Erasure and Affirmation (Hypernaturals 11)

Shower of Love

The bodies had been bagged and taken off in Crew vans for disposal in Vampire smelters. Only the blood they left in my woods would remain as a physical reminder of their passing, and that would turn soon into fertilizer for the trees.

Harper drove Amber back to Dallas. We would have put Amber on a plane and said 'fuck it' but we decided she needed some time. The last thing we needed was some TSA agent asking her why she was so upset. Amber also needed some time to reflect, some time looking over at a Crew member, and thinking on her new world. Her new reality. Amber is a Vampire now. She must play by our rules. Victoria gave her a choice. Live as Vampire or feel free to die. Crew helps Vampires that want to die to pass on.

Harper took her back in a car and we briefed her on things to know if Amber starts asking. To give her the unvarnished truth about her new reality.

Personally, I think all the new Vampires should be in Boot Camp. Women too. I told Victoria that recently, and she looked thoughtful. If anyone needs some downtime to adjust to their new reality, former Assembly Sirens would be them.

Besides: How many times have I heard, over and over, how women who turned but were unknown Vampires for a while had to learn the ropes on their own? Dumb. I told Victoria that too. Boot Camp should not be punishment. It should be Vampire orientation.

Victoria listened, as she always does, and had smiled when I was done ranting. "Adrian. You are always thinking. You always have those fresh eyes on things. Thank you."

She did not say what she would do, but at least she did not tell me I am full of shit.

When I told Helen what I said to Victoria later that particular day, she had two reactions. "You never have any problem speaking truth to power, do you, husband?" and later "Those are good ideas. Bloody hell. We always waited for Conclaves for stuff like that. There is always a new Vampire session. This is better."

So: Once again, I am not full of shit. Also, Helen took me to bed. A sure sign of approval.

When the deed was done. The bodies gone. The Assembly woman packed off to deliver her message about what she saw, once she could speak again in anything other in incoherent mumblings about our brutality, we had been left with us. The family.

Mom and Dad took the kids away. Rachel was with them. Mom and Dad wanted nothing to do with it, of course, and Rachel felt her services were better as an extra pair of hands, especially now that her little namesake is so high energy. Rachel agreed with the sentence. She was happy to not be there for the execution. She will step up to a fight. She faced William and nearly died for it. Helen told her to get gone.

We did not want the kids to see either. Vampire reality will come for them soon enough.

Denise and Helen's clothing had been taken in the body bags for incineration. No point in trying to get all that blood out. I had hosed them off next to the garage. I did not want that blood to be tracked all over the house.

I had manned the hose. Jessica had washed Denise's hair, and the bubbles were pink. Morgan had washed Helen's hair, and those bubbles had been red. Helen had been below three beheadings. She was coated. She looked like a scene from the movie 'Carrie'.

We carefully cleaned and dried the Katana too. It would be cleaned again and sharpened before it was put away.

Once we had the majority of the blood gone, we dripped dry in the open air, then those of us with clothes left picked them up and we headed to the Shower of Love.

I knew from watching Denise closely that this is where she needed to be. Helen too, but I have seen her rip out throats and not be affected by the death she just caused with her mouth and fangs.