| Chapter 32 Howie sat on the couch, his arm around Jennifer's shoulders as she cried. He didn't know what was wrong, she'd been crying when he opened the door. "Baby, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice hushed and soothing. She looked away from him, tears streaming down her face, "I'm so sorry," she cried. "Sorry? What for?" he asked, reaching over and turning her head to face him. She avoided his eyes, looking down, "I lied to you, I'm so sorry!" Howie stared at her, confused, and a little scared. His heart was slowly creeping up his throat. "Jen, I don't understand," he said. She pulled away from him, resting her elbows on her knees and cradling her face in her hands. She couldn't face him. "I lied to you about who I was," she said. The hair on the back of Howie's neck stood on end, and fear gripped him. Jennifer wiped the tears from her face, "I-I was sent here by Raven," she whispered. Howie closed his eyes as the shock hit him. It was true. What Brian and Tracy had thought was true. Jennifer looked over, scared when he didn't say anything. "I didn't want to do this, but I didn't have a choice. And then, you were so sweet, and we have so much in common ....... I fell in love with you," she said. He glared at her, "How do I know that? You came here to spy on me and Brian, how do I know anything you say now is true!" Jennifer looked away again, her eyes filling with fresh tears, "I understand that you hate me, but I had to warn you ...." "Of what?" he asked, anger tinging his voice. She sniffed, "Raven wants you in the family. She instructed me to take you and if I didn't, she was going to do it herself. Please Howie, you have to leave! I can't let her do that to you!" Howie stood up and paced the floor. Jennifer returned to hiding her face behind her hands, unable to stop the tears. "Why does she want me?" he asked, stopping in front of the window and peering out. She shook her head, "I don't know." He sighed, "So why not just refuse? Why'd you do this in the first place?" Jennifer bit her lip, "She's the head of the family, we can't refuse." "But you're refusing now," he said, "You aren't gonna bite me." She looked back down at the floor, "I can't do that to you. I'll die first." He turned to face her, "Is that what'll happen? Will she kill you if you don't do this?" She shrugged, "Either that, or she'll punish me." He stepped toward her, "How?" Jennifer swallowed hard, her body trembling a moment before she got it under control. She looked up to meet his eyes, "You don't want to know. Please Howie, just leave." "You know I can't do that," he said. She sighed, "Then it's up to me to protect you." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kevin looked up when Michael walked into the room, "Kevin, I need you to come with me." He got up, making sure Nick was still sleeping before he left the room. "What's up?" he asked. "There's something we need to address," Michael said, going to the elevators and punching the button. The expression on Michael's face was unnerving. Something was definitely wrong. "Is this about Nick?" Kevin asked, as they entered the elevator. Michael shook his head pressing the button for the observation rooms. "If it's not about Nick, what is it?" Kevin asked, getting impatient. Michael took a deep breath, "One of the teams just captured a vampire." Kevin raised his eyebrows, "Captured?" Michael nodded. "So what does this have to do with me?" he asked. The doors opened and the two stepped out. Michael walked past a wall of glass. Kevin glanced down, peering inside the rooms on the floor below. All were empty, save one. Several people were in the room, moving around, taking samples of this, and testing that. A couple people were in the process of stripping the person down. Kevin watched as they pulled the shirt over the person's head. He glared at Michael, "What the hell is going on? Why is Brian down there?!" "He is the vampire," Michael said. Kevin shook his head, "No, you're wrong! There's no way in hell my cousin is a vampire!" Michael sighed, "Look Kevin, I realize you didn't know, but this complicates things." "You're damn right this complicates things! Someone made a huge mistake!" Kevin said, pointing his finger in the man's face. "It's not a mistake," Michael said. "It has to be," Kevin almost begged, as he looked down. The men where putting a shirt on Brian. Kevin stared at his chest, his heart sinking as he realized his scar was gone. He leaned against the glass as tears welled up in his eyes, "Oh Brian, why?" he muttered. "Once we have him restrained properly, I'll allow you in to see him," Michael said. Kevin nodded, barely hearing the man. His entire world had just turned upside down and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracy ran down the hall, panic stricken. A.J. stepped out of his room, and she almost plowed him over. He caught her, "Hey, what's wrong?" "I gotta talk to Howie," she said, pushing past him. He followed her, "Is it Brian?" Tracy burst into tears, as she pounded on Howie's door. A.J. came over and pulled her into a hug, "Shhh, everything's gonna be Ok." She shook her head, pounding harder, "Open the damn door!" she screamed. Howie opened the door and Tracy ran inside, A.J. on her heels. "Howie, you gotta help me," she said, before she realized Jennifer was sitting on the couch, her own tears streaming down her face. Howie shut the door, walking past A.J. to stand between the two. "Tracy, I kinda have a little situation of my own here," he started. Tracy shook her head, "I don't care. They have Brian." Howie's eyes widened, "Who?" "The slayers," she said, "They took him. I need to know where." A.J. stood behind them, his mouth gaping open. He looked at the three, thoroughly confused. How did Tracy know about slayers? And why would they take Brian, and what on earth did Howie have to do with it? And why was Jennifer crying? Howie took Tracy's hand and pulled her over to sit on the couch, "What do you mean they took him?" Tracy sighed frustrated, "They took him, you know like picked him up and left with him." "Why didn't they stake him?" Howie asked. "I don't know, but they took him. I gotta find him, if they find out who he is ...." Tracy said, bursting into tears again. A.J. stepped up, "Wait a damn minute here. Are you saying that Brian is a vampire?" All three looked over at him, having forgotten he was even in the room. "You know about vampires?" Jennifer asked. "I know some," he answered, "So is he?" Howie and Tracy glanced at each other. "Yeah J, he is," Howie said. "Are um, are you?" A.J. asked, suddenly feeling frightened. Howie laughed, he couldn't help it, "No J, I'm not." A.J. looked at Tracy and Jennifer, raising his eyebrows. They both nodded. He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose, "This is just wrong," he muttered. Tracy grabbed Howie's arm, "Where are they?" "Tracy we can't just walk into VSA headquarters," Howie said. "What's VSA?" A.J. asked. "Vampire Slayer's Association," Jennifer answered. "I know that, but I have to do something! I can't just leave him there," Tracy said. "I don't know where it is," Howie admitted, "Let me call Eli, he can find out for us." "Don't," Jennifer said, "I know where it is." Howie looked at her. "Please, I want to help," she begged. Tracy glanced at the girl, "She works for Raven doesn't she watcher?" Howie nodded, "Yes." Tracy stared at her for a moment, "She's sincere. She really does want to help." Howie bit his lip a moment, then stood up, "Alright lets go." The three got up and headed to the door. "Who's Raven?" A.J. asked, tagging along. "We'll tell you on the way," Howie said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian slowly opened his eyes. Everything was fuzzy. He tried to move his hand, but he couldn't. Blinking several times to clear his vision, he looked down. He was lying on a bed. His clothes had been removed and replaced by a plain t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants. He was barefooted, and his feet and hands where strapped to the bed. He studied the restraints. It was a leather strap, with crosses burned into it. The buckles were silver, again with crosses inlayed in the metal. He pulled on the restraint, but it wouldn't budge. Glancing around the room, chills ran down his spine. It looked like a hospital room, white walls and floor. There was a sink and toilet on the opposite wall, but nothing else. Not even a chair. And no windows. He rested his head back on the pillow and looked up. Where there should have been a ceiling, there wasn't. Instead, the white wall gave way to glass. Several people where staring down at him, talking excitedly amongst themselves. He turned his head away from them, not wanting to be on display. He wasn't sure where he was, but he knew every person that peered down at him was a slayer. He felt something on his neck. He wasn't sure what it was, but it felt metal, and it wrapped all the way around. He jumped when he heard the lock on the door give. His heart was pounding in his chest when the door opened. The first person through was the man from the park. He was even more intimidating in the light. Tall, muscled, dirty blonde hair cut super short and those grey eyes. The next one in was the girl that darted him. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail, her blue eyes shining. For some reason she reminded him of Nick, he wasn't sure why. Next through the door was an older man. In his middle fifties, jet black hair, steely blue eyes. But it was the last person in that made Brian's heart jump out of his throat. "Kevin?" Kevin stood behind the three, an unreadable expression on his face. "Brian, my name is Candice," she said, approaching the bed, "We need to ask you a few questions." He stared at her, but he noticed that she avoided direct eye contact with him. "How long have you been this way?" she asked. Brian turned his head, trying to see Kevin. Candice stepped into his line of sight, "Answer the question please." "Kevin, say something," Brian begged. "I would advise you to answer the question," the grey eyed man said, fingering something in his hand. "I want to talk to my cousin," Brian said. Just then he felt a shock go through his body, starting at his neck. He screamed, his muscles contracting for a moment before it ended. "Answer the question," David said. Brian gasped for air, coughing a little. Why was Kevin letting them do this? Candice looked at him, "Please just answer, it's easier that way." "About a month," he said. Michael raised his eyebrows, "Only a month? That can't be, you have the skills of a much older vampire." Brian glared at him, "Don't call me that!" David lifted the tiny remote, making sure Brian saw it. "Are you sure it's just been a month?" Candice asked. "I'm sure, I'm a fast learner," Brian said. Candice grinned, "Sounds like someone else I know. Ok, who is your sire?" Brian took a deep breath. There was no way he could tell them. He turned his head away from them, bracing for the shock. David hit the button again, and the room filled with Brian's screams. Kevin bit his lip, he couldn't take any more of this. He grabbed the remote from David's hand, then turned to Michael, "Let me talk with him alone." "Kevin, it's not wise to be with him alone," Michael warned. Kevin glared at him, "Get out," he said through gritted teeth. Michael glanced at Brian, then motioned for Candice and David to follow him, "You have five minutes." Brian looked over as the door shut, still trying to calm his breathing. Kevin stood a few feet from the bed, "Why didn't you tell me? We're family Brian, why didn't you tell me?!" "We may be family, but you're also a slayer," Brian said, "I was scared." Kevin looked hurt, "What, did you think I'd hurt you?" "I dunno," Brian said. Kevin sighed, moving closer to the bed, "What happened?" "It doesn't matter," Brian said, "What are you gonna do with me?" "We'll keep you safe," he answered. "Is this your idea of safe? Kevin I can't stay here like this," Brian said. "I don't understand this," Kevin said, "How could you ask for this life when it goes against everything you believe in?" Tears slid down the side of Brian's face, "I didn't ask for this. I'd never ask for this!" "What do you mean you didn't ask for it? Vampires don't take someone against their will," Kevin said. Brian rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Don't be so naive Kevin. God, I've been a vampire for less than a month and I know more than you do." "Then tell me. Make me understand," Kevin said. Brian glared at him, "She attacked me and bit me. I didn't want this, I still don't." "Who?" Kevin asked. "Why does it matter who?" Brian said. "Because if you haven't bitten anyone we can find her and kill her and you'll return to normal," Kevin said. Brian laughed, "Lord have mercy Kevin, you believe that? It doesn't work that way. I'm stuck, there's no reversing it." Kevin looked down at the remote in his hand, fingering it. Brian watched him, unsure of what he was gonna do. Kevin stepped closer, reaching out and grasping Brian's hand, "I promise I'll help you, but you have to help me. Who bit you?" Brian shook his head, "I can't Kevin. This is bigger than just me, I don't want you hurt." "And I don't want you hurt, but if you don't tell me, they're gonna come back in here. I can't stop them Brian. We have codes that I have to abide by," Kevin said. "Even if it's family?" Brian asked, fear evident in his eyes. "Even so," Kevin replied, "Please, I promise I'll do everything I can, but you have to tell me." Brian stared at his cousin for a moment, "It was .... Raven." Kevin nearly dropped the remote, "No it can't be." Brian nodded, feeling ashamed and not sure why. Kevin shook his head, "God Brian, why didn't you tell me?" he whispered, backing away from the bed. "Kevin, don't leave," Brian cried, as Kevin banged on the door for them to let him out. The door opened and Kevin nearly ran through it. "Don't leave me in here! Kevin!!" Brian screamed as the door slammed shut. Chapter 33 |