3.109 – Stay Gold
Isaac frantically drives along the wooded path trying to find a way to main road. He’s shouting that every turn and curve just leads to more road. I’ve already figured out that there’s some magic at play, I just don’t know how to get out of it. My mind keeps jumping to who is behind it, not how to stop it. Did Michael rig the car to keep us trapped? What if we’re not even moving? No, it could be one of the girls. I don’t even know what kind of magic they have. I got set up, but none of them came with Isaac and Sampson. No, this is the magic, I can’t focus because of the magic. My head is pounding the more I try to focus on the road ahead of us. Giving Isaac directions pains me. Every time my heart beats it echoes through my body shaking my brain loose.
“Stop the car,” I say to Isaac.
“Are you crazy, I can’t stop the car.”
“We need to stop. I’m going to be sick.”
“We can’t stop, they’ll kill us.”
“Stop the car,” I grab the wheel.
He slams on the break as the car starts to swerve off the
wooded trail and onto the dirt. He’s talking, but I can’t hear him. I’m too
focused on my head at the moment. It’s gone from a constant throbbing to
feeling as if a worm is burrowing through my brain determined to eat it’s fill.
I get out of the car and dry heave. I stumble as I feel a hand on my back. I
calm down when I realize it’s just Isaac.
An old yellow pickup truck approaches us. In the driver’s
seat is Isis, beside her is James and standing in the bed of the truck grinning
over the rooftop is Pearl. They come to a stop in front of us but I’m in no
shape for a fight. The world around me seems to be warping, changing into
something more familiar. The woods vanish and the plantation returns as they
exit the truck and stand in front of us.
“You boys got further than I thought, but not as far as you
thought you did,” Pearl laughs, her face twisted into a smile. James laughs
along with her, but Isis’ face remains stoic.
“Just let us leave, nobody has to die,” I try to reason as
my senses struggle to come back to me.
“We don’t mean you any harm granny. We just need to get out
of here. It’s best for everyone,” Isaac pleads.
“It’s a little late for that,” James responds.
“I’m honestly surprised you got through my illusion so fast.
I’ve seen folks get stuck for days, experiencing years of torment,” Pear
gloats. “Poor little Sampson has no tolerance at all. Too bad he’s going to
have another dose, because of you. Poor little Isaac over there, your first
decedent, your first offspring, he’s about to get murdered before you can even
show him the ropes. Not that you’d know all the ropes,” Pear keeps gloating.
“So I guess we’re fighting,” I don’t have the patience
anymore, the spirit of Destiny must have possessed me.
Isis blushes and Pearl continues to laugh as if she’s won.
“Don’t worry granny, I’ll take care of him,” James steps forward.
“Hey, before we do this, why do they all call you granny,”
Isaac asks.
“Because I sired those that sired them. Except that poor
Destiny girl, she was a stray,” Pearl cuts her eyes at me.
“Want to see a cool trick,” I summon one of my nightmares to
my hand.
James rushes forward, full vampire speed. It’s so funny, I
couldn’t keep up with Destiny when I first met her, now this is just normal to
me. I throw the dagger directly towards his head. He slides out of the way but
the dagger vanishes into my pocket leaving everyone confused. It appears again
going full speed directly at Pearl’s head. She manages to dodge, throwing
herself to the ground. She almost dodges, when she comes up I spot a bright red
scar across her cheek. James and Isis rush to tend to her. I can’t tell if it’s
the cut causing her to freak out or maybe, just maybe she’s being tormented by
the enchantment on the dagger.
“Isaac, can you turn into a bird,” I ask.
“Weird timing but yeah, I can do a cat, a bird, a dog and a
few others.”
“Turn into a bird and get away when I attack James.”
“What, I can’t leave you.”
“Either one of us is going to make it out, or neither of us.
If we both run, they’ll catch us again. If you stay and fight, you’ll die and
they’ll catch me. If I fight, you can get away.”
“I’m not going.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be coming for you soon.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Isaac gives me a kiss on my cheek, I don’t pull away.
“Thanks vamp daddy,” he says. I always hated being touched. Hated that I fell
like Isaac was flirting with me. I probably should have been a better friend to
him. I think he just likes to be touchy. I don’t even chastise him for calling
me vamp daddy this time. I’ll even allow the kiss as a goodbye. It’s good to
know someone besides Elias and Destiny liked me. I guess, even Sampson liked me
in a way. I made friends, I didn’t even realize it. I told Isaac I’d be coming
for him soon, but this is the last stand. I’ll be seeing Destiny before I see
him again.
James lands the first punch when I’m not expecting it. I
block the next one and counter with one of my own, he dodges. Fighting James is
different than fighting Sampson. Sampson and I were fighting with nothing but
brute force, to see who was stronger. James relies a lot on speed, I’m not used
to that. I’m taking a beating, I just can’t feel it yet. Isaac finally takes
off into the sky, I need to buy him some time. I summon both my nightmares and
take a few swipes at his torso. Almost instantly, I feel an arm around my neck.
“Play fair,” Isis has finally inserted herself. I drop my
daggers and she returns to Pearl’s side.
I take the opportunity to snatch a gold chain from around
James’ neck. I wrap it around my fist and go to work. It seems like my punches
are having more of an effect on him now. I might be able to take out James.
Something huge slams into my back, flinging me aside. Old Ben is here, his skin
blistered, and burned away. His skeleton has become visible through parts of
his left side, clear that Sampson had done some damage.
“Surprised to see me,” Ben asks, but I don’t respond.
“Little boy never could finish the job when it actually mattered.”
“This is my fight,” James steps forward.
“No, fuck all that honor stuff. We do this as a family.”
I don’t have time to react before Ben, James and Isis are
working to beat me together. I’ve got no way of escaping or even fighting back.
I can only dodge and block so many attacks, the numbers are just too much for
me to overcome. I didn’t expect to go out like this. I’m not giving in, but
it’s just too much, too fast, too strong. Sampson is probably dead, but Isaac
got away. One of us got free. That counts for something.
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