UntitledV- Chapter 2

         Iru sat up, shifting everything on the bed away from him in a single movement. Without making any noise, he slid off the bed and hurriedly cross the room, flinging the door open.
         “… Iru?” He thought he hadn’t woken her.
         “… lock the door. Stay here.” Amber complied as he bolted down the hall, somewhat afraid of his tone. He raced down the halls, wearing only a pair of silk pants, ignoring the rain, the wind, the thunder. Ignoring his own heart crashing against his ribs.
         The other vampire… it wasn’t her presence that had set him off. He was fairly well known. She was in his mind, and he wasn’t sure she knew he was in hers.
         With what he’d been through, he was sure the images pulsing through his brain weren’t his own, nor were they being forced on him. They were her memories.
         Piles of bodies. Vampires. Staked. Burning. Machine guns, tearing holes in them, with no effect. A soft, discernible din throughout each memory.
         Iru crashed through another door, out into the rain.
         A vampire’s head exploding in a geyser of blood. They shared this memory. Several once-human husks. This too was shared.
         Iru stopped, his almost-white blue eyes closing for a moment. Several pictures flashed through his mind in quick succession. He stopped completely.
         Iru…
         He opened his eyes, having the forethought to sit down against the wall before he collapsed. He felt the other vampire pull out of his thoughts, but he wasn’t able to do the same. His hands instinctively went up, pointlessly covering his eyes. “Too much…”
         Iru, stop…
         “Crim…” He was vaguely aware of her standing in front of him, mainly because less rain was hitting him.
         I’m here...
         Iru moved his hands. Crim had crouched down level with him, remorse on her face. “Crim, don’t be so sad…” He forced a thin smile. “I’m sorry.”
         “I didn’t mean to vanish for all this time… I… you’ve probably heard what happened…”
         Iru stopped, his eyes softening for a few seconds. “You’re supposed to be the happy one, Crim. Cheer up.” She slowly reached over and intertwined the fingers of one of her hands with one of his. A thought passed from her mind to his, but he didn’t seem to acknowledge it. He had turned to look back the way he came. At Amber.
         “Crim!” The human smiled. She had no idea why the other vampire was here.
         Crim smiled back as Iru led her inside. Without any indication of what she had told him. Iru moved about, getting her dry clothes, changing his own, adding to the fire in the bedroom. He insisted she take his place in the bed, pulling a blanket around himself and curling up on a rug in front of the fireplace.
         In the genial manner he had adopted since Ash was born, nearly two hundred years ago, Iru concealed centuries of pain. With absolutely no effort, he hid something that could drive even older vampires mad.

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My original divider symbols didn't work here <_>

         Crim told Amber what had happened as soon as Iru fell asleep. At first, Amber had insisted Crim sleep beside him. She had been his best friend for almost three hundred years. But Crim persisted, even though finding the right words was difficult.
         Amber had slipped under Iru’s arm with a smile so bright Crimson couldn’t help but smile too. Undoubtedly, Iru hadn’t denied any feelings for the human. Crim confirming them had done something that all of his justified caution and distancing could never destroy.
         He deserved that much.