SHADOWS

She Awakes

SCENE.

“You brought her back?” Carson demanded as he walked down the stairs. “I leave you alone for a week, and you bring Georgia back! She doesn’t even know who she is. She attacked Hailey, her best friend. Georgia would never do something like that.” He paused, a flashback crossed his mind. Then he turned to Jason. “When people die, they should stay dead,” Carson muttered before walking back upstairs without caring what Jason had to say.

Hailey walked over to Jason, "Hey, don't listen to him. He's just hurt because Georgia attacked me. You know he didn't mean that, Jason." Jason smiled, his eyes still fixed on Georgia's unconscious body.

"He's right, you know," Jason said. "Dead people should stay dead." He paused, collecting his thoughts.

"Bringing Georgia back to life was never going to be a walk in the park. It's just the first day. We can't lose hope." Hailey placed a reassuring hand on Jason's arm. "We knew there would be consequences, Jason. We took that risk because she's worth it. Georgia was dead for eight years, but we brought her back because she's the love of your life, Jason. Carson would do the same if it were me. She'll get better, and her memories will come back eventually."

Jason nodded at her words, which ignited a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Hailey smiled and walked away, meeting Morgan on the way. "Hey, how's it going?" Morgan asked, eyeing Jason and Georgia's still form.

Hailey sighed. "It's been a tough day."

Morgan nodded sympathetically. "We'll get through this, we always do."

Morgan stepped into the room, "She's right, you know," she said, walking over to Jason. "It's still the first day." It was obvious she had been listening in on their conversation. She glanced at Georgia's body, a soft smile display on her face. "Even after eight years of being dead, she still manages to look gorgeous."

Jason let out a silent laugh, agreeing with Morgan. Hailey had already walked away, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

"Let's go upstairs, Jason," Morgan suggested. Jason shook his head, his eyes stayed fixed on Georgia's still form. "I'd like to stay here for a while, Morgan."

Morgan understood. "Okay, I'll leave you alone." She walked away, leaving Jason to his thoughts as he gazed at Georgia, waiting for her to awaken.

JASON

As I stared at Georgia's unconscious body, I couldn't help but feel a crushing sense of guilt. It was my fault she was dead. She had warned me, but I was too stubborn to listen. I remembered that fateful night like it was yesterday.

I was about to die, with two stakes already lodged in my chest. He was about to rip out my heart when Georgia appeared out of nowhere. He ripped out her heart instead and escaped, leaving her body to fall flat on the floor as I screamed in agony at the sight before me. I tried to free myself.

A few minutes later, Carson arrived, his eyes wide with shock as he took in the scene before him. Georgia lay dead in my arms, surrounded by a pool of blood, as I continued screaming and crying. We lied to the town, telling them she had died in an accident. We held a funeral, and I was consumed by grief.

It was all my fault. I couldn't cope with the loss. I shut down my humanity and became a bloodlust-filled monster. I couldn't care about anything or anyone. Even though I couldn't feel emotions, Georgia's death still lingered somewhere instead of me.

Two years later, In a desperate attempt to revive my humanity, Hailey found a way to bring Georgia back to life. She told me about it, and it was enough to spark hope within me. But this hope was a long shot, a fight that took me five years to win.

For five years, I wandered the globe, consumed by cowardice and self-pity. I started to think Hailey had lied to me, that she had given me false hope to revive my humanity. Every search was fruitless, every sacrifice i made, every person i had to kill to bring back Georgia ended being a waste.

So instead of holding onto the hope of bringing Georgia back, I decided to seek revenge.

After weeks of searching, I finally found Michael, surrounded by his loyal minions. I knew that without them, I still wouldn't stand a chance against him. Call it a death wish, but I couldn't care less. I should have been the one to die, not Georgia.

Why didn't he just finish the job? He could have killed me too, and there would have been no one left to avenge Georgia's death. There was no point in sparing my life. I approached him, ready to fight, when he announced with a wicked smile, "I have the stone, the key to bringing your precious Georgia back to life."

At first, I thought he was bluffing, but then he showed me an image of the stone. It was as if he had been awaiting my arrival, anticipating my desperation. He offered me the stone, but it came at a steep price: I had to hunt down every vampire in Ashtrige who had a problem with him.

I would have to do his dirty work to save Georgia. It was a tough decision, but I knew I had no choice. Ripping out hearts, smashing heads—it was the price I had to pay. Michael had planned this all along, knowing I would eventually come looking for him. The moment he discovered I was searching for the stone, he found it and waited for me to fall into his trap. Now, I had probably made more enemies who would seek revenge if they ever discovered my real name.

Georgia slowly eyes opened up. She was awake, and she began twisting and turning, trying to break free from the chains repeatedly. Her black eyes locked onto mine, and I felt a pang of sadness. I didn't like seeing her like this, but I knew it was just the first day.

I took a step closer, my heart was pounding in my chest. "Georgia?" I whispered, trying to keep my voice calm enough. "Stop trying to break free. Those are not just any chains, but dragon-steel chains. Please, calm down and listen."

But it was as though she didn’t believe me. She kept screaming and struggling to break free, drawing the attention of Carson, Reagan, and Morgan. Reagan and Morgan rushed downstairs, while Carson remained on the stairs, his gaze moving between Georgia and me with unmistakable judgment.