Chapter 12: Chapter 12

I'm not sure how long I slept, but when I woke up, Dustin was sitting on the end of my bed, poring over his Art History book.

"What are you doing?"  I sat up and looked over his shoulder.

"We have a paper due next week.  Brian called the school and said he was your brother.  He told them you were in an accident and you had to have surgery.  Your professors said it was okay if you do your work from home.  I'll take it in and make sure you get credit for it."

"You can't leave me here with Brian!"  I objected.  My pulse sky rocketed.  I was ready to throw a colossal fit that would make a three-year old look mature.

"Calm down, I'm not going anywhere.  And when I do have to go to the campus, Dani will stay here.  She won't let anything happen to you," he reassured me with a kiss.  "How are you feeling?"

"Still feel like I'm in some sort of alternate universe," I admitted.  "But I'm hungry."

"Let's go downstairs."  He pulled me off the bed and draped his arm around my shoulder.  "Someone wants to see you."

Nervousness settled in my stomach.  I imagined a room full of werewolves and vampires waiting to welcome me into their fold with some kind of blood ritual.  And what the hell was a Magic Caster?  Visions of the Wicked Witch of the West went sailing through my mind.

"Relax," he whispered.  "Remember, I'm here."

I grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled it over my head.  "Okay, let's do this."

He led me down the stairs and into the large kitchen.  Shawn was sitting at the tall counter with Dani.

"Katie!"  He jumped up and gave me a hug.  "Man, you gave us a scare!"  He sounded like a concerned grandma.  "I'm glad you're okay.  I don't know what we would have done if we would've lost you."

I hugged him back, feeling a bit awkward.  "Thanks Shawn."

"How are you feeling?"  He looked at Dustin when he asked.

Dustin wiggled his hand as if to say, okay, but not that great.  "She's been a really good sport about everything, even though some of us are giving her a hard time for something that's not her fault," he tossed Brian a cold look.

Brian shot him a nasty glare and left the kitchen.

"Katie, are you hungry?"  Dani put two turkey sandwiches in front of me.

I grabbed them and started eating.  I was ravenous. I didn't even care that they were all looking at me with their mouths gaping as I inhaled the first sandwich like a Hoover vacuum.  My appetite was barely sated.  This could be bad...

Katie handed one to Shawn.  "Thank you, honey."  He picked up one of the halves.

I had so many questions in my mind.  Why was my vampire friend eating real food?  Did they even drink blood?  They were all tanned, and I could see their chests moving with breath.  My inner girly-girl swooned at thoughts of the Twilight movies, where handsome Edward Cullen sparkled like a disco ball.  I was positive I had never seen my friends look like anything out of a Tiffany's jewelry catalog.

"Let's sit down."  Dustin walked towards the big dining room table.  I grabbed the rest of my sandwich and followed.

Dani and Shawn took seats at the table and looked at Dustin, waiting for him to begin.

"I think we need to fill in some of the blanks for Katie.  She doesn't know anything about us, and I'm sure she's full of questions."

I swallowed my mouthful of sandwich and looked at my friends.  "I have no idea where to start."

Shawn gave Dustin a nervous smile.  "Probably better start by telling her about SLU."

I looked at Dustin as he cleared his throat.  "Katie, SLU has a large number of what we call Supernaturals.  People with gifts, different from regular humans.  You already know about us.  I know you have some preconceived notions about vampires, so let's start there."

"Ok," I pushed my empty plate away.  "How come you eat real food?  Why can you walk in the sun?  How come you breathe? You don't sparkle, do you?"  I lowered my voice at the last question, marking it with a raise of my eyebrows.

Dani threw her head back and laughed. "No, Bella, we don't sparkle, and we don't know the Cullen's."

Dustin shot her a scowl and continued.  "Remember when I told you about our tattoos?"

I nodded.

"Each tattoo is made up of ink, blood and old magic.  The combination has been perfected to allow us to possess human traits.  We enjoy regular food, but we can't survive on it alone.  We have to consume a certain amount of blood each month to stay healthy."

"Where do you get the blood?"  I felt my insides shift nervously as I imagined my neck looking like a double decker hamburger to my friends.

"We have a source at the local blood bank, who helps us get what we need.  Certain vampires still get their blood the old-fashioned way, but it's severely frowned upon by those who live main stream."

"How can you walk in the sun?"

"Sunshine isn't a problem for us, thanks to the tattoos.  We can stay outside as long as we want.  But vampires without crest tattoos have only a limited time before they start to experience discomfort and eventual disintegration of their bodily tissues."

"How come you aren't cold?"

Shawn laughed.  "I can take this one.  Katie, the tattoos regulate our systems in a variety of ways.  One of them is circulation of the blood in our bodies.  Although we can't make our own, the blood that we consume runs through our veins similarly to yours and keeps our bodies warm."

I felt like I was in science class.  Science of Vampires 101.  Pop quiz on Monday. "Why do you breathe?"

"We don't," Dani replied.  "But we've been simulating the act of breathing for so long that it appears as if we are.  Just like blinking, its's something we have practiced for a long time.  It's another part of main streaming."

"Main streaming is where you live as a human, along-side regular people?"

All three nodded.

I sat back and thought for a moment. "How can you wipe people's memories?"  I glanced around, looking for Brian.

Dustin's eyes darkened.  "We can take possession of someone's mind by layering our conscience with theirs.  During that time, we can imprint on their memories and alter them if we need to."

"Like our Link?"

"Our Link is different.  Wiping someone's memories only melds our conscience for a short time.  Our Link is permanent and much more involved.  Wiping is just that, wiping the unwanted memories and implanting the new ones.  It only takes concentration on our part and eye contact.  Our Link requires blood exchange and covers all facets of the mind and body."

"Have either of you ever Linked with anyone?"  I turned to Shawn and Dani.

They both shook their heads.  "Never been in the situation to need to."  Shawn finished his second sandwich.

"What's it like?  If you don't mind me asking."  Dani looked at me with obvious curiosity.

"I don't really know how to describe it...,"  I began.

"It's like having another body."  Dustin took my hand in his.  "I can regulate her heart rate.  I can ease her pain, but I can also feel it.  Even if I'm not right next to her.  Wanna see?"  His eyes twinkled.

Dani and Shawn nodded, eyes wide.

Dustin turned to me and said, "I'm going to the other room.  After I leave, I want you to gently pinch yourself somewhere on your body."

"Okay," I agreed, realizing I was the main attraction in this little freak show display.

He jumped up and headed to the dining room.  Dani and Shawn stared at me, expectantly.  I reached down and pinched myself on my upper right thigh.

"Upper right thigh!"  Dustin yelled from the other room.

Dani and Shawn looked incredulous.  "That's crazy!"  Shawn exclaimed.

Dustin returned to the room and sat down next to me.  "I've never experienced anything like it."

"So, I kind of get vampires.  At least, more than I did an hour ago.  But what about the other Supernaturals?  What are they like?"  I ventured deeper.

"Werewolves are pretty much like they are in legends.  Higher body temperature, full moon transformation, enhanced strength.  Most of them are jocks, as you would probably guess.  We don't hang out with them that much, but we aren't enemies or anything."  Dustin looked to Shawn.   "Anything else she needs to know about them?"

Shawn laughed.  "Yah, don't piss them off."

"Werecats are pretty much the same thing, without the full moon business.  Most of them are artsy.  We have quite a few in our art classes," Dustin continued.

"I can't believe I've been sitting next to these people for almost two months, and I had no idea," I mused.  No points scored on my part for attention to my surroundings.

"That's how it has to be," Dani replied.  "Mainstreaming comes with strict rules, in order to preserve our groups."

"What about Magic Casters?"

"There's only a few of them.  They've become very rare, especially in mainstream.  But they're basically old age magic.  They're responsible for the tattoos we have.  Without Magic Casters, we can't get the proper mix of blood and magic for the ink.  They can control the elements, and very strong ones can control pretty much whatever they want, for a short time, anyway.  I think there's probably ten or fifteen at SLU.  Our groups get along the best with them, as their magic makes our daily life possible."

Dustin looked at Dani.  "What am I forgetting?"

"Shape shifters," she supplied.

"Oh, yah.  Shape shifters are the coolest, second to us, of course."  They all laughed.  "Shape shifters can manipulate their image into different animals.  They can't imitate humans, as the DNA is too advanced, but they can basically change into any animal they want.  Our friend Victoria's favorite is a lion, so don't be surprised if you think you see one running on the football field some night.  They usually don't use their skills at school, but I imagine a shifter family reunion would look like an episode of Wild Kingdom."

"Wow," I breathed, mind boggled.  "Is that everything?"

Dustin looked from Dani to Shawn and back to me. "There's one other group you need to watch out for.  Vampires are broken into two groups. One group, us, are called Eternals.  We were all turned willingly.  This is the life we have chosen, and we're happy with it.  The other group are called Shadowfall.  They're vampires who were turned without their consent, so as you can imagine, they aren't very happy.  Your buddy Anya is a Shadowfall."

"Great," I muttered.  "I've made enemies with an angry vampire."

"But more importantly, you've made friends with good vampires," Shawn reminded me with a smile.  "And you won't face Anya alone again.  The Eternals out-number the Shadowfall in main stream.  As you can probably guess, Shadowfall don't play well with others.  Some, like Anya and her friends, have managed to keep themselves on the mainstream list, but they are few in numbers."

I nodded slowly.  "So even bad vampires can get tattoos?" Didn't seem fair.

"The crest tattoos are only for those who qualify for mainstream."

"Can I see your tattoo?"  I asked Shawn.

"Sure."  He whipped off his shirt and turned around.  His tattoo was the same size as Dustin's, but very different.  "It's my families crest.  There are many different variations, but they all do the same thing.  Watch this."  He focused his eyes on Dani and the lines of his tattoo began to shift.  "If I'm feeling high emotion, the images will move."

"That's amazing," I murmured. "Does yours do that?"  I asked Dustin.

"Every time I look at you," he replied.

I felt my insides go soft.

I sat back in my chair and tried to digest everything I had just heard.  Dustin and Dani were nice vampires, Anya was a mean vampire.  Werewolves played football and werecats painted pictures.  Magic Casters were an endangered species and shape shifters liked to play Lion King.  I was feeling kind of ordinary, until I remembered that I was Linked emotionally and physically to the most beautiful vampire I had ever seen.  My head was swimming, trying to stay above water.

All the sudden, a burst of pain crashed through my skull.  I screamed and put my hands to my head.  "Katie!"  Dani jumped up and ran to my side.

Dustin swayed in his chair.  "Hey man, you okay?"  Shawn rushed to steady Dustin.

"Shawn!"  Dani yelled, as I started to slide out of my chair.  "Help me!  She's falling!"

I was still screaming when I hit the floor.  "Katie."  I could hear Dustin faintly in my head.

"Brian!  Something's wrong!"  Shawn was struggling with Dustin's limp body.

"Katie, can you hear me?!"  Dani was bent over me.  "Oh god, what's happening?"

Shawn laid Dustin down on the floor next to me.  Brian's face hovered over mine as I reached for Dustin's hand.  He laced his fingers through mine, and I felt his power leaking slowly into my body.

"Shawn, carry Dustin up to the bedroom!  I'll carry Katie."  Brian picked me up and carried me towards the stairs, while Shawn followed with Dustin.

They laid us down on the bed.  "Put his hand in hers," Brian ordered.  "Dani, get my bag!"

She returned a moment later with his medical bag.  "What's going on?"  Tears streamed down her face.

"The Link is fracturing!  We need to get Katie more blood before she dies."  He pulled out some tubing and needles.

"What's happening to Dustin?"

"Their Link is very new.  If we don't stabilize it, we could lose them both."

"But we're immortal, Brian."  Dani looked horrified.

"I don't have time to give you a medical lesson right now.  Both of you, hold Katie's arm still so I can get this needle in."  I felt strong arms holding me down, followed by a tiny prick.  "Now hold Dustin."

He stretched the tubing between us and blood from Dustin's arm began flowing into my vein.  It burned like lava and my body arched in response.  My screams continued.

"God, Brian, save them!"  Dani was nearing hysteria.

Brian hovered over us.  "All we can do now is wait."

The burning reached its apex, and my consciousness drifted away.

Author's Note: Poor Katie! She can not catch a break! How will this latest trauma affect her? Will she ever be the same? Vote and comment below! Luvs as always!!! AM💜