Matthias

by Ariana Kenny

  Chapter 8 Girl bites boy, boy lives forever?

  I drove in a stilted automatic way. The headlights were off, but with my still enhanced vision and the full moon I could see quite fine. I had so much rushing through my head, but above all it seemed somehow vitally important I get the car where it needed to go. There was enough time to drop off Cassie and the others somewhere safe first though. I realised more important things had happened over the last couple of nights than getting a car to its drop off point, but right now I had to cling to some kind of forward thinking- some constant. This was it. The steering wheel buckled under my grip as I tried to soak in the fact Michael had been taken, almost killed because of me– and for what? Cassie had her sister. The ache in my chest expanded exponentially.

  I couldn’t even begin to think about what I would say to Michael’s parents, what I would say to the police about him never coming back, never going back to college, to his job and life. I had nearly lost a friend, someone I considered family even though I did all the right things. Did I do all the right things? What was my attachment now to Cassie? Even though the blood was clearly weaning out of my system, it was just as clear to me that I didn’t feel I could leave her. My Cassie, my Cassandra. Thinking of her caused my blood to surge through my veins, and I could not deny I felt connected to her on an essential level. How the hell was I going to handle that with my run of the mill life? I contemplated leaving everything I ever knew behind. But I still had attachments – all the people I loved, and who loved me. Running wasn’t an answer.

  Instead I focused back on what I had learned the last couple if days - Nightmares from movies and books are real. They can hunt you down and you would not even know it unless they want you to. It is possible to meet a perfect stranger and connect with them in an insanely short time. Vampires are real and live in packs and run profitable businesses like clubs. I had probably hung out next to them on a Saturday night and never known.

  I was now known to at least a few, and not ones I would imagine would hold a place for me in their kindest of hearts;

  I had no idea what Cass, Cam and Violet intended to do now.

  Of all my thoughts, that last one messed with my head the most.

  Cam sat cradling Violet in the back seat. Violet was looking much better now, almost fully repaired, but clearly in need of a little more time, and likely more blood as well. Cassie sat next to me, looking her usual perfect self, though her lips were parted, her stare intent and her skin nearing translucency again. She looked like she needed to feed again, probably from the blood loss she suffered tonight. I couldn’t wait though, because I had a burning thought in the back of my mind and I needed to ask her questions and hoped she would be honest.

  “Cassie. I need to know I didn’t make a mistake tonight. Belil was evil, you are not. Right?”

  She looked back at me pensive. “There’s no mistake here Matt. Like I said before, Belil is a product of who we can become when we change, when we let go and there are no more ties. The change doesn’t mean we lose ourselves completely, but it is dark, and powerful, and corrupting. If someone spends a hundred years, five hundred years, or more, being powerful over others, if they craved that power before the change, if they let the dark take them….. that’s who they become. You don’t know what people have to do to survive when they change. They leave everything behind, their lives no longer remain, people they love reject them, die or sometimes the urge gets too strong and a newly turned vampire can even kill the ones they loved by accident. That’s a lot to ….adjust to. Along the way though, we don’t lose our minds, the essence of who we are. And we can still change - mostly.”

  Viktor’s change in actions seemed to make sense. “Viktor helped out because he realised he could do something else, make his own choices finally because the threat was gone.”

  Cassie nodded: “No doubt one triggered by realising what was good for his survival. You were amazing Matt. A natural for the unnatural….” That killer smile again – literally.

  “How is it you don’t hurt people if you drink from them?” I hoped for some really easy explanation.

  “You can influence people to let you …..take it. Either my mind, or drugging them with our blood. And it doesn’t hurt if you do it right.…” she added. “Not unless we want it to. It is possible to stop and take only enough to keep you going. You might need to drink more often, but it’s better than leaving a trail of dead bodies and ruined lives. If you let yourself get too hungry though, you need bigger feeds, you can always tell because we get cold until we feed again.

  I checked the view of the backseat with the rear view mirror. “So Violet is going to need more then”.

  “Yes.” a candid admission. “We’ll get it for her though. I don’t know if she could stop herself if she went out on her own right now. There might even be a hospital near by.” I looked disgusted so she corrected me: “For blood bank access. Not patients.” I was somewhat relieved.

  “How did she take him out? Not that I’m complaining.” I had wondered why I had been made redundant when she was released.

  “I don’t know. She didn’t used to be this strong.” Cassie admitted. “Maybe it was the rush of being released, rage. I’m not sure yet”. As I looked over her perfectly measured features, I pondered the thought that my new potential girlfriend could kill me in a heart beat – if she had one. I needed time to think, and I would get it or take it, so I could sort through this mess in my head. I was confused as hell.

  “Let’s get you indoors. The sun is coming up soon. I’m going to drop the car off and come back.” I kept to that plan.

  I found the next motel with ease and the four of them in the room as the darkness lifted and sunlight crept over the horizon. I welcomed the drive as the dawn cracked the sky bathing it in full but soft light.

  I made it to the address intended for the car at 8:30am and honked on arrival. I just wanted to get rid of the thing. A bronzed man in his mid thirties emerged in an open gold coloured robe and white silk pants wandered out of the mansion, past a small decorative fountain. His hair was as golden as his robe was and his features solid, though I did not see his eyes behind the sunglasses protecting him from the morning light.

  “You’re early” he called. “And what is with the car, it’s dirty”.

  I stepped out of the car and just stared at him. My clothes were ragged and bloodstained, I wasn’t clean shaven anymore and had a look in my eye, I hadn’t thought was possible until a few days ago.

  “OK, OK. It’s all good.” he soothed, and reading the look on my face adeptly. “Anything I need to know about how she drives?” he asked as he approached the car. I threw the keys at him without warning and he caught them with a stumble of surprise.

  “You put the key in it and turn it” I said, making a turning motion with my hand. I twisted and started walking back the long way to the town. I was exhausted but felt like I had a steady energy to draw off still. Cassie’s blood was still wearing off.

  A young woman came running down the stairs behind the proud owner of the car that had taken me on my fated trip over the last few days. I knew it was a woman even though I was not watching, from the sounds of her heels clacking against the steps, and the subsequent delighted squeal she let out when she saw the car.

  I turned back for a moment in thought. “How come this car, this day?” I asked curious to know the factors leading to my fate.

  “I won it in a card game last week. This man promised me this car – showed me a picture. I couldn’t believe I made it – he won almost every hand.” He grabbed the girl and squeezed her tight. “Sometimes you just get lucky, ‘eh.”

  “This guy,” I asked “Pale, dark hair, pendant like thing around his neck?”

  “Yeah – that sounds like him. Know him? Bit gaudy that thing round his neck for a man with so much cash to bash about, but hey….” He gestured to the car “….I’m not one to complain.” He grinned broadly, flashing super white teeth a
nd a self absorbed attitude. So that was it, Belil offered this guy a car just to get me there. Probably rang my uncle told him that ‘only someone who could be trusted like family’ could be used to get the car there could be the one to bring it. I smiled weakly and nodded, and began to walk away again. I left the man standing behind me, curiosity burning on his face.

  “Wait - I’ll call you a cab.” he called behind me.

  I just stuck my hand in the air and waved. I needed that time I had been looking for, so I walked back into town and pulled out a wad of cash from the bank. I headed to the local car dealership and picked out a red Mitsubishi that had seen better days. It would do to get me back home. No aeroplanes for me, I needed to drive. And besides……I still had one huge mistake to make on the way home.

  I arrived back at the motel while the sun still shone brightly, though I was so exhausted I didn’t need to wait for the night to sleep. I fell into the armchair, given the couch and bed were taken up by Cassie, her sisters and Michael. No sooner had I blinked, than I was asleep, my tired body slumping in to peaceful repose.

  As Camille, Cassie, Violet and I rested, shadows crept against the walls in the late afternoon light. A chair lay on its side on the ground, a leg missing as a hand trailed along the couch arm where I slept. The shape of a man moved over to Cassie, and drew up the broken chair leg, sharp at the broken end, to holds it at Cassie's neck as he reached forward towards the amulet that hung from it.

  As I became aware of what was happening, the figure paused, leaning forward into Cassie and inhaling deeply as he clasped his hand around the amulet, and drew his face into the light. Michael.

  As the light faded into dusk, Michael tugged the amulet, causing Cassie's eyes to fly open. Quickly, Michael drew back the broken chair leg to stab her, and on reflex, I propelled forward to grab the weapon and hurl Michael against the window. His body smashed the glass and pulled the curtains down as he fell to the floor. He rose hissing, pale and looking furious.

  Cassie sat up clutching at her throat the amulet chain caught about her fingers, to which Camille and Violet both responded by jumping to their feet. I took a protective stance between Cassie and Michael.

  “What the hell Michael!” I exclaimed as he boosted himself off the floor to stand.

  He growled quietly before he responded. “Really, you're gonna take her side?”

  “There is no side.” I tried to clarify.

  Cassie placed her hand on my arm. “Matt. Wait, there's something different.” she cautioned.

  Michael near laughed at her. “You're damned right there's something different. My best friend strung me out to dry for a fucking girl! And a dead one at that.”

  “That's not what happened. You know that.” I protested.

  “Yeah sure.” Came the responsive sneer from him. Then, without warning, Michael doubled over in pain, groaning.

  I took a step towards him. “What is it?” Michael looked up in warning, and growled again, clearer this time.

  In a gravelly, near demonic sounding voice he spoke. “Get away from me.” The sound stunned me for a moment before Michael lunged at me, pushed me so hard I crashed halfway through the wall behind me. By the time Cam helped me to stand, Michael had burst through the door and run out into the night leaving us to stare after him dumbfounded until I clicked back into the moment.

  Once I gathered my wits, I strode purposefully towards the new car, opening the door to the driver's seat as Cassie followed behind.

  “Matt, don't go after him. Don't do it.” Cassie insisted.

  “I have to find Michael. Whatever's wrong with him, I have to try and help him.”

  Cassie took hold of the door as I tried to close it behind me. “It’s too late. He’s gone. You won’t find him, and you can't help him.”

  I regarded her a moment. “You know what's wrong with him.”

  “Michael’s not going to be Michael anymore. He’s not lost. I think you know that.

  Matt”

  “What happened to him?”

  “I think Belil fed him from the Old Ones. He's turned.”

  The thought left me unable to breath. “He can't be. He's still alive.” I reasoned.

  Cassie simply shook her head. “Not for long. The blood will kill him. That was why he was in pain. Being changed by them - that's different. His will isn't his own anymore. He'll kill you once his heart stops beating.”

  I sat trying to decide what to do before I looked back at her, closed the door and simply acknowledged what I had to do. “I still have to try Cass.”

  As I drove away, I watched Cassie in the rearview mirror for as long as I could.

  I drove, not really having an aim or direction, though ended up heading back down the highway towards where we had come from and drove for an hour before I turned back around. Just outside of down, finally disparate from hope and realising I had no idea where to really start, I pulled the car over to the side of the road, under a streetlight in a deserted part of the road outside the town.

  I thought hard, rubbing my palm across my face when a movement in the road ahead caught my eye.

  There Michael stood silent, pale and disturbed looking, covered in dirt.

  I got out of the car, waiting in anticipation for him to break the silence. He did, though I wished from the words he spoke he hadn’t.

  “I called you brother.” His voice was normal again, though instead of the warmth I used to feel when he called me that title, my heart sank.

  “Michael. No, no! I am so sorry….” I felt like I had lost him, I had almost had him out of this mess.

  “Don’t lose sleep over me” he said, “I have never felt better” – his voice was off, eyes yellow, two large gouge marks prominent on his neck. He took a step towards me, but I took one back, horrified. My best friend for all these years, was like this. He simply smiled. It made my blood turn cold under my skin. He continued to look at me before he simply said: “Run” and the smile left his lips.

  I dropped into the car and drove off, throwing dust behind me, but as I pulled away Michael jumped at the car, holding on to the window for a moment while he snarled “be seeing you ….” at me. And then he was gone. Where and for how long remained to be known. I had a sense of dread and sadness mixed with relief. Technically he wasn’t dead and I hoped there remained some chance for him.

  “I wasn’t sure you would come back.” Cassie said. She had changed into a simple blue summer dress that clung to her skin in the breeze. It was just enough to show every curve but still not make her look like she was slumming it. I exited the car, leaning against it to face her.

  “So… I met up with Michael.” I keep my voice purposefully light though the content was far from it. There was a pause and I’m sure she knew what I was going to ask next. More seriously I looked at her and asked the question I already knew the answer to: “Is there any way Michael can come out of this, any way he can be alright? He didn’t look alright”. Was Michael doomed to be heartless, was a lack of conscience or care part of being what he was now? Cassie certainly seemed to be compassionate enough. She said she didn’t hurt people, rebelled against Belil. Maybe they were all the same and I had been taken for a fool to wipe out the competition. Belil was dead, no more threat, Michael however was an unknown.

  Cassie was quiet for longer than I would have liked. “I think Michael had something different happen to him.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. What more was there? Probably a whole lot more than I even imagined I reasoned.

  “Those creatures in the seal room. They are the OldOnes I was talking about before. The oldest ones.” she stated.

  “I had been wondering…..” I mused.

  “They pre-date anything we know. If you drink from one, you gain all this extra knowledge about the world before it was really born into civilisation, but…. When they turn you, it’s much darker than if it was just one of us. Belil kept them there and fed them a steady supply in return for access to the
underworld and other sources of power”.

  “Anything else I don’t know?”

  She smiled at me. “Lots, I want to teach you, if you’ll let me. But right now, that depends on what you want I guess.” She looked hopeful. “You could stay with me Matt. I can make you very happy. We can see everything there is. Even the Louvre. I know someone who can give us a night tour. Just you and I”. Her hand trailed along my neck. “We can be together. We can be amazing – You and I”.

  I shook my head. I wasn’t ready for that. “I’m headed back, I have some things to take care of. Where’s Cam and Violet?” Cassie’s shoulders sagged in disappointed resolution.

  “They’ve gone for a wander in town” she said.

  “Could you still use a lift?” I asked her face opened up again. Without further prompting, she bounded quicker than I could register to the passenger side.

  “I’d like that”. She quipped keeping her enthusiasm in check. Once we were both seated, she looked at me oddly and opened her mouth to say something, brushing her hair behind her ear. I stopped her.

  “We’ll work it out along the way.” I responded trying to sound nonchalant. I smiled at her, and her eyes gleamed back. Cassie pulled a drink from her bag and offered it to me.

  “A little something I put together for you if you want it.” she said. I took a drink and recognised the familiar taste of her blood mixed with iced tea.

  I had a girl, and a car, and could disappear if I wanted to. Granted the girl slept during the day, had some fairly tweaky needs at night, but she loves me I thought. Of that I was sure. It wasn’t just the tie between us now from her blood. Drive pumped through my veins with a need for something, but what. What do I want I wondered? But mostly I didn’t care anymore. Not now Cassie was with me. She stretched in the seat next to me looking limber and cat like as she planted her feet on the dash and the wind ripped through the car. Sticking her head out the window, Cassie inhaled deeply then looked back at me before turning to look at me thoughtfully. A smile curved her mouth and she sighed, looking relaxed.

  As we headed back along the motorway, a motorcycle gained on us, then tore past us at an incredible speed. When it dropped back, I saw Cam was driving with a remarkably recovered Violet holding on to her on the back. Violet winked at us and she and Cam took off ahead.

  I might have been going back to where I came from but I was far from the boy who left four days ago. Now I made the destination, the route and the rules. At least that’s how I felt and the best could be yet to come. I had a new extended family, a new outlook and a new future held ahead of me. I had reached out my hand and taken what was extended to me. Though I had lost a friend, I had also in a sense found part of myself, and I found her. She was dark to my light, and I day, to her night.

  Volume II What Happened Next

  Reason escapes the sane when all the rules change, for predictability and control are the food of the logical minded. Starved of these, there is nothing left but emotion, drive, and want. The mind will do anything to make the soul whole again, and the body will follow without argument.