Altered Ch. 07

"It's Jack Johnson," I said and she looked skeptical so I pulled out my ID and showed her I was telling the truth. "What's your name?"

"Jenny."

"Jenny... what?" I asked. when she indicated she wasn't going to answer I said, "Never mind, I don't need to know. I found you in a car that was run off the road. You were dying and turning blue - at one point you stopped breathing and had no pulse. Lucky for you I know CPR and got you back into the land of the living. I haven't had time to check you over for other injuries..."

"Thanks for your help... I'm fine now."

I didn't know what her problem was or why she was pushing me away and to be honest it pissed me off.

"You don't look fine to me. You look like shit! You look like an emaciated dog! If I leave you here, you might survive the night but judging by the people who were after you I doubt a shitty emaciated dog will last much longer than that!"

"Ho- How do you know that people are after me?"

"I guessed as much, why else would you insist that I not take you to a hospital? I can put two and two together."

She grew quiet and looked like she was thinking quite a bit and she mumbled "Shitty emaciated dog?"

I left her side and went into the bathroom and got a washcloth and wet it. The hot water didn't seem to be working so cold would have to do.

I walked back into the room and she still sat there in silence but she looked up at me from time to time. I approached her and lifted the cloth to her face. She flinched at first but accepted my help as I pulled the hair away from her face. I cleaned the blood off of her face and search for a wound and found none.

"Where is your wound?"

"There is no wound."

"Where did all of this blood come from then?" I asked, and she just looked at me refusing to answer the question. "What's going on? If you're in danger, I need to know."

Still she refused to answer.

I invaded her mind and read her conscious thoughts.

"How come you have no wounds?" I spoke into her mind.

Her eyes grew wide but her thoughts betrayed her as she remembered.

*******

"I have to get away... I'm not going back," she thought, tears rolling down her face.

The tires screeched as she took each curve. She saw it again, the bright lights from that dark car, relentless, a demon.

She couldn't go back, but this cheap Malibu was being pushed to its limits, her car was fishtailing at every turn, it wouldn't be long until she lost control.

The car was catching up to her now, almost out of desperation, it must have known that she wouldn't be taken alive. At the straightaway, she saw the demon pull alongside her, it's black tinted window sliding down then a flash of light revealing the sinister driver. She felt numb but kept her head as she rammed her car into his. It did nothing. The crash and clamber of metal on metal, but the cars kept their course neither budging.

She felt weak, why did she feel weak? What was that pinch on her side? She looked down to see blood pouring from her side... Her eyes grew dim, he wanted her alive, didn't he?

She was dead for sure, it would only be moments before she lost consciousness. Out of nowhere a deer jumped out onto the road, right in front of the black car. The demon panicked and tried to shove her with all its might. She hit the side of the road, tires flying over potholes, the side of her car grinding into the guardrail. It wasn't enough, the demon and the deer became one; it's windshield opening up, blinding him. The demon swerved away and she didn't see what happened to him because seconds later she blacked out.

When she came to, she was upside-down in the back seat. She was cold, bloody and numb. Her head and side ached and it took all her energy to right herself. Blood was everywhere, it blinded her, she realized that besides being shot she must have a head wound. This was it, she was dying. She had to try, it was her only hope. Slowly she sucked - her own lifeforce ebbing away, feeding back into herself both healing her wounds and killing her at the same time. Her fat was the first to go, her breasts, thighs and ass were gone. She looked skeletal! She shrugged, at least she wasn't a slave; she would die free - she was not consoled by that.

*******

"STOP IT! Get out of my head!" she screamed.

"Sorry," I said, pausing at her mortified face. "I - I had to know. You are not the only person being chased. I had to know if I could trust you or if I should dump you with someone else."

I continued cleaning the blood out of her hair and saw a hairless patch on her head, presumably her old wound.

"Are you Ataruian?" I asked.

"Wha- Atari what?" she asked, flabbergasted.

"You don't know? You're an alien hybrid, all psychics are."

"What are you talking about, I'm not a psychic. I can't read minds."

"Reading minds aren't the only abilities of a psychic. You are a vampiric..."

"I am not a vampire!"

"Ha, ha, no. Vampirics are not vampires, they are psychics. Most Vampirics end up feeding off of people's life forces to extend their lives and to stay young, much like the legendary vampires of old, thus their name. However, they don't suck their blood through fang's in their teeth, they are not allergic to garlic, they don't turn into bats and they aren't hurt by the sun, crosses or wooden stakes any more than anyone else is."

"Yes, well when I get like this... I get - cravings," she said, with a worried look on her face. "You can't be near me, if I lose control I could kill you or even worse."

"THAT'S why you were acting that way?"

"You saved my life," she sniffed, "I don't want to return the favor by taking yours. THEY made me take so much already..." she moaned, tears running down her cheeks.

"How does it all work?"

"What? You need to leave before I kill you."

"I doubt you can kill me. How. Does. IT. WORK?"

"OK, fine. You asked for it. I have to touch someone. I can drain their lifeforce and transfer it to myself or someone else. When someone receives lifeforce it heals them and makes them stronger. The problem is that ledger doesn't balance, I take more than I give. If I heal myself..."

"It saps you more than it heals you... That's why you look so skeletal, I get it. Do you kill everyone you sap?"

"No, but it will often weaken them and age them temporarily. The problem is the hunger, when it overwhelms me I become very strong and very fast."

"Go ahead, sap me."

"No, I'll kill you," she cried. "You need to leave."

"Like I said, I don't think you can kill me. Besides, you're not out of control yet, wouldn't it be better to do it now while you can still control yourself? Take enough to heal yourself."

"Please, don't make me do it... they made me do it every day... it will turn you old and feeble... it's horrible."

"Maybe... I'm not going to MAKE you do it, but if you don't do it to me you'll do it to someone else. At least with me you'll have consent."

"Yes, but it will also enslave your mind to me... I - I don't want to ever do that again."

"It's not permanent, the enthrallment... didn't you know? You have to keep sapping someone to keep them enthralled to you. I am psychic, I have barriers in my mind to prevent you enslaving my mind even temporarily. I know what you are. I read about you."

"What do you mean? No one on the outside knows about us..."

"I read up on you online, on an Ataru website," I said, reassuringly. "You probably are part of a sect that have been keeping you ignorant of Ataru society. The less you know, the easier you are to control... Now, you can see, I know what I am getting into and I can counter your abilities... I am not going to let you die, not after all the work I did to keep you alive..."

"I don't know," she said skeptically.

"I'm not sure why you're so skeptical."

"I'm SKEPTICAL because you conveniently came up with a way to counter my abilities... I'm no dummy... I have never heard of anyone able to counter our abilities before. AND, if you WERE the ONE guy that could, what are the chances that we would meet like this?"

"I guess... but if I am willing to help you and have demonstrated knowledge of what you can do, then your conscience is clear."

She seemed to be debating something in her head before she asked, "You say it's only temporary, but why do they stay enthralled?"

"Did your thralls get sapped everyday by someone in your clutch, pack, err, whatever you call yourselves?"

"I, I guess maybe, I never thought about it before but you might be right, our thralls were passed around and shared..."

"You see, then I might not be wrong... right?"

I grabbed her hand and after a few minutes I heard a resigned sigh.

"Fine," she whispered.

I used my second sight to see if I could figure out what she was doing. Pain shot up my arm and the sensation of electric shocks flowed through my body - head to toe. I saw the energy surrounding her, and I saw energy leave me and fill her. It didn't flow directly from person to person rather it spilled out of me, some of the energy spilling off into the air. I found myself fighting the outflow and I dug deep.

Just like the knowledge of how to use telekinesis was revealed to me during a time of stress so too did the knowledge of how to control the vampiric ability. I not only stopped the outflow of my life energy but I also started to reverse it and absorb her lifeforce.

She looked at me in shock and let go of my hand.

"What did you do?"

"I figured out what you did... I guess I can do the same."

She looked at me ashamed and said, "I'm so sorry, I told you what it would do to you..."

I turned to a mirror and my face was a little older looking, and my hair had a new grey streak. I turned back to her and I noticed her features. She was radiant and her eyes were sparkling. She took the pitcher of water I had on the side table for her and she downed the whole thing in seconds. Her lips became full in minutes, her breasts grew to about a C-cup, her skin filled itself in as if she were a blossoming flower during spring.

I felt weak, but my strength was returning.

"Your, face is getting younger," she said with wonder. "I never thought I'd see the day. I'm thirsty, I need more water!"

I gave her a couple of bottled waters out of my backpack which she finished off in a matter of minutes. I went back to the bathroom and filled the pitcher back up and gave it to her. I went back several times, she had to have drunk a couple of gallons by the time she finished.

She got out of her bed and I noticed that her body filled out. Her legs were shapely, her ass was round and plump and her hips completed an hourglass shape.

"You... recovered!" she said, amazed. She started crying and murmured, "Thank you, Jack..."

"The name is Nate," I said, and she gave me a knowing smile, "But please call me Jack when we are around others."

"OK, Nate!" she said, happily.

"Get some sleep, Jenny. I'm going to go out to the SUV and get some supplies."

By the time I got back, Jenny was sound asleep. I tried getting a secure line out to send some emails to the girls letting them know my progress but the wireless was too spotty in the cabin so I just gave up and read books on my Kindle all night, tending to the fire.

Even though I fully healed myself my hair color did not change back. I guessed because hair is composed of dead cells, healing didn't do anything for hair. I had no idea why life draining changed some of my hair to grey if the cells were already dead and yet it did. I could have regrown my hair back out but I decided to keep it that way. It made me look older and since I was incognito anyway it didn't matter.

I didn't trust Jenny yet. It's not that she was raising any red flags or anything but I think it stemmed from my paranoia. I watched way too many movies. I read too many books where a weak character would do anything to survive, even betray someone that saved their lives. Jenny was a self-admitted slave who somehow escaped, if she were presented with an opportunity to survive or betray me, who's to say that she wouldn't?

*******

The next morning, I heard her groaning awake. I looked over and Jenny looked like she was suffering from a hangover.

"Good morning! I left some Tylenol and water over there," I said, pointing to the side table.

"Thanks, Ughhh, I need a shower!"

"You're in luck, this dump is better off than it looks. They have a tankless water heater, it wasn't turned on last night but I checked it out this morning and I got it started up."

"Great!" she said, reaching for the pain relievers.

'Knock', 'Knock', "I'll get it, go take a shower. I left a t-shirt and some boxers in the bathroom. Leave your bloody clothes on the floor, maybe we can wash them if not I'll see if I can get you something from the front."

I opened the door and saw a sickly old lady standing in the snow.

"Hello young man. I came to see if you needed anything... and to check you in..." she said, as she went into a coughing fit.

"You got a cold or something?"

"No! No, I'm afraid I'm dying, I ..." and started coughing again.

I reached around her and pulled her inside and said, "Come in, please! It's cold out there."

Me and Mrs. Turner chit-chatted about this and that while Jenny finished her shower and I held her hand. She looked at me weird but didn't pull away. Slowly I fed her some of my life force.

"You don't happen to have any spare woman's clothes I could buy off of you Mrs. Turner?"

"You haven't even settled up the room and you're asking for more things?" she chuckled. "What's the matter you two come up here for a quick tete a tete and forget to bring a change of clothes?"

"I guess you could say that... she needs a change of clothes. How about it?"

"One hundred dollars a night and I need to see your ID, I'll see what I can do about some clothes for her. Customers leave behind clothes here all the time, I collect them and give them to Goodwill once I get a big enough load to take with me into town."

I pulled out two hundred dollars and gave it to her.

"The roads won't be plowed 'til later tonight. We have a diner, come get some breakfast."

She turned to walk out the door, right before she closed the door after her she turned to me and said, "My, my, my, I'm feeling a lot better all of the sudden... maybe I'll see you there," smiling at me.

Once she left, Jenny came out of the room in a T-shirt and boxers. I'm always turned on but for whatever reason - THIS - turned it up a notch. I'm not sure if it was the fact that she was wearing my clothes, or the demure, seeking approval look she gave me that did it but I was instantly hard. I knew I had to get out of there before I embarrassed her or me.

"Listen, I'm going to go get some air... to be honest you are turning me on with that outfit."

She turned red and was about to turn to run into the bathroom when I said, "Look no need for that, you don't need to be embarrassed... You're an attractive woman. No shame in that. I'm going to get you some transitional clothes until we can get you something better... Then maybe we can get some food at their diner?"

"OK," she said a little meekly.

I stepped out of the cabin and I saw Mrs. Turner off in the distance and hustled after her, following the trail she made in the snow. I was able to catch up pretty quickly since she was the trail blazer.

"Mrs. Turner, hold up a second," I hailed.

"Ah, Mr. Johnson did you forget something?"

"Well no but I wanted to see if I could get those clothes from you, Jenny would love to get some breakfast and well..."

"I see, well follow me to the front office then, the lost and found bin is over there and I can give you back your ID while we are at it," she grinned. "I don't know what has gotten over me, I haven't felt this good in years."

When we got to the front desk, she pulled out a couple of trash bags full of clothes.

"Don't worry, everything has been washed..."

As I sorted through the clothes, I was surprised at all of the sexy lingerie in there. It set off a few fantasies that were quickly dismissed. I tried to find some practical winter wear for her to use. There wasn't a lot that would fit her but I did come up with some pants, a T-shirt more her size, a long sleeved plaid shirt and a warm sweater and coat. All of them looked straight out of a thrift store but they were better than the bloodied clothes she had on last night.

I was curious so I asked Mrs. Turner, "What do you do with people's IDs, is there a national database you log all your customers with?"

"Oh, no, not at all... most of my clients are truck drivers and more than half of them are ex-cons... I'd lose a lot of business if I did something like that... No, I just keep a log in this book and only use the ID's for those using credit cards... most of my customers pay cash."

"I see, good to know."

She looked at me mischievously, "Why? Are you expecting trouble?"

I blushed a bit and she chuckled, "I didn't think so... You're a good sort, I get enough of the bad to tell the difference," she said handing me my ID.

I thanked Mrs. Turner and headed back to the cabin. I saw Jenny sitting in an armchair in the corner with a worried look on her face. I handed her the clothes and she kind of grimaced but said thanks.

"Listen, what I said earlier, maybe I was out of line," I apologized. "I guess I have been so used to being around people that have no sense of discretion or decorum when it comes to sexual things that I spoke out of turn. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me and if it makes you feel better I'll try to keep my thoughts to myself..."

"No, no... you were fine, and really what woman wouldn't want a little honesty mixed with self-control," she began, finally looking up at me to assuringly. "It's not you, it's me... I have been a slave all my life. Not a sex slave mind you, but a slave nonetheless. The thought of being under someone's control frightens me..."

When she said she wasn't a sex slave I could tell she was lying, but I didn't need to correct her on it.

"Look! I get it, I do. Let's just be friends... who are honest with each other... I mean why not? I'm not looking for a relationship as it is. You're attractive. I have my issues with sex, but I promise you I will treat you with respect. I won't cross any boundaries... unless you cross them first."

She looked at me with hope and nodded her head.

"OK, then it's settled... Put those on, we're going to breakfast!" I said giving her a sympathetic look. "I know they are not very flattering but we'll get better things for you later when we get into a town."

She looked like she was welling up and thanked me again. She walked to the bathroom to change, before she reached it however she leaned over and kissed my cheek in passing.

We made our way over to the dining area, which was nothing more than a cafeteria with a grill. The dining area reminded me of a summer camp, with the typical picnic table like setup. They served up the standard pancakes, eggs, bacon and omelets of your choice. Jenny didn't know what to get and after I grilled her I came to realize that it wasn't indecision but ignorance that drove her. She had never had pancakes, eggs or God forbid bacon. She never had bacon! I didn't understand how this was even possible but this had to be rectified.

I ended up ordering six stacks of pancakes, four eggs over medium, and eight strips of bacon for both of us to share. I figured I'd start out with the basics and move up from there. To see her eat was like watching a child eat its favorite food for the first time. She was oohing and aahing the whole time, if she were a cat she'd be purring. I was beaming with pride as if I had invented pancakes myself.

"How can you have not ever eaten eggs, pancakes, or bacon?"