Quarantined in Chaos (Nova Nocte) (8 page)

             
“Drink, Squirrel, please. It’s the only way.”

             
I swallowed and felt every cell in my body scream for more. I raised my tongue to the ash to coax more blood and drank until the world fell away. Cal’s voice drifted off and the zombies no longer concerned me. Opening my eyes, I saw my lover’s face more clearly. The pain subsided and I felt strong. The tiny cracks where each skin cell met appeared immense and cavernous; I became absorbed in the faint aura of power just beyond his face.

             
Suddenly the world assaulted my senses in a rush of noise and light. The sun would rise soon. It was an instinct as defined as the sensation of a stranger standing an inch from you. I looked at my sire and saw concern. Cal was shouting at him; Bubba and Marley Guy fended off fleshies and snuck peeks of me.

             
A wellspring of hunger rose with my worry. It mingled with the scent of blood and the cacophony of screams. Daemon was carrying me now as we all ran in search of cover; Cal carried the bags for all three of us humans.

             
Am I still human?

             
I passed back and forth between consciousness with its myriad of details I’d never seen before, and fevered dreams of making love with Daemon in a pool of blood. Each time I awoke we were closer to sunrise. Panic gripped me as I focused on the conversation between the two Undead.

             
“Daemon, you shouldn’t have done it! Turning someone takes time and all of the elements have to be right or they don’t come across right.”

             
“I don’t care Cal; I love her. I couldn’t let her die. She will be fine.”

             
“What if she’s not? You can’t bring someone across the divide on the fly like this; there is a reason for these laws.”

             
I watched the tree branches overhead and marveled that I could see the life glowing within them.

             
Focus. You have to listen and focus.

             
“She could live but be...damaged. It happens in cases like this sometimes and when it does, there is only one thing to do.”

             
“Squirrel isn’t damaged; she just hasn’t quite come out of her reverie yet.”

             
He sighed and slowed to increase the gap between us and the other two.

             
“My boy, if they don’t come out of it after the first day, they usually never come out of it. It has been two days and we are halfway through her second night.”

             
It hasn’t been two days; it can’t have been so long.

             
“We’s almost to da meetin place. Bubba say her map show we near da others now.”

             
“Thank you. Let’s take a quick rest before we push on.”             

             
The comforting sway of being carried ended. Daemon sat me up against a pine tree. I got lost in his smile for a moment before the symphony of crickets carried my attention away.

             
“She is fine, Cal. She smiled at me.”

             
The Roman’s hand held my jaw and brought my eyes to his.

             
“Squirrel, are you in there?”

             
Yes of course. I’m here Cal. I’m fine; there’s just so much going on.

             
Bubba’s voice wafted over.

             
“Is she gunna be alright soon? D’ya think there’s anything I can do ta help?”

             
His hand released me; it felt warm now.

             
“No, Forrest. I believe Squirrel is beyond help.”

             
“Don’t say that; she can hear you. I’ll bring her out of it Cal. It just may take a little time.”

             
“She’s as good as a comatose human right now. If you cannot handle what needs to be done, allow me; we can’t let her stay in this state forever.”

             
Marley Guy and Bubba moved away to set up a small cook fire. I watched intently as every move was guided by the tiny aura of light. Daemon and Cal argued over my head, but I couldn’t draw my focus from the ballet of movement.

             
It’s the atoms. Or molecules or something like that. That must be what I’m seeing: the intent to move is pushing the molecules out to do the task.

             
I looked at my open palm sitting limply by my side. A foot away was a patch of leaves.

             
Is that how they make fire?

             
The layer of light just above the skin grew tighter as I willed them to form together. My hunger grew as the energy within me flowed out to control the loose pieces of my essence. The trees whistled and whispered sweet nothings as the molecules wound tighter and became a thread of vibrating energy in my palm.

             
I pictured the thread stretching to the leaves and adding layers of power from other areas of my body. The end became an ember, flickering and dying, before I added more will from my mind to guide it to move more closely together and rub closer until the energy was multiplied. The leaves sparked and a flame burned for a minute or an hour; I watched the energy transform the dry leaf and feed itself off the dormant power stored within the deceased foliage.

             
The talking had dropped off when the fire was born. I observed my creation until it was finished.

             
“I told you she is okay, Cal. How else could she have done that?”

             
Caelinus replied in a hoarse whisper.

             
“That is worse than expected; she is unable to reenter the waking world, but powerful enough to make fire. And without any training. Daemon, I care for Squirrel too, but she is dangerous.”

             
Marley Guy cut his hand. The delectable scent of flowing blood blocked out all thought.

             
I was on him in a blink. Fangs forced their way through my gums with a pain so bad it made my vision waver. I sank them into his neck and held his head in place as I drank.

             
I was swept away in the ecstasy of feeding the need. Every cell in my body roared to life, drawing in all of the strength within the man -- my dinner. The sensation of a million climaxes echoed through my body with each swallow. I felt my mind sharpen and my feet steadied themselves on the ground.

             
I drank in time with the heartbeat that pulsed from my lips to the tips of my toes and back up to my eyelashes. As it slowed, I held him closer to me and lifted him. I was a child drinking carefully from a cup unassisted; frightened to let it sit too loose in case it falls and spills, wasting it’s precious contents.

             
The beating slowed and the flurry of endorphins waned. I suctioned more desperately, pulling the last few drops from the veins as his heart stopped pumping. A peace caressed me as I lowered the body to the ground and knelt beside it, overcome with the unprecedented level of calm satisfaction. I kept my eyes closed and held on to the feeling like one holds on to a pleasant dream for an extra minute before dressing for work.

             
Weak hands tugged at me and an argument raged over my head; the storm flung my name as the pull of the hands disappeared.

             
“Bubba, let go of her; she’s in a frenzy, she’ll kill you!”

             
“Daemon, get a grip on Squirrel and shake her out of it before she slides into her mind again.”

             
Gentle fingers brought my face to his. Bubba sat in the background; Cal standing guard over him. I looked from person to person before settling my view on the corpse at me feet.

             
“What happened; did I do this? I thought I was dreaming or something...”

             
Daemon hugged me and pulled me to my feet.

             
“It’s okay. You didn’t know what was happening.”

             
I felt the world shifting; there was too much of everything. Too much light in the darkness, too much movement in the still air, and too much aroma of blood hanging in the atmosphere.

             
“It’s not okay for Marley Guy. Fuck, I don’t even know his real name.”

             
I cried from guilt as the view changed slightly; as though I was watching my life and shifting further back. The sounds grew further away as my seat in my body gradually moved deeper into my head; the world felt like a movie.

             
“Daemon, come here and dispose of the remains. Then, glamour Bubba so that he will believe our companion was killed during the retreat. I will tend to Squirrel.”

             
My sire stood between his mentor and I.

             
“You won’t hurt her, will you? I know she’s a little shaken, but she’ll come out of it; just give her a chance, Cal. Please. Promise me, you won’t do anything to her?”

             
The edges of my vision blurred as though the camera had pulled back too far for the shot. In the center Caelinus straightened his hair and laid a hand on the weeping man we called Bubba.

             
“I promise you that we will give her until we reach the boundary to get well. However, if she does not, we must put her down. It is all that I can agree to and already it is more than our law permits.”

             
“I’ll take it. Thanks, Cal.”

             
The pair switched places and Daemon took Bubba with him into the shadows to clean up my mess. My body felt heavy, like a weighted suit, and I sunk to the cold ground. Cal took a seat beside me.

             
“Squirrel, I know you are in there; you couldn’t have spoken otherwise.”

             
Of course Cal, I’m right here. Wait, why am I not speaking?

             
“I can see the focus fading in your eyes. Stay with us; get through this. You nodded just now, so I know you hear me. Say something if you can.”

             
I’m trying Cal. Can’t you hear me? Move lips, form words; Cal please tell me you can hear me.

             
“I hear the buzz of you thinking at me, Squirrel. Try to focus your intentions. Please pull through this. I don’t want to have to kill you, you remind me too much of my daughter. Daemon needs you and I need you. Focus. Use the energy particles you see to make things happen. They can propel your thoughts.”

             
I felt sweat bead on my forehead with the exertion.

             
Cal, don’t kill me. I’m trying. CAL!

             
My mouth opened, but the sound stayed locked inside the viewing room with me. Everything had the faint glow of energy swirling around; it was difficult not to sit and watch.

             
“Very good! I heard my name, but barely. Focus, Squirrel, you can pull your way back to the world. Don’t let up. Come back to us.”

             
I felt his hands holding mine and tried to keep my eyes locked on his; I’d never seen them look so tired and worn out. The world inched closer and the draw of the world within increased.

             
I’m coming back. Don’t look away, don’t give up on me. Cal, keep talking. Please help me out of this grave within my body.

             
He smiled at the corners of his mouth.

             
“That’s right. I can hear some of your thoughts. Keep your focus. You are strong, Squirrel, you can do this. Don’t bury yourself inside your mind; that’s a death that can only be solved with a true death. Come into the world. Follow my voice and my hands.”

             
“I’m here Cal...”

             
The words eked out so low I was surprised they weren’t just thoughts.

             
He hugged me close to his chest. The sound of Marley Guy being buried in the distance came to my ears over the quiet sobs of the Roman embracing me.

             
“That’s right, stay with us. Just hang on until the grip of the revenant fades. You can beat this, Squirrel; you won’t become a revenant, you are a vampire. Keep your focus and fight it.”

             
I’m fighting. It’s getting stronger, but I am here.

             
I strained to keep my essence tied to the sensations; his arms wrapped around me, the warm tears falling on my shoulder, the steady shoveling of earth, and the low crackle of the dying fire.