Start Chapter Fourteen: Hell's After-Party (Part Two)

PLEASE NOTE: I re-posted/edited some of the earlier chapters, so you might want to go back and reread them. You don't have to, of course, but the latter part of chapter four and all of chapter five go into more depth with Jen's schizophrenia than when I first started writing. It's really starting to take a front seat in my revisions (most of which are not as good as I'd like them to be but ehhh…).

The fog lifts from my chattering mouth, crawls into my eyes and over my head. My bare arms shiver tightly against my chest. Turning my head, a loud sneeze escapes me. One of the buzzing sounds shrieks in surprise while another quickly says, Gesundheit. I almost say thank you.

I don't know how long I've been walking or if I'm even going the right direction. The weight of my waterlogged jeans has slowed me down considerably, but my legs keep taking their tiny steps. If they stop moving, I'm not sure they'll start back up again. The unsettling squish in the soles of my shoes has lessened but my feet are still burning from the chill. I haven't seen a single soul since pulling myself from the river. Which is a good thing in theory, but at this point a night in a cell is starting to sound a lot more like a luxury than a punishment.

In the distance, I spot a large, red barn with a crumbling wooden fence. The paint is faded and chipping, and the entire structure is covered with colossal swirls of graffiti. A dull, flickering light shines from it, calling me like a moth to a flame. Moving as quickly as I can another large sneeze rips through me, nearly knocking me back. Once I'm close enough, I see a small dirt road as well. An icy wind sweeps away the smile on my lips.

On the other side of the road is a small green shack. The rotted boards are splitting open with cobwebs spewing forth. The cluttered thread ties the hut to a pair of rusty bins beside it. Down to the far, far left is a house with broken windows and more graffiti painted along its sides. Beer cans and other trash littering the yard mark the only signs of recent life. To my right, there is nothing but the pasture and stretched dirt road. I take two steps towards the dark house and freeze.

The hairs on my neck bristle and my ears strain to hear another sound. I turn slowly. My eyes latch onto the shed. The shadows are too deep, too etched into the peeling paint for me to truly make out what might be stirring within them. Something is definitely wrong. The voices in my head have been getting steadily louder, all of them trying to talk over the other. One of them laughs. I shut my eyes. Another screams like it's being ripped apart.

I turn towards the house again only to find a number of eyes smiling down at me. They begin to circle my head, all of them cackling. It dawns on me that they've grown mouths. Big, red, sharp mocking mouths. My heart begins to thunder and I swipe them away as best as I can. Over that and the screeching laughter, I can't hear anything on the outside.

Blinking briskly, I drag deep breaths into my lungs. The red mouths mimic me, but it's enough to lift my heavy feet. I want to go home. All I want is to go home and fall asleep in my nice warm bed. One of the mouth-eyes slam into my head. My body sways with the force as I turn away from them cursing. Something flies into my line of sight and I jump, stumbling against the barn with a shriek. The light above me goes out.

"Who the—Where the hell did you come from?"

A man with pale skin and a giddy smirk stands tall upon the path. Light, wiry hair sticks out in odd directions from under his raggedy hat. He pulls lightly on his mangy coat before fixing the dirt stained silk around his neck. His smile widens. My heart drops at the sight of his fangs glimmering in the moonlight.

At once, the mouths all start yammering and the eyes shriek with loud tears of laughter. The man lunges for me and I scream with them. He grabs my arms and I kick at his stomach. He doubles over hissing but doesn't let go. I manage to slam my foot into his chest. One of my hands twists free and the fist hurls at the side of his head. The mouth-eyes are still SCREEEEEEEEAAAMMMINNGGG AAAAT MEEEEEE when he lets go. The barn light shins bright upon me as he hisses in the shadows.

My chest rises and falls with desperate strength. My eyes are heavy and my limbs burn beneath the cold air wrapped around them. The eyes are singing off-key as they watch me and the mouths are starting to hum along in a sharp, twisted harmony.

"Leave me alone, Vampire," I say. "I don't want any trouble." My voice is laced with exhaustion and shivers with the wind, but does not waver with madness or fear.

The man tilts his head, giving me a quick once-over as he snickers. "No trouble, you say?" His voice is surprisingly rich and warm. "Why, if you wanted no trouble, dear girl, you would not have fought back."

My tongue goes to shoot out an insult, but the light around me flickers and I push myself against the wall instead. Slivers of the unkept wood press into my bitter skin as the man hovers closer. He's far more interested in satisfying himself than entertaining his meal.

The eyes are humming and the mouths are chanting: life, death, life, death... I try to push them back but they are persistent. They know, I know, and this man knows I'm going to die. I am going to die. My mind is unraveling again, worse than before. With the last bit of control, I scream for someone to help me. I can't stop them on my own. I never could. I feel the words pass my lips but can't hear them over their shrills.

Of course they won't stop. They are my punishment. They'll never stop. Not until they consume me. The eyes, the mouths, the mouths, the eyes. They swim around me. Swarming. I am going to die. He's going to murder me you. Like you I murdered her our my your mother. No, yes, she I we didn't. I didn't. Yes you did. She's dead, dead, dead because of me you us we you, YOU. I she was she I is am only was a child. Didn't look. I you I we didn't never not ever not once ever looked. Dead, dead, dead, because of you, you, you. Your fault, your fault, ALLLLL YOOOOOOUUUUUURRRRR FAAAAAUUUULLLLLLLTTT!

The light goes out.

Screaming and hissing, kicking and twisting. I'm I'm going to die, die, die. Crying and clutching—my neck. Slam my head into wild red eyes. I can't—I stumble over tangled limbs and am snatched again. Eyes explode and mouths shriek in tongues I can't understand. I thrash but he doesn't notice. Pray, Prey. Pray hard. Something sharp and small touches my neck. I throw my head back, smashing it into another. Something yanks him away and I fling to the ground.

My body jolts. I rise to my knees just in time to see the vampire crash into the tiny green shack. It caves and swallows him in a dusty, ground shaking embrace. The voices, like me, are curious and quiet enough for the both of us to hear the outside—because they are me and I, of course, am them.

It isn't long at all until the man unearths himself and the dirt and wood fall from him. Time inches by so slowly I can see every last speckle of dust and splinter of wood meet the ground as he thrashes out of the pile. He turns to the towering figure in front of me, seething and shouting before going wide-eyed, silent, and stiff. I blink and blink and blink and blink a hundred-thousand times before time finally agrees to move.

The dust covered creature twists on a panicked smile. "Oh… My dear Cousin. What… What brings you here?" His mouth pulls up then down as he glances between the two of us. The voices bicker and hush each other to a tolerable level as my mind attempts to piece itself back together. It's far too curious now to be overtaken by false realities.

Familiar burning eyes stare down at me. I stare back, partly relieved but mostly afraid and unsure. My brain, doing it's best to fight off the fog of insanity, digs and digs at itself. Trying to find a name. My breath slithers out in short, shivering bursts of fear and relief. Jaw clenched, he turns back to the man.

"You cannot have her." His voice is tight and rigid with tiny flecks of fury spilling into the night air.

"Now, now," the man teeters a bit. "I did see her first. Of course–" he adds quickly, "–I would be more than willing to share if that is what you wish."

"She is… a friend."

"A friend?" He spurts. "You? Friends with a... a mortal? Have you fallen ill, Gregory?"

There it is: Gregory. My knight in shinning batwings.

"Do not test me, Claude. Leave. Now."

"But... My dear, dear Cousin... I'm so hungry..." Claude glances down at me and my body jerks. It doesn't know what to do, but it knows it needs to do something fast when he says, "Perhaps just a little bite?"

"F-Fucking k-kill you," my mouth spits out. The threat is laughable. In fact, Claude does laugh. Then, grinning, he takes a step towards me. Before I can even flinch, Gregory has already cut him off and gives a low, dangerous growl. The other vampire moves away quickly, head lowered, hands raised, apologizing profusely. I blink and he's gone. My head spins, searching high and low, praying I am not deceived. Another breeze blows by, echoing faint screams in my mind. Breathe in, breathe out. In. Out. In.

"Are you all right?"

My eyes snap up, looking for his, but Gregory isn't facing me. His fists are balled, nearly shaking, and his voice is still tight. I move to stand but a sudden, booming sneeze knocks me back on my ass. My hands fly over my nose, foolishly hoping he hadn't notice the blaring sound. Peeking over my finger tips, I see his anger has been replaced with wide eyes and a curious frown. His head tilts and I sniff.

"No comment."

He shakes his head then squints at me. "Why are your clothes wet?"

"They're not wet. They're damp." I sniff again. "I fell in a stream or a river or whatever." The wind howls. Without any hostile vampires or overwhelming insanity to distract it from the cold, my body shutters and folds in on itself. Hiding between my torso and knees I stutter out a curse. "F-Fuck, it's cold."

"You're hopeless."

My head pops up. "Shut up, I had a jacket earlier. Not that it'd be any help soaked."

He huffs and starts grumbling as he pulls off his own jacket.

"What're you?" He wraps it around me like a cloak. My body sings, expecting to find leftover warmth clinging to the fabric, but cries when it realizes there is none. He's as cold as the night air. His icy hands help me stand and I clutch the coat to me, understanding that my own heat will have to be enough.

"It's not much," he says. "But it's all I have."

"No, no, thank you. I'm already starting to feel a bit warmer," I lie, carefully sliding my arms into the sleeves. Sniffling, another breeze swirls past me. His jacket lessens the chill but my body still moves towards him, craving a heat I know it won't find. He stands like a stone as I huddle against him.

"I will only make you colder, Jennive."

"S-So?"

Slowly, his hands curl around me and his head rests on mine. I can feel the confusion in my bones. There is a body pressed against mine, but no warmth or rhythm to go along with it. Gregory forces a big breath of air into his lungs and back out. Shivering, my lips pull into grin as I realize how much effort it takes a vampire to sigh.

"Let's get you home."

End Chapter Fourteen

Originally, there was a lot more to this chapter, but then it started going in a totally different direction. So I've stopped it here. The good news is that I have a pretty good chunk of then next chapter more-or-less done. (I shouldn't have said that. Watch, I totally just jinxed myself).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)