...Sadness For Everyone

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

    Chapter 4

08/25/98:

"We can stop here," Elena said after a few hours of walking.
A false dawn was just starting to show over the horizon,
brightening the sky.

I nodded, sitting down in the clearing where we had stopped.
Panting softly I slid my pack off my shoulders. "How long do
you think it will be until we find more civilization?"

Sie sighed, setting hir own pack down. "There's a small
'morph city about two days further walk from here."

"Are you sure?" Ren asked, laying down in the grass.

"Yes," sie answered, "my Master used to live close to here.
I spent many years in this area, I know where everything is.
Once we reach the city you can hitch a ride. It will take
about three days before you can reach the Senate."

I noticed that sie hadn't included hirself in the travel
plans. "Not coming along?"

Sie smiled. "I'll be along, just not where most people can
see me. I find keeping a low profile is beneficial when I
must feed."

I nodded, adjusting my pack a bit so I could use it as a
pillow. Elena had pulled out and well worn sleeping bag. The
kind that completely envelops the person sleeping inside of
it. The padding of it looked bulky and hard in places.

Sie saw that I was looking as sie opened up all the way.
"The bag is filled with my native soil." Sie explained.
"It's the only way I can sleep."

I shrugged. "Not a problem with me. I understand how things
like that are."

"So," Ren said, sitting up. "You say your Master used to be
around here. Interesting choice of words, how exactly was he
your master?"

Sie glared at him. "It was Stefan who first Embraced me as a
vampire. He destroyed my ear to insure my separation for my
people and made me server him for over three fourths of a
century. It was by giving myself to another that I gained
the power to free myself from his control."

"Sounds like the it was a nasty breakup," Ren commented,
laying back down on the grass.

Sie snorted, slipping into hir bag. "We have a longer
distance to walk tomorrow night. At dusk I will hunt you
both some food. Now we must sleep, so I suggest you don't
speak to me until nightfall." The comment was aim directly
for Ren.

He just smiled and closed his eyes, falling asleep in
seconds.

Elena shook hir head. "Arrogant child," sie muttered,
closing hir bag up and over hir head.

I blew air through my teeth, looking up at the starts above
us. It wasn't that full of a sky, though nothing like Prid's
half void of a view, but still relatively empty. Even with
that it was still a pretty sky to fall asleep under.

As I began to drift off I started to track some of the
stars, finding a few familiar constellations. First the big
dipper, then up to the little dipper and the north star.

Finally exactly what I was seeing registered. Sitting up
with a snap I pulled myself to my feet, looking closer at
the stars above me. If I was right, if I wasn't seeing
things, this meant I was on another Earth. The thought just
blew my mind away, this was just so bizarre.

I sat back down, looking over to where Elena was sleeping
soundly. Tomorrow I would ask hir, I had to know if I was
right or just seeing things.

* * *

It was night again, and we were once more back to our feet,
walking through the forest in the direction Elena had told
us to go. Above us, still familiar stars shown, brighter now
then they were in the morning.

"See something?" Elena asked, drifting back to talk to me,
leaving Ren in the lead.

I nodded. "Yes, I know the stars."

Sie twitched hir ears forward a bit. "In what way?"

"They appear to be the same as back home." I answered, "what
is the name of this world?"

"This is Earth."

I shook my head. "A Earth, this is a different one from
mine. All we have are humans there."

"This world used to have many humans," Elena responded,
"they made us, then Ruhk remade them."

I raised an eyebrow. "Remade in what way?"

Sie smiled. "As dragons, it was Ruhk's punishment to them
for having enslaved us."

I ahhed.

"I am one of the few of my race of have ever seen a real
human. Most of my people think of them as self centered
uncaring louts."

I smirked. "Like Ren?" I asked

Sie let out a short laugh, "Yes, your protege does has a
real humility problem."

"He is *not* my protege, thank you so very much."

Elena smiled and shook hir head.

Ren started to drift back towards us. Elena and I had
apparent separated a bit from him while we had talked.

"Elena," He said as he came up next to us. "You said this
was your ex-boyfriends territory, what did he look like?"

Sie snarled at Ren, stopping in hir tracks and jabbing at
his chest with one finger. I could see sie had the claw on
hir fingertip unsheathed. "Get this straight idiot," sie
yelled at him, "he was *never* my 'boyfriend'. If you talk
like that again I'll show you the true nature of our
relationship, the hard way. Do. You. Understand?" Sie
punctuated each word by stabbing hir finger into his chest
with growing strength.

He nodded slowly. "Fine, whatever you say. But what exactly
did he _look_ like?"

"A pile of ash," sie answered him with a smirk, crossing hir
arms over hir chest.

He laughed. "Funny that, I thought he might be the satyr
that has been shadowing us for the past ten minutes."

Sie shook hir head. "Couldn't be. I gave him a lethal suntan
over two-hundred years ago."

"Well," He said with a smile, "he's about ten feet to the
left and seven in front of us, and moves like you, almost
noiselessly. Why don't you go and ask him yourself?"

Elena let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, whatever makes you
happy!" Sie then pushed past him and started walking in the
direction he had give hir.

I started to follow hir, but I stopped in my tracks when I
noticed that all the normal background animal noises that
had been filling the forest had gone silent. The whole place
was dead quite.

I was reaching for one of my guns when I heard Elena yell.
Taking two steps back sie spun around to face me. "I don't
believe it..." sie whispered, hir face looking pail through
hir fur.

Pulling the gun out I thumbed the safety off and loading a
round into the chamber. Finally Elena seemed to compose
hirself enough to react. Sie bolted past me in a dead run,
moving faster that I thought possible. "Run!" Sie yelled as
sie went pasted us.

I swore to myself, running after hir, gun still in hand.
Looking back over my shoulder I saw that Ren didn't look
very concerned, he was following us and a slower pace.

There came a loud crash from the woods in front of me,
followed by a long wailing scream by Elena. I caught up with
hir quickly, skidding to a halt by hir side.

Sie was curled up in a tight ball on the ground, hir paws
clutching at hir head, hir claws digging into her fur. Sie
had stopped hir wail, only because sie had started vomiting
up a thick black mess that looked like clotted blood.

I bent down, holstering my gun. "Can you keep going, or
should I carry you?"

Elena just ignored me, muttering, "must resist, I'm strong,"
over and over again, saying it as if it were a mantra. Sie
was starting to shake as well, bad enough that it almost on
the verge of being convulsions.

"Ren!" I called, lifting my head to look for him.

He was already there, standing just behind me. "Our guest
hasn't moved yet." He said, "He's still exactly were we left
him." He paused for a few second. "Though I think he might
have started to move. He's so quiet I can't be sure."

Elena let out another low wail, this time from deep within
her body and filled with far more pain then before. I stood
up, looking the way we had come. I took my gun back out,
pulling the second one out as well, preparing it for use. I
offered it Ren but he shook his head, quickly forming a
sword from his hands.

"I don't like this Ren," I commented, "so keep your head up,
I think we're about to meet someone we won't like."

Below me Elena let out one last gasp and fell still, just
laying on the soft ground. I crouched down a bit, felling
her shoulder. It was colder then it should have been, even
for hir. "Elena?" I spoke.

Sie didn't respond.

I let a out a low growl. "Ren, I want you to take point,
tell me if our guest get closer. I'm going to carry Elena."
I put away the second gun, then heaved Elena up into a
fireman's carry over my shoulder.

Ren turned to watch behind us as I got Elena posited right
on my shoulder. In the distance I could hear what sounded
like hoof beats along the forest floor, and it was getting
louder.

I started running deeper into the forest, Ren was right with
me, only a few paces behind. The sound of the hove beats was
fading until it just cut off. That didn't sit well with me,
so I pushed for more speed.

"I think he's moving," Ren said, easily keeping up with me,
"but not on the ground."

Suddenly I felt a hand grasp my left arm, just above my
elbow. It was almost as cold as ice, pulling me to a sharp
stop and seeming to chill my arm right to the bone.

"I believe that's my property you're carrying," the owner of
the hand said as he came into focus. It was a satyr, but
with the actual head of a goat. He wasn't very tall, well
under five feet at least. He looked up at me with his
goatish face, smiling just slightly. "Please be so kind to
put hir on the ground."

He let of my arm, allowing me to step back and slide Elena
on to the forest floor. Even as I did so I keep the gun at
ready, pointing towards him. I was silently praying that I
wouldn't have to use it, and if I did, that my recent
training with Kalie had stuck.

"So," he said, still look at me, "would you be so kind as to
tell me who you are?" As he spoke I could feel his eyes
drilling into my, almost trying to pull me into them.

I fought it, looking back at him with my own, clear eyes and
smiling slightly. "Sie's helping us take care of some
business here."

"And who might you be?" Ren asked from my side. "Hir ex?"

The satyr whipped his goat-like to stare at Ren. "That is
not the world I'd choose. Sie ran away, and I'm here to
re-claim what is mine."

Ren smiled. "That's all well and good, though I think sie
might have something to say about it."

"And we may have to back up hir choice," I commented.

He looked between the two of us, some anger started to build
behind his eyes.

"By the way," Ren said with a smirk, "Aren't you suppose to
be dead?"

He ignored Ren, turning to face me again. "Please, tell me
your name again."

I frowned, but did answer him. "My name is Fox, my companion
here is Ren. What would your name be?" I asked in return. I
know Elena had mentioned it the night before but I just
couldn't remember it.

The goat-man smiled. "You may call me Master."

Oh dear, that carried implications I didn't like.

Beside me Ren snorted. "Master? That's a laugh. Are you
trying to scare us or something, because frankly it's just
not working."

The satyr walked over to Ren. "I do not like your attitude,"
he said, his voice losing all of it's emotion. "You must be
severely punished!" He then smiled, showing many
needle-sharp teeth.

Ren smirked. "I see, is that suppose to impress me?"

He lunged forward, grabbed Ren's shoulders and forcing him
down to one knee. His mouth going to his neck, biting it
hard, blood starting to flow from around the sides of his
mouth.

Ren and I both reacted instantly. I had my second gun out,
one being aimed at the vampire's head, the other at his
heart. Ren had a pair of short daggers crossed over and
pressed against the satyr's neck.

"Let him go before I do some damage," I said with more
confidence then I felt.

He ignored me, gulping and slurping at the blood flowing
from Ren's neck. Brushing off the threat of the gun and
blade both.

I did what I felt I had to, I took three quick shots at his
head. Two actually connected, throwing his head back with a
splatter of blood. It didn't last long though, all the
damage it caused seemed to start healing itself immediately.

Ren took my shot as his own opportunity to attack him. Using
the daggers to slice as the satyr's wrists, cutting deep
enough to losing his grip his shoulder. Once lose enough Ren
kicked him in the gut, sending him falling over onto his
back.

As he fell I ran over to Ren, returning the fired gun to
it's holster. Once he was free I pulled him away from the
fallen vampire.

Stefan, his name coming back to me in a rush, didn't stay on
the ground very long. In only a second he was back up on his
hooves, no sign of any damage. "Nice try," He said, licking
the blood from his face.

Ren smiled, grabbing the wound on his neck. Though now his
smile seemed to be forced.

"It got Ren free, that was the point." I answered, keeping
the gun still on my hand trained on him, with my other hand
I started to slide off my pack.

He laughed. "I'll come back for you two later," He said as
he bent down, starting to pick up Elena's body.

Sie suddenly snapped awake, lunging forward and ripping at
Stefan's throat with hir teeth.

He let out a gurgling scream, shoving her away. "I'll get
you for that, you ungrateful bitch!" He yelled to hir.

As he yelled I reached into my pack, trying to find
something to use on him. All I could find was my canteen,
suddenly an idea came to me. "Catch!" I yelled as I threw it
towards him.

Stefan reacted, catching it in midair and glaring at me.
"Just what is this?" He asked with a sneer.

I smiled. "Holy water," I answered, shooting it. The metal
exploded in his hand, water blasting out in all directions,
most of it though landing on his chest and face, soaking
into his fur.

He screamed at me, then his body suddenly imploded into a
thick cloud of vile smelling smoke, which streamed away for
us at a great speed.

Ren laughed, watching all this. "That was easy," He said,
before falling to the grass, finally showing some pain.

I moved over to where Elena had landed. "Are you ok?" I
asked hir.

Sie sat up, moving slowly, hir strength drained. Sie wiped
away some of the water that hand landed on hir face and
laughed softly. "The priest who blessed this water lied to
you."

I smiled. "No priest at all, it's just tap water. How are
you fealing?"

Sie laughed again. "I'll be fine," sie said, answering my
question, "as soon as I feed."

I frowned, "How much do you need?" I asked, reaching for my
sleeve.

Sie shook hir head. "More then either of you could spare."

I sighed. "All right, will Ren be ok? I mean did he do more
then just drink from him?" As I asked this Ren moved over to
sit next to us.

Elena reached out to him, wiping some blood from his wound
and licking it from hir fingers. "He'll be okay."

Ren let out a sigh of relief.

"Good," I said, pulling a first aid-kit from my pack. "I'll
get him patched up. Do you think it would be safe to camp
here or should we move on and let you catch up after you
hunt?"

Sie shook hir head. "We had best stay together."

I nodded. "We will then." I looked at Ren, he had lost a
little less then a pint of blood, so I gave him a pill that
would help his body produce more, at a faster rate then
normal. He took it happily, understand what it was for.

"If you need any blood to tide you over I could provide you
some." I said.

"No!" Elena cried, "I've lost enough Life that I'm not sure
I could stop myself."

"I understand," I said, putting the first aid kit away.
"We'll divert in any way you need so you can hunt, but we
have to start moving."

Sie nodded, standing up slowly. I then helped Ren to his
feet. He winched a bit as he moved his neck, showing less
pain then I imagined that he felt at the time.

And slowly we all moved forward.

   To Be Continued...

-----

This story is (c) 1998 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.
Elena and hir world is (c) 1998 by Chris Bradford.