White Noise (Jesse Fforde)

[Marian Merchant]

A Thursday night, and Marian's parents were driving with her to Harper Rock, so they could show her the university the next morning. Albert and Elizabeth loved their only child, spoiling them as much as they could. Albert ran a funeral parlor in Montague, Elizabeth was a music teacher. They raised their little Marian as best they could, even with her condition. Through school, Marian faced the harshness of insults and pranks, as well as rejection of love and friendship. She had made few friends, but they were few and far between.

Now, facing a whole new environment, she was hopeful of the future. Her parents were taking her to the University, where she was accepted, for their music program. But she would deal with everything at the school in the morning. Right now, the family was driving along, passing the sights and some of the fascinating buildings. Stopping at the gas station, they all would get out of the car, to take care of their respective needs. Holding her folder tight to herself, Marian soaked in the atmosphere of Harper Rock. It was a neat place, she thought to herself. Perhaps it would be good for her, to get away from home, for such a lengthy time.

Stepping into the storefront, she grabbed herself a bottle of tea, and handed it to her father, who bought it for her, as well as the gas to fill the tank. Her mother was waiting outside, for them to finish up, so they could get to the hotel. She looked upset, but this was to be expected. Her only child was leaving them, in pursuit of higher learning. Marian could tell that her mother was holding back tears, but the woman was too stubborn to show them right now, especially around strangers. Once they piled back into the car, they headed directly to the West Hotel, where they had booked a room.

On the trip, though, Marian watched things go by, as they travelled, odd things. A man had been looking like he was biting another. But the instant she wanted to peer closer, they had driven farther away. Pulling up, near the hotel, they parked, and were about to exit the car, when a few thuggish gentlemen approached, encircling the car. One man "politely" told her father to "get out of the ******* car or else he was going to beat him to an inch of his life". Another man opened the passenger door, and pulled her mother out by the hair, before holding a knife to her throat. Panicked, Marian hid as best she could, in the back, while her parents dealt with these unsavory brutes. There was a lot of yelling, screaming, she could hear her mother crying before a man told her to shut up.

Closing her eyes tight, she went as silent as she could, hands over her ears. Within minutes, something loud echoed a few times, before a loud shriek came out, though it was short lived, the shriek disrupted, and a more gurgling sound following. In the pit of her stomach, Marian knew what had just happened, and she couldn't do anything about it. Instead, she continued to hide, hoping they wouldn't notice her. The thug that just murdered her parents climbed into the car, and attempted to hotwire it, while another was going through the belongings and checking the bodies for anything for anything valuable.

[Jesse Fforde]

There were a few things that Jesse enjoyed, these days.

The first, of course, was Grey. He enjoyed every aspect of the woman. Most of the time. He did not enjoy when she slipped into her depressed funks, which seemed to happen far too often. But he couldn’t force someone to be happy against their will, and he loved her. So it was something that they would work through.

The second thing Jesse enjoyed was spending time with his family, as eccentric and sporadic as they sometimes were. Here one day and gone the next; texting him hourly and then suddenly not at all. But they were all big kids. They were all adults. He didn’t have to coddle them and hold their hands and they could do what they wanted; Jesse would hang with them when he could.

Beyond social activities, though? Besides his artistry and work, Jesse had discovered thievery. First and foremost he was a ritualist, and there were plenty of items that he needed in order to make those rituals happen. These things he could find at the factories. So he had taught himself how to become a better thief.

Thieving wasn’t the only way to get the things he needed, though. What he also needed were diamond teeth, and these had to be pulled straight from the tooth-owner’s mouth. And who liked their teeth to be diamonds? Gangsters, of course. Thugs, of the most pretentious kind. A few of which Jesse now witnessed rifling through a car after slaughtering the car’s owners.

Jesse, of course, felt nothing for the dead humans. His focus was on the men who’d done the act, wondering if either of them would reveal to him a nice gleaming diamond tooth. He approached, bathed in the shadows. They did not see him coming. One of them was bent over the dead male, hands in his pockets; before he even knew what was happening, Jesse had a knife at his throat from behind, slicing from ear to ear. Of course, then, the jig was up. The second thug became aware of his dead comrade and Jesse was forced out of the shadows. Now he would have to be quick. It wasn’t exactly the slums, here. He didn’t want to be seen. Gun shots had already been fired, so a few more couldn’t hurt; within seconds Jesse had his gun out, aimed, ready to shoot.

That was the one thing about gangsters, really. They weren’t ever a real challenge.

[Wearing]

[Marian Merchant]

Foreign sounds of death, and it was silent. Peeking out of the hiding spot in the back, Marian couldn't see very much, so she cautiously opened the door, and crawled out. She could see the dead thugs, but most importantly she saw her parents. Crawling over to them, she sat there, silently, staring at the lifeless bodies she once called family. A deep well of emotions, and she began to overflow. Tears flooded her face, wishing that the day had never come. Why had they been taken from her? Why had these men targeted her family? She didn't care that they were dead, nor that somebody had killed them. She didn't care if her life was currently in danger, by the phantom who had killed the murderers. All she could think about now was her family. Bloodied from holding herself to both parents, she continued to cry, until she couldn't cry anymore. She started to choke on her tears, hyperventilating.

They were gone. They weren't coming back. The weight of this was too much on her mind, on her heart. Marian began to panic more, curling herself into a ball beside the bodies. She felt weak, still hyperventilating. Within a blink, she was out out, fainting. Her mind was blank, except for replaying the sounds over and over, of what she had witnessed. It was a cruel fate, that she had been dealt, leaving her helpless, alone. Her heart and soul were broken, leaving her empty inside, a husk. Laying with the bodies, only the breathing gave her any recognition that she was still alive. But with what just happened, one would be unsure as to how long this would happen, if her fate would be even crueler yet.

[Jesse Fforde]

Jesse was at the corner when he heard the door of the car open. Of course, it caught his immediate attention. He had thought there was no one else there. That the car belonged only to the man and woman, middle class. Upper class? Didn’t really matter. They were dead, non-things. Their spirits were gone, to wander the world aimlessly, or to be consumed by vampires for their own gain. At least, that’s where Jesse assumed the spirits came from, that gave them all their magical energy.

He took another couple of steps back toward the scene, though he knew he ought to leave. Someone would come, sooner or later, and he didn’t want to be implicated in the crime. The closer he got, the stronger the scent of blood saturated his senses. His nostrils flared, and he breathed it in. Glutton for punishment, maybe, as he consciously teased at the thirst that constantly clawed at his throat. As he fed that demon inside that waned only to spill more blood, once only a single drop had greeted the air.

What he witnessed was a girl, white as snow. Her hair, white. Her skin, like that of a ghost. Was she already a vampire? No. There was a heartbeat, threading throw her sobs. Had she done that to herself on purpose? Was it some kind of fashion statement? She stood out in the darkness, a bright smear on an otherwise dark and grisly scene.

Probably a daughter. That made sense, didn’t it? Why else would she be crying so hard? Maybe there were other things she could live for, in this life, but Jesse’s current thought was to put her out of her misery. That was what he would tell himself, anyway. But deep down, he was thirsty. So ******* thirsty, as he always was. And she was young, and she looked so pure. How sweet would her blood taste? So Jesse approached. He crouched down. He took the girl by her upper arm and hauled her upright.

His teeth already bared, he swooped in for the kill, mouth watering at the sight of that slender, unmarried neck and the vein protruding beneath.

[Marian Merchant]

With the bite, Marian's luck seemed to spiral downhill. A light gasp at the initial bite, and her body moved only slightly. Eyes fluttering open, she could feel the pain, but couldn't move much. Was this really happening? No, it couldn't be... Things like this just didn't happen. This must have been just a dream. It must have. Right? Looking around, she then noticed the man that was... biting her? Odd. Still in her daze, she closed her eyes, waiting for this to go away. She felt weak in this dream. Weaker and weaker, as the time passed. Her mind was still prioritizing what happened recently to her parents. She still couldn't process it much, even with her being right there for the whole thing. She didn't see what happened, but she heard. Oh gods, she heard. As she continued to dream, she could hear the sirens in the distance. Curling against herself slowly, as much as she could, she fell back into her deeper dream, deeper than this dream of the man biting her. How odd, to have this sort of dream. She never once remembered having any vampire dreams before. This was a vampire dream, right? Of course she'd read a few books that talked about it, since some were classics. But never did she expect to dream of this now.

Lifeless, except for her heartbeat, Marian was now motionless against Jesse, as he fed, her mind grown blank. Within her dream, she could see nothing now, just the blackness, but continued to hear the gunshots. The sounds of a blade through flesh. Twitching only once at the feeding, she relaxed again, as her mind dipped even deeper, to escape this reality. Down the rabbit hole, she found the safe place once more, within her mind. Within the darkness, she held good memories, good thoughts, and she had visited this place in the past. It was safe for her. There was no ridicule, no hatred, no death, no destruction, no pain. In this place, her parents were not dead, and she was safe from the dream of her being fed from. Reality eluded her, and she was quite fine with this. The man in her dream, though.. did she ever see him before? Or was he a creation of her mind? It was hard to tell, but she soon found her mental sanctuary pushed these thoughts away.

Within her sanctuary, she could almost picture it. Her perfect day. Sitting in her room, home, she'd have been playing her harp, trying to learn a few new songs, or practicing old ones until her fingers ached. Mother and Father would likely be busy, as they rarely weren't, but they still made time to have family time. A scene replayed once more, in her mind, like it was a silent movie, and she was in the front row of the theater. The family had taken a trip to Montreal, to see family. The place was gorgeous. Mouths were open, laughing, people were having a great time. The trip was splendid, Marian recalled, as she didn't have to worry about much. The scene changed, though, slowly, the faces looking to the screen, to her. The gunshots rang out again, just like outside of the car. Her parents made such grotesque faces, before they dropped. "No.. no no no no no!" she screamed, within her mind. It wasn't. It couldn't. No. This was supposed to be her sanctuary!

[Jesse Fforde]

Jesse’s grip tightens as the body within shifts, just slightly. A sign that there’s still life in it, which is fine for the vampire. It’s better when they struggle, sometimes. Maybe there’s some kind of sadism in what he does, but he likes it when they fight against him, and when they ultimately fail to save themselves. Jesse is a vampire, and inherent in the myth is a monster. Vampires represent a charming darkness; the kind of evil that can creep in unseen and undetected, one which inspires awe. But that’s its poison. That’s how it gets you. It weaves you in a web of horror until you cannot escape.

Jesse is lost in that darkness, when he feeds. He is that monster, and all semblance of the human he was is gone, vanished, hidden in the recesses. Although he can hear the sirens, he doesn’t immediately react to them. In fact, he doesn’t react until the booming crack, and that shout:

“DON’T MOVE. STAY WHERE YOU ARE.”

Jesse’s eyes snap open and his teeth retract from skin. He is clean when he eats. Although blood stains his teeth and tongue, although there’s a small hint of it at the corner of his lip, there’s none dripping over his chin. He has just enough time to dip his head and lick the blood clean from the wound, to allow those twin wounds to heal shut. No point giving people any more reason to chase after vampires than they already have. Another bullet whizzes past Jesse’s ear and he ducks, slips backward. He runs; a bullet lodges into his thigh. But it doesn’t bring him down. He runs until he’s around a corner and out of sight. Only then does he summon the shadows, making himself invisible. He slams his back up against a wall and waits; he waits until he’s presumed lost, and the cop returns to the scene of the crime.

Jesse lingers. He is of course aware of his own mistakes. He should not have lingered. Time had already been thin; he should have found his meal elsewhere. Except, goddamn if that girl didn’t look like a nice, cold glass of milk that might quench his thirst forever. But, mistakes had been made. And now, now he can’t do anything until they are rectified.

[Marian Merchant]

Marian still in her frail condition, and the police on the scene, an ambulance was called. Two police officers began to search for the 'suspect' that seemed to be attacking the girl, and perhaps murdered the other people. Meanwhile, one officer was checking on Marian. She seemed fine, though her pulse was low, and she seemed to be shivering, perhaps due to the weather or a dream. Wrapping her in his jacket, the officer held her, protectively, whispering something to her. The look in his eyes revealed that he felt sorry for her, in many ways. He didn't know her, he didn't know these people, or what situation had preceded this, but he looked determined to solve this mystery, and put all the puzzle pieces together.When the ambulance came, the officer handed her off to the paramedics, before looking for the other officers. They were walking back, perplexed, as if the man vanished without a trace. Crime scene analysts were on their way, as well, from what a radio dispatch repeated. Marian, still in her sanctuary, began to stir, though just as the ambulance doors shut. She awoke, in an entirely new area, with strange people checking on her, monitoring her. Slowly starting to panic, she soon felt a reassuring squeeze on her wrist. The paramedic that had gathered her from the officer smiled, and told her that she was going to be okay, that she was safe. Marian tried to answer back, but she did not have the words to say. She wanted this to be part of the dream. She wanted to wake up now. She started to hyperventilate, and out she went, one more time.

Darkness. All she saw was darkness, and muddled sounds, until she was overcome by a blindingly bright light, which caused her to shield her eyes. A soothing, comforting voice, deep and rumbling, yet gentle. The voice told her that everything would be okay, that he was just seeing if she was aware. Her awareness was improving, and her vitals checked out. Nothing seemed out of place. The doctor explained the situation, and admitted that he did not know all of the details, but a gentleman from the police department was outside, and would come in to talk, if she was well enough to do so. Marian didn't seem to mind, though the situation was still a shock to her. The doctor did tell her not to worry, and he left the room, to get the officer. Within a few moments, Marian was met by the officer, who greeted her, telling her his name and rank, and asking her if she was doing okay. The girl replied that she wasn't sure. Her parents were dead, and she felt alone and stranded. She told the officer her name, as well as what she was doing in the area. She told him that she was here to start school soon, and had driven down with her parents, to explore the school, and finish up paperwork, as well as get the rest set. She looked empty, like her soul had been sucked dry. She couldn't cry anymore, she had cried so much when the initial phase hit her.

Beginning the questioning, the detective asked her to start the day off at the beginning, and go through as much of the day's details as she could. Marian explained the trip, explained that they had stopped a few times, to refuel, get snacks, and then when they had reached Harper Rock, they stopped by the gas station again, before they reached the hotel. When they reached the hotel, Marian stated, that is where everything happened. She explained to the officer, that she was in back, covered up with her blanket, when she noticed the figures swarming the car. She explained that she hid, and this was where everything began. A visible wince at the events, Marian tried to push through. A deep breath, and she continued. She explained after she got out, she cried and cried, which was why she was covered in her parents blood, and then she noted that she probably passed out, because she could not think of what happened afterwards. The officer asked her if she noticed anybody else around, to which she said that she couldn't recall, but she didn't believe she did. Taking his time with writing everything down, he offered his card, if she needed anything, and then asked her to call if she needed anything at all. Pausing, he then asked if she was going to go through with the college, even with what had transpired, hoping not to cause offense.

With this thought, Marian paused, and tried to think. Would she go? Her parents just died, but they did so because they were taking her to a new place, to get away from everything. Nodding, she said that she would do her best to start her schooling, even with what just happened, and that things would need to be figured out with family. She stated that she had no other family, so she wasn't sure what was going to happen. She didn't really understand what to do next, with everything, but school would be the best thing. She needed to clear her mind. Slowly standing, she felt woozy, falling against the hospital bed. She'd been in a gown? Clearly, whatever happened to her stirred her up enough where her awareness had been thrown off tremendously. Asking if she could leave yet, the officer stated that if she was ready, that she could, but she needed to stay in town, if the police needed anything else from her. An aid brought Marian a clean change of clothes, as her old clothing had been taken into evidence by the police, after she was rushed in. Seeing as she wasn't connected to any tubes or machines, Marian requested privacy, so she could change.

Within moments, Marian was slowly walking toward the door of the hospital. She wasn't sure exactly what was next. She didn't even know how long she was out. Needing to clear her head, she stepped outside, taking a deep breath of air, before releasing it. She hadn't been discharged, so she'd need to step back inside to do what she needed to, with the paperwork, but that could wait. A bench nearby called her name, in a sense, so she sat, rested, trying to make sense of things, trying to figure what was going on, trying to find out what she wanted.

[Jesse Fforde]

The officers passed by and Jesse remains unseen. The wall opposite him is dark, interspersed with the red and blue flashing lights. Around the corner, echoing off the brick walls, he can hear the men and women talking, all serious, all in low tones. He knows how these things go. He knows that the girl, still alive, would be taken to the hospital. If they are competent, they might figure out that she’d lost a lot of blood, though they’d have no idea how. If they are not competent, they’ll let her go, after checking her and believing everything to be fine. Her parents had just died. Of course she’s going to look and act a little ill. These are the things that Jesse tells himself.

Lately, he’s been slipping. He’d gained control in one aspect of his life and thus has lost control in another; like Newton’s theory of relativity. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Never can everything be good. There’s always got to be something bad. Or so it would seem. Standing there bathed in the shadows, however, Jesse doesn’t feel any kind of dread. He feels elated. As if his heart is pounding in his chest, singing a song of adrenaline. Of course it isn’t, however.

There’s only one serviceable hospital in Harper Rock. Confident that he knows where they will be taking the girl, Jesse takes some time to go home and get changed. To shower and scrub away any remnant of blood that he may have acquired when looting the thugs. Rather than dressing in dark clothes, and leaving his hoodie behind, he instead dresses in dark blue jeans, boots, and a plain white t-shirt, over which he pulls a black jacket. He’s not looking to make an impression. He doesn’t have all the time in the world. He picks the closest thing to hand, dresses, and leaves again. He doesn’t talk to anyone on the way.

Because he knows. He knows, he’s just sired Odette. Odette, so soon after Mickey. Mickey, so soon after Rhett. His metaphorical heart in his throat, he knows that what he has planned in the back of his mind will not be received with good grace. Can’t be. They’ve been far too gracious up to this point. Unless they just don’t give a **** anymore, and they don’t notice. But he doesn’t think about it. Doesn’t think about any plan, as if he has none. Because he doesn’t, really. He’d intended on draining the girl dry but had been interrupted. He can still taste that pure blood on his tongue, and his throat burns for more. He wants it all. Maybe he will still just drain her dry. She will remember him, given time. Though she had never seen his face. If it weren’t for the fact that she could already be turning, he might have just let her live. But he can’t.

And so, not long after the incident, he finds himself outside the hospital. He waits for a couple of hours, chain smoking the menthol cigarettes that he hadn’t touched in a very long time. They help with the constant ache in his throat.

When he sees the girl exit the establishment, she looks pale. But she’d looked pale before. For a good five minutes he just watches her. Takes in every aspect of her. Wondering what she is thinking. Only then does he put the cigarette out beneath his heel, and cross the road. He takes a seat next to her. For all the world they could be just two strangers waiting for a bus; but he has all his senses trained upon her, watching her out of the corner of his eye. Waiting for some kind of symptom, his legs sprawled out in front of him. Saying nothing. Just watching, and being. Waiting.