Supernatural Earth Pt. 01

Cade's eyes went wide. "James?" Impossible, Cade made sure that he'd be elsewhere just for this. "He is down there and he saw you?" The Mistress' angry glare confirmed it for him. Cade guided her to the sofa and went for the kitchen. "Stay there I'll get you some blood that I keep stored here. You need to regain your strength."

"I prefer mine fresh," The Mistress snarled. Before Cade had a chance to give her a retort about how he was out of fresh blood, she was already leaping across the apartment. She landed on his back and knocked him to the floor. The Mistress wasted no time in driving her nails deep into the small of his back and curving them upward so that they were grazing his heart. Cade froze with fear. "You've failed me tonight and I had to give up a great prize. Pity," she cooed in his ear. "I had such high hopes for you as my sheriff once I'd taken over, que sera," The Mistress sank her fangs into Cade's neck and drank her fill.

*

Ammo had long since ran out and James and Ashley had taken to fighting with whatever they could get their hands on; knives, swords, broken pieces of church furniture. The upside was that the herd seemed to be thinning. They stood back to back in the middle of the church as they continued fighting the werewolves off. Those who were just wounded had the good sense to retreat while they left their dead where they fell.

"Almost like the night when we first met, eh babe?" Ashely called out over her shoulder, now having the time of her life killing her most hated enemies alongside the man she loved.

"You and I recall that Halloween very differently," James quipped, getting winded. While he was in excellent shape, he'd never had to fight a prolonged siege like this before and it was starting to wear on him. He didn't have the superhuman stamina that his girl had and it was starting to show. On the upside, the herd was now down to the point that the end, one way or another, was in sight. James plunged the blade of his rapier into one last wolf before bending over to catch his breath. Ashley finished off her latest opponent and shared a smile with him.

"DIE!" A shaggy grey werewolf cried out as he jumped from the rafters, landing hard on all fours on James' back and sinking his claws in. James cried out in agony as he felt his back being shredded. "You should've killed me when you had the chance, asshole!" Whiney the Werewolf said.

Ashely sprinted into action knocking Whiney back so hard that the wolf actually flew the distance of the sanctuary to crash into the altar up at the front, splitting it into two. Jumping onto Whiney, Ashley grabbed the nearest candelabra and started pummeling him with it. Whiney regained his feet, sending Ashley sprawling back across the floor to one side. "Word of advice, bitch, whenever you have the upper hand on someone; don't hesitate to kill them," he sneered as he advanced on her.

BLAM!

The report of the shot echoed like a thunderclap in the church. Whiney jerked and Ashley rolled to her back just in time to see a large round, red hole appear where the Werewolf's forehead and upper face used to be at. Ashley looked at the direction the shot came from just as Whiney fell down dead to the floor. James had managed to lift his body up enough and load one of his fallen pistols to the point where he could fire. "Thanks for the advice, dipshit," he spat out a wad of blood before crumpling back down to the floor.

Ashely was at his side in an instant, rolling him over to examine his wounds. It was bad. "Oh my goddess, no," She cried out as she started tearing off strips of clothes from the bodies of dead Werewolves to act as bandages. "Goddess, no, the bleeding won't stop!" James let out a groan as he lapsed into unconsciousness. "No James! Dammit, you can't do this to me now! Wake up you bastard," she yelled at him, shaking him violently before leaning over to give him mouth-to-mouth.

There was a sharp intake of breath as James' chest struggled to fill with air. His eyes popped open long enough to dart around before finally settling on her. They then went glassy as he stared up into her perfect, angelic face. I-I love you," he breathed as the last of the air hissed out of his lungs, his body going limp in her arms.

"NO!" Ashley shook James. "No, No, No, No, No, No! No, baby, please, please don't leave me," she cried, her tears splashing down onto his face. "Wake up, baby, wake up." She swallowed hard and looked up to the heavens and then slightly lower to the stained glass window depicting Christ on the Cross up behind the Altar. "No, you can't... Please don't take this one," she said in a small voice. Ashley lowered her head, placing her forehead to his. It was growing cold. "Please don't leave me," she pleaded one last time with his still form. "I...I love you."

She then reared back her head, bared her fangs, and sunk them into James' neck; drinking his blood until his body was completely drained.

*

Part 2:

What hurts the most was being so close,
and having so much to say and watching you walk away.
And never knowing what could have been,
And not seeing that loving you is what I was tryin' to do.

-Rascal Flaats, "What Hurts The Most" (2004)

*

Prince Conrad Vanderheim looked solemn as he opened court the next night. "It is a rare honor among our kind for us to gather to mourn the passing of a mortal when they live in but the blink of an eye in comparison to us," he intoned, "but tonight we shall give homage to Hunter James Parker whose selfless sacrifice allowed many of our own to continue theirs for more centuries to come."

In the front of the crowd, Ashley felt hollow and cold. She numbly stood there and barely heard Conrad as he continued on in his soliloquy in proclaiming James' service to the Vampire Community and all of the virtues that he'd possessed. Zoe was next to her and every so often during the service she'd cast a sideways glance at her. Finally, Ashley had had enough. "What?" she demanded, turning on her friend.

Zoe's glare was accusatory. "Why didn't you turn him?"

"You think I didn't try?" Ashley was furious and her face burned as the tears ran down her hot cheeks. "I did everything I could to save him. But," her body became wracked with sobs as she recalled the moment, "but he just laid there looking peaceful and everything. He-he wouldn't come back after I drained him and gave him my blood..." her voice hitched as she let out a sob. She turned from Zoe and bolted from the room as fast as she could go.

Zoe caught up with her in the hallway, coming up behind her and hugging her tightly. "My god, Ashley, I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. I didn't know," she whispered with tears now rolling down her cheeks as well. Ashley managed to bring one hand up to grip her forearm in response. She felt Zoe's lips brush her earlobe. "Let me know if there is anything, anything at all, that I can do for you."

Ashley blinked the tears from her eyes and shook her head. "I'll be fine..." she said hoarsely. The words felt empty and hollow now, just like everything else.

"Of course," Zoe said, nodding. "I'll be here if you need me."

"I just want to wake up from this nightmare, that's all," Ashley said with hollowness in her voice. Or end it...

*

While the Vampires were mourning, across town at MPD headquarters there was a single officer who was in mourning himself. Michael Gurley was busy in his office typing up his reports and the press statement that would be issued to the general public the next day regarding the 'massacre' that had happened at the City Center Cathedral.

...while the exact events which led to two rival gangs meeting at the Cathedral remain unclear at this time, the Metro PD is following several leads and lines of inquiry to ascertain who is responsible for the desecration of one of our city's most beloved landmarks.

'Rival Gangs', Michael snorted as he finished the press statement. That was MPD-speak for anything supernatural that wound up splashing over into the mortal world point of view; nice, neat, and tidy. No one would know that Werewolves were involved. Hell, all of the pictures of the aftermath showed humans as they'd all reverted back to human form once they were dead. The public would be outraged at the spark of gang violence, more arrests would be made, and another section of town would get funding to clean things up and maybe build another park or two for families to bring their kids to. He then opened another file and his friend's face stared back at him from the computer screen.

Name: James Winston Parker
Age: 32
Profession: Hunter of the Vampires
Status: Killed in Action

It still hurt to look at that. Michael couldn't help but think that his friend would still be alive had he not stopped and helped Zoe. With a resigned sigh, he began his report on to what really happened.

Michael just couldn't help but wonder what the hell happened to James' body as it was not among the dead. Maybe the vampires took it for whatever reason. He'd ask them later when he went to court.

*

James gasped for breath as he bolted upright as if he'd been holding his breath underwater for a very long time. His hands went up and down his body in a blur as he checked himself over. For some odd reason his wounds were all healed. There was a sudden pang of pain in his gut as hunger overwhelmed him.

Off to the side of the bed he was on he spied a couple of bottles filled with clear liquid and reddish liquid that looked strangely appetizing to him. His hand closed around the first one red bottle. Ripping the cork out, he brought it to his lips and guzzled the whole thing down. The second bottle followed just as quickly as the first. Soon the hunger pangs eased and James felt a hundred times better.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," a man's voice said that reminded James of the actor Sam Elliot. James' head whipped around to see a man actually looked like the old actor standing in the shadows at the foot of the stairs leading up. "I also wonder what they're going to make of you whenever you return to them," he mused as he stepped forward.

"A priest?" James said, dumbfound, as the man came into the dim light. "Where...where am I?"

"You're in the basement of the City Center Cathedral. You know; the place where you had that massive battle royal three nights ago," the priest said with a bemused expression. "You all created quite a stir."

Blinking the grogginess from his eyes, James looked at him. "That was three nights ago? I've been knocked out for three days?" All he could remember was Ashley crying over him before the blackness overtook him.

The priest was shaking his head as he walked over. He took a pen light out of his pocket and flashed them into James' eyes and then looked into James' mouth. "Not... exactly," he said grimly as he poked and prodded at James' canine teeth. James gave him a questioning glance. "You were killed. MPD released a statement about your untimely demise. Your Vampire lady friend tried to turn you and when you didn't stir after she fed you her blood she eventually left you lying in the middle of the sanctuary upstairs. Apparently after trying to change you, she'd used up a lot of her energy to the point that she didn't have the strength to move you anywhere else before sunrise came," he explained. "She barely made it back to the towers before daylight broke."

James frowned. "How do you know all of this, Father?"

"Because I was watching and trying to stay out of everyone's way when the bullets and bolts started flying," the priest motioned for James to follow him up the stairs. "Once everyone that was supernatural was gone I moved you down here and put those two bottles of my own blood there for you in case you turned. Once I had you safe and secured, I called the police and reported the vandalism. Naturally they want to keep you all off of the front page of the newspaper so the break-in was chalked up to a local gang war." He let out a rueful chuckle. "Hopefully that'll get the city council to actually put some damn funding into cleaning up this neighborhood."

"Cussing in your own church?" James asked with a sly grin. "I think that I like you already, Padre." He paused. "So are you new here or something? I haven't seen you at mass here before. What do I call you, anyways, other than 'Father' or 'Padre'?"

"I go by many names. But for today's purposes you can call me Father Gabriel," he said as he led the way back into the main sanctuary. James could see that a lot of the damage had been either boarded up or covered up. A lot of the broken glass had been swept into piles if not removed along with all of the damaged pews. Gabriel took James over to a side door. "I am wondering about one thing; I wonder if you'll survive this door being open."

"Why wouldn't I?" James asked as he stood in front of it.

Father Gabriel let out a harrumph as he looked James over. With a sly grin of his own he threw the door open and James was instantly bathed in the blinding rays of the morning sun.

When James didn't disintegrate into ash immediately, Gabriel looked shocked. "Interesting," he said as he walked in circles around James, pausing every so often to check him out. At one point, Gabriel opened up James' mouth again. Sure enough, two distinct fangs had now grown out completely. Well, there are three things that are extraordinary about your condition, Mister Parker," Gabriel said. "Aside from the fact that you're awake during the day and have not died from the sun hitting you, that is," he chuckled. "One; you didn't actively request to be turned into a vampire. Two; your girlfriend attempted to turn you out of love and not out of any selfish desire."

James gave him a dubious look, "And the third?"

"The third is that you may possibly be the first vampire in history ever to be born on Holy Ground," Gabriel said, looking pensive. "All of these things taken together may be the reasons why you can be up in the day and withstand the sun's rays." Gabriel shrugged. "Or the Almighty could just have one really warped sense of humor. Who knows for sure?"

"Great, nothing like having God use you as a punch line," James muttered as he started to pace. "But I now need blood to survive like any normal vampire though, right?"

Gabriel thought it over. "I'm inclined to say yes in this case since you downed those bottles right when you woke up. However, you might not require it as often as normal vampires under everyday conditions. Sure, you'll probably have to consume more if you exert yourself, all vampires have to do that, but for normal feedings I'd say that you'd need it half the time that is required. Who knows? You might only need to feed every six months to a year as opposed to once every month. This might be the beginnings of the next stage of evolution for vampires. I'd have to study this more."

James arched an eyebrow at him, "Funny how a Holy Man finds all of this interesting,"

"What can I say?" Gabriel shrugged, "A guy's gotta have a hobby."

*

Zoe stormed up to Michael the moment he entered the Vampire's inner sanctum. "You have got to talk to her," she said point blank to him the moment they were close together. "She's sinking further into depression and is refusing to feed. I'm afraid that she's wasting away."

"And a fine hello to you too, doll," Michael said, leaning in and puckering up for a kiss. They'd become closer in the past couple of weeks since James was killed and Michael was named the new Hunter by Conrad.

"I'm serious," Zoe said, leaning back to avoid his kiss. "No vampire nookie for you until Ashley is better. Let her feed off of you if need be but I want my friend back."

"Don't we all," Michael said, his eyes narrowing and his voice becoming hard. "Not all of us have the gift of immortality like you all do sweet cakes. Not all of our mortal friends and family last forever."

"Excuse me for trying to save the friends that I have left." Zoe retorted. "I loved James too. But he's gone and Ashley is still here. Do what you have to. Slit your wrist on her fangs and force feed her if you have to." She said, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him down the side halls.

"Why the hell does she need to feed anyways?" Michael asked, wrenching his arm back from Zoe before she pulled it out of socket. "She should've got enough blood from James to last her for a good month, if not two."

"She's been crying nonstop," Zoe said evenly.

"So?"

"So when a Vampire cries, they go through the body's natural water first. Once that's depleted, they go through their blood supply next as their tears turn from water to blood. It's the equivalent of you humans being severely dehydrated.

"Holy shit," Michael breathed, quickening his pace.

*

Dimitri and Cade were on the roof on basic patrol, both of them feeling sullen. Ever since that fateful night when The Mistress nearly killed him for his mistake, he'd been busted all the way down to basic grunt work by Zoe at The Mistress' insistence. Unlife sucked right now.

As he walked his route on the roof of the tower, he gave a casual glance over at Dimitri who kept pace with him about ten feet off to his left along the roof's edge. Cade had heard that Dimitri had failed The Mistress as well in being unable to contain Zoe and Michael as those two had headed off part of the werewolf herd that was supposed to help kill Ashley. He too had been regulated down to grunt but thankfully his part in everything was a secret as well. Perhaps, Cade mused, there might be a chance at redemption for them both in the nearby future.

There was a slight, sudden movement to his left. Cade's head whipped in that direction as he brought his assault rifle to bear. Dimitri was no longer there. In his place was an expanding cloud of ash that was being blown away by the wind. A man clad completely in black stood there glaring at him with a silver stake in his hand gleaming in the moonlight. "HALT!" Cade ordered the man. There was something familiar about the way he held himself. Cade could not see the man's face due to the hood pulled up over his head. "Identify yourself!"

"Dimitri was an ass whose final death was long overdue," the man said, his voice hard. "I've been waiting here all day for you two." The man's wrist flicked slightly. Dimitri recoiled slightly as the stake embedded itself into his right shoulder. The weight of the rifle felt heavy all of a sudden as he lost the use of his arm due to the silver. The man calmly walked forward and pushed Cade back until he was flat against the nearest wall. "You, however, I wanted to have a quick word with. You've been a bad boy, Cade, conspiring with The Mistress to overthrow the Coven."

The man reached back and drew his hood back and Cade's eyes went wide with fear. "No... You're dead! I saw your body."

"Some take longer than others to wake the fuck up," James said, glaring at Cade. He yanked the stake out of Cade's shoulder with his bare hand.

Cade looked at James and swallowed hard, resigned to his fate. "I-I wouldn't blame you in the least little bit if you decide to ash me."

"Good," James said coldly as he shoved the stake right through Cade's heart. Cade looked down at the stake in bewilderment and then back up at James with an uncomprehending look on his face right before his body went grey and exploded into ash. James pocketed the silver stake and walked through the nearest doorway he could find.

It was time to get down to business.

*

"Dammit!" Zoe cursed, not for the first time. They'd tried everything to get Ashely to feed but nothing was working. Ashley simply lay there on the bed naked looking pale, more so than she already was with her ancestry. The first thing they'd done was remove her skimpy lingerie that'd started to smell as it was the same thing she'd been wearing when James was killed. Once they'd gotten rid of that and cleaned her up, Michael and Zoe tried everything from bottle feeding to putting skin right up against Ashley's mouth. Ashley continued to lay there catatonic. "Well, I guess we could always fuck her..." Zoe said, as she contemplated the situation.