Be Careful What You Wish For

Chapter 51

Slowly being crushed did make it difficult for Tobias to think of possible ways to defend himself, but upon hearing that tiny, tired voice, he knew he had to think. If she had the strength and the willpower to think about his well-being on the brink of death, he could at least have enough strength to find a way out of the seemingly impossible situation.

After all, what made all the difference between him and Anja was the fact that he still hadn't lost his ability to reason. He could think through his actions and then act, something she seemed to have lost the luxury of.

It occurred to him that he could maybe take a page from her book, he could rely on instincts, he could be one with his instincts. Maybe by fighting the same way she did, the firm grip she had on him would lessen, and he would be able to strike a blow, to turn the fight in his favor.

As she was so close, squeezing him with all her might, he used the only weapon he had available at the time, his head. He managed to headbutt her since she didn't expect him to have any fight left in him. However, it only loosened her grip slightly as her head staggered back. It didn't make her let go of him.

Seeing his opportunity, Tobias went against his revulsion of having her blood in him and bit into her neck with all his might. After he sank his fangs deep into her skin, he bit off a small chunk of her flesh.

Dazed as she was, he managed to bit off a few smaller chunks, before she pulled back.

Blood poured so much that even though her hand was trying to stop the bleeding it only sipped through her fingers. The shock in her eyes told him that she was not expecting to lose. That he could even hurt her was a surprise to her.

"Your dear Stanton did the same to Cecilia. I am just returning the favor," he said.

He had a creepy smile on his face, with his white teeth painted red, and the unnatural wideness of his mouth. It was more like a predator showing off its teeth than it was a genuine smile. Never before had that expression crossed his face, and had he been able to see it, he wouldn't have recognized himself.

It was as if inside the peaceful vampire that was Tobias, a dark force was waiting to be unleashed. A force that even he wasn't aware of. It was the same sinister side that, from time to time, could be noted in the behavior of humans, as well.

Although it was a well-known fact about humans, that each person was capable of both incredible good and the most despicable evil, vampires weren't so much aware of that, at least Tobias wasn't. In his mind, there was evil, there were evil vampires, and the ones who were not.

However, at that moment, he learned a valuable lesson that proved that even immortal vampires had more to learn, nothing was so simple. Nothing was black or white. Most of the life took place in the gray area in which even the purest souls could be tarnished by the acts of evil.

The fact that he was attacking Anja wasn't what made it obvious that he had crossed over to the dark side, even if for just a split second, but the fact that he was enjoying it. For the first time since he had become a vampire, Tobias had enjoyed someone else's pain and felt good about inflicting it.

After a few moments, Anja recovered because few nibbles on her neck weren't about to stop her. She was, after all, used to much worse from the person she loved the most, from Stanton.

Remembering Stanton, she jumped towards Tobias, ready to tear his head off, but luckily for him, he was fast enough to avoid the maneuver and to reappear behind Anja, delivering a blow to her back. That made her stagger but not fall, never fall. Stanton didn't like it when she fell. She learned that no matter what happened she shouldn't fall.

She growled in annoyance and crouched, ready to pounce on Tobias, but being in such an obvious strike position gave him an advantage in knowing what she was about to do. He was ready.

As she jumped towards him with impressive precision, Stanton thrust his hand forward, towards her chest, through her chest. In a matter of seconds, his hand came out on the other side with her heart firmly grasped in his bloody hand.

Taking out a vampire's heart wasn't something that could kill them, but it was all Tobias could do at the time. He was hoping that seeing her own heart as he pulled it back out would be distracting enough for her to give him the advantage and help him dispose of her for good.

He was surprised how well it worked, how attached she was to the organ that had long ago lost its true purpose. First, there was a shock, and then there was indescribable pain. If she hadn't taken the love of his life and cruelly tortured her, he might have even felt sorry for her.

It was as if he was holding in his hands all that she was, all that she ever could be and once his hand crushed it, ripped it apart, he couldn't get away from the feeling that she felt the destruction of her dead heart as it happened.

Guilt started worming its way back to Tobias, and he knew he had to act quickly. He knew he had to murder her before his conscience came back and stopped him. That was the only way to ensure that Cecilia had a long and prosperous life. To ensure that there was no one hunting them down with vengeance in their heart.

The Vampire Council they could escape, but a vengeful vampire whose lover they had killed? Tobias didn't think so. It was the only way. He was the only one who could do it.

Helen was out there taking care of the others while Cecilia was too weak to do anything. It was only him and the predator that wanted them dead hunted down and tortured. He HAD to do it.

As her eyes beheld the hands that crushed her heart, her symbol of love for Stanton, they came closer to her with every passing moment and she knew it was over. Her love was crushed. There was no going back. Everything she fought for was lost.

Still, she tried to stop him. With the last remnants of her strength, she tried to save her own life. After all, self-preservation was one of the basic instincts ingrained in the very being of every vampire, but it was already too late.

Before she had the chance to register what was happening, she was dizzy because of her head rolling down the filth of the cold wooden floor. Only then, as her face swept over the dirt, the mold, and the dead rats did she truly see how vile the place was.

Still, even as the flame from the match thrown by Tobias, hurled down towards her face, she was not sorry. Not even for a second did she regret the horrible vampire that she had been, and even before that, a vile human being that she had been.

She received ample award for what she was which was the cessation of being. Joining the nothingness reserved for the beings as vile as she and the love of her life were. Or at least what she saw as love and what many would define by strikingly different names.