The 16 Candles Vampire Hunters

Chapter 18 Numb

11-1-05 1:58 AM

Devin's POV

The blood dripping from the iron knife left me with no vindication. I was just hollow. The dead vampire seemed to stare back at me, her black eyes glistened with a sheen of death. Rain fell in sheets soaking me in water through all of my layers of clothing. I had gotten used to the tingling in my fingers to the point they were just numb. I stared back at the vampire's corpse on the wet concrete feeling absolutely nothing. Did you get what you deserve?

Maybe that was what happened to my head as well. I had gotten so used to the tingling of morose thoughts and now it was just quiet. Usually I'd at least be satisfied that I didn't die. Now, I could care less.

Unsure of what the hell I was doing I wiped the blood onto my jeans and walked back to the car. Hunters were not meant to wear white. I glanced down at my clothes, all of which were black, or some form of dark color. Blood was too common of a nuisance.

I opened the passenger side and slammed the door angrily. Everything I did was angry. There wasn't a point in me saying "I angrily did this", or, "I forcefully did that", every action I took had an unnecessary amount of rage put into it.

"Will you please drop me off at the hospital?" I turned to Andy with one of my looks. I used my power of "the look" for good..most of the time. I wanted to see Patrick. I needed to see him. He told me the first day he woke up to not do anything reckless while he wasn't there watching over me. He was like my care-er. He cared, so I didn't have to. Sometimes I needed to be reminded of that promise.

"Okay." I tried to decode the meaning behind his simple response. He said it so plainly and calmly. There was no way I could twist it into a sign he hated me and was sick of all of this. That's usually what I heard anytime someone speaks to me; even something as simple as "Okay."

Nobody was out on the highway tonight. It was All Hallows Eve. The evil creatures that lurk in the shadowed places came out to feast on little children running amok in costumes that make them unrecognizable. Empty was good. Parents should be home with their children. The teenagers should be with their friends doing whatever the hell the youth of today do for entertainment.

The rain pummeling the asphalt had a lulling sound that faded into the background of whatever song was playing on the radio. There were moments of lucid reality and harsh daydreams, filled with fantasies of running away and dropping off of the face of the earth. On the painted yellow lines of the asphalt road I counted out my days.

Andy pulled into the entrance with a small pity filled smile. "Tell him I said hi and we will be by tomorrow. You know Joe and Pete.." I nodded half heartedly and exited the car quickly. What had become mildly dry of my clothing was soaked once again. As I entered the hospital a colder rush of air chilled me to my core and the sharp disinfectant stung my nose.

With a small shiver I asked the man behind the triage desk if Patrick was still in the same room. He was of course. There was no way his condition could improve enough for him to make it out of ICU. I mumbled some sort of thanks as he opened the automatic doors. Hospitals were never truly "quiet", but the hustle of a building being inundated with people being transported everywhere for minor injuries had slowed to a trickle.

Now, you could hear the nurses downing their who knows how many cup of coffee as they watch the heart beats of sleeping patients. Probably talking about some hopeless mess in their lives. I walked down the sleepy hallway, nobody questioning my unusual actions.

I peeked into his room cautiously. Despite total disregard for the well being of other human things I respected sleep. I took a seat next to his bedside. He had fallen asleep with his glasses on. I've told him so many times that he didn't need them, just like the hat. Being self-conscious and self-doubting was who he was. That's why I was there. So, he knew how important, beautiful, and special he was.

"Dev?" Patrick mumbled sleepily. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you." He smiled softly and adjusted his glasses. "It's fine." He rolled over and stretched his arms over his head, sighing loudly. Patrick looked over to me under his lashes with big blue puppy eyes. "Can I have a hug?"

A warmth spread from my heart and radiated across my chest. I sighed sarcastically. "Well, since you asked nicely I guess I'll just have to get up. "I managed a smile and got up from the chair. Patrick scooted over and patted the spot next to him. I slid into the bed and into his arms.

"Cuddles too. Aren't you a needy one?" I joked, resting my head on the notch between his neck and shoulder. I don't know how much taller I was than him, but my legs were almost falling of the bed when he held me.

"Hospitals suck." He breathed dolefully. "But, I'll be out soon." He kissed the top of my head and took a deep, raspy breath. "Wasn't it about a month ago this was you?" He pondered. "Yeah." I thoughtlessly traced light little drawings on his arms, listening to him talk mindlessly about every thought drifting in his mind.

This is what we did. He talked, I listened, and then I would talk, and he would listen. And maybe it lasted hours until the sun began peeking over the horizon. Sometimes it only took minutes for one of us to fall asleep.

Tonight was one of those rare times I couldn't bring myself to do much talking. So many of my thoughts piled on to each other and there comes a time when even after being warmed up, in the arms of the human I loved most on this planet, and for a moment we are invincible, my brain fucks it all up.

Maybe numb was better than brief moments of joy followed by intense periods of bleh. I couldn't decide. "Patrick?" My voice cracked a little. "Hmm?" I nuzzeled into his shirt. "Could you please sing?" He chuckled softly. He began humming, and then the melody turned into a soft little lullaby..

Siniging the sad away.