me and slid in the mud on his knees, snatching up my wrist to feel for a pulse. I watched Will, who was now on his knees, the rain pelting him. His hair was pasted to his head from the rain; he was staring at the ground, not responding to Doc who knelt beside him talking.

“Will, can you hear me?” Doc shook him hard. “Snap out of it son, it’s Doc, do you see me?” I waited as I felt Pratt trying desperately to find my pulse.

“Will, its Doc, come on now look at me, say something!” He yelled. It seemed like he was frozen much like me. I started to think he was ok, as he slowly lifted his head.

“She’s gone, there’s nothing for me now.” He whispered in a very soft voice.

“We don’t know that, let Pratt look her over.”

“Why? I felt her die in my arms, don’t you think I would know, if she were alive or not?” His voice wavered with emotion; Doc looked pained as put his hand on Will’s shoulder.

“Let’s just not jump to conclusions here ok, we are going to take you and Corrine home, and sort this out right now.”

I listened to Doc trying to talk to Will. He was not having any luck, as he would not answer any of Doc’s questions. I could hear Pratt talking to himself under his breath. He kept saying he knew I should never have been allowed to go home, it was not safe.

The way he moved so quickly, looking for a sign of life from me, made me nervous. I knew my eyes were barley open so they would not take that as a sign, I was still here. I watched Lydia and Emma follow Taylor from the hummer, which was caked in mud, the running lights cut through the foggy night sky. Lydia went to Will’s side, and Emma ran to me and knelt next to Pratt. Taylor stood next to Roth as he filled him in, they both turned to look at Todd’s still motionless body, laying mere feet from me.

“This is a frigging night mare, man!” Taylor sighed rubbing his head.

“Tell me about it, I still don’t see how Will fought those three off for so long on his own, with him being sick and all?” Roth said softly, watching Doc still kneeling down next to Will.

“Adrenaline.” Pratt said in a monotone voice as he was pulling out his stethoscope.

“What?”

“He was fueled by anger and adrenaline, unlike us; he still has that being a half blood. It gave him the strength to fight. He was trying to protect Corrine.” Pratt explained.

“Oh… like when mothers lift cars up by themselves to save their kid or something?” Roth asked.

“Yes, something like that.” Pratt ignored them as he focused on me now.

“Is she ok?” I could hear Emma’s soft voice ask. I felt her gentle hand on my arm. She rubbed it in a motherly way, trying to comfort me. The silence that came from Pratt made my stomach turn. It was a few minutes before he answered her. He put his hand over his mouth and sighed loudly.

“This is bad Emma, very bad. You must not say anything around William, but if what I am seeing here is correct.” He paused looking at William. “It looks like Corrine has died.”

I wanted to scream to cry to beat the crap out of somebody! I was not dead. I was here right here, and nobody knew it. I tried to blink, but my eyelids would not move an inch. Pratt yelled to Doc to come over immediately, Roth and Taylor took over seeing to Will. Doc knelt in the mud next to Pratt on the other side of me now.

“I can’t find a pulse here at all; I have looked and tried but nothing!” He said in a hushed tone, so Will would not hear him.

“You must know of something dear, is she in shock maybe?” Emma asked in a whisper.

“My God this is all we need, Will has lost his mind over there, and he won’t even look at me. Christ have mercy this will be the end of him Pratt, we have to try to get her back!”

“I know… I just don’t know what happened. It’s almost like she got some venom, in her or….” I felt him pull my heavy ice coated hair off my neck. They all three gasped in shock, at the bite mark Todd left on my neck.