Blood [#Wattys2016]

Section 8: Good Music and a Whole Lot of Blood

!!!TRIGGER WARNING!!!

THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS GRAPHIC VIOLENCE AND REALISTIC GORE (WELL, REALISTIC AS I COULD MAKE IT. IT'S A VAMPIRE BOOK; I MEAN, COME ON). IF YOU ARE EASILY UPSET BY THIS KIND OF MATERIAL THEN READ WITH CAUTION.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

!!!TRIGGER WARNING!!!

          Hey guys! Just a note:

                              Don't forget to go back and reread the end of Section 7: Magic and Snark; I've changed the ending and added some stuff I forgot with the previous round of editing!  Don't read this section unless you've read the changes to the last section! It has some seriously necessary character development (and a bit of foreshadowing ;D)!

Section 8: Good Music and a Whole Lot of Blood

The engine of Milo's car whirs as we soar past a speed limit sign on the desolate forest streets telling us that we're going twenty miles per hour too fast. I don't mind. I don't not mind either, but I'm not going to say anything. I figure that as the greenest one here I'm probably not in any position to correct Milo on his driving. He's good at it, anyhow.

Like David said before we left, it's probably going to take us an hour and a half to get to the club, so I've decided to use this time to become better acquainted with the group and try and figure out where my life is headed considering this new direction it's taken. One of my first questions was about this 'vampire side' everyone keeps mentioning. Ivanna, Persi, and Milo have been very patient; answering all of my questions in detail and don't at all seem to mind explaining these things to me. At this rate, by the time we reach our destination I'll be an expert on vampirism! Okay, maybe not an expert, but I'll be much more knowledgeable.

They've explained so far that while the vampire side coexists peacefully with its host mentally, it does not actually have a physical form on our plane. Instead it controls several scattered areas of the brain that are different depending on the type of vampire, most important being the brainstem which allows it to control and modify impulses sent from the host's conscious mind to their limbs and vice versa. This is important in combat as the vampire side can typically react faster than its host, giving the illusion that they have lightning fast reflexes. These can be honed and perfected just like any other skill almost without limit.

"So what about the transformations?" I ask. I am sitting in the back seat behind Persi and next to Ivanna while Milo drives. "How does that work? Does the body create new tissue instantly or does it appear magically?" If a week ago you'd have told me that I'd ever ask that question in a serious manner, I might have slapped you.

"Well," Milo says, eyes still locked firmly on the road, "both technically, plus something else." We slow down as he says this as and prepares to make a sharp turn. David, his black sports car speeding ahead of us, does not. Instead he slams his handbrake and drifts smoothly around the corner like a professional racecar driver. I'm beginning to understand why he and Rick get along so well; they're both lunatics and adrenaline junkies. Milo adjusts the radio, the classic rock from his playlist quieting slightly, so that I can hear his explanation better.

"Imagine it like a bullet in the chamber of a gun." He continues. I do so, though my knowledge of firearms is pretty minimal. "You have one bullet ready to fire and another ready to to be loaded into the chamber from the magazine. The first bullet can be spent without issue, but the next has to be readied before you can use it."