Untold Truth

#8 Friend or Foe (Part 2)

Carson’s eyes began to flutter but because he was in a dark room with only flickering lights, it was hard to see where he was. His vision was still blurred for he had just been shot with a tranquilizer. Though the effect of the tranquilizer had faded a little, struggled to move as his wrist had been handcuffed to the frame of the bed. He tried to look around for something that was any way familiar to him, but his vision was still blurry. Then he caught sight of Skylar who was still unconscious in a glass coffin. He attempted to get up but the tranquilizer contained substances that he never knew existed in the human world.

That was when he heard footsteps coming towards the room that they were in. He tried to remain as still as possible so that the kidnappers would think that he was still asleep. As the footsteps got closer, it stopped and a feminine voice said, “Carson, I know that you're awake.” He recognized the voice and immediately opened his eyes.

Before him stood a blond girl with hair that reached her mid-back and the ends of her hair were dyed purple. She wore a black cropped top with black ripped jeans. To top that off, she also had a pair of combat boots on. Carson let out a gasp, “Nicolette?”

“Aww, you remembered...” Her voice was exactly like Harley Quinn, high pitched. “It’s just too bad that we couldn’t remain together. It’s just such a pity that you gave me up huh?”

It was years ago that we had broken up and yet she never really gave up. She is much more of a psychopath than I remembered. I thought that after leaving, that was it but it is apparently impossible for her to give up. She is as stubborn as a mule but her looks were what made her irresistible. I apparently had what it took to break up with her. I also gave her a new life in another country where she would remain safe, especially after entangling with a member of the Russian mafia. She could never keep her hands to herself and look where that took her. But I shouldn’t have offered her a place to stay because she is a dangerous criminal with a mastermind. Though she may not have a gang, she is just as dangerous alone. She had picked-pocketed many people. Despite already having bought a new identity, she never learned.

Carson watched as she slithered over to a switch. He realized that his wings were attached to an extraction device. Worried, he asked her, “What are you doing?” Before his question was answered, the psychopath flipped the switch sending shock waves into his wings but he left every last drop of pain in those few minutes the device was extracting the powers from him. The pain was excruciating that he couldn’t even speak after the extraction.

That was when another voice came from the door frame, “I think that’s about enough for now, Nicolette. We still need him alive.” Carson’s vision was even more blurry that he couldn’t even see who it was. “For now?” The guy looked over at Carson with a grin. Carson saw the silhouette walk towards Skylar, “Finally we can be together again.”, he said to Skylar’s unconscious body.

Carson struggled to talk because his mouth was muzzled. The guy was annoyed by his muffled voice so he told Nicolette to let him speak while coming closer because he knew the effect of the extraction had caused Carson to lose his vision. “What do you want with us?” Carson exclaimed after she removed the muzzle.

“It’s nothing personal but it is apparent that you aren’t a suitable suitor for Skylar. Though you may possess angel blood, it doesn't make you any bit more superior than I am.”

“Who are you?”, he choked on his own blood from the extraction.

“You really don’t know a single thing about your girlfriend, do you?” He paused for a bit before he looked at Carson seriously. “I’m her first boyfriend. - She probably never mentioned it to you, did she? She’s always been the loyal type hasn’t she?”

“You son of a bitch.”, Carson mumbled to himself.

“What was that, I couldn’t quite hear you.”

He leaned in closer so that he could hear Carson so he could hear better, but Carson spat at him. “You will never have Skylar without going through me.”

“Wow, loyalty 101. You must really love, but does she love you enough?”

Carson gained back some of his sight but his vision was still blurry but he got an idea of what Skylar’s psycho ex-boyfriend was like. He remained silent as the guy continued to torment him. After a while he began to get bored so he told Nicolette, “Turn up the extractor, he isn’t talking.” The only thing that filled the room at that moment was screams of pain and agony. He signalled to Nicolette to stop once he felt that Carson had enough. “Speak now or forever be in pain. This can go on forever if you don’t speak.”

“I don’t know who the freak you are but all I know now is that you were a jerk towards her and you are the one who never deserved her.” He said straight up to him.

Nicolette was about to crank up the lever when the guy stopped him. “I don’t know who you think you are but-”

“But what? You might as well try to kill me instead of torturing me to my death. No human has even dared temper with my kind until you. And how did you even find out about any of this?”

“It was simple really. I met Nicolette here in Barcelona where you apparently left her for dead, when I was on a business trip and she told me about how you were an angel-blooded being. And well me being myself, I knew a myth that if a human drinks pure angel blood out of this cup would be granted powers beyond anyone’s dreams.” He continued to take out a cup which was completely gold in colour with Egyptian engraving on it. “I am extracting as much blood from you as I can, to raise an army of beings like Skylar also known as Nephilims, to wipe out humanity’s kind. And the amount of blood for that is a lot so if you would just sit tight and enjoy the torture.”

Just as Nicolotte was about to crank the lever, the power went out. There was nothing but darkness. Not even Carson’s wings were bright enough to light up the room especially after the extraction. Out of the shadows came three people who they didn’t expect. They did attack but stood in defending mode, “How dare you take my sister?” came a voice from the shadows.

“Well, well. If it isn’t the courageous brother who also happens to be a demon based on my research.”, he said calmly. “Long time no see, Cody.”

Cody recognized the voice but he needed to check if it was really him so he asked him to step out of the shadows and into the one light that shone through the opening in the roof. “Step into the light.” He did as told and there was nothing but gasp that filled the room. “Ash?”

“Bingo. Now that we’ve gotten introductions out of the way. Do you mind because we are still extracting his powers until he has none left.”

“When have you become so cruel, Ash?”

“You turned me into what I am! When you left me for the dead in the midst of nothing. Thankfully, your granduncle was kind enough to take me under his wings, and taught me how to control these powers that you bestowed upon me. Did you really think I wouldn’t actually come back to take revenge? You turned me into a vampire and after that because you barely even know what to do with your own immortality, you left me. You thought I wasn’t enough so you just left me.”

“Look, Ash, I know what I did but why did you even involve Skylar and Carson in this, if there’s something you have to settle with me then let’s settle it here and now, let Carson and Skylar go.”

“You still don’t get it do you. I went to you when I was weak. I know you wouldn’t understand and I was right. You have no idea why we’re even doing this do you? - I think there’s no point beating around the bush any longer, I was Skylar’s first boyfriend. I went to you wanting to end my life but you gave me the curse of immortality. And so you reap what you sowed.”

“You don’t have to play the villain in this, we are all here to protect Skylar. We do not wish to interfere with your love life.”

“Well, it’s too late, all I want now is to eliminate the competition and Carson and you are the only ones left that I have to eliminate.”

“You are so lost aren’t you? Even if there was a way that you would be able to kill us, she will never forgive you for any of it. I know part of your story and I know that you had a hard past. All you want is a girl who is willing to accept you for who you are. Let me just tell you that Skylar isn’t that sort of girl and though she might seem like the forgiving sort, she isn’t. You wouldn’t want to mess with her life right now because she’s already lost enough. - Even if she were to wake up being the only person left on earth with you, do you seriously think that your charms would be enough to win her heart?”

“Shut up!” Ash exclaimed, irritated with Cody’s babbling. “I’m in this situation because of you. And don’t you dare tell me otherwise.”

He was then distracted by Carson’s scream. He looked over at Carson, who was in pain and then back at Cody who said to him, “It’s your choice to make. If she loses Carson, you are the one who is at risk right now. - Think this through. There are many fish in the sea, you don’t have to be stuck to Skylar for the rest of your life.”

Without a moment of hesitation, Ash grabbed the wires and unplugged Carson from the contraption. Nicolette stood there shocked, “You really are easily bought over aren’t you, Ash?”, she continued to throw a smoke bomb on the ground causing all of them to cough so that they couldn’t see where she escaped to. The whole room was covered in smoke as Ash struggled to help Carson out while Cody took Skylar out of the glass coffin and chanted a spell that was previously used to bring her back to reality. At the same time, Cody told Tyler and Alison to track Nicolette down.

As expected, Skylar was shocked to see where she was, coughing like she was about to die. Cody said to her, “Come on. It isn’t your time yet.” while taking her hand. She turned around to see the glass coffin that he had taken her out of. She thought she was lost in time. Then she turned to where Carson was and was shocked to see someone she wasn’t expecting to see.

Scared, Skylar asked him, “Where am I, right now?” because she felt like she was living her own nightmare. “I’m going back to sleep.”, she said to him before attempting to lay back down.

Before she could, Cody pulled her back up and told her, “You aren’t in a dream. We need to get out of here, I have a feeling that Nicolette might have hit the self-destruct button before running off.” Once they had already gotten everything they needed, they quickly got out of the building before it exploded.

Skylar exclaimed to Cody, “What happened? How long was I out? What is he doing here?” while pointing at Ash. She had never expected to see him again, especially after she left her past in her junior high school life.

“Well, it’s a long story,” said Ash.

“How? I thought you were dead.”, Skylar protested. Ash began to explain as they walked out of the woods to Cody’s car.

It was a few days after that day that Ash had just gotten rejected by Skylar. She had just humiliated him in front of the whole school. He didn’t know where to hide his face, Skylar was the most popular in the school and a rejection from her was like a dagger straight to the heart for Ash. And because Ash was also one of the most popular boys in the school, people kept asking him how he felt but he turned a blind eye and said everything was alright, when he was hurting inside. That was the day that he saw a light of hope; his older friends told him that they were going to a vampire den with actual vampires who drank blood from willing victims.

Hearing many legends about these vampires, he knew that there was no hope of him anymore so he might as well end his life there. But he didn’t tell them, knowing that they would think he was crazy. The vampire den was far off the border of New York, so he was in for a ride all the way to Vermont. It was a long ride there but upon arrival, he was met with a lonely vampire who was sitting in the alley way of the club. He tried to approach it but instantly regretted his decision. The vampire was a newborn, which meant that he had never drank from a human before other than already having drunk his sire’s blood. He was pulled into the rink and before he knew it, the vampire had already sunk his fangs into him. His friends knew that this was the end of the road for him, so instead of helping him, they just left him there.

In realization of what he had done the vampire immediately pulled back, stepping into the light. Ash could only catch a glimpse of his blond hair with blood dripping off the ends. The vampire dashed off, leaving something behind. Ash struggled to get over the place that the vampire had left the necklace with a green gemstone. When he got hold of the gem of the necklace, something magical happened, but Ash was too weak to see it. He saw nothing but the flame entrance of Hell, before he was brought back to life. He still felt the pain in his neck from where the vampire had drawn blood from, but he also felt something else on his neck; a chain. He looked down and saw the gemstone in his hand. He looked around and saw walls with torches lighting up the whole room.

He could still feel the excruciating pain as he got up. Then there was a voice, “I thought you wouldn’t have gotten up. It seemed a little hopeless when I brought your lifeless body here.” He turned to where he heard the voice coming from and he was shocked to see what seemed like someone who had a serpent tail. The moment he turned around; his eyes looked like something out of a fantasy world because no human would have eyes that were similar to snake’s. Ash rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn’t just seeing things. “Oh, and if you are wondering if you are dreaming or not, you aren’t. And I haven’t introduced myself, my name is Leviathan but my brothers call me Levi.”

Before Levi could continue explaining, Ash immediately interrupted him, “What are you?” He attempted to crawl away. He had never seen any creatures from the other world as what they really are before.

“Where are my manners?” Levi immediately realized that he was still in his demon form, so he immediately transformed back to his human form. “I’m a demon from Hell who apparently was trapped in that necklace that you are wearing around your neck.”

“Wait, if you’re a demon, doesn’t that mean that I’m in Hell.” He began to get down on his knees and pleaded to get out of there. “Please, I know I haven’t been that I good kid you always wanted me to be-”

Before he could finish, Levi pulled him back up on his feet, “You aren’t in Hell. Get a grip! You are now a vampire. - An immortal being, cursed to walk the earth for the rest of your life. - I didn’t leave Hell to sit and listen to your complaints about life. I already escaped all the drama that my brothers have given me.”

“So basically, I have been through Hell and back just to be here again. And apparently, Levi told me everything I needed to know to live in the shadows. - Cole, Simon and Samuel must have gone back to the school to tell the whole school that I was dead because no human could survive a bite from a vampire without drinking the bloodbond of his blood and their sire’s blood.”, said Ash.

Skylar had to process all that Ash had told her. “You’re telling me that you are the first person that Cody has turned?” They stopped walking when they got to the two cars that were parked at the side of the road.

“There’s a lot of things that Cody hasn't yet told you about.”, he continued to smile at Cody because he knows most of the secrets that he had never told anyone. “You better start talking, Frost or she’ll never be able to understand anything we tell her.”

“You know what, Huntsman. Why don’t you just follow us back and you can explain everything to her since you know so much more about her life than any of us. I mean it’s a long drive all the way back to Crystal Cove and at this rate, I’m already tired thanks to you.”

Ash cleared his throat, “Have you forgotten about something? - I can’t enter anything owned by other people without an invitation.”

Cody got in the car and sighed, “Just get in. Do you really believe the legend from The Vampire Diaries, dang? Luckily, I am not the one who dated you.”  He rolled his eyes and started the engine to start driving.

Ash felt weird to be in the same car as Skylar because she technically had a boyfriend, and it would be awkward to talk to her especially when he had made her life a misery in her past by being her first boyfriend. He knew that it was indeed a stupid move just to kidnap her and Carson, thinking that what Nicolette said could actually happen. He knew that Nicolette couldn’t be trusted but could he blame her, he was also desperate to get Skylar back. As he watched how much Carson cared about Skylar, he knew that it wasn’t his decision to make.

That was when Skylar brought him back down to earth by saying to him, “Hey, you seem a little lost, are you okay?” The question made him come back to his senses but he still continued to ignore her. “Look, I know how it feels to be undead. But you don’t need to continue to sulk, if you don’t want to talk it’s up to you.”

“It’s not that, Skylar. You know the way I treated you was unforgivable, and yet here you are all forgiving and no grudges. I thought you would never treat me the same way that you did back when we were younger.”

“Vampire or not, you are still Ash. And though I wouldn’t disagree that you did mess up by telling the whole school that we were dating. I don’t like keeping grudges on people. Truth is I don’t even know why people hold on to grudges. Their life is so short and yet they can never forgive someone for a little thing. As for us, we’re vampires. If we were to hold a grudge for the rest of our lives, wouldn’t we just be sulking about it for the rest of eternity.”

Ash’s eyes widened, “Does he know about-” he eyed Carson who was fast asleep as he asked her.

“Nope.”, sighed Skylar. “But I intend on keeping it that way. If he knew that I got Cody to turn me into a vampire, he would never look at Cody the same way. Though angels aren’t supposed to hold grudges, I know that Carson would find a way to make Cody regret turning me. Though it was my decision to get turned, he would think that it was a selfish act because no one would want to live forever on earth. It isn’t a decision even for the light of earth. - I’m not an ordinary vampire though.”

The last thing she said made Ash think, “Is it because you have been linked to your demon roots that you never knew you had?”

“That and the fact that I have mermaid powers that I can’t even control.”

“How is that so?”, he asked spontaneously.

“Apparently my family never told me about our family’s ancestral magic that remained dormant until we figured it out ourselves. After defeating my ancestor, Larissa, it was never a straight road anymore. Let’s just say that in the end, I had almost gotten Carson killed several times. And just being someone who knows about all this is a danger to yourself.”

“I thought, according to you, we as vampires are indestructible. We are invulnerable to everything aren’t we?”, he joked.

“I aren’t invulnerable to everything, there’s a demon who has got it out for my family since Cody’s dad’s accident. And because she is deceased, she’s got powers beyond anyone’s imagination. - With me being weak right now, there is no way that Cody and Carson would allow me to fight during the uprising.”

“Wait, why are you telling me all this?”

“Let’s just say that I’m giving you a second chance of redemption so don’t blow it.” Skylar let out a yawn. “I think I might as well catch some Zs, we’re still a long way from home.” She leaned on Carson’s shoulder to sleep.

That was when the GPS said, ‘Connection lost.’