“Baby…”
“Or do you want me to tell you those 3 magic words right back? Maybe I’m just saving saying those three little big words that I don’t ever remember saying to anyone ever in my whole life for them to be the last words I utter to you before you end my life.”
“Baby…” His face was so full of pain.
“Go take a walk, Mr. Vampire. Lack of caffeine is making me grumpy. I need coffee like you need blood, okay? I’m getting a migraine.”
“About that…”
She tilted her head.
“I think I need you to take some blood for me and pass it out. I..I think it’ll help me regain my balance. I’m really off right now.”
“Seriously? Give you even more steroid heroin so you can kill me faster?”
Just like Jackson. Another fucking addict.
He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, “Fuck. I don’t know if I’m coming or going.”
“You’re going. Go.” She folded her arms and shot daggers at that screen with her eyes.
“Back in 10 minutes.”
Kyla drank the coffee, took two ibuprofen, and got dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a hoodie. She tied her hair in a ponytail. She did all this with a scowl on her face.
She got on the floor and started to do the Pilates 100. She needed to burn off some energy so then she did push-ups and then crunches.
~~~
A while later she saw on the screen that Tristan was back and with Sam. Sam had a messenger bag and they walked into the kitchen. He opened the bag and pulled out what looked like 3 large pistols. He loaded each with a cartridge, passed two to Tristan and kept the third.
Kyla’s fingertips came up to her temples and she took a big deep breath and let it out slowly.
“What’s happening with Donovan?” Tristan muttered.
“Waiting for him to make his next move.” Sam muttered, looking at Tristan cautiously.
Donovan?
“Let’s do this.” Tristan said and the two men found their way upstairs.
Kyla stood up and flexed her fingers and toes. She didn’t know why. She just felt like she had to physically prepare for this experiment.
“Kyla…” Tristan called out.
“Yeah.”
“Alright, well let’s do this. Sam, point that at me. If you need to, shoot me twice with it.”
“One shot’ll take an elephant down for an hour, Tris.”
“Twice.” Tristan repeated, teeth clenched.
“Alrighty. If you have to shoot me, just shoot me once, please. I don’t think I’d survive two.”
“Right. Kyla?” he stepped into the view of the camera inside the closet, “I’ve put one on the floor of the closet here. If you need to shoot either or both of us, do it. Then get back in the panic room and wait for me to come to and then we can re-group. Hit the green button and come into the closet.”
Tristan backed up outside the closet door, holding the gun at his side. She could see Sam standing behind him, pointing the gun at him. Tristan closed all the locks.
She felt frozen to the spot where she stood.
“Kyla?” His voice was stern.
“Okay,” she whispered. What if he didn’t come back around? What if he stayed the monster? What if…what if…
“Kyla!”
“Okay! Fuck.” She hit the green button and heard Tristan’s phone ding from the bedroom. She took a slow breath and opened the door and stepped out into the cage.
She could see Tristan and Sam behind him. Instantly, Sam’s face changed. It turned grey and his fangs shot out.
“Oh fuck.” Kyla gasped. Tristan spun to look at Sam and it looked, for a second, like a showdown. Sam shot Tristan in the leg and then again and it hit his torso somewhere. Tristan lunged at Sam, punched him in the face, and then shot Sam in the leg with his tranquilizer gun. Sam shot Tristan a third time and then collapsed, falling face first into the carpet.
Tristan was winded. He looked back at her. She let out a deep breath. So far, he still looked like Tristan. Was everything going to be okay after all? She felt a gush in her panties. She’d be gushing all day long. That’s how it always was from day 2 to day 4 of her period. Tristan’s face was changing.
Blue? Gone. Black eyes.
Skin? Gray. Oh no.
Click,
Oh no. The locks.
Click, Click,
Please no.
Click.
Fuck. That was four clicks and was no where near 53 seconds. One more click to go. She bolted back into the panic room and hit the red button.
Shit! I forgot the tranquilizer gun. Fuck, fuck, fuck!
A breath later the last click was heard and then another. The panic room door! It flung open.
This is it… Goodbye blue eyes and dimples. Goodbye fluttering butterfly kisses on my face and goodbye butterflies in my stomach and fire and maple syrup and bliss in my blood. Goodbye cruel world. 24 years old and done with not much of a life to show for it. Goodbye gorgeous vampire prince. Hello death.