Awakening

13

It was late, Morgan knew that as she rode her mountain bike up to the house, knowing it was a shame she missed the Descendants of the Glorious Dead, but she also knew Gran would understand. A small yawn emitted from her, shaking her head slightly as she hopped off the bike, walking it the rest of the way to the house, leaning it up against the back porch. But she froze for a minute, smelling that familiar scent, one she had been around before, along with the disgusting smell of blood. She removed her bag from her shoulders as she opened the door, met by darkness inside the house, setting her bag on a counter that she knew was there. The smell became stronger as she walked further inside, slipping on something wet, but she didn't fall, bending slightly and touching the floor. She gagged slightly when the smell of blood became more prominent, reaching over and turning on a light.

Her hand was coated in red, looking down and seeing Gran on the floor, hallow breathing emitting from the older woman. Morgan fell to her knees, in the blood as she looked at the older woman, trying to stop the bleeding, but Gran grasped her hand, giving her granddaughter a small smile before her body fell limp. Morgan's breathing grew heavy, tears quickly forming in her eyes, a shrill scream emitting from her, lightning striking hard in the sky. Blood streaked the white walls as Gran's body lay in a pool of blood on the floor. Tina, Sookie's pet cat, licks up some of the drops of blood on the floor. A door creaks as Morgan, still staring at Gran's body, is frightened when someone grabs her from behind, causing her to whip around, moving away slightly,

"Morgan! It's me" Bill said

He turned the woman slightly, noting the tears running down her cheeks, but she was in shock, he could see that as well,

"Are you all right?" He asked

Her eyes widened, looking down to see that her hands were nearly covered in blood, a creak filling the air, causing Bill to turn around, seeing Sookie standing in the doorway with Raven.

"Oh, my god" Sookie gasped, seeing Gran

"What happened?" Raven asked

|•|

In the dining room of the Stackhouse home, Morgan sat with Raven, the white haired woman still in shock. Sheriff Dearborn, Detective Bellefleur, Coroner Mike Spencer and his apprentice Neil Jones are in the kitchen.

"Did you get any prints off that drawer?" Sheriff Dearborne asked

"Nothing plain" Detective Bellefleur replied "think we got a partial one on the sink"

Raven placed a blanket over Morgan's shoulders, kneeling down in front of her and removing her socks from her feet, making sure she was comfortable before sitting across from her, leaning forward slightly,

"Why don't you go upstairs and lie down?" Raven asked softly "they're gonna be in there a while" Morgan looking at her "as soon as we find anything out, I'll let you know"

"I got blood on my boots. So much blood, I'm gonna be sick"

"Pull it together, pull the together! Do your job. No wonder they don't respect you"

". . Cut her up real good. Must be 30 stabs. The throat's wide open. Holy hell, we got ourselves a serial killer here"

". . Lynn and the grandkids to the lake for the weekend . ."

"Poor woman, stuck raising these crazy Stackhouse kids didn't deserve this"

"Morgan?" Raven asked softly

She looked up at her best friend, looking toward the entrance of the dining room, slowly standing from her chair and walking out. Raven quickly followed her, seeing that she stopped on the porch, Bill's fangs extending at the sight of Eric standing a few feet from the house. Morgan's feet moved on their own, walking down the steps of the porch, Eric quickly taking note of the blood on her hands and legs, but he knew it wasn't hers. She walked toward him, Raven recognizing him from the watercolor book, Morgan stopping in front of him, fresh tears running down her cheeks, lightning flashing in the sky, causing her to look up. Lightning flashed once more, looking at Eric again, her eyes closing as a sob emitted from her. His arms wrapped around her frame, one hand tangling in her hair, letting her cry in his chest, her own arms wrapping around him, but her hands didn't touch him, not wanting to ruin his shirt with the blood.

He didn't care what anyone else saw or thought, he just wanted to make sure she was okay. Bill, with Sookie in his arms, retracted his fangs and watched the scene. He had never seen Eric comfort someone before, so it was a surprise to him as he held Morgan like they had known one another their whole lives. Morgan felt safe in his arms, she didn't know why, but she also didn't care at that moment, letting him lead her back to the porch. Sitting her down on the bench, he sat down next to her, his arms wrapping around her once more, letting her head rest against his shoulder. A truck quickly pulled up to the house, slamming to a stop and shutting off, Sam getting out and making his way toward Raven. His eyes landed on Morgan, his heart shattering at the sight of her, blood on her hands and legs, taking comfort in a man she barely knew,

"She got here a few minutes before we did" Raven informed "she found Adele. Dearborne, Bellefleur and Mike are inside now, they haven't told us anything yet"

"What the hell was she doing out so late?" Sam asked, briefly glancing at the man who held Morgan

"Mrs. James wanted her to rearrange the books in the library" folding her arms over her stomach "that's why she wasn't at the Descendants of the Glorious Dead"

Sam let out a sigh, closing his eyes and wrapping Raven in a comforting hug, knowing Adele meant a lot to her as well. The sound of crickets chirping and a police radio are heard through the air, the group falling silent, aside from the occasional sniffle from Morgan.