Bound By Blood Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

 

Lauren woke up with a start and jolted up in bed, wincing in pain and fell back against the bed. She groaned and clutched her abdomen. She looked at her surroundings and concluded she must be in a hospital. Roxanne lifted her head from the end of the bed, sleep etched in her face. Lauren screamed and kicked blindly and made contact with Roxanne’s nose.

“ROXANNE! I’m so sorry!” Lauren cried. Roxanne clutched her nose and her eyes crossed with pain. Amy walked in through the door, carrying a tray of drinks and nearly dropped them.

“Lauren! You’re up!” she cried. Lauren shook her head and pointed at Roxanne.

“Take care of her first. I think I broke her nose.”

Amy suppressed a laugh and walked over towards Roxanne, setting down the tray on the bedside stand. Roxanne lifted a hand to stop Amy and screwed her face up in concentration. She removed her hand from her nose, and Lauren winced at the sight. Her nose was sticky with venom and it had a large crook in it. The venom that covered Roxanne’s face turned into a liquid metal and slid back towards the source and her nose repaired itself, looking like titanium for a moment before skin covered the area again. Lauren dropped her jaw and Amy lifted a finger and closed Lauren’s mouth.

“Dang! Since when could you do that?” Amy and Lauren asked at the same time.

“I don’t know. I just told myself to fix it and it did. Oh! Amy, you a*s! When were you going to tell us you could control the wind and the flashing?” Roxanne emphasized the flashing by throwing her hands in the air. Amy blushed and bit her bottom lip. Lauren sat up in her bed and crossed her arms and suppressed groan of pain. Roxanne placed a hand on Lauren’s and gave Amy a ‘you-better-tell-right-now-or-I’ll-beat-it-out-of-you’ look. Amy bowed her head and mumbled a bit.

“I’m sorry Amy, I don’t speak mumble jumble. Care to share?”

“Since last week,” she mumbled louder. Lauren let out a growl of disapproval and Roxanne smacked her, instantly regretting it. Lauren’s eyes rolled in the back of her head and she let out a low feral moan of displeasure and let her head fall back on the pillow.

“Roxanne!”

“What? I didn’t mean to! Lauren I’m sorry!” Lauren just moaned and let out a deep sigh and just rested for a moment.

“Man, this sucks. Both of you have powers and I have nothing, and I’m beginning to hurt. How about we get out of here and you two can throw me in a huge tub of ice?”

“No and you’ll get yours soon,” Amy shot at Lauren. She raised her hands in surrender.

“Fine! Let me suffer I don’t care.”       

“Keep it up Lauren and I’ll give you some real suffering.” Lauren looked at Roxanne and she playfully glared at Lauren.

“Well!”

Roxanne smirked and Amy snorted into her drink. Roxanne’s eyes lit up and she grabbed the other soft drink, opened it with a flick of her wrist, and began to drink. Lauren looked around for another drink and about had a fit. “Where’s mine?” Amy pointed to the IV bag that was hanging above her head. Lauren tilted her head back and looked at the bag and scowled.

“I hate you two.”

“No you don’t, Boo Bear, you love us,” Amy giggled. Lauren stuck her tongue out at her and settled into her bed, pulling the covers over her head. Amy looked over at Roxanne who nudged her head towards Lauren’s feet. Amy smiled and held up three fingers and counted down, three, two, one. They grabbed her feet and began to tickle her feet unmercifully. Lauren squealed with surprise and tried to wiggle but couldn’t move. She threw the covers off of her and they landed on the traitors. Lauren got her chance of freedom and drew her legs up to her chest as gently but quickly as she could.

“You butt heads! I could’ve died and here you are tickling me! Have some compassion! Oh yeah, I forgot, we’re vampires, we’re not supposed to have emotion. We must be as dull as Grandma Mary’s fangs,” Lauren droned in a monotonous voice and Roxanne howled with laughter and Amy choked on her drink and fell off of her chair screaming with laughter. Lauren smiled wildly, watching Roxanne and Amy turn blue in the face.

“You know, most people like to breathe when they laugh. I mean taking in air won’t kill you. Well, it might in your case,” Lauren smiled. Amy picked herself off of the ground and helped Roxanne up. Roxanne crawled into the bed with Lauren on one side and Amy slid on the other. They asked the nurse that was taking care of Lauren if she could bring them some ice cream, and they sat in the bed, eating and watching the news.

“Last night in the dark countryside of Romania, three teenage students were savagely murdered. Investigators do not believe wildlife was involved, they do suspect foul play. Search parties were sent out, trying to locate anyone in the area who may have information,” the newsman said, holding a paper in one hand and a sheet in the other. Lauren looked between Roxanne and Amy and just smiled.

“Those investigators aren’t going to find my butt,” Amy retorted. Roxanne leaned forward and cocked an eyebrow at Amy. “What?”

“Oh, and what about our butts?” Roxanne questioned.

“Well, you’re going to have a harder time, Roxanne. Your butt’s huge,” Lauren snorted and Roxanne gaped at Amy.

“Don’t laugh Lauren, your butt’s just as big,” Lauren glared at Amy and growled at her. Amy laughed and placed her arm around Lauren’s shoulders.

“I’m just kidding ladies. We have cute bums. Well mines cuter.” Roxanne growled and spoke up.

“Amy, you’re so full of sh─” The door shot open and a tall man with a black cloak walked in. A growl formed in the back of Lauren’s throat and Roxanne and Amy grabbed each hand and held it tightly. Darius closed the door and walked casually in front of the bed and placed his hands on the bed railing. He looked at Lauren and held her gaze. He noticed the gashes along her face and the one that began right above her left eyebrow and extended down to her cheekbone.

“Don’t growl at me, Mordia. I thought you would enjoy seeing your master. Come now, buck up and give me a smile,” he smirked at Lauren, waiting patiently for her to comply. Instead of obeying, she lifted her lips up into a snarl and growled a deep, throaty growl. Darius clicked his tongue and shook his head, letting a sigh escape his thin lips.

“You don’t listen do you? See, this is why I had to punish you. You think you’re better than everyone else and you can do whatever you want to do. But not while I’m in charge,” Darius said calmly. Lauren clenched her teeth and gave him a cold stare.

“So, you’re the one who sent Lara. Tell me, Darius, how did you make her mind? Pull a few strings? Kill a couple of parents?” Lauren shot back at him. Darius’s eyes grew steely and it was his turn to snarl.

“Do not talk to me like that! I will not be treated in such a manner,” he retorted.

“Then don’t talk to me like that,” Lauren’s eyes began to change silver and her teeth began to enlarge. Roxanne’s grip grew firmer on Lauren’s wrist and Amy’s grip on her shoulder and wrist grew firmer as well. Darius stepped around the side of the bed and seized Roxanne’s forearm and tugged her out of the bed.

“Get your hands off me!” She screamed. Darius smiled and flung her across the room and gave Amy a deadly look. She jumped out of the bed and ran over to Roxanne, who was covered in titanium bruises, but quickly healed herself. Darius grabbed Lauren’s arm and tugged her out of bed, and she screamed with pain.

“I’m sorry, did I hurt you? I didn’t mean to treat you like that,” Darius threw her back on the bed and she winced in agony.

“I’ll come back later, when you’re nice and healed and we’ll talk more,” he turned on his heal, his cloak swishing behind him. Roxanne glared at the door and they rushed over to Lauren’s side and they helped her back in her bed.

“I hate him,” she groaned. Amy tucked the sheets around her body and tried to help her get comfortable.

“Thanks, mothers,” Lauren mumbled, Amy smiled gently at Lauren.

“Are you ok Boo Bear?” Amy asked softly. Lauren nodded her head and yawned.

“I’m getting sleepy. And stop calling me that. When are we going back home?” She mumbled. Roxanne walked over to the door and opened it slightly, sticking her head out, looking left and right.

“Soon, Boo. Hey Amy, come with me please. I want to find a snack machine.”

“Yeah ok. Stay here, Lauren,” Amy smiled at Lauren.

“And don’t go anywhere.” Lauren stuck her tongue out at Amy and she and Roxanne left Lauren alone. She shifted in her bed slightly and closed her eyes. A swirling mist entered her mind, making everything fuzzy and gray. She tried to get rid of the mist, but it closed in all around her. She heard a voice calling to her. She twisted around, trying to find the voice. She started to run a bit to the left and went silent, waiting for the voice to call on her again. She listened intensely, still waiting when the voice called her again. She took of running to the right, the voice getting louder and louder. Something began to shake her and she tried to fight it off.

“Lauren!” Lauren snapped her eyes open and looked into the dark brown eyes of her sister. Lara released her hold on her shoulders and stepped back from the bed.

“What do you want?” Lauren spat at her. “Go away, get out of here!”

“I want to apologize,” Lara calmly stated.

“Apologize? Oh, well that’s a first. Am I supposed to believe that you are here to give me a sincere apology?”

“That’s what I just said, yes.”

“Get out of here. I don’t want to hear you lies any more!” Lauren threw the tray that Amy had brought in earlier at Lara and she brought her hand up and the tray sliced in half. Lara clenched her teeth and tried to keep calm.

“You abandoned me when Darius killed Mom and Dad, you left me to die! What sister does that? You only cared about yourself… we used to be best friends. But then Darius came into the picture. You kept taking off, leaving me to fend for myself,” tears rolled down Lauren’s cut up cheeks. The salt in her tears made her slightly flinch in pain, but she didn’t show it.

“I was only a little kid and you left me,” her voice cracked with emotion and Lara’s wall almost came crashing down on her.

“You have to understand─”

“Understand what? That you hate me and you’d rather see me dead? Get out! I never want to see you again!” Lara raised her hand as if to strike Lauren but thought otherwise. Lauren’s eyes were full of fear and loneliness. Lara swallowed the bile that resided in the back of her throat and just walked out of the room, the vase barely missing her head. Lauren drew her knees up to her chest and circled her arms around them, rocking back and forth, crying for the loss of her parents, and the loss of her best friend, her sister, her Lara. She snapped her head up when she heard the door handle jiggle, she fell back against the bed gently and faked sleep.

“Amy, you’re such a retard.”

“Just because I tried to pay the machine with my credit card that makes me a retard? At least I di─”

“Ssh. She’s asleep.”

“My bad.”

“No I’m not.”

“Boogley Boo!” Roxanne cried out. Lauren scowled at her and turned over in her bed. “I hate that name you have bestowed upon my poor soul,”

“Oh shut it,” Roxanne playfully snapped back. She plopped down at the foot of the bed and Lauren brought her feet up.

“Don’t even think about touching my feet,” she growled. Roxanne started to laugh and she patted Lauren’s butt and got back up and opened the door that led to the bathroom. She switched the light on and began to rummage around. Amy walked up and took Roxanne’s place on the bed. Lauren could only see the shadows from under the door and looked at Amy who was leaning over on the bed to look. She kept tilting her body until bam; Lauren began to laugh out loud. A hand shot up and grabbed the railing of the bed and another hand came up. They clenched the bed railing and pulled up and Amy came into view over the bed. Lauren clutched her sides and tears streamed down her face, Roxanne’s head stuck out from the bathroom and began to laugh too.

“Oof shut up you two,” Amy hauled herself back on the bed and crossed her arms over her chest, a look of mock hatred on her face. She fell back on the bed, resting her head on Lauren’s leg.

“Hey Roxula, what are you looking for?”

“Something.”

“Like?”

“Something.”

“You could get more information from a cereal box,” Amy mumbled. Roxanne stuck her head out of the door again and glared at Amy. She smiled at Roxanne and began to play with the fringe off the blanket. Lauren let out a content sigh and closed her eyes. Images came to her mind, and she tried to block them out.

Lara and Lauren chased each other throughout the huge house, playing tag back and forth. Down the stairs, down the hall, back up the stairs, over the bed and under the sink, they were having a blast. Lara jumped over a large pile of toys and cleared it with ease. Lauren mimicked Lara, but she didn’t quite clear it. Her foot caught on one of the toys and she was sent flying through the air, and landed on her stomach. She didn’t feel anything at first but then she tried to get up and the pain stabbed her. She started to cry and tears ran down in streams on her rosy cheeks. Lara turned around and ran over to her baby sister.

“Are you ok?”

“My tummy hurts!” Lauren whimpered, clutching her stomach. Lara gently picked her up and sat her in her lap and began to rock her back and forth, like she saw her mommy do whenever Lauren got hurt. She gently stroked her hair and made small shushing sounds. Lauren began to hiccup and the tears subsided, she snuggled closer to her big sister and just sat there, wrapped in her arms, enjoying the feeling of love. She could her parents talking to someone downstairs and then she heard her mommy scream a blood-curdling scream. Her daddy screamed in rage and she heard his body hit the floor.

Someone began to ascend the steps really fast and a man’s head came into view over the railing. Lara tightened her hold on Lauren and the man came up and grabbed Lara and yanked her up, making her scream. Lauren came up with them half the way and then she fell to the ground. She grabbed Lara’s feet trying to hang onto her and the strange man kicked Lauren in the face. Lara screamed and thrashed around in his arms, kicking and biting him. She managed to kick him in a very sensitive spot and he dropped her. Lara scrambled to her feet and grabbed Lauren and took off running for her room. They made it to the door, and Lara turned and locked it just as the man began to bang on the door. She grabbed Lauren’s hand and they ran to the end of her room and locked themselves in her closet and Lara parted the clothes and found a small door. She opened it and shoved Lauren inside and followed. They could hear her door crash open and the man screamed for them. Lauren began to whimper and Lara got her first real look at Lauren’s face. Blood dripped from her nose and tears stained her cheeks again. Lara cradled Lauren and willed her to be quiet. She heard her closet door being ripped off its hinges and the secret door was exposed. It crashed in with a foot coming inside. The foot disappeared and a hand shot in, snatching thin air and it grabbed a hold of Lauren’s hair. He yanked hard and Lauren screamed out loud. The man took a good look at her and threw her out of the closet. She could hear Lara scream and that’s all she remembered.

She woke up hours later, sprawled across her sister’s floor. She slowly sat up and twitched with pain. She could feel the dried blood on the back of her neck crack with every move of her body. She looked around, looking for something to use to help her. She saw the bed and slowly crawled towards the bed. She used the bed to hoist herself up and she stumbled to her feet. Her head began to throb and she nearly collapsed with the effort. She walked carefully towards the door and leaned against the wall for support. She walked like this all the way towards the vast stairway. She lunged forward and grabbed the railing. She took her time, making her way down the stairs. She collapsed halfway, screaming her lungs out. Her mother and father lay at the bottom of the stairs, lifeless eyes staring at Lauren. She screamed even louder and turned her head. Her body shook with racking sobs, and a river of tears cascaded down her face. She leaned forward, her forehead resting on one of the large steps. She cried at the site of her mom and dad. She also cried for losing her sister to that strange man. Who was he? What did he want? Why? Why did he take Lara and why did he kill her mother and father?

Amy gently shook Lauren, trying to wake her up.

“Lauren? Lauren it’s time to wake up,” Lauren’s eyes darted behind her eyelids, and a muscle ticked in her bruised cheek. Amy gently shook Lauren again, and this time Lauren drew in a harsh breath and opened her eyes. She looked at Amy and closed her eyes again, silently begging for just one more hour. She stirred her stiff body under the warm sheets and opened her eyes again, looking back at Amy.

“Why oh why must you wake me now you foul temptress? I ask thee for one more hour,” Lauren mumbled. Amy let out a short laugh and stood up off the bed and patted Lauren’s butt.

“Why is everyone slapping my butt?” Lauren cried. Amy winked at Lauren.

“Because it’s just so darn cute!” Amy replied sweetly. Lauren growled at her and pulled the sheets over her head and tried to go back to sleep.

“Lauren-n-n-n,” Amy said in a warning voice.

“You get up this instance young lady or I will force you out of that bed,” Amy scowled. Lauren groaned under the sheets and scooted farther down the bed. Amy rolled her eyes and grabbed the water pitcher that was on top of the bedside table.

“I don’t want to do this Boo Bear,” Amy brought the pitcher above Lauren’s lumpy form.

“I really don’t want to do this,” Amy said again. Lauren groaned again and Amy dipped the pitcher at an angle and a flow of water cascaded through the air and drenched the sheets and the body under them.

“AAHH! AMY!” Lauren thrashed around trying to get out from under the now wet sheets. Her head emerged, water rolling down her face, then her body emerged, and Amy noticed venom on Lauren’s hospital gown. She clutched her stomach and fell against the pillows, her eyes tightly shut and her teeth clenched with her lips slightly parted. Her wounds reopened when she thrashed around. Her head began to swim with pain. Ragged breaths seeped through her teeth, small moans of pain joining them.

“Oh my God! Lauren! I am so sorry!” Amy cried frantically, she reached a hand out towards Lauren and Lauren slapped at her hand. She groaned in pain and opened her eyes to look at Amy with a pained expression on her face.

“Lauren!” Amy screamed.

“Roxanne! Roxanne!” Roxanne came careening around the corner, grabbing onto to the door handle to keep from slipping. Roxanne’s eyes went wide with shock and ran towards Lauren’s bed and clutched at Lauren’s shoulders. Lauren’s eyes rolled in the back of her head and her head rolled around on her shoulders. Roxanne screamed at Lauren to wake up and she barely heard Roxanne. She could hear both of her friends screaming at her, trying to get her to wake up. She tried to tell them she would be ok, and she was just going to take a quick nap. No need to fret. Darkness ensnared her senses and she lost touch to the outside world.