Cries of a Love Bat

To say it was a blessing that the kitchen and living room was designed as an open floor plan was an understatement. Andy was able to watch TV, while Joe had his laptop open at the island in the kitchen, and Patrick was able to read the newspaper, and we were all still in the same room! Of course though I was slumped on the couch across from Andy not feeling at all well, like I had been for the past four days.

“Patrick,” I warned, and he jumped on his feet.

“Andy go get the bucket,” Patrick ordered and Andy ran off down the hall. He came back in merely seconds and placed a plastic bucket in front of me so I could throw up. Joe was sitting next to me just as quickly, tying my hair up with a rubber band.

“Jesus Emily, why are you so sick. You get food poising or something?” Joe questioned jokingly.

I leaned back and closed my eyes when my stomach hurt too much to even spit up the bile again. “Bathroom.”

“Here,” Patrick said, slinging and arm around my waist and pulling me up with him.

He knew, and I knew he knew. He knew exactly what was happening and why. He knew what happened when I disappeared and who I saw. He knew not to ask me about it, even though he wanted too. He knew I couldn’t tell, not directly anyways.

“Jesus,” I breathed when we made it down the hall and into the bathroom. Patrick took a seat of the edge of the tub, while I grabbed for my toothbrush. “I wish he’d stop.”

“It’s apart-”

“Of the mark, I know I know,” I mumbled. “But it’s seriously got to stop.”

“I’d tell you to block it out, but it’s the physical aspect of it. Whatever Will’s got Pete doing to make him throw up almost every hour isn’t going to stop.”

I finished brushing and muttered, “I’d rather have the nightmares again.”

“Don’t say that Em, they made you petrified. You really want to see Pete die again?” Patrick reasoned.

“Why do you half to be the sensible one?” I laughed.

Patrick smiled and rolled his eyes. “Because you won’t…and Pete won’t especially.”

“Yeah, he’s too stubborn to be sensible.” I looked in the mirror at my blood shot eyes, and grimaced. “He can't keep listening to them.”

I turned around when Patrick said, “You’re telling me.”

When we got back into the living room, Brendon and Ryan were over. Brendon was pacing and Ryan was trying to calm him down, while Joe and Andy just watched.

“Emily,” Brendon’s eyes widened when he saw me.

“Brendon?” I squeaked when I was enveloped in a hug. “You okay?”

“What?” he asked pulling back. “I-don’t worry about me. But you? You really shouldn’t be here right now.”

I glanced at Patrick who straightened up. “What are you talking about Brendon?”

“Oh god,” Brendon started. “The things Will’s making Pete do…you should be dead.”

I took a shaky breath and a big gulp of air. “Dead?”

“Brendon!” Ryan snapped. “Stop…stop scaring them.”

“Dude, what the hell is going on?” Joe interrupted.

Brendon made a fist with his hands, shaking. “Shit.”

“Brendon. Out. Now!” Ryan demanded and when Brendon looked at me with his fangs out and eyes glazed over, Ryan pushed him out the door.

“Fucken hell Ross, what’s going on?” Andy spit, glaring at Ryan.

“Will…he’s been controlling Brendon the past couple of days. He can get inside him, he can make him…do these things, and shit he’s got it out for Pete,” Ryan rushed, shaking a little.

“How?” Patrick asked.

“I don’t know…I-Brendon wouldn’t talk to me the last couple of days. Will kept him in the manor and…now he just snaps. He’ll be fine one minute and then the next he’ll be loosing it,” Ryan explained, holding up his arm. “He even bit me from blood lust.”

“And Beckett just has this power over him?” Joe wondered.

Ryan shook his head, “I don’t know. I-Patrick I was going to ask you! And Brendon and I…we wanted to check on you Emily.”

For the situation he was in, I gave Ryan a lot of credit. He was handling it well. “And you’re thinking he has Pete?” I stated more than asked.

Ryan nodded, his eyes watery “I haven’t seen Pete since he came back to the manor. Usually he’ll join us hunting and catch a rabbit or something.”

I bit my lip, and felt the world crash on me. William had Pete, and he was turning him like he turned Brendon. “So Brendon just snaps, like randomly?”

“Yeah,” Ryan answered.

“Fuck,” I chocked. “Pete’s bipolar enough, he doesn’t need this changing his moods too.”

Patrick looked at Ryan and said, “Will’s not making him snap.”

“Huh?”

“No, I read about this somewhere,” Patrick informed us, folding and unfolding his hands. “If I’m right, Will’s just feeding off their energy. He’s taking bits of them, like he took from Brendon. He doesn’t make them blow up, like he doesn’t say, ‘Oh lets make him go haywire.’ No, they do that on their own.”

“Why?” I asked shakily. “If they do it on their own than why do they snap?”

“It’s instinct, an impulse in them. They’re fighting back.”

The room was closed in a silence so loud it burned my ears; they pounded in time with my headache. Tears slid down my cheeks and I rubbed away the wet trail. Ryan was able to hold his back, but we were all freaking out. The breathing in all of us wasn’t even, and it sounded wrong.

“What happens now?” Andy whispered.

Patrick glanced at Ryan, and then looked at the floor when he said, “If they don’t drive themselves mad enough that they die from their outbursts?”

“Yeah,” I said softly.

“They break their bonds…all of them.”