Hunting The Dark Side

Chapter 8: Things Are Different Now

Jackson heard every word from inside, he sighed deeply, shaking his heads, not understanding what Sapphire wanted from him.

Meanwhile Dominic was trying to understand what Sapphire had said. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, what is going on?” he questioned, concerned.

Sapphire groaned loudly and stormed past Dominic, too mad to explain, but Dominic didn’t let her go that easily, he grabbed her arm. “What are you doing? Let go of me, or I swear to god I will…” she stopped, not finishing the sentence, she didn’t want him to find out what she was yet, not this way.

Calm down Sapphire, you can control it all. Don’t take it out on him, he hasn’t done anything to you. He has just helped you, don’t lash out.

Dominic frowned but didn’t let go of Sapphire’s arm, he automatically went defensive, “What? What will you do to me, eh?” he questioned like an officer of the law. Though he thought, that was a bad idea, it’s not her fault, why did I do that? I am determined to make her see sense, it isn’t her fault, she doesn’t know what is going on, if I could just explain it to her, she might calm down.

Sapphire uncontrollably got furious, she was not in control anymore, she punched him, which caused him to lose the grip her had on her, so he could hold his nose that she just broke. “That is what I will do.” She spoke with poison in her voice. That was when Sapphire sprinted off, trying to get away because she was so furious and she was scared she would hurt anyone even more than she had.

Why? Why? Why? Was all she thought as she ran as fast as her human legs could take her.

She ran through all the short cuts she knew off, hoping that her brothers wouldn’t know about them, she kept thinking as she ran I can't believe I did that. Why did I do it? He has done nothing to me. This is all your fault; I swear if I could kill you I would have already!

The voice in Sapphire’s head replied, hey don’t go blaming me for this, you could have just ignored me but no you listened to me.

You’re in my head, I cannot not listen to you, you always decide to talk when I really don’t want you too, that was the worst time. Sapphire replied to the voice in her head angrily.

Well if you let me take charge once in a while and things wouldn’t be so bad and I wouldn’t be so grouchy, I mean you don’t even use your abilities just in case your brothers hate you, well guess what you have lived without them nearly all your life, you don’t need them. You didn’t have to call them here, but you did; why?

I need them here, you know better than I do that something big is going on in this town, more than what I can deal with alone, I need as many people as I can. Now shut up and let my think. Sapphire silenced the voice in her mind, just as she spins around a corner round to another cut.

* * *

Jackson ran out, hearing what had happened from inside.

“What the hell happened?” Jackson questioned looking at Dominic in shock.

Dominic just shook his head, “She cannot control it, it isn’t her fault, go after her before she does anything else, just remember it is not her fault, she is not in control of it, it’s like it is her but something bigger is pulling her to darkness.” He tried to explain the best he could.

Jackson nods understanding completely, knowing this wasn’t his sister. “Leo! Help Dominic then come find me and help me, do not hurt Sapphire in any way though.” He bellowed.

Jackson then quickly turned on his heels and went running after Sapphire, knowing she couldn’t have been far ahead. Leo came running out, looking at Dominic’s nose, to see it was bleed and broken Damn she has a hard hit. He thought to himself as he cracked Dominic’s nose back into place, then takes him inside.

Meanwhile Jackson kept on running after Sapphire, who just kept sprinting on and on till she was too tired to run. She stopped in a dark short cut, sliding down the fence, putting her head in her knees and panting heavily, which was when Jackson caught up with her and towered over her.

“Sapphire, this wasn’t your fault, this isn’t your fault.” Sapphire stayed looking down, too ashamed to look at her brother, knowing what she did was wrong. “I know you didn’t mean to punch Dominic, even he knows it, you aren’t in control at the moment, I need to get you home so you don’t hurt anyone else.”

“It is my fault Jackson, well it is and it isn’t.” Sapphire mumbles her eyes staring at her brothers’ shoes.

Jackson frowned deeply, “Sapphire? What are you talking about? How is it your fault?”

Sapphire was quiet again, for a moment, her breaths turning into quiet growls, too quiet for Jackson to hear them, though he was trying to understand Sapphire’s cryptic response, “Sapphire, I don’t understand what you mean, did you punch him on purpose? Yell at me on purpose?”

“No, of course not, that wasn’t me…it was…” Sapphire started but didn’t finish. I nearly told him, how could I be so stupid, I have to be more careful, I have to. She thought angrily at herself.

“What do you mean it wasn’t you? Who was it then?” Jackson questioned, lowering himself to her level. That was when he heard the growls. He scurries back across the path, “Sapphire, you are stronger than this, you done the impossible, you weren’t changing, this must be just some sort of side effect or something.”

Sapphire looks up at him, her teeth were gritted together, her growls were growing louder. Jackson scurried to his feet then started to run, there was no way that he was going to hurt her, so he ran.

Sapphire soon got to her feet, she wasn’t like a normal zombie, she was running after him, not just at human speed, but faster so much faster. After a short minute she had caught up to him and she had launched herself towards him, she didn’t recognise him as her brother, all she thought was food and hunger, she was so hungry, more than any hunger she had ever felt, and she had felt a lot of hunger in her life time. Her stomach was burning, the pain was excruciatingly painful not only that but it was annoying, though Sapphire couldn’t feel any of it, it was like she wasn’t in her body like she wasn’t in control of any of it. Now she knew what the voice felt like.

Sapphire was now somehow pinning her brother down, her teeth snapping towards his body, but his hands started to push against her chest, the other pushing her face to the side to keep her teeth away. As she kept trying to bite him, Jackson shouted at her many times, telling her to stop it, he tried to get through to her but she didn’t hear she was so hungry, after some flesh to feed on, but Jackson was too strong for her. For now.

Jackson kept screaming at her as he fell weaker and weaker. Sapphire soon recognised his voice, I know that voice, I do. I don’t want to hurt him, I don’t. So why am I trying to?

The male voice kept calling to her “Sapphire! Sapphire! this isn’t you, you can fight this, fight it god damn it!” He gritted his teeth as his arms kept growing weaker, the weaker he grew the closer Sapphire got, the closer he became of becoming bate.

Jackson? Jackson! It isn’t me! I don’t know how to; I don’t know what to do. Sapphire pleaded inside her own mind.

Of course you do, you have done it before, with me. You gained control when I took over, so do it again now! It is one thing being prison to you but being prison with you and a zombie controlling us is something completely different. The voice in her mind reminded her. Get to work! The voice yelled then faded.

Jackson felt Sapphire grow stronger, or maybe it was him growing weaker, he didn’t know. He called more desperate to get through to her.

“Sapphire, I won’t fight you, you are my sister and I love you.” He yelled, he looked at his sister dead in the eye, he was sure he saw some flicker in her eyes, it was a flicker from hunger to desperate then back to hunger. Her teeth were getting closer to his flesh, though he kept watching her eyes, he could see the fight she was in from her eyes, she was fighting for humanity.

“Sapphire, you got his, don’t let it win, you are strong.” He encouraged and praised. Sapphire stopped trying to move closer to him. She just looked at him, Jackson saw her slowly gain back control. Then suddenly her body went jigged and fell to one side. Jackson didn’t know what had just happened, until he saw blood pouring from her, he turned to look at what caused it, his eyes darkened from anger; “What the hell did you do that for?” he questioned, He sat up and rolled her over, he tore some of the bottom of his shirt off and put pressure on the wound.

“She was going to bite you, I can’t have someone else getting turned again.” the shooter shouted back, and looked at Sapphire when Jackson saw to her. “How is she?” he asked.

Jackson looked angrily as he replied, “How do you think she is? You just shot her, not once but twice! And she wasn’t going to bite me! She was winning, you didn’t give her a chance to win.”

He watched the shooter with fury in his eyes, then he looked back to his sister with tears in his eyes, then he picked her up, putting her carefully on his shoulder before walking back to the house that his sister lived at. Not talking. Just crying.

When he got home, he laid Sapphire on the sofa, the swiftly ran upstairs to her secret room hoping she had a first aid kit, which thankfully she did. He ran back downstairs two steps at a time. “Go make yourself useful and see if she has any alcohol I can sterilise these tweezers with.” Jackson hissed to his brother. Leo grunted then walked to the kitchen to fetch his Jackson some alcohol.

He knelt down by his sister and removed his blood stained shirt that covered the wound, “Will you hurry up in there?” he yelled.

Leo walked in the room drinking vodka from the bottle. Jackson glared at him, snatching the bottle from him, “It isn’t for you; dumb ass.” He hissed, pouring it over the tweezers, then pours it into a little bowl. He gently pulls open the wound. “You are lucky that it isn’t deep!” he warned his brother, still pissed off at what he done.

Leo just grunted in reply. “I was saving your life, I done what I would have done if it was anyone else.”

“She was fighting it!” Jackson yelled at the top of his voice, then took a deep breath the gently pushed the tweezers into the open flesh and grabbed the bullet pulling it out and drops it in the bowl of vodka.

“How would you know? No one has ever fought the curse.” Leo yelled back, angry that Jackson was getting annoyed about him saving his life.

Jackson grabs a needle and suture, threating it, then starts to stitch up the bullet wound, Leo steps forward to grab the vodka bottle, Jackson just hissed, “Don’t even think about it.”

Leo just rolled his eyes then walked into the kitchen slamming the door behind you shouting frustrated, “I was saving your life!”

Jackson finished stitching the wound up, “Sorry about this.” He muttered to Sapphire before pouring vodka on the wound, he looks through the first aid box and sighs, “Looks like it is bandages.” He takes the roll of bandage and rolls it around her abdomen over her wound a few times then tapes it in place.

He looked at her stroked her hair out her face, “Just fight a little longer for me, ok sis?” He spoke softly then walked to the kitchen to wash his hands of his sisters’ blood.

“Jackson I’m-” Leo started to speak until he was rudely cut off.

“No, you do not apologise nor do you even speak to me until I know she is ok. I am disgusted in you shooting your own sister, that wasn’t even her! She wasn’t even in control, but she was gaining control, she wasn’t fighting against me anymore when you shot her, I have no clue what you were thinking but you best stop that way of thinking! She is family, start treating her like it.” Jackson ranted.

“She walked out on us, how does get the right to be treat like one of us.” Leo bellowed with poison in his tone.

Jackson walked towards him grabbing him by his shirt collar slamming him against the wall. “You say anything like that again and you will be on your own. She has the same parents as us, whether you like it or not she is family, and we look out for our family no matter what, I thought dad taught you better than this.” Jackson roared in anger, he released his brother then stormed into the living room then sat next to the sofa that his lifeless sister was laying on.

Jackson sat by him for what seemed like hours but it was only minutes, he just watched her, hoping that she would be fine, then as he waited she plunged forward. Jackson watched with hope when she plunged forward but she was still unconscious. Jackson cried, resting his head lightly on his only sister’s, needing her back.

Leo came in the room, sighing when he saw his sister and his brother. He walked to Jackson, putting his hand firmly on his arm, but he shook it off. “Don’t touch me! You just want to abandon her just like father did, you look up to him so much that you don’t even regret hurting her, you don’t regret any of it, look at her Leo, go on look!”

Leo sighed and looked at Sapphire. “She was going to bite her, I don’t care what you say, why didn’t you just fight for your life rather than just let her bite you huh? You think I could shoot you? Do you?”

Jackson nose flared in anger, “Oh you couldn’t shoot me but you can shoot Sapphire? How does that work? In fact, I don’t even want an answer, nor do I want to look at you, get out of me sight before I do something I regret.”

Leo stared stunned, he opens his mouth to say something then closes it again, then storms out the house slamming the door behind him, muttering under his breath as he leaves.

Jackson shakes his head, “He has no idea, does he? I don’t understand what is wrong with him lately.” He speaks softly as he lightly takes Sapphire’s hand in his, Sapphire’s lifeless body didn’t respond in any way. He sighs softly, more tears streaming down his cheek. “Come on Sapphire, please. If you can hear me, show me somehow, squeeze my hand anything.” He pleaded desperately, he rested his head on her body gently crying till he falls asleep.

Jackson hears the door close, he opens his eyes and lifts his head up to see its Leo, he just glared at him, then he looked at Sapphire, gently stroking the back on her hand with his thumb that was when she mumbled, “Jackson” almost silently but Jackson heard it and moved closer to her, and he replied.

“Sapphire? yes I’m here, you’re going to be just fine, ok?” Tears were falling from his eyes from happiness, but he wanted to be 100% sure that she was ok, he didn’t want to take any more chances, for Sapphire’s sake more than anybody’s. He picked her up as gently as he could which still caused groans from her. “I’m sorry, but we need to make sure you’re ok? I’m going to take you to see Dominic, he will be able to find out what the hell is going on.” He explains softly, the walks towards the door, when there was a knock on the door, Jackson frowns deeply, he gently lays Sapphire back down, taking his gun out, walking towards the door, when there was another knock. He opens the door slowly, to see Dominic stood there, he instantly relaxed.

“Dominic, I have never been so pleased to see you, Sapphire changed to a zombie for like ten minutes, she went for me, but Leo shot her twice but she is coming around but she doesn’t sound like a zombie anymore. Would you be able to check her out? Make sure that she isn’t a zombie anymore or if the disease is out of her?”

Dominic looked in confusion as all he heard was the end bit but he nodded. “Yeah, OK then, get her in my car, sit in the back with her to calm her down just in case she still is a zombie.” He jogged to the car to open the back door open for Jackson who had rushed inside to gently collect Sapphire up back in his arms, carrying her in his arm. Dominic helped Jackson gently place Sapphire inside. Once Jackson was inside he shut the door then ran to the driver’s seat, got inside then drove off, leaving Leo at the house to roll in his guilt. Dominic drove well over the speed limit again to his lab and in ten minutes Dominic stopped and parked up.

Jackson opened the door then picked Sapphire out of the back seat, then ran to the door. They ran inside to the machine; which could see how well the organs were doing, if any were closing down, and if they could still fight the disease. Dominic pointed to the bed, “Lay her here, and strap her in, the machine will be able to determine how much disease is in her body and how much chance she has to fight against it.” Jackson lays her gently on the bed, then straps her in. That was when Dominic noticed the wound, he looked at Jackson raising his eyes. “Don’t ask, I really don’t want to talk about it.” He answered the unspoken question.

Dominic nodded once, then walked out the room and to the room next door, Jackson followed and watched from the safety glass, after Dominic pushed a few buttons, the machine started working, after a long few minutes, the results show up slow appear on the screen. Dominic leans forward to look at the screen resting his arm on the desk then frowned at the results. “What the hell?” This can't be. I knew she was strong but no one can do this. No human will have the strength to fight this, that was when what she once said flashed back to him. They fight all the supernatural creatures not just zombies. Realisation slowly dawned on him; No way, it can’t be… His thought was interrupted by Jackson.

Jackson replied worryingly, “What? What is it, Dominic? Tell me!”

Dominic stuttered in disbelief, “her… her body is fighting it, she's... she's meant to be dead but she's not but at the same time she's not a zombie, the red blood cells and the defence mechanism are still fighting the disease, no human body can do this Jackson, trust me we would know by now if any human could fight this disease off. I…I think she was already more than human for her to fight it.” He glanced at Jackson, expecting him to bite his head off.

He looked at Dominic in total shock. “Are you trying to tell me that my own sister isn't human? How is that possible? I would know if she was anything but human. That isn't possible, you must be mistaken, you need to check it again!”

Dominic sighed, knowing it would be hard for Jackson to believe, so he took a different strategy. “Why don't you look yourself? I am sure you will know when something isn't

right, especially since Sapphire did.”

Jackson frowned deeply enough that the wrinkles formed on his forehead. “Sapphire could tell there was something wrong? What do you mean?”

“I mean just by looking through a microscope she could tell that the bodies that she was examining were about to change into zombies just by examining their blood,” he explained.

Jackson looked at his sister helplessly, opening up to Dominic. “She can do that? I knew she was bright but I didn't know she was that bright, I mean I didn't even know that she was interested in forensics. God, I am such a bad brother, you know I thought we were close but all she’s done is keep things from me throughout her life, what am I meant to do, Dominic? I try to be caring but she thinks that I am after something but I just want to be there for her now, it's never too late to want to be there for family, is it?”

He turned to look at Dominic, who was standing there listening to every word he was saying. Then he thought how he could answer the questions that Jackson just gave him. Dominic picked each word carefully before he spoke.

“Well, all you can do is talk to her, tell her that you want to be there for her, rather than just caring because she'll think that you want something if you haven't been there for her in the past and you suddenly are now because you read her diary, I mean what would you think?” As Dominic talked Sapphire started to come around, she looks down to see she was strapped to a table, she looks around trying to get her bearings.

Jackson replied to Dominic with his back to them both. “I could do that, I just want her to know that I always have, I was never the one expressing my feelings, it was normally Leo that did that sort of thing. I always thought that expressing feelings was weak and I needed to be strong for the family but now I realise that doing that has just made them keep secrets from me, which means that I didn't do my job properly.”

He turned around and saw Sapphire straining her neck to look the glass; the mic that allowed communication between the two rooms was turned on. He gulped slightly then blushed, totally embarrassed. He left the room he was in then walked into the room Sapphire was in, taking the straps that held her down off, he asked softly.

“I am guessing that you heard that, Sapphire?” When she just nodded sharply, he continued, “It was all true what I said, I just want you to know that I do care for you and that I want you to know that you can tell me anything, you do know that, right?”

Sapphire watched her brother try to express his feelings, which was a first for her. She thought instantly that she must have nearly died or something but even if she did he wanted to be there just like any other brother so she had to try too with this convocation.

“When I was little I didn't think that you cared at all, I thought you were so up our dad’s ass you couldn't see what was right in front of you, just like dad and Leo, but I know now that you care and that you want to be there for me. Thank you, Jackson. I really mean that, I never thought that I would hear you say those words to me, especially on a hunt.”

Jackson chuckled slightly. “Yeah, well, it is the first time I have seen you in ages for me to tell you that, we just happen to reunite when a hunt is going on. Speaking about hunting,” Jackson hesitated, not knowing how to ask the question. He stayed quiet for too long which made Sapphire feel nervous and quite uncomfortable; she couldn't stand the silence, she had to know.

“What? What is it, Jackson?” She turned to look at Dominic as she just remembered he was there. “Dominic?” When nobody answered her she started to lose her temper, which for her was bad. She yelled, “Will someone tell me what is going on? I am not in the mood to be messed around like this, I deserve to know what is going on!”

Jackson sighed deeply and just came out with it. “It seems from your results that you have supernatural abilities, that can't be true, right? I mean how can you have supernatural abilities? You haven't even been hunting for what, fourteen years, so that really isn't possible, tell me it isn't possible?”

Sapphire stood up and walked around, worming her way around the truth “That can't be true can it? Have you checked it again? If I had supernatural characteristics then you would have known by now, right? You know what the signs of every single supernatural creature in the world, its wrong. The results have to be wrong.”

Jackson looked down, sighing softly. “I don't know, Sapphire, I didn't do the tests, Dominic did, and I am sure he knows what he is doing since he has been doing this for a long time.”

Sapphire looked between her brother and Dominic. “He didn't even know any other supernatural creatures existed before I told him so how would he know what is human, zombie or any other supernatural creature?” She hesitated. “Here, let me look, I know what I am looking for, I know what cells of every creature in the world look like, I have made sure of it in case one came into my morgue.”

Jackson raised his eyebrows, impressed at what she said, but he stayed quiet as Sapphire looked through the results with some concentration, muttering things under her breath, trying to remember things as she did, then she gulped, turning to look at her brother then Dominic. “It's not...I mean...It's not me you need to worry about right now, I'll be ok, the problem is that the zombies are evolving. How could you not notice something like this, Dominic? I think that you need a new scientist if he didn't notice it!”

Dominic frowned deeply. “What do you mean they are evolving? How can they be evolving, that is impossible, right? And I don't know how he didn't notice. Why don't you show me the difference?”

Sapphire hesitated, thinking things through quickly, then nodded. “Yeah, I can show you, if Jackson and Leo-” She looked around the room, looking for Leo. “Wait, where is Leo? Is he ok?”

Jackson looked away, hatred flaring in his eyes. “He shot you, I didn't think that he had the right to see if you were going to recover. I think that him sitting thinking that he might have killed you serves him right. I mean who would shoot their own sister, even if you were attacking me, it wasn't really you and he knew that but he shot you anyways.”

Sapphire looked at her brother stunned, not able to speak for a few moments as she processed what he just told her. “What are you saying...?” She stopped, not understanding what had happened, not understanding why her own brother would shoot her. Thoughts ran through her mind trying to understand why her brother shot her. Maybe he was just scared that she would kill Jackson, maybe he had nothing against her. That had to be right, she was probably just exaggerating; they were family after all and who would want to hurt their own family?

Though the voice in the back of her mind seemed to totally disagree, you saw when you were younger they never cared for you, they saw you were hurt but what did they do? Nothing! They let you get pushed around and get hurt just because 'dad' said so. They let you get hurt, they let you suffer the consequences. They let you patch yourself up all on your own. Did they comfort you? No! They just avoided you like you were the plague. Just because your father didn’t want you.