Fangs | mlm

Chapter 25 - So close and yet so far

They drove to the nearest town and stopped in the parking lot of a shopping center, whose immensity looked ridiculous compared to the rural nature of the surroundings. Trevor stayed in the van with the body, while Eleonora and William went shopping for new clothes and items necessary for the funeral. Although they knew almost nothing about funerals, they tried their best. For this purpose, they bought a couple of pallet crates, the same in which farmers transported apples, the cheapest white sheet, and a bottle of liquor. Then they rushed back to the van, hoping the body hadn't started to decompose so that a passer-by wouldn't scent its odour.

They'd continue with their preparations if the sun hadn't set already as it hindered navigation outside the urban area. So they instead drove away from the nearest settlement and stopped in the forest where the funeral would take place the next morning. Obviously, they couldn't bury him at a cemetery as they didn't even know his name. Who was he before they met him? The question would probably haunt their minds for some time.

Then they went to sleep. Eleonora couldn't lie on the couch because the body had already occupied the spot, so she had to take a sleeping bag. However, she couldn't stop thinking that there was a dead body close to her. What if he would wake up? She therefore asked William if he could take the other sleeping bag and accompany her. He agreed, to Trevor's displeasure.

William had got enough sleep until midnight, thus wanting to check on Trevor. He went to the front and looked at him. His moonlit skin, his quiet breath, and shut eyes all made him smile at him, although he couldn't see it. He tucked a lock of his hair behind his ear, uncovering a pair of metal piercings. Something encouraged him to touch them, feel their structure, yet the moment his fingertips came into contact with them, they stung him—silver, not vampire-friendly.

Then William turned around. He took a few steps. However, such a movement caused him to sway, from left to right and the other way around. It seemed that his skin had never been so pale, snow had more colour to it. His eyes appeared to have lost its focus; they were glassy, like there was no living being behind them but what was left from them. They shut shortly before he fell to the ground, the thud echoing through the room.

Eleonora got up at once, her nails digging into the corner of her blanket. All she could see was darkness, blurry contours of what she might have remembered from the daytime. So she looked around, not leaving her safe place on the floor. It was when she noticed a person lying ahead of her. It could be either William or Trevor, although she supposed William would awaken if Trevor had fallen down. However, William wasn't the obvious choice, either, as he had rarely fallen down in the past. It was all so confusing to her.

Nonetheless, the moment she saw Trevor getting up from his seat, she knew that it was William. She hurried to stand up, then knelt beside the vampire. 'Trevor, turn the lights on!' she shouted, taking William's head in her hands.

Meanwhile, Trevor slapped the light switch on and joined the witch at her side.

"William, William, talk to me, please!" Her eyes were wide. She couldn't believe she had her best friend lying on her lap, his neck bones loose like noodles. "What can we do?" she asked Trevor, who shrugged, unable to think.

However, then William took a deep breath, shooting himself up, as if he had woken up from a nightmare. He was gasping, his hand resting flat on his chest. Crystal-like drops of sweat were present on his forehead.

"What happened?" She succeeded in speaking at last.

Now William's hand reached to his head. "I must have lost consciousness for a moment."

"Oh, I know this one already. But why? What was the reason? Do you know?" She bombarded him with questions, adrenaline running in her veins.