Desperate Measures

You didn't REALLY think I'd let my main character die, did you?

          Nathaniel had retreated to the only corner of his being not screaming in silence.
          His senses had been completely cut off by the pain ever since he had heard his Lexi screaming his name.
          Weather the pain in his body or the pain in his soul hurt worse was debatable.
          He knew he was dieing.
          And in dieing, he was breaking his oath to his sister.
          His only respite was that he would be waiting for the rest of his family with his father -- a bittersweet thought.
          Then a voice broke through the barrier of pain.
          "It hurts, doesn't it?"
          No, not at all.  No, it's a party.
          But strangely, her voice alone dulled the pain.
          He could sense the speaker standing near.
          Another vampire, here to mock him.
          But no, there was an unmistakable sorrow in her voice.
          "...you realize most people would be dead by now, don't you."  It wasn't a question.
          His vision returned, and he saw her looking down at him sadly, silhouetted against the starlit sky.
          "You really want to live that badly?"
          He couldn't move, speak, or even think clearly, but they both knew she was right.
          "...do you want it badly enough to let me save you?"
          That was the question.
          Was he to remain a vampire hunters son to the bitter end, or would he accept help, hence becoming his own greatest enemy, and remain among, if not one of, the living.
          His promise to Alexia won out.
          He looked back at her, grim determination visible in his eyes under the fog of pain.
          She knelt beside him with a flickering half smile.
          "Stubborn boy."
          She pulled him onto her lap, much to his confusion.
          And they appeared on top of a tall, abandoned building in a swirl of mist.
          "Welcome to your new home." she whispered in his ear.
          And Nathaniel Valentine, vampire hunting prodigy, was bitten twice in the same evening.
          Coldness began to spread from the same point the burning had.  It was a welcome relief.
          After only a few seconds, he could move again.
          He sat himself up.
          "I really wouldn't do that if I were you."  she said, letting him do it anyways.  "You'll hurt yourself.  Trust me, I know.  It's not a good idea."
          He shrugged and ignored her advice.
          She watched him as he stood shakily, then immediately knelt back down, dizzy from blood loss.
          She counted down under her breath.
          "Three...two...one."
          Nathaniel froze, suddenly recalling one of the unique things about vampires as it took hold.  He fell limp, this time unconscious -- or, by most people's definition, clinically dead.
          No matter what you live to see, the shock of your heart stopping will always be the biggest shock you will ever encounter.  Losing that steady beat you never think twice about, and barely ever notice will always be among the most powerful losses.
           The vampiress caught him before he could fall and hurt himself.  She sighed, and they appeared in the entry hall of the abandoned hotel they had been atop.
          "Boys, we have another."