Thicker than Water
Save Me From Myself
I remembered Andy and Danny coming to my cell, and Andy pulling me into his arms. But everything after that was a blank. For once I was able to sleep in peace, and wake up not feeling like I was going to drain someone dry. And that I had woken up next to somebody. I must have jumped a mile out of my skin when I felt someone nuzzle their face deeper into the crook of my neck.
"You're so warm..." I heard a deep mumble in my ear, and I looked to see Andy curled up into my side. As much as I wanted to jump and scream, I couldn't bring myself to do so. It reminded me of when we were first starting out as a band, and when Andy couldn't sleep he would grab his Batman snuggie and cuddle up next to me. I chuckled at the memory, and felt long arms snake around my chest and Andy bury his head in my neck more.
"Five more minutes Ashes..." Andy groaned and I laughed out loud in earnest. I also remember this; me trying to wake Andy up because I needed to piss, and he wouldn't let go. Finally Andy stretched out his body and opened his eyes. He was giving me his patented 'I'm ready fan-girls' look and I raised an eyebrow.
"What are you giving me that look for?" I asked and he snorted in both amusement and confusion.
"I'm just waiting for you to jump up and start screaming at me."
"Why would I do that? I'm comfy and warm. Plus my throat is raw and right now you're really comfy; vampyre or not." I snuggled back into him, exhaustion making itself known.
"Ashley... I know this may sound insensitive, but how did you survive the blizzard? I saw you run out in only a pair of ripped skinny jeans. It was also forty below, so how did you survive?" Andy asked and I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"I almost didn't. After Jake had yelled for me to run I did, and I don't know how long I had run for. I remember finally falling to my knees under a tree and everything going black. The western quadrant had been combing through the woods that morning when they found me. I was barely alive, and they nursed me back to health. Bandit... she was the one who had found me. Everyone had thought I was dead, but she still saw the spark of life left in me." I said quietly, and I knew he heard me.
"And about what you had said... before I bit you... about how the Andy you knew wouldn't have let himself get infected? We all were going to... but the one who bit us, our maker, ordered us not to. I had thought that since you were dead, maybe that we shouldn't have to be alive anymore." Andy said, and I couldn't help but sigh. I began to scratch at a scar on my thumb, one I had gotten from an attack with a group of bandits.
"Ashes, I know you may not like me at times but we all can help you. Help you control your thirst, learn how to control your new abilities, help you with as much as we can." When Andy mentioned thirst I shuddered, turning away from him.
"I don't want to hurt anybody. I can't live with myself for what I did to some poor kid."
"You don't have to drink human blood you know Ash. Most vampyres prefer to drink animal blood actually." Andy got up and stretched before turning back to me.
"Come on Ashley, it's time that you stopped being scared of what you are now." Andy held out a hand, and I hesitantly grabbed it.
"Now just breathe calmly, and..." Andy's voice blurred and I was standing 100 feet away from him in the sunshine. He was standing under the protective barrier that was build so he could train me. We had to do it during the day; those were Danny's guidelines. Andy had tensed up a bit, but after three coats of sunblock and under the protective shade of a sun barrier he had loosened up.
"That was great! Now, see if you can do it again this time returning to me." Andy called out, and I focused again before popping right in front of him. There were the scattered cheers from Sammi and the others, along with some from Talon, Danny and a few other fighters.
"Okay, I see that you have the basics of teleporting down. Maybe we could start on tracking. I want you to close your eyes and focus on your sense of smell and hearing. Let those two senses lead you to an animal out in the woods or something. Try it." I did what he said, and the results were immediate. My throat ached dully and the monster on the edge of my consciousness helped me target a cougar in the woods about a mile out. I felt the world blend around me as I teleported to a clearing near the cougar. I made quick work of it before teleporting back to the base.
It scared me at times at how well I was adjusting to it, learning about my new abilities. But as much as it scared me I really did need to understand what had happened to me better. Learn to control the thirst that would be with me the rest of my days. However long those days may be. The more I worked with Andy and the rest, it made me realize how much I had missed them all. CC in all of his hyperness, Jinxx in his comfortable silence, Jake with his weirdness and humor, Sammi with her happy quips and sense of style, and much more importantly Andy. Andy with his beautiful blue eyes, sarcastic smile, dry comments and jokes, everything about him I had missed. And I had that sinking feeling in my stomach, the same one I had for Kina when I had first met her. I was falling for Andy, really hard. And that is what scared me more than anything.
"You're so warm..." I heard a deep mumble in my ear, and I looked to see Andy curled up into my side. As much as I wanted to jump and scream, I couldn't bring myself to do so. It reminded me of when we were first starting out as a band, and when Andy couldn't sleep he would grab his Batman snuggie and cuddle up next to me. I chuckled at the memory, and felt long arms snake around my chest and Andy bury his head in my neck more.
"Five more minutes Ashes..." Andy groaned and I laughed out loud in earnest. I also remember this; me trying to wake Andy up because I needed to piss, and he wouldn't let go. Finally Andy stretched out his body and opened his eyes. He was giving me his patented 'I'm ready fan-girls' look and I raised an eyebrow.
"What are you giving me that look for?" I asked and he snorted in both amusement and confusion.
"I'm just waiting for you to jump up and start screaming at me."
"Why would I do that? I'm comfy and warm. Plus my throat is raw and right now you're really comfy; vampyre or not." I snuggled back into him, exhaustion making itself known.
"Ashley... I know this may sound insensitive, but how did you survive the blizzard? I saw you run out in only a pair of ripped skinny jeans. It was also forty below, so how did you survive?" Andy asked and I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
"I almost didn't. After Jake had yelled for me to run I did, and I don't know how long I had run for. I remember finally falling to my knees under a tree and everything going black. The western quadrant had been combing through the woods that morning when they found me. I was barely alive, and they nursed me back to health. Bandit... she was the one who had found me. Everyone had thought I was dead, but she still saw the spark of life left in me." I said quietly, and I knew he heard me.
"And about what you had said... before I bit you... about how the Andy you knew wouldn't have let himself get infected? We all were going to... but the one who bit us, our maker, ordered us not to. I had thought that since you were dead, maybe that we shouldn't have to be alive anymore." Andy said, and I couldn't help but sigh. I began to scratch at a scar on my thumb, one I had gotten from an attack with a group of bandits.
"Ashes, I know you may not like me at times but we all can help you. Help you control your thirst, learn how to control your new abilities, help you with as much as we can." When Andy mentioned thirst I shuddered, turning away from him.
"I don't want to hurt anybody. I can't live with myself for what I did to some poor kid."
"You don't have to drink human blood you know Ash. Most vampyres prefer to drink animal blood actually." Andy got up and stretched before turning back to me.
"Come on Ashley, it's time that you stopped being scared of what you are now." Andy held out a hand, and I hesitantly grabbed it.
"Now just breathe calmly, and..." Andy's voice blurred and I was standing 100 feet away from him in the sunshine. He was standing under the protective barrier that was build so he could train me. We had to do it during the day; those were Danny's guidelines. Andy had tensed up a bit, but after three coats of sunblock and under the protective shade of a sun barrier he had loosened up.
"That was great! Now, see if you can do it again this time returning to me." Andy called out, and I focused again before popping right in front of him. There were the scattered cheers from Sammi and the others, along with some from Talon, Danny and a few other fighters.
"Okay, I see that you have the basics of teleporting down. Maybe we could start on tracking. I want you to close your eyes and focus on your sense of smell and hearing. Let those two senses lead you to an animal out in the woods or something. Try it." I did what he said, and the results were immediate. My throat ached dully and the monster on the edge of my consciousness helped me target a cougar in the woods about a mile out. I felt the world blend around me as I teleported to a clearing near the cougar. I made quick work of it before teleporting back to the base.
It scared me at times at how well I was adjusting to it, learning about my new abilities. But as much as it scared me I really did need to understand what had happened to me better. Learn to control the thirst that would be with me the rest of my days. However long those days may be. The more I worked with Andy and the rest, it made me realize how much I had missed them all. CC in all of his hyperness, Jinxx in his comfortable silence, Jake with his weirdness and humor, Sammi with her happy quips and sense of style, and much more importantly Andy. Andy with his beautiful blue eyes, sarcastic smile, dry comments and jokes, everything about him I had missed. And I had that sinking feeling in my stomach, the same one I had for Kina when I had first met her. I was falling for Andy, really hard. And that is what scared me more than anything.
update
9/16/14