Soul's Divide Ch. 01

"Tonight." He knew he couldn't make it one more day without feeding. The monster inside of him had to be fed soon. Even at that moment, it wanted him to lunge across the desk and claim her now.

"Tonight? I...I don't...I have so many things to prepare." She shook her head, uncertainty painting her face.

Daniel leaned forward and held out his hand. After a moment's hesitation, she placed her hand on his. "I don't want to prolong your suffering. You've already prepared for this. There is nothing left to do."

"Ok," she sighed. "I better go prepare for tonight. Thank you, Dr. Gray."

She got up and made for the door. "Lily," Daniel said, stopping her. He got up and walked over to her. He slowed his breathing and extended his senses. His pupils enlarged to the point that they almost covered up the green iris of his eyes.

Lily's face relaxed. Her eyes took on a glazed and unfocused look. Daniel stared straight into those eyes. "You will feel no pain," he told her, his voice echoing slightly in his own ears. "The cancer can't touch you anymore. You are free of it, forever."

"Yes," she whispered, her pupils dilating as she took in his Command. A smile spread across her face. "Free."

Daniel breathed out and shut his eyes. The Command would only last a day, but that's all he needed. The pain would never touch her again. He could give her that much. "I'll pick you up at your place tonight. I'll call you when it's time. Tell your parents that you love them."

Lily shook her head and blinked her eyes. "I will, Dr. Gray. I hope I don't frighten them. I don't want them to know that tonight..."

"I understand," Daniel said sympathetically.

Lily looked sadly at him before turning around and walking out of his office. Daniel leaned against the door and sighed. One day, he hoped he would gather the courage to end his miserable existence.

He tried telling himself that he only fed on people that were about to die anyways, but the excuse sounded hollow even to his own ears. He wasn't some angel of mercy. He didn't offer this to terminally ill people because he truly wanted to help ease their suffering.

No, he did this to feed his hunger. He did this because he was a vampire.

***

June 11, 8:55 p.m.

Daniel pulled up to Lily's house and waited in his BMW. He saw the blinds on the living room open quickly and then close. Moments later, Lily opened the front door and looked back over her shoulder, apparently talking to her parents.

He smiled appreciatively as she bounced down the sidewalk toward his car. She wore a tight blue dress that emphasized the subtle swell of her breasts and the curve of her hips. The dress came down to mid-thigh. She wore blue high-heels that gave her a couple more inches in height. For a woman who had battled cancer for the past two years, she was absolutely beautiful; very skinny and pale, perhaps, but still absolutely beautiful.

"Hi," she breathed, as she sat down. Her eyes sparkled with something that almost resembled...excitement.

"How're you feeling?" he asked, concerned.

"Great!" she said, beaming. "I can't believe it; ever since I came back from your office, I haven't felt any pain at all! I think my body knows it doesn't have to fight for much longer."

Daniel smiled. He was glad that his Command was giving her such peace. "What do you want to eat for you last meal? I can get us into any restaurant you want."

"Well," she said shyly, "I was thinking..."

"Yes?"

"I want to go to my favorite burger place." She watched him intently for his reaction.

"That's fine by me," he assured her. He was oddly touched by her choice. She didn't want to eat some fancy dinner; she wanted something comfortable that would remind her of the good times in her life.

She beamed at him. "Thanks! I know I'm a little overdressed but I don't give a shit!"

They rode to the burger joint in a comfortable silence. Daniel's hunger was dormant right now. It always was right before he fed. He looked sideways at Lily as he drove. She looked so at peace with her decision. Would he ever be at peace?

Maybe at the end. Will I ever die?

They stood at the counter and made their orders. Daniel no longer ate human food but he couldn't sit with her on her last night and not join her. So he ordered a small hamburger combo. Lily ordered the largest hamburger on the menu, delightfully telling the bewildered cashier that she no longer had to worry about calories.

They squeezed into a corner table in the busy burger joint once they had their food. Daniel ate mechanically as he chatted with Lily. "What did you tell your parents?"

Lily set down her hamburger, and for the first time all night, she looked sad and scared. "I told them I was going out with friends tonight to celebrate the good news I received today. I didn't tell them what happened this morning."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"It's ok. I just worry about them. I hope my death doesn't hit them too hard. Can I tell you something that's bad?"

"You can tell me anything, Lily," he assured her.

She nodded gratefully. "I realized that for the past few months I've really been living for them and for all my friends. I think I was done fighting months ago. I'm very tired and very ready for this to be over. I want to be selfish now, you know?"

"I can understand that," Daniel replied. "Death is a scary subject for people to think about. I've seen people on their death beds comforting their family. It should be the other way around. They aren't the ones dying."

"I was so angry," she admitted. "I kept thinking, 'Why do I have to comfort everyone?' I had to be so strong. I didn't want to be strong. I wanted someone to hold me as I cried my eyes out and told them how scared I was."

"And now you're ready?" Daniel asked.

Lily nodded firmly. "I don't even want to tell any of my friends goodbye. I've been doing that for two years now."

"You're very brave, Lily. It tears me up inside that the universe doesn't want a beautiful woman like you walking around."

She smiled tremulously and looked down at her hamburger. "You're very kind. I know the cancer has robbed me of any beauty I might have once had...but thank you anyways."

"Stop thinking like that!" Daniel snapped, somewhat angrily. Why couldn't she see? "Do you really think cancer can rob you of your beauty? The beauty within your soul shines through, believe me."

Daniel paused to give her a moment to wipe her eyes before he continued. "And physically? Yeah, the cancer made you pretty skinny, but have you seen the looks you have been getting from the guys in this restaurant?"

Lily snapped her head up in surprise. She turned her head slowly and caught several men peeking at her. The smile that spread across her face was transcendent. "Thank you, Dr...Daniel. What do you say we get out of here? I'm beginning to lose my nerve."

"Ok," he agreed, his heart heavy in his chest.

***

June 11, 10:02 p.m.

Gabrielle sat in the shadowy corner of the bar and slowly scanned the room. There was a rowdy group of men and women at one table next to the jukebox. Her gaze lingered there for a moment before moving on. A group of three women were sipping on cocktails at the bar. They didn't appear to be anything more than working-class women enjoying a night out.

Gabrielle took a good swallow of her Miller Lite and then sighed. She couldn't spot anything. Dives like this shitty bar were usually feeding grounds for vamps. But it seemed that her luck was bad tonight.

Just as she was setting down her empty bottle of Miller Lite and getting up to leave, the door swung open. A man in dark clothing stood on the threshold, his gaze taking in his surroundings. Gabrielle leaned back into the shadows. The man seemed satisfied about something; he approached the bar with a smile on his face. The three women swiveled in their chairs to glance at him.

"Demonus," Gabrielle breathed. She felt her fingers tingle as she swiped her hand slowly through the air.

The air around the man seemed to shimmer for a moment. He snapped his head up and looked over at the corner where Gabrielle sat. His eyes glowed red and long fangs stuck out past his lip. But the image was wrong, distorted; it looked as though the ghastly image was superimposed over his normal face.

Gabrielle smiled as the air stop shimmering and the man turned his perfectly normal head away. She had found her vampire.

***

Detective Pearson leaned back in his chair while the people around him laughed at some raunchy joke. It was a good night to enjoy some beers and yuck it up with his coworkers, but something seemed off. That woman from the night before was still haunting his thoughts.

"And so I said, drop it scumbag! And,whoosh, his pants drop around his ankles, his cock flapping in the wind, all sad and pathetic looking!"

The table erupted in more laughter, but Pearson was only paying the slightest attention to it. He had just taken a sip of his beer, his gaze wondering around the bar, his thoughts still on that woman, when he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Someone in a shadowy corner of the bar waved their hand slowly through the air.

Pearson lowered his beer slowly.I have to be imagining it. I've been thinking about her too much. That's why...

But for the smallest of moments, Pearson could have sworn that he saw the outline of that woman, Elizabeth. If that was really her name. Whoever it was, they dropped the hand they were waving and leaned back into the shadows.

Could that really have been her? Was he just imagining it? He was probably losing his mind. The revelations at the morgue were still causing icy jolts of unease whenever he thought about it. He was just seeing things.

But that didn't mean he couldn't keep an eye on that shadowy figure just in case.

***

The damn vamp wasn't even bothering to hide it. How many male models happened to walk into a lousy bar like this? He might as well have worn a sign around his neck.

Of course, civilians beings what they were, couldn't have spotted a vampire if he hissed at them, fangs elongated and eyes glowing like burning coals. The three women were giggling at something he was saying, their eyes glazed and their cheeks rosy with primal lust.

"Which one will it be?" Gabrielle muttered under her breath. Her money was on the blonde woman with the huge tits.

As though on cue, the vamp suddenly leaned in toward the blonde woman and whispered by her ear. The woman giggled and blushed. Her two companions stared at her with envy and hatred.

The vamp, his dark hair highly stylized, his cheeks sharp and his lips full, stood up and held out his hand. The blonde woman glanced at her friends. They nodded very reluctantly at her and then turned back toward their drinks, their faces sullen.

The blonde woman gazed up at the vamp with reverence. She held out a shaky hand and he grasped it firmly and pulled her up. She laughed as he hugged her hip and marched her toward the door.

"Showtime," Gabrielle whispered, a smile spreading across her face. She felt the familiar rush of adrenaline, the tingling fingers, the rapid heartbeat.

It was time to ask some questions.

***

Pearson almost fell out of his chair from shock. The woman had suddenly stood up and strode toward the door. It was her. There was no doubting it now.

"Un-fucking-believable," Pearson breathed. He pushed back his chair and stood up.

"Great! Another round of beers!" Alveraz called out. He raised his empty glass. The table cheered.

"Yeah, yeah," Pearson said, waving his hand absently. He waited until the door swung shut before quickly making his way toward it.

What the hell am I doing? This woman is very dangerous. Pearson found himself pushing open the door and walking out into the balmy night. He saw something slip down the alleyway next to the bar.

Great, just follow her into an empty alleyway in the middle of the night, why don't you?

Pearson never really did learn to listen to himself. He acted on instinct; he always had and probably always will. Captain said that made him a good cop but a bad liability. He was just thankful that he brought his piece with him. The familiar weight of the 9mm in its holster was a comfort. He patted the jacket where the gun was hidden and walked slowly into the alleyway.

It wasn't a particularly long alleyway. The gym located next to the bar provided the other wall and the alley ended in a large brick fence. The fence at the end had one small light attached, which revealed a small circle underneath it. Otherwise, the alleyway was pitch black. Stars rarely shone down in this hellhole of a city, as if the city wasn't worthy of their light.

Pearson tensed; a small grunt echoed off the walls of the alley. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his piece. He put his back against the wall and slowly inched his way toward the small pool of light.

More grunts could be heard. Light suddenly flared, as though the sun decided to make an appearance. It was gone almost as soon as it arrived. It left spots swimming in Pearson's vision. He blinked rapidly to dispel them.

"Help! Somebody help!"

The scream was undoubtedly a woman's voice. Pearson cursed under his breath. There was no time to play it safe. It was hero time.

Pearson hated being a hero.

He raced toward the pool of light and saw flickering shadows as he drew close. It looked like two people struggling with each other. Pearson skidded to a stop.

A blonde woman was crouched against the wall, her arms over her head and her body rocking back and forth. "Help," she whimpered, much quieter than before. Her large chest was rising and falling. She was in the middle of a full-blown panic attack.

Pearson ignored her for the moment and held up his gun and pointed it toward the struggling figures. They emerged into the pool of light.

It was her. Elizabeth. A man with dark hair was pinned against the wall, her forearm against his throat. His mouth was opened wide; large, pointed fangs gleamed in the light shining above him.

"What the hell?" Pearson breathed.

Elizabeth turned toward him. Her eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped. "Detective Pearson?"

The man took advantage of the sudden distraction. With an unnerving roar, he broke her hold on him and backhanded her viciously. To Pearson's utter disbelief, Elizabeth flew bodily across the alleyway and hit the opposite wall hard.

"Freeze!" Pearson shouted, the gun wavering in his grip. The blood was pounding in his ears, blocking out the sounds of the alley.

The man stepped smoothly into the light, as though he didn't have a care in the world. Pearson gasped and took a step back. The man's eyes burned red, like the setting sun.

"I said freeze," Pearson muttered, the words strangely thick on his tongue.

The man, or whatever he was, smiled, the elongated teeth sticking out past his bottom lip. He took a step forward.

Gunshots rang throughout the alleyway. Pearson was surprised to find that he was the one who fired them. The gunshots continued to ring in his ears.

The man looked down at the three bullet holes in his chest. There was no blood, just three small, smoking holes in a clean white shirt.

"Do you know how much this shirt cost me?"

Before Pearson knew what was happening, his head banged against the wall behind him. His vision blackened for a moment before swimming nauseatingly back into view. His feet were a foot off the ground. An icy cold hand was clasped firmly around his neck, cutting off most of his air.

"You must pay the price," the man hissed. His glowing red eyes were even more disturbing up close. The pupils were barely a pinprick in that sea of angry red. The fangs sticking out of his mouth look terribly sharp. Pearson noted, with a calm detachment, that the fangs were an extra pair of teeth that looked to have burst from the man's gums.

I must be dreaming, Pearson thought sluggishly. The blow to the head must have scrambled his vision. Surely, a man with glowing red eyes and long fangs couldn't really be holding him a foot off the wall with one hand.

Pearson struggled to bring his gun up, which was miraculously still in his hand. He would just shoot this phantom and then go back home for some good whiskey. God, it had been a long night. What was he doing, dreaming at a time like this?

The man somehow snatched the gun out of his hand. Pearson never even saw him move. The man raised the gun up to his eyes and sneered. He crumpled the gun in his fist and threw it aside.

He crumpled it? I can't even dream a realistic dream. That wasn't some paper-mache gun.

His vision swam again and his stomach lurched. He gagged for a moment and then vomited violently.

The man shrieked as the vomit projectiled into his face. He wiped his face angrily with his free hand. "Gah! It got into my mouth! You fucking swine! I'm going to gut you like--"

"You hit like a girl."

Pearson jolted into the wall as the man's head suddenly disappeared. The man's hand spasmed around his throat for a moment before letting him go. Pearson dropped to the ground and groaned, his vision swimming once again.

He saw Elizabeth wipe the blade of her machete on the expensive shirt the man wore and then reached around her hip and behind her back. Apparently she had a sheath hidden there, as the machete disappeared. Pearson closed his eyes to let his vision settle.

He felt hands grab the front of his jacket and haul him back up again. "Damn you, Detective! That better not have been the vamp who killed my mother!"

Pearson's head swiveled on his neck. It seemed an effort to keep it up. He blinked dazedly and Elizabeth's furious face swam into view. She was even more beautiful with her face flushed like that.

"Are you going to kiss me?" he asked stupidly.

Elizabeth hissed and dropped him back to the ground. He groaned and leaned his head against the wall. He was going to rest for a moment. His weird daydream would probably pass by then.

"What the hell was that?" a hysterical voice asked. "What the hell was that? Oh my god, what the hell was that?"

"Quiet!" Elizabeth's voice cracked. "Let me check you. You might be hurt."

Pearson kept his eyes closed. His head was starting to pound dully. He was probably going to have one hell of a headache in the morning.

He heard footsteps walk past him. "You're okay. Go home and pretend like this never happened. It's easier that way, trust me."

He heard footsteps recede down the alleyway. He kept his eyes closed until he sensed a darker shadow in front of him. He opened his eyes.

"What the hell am I going to do with you?" Elizabeth asked. Her face was carefully blank.

"I think I vomited on myself."

He heard her sigh.

***

June 11, 11:02 p.m.

"I'm scared." Lily sat on the edge of the couch, the wine glass twirling slowly in her hands.

"I'm so sorry...for everything." Daniel was long past trying to come up with any answers about why bad things happened to good people. There was nothing he could say.

Lily stared down into her glass for a long time before speaking. "Even during the worst times of the illness, I never really appreciated how precious life is. But now, sitting here and knowing it's all about to end, I can't stop thinking about how I won't ever be able to drink wine again. To get dressed up for a date. To eat another hamburger."

"Lily..."

"Death is so funny that way," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's so...definite. Complete. I close my eyes and they will never open again. I will never have to get up and get ready in the morning. I will never breathe again. My voice will never be heard again. That's it. Finished. Done."

"Lily, try not to think that way," Daniel said softly.