She stands still for a few seconds to let the cool air clear her head and calm down before she starts walking. The man at the door sees her and asks if she's ok and she tells him she's just got a headache, thanks for checking, and goodnight before walking away. She knows the way, and she goes straight toward the place she's to meet Glade. She sees a small group of youths and ignores them confidently. If anything happened, anything at all, then all she would need to do is scream and Glade would come running. Her confidence stops them thinking about trying anything and she doesn't think any more about them.
Glade goes out to meet Rachel and watches the people around him while he waits. He's getting twitchy, he should have hunted last night but he wanted to wait. Rachel wanted to watch and she was busy last night and one night hadn't been a problem before but he had been staying up for a couple of days this last week.
Rachel walks past a small park and an owl scares her, silently floating past her and making her jump. She sits down on a low wall and stays very still till her heart settles again and she can continue. Glade isn't far, it would be a shame to faint one or two streets away from him.
Glade walks fast and waits for her, eager to hunt and hoping she will be early. She is and she smiles when she sees him waiting for her. They both turn at the sound of a car going too fast and she presses the button for the lights instead of just crossing. He leans against the wall to wait for her and moves when the lights change. They both hear the fast car appear at the corner at the same time and neither of them could have moved fast enough to stop it hitting Rachel. The driver tries to stop but it still hits her and he freezes.
Glade runs around the front to get to her and the driver still doesn't move. She starts shivering, but quickly stops it when it hurts her more. “Rachel, I'll call an ambulance.” She tries to shake her head and moans quietly, trying to hide how badly she's hurt from him. “No. Don't.”
“I can't help you.”
“You can.” She stops shivering and lies still and he hears the driver behind him.
“Is, is she ok?”
He tries to ignore him.
“I haven't killed her have I?”
He starts growling lightly.
“She just stepped out in front of me.”
He turns quickly and feels his claws sting his fingers and he grabs the man by his throat. “The light was red and you were going too fast.
“Please, don't hurt me, I'm sorry.” He looks back at Rachel and forces himself to calm down. He puts the man down but doesn't let go, he starts making a dream instead. “Don't speed again. What would it feel like if you hit someone?” The man wobbles a little and Glade makes him dream about what just happened then lets him go. He goes back to Rachel and picks her up carefully. He can't help but notice the blood on the ground.
He moves quickly through dark alleys to his home and puts her on the bed in the spare room again and takes her shoes off and sits by the bed to wait for her to wake up. He doesn't need to take long, and she wakes in pain, which he blocks for her. “Rachel, can you hear me?”
“Yeah.” The right side of her face isn't moving like it should and he knows that even if he rushed her to the hospital, she wouldn't survive more than a few hours. He stays quiet for a minute.
“I was going to ask you if you'd change me.”
“I know. Are you sure that this is what you want?”
“Yes.”
“It can not be undone.”
“I know.” He kneels by the bed and doesn't look at her.
“Is this really what you want or are you asking because you do not want to die?”
“This is what I want.” He nods and cuts her wrist with a claw and drinks a little, fighting the temptation to drink properly. When he looks up she's unconscious again and he shakes her shoulder to wake her. “You know what you need to do now?”
“Yeah.” He cuts his own wrist and feeds her. She turns away at the taste but turns back to him. He listens carefully to her heart and when she turns away and doesn't come back he seals the cut and holds her hand and waits. He can hear her heart slow, then race as it takes effect, and ses her breathe slower and slower as she dies. “How long?”
“A minute or two.”
“Thanks.” He smiles and she shivers, and he can't hear her heart any more. He gently lays her hand across her chest and steps back, the step turning into a short jump as her energy leaves and she dies. He pulls the chair over to the wall and sits down to wait, wondering if she will return.
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