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Eugene Westerfield is a troubled teen who felt that he could start his life all over again in the isolated town of Ravencrest. What he finds instead... is a different kind of rebirth. Death is Precious: Chapter 2

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Author's Note: Okay, so the tentative "plan" is to post a chapter of this every other day. So, one can expect Chapter 3 to be posted on New Years Day. Hopefully, I can keep up with the schedule!

Special thanks to my beta readers and to EOF for creating the universe.

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September, 2010

I found myself back in the room where Carmilla bit me. She stood at the foot of the bed, attaching a chain to the leg of the girl laying there. She looked to be about my age. I moved a lock of green hair out of my face as Carmilla turned to face me. I didn’t seem to have control over my movements.

“She’ll wake up soon,” she said simply.

“What is her name?” I asked. I didn’t seem to have control over my own speech, either. What was going on?

“Degna,” she said, with a soft smile.

“I’m glad that we were able to find someone who was actually willing to become one of us,” I said.

“She has great potential. Even now, she’s showing a level of consciousness beyond most new sisters,” Carmilla said.

“As if… she’s dreaming?” I asked.

Carmilla shook her head. “You know that our kind doesn’t dream.”

“Then what is she doing?” I asked.

Carmilla gently stroked the cheek of her newest daughter. “She’s merely showing her potential. I’m sure she’ll make a wonderful addition to our family.”

I smiled at her until I heard the doorknob turn. I jumped when the door flew open. Wisteria stood at the doorway, and she obviously wasn’t very happy. Carmilla turned to me.

“Jolene, stay with Degna. I’ll deal with our Queen,” she said.

Wait. I’m Jolene? Then… who is the girl in the bed?

I moved closer to the bed as Carmilla led Wisteria just outside the room. As I stood next to the bed, I started to hear the conversation between the two oldest members of our family.

“She was mine, Carmilla. What possessed you to pluck her from under my fingers like this?”

“She was already marked as mine, my Queen. Even Theresa understood that.”

“Is that still your excuse, my daughter?”

“Jolene tasted of the boy’s blood. He was marked. She isn’t important enough to justify you superseding such authority again.”

“We both had the same goal. Why stop Theresa?”

“Eugene came here under Jolene’s direction. When we got here, Theresa had him in a full Mesmer. He obviously didn’t wish to be with her, and she forced the issue. When Jolene snapped him out of it and explained everything, we gave him a choice. He chose to become one of us, Wisteria. There was no need to force it upon him.”

“And if he chose not to join us?”

“I would have dealt with it.”

Silence prevailed the area for a moment. I then heard a sigh.

“Very well. Go tend to your new daughter. She’ll wake up soon, no doubt.”

I heard footsteps fall down the hall, then they stopped.

“I won’t forget this, Carmilla,” came the soft voice. I turned back toward Degna as the door opened again. Carmilla strode inside the room and nodded at me, looking intently at Degna. She twitched slightly. She was waking up.

My eyes opened slowly, carefully. It was almost as if I were afraid of what I would see when they fully opened. Thoughts raced through my head. Am I still at the Delta Beta Zeta House? Am I dreaming? Am I dead, or something more? I don’t really feel any different. I think both Jolene and Carmilla are watching me. I’m hungry.

My thoughts stopped when that thought ran through my head. My eyes finished snapping open as an incredible, vicious need began to build inside of me. I sat up, finding both Jolene and Carmilla in the room with me, just as I thought.

“Where am I?” I asked, with a girl’s voice. Oh, the joy of hearing a simple sound.

“You’re in your new home, child,” Carmilla said softly. I turned to my right to face her.

“Am I really…?” I started to ask. I stopped when Carmilla nodded.

I was about to ask another question, but I was having a hard time grasping my thoughts. I was hungry. Never had I felt such need. A need for… blood? One of my new hands gently grasped my throat, as if it would quell the fire burning through it. I ran my tongue across my canines, which seemed to be steadily growing longer as my need grew. I heard some movement behind me, I turned. I saw Jolene, but it was the object in her hands which commanded my attention.

It was a pouch of a deep red liquid. Blood. I didn’t have time to think. I just knew that I needed it. With a speed, command, and audacity I didn’t know I had, I grabbed the pouch and bit into it, allowing the blood to rush into my mouth. The second it touched my lips, I lost myself to the bloodlust. Nothing mattered except for my meal. I couldn’t even think enough to try and get an idea of its taste. When I finished the pouch, Jolene was holding another one. I took that one too. I felt the need slowly ebbing away as I finished a second, then a third pouch. It was only then that I was able to think straight enough to refuse a fourth.

“Feeling a little better?” I heard Carmilla ask behind me.

I turned to her and nodded slowly. What was I supposed to call her? She “made” me. Should I call her Mom? Mistress? Just Carmilla? I had other questions on my mind, though.

“Is it always that bad?” I squeaked out. Carmilla let out a soft laugh.

“It is at first, but the bloodlust will ebb away with time,” she said.

“For about a week or so, you’ll mostly be either sleeping or drinking,” Jolene chimed in.

“Is that why I’m chained to this bed?” I asked, finally noticing that my leg was chained.

“The first few days are the most dangerous for a new sister,” Carmilla said, “the chain will prevent you from leaving this room, but you’ll be able to reach that refrigerator and drink blood as you need it.”

I looked to my left and, lo and behold, there was a fridge. Funny. It wasn’t there before. “So I’ll be here, alone, until I can last more than a few hours without having to feed?”

“Of course not, love. Jolene will be your mentor in the life of a Vampire,” Carmilla said.

“Or, in simpler terms, I’ll be your roommate,” Jolene said. I smiled. It would be nice to have someone I kind of knew show me the ropes. I sat up more fully in my bed, finally noticing that I had been placed into a nightgown.

“While I’m still thinking straight, can I ask a question?” I asked.

“Of course you can,” Carmilla said.

“Well, I was wondering who Wisteria is. You said she was ‘our Queen’,” I said.

Carmilla gave me a questioning look. “How did you hear this?”

I squirmed a little under her gaze. She seemed angry. It didn’t feel safe for Carmilla to be angry. “I had this dream or something while I was sleeping. I think I was watching myself sleep through Jolene’s eyes. You were calling me Degna. Then, someone came to this room, and when Jolene looked at her, I knew her name was Wisteria. You had an argument with her. I think it was about me. And then you two saw me start to wake up and I was suddenly in this bed.”

Carmilla’s look relaxed, and I felt myself relax too. “What you described did happen while you were sleeping. It looks like you may be an interesting sister after all.”

Carmilla’s approval brought a smile to my lips. I watched her stand up to leave, but I had one more question.

“What do I call you? I think that Carmilla might be a little too casual,” I said. Carmilla smiled.

“You’re learning quickly. You may call me Mistress unless I give you leave to call me something else,” she said.

“Okay,” I said, “and… thank you for this.”

Carmilla smiled again. “You’re very welcome, Degna.”

She then left the room, leaving me alone with Jolene. I turned to her. “How is this week going to work?”

Jolene gave me a nervous smile. “Well, to be honest, it really surprised me when Carmilla told me that I would be mentoring you. This is the first time I’ve ever mentored a new sister, and I’ve only had one day or so to prepare. We usually think of our own ways to help sisters through the first week, but I’m going to use this fridge method this time because I know it’s worked before.”

“To be honest, I half expected to be chained to a wall or something after realizing how severe the need is,” I admitted.

“That’s pretty much what Wisteria does with her girls,” Jolene said, “it’s horrible. Carmilla tries to avoid that by finding more unique ways to deal with it.”

“Such as giving me free reign to drink blood until I burst?” I asked.

“You won’t burst!” Jolene cried. “Anyway, what you need to know is that the fridge is where your food is… not the necks of your fellow sisters.”

“Why would I want to try and drink from another Vampire? I’m not sure I’d get much since our hearts don’t beat,” I said.

“If you’re hungry enough, every neck will look the same,” Jolene said.

“Oh,” I said, looking down, “what will you do if I try to go for your neck?”

Jolene sighed. “I’ll have to punish you.”

I cringed. “I don’t think I want to find out what that means.”

Jolene smiled. “Me neither. So, please, use the fridge!”

“I’ll try my best. Speaking of that, I’m starting to feel hungry again,” I said.

Jolene got out of my way and motioned to the fridge. “Your buffet is right over there.”

“Thanks,” I sighed, “I think it’s going to take me a while to get used to the idea that I’ll be drinking blood for the rest of my life.”

“The faster you accept it, the easier this will be,” Jolene said simply.

I nodded and sighed again, swinging my legs off the side of the bed. I smiled at their obvious and natural femininity, reveling in the movement of my body as it rose to a standing position. “I know I technically just died, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt so alive!” I said happily.

“I know what you mean,” Jolene agreed with a smile of her own. I walked to the fridge and casually got out one bag of blood. I bit into it, finally able to take the time to try and savor the liquid flying through my throat. I expected it to actually taste like blood… with that odd, coppery taste, but the reality was quite different.

“So, what does it taste like?” Jolene asked as I tossed the empty bag away.

“Not like I expected it to taste, that’s for sure. I wasn’t able to take the time to taste it last time… but I could swear that it almost tastes like strawberries!” I said. Jolene laughed.

“It seems to taste slightly different for each of us. I think it has something to do with foods we enjoyed as humans,” she said.

“Well, I did like my strawberries,” I said. “What does it taste like to you?”

“Pineapple and honey,” she said.

“Don’t you ever get tired of the taste?” I asked.

“No, not really,” She said.

“I suppose that’s something to look forward to. Will it always be this easy to just get some blood whenever I start to feel hungry?”

Jolene shook her head. “The main issue is when you have to sleep. When you wake up, you’ll be starving.”

“We sleep?” I asked.

Jolene laughed. “Just like any other creature on this planet.”

“Wow,” I said, “I don’t think I’ll be looking forward to that.”

“You’ll be fine,” she said.

“I hope so,” I said, sitting back on the bed. “So I really am just stuck here for now?”

“Sorry. It’ll be over soon, I promise,” she said. I lay back on the bed, feeling strangely tired.

“I suppose I should be sleeping soon,” I mused.

“The transformation does take a lot out of you,” Jolene said.

“This will be so amazing… just as soon as I can leave this room,” I said, laughing slightly.

“I know. I felt the same way,” Jolene agreed. I drifted off to sleep amidst talking about silly topics.

When I finally woke up, a vicious cycle began. I was absolutely ravenous when my eyes opened. I started to tug at the chain, trying to break free of my bonds and find a neck to sink my fangs into. It didn’t matter who, where, or how… I needed blood! I started to growl in frustration; the chain was too tough for me to break.

“Remember where your food is, Degna,” a stern voice told me from across the room. I tried to think. Food, food, food. Where was it? There was a neck right across the room from me, but I wasn’t positive that the food was there. I frantically looked around. Where was the food? My eyes then ran across the refrigerator, and I remembered! It was in there! I scrambled to my savior and almost ripped it open, bringing a bag to my mouth. I almost moaned in pleasure as my mind began to return to me. I went through four bags before slumping back on the bed, ashamed at my earlier antics. I cringed as Jolene approached me.

“What were you thinking while you were tugging at your chain?” she gently asked.

“I was thinking about getting out of this room so that I can find a neck, any neck, to feed from,” I said, looking down. Jolene lifted me up to face her.

“I’m only going to warn you once, Degna. When you wake up and you are starving, you need to remember to go straight to the fridge. If you start tugging at that chain again to feed from one of us, I’ll have to punish you,” she said. I nodded silently that I understood.

She really did punish me the next time it happened. She tied me further to the bed so I couldn’t even leave it, and then she filled a cup with blood. I was confused for a moment until she moved the table next to the bed to the end of the bed and placed the cup on top of it. I had just finished feeding, but the smell of that blood, just out of reach, started to make me hungry again very quickly. I squirmed and tried to reach the cup, but I couldn’t even reach it with my shapely legs. I was practically whimpering by the time Jolene gave me the cup and untied me, and the contents of the cup went down my throat instantly, followed by a trip to the fridge. It happened twice more, for progressively longer durations, before my bloodlust started to calm down.

When I wasn’t drinking, sleeping, or being punished, Jolene and I would just talk.

“How did you come to join DBZ?” I asked her during one of the lulls.

“It’s actually kind of a funny story,” she started, “I was turned in 1976.”

“1976? You’re 35?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah. I should be worrying about my back and my breasts should be following gravity more than my bras. But, thanks to Carmilla, I’ll be 19 forever,” she said.

“You don’t act that old,” I said.

“It’s easy to act like a college student when you’ve spent so long as one,” she said, giving her hair a flip.

“So how did you run into the sorority?” I pressed.

“It all started when one of the girls fed on me. Usually, they Mesmer the guys so that they don’t remember what happened.”

“Mesmer? I remember Carmilla saying that while I was asleep. She said that Theresa had me in one,” I said.

“We can influence men to do just about anything. It’s called a Mesmer,” Jolene explained. “You’ll learn how to do it down the road. It’s very useful. Anyway, when one of the sisters fed on me one night, their Mesmer wasn’t successful. I remembered a vampire drinking my blood.”

“Wow,” I said, “isn’t that kind of dangerous for you?”

“Yeah, they probably would have killed me if they found out on their own. But, I really threw them for a loop one night by literally walking up to this house and asking to be converted! Both Wisteria and Carmilla came to hear me out. Wisteria wanted me dead; she said I couldn’t be trusted. Carmilla, however, accepted my plea and made me into what I am today. I’m eternally thankful to her for that, and I’ve been trying my very best to be an asset to her ever since.”

“I might have done the same thing if I found myself in your situation,” I said.

“I had a feeling you’d say that,” Jolene laughed.

I smiled. “Okay, one more question. How in the world do you keep your hair so green? It’s incredible!”

Jolene giggled slightly. “Watch this,” she said, walking toward a mirror in the center of the room. My chain didn’t quite reach it, which was a bit of torture in itself. As I watched her, she placed her hand in her hair, and it seemed to shimmer slightly. My eyes went wide as I witnessed her hair take on a deep blue hue.

“That is amazing,” I said, “but I have to say. Blue isn’t your color.”

“Not at all!” Jolene agreed, changing her hair back to green.

“So how in the world do you manage to do that?” I asked.

“All vampires seem to have some kind of trait that is unique to them. Mine allows me to change the color of any hair that I touch. It’s not terribly special, but it is so much fun to play with, and the color is permanent unless I change it! You have no idea how relieved I am to know that my hair color isn’t dependent on a bottle of dye,” she said.

“Can you do other people’s hair, too?” I asked.

“Of course!” she chimed, “Do you want me to do yours?”

“Can you make it pink?” I asked.

“Oh, I think that would work well,” she said. I watched her move the mirror closer to my side of the room so I could actually use it. Smiling, I took a position in front of it as she took a hold of my hair. I watched it shimmer as it transformed from a dull dark brown to a very eye catching bright pink. I smiled.

“It’s perfect!” I cried, running my fingers through it. It was a little short, but there was no denying the fact that it framed a girl’s face. My eyes were wide, carrying an illusion of innocence, and my body curved in all the right places. I just couldn’t believe how beautiful I was standing there next to Jolene. I turned to her. “Thank you so much. I’ve always wanted to do this with my hair, but I never had the courage to do it as a guy.”

“It suits you really well,” she said.

“It will really stay this vibrant forever?” I asked.

“My hair’s been this green for almost 34 years. It was slightly faded before I realized I didn’t need dye,” she explained.

“I don’t care what anybody else says. Your ability is amazing,” I said with a smile.

“Yours will be too, when we figure out what it is,” Jolene said.

“You mean the way I was seeing things through your eyes while I slept?” I asked.

“Yeah. You’d probably make a great scout. I had to work for decades to earn enough trust for Carmilla to send me out, but you might climb up a lot sooner if you can repeat that,” she said.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Nothing like that has happened since I first woke up. I don’t know if I really can repeat it.”

“You won’t know until you try, but it should probably wait until you’re released from this room. It should be soon, though. You’re doing well,” she said.

I smiled. “Well, I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll try not to escape when I wake up.”

“Good. I hate punishing you,” she said. I knew that she meant it. I got into a comfortable position on the bed and drifted off to sleep again.

---V----V---

Two days and one more punishment later, I woke up and didn’t immediately need to feed. Granted, I still wanted to, but it didn’t feel as urgent. I sat up in my bed to find that Jolene was sleeping in her bed across the room as well. I was fairly certain that I had never seen her sleeping before. She was always awake when I was awake. So, I just sat on my bed and waited for her to wake up. Somehow, I actually had the patience to set aside my niggling hunger and wait. I smiled at her as she roused from her own slumber. She looked at me sitting on my bed as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“Huh? You’re awake?” she asked.

I nodded. “I’ve never seen you sleeping before. How were you always awake when I was?”

“Your chain makes quite a bit of noise when you go to the fridge. Even more if you start tugging on it. It wakes me up quite nicely,” she said.

“So this is the first time I’ve woken up and not gone straight to the fridge?” I asked.

Jolene nodded, and then her eyes went wide. “This is great! You can be released today!”

“That’s all it takes? For me to think about feeding and not immediately do it?”

“Pretty much. I’ll have to take you outside now to see how well you do when ‘food’ is walking all around you,” she said. I cringed at the thought as Jolene took the chain off from around my leg. Surprisingly, there were no marks left on my leg from my week long stay in it. While I drank some blood in anticipation of avoiding drinking blood, Jolene flitted through a dresser.

“I think that some black would fit you well,” she said, “it’ll go great with your hair.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “I don’t think I want to go emo, though.”

“Degna, you could wear more black than the average emo and your pink hair would make people think twice about pegging you,” Jolene said.

“Oh, that’s good. I don’t plan on getting rid of my hair,” I said, smiling.

“I wouldn’t cut it all if I were you. It grows so slow!” she said.

“It actually grows?” I asked.

“Only on our heads, oddly enough. Now, try these clothes. I managed to get some measurements for you while you were asleep throughout the week, but you’ll have to get more yourself,” she said.

“I’d be happy to,” I said, walking to the outfit. I casually slipped out of my nightgown and put on the bra and panties, which were both black. A black skirt went halfway down my thighs, topped off by a black shirt with the word “Princess” on them.

“Now for the heels,” Jolene said, holding up a pair of black five inch killers.

“Wow, you really are going all out with the black,” I said, “and those heels will kill me.”

Jolene laughed. “You’re a vampire now, sister. They’ll not only feel as natural as a flat foot, you’ll walk in them like a champ!”

“I’ll add that to the list of pros,” I said with a smile. I slipped the heels on and took a few steps around the room. I felt so unbelievably sexy, especially with the new definition in my milky legs. Except for the heels, the outfit was so simple… yet only a girl could pull it off the way I could, and that sent shivers of happiness up my spine. Next came a light smattering of makeup; Jolene didn’t want it to be too thick for my first outing. Lastly, she tossed a bottle of sunscreen at me.

“Lather up. Everywhere that’s exposed,” she said.

“I won’t burst into flames if I forget this one day, will I?” I asked.

“No… but you won’t feel very good, either. Even with it on, try to stay out of direct sunlight. It’s not fun,” she said.

“Okay,” I said, spreading the lotion onto all of my exposed skin. Luckily, my makeup was waterproof, so the lotion didn’t damage it. Apparently, vampires thought ahead. Once I was finished, we were out of my room and off to the outside world. Once we reached the entrance to the house, I looked to my right and saw a familiar figure watching us. It was Wisteria.

“Out and about after a week? Very good,” she said. She may have been complimenting me, but her stare bore into me so deeply that I felt incredibly uncomfortable. I felt an overwhelming dislike for her… something that I knew she reciprocated. I tried not to dwell on it as we left the house. Jolene noticed that I looked uncomfortable once we emerged into the shaded courtyard of the house.

“Was Wisteria glaring at you?” she asked.

“If looks could kill?” I guessed.

Jolene laughed. “Even after 35 years, she still gives me that look. It’s like she just can’t find it in herself to trust me. It looks like she might feel the same way about you. Be careful, okay?”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling at her. We continued to walk through the courtyard and onto Greek Row.

Once we were in the sunlight, I noticed immediately that it seemed brighter than usual. Jolene had me darting from shady spot to shady spot and I understood why. The sun wasn’t very nice to me anymore. It didn’t really burn, but I just felt off whenever I was standing in the light. I couldn’t quite place a finger on it, but I wanted to avoid the feeling as much as possible. So, I tried to concentrate on something else. Unfortunately, that something else happened to be all of the juicy, blood filled people all around me.

“So I’ll be expected to eat outside of the fridge in the future?” I asked, trying not to make it obvious to listeners that we were talking about blood.

“That’s the idea. The bags aren’t in infinite supply,” Jolene said, finally stopping in a secluded shady corner just outside the campus.

“Any specific rules I should know about?” I asked.

“A few. The most important one is that we don’t kill. If you kill somebody, especially if the cause of death is blood loss, you will die. Aside from that, we only drink from men. They provide nourishment that women don’t, and you’ll have to agree that we’re kind of built to attract them. Third, we only feed at night.”

“Seems simple enough,” I said.

“Good,” Jolene chimed.

“What about relationships with the college guys?” I asked.

“It’s not recommended. Casual sex is fine, but love is something we don’t want a guy throwing at us. Our secret could get revealed that way, even if it’s by accident,” Jolene said.

“Hmmm… I do wonder what sex would be like,” I said with a soft smile.

“You aren’t a virgin, are you?” Jolene asked.

“I am,” I admitted with a blush. At least, I was pretty sure I was blushing.

Jolene smiled, “You need to get with a guy. Soon. You’ll thank me later. Sex is totally safe for us. We can’t get pregnant and we can’t catch or spread STDs. I would advise you to be full before getting under a blanket, though… unless you intend to feed on your partner after the act.”

I smiled coyly, “Why not feed during?”

“Guys have a hard time keeping it up when they need blood to get it up,” Jolene said simply.

“Oh,” I said. Jolene laughed.

“Well, shall we go meld into a crowd?” she asked. I cringed at the thought of being in the middle of a crowd. Not because of the urge I’d feel to have a bite, but because I always hated crowds as Eugene. Jolene placed a hand on my shoulder.

“You were a shy one, weren’t you?” she asked.

“Yeah. I was always afraid that people would see through me and think I was a freak,” I said.

“Well, you’re a new person now, and you definitely aren’t a freak. Guys will stare at you with lust, and girls will stare at you with envy. It’s great to be a DBZ girl!” Jolene said.

I smiled. “You’re right. I am a new person, and I plan on making the best of that.”

Jolene hugged me. “Welcome to the sisterhood, Degna. Now, let’s go get lost in a crowd.”

I could only smile as Jolene tugged at my arm, toward the flurry of college activity.

I was remarkably surprised at how easy it was to keep my mind off the urge to feed. Jolene seemed to be, too. She told me that her first trip outside didn’t go so well, and she had to be pulled off to feed from a fridge. Regardless, she praised me on my level of control after being a vampire for such a short amount of time. That made me feel good… almost like when Carmilla told me that I would be an interesting sister. It was nice to be accepted.

I rode that nice feeling all the way back to the DBZ house, where I received a surprise.

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