| Chapter 4 Howie sat on the couch flipping through the channels. He wasn't really watching the TV, he even had the sound muted. He just needed something to do. Something to keep his mind off what his friend was going through. In all his life he never thought he'd see someone he knew, let alone be close to, get bitten. But, here it was, right in his face, and one of his best friends. He sighed, turning the TV off and glancing back into the bedroom Brian was in. He was still asleep. In fact, he hadn't even moved since he laid down. He got up and walked to the door of the room, staring at Brian. Slowly his chest was rising and falling with every breath. Howie bit his lip with worry. In theory he knew what was happening to his friend, but he'd never seen it up close. And he wasn't sure what to do to help him. He wasn't even sure he could help him, but he had to try. He couldn't just watch, not this. Not when it was Brian, his little brother for over eight years. A knock came at the door, and he crossed the room, peering out the peep hole. He opened the door and allowed the man to push the room service cart into the room. Then he tipped him and locked the door behind him. He transferred the plates over to the small table, then pushed the cart out of the way. Then he walked into the bedroom, "Brian, wake up." He got no response. Brian didn't even move. Howie sat down on the edge of the bed and took Brian's hand in his. It was ice cold. Gently he shook him, "Brian, come on. Wake up." Brian moaned, turning his head, "Five more minutes mom," he mumbled. Howie smiled, shaking him again, "Bri, you need to get up and eat." Brian slowly opened his eyes, and looked around before focusing on his friend. "What time is it?" he asked. "Bout nine," Howie answered. "In the morning?" Brian asked, confused. "No, at night," he said, standing up, "Dinner's here." "Oh," Brian said, sitting up and rubbing his face. Howie watched as he slowly got out of bed and made his way into the living room, sitting down at the table. Brian's entire expression said exhaustion. It was in the way he walked, sat, in his face, and deep in his eyes. "So what'd you get me?" he asked, as Howie sat down. "Something you probably aren't gonna like, but you need," he answered, taking the cover off his own plate. Brian pulled the cover off his and grimaced. A baked potato and a large very rare steak met him. The steak was so rare that the juices filled the plate. "D, I hate rare steaks," he said. Howie took a bite of his own well done steak, "I know, but eat it anyway." Brian took his knife and fork and started to cut the meat. The juices poured out of the meat, and Brian dropped his fork, "Yuck, I can't eat this." "You need to Brian. It'll help you feel better," Howie urged, trying not to look at Brian's plate for fear of grossing himself out. "How is eating raw meat gonna make me feel better? I don't understand what that has to do with anything," Brian protested. Howie sighed heavily and put his fork down, looking his friend in the eyes, "Brian, you need the nutrients in the blood. If you don't get them, you'll continue to feel like you do now." Brian looked down at his plate, just staring at it for a moment. He didn't know if he could eat what he was looking at, but he didn't want to keep feeling so tired either. Reluctantly he picked up his fork and took a bite. It was the most disgusting thing he'd ever eaten, and he thought seriously about spitting it out. But in the end, he forced himself to eat it. Howie seemed to know what he was talking about, so no use arguing against it. Howie had finished eating and put his plates back on the cart. Brian was still trying to force himself to eat the last of his steak. He finally pushed the plate away, "That's all I can stand." Howie nodded, taking the plate and putting it on the cart as well. "You'll get used to the taste after a while," he said, turning back to his friend. "I don't wanna get used to it," Brian said, "What's happening to me Howie? Why do I feel like this?" Howie sat back down, staring into Brian's eyes, "First, tell me what happened to you." Brian looked down at his hands, seeing the bruise on his wrist. Tears filled his eyes, and he took a deep breath to calm down. "I uh, I got stranded in the weather, so I thought I'd just drive the rest of the way in. But the storm .. It was really bad. So .. I found this parking lot to pull into. But when I did, the car died. I didn't have any reception on my phone, so I figured that I'd go into this club and use the phone," he said, still looking at his hands. Howie sat back and waited for Brian to continue. "So I ran in and the bouncer wasn't gonna let me in. It was a private club, but I begged him to use the phone," he continued, a tear sliding down his cheek. He wiped it away. "The bouncer went and asked the owner if I could come in. She said yes, so he took me back to a small sitting room. But there wasn't a phone in there. I was about to leave when the owner came in. She talked to me for a minute, then she kissed me," he said. Howie sat up straighter, "She kissed you?" Brian nodded, "She said something about I was her lover and I'd come back to her. I tried to leave, but I couldn't. She grabbed my wrist, and I couldn't get away from her. I don't understand how she was so strong." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, "Then she bit me. I couldn't move, I couldn't even fight her. It was like something had a hold of my brain and I couldn't make myself do anything. How could she do that?" he asked. "She's a vampire Brian, that's how," Howie answered. Brian shook his head, "Vampires don't exist. They're just fictional characters in movies." Howie crossed his arms over his chest, "Do you really believe that? After what happened to you." "Howie, vampires aren't real," Brian insisted, "They can't be." "Brian, what I'm about to tell you, the majority of the population has no clue about. Vampires are real. They've lived among us for centuries," he said. Brian stared at him, shaking his head, "No, that can't be true." "Brian, you know it is. You saw with your own eyes," Howie argued. Brian closed his eyes and brought his hands to his face, "This has to be a bad dream. God, please let this be a nightmare." "I'm sorry Brian, it's not a dream. What happened to you, actually happened. You were bitten by a vampire," Howie said. Brian looked at him, tears in his eyes, "So what does that mean? Am I gonna die?" Howie leaned on the table, "You said you drank her blood right?" Brian nodded. He sighed, running his hand through his hair, "Bri, I dunno how to say this, other than just to say it. You're already dead." "What?!" Brian yelled, his eyes wide with fear. "This vampire, she turned you Brian. When you drank her blood, you started the process. You are turning into a vampire, and there's no stopping it," Howie said. "Oh no, you gotta be wrong. I'm not dead Howie," Brian protested. Howie sat back in his chair, wondering how he was ever going to explain this. "Bri, it's not dead like you would normally think of dead. It's hard to explain," he said. "Well can you try? I'm scared to death here, D," Brian said. "It's like your body as it normally works changes, or dies off. Slowly the vampire takes over, and you lose your human part," he said. Brian shook his head, "I don't get it." "Ok, humans need food to survive right?" Howie asked. "Yeah," Brian agreed. "Vampires don't. They still eat, but its not to get what they need to survive. Your body changes, so that all you need is what's found in the blood. So in a sense, you die to your old way of life, and are sort of born into this one," he said. Brian glared at him, "That sounds like what someone tells you when you get saved." Howie shrugged, "Same principle I guess. You leave one life behind for another." Brian shook his head, "That can't be right. This can't be happening, not to me." Howie sighed, his heart wrenching for his friend, "I'm sorry Brian, but it is. You are turning into a vampire." Brian took a shaky breath, looking over, "How do you know all this? Are you a vampire too?" Howie held his hands up in mock defense, "No, not even close. I'm a member of the watcher community. We keep tabs on the vampires, sorta keep their history. Not that anyone's reading it, but just so it's there." "How long have you been doing this?" Brian asked, amazed. "For as long as I can remember. My entire family are watchers. It's something that's passed on from generation to generation," he answered. "So, you know what I'm going through? What I will go through?" Brian asked. Howie bit his lip, "I've read about it, and I've watched it happen to others ... but I've never been this close to it, this involved." "Why not?" Brian asked. "We're watchers Bri. We observe and write it down. We never get involved," he answered. "So you helping me, is against the rules?" Brian asked. Howie nodded, "Yes it is, but screw the rules. You're my friend and I'm gonna do everything I can to help you." "Won't you get in trouble?" he asked. "Probably, but it doesn't matter," he said. Brian leaned on the table, "So, what exactly is gonna happen to me?" "Well, over the next few weeks, you'll experience some changes," he said. "Like what kind of changes?" Brian asked, already hating this. "You'll most likely get sensitive to the sun, your sleep patterns will change, and you'll find that you can do things you couldn't before, and of course, you'll get your fangs," he rattled off. Brian grimaced, licking his teeth, "When?" Howie shrugged, "Everyone is different. I can't really say, but you gotta be careful Brian. You can't let this get out, not even to the other guys. They wouldn't understand, and it could put you in danger." Brian rolled his eyes, "I know they wouldn't understand. I'm not sure if I do, but why would it put me in danger?" "Because just like vampires, vampire slayers exist too. And they aren't gonna ask if you're a good vampire or not, they'll kill you if they find you," he warned. Brian stared at him, his blue eyes full of fear, "How am I gonna know who's a slayer?" "I've read that you get a feeling, like a sixth sense that they're near. I suppose they have the same feeling when a vampire is near them, I'm not for sure," he admitted. Brian put his head in his hands. All this information was just to overwhelming. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Not only did he have to worry about becoming this hideous thing, now he had to be on the look out for slayers too? Howie moved to his side and put his hand on Brian's shoulder as he cried. "I didn't ask for this," Brian sobbed. "I know," Howie said, "Come on, lets get you back to bed." Brian got up and walked back into the bedroom, crawling into the bed. Howie helped him get under the blankets. "Bri, one more thing," he said, "Do you know the name of the vampire that bit you?" Brian sniffed, how could he ever forget? "Raven," he answered. Howie tried to hide his shock, hoping Brian didn't see it. "Uh are you sure it was Raven?" he asked. Brian nodded. "Ok, get some sleep," Howie said, moving to the door and switching off the light. He made it as far as the couch before he broke down. Trying his best to keep his mini break down quiet, he let his tears fall. It couldn't be Raven, Brian had to be mistaken. But he was so sure. Howie brushed the tears from his face, "It can't be. It can't be her. This can't happen again," he muttered, pulling his cell out and dialing the all to familiar number. "Hello?" "Eli, it's me," Howie said. "Howie, I've been worried about you all day," the older man said. "I'm fine." "You don't sound fine. What's going on?" Eli asked. "I talked to Brian. He said it was Raven that bit him," Howie said. "Was he sure?" Eli asked, in shock. "Yeah, he was. You could see it in his eyes Eli. She bit him, do you know what that means?" Howie almost yelled, but caught himself. Eli sighed heavily into the phone, "Yes, and she's older and stronger now. I don't think we can stop her this time." Howie bit his lip, "What do we do?" "Did he say where she was? We could tip off the slayers to her whereabouts," Eli mused. "No he didn't, but I'll try and find out. But are you sure the slayers wanna tackle this? Remember what happened the last time they found her?" Howie asked. "I know, but it can't hurt to ask. Even so, I don't think they have a choice. This is the human race we're talking about. Does your friend know who she is, or what he's in for?" the older man asked. Howie shook his head, "No, and I can't tell him, not now anyway. He's not taking this well, and that would just push him over the edge." Eli nodded, "Yeah, probably best he doesn't know. At least not while he's so unstable." "Speaking of unstable," Howie said, "Do you have any contacts with the network? He's gonna be needing it soon." "I don't, but I'll make some calls. See if I can get you a name," Eli answered. "Thanks," Howie said. "Howie, if you can't get in contact with them when the time comes, get out of there. Don't risk your life trying to help him," Eli warned. "I hope it won't come to that, but I won't leave him alone Eli. You don't know Brian. Everything that's happening to him goes against every belief he has. Even though he knows what happened to him, he refuses to accept it," Howie said. "That could be dangerous for you," Eli said. "That's why I can't just watch this one. It's too close, and if I can do something to help I am, dangerous or not. See if you can get me a name, and I'll talk to you in the morning," Howie said. "Alright, be careful," Eli said. "I will. Night Eli," Howie said, hanging up. Chapter 5 |