Dawn is Breaking 3

Chapter 3



“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, she’s fine, don’t worry.”

“Why hasn’t she woken up yet? What’s that on her neck?”

“Goren I don’t know okay, she is absolutely fine. She must have fainted, as for her neck... I’m not sure; it’s clearly a bruise but what I can’t tell.”

Dawn slowly woke up to Goren and who must have been the doctor talking. She felt as though she had no energy left in her body, she tried to open her eyes but it was too hard. Dawn continued to listen to the two men speaking about her.

“Do you think it was a vampire?” Wondered Goren.

“Hmm... That was my first thought, but see I don’t understand why a vampire would do something like this? Why didn’t it just bite her? Why leave a mark like that?” The doctor wondered; he had never seen anything like it before. Dawn’s bruise was in the same spot that a vampire would bite and what should have been puncture wounds were two big purple and red blotches, like a hickey. It made no sense. “Well, here I’ll leave you too her, I now have other patients to attend too.”

“Thanks. Oh, how are the others? Will they be okay?” Goren asked, concerned.

“Ah... Well I’m not sure that Colden will last much longer, being older and all, he has a very nasty bite on his left thigh that won’t stop bleeding and Ademy... well I’m afraid that there’s nothing we can do for her.” The doctor said sadly.

“The Malkavian’s?”

The doctor nodded, “We need to learn what powers they have and how we can counteract them, Ademy has gone insane, uncontrollable ; when I left there were three men trying to hold her and she was thrashing around like nothing I’ve ever seen. Horrible sight.

Anyway, I better go to her and see what I can do. Stay with Dawn as long as you like.”

“Thanks Doc.”

As the doctor left, Goren turned to Dawn and sat in a chair beside her bed. “You can open your eyes Dawn, his gone.”

Slowly she opened her eyes and looked at him, “How did you know I was awake?” Dawn croaked; her throat felt sore and tight, like she had been strangled. The feeling was horrible but the image that came with it made her crave his touch again. Ariel, she hadn’t stopped thinking of him, she couldn’t stop.

Goren gave a small smile, “I know you Dawn. I can read you like an open book.”

“Gee thanks. At least you’re the only one. That gives me some sort of comfort I guess.”

Goren’s smile had gone and he was looking at Dawn with a strange sadness in his eyes. Dawn reached a hand up to his face and held it there, “I can read you too.” She said.

He gave her a small laugh, took her hand in his and asked the question that had been floating around his mind for the last few hours. “What happened to you? Who hurt you?”

“No one hurt me Goren.” Dawn answered silently. “I’m not sure what happened but I am fine.”

“No,” Goren sighed and shook his head, “no you’re not fine. Something happened to you on that hill Dawn. I want you to tell me everything you remember.”

He was staring so intently at her that she wanted nothing more than to tell him everything, even about Ariel… but she couldn’t, knew that she shouldn’t.

“Dawn…”

She decided to tell the truth, mostly. Dawn cleared her throat, preparing for a long talk. “I was sitting on the wall, watching Rose, Dace and all of the other kids playing on the grass. I looked towards that hill at the back of us and I saw someone standing there. I went up to see who it was, thinking it must be one of you guys checking on us, figured it couldn’t be a vampire because the sun was out, it was such a nice day.” Dawn paused for a moment as she made herself more comfortable among the many pillows on her bed, “When I got up there the person was gone, so I made my way back down when I was grabbed from the shadows. I felt this… pressure in my neck, thought I was going to die to be honest, until I realised it wasn’t biting me; sort of sucking my skin. Then it let go.”

“It let go…?” Goren repeated, confused.

“Yes.”

He stood up and started pacing the room, he stopped in front of Dawn’s bed, “It just… let you go?” He asked again.

“Yes Goren! He just let me go!” Does he know that I’m lying? She wondered.

“He? You saw it?”

Damn it, she hadn’t realised that she said that. “No… I don’t know; I would prefer to think that it was a man sucking on my neck than a woman.” When Goren resumed his pacing Dawn released the breath she was holding silently, quick save she thought.

“You said it got you from the shadows… Rose said that she found you on top of the hill?”

This was getting ridiculous. “Damn it Goren don’t interrogate me! I could have died! I was freaking attacked by a vampire, I don’t know how I got from the forest to the top of the mountain okay?”

Goren had stopped his pacing again and sighed. He sighs at everything Dawn thought. He found his seat at her bedside and sat back in it, rubbing his hands through his shaggy blond hair. He was silent, contemplating, Dawn watched him. His blond hair brought out his beautiful, bright green eyes that looked like they might glow in the dark. Goren’s hands were big and ruff, but always extra gentle when he touched her. She liked holding his big, ruff hands when ever she was scared or upset, it made her feel… protected. That’s just what Goren was to Dawn, her protector, her guardian.

In the dim light of Dawn’s room she noticed just how attractive Goren was, like Garrick. No, nothing like Garrick, Goren was kind and fair and smart. He cared for others, Garrick cared only for himself, not Rhea or Daivat, not even his parents Amerson and Italis.

Goren was strong, mentally and physically, so far he had proved to be able to handle any situation and that gift made him a great asset to the tribe. He kept everyone together in bad situations, Dawn thought if anyone other than Amerson should be leader it should be Goren; everyone would agree, except for Garrick and his pose, and his mother. Italis loved her son, thought he was God’s gift to the earth. Thinking this made Dawn cringe, Italis had a lot of power over the tribe, and she made sure that everyone knew it. Ever since Dawn had confronted Garrick about the kids she had been avoiding Italis, she knew for a fact that Garrick had run to his mummy and Italis had been trying to corner Dawn for the last few days. I will make sure that Goren is with me at all times, Dawn decided, after Ariel she didn’t think she could handle Italis just yet. Ariel… just the thought of him made her smile and crave to be near him.

“Dawn?”

“What!” Goren had startled her; he was staring at her weird.

“What are you doing? You’re smiling.” Goren said.

She relaxed, for a moment she thought that she had said her thoughts aloud, or Goren could read her mind; she didn’t put it past him. “Oh, what so I’m not allowed to smile?” She replied defensively.

“You’re going red.” He said with a smile. “What were you thinking?”

Damn his good! “I’m always red. I wasn’t thinking about anything.”

Goren laughed but let it go, for now. He knew there was no use in fighting about it with her; she was too stubborn for things like that.

The two had been sitting in silence for about half an hour; Goren had felt it better to let the tension dissolve from their little argument before bringing it up again. He leaned forward in his chair. “Dawn…”

“Goren, please don’t start this again…” Dawn pleaded; she knew he was going to start again.

“No, Dawn, I’m sorry about before okay? I really am. You really scared me you know. I just want to make sure that you don’t remember anything else. You told me everything right?” Goren wanted nothing more than to believe Dawn, he trusted her with his life… he loved her… but something wasn’t right about her story, her face when she told it. She was a good liar normally; just not to him, he always knew.

“No, I don’t remember anything else, I told you everything.” As soon as she said it Dawn felt and overwhelming feeling of guilt. How could she lie to him? Ariel, that’s how. If Goren knew about him, what he had done, he would hunt him. The thought of Goren hunting Ariel almost made her cry, not for Goren but for the vampire. No, she was doing the right thing.

“Here, move over.” Goren helped Dawn move and laid down beside her, putting his arm around her she snuggled up to him, grateful for his warmth and company but her mind was screaming for Ariel to be the one next to her. The rational part of her tried to push this thought aside, not yet she told it, we can wait.

Dawn soon fell asleep in the arms of two men that she loved in very different ways, one alive and one undead but both just as real as the other.



***



“Dawn! Goren! Wake up!” Rose was sprinting towards her room, screaming in a panic. She found her room and threw the door open, Dawn and Goren were still sleeping but she was still screaming their names.

Goren woke up to Rose slapping him across the face, he grabbed her hands to make her stop, “Rose what are you doing?” Goren saw her face and frowned. Her face was very pale and eyes were full of worry. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Rose took a deep, calming breath before she spoke, “its Reagan… She’s… You have to come and see.”

Goren nodded, “Okay.” He turned to Dawn, she hadn’t woken up even with Rose screaming, “Dawn,” He shook her lightly, nothing.

Rose joined in and grabbed Dawn by the shoulders and shook her violently, “Wake up!” She yelled.

Dawn awoke with a fright, “What the…” She looked around at Goren and Rose, taking in the looks on their faces. “What’s wrong?” Rose was frightened and Goren had his worried face on, something wasn’t right.

Rose pulled Dawn out of bed and dragged her out to the backyard with Goren following behind. As they got outside and Rose stopped Dawn looked around. It was night time, probably about 9pm; they had been sleeping just about all day. the moon was bright and she could hear the loud noises of the vampires coming from the city. Their growls and laughter made Dawn shudder, she felt Goren shiver slightly behind her but it wasn’t a cold night.

Goren moved from behind and slowly, cautiously, made his way towards a large group of people in the middle of the yard. Dawn hadn’t even noticed them but it seemed that the whole tribe was out. She followed Goren, a bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. Everyone was in a circle, crowding around something on the ground. Goren pushed his way through the crowd, Dawn following closely.

As he made it to the front of the circle Goren froze, eyes staring at the ground. Dawn looked at him, even in the dim light of the moon she saw that his face had gone pale; she followed his gaze and froze too.

Lying on the ground was a woman. Dawn recognised her as Reagan, one of the young women of the tribe. Reagan was bloodied and beat up, lying in a heap. Everyone was just staring, Dawn looked around, saw their faces, read their face. Everyone seemed to be thinking the same thing. How did it happen inside the grounds of the church?

Dawn bent down to get a closer look at the girl. She felt around to find a pulse… yes, very faint but it was there. “She’s still breathing, just. Someone take her inside to the doctor.” Dawn waited, than looked up, no one had moved. She found the doctor looking horrified. She stood up and went to him, placing a calming hand on his arm. “Doc, it’s alright. She is still alive; I need you to help her. Can you do that?” After a moment the doctor nodded, he composed himself and motioned for some others to help him carry Reagan inside.

There were still a few people frozen on the spot. Dawn went to each and tried to give them some comforting words and send them back inside. Once she came to Goren she wrapped her arms around him. “I didn’t know that you were friends with her.” She said quietly.

“I’m not… I mean I wasn’t…” He took a deep breath. “We talk occasionally but… it’s a big tribe, you don’t know everyone.”

“I know, I know, its okay. I didn’t know her either.” Poor Goren, she had never seen him so troubled before. So much for him being good in all situations, no that’s not fair she thought, she hated seeing him like this; he should be the one comforting her and everyone else, not the other way around.

Goren squeezed her tight, “How could this happen? It’s not supposed to happen. How did they get in?”

“I don’t know…” Dawn thought about what she had seen, the way Reagan was heaped on the ground; it brought the image of someone throwing her over the wall of the church to her mind. The image made her wince but it made sense.

“Goren… what if they didn’t come inside the walls.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

She stood back and walked around the area where Reagan was. “Well, it’s a horrible thought but… the position that she was in, she wasn’t placed here carefully.”

Goren was picking up on her train of thought. “You think she was… thrown… over the wall?”

Dawn looked up at him, “It makes sense… right?”

He nodded, “It makes a lot more sense than one coming inside. We better tell Amerson. Come on.” Goren took Dawn’s hand, as his skin touched hers she remembered the dream that she was having before Rose shook her awake. The thought made her blush.

While she was sleeping with Goren her dreams were filled with images of Ariel, in all the confusing she had managed to forget about him but now she couldn’t get him out of her mind. As the two were walking to the door Dawn turned her head around to look behind, she had the sudden feeling of being watched. Ariel, part of her mind pined for him, his touch, his kiss; the other part tried to make her walk inside but she wasn’t listening to it.

“Dawn…” She faintly heard Goren’s voice calling for her but she didn’t take any notice of it. Her feet were moving her forward, towards the shadows, towards the wall. She could feel him there although she couldn’t see him. Almost at the wall… Ariel! Her mind screamed for him. Reaching up to hoist herself over the wall…

“Dawn!” Goren pulled her down from the wall, as he did Dawn screamed at him and they both fell to the ground, Goren felt as though he had pulled a rubber band and the person on the other end had let go, strange feeling.

Dawn had landed on top of him and she was kicking and clawing at him. Something was terribly wrong with her.

“Dawn stop!” He yelled. He rolled on top of her and pinned her down, they were both breathing heavily and when Goren looked at Dawn his heart stopped. Her face was… different, she had a look of hatred, glaring at him, killing him with her eyes. He had a huge amount of pain build up in his chest and he just stared at her, horrified.

After a moment Dawn’s eyes rolled back, revealing the whites and then closed. Goren panicked and shook her, her eyes slowly opened and she looked at him confused.

“Goren? What are you doing?” She asked.

Goren just stared at her, again, but this time he was confused too. Slowly he let go of her and rose, pulling her up with him. She felt dizzy and held onto Goren for support.

“Who’s Ariel?”

Dawn caught her breath, how did he know? “What?”

“You were calling his name, if Ariel is a guy.” Goren never saw anyone but Dawn was calling for someone and walking towards the wall as though someone was there. She lied to me about what happened on the hill, I know she did, he thought, but why?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“Don’t lie to me!” He yelled, suddenly furious at her.

Dawn took a step back; Goren never yelled at her like that, he never yelled at anyone. This side of him scared her, a lot. “Goren I…”

“Don’t. Don’t you say you don’t know, don’t lie to me; I always know when you are lying to me Dawn. Just tell me the truth about what happened on the hill today and what just freaking happened.” He stood there still as stone, arms by his side and fists clenched tight.

Seeing him like this, so angry, at her even, she couldn’t hold back the tears. She didn’t what had just happened, she couldn’t explain it. Would he accept that?

He had scratches on his face and along his arms that were bleeding; she looked at her own hands and saw blood on them. Her hands were shaking. I did this?

“Goren…” She looked at him, the blood on his face, how could she do that to him? Horrified and disgusted with herself she turned away and ran.

“Dawn wait!” Goren called after her. She didn’t stop, she ran inside, pushing past anyone that got in her way. She didn’t know where she was going, letting her feet find their own way.

Rose saw her aunt running down the hall towards her; she stepped out and caught her arm stopping her. Dawn had tears flowing down her face that streaked with dirt.

“Dawn, what’s wrong? What happened?” She looked so frightened it scared Rose, she didn’t realise Dawn had stayed outside all this time.

Dawn sobbed and pushed Rose away and continued running. Rose almost fell from the push but Dace caught her, holding her by the arm. She turned to him, worry covering her small, delicate face and Dace put an arm around her shoulders.

Outside Goren still stood in the same spot with his eyes focused on the back door to the church where Dawn had run through. He could still see her horrified, tear streaked face in his mind, the image wouldn’t let go of him.

“Damn it.” He whispered into the night. Anger built up inside of him again, anger at himself and Dawn, but mostly at himself for causing Dawn pain. He growled along with the vampires in the city, he took his anger and punched the stone wall a few times. Once his anger was released he leaned on it and slid down, face in hands and cried. His hand throbbing with pain.