The Price of Blood

Chapter 35

"How is this possible?" asks Lauren, as she sips a hot cup of tea, desperately trying to calm down after the distress of my brother rummaging through her head again.

I can't believe I'm actually sitting on the back of an AAVDL truck, in the pouring Montana rain, talking to someone who I thought had died 8 years ago. Harry's body has been carted into the back of another truck, decorated with a large American flag and the AAVDL crest. Staring at it makes me well up with guilt; he was only 26, too young for someone like that to die. Stuart still also can;t take his eyes of it as it is lined with satin and Harry is laid inside. The funeral will take place back at the centre. I am sure that I will not be invited.

Stu tears his eyes away to answer.

"I really don't know babe. I was on the brink of death, but somehow I didn't die." he admits, "I wanted to die."

I can't look at him, but I know what question is going to be on Lauren's lips next.

"Tell me everything." she demands fervently, "Maude would want to know the truth."

Stuart sighs.

"I would say I didn't remember any of it, but I remember it like it was only yesterday."

And with that, he beings to speak.

*Stuart's POV*

Maude and I, we had been together three years on the night when it happened. She was fun, exciting, creative, pretty, so beautiful, anything I would ever want in a girl. She did have tendency to talk to much, to mouth off, but I loved her, dear God, I loved her. That's why it was so hard to lie to her when I was late to a date because I had been staking a vamp,or stalking a vamp, or discussing how to kill a vamp. Vamps is the name for vampires we always use. Vampire draws too much attention, and vamp sounds good when you spit it over one who is dying on the floor. But I had one who was my best friend. His name was Bradley, and he was the bane of my life. He was one of the nicest guys I had ever met; sweet, charming, intelligent, sporty, everything I'd want in a guy friend, and yet I knew, one day, I would be assigned to wipe him out. He, of course, knew I worked for the AAVDL, but he never mentioned it. It wasn't something we talked about. Sometimes, we would shiver with disgust when we looked at each other, just for a millisecond, as if we suddenly remembered that we had to hate each other, but then we would go on joking and fooling around. My life was pretty great; I was rising up the ranks in the AAVDL, like my brother had been, I had great friends, I was captain of the football team, I was dating the Head of the debate team, my ex hadn't called me for three days, life was good.

Then, I got the call. Brad was my next target. I was his. We didn't see each other for a good week or so, until it was the Championship Game, us against the other Manhattan Secondary school in our area. We won, I was tossed into the sky,and then I saw Brad and a couple of his shady vamp friends leave the stadium, and I know tonight was going to be the night that the world would end. I partied long into the night with Maude and all our other friends, while secretly going through my plan in my mind, about how when and where I would stake the little bastard and my tear of consciences between friend and enemy would finally be over. I could have peace from my colleagues. Everything would be great. As we walked home, I remember feeling the cold night air chill my bones and an uneasy feeling in my blood.

"Babe, are you even listening to a word coming out of my drunk mouth?" Slurred Maude playfully.

"Yeah sure, what did Stephanie do next?" I teased, carefully feeling the gun in my pocket and stroking the trigger.

"So then, she called Harrison again, while pissed off her face!" Announced Maude, before hiccuping loudly.

It was then that I heard a gunshot. Maude screamed.