unending

I couldn’t breathe in this place. I felt trapped. I was trapped. I couldn’t see anything.

Everything around me was black. I tried to scream for help. Nothing came out. There was no breath or sound that could escape my throat. I had been screaming all day…or night. I had lost track of time. I saw flashes in front of my eyelids. Or what I assumed were my eyelids, because I couldn’t tell if my eyes were open or not in this blackness. I saw Ned. His face gorgeous, smiling, laughing, and being so amazingly wonderful to me that I felt as though I would never be able to keep him with me. I saw Will. I saw his kind eyes, the sweet nature that showed itself the first night I moved into my house. How could he have done this? Could he truly have been so jealous of my just speaking with Ned that he fabricated everything? The horrible crash, the man trying to get to Ned, even my poor cat’s death? I couldn’t believe it, though there was a nagging voice in the back of my head that screamed “Yes!” The last face I had seen as I was shoved into that trunk had been Will’s. He wasn’t smiling, he didn’t even look remorseful that someone had just shoved chloroform into my face. There had been nothing in his face other than a trace of some smug sort of expression. He looked so insanely normal, and it had never frightened me more. I couldn’t stop hoping that Ned would be ok. If I ever stopped hoping, he –as well as I- would be as good as dead. ** I was running. I’d finally gotten away from whoever the fuck had been chasing me in Atlanta and I was going to the airport. Hartsfield is supposedly one of the busiest airports in the world. I’ve been traveling for most of my life, so it’s basically home to me. I parked in the long term parking area, knowing it wouldn’t matter if I ever came back for this car. If I didn’t make it through this airport, I was sure I wouldn’t make it anywhere else. Ever. After I got through the shuttle and into the actual airport, I stopped at the ticket counter for one of those great movie moments. Shoving money at the person behind the counter for the soonest flight out of here. I got a lot of strange looks, moving quite quickly, though not running, through the airport to the security checkpoint. I got down the escalators that led to the shuttles, my wondrous transports that would take me to the plane that would hopefully save my life. I shoved through quite a few people to get onto the shuttle that was just about to leave. Thankfully the entire airport timing had worked out in my favor. I had boarded the last shuttle on the “mini-train” and I sat down, letting my body catch up with my mind. I was completely exhausted, but I relaxed on the seat, looking around the space to see the people who also inhabited it. Something caught my eye. Black hair, pale skin, unbelievable beauty that seemed to radiate. He was there. Ned. I didn’t know what to do. My breath caught in my throat. No one else seemed to notice the way I basically cringed backwards into my seat. He stood and started towards me. With a wave of the hand, the rest of the people in the train disappeared. It took everything I had to not start crying right there. It had all been for naught. I was going to die at the hands of this amazing creature. “Please-please Ned, please don’t hurt me. I swear I’ll do anything you ask.” He looked at me strange, cocking one eyebrow. “You think I’m the bad guy?” He shook his head at me, looking around him, and he seemed as though he was at a loss for words. “Ellie, do you actually think I would ever, in a million years, hurt you? I could never bring myself to do that. Not you, Ellie, never you.” “But you hurt Will. You’re the one who started this all because…” I couldn’t think of a single feasible reason that Ned would have started any of this. Will was the only one with reason enough to be mad, but would he really have framed Ned, almost had me killed, and everything else that had happened in the last twenty-four hours just because I liked someone else more? I shook my head. This was too much. I believed him. This wasn’t right. I’d seen him hurt Will. I had seen them fight, but Ned had drawn first blood, he had been the one to almost kill Will. Will, the same man who had made me dinner and helped me carry books. The man who had trusted me enough to tell me he was a werewolf within the first 48 hours of us meeting. Could Ned be telling the truth? I stared up at his eyes, the most unguarded that I had ever seen them. He looked vulnerable, and except for the whole ethereal beauty thing, he looked normal. I could not resist when he came and knelt at my feet. I knew this could be the perfect ruse, but I believed him, wholeheartedly. Slowly he reached his hand for my face. I could feel my heart starting to beat heavily. I realized in that moment that we had never kissed. We had the close calls, but in Ellicott, there had always been interrupted. His lips found their way to mine as my eyes closed, I breathed him in deeply as our mouths finally touched and I instantly felt a shock. I gasped and could feel Ned smile against me as he pressed closer. He pulled me up, holding me to his chest, his lips not once parting from mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he wrapped his around my waist. I didn’t want to move away, but I suddenly heard the man’s voice announce we had arrived at terminal C. Ned pulled back, smiling. “It was worth the wait.” He untangled us, but kept hold of my right hand. “Now listen Ellie, we may be alright now, but we need to figure out what we’re going to do. Will is still out there.” He thought for a moment as we stepped off the shuttle and onto the platform at terminal C. “When was the last time you ate?” The question’s random appearance made me burst out laughing. The laughter turned into something closer to hysterics soon after though, and Ned pulled me into a deserted corner, pulling me close and stroking my hair. “Honey, it’s ok. We’ll be alright. I promise you.” He pulled my face up to look at his. “We will get out ok. And after that, I will whisk you off to some foreign country where we will do nothing except lay around a hotel room.” It was meant to make me feel better, but all it did was remind me of the fact that I didn’t even have a passport, which was a ridiculous thing to worry over, given the circumstances. After a few moments I quieted down and Ned pulled me in the direction of the food court. He ordered me some sort of chicken wrap and sat me down, giving me a drink that I hadn’t seen him order. I ate the food quickly; all the while Ned was studying my face. I wasn’t sure if he was looking for a sign of another breakdown or if he hoped he might find a solution to our problem written on my forehead. “How do you know he’ll even still care at this point? I mean, if he’s so smart to have set this all up, he must know that you would have tried to get to me.” “Of course he’ll care. He’s a dog Ellie. They are very territorial. And the moment that he thought he was going to lose you to me was the moment he started thinking all this up. I may have a lot of problems with him and his kind, but Will is not a dumb man. He’ll have known that I found you, and he’ll know that I told you the truth. If he doesn’t already have the next step planned, then he’s working very quickly to having it set.” He sighed heavily and picked up my hand again so that we were linked across the table. “I wish there was someway to evade him. Go to some country or state where he wouldn’t find us, but I’m afraid that we would never be able to stop running. We will have to kill him. There is no other way. Unless…” He dropped his eyes from my face, shaking his head. “Unless what, Ned?” “Unless you want to go back to him; I wouldn’t fault you for it, of course. It would keep you safer; it would end this whole game.” My jaw dropped open. Could he honestly think that at this point, I would go back to the lunatic that set all of this in motion? “Edward,” I’d never referred to him using his full first name, but under the circumstances -what with professing emotions and all- it seemed appropriate. “I love you. I trust what you told me earlier, and if nothing else, I would much rather spend my last hours with you than anyone else. Now, if you wanted to skip out, I would totally understand. Ok, I’d actually be totally pissed, but I guess I couldn’t blame you.” He laughed loudly, drawing the attention of the female neighbors (and one male) that automatically went into full on staring mode. “Ellie, I love you too. I don’t think I have a choice in leaving anymore. I’d much rather die than be without you.” It was all so dramatic, but I couldn’t help but feel so relieved to hear him say what I had been thinking since that fateful day when I realized he wasn’t a total asshole.

ugh. it won’t do anything properly. i’m considering not finishing this one. hmmm

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I’ve been obsessed with the supernatural for as long as I can remember. Vampires have been my favorite. They’ve always held a strange sort of fascination for me. The way they act in books, movies, it’s nearly irresistible.
 
I’d had a long day at work and I’d just left the office, finally, at 11 pm. On a Friday night. So of course I was getting to deal with stupid drunks on the road. The exit for I-4 was closed at both entrances for some reason so I was forced to take back roads. I’d gotten a few close calls with people weaving in and out of traffic on the dark roads (which still didn’t have street lights), almost getting run off the roads. Thankfully, I reached the final light for my turn off. I was about to go through it, the light just turning green, when some idiot in a very large hummer ran the red light. At 60 miles an hour. He hit my passenger side, and my little green focus flipped about 3 times and landed in the construction area for a Publix that was long over due. I remember seeing that no one else was on the road and the hummer just flew past me. He never even stopped for a moment to see if I would ever land. I felt incredibly detached for someone who was more than likely about to die.
 
Finally my car came to a stop. Somewhere along the way my seatbelt had come undone. On the ground, my door had fallen open and I tried to crawl out of the car. I looked down at my hands as I did, slowly feeling something flowing out of me. I realized it felt like energy, or life. I saw blood on my hands, and some of my vision was red due to was I hoped was some shallow head wound. But from the dizziness I felt I at the very least had a concussion. My legs felt like they were broken, or badly cut up. I got about 2 feet from my car before I fell on the ground. I felt like one of the chalk outlines that you see at crime scenes. I imagined my obituary as I tried to call out for help, never getting anything more than “Please” out of my mouth in a whisper. “She was 20 years old, had no life, got hit by some asshole, and died alone, on the side of a rarely traveled road.” Finally I let myself close my eyes, I couldn’t bear to keep them open any longer. I prayed for death to come quick, my mind in a jumble from the pain and confusion of how quickly it all happened.
 
**
 
I opened my eyes to pain. More pain than I had experienced in the crash. I felt like I was being burned at the stake. I had no clue where I was. Was this hell? Had all those jokes really caught up with me? I tried to open my eyes more, see past the blurred image of darkness, but all I could see was fuzzy outlines of nothing.
 
“Derrick, her eyes are open! Do you think she’ll start screaming soon?” A man’s voice came from the right of me. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t screaming, the pain was so intense. The man who had spoken came into view and slowly my vision adjusted. I could see I was in a darkened room, the only light coming from a lamp across the room. The man standing over me was definitely tall. He was pale with dark gray eyes. It reminded me of the sky before a heavy snowstorm. His lips were curved in a frown, and his forehead was scrunched up, as though he were studying something very complex.
 
Slowly, I started to feel the pain creeping away. It started from my head, leaving me like a sink emptying. I could feel that I was on something soft, with a barrier to my left. A couch. I moved my fingers, my feet, my neck. I could feel everything, yet I was no longer in pain. How was this possible?
 
“Can you hear me?” The man standing over me spoke again. I nodded my head. I noticed his voice had a soothing quality. My brain was waking up enough to start wondering where the hell I was. As I focused more on his face, I realized he looked familiar, but I couldn’t think of a name. “Are you in any pain?” I thought about that, checking over in my head all the parts of my body. I shook my head. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. “It’s ok, don’t try to speak yet. You are ok, I promise.”
 
But I’m not ok, I screamed in my head. I tried to sit up, but two hands on my shoulders pinned me back. “You need to restrain her damnit. She’s disoriented, if she gets out, who knows what will happen! We’ve been over this twenty times Sam.”
 
It was at that moment that a fire started in the back of my throat. I wanted - needed something, but I couldn’t place what it was. It didn’t exactly hurt, but instinctively I knew I was hungry. And it wasn’t for a cheeseburger. “Where the fuck am I?! Who are you people!?” I screamed and started thrashing under the hands. The other man -Sam- went to hold my feet down. “Let me go!”
 
“We will let you go as soon as you calm yourself, Ella.” The man at my shoulders -Derrick- knew my name. “We swear to not hurt you or hold you down as long as you promise to stay calm enough for us to explain what’s going on.”
 
The fire in my throat grew, and it started to hurt. I nodded my head in agreement. Somehow I knew that I wouldn’t get hurt. I looked to Sam as he let go of my feet and he sighed when I didn’t try to get off the couch. He nodded to Derrick, who let go of my shoulders. I pulled myself into a sitting position, my legs crossing into an indian position. I crossed my arms over my chest. I managed to choke out “Explain” over the fire. Anything more would have been unbearable.

Derrick was the first to speak. He had seated himself in a chair across from the couch. I saw he had lighter hair than Sam. I saw (even with the darkness which surprised me) that he also had the gray colored eyes like Sam, but with his blond hair, the effect was scary. His clothes consisted of a black button down shirt and black pants. “Sam found you on the side of the road just after your accident. You were on the brink of death he could tell. You had internal bleeding, bruises, your legs were broken, and you had a very bad head wound. Not to mention the countless bruises and cuts that were covering about 90% of your body. He asked you if you wanted to live, which I doubt you were in the right mindset to answer, but you agreed. You may or may not remember this.” He took a deep breath before continuing, throwing a dirty glance at Sam, who was standing behind the couch. He went to sit at the other end of it, as far from me as possible. “He bit you then, brought you back here, and it is now 3 days past the date of your accident. You may feel the burning in your throat. We will solve that as soon as is possible.”
 
Confusion swept through my mind. Bit me? I looked to Sam, his face was the picture of a guilty conscience. He was looking at a particular spot on the carpet, which I noticed was a very pretty gray color, lighter than their eyes. My mind wandered, thinking that it would be soft if I were to put my feet down. “What do you mean bit me? Why the hell would he bite me? And if I was so hurt, why am I not in a hospital? Why don’t I feel any pain?”
 
“I guess you don’t remember then. Sam and I are vampires.” He said the word as though he were simply mentioning their religion. “You’ve spent the last three days on that couch, dying, turning into one of us. You don’t feel pain because your body mended itself going through the change. Although, I do wonder how you kept from screaming for those days.”
 
I stared at Derrick, my mind going in a hundred places at once. I’d always been obsessed with vampires (and on a very secret note, hoped they existed), but I never expected to actually be one. Let alone find one. This had to be some sort of weird dream. I pinched myself, hoping to feel nothing. I felt cold, and a strength that I’d never felt in my arms. But there was definitely pressure. I was awake. “How do you know my name?”

Sam spoke then, startling me, and I turned to look at him. “I’ve noticed you before, but when I got you from the scene, I brought your purse to the house. It’s on the table if you want it, by the way. I checked your ID when we got back, so no creepy reasons like mind reading. I promise.” He gave me the tiniest smile, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He was trying to make me feel better by joking -albeit badly- with me.
 
All I could do was nod. I had about a hundred things going on in my head, but neither of these men seemed to be bothered by my silence. Derrick, still seated across from me, just looked at me, waiting for me to say something; Sam was back to having a staring contest with the floor. “Is there anything we can do about this burning in my throat? Preferably sooner than later if possible.”
 
Derrick nodded and stood. “Now that is something I can help with. I’ll be right back.”
 
I looked to Sam as Derrick left. “So, do you like the Twilight series?”
 
Sam looked at me, his face in shock for a moment, just before his entire face broke out in the most knee weakening smile I’d ever seen.

I was on my way to the top of the acting world - finally. I’d gotten an agent after doing countless tiny projects, I had a steady income from plays I’d done, and I actually landed the lead role in a soon-to-be not so tiny movie. I’d moved out to California, gotten my car registered, my license and cable all set up, and it all proved to be things I didn’t need to do only 2 weeks after I moved out and started the movie. When it all happened, I thought it was the absolute worst thing that could ever have happened to me. Now, I only regret not being able to slide off the radar without all the drama that ensued.
 
August 11th, I was driving to the set. We were having a sort of walk thru and we’d hopefully start filming that day. I was so excited to be in the movie, it was based on one of my favorite vampire novels and I got to play the starring role. It wasn’t a huge production film, but I didn’t care. I felt like the luckiest person alive. The leading man was even an absolutely gorgeous man with a great accent. I was practically squealing every time I thought of it.
 
I was on the road then to the set when I looked to check oncoming traffic so I could get off on the exit. I looked first to check and everything was clear. Of course, the next time I checked, just to be safe, I wasn’t. There was a man in my backseat. I probably would have screamed if he hadn’t been so beautiful. It was close to dusk, so the sun wasn’t very bright at that point, but I could see every feature on his face clearly. He had pale, pink tinged skin, dark violet eyes, absolutely perfect lips that had another pink tint to them, and his hair was a color that would have made wheat weep. His posture was ramrod straight, very confident, and overwhelmingly sexy. I couldn’t clearly process that I should be scared, even though this man had to have appeared out of nowhere to end up in my backseat.
 
I tried to pull my eyes away from him, and I managed to guide the car onto the shoulder. I went to grab the door handle and hopefully get out, but before I could even touch the handle, the man’s hand grabbed my wrist. He was unnervingly close. I could feel his breath on my skin, I could even smell it, and it reminded me of sweet apples. “What do you want?” I managed to stammer out. I stared at him, trying to make myself find enough breath to scream, but I couldn’t find anything in me except curiosity. Maybe I was suicidal and I hadn’t even known it.
 
“You needn’t scream. First of all it wouldn’t help. Secondly, it would just make a lot of unnecessary noise in a confined space. That would hardly be kind to your ears.” He cocked an eyebrow and grinned. “Do you promise to not run away if I promise to not harm you right now?” The words “right now” had not escaped my notice, but I nodded anyways. “Good. Now, I will explain everything to you in due time. But I would like you to come with me. If I allow you to drive us to a certain destination, will you be calm? I will do no unnecessary harm if you are.” All I could do was swallow hard and nod again. I was insanely scared of this man, but I felt that he meant what he said. Even though I didn’t like the whole “unnecessary harm” thing.
 
He moved from the back seat to the passenger seat quickly, although I only heard one door shut and he moved to quickly for me to process what he was doing until he was sitting next to me, smiling as though he were dealing with a slow child. “Now please, pull back out and get off at the next exit. We’re not going far.”
 
We ended up at a huge mansion. It was 3 stories high (though I found out later it also had both a basement and attic), a light gray with dark blue roofing. It had the appearance of an old french manor, with beautiful sculptures and gargoyles standing at a few of the corner tops. It was as beautiful as it was frightening. “Go ahead and pull up to those steps. We have an appointment to keep.”
 
I would have run, said something rude, anything, if I hadn’t been so damn scared and entranced by the situation. I hadn’t had a very sheltered life, but it was never incredibly exciting, up until now anyways. I cut the engine as I pulled up to the stone steps and someone opened my door to step out. It was the same man from my car. He still hadn’t told me his name. He took my wrist in his hand, an iron shackle with skin. “Where are you taking me?”
 
He chuckled and under different circumstances, the sound probably would’ve coaxed me to do the same. Now all I could do was almost glare at him. “Well inside first. And then you’re going to meet William.”
 
“Why me? I don’t have much money, you won’t get anything for a ransom.” Probably the wrong approach, that would give them more reason to kill me, but it was really true. “But I’m just starting a movie, you know, people will notice my missing.”
 
He laughed, apparently having a good time listening to my trying to save myself. “Does this house make it look like we need much money? Please Marie, save your questions for when you meet with William.”
 
I gaped at him. “How do you know my name?”
 
He chuckled again and knocked on the door we’d reached. It was a monstrous double door, the same color as the roofing with a large silver knocker in the shape of a cross. A young girl, probably around the age of 12, opened the door. She beamed up at my captor and spoke with a voice that seemed much older than what she looked. Her hair had been pulled up into pig tails with inky black ringlets falling from them. She had bright blue eyes and pale skin like the man at my side, although hers was completely devoid of any pink tint. “Oh hello David, we didn’t think you’d get her back here so soon!”
 
He nodded to her, his face now devoid of any laughter. “Adeline. Is he ready?”
 
She gestured for us to step in, and my captor - David - pulled me along by my wrist. The inside of the mansion was just as stunning as the facade. The walls held portraits of people in old time dress, and every piece of furniture was an antique. The floors were checkerboard black and white tiles, probably marble. The “grand staircase” that we climbed was made of a combination of dark wood and what looked to be mother of pearl inlay. My family definitely wouldn’t have been able to afford their ransom, if they chose to ask for one.
 
We finally stopped in front of a massive cherry wood door that sat just after the last stair. The little girl -Adeline, who I didn’t even realize was following us- knocked on the door three times, listening for a response that I never heard before she opened the door. Inside was a room similar to the foyer, black and white marble floor, portraits and scenery lining the walls, and a large antique desk towards the back of the room. The was a man seated behind the desk, and even from across the room I could tell he was drop dead gorgeous, and somehow familiar.  He smiled at me and came around the desk as David and I came to a stop.
 
“Ah yes. Marie. Welcome to my humble abode.” He spread his arms wide, a self-deprecating smile on his face. He gestured for Adeline and David to leave, and all I heard of their exit was the door clicking shut.
 
“I’m sorry, but may I ask a few questions?” I smiled as sweetly as I could manage and he guided me to a chair in front of the desk. I sat as he returned to his seat and nodded at me to go ahead. “Who are you, why the hell am I here, and how do you know my name?”
 
His lip curled up into a menacing smile. “Well, I suppose I should explain that to you, although I would appreciate a much calmer sort of phrasing in your questions. I promise, no harm will come to you unless I will it.” I bit my lip to try and stay nice. If I could avoid getting hurt, it would be nice, and since I was slowly regaining the use of my brain since I wasn’t surrounded by the torture devices I had imagined, I was beginning to get mad. “I know your name because you’ve…intrigued me -for lack of a better word- and I’ve done some checking on you. I saw you in a play in Atlanta, and I meant to tell you, you make a wonderful Isabella.” Now I remembered him. I’d seen him after opening night when I had played Isabella in Measure for Measure. He’d given me a dozen red roses, and I remember thinking that it was too bad I hate roses. “You are here for the same reason. I find you very intriguing and I’d like to find out more about you.”