The Vampire Slayer

Chapter 38

After a heartbreaking lecture, Iason was attacked, with students begging him to stay and Mariah giving him the stinkeye. Yet, the only thing that killed him the most was Maeve's reaction and the fact that he would never see her again. So this lecture was his way of saying goodbye to his admirable job, driving students, old life, and her. Everyone hugged him, although only one person didn't approach him. Maeve ran outside immediately when the students wished him good luck for his new chapter in life. Maeve seemed upset primarily; however, she wasn't teary as he was. Iason didn't expect her to be either, and he did this because of her. Moving far away would be easier for her to move on and start living without seeing him daily at the university. It might sting for a few months, but it will be over soon, at least for her, not for Iason. 
                  He took a long hot shower, leaving his role as a professor for good. Iason let the water run down on him as he cried, thinking only of her. He knew he would never move on, but his priority wasn't himself; it was Maeve. Iason cared deeply about her; he only wanted her best and realized he had harmed her life. Iason had to disappear to let her live again, to let her focus on her studies. 
                 "Jason?" Mev knocked on his bathroom door, waking him up from his gloaming. He sighed shakingly, shut the shower, and strolled outside. He looked in the mirror; the darkness was taking over him, like a black cloud following him everywhere he moved. His eyes were dim as the night, his hair shifting between black and brown. He picked up the folded clothes and put them on a camo t-shirt with black sweatpants. 
                 Mev was sitting on his sofa, anxious, when he opened the door. She studied every move he made like he was a ticking bomb ready to explode. But, on the other hand, he didn't care; he had some unfinished business to attend to, which was the Nosferatu club. 
                "Can I follow you?" Mev asked out of the blue, making him halt from getting something to drink from the kitchen. Iason turned around, facing her and raising one eyebrow.
"Follow me where?" He asked, perplexed and surprised. 
                 "I know your plans, duh!" Mev nagged and rolled her eyes. Iason just sighed, too tired to even have this conversation with her or anyone. 
"Mev, I need to be alone." He said, headed to the kitchen, opened a cabinet, and took out a red wine bottle. He returned to the living room and noticed Mev approaching the door. 
                 "I won't leave. I will stay here, ready to leave with you." Mev said stubbornly. Iason grunted and sat on his couch, drinking half the wine bottle in seconds. 
"Where's Mariah?" He asked.
                "She's mad at you. She hates the idea of taking over your job." Mev explained.
"Well, let her be mad then. Do you know what time it is?" He asked and drank the rest of the bottle. 
"9 PM," Mev whispered.
                  "Well, it's time." He said and got up, leaving the empty bottle on the table. Iason turned around, noticing a petrified Mev. Nonetheless, he didn't bother to ask; somehow, he understood and sensed that Mev knew what would occur. 
                   Iason had hired a truck, and they drove silently without exchanging explanations or eye contact. He was anxious and nervous for most of the drive-through, yet he felt courageous and thought he was about to save numerous lives. When they parked near the club entrance, Iason suddenly felt remorse. Mev put a comforting hand on his shoulder; he then looked into her eyes, witnessing a young girl crushed by the same man who destroyed him. 
                  "I'm going inside, do not follow me. Just stay outside to help escort the girls inside the truck and explain that we will take good care of them." Iason described to Mev, and she nodded without saying anything. Iason was about to leave when Mev held his wrist, and he faced her questionably. 
                  "I need to warn you, this is the transformation day," Mev whispered, and Iason didn't care about her statements. He got up from his seat and headed towards the door. Flashbacks of the last time he was here came through, yet he took a deep breath and heard the music blasting from the inside. Iason held the handle in his palm and crushed it, opening the door immediately. 
                Suddenly two soul vampire bodyguards approached him, ready to attack, then something within him emerged. Uncontrollably took over his soul, and everything went black when one of the soul vampire bodyguards touched him. Iason pierced his hand into the vampire's chest, ripping out his purple beating heart, and an unexplainable urge to eat the heart came upon him. He couldn't stop himself from inhaling the smell of the heart and instead licked away the purple blood running down his wrists. 
               Then, he felt the transformation, his body becoming more prominent and robust and his wings, horns, and eyes changing. His voice became more profound and eerier, and his nails became long black, and pointy. Suddenly his t-shirt shrank, it felt like it was suffocating him, and he ripped it apart like a piece of paper. 
                Amazed and horrified by his transformation, the other bodyguard picked up a phone to call emergency. Iason grabbed him by the neck and lifted him into the air. He ripped his head off with his only hand. Soon after, he growled a roar that moved the whole place like an earthquake. His deep, scary, and intense cry made every soul vampire in the club run petrified. Yet Iason made sure to catch all and finish them. In seconds, he comprehended that he was faster than before, almost flying like a ghost between walls and objects. 
                Soul vampires were screaming in agony as he ripped them apart like their bodies were made of nothing. It was mayhem; it felt like hell in real life, blood splattered everywhere, cries from vampires, and music playing in the background. Iason was fast, killing them instantly, drinking their blood, and tasting their hearts without mercy. Every time he ate a soul, he became more vigorous, and his vision became implacable, seeing through behind walls and noticing humans and vampires on the other side. 
                  He moved quickly into the private rooms, one after one, killing a vampire and saving a girl. The girls witnessing him were awful for Iason, he had no idea what he looked like, yet the girl's looks described a lot. He continued ambushing every room, leaving no trace of a vampire behind, and at this point, he had killed more than 20 vampires. 
                  Stepping into the last room, he caught Natasha with other vampires drinking blood from two girls. Fortunately, the moment they noticed him was also when they died instantly. He slashed their throats in seconds. Iason turned around to tell the girls to leave until he saw a little girl younger than he had anticipated. She was hiding behind the bed and crawled up with tears on her cheeks. 
                "How old are you?" He asked with a soft tone, even though his demon self was still intact. She was trembling, afraid to speak, or too traumatized. Iason kneeled to face her, and she looked up at him. Her big innocent brown eyes were full of tears and horror. 
                "Hey, I'm the good guy here, even though I don't look like one right now. But, you know what they say, don't judge a book by its cover." Iason joked in an attempt to calm the little girl down. The girl smiled for a second, then glanced at the corpses on the ground. 
                "Get outside with the others. I'm here to help you. I promise." He explained. She then stood carefully up and strolled outside the room. 
                 Iason was about to leave the room when he came upon a mirror, and what he saw wasn't pleasant. His tattoos were white instead of black as they used to be. His ripped body was broader, his hair was black, and his eyes were completely black. He opened his mouth to glimpse his vampire's teeth, which were longer, feral sharp. His horns and wings were black, and he wondered why his tattoos were white. Either way, his reflection made him uncomfortable, although something within felt suitable for the first time. 
                 Before leaving the club, Iason ensured that all the vampires were dead and none of them escaped or were planning to do so. He was about to leave when the girls were standing outside watching him coming toward them. Iason didn't realize they were so many of them, yet he noticed they all had something in common—painful, miserable looks, eyes full of hopelessness and sorrow. Iason turned around and searched to find a lighter. He found one near the stripper pole and took it. Iason stood at the entrance and lit the light up. Then he let it fall from his hand, watching the place catch on fire slowly but surely. 
                Stepping outside, he turned towards the burning building, opened his arms, arched his back backward, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes. 
"Oh, Armeen, watch your kingdom burn!" He shouted with his new demonic voice. Then, hearing the fire dancing through the building eliminated every terrible memory.