Chapter Four

Luna and Merrick had been traveling for quite some time now and it was nearing the comforting blackness of night before they reached the first town outside of their own.

As they neared and almost passed the town, Luna realized that Merrick wasn’t going to have them stop for the night at all.  Before a definite decision could be made on whether or not she was going to say anything about it, she lost the ability to remain conscious and dropped to the ground. 

Sensing, rather than hearing, that his traveling companion was dropping like a fly, Merrick turned and in a split second was behind Luna to catch her, and the last thing she heard before she completely blanked out was Merrick, “Crap!”

Upon waking, Luna was in a soft, starchy bed and Merrick was staring at the wall behind the bed in an ugly chair by the edge.

When she finally woke up enough to get out of bed and touch her feet to the rough carpet, Merrick twitched and spoke with a slightly angered tone, “What are you doing?”

“Getting up to get something to eat!  It’s morning outside, and I want to enjoy breakfast!  Do you want to come?”  She took a seat on the edge of the bed to await his answer.

“Are you aware that you’ve been unconscious for more than thirteen hours?”  Merrick asked emotionlessly as he shifted positions in the chair.  The chair in question was a very ugly green chair with a lopsided appearance.

“Really?  That’s a personal record…”  Luna looked thoughtful as she considered the implications.  From her position on the bed, she could see a confused look on his face, “Ever since birth I randomly black out.  I have no clue why, but it’s usually at night so it doesn’t bother me.”

After hearing that, Merrick hastily leapt up, though still with apparent grace and shoved aside the chair before stepping aside to face the opposite direction and get full control of his thoughts.  It had been a long time since anyone had made him lose control of his dull emotions.  Personally, he didn’t like it.

“Are you coming with me?”  Luna asked as she pulled on her sweater from her bag.  The room seemed to be getting colder and that meant that when they left it, she would have to brave the cold winds left over from the late May storms.

“We’re in a cheap inn, but they do offer a complementary meal with each booking,” he stated blankly.  When she shot him a weird look, he answered, “I paid for it while you were out.  We shouldn’t stay out after dark; not with all the vampire attacks.”  He flinched as he said the last part and hoped Luna hadn’t seen the small movement.

“What are you talking about, vampires aren’t real!  Stop messing around- let’s go...”  Luna said rolling her eyes and packing the items back into her bag that had fallen out in her action of rummaging around in it for her sweater.

Suddenly, Merrick’s once steady and graceful demeanor morphed into a set of jerky and erratic motions as he pinned the smaller and now-terrified Luna to the wall.  Using his hands, he had her arms pinned to the wall and his body pressed up against hers to where she could feel his pulse erratically beat through his veins and she could smell the sweet scent of his worn leather jacket.

“Don’t, ever, say that vampires aren’t real,” Merrick warned tensely.  She watched as his muscles bulged and his usually calm, composed eyes dilated, showing his anger.

“Merrick, you’re hurting me!  Please let go!”  She whimpered at last as she tried to catch her breath from his stifling hold.

Immediately, he loosened his hold and let her slide to floor as her legs gave out.  Rubbing her arms, Luna got to her feet and went to put her hand on Merrick’s shoulder, but he coldly shrugged it off and turned away from her again.

“You have every right to leave this room and never see me again.  That’s what I deserve.”  His voice was now devoid of anything but remorse and his mood switched back to a calm rush, his violent side forgotten.  He was obviously angry at only himself.

“Silly Merrick, why would I leave you here?  What was that all about?”  She asked as she absentmindedly rubbed the bruises on her arm.  She winced as she touched them, but was trying not to show it or reflect it into her tone of voice.

She was doing a poor job of hiding it and heard the desolation in his voice as he answered, “I didn’t mean to hurt you- you’re just more fragile than I’m used to…  Don’t ever say that vampires don’t exist.  Someone might want to prove you wrong.”

“So are you alright?”  Luna asked, forgetting instantly her situation and focusing on Merrick.

“What do you mean?”  He asked with a confused yet dark tone, “I was the one who almost broke one of your bones because of a sentence, and you ask if I’m okay?”

“The old Merrick was never like this.  The boy I knew wouldn’t get mad even if he had been physically harmed.  The Merrick I knew could always control his emotions…  Where did my friend from years past go?”  Luna asked.  She stared intently at the back of his head until he sighed and turned to face her.  His face was once again guarded, as if he tried to be tougher and wiser than he had to be…

“He grew up and got screwed by fate.  If you even knew the events and things that I’ve seen, you wouldn’t continue to mutter the feeble memories of your pitiful existence in the darkness of your dreams!”  At this point he had stopped himself to realize that he had perhaps gone too far, and hoped that Luna hadn’t fully heard the last part.

Unfortunately she had, and was now trying to hold back her tears.  This effort was wasted as she felt the hot tears roll down her face.  Merrick was even unhappy with him and turned the other direction once more, murmuring a small apology, “I didn’t mean to go so far.”

For a while, they stayed in that position: Merrick facing the wall while thinking of ways to mentally punish himself and Luna sitting precariously across the room trying to compose herself enough to speak.

After a little while, she finally dried her tears before starting, “It’s alright Merrick; you’re right…  Let’s go have breakfast.  I’m starving!”  He turned hesitantly to face her to see if she was serious or otherwise and silently crossed the room to toss Luna her bag and shrug his own onto his shoulder.

Luna hoisted her bag to a shoulder and they took off out of the room to find whatever breakfast was left downstairs.  To Luna, if would be her first in a long time…

Downstairs, they sat at the small earthen table before the inns lady sat a cold plate of lettuce and cucumbers known as a simple salad in front of them.

After a moment of realization, Merrick hastily, an odd attitude for him, slid his chair away from the table and was away from the table in an unseen motion.  He stared at the plate for a second before answering Luna’s astonished glare, “I’m allergic to vegetables; they’re very deadly to us- me.”  He had corrected himself before Luna had a chance to hear it, and was relieved when Luna just laughed and finished her salad in silence.

In that pleasant mood, the earlier time already forgotten, they set off for a brand new twist of fate.

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About Me. Who is me? I am not a very exotic 'me' either... I like to write and read and listen to music. People either matter to me, or they don't: I don't do the hot and cold thing with anyone. Cats are my favored animal and Lapis my stone of choice. I am 17 and in college, hoping to major in Food Science and minor in Culinary Arts. Enjoy.