Midnight Sun, page 19
part #1 of Mortal Heat Series
Emotion welled in my chest at this dramatic turn. I felt abandoned, forgotten when Emily ran off with Todd. I was bitter that she had replaced me with him, someone who suddenly mattered more to her than I did. The truth was, I still mattered to her. The whole time she was gone some part of her still wanted to take care of me, still looked back and fought for me. Because she knew I needed her. And my dependence, my need for her would kill her.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I turned to Mick. “Can I have a couple of minutes alone with Emily? I need to talk to her.” Nodding, Mick stood and walked around us to Todd. After a tender kiss to Emily’s lips, Todd allowed Mick to pull him up, and the two of them ushered everyone else out of the circular chamber. I shifted from my knees to a seated position, butterfly style, next to Em.
Emily’s cool hand squeezed mine gently. “I’m sorry I left you, Lulu. I know now I shouldn’t have done that. It was selfish of me, and I felt sick the entire time we were apart.”
“If you’re doing better now, I’d hate to see how you were before,” I joked weakly.
Her dull blue eyes flashed briefly with fire. Exerting a herculean effort, Em pushed herself to a sitting position so she could look me directly in the eyes. “I mean it, Lulu. I will never abandon you again.”
“Em…” I started, then hesitated. “Emily, I love you. You are and will always be my best friend. I didn’t know how much I needed you, and I didn’t realize how little I appreciated you until Todd came along. If nothing else, I should thank him for knocking some sense into me,” I sighed. “But I can’t hold you back anymore. I feel stupid now, to realize you probably could have been much further along in your career, in your life, if it weren’t for me.” She started to protest, and I cut her off. “No, Em, you know it’s true. You paced yourself to take care of me, and I let you do it. But I won’t do that anymore. You need Todd, and he needs you. The man is beside himself, it would be kind of pathetic if it were anyone else, to be honest,” I chuckled softly. “You need to know that I’m okay, that no matter what I will be okay. I love you and I always will, but I don’t need you anymore. Your work here is done. It’s Todd that needs you now, and he’s going to need all the help you can give him. Don’t worry about me.”
Em studied my face silently for a moment, then nodded slowly and leaned into me. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, and we sat there in the fierce, familiar embrace of friendship.
Her head rested on my shoulder, and I felt the trickle of her blood soak into my shirt. Tears slipped from my eyes as I realized time was running out, her life slowly draining from her neck.
Infusing false brightness into my voice I gave her shoulders another tight squeeze then released her. “Okay, Em, I’m going to get Todd. I think you two have some unfinished business,” I teased lightly, winking for effect.
Em wiped tears from her cheeks and smiled softly, her pale lips dry and cracking with the effort.
Numbly I stood and strode to the door which slid open at my approach. Todd and his family, Mick, Shaline, and Shanii were right outside. I cleared my throat before addressing them.
“Emily is ready to complete the pairing.”
THE PAIRING
I STEPPED ASIDE to allow everyone back into the room. Staring at my feet, I didn’t realize Mick had paused until I felt his arm drape across my shoulders and pull me into his warm chest. He didn’t speak, just held me tightly for a moment. After releasing me he swiped his thumbs across my cheeks, erasing the tears that left fresh tracks on their way to the floor.
“Emily needs you to be strong now, love,” he said gently. “No more tears. Have confidence and give her your strength.”
I nodded, then sucked in a deep breath and closed my eyes, tilting my head back to draw the threatening tears back into my sockets. When I was confident my eyes were dry, I took Mick’s hand and pulled him towards Emily.
Todd was now seated on the floor, Emily curled on his lap. His pants were soaked in the puddle of her blood, the sodden scarf that had been around her neck discarded a few feet away. The wounds on her neck were much worse than I imagined; A dark network of open, dripping punctures mapped her throat, and I clenched my jaw to keep from crying out in horror.
Mick squeezed my hand in sympathy, and when Emily turned to look at me I managed to smile reassuringly. Her answering smile was weak but genuine, and she leaned against Todd with a contented sigh.
Shaline’s voice was cool, emotionless. “Are you ready, Emily?”
Emily straightened and nodded. “Yes, I’m ready.” Her eyes trailed back to Todd, whose lips twitched with the hint of a one-sided smile.
Todd held her gently, cradling her upper body with one arm while he swept the dull golden strands of limp hair away from her neck. Apparently, the left side of her neck was his preferred place to bite, as her right was unmarred. He stared at her neck before raising his eyes to Emily’s once again. In response, she closed her eyes and lifted her chin, exposing more neck to his bite.
As horrified as I was the previous time, I couldn’t look away. When Todd’s lips wrapped around Em’s neck there was only deafening silence, then Emily shuddered, sighed, and went completely limp. Todd’s mouth pulled away from Emily with an audible sucking noise that churned a sick feeling in my stomach, and he cradled her against his chest. His lips moved rapidly, and with his eyes closed, it appeared as if he were praying. To whom or what I had no idea, but the thought of Todd being religious struck me as bizarre. Rocking gently, he continued his silent prayer for what felt like an eternity.
My hand was clenched so tightly I was certain I cut off circulation to Mick’s fingers, but he didn’t complain. Everyone stood in a loose circle, staring silently at Todd as he continued to rock Emily’s limp body. Eventually, he loosened his grip and spoke.
“Emily? Em, baby?”
Unsupported, Emily’s head lolled to the side, and the slow trickle of blood from the latest injury joined the spreading stain on her shirt. Her mouth hung open, jaw slack, and her eyes remained closed.
My hands clamped over my mouth and I stopped breathing. Todd laid Emily gently to the floor and pressed his ear to her chest, attempting to listen to her heartbeat. Unsatisfied, his face crumpled and his body heaved with ragged sobs. The sound of his misery grated my nerves and prodded me into action.
I rushed to Emily’s side, pushing Todd away in my haste to get into position. He could go cry in the corner, as far as I cared. Right now I was trying to save her life.
I immediately launched into CPR, beating Emily’s chest with rhythmic pumps and pausing to breathe into her mouth, then listening for her heart and feeling for breaths before starting again.
I was vaguely aware of the people watching me in horror. Even Todd appeared to have stopped his crying; at least I couldn’t hear him anymore. I didn’t have time to wonder what they thought of me; All that mattered was Emily, and if none of them had anything helpful to contribute, then they could fuck off as far as I was concerned.
However, after several minutes with no improvement in Emily, my confidence began to falter. Tears poured down my face, and I pumped her chest with renewed energy, determined to give her everything I could. My arms were shaking, my breaths coming in ragged pants. CPR was hard, they had repeated that in training. I silently ran through the BeeGees’ song ‘Staying Alive’ in my head, as the CPR instructor had advised it helped keep the chest compressions regular.
I didn’t know how long I kept it up, but when I felt a warm hand on my arm, I knew who it was.
“Lucy,” Mick’s voice was gentle. “Lucy, you need to stop. It’s not helping.”
“No,” I snarled. “Lots of people have come back after everyone wanted to give up, just because one person believed. I still believe!” My aching hands continued to press Emily’s chest savagely, sweat trickling down my neck from the effort.
“Lucy it’s been over ten minutes. If she were going to come back, she would have by now.” His hand on my arm became more forceful, and he pulled me away from Emily’s limp form, dragging me sobbing into his arms.
Now the ugly crying came. The wracking, painful sobs I didn’t want Emily to see burst from my chest and ended up smeared on Mick’s shirt. We stood like that for several minutes; me wrapped tightly against Mick’s chest, crying hysterically over Emily’s cooling body. I didn‘t know where everyone else was, and I didn’t care what they saw. My heart was breaking with loss and grief and I had no control over it.
Panicked shouts alerted me to some new development, and I reluctantly lifted my head from Mick’s warmth to find out the source.
Todd had indeed gone off to a corner to cry by himself, and now it appeared he was also unconscious on the floor. His parents flew to his side, attempting to wake him, jabbering in the melodic language that was vimpiri. Shanii and Shaline stood back, watching both scenes impassively. Abruptly Todd’s mother began wailing, and her form shifted from human to her vimpiri shape, the transition appearing unintentional.
“Mick,” I croaked. “What’s the matter with Todd?”
“The pairing was successful,” He answered, his voice low and raw.
“What does that mean?”
“Male vimpiri do not outlive their mates. If they are paired, and Emily did not survive, neither will Todd.”
I stared with horror at the unfolding scene. I had forgotten that part of it, that Todd’s life was twined with Emily’s. I was so focused on her I had completely forgotten the potential cost to him.
Abruptly, the sounds from Todd’s parents changed to excitement. I looked in their direction again and saw Todd sitting up slowly. He was looking around, confused, and staring at his human hands as if he’d never seen them before. To me, he looked the same as he had ten minutes ago. Maybe he was just disoriented.
“Mick, if Todd’s okay, does that mean the pairing was unsuccessful? Or…” I trailed off when I heard a low moan by my feet.
Emily moaned softly again, then stirred, her head turning left then right slowly. One pale hand rose to her head and rubbed her eyelids, which opened to reveal shining blue irises.
“Em!” I shouted, dropping to my knees joyfully. I gripped her hand and pulled her up, clasping her to my chest.
“Easy, Lulu,” She chuckled. “I’m okay, I’m not going anywhere, but I would like to breathe if you don’t mind. Speaking of, why do I feel like someone kicked me in the chest?” She pulled back and rubbed between her breasts, wincing.
“Sorry, Em, I did CPR on you when you quit breathing. I hope I didn’t break anything.”
“No,” she winced again, “It’s getting better, just sore.”
At that moment Todd appeared as if by magic and pulled Emily off the ground in one swift movement, crushing her to his chest, her feet dangling by his knees. They peppered each other with kisses, ending in a deep, languid kiss that made me look away with heat in my cheeks.
Eventually, he placed her gently on her feet, and I dared to look at her again. That was when I realized it.
“Em, the wounds on your neck… they’re gone!”
She reached a hand up to feel her neck and found nothing aside from the dried trails of blood left by openings that no longer existed. Instead, they appeared to have healed, leaving unmarred skin beneath the map of sticky blood.
“Huh, well that’s… interesting.” She glanced up at Todd, who shrugged, grinning widely, and hugged her again.
“How do you feel, Em?” I asked, still concerned by her pale appearance.
“Good, actually. Rested. Whole.” She smiled warmly, then looked down at her ruined shirt and weathered jeans. “And filthy. Where can a girl get a shower around here?” She glanced around the room, appearing to take it in for the first time. “And… where is here, exactly?”
I laughed, relieved to see the return of sparkling personality in my best friend. “That’s a long story, girl. Let’s start with the shower.”
A SHINY NEW WORLD
WEEKS LATER, WE found out that Shaline’s words about vimpiri being adaptable had more than one meaning. The whole time we had assumed that if Emily survived the pairing, she would become vimpiri. Instead, we realized that none of the anticipated problems arose; She was not sensitive to the sun, and her color and good health returned swiftly. She showed no signs of turning into a green-skinned alien, and for that we were grateful.
The real change was Todd. We didn’t know it at first, but the pairing had changed him, permanently. When he was revived he kept commenting that he felt strange, but no one understood what that meant. It wasn’t until he attempted to shift into his vimpiri form that the true nature of his change was revealed: He couldn’t change. Pairing with Emily had made him human. Further testing revealed he still retained his inhuman strength and speed, so he wasn’t exactly human, but he wasn’t vimpiri anymore, either.
Now that we knew pairing wasn’t a suicide pact, I had hoped Mick and I would talk about it. About us. I wondered for the hundredth time if I was the only one with this pulling sensation in my chest. He was a magnet for me in a way I didn’t understand. I had assumed he felt it too, but he still didn’t bring it up and I was afraid to come across as delusional.
Mick remained an enigma. He was warm and affectionate with me, and yet somehow distant. He kissed me on the top of my head or side of my face, but his lips never strayed to my willing mouth. Sometimes I caught him staring at me with a look that seemed a cross between wistfulness and revulsion. I wondered if it had something to do with what The Records told him, as he’d been different ever since that day. I didn’t know for sure, but I was willing to wager it did. I resolved to delve further into it when we got home.
Thanks to some creative storytelling and a few forged signatures, Em and I secured medical leave from The Steel Times while we received ‘specialized treatment’ at an ‘exclusive, state-of-the-art facility in Austria’. Capitalizing on our excuse of being sick, Mick’s family used their connections to send diagnosis and admittance papers to Fred the Editor. They used a variety of medical jargon to state we had a rare disease and required advanced studying and rehabilitation. For Fred, it meant he was down two junior journalists. For us, it meant we got an extended, all-expenses-paid trip to the Alps, and would have jobs waiting when we got back. Being with a healthy, glowing, and happy Emily was more than I could have wished for, but that definitely helped.
Given his apparent humanity, the vimpiri scientists tested and confirmed that Todd could now withstand sunlight. While he would likely still lead a nocturnal lifestyle in keeping with his rockstar status, he was eager to experience sunshine for the first time. It was for this reason that we were standing in the lobby of the vimpiri residential building at eight in the morning, just short of the brilliant beams of sunlight that lay across the marble floor.
The desk attendant had practically fallen out of his chair when he saw us exit the elevator, but quickly recovered himself and asked politely if we needed directions. Todd was yawning uncontrollably. The nervous energy that coursed through his body was enough to keep him mobile, but he clearly was not used to being up so ‘late’. He stared at the rays of sunlight on the floor as if they were lava pools, frightened and fascinated at the same time.
Seeing his hesitancy, Emily strode into the pool of light and let it play across her fingertips. “See?” She said playfully. “No burning, no melting, it’s perfectly fine. It feels great, actually. Warm.” She turned and stepped closer to the windows until the sun hit her face, leaving a long black shadow behind her. After soaking in the rays with eyes closed and a blissful smile playing on her lips, Emily turned and held her hand out to Todd. “Come on, baby. It’s time.”
Sweating in his winter coat, Todd took a hesitant step forward. Reaching out a hand, he let a single fingertip cross the light before instinctively pulling it back. Emily waited patiently, hand extended, beckoning him forward. Todd gulped loudly then reached his hand out again, and this time when the light crossed it he left it there.
Realizing it didn’t hurt, he took another step forward, and another, until he was holding hands with Emily, the sun on his face. His eyes were scrunched closed—I wasn’t sure if it was from the brightness or because he was still expecting to be burnt to a crisp—either way, he eventually relaxed and enjoyed the warm sunlight on his skin for the first time.
I stood off to the side, enjoying the moment but wanting them to have a little space. It surprised me, therefore, when Emily turned around and reached out her other hand.
“Come on, Lulu,” she smiled, blue eyes sparkling. “I want to check out this little town you’ve told me so much about.” The sun caught on the golden tones of her hair, framing her in a glimmering halo of radiant energy. It was exactly as I always pictured her aura would look, if auras were real.
“Okay, Em, whatever you want,” I answered, grinning, and stepped forward to take her free hand.
Emily’s hand, warm and strong, squeezed mine briefly before she tugged me through the glass door and out into the brilliant morning light.
THE END
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