Silent Angel Crashes Through the Sky

The first thing that I noticed as I woke up was the searing pain in my neck. I couldn't remember why I felt it, but it was really the only thing that occupied my mind as I groggily woke up. I felt so disoriented I just wanted to go back to sleep. The pillow that my head sunk into was so comfortable and my head was so heavy that I just kept it there, wallowing in pain.

I can't feel my hands.

I tried to wiggle my fingers, but I couldn't really feel them. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't. My eyelids were almost as heavy as my head was, so I just kept them closed. I shifted, moving my legs to a more comfortable position. They had been crossed painfully, so I unfolded them and stretched. My bare feet glided across soft silk, calming me for a moment. I shifted my head, wincing as my neck throbbed. I forced my eyes open very slowly, raising my eyebrows up high to pull apart my heavy eyelids. It felt like they had been glued shut.

There was a dim light and I had to turn my head away from it. The world was blurry. It spun as I opened my eyes completely, so I immediately shut them. I groaned in discomfort. I tried to move my fingers again and panicked when I couldn't. My arms and hands felt tingly. I tried to raise them, but they weighed a ton each. I shifted my shoulders, trying to stretch. My bones creaked and cracked, as if I hadn't moved in ages.

The pain in my neck made me nauseous. The pain spread with every movement I made. I laid still for a while, keeping my eyes closed and trying to get the feeling back in my fingers. I quickly regretted that decision, though, because as the feeling started to rush back into my hands, the pain came with it. I tried to move them more, but they were bound by something. And that's when I remembered everything. It hit me like a freight train.

I opened my eyes again, the dizziness keeping me disoriented. It felt like I was on a boat swaying back and forth. I glanced around the room slowly, trying to focus. The dim lighting revealed that I was laying in a four-post bed with a red silk comforter and pillow cases. There was a veil of black tool hanging from the ceiling, surrounding the bed, shielding my view of the rest of the room. To my left, though I could see the light source- a candle- on a table next to the bed.

I couldn't sit up. The immense pain alone kept me debilitated, and the dizziness gave me a pounding headache. I groaned again, shifting my head, to press my cheek to the cool, smooth silk pillow. I let its coolness soothe my head and keep me grounded. I opened my eyes again, facing the flickering light of the candle and blinking to rid myself of vertigo.

I could remember Brian's grin. His overwhelming strength. His bite. And I could remember that Pete was going to die.

I lifted my hands to my chest, letting the blood flow back to my fingers. I ground my teeth together in preparation for the excruciating pain I was about to feel. I dug my elbow into the blanket, trying to push myself up. I gasped as my bones creaked and my neck burned. I took in deep breaths, trying to keep myself silent. I couldn't make a single sound for fear that my captors would hear.

I had no doubt that I was surrounded by vampires. Brian was obviously a traitor. A double-crosser. He must have been working for William. Maybe he had even set Matt up and let him almost get turned.

Was Brendon in on this? Was this the plan all along? Could all of Avenged have been in on this?

I gingerly let my legs slide over the edge of the bed. I kept my breathing steady, trying to ignore the intense pain. I felt my neck, realizing that Brian hadn’t been careful with his bite. The holes from his fangs were wide and messy. The wound stung, even without putting any pressure on it. No wonder I was in such pain.

I looked down at my clothes. They were drenched in blood and smeared with dirt. But… at least they were there.

Another wave of dizziness struck me and the world started to go black. I closed my eyes and laid back down. I fought off sleep. I didn’t want to succomb to the darkness again. I had to get out of there.

I sat back up slowly, gritting my teeth and keeping my eyes closed. I opened them slowly and stood up carefully. I took in a short breath and started moving towards the door. I put my ear to the door and listened for a few moments, not daring to breathe. I leaned away from the door and looked down at the door knob. I didn’t see a lock on it.

I took the knob in my hand and turned it. It twisted smoothly and my heart skipped. I took in another quick breath, trying to contain my excitement.

This was it.

-*-

Brendon had spent the past few days avoiding William like the plague. He was rather nervous that William would take one look at him and somehow know of his treachery.

He genuinely wanted to change. To be… better. More human. For Clark.

It felt sort of silly. It felt wrong. Every part of him knew it was wrong to want to be with a human. For a vampire to want to be less like a vampire. It went against everything he’d learned from the moment he was turned.

He walked through the hallways of the mansion, finding his way from the kitchen, where he had just downed two blood packets, back to his room. It was only about midnight, but Brendon was already feeling the effects of not feeding for the night. He needed fresh blood. The cold packets were enough to satisfy a vampire for a few hours, but this was the third night in a row that he hadn't fed on an actual human. He was starving, thirsty, and very weak. He licked his cracked lips with a dry tongue, swallowing to try to get rid of the pain in his throat.

He walked quickly, avoiding eye contact with anyone he crossed paths with. He couldn't stop thinking about Clark and how thirsty he was. The more he thought about her, the thirstier he got. And the more thirsty he got, the more he wanted to bite her.

“Brendon,” a woman’s voice echoed off the walls of the hallway. Michelle. “Where are you headed to tonight?” she asked, her voice suddenly much closer. Brendon put on a smile for her and turned to meet her gaze. “You wouldn’t happen to be headed for William’s office, would you?” she asked curiously. Her French accent was barely noticeable. Maybe she and her sister stopped talking to each other. Brendon shook his head.

“No, I’m just headed back to my room.” Michelle’s lips pouted and she looked at him with sad puppy-dog eyes. He pushed back an embarrassed wince.

“But you have been disappeared for so long, petit,” she drawled, laying her accent on thick suddenly, very playfully. Brendon gave her a charming smile, laughing lightly. “People have been gossiping, you know. They are saying that you have not eaten for days. William said that he has not received any reports from you in a very long time, either.” She grinned, laughing flirtatiously, and putting a finger on his chest, moving closer to him. “Are you hiding something, Brendon? Hm?” Brendon laughed with her again, taking her hand in his. He looked into her eyes with a coy smile, and kissed her knuckles softly.

“What on Earth would I be hiding?” She gave him a wide smile, leaning into his ear.

“Maybe you should ask William,” she whispered, her accent disappearing as abruptly as it had surfaced. Brendon grit his teeth tightly for a second, but recovered and shifted her hand so that he was holding it to his chest, and put his other hand around her waist, like they were dancing. He put his cheek on hers, giving a breathy laugh through his teeth.

“I’ll see you around, Michelle.” He kissed her cheek, lingering for a few seconds. She held her smile.

“I sure do hope so, Brendon.” She said, backing up, licking her lips and walking towards their wing of the mansion. Brendon let his smile fall, still staring down the hallway after Michelle. He swallowed to get rid of the lump that was forming in his throat. His head suddenly pounded. All he could think of was drinking. He thought of draining a human, and the warm blood sliding down his throat-

He took in a few deep breaths, ignoring the stares of a couple of vampires who passed him. He turned around quickly and briskly walked back to the kitchen. He pulled out three packets of blood and drained them in a minute.

He realized now how suspicious he had been acting. This was unacceptable behavior in the Dandy household. He needed to fix things... No matter how much he wanted to run and never come back.

Run to Clark...

Another memory of draining one of her look-alikes came to him and he ground his teeth, hitting his head with a clenched fist hard. He took a few more deep breaths and stood up straight, fixing his hair and clothes. He threw out the emptied packets.

Looks like he’d be talking to William tonight.