Dead Awakenings

by Rebekah R. Ganiere

  “Evaine!”

  She couldn’t answer. She was dead. She couldn’t remember who she was, and now her skin was falling off. She wheeled around to face him. His eyes widened with concern and then understanding. He was at her side in a beat. His face close to hers.

  “This is normal.”

  A lie—it had to be. She didn’t like him being so close to her. Pushing him away, she bent over, her head in her hands. Breathe, she told herself. Just breathe. Do that one thing that feels normal. Human even.

  He closed in again slowly. His voice in her head. “Evaine, this is easily fixed, it’s an effect of having been asleep for so long. You need to relax. We can go upstairs and get something to drink and you’ll be back to normal. Just calm down.”

  “Stop telling me to calm down. What do you think I am trying to do?” How could this be happening to her? She was a fifty-year-old woman overnight.

  He touched her arm. “I’ll go and get you something to drink.”

  “I drank water. It isn’t helping.”

  “You need Isis. Let me get it.”

  “No!” she screamed. “Stop patronizing me! I don’t want to be locked in here anymore. I don’t want to stay here. I need to get out.”

  Her eyes were fully sharpened now and her breathing heavy and quick. “Crap.” She heard him speak in her head. She wasn’t sure he had meant for her to hear that.

  “You need to calm down.” He spoke through gritted teeth. She hadn’t noticed before how tight he was holding her. She yanked free.

  “You’re not helping!”

  Softly, he took her arm again. Her arm tingled where he touched her. “Your tissues are dead. You have no blood, so you need to drink Isis at least once a day. It has all the vitamins, minerals, and other stuff you need to keep you from drying out. It’s like Deader Gatorade. The elasticity will return to your skin. It’s only a side effect from you having been asleep for so long. If you’ll calm down I’ll have someone bring you one.”

  She tried to concentrate on his words, the sound of his voice. Closing her eyes she listened to the silence of the room. When she opened them her vision had dulled. She’d done it again. She’d lost it yet again. She dropped her gaze to her feet. “I’m irritating you. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re not.” He didn’t sound convincing.

  “I am.” She put her head in her hands and slid to the floor. “Don’t bother lying. I can see it on your face, hear it in your voice and your touch…it’s worst of all.”

  He didn’t answer; he didn’t move.

  “Think how I feel. I can’t control anything. Least of all my emotions.”

  “I know exactly how you feel. I’ve been through it. We all have. You have to learn to control it. It may take some time, but you have to start trying now.”

  “How long?”

  “How long what?”

  “How long ago did you go through it?”

  “About ten years ago.”

  “Ten years? No wonder you’re annoyed with me. You’re an old man.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Before I rebirthed I was nineteen. But we stop counting age after that because we don’t age anymore.”

  “Interesting.” So she’d be twenty forever.

  “Let’s get over to the house and get you a drink. And then I’ll show you around and you can meet the rest of the family.”

  “How many of us are there?” It still felt weird to say us, as if she were included in something, especially a family. A word like that never fit her before.

  “All together? Who knows. But that live here right now, about fifteen to twenty, including the Forgotten and the ones who come and go, but still have a room here.”

  “Twenty? How long has this been going on?” She pushed herself up off the floor. He didn’t offer his hand.

  “Nate and I are two of the first that we’re aware of. Well, two of the first that didn’t die soon afterward.” He walked to the door and looked up at the camera in the corner.

  “Who’s that up there watching me?”

  “Ronan. Our resident computer geek and head of security.”

  She remembered Ronan being injured when they had come to get her. “Did he get what he wanted from the computers from where you found me?”

  Luca glanced at her sideways as they walked down a corridor. “Yes and no. We found some information that might end up in a lead. But we didn’t find everything.”

  “Well, that’s not cryptic, is it?”

  Luca let a smile cross his face. It was small, but she caught it anyway. Something inside of her fluttered. The thought that she could make him smile felt like a victory.

  They walked past the Forgotten. Most sat motionless on the floor or on their beds. Luca turned a corner and then another. They went through a door and came to a wall with a keypad. There was the click, and part of the wall swung inward. She stepped through behind Luca and straight into a study. On this side the door was a bookcase. The room had a mahogany desk with a large leather chair. Dark wooden bookcases full of books lined the walls. It was a picture-perfect old gentlemen’s smoking room.

  They walked into an open family room. There was a sectional couch and a mounted flat screen TV. Cabinets of DVDs and video game machines lined an entertainment center. How had it all gotten there?

  The room opened into a pristine white kitchen with a stainless-steel fridge in the far corner. Spotless granite countertops smelled faintly of bleach. Luca opened a fridge stocked with tall slender cylindrical bottles in different colors and removed two.

  He set the bottles in front of her. “Punch or orange?”

  She took the orange bottle and opened it. It smelled like orange Gatorade. She took a sip. It tasted like orange Gatorade. Once she started drinking she couldn’t stop. Halfway through the bottle Luca put his hand on her wrist. “Slow down. You need to pace it. Too much too quick won’t feel very good. Your body needs to metabolize what you’ve already had first.”

  Her skin tingled and tightened a bit.

  “So is this all we ever eat?” She shook the bottle.

  “No. We eat other things as well. But we eat on diet.”

  “On diet?”

  “Yes, those of us who choose to live here in Haven House choose not to eat human flesh, except in certain instances. We eat fresh animal organs instead.”

  The memory of attacking the man at the hospital flashed into her mind. The horror at killing him was replaced by the memory of her hunger. He had smelled so delicious, his flesh had—she stopped herself as her vision sharpened and her mouth salivated. She dropped her eyes to the counter so Luca wouldn’t notice.

  “So what are those certain instances?” She stuck a fingernail under the edge of a label on the bottle and began to pick at it.

  “Well, first and foremost our tissues are dead. That means we are unable to heal ourselves. If we get hurt we have to have human tissue to help us mend. It’s the only tissue that has all the amino acids and DNA components needed.”

  “So a few days ago when I bit you…”

  “Yeah.” He picked up his bottle and took a drink. He didn’t make eye contact with her. “I had no choice. You left quite a large hole in my arm. Going off diet is risky for us. When we eat human tissue it heightens our senses. Makes us stronger, faster, and more aware.”

  “Like when we rage?”

  “Exactly.”

  “So that’s why the other night when I was upset, you were able to hold me against the wall, whereas the night before I was able to knock you over.”

  “Right.” He dropped his gaze to the counter.

  “Why is that so bad? It seems like if we have the problem of not being able to heal, the extra reflexes would be something we could really use.”

  He thought for a moment. “Remember that guy that you attacked when we were leaving the hospital?”

  She let her hair fall across her face so that he couldn’t see her and continued to pick at that very stubborn label, but she didn’t say anythi
ng.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. Do you remember how you felt when we tried to pull you off of him?”

  “I couldn’t stop.”

  “Well, that’s how it is.”

  “Every time?”

  “Every time. And you run the risk of letting the euphoria of it overtake you. There are others of our kind who are addicted to it, who feed almost constantly. They’re called Feeders.”

  “It’s like a drug.”

  “Yes, it can be very much like a drug.”

  “There are recovered Feeders here. But they have been detoxified and have been on diet ever since they arrived. You cannot be a Feeder and live here.”

  There was a shuffling sound behind Evaine, and she looked over her shoulder to see a thin, tall brunette with glasses and a few freckles splashed across her nose staring at her. For a moment the woman stood silently, then her gaze shifted to Luca and she broke into a large smile that made her brown eyes sparkle.

  “Hiya.” She walked into the kitchen.

  “Uh…hi,” Evaine managed to stammer.

  “Hey, Abbey, let me help you with those.” Luca took two large bags from her and set them on the counter.

  “I didn’t realize anyone was in the kitchen this early or I wouldn’t have brought these down here. But we couldn’t find the keys to the shed so we decided to store them here until we could locate them.” She walked slowly over to Evaine. “We haven’t met yet. I’m Abbey, Nate’s wife.”

  “Nate’s wife,” Evaine said absently. “You mean Nate-Nate?”

  “Yup, he’s the lucky man.” She laughed. “My Deader half.”

  “But you’re, you’re—”

  “Not undead?” She laughed again.

  “Well, yeah,” Evaine managed.

  “Luckily for me, he overlooks that little defect.”

  “I don’t understand.” Evaine knitted her brows and looked back to Luca.

  “Nate and Abbey were together before his rebirth.”

  Abbey gave a broad smile. “I know I’m a bit much, but I promise you will eventually get used to me. Well at least everyone else has.”

  Nate walked in. “Hon, I found the keys. They were in your—” He froze when he saw Evaine and Luca. He looked from Abbey to Luca and then to Evaine and then back again to Abbey, quickly gaining an air of panic.

  “Morning,” Luca finally said. “Evaine woke up. She was feeling a bit dried out so we came to get her a drink.”

  “We didn’t think anyone would be up yet.” Nate still stared at Evaine.

  Evaine began yet again to pick at the invisible label on her bottle. And while she was at it she decided to use her tongue inspect the inside of her lip so see how it was healing.

  “She’s not on our schedule yet. She’s still on human time.” Luca’s tone was defensive.

  “What time is it anyway? There’s no clock in my room.”

  “It’s about eleven in the morning. No one usually gets up until about two thirty or three in the afternoon.”

  Nate crossed and picked up the bags that Luca had set on the counter. “Let me get these put away and answer a couple of e-mails. Then we can meet in the Aron’s office to discuss our lifestyle with you, Evaine. In the meantime Luca can show you the rest of the dorm.”

  Abbey smiled at Evaine. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ll come see you soon so we can figure out a new wardrobe for you. I’m sure looking like a member of the SWAT team isn’t your usual style.” Nate wrapped his arm around Abbey’s waist to lead her out of the room. But Abbey turned to Evaine again. “And don’t worry about Mr. Big-bad here, he’s all bark and no bite. And trust me, I know.” Luca let out a laugh. Nate huffed. The two left, snuggled in each other’s embrace.

  Evaine stared at Luca; neither of them said anything for a minute. Finally he spoke. “Finish your drink and I’ll show you around.” She downed her drink in one gulp and threw the bottle into the sink.

  Chapter Nine

  “This is the dorm wing.” Luca nodded. “It’s where the bedrooms and common rooms are.”

  There was an exercise room with about every piece of equipment she could possibly imagine and a computer room with three computers, a couple of laptops, a printer, some big lounge chairs, and desks. A game room came next with a pool table, foosball table, ping-pong, air hockey, old pinball machine, and a couple free-standing video arcade machines.

  “Wow,” Evaine mused. “Anything a guy could want in a house. Why would you ever want to go outside?”

  “That’s the point.”

  “Not to go outside? Why?” She blinked, astonished. “Being cooped up all the time would drive you nuts.”

  “Look at me. Why do you think going outside isn’t such a good idea?”

  She studied him. His handsome, strong face was more than pale. His beautiful, ice blue eyes shifted to fiery orange when he got upset. Thick white hair fell halfway down his back. He was right; he was bound to stick out. Though to her, it wasn’t in a bad way. But then, she wasn’t normal herself anymore, was she?

  “You could disguise yourself with makeup,” she said lamely, barely even finishing the sentence.

  “I could. But I don’t want to. Besides, after a while it gets tedious. We’ve heard reports of a handful who have continued to do it every day. They live as if they were never reborn. Those are just rumors though. We’ve never seen for ourselves anyone who has chosen to.”

  “Did you try?”

  He stared at her hard for a minute before answering. “Yes, but Nate helped me find a new purpose. Now I spend my time trying to find the scum who are doing this to us and exacting revenge on them.”

  Her eyes lit on every item in the game room. “So, this is where I have to live now? Forever?” She spoke in a low tone.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  “Do I have a choice? It doesn’t sound like there’s anywhere else for me to go. So does this mean I can never see my family and friends again?”

  Luca’s eyes widened and then his face went blank. “You’ve regained your memory.”

  “No.” She knew her name, but she still had no clue who she was. Besides, she couldn’t go home ever again. What if she went home and hurt someone she loved? But if she didn’t, they would never know what had happened to her. She was trapped in this place. Never again would she get to decide what she did with her life.

  “Evaine!” Luca’s voice was sharp.

  The sound blasted into her mind like cold air. Her head snapped up. Everything was vivid, too focused. She hadn’t realized how upset she had become. What had she thought? That they would let her go and she’d be able to go home?

  He grabbed her face in his cool hands, his thoughts invading her. “Crap, not again. Man, I forget how emotional all this stuff is to newborns. I have to keep her calm. Why am I so attached to this one? I haven’t attached myself to anyone since—”

  “I didn’t ask to be like this.” She found herself shouting. “If you are so annoyed then why don’t you leave me alone to deal with this myself? You think you’re making it any easier on me?”

  He stepped back, visibly shaken by her words. “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, but you thought it.”

  “I…” He cleared his throat. “You can hear what I’m thinking?”

  “Not all the time.” She wrapped her arms around her chest and paced. She couldn’t get him out of her head. Luca was a tune that played endlessly in her mind. His touch electrified her skin; his voice soothed her. She didn’t remember feeling any tingling when Aron had held her hand, running her through the hallways of the hospital; and she hadn’t felt anything when Victor had picked her up and put her in the car. So what was it about this guy? He was so annoying with the way he threw his emotions onto her. She could feel his confusion rolling off of him. He stepped closer to her. She stopped pacing.

  “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you tell what I am thinking now?”

  “Yup, still
can.”

  He frowned. “OK, try to think something in your head this time.”

  “What the heck does he want me to think about? Kittens? Bunnies? The fact that I have no clue why he can affect me like this or why my skin tingles when he touches me? He makes me think of things that I don’t want to be thinking of with him.” Her stomach tightened, and she frowned. This feeling that she had for him was something she’d never felt for anyone before.

  He removed his hands, but a slight smile played across his lips.

  “What?” She had a feeling she already knew.

  “Are we interrupting?” A voice emerged behind them. There was a giggle. Evaine spun around to see Victor and a petite woman walking out of a room and shutting the door behind them.

  “No,” Luca said.

  The girl was small, pixyish, with white spiky hair all over her head. She had a sweet face with large eyes and a cute, pouty mouth. She wore a pink bikini and had a matching plush towel on her shoulder. Victor had swim trunks on and a towel as well. The girl barely came up to Victor’s massive chest. She’d never seen anyone with a chest as big as Victor’s. It was one solid bundle of muscles. Evaine had to look away to keep from staring.

  The girl bounced up to her. “Hi, I’m Cami. We’re going down to have a swim.” She gave Evaine a hug. Evaine stiffened.

  “Great, we’ll walk down with you,” Luca said. “We have to go down to the hospital wing anyway.”

  “Ah…time to test her skills, huh?” Victor laughed.

  Cami jogged to him and smacked him on the arm. “Knock it off. You’ll scare the poor girl to death. She already looks like she is having a hard day. And she hasn’t even been here a week yet.” Evaine noticed a slight Southern drawl in the pixie’s voice. “Sorry for Mr. Delicate over here.” Cami elbowed Victor, who gave her an affectionate hug around the waist. “It’s great to meet you,” she continued as the group moved down the hall toward the elevator. “Welcome to Haven House. I’ve been here about two years now. I might actually stay this time.” Cami gave Victor a wink.