Blood or Love

Jack lifted Chamey off the floor, holding him there with one hand around his throat.

Chamey raised the crossbow, but Jack snatched it away and tossed him backward. Chamey flew onto the bed behind him, rolled over it, and hit the floor on the other side with a loud

thwack!

and a grunt.

Benson screamed, but the sound cut off, as if she had no breath to push it out. She cowered by the bathroom door, hands clasped over her mouth.

"Damn it," Jack muttered.

Kim turned in time to see the motel door click shut behind him, closing away the dimly-lit parking lot.

For her, there would be no attempt to escape. She would do her best to save Benson and Chamey, but she would either cure Jack or die trying.

For the moment, she could only stand by the dresser where Chamey had pushed her and stare at Jack. A thrill went down her spine to see him. His dark hair glistened and sections of it stuck out this way and that, as if he'd just run his hands through it. His skin was as pale as she'd ever seen it. It practically glowed against the t-shirt and black jeans he wore. He was not on the streets killing, nor on his way to find his maker. He'd come to them. To her.

For a moment it made her forget the penetrating fear and disgust that had hit her when he knocked on the motel door -the same as it had over a year ago when he knocked on the door of their home, as if back from the dead.

Jack coughed once more then cleared his throat. "Damn it," he said again, wiping his eyes.

She'd almost forgotten about the NoVamp. Of course Jack was experiencing it, but not for long.

He wiped his face on his forearm, then broke the crossbow in half like it was a twig. He opened the door behind him and pitched the remains of the weapon outside. The pieces clattered somewhere in the distance in the parking lot.

"Aw man." Chamey's voice sounded raspy as he raised to his knees between the beds. He rubbed his throat and frowned at Jack. "Not fair, Jack. Didn't even get to try it out."

"Not much of a slayer are you?"

Jack turned to her. His brown eyes that she'd always thought were the most beautiful in the world, were now distant and cold. "Kim, little trouble-making human who tried to neuter me."

Her hair stood on end at those words, the way he said them... the way he was looking at her. "No --"

"Yes."

The sharpness in his voice made her shut her mouth.

"Just wouldn't leave me alone. Always running around looking for a cure. You're the reason I had to spend a year in that hellish state -a sick, weak man, instead of transforming into something infinitely better."

He slinked toward her with unnatural grace.

She stepped back from his slow advance until her fist, gripping the syringe of antidote, hit the wall behind her back. She took a shallow breath and released it. "You came home to us, remember? You didn't really want that life. You don't want it now, or you wouldn't have come back."

Chamey tried to get to his feet. "She's right, man. I know you wanted all my blood, but you stopped yourself. You came back here looking for help."

Jack stopped walking, but kept his gaze fixed on Kim. "I came back to finish him, and I find you here. And Benson. How convenient."

Kim struggled to keep the calm in her voice. "Of course we came as soon as we could. I should have come with you in the first place."

Jack shrugged. "I'm going to kill the three of you, then find my maker. I'll finally be free."

Her lungs tightened. She had to remind herself to breathe again. Clearly there was no time to waste. She had to get the antidote in him. Now. Her gaze swept from Benson to Chamey, willing them not to interfere -not to do anything stupid.

But Chamey -watching Jack advance on her again, jumped to his feet. The kid raised up in a martial arts pose. She couldn't believe it, surely he wasn't going to --

He never got another step.

Without taking his eyes off Kim, Jack kicked the bed next to him, and the whole thing flipped over and plowed into Chamey.

It spun him around and knocked him backward against the other bed. His lower body slid down until his knees hit the floor, and the overturned mattress, covers, and bed frame slammed on top of him.

"Chamey!" It was Benson who cried out. She left her spot by the bathroom door and fell to her knees beside him.

Jack turned her way, and Benson looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes. He took a couple steps toward her.

With her husband distracted, and his back just a short distance from her, Kim took what might be her only chance. She raised the syringe in the air --thumb on the plunger, and rushed at him, bringing it down on his back.

Some part of her knew all along this wasn't going to work.

Jack whirled on her, grabbing her hand.

It happened so fast it took her brain a second to catch up. His cold skin shocked hers. His grip was tight. She looked up at his face and shrank back.

His eyes, red around the edges, glittered dark and angry down on her. "You really think I'd let you do that?"

No. NO. This wasn't happening.

"Jack, please," she choked out.

"Come on, Jack, my BFF," Chamey said weakly from below the overturned mattress. With Benson's help, he managed to get it halfway off himself. "If you're so sure it won't work, what's the harm?"

"I'm fine just the way I am." He glared at Kim. "Better than fine. "

She tried to pull away, and when that didn't work, she tried to pry his fingers open with her other hand. "No, you're not fine," she said, giving up on freeing herself. "This isn't you. Just take the shot, we can all go home."

He leaned close. "Too late."

With his face inches from hers, she saw the droplets of moisture on his skin, his lips and jaw trembling faintly.

"It's that thing inside you talking."

Behind him, Chamey climbed to his feet, then fell again. "She's right, man," he said, his voice tight, full of pain. "You've got to fight it. You're stronger than that. Cut through that red haze, buddy. You don't wanna hurt us."

Jack casually turned his body in order to look at Chamey. Kim, with her hand lodged in his, had no choice but to pivot around with him.

"You're wrong."

"Then why haven't you done it already and left our mangled, bloodless bodies strewn out over the room for housekeeping to find? Why aren't you wreaking total vampire carnage right now? If you wanted to, you could have slaughtered us in seconds and been on the way to your maker."

"Chamey!" Benson's voice was shrill. "Shut up!"

Chamey put a hand to his ribs and grimaced. "You came back to the motel 'cause you knew Benny and Kim would come here, looking for you. You want the antidote. You wanna be with them."

Jack squeezed Kim's hand tight, almost too tight. "What I want is waiting on me far from here. Power, freedom, blood. I can't give that up."

To her surprise that provoked something in Benson.

The girl jumped to her feet, whipped her hair from her face, and planted a glare on Jack. "Really?" Her voice was shaking but indignant, more like her old self. "You can't give this up? Not for me and Kim? I don't believe it."

She put her hands on her hips, a gesture Kim had seen countless times. "I know you're still in there. You never gave up on me, even when I was at my worst. I'm not giving up on you either, big brother."

Hoping to distract him from the other two, and to diffuse what looked like the beginning of one argument Benson wouldn't win, Kim reached her free hand up to touch Jack's cheek.

Before her fingers touched him, he jerked his face away and raised his own hand. He held it at the side of his head, palm aimed at her.

She wilted back.

Then, so fast she couldn't track it, he brought his hand down and snatched hers. Now both her hands were caught in his.

She took a quick, steadying breath and looked deep into his eyes, trying to find her husband in them. Trying to get him to see

her

.

"I love you, Jack... baby." Her voice was as soft and calm as she could manage. She motioned with her head to the syringe trapped in their hands. "Please take the antidote. It's new -you're gonna love it, I promise."

His eyes narrowed. His fangs came out.

Her lungs tightened and she gasped. Her body jerked back on instinct, trying to run.

His hold on her kept her in place. He pulled her up toward him, straining her arms in their sockets as he forced her up on her tiptoes. He leaned down toward her and as his glaring eyes burned into hers, he emphasized each word in a low, deadly voice. "I said, it's too late, bitch."

Looking into his eyes -seeing nothing human there, hearing those harsh words from his lips, something changed in her: She believed him.

For the last year, she'd heard that same voice speaking similar words in the back of her mind, trying to derail her. She'd never let it before, but now she couldn't ignore that Jack had slipped away from her. The hope she'd carried all that time seemed like a naïve fantasy.

Did I really think I could get the antidote into him? Save him... us? Even if he bit her, drank her now, she knew the antidote could do nothing if there was no awareness from the host -nothing in there to connect with.

Dr. Kitcher's words ran through her mind:

The reversion is complete. Jack is a killer.

In one quick move, he stripped the syringe from her grasp and flung it at the wall behind her. She felt a rush of air and then the wall at her back.

He'd pushed her up against it. His hands rested on either side of her, caging her in. Her husband's formerly kind face glared down on her. His voice carried a twisted anticipation. "After what you did to me, I'm gonna take my time killing you."

It was too much.

She turned her head to the right and saw the syringe sticking out of the wall, out of her reach.

A look to the left showed Benson with both hands clasped to the sides of her face, her body swaying. "Jack, no," Benson said, the panic back in her voice.

"Stay where you are," Kim cried out to her.

Actually she wanted to tell Benson to run -Chamey too, but she held it in, afraid Jack would kill them both in their rush to the door.

A smile pulled up his lips, exposing his fangs again as he glanced toward them. "Yes, stay there, both of you. I'll deal with you next."

He set his predatory gaze back on Kim, and that's when she knew with absolute certainty. The creature that had her trapped against the wall was completely vampire.

If there'd been anything left of her husband behind those red-tinged eyes, he would have taken the antidote. He wouldn't let another precious moment go by -risking her life and that of his beloved sister. The full weight of it swept over her, breaking down any final defense.

She hadn't been afraid of the parasite in a long time, not since the antidote had put it to rest, other than a twinge of fear that last night in bed with Jack. She'd probably trusted his better nature more than she should have over the last year. But he'd never let her down. Benson had always been the cautious and jittery one, even when Jack was at his docile best.

Now Kim's eyes teared up, making his face blur. Her lungs spasmed, clutching for air. Her legs shook and then they buckled under her. She collapsed.

He grabbed her, held her against the wall. Pressed his cold body against hers. He pulled her head to one side, exposing her neck.

Tears slid down her cheeks, but she locked the sound of her crying inside. Her sobs wracked her body against his as they tried to come out.

She'd missed her chance to save him. And herself. But maybe Benson and Chamey didn't have to die. There was a chance they could get away while Jack was busy with her.

His soft, dark hair brushed against her ear, as his cool lips passed over her neck. She flinched when his teeth grazed her skin. She shut her eyes and swallowed painfully. "Get out of here, both of you."

"If they try to run," he murmured from just below her jaw, "I'll kill them in front of you."

She stammered, trying to get her mouth to work and tell them to stop -don't move. But Chamey shouted Benny's name at the top of his lungs. There was horror in his voice.

Kim's eyes shot open and every muscle tensed at the sight of Benson leaping onto Jack, piggy-back style.

Like a crazed woman, Benson wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled at him, trying to tug him away from Kim's throat. "Get off her, Jack! Leave her alone."

She's lost her mind.

Kim didn't know how Benson even manage to get herself on his back, let alone stay there. Jack was too aware at all times. And yet here she was, legs wrapped around his sides, clinging to him. Obviously, he was letting her, maybe to make a show of tearing her to pieces. How much time did the girl have until Jack pulled her down and killed her?

Benson leaned forward, talking in his ear. "Take your stupid medicine, Jack." Her voice shook now, fighting tears. "Kim doesn't deserve this. She's done everything for you. Stop being a bully!"

Jack muscles tightened like steel against Kim's body. He raised his mouth inches from her skin, and when he spoke, his voice was a low threat.

"Get off me."

"No.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Then you're just gonna have to kill me, cause I'm not leaving you. I'm not letting you hurt Kim. You love her, in case you forgot."

Chamey had bounded up to Benson. He grabbed and pulled on her.

She squealed and flailed her right arm backward --her elbow hit Chamey in the adam's apple. He fell back, gasping and coughing, hands clasped over his throat.

To Kim's dread, Jack seemed to have had enough of the distraction. He raised all the way up to his full height.

Benson, grasping at him, shrieking, couldn't hold on. She slid off his back and onto the floor at his heels.

Kim wanted to reach up and put her arms around Jack's neck - pull him closer to her neck again, anything to keep him from turning around and attacking Benson, but she couldn't move her arms. He still had them pinned against the wall.

"Look at me," Kim pleaded. She dropped her head to the side so that her neck was fully exposed to him.

He didn't listen, and he wasn't looking at her. She saw the flash of rage in his dark eyes.

"Benson," Kim said sharply. "If you love your brother, do what he told you. Get out of here. Now."

Chamey grabbed hold of Benson from behind and yanked her to her feet. A steely determination crossed his face and his thin, wiry body tightened. He wrapped his arms around her and dug into the carpet with his feet. She tried to get free, but he didn't let her. He forcefully pushed her across the room to the door.

"No," Benson said, crying as he yanked open the door with one hand. "I can't leave them, I can't."

"Sorry, Benny, but I promised Jack I'd take care of you."

Kim felt a moment's relief when he pushed Benson through the open door. He started to shut it behind her, but she popped right back into the room, shrieking again.

Kim groaned at the utter stupidity. That's when she saw a hand reaching in from outside, wrapped around Benson's arm.

Someone had hold of her and was forcing her back into the room.

At first Kim didn't recognize the muscular figure in the doorway. Then he stepped inside, holding onto both Benson and Chamey, pushing them as he came.

"Dude, let go," Chamey said, but the man kept walking.

He pushed them around the remains of the bed Jack had overturned, until he'd herded them all the way to the bed that stood against the wall. Only then did he drop his grip and turn to Kim and Jack.

"Dr. Rhodes?" Kim's jaw dropped in amazement at the sight of Dr. Kitcher's assistant. "Ron?" She couldn't believe he was here. Such a nice man. How had he walked into a situation like this?

Jack had let go of her and spun around as soon as Ron came in. With his back to her now, Kim took a chance.

Slowly, carefully, she moved from the wall and edged her way between Jack and the dresser. She glanced up at him as she passed, but he didn't look at her. He stared at Ron, scrutinizing him through vicious eyes.

Something caught her eye on the dresser as she passed. It was the wooden stake Chamey had shown them earlier.

Tempted, she almost reached over to grab it, but with her arms and hands quaking, and Jack standing as close as he was, she knew it was a useless attempt. Besides, she couldn't use it on him. She knew that would always be the truth.

She covered the rest of the distance and threw her arms around Benson, then looked up at Ron, scanning him quickly.

He was still dressed in the same work clothes that she knew were dirty from sifting through the ruined lab. He didn't have any weapon visible -no stake, no can of NoVamp. Solid muscled arms bulged against his black t-shirt, but that meant nothing against a vampire.

"What are you doing here?"

He glanced at her with sparkling dark brown eyes and a broad smile that was completely out of place. "Well," he drawled in his deep southern accent, "I followed you."

Rubbing his chinstrap beard, he glanced around the room in a laid-back way, as if oblivious to the mess he'd just walked into. "Was afraid things might not go well when you tried to give Jack the antidote. Looks like I was right."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jack move. By the time she turned her head, he'd put himself between them and the door.

She took a deep breath, released it, and forced herself to look back into Ron's face. "You shouldn't have come. You can see it's dangerous. It... the reversion is complete."

Ron nodded, but seemed in no hurry or fear. He held out a hand to Chamey. "Chamey, is it? Kim told me about you. You've been a good friend to Jack."

Chamey still held one arm against his ribcage. He stuck his free hand out and clasped Ron's hand, pumping it in a big handshake, smiling. "He's an easy guy to like. Or, he was. You know what I mean."

Ron took Benson's hand next. "Benson Roberts. You're in Jack's file, of course. It's a real pleasure."

She shook his hand at the same time she shot Kim a look that asked,

'Is this guy for real?'

Kim didn't reply; her mind still whirred over Dr. Rhodes -how terrible that someone else had been pulled into this.

Benson turned back to him and gave a quick, tense smile. "Um, now that introductions are done, can we like, do something about Jack? I hope you brought more antidote. He's not gonna let us get near that one he threw in the wall. All he says is, 'it's too late'."

"Well, he's right," was Ron's reply.

Kim couldn't believe her ears. The shock continued when the doctor calmly turned to Jack and said, "Yes, it's definitely too late for him."

Hearing an expert confirm what she already knew drove her heartache even deeper. She sank down on the foot of the bed behind her, pulling Benson down too. She needed to regroup for a moment if that was still possible.

But Benson wouldn't let her sit. She jumped back to her feet, yanking Kim up with her. "This is bullshit!"

Kim kept hold of her hand as they faced Ron. His eyes on them were all sympathy. "I'm sorry. I know this is unimaginably hard for you. For all of you." He looked Kim in the eye. "I came for another reason too. Dr. Kitcher called me after you left, asked me to assess Jack in person, determine once and for all if the reversion is complete. And if it is, to dispose of him."

Kim stiffened, clasping Benson's hand tighter, not realizing what she had done until the girl snatched her hand away with a soft whine. Kim stared at Ron, unable to wrap her mind around the words he'd so easily tossed at them. Before she could ask a question, Jack cleared his throat. They all turned to look at him.

"You're a vampire," he said. She watched the scrutinizing look on his face turn to amazement. "I wasn't sure at first, but it's in there. You're like me.... yet different. How?"