Is It Time To Give Up?

Max had lost all track of time and what time even meant now. His body was weak and no matter how much blood he consumed he could not fight the hunger that was quelling deep inside of him. After all these years he had believed that he was un-breakable but now this Hep V had broken him down to nothing more than a savage beast.

He would often lay in bed pretending to sleep as he would watch Kiara sitting close to his bedside on her laptop trying to make contacts. But Max knew that it was impossible, no matter how many times he told her to leave him and to move on she would not leave.

Lying in bed once again for the third day his body ached and craved to feed again but he pushed it to the back of his mind and tried to focus on the calm that was slowly leaving his body. Sweat trickled down from his brow as he rolled his head to the side "....K-Kiara" he mumbled.

Kiara leaped from her spot on the desk to where Max was. She was so worried about him, over his state and the helplessness she felt over his state and the lack of a cure.

She sat beside him, touching his fevered brow "I'm here Max..." she whispered, gently stroking his cheek.

Max groaned when he felt Kiara's hand touch his cheek but he let the sensation of her cool skin against his fevered flesh try to relax him. His body was weak and it hurt him every time he tried to move so he had accepted that he would be bed bound.

"....Ich ... Ist es Zeit" he mumbled before coughing. "I ... Is it time"

Max had never felt such pain before and he knew that his death was coming, hanging over him like a sword ready to cut deep into his heart.

She blinked. She didn't think she'd be emotional right now, except for anger. But she was. After mourning for Sophie she'd been sure she'd never cry again for anyone, but it seems fate was determined in robbing her of anyone she cared about.

For the past few days Max had been getting worse. He refused to feed, to even get out of bed. All he did was sleep and all she did was worry and make herself even weaker. Nothing she could find told her there was a cure, not even the seediest of underground sources came up with a tiny glimmer of hope.

So when Max said it was time she knew what he meant. But she promised herself she would send Max off with a smile. He deserved as much after all he'd done for her. She took his hand and gently squeezed it.

"Tell me what to do..."

At one point Kiara's touch would have soothed him and now it only caused him pain, his skin felt like it was on fire and nothing could do anything to soothe him. Max felt Kiara gently squeeze his hand and could barely hear her voice but he somehow managed to understand what she had to say.

Lopping his head to the side as it rested on the pillow "...Do...Not....Run any more" he whimpered hoarsely.

Max had spent all of his life running and now everything had finally caught up with him, he knew it would happen. But he just wished that he had more time.

She nodded. She was done running. Every time she did something horrible happened to someone she dared to care for. Even when running was justified or needed it always came back to bite her.

She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "I promise... I won't run anymore" she whispered, wishing she could do more to keep him comfortable.

Max groaned again as he let the pain continued to flood him. He just wanted it all to stop and to be free from this pain, but he did not want to leave Kiara. Allowing his body to momentarily relax into the bed as he pulled the covers further up to his neck.

"....I can see it" he whispered almost in a daze.

Max could see the sun in front of him, feel the warmth on his skin "It's beautiful" he whispered as he flinched as he felt the black veins spread further up his neck.

She smiled. She was pretty sure what he was seeing, having been so close to death herself. At least Max was dying a free vampire. Free of the shackles of his brother and of royalty. For the few glorious weeks they were together they had been free.

She leaned in close to whisper to him.

"Say hi...to Sophie for me ok?" she whispered, surprised that a single blood tear escaped her eye.

Max could feel his body beginning to severely weaken to the point where he felt tired and just wanted to sleep. He felt liked he was standing on the edge of a cliff and one more final step towards the edge and this pain would be over, but he didn't want it to be over just yet.

"Ich kann sie sehen ... Er ist traurig Kiara" he whispered 'I can see them ... He's sorry Kiara'

Max craned his head to the side and he could see a single red tear roll down her cheek. Lifting his weakened black veined hand he used his finger to catch it before it fell.

She smiled softly.

"Yeah...so am I..." she responded before she placed her hand gently over his eyes.

"Shh... rest... let it take you. It's nice on the other side, I promise"

Max closed his eyes when he felt Kiara's hand cover them and he let his body sink further into the bed. He was on the verge and he could feel it, using what strength that he had inside of him his hand reached up to grab her other hand.

Even though he could not see her, he knew that she was still close by "...I love...." his voice trailed off as his body went limp and his life slipped away from him. 

His body began to ooze as blood pushed its way through the skin to the surface and saturated the bed. Max's body no longer had any form as it turned into a pile of mush and goo.

She stayed until the very end. A single sob escaped her as Max finally passed on. The one thing she hated was that vampires became goo. It was such a graphic death. Humans mostly looked like they were sleeping but vampires you had no doubt when they were dead.

She got up and began to pack up things. She wasn't going to stay in the hotel. She couldn't stand being here anymore, it was too full of memories. She packed up the laptop, what little clothes she had and then faced the dilemma of Max's things. It wasn't much but they were nice things.

Eventually she packed them all in bags for donation. Let someone else find use for them. Keeping them would only bring her more pain.

She called the hotel manager and explained the situation and the cost of repairs. Once that was settled and the manager said he'd send a clean up crew she grabbed the 2 suitcases of her things, the phones and left. She had calls to make, states to travel and a place to settle once and for all.