Disclaimer: I don’t own Pokemon, etc.

 

A/U: First off I want to thank all the people who have been reviewing this fic. I know I overlooked Kaze the last time I updated but I won’t this time. Thanks for stopping by.

 

DARK SHADOWS

 

CHAPTER XII: VAMPIRE ANATOMY

 

After living in Lavender Town for some time you would have gotten a hint that something was wrong. One reason was the lack of any face other than a full moon. There was never a first quarter moon, new moon, or even waning moon. Another obvious hint was the night sky. Often times there were never any clouds, but generally there were at most one hundred across the entire midnight blue sky, meaning that the moon could always look down on Lavender Town, as if it were watching the battle.

    

Ash, Misty, and Brock passed beneath a shot-up street light. There was no power to the city anyway, but there was broken glass littering the ground, and it cracked beneath their feet as they trampled it. It was a calm night with little wind. Still, Misty’s long, leather, midnight blue trench coat whipped behind her and could have almost cracked like a whip if there had been anymore force pushing it back. She was walking extremely fast-not running but moving at a very fast pace. She marched between Ash and Brock, both of which held their pistols at their sides in case any attack was made.

    

As always the moon gleamed down from above. Each night Ash stood beneath its massive white face he would have the sensation of being watched. Misty too had that assumption and she glared back and hissed loudly, her fangs overlapping her lips. The calm ocean blue of her eyes melted away and a glowing bright blue took its place. Ash just stared at her eyes that acted almost as headlights in the deep darkness.

    

“Misty?” Ash asked staring back on his path.

    

“Yes?” she replied, her response slightly jumbled from her fangs.

    

“Why do your eyes turn that bright blue?”

“Same reason why my fangs grow, I’m expecting a confrontation with the lycans. Therefore I grasp my immortality; my new anatomy.”

    

“Can you see any better when your eyes...glow?”

    

“What I see is only clearer. I can always see in the dark. I suppose that is one upside to being a vampire.”

    

Ash thought back to just a few hours prior. A sly grin formed from his lips and Brock looked at him, confusion running rampant on his features.

    

“So that’s why last night you-“

    

“Ash,” Misty was blushing when she interrupted him. Her eyes were closed tightly and she was smiling. Brock no doubt was staring at the two, because he obviously knew what Ash was going to say. “Now isn’t the time.”

    

“Sure it is.” Brock replied interested. “We have a long walk ahead of us.”

    

Misty was stunned. She knew Brock was a kinky pervert, but she never knew he was this kinky or perverted. Did he really want to hear about what she and Ash did with each other. Ash was Brock’s best friend, equal to a brother, and Brock wanted to hear about his sex life.

    

“What’s with the look?”

    

“Never mind.”

           

The threesome fell into silence. Even Pikachu, who was sitting alert on his trainer’s shoulder didn’t let out a chirp. Its tall yellow ears twitched every so often and the Pokemon looked around the proximity.

    

“Pika pi pi pikachu.”

    

“What’s he saying, Ash?” Misty asked looking at the Pokemon with a confused glance.

    

“Pikachu thinks he hears something.” Ash replied scratching beneath his Pokemon’s chin. He could see Misty smiling at the rodent, her fangs were present. In any other circumstance, Ash would be terrified top be in Misty’s company, but she was his best friend; she would never hurt him.

    

“You don’t have to worry,” Pikachu cooed contently as Misty petted Pikachu’s soft fur. “I can hear if anyone is close by their heart beat.”

    

“Their heart beat?” Brock inquired. He rubbed his chin and awaited Misty’s answer.

    

“Yes. As a vampire I crave blood. Centuries ago, vampires would prey on humans and Pokemon for sustenance. But with technology, we were able to clone blood. I guess century old instincts die hard.”

    

“Have you ever...you know.” Brock trailed off. “...drank blood.”

    

The female vampire lowered her head disgusted. Her eyes sealed themselves shut and her lips trembled. “Yes,” Misty mumbled, “never fresh from a human or Pokemon.”

    

“Never fresh?”

    

“I said the blood we drink is cloned. The original sample was from a man that Tristan captured four or five years ago. We’ve been drinking his blood ever since.”

    

Her friends’ faces were flushed and their eyes were wide open; as were their mouths. They just couldn‘t believe that Misty would do such a despicable act.

    

“How can you drink a man’s blood?” Ash screamed.

    

“I have to! If I don’t I’ll die! Food won’t sustain my body.” She retorted. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes. Not wanting the conversation to go on for a moment longer she began walking again toward their destination. But Ash and Brock wouldn’t let it go at that. They wanted to hear more about the diabolic vampire culture.

    

“Why?” Ash asked simply.

    

“Why what?”

    

“Why do you have to drink blood? What does being bit by a vampire do to you?”

    

“It kills you, Ash. A vampire bite kills you.”

    

“But you’re-“

    

“Not dead.” She finished Brock’s statement for him. Her voice was filled with disgust, signaling that she didn’t enjoy the current topic either. “But that’s not all true. A vampire bite kills you, yes, but a virus is passed on into the victim. Soon after death, after the soul and body separate, the virus reaches the brain. For sometime after death the human body remains active. All the virus does is fuel the electrical charges that go off in your brain-in a way jump starting it. Your heart begins beating again, blood continues to flow, and the virus spreads from the brain to the rest of the body.

    

“As it spreads through your body it infects different organs, systems, anything it can. When the virus finishes spreading, your body isn’t the same. You have superhuman strength, agility, longevity. The body heals at an extraordinary rate. Say you get shot by a nine millimeter round. Your body would be healed within two minutes. That’s why a vampire can only be killed by decapitation or light.

    

“To this day, we vampires do not know why we are harmed by light. We believe it has something to do with our bloodline, sadly our history is too clouded to retrace back to the source. Not even Tristan knows of our source and he’s one of the oldest of us; as is McLaren.”

    

“So,” Ash began “what will happen to you if you don’t drink blood?”

    

“I’ll revert to my primal instincts. All control over my body will be lost and I’ll hunt out any blood source. I need fresh blood to circulate through my veins. My heart doesn’t create blood any longer. After a skeletal muscle forms around it, the heart can only pump.”

    

“But you’ve been at the base for the last couple of nights.” Ash said wisely. “When have you had blood?”

      

“About four days. It has taken me four years to discipline my body so I don’t have many cravings. I can go up to five days without fresh blood. After that, or if I lose blood via wounds or sacrifice-“

    

Brock cut her off. “Sacrifice?”

    

She nodded irritatingly. “Yes, letting a fellow vampire drink your blood to revitalize them. Anyway, after five days I become deathly weak. All my superhuman abilities leave me. I even become weaker than a human. Then, I lose all control of my will and I hunt out a blood source, kill them, and drink their blood.”

    

“Has it ever happened?” Ash inquired softly. He was looking down at the ground so Misty or Brock couldn’t see the tears forming in his eyes. The conversation really made the idea of Misty being a monster sink in.

    

“How do you think I know so much about it? But only once has it happened, and I’ll never forgive myself. I still have nightmares about that night. That poor girl was defenseless. She couldn’t have been older than ten. I just couldn’t control myself. When I was revitalized, I knelt down beside the girl and held her blood-soaked body in my arms and I wept. Jessica didn’t deserve to die.”

    

“Wait!” Brock began.

    

“You knew her name?” Ash finished.

    

“Not at first.” Misty replied with a choking voice. The memories still haunted her mind and she now had to relive them. When an immortal bites a human or another immortal they don’t just pass on the virus, they see their past memories.”

 

The threesome rounded a corner, glass cracked beneath the soles of their boots and the hard rubber clicked on the rare open spots of cobblestone. Straight down the road and shrouded in the shadows was the three story museum. It was just as dark as the night Ash had witnessed the assault by the werewolves. Glass and stone still littered the ground and floated in the murky fountain water in front of the museum.

    

Misty was the only one of the three who hadn’t bothered to stop. Such havoc was second nature to her. Brock halted because he never knew such devastation could occur on one building. But Ash stopped because of the eyes that stared warningly into his. The Arcanine-looking statue stood at an incredible ten feet tall, of course it was standing on its hind legs and growling forward. His nightmare from the previous night boiled up in his mind. It was the beast that attacked him!

    

“Misty!” Ash called out, running to her side and turning her around to face him. She noticed his distraught features and placed her cold hands on his cheeks, causing shivers to run up his spine.

    

“Ash, what’s the matter?”

    

“What in the Hell is that thing?” he pointed directly to the statue that now was staring at Misty as well.

    

Upon locking gazes with the stone statue, Misty’s fangs extended down over her bottom lip and her eyes glowed that frightening light blue. A hiss escaped her lips, but it was unintentional. She couldn’t help herself. There was something about the statue that appalled her.

    

After the hiss, Ash had jumped away from Misty in fear. Soon after she recollected herself, he approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He could feel her cold radiance through the midnight blue leathers. “Misty? What is it?”

    

“Just an Arcanine.” She replied, unable to tear her eyes away.

    

“It has similar features, but it’s too big. And it looks really aggressive.”

    

“I wish I knew what it was.”

    

“We should keep moving.” Ash flicked his sleeve up and took a glance at his digital watch that glowed a bright blue. The blue exposure was quite uncomfortable to Misty. She shielded her face immediately and groaned. Ash quickly covered his watch and smiled weakly at Misty. “Sorry ‘bout that. We have one hour and thirteen minutes until sunrise. Maybe we should have waited for tomorrow night to do this.”

    

“No.” she replied aggressively. “We can make it if we hurry.”

“But it takes twenty minutes to walk to the hideout.” He retorted also aggressively. “You know you can’t take the sunlight. You’ll burst into flames.”

    

“No, I’ll just disintegrate. It will be a free cremation.”

    

Did she really try and make a joke about death. In a time when Ash was worried sick for her well-being she was cracking jokes about the positive outcomes of her demise.

    

“That’s not funny!” he shot back stepped closer to her, feeling the cold of her body.

    

“Standing around and bullshitting isn’t helping our chances of reaching the hideout in time either!”

    

Again Ash nodded. From their, the three moved to the museum and walked through the massive cavity that once was the front of the building.

    

The moon no longer could be used for a source of light inside the three walls of the museum. Ash and Brock held up flashlights in one hand and a pistol in the other. Both men were careful as to where they were shining their lights. One blast of the light would burn Misty’s delicate skin. Pikachu has similar abilities to Misty. The yellow rodent wasn’t able to see in the dark but it could sense walls and large blocks.

    

Misty chuckled at the sight of Ash and Brock. They looked so pathetic as they groped through the poorly lighted complex. A few times the idea of tripping one of them or stepping in front of Ash and letting him walk into her did cross her mind. Her only reason for not acting on her antics was the lack of time. She only had approximately one hour and ten minutes to find any clues and reach the hideout before sunrise. Then again, she knew what the lycans stole that rainy night. She wanted to know why. Perhaps there was information on the book at the museum.

    

“Son of a-“

    

Misty twirled around after hearing a mighty crash. She held her black Colt .45, Dragon, tightly in her hand and aimed it toward the noise. Immediately she lowered her weapon with a giggle.

    

“You still are a klutz, Ash.”

    

“Forgive me for not having the ability to see in the dark!” he picked himself off the ground and bent down to grasp his pistol. Pikachu too jumped up and sneered at his clumsy trainer.

    

“You have a flashlight.”

    

“Well yeah, but...er...uh...I didn’t want to, uh...flash you with it.”

    

“Right.” She sighed.

    

“Hey, I may not be able to see but I know you just rolled your eyes at me.”

    

“No I didn’t.” she replied exasperatingly.

    

“Yes you did!”

    

“No I didn’t!”

    

“Did!”

    

“Didn’t!”

    

“Did!”

    

“Didn’t!”

    

“Stop it! You two are acting like kids again!”

    

“She rolled her eyes at me, Brock.”

    

“No I didn’t. I shook my head and jerked my fist.”

    

“Jerked your fist? Oh! Wait, are you saying that I was-“

    

“Quiet!” Misty whispered loudly. When all fell silent Misty scanned the room thoroughly.

    

“What is it?” Ash whispered.

    

She hushed him and slid a blade from her belt. Ash shuttered as he heard footsteps move closer to his position. He could hear soft breathing and a dark presence. He fingered the trigger of his pistol and twirled around to fire-

    

He gasped.

    

The pistol was pushed upward and pried from his grasp. 

    

“You could blow off my head from this close of range.” Said a soft, female voice.

    

“Misty?” he whispered back.

    

“Don’t fire off your gun until you hear shots.” The butt of the gun was nudged against Ash’s chest, and he took it in his palms and cradled it as he heard the footsteps move away. Then, all went silent. There were no footsteps, no whistling of the wind through the open cavity of the museum, no soft breaths. The only sound Ash heard was his heart beat as it beat faster and faster.

    

“Stop it.” The soft female voice snapped aggressively.

    

“Stop what?”

    

“Calm down. Slow your heart beats. It’s driving me mad. The more I hear it the more I lust for blood.”

    

“Sorry-“

    

“Quiet!”

    

Suddenly, there was an ear piercing screech that scratched at Ash’s ea drums. But just as fast as it sounded it was gone, replace by a loud thud.

    

“Bastards!”

    

“Who?”

    

“Find the exhibit for a book called Dark Shadows!”

    

“Why?” Brock implied through the perfect darkness.

    

“It’s what the lycans stole! Now find it, fast!”

    

Brock raised his flashlight to eye level and proceeded swiftly through the museum, leaving Ash back with Misty in the darkness.

    

“What was that sound, Misty?”

    

“I told you to find the exhibit.” She replied annoyed that he wasn’t listening to her simple command.

    

“What was that sound?”

    

“Find the book!”

    

“What was it!?”

    

“A spy! A Zubat!” she sighed, gathering herself. “The vampires no we’re here.”

    

“Shit.”

 

**********

 

A group of men and one woman stood on the balcony connecting to Tristan’s quarters. The balcony was massive. Scattered over the antique Persian tiles were seats and tables. On each table was a cluster of silver goblets with a thick, crimson liquid that was swirled around inside. The seats, however, were not used. The group stood around a single man at the edge of the balcony and they looked out through the thick foliage at of the courtyard at Lavender Town.

    

The singled out man had his eyes closed and he stood attentive. The others followed suite, except for the woman, who wasn’t at all eager to be in her position. It was foolish what she was doing. Just by being a part of the group she was betraying Misty, her best friend. Yet it wasn’t her choice. The man, Tristan, held Mercedes in high regards. She was in fact formally invited. That didn’t stop her from rolling her deep blue eyes.

    

Screw this. Mercedes walked away from the silent group and entered the massive living quarters. It was along walk through the Victorian style room. Large rugs were spread across the hard wood floor, and draperies dangled down the pastel walls to where they gathered in a crimson puddle of fabric on the floor. Twelve foot high mirrors were really what made the room so large. Mercedes sneered at her reflection as she paced by the mirror between a vanity and armoire.

    

Outside the quarters, Mercedes entered a long corridor. Much like the rest of the Pokemon Tower, crimson rugs stretched over the ocean of wood floor and pastel tiles. The windows were all concealed behind crimson draperies, and table cloths cascaded down the lengths of end tables that sat beside elegant chairs. Few vampires walked down the same hall. All the doors in the said hall were occupied by higher up vampires such as Tristan and McLaren...

    

“Mercedes.”

    

The female vampire jumped against the paneled wall and panted deeply. Her fangs were extended over her bottom lip and her eyes were glowing. “My Lord,”

    

“My apologies if I frightened you.” McLaren said softly, with a small smile.

    

Mercedes nodded. “Did you wish to see me, My Lord?”

    

“As a matter of fact, yes. Please, step into my quarters.” The Elder stepped aside and pointed his hands into his domain. He followed Mercedes, who entered cautiously. She knew it was a rare honor to be granted access to McLaren’s private quarters. In fact, the only other vampire that Mercedes knew personally that had been invited in was Misty. “Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”

    

“Thank you, my Lord.” She sat in a soft chair in the middle of the room. McLaren took a seat in the chair beside her. “Can I offer you something to drink?”

    

“No thank you.”

    

“Very well. Mercedes, where has Misty run off to?”

    

“She didn’t run off. She was banished.”

    

“That is not the record I heard. Tristan informed me that Misty showed the lycanthropes the way to our coven.”

    

“Tristan’s full of shit. The only thing Misty did was fight off the lycans, while Tristan and the other Death Dealers watched. Tristan banished Misty because she wouldn’t allow him to kill her mortal.”

    

“I beg your pardon.”

    

“The human that was with Misty when the lycan attacked them. He’s alive. He was the one who stumbled onto the property. Misty protected him.”

    

“I’ll take your version of the story into account. But I must know where Misty is.”

    

“I’m not sure. Tristan is looking for her though. But he banished her. It doesn’t make sense.”

    

McLaren sighed. “Tristan and Misty never saw eye to eye. He most likely desires her return so he can humiliate her. As for me, I want her back because she can’t survive peacefully out there. Without fresh blood she’ll revert to her primal instincts and hunt out a source. I want her back so she can have fresh blood to revitalize her strength. However, I don’t want Tristan to know of her presence.”

    

“Forgive me for asking, but why do you look out for Misty so much?”

    

“Because I highly respect her. She was willing to sacrifice her mortality to avenge her friends’ death.”

    

My Lord, we found her. She’s at the Lavender Town Museum.

    

“Mercedes, Tristan has found her.” He said standing up and walking to the twelve foot window that overlooked the east courtyard. “Follow him, but don’t let him know you’re present. Keep Misty away from him at all costs. Smuggle her back into the Tower.”

    

She nodded as she buttoned her leather trench coat. “I will my Lord.”

    

“Quickly now, out the window.”

    

When Mercedes stood at the open window she looked down at the ground some thirty feet below. “Can you try to stall Tristan and the other Death Dealers?”

    

“Absolutely.”

With that, Mercedes took the final step and plummeted down swiftly to the grassy ground below. Her trench coat flapped above her and hadn’t even enough time to catch up to her form before she began marching toward Lavender Town.

    

The Elder vampire watched as one of his most loyal servants once more performed his bidding. A mischievous smirk crept across his tan face. The door to his quarters creaked open and Tristan entered, loading one of his pistols.

    

“What of Mercedes?”

    

“She’s on her way to the museum,”

    

“...and falling into our trap.”

 

**********

 

Over the course of history wars had been fought by humans, why did that have to change? Mercedes, the brown haired vampire bombshell had nearly one decade-not even a fraction of her immortal life-to ponder those words. She remembered everything from that speech, given by Benjamin Fisker, mayor of Lavender Town. Toward the end of his life he was considered insane. He often spoke of a war between mortals and demons. Everyone criticized his beliefs, but in fact, he was just reaching the tip of the iceberg.

    

...but all that is about to change.

    

No, it changed centuries ago. It only took this long to involve an entire region. The war was bound to break out. But why did the good people have to get involved? Why Misty? Why Ash? Why...Benjamin Fisker...or Hailen?

    

McLaren, the Lord of the vampires, gave Mercedes strict orders to collect Misty before the war had a chance to break out even more. With the lycanthropes running rampant and Turning everyone in their path, it wouldn’t be long before the majority of Kanto bowed to the will of wolves. That was her determination. If she didn’t hurry, Misty could loose control, no matter how disciplined she was, and she could infect Ash. Why does that bother me?

    

There was just something special about him.

    

Most of the vampire’s focus was at the severed pathway in front of her. She leapt casually from rooftop to rooftop to save on time. Instead of walking, or running, through the city she would move across it. And it was working. Far out in the distance she could already see the three story structure. At her rate of speed, which was faster than even the world’s fastest human, she would arrive at the museum in no more than five minutes. Hopefully it would be enough time to get Misty and Ash out.

    

As she neared the museum she focused out Misty’s heartbeat and listened. Though there was a great distance between them she was close enough spiritually with Misty to hear her heartbeat. The rhythm was slow, even sometimes absent. It was obvious that her heart was giving out-she was running dry on blood. Soon her veins would dry up and her organs and body would turn to dust. Or, Misty could give into her undying instincts and simply attack Ash-killing him and passing on the virus.

    

“Misty!” she called out. “Hold off just a little longer.”

 

**********

 

“You have to move faster Ash!” Misty screamed as she ran behind him.

    

“I can’t see!” he screamed back. “It’s too dark and the flashlight isn’t bright enough.”

    

“Do you see what level the book was on?”

    

“Third-ow!” Ash jumped up and down on one foot. He winced in pain after running his foot into a stone podium.

    

“Where’s Brock?”

    

“Up top!” his voice was muffled but Misty caught the phrase. She looked from the ceiling to Ash who was still jumping up on one foot. She sighed contently, remembering how he was always such a baby about small things, and yet brave about others.

    

“Watch your head, Ash.”

    

“What-agh!” A set of slender arms were wrapped around his stomach and his entire body was heaved upward. The hard floor no longer touched the bottom of the soles of Ash’s boots. He could feel a breeze push his black hair to his face and then he heard a crash as stone and other fragments bounced off his face.

    

“Who’s there?” Brock asked in the darkness. He twirled around shining his flashlight to find the perpetrator. The beam soon reflected off a glossy, leather, midnight blue body suit and trench coat. The leather clad female looked away with disgust and hissed loudly. Smoke began billowing from her neck and hands-where ever the light touched.

    

“Brock, the light!”

    

“Oh...”

    

“Don’t shine it on her!” Ash hadn’t bothered to wait for Brock to switch the handheld torch off or wave it away. He wrapped his arms around her and spun her around so the light was shining on his back instead of Misty’s body. Though her skin still smoked slightly and she panted uncontrollably. “Mist? Are you alright?” He turned her around once Brock waved the flashlight slightly off to the side. Even with the dim lighting Ash could see Misty’s pale complexion and the severe burns on her neck, face, and hands.

    

“Misty...”Brock began, but he found himself at a loss for words.

    

“Shit.” Ash mumbled. His hands were gently clasped against Misty’s cheek as he turned and sighed at Brock’s solemn expression.

    

“Oh...Misty. Please forgive me.”

    

“It’s alright, Brock. There isn’t anything to forgive. It will only take my skin a few moments to heal anyway.”

    

“Pika! Pika pi!” The yellow rodent climbed up Misty’s trench coat and stood on top of her shoulder, rubbing his soft cheek against Misty’s. She let out a sigh and smiled.

    

“Thank you Pikachu.”

    

“Are you going to be alright?” Ash asked sadly, leaning in closer to Misty’s face.

She never replied. Instead, Misty leaned forward and closed the gap between her and Ash and met him for a kiss. As the two stood in each other’s embrace, Brock gasped as he witnessed an unheard of sight. Right before his eyes Misty’s skin was growing back and the burnt texture depleted until her skin was back to its regular pale complexion.

    

“Woah!”

    

After the kiss broke, Ash looked over Misty as he blushed. He looked closer and rubbed his thumbs on her skin, causing shivers to run up her spine.

    

“See? I told you.”

    

“Vampires.” He sighed.

    

“We should go. Tristan knows we’re here.”

    

The older man walked at the same pace as Ash and Misty. Both men clung to her arms as if they were lost children. “I thought you were thrown out?”

    

“I chose a side and Tristan didn’t agree with my decision. The spy maybe wasn’t even looking for us.”

    

“Do you think werewolves?”

    

“Perhaps. Either way, we’re going to have to hurry.”

    

“Sun rise.” Ash interjected.

    

“That...and the fact that I need blood.” Her usual calm voice now quivered with uncertainty. Two weights pulled her down; she maybe wasn’t strong enough to lift them. Either way, she was still physically strong enough to run up the second story staircase to gain access to the third floor.

    

“Why did we stop?” Ash wasn’t capable of seeing, but he could still feel that his body wasn’t moving, nor was Misty’s or Pikachu’s. He looked around the darkness, an obvious reflex, and growled when his eyes took nothing in. “I hate not being able to see!”

    

“If we could switch I would.” Replied Misty solemnly.

“What happened up here?” Brock inquired, trying to let go of Misty’s arm to investigate. Misty however tightened her grip around his wrist and pulled him closer to her body.

    

“The better question is what didn’t happen. It’s chaos up here.” From what Misty could see there was little floor still showing itself. The wood floor was sunk beneath layers upon layers of wood, glass shards, and stone. Patches of the flooring still visible were scoffed beyond repair. “You two stay here. I’ll be faster alone.”

    

“Where are you going?” Ash asked her.

    

“To find the exhibit. Don’t worry, I won’t be long.” Those words of assurance weren’t enough to subside the feeling in Ash’s gut. Something beckoned him to hold onto Misty. “It’s alright Ash, you can let me go.” No! He had lost all control of his body and let her go. With his guide gone he felt as if he were truly in darkness. At least with Misty he knew he wouldn’t run into anything, she wouldn’t allow anything to harm him.

    

For the first time in a great while Misty was able to use her immortal powers for her benefit. She didn’t have to worry about loosing Ash or Brock. She could be as fast as a bullet and leap over the ocean of wreckage. If her two friends had accompanied her the commute would have taken at least seven times longer. There were paintings still on the walls, locked behind glass. Though the crystal clear barricade was now scoffed and chipped, the painting remained works of art. But Misty had no time to stop and look at the paintings.

    

Suddenly, Misty felt a pang near her heart, almost like a heart attack. Her swift speed reduced to nothing and she lost all of her focus, causing her to tumble over an overturned pedestal. As she slid on her stomach over the chaotic ruins her body picked up glass shards and slivers that stuck themselves through her leathers and into her skin. The pain was intense, as the shards tore deeper into her.

    

Shit! Immortal or not that hurt like Hell! Wincing in pain while standing to her feet, Misty brushed off her midnight blue leathers and flipped the shards from her loose hair. The throbbing pain in her chest, arms, and neck still panged her as blood oozed from the wounds. She knew what had to be done, but each time she touched the exterior of her wounds with the gentlest touch of her fingers she was forced to clamp her eyes shut and wince. Even her vampire defenses activated.

    

Just move on. There are too many and you don’t have the time to manually remove them. Let your body do all the work. Certainly if Mercedes was with she would have prodded Misty on. The brown-haired bombshell of a vampire would have said ‘let your body do all the work.’

    

But there was something different from all the other times Misty was hurt. Pain never coursed through her body so easily. It never slowed her movement or actions down. It never stole her focus away either. Her mind no longer focused on the objective at hand, she just worried about the shards tearing her immortal body into pieces.

    

Finally even Misty found herself in darkness as her mind passed out and her body collapsed...

 

 

 

Shelby: Well there ya go, I left you with a cliffhanger! Thanks for coming back to read my fic and please R&R.