Josie's New Life

The carriage swayed. Josie woke to voices, gruff almost urgent.

She struggled to rise. Something cool and heavy pressed against her back. Everything telling her to stop. The device was meant to stop her from movement. She would not listen. If she was to die it would be her choice not theirs.

Pain slashed through her angrily until the device slices through her back. She couldn't keep her screams muffled as she pushed against the carriage door. She fell and all she could feel was stabbing pain as she bounced against the gravel. She listened to the horse's gallop. The men hadn't notice she fell off. But that was the last thought she could recall as the pain consumed her.

I am free.

She woke irregularly she could see a human shape in front of her. A gentle hand to her face then her body jolting upward burst of mind numbing pain pulsed through her. It was not the men who abducted her the movement felt different, safer. Her last thoughts before she passed out again associated the feeling with angels. The peaceful warriors of God who did his bidding and protect his believers.

"The device stabbed through her spine, Miguel, she will die." A soft but stern voice. Another answered but she couldn't focus on it. The next moment she felt icy water, someone gripping the device that bound her tearing her from it.

"Miguel, we can't let her die. We'll lose the only evidence we have against LIzbet." The quiet urgent voice danced inside Josie's head. The name sounded uncomfortably familiar.

"She'd prefer death. Sorry, Anne, unlike you consent is usually the best legal route."

"I can't help how I became what I am. I know how to do the transformation. She's all I have to help win this fight."

"Again, prefer death. We don't have the luxuries of being born from child to adult as you do. There is so much hunger, anger and hollowing depression."

"But not everyone experiences these when they are transformed."

"We should speak with Donovan. He is our leader."

"He won't understand. He doesn't have a case that needs a living breathing, well, kind of as a witness."

"If she wakes up and fully agrees to the transformation. But only if she's aware of what she is doing."

"She's lost a lot of blood."

"I can feel that."

"She's not going to make it."

"I have angel blood."

"So, that's a yes?"

"It's a temporary patch so when she is able to."

Her eyes fluttered she could no longer stay awake. She felt peace knowing she would soon see her grandparents.

***

"This will sting," Anne lifted the woman's arm toward her mouth. The small tickle of her fangs came forth. The feeling of the poison leaving her and going into her sired. Majority of cases the venom is there to paralyze creating an opportune time to feed. Here, she counted, as she only ever read about creating a vampire in books.

The woman screamed, eyes still shut – the blood called to Anne encouraging to drink more. Miguel placed a firm hand on her shoulder encouraging her to stop. The woman stopped screaming. These same screams were what brought her to their attention. She tried to ignore them – but had to go see what was wrong. Now, she was fighting from drinking the woman they saved. Miguel pressed harder, now pulling at her. She retracted her fangs, here they would not exchange blood but in her blood's place, angel blood.

"Just a few dabs into the bite, then you will need her drink the rest." Miguel encouraged, handing her the bottle, "It's like placing her in limbo."

"Have you done this before?" Anne asked. Her hand was shaky, afraid that messing this up would worsen the situation. "Is this deep enough?"

"Yes, the wound doesn't need a lot. But she does need to drink the rest of the angel blood."

She gently ran her index finger against the woman's eyebrows encouraging her to wake.

"Drink this." She pressed the cup to the woman's mouth. The way she looked up at Anne she could understand the woman's hesitation. She was bit by the same woman who was now wanting her to drink a foreign liquid.

"Now, we just wait."

"For the sake of those who have died and any new comers, this better work." Anne gingerly got up from the side of the bed. "Call Donovan and inform him of my decision. He is our leader and needs to know what is happening over here. Please, heavily point the objective to this as preserving evidence."

"He's a werewolf, he would probably feel emotionally closer if we say you wanted to save someone."

"Fine, sounds good. I just don't want to get emotionally invested if this doesn't pan out like I want it to."

"I'll call him in the morning then." Miguel smiled. It brightened his face always with a twinkle in his beautiful green eyes. He was always there for her no matter what stupid idea or solution she had. If it wasn't for him she would still be living at home, working under her father and hating every moment of it. It was a weird moment where she was thankful that he ran away from an arranged marriage.

***

I am alive?

She struggled to sit up, feeling as if she was buried under a boulder. She could hear birds chirping, and heard movement. She looked down – bloodied clothing she was wearing the night before. She jumped up checking around her back.

Mirror, I need a mirror.

She ran through a hallway and open doors to find a mirror.

You should try escaping. She chastised herself – she very clearly remembered seeing two angels like people hovering over her and gently forcing down medicine. The two did not sound like the two that abducted her from her prayer time.

The bathroom was cramp, but it had a massive mirror. She turned – ripped clothing, red scars and more blood from what she could see. The glint of the light let her see dried blood in her black hair. She pulled it up to check around her neck. Her necklace was gone. She checked on her hand there was scratches and bruising. But for the most part she was more alive than what she was anticipating waking up to. If you wake up after death.

Massive scab on her left wrist looked very much like an animal bite. It was already scabbing over and smelled sweet.

"You're alive." A dull male voice popped her out of her thoughts.

She screamed lashing at the man.

"Whoa, whoa. You're fine. I heard noises back here and wanting to see what was going on." He said as he wrapped his hands around her to stop her. A misty, cool feeling she realized he had no shirt on and recently got out of a shower. "Anne will be relieved."

"Who are you?" she pulled back from his embrace. But unlike the men the night before he let her go. She lost balance and with a blink the man was helping her from fully falling, "That is bizarre."

"Miguel. When Anne gets here things are going to get a little more bizarre." Miguel smiled, "Things weren't looking too well for you out, there, was it? Come, let's go into the Livingroom. Anne should be here any moment she went shopping. "

They crossed the Livingroom. It had several plants throughout, some even hanging off the ceiling. Small dark wood tables in the room held vases on massive bright blue-pink flowers she didn't recognize. A handful of pictures hung behind the couch. It surprised her how normal this place was considering her bizarre trip the night before. As far as she was aware there didn't look like there was things that she could use to fight with in the need came up.

"I've made pancakes, waffles, scrambled, omelette and orange juice, milk and wine. I haven't cooked in a while, I had to YouTube how to make an omelette. How silly is that?" A woman with caramel brown hair, in a sloppy bun. She smiled at the two, "Come, eat, critique my cooking. Except you Miguel, you'd give me the god-honest truth and I don't want to hear that."

A shiny new plate piled with food sat in front of her at the counter. She didn't see any easy to access knives, the place looked empty. As she ate, she noted that they did not join her.

"Is this poisoned? Or are you some sort of cult members that are fattening me up?"

"I liked it better when she was calling us angels." Anne snorted. "No, none of it is poisoned. I wouldn't have gone through cooking to just let it go to waste."

Anne poured her orange juice in an even shinier cup. The price sticker was still slapped on the front of it. A cheap cup at that.

"We have a lot to tell you about. I figured it'd work best if you're eating." Anne started. She waved Miguel to sit at the island with her. He watched the her when she offered some of her food he politely declined. "But let's start with the introductions – my name is Anne and he is Miguel."

"Josie Simon."

"Nice to meet you, Josie Simon."

"Just Josie is fine."

"Okay, Josie, do you remember anything about last night? The attack?"

"That was real?" she frowned placing the fork down.

"Yes, sorry, that was real." Anne reached a hand toward her. Josie retracted her hand placing it in her lap. "We just want to find the people who attacked you. Anything that you remember."

Josie closed her eyes for a moment. She drudged through the mind-whirling situation that she entered.

"Two men, one short and fat the other one taller and somewhat fat. I never saw them before. Their gait, the way they approached me was completely unnatural. I turned the opposite way that I go from the chapel trying to avoid them. They caught up and dragged me – beat me." She paused placing her hand where the pain was no longer, "Who are you? What is going on. I should be in a lot more pain. I should be dead."

"Do you remember if they said any names, names of locations?" Anne ignored the last part of what she was saying. Josie swept the place with her eyes one more time. The only item she had that could have an injurious impact was the fork. The knife was so dull it was hard cutting into the pancakes.

"The men, Jim and Barney. They kept talking about someone named Elizabeth." She dropped her utensils, "There was a dead woman by the trees that they attacked me at. They said something that she was their brain payment. I didn't understand. I fought but they won."

"Elizabeth? Jim and Barney?" Anne jumped from her stool and ran into the livingroom. She came back with a recorder and a notepad, "I honestly was not expecting to have so much useful information so early."

"We think we know who the murderer is. But everything that we have is hard to pin it on her. Most of the bodies are decomposed beyond all hope."

"Murderer? Have more people been killed by this person?"

"Yes, including my relative. Distant relative but still a relative nonetheless." The woman's brown eyes looked away from Josie. She was looking at Miguel, his red hair sticking up everywhere but not as serious as the almost emotional less look he was giving Anne. "We need to talk to you about something. Please don't freak out."