ACADEMY OF THE UNDEAD; BOOK TWO Stand Together ... Or Fall Together
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Reaper At The Door

Inside three hours, they were out the front of the mansion, an eight-foot brick fence protecting the front of the property.

“Vampires, let’s go!” Livinia commanded, and the thirteen vampires leapt up to the top of the wall, then jumped, landing in a garden area populated by trees and shrubs.

Livinia faced them and said, “Me and Stephen will watch the front, Isabelle and Sophia, watch the back, Scarlett, take the rest of the team in and search the whole place.”

They moved quickly, nine of them scampering up the steps to the front door, although Elizabeth moaned, “Locked, the front door is locked and I haven’t got my tools to pick it.”

Scarlett skipped to her right, then kicked in the first window she came to, and the vampires quickly stepped over the window-sill and gathered in the front room. Scarlett listened for a moment, then said, “I can’t hear anything, and this place looks massive, so Alan, Thelma and Ruby, check upstairs, check everywhere; Aleisha, Vicky, Elizabeth and Richard check this floor, check every room, check in every cupboard and under every piece of furniture, and Piper, you come with me, and we’ll start at the back and work forward.”

They hurried off, and Scarlett and Piper jogged down the long hallway, past the stairs, past a few closed doors until they found themselves in the rear living area. All the windows in the rear living area were floor-to-ceiling, and Scarlett saw Isabelle and Sophia already standing guard in the backyard.

Scarlett and Piper did a sweep of the large rear sunroom, then Scarlett moved to her right and found herself in the kitchen, while Piper began walking back down the hallway, although she stopped when she noticed the door on her left. While Scarlett was looking in the huge pantry, Piper said quietly, “Scarlett, stairs here leading down, it must be a basement or something.”

Scarlett rushed over, and as they skipped down the stairs, they became aware of the flickering light coming from the room at the bottom of the stairs, although no sounds were coming from the room. Before charging in, Scarlett closed her eyes and whispered, “Please, please let her be okay.”

Scarlett burst into the room, and she looked around, saw a bald figure sitting forlornly on the floor with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, then she saw the tall, blond woman. Scarlett flew at her and squeezed both hands around her throat, as she snarled, “Where is she?”

The woman was taller than her, although she didn’t put up any resistance as Scarlett, still with her hands firmly wrapped around her throat, pushed her against a wall.

“I said, where the fuck is she?” Scarlett yelled.

Piper was standing just behind Scarlett, poised to attack if the woman went at her, and she was surprised when she heard a weak voice.

“Scarl …” the voice coughed out, “B-Blondie …”

Scarlett snapped her gaze around to the figure sitting in the gloomy shadows, although she didn’t recognise either the voice or the image.

“B-Blondie … it’s me.”

Scarlett turned to Piper and said quietly, “Restrain this one and let everybody know we’re in the basement.”

Piper glared at the tall woman, then she yelled, “Everybody, we found some bitch in the basement, but the guy’s not here, so replace him!”

With her hand on her heart and a million thoughts zinging through her mind, Scarlett moved uncertainly towards the figure. The slumped image, the weak voice; neither were identifiable, although Scarlett was positive that the figure had muttered, Blondie, it’s me. Stepping lightly, timidly, Scarlett inched closer, and with her heart thumping, she mumbled, “Tay, Taylee …”

The bald figure looked up impassively, her eyes weepy and shallow, and her face looked gaunt and pale, yet it was her.

Trembling already, Scarlett knelt down next to her, and she gently tilted the face up, then whimpered, “Tay, Taylee …”

The figure coughed, the cough hunching her over, then the figure mumbled, “Hey Blondie.”

Scarlett blubbered, her soulmate, her lover, her hero looking like the Grim Reaper had her firmly in his clutches. Trying to control her erratic emotions, she asked shakily, “You, you okay?”

Taylee offered a weak smile, then she said hoarsely, “I’m fucked up, and, and I’m get-getting weaker.”

Scarlett embraced her, although she felt Taylee flinch at the contact, so she eased out of the embrace and looked into her eyes. Taylee looked drunk, or drugged, or as Scarlett painfully acknowledged, she looked near death.

Livinia and Vicky raced down to the basement, and they saw Scarlett kneeling beside a frail figure, while Piper was sneering at a tall woman. Piper had her right hand wrapped around the woman’s throat, and she was pushing forcefully, keeping the woman anchored against the wall.

Scarlett knew that for vampires who lived in the general community, death always lurked, death was always waiting, biding its time, waiting to pounce, but seeing the love of her life just a heartbeat away from meeting death, broke her. Struggling in so many ways, Scarlett stood and said shakily, “V-Vicky, look after her.”

Vicky hurried over and knelt by Taylee’s side, and Vicky grimaced when the bald head slumped weakly on her shoulder. Stunned by the sight of her, Vicky muttered, “Hey Tay, we’re all here, everything’s going to be alright.”

Livinia knelt in front of Taylee, and she gently prised one of her eyelids up and examined the weepy eye.

Scarlett moved away awkwardly, the range of emotions rushing through her making her feel nauseous, and she bowed her face as she tried to regulate her harsh breathing. Taylee needed her, in her darkest hour, Taylee needed Scarlett to do what Vicky and Livinia were doing, although Scarlett glanced across at the woman and hissed. Her one true love needed to be comforted, although Scarlett was overcome by the darkest of desires. Blood boiled in her veins, and an uncomfortable thud pounded in her forehead, and with her fists clenching, she strode towards the woman. Piper could see the intent in Scarlett’s eyes, so she released the woman and stepped aside. Staring into her eyes from a foot away, Scarlett placed her right hand on the woman’s throat, and she squeezed, the squeeze meant as an indication of what was to come. Surprisingly, the woman didn’t flinch, she held Scarlett’s poisonious glare, then Scarlett wrapped her left hand around her neck. Beginning a firmer squeeze, Scarlett muttered, “This, this will be slow, torturously slow, because, because …” Scarlett whimpered as the soul breaking emotion of loss rattled through her, although as tears began streaming from her eyes, a more powerful emotion took charge of her, and she said grittily, “You, you fucking bitch, I want you to feel every single moment of your death.”

Flitting in and out of unconsciousness, Taylee rasped, “Scarl, no.”

Vicky knew that Taylee was struggling, but she heard the whisper, and she called out, “Scarlett, wait!”

Scarlett glanced at her. “What?”

“Taylee, Taylee’s speaking to you.”

Taylee drew in a harsh breath, and trying to control her wobbling head, she wheezed out, “No, don’t, don’t kill her.”

Flattened and broken already, Scarlett heard the pained whisper, although it didn’t make sense. With her hands still around the woman’s neck, she swung her head to the slouching figure and asked, “What, what are you saying?”

Vicky sensed that Taylee was trying to lift her head, so she placed the fingers of her right hand under Taylee’s chin and then gently pushed up. Taylee shivered weakly, sucked in an even weaker breath, then she mumbled, “No, don’t.”

Scarlett heard it, the mumble being an instruction, although she glared and then hissed at the woman, then she swung her gaze back to her soulmate as she said uncertainly, “Tay, this bitch tortured you and tried to kill you.”

Taylee’s head was spinning erractically, and the effort required to speak was weakening her, although she said drunkenly, “She, she did some stuff, but, but she saved me.”

Scarlett glared at the woman, then she shuffled over and knelt before Taylee. “What do you mean saved you?”

Taylee coughed and spluttered, then she raised her right arm and pointed shakily behind her. “Him, over there on the wall, he tried to kill me.”

They all looked over, a body framed in the middle of a collection of jawbones, the apparently lifeless body hanging from a hook on the wall, the head flopping on to the chest.

Vicky gasped as she felt Taylee’s face collapse on to her shoulder, and she called out frantically, “She’s passed out!”

Livinia sliced her own left wrist open, then she tapped her right index finger on the wound and fed the finger into Taylee’s mouth. “Vicky, get everybody in, quickly!”

Vicky eased away as Livinia slid in and cradled the limp body, then she raced to the door and yelled, “Everybody, the basement at the end of the hallway, come now!”

Soon everyone was in the basement, and Livinia said frantically, “Scarlett, Thelma, help me get her to the table.”

The three gently laid Taylee on the table, and Livinia said, “Support her Scarl, try to sit her up, because we need to get her to drink.”

Livinia placed her cut wrist over Taylee’s mouth, although she fretted when she saw the blood dribbling down her chin. Taylee seemed too weak to drink, and as Livinia noted alarmingly, she couldn’t detect even the faintest breath blowing on to her wrist. “Thelma, cut yourself and we’ll try to feed her.”

Livinia and Thelma dabbed the wounds and fed the fingers on to her tongue, although Taylee’s mouth kept falling closed.

“What did you do to her?” Piper snarled at the woman.

Iveta Stanley looked at the hostile vampire, glanced at the four angry looking vampires standing behind her, and she said, “We drained her blood.”

“Where is it fucker, where’s her blood?” Isabelle snapped.

Iveta nodded at a dark corner, and Isabelle raced over, then called out, “Livinia, her blood is in a bag, and it’s connected to some kind of drip machine.”

“Bring it over!” Livinia said urgently.

Isabelle placed the drip stand by the table, and Livinia said, “Vicky, insert the needle in her arm and secure the needle, and Richard, adjust it so that the blood is flowing back in.”

Vicky and Richard worked quickly, and soon the blood began flowing back down the tube.

“Keep it steady, we only want it dribbling, because too much at once will kill her.” Livinia said.

Thelma bit her bottom lip to try and keep her emotions at bay, because she had seen a drained vampire die slowly, and unfortunately, the scene before her was eerily similar. Sucking back a sob, she muttered, “Hey come on Baby, come on Wild One, fight yeah, keep fighting for mamma.”

“Livinia, this will save her, won’t it?” Ruby asked tearfully.

Livinia kept feeding her fingers into Taylee’s mouth, wondering if she should answer honestly. The honest answer was, I don’t know, I really don’t … although that answer could flatten the group even more than they already were. There was no heartbeat, no pulse, not even a breath, and the blood might be dripping into veins that had already been emptied or stilled. With tears welling in her eyes, Livinia said quietly, “She’s tough, and she’s a fighter.”

Ruby saw Livinia’s eyes, tiny pools of tears gathering in the eyes and preparing to spill, and she understood that Livinia hadn’t answered her question, she had side-stepped it. She turned slowly and wrapped her arms around Aleisha, then buried her face in her shoulder as she began to sob.

Elizabeth was sobbing as well, so too Sophia, and Livinia felt dreadful about dismissing them, but she needed total silence in the room so that she could watch and listen for any signs of life.

“Richard, Thelma, you too Scarl, stay with me, as for the rest of you, there’s nothing you can do at the moment, so go upstairs and try and occupy yourselves, and we’ll keep you updated with any developments.”

Vicky had a final glance at Taylee before shuffling away with the others, and her heart sank. She had seen motionless vampires like this before, on the battlefield.

*

The night was a long one at the Stanley mansion, everybody sitting in subdued silence as they waited for any news.

Vicky feared the worst, feared that Taylee had died in her arms. With the aid of her enhanced senses, Vicky could normally feel even the slightest heartbeat, could feel the most minute of pulses, although when Taylee collapsed onto her, she couldn’t feel anything. She snuggled in closer to Piper, sobbing quietly, hating everything about the slowly ticking moments.

After two hours in te basement, Scarlett had endured as much as she could handle. She had hoped, wished, prayed, that as the minutes ticked on, signs of life would start trickling in, although there were none. Occasionally Livinia would say quietly, “Stop the blood for a minute.” Although nobody else uttered a word in the deathly silence. She could hear the other vampire’s hearts beating impatiently, and occasionally she looked at the others, and she could see the fear in their eyes. Holding Taylee’s lifeless hand was weakening her, because she needed to do something, anything, so she said quietly, “I’ll go and check on the others.”

“Scarlett …”

Scarlett glanced at Livinia, and she saw the tears dribbling out of the forlorn eyes as Livinia said, “Don’t you want to be here, just in case, just … ummm, just in case.”

Scarlett sniffled, understanding the weak statement. Don’t you want to be with her … in her final moments? Being a vampire for more than three decades, Scarlett had become tough and resilient, although right at that moment, she had never felt so helpless or useless. With a wavering tone, she said sombrely, “I’ll check on the girls.”

The girls were all huddled on couches and chairs in the rear living area, and they all looked at her as Scarlett walked into the room. Nobody said anything, although Scarlett knew that the hopeful gazes were asking the only question.

Drawing in a deep breath, Scarlett said, “She’s, she’s …” Scarlett frowned, knowing that she had to give them a ray of hope, so she said, “She’s fighting.”

Scarlett strode over to the woman and stood over her. The girls had bound and gagged her, and the woman was on her back, staring at the ceiling, although when Scarlett came into her line of vision, the woman focussed on her.

Scarlett was surprised that she couldn’t detect any fear in the woman’s eyes, the pale blue eyes seeming emotionless. She wanted to kneel beside her and her talk to her, or not really talk to her, she wanted to subtly issue threats at her, the threats escalating in intensity until the woman’s eyes blazed with fear. Scarlett could scare the shit out of her, then kill her, although in a rattling moment of lucidity, she realised that now was not the time or place. She had never killed anyone who couldn’t defend themselves, had never killed a restrained and helpless victim, and even though her aggression had reached boiling point, she didn’t want to start now. Her alone time with the woman would come, and when the woman was unrestrained and free, Scarlett would usher her into a room, lock the door, then mutter, Yeah, I’ve been looking forward to catching up with you … Scarlett hissed at her, then walked over to Aleisha. Ruby vacated her spot on the couch, and Scarlett nodded at her, then sat down and tapped Aleisha on the knee as she asked, “You holding up okay?”

Aleisha nodded, then asked, “What about you?”

Scarlett gazed into space, then said quietly, “Time will tell.”

Aleisha embraced Scarlett, and she held her, tightly, wanting to comfort her, wanting to be strong for her, although as the minutes crawled by, Aleisha wavered, not skilled at providing comfort, nor did she have the strength to be positive, for the sight of Taylee’s crumpled body stayed firmly in her mind. She sobbed, because she couldn’t bear to lose another one of her friends, and the emotional pain was already in her, spreading like a cancer, ramming and flattening her and reducing her to a blubbering mess.

Scarlett rested Aleisha’s head on her chest, then she skimmed her hands through the silken hair as she said quietly, “Hey Baby, she’s a fighter, she’s as tough as they come.”

Everybody heard the whisper, and Piper gazed at Scarlett as the thought hit her, Actually, I think you’re as tough as they come. Piper chose not to air her thought, because depressingly, she anticipated that at any moment, someone who slouch up the stairs and mutter, Yeah, sorry guys … Piper blew out a disheartened breath, then she draped her right arm over Elizabeth’s shoulder. Elizabeth was sobbing and sniffling, her head down, although her hands were clasped together in a praying action, so Piper asked quietly, “BB, you saying a prayer?”

Elizabeth was too distraught to answer, so she nodded her head.

While skimming her hands through Aleisha’s hair, Scarlett closed her eyes. Her soul mate could be only breathless moments away from being no longer here. She knew that at any moment, Livinia could mope into the room, and she wouldn’t even have to say anything, because the outcome would be in her eyes. Scarlett had spent hours trying to block out the negative thoughts, although with the outcome seeming inevitable, she gave in and let the thoughts swamp her. The collapsed, helpless body lingered in her mind, the lifeless hand, and tears dribbled down Scarlett’s cheeks, although other thoughts pushed into her mind, positive thoughts, everlasting memories.

Scarlett still remembered her first night at the Academy, and everybody was spooked and shell-shocked, although strangely, the place did seem like her new home. She remembered that the conversation had been confusing in the initial hours. Sebastian demanded that his chauffeur be summoned, and Stephen was shyly trying to chat up both her and Taylee, and Richard was complaining about it being a socialist plot, and Seamus wanted some beer, and Thelma was pondering, ‘A vampire, yeah that might be okay!’ Alan was walking around in a daze, and, Scarlett remembered fondly, Taylee must have muttered, What the fuck? a hundred times on the first night, and she was up to about two thousand times by the end of the week. Sebastian had initially dubbed her the What-The-Fuck-Girl, but as they all got to know her, The Wild One became the most suitable, and obvious nickname. In the early days, with her outgoing and outrageous personality, Taylee had been the one who brought them together, and as they battled through the early confusing weeks, she had been the glue that had kept them together. Livinia had been amused by Taylee, and after initially being shocked by her, the great Athena Dubois had become her greatest admirer. Scarlett still remembered their graduation night, still remembered the sparkle in Taylee’s eyes as they clenched their bloodied hands together, and Taylee had whispered emotionally, ‘This is real Sis, we will be together forever, because I love you with all my heart.’ Scarlett also remembered their first mission, remembered Sebastian urgently whispering, ‘Wild One, calm down.’ Taylee never did though, because she simply couldn’t; and that became the groups mocking catch-prase for her, Wild One, calm down!

Beautiful memories, memories of the most vibrant being on the planet, although a recent memory lingered in her mind, her lover collapsed, not breathing, her soulmate slipping away from her. If her best friend didn’t pull through, Scarlett knew that she would still have to battle on, because the clan was a family, and they had to stick together to survive, although if her soulmate wasn’t journeying with her, Scarlett knew that the battle would be so much harder. She remembered the night when as fledging vampires, they were becoming accustomed to their new lives, and Taylee had shyly propositioned her. Scarlett remembered being shocked, and she had replied meekly, ‘Wild One, Taylee, I’m a woman.’ For the first and only time since she had met her, Taylee had blushed and said, ‘We’re vampires okay, so we can do whatever we want, plus …’ Scarlett remembered that she was as nervous as she had even been as she mumbled, ‘Plus what?’ Taylee had seemed like a shy teenager as she mumbled, ‘I wanta cuddle up yeah, and, and … I wanta mess the fuck outta your immaculate hair.’ And she did. That was the first time, although it certainly wasn’t the last. Taylee messed up her hair everytime that they coupled. After a couple of decades of being lovers, her soul-mates obsession with Scarlett’s immaculate hair hadn’t abated, and the order of play was almost set in stone; the foreplay would be steamy, the sex passionately aggressive, and then came the assault on the hair. Scarlett would plead, ‘Tay, please stop!’ and Taylee would shrug her shoulders and croon, ‘I ain’t making me go crazy Blondie, you’re making me go crazy!’ Every session with Taylee normally resulted in an evening visit to a hairdresser for Scarlett the very next night, and she reflected solemnly, she wanted another opportunity to book an unscheduled hairdressing appointment. Please … please don’t take her away from me …

Piper couldn’t stand the silence, and she faced Scarlett and said respectfully, “Her, her over there, she killed the vampire hunter.”

Scarlett looked over and glared at the woman on the ground, then she asked, “Do you know why?”

“She said that the vampire hunter, Clinton Stanley, her husband, lied to her.”

“About what?”

“Jeez Scarlett, it was hard to follow, but Taylee was telling the bitch that she killed her because she was a monster, and she prayed on innocent girls.”

Scarlett nodded, then said glumly, “Taylee was an invested clan member Piper, and she stayed faithful to our rules and guidelines, so she only kills those who deserve to die.” Scarlett recoiled as she thought about the negative verb she had just used, and she silently admonished herself; For fuck’s sake, don’t say WAS, say IS … she IS an invested clan member …

Piper muttered, “I don’t doubt that, but the bitch was rambling, saying shit like she has visions, and in the end, she didn’t want Taylee to die.”

Scarlett wanted to huff, and say, ‘Maybe she should have thought about that before she drained most of the blood out of her body!’ although no, lashing out wouldn’t achieve anything, and besides, irrespective of whether Taylee survived or not, the woman would become Scarlett’s property, and then Scarlett could usher the woman into a room, lock the door, and then, then …

Scarlett felt her fangs spearing through, and she rocked her head back and sighed. She glanced over at Elizabeth, the girl still with her head bowed, her hands clasped in a praying gesture as she whispered to herself, and Scarlett wondered whether it did any good. Knowing that vampires were immortal was a positive development, and she wondered whether they could pray to their Higher Powers, ‘Hi Mephistopheles, don’t take her yet, please … she means so much to me, plus, I, I don’t know whether I could go on without her …’

Scarlett knew that if her soulmate didn’t pull through, the entire clan would be devestated, although she would suffer the most, because … Scarlett cocked her head as she heard footsteps galloping up the stairs, and a moment later, Thelma raced into the room.

Panting, her chest heaving, Thelma looked at all of them, then she faced Scarlett and said breathlessly, “She weren’t breathing before.”

Scarlett looked at her, too anxious to make sense of the inconclusive statement, although one word began booming in her mind, one word that had her chest tightening; before, before … BEFORE … With her right hand over her heart, Scarlett mumbled, “Thel, what?”

Thelma gulped, then said, “She weren’t breathing before, but now, now the bitch is breathing!”

Elizabeth fell forward and gasped, then she began crying, and Scarlett stiffened, then began rocking backwards and forwards, and Vicky leapt up and asked breathlessly, “Can, can we see her?”

Thelma patted her chest and said, “She still delicate okay, and the Boss don’t want no fuss down there, but yeah, you come Vick,” and then she turned to Scarlett and said compassionately, “You too Blondie, the bitch needs you.”

Crying, Aleisha embraced Scarlett and kissed her cheek, then she said emotionally, “Go on, what are you waiting for?”

Scarlett stood clumsily, shaking all over, her erratic emotions seemingly in control of her body movements, and she looked at Thelma, then glanced at the rest of the group, and Isabelle who was having trouble seeing because of her tears, mumbled, “Don’t just stand there, go and see her.”

“And give her our love.” Ruby sobbed.

Scarlett staggered drunkenly to the stairs, although when she saw the sparkle of life in Thelma’s eyes, she skipped down the stairs recklessly, and as she hit the concrete floor, she saw Livinia look up at her. Scarlett knew that she had been right, because the outcome was in Livinia’s eyes. Her Leader looked tired and jaded, although as a weak smile separated her lips, Livinia’s eyes shone with hope and optimism.

Scarlett walked woodenly to the table, and as she gently clasped Taylee’s right hand and looked at her, she began trembling uncontrollably.

Livinia said graciously, “Scarl, she’s not conscious, but her heart is beating and she’s breathing, so she’s back with us.”

Scarlett stared at Taylee, the face gaunt yet looking peaceful, and she leant over and kissed her cheek, then she sobbed, “You, you fucking bitch, I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

Thelma grinned, thinking that she could count the times that she had heard Scarlett swear on one hand, although this was appropriate, this was the Blonde One speaking the Crazy One’s language. “Yeah,” Thelma smiled as she said, “The Crazy Bitch is grounded for the next decade.”

Vicky stroked Taylee’s cheek, her Master, her Mistress, the one who had given her this precious gift, and she saw her chest rise subtly, felt the faint breathes on her hand, and she kissed her softly on the cheek again, then shuffled away, and she had to shuffle away, because even though the signs were now all positive, Vicky’s emotions were running wild, and she didn’t want to bawl her eyes out in front of the others.