Tish instinctively took a step back, but maintained a loose grip on his hand. "What do you mean? How could you know?"
Taking a deep breath Aaron prepared himself for a revelation that could possibly rip the two of them apart. He had debated on whether to tell her the last few days as he sat in bed. He really didn't want to. Tish had been pulled away from him before. He never wanted to let that happen again. Aaron knew in his heart that she should be told the full story. But that wasn't really his responsibility. But, in time, she would know everything. And she would hate him for not telling her first. It was actually generous for Charlie Hawkins to give him permission to tell at least part of the story. The part that involved him. The part that would drive the biggest wedge between them.
"I knew what the attackers were when they came out of the woods," he said quietly, leaning toward her, staring into her eyes. His grip tightened on her hand to prevent her from running away.
Tish didn't know how to respond, but Aaron was waiting for her to say something. "How would you know that?"
"Please listen to me. I would have told you sooner, but it just wasn't possible." He kissed her knuckles again, but this time she did not smile. "Please don't be upset with me."
"I don't understand why you would know anything about it, or why I should be upset with you for that matter. Did you know ahead of time that they were going to attack?"
Aaron shook his head vigorously, hoping it would be convincing. "No! Definitely not! I guess I should have known that something like that could happen, but I didn't expect them to attack the group at the lodge. Believe me, I had no idea that was going to happen."
"Why would you know it could happen? Why don't you just come out with it and tell me already? How are you involved in all this?"
"Okay," he said. "I'll tell you everything I can. Promise me you'll let me finish before you walk away." This scared Tish. She tried let go of his hand as she nodded, but Aaron's grip did not relax. "My parents told me about the, you know, the creatures that attacked the lodge. They told me a couple years ago. They were afraid I was going to find out on my own, so they sat me down at the dining room table and showed me as well as told me."
"My parents did the same thing this weekend" Tish whispered.
"I know. But this was a little different. They didn't use a hologram. They showed me the actual faces of the aliens, the vampires. I don't know what you guys have been calling them. It was quite disturbing and I missed some days at school because of it. But eventually, I was able to come to terms with the situation."
Tish was shaking her head, "How could they show you actual faces?"
Another deep breath, then Aaron said, "Because it was their faces." Tish gasped and jumped back, tugging on Aaron's arm so hard it pulled him forward in the bed. He grunted in pain causing her to apologize and try to release his hand again. But he wouldn't let go. "Tish, remember, you promised to let me finish. Please don't pull away from me."
Tish slowly composed herself and forced herself to step closer to the bed, placing her second hand on his as well. When she was ready he continued. "Tish, my parents were among the vampires that attacked the lodge."
Tish did her best not to pull away from him, but she couldn't keep quiet. "What the hell? Why would they do that? Why did they kill Hunter! Oh my God! I can't believe this."
"Calm down, Tish. I'm very sorry about Hunter, and so are my parents. They weren't the ones that did the killing. It wasn't them that did this to me, either. The vampires were just supposed to scare us, is all. But it got out of hand. These alien vampires, they are called Sanguillen. They are from another planet. Their bodies aren't meant for earth. It's actually very difficult for them to control their strength. It was an accident, really."
"Why were they trying to scare us?" she asked, as patiently as she could muster.
"Because they have been asking me to leave with them. When my parents' business failed they had to either leave the planet or go on the run. They've been hiding out in the woods, in caves, in the form of Sanguillens. It's too dangerous for them to be seen in their human forms again, and they can't risk be spotted looking like a vampire either. They'll leave the area entirely once they get what they want."
"What is it that they want?"
"Me."
"I don't understand. Why would they expect you to go with them? How could a human boy possibly keep up with those things, they are so fast...." Tish's voice trailed off. Her memory came rushing back to her all of the sudden. She had upset him. It was couple years ago. She couldn't remember how or why, but Aaron had been the most upset she had ever seen him. That's when his eyes went black, and bulged out at her. It scared the shit out of her! Aaron was one of them she finally realized.
Aaron cried silently. The tears came rolling down his face like rivers of pain. It was torturous to watch the woman he loved see him as a monster. To see her horrified expression as she looked at him and pulled away. He let go of her hand before she could hurt herself trying to get away. Everything hurt, just then. The wounds, the healthy flesh, every cell of his body felt crushed. His heart tried to stop beating. His lungs attempted to refuse air. But it was futile. Aaron's body would live despite his desire to die.
He could no longer conceive that she would forgive him. The only future his mind could see was darkness. And he remembered the darkness from where he came. His parents were right. He belonged with his own kind. When they returned he would go. There was nothing left for him here. Tish was the only reason to stick around. But she would never love him again.
He knew that her disgust for him as an alien would go away. The more she knew the more she would understand. But he could not imagine a time when she would forgive him for hiding this dark secret from her. In all his lives, on various planets, he had never met a soul like her. And he could not see a reason to go searching for another one. If he couldn't be with Tish he might as well die. Perhaps we wouldn't go with his parents after all. Perhaps this was the end.
20 - Glad You Could Join Us
Stan's eyes watered, and it felt good. All the sensations of his human body were overwhelming. The caress of earth's clean air into his lungs, the tiniest tickle of a breeze moving the hair on his arms, that first few moments could be astounding. Sure, the weakness of his human flesh can't compete physically with the strength and speed of his Sanguillen body. But in vampire form you could not really appreciate your own self. Everything was instinctual instead of intellectual. The ability to thoroughly enjoy a weaker physical form was so much better than to terrorize in a mindless stronger form.
Mindless was really too strong a word. Sanguillens did think. They calculated, schemed, and strategized. Everything was a vicious competition with them. Protect yourself, form the right alliances, fight for your coven, and protect your loved ones. Those were your thoughts. Stan relished the open mindedness of the human tendency. His stomach grumbled and he considered if it would be possible to have a nice meal in a fine Italian restaurant. To sit, relax, possibly enjoy some smooth wine with a nice pasta and garlic bread. To savor every bite. To deliberately revel in a meal of well prepared food, instead of ripping the flesh off a recently killed animal. It did feel good to be human again.
The tears ran down his face as he watched his wife in a long embrace with their son. His heart ached in a good way, and yet he knew it was not his heart at all. The mind controlled all emotion. The lump in his chest was either a projection of his mind or a chemical reaction to his emotional state. These were things he could not feel in vampire form. He doubted his intention to return to it.
Finally, Vicki pulled away and let Stan give Aaron a hug. His son was still tender from his injuries from a few nights ago. Stan had viciously attacked their leader Jose after the incident at the lodge. That fucker had no right jumping his son. Vicki howled in her Sanguillen voice, as he latched onto the back of Jose's neck. One leg wrapped his torso as the other took out Jose's legs. His left arm was around Jose's neck as his right hand attacked
his eyes. He could've killed him. He never realized he had it in him until then. In the matter of a few seconds, despite Jose's incredible strength, Stan would have extinguished his life. But the coven intervened. He should have waited, maybe pulled Jose aside to ask a question, than tear into him then. But the element of surprise was his best chance. In a straight up one on one battle he could never defeat Jose. That was the primary reason that Jose was the leader.
When the coven forced him to reluctantly release his grip on that bastard, he feared that he would be killed instead. The group could vote him unreliable, not worth the risk of keeping alive. Or Jose could have retaliated quickly and killed him faster than the coven could intervene. Instead, their leader walked away and nursed his injuries that night. Then came at him in the morning.
Stan expected it. He had sent Vicki off with the others so she wouldn't see his death. Or worse yet, share it. He gained new respect for Jose that day. Though he took the natural attack posture of a Sanguillen ready to kill, he apologized for Aaron's injuries, and requested Stan's forgiveness and continued support. It was not the vampire way. Stan was taken by surprise. Jose had been a children's television show host in South America before going rogue. Apparently, his human compassion had not been completely lost with his physical change. Like a vampire, though, Jose respected him more after that night, and would watch him over his shoulder often. In the Sanguillen language the word for fear was the same word for respect.
Getting Aaron out of the hospital was not difficult. Human routine and tendency made security predictable and the plan simple. Stan wondered if that was why criminal activity was so rampant on earth, human trust and tendency to relax when the guard should always be up.
They waited until they were in the woods north of Leesburg before they changed form. Stan instantly missed his human flesh. Surprisingly, Aaron was able to shift to Sanguillen reasonably well, as if he had already been practicing. It was the first time Stan had seen him in that form since they had been on earth. Aaron had arrived over twenty years after Stan and Vicki, in the form of a human newborn. Keeping families together from one planet to the next was extremely difficult. Not knowing who you really were until age eighteen made finding your loved ones quite a challenge. They had done it, though. Three time now. That is, on three separate planets they have been together as a family.
Stan knew that Aaron was torn between his love for his family and his infatuation with the Hawkins girl. Thankfully, the girl was still underage and naive. Aaron chose to go rogue with them instead of making his own mark on this world. Their future together though was uncertain. The rogue life was very risky. If Aaron had chosen to stay, Stan was not sure what he would have done. Perhaps, give himself up. Perhaps force Aaron to go. He did not know.
The Hawkins girl was a wrench in the cogs of any man's life. Vicki had warned him many years ago. He himself had fallen under her spell just like Aaron, until his wife told him about how dangerous she was. They were not able to pry their son from her, as they hoped. So, they kept seeding doubt. In time, it grew enough to form the necessary rift. The girl approaching him in school that day after they had left was an unpredictable event. It risked their family for the first time in over four hundred years. Fortunately, Aaron was strong and made the right choice.
But Aaron did not feel strong. The reunion with his parents was good. He did really miss them. The tears were real. But he was empty inside just the same. He would do as they asked. He would agree with his mother when she said Tish was bad. Blindly he would follow. He no longer had eyes to see for himself. He would trust them and keep going. If they ever made it off this world alive perhaps the next would be different. At this point he hoped he would never love again as hard as he did here. The pain was unbearable. It was a constant struggle to forget about the past. He kept wondering how Tish would respond when it was discovered that he left the hospital prematurely, and completely disappeared.
Tish was not sure how she felt about it. She assumed that he had ran off to be a disgusting vampire with his parents. On one hand she was counting herself lucky that she found out now. Just last night she dreamed that Aaron and she were married. She was in the hospital maternity ward bed, desperately drained of energy when Aaron walked into the room, holding their baby. The birth had been long and miserable. She swore that the baby just did not want to come out. But eventually it did. The doctor said it was healthy and she did well. But she was just so tired. It was the first time she would see the baby since just after the birth. Inside she wasn't convinced she was ready to hold her own child, to be a mother. But when Aaron brought the baby to her a strong instinct pulled at her heart. That was her baby, the focus of her life now.
The newborn was well swaddled, entirely covered with blanket to keep it warm. Taking the child into proper holding position she lifted the blanket that was drooped over its face, and screamed. It was a baby vampire. She woke up screaming at the top of her lungs while clutching at her belly. Her uterus felt dirty somehow. A disgusting, filthy womb that had been occupied by a growing vampire. She had been used as an incubator for evil. Aaron's evil grin in the dream implied that that was all she was to him. A birth chamber, a continuing of his Sanguillen line.
In time the nightmares grew far between. Aaron never returned to school. Susan stopped mourning Hunter's death. The cheer squad accepted them back. The two girls lied on Tish's bed pretending to study, when all they really wanted to do was talk about boys. It took a couple months for them to go back to where they were, but they made it. Scarred, and cautious, but teenage girls once again, ready to face life.
But the lingering fear never completely left Tish. It was, in part, due to the weird visions she was having daily. Strange alien forms lurking around corners and darting across her path on the edge of her field of vision. Silver lines tracing inhuman shapes. Each week, though, the visions seemed to be more vivid and clear. She was beginning to make out more details in the creatures appearance. Concerned that she would be treated as a mental patient kept her from revealing the problem with anyone, even her best friend.
Susan was trying desperately to set up another double date, but Tish didn't like any of the guys that were friends with the boy Susan wanted to date. Her weak heart prevented Susan from pushing Tish very hard. Perhaps it was better for them to wait a little longer. Enjoy their friendship without any guys to interfere. But this time around the desires were stronger. Both girls were still virgins, but that may have changed if they could have enjoyed a longer relationship with Hunter and Aaron. Well, at least Susan knew she would have. Hell, she had even toyed with the idea that night at the lodge. But just thinking of that night brought back a vision of Hunter's dead and mutilated corpse on the floor. Her heart retracted and the subject of boys was not approached again the rest of the evening.
It was the first Friday night after football season had ended. And the basketball team didn't have a game until Saturday afternoon. They decided to have an old fashioned sleepover. The Hawkins went out for the evening, which was very rare. Tish considered it likely that they were actually working instead of the dinner and dancing that they claimed.
It was true. Charlie and Pam had no time for recreation these days. Charlie was investigating the boy's disappearance from the hospital, inspecting secret camera footage of the probable escape scene. The one guard they had left to watch for the Vohs had fallen asleep. It happens. Thomas should have left two guards instead. It was his call, and now his shame. But Charlie would have made sure they both fell asleep, or got locked in the bathroom. The result needed to be the same. He wanted that boy gone.
The camera footage relayed instantly to the studio background as Pam narrated the coverage. Viewers were no doubt glued to the broadcast. Their ranking had spiked, bringing them to number one this week. It was both Charlie's and Pam's job to stoke the enthusiasm for this rogue hunt. Drawing it out longer could help them long term. But rogue business was always dangerous. Especially Sanguillens. Though it seemed like most r
ogues these days were just that. They had been Sanguillens in a previous life before earth. That dark planet was the ghetto of the galaxy, Charlie had always said. Of course, you could not say that on the air. But anyone that came from that world to earth had a much higher risk of being a problem.
They were supposed to be above the stereotypes. As leaders they at least had to pretend it was so. But, both of them struggled when their daughter became so close to one of them. Prying them apart was a challenge, since that was something that Tish would not want. Pam kept telling her husband that something would eventually happen to drive them apart. It was inevitable. And it was, it did. They thought the problem was solved until Tish decided Aaron would make a good date. She had somehow forgotten all about their trouble in the past. Her parents felt slapped from the blind side when they learned of the kids' rekindled relationship.
Though they never condoned the loss of human life, the attack at the lodge had really saved the situation. Tish and Aaron were separated again. They felt like having a party when the news came that the boy ran off with his parents. But outwardly they had to make like it was a setback for the rogue unit.
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