Serum

-Twenty-Four-

We decided to return to the track that night. As we neared the track, I heard the hearts of two people, though I only saw them once we rounded the parking lot. By their smell I could tell they were related, probably sisters. They were chatting animatedly as they walked round the track. One noticed our arrival, and her heart-rate jumped quickly. Her distraction caused the other to look in our direction. The first reached for something at her hip, but we were already back-tracking and quietly left the track. I knew what it was like to be out alone, scared for your life, and Conner must have sensed it from me. When we rounded the hill beside the track, Conner gently squeezed my fingers in his left hand, and we headed back towards home.

When we returned, I mutely grabbed up a paintbrush and began painting a wall that probably didn’t need it. Conner quietly stepped in beside me to help.

Morning came too quickly, and with morning came a sudden burst of noise at the door. Conner and I barely had time to look at each other before the door flew open, and a half-familiar shape came fumbling into the room. The door slamming shut behind him, Daniel came rushing towards us.

“I’m so sorry Conner. I followed your scent back here the other night Adrian. That’s how I knew where you were. You have such a distinctive smell. But, you guys, you’ve gotta help me out, I’m in deep trouble and these guys are after…” Daniel hurriedly babbled until a whirlwind caught him up and threw him across the room.

“How DARE you come here! You’ve put us both in danger, and most especially Adrian! No one was ever supposed to find us here!” Conner’s voice emanated from within the blur of motion. Each sentence punctuated with the thud of a punch or sharp shove. Conner was enraged. I had never seen him this way. He tossed Daniel around like a doll, the scent of anger and blood stark in the air. It scared me so badly that for several minutes I could only stand watching. “I can’t BELIEVE you’ve done this Daniel! After all this time! I could just…” Conner shouted. He turned, picking up and tossing a pew across the church, aiming at Daniel. The pew knocked out a window, and cracked one wall. Had Conner always been capable of such strength and force? I’d never seen him utilize it, but now I was scared for Daniel’s life. Recklessly, I decided I’d better jump in quickly, before Conner did something he would regret later. I dodged and darted past Conner as I’d never done before. In his fury, he swung another punch at Daniel, that I just managed to block with one of my own. Daniel cowered behind me, as Conner’s face turned red from my blow. Then my own swiftly changed a color to match as the shock and pain rebounded across our mental link. Conner took two steps backwards, stunned. Instantly, I was sorry. I really didn’t want to hurt him. There were so many emotions between us now, and I was afraid I was going to mess it all up, but I had to hold firm in my belief that I had no other choice. He would have regretted it if he’d harmed his friend.

“Just stop it.” I warned. Instinctively, a threatening growl rolled from me and my teeth bared. It almost shocked me enough to make me flinch, but I reminded myself I was doing this for Conner and Daniel’s benefit. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you or what’s got your panties in a twist, but Daniel obviously needs our help. He needed it when he first came in this building, and he definitely needs it now, after you’ve given him a thrashing. Just look at him. You could have killed him! He’s your blood-kin and your best friend and what do you do? Nearly end his life when he needs you worst of all.” My voice had gotten dangerously soft and low. Like an animal, ready for attack I could feel every muscle in my body tensed and ready. Conner blanched, and a swarm of emotions flung themselves at me across the link. I clamped down on the link, blocking the flow to me. I couldn’t afford to let my pity stop me from calling a halt to the fight. This was no time to get confused or lost in Conner’s feelings, especially since they were so very strong. No matter how much I wanted to grab him in and.. I shook my head

“Now what is your problem?” I asked menacingly.

“It’s him, whatever he’s gotten himself into, and he leads his problems right to my door! When I’m already in hiding because of…oh you wouldn’t understand…just EVERYTHING!” Conner bellowed. Automatically, I reached out. 

“Conner, try me. You know me better than that, look at everything we’ve shared. Certainly you can’t still believe that I wouldn’t understand what’s wrong.” I murmured quietly. Conner flinched away, as though I might hit him again. My heart stung, but I deserved it. I curled my hand back into my chest. Then he turned to face away from me and it felt like he pulled my heart right out of my chest and took it with him. Instantly, I felt depressed. The look he gave me before he turned away was enough to make me stop breathing. But I forced myself through it, realizing I would get no further with him at that moment. I turned to Daniel.

“Now what’s wrong with you? What’s happened that made you hunt us out so desperately?” I tried to ask him gently, but I felt like it still came out as more of a demand. Daniel’s face was a mess, and I crouched in front of him to get a better look. It seemed Conner had landed several damaging blows. Daniel himself looked stunned. “You know what? Hold that thought.” I gritted out through clenched teeth. Standing swiftly, I went looking in the bathroom for something to help clean Daniel up. I pulled out some iodine, and then ducked behind my curtain for an old shirt I could rip into rags. Of course, I had to jump over a couple of pews to get there because they had landed haphazardly when Conner was having his tantrum. 

Daniel hadn’t moved when I finally made it back to him, still looking a bit stunned, but I gingerly began wiping blood off of his face anyway. When I poured the iodine to swipe on some of the cuts, the thought hit me that this was probably the same iodine Conner had used on the cuts on my feet so long ago. When I was still human. It felt like a lifetime ago. And now, I had to wonder if I’d damaged the relationship between Conner and I by interfering with his friend. I paused, sighing deeply, then continued my work, gently dabbing at Daniel’s face. It looked like his nose had been broken, and his lip was split. After a few silent minutes during which I tended to him, Daniel seemed to work up the nerve to begin telling me what had happened.

“I think that…well I believe somebody, or rather a couple of somebodies have discovered I’m a vampire.” Daniel started to explain. I felt Conner tense up behind me and begin to pace. “And I think that they might be after me, or are looking for me, sorta like a witch-hunt, and I, well I think they wanna kill me!” Daniel burst out.

“And you led them back here!” Conner shouted, approaching Daniel from behind me. A soft growl escaped my throat.

“No, I, well um, I lost them a while down the road and then raced here as fast as I could when I lost them, see they’re only human so I could outdistance them, but…” Daniel clammed up as Conner marched menacingly forward. I threw out an arm and caught him, my arm just about his knee level, if he tried to advance any further, I would trip him. I felt a dim acknowledgement from Conner, apparently he was calm enough to be open to my thoughts. Nervously, Daniel licked his split lip and winced, then opened his mouth to speak again.

“Close your mouth,” I ordered gently, then swiped some iodine across a cut on his chin. Daniel yelped. I grimaced apologetically, then continued swiping, suddenly Daniel reached up and pushed my hand away urgently.

“No listen! It’s important! I think they saw our entire group when we were on the hunt, you know, the day of the pool thing, so Tara and Tod might be in trouble too!”

“You got the TWINS in TROUBLE TOO!?” Conner bellowed.

“I didn’t even know they had seen us, at all, but apparently they’ve been looking for us since then, because they were waiting on me down that street last night when I went back to the pool area.” Daniel cowered.

“Tara and Tod are like only 18! They’re still in school and everything! If those guys go looking for them there, they’ll be in even greater danger! And you KNOW how rare twins are, they were like considered our area’s “hope” or something when they were born.” Conner continued, raking a hand through his hair as he paced.

“I really didn’t know we were being watched…” Daniel pleaded.

“Conner, please,” I put in.

“No, Adrian! He’s endangered himself, the twins, me and most importantly YOU! And maybe even the rest of the young ones. You haven’t seen what these crazy people get like when they’re out for blood. It’s like an old fashioned witch hunt! Especially in small-town areas like this! Did you ever read about the Salem witch trials? It’ll be just like that, only worse! Because they won’t bother to go to any authorities about it, they’ll just be after our blood! And you’re so new at this, and so deli…” Conner’s voice was cut off as I slammed him up against a wall.

“Do NOT call me delicate Conner. I’m farther from it than ever. I can certainly hold my own against you, Lana and most definitely against a group of humans.” I snarled, teeth bared, inches from his throat. Conner struggled weakly to remove himself from my hold, but I held him against the wall. A thought filtered through the unprotected link in our minds. The thought that Lana would be no match for me if I ever wanted to uproot her from her position. Startled, I backed off. Why would he even think that? I had no plans to take on Lana.. As my thought crossed our link, Conner, looked down and away, but he couldn’t hide the expression or his emotions from me. The hurt blasted at me like shards of glass. I knew he and his sister were not on the best of terms, all the little signs were there, but was there more going on that I wasn’t aware of?

Daniel was staring at us, bewildered. Realizing how the silent conversation must seem on the outside, I backed away even further, helplessly. Everything was going downhill fast, and even I was behaving viciously, which was out of what I thought was the norm for my character. I crumpled weakly onto a pew that hadn’t been overturned, still holding the iodine and a few rag strips. I drew my legs up onto the pew and disgustedly set aside the first aid implements.

“I just don’t understand Conner, what’s going on? You’ve never acted this way, you’ve always been so kind and gentle, and suddenly this turn of events and now it’s like you’re a completely different person. Like…like an animal I never knew existed. You should be drawing together right now with Daniel, trying to help him out, he’s family...” I realized I was taking out all of my frustration on him.  In particular, the irritation with myself for my own attitude, but I found I couldn’t stop the angry onslaught. Sighing, I got up and picked up the iodine and rag strips, tossing out the dirty rags angrily. I carried the clean strips and iodine into the bathroom to try to give myself a breather. I knew it wasn’t fair to completely put all the blame on Conner, but I was feeling churlish, and wasn’t about to apologize. Setting the iodine on the sink, I began rolling up the strips to try to save room. From behind a hand reached out and placed the iodine back in its place.

“I’m sorry, Adrian.” Conner murmured quietly. “It’s so hard for me to explain but…” I turned around to face him, arms crossed. “I think the thing is that… Well, you know how I was talking about reasons that mental links could be established?” I nodded at Conner’s question, waiting for him to continue. “Well, I’m so afraid for you, because, well, I think that there’s a little more than just the connection between us. I think I found out a while back, when I first met you. I know you’re special and I think that, well, I think that a special kind of connection has occurred between us. I just can’t lose you… I’ve come so close to that already…” Conner babbled, looking down.

“Would you spit it out already?” I sighed, and he straightened and looked me right in the eye, a challenging expression on his face.

“What I’m really trying to say is that I think I’m falling for you.” Conner stated. Did my face register the way that announcement thrilled and shocked me all at once?