ZONEVILLE PART II:The rage

THE KISS OF DEATH

The girls helped me researching about Stephen Martyr. I couldn’t forget my last conversation with Ben when he claimed that all of Christopher’s family were weird –I already knew they were because of what they are- but I didn’t include Mr. Martyr in the package. 

We found a bit of information about Stephen Martyr and his connection with Zoneville. As I read I couldn’t find anything that made me believe he was a freak till a got to certain paragraph were it said that they found lots of skeletons buried at the surroundings of Mr. Martyr’s house. But that was just ridiculous, I mean, they didn’t kill humans, they were vegetarian…sort of. There must’ve been a mistake, I couldn’t believe that. I wouldn’t.

I was driving home afraid of my surroundings as I was going back alone. Brook and Jenny went back to their houses today. Of course I told them not to let anybody strange in their houses, to be alert for their parents. Luckily enough for Jenny, her parents were leaving town for a while visiting relatives so she would stay with her gram's.

I was again driving through that road were something always happened when I was alone, and effectively something did happen as I drove down the road something stopped before my car making me jump in a halt. Soon after that, I realised it was Leonard.
Was he trying to kill me?! I got out of my car infuriated and I pushed him -my hands on his chest- with no use as I ended up bouncing back, he caught me before I could fall making our faces stay just a few inches away form each other.

I quickly straighten up and freed myself from his grasp. "Are you mad!" I almost hit him again but he caught my hand in the air and with a frown he said "we need to talk..." before he could say anything else I replied defensive already “what! About what!" By now he was smiling again, thing that irritated me "first of all about the fact that you specially shouldn't be walking alone" I knew that but what to do.
 He took my hand and dragged me towards my car but to the passenger door then he went to the driver's "keys" he said and I just glared at him "please" he insisted and I threw them at him as harder as I could hoping he wouldn't catch them, but he did.
Smiling again as he got into the car and drove to my house. The ride was in silence which made me wonder what did he want to tell me, why wasn't he talking?

We eventually got home and I got out of the car, he after me keys in hand "you haven't said anything so I guess that was all" I took the keys from his hand well, I tried to as he quickly moved his hand away making me almost fall forward towards him -this was making me angrier-.
He was now looking down at me, staring at my eyes. I straighten up and asked for the keys but he didn't move just stood there suddenly serious staring at me, "I want to go, now!" I said and he gave me the keys.
I already started walking away when he called after me, "One more thing" he said "please" he insisted -as I was still walking- so I turned.
He was still deep in thought till he finally broke the silence "Back in the cafeteria when you were talking with your friends what did you mean by ending up like you did?" he said, his eyes still fixated on mine.
"What?"
"A few days back when Jenny asked you to talk to us you said I have to be away from them to avoid ending up like I did, what did you mean?" I tried to call back the memory now so distant.

I could now feel his breath coming out faster, "Gabrielle? What did you mean?" I now knew what he meant but I couldn't answer, what would I say? I'm Gabriella and I ended up dead?
But I didn't need to say it, he already guessed.
"Gabriella?" He said under his breath, his eyes melting into mine if he could produce tears I swear he would've been crying by now and that hurt me.
As I opened my mouth to speak they were sealed again by his lips. his cold lips on mine made me shiver -but not for the coolness- I wanted to push him away but he locked both my hands into one of his while he stroke my hair, my cheek and my neck in that order with his other hand. Thousands of emotions overpowered me, I didn't know what to do while his cold tongue moved in my mouth, his breath intoxicating me and after a while I couldn't help it, I gave in submerging in this hot and cold glorious kiss .
He eventually let go of my hands and I found myself entangling my fingers in his hair making my body get closer to him. I felt his lips pause for a moment there, probably shocked at a reaction he didn't expect. I didn't expect this kind of reaction from my part either but here I was. Kissing him, as if he was my life, as if I’ve been waiting for him all along his hands now around my waist holding me tight, close to him.

Sudden memories of my past life invaded my mind showing clips -before my now closed eyes- of us together. On the meadow he once took me to, but I wasn't Gabrielle, I was Gabriella. They way I always blushed when he kissed my hand. In the car when he kissed my cheek, I suddenly needed air, I couldn't breath I felt dizzy and with a gasp I shoved him away.
Tears were pouring off my eyes as I thought of the love there was in between us, he tried to approach me but I backed away. My head spinning around as I remembered every single moment we spent together, when I was Gabriella and then it hit me. When I was, I'm not anymore. I'm Gabrielle and I don't want this!! Still tearing up and dizzy I manage to move my lips "I'm not Gabriella!" I manage to say, strong and firm without hesitation "not anymore" my voice was breaking by the time I said that sentence and as my eyes closed I felt myself falling back.

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Sarah was walking towards her car in the library’s parking lot. There wasn’t much light around her as a few streetlights were broken. And the sun already hid itself.

She was listening to music on her fabulous I pod so she didn’t see what was coming for her. She was lucky enough to be knocked out before being brutally attacked. The vampire was smiling happy as he sucked her blood out.

He could now hear steps. Somebody was looking for Sarah. The vampires head snapped up. He groaned but he wouldn’t do anything. He already had what he wanted so he vanished into the woods.

“Sarah? You left your notebook” said Crystal, Sarah’s best friend “Sarah! I see your car so I know you are here. Stop fooling around is not funny” she walked towards Sarah’s car when her phone sounded “Halo?, yes I'm at the library…no, she came out but I can’t find her. I don’t know…Saraaah!!! OH MY GOD Sarah!! Help ! Somebody help me please!!!! “What’s wrong Crystal can you hear me? Crystal, Crystal!”

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I woke up in my bed two days later or so said the watch on my night stand, my head still spinning around and I remembered exactly why -I shuddered-.
I felt something cold on my forehead and when I reached to touch it, it was a cold and wet compress, I took it off and straighten up.
Jeremy was sat on my chair sleeping, with his head on my computer keyboard, I wasn't expecting this.
What happened to me? I fainted that much I could guess, but for two days?

It was already dark outside. I got out of my bed and covered Jeremy with my blanket, he sure noticed the weight change because he then looked up at me.
"Gabrielle you are awake!" He said with a smile, putting his hand on my forehead, but his smile faded after I asked him "what happened to me?"
"You were burning in fever" really? I didn't feel as if I was sick at all, apart from the spinning around of my head but I knew the reason behind it -every time my mind tried to pull me back to that memory I got dizzy- "so I've been sleeping for two days?" He nodded "Brook and Jenny" I said wide eyed as I remembered that they were in their houses now going to school alone! "Are they ok, are you ok?" I said hesitant, I was afraid of finding bad news, his frown disappeared and the smile came again while he shook his head "yes I'm ok and they left already, they've been here the whole day" I relaxed but my peace didn't last as Jeremy frowned at me again "could you please explain me why was Leonard bringing you home fainted and with high fever" oh god now what?
"what did he tell you?" I asked hoping he didn't mention the kiss "he just said you got dizzy, is it true?" I hesitated as I thought about it, it was the truth, and I did get dizzy. I nodded "and the fever? Where you feeling ill somewhere? I wanted to take you to a hospital but Brook insisted in leaving you here" well done Brook, I wouldn't have liked it, I hate hospitals and last time I was there I spent enough time in bed. Enough for the nausea to last me for 2 years.
Jeremy surprised me again when he told that there were indeed some bad news.
"Gabrielle seat down for a bit" I was already nervous "somebody from your classroom was attacked" my heart stopped beating, even though I didn't know many people at school I felt something tightening in my stomach nobody deserves to die, the first person I thought about was Ben. I couldn't control myself I started shaking.
"calm down honey, she's in the hospital now, they are trying to stabilise her" is a she? I took a deep breath, I felt guilty that I was happy it wasn't Ben but that's how I felt at that moment.

“Who’s she?"

"She's called Sarah I believe is the girl that you had a problem with" oh my gosh Sarah "oh no"

"She lost a lot of blood; they don't think she'll be able to make it"

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Byron was impatiently standing beside the balcony, thing that was really strange as he always stayed calm, mute.

Things were getting out of hand and he didn’t know what to do.

How could they protect all those people in town? They couldn’t be everywhere watching for each person but it hurt him to see that people where getting killed before his eyes in his town and house. And there was nothing he could do about it.

Is not like he wasn’t disturbed when they died in St. Martyr’s day but it wasn’t the same. They knew where to watch, how to protect the people in this town –maybe one victim or two were found but not this massacre that is happening at the moment- but now…they are attacking randomly. How could they stop it?

For now he sent each one of the members of his family to protect Gabrielle’s family and friends. Tara was protecting Brook and Camilla was after Jeremy. They didn’t like that but it was an order from Byron so they had to obey.

Renzo already started days ago looking after Jenny and well the cousins…I don’t think there’s a need to tell who they were looking after.

Obviously still fighting even over the amount of hours each one would have looking after her. But Gabrielle was oblivious to this situation.

Of course she knew or guessed that Leonard was somewhere out there, he said he wouldn’t take her out of his sight but still she wasn’t sure. And she didn’t know that Jeremy was being protected all the time either.

Byron just took those precautions because Christopher begged him to do it, for him.

Byron knew how the cousins where suffering about this Gabriella/Gabrielle situation and it also hurt him to see them like that.

He made a promise to Mr. Martyr before he died. He promised that he’d take care of his kids as if they were his own.

Mr. Martyr always lived knowing something was wrong with his child. He couldn’t quite point it out but he knew somehow, that they changed after they recuperated from their illness, and then he also knew about Bryon.

Byron should have been the same age -in appearance- as Mr. Martyr, but while he was dying naturally of aging. Byron was still young and strong.

Byron was part of the council but he couldn’t tell them what he was. They would try to kill him before listening to a proper explanation.
 No definitely no. 
He couldn’t risk it letting the council know about their secret. But they were all unprepared. Renzo said that something bigger was coming that he didn’t know exactly what it was but Byron was almost in the right direction. 
He kept it all for himself of course, but was already planning something. Still they were all unprepared. How will all this turn out?

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Sarah was still in the hospital bed, unconscious as people came and went from the room. Her mum was always beside her, holding her hand, pleading for her to resist.
Ben went to visit her, his face turned hard as a stone when he saw Sarah in that poor state.

She had needles inserted almost everywhere in her arms. The bags under her eyes were really dark as if she didn’t sleep in days but she’s been sleeping for two days already.

The doctors said she was in a coma, that they didn’t know when she would wake up; she lost loads of blood though. 

He sat beside her and talked to her –doctors always says that we should talk to the patients thought they are in a coma and we think they can’t hear, they still can- about everything that came to his mind.

About how chaotic his live was and even about assignments that they were being asked to bring to class.

He even claimed to her angrily why she had to leave the library by herself at night knowing how danger was hovering around.

It really bothered him everything that was suddenly happening in Zoneville. This was never a safe place but things never got that bad before.

He wondered why it had to be her out of all the people he knew. She, that was always calling for his attention, attention that she never received and he regretted a lot treating her as he did.

He was being unfair wishing that somebody else were in that bed instead of her and he knew it but he was so angry that he didn’t care about how cruel he looked to others. Everybody around him was dying.

First Sam Julian, then Elizabeth Mc Graw. One of his best friends disappeared and now Sarah was in a coma. He didn’t know how but somehow he got to the conclusion that the attacker wasn’t an animal, it couldn’t be. An animal would have been in their hands already, like all those animals they always got in St. Martyr’s day.

And he even thought that all that was fake now.

Those things couldn’t be done by animals. They weren’t that smart to come once in a year to kill people. And now to come, kill and disappear without being caught. That was impossibly impossible. Something was totally wrong.

He paced from one side to the other of the room trying to get something out of everything he was thinking about, a hint, something that could help them.

He tried to remember those two times that he’d been attacked what did really happen but nothing ever clicked for him. He still couldn’t understand and when he couldn’t stay in that room any longer he excused himself gave a kiss to Sarah on her cheek and when he did, he saw what it appeared to be two small rounded wounds on her neck. He didn’t think about it much but it was strange. And then he left.

It was getting dark outside and Sarah’s mum decided to go home, to have a shower and change clothes "I'll be back in a few minutes" she said with tears in her eyes "just make sure you wake up by then". Time passed quickly as midnight approached. Suddenly Sarah started to shake, it was more like a painful shake she looked like in a lot of pain.
Her heart beats increased, her eyes still closed, he gasped for air as her skin started turning lighter and lighter almost as white as a corpse drained of life. Her veins were now easily visible against her skin.
Then before her heartbeats reached the limit on the reader it stopped making her breath faster but even, the reader should've been high still but even though her breath was coming faster it was decreasing, till it stopped making that piiiiiii sound.

A nurse quickly came in and checked the reader, she was still breathing so she thought it was a mistake of the machine and left.
Morning arrived sunnier than ever for a day in Zoneville, another nurse came to check on her but she'd been told about the machine error and Sarah's chest was still moving so she didn't give it much thought either, they would come later to change the reader.
The nurse opened the curtains letting the sun spread throughout the room; it really was a nice day. Even Sarah's mum that was now in the room smiled admiring it.
"it would be nice if you could see this honey" she said taking Sarah’s hand into hers; she winced at the touch of it. Her hands were freezing so she put them underneath the blanket.
After a while she left her side to eat something, she didn't want to but her stomach was now complaining though she'd been there the whole morning not wanting to separate from her daughter but she would eat and quickly come back.
The side of Sarah's forehead that was exposed to the sun throughout the morning started peeling, as when you put a magnifying glass in between the sun and a paper that kind of action would create a flame after a while and that's what was happening to Sarah's forehead.
Her eyes suddenly yanking open and her head leaning away from the sun instinctively. As soon as she did, as soon as her forehead hid in the shadows it started to heal.
She looked around her not aware of were she was but she sure smelt something that she wanted. She straighten up glaring at her arms, needles hanged everywhere, she ripped them off her skin and then surprised looked at her arms when no blood was coming from the wounds.

Wounds that healed really fast. She didn't take it into account; there was something else that she wanted.
It was amusing to her how alert she felt, how aware she was feeling now of everything.
She even covered her ears and kneeled down as if she was hearing strong noises. She winced as she did but there was not noise around or at least not a noise our normal ears could hear.
She twisted on the floor for a while but there was something that she was smelling, something that caught her whole attention making her walk out of the room.
Nobody was in the corridors but it was amusing how careful she was, naturally looking around in a defensive position, she looked like an animal aware of the danger, like when a cat walks down the streets at night and then hides at the minimum movement it senses on his path.
She was alert and looking for something.
She stopped in front of another door, the door was closed. She hesitated for a while just looking at the door, sniffing something then she opened it got in and closed it again.
There was a patient there sleeping, she walked closer to him and then she stiffened, her face looked as if contorted, her mouth opened as fangs started growing painfully, her eyes became wild and red. She didn't hesitate twice she took the bag of blood that was providing a transfusion for the patient and in one second drunk it all.
She run her tongue through her lips enjoying the taste the pleasure of it, but she wasn't fully satisfied.
She didn't know what she was doing it all came naturally, she took the patients hand, palms up watching his veins transport that fluid that tasteful blood that she wanted, she could see the pulse on his wrist and she yanked her fangs in it, draining him out. In no time he was dead.

Sarah looked at him after she finished, she was suddenly afraid, what did she just do? Why did she do it? Where the thoughts that filled her mind.

She had blood in her hands and quickly run towards the toilet in the little room to wash them. She didn’t understand what just happened and then she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her skin was now pure white, her eyes were pure red and her face had a wild animal-like appearance. As she stared at herself she heard the nurses running alarmed towards that room and she darted out of the toilet, what could she do now? Where could she go now? As they got closer she run to the window it looked too high to jump but after giving a last glance to the now corpse lying on the bed she knew that this was her only option, so she jumped falling on her two feet as if she just jumped from her bed to the floor just a few tiny inches. She was shocked but she started running away and then she vanished in a blur.

TO BE CONTINUED……………