The Red Guard: Vampire Hunters of Vatican City

Chapter Three - Waking Nightmare

Her first thoughts were of Derek. Had she found him yet? Where was he? She felt so warm and hazy. It was like coming out of a dream. She felt snug and fuzzy, but there was a nagging feeling. Concern for Derek pricked her consciousness of course, but there was something else. She struggled to open her eyes, but they seemed to be glued shut. Since her eyes wouldn't open, she started to try moving her limbs. All to no avail. A soft voice spoke to her, "Don't rush it. You will be able to move soon enough."

"Derek," her tongue managed to form his name. It was slow, slurred and raspy sounding, but she thought it sounded clear enough. Her tongue felt dry and sticky as she tried to move it around more in her mouth. Ewww, she thought vaguely.

"You're talking about the boy from the other night. We will discuss him later." The voice sounded dejected and guilt-ridden. Like it was his fault. 

Like what was his fault? Thoughts swam through Chloe's mind. Slowly, her memories started to fill her head, but she pushed them back. She wasn't ready for them yet. Trying to move each part of her body, a  finger finally twitched. 

"Small victories," said the voice with a tentative smile. 

Chloe tried to open her eyes. She was very curious about the voice. Who was he? What did he look like? Slowly her eyes began to open.

Mild frustration mounted as her head was unable to move. Her eyes darted around to see as much as she could from her position. She tried to figure out where she was. The ceiling above her was painted with the most intricate detail. They were scenes from the bible. Lots of chubby naked bodies, private parts covered by the smallest bits of cloth. The painting was broken into many frames. Gold outlined each frame and was scattered throughout the paintings as well. It was beautiful, and Chloe was pretty sure it was located in Vatican City. She was in... Vatican City?

Finally, with some more effort, her head slowly turned with concentrated movements. She saw the back of the person who had been speaking to her. Presumably the person who had rescued her from... a vampire. Who could have beaten a vampire? Who could have overcome the strength that she had felt at her throat?

He turned to look at her and she was struck by his dark eyes. He had the most beautiful brown skin. She would have guessed him to be of South Asian decent, but she couldn't be sure. He looked like he could be from anywhere, really. He looked international. Like an international god. He was as handsome as the day was long. His hair was short, but longer on top and flopped over his eyes in a very sexy way. He was slimmer but had nice, broad shoulders. She snapped out of her thoughts as he began to speak with her.

"Ah, there you are. You will recover, do not worry. You were bitten, but my friends and I managed to get the virus under control. We got to you fast enough so that you will not turn. Such great news to have a soul saved from damnation."

It was then that she noticed his clothing. He wore a long black cassock with a white collar. He was a priest. She blushed at her previous thoughts. It made sense that a priest would have brought her back to Vatican City.

"We killed the vampire who was about to devour you. You have nothing to fear. He was not supposed to be out dining on tourists," the priest said with a slight grin. 

Chloe didn't get the joke. Off-putting is what it was. Especially since one of those tourists had been the love of her life. She felt herself glaring at him. 

"Sorry. I know he attacked your travelling companion. It was, and is, most unfortunate. We couldn't get there in time to save him," he paused for a moment, "Our deepest condolences."

Her eyes softened as she internalized what he said. Derek was dead. Dead. How could she ever explain to his family? How could she go home without him? She felt her face begin to crumble. Her lips puckered and her chin trembled. She squeezed her eyes shut so hard that her forehead hurt with the intensity. Her face, she knew was scrunched up with an awful grimace. Tears stung her eyes as they quickly gathered and started to pour down her cheeks. A loud shuddering breath escaped from her chest and she felt her nose start to run. Saliva filled her mouth and she knew she was going to start drooling. She was turning into a shattered, sobbing, ugly-crying mess. Air heaved into her lungs as she took in a deep breath and she heard her voice let out a great sob with her exhale.

There was silence from the priest.

She managed to open her eyes enough to look at him. He was staring at her with some fear in his eyes. He clearly didn't know how to handle her grief.

She took a deep quivering breath and closed her eyes, giving herself a few more minutes to cry for her lost love. It was not hard to block out the priest and focus on Derek. He had been such a wonderful person. And now he was gone. She heard herself moan and the pain in the sound broke her own heart. Her heart shattered into a million pieces and she wondered if she'd ever be able to gather the bits, never mind put them back together. 

As the minutes ticked by, her breathing became more even as she slowly calmed herself down. She opened her eyes to look around the room and was very grateful to see that she was alone. The priest had thought to place a box of Kleenex next to her. She breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out a few pieces to dry her face. She was a mess.

She began to refocus her mind. Based on what she had seen and heard when her eyes had  opened, she needed to gather her wits. Her thoughts could not return to Derek anymore or she would fall apart. It was going to take a long time before she would be able to think of him without breaking down. Falling apart again was clearly not an option.

Thinking of anything except for Derek will be my goal, she thought as her eyes wandered around the room. It was a glorious place, like every room in Vatican City, it seemed. It looked like she was in some sort of medical room. Even with the intricately painted ceilings, it was still obviously a room used to treat injuries. It just had that smell to it. She had been lying on a hospital bed. The sheets were white. There were stainless steel countertops around the room with white cupboards. Various other medical instruments were against the walls along with a large stainless steel fridge. She noticed a sink with a mirror above it and stood up on unsteady feet to walk over. Washing up seemed like a good idea.

She couldn't believe how awful she looked. Her oval face usually had clear, smooth skin, but right now it was blotchy and puffy. The large doe-brown eyes that looked back at her were red and swollen. There were dark circles under them, making her look rather haggard. Even her small nose appeared somewhat misshapen. Her curly hair was in a nightmarish tangle.  She looked like she'd been hit by a truck. And then like the truck had backed up a few times to run her over repeatedly. She looked rough. Grief, she thought. 

She reflected on the fact that she had almost died. Bitten by a vampire. Her body huffed at the thought. A vampire? How ridiculous. The reflection in the mirror smirked back at her. But when she remembered the strength of his grip and the burning of his bite, it didn't seem quite so ridiculous anymore. Her reflection became more serious pretty quickly.

Cool water ran over her hands as she  turned on the faucet. It felt so fresh. Her skin felt invigorated as she bent her head close to the sink and splashed some water on her face. She rubbed some blood back into her cheeks. New life filled her as she swished some water around in her mouth and spit it back out. It wasn't long before she before she found herself taking in large gulps of water and swallowing it down. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was. Finally she came back up with her face wet and her mouth open gasping for air. She squeegeed the water from her face with her hands. 

When she opened her eyes, she saw the priest watching her reflection. It startled her little bit, but not too much. She turned around to face him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello there," he whispered.

"I'm ready... for now," she said.

He nodded his head and blinked slowly. "For now," he agreed.

~~

A/N I would love to hear what you think so far, you lovely people, you! Thanks so much for reading. Don't forget to vote! xx