Black Cats and Calla Lilies || Hollstein

Chapter 5 - Love Will Have Its Sacrifices

After about the millionth knock on her door, Carmilla sighed, pushed herself off of Laura's bed, and opened it up. When she opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of LaFontaine and Perry standing in front of her, looking extremely concerned.

LaFontaine started. "So, um... we caught a glimpse of the very end of that battle between you and Will. Sadly, we were just barely too late to save Laura. But, we weren't prepared and didn't have the right equipment to fight a guy like him, so we wouldn't of had a chance anyway." Lafontaine scratched the back of their head awkwardly, frowning. "So, um... we saw that you're a vampire. That's... pretty cool. You know, if you ever have any time to, like, stop by the bio lab, let me do a few little samples--"

Perry hit LaF hard on the arm. "Susan! This is not the time. Finding Laura is our priority right now." Her eyes clouded with worry. "Poor thing... she could be anywhere!"

Lafontaine shook their head. "Who could've guessed that guy Will was an evil vampire... he seemed so normal."

Suddenly Lafontaine looked at Carmilla warily. "Speaking of which... since you're a vampire, you're not, like, evil... are you?"

Carmilla gave them a blank stare. "You're standing in front of me alive and breathing, aren't you?"

LaF pursed their lips and gave a curt nod. "Good point."

Perry put her shaking hands in front of her. "We don't have time for this! Carmilla, we came here to talk to you. You need to save Laura!"

Carmilla let out a low, angry growl. "Look, I tried. I really did. I fought for her. And I lost. End of story."

"Then we have to start looking for her and making a rescue plan, " Lafontaine exclaimed forcefully. They sounded determined and hopeful. It broke Carmilla's heart.

Carmilla put on a scowl. "You can't possibly think that there's a chance we can get her back. These are vampires we're talking about. They're vicious and horrible creatures that will stop at nothing to get what they want, and what they want right now is Laura. And just because I'm the only vampire with a bigger heart and a few good morals, don't expect heroic vampire crap from me."

Perry sighed. "Carmilla, please just listen to us for a sec--"

"No! Get out!" The vampire snapped. She tried to slam the door on LaFontaine and Perry but LaF put a hand to the door before she could.

"Carmilla," Perry repeated calmly, "We know you feel responsible about what happened to Laura, but if you'll just let us help we can all figure out where she is together, and maybe--"

"She's gone, you dimwits! That little weasel William took her." Carmilla looked at the ground, eyes watering just a bit. "Do you even understand how hard it was to watch him take her away from me? When there was nothing I could do but scream out her name? I was completely paralyzed from whatever shit he injected into my body. It's my fault that this happened to her. We have to accept that she's gone. This is real life. There aren't always happy endings. Please, just... just go away."

LaFontaine sighed. "Look, we--"

"I said LEAVE ME ALONE!" she yelled in a hoarse voice, surprisingly almost on the verge of tears. She used her super-strength to shut the door, locking it as well with a loud click. She could hear LaF and Perry muttering through the door about coming back later to do some more convincing. The sound of footsteps fading indicated that they were gone.

Carmilla threw her hands to the top of her head and let out a frustrated noise. She wanted to curl up on her bed and never come out of this room ever again. She wanted to scream, to cry, to kiss Laura just one more time... but it was too late. They took her. She was gone. And it was all her fault.