A Creeping Distress

Sonny woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. Somehow she was grateful for the wake up call and she looked at the phone to see it was Sam. A part of her wondered why Sam was calling and she paused to think about actually answering the phone. Instead of letting it go to voicemail, she answered it.

“Hello?”

“Sorry did I wake yew?” Sam says looking at the clock that read half past noon.

“I‘m grateful, don‘t be sorry I was having a bad dream,” she replies.

“I got a few hours off, I was wonderin‘ if yew wanna go for some coffee and pie.”

“That sounds really nice.”

An hour later, Sam pulled up into the gravel driveway to pick up Sonny. Getting out of the car he went up to the front to greet Sonny. She opened the door and smiled at Sam. His eyes looked her up and down taking in the way her legs seemed to be accentuated by the soft fabric that grazed above her knee.

“You look real nice,” Sam smiles.

“Thank you.”

“All set to go?”

Sonny nodded with a small smile and let Sam lead her to the car whilst his hand rested on the small of her back. Sam was excited to be taking Sonny out where they’d have a chance to talk uninterrupted. Arriving at the little coffee shop they sat in a more secluded corner. For a while they drank coffee and shared a piece of pie but their date was interrupted by the two men that stood outside the establishment looking straight at her. The one with the wildest of hair smirked from his spot and Sonny found herself staring back at them.

“Yew know those guys?” Sam inquires obviously taking notice of her shifted attention.

“Would you excuse me for one moment?”

“Sure.”

She stood up from her seat and exited the small café to see what the two men wanted from her. They smiled at her relishing in her presence. The wild haired one reached out and touched the side of her face only to earn a flinch from Sonny. She stepped back and looked at them with hesitation.

“What are you doing here?”

“I found myself wondering, what a pretty young thing such as yourself, do to deserve exile,” he says slyly his lips dangerously close to her ear. Sonny stiffened in response and pushed his hand from her shoulder. The other man grabbed Sonny by the wrist and examined the area where a very faint mark was left from Eric‘s fangs.

“That thing was yours and you let it drink from you?” the man sneers in disgust.

“Darling, vampires are below us. Pathetic creatures who roam this terrible earth for an eternity. Well this entire place is below us so I suppose that’s why the bad eggs like us get banished here.”

Sam saw the extreme discomfort in Sonny’s body language while dealing with the two peculiar looking men. He opted to pay the tab and assist Sonny taking her from those who made her look so unnerved. Sonny looked at the two men with defiance only to make them smirk right back at her. Their eyes shifted to Sam who stood in next to Sonny in a protective manner.

“You know what else are below us?”

“Shifters. And you seem to hang around all things below you.”

“Who are you to judge what is below me?” Sonny snaps.

“Just what did you do to piss off the higher ups? I am dying to know.”

“Well then don‘t hold your breath because guess what? I have no fucking clue what you are talking about and another thing you elitist fucks if you continue to push your bullshit discriminatory--”

“Darwin perhaps she isn‘t what we think.”

“She is she‘s just angry that we tried to kill her pet vampire,” he responds.

“This isn‘t about Eric.”

“The pet has a name.”

“He isn‘t my pet, do you have any idea what the vampire authority would do if I had another dead vampire on my hands. Maybe I was intrigued a little bit with you two but right now I‘ve had it up to here with this crap,” Sonny snaps. Her vision shook and she attempted to shake a terrible feeling from creeping up on her. She grabbed Sam by the hand and began pulling him away from the two men.

“You‘ve forgotten what you are and now you must learn you cannot numb the truth with those wicked little pills you‘ve taken for so long.”

Sonny stopped right in her tracks and turned to unleash her wrath only to see the men had vanished seemingly into thin air. She was short of breath as she attempted to calm the anger that boiled within her. Her hands shook ever so slightly and Sam saw the pain in her eyes. He led her back to his truck and once he was in the driver’s seat Sonny turned to him.

“I‘m sorry about all this Sam.”

“Don‘ be, yew didn‘ plan on that happenin‘.”

“Yet it still happened. I wish there were somewhere I could go that is peaceful.”

“I think I can manage that,” Sam replies turning the vehicle on. Sonny gave Sam a questioning look. He just began to drive further into Bon Temps where the roads looked more desolate and overrun with lush green scenery. Driving down a dirt road Sam reached the end and stopped his car once they were deep in the woods. There wasn’t a soul in sight and Sam gave Sonny a reassuring smile. “I come out here when I change. No one will bother ya here.”

“What animal do you change into?”

“Well naturally I turn into a dog.”

“I can see that,” Sonny says with a faint smile.

“So have ya met a shape shifter before?” Sam asks as they made their way out of the vehicle.

“Yeah, when I spent a summer in Mexico. He was a bit of an ass so naturally his animal form was a donkey.”

Sam let out a throaty chuckle and Sonny looked onwards at their surroundings. The sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling with the light breeze filled the air. Sitting on a large boulder Sonny took a deep inhale of the fresh air. Her eyes closed as she exhaled the air out. She was tired and stressed to the point she felt sore. Sam sat next to her on the boulder.

“Yew know yer not the only one with a dark past.”

“Probably why we get along so well.”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you for bringing me out here,” Sonny smiles softly looking at the wildlife around her. “I actually was born in the south you know.”

“Oh yeah where at?” he replies.

“Florida, my family lived near the Everglades, well until one night I disappeared and was found at the local zoo playing with the grizzly bears. It was this big horrible thing and we had to move across the country because no one would leave us alone.”

“Playing with grizzly bears?”

“I was four years old, I got out without a scratch on me.”

“Jesus that‘s gotta be a miracle.”

“I suppose.”

He turned his head slightly, his gray eyes taking in her every feature. There was something different about her but from what he could tell she didn’t know what she was. All Sam knew that whatever she was, she couldn’t be all that bad. They sat there in silence; Sam decided to put his arm around her and she gave in. Sonny leaned into him with her head resting on his shoulder. She felt so worn out and her heavy eyelids closed as she sat there next to Sam. It was nice just sitting there in the middle of nowhere but it all ended when Sam’s phone began to ring loudly. Sonny opened her eyes and moved away from Sam.

“Sorry you have a restaurant to run. We should head back,” Sonny mutters with a forced laugh.
“I‘m sure we can stay a little bit longer.”

“Don‘t be ridiculous, we can see each other when you close up.”

“When I close up?”

“Yeah, I‘m sure I can stop by after work,” she smiles as she stood in front of him.

“Yer sure about that?” Sam questions pulling her close to his body.

“I‘d say I am about 97% sure.”

“97%?”

“I‘d say those are pretty good odds Mr. Merlotte,” Sonny teases lightly. Sam smiled at her, opting to take the chance to steal a kiss from her. Simply put he was becoming more and more enamored by Sonny. She was accepting of what he was and her smile could light up a room; there really wasn’t much of a downside to her.

Sam dropped off Sonny and she waved good bye to him before entering the house. She liked Sam. In a strange way she felt like she could have a normal life with him even if he was a shape shifter. An hour before sunset she arrived at Fangtasia. Ginger was already there as always and Sonny helped the woman get things ready for the night. When Eric and Pam arrived the bar was set to open. Eric had set to talk to Sonny about whether or not the dreams were real.

“Sonny, a word.”

“Can‘t it wait I‘m doing something.”

“No, in my office now,” Eric ordered.

“It wouldn‘t kill you to ask nicely,” she countered giving him a dirty look.

Sonny walked to the back with Eric who seemed adamant at having a word with her. Once in the office Eric didn’t speak he just stared at Sonny; the kind of stare that usually made others squirm. She looked back at him expectantly; her hands resting comfortably on her hips.

“You left.”

“I do believe I am still here.”

“You know what I mean,” he states.

“Obviously I don‘t.”

“The dream.”

“I don‘t know what you are talking about,” Sonny answers not giving in. Eric was quick to pin her against the wall and lower his head down; his face mere inches away from hers.

“Do not play games with me.”

“It won‘t happen again.”

“Why not?” Eric questions knowing exactly what she had meant.
“I don‘t want you there.”

“Go to ground with me tonight.”

“No,” she retorts attempting to push him away.

“I wasn‘t asking, you are going to ground with me.”

“I am not a fucking toy! That place is sacred to me; the only place I can go where no one will bother me and I can feel without being judged. How dare you treat it like a fucking amusement park, its my life!” Sonny exclaims as she used every bit of strength to punch him. She shoved him against the desk then swung open the door. “Eat shit and die.”

Sonny stormed out of Fangtasia ignoring the patrons and Pam who stood checking Ids. Pam wasn’t quite sure what happened but she was positive that something caused Sonny to lose it as the brunette quite literally kicked a protestor with such a force that it made all others that caught him to fall down. It amused Pam to see the protestors fall down like a house of cards and she smiled at the sight. Her smile fell when she saw Sonny speed out of the parking lot without even saying another word. Something was wrong. Eric walked outside and Pam looked at him questioningly.

“As amusing as it was to just see her knock over all the protestors, I got the impression that she won‘t be coming back here. What happened?”

“Nothing,” Eric snapped before taking off.

Sonny had five minutes on Eric and she was doing about a hundred and eight miles per hour all the way back to Ana’s estate. She parked the car and kicked off her high heels. Soon she was running as fast as she could into the depths of the woods.

The overwhelming feeling of detachment consumed Sonny as she ran she fought back any need to cry. Crying never did anything for her; she couldn't cry, she refused it. All she ever wanted was to feel like she belonged somewhere and not feel so lost all the time. After what seemed like hours of running she was hit with brute force and fell to the ground. A groan of pain escaped her lips and she looked up to see the two men that wouldn‘t seem to leave her be.

“Hate to do this to you love, but even your pretty face isn‘t going to save you from this.”

“What do you want from me?” she responds attempting to get up but the man stepped on her back; pushing her back on the ground. She gripped the earth and the wild haired man knelt down giving her a complacent look.

“Oh love you don‘t know how much I am going to enjoy this,” he smirks. Sonny tried to get free but it was not working, the other man held her down and she let out a growl. The wild haired man injected a syringe into her neck and her whole world went black never knowing what was to happen to her.