Insatiable

Chapter 6

ONE YEAR AGO.

I'm so f*****g guilty!" Jennie's heart literally hurts. Her tears are threatening to fall as well; howbeit it didn't happen since Jin scolded her.

"Why would you feel guilty? She's going to trap us again, Jennie. Do you seriously want to become a phantasm one more time?"

"I'm with Jin. Eleanor deserves to die."

"Shut up, Kai! Eleanor isn't dead yet!" Elijah interjects.

An hour already passed since Sage carried Eleanor's weak body out of the house. She's in transition, any moment from now, she'll either die or turn into a vampire. Her life is literally in the hands of her boyfriend.

"I don't think Sage can kill that witch. It's obvious that he loves her," says Charlotte.

"Elijah loved Aurora, but he still murdered her."

The very first untouchable's throws daggered look at Jin. "I don't know if being a phantasm cracked your head or whatever, but I will never know where you're getting the audacity to throw a deadpan statement right now."

Elijah walks away for the reason that it's not healthy for Jimin to hear this kind of things. He knows that Sage won't be around to compel the hybrid not to ask questions that Elijah finds hard to answer anymore. It's obvious that the ruthless vampire hates him now. Elijah is his best friend, yet he still betrayed Sage.

"Daddy loves you so much, baby boy." Elijah kisses Jimin's forehead. The hybrid finally fell asleep. The night is almost over; thank goodness his son is still around.

"I won't let anyone take you away from me, sweetheart."

That night, he slept beside his kid. Elijah still feels threaten—like Jimin will fade away if he blinks an eye. Besides, the vampire kid brings him comfort, he plans to stay in bed all day, but his dream has been shattered when he heard screams downstairs.

"Dad?" Jimin moans, he's still sleepy but the vampires on the first floor are being loud.

"Go back to sleep, baby. I'll check on them." Elijah super speeds upon realizing that Sage is in his house.

He didn't know what happened. He's too late. All he's able to witness is Jin's bleeding lips, the rogues' guilty faces, and Sage's dead eyes.

The very first untouchable shivers when Sage's gaze falls into him. It's cold as ice.

"We're even, so..." his voice complements his icy stare. "Leave me alone."

Sage is gone in a blink of an eye.

Silence is the only thing lingering and Elijah breaks it.

"Sage punched you?" The question is for Jin. The latter shakes his head.

"I did." says Desmond, one of the rogues.

"Somebody better start talking," Elijah feels as though he's about to lose his sanity. Everything is so f****d up. 

"Jin read Sage's mind. He told us Eleanor is dead,"

Every word said by Desmond penetrates through Elijah's heart, shattering it until nothing's left but pieces that can never be whole again.

Sage didn't hurt anyone today. He literally only showed himself at Elijah's house to say that he's tired and that they should stop now. He didn't want to get back at anyone. He just wants the rogues to leave him alone.

"And this guy right here had the temerity to say—"  Desmond inhales deeply, it is as if the words he's about to say are made by the devil. "That he's happy Eleanor's body is finally rotting in hell."

Elijah scoffs. He can't help but throw a punch on Jin's face too.

"You're such a jerk!" The very first untouchable shouts, he's so angry it's gross. All he sees is red. "Sage didn't deserve that!"

Jin just swallows hard. Of course he knows. He knows that what he said was too much. He regrets it the moment the words came out of his dirty mouth. He's so guilty and sad that the only defense mechanism that entered his mind is displacement. Jin made a shitty decision and instead of getting mad at himself, he chose to lash out on Sage.

"I'm out. I can't live with you monsters anymore." Desmond blurts out. He only agrees to be a part of Jin's plan because he thought that everything will turn out okay—that no one will die, that the worst thing that can happen is Eleanor turning into a vampire. Clearly, he was wrong.

Desmond was a rogue during 20th century, but being a phantasm taught him better. He didn't want to live as a bad one anymore.

"Me too." Kai walks out with Desmond. He's sick of fighting everyone.The other rogues who promised to stay left that day too. They didn't want to involve themselves with Elijah or Sage anymore.

Jackson, Jennie, and Jin are the only former phantasms left.

"Aren't you going to leave?" Elijah's voice is full of hatred as he asks this question to the three remaining vampires. Jin shakes his head. Meanwhile, Jackson pouts as he says: "I don't abandon my friends."

"If you stay, you can't be a rogue anymore."

"Who says we still want to be that type of vampire?" Asks Jennie.

"We owe this to Sage, you know." 

Elijah set some rules. If these vampires want to stay in his abode, they have to abide with the law. Drinking human blood is still allowed, but it should be from a blood bag only. The rule is, they cannot kill or turn innocent human beings into a bloodsucker.

"Counter proposal." Jennie raises her hand. She's willing to change, but only when it's gradual. It would be impossible to one hundred percent change because she was a rogue almost all her life. "What about drinking directly from jugular vein? Though we're only going to drink from the bad ones. Not from the innocents."

"And how can we distinguish good people from bad people?" Elijah raises a brow.

"Oh! It's easy! I'll only drink from prostitutes!"

"Prostitutes are not bad people, Jackson! Stop judging them!"

"Fine! What about rapists and coldhearted murders?"

"Deal!" Jennie agrees.

Elijah facepalms. With a heavy heart, he turns to Jin.

"Is that okay for you?"

The mind reader vampire nods. The only explanation why he hasn't left yet is because he believes in Elijah's words. They owe this to Sage. Trying to control their lust for blood is the only way to somehow lessen the guilt they feel for killing Eleanor. They know that the enchantress' only reason for wanting to trap them into the phantasm spell is because they're rogues, so again, as a compensation, they'll drink blood moderately now.

"You should apologize to Sage." Jennie taps Jin's shoulder.

Elijah shakes his head.

"No, Jennie. We're going to grant his last wish. We're going to leave him alone."

Obviously they didn't do it, because if they truly left him alone, Jennie would still be alive.

"Does anyone have anything to say?" It's hard for Elijah to say this, however someone should lead.

"How did this happen?" Jackson's heart and voice break at the same time. His eyes are focused on Jennie's coffin and the only reason why he hasn't jumped on her body is because Jimin is in his arms. The hybrid brings him comfort—he needs an innocent vampire to calm his heart that just lost faith to all types of bloodsuckers.

Perhaps the witches are correct. There's no hope for them. Once a bad one, always a bad one. Jennie is murdered by her own kind. Jennie is murdered by Eleanor.

He still can't believe it. Jennie is an untouchable. An immortal! She isn't supposed to die!

"This is all your fault." Jackson glares at Sage. His way of coping up with the pain he feels for losing a dear friend is by blaming the ruthless vampire. He's just like Jin. They displace their feelings.

"Stop it. We're here to give Jennie peace, not to blame each other!" Elijah's voice is like thunder. Like Sage, he's just so done with all of this. "I'm officially doing this if you don't have anything else to say,"

When no one answers, Elijah lowers the coffin on the ground.

Jin's eyes starts to water. He instantly wipes the threatening tears. Jackson was the one who called him to say that Jennie is gone. Jin didn't believe the caller at first. He thought it was some kind of stupid, humorless prank, but when Sage snatched the phone away from Jackson to tell Jin that the news is indeed true, Jin felt as though he's about to die as well.

Sage hates him so there's no way he'll participate in what Jin thought was a prank. The ruthless vampire only talked to him because he knows how hard it is for Jackson to deliver such terrible news.

Jackson detests himself. He can't stomach the fact that he called her an i***t seconds just before she died. He is such a crappy friend.

"I can't do this." Jackson passes Jimin to Sage. The former can't watch his friend be swallowed by the ground. Jennie didn't deserve this.

"Where are you going?"

Consternation is evident on Elijah's face. It feels like Déjà vu all over again—vampires leave when things are rough.

"I'm so sorry," Jackson clasps his hands together; he's desperately staring at Elijah—begging him to let him go.

"You can't leave us!" The very first untouchable breaks and then he switches his gaze at Sage who looks equally devastated. "Sage, help me. Jackson c-can't go!"

But Sage only looks away; he busies himself by ruffling the hybrid's hair. Jimin gives him peace too.

"Jin!?" Elijah turns to his last hope. Surely, Jin can make Jackson stay. Sadly, he shakes his head in defeat.

"Everyone around us is either dead or lonely,"

It's the truth they need to hear. The former phantasms realized this first that's why most of them left the moment they're given a chance. Jackson is foolish enough to think that staying with the vampires you care about is the right thing to do. He should have known better. Connection, love, and dependence are the three main reasons why humans are considered the weakest creature. People cannot live on their own—they need someone to survive. Jackson's greatest mistake is acting like a person.

He only needs himself.

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise," Jackson is quick to change his broken expression into neutral. He had enough.

He hated the rogues when they walked away. Now, he's doing the same thing and he loves every step he takes away from them.

"Long live, brothers."

Elijah never thought that one can have his heart broken so many times. First, it's Jennie's death. Second, it's Jackson's departure. Third, it's Jin following Jackson's move.

He's the one who told Elijah and Sage to live long. Jackson took west direction while Jin super speeds in the right direction. The latter ponders Jackson's statement and it made sense.

He doesn't owe anything to Sage because as it turns out, Eleanor is alive.

The carved letter "E" on Jennie's forehead is enough to make them believe that it's Eleanor who killed the female vampire. They came to know that it's a warning sign to leave her alone. The enchantress had to go extreme to make her threat convincing.

It's obvious she didn't want anything to do with the other vampires, especially with Sage.

Moving thousands of miles away from Lacuna Valley should have been a sign. Hell, making them think that she's dead is a clearer sign.

However, Sage can't seem to stop.

"I need your help, brother."

Elijah sobs. He doesn't answer vocally, but he nods.

"I need to see Eleanor,"

There's silence after that. Seconds later, Elijah's mocking laugh erupts—it's so loud that the birds fly far, far away.

Sage ignores his brother. Swallowing hard, he says: "And I need Jimin to come with me—"

The ruthless vampire's words drown in the air when Elijah super speeds to snatch his son away from Jimin.

"f**k you!" Elijah punches Sage's jaw, nose, chin, and every other part of his body. He didn't stop until Sage coughs blood.

"E-Elijah, please. Listen—"

Jimin's adoptive father spits on Sage's face. The latter just groans. His desperation is apparent that he only curls into a ball when Elijah kicks him in the stomach once again.

"Jennie died because of Eleanor!" Black veins spread into Elijah's face. Every part of his eyes is bloody red. No other color can be seen.

"J-Jimin is my only hope!" The tattooed vampire insists. He tries to stand up just so he can stare into Elijah's eyes. He wants his friend to see how desperate and lonely he is.

He's manipulating Elijah through attacking his sore spot. He knows that the very first untouchable's greatest weakness is guilt.

"No. Jimin is my only hope." He mimics Sage's words with conviction.

"I dealt with my guilt for over a year, Sage. It ate me alive because I thought I am one of the reasons why Eleanor died." He sighs. "I wouldn't mind drowning with guilt for eternity if it means I get to be with my son."

It's his way of saying that he wouldn't grant the ruthless vampire's wish.

"Tell me, brother. Is this really the time to give into my conscience?" Elijah embraces Jimin hard. "Now that I know there's a greater possibility that I might lose my child for real?"

They don't know Ellie anymore. She's a vampire and again, vampires are capable of doing all nasty things. Vampires kill anyone they want. Jimin could be the next dead body.

"Very well," Sage smiles. His face says he gives up—making Elijah release the breath he's holding.

"Thank you," the very first untouchable says sincerely. "It's only the three of us again."

It's always just the three of them who stay. Elijah cannot get rid of Sage and vice versa.

"What can I say? We're brothers," Sage smiles some more.

Elijah loosens his grip on his son. He's relaxed now.

"And you know what brothers do?" Sage takes a step forward. His smile is frightening.

"They help each other," another step forward.

Elijah creases his forehead. Something's wrong with Sage...

"And when one brother refuses to help," another step closer.

"He resorts to the ugly option. Jimin..."

Elijah's heart skips a beat.

"I'm freeing you from the compulsion from years ago. You're free to ask about your real family."

After retracting the compulsion for the hybrid, Sage super speeds away, leaving a confused son and raging father.