Downfall to reality

Vincent could not help but look at the clock. It was so unlike Mr. Quinn to not at least check for messages. Ms Hamby had left word that he was staying at her home for a time, but it was still odd. He decided to wait until nightfall and he would call Ms. Hamby to check on him....just to give his mind some peace.

Quinn felt his mind stir…slowly…he felt like he was floating…the image in his mind made no sense, but he didn’t care…maybe this is what oblivion looked like…



He could feel cold beneath him…around him….holding him. He could smell steel, silver, stone…he could smell her scent as well…it was faint. Perhaps she had decided to grant his wish after all. She might simply be waiting for him to be awake so she could inflict more pain before leaving him to oblivion…

The images in his mind slowly began to fade as the pain returned. First his eyes opened...bright lights...glaring....his eyes would not focus, the illusions still clouding them as he became more aware. His body tightened as every nerve seemed to burn. He tried to hold it back but he could not as a scream of pain escaped his lips. He body bucked against the chains, pressing hard against his skin. With anger he pressed his arms forward, trying to get free. The blood trickled down his arms as the chains warped. Whoever had done this had not planned on someone like him, but they would pay for this attempt. The chains snapped and the edges dragged across his chest, ripping into the skin. He ignored the pain as he slipped from the platform and looked around for something to use as a weapon. There was nothing here...

My eyes snapped open at the sounds from downstairs. I could hear moving around and that wasn't a good thing. After my shower last night I fell into a death sleep, my mind severely racing at what I was going to do, how was I going to help him. Did he even want my help anymore? I left my bed and brushed my teeth, pulled my hair up into a high ponytail and put on some sweat pants and a t-shirt. The only thing I could do was use my instincts.

I entered my kitchen and saw the shattered door still in shambles. The rain had stopped and it was pitch black outside. Opening one of the drawers to the fridge, I pulled out a small sized bottle. It was one of the special blends of blood I got from Kiara once. It gave a vampire strength, it was more potent than human blood but not so much it was intoxicating. Perfect blends and mixture of what I needed right now. I warmed it like she'd told me how, grinding my teeth at the thought of her and her words last night.

Staring at the bottle I closed my eyes and downed it all, feeling it coat my throat and slide down with such ease. The taste was great too. I heard more sounds coming from the safe room and knew it wasn't a good sign. Pressing my thumb against the pad, I entered my code and waited for the doors to open revealing the entrance to the safe room. Only one more door separated me from him. Placing my hand on the door, I took a deep breath and could already smell blood. What had I gotten myself into?

I let the doors open and waited for what was to come.

He heard the outer doors open...he grabbed the pieces of chain and threw them, smashing out the lights, waiting for his captor to approach. He did not know if it was the V or the anger at being bound, but his blood was positively boiling. He could smell a familiar scent, but ignored it. He did not know what tricks there might be in a place like this. As the final door opened, he threw a length of the silver chain through the doorway hoping to catch his attacker off guard. Hopefully they could not tell he was free.

I screamed as the silver chain hit my skin, moving quickly to avoid it I rushed over to the emergency panel and switched on the security lights. They were dimmer but gave the room light. "WHAT THE HELL QUINN!" I looked at him as he was ready to attack at any moment. My arm began to heal and I knew the only way to get the V from his system was to wear him out. He wanted a fight, he got one.

I crouched low and braced, "You want to fight me? Let's do it then."

He heard a shrill scream from outside followed by a voice shouting.
"You want to fight me? Let's do it then."

His feral side almost laughed in his mind as it too was unbound. He wrapped his fists in silver chain and crouched low, waiting for his target. The scream told him he was fighting a vampire, as did the smell of silvered skin. Another dead vampire...what did it matter. His eyes went flat as his body shifted slowly into his feral form, the silver chain coiled around his front paws. He crouched just inside the doorway and waited. Her scent revealed much...she was nervous...

He went into the shadows and I could tell by the air around me he'd shifted. This right there told me he wasn't himself and his mind was clouded. I had to show him who I was, make him realize who I was. I stood and walked over to where he was, leaving a gap between us as I stared into his dark purple tiger eyes. I bit into my wrist and moved my arm out to my side, letting the blood fall to the cement floor. The smell of my blood filling the room. Now, this was either a good idea and he'd recognize my scent or he'd just want more blood and in that case, I was almost as good as dead. But really, what did I have to lose?

Nothing.

His nose picked up the blood before the first drop fell and his mind swam with the scent of the fresh vampire blood. The scent was familiar but not quite there. He grinned inwardly...nice try..he lapped up a bit of the blood to take the edge off the pain, then rose up on his hind paws, slamming a silver wrapped forepaw against his captor's face with his full weight behind the strike. He did not use claws, as it would do little good against a vampire. He then drew back behind the table and watched the reaction of his captor. Her next move would help decide his.....his head swam as the V sank into his system. His mind began to clear...his nose picking up more scents...it seemed close...like someone trying to mimic her scent...but the blood smelled altered somehow...He growled low and deep...crouched behind the table waiting.

I felt the severe sting of the silver across my face and flew against the far wall from his hit. My wrist had begun to heal and I knew he still thought I was his enemy. I shook my head to regain my barrings and went to stand, the scorching pain of the chain on my face making me grunt in pain. I clenched my teeth so hard I thought I'd break them. It was the worst pain, but the blood I drank helped me continue to fight through it.

I got to my hands and knees, watching as he slunk back behind the table with a small growl, totally on the defensive. It was when I remembered what I had not long ago watched down here when I first brought things down here. I finally got to my feet and wiped at the blood on my face. "I see you like to play rough, good thing I don't have much to lose these days."

I watched him follow my every movement waiting to strike. I chuckled and turned the TV on, hitting the play button and turning to face him. I knew he could hear me even in his tiger form, he was still Quinn. The video that began to play a song that should be familiar to him, it was to me. Photos and small video clips I'd put together when I got bored at home being stuck at Bill's. Some videos of him filming me and I laughed, pushing the camera out of his face.



"I knew this guy once, you remind me of a version of him." I kicked the table away from him and met his eyes, staring into them. "Come on John Quinn, is that all you got?"

"Come on John Quinn, is that all you got?"

Quinn could not help but find this defiance amusing. The video was a nice touch. He shook some of the coils of chain loose from his paw, flinging the chain over the table as she moved it, aiming for her neck. He did not bother to see if it struck because he leapt at her half a heartbeat later, both paws forward, mouth wide open. The scent was good...but flawed. He would taste her again before he killed her though. The V was even better fresh.

I ducked in time to miss the chain and watched him leap into the air on top of me. Both my hands grabbed the sides of his face and held him at arms length away from my neck. I used every bit of strength I had and dipped into the anger of seeing his hands on Kiara's body, kissing her neck, her shoulder. I saw red and growled, letting out a scream as I used my strength to roll us over and hold him down, gripping tightly on his jugular.

Quinn felt her roll them both, her small hands pressing on his neck. His claws slid out as he coiled around her body and sank his paws into her back. He used this leverage to pull her away from his neck and throw her from his body. He shifted and coiled the chains around his hands, leaving some of the length hanging as a lash. He taunted the woman with a graveled voice.

"You almost got her scent right...but not quite. You also didn't know something important. She abjured me before you found me. Whoever you are, nice try, but you failed. Leave now and I might let you survive. Stay and I will drain you on this table and rape your pathetic corpse until you fall to true death."

He crouched behind the table again and waited, ready to lash out with the chain if she attacked. His vision was red with rage, but his target was clear. She stank of emotion...anger..fear...and more...

I rolled with him and felt his sharp claws dig into the skin of my back making me scream out at the pain. I hissed and sucked in a sharp breath as I flew again and fell to the ground. It felt like I broke a few ribs that were instantly trying to repair themselves. Sure, I'd fought with Quinn before but I don't think he ever let his true strength show, plus now he was hyped up on V AND my blood. Maybe that wasn't a smart move on my part, but I had to go on instinct and work with what I had. Blood trickled from my nose and corner of my mouth, the bitter metallic taste on my tongue.

I looked up at him and heard his cold threat. His voice was different than I'd ever heard before. It shocked me but I half expected it, he was convinced I was not me. Standing I reached into my pocket and fished out the diamond ring he'd once given me when he asked me to be his wife. The dim lights caught the reflection and made it shine a bit.

"Do what you will, but I'm not leaving. It's my fault in the first place you're like this. My blood did this to you." I looked down at the ring and tossed it over to where he was. If he thought me a stranger I might as well act it. "This girl you think I'm trying to be, she must not mean much to you."

"Do what you will, but I'm not leaving. It's my fault in the first place you're like this. My blood did this to you. This girl you think I'm trying to be, she must not mean much to you."

"You are foolish to stay. I was giving you a chance. Without her in my life, I have nothing to lose and therefore no reason to hold back. She abjured me. You obviously do not understand it, but perhaps you will before I let you die...it will be slow."

Quinn growled deep in his throat, watching her throw something that caught light from the screen. He glanced at the TV for a moment...seeing one of the times they had played with the camera. They were wrestling for control of the camera. Her laughter in the video cut him like a knife. His eyes flickered to the object the woman had thrown at him. Jessica's ring....they must have her as well..or she had arranged all this. He threw both chains without warning at the vampire, leaping over the table to grab her and try to pin her down. He had to see her face. He could smell her blood dripping. He needed more blood...the migraine was coming back.

I watched him get distracted by the clip on the tv and never took my eyes from him. His face dropped and I could see pain, but I didn't understand why. I wasn't the one he loved, I couldn't be. I was not enough, Kiara had said it...there was no passion. Balling my hands into fists, I was ready for what he may do. Part of me welcomed death, it would be far better than the pain in my chest I was feeling. It was my pain, but yet...it felt like his too. Our bond may still be there after all, but what good would that do me?

Without warning the chain came flying at me and I went to avoid it but it clipped my throat and I reached to my neck to remove it, my skin burning. I heard him leap over the table and fell onto the ground on my back. The wind knocked out of me and my neck on fire. I growled and tossed the chain off of me right before I looked into his eyes. I choked and spit out some blood, feeling weakened but not ready to give up. "Do it. Kill me. Just DO IT!!! But before you do..."

I swallowed hard and reached up to touch his face, to remember the good times we did share. The times he made me laugh and when we would sit and talk afraid to get into a relationship for fear of failure. "..Just know, I do love you." There was no chance of convincing him otherwise, Kiara had warned about a nuclear bomb that he might be...well this was it. I'd done it, I'd caused it. To die at his hand was almost ironic, but it did give me peace. As much as it hurt to know he'd betrayed me, I still loved him and damn him for that. I still loved him, I always would.

"Just know, I do love you."

Her last words made him pause. He knew Jessica's voice and it sounded so much like her. He looked in the vampire's eyes...and felt something in his mind snap. He could see through her eyes. His rage painted on his face. The darkness that he held inside was free. He knew then what the truth was....what reality was...He glances to his own hand, seeing a broken chair leg grasped in it....he had come so close to...his eyes blinked as tear fell from them freely...

"Jess...Jessica...."

His rage spent, his body weakened from the V overdose...the dam within him broke and his mind with it...all went to blackness as he fell to the floor.

I waited for the inevitable and braced for the plunge he'd make into my chest. His eyes seemed to clear for a moment, his hand shaking and faltering as he dropped the piece of wood. I pressed my lips together as I lay there beneath him, seeing his eyes full of pain and confusion. "Yes..." Before I could say more his eyes fluttered and he collapsed to the floor.

"QUINN!" I yelled out his name as I quickly moved to pull him into my lap. He still had a pulse but seemed to have passed out from all the exertion. I had blood on me and so did he. I didn't really know what I should do at this point, I couldn't give him my blood to heal him. I wasn't exactly sure if he was even hurt. I gently placed his head down and moved across the room to clear a path. Hitting the code to open the doors I looked back at him on the floor. It was right then I was thankful I asked Alcide to put a bathroom and shower down here in case I had non-vampire guests with me. This safe room was turning out to be a well planned investment. Closing the doors back to shut us in, I opened the door off to the far right and went in to turn the shower on. I went back to grab him up off the floor and gently half carried, half drug him to the clear enclosed shower cube. I let the water hit his face and hoped it might wake him up.

Blackness....

~tap

Quiet Blissful Oblivion.....

~tap~ ~tap~

His ears heard it before he knew what it was....

~tap~ ~tap~ ~tap~

water hitting something hard but thin...

He could feel the coolness....but all was still darkness...then scents started to come....diluted blood...the smell of fresh water and clean skin...other scents filtered in but were too faint right now...his last thought came to his lips again...his eyes still shut, he whispered her name...

"Jessica."

"Yes, I'm here. I'm here. Are you okay? What do I do?" I was clueless of how to help him and hated seeing him like this. I moved the shower head so that it wouldn't hit him in the face anymore and knelt down by him, half my body getting wet in the process.

His eyes were filled with tears when he opened them and looked into hers.

"Yes, I'm here. I'm here. Are you okay? What do I do?"

"Nothing....the pain is my price...my due...I earned it well..."

His body slumped a bit in the shower as he moved to rest his hand gently on her cheek.

"I didn't know. I could not stop it. I am sorry."

I moved my face into his palm and closed my eyes. It felt like it had been forever since he touched me, since I felt this close to him. The weeks in Romania had been long, he was constantly on my mind. I wiped my eyes and stood to turn off the water, kneeling back down I shook my head. "Don't apologize. I knew the risks...it's my fault." I didn't speak about infidelity or the other night because right now it didn't matter.

"Don't apologize. I knew the risks...it's my fault."

He caressed her cheek...

"No, Jessica...it is mine. I allowed it to happen. I have to own what I have become. I have to own to what I have done as well. I hurt you in ways I do not even want to think about yet, but I have to face them. I know you are not going to bring this up, but I have to. The other night with Kiara...it was my fault. I took a dose before that meeting knowing it would get my head clear. I had to show her something painful and wanted a clear head...but did not think of the risks...the side effects....and for that I am sorry. You have no idea how sorry..."

He lowered his face, unable to look her in the eyes as tears fell from his...

As much as I didn't want to hear about it, I turned my head and looked at the floor listening to him. Closing my eyes when he mentioned her name. I fought myself not to cry but emotions were running high and I felt the warm tears fall from my eye.

"I had to show her something painful and wanted a clear head...but did not think of the risks...the side effects....and for that I am sorry. You have no idea how sorry..."

I slowly moved my head, my eyes lowered afraid to look at him. Afraid of what I might feel again. The pain of that night again, the hurt. When I opened them and saw the tears fall from his own eyes, I knew. I'd felt it all along, but I let the jealousy over ride what I knew for a fact. I took his hand into my own and brought his palm up to my lips. "It's...okay." I didn't know what else to say, I wanted to tell him I still loved him but right now it just didn't seem like it would help.

"It's...okay."

He shook his head slowly...

"No...it's not.....it won't be for a while....but know that I love you....only you....I don't know if that matters any more, but I do."

He stared at the water swirling around the drain...his eyes were a bit out of focus as the migraine began to come back...

I wasn't sure how we were going to get past this but I knew I couldn't just let him slip away from me. Hearing him say the words I knew were true, I lowered my head and whispered, "I love you, too." Looking back up at him, I leaned forward to rest my head against his chest, hearing his heart beat slowly under my ear. Closing my eyes I smiled. "We should get you into some clothes."