...Sadness For Everyone By: Fox Cutter Chapter 5 "Here," Elena said as we entered into a clearing. "This is perfect," sit continued, sliding hir pack off hir shoulders and onto the ground. Ren let out a short sign and leaned up against a tree, he was still wobbly from the loss of blood, and the three hours walk had drained him pretty badly. I nodded, dropping my own pack and sitting down on it. "We'll wait here then," I said, panting softly. We had all been pushing ourselves too get as far away from Stefan as we could. Elena shook hir head, lowering hirself so sie was sitting on her haunches. Rocking back and forth slowly, sie looked to me in some kind of meditation. A half a minute later a large elk stag walked into the clearing. It didn't seem to notice anyone but Elena, walking strait for hir and lowering it's head. "That's it, come closer," Elena said, hir voice soft, encouraging. A large smile was flickering accost hir lips. The elk moved up until he was right next to Elena, his neck almost pressing against hir muzzle. I chuckled softly at the level of control sie had over this animal. I could also see that the beast was starting to get aroused by this. Elena saw me looking, turned to me and gave me a smile. It was a wide, long smile, showing every single one of hir teeth. Turning around I heard a wet bellow from the Elk as he was attacked. What followed was a series of sounds that sounding almost like someone trying to eat jello with a straw, but only far worse. I tried blocking it out, covering my ears and humming to myself, but no matter what I did it still worked it's way inside my head. Eventually I gave in, stepping behind a tree and losing what little I had in my stomach. I decided to stay back there until sie was finished. After what seemed like hours the sounds finally came to an end. Spitting a couple times to clear the taste from my mouth I look around the tree. Elena was standing over the body of the gutted Elk, his blood and, other bodily fluids, covered it's fur and the ground it had died on. Elena was perfectly clean, the only blood that showed was on hir muzzle, and sie was rapidly licking that off. "There's nothing like the taste of the Season." Sie said once sie had seen me. This seemed like a strange comment, but I felt it best not to pry into it any deeper. "Felling better now?" I asked, noticing that Ren was still against his tree. He was awake, but had his eyes closed to what had happened in front of him. Sie nodded, stretching out hir arms. "Oh yeah! He was good!" I looked down at the mess in front of hir and smiled slightly. "So I noticed," I shook my head, looking back to hir. "We had better get moving, I still fell we're to close to your former Master." "Sure," sie said, slowly walking over to me, "but I should have some of your Life, just to make sure." I frowned at this. "I won't need much," sie continued, "five or six teaspoons will be enough." Looking hir over I could see that sie was serious. I gulped a bit, walking over to my pack. I did suspect that something like this might happen sometime on the trip. Even though I had offered hir some from me before, the thought still scared me. Sie was something of a friend though, and on this world I would be lost without hir. I guess a little of my own blood was the least that I could do. So, I pulled the first-aid kit out of my pack and walked back over to hir. Setting the kit down I rolled up my left sleeve, taking off my watch that covered my wrist. "I hope you don't mind that it's not from my neck." I said, my hand shaking. Sie took my hand in hir paws, the tips of hir claws tickling over the small hairs that covered my wrist. "It should be fine. Don't be scared though, this won't last long." Pressing one of hir claws down she drew it accost my wrist, cutting into the skin, not deep, but enough to draw a stead drip of blood. Lifting my wrist to hir muzzle sie started to lap at the blood. With a suddenly look of discus sie yanked hir head back. Dropping my arm sie turned and vomited up a small amount of blood, maybe a cups worth. I jumped back, grasping my wrist to try and stay the flow of blood. "Are you all right?" I asked, look at hir as sie wiped her muzzle clean. "You taste like the Dead!" Sie exclaimed looking back to me. I frowned, "How could that be?" I asked as I felt a hand on my wrist. Looking down I saw that Ren had come over, the first-aid kit all ready open at his feet, and was cleaning the cut. "Unless you're one of the Risen, or a Mummy, I have no clue!" Sie answered, hir ears twisting in a puzzled look. "No," sie continued, "not like a Mummy, they're more stale then anything else." "Which doesn't explain why this has happened," I said with a sign as Ren wrapped up my wrist. "Another mystery to talk to Ken about. Right now my life seams to be to damn full of them." I shook my head, looking back down to Ren as he finished up his bandaging of my wrist. "But you, you taste *dead*!" Elena said, trying to make me understand the implications in this that sie saw but I didn't. I smiled. "Sense I'm alive, how exactly can I be dead?" "I don't know," sie sighed, "You just taste Rotten, spoiled. You don't smell that way though, which is even stranger." I shrugged. "I don't know," I said, rubbing my wrist. "Maybe Oria and Ken make some kind of spell to protect me against you." Sie shook hir head. "No, this was not magical, it was not laid on your blood, it was in it, a part of it." I sighed, putting my watch back on. "How about we just get moving? I want to put in at least another five miles before dawn. We can talk on the way." Sie nodded, "Right, that will give me some more time to think." "Good," I said, returning my pack to it's norma place on my shoulders. "Point us in the right direction." * * * 08/27/98: It was approaching dawn of the next day. We had covered a lot of land as we walked, now only half a nights walk to the 'morph city. Ren had recovered from the attack, even the bandage on his neck was gone, replaced with a patch of fake skin. Still though, it had shaken him up a bit, he had barely said a word seance we all got up at night fall. Elena had been just as silent about the taste of my blood. Sie had only made a few comments about it not being normal, but nothing more. For the most part we had been walking in silence. Finally, just as the stars were fading we entered into a large clearing. Ren sighed, collapsing on the ground. "This looks like a good place to stay the night." Our guide looked around, twitching hir ears as sie did so. "Yes, this should be fine." Sie answered him, dropping hir back to the ground and sitting down next to it. I plunked to the ground as well, digging through my pack for some cooked rabbit from the night before (or that morning, depending on your point of view). I handing a piece to Ren, which he snatched from my hand without comment. "Once we are at the city I will arrange for you to be given a ride to the Senate. Once there you can ask them if they did this or not." Elena said, hir focused on something out in the woods, not us. "Do you still believe your Government ordered this?" I asked, wiping my face off with the back of one hand. Sie nodded. "Yes, I believe so. I do not know if all of the Senate ordered it or just a few members, but I am sure that they did." I sighed, felling Dwight's little package in my pack. "Do you think they will admit to it if I just ask them?" Sie shrugged. "I do not know. If it was the whole of the Senate then they may. If it was a few members they may tell you in private, or admit it in public. You will know once you confront them about it, no sooner." I nodded. "So the usual crap... frankly I'm starting to hate all these surprises. I don't get paid enough to trouble shoot like this." Elena ignored me, raising one paw to call for my silence. Hir ears were twitching a bit, searching out something in the forest. Sie motioned for me to come to hir as sie was moving silently to one side of the clearing. I followed, trying to be as quiet as I could. Once I was next to hir, sie pointed into the woods. I could just make out the form of a morph of some kind, walking closer to use. It wasn't very fast though, it looked like the person was limping with each step. Elena pulled me back away into the clearing. "Sie is coming directly for us." Sie said in a harsh whisper. "Sie's not moving very fast," I commented. "Yes, sie is old, and has been hurt. Sie posses no threat," Elena paused for a few seconds, "I suspect this might be a trap." I sat back, looking around the clearing. "I don't think it so," I whispered back, "anyway, if it was a trap the extra would have been squashed by now." Sie tilted hir head, hir ears twitching as sie processed that comment, then slowly sie smiled. In unison we both turned to look at Ren. He saw this and frowned. "What?" He asked. "Don't worry," A new voice said, "I don't 'squash' people." Turning around we all looked to the old feline morph that was standing on the other side of the clearing. Sie had the same, forced looking elegance that Elena and the Mouse had possessed. It still showed even with hir age. Sie smiled to us, taking a few more limping steps towards us. "I do not intent to attack you, and this is not a trap." Elena started to move a bit, hir muscles tensing as if sie was getting read to pounce. "No now," The feline said, smiling, "there is no need for the little vampire to attack me. Yes I heard everything you said as I was walking here. That is because I have been sent to pass to you a message from my goddiss, Ruhk." Elena drew in a sharp breath. I frowned, I was sure I knew that name from somewhere else! The feline shook hir head. "Sie is very anger that you left hir. Sie had plans for you, you and Stefan. The suntan you gave him was a problem, but we did return him to his unlife, as you saw." Sie smiled, "though not entirely as you might think." Elena moved forward, starting a leap for the feline's throat. Sie was stopped before sie could go more then a foot, falling like sie had run into a wall. The feline smiled, shaking hir head as well. "You shall stay put child." Sie then turned to look at Ren and I. "As for you humans, Ruhk wants you working with hir. Sie feels your help would benefit hir." Ren snorted. "Frankly no, I have enough employers as it is." Sie took two steps closer to him, smiling even wider. "Your choice has already been made for you." "Meaning?" He asked, crossing his arms. Sie laughed, ignoring him, shifting my attention to me. "How about you? Shall you come willingly or would more persuasion be required." I smiled. "I hate to tell you this, but I'm the good guy." "Only in your mind," sie answered. "Ruhk knows what sie can do to convince you. Sie's been to your mate's world, if sie so wishes sie can return again. This time to kill her, not just to play with her god." "Bull," Elena said, I didn't know that the magic that had frozen hir allowed hir to talk. "Sie is trapped on this world, prevent from leaving by the power of Hell itself!" The feline laughed again. "One day sie will be able to leave, when sie does your mate will be hir first victim." Sie told me with a smile. I smiled to hir. "Hell is a powerful place, even your perfected goddiss can't beat it back once it's hooks are in you." Sie shook hir head, stepping away from us. "You are all hir's, you just don't know it yet." Sie said, then with a boom sie was gone. Only leaving behind the smell of burning flesh. Elena growled, standing up, now free of the magic. Sie looked up to the sky and screamed. "*I will _never_ be yours again!*" Ren shook his head. "I don't like this." I sighed, "I don't think any of us do." 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.