Epilogue: Metamorphosis
The scene was calm and peaceful. Just as it had been before.
Her dark brown eyes stared fixedly at the stream once more. The ripples sparkled with a shimmering glow as their folded creases rushed past her.
She wished she knew. She wished she knew what lay beneath the folds; what lay in-between the creases of the magnificent ripples.
But she would never know.
Whatever secret that was smeared indefinitely between the ripples would remain there forever.
Her reflection stared back at her, reflecting not only a suffering woman but also a broken soul.
She was different now.
As he was.
As they were.
Something from within each of them had changed. And they would always remain this way from now on.
Their metamorphosis was complete.
There was no more anxious anticipation. No insatiable craving. No smoking desire.
What's done was done.
Always and forever.
This heinous metamorphosis.
She knew he was there even before she saw his reflection. She could feel it. She could feel him.
His bright reflection joined hers in a union, glazing over the top of the crystalline blue waters.
Just like it had before.
"You can feel it, too, can't you?"
There was a brief pause.
"Yes," she replied quietly, almost distantly; her tone was reserved. "I can feel it."
The metamorphosis had coursed through each of them, surging through their tingling veins and breathing new life into their crimson blood.
Jack pulled her to him, inhaling the delicate sweetness of lilac perfume on her neck.
Gradually leaning into his welcoming embrace, she wrapped her arms around her middle.
"I'm scared."
"Don't be," his voice was soft, like a velvet whisper. "I'm here."
He kissed her shoulder with a subtle tenderness as he felt her relax and let out an anxious breath.
Feeling safe in the security of his arms, she let her eyelids close and her mind drift away aimlessly.
But only for a moment.
When she opened her eyes, the refreshing breeze was gone and the air was still. Something was different; something had changed again.
And Tru didn't like it.
The arms that held her securely in a passionate embrace were cold and frozen.
Change.
Metamorphosis.
This change chilled her to the bone.
She knew who stood behind her now, who let her become dangerously cloaked in a black security. A passionate yet unforgiving embrace.
Holding her.
Not wanting her tender love, but craving her fanatical intimacy. This is all he wanted. This hollow shell of nothingness desired nothing more than virulent tenderness encompassed by a dark black love.
Her voice cracked dangerously as she emphasized every word. "What do you want from me?"
"I think I have all that I need now, Tru," Jensen's voice dripped with scathing venom from the numb deadness of frozen lips. "I have you."
He paused for a moment, running his left hand across her stomach, making her suddenly convulse and writhe in unbearable, agonizing pain.
She wanted to crumple.
So he let her.
He eased her down gently, leaning her into him in yet another dangerous embrace. One that aroused him with a fierce, animalistic kind of hunger.
He craved her.
And she was going to birth his child.
Everything was set; everything had changed; everything was perfect.
"And now I have this, too."
He rubbed her stomach gently as the pain augmented.
She was on the edge.
She was on the very edge of blacking out as the scorching flames of bright blue fire licked her alive. It salivated hungrily as sparks ignited from within.
And then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw something.
"No," she stuttered slowly. "J-Jensen, please. No!"
A long, silver needle appeared in his right hand as he slowly brought it closer and closer to the desired area. To the middle of her stomach.
"Relax, Tru," he whispered softly. "I'm not gonna kill you. You won't even remember this once it's all over."
The silver needle pierced her creamy skin as she let out another guttural scream of pain.
She then felt herself slowly slipping. She was being dragged into an inescapable abyss by a powerful intoxication as she fell into a deep sleep.
Nothing could change this now. Nothing could change her.
For this heinous metamorphosis had finally reached its climax.
"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness."
Joseph Conrad
Author's Note: Wow, I'm done! That's all for this story, guys, but I hope you all will stick around in anticipation of the sequel "All That's Best of Dark and Bright". I wanted to create a sort of parallelism between the prologue and the epilogue. I hope y'all saw some similarities as it was meant to be that way. The epilogue is also used to facilitate what is to come in the sequel. I haven't really thought about exactly where the sequel is going, but I do have a lot of good ideas to enhance the story. Expect to find Jack in a bar (trying to get drunk, of course!) and Tru suddenly becoming fascinated by blood as well as other cool surprises as I think of them. One last, final shout out to ALL of my AWESOME reviewers with honorable mentions going to Amethyst Blizzard and Habita; your never-ending support has been an unbelievable help to me! So thank you all, once again, and don't forget to check my profile for updates! ;)
I hope to see you all at the sequel! ;)