Demetrius Ch. 30

Chapter 30

The three crossed the highway, waiting inside the tree-line -- shaken and confused -- out of sight of those who came to investigate before the police and paramedics arrived. Constance and Isabella wanted to leave. Alexis refused to move -- resisting their efforts in making her. They could go if they wanted but she had to remain. In spite of their telling her he was dead -- she couldn't bring herself to accept it.

"You two wait here. If I don't come back, go to Adrian's and Anastasia's estate. If you can retrieve the luggage, do so -- if not, you can hitch a ride. If you want, you can change form and wing your way up north."

"Wait -- Alexis. Are you sure you're all right. Maybe we should stay together," Constance said looking concerned.

Alexis reached into her purse, putting her sunglasses on -- tapping the nose-piece firmly in place with her finger. The same finger she used in poking him, so many times. The sunlight was bright, too bright in spite of the contacts she wore. Besides, she didn't want them to see her reddened eyes. It was enough they could read her thoughts and feel her feelings, telepathically.

She made haste returning to the wreck -- almost flying across the highway -- to him. The front half of the limo looked like an accordion. When she saw Kitty -- her lifeless body -- she touched her cheek, whispering something in some language. The closest meaning or translation was:

"Sleep well, sweet kitten."

A few motorists cared enough to stop, to ask if they could help. The look of horror in seeing the driver and Kitty spoke loud enough. Obviously they were sickened by the sight. Alexis told them she was a nurse -- they should wait for the ambulance.

"Demetri -- can you hear me," she asked though he remained unconscious -- bloodied, with little pulse. Right or wrong she did what she felt she had to do -- biting him as hard as she could -- sinking her teeth into him. In a few moments she heard him moan -- moving slightly, a tremor.

"It's all right darling. I'm sorry we couldn't wait. I can't bear the thought of losing you. I have to risk it now -- changing you. It's in the name of love -- as selfish as it may seem."

He heard her words in his head, not knowing if he was dreaming. He managed to take hold of her hand -- too weak to squeeze it. He felt her squeezing his, reassuring him while she remained busy at his neck. His eyes moistened as he felt a mix of joy and sorrow. There wasn't a cold well into which he fell. Instead, it was a warm sensation spreading through him -- one of intimacy and surrender. All the things he once thought were important were fading, becoming meaningless as a new, different awareness came forth.

While she was still at his neck, Constance and Isabella entered, taking what they could of their luggage. She felt one of them touching her. No words spoken. She and they knew all there was to know. The three of them heard the sirens far off in the distance prompting their leaving. Alexis remained doing what she could to conceal the puncture wounds -- wiping the blood from her teeth and smearing it on her face. She wanted to appear as though she'd been injured too.

On the way to the hospital, while in the ambulance, one of the paramedics told her how lucky she'd been -- not to have been injured seriously. With tongue-in-cheek, she told them it was because she was wearing a seatbelt. Also, telling them Demetri was her fiancé -- she needed to stay with him.

He remained unconscious until late that night. She sat in the chair beside his bed, in the darkened hospital room -- closing her eyes, beginning to sleep. About an hour later, he opened his vampire eyes for the first time -- sensing and feeling things he couldn't before. He didn't know why his senses were enhanced and what happened. He remembered being in the limo, bouncing around like a die in a shaker-cup and then the deafening sudden impact, being hit.

He was about to find out soon enough -- what happened to him. The first thing he sensed was her presence. He turned, seeing she was resting peacefully -- lifeless. He reached, taking hold of her hand. Her first response was reflex, ready to fight until she saw it was him -- awakened at long last. She moved onto his bed, asking how he felt.

"I feel weird -- what happened," he wanted to know.

"We were in a bad accident. You were close to death and I felt I had to -- to do something."

He couldn't believe it -- what he thought she was saying but he could feel it -- in his newfound awareness. It was more a sensation than mental telepathy. His hand went to his neck, feeling the telltale bumps. He looked at her in disbelief -- she smiled with her eyes in confirmation. It was wonderful for her -- changing him -- fulfilling some innate instinct.

Seeing a mirror above the sink, he got to his feet slowly. She'll always remember that particular moment when he saw nothing -- looking in the mirror as he did.

"Oh my god -- Alexis," he said turning back and forth from her to where his reflection should've been. Strange, it never occurred to him to ask her about reflections -- or the lack of them. He knew there had to be a reason for it -- something he'd ask another time.

"You've done it. I'm a vampire now," he said looking down at his arms and hands -- making fists.

"Holy shit," he said.

She got off the bed, looking down the hallway.

"We're getting out of here. Get dressed and wait here while I have a look around," she said.

"Okay," she heard him say mentally when she turned, touching his cheek.

"Very good," she said looking at him to see if he heard her -- he did.

After awhile and when he was dressed, she returned. She reached into her purse for a spare pair of sunglasses telling him to put them on.

"How do I look? You know, as a vampire. Am I what you expected I'd be?"

"Yes -- better than I expected. If someone says anything, just keep walking. Even if they come after us -- ignore them. If they become physical -- I'll handle it -- got it?"

They walked arm and arm down the hallway at a rapid pace when he felt the urge to giggle. It was more because of how good he felt than what they were doing. He felt invincible, never experiencing such a sense of euphoria before.

"Don't you dare laugh," he heard her telepathic words of admonishment.

They stopped, waiting before they got to the desk. She peeked around the corner and when the time was right, she hauled him by the arm -- walking faster than before, until they were out the door.

It was almost four o'clock in the morning. There was hardly any traffic. He couldn't transform himself -- he hadn't learned how it was done. Her instincts for direction helped her in knowing where they were -- about twenty miles southeast of the estate.

She walked steadfastly ahead of him, along a country road. He was lagging behind distractedly, looking down at his body, like a little boy, feeling his new sense of strength in being when she stopped suddenly. He bumped into her unexpectedly. She opened her purse taking out two liter-bags of blood, handing one to him. She popped one open with her trusty fingernail.

"It's nourishment. We're going to need it because we're going to run the rest of the way. It's up to you if you want to drink it -- you decide."

He watched her drink, squeezing out the liquid into her eager mouth. It reminded him of those frozen-drinks of Kool-Aid he liked as a boy.

"I don't think I'm ready yet. Maybe I can have a small taste -- to see what its like."

She handed her bag to him. When he stuck his tongue out to take a taste, he saw how it was changed. He looked down at it with eyes crossed -- puzzled and helpless looking -- making her laugh in the predicament he found himself in. Once he extended it, he didn't know how to get it back in his mouth, until she showed him.

"Watch," she said showing him how to coil it up, resting it in the bottom of the mouth. The new and unfamiliar discovery was enough for him. He decided he wasn't ready to taste human blood after all -- having enough to adjust to already.

"I'll keep the bag in my purse with the others, in case you change your mind. Are you ready to try out your vampire legs," she asked taking the sunglasses from his face -- putting them and hers in her purse.

"Wow," he said looking around, seeing it was like daylight, not believing it was nighttime. He turned the whole way around, getting caught up in the experience, seeing what the night was like for a vampire -- marveling in it. When he looked at her again, she was already far ahead of him. He took off running after her, thinking the game was on. It was incredible, he never ran as he ran that night. He felt he could go on and on forever if he wanted to. They ran about ten miles; at what he thought was an astounding speed. It was -- he had no way in knowing it exceeded forty miles an hour at times.

They met with a few cars heading in the opposite direction. Both of them slammed on their brakes when they saw them -- something -- running down the road at such speeds. He could only imagine what his and Alexis's eyes must've looked like, eerily reflecting the headlights back to the drivers.

They were on a dark, isolated stretch of road with no one in sight -- alone together in nature. Not only did he feel nature surrounding him, he felt he was a part of nature. It was not a human experience and therefore it defies human description. Yet it was a feeling unlike any other.

Suddenly she stopped; neither of them out of breath. She took him by the hand, making those wonderful laughing sounds inside her throat -- leading, if not pulling him into the woods with her. She got out of her clothes hurriedly, watching his face for the response she wanted in his seeing her naked desire. He knew exactly what to do -- her timing impeccable. She probably could've snapped her fingers and he'd get an erection by this time -- she trained him well. He undressed quickly, ready to partake in the natural act of copulation.

It was beyond thrilling. His senses were such he couldn't help but ejaculate too quickly. They did it again, so he could get it right. They fucked until hearing the first sounds of morning and seeing the growing light in the sky. There were no thoughts or feelings of love -- the joy he found in the act with her was all he needed. It was just good down-and-dirty fucking with someone he still adored, satisfying them both in their need for it.

"We have another ten miles or so to go. Take my purse and put my clothes in it -- I want to fly for awhile. And I want you to see me transforming. I'll show you how we learn to do it when we have time."

He watched in bewilderment and amazement. Her transformation was quick. He picked up her clothes; having no problem in seeing her fly off in the direction they were headed. He took off running after her -- seeing her batting her wings ahead of him -- laughing his vampire ass off in this new life of his.

Though she couldn't speak as a bat, she spoke to him using telepathy. He heard her thoughts as clearly as if she spoken them aloud. She'd fly far ahead of him, only to return to buzz his head when he heard her say,

"Come on fucker. Is that as fast as you can go?"