Never Say Never (True Blood Fanfic - Tara/Eric)

Chapter 1 - Stop the Bitch

Tara lay on a pallet of old blankets in the back room of the Moon Goddess Emporium. The quiet, dimly lit room was scented with sage and herbal candles, but the calm atmosphere did nothing to settle the wild butterflies in her stomach. She closed her eyes, trying to think of how to get out of this latest dilemma. Most of the other occupants were already asleep, spread out in a circle, just a few feet from where she lay. There were six of them in total, including Tara. Five of which were being held against their will by that witch-bitch, Antonia Gavilán de Logroño, a vengeful spirit that lived nearly four hundred years ago and now inhabited their coven leader, Marnie Stonebrook's body.

Like Tara, Antonia had been tortured, raped and abused by vampires. However, she didn't just want to defend humans against the living dead. She planned to completely, indiscriminately, eradicate the entire vampire population off the face of the planet and would destroy anyone who got in her way. Tara was all in for standing up to the vamps and defending herself, but genocide was where she drew the line. Too bad she hadn't left when she had the chance. Now she was being held captive...AGAIN!

Why the hell do I keep getting myself mixed up in this shit? Do I have the words, magnet for crazy, sadistic, supernatural motherfuckers tattooed on my forehead? I should've got the fuck out of Bon Temps with Naomi when I had the chance.

A muted thud interrupted Tara's thoughts. The noise sounded like it came from the storage room. She counted each of the sleeping Wiccans. All of them were accounted for, except for Marnie (aka Antonia), who was still in the front of the store going over centuries-old spellbooks and making her plans for the evening.

Lifting up on her elbows, Tara strained her ear to listen. Two voices came from the front of the store, which meant Marnie had a visitor. Then another faint sound caught her attention. It came from the back of the room, a quick tap-tap-tap that sounded like shoes tiptoeing across the tile. Tara slipped her hand under her blanket, her fingertips brushing over the hard, cool steel.

Fuckin' vampire must've gotten loose, she thought, rising from her pallet.

Thank God she'd loaded the gun she held with wooden bullets. As she drew closer to the bathroom where Antonia had stored the spellbound Eric, she heard a familiar female voice. Opening the door, she found Sookie standing there beside the tall vampire.

What the hell is she doing here?

Her telepathic friend must have snuck in through the window in the storage room to rescue Eric.

Behind Tara, alarmed shouts filled the room as the others awakened to find they had an intruder.

"Shoot her! Shoot her now!" Roy, the only willing follower among the small group of Wiccans, screamed at her.

Tara tightened her grip on the gun, aiming it point blank at Sookie. Her heart leaped into her throat. She couldn't just shoot her best friend even if she was a damn fangbanger and lied to her about hiding Eric at her house.

"Tara, don't shoot her!" Antonia commanded. "This one can be useful to us."

"Okay," Tara said, her hands trembling as she faced Sookie. Eric stood quiet as a statue, staring at the wall.

"You comin' here is about the stupidest fuckin' shit I ever heard of.....are you even listening to me?" Tara gave Sookie a cryptic look to be sure she knew just what kind of listening she meant.

We're all being held hostage. Bill is at the Dorchester Hotel. Take Lafayette and Jesus. They're the only ones strong enough to stop Antonia. Charge me, Sookie! Charge me, now!

Sookie ran straight towards Tara, knocking her down as she fled from the room. Tara turned on her stomach and fired two shots, purposely missing her friend and allowing her to escape.