The Second Chance (Blood Of Eden Fanfiction)

Chapter 18: Jackal

I feel numb and nothing more. The moment we arrived at this house, I had picked the darkest corner and haven't moved from my spot for over an hour. Her... Blood still drenches my clothes, the scent stale and old. Allison and her puppy have moved her to an upstairs bedroom, placing her on a mattress as if she would be able to feel the difference between a soft bed and the hard, cold ground.

Parker sits solemnly on an old chair across the room from me, his face pale with fear and grief. I'm sure finding her like that was shock to him... There had been so much blood.

I don't remember a lot now, the monster had taken over the moment I heard her scream. I had tried so hard to get to her in time, but it had been no use. If... if I had only woken up sooner...

I slide my back against the wall in anguish. I feel a sharp sting behind my eyes and a lump forms in the back of my throat. The scene of the Rabids sinking their teeth and claws into Abigail replays in my mind. I made sure to tear every one of them apart, barely giving Abigail and Zeke a chance to help. I nearly lashed out at them when it was over, the monster so enraged that it was willing to attack anything within five feet.

I'm not really sure what happened after that; everything is such a blur now. I vaguely remember Allison leaning down next to her, doing the one thing I know Abigail would have protested against. But I didn't stop her. I had been frozen in place with Zeke's hands on my shoulders as he whispered calming things to me and what our next plan of action should be.

I also somewhat remember picking her limp form up off the ground and making a run for a nearby neighborhood. The moment we reached the first house, Allison and Zeke took Abigail away from me and moved her upstairs. Now, all we can do is wait and I've never hated anything more.

Another hour probably passes by the time Allison and Zeke come back down the stairs, both of their faces grim and their hands covered in blood. Zeke goes and sits in front of Parker, talking quietly to him and probably making sure he is okay while Allison slowly makes her way over to me.

She slides down against the wall and sits next to me, both of us silent for a moment. Finally, she lets out a sigh. "We cleaned her up as best as we could," she says and I give a small nod. "We aren't sure what's going to happen next. It could be a couple of days before anything happens..."

I nod again, not entirely sure how to respond. "I do have some good news, though," she starts again after a few minutes. "She still had a faint heartbeat after the attack, so we may not have been too late."

I give a small laugh at this. "You really do like holding onto hope, don't you sister?"

She looks at me sadly. "Hope is the only thing we got left, Jackal," she says. "It saved my life when Kanin found me. It saved your life when you got infected with Requiem. Hell, hope gave us the cure so that our loved ones won't turn Rabid anymore. Without hope, we'd all be dead."

I shake my head but give my sister a small smile. "Since when are you a motivational speaker?"

She gives a small laugh at this as she stands back up. "Since I discovered that you actually have feelings but don't know how to manage them."

I roll my eyes at this but choose to ignore her comment. "How many days do you think we should give her?"

Allison looks away, her eyes cast down. "I'm not really sure," she says. "I've never done anything like this before." She closes her eyes and I know exactly where her mind goes. 

Kanin. If that old man was here, it might be a little more hopeful. Allison is too new of a vampire to know how any of this goes. And I might have been around for a long time, but in all my years I've never experienced something like this. 

"You should go see her," Allison says with a slight kick to my foot. "I'm going to go find somewhere to clean up."

I nod but wait to stand up once she and Zeke have left. Parker has disappeared, but I could care less about the human boy. Right now my mind is only one thing: Abigail.

I take the stairs slowly, my body going numb once more. I can smell her from down the hall, her scent clogging my senses as I steadily make my way down the hall and to the closed door of her room. I put my hand on the doorknob and give it a slight turn. The door creaks open and I step inside, my eyes meeting the pale face of the girl I have fallen in love with.

She looks peaceful laying there, her hands placed on her stomach. She is completely still and I try to ignore the fact that her chest isn't rising and falling like it usually does when she sleeps. Once I reach the edge of her bed, I gently reach out and touch her face.

It's cold. 

I can no longer fight back the bloody tears I had been holding as I take her hand and fall to my knees next to her. My tears stain the clothes that Allison had changed her into, but at this point, I don't care. I failed her.

I take a few minutes to regain myself before I begin to speak. "I'm sorry," I say. "I was supposed to protect you and take care of you and make sure nothing bad happened."

Part of me expects her to open her eyes and make a witty remark about how the last time she was attacked by a Rabid I said I wouldn't be there for her. Instead, there is nothing but silence. She continues to lay there, her eyes closed shut.

I growl out in frustration. It was only just last night that I had finally come to my senses and admitted my feelings to her and myself. Things were supposed to change for the better after that. She saw something in me that no one else has seen for a long time.

"God dammit," I curse as I punch the wall next to her bed. This is exactly why I don't get attached; why I keep my distance from any and every human. Humans are too fragile for their own good and so many of them end up dead in this hellish world. I should have known it would only be a matter of time.

I focus my gaze back to Abigail and her unmoving form. Her hand lays at her side from where I had dropped it, so I put it back onto her stomach. I lean down and kiss her forehead, the feeling different than it had been the night before. She had been so warm and so full of life... It's almost haunting seeing her like this.

I give out a small sigh for no reason and sit back down on the floor, my back pressed to the bed frame. I might curse and say it's no use, but I also know that I could never leave her side. At least, not immediately. Any one of three things could happen after this point: she could pass on peacefully and never wake again, or she could turn into the very thing that killed her and I'd be damned if I let her live her life like that.

Or the very last thing could happen, the one thing I want to happen the most. Maybe Allison was right? Maybe she did get to the girl in time to not only cure her, but Turn her as well. I know if this happens, she'll only be angry for becoming the one thing she didn't want to become. But in the moment I had no control and Allison did the only thing she could think of doing at the time. I'm sure she would understand if the time comes.

If, I think to myself and snort at the idea. That's a rather big 'if' if I do say myself, Jackal. My mind wanders back to what Allison had said earlier.

"Hope is the only thing we got left, Jackal. Without hope, we'd all be dead." I shake my head. At this point, all I can really do is hope for the best and that maybe, just maybe, she'll actually wake up.

Now the only thing to do is wait and see what happens next.