The Awakening - (Evian) - Chapter Nineteen
by lala02
Chapter XIX
{Flashback}
September 1916
His head was pounding and his entire body felt numb. It hurt too much
for him to open his eyes, so he kept them closed. He was having trouble remembering
how he got like this in the first place, but then everything started rushing
back.
He hadn’t seen them in sixteen years…
How did they find him?
Amon and Dante had attacked him in the woods. Somehow he managed to escape,
but not before being wounded. When he returned back to his loft, he found
Eve sitting next to the fire, staring at him with shock written all over
her face. In an instant, she was standing and cautiously moving towards
him. It happened so fast, as he found himself suddenly attacking her. The
more punches he threw the more she dodged them. Then the next thing he remembered
was waking up with Dante and Amon hovering over him.
For days maybe even weeks, he didn’t really know, they viciously tortured
him, beat him senselessly day in and day out. And never once did they give
him anything to eat, only water. Then one day, they must’ve grew tired
of him because suddenly Dante had him up by his neck, whispered a few words
in his ear before sinking his fangs into his neck.
Now here he was, obviously alive somehow but deathly weak. He knew he
couldn’t stay like this, so he finally opened his eyes and once his vision
cleared, found himself pressed against the side of a wall as a few rays of
light shined in the room he was in from the small boarded up window. Standing
on trembling legs, he began walking towards the window. The second his foot
was touched by the sunlight, he hissed in pain then crumbled to the floor
once again.
No…
It couldn’t be…
Not this…
Alarming thoughts went off in his head. He then tried his best to remember
what Dante whispered in his ear before everything went black.
“Whether you know it or not…you’re going to be the one to lead me back
to Eve. No matter how long it takes, I will have her…” he chuckled menacingly,
“thanks to you.” And with that, he bit into his neck.
“NOOOOOO!!!”
{Flashback ends}
The den remained quiet, even after Sylvester finished speaking. Gabriel
and Joseph were still in shock over what they heard. Julian was pissed off
because yet again, Dante had turned someone he cared about against their
will and Eve, well…she was just quiet.
Sylvester turned to stare at her, as many emotions repeatedly flashed
across her face. He had a feeling that she must have been thinking about
that day too…the day that she thought she killed him along with many other
things.
“Max, um, Sylvester…” Julian stumbled, not really sure what to call him.
“I’m sorry you had to go through something like that.”
Sylvester just shrugged his shoulders. “What’s done is done. I now know
that I was turned for a reason.”
“I don’t understand. How is it that you are truly one of the undead and
Eve isn’t? Dante bit you both.” Gabriel suddenly asked.
“For fifty years, I wondered the exact same thing too. Why I turned out
this way and Eve didn’t. We both were bitten by the same person and yet,
I was different then she. That’s where Alistair Crane comes long.” Sylvester
said then turned his gaze to Julian.
Silence-
“My father…how is he involved in this?” Julian whispered quietly. He
suddenly got the distinct feeling that maybe knowing this wasn’t such a
good idea.
{Flashback}
Harmony 1966
He’d been wandering from city to city, state to state for the past fifty
years. He had to find Eve and warn her. That night still haunted him severely.
Recently upon arriving here in Harmony, he began hearing things about how
Dante had yet to find his mate and that every time he was close, she would
just disappear. That gave him a sense of relief knowing that Dante hadn’t
found her yet, but then as usual, a sense of dread would suddenly eat at
him. He just needed to find her and fast…
He knew that if he was able to walk in the light that maybe his search
for Eve would go by quickly, but he couldn’t damn it! No matter how many
things he tried, he still couldn’t do it. How he would love for the air
to escape his lungs…to hear his heart beat again…
Well, it was time to feed. This was probably the one thing he truly hated
about being a vampire. As he walked down the park pathway, he heard rustling
behind a bush a few feet down. Running effortlessly towards the bush, he
found a young male struggling to fend off a hungry, demented looking vampire.
Grabbing the back of his shirt, he lifted the vampire off of the young
man and flung him like a rag doll. Helping the young gentlemen to his feet,
he turned around just in time to see the other vampire charged him again.
Pulling a stake out of his back pocket, his eyes flashed light blue before
he threw it, impaling the other vampire in the chest. Suddenly, the vampire
dropped to the ground with a loud thud before turning to dust.
“Thank you.” the young man said.
“You’re welcome.” He replied.
“What’s your name?”
“Max…you?”
“Alistair Crane.”
From then on, the two of them became close friends. Over time, he confided
in Alistair what he really was, but Alistair had already figured that out.
Because he saved his life, Alistair in returned helped him find a way to
walk in the light. It took fifteen years more before he was able walk in
the light again.
During the years that they were together, Alistair married and had two
children of his own. Seeing Alistair’s children reminded him of his own
little girl so much. Then many more years passed and Alistair wasn’t himself
anymore. Whatever caused this sudden change, he didn’t know, but ‘this’
Alistair was a ruthless, hateful bastard. He drove his wife and daughter
to early graves and then forced his son into a loveless marriage. Two years
after his son married, Alistair was gunned down outside of his office at
Crane Industries.
With nothing else stopping him from continuing his search for Eve, he
decided to leave. But then he realized that he couldn’t. Even after Alistair’s
death, he needed to remain in Harmony to keep an eye out for his son…
Julian…
{Flashback ends}
“You stopped searching for Eve and remained here in Harmony because of
me?” Julian asked.
“If it wasn’t for Alistair, I wouldn’t be able to walk in the light.
I owed him that much.” Sylvester said.
“You’re still hiding something…” Eve finally spoke. “Tell us.”
He sighed. “Amon had gotten to Alistair and warped his mind. I didn’t
find out until I went through Alistair’s things a few days until his death.
There I found out years prior to me saving him, that he made a pact with
Amon in exchange for immortality.” Sylvester whispered then lowered his head.
“Amon ordered Alistair to give him a boy and not just any boy, but his first
born son. Just like Dante said I would, I unknowingly lead him to you through
Julian.”
Silence-
“I see. Excuse me.” Eve mumbled as she exited the room. This time, Julian
didn’t follow. Once she was gone, Julian walked over to Sylvester.
“You’re still hiding something. I know you are.”
“I couldn’t tell her. This secret that I’m about to tell you, you can’t
let her know yet. If she finds out now, it’ll probably destroy her. Julian,
you have to stay by her side at all cost.” Sylvester said before whispering
something in Julian’s ear. When he pulled back, Julian looked deathly pale.
“Are you sure?” He gulped.
Sylvester nodded. “Eve is the one, the only one who can end all of this.
Everything in the book so far has come true. You can’t let her read the
rest of the book. She can’t know, not yet.”
“Alright.” Julian whispered.
“I’m gonna go talk to her.” Sylvester said then left the room.
Once he was out in the hallway, he began thinking about Eve. She had
changed so much in the ninety years that they had been separated. She wasn’t
that frightened woman who barely managed to survive on her own after being
turned into a vampire anymore. Now she was a strong, independent woman
who didn’t take scrap from nobody. But even still, deep down, she was just
as warm and compassionate as ever…well, only towards certain people.
{Flashback}
June 1916
Here he was again doing his daily routine. His daily routine of hunting
vampires at night and afterwards, returning home to be with Eve. After his
wife left him and took their daughter Anna with her, his life slowly but
surely went downhill. His life continued going downhill…until he met her.
When he was a little boy, he read stories about a woman named Eve from
the Book of Legends. Tales describing her beauty as breathtaking captivated
him, everything about her life he found intriguing. His father always told
him that she was the one. At the time, he didn’t understand what his father
meant by that, not until things that he read about in the book began coming
true. Everything that his grandfather Micah had written about, all of it…was
true.
Then one day, while hunting he came across a woman rocking back and forth
next to a tree deep in the woods. When he approached her, a sudden chill
ran down to his spine and he instantly halted in his tracks before calling
out to her. The moment she lifted her head and he saw her face, there was
no doubt in his mind that she was the legendary Eve from the Book of Legends.
Just staring into her eyes, he automatic knew that she wasn’t an ordinary
vampire, that something about her was different…so he took her in.
During the years that she stayed with him, he taught and told her many
things about the hunters, how to survive and how to defend herself…many
things. They became good friends, almost like family. He loved her and she
loved him. Then one day, he wasn’t even sure how it happened, but he woke
up and realized that he loved Eve more then he should. From then on, things
between them became complicated…
{Flashback ends}
Sylvester found Eve sitting behind the table in the kitchen. Her head
was resting in her hands as she sat quietly deep in thought.
“I know this is another shock for you.” He whispered.
“You think.” Eve answered sarcastically then sighed. “This thing is getting
so out of hand. The more I find out about certain things, the more complicated
things become. It shouldn’t be this damn hard to kill something you hate.”
She mumbled.
“Yeah.” Sylvester chuckled.
“Those monsters have caused so much pain…for all of us. I’ve waited a
long time to get my revenge.”
“I know you have. Everyone here has a grudge against Dante. All you need
to know is that, this will all be over soon.” He said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“I just know. Remember, I have read the book.” Sylvester smiled wryly
then began walking out of the kitchen leaving Eve to herself. Once he was
alone in hallway, he whispered, “In four days, the war begins. I hope she’s
ready.”