Like bats out of hell

Bill kept screaming and he was now clutching his side in sheer agony. Kiara didn’t know what to do but one thing was certain: they couldn’t stay in texas any longer. She left Bill for a moment as she rushed to the bedroom to grab her pj’s and her phone. She checked the time. It was just pass 2 am. Sunrise would be in about 5 hours. It would mean cutting things close but it was doable. As she returned to Bill’s side she slid on her pj pants, going commando for the time being and slipped on her pj top. She dialed a number as she pulled Bill to her chest, rocking him gently to try and soothe what she couldn’t soothe.

“Yes this is Miss Griffen…I’m calling about the open ticket departure for myself and Mr William Compton… yes that ticket… when is the next flight to Louisiana?” she asked as she spoke to one of the personnel at Anubis Airlines. She was glad that she’d decided to pack their things early in expectance of Bill wanting to leave.

“Yes yes… that’s fine, please send the hummer, two personnel and 3 security guards as well… yes I’ll cover all charges” she said sternly. Bill was still crying out in agony which made her wince.

“… Yes yes immediately please.. and prepare one travel coffin just in case” she added. She nodded a few times before hanging up. She set the phone down and held Bill up.

“Come on love… up we get… we’re getting out of here ok?” she said, trying to see if she could talk Bill out of the pain trance he was in. It took some doing but she managed to get him back unto the couch, laying down, but at least off the floor. He still writhed in pain but it seemed to be diminishing at bit. Without wasting any time she took he mother’s hand made dress and put it back into the dress bag it came in before very gently setting it by the door. In a matter of minutes she brought out all the luggage they had brought, which hadn’t been much to begin with. She began to pack up all the synthetic blood they’d brought in the special suitcase Bill had gotten. Eventually everything was by the door. She sat back by Bill, touching his cheek.

“Stay with me baby… not long now” she said as he just shook in terrible pain. After about 10 minutes there was a knock on the door and she let in the two Anubis Air staff to take their bags downstairs. She had one guard help her half carry Bill as well while the other two guards kept point.

Soon they were inside a large black hummer. She was taking no chances since she knew Isabel would expect them in a limo. With this armored truck there was little she could do against him. She kept checking the time and urged the driver to step on it as they had to make it back to Bon Temp before the sun rose.



What seemed like forever, but was only another 20 minutes they arrived at the small private airport. With a sense of urgency and several stacks of hundred dollar bills they bypassed security and made it to the hangar where two Anubis planes waited. One was the small jet they had come with from Bon Temp, the other was a more standard size airplane. She saw personnel loading up the small jet. As she got out and helped Bill out who seemed completely out of it she smiled.

“Great…we’ll be taking that one” she said, pointing to the other plane no one had set up. They looked at her curiously and she rolled her eyes “Time is money people… the more time you waste the less money you’re getting”



That got their attention as they took all the luggage out of the small jet and into the large airplane. She grinned. This would ensure that no one would have the time to tamper with the airplane as well. She was going to let most of her paranoia guide her tonight. She would not breathe easy until Bill was safely tucked into bed back at the mansion. It took another hour for the plane to be fully ready. Again with the help of the guards they got Bill inside. She placed him on one of the lavish 1st class seats which could recline all the way back to beds. She took the seat next to him and in a few minutes they were soon taxying down the runway and up in the air.

She took a deep breath the moment the pilot said they had reached cruising altitude. At least a few hurdles had been cleared. She focused now on Bill who had not said a word and had gone from screaming in pain to a more catatonic state.

“Bill… darling you need to feed” she said as she had one of the attendants warm up and bring her a bottle of royal blood. She would slice her wrist open if needed but maybe some food in his system would help him snap out of it.

Words seemed to flood Bill's mind as he tried to separate one from another, his body and mind had rejected any and every form of plea that they spoke. An inner battle had begun with himself and it was one that he could not stop. His body was the battlefield as he watched as a spectator as his mind and heart battled against each other to the point of death for both of them. A battle that neither could win as all he could do was watch. His body almost to the point of paralysis as his mind had begun a vigorous screaming match to be heard as it willed for him to move.

As a single trickle of a blood tear slid down his face coating his pale cracked lips as he could taste the metallic of his own life force that worked as magic that allowed him to live and breath as a vampire. His own body a shell that had once been the vessel for his soul that was now destroyed and now the home of his second life as a vampire. His eyes drifted to his palm that was stained with his own blood that had poured from his eyes, from the faint red lines of self created wounds that he had inflicted upon himself. His nail beds stained a crimson red as his nails had pierced his flesh to almost duplicate the pain that had flooded him as he felt the piercing stab at his un-dead heart as though every inch of him was burning to a single flame.

Bill was vaguely aware of his surroundings but he could not get his body to function to his mind's plea as it rattled inside a silver cage burning him to the touch. As though trapped in a haze of want and guilt as he tried to respond. His body severely weakened from his own blood loss that he had created himself as the pain started to slowly disappear, but fearing that as soon as the pain would leave him then he would no longer feel her.

Jessica.

Fearing that if he allowed himself one moment to compose himself that she would no longer be there, that the emptiness inside him would spread like an infectious disease that would end his immortal life.

She would be gone.

But he could still feel her.

Their connection, their bond.

It was still there.

For how long he did not know, he had never experienced this mass of agonizing pain before. His mind trying to evaluate why he responded this way before, trying to think of reasons why his body was crippled in such a way. His connection to Jessica had always been one filled with so much love for her that he believed that was the sole reason, but he had come to see her far more than just his progeny that would carry on his blood line should he ever succumb to the True Death. But he loved far beyond that point of truly believing that she was his daughter, a father's love that had grown.

She was still there, that flicker of something brewing inside of him but yet his body not fully accepting that flame inside of him wanted to grow. As he flexed his fingers for the first time in what seemed like decades he slowly became aware of his surroundings as he could feel everything pierce him like a hot burning white dagger as his nose instantly picked up the strong intoxicating smell of blood.

"......Jessica" he allowed himself to whisper.

As the plane continued to move Kiara watched as Bill seemed to struggle with himself. She used a small damp cloth to wipe away as much of the blood as she could. It saddened her to see him like this. He wept blood tears which only told her how much pain he was in, whether physical or emotional though she didn’t know. She propped his head up on her lap as he moved with extreme difficulty.

“come on love… drink” she whispered as she placed the still warm tip of the bottle of blood to his cracked lip. Holding his head up with one hand she very slowly tilted the bottle, letting the blood trickle down his throat. Hopefully some nourishment would help.

It was times like these that she wished she had a third arm to work with but since she didn’t she instead had one of the flight attendants use the phone on the plane to call the head of security at the mansion. She used her shoulder to press the phone to her cheek as she kept trying to get Bill to drink more blood.

“Yes this is Miss Griffen…I need a full status report and I need to know the whereabouts of Miss Hamby and Miss Jackson” she said in a stern voice. She listened to the man tell her everything, from what he knew of the attack, to how Jessica and James were now at the mansion, to Brianna being with someone called Arabella but still safe. She nodded again.

“I need a full lock down on the mansion, no one in or out until the King returns. Triple check all security personnel, double the patrol around the perimeters. Anyone who does not present themselves at the gates with proper identification and reason to see the King or any of his progenies is to be shot on sight” she said before hanging up. With a small smile she scooted back on the seat so Bill’s head was now leaning on her chest, the bottle of blood still in her hand.

“Can you hear me Bill? Jessica is ok…. She’s at the mansion waiting for you” she whispered into his ear.

".....Jessica...." he allowed himself to whisper again.

Bill did not care about where he was when all his mind could think about was Jessica. He had been so pre-occupied on his business with Isabel that he had completely allowed himself to forget about who he was putting in danger by doing what he had intended on doing. His mind had been dead set on taking his revenge out on Isabel that he did not plan for a hidden attack on those closest to him. He should have been more prepared knowing just how devious that Isabel could truly be.

He instantly recognised the voice around him and knew that he was safe, but he did not care about himself. He would take all the pain that he could from Jessica if it were possible. But he knew that he had to get home, he needed to see Jessica. But what he could not understand is why Jessica's pain had crippled him so much as his mind drifted to Brianna. Their pain combined would enough to end him.

"....Brianna" he whispered again.

As he slowly regained his sense of realization on where he was as he could hear the roaring of plane engines and knew that they were on their way back to Louisiana.

Home.

He could feel blood gliding down his throat with ease as his body welcomed the short relief if even for moments it gave him a little strength back that he had lost quite suddenly. Hearing Kiara's voice give strict commands on security back at the estate gave him a sigh of relief as he heard her say that Jessica was back at the mansion waiting for them.

He knew that Kiara had taken the risk of getting him back to Louisiana when he knew back in Texas that the sun would be rising shortly. He would need to seek shelter very soon if he was to make it back to his home in time.

"....The sun..." he whispered.

Kiara smiled and kissed his forehead "shhh.... all is taken care of love... the sun will not hurt you" she whispered as she set the bottle of blood down. Already the plane was fully dark with special shutters against the sun. She checked the time. They still had about 2 hours before sunrise but they were going to cut it close.

She only wished the plane could go faster but it would still be another hour before they landed in Shreveport. Then from there the 45 minute drive to Bon Temp would get them in just barely before the sun. This is why she had the travel coffin ready just in case.

"Brianna is safe as well...." she said softly, bringing the bottled blood back to his lips so he could drink some more. He still looked very weak but at least the bleeding from his eyes had stopped and his lips had slowly begun to heal themselves from their cracked state. She felt him take a few more gulps of the blood before she set the bottle aside again and just let him rest on her chest. She gently stroked his scalp, trying to soothe him in any way.

She reached for her phone, texting quickly to the security personnel at the mansion. She projected an ETA time for arrival so they knew not to delay their progress before the sun. She also called the Anubis personnel at the airport in Shreveport to settle all the paperwork now so they could get off the plane and on the road quickly.

Bill was only able to pick out certain words that his brain allowed him to hear. He could hear Kiara tell him things, but he could not fully understand them. With the impending sunrise on its way as his lack of mobility and reasonable function he could not get himself to do what his mind was screaming at him from its silver cage that rattled like chains against his battling inner body. He wanted to rise, but even with his age the pain was still echoing in parts of him. 

He just needed to get home. 

Back to Louisiana.

But he knew that when they reached home the sun would pull him under quicker than what he wanted. His skin already prickled as he could feel the sun already signalling that it was coming. He did not know how much longer he had left, but for tomorrow he would rise with the memory of the pain that he experienced earlier and still parts of him now. 

He vaguely heard Kiara say that Brianna was safe as well which lifted a weight off his chest as he could breath a sigh of relief. He wanted to force himself to stay awake until he could see Jessica, he needed to see that she was alive and well. Bill knew that he needed to see Quinn, but he would sort that when he had arrived back in Louisiana.

But he just wanted to get back home.

Bill knew that there was going to be some hard decisions to make when he was able to make them, but they were going to be in the best interests of everyone. He just hoped that in the end that he was making them for the right reasons.

His eyes fluttered open as he gazed hazily at Kiara, as though she was able to understand everything that he was thinking. But his body fought back as he was pulled under into a temporary sleep.

Kiara looked down at Bill. She wanted to tell him everything was ok, that he was safe and that those he loved were safe but her words didn't seem to reach him. Instead she leaned down and kissed his forehead as he seem to fall into a sort of day sleep, probably due to exhaustion.

As he fell asleep she gently laid him down back on the large bed in the plane and got up. She made a few more calls to ensure all was prepared for when they landed. She had the travel coffin brought up and very gently, with the help of one of the guards they got Bill into it and closed the lid. He may not like being in a coffin but it would be the safest way to move him.

Finally after much pacing the plane began to land in shreveport. She had already taken care of all security so by the time the plane touched down there was another black Hummer waiting for them right on the run way. They didn't even wait for the plane to get to the hangar or even shut down as they opened up the cargo bay to unload their luggage and the coffin while Kiara got down the steps.

They all got into the hummer and she told the driver to step on it. She kept one hand on the travel coffin which was slightly open in case Bill awoke again.

His body had given in.

His mind still struggling as it battled to keep his body awake.

But he had failed.

Bill had never felt such weakness take over him as he tried to fight against the pull of the sun but his body had pulled him under far quicker than it normally would have. As much as a part of him welcomed it another part did not.

He needed to see that Jessica was safe.

Bill needed to see her.

But it looked as though that would have to wait until the following night when his body had regenerated back to full health. He could feel darkness cloak him as his body shifted side wards as though it was rocking in tune with some unheard beat but he knew it to be a vehicle of some sort. Tomorrow he would rise, and tomorrow he would begin his planning.

For tomorrow was the beginning of when Texas would fall.

The ride to the mansion was blissfully uneventful. At the gates she presented her badge and told them she had the King with her. Once inside it took a bit of maneuvering to get the travel coffin up to the master bedroom.

She reminded everyone to stay on guard. She knew she herself would not sleep tonight as she ensured that Jessica, Brianna and Bill were all well and under one roof. Once Bill was situated in the master bedroom she went back downstairs to the office to work. The sun was already peeking out by the time she sat down and sighed.

She felt sore, hungry, tired and angry but she'd put all those things aside to give Bill piece of mind.