Vampire Pet

*Alex*


I came to in the hospital room-once again. The past hours have been a blur but I could vaguely recall the events that had happen within the hours since Kegan and I finished our episode. After I had fallen asleep I remember waking up and coughing, then I was in Kegan’s arms and saw that he was crying. Then I remembered that I was then lifted into the back of an ambulance and seeing Kegan in the back of a police car. Shortly after the ambulance doors closed, I passed out again and now I am in similar room that I had been in five times before in the past several months.

I looked around and saw that I was hooked back up to a respirator and found that they had stuck a tube down my throat and one up my nose so I could breathe. Next to me I could hear my own heart beat as I turned to see my life beeping and jumping up and down on a small little screen. Turning the other way, I saw the IV that was stuck back into my arm and my mom sitting in the chair next to my bed. Her head was down so I couldn’t see her face, but seeing her so many times on that position, I knew that she was or had been crying. In front of me was the hospital try table, I placed my hand on it and tapped the small clip that was attached to my finger. She peered up and I saw that new tears where now foaming in the corner of her eyes.

“Oh honey, I’m so happy that you are alright.” she got up and hugged me, carefully as to not detach anything that was hooked up to me.

‘Alright?’ I thought. ‘I don’t remember alright having IV needles, a respirator and a tube stuck down your throat count as being alright‘. I stared at the ceiling and thinking what just happen to me. I’ve never did recall what happens after one of my fits, but this one I did and I gestured for something to write with. And my mom pulled out a pen and sticky notes from her purse and handed them to me. “Where is Kegan?” I wrote down, handing the first note to my mom. Her face went sour and told me not to worry about that man anymore. I then tapped the note hard, demanding to know where my master was.

“He’s gone,” she told me. “He went back home. After he raped you, and I caught him red handed, I told him that you were sick and he got scared and ran off.”

A part of my heart sank, I knew that she was lying to me but I didn’t know weather or not if the part about him going back to Siletz was true. Feeling like a hopeless case, I turned away from my mom and closed my eyes. She placed a hand on my shoulder but I wrote down that I wanted her to leave my room. After a few moments standing by my side, she left, leaving the door open. I turned towards the door and I saw that there where two officers standing guard. ‘He must still be here.’ I though, thinking that my mom wouldn’t ask for the police to stand and watch over my room if she didn’t know that he was still in our world. As I listen to my own heart beat on the respirator, I closed my eyes and tried to fall back to sleep, waiting till I could no longer hear it and slipped into total darkness.

“STOP THAT DOG!” I heard a voice shout from the hall way. I was too weak to open my eyes so I just listen to all the commotion that was happening out in the hallway. There was a clatter of all kinds of sounds and noises that was happening, and I could hear in the distance a dog growling and barking.

“SHOOT IT!” I heard my mom yell. And the next few moments I heard two or three rounds of rapid gunfire. After the firing was silence, I heard my hospital room door slam shut fallowed my loud banging and my mom shouting in a muffled voice.

I lied in bed with my eyes closed for the whole thing as I listen in, I didn’t open my eyes till I felt a warm hand caressed my cheek and a light peck was placed on my forehead. I turned my head away when I saw that it was Kegan, I picked up the pen and sticky notes my mom left and wrote down-

“I’m sorry.” I passed it to Kegan whose face grew worried and asked me why. I then picked up a second sticky note, “This was the one thing I didn’t want you to see me like this.”

He shook his head, “No I should be sorry, if I hadn’t released you back home none of this would happen.”

“Let’s not play the blame game.” I wrote. Kegan nodded and kissed my forehead once more before quickly walking over to the other side of the bed to the respirator.

“Let’s get you out of here.” he told me. He then turned towards the machine and stared mindlessly at it, trying to find a way to detach me from it.

I quickly wrote down directions on how to detach it and handed it to him. It was a good thing that watched a lot of ER these past few months and I remember watching carefully as to take out tubes from people’s throats and other useless information I picked up from that. If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t know how to take out everything, leaving my life in Kegan’s hands. Once that the tubes were out of me, I sat up and started gasping for air. I looked at him and smiled, tears starting to form from pain in my chest. He work quickly after that, taking out the IV and other needles that where in me.

“Can you walk?” he asked me as I brought my legs over to the side of the bed.

“I can try.” I told him, my voice was horsed and rusty. I coughed a bit, spitting up blood that I wiped on the bed sheets. I stood, only to have my legs cave in, if Kegan wasn’t there I would have fallen to the floor. “Sorry.” I told him once again and I stared into up at him, giving him a weak smile.

He picked me up, and place me on his back, wrapping my arms around his shoulders and letting them drape over like I was some kind of cape. I started to feel tired again and for the second time, I closed my eyes as Kegan began to walk towards the window, opening it and then jumping out and landing three stories below safely. We raced off into the night as the world around us fell into a blur once Kegan raced into his vampire fast speed run.

“Sorry,” I said to him once more after I coughed. ‘He must have been getting tired of me saying that now.’ I thought

“About what?” he ask. We where now in a steady walk and away from the city, heading into the forest that surrounded the town.

“I’m getting blood all over you.” I told him, staring at his shoulder which was now covered in my blood and running down towards his back.

“Forget it. I’ve spent half my life in blood, a little bit more won’t hurt me.” he said, stopping in front of a large oak tree. “Hang in there, we’re almost home.” he then muttered under his breath some words that I only heard once before. As he spoke, the wind picked up, making it harder for me to breath. I gasped out, taking ins much air as I could before coughing. There was a white flash and then everything was still.

I peered though my tired eyes over Kegan’s shoulder and saw that we where standing on a hill looking down into a stream of lights. I smiled knowing that I was back in Siletz and rested my head on Kegan’s shoulder as he headed down into the city. As we passed by many familiar buildings I realized that he wasn’t taking me home, but to Bronie’s home. I didn’t say a word about it; I just rested as we traveled down the cobble stone street towards our friend’s home, happy that I would see my friend once last time.

“Hay Kegan, what’s-who’s that on your back?” I heard Bronie asked once we arrived at his home. I lifted my head and showed my pale white tired face to him for a moment before placing it back down on Kegan’s should, coughing for the hundredth time and splattering blood al over his shoulder. “God Alex, what happen to you?” Bronie then asked after seeing the condition that I was in.

“Can you let us in?” Kegan asked and we stepped inside. Bronie then lead us to a small sofa where Kegan laid me down. I rested my head up against the armrest, taking deep long deep painful breaths in as Kegan knelt down next to me. One of Bronie’s pets came in with a large blanket and draped it over my lower half. We both thanked her as she left.

“Get some rest now, okay.” Kegan said, taking my hand in his and wiped away the blood that was hanging off my lip and wiped it on Bronie’s shirt who was standing right next to him.

I shook my head. “I can’t…I don‘t want to” I gasped out to talk “I’m afraid.”

“Of, what?”

“I am afraid…that if I…fall…asleep, I…won’t be able….to wake…up.” he kissed my hand softly and caressed his face with it. I smiled weakly and turned my head so that I didn’t get any germs or blood on the two vampires as I coughed.
“What’s wrong with him?” I heard Bronie asked.

“He’s sick.” Kegan replied, staring down at me.

“With what?”

Kegan shook his head. “I don’t know. Back in his world they thought he had some kind of STD.”

“What’s that?” Bronie then asked, looking confused.

“Some kind of sickness that the get when you have sex. They thought I had it, so they test me for it.”

Bronie snickered. “Did you tell them that you where a vampire and that we don’t get sick?”

“They didn’t believe me. Apparently, they don’t have vampires or that they believe in them. Can you go get the doctor-please!” Kegan shouted, tears were now starting to form and he wiped them away before they could escape and roll down his cheeks.

I watched as Bronie rushed out of the room to fetch the doctor. I was hoping that someone in this city would know what’s wrong with me. Kegan stayed with me throughout the time Bronie was gone. We said nothing to each other, just stared at one another as Kegan would wipe away anyy blood that formed in the corner of my mouth. My coughing had gotten worse as time went by, and my body started to tremble from head to foot. Kegan had then gotten up from the floor and placed my trembling body in his arms, just then Bronie came back with the doctor.

“Kegan, you remember Dr. Holt.” Bronie said, gesturing to the man next to him. I looked up at the much older man and saw he was in his nightdress, jacket and shoes, in his hands was a brown bag that he clanged to. Kegan nodded and gently eased out from between me and the sofa, he outstretched his hand to the doctor and they both shook hands.

“Kegan Wills,” Dr. Holt said with a smile, “last time I saw you, you where sick in Mr. Benjamin Carp’s bed with a nasty flu bug. I though you where withdrawn?”

“No, still alive and healthy as ever. It’s my pet that is sick.” Kegan said, motioning to me in my poor condition. ‘Great just what I needed, more doctors.’ I thought as I saw Dr. Holt. ‘Maybe this time this one would know what’s wrong with me.’

“Dear God.” Dr. Holt shouted, knelling down and taking Kegan’s place and feeling my forehead. “He’s burning up. How long has he been sick like this?” he asked, he then set his bag on the floor and opened it, pulling out his stethoscope and putting it on.
“I think it’s best for you to leave.” Bronie told Kegan, “please fallow these girls and the will help you get clean up.” We exchanged glances and though nether of us wanted to be separated; he kissed my forehead and walked out with the girls. I whimpered as he left, leaving me with the doctor to care for me. Before he disappeared from view, he smiled at me and I smiled back, making a weak ‘I love you,’ sign as he went.

I let in long painful breaths as he listened to both sides of my chest. Afterwards, he checked out my pupils and throat. As I held my mouth open for him to check the inside, I had a really bad urge to cough.

“Sorry,” I said weakly as I closed my mouth and stared up at Dr. Holt’s germ and blood splattered face.

“That’s quit alright.” he told me, wiping his face with a white handkerchief. He peered into it for a moment and cocked his head to the side while looking. “Who’s pet are you?” he then asked.

“Kegan’s.” I told him, “Why?” just then Kegan came back into the room wearing black slacks and a cream renaissance tied shirt. “Kegan.” I called and he came over, taking a stance behind me.

“How long has it been since you feed off your pet here?” Dr. Holt asked Keagn, standing up and closing his medical bag.

“Almost a year.”

The doctor sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but there is nothing I could do, Kegan.”

“What, why?”

“You have stopped feeding off your pet without killing it.”

“What!?”

Dr. Holt sighed once again and took a seat in an abandon arm chair. “Few years ago, the vampire clan had me do a study on them and their pets. Seemed that their pets where coming down with an unknown illness, my job-my work- was to find out why their pets where getting sick.”

“Did you?” my master asked.

He nodded, “it turns out that once a vampire has bitten his pet its body then fuses with its masters. The pet’s body then runs on a cycle, and creates a kind of substance in its body to produce more blood for its master. If the vampire has not feed off his pet within a certain amount of time, then the pet will form a blood clot, and unless the vampire doesn’t feed off the pet it will become sick, and will eventually die.”

He then paused to take a breath, at that time, all three of us: me Kegan and Bronie-who had came in with Kegan- took in all of what Dr. Holt was preaching. I was shocked at all of this, though my expression wasn’t the same as my feelings as my breathing became too painful in my chest, and I continue to tremble all over. Kegan was holding my hand throughout the lecture and now was squeezing it hard and shaking. Bronie just stood there with no expression what so ever, he must have heard this from Dr. Holt before.

“Now recalling you where a vamp,” Dr. Holt continued on, “you must have gotten this pet when you where still a vamp. So when you first bit him, your pet never gained that gene. And on my way over here, Bronie told me that you where recently blooded into a vampire, is that true.”

“Yes,” Kegan said, as if he was proud of it.

Dr. Holt then crossed his arms and closed his eyes. “So now your pet has the gene, and since he has it, and you’ve stopped feeding off him for a year then there is nothing I can do. If this just started then I could drain some of the excess blood, but seeing that it’s almost been a year his blood has been tainted making it undrinkable for vampires and him sick,” he got up and grabbed his medical beg, “so the only thing that we can do for him now is make him comfortable till the end.”

I started to feel something wet roll down my face and notice that I was crying. I coughed again, hiding my mouth and splattering blood into my hand, I looked at it and saw that there was more blood in my cough now then there was the last time.

“What are we going to do now?” Bronie asked, coming back into the room from seeing the doctor out.

“There’s nothing we can do. And it’s my entire fault; if I had only known about this then Alex wouldn’t be sick.” the two stared down at me and stared back though my half open eyes. I was trying to fight sleep, still worried that I would never stop dreaming if I slipped off to sleep.

“Kegan.” I called, outstretching my hand out to him. He knelt down and took it gently. “I want to go home.”

“All right. We’ll go.” he caressed my cheek and wiped a few strands of sweaty wet hairs out of my face. “Bronie can we take your caoch?”

“It will be ready in a few minutes.” he bowed and left to get his carriage.

As Bronie went to get his coach, Kegan rolled me up into the blanket and lifted me up bridle style into his arms. We waited outside the main entrance for Bronie; it wasn’t long after we got outside till we saw the coach pulling up the driveway. Bronie opened the door for us and I was handed off into his arms where he sat me facing forward. I leaned up against him as I watch my master jump in, taking the seat next to me and Bronie moving so that he was riding backwards. Once we where all seated and the door was closed and locked, we headed off for home.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Is it starting to get cold in here, or is it just me.” I asked, my teeth started to chatter and I wrapped the blanket around me tighter. Kegan hugged me closed to his body to keep me warm and Bronie moved back over to my other side and laid himself over me to add more heat.

“Hang in there Alex.” Kegan said and kissed my forehead.

I stared out the coach window and saw that we weren’t heading in the direction of Kegan’s home. Instead we took a more western road and heading towards the coastline. The more west we traveled, the more I could smell the ocean and soon after that I caught the sight of it. I smiled seeing how pretty it looked as the stars and the harvest full moon shined down on it. “It’s almost morning.” I told them. And I was right, seeing that the moon was now just sitting on the horizon, touch the sea and saw that the sky was lighting up.

“Don’t worry about the morning,” Kegan said, stroking my hair, “just get some sleep and don’t worry, you’ll wake come next night fall. I promise.”

Hearing Kegan’s words where both soothing and comforting. I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to take over, though I was still afraid. As I drifted off, I could feel Kegan’s hand on my head, stoking my hair and skin softly as we rolled along the coastline towards what I was to believe Kegan’s as new home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke, seeing that I was tucked into a king size bed. A white see-though canopy was draped over with only the curtains at the footboard laid open, the ones at the headboard where closed. Looking around, I saw that the window drapes where also pulled open and I saw that the sun was just now setting though the narrow window. It looked beautiful as I saw the sun setting on the aqua blue water, the thing was though, and my vision was a blur.

“Good, you woke up.” I heard Kegan’s voice say next to me. I turned to see a blurry outline of my master. I smiled and lifted my hand to his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I told him. I didn’t want to tell him that my vision was failing me and worried him even more but I could see that he was making a face that told me that I was lying and wanted the truth. “My eye sight is failing me.” I finally told him. He didn’t say a word and I couldn’t make out his face, but I knew he must have been on the verge of tears. “Mind if we go outside and watch the sunset together?” I asked after a brief pause. My hand was resting on his cheek and kissed it after he nodded.

I smiled as he picked my up bridle style once more and carried me out of the room. I rested my head on his shoulder as we stepped off the porch and onto the little walkway that lead to the sandy shores of the western ocean. He sat me down gently on the sand and joined me, leaning me up against him as we both stared out into the distance.

“Are you okay?” I asked him. The sun was still in the sky, and though it wasn’t directly above us I wondered if it still caused him pain.

“I’m okay,” he said, hugging me tight to his chest and resting his chin on my head. “It burns a little, but nothing I can’t handle.”

We sat in silence, listening to the waves roll up onto the sands and the gulls crying in the distance. I smiled as I watch the sun slowly fall under the sea and I started to cry, knowing that this was going to be the first and only time I would see a sunset on the ocean. I closed my eyes for a moment, taking in a deep breath in and inhaling the sweet scent of the sea but when I opened my eyes, all that I could see was darkness.

“Can you describe the sunset to me please.” I asked Kegan. “I no longer have my sight.”

“It’s beautiful,” Kegan began, his voice cracked and I could tell that he was holding back his tears. “It looks like the heavens are on fire with reds, yellows, pinks and oranges mashing all together to make one big glow in the sky.”

I stared out into the distance and listen to Kegan’s words, picturing a beautiful sunset over the waves of the ocean. “My eyes hurt.” I told him, feeling something hot and smooth run down from my eyes. I first though that is was the wetness of tears, but then again tears are never this painful.

I heard Kegan take a sharp breath in, “that’s because your eyes are seeping blood.” he then wiped my cheeks with the palm of his hand and hugged me tighter.

As I sat there, my hand now digging in and out of the sand and tears of blood pouring down my face, and I knew that I had very little to live. My breathing where like daggers in my chest now, and my eyes where in pain that I had to shut them. My coughing had gotten worse and I couldn’t go a few moments without coughing blood. I started to tremble again in Kegan’s embrace as my teeth chattered and my body temperature began to drop rapidly.

“Sing it.” I asked Kegan. He had started humming the song I had heard so many times before.

“I forgot the words.” Kegan confessed. I knew that he was lying because he had a great memory and forgetting the words to a lullaby that the Carp family taught him was nothing easy to forget.

“Please.” I asked him.

“Fine, but I’m not a very good singer…”

“I don’t care, just sing it.” there was silence for a while as Kegan tried to remember the words, then he took a deep breath in and began to sing a verse:

Fly with me, up to the stars
Where we bask in the night and I’ll sing to you my love.
Take my hand now and hold on tight, and in the midst of this night
I’ll carry you up on silver wings and fly far.

As he sang, I heard his voice start to crack more and more and soon he had to stop and rested his head on the back of my neck. I soon heard him sobbing. I felt like crying myself as he sang, though I already was with it mixed though the blood that continued to seep down my face.

“I love you.” I told him softly.

He stopped his cries and sniffled, “Don’t. Don’t you say that.”

“But I do. I do…I do love you.”

“Please don’t. We’re not saying our good-byes just yet.”

“Why not?” I asked.

He took my wrist and placed it up by his mouth and kissed it gently. “Cause when you go, I’ll be right behind you.” he then gave it another kiss and let it rest on his shoulder.

“Please don’t. I don’t want you to take your life just to be with me.” I pleaded.

“I want to. Besides, living without you for this past year was unbearable for me. I can’t live another day like that- not ever.” he whispered.

I sat in silence for the rest of the evening, I couldn’t see but Kegan had told me that the sun was now gone and the all the stars seemed to be shining for us tonight. I smiled at Kegan’s words as he talked; he placed a hand on my chest and rested his head on my shoulder.

“I can barely feel your heartbeat.” he said.

“It won’t be long.” I replied. And he was right, I felt my heart slowly come to a stop and my blood rested in my veins. My body was now freezing and I closed my eyes, allowing darkness to take me and bring me into the next life. As I went, I could hear Kegan cry out my name as he took my wrist in his hand and could feel his fangs digging into me for the last time.

I opened my eyes and saw that my vision was restored but blurry. I turned my head up and saw Kegan’s face. I smiled and stared at his neck, gathering up all the energy I had left inside me, I brought my mouth down over his neck and bit down hard. It took a while but I soon felt a bitter taste flowing in my mouth from my master’s neck. I then sucked out the substance as he drank the tainted blood from my veins. It seemed like forever as we sucked on one another’s limbs, sucking out our life force and dying in one another’s arms. Kegan was the first to let go, gasping out for air as he fell down onto the white sand beneath us, taking me down as he went. As I lay in my master’s arms, my mouth still clamped over my mater’s neck for I did not have the strength to move stared at my master’s lifeless body.

The last thing that I could recall before slipping off into a darkening slumber with my master was that my insides started to burn, as if they had been caught on fire and where now burning up my organs, my breathing started to quicken and my teeth started to tingle and grow.


FIN