Chapter Two: A Painful Past

Chapter 2: A Painful Past

“Owen, I....That's my name,” Abby whispered, her eyes locked on the floor.

“What?” Owen exclaimed as he stood up from the ground and immediately moved away from Abby. He took a seat on the bed directly across from her, his mouth open in disbelief. Was everything he knew about his new girlfriend a lie? If he didn't know her name, did he even know her at all?

Abby looked up at Owen, her cheek wet from the tear that had escaped her eye. She reached out and took his hand in hers.

“What else did you lie to me about?” he asked as he ripped his hand from within her grasp, tears now began to stream from his eyes.

Abby sighed and again lowered her head. “Owen, listen. There is a lot about my past that I want you to know, but it's very painful for me to talk about.”

“What's your real name? Is it Abby? Or Eli?”

“Its Abby.”

“You just said Eli was your name! Lies! All Lies!” he stood up again and pointed his finger directly into her face.

“Please calm down. I didn't mean to not tell you the truth. You told me you trusted me. Trust me now! I didn't lie to you, and I want to tell you everything, but its going to take time! I'm over two hundred years old, Owen. Do you know how much has happened to me in that time?”

Owen slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands. It had just begun to all sink in for Owen, the reality of leaving everything behind, the reality that he and Abby were on their own. He couldn't just go home anymore, he was in too deep to give up. Still, he wondered what else she was lying about?

Abby stood and sat down beside Owen on the bed. Slipping her arm around his waist, she laid her head on his shoulder. “Owen, when I became, “ she paused for a moment, “what I am, there were terrible things done to me,” she trembled as she spoke.

“Is Eli your real name?” Owen asked as he raised his head from his hands. He wiped his nose and face against the sleeve of his shirt.

“Almost.”

“What is it?”

“When I was born, my momma and poppa named me Elias.”

Owen was shocked. His mouth open wide in a disbelieving gawk as he pulled away from Abby and turned so that he was directly facing her, one of his legs dangling over the edge of the bed. Abby frowned.

“But,” he paused for just a moment as he stared at her in amazement, “that's a boy's name. Are you a boy?”

“No. Owen, I'm nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing? You're either a boy or a girl.”

“Its not that easy for me, Owen. There were terrible things done to me before I became like I am now. After I was turned into,” her voice wavered slightly as she fought back a sob, “a vampire, I became nothing.”

Owen stared at her in sheer amazement, his mouth still opened in a gawk. Was his girlfriend a boy? She dressed like a girl, she acted like a girl, and her name was girlish. He turned away from her, looking to the left and noticed his copy of Romeo and Juliet that she had been reading. He stared at it a moment as he softly spoke, “If your name is Elias, who is Eli?”

“Owen, I was twelve years old when this happened. I couldn't take care of myself, and I couldn't go home. I,”

“Why didn't you go home to your mom and dad?” Owen interrupted her.

“They thought I had died, and for over 200 years, I wished I had.”

Owen remained quiet as he turned back to face her.

Abby sobbed as she lowered her head, “Owen, from that day, I needed blood to live. They wouldn't have accepted what I had become,” she quickly looked up to stare directly into Owen's eyes, “I had to go away to protect them.”

“From what?”

“From me. I couldn't control myself then. Even now its really hard to control myself when I get hungry.”

Owen looked down to the gray sheets of the bed they were sitting on. He remembered his botched attempt to make a pact with Abby, how she had become something else at the sight of his blood. Shaking the images from his mind, he looked up into her face as he timidly, “So what did you do?”

“I walked. As far as I could until the sun started coming up. As sunrise got closer and closer I,” she stuttered for a moment as if trying to understand the words she was speaking, “I somehow knew the sun would hurt me. I hid in caves, tombs, anywhere I could find. I didn't sleep much at first.”

“Why'd you tell me your name is Abby?”

Abby managed a slight, wistful smile as if a fond memory had bubbled to the surface of her mind. She inched closer to Owen and reached out to gently caress his cheek. He did not resist as she gently pressed her lips against his. For a moment, Owen remembered how badly he had wanted to kiss her earlier that night, he remembered how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. All of these things came to his mind, but quickly vanished in an explosive flash.

Owen found himself sliding downwards on a long train track. As he looked around, he saw a blur of colors and heard a mix of sounds. He began moving faster and faster until he could see darkness ahead of him. Anxiety grew quickly within his mind.

Got to stay away from there!

It was too late. Before he could attempt anything, he was overtaken by the darkness and gradually slowed down until he came to a normal walking speed. He looked around and saw a lone stone dwelling in the countryside. Although it was dark, he had no trouble seeing every minute detail around him. He suddenly crouched down in the high grass to avoid being seen. Feeling a moistness on his chest, he looked down and discovered his clothes were covered in blood. His stomach rumbled loudly.

Shh! You'll be discovered!

He moved swiftly through the grass until he felt he was close enough. Owen parted some of the grass aside and looked at what was beyond the greenery: he could see an old woman dressed in rags carrying a large wooden bucket. She quickly poured the content of the bucket onto the fire. The fire responded with a definite hiss as it was reduced to almost nothing.

Almost time.

As Owen watched the woman move, he suddenly doubled over as his body was wracked with pain. His stomach rumbled fiercely. The woman quickly snapped her head in the direction of the sound and loudly called out, “Who's there?”

Owen remained as quiet as possible as the woman walked in his direction. He didn't move, even as she reached down into the tall grass towards him: “Are you alright my child,” she asked as she slowly reached her hand towards him: “I'm not going to hurt you.”

At the utterance of the woman's words, Owen's surroundings suddenly changed. He he found himself sitting at a small wooden table across from the old woman in a room lit only by dim candlelight. The woman looked over in his direction and smiled softly as she chewed on a bite of food. Owen's senses were assaulted with at least twenty distinct scents, and of those he smelled, he figured the woman was eating some type of beef.

The woman swallowed and gently pressed a small piece of cloth against her lips to clean bits of food from them. The woman gazed at him fondly as she spoke, “You and my little Madeline would have been the best of friends. I miss her dearly,” Owen noticed the tear that had slipped from her eye, ”Each new moon is a gift, child, pray you never forget it. Oh how I wish you could talk to me. A mere utterance from your lips would bring this old woman to joyous tears,”she smiled wistfully, “I know it is not of your choosing. Some affliction must have robbed you of your ability to speak.”

Owen could feel himself smiling, although he didn't understand why. He felt some remorse. After all, he knew he could speak, but for some reason, he felt the urge not to. As he smiled, his surroundings changed yet again. He found himself standing in a small room lit by an oil lamp that reminded him of a teapot. Directly across from him, Owen could see the old woman who appears to have aged considerably. Owen could see how pale the woman looked. She smelled of death. He suddenly feels a considerable amount of sadness beginning to overtake him as the woman takes slow steps towards him. With each step taken, Owen could clearly see the woman was suffering. He noticed the woman holding something, some type of pendant.

“Madeline was everything to me. I was so alone when she was taken from me. Although the sadness I feel at her loss will never leave me, I am thankful for those above who chose to send you to me.” Owen was overtaken by several emotions as the old woman spoke: sadness, joy, and others he could not describe. He simply smiled as the woman continued to speak:

“My time in this world grows shorter.”

No! Don't go!

“To you, I give this. It belonged to my Madeline,” the old woman said as she reached out towards Owen. He could see a small black pendant in her hand. She stepped closer as she spoke, “Let me put this on you.” Owen felt himself smiling as the old woman attached the pendant around his neck. As she fastened it securely around Owen's neck, she stepped back and gazed at him and the pendant.

“Beautiful. I would expect nothing less from you, my beautiful child.”

Boys aren't beautiful!

“I do so wish you could speak. I so dearly wish to know your name, child” the woman lowered her head as she spoke, “forgive me, but on many occasions, you have spoken to me in my dreams. I have many times asked your name, but even in dream you do not respond. May I call you Abby, child?”

No! It's Owen.

Owen paused for a moment then smiled. He could not understand why he was smiling, or why he nodded his head, but he was happy to see the elation on the old woman's face as he acknowledged her. As the woman opened her mouth to speak, the world around Owen melted away into nothingness.

Owen's eyes slowly fluttered open. He could see Abby directly in front of him, a tear in her eye. He leaned sideways onto the bed and laid still for just a moment trying to fight the inevitable, but it was a losing battle. His eyelids felt increasingly heavy and began to close until Abby entered his field of vision. He could see that she had lied down directly in front of him and was watching him drift off into the dark abyss that was calling his name.

“Good night, sweet prince; and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest,” Abby whispered softly into his ear.

“What's,” Owen's whispers were cut off by the dreamworld overtaking everything else.

Abby managed a soft, timid smile as she whispered, “Hamlet,” into his ear. She unclasped the boots that Owen was wearing and slipped them off of his feet. Carefully, Abby repositioned him into a more comfortable sleeping position and lifted the sheets over him tucking them beneath his neck. After she had attended to Owen, she slumped back down against the wall on side of the bed and picked up the old puzzle. She studied it closely for a moment remembering fondly its origins before putting it back into their bag.

“This will be hard. For both of us,” Abby whispered softly.

**********

It was later than Jonathan had expected as he returned to the motel. His night had been semi-uneventful: alcohol, lots of it, and his new paid companion for the evening, Jessica. Jessica clung to his arm as they exited the taxi by the street and walked into the damaged parking lot, trying to avoid the large fissures as best as best as possible. Jonathan grinned devilishly in her direction as he lead her to the door of his motel room. Reaching into his pocket, he fumbled for the door key for a moment before quickly pulling it out of his pocket, and unfortunately, sending it flying a few feet away.

“Damn!” Jonathan grumbled as he stumbled over to where the key had fallen. Slowly, he knelt down in a careful and calculated manner to try and avoid falling on his face. As he picked up the key and looked back up, he glanced in the direction of the other motel room he had purchased earlier that night and swore he saw a light coming form the window. Jonathan willed his eyes to focus for a moment as he looked at the window. She was there staring at him! He could see the small girl who had hired him several hours earlier standing in the window across the parking lot staring at him. He reached down and rubbed his eyes with his fingertips to be sure he wasn't seeing things, but when he looked at the window again, there was no light, and there was no girl.

Must be my imagination.

Jonathan stood up and proudly raised the key in front of him. He could see Jessica was grinning widely as she motioned for him to hurry and open the door to the room. He staggered to his feet and made his way back to the door and unlocked it, swinging the door inward.

“Affa you!” Jonathan drunkenly exclaimed.

“No no, after you, baby,” his companion replied. Her tone drove him wild, and he could feel exhilaration rushing through his veins. He hurried into the dark room as quick as he could. What a good decision it had been to also rent a room here for himself! As he entered, he could not prevent himself from grinning like a madman as he slipped off his alcohol-stained coat and tossed it onto the bed. Everything was going really well for him tonight until it hit him. Literally. Square on the back of the neck. Jonathan fell forward onto the ground as the black night became blacker.

**********

Owen pulled the sheets close against him as his eyes fluttered open. He was disoriented and confused with his surroundings. A chill of anxiety quickly spread throughout his body as he realized he was not at home in his bed. He froze, stayed as still as he possibly could, and covered most of his face with the sheets. As the events of the last 24 hours started coming back to him, he quickly calmed down and pushed the anxiety out of his mind, but not his stomach. His stomach growled loudly as if he had not eaten in a very long time. In truth, this was the longest Owen had ever gone without eating.

Owen sat upright and massaged his neck a moment. With a quick yawn and stretch, he turned to dangle his legs over the side of the bed. Owen looked around the room for a moment for Abby, but was unable to find her. He also noticed their large trunk was missing. Owen figured Abby had already gone to bed for the day, and was sleeping inside of the trunk. On the small writing table beside the bed, he noticed she had left him a stack of dollar bills and a small note:

Good morning! I hope you've slept well. I'm sleeping in the trunk in the bathroom.
I put some money out for you. Go get something to eat, but be careful! Try not to
let too many people see your face. Don't forget to lock the door behind you when
you leave, and don't forget your key to get back in.

I'm sorry I didn't tell you everything about me. It will take some time, but
I promise I will. Please believe me. I'm Abby now, ever since that night
you saw.

Love,
Abby

Owen read the note several times before setting it back down on the table and picking up the cash. Two-thousand six-hundred dollars. Owen was shocked as he had never held so much money in his hands. He took two twenty-dollar bills from the stack of bills and slipped the rest under the pillow he had slept on. Just in case. Owen looked around the room and noticed his boots neatly placed on side of the bed. He smiled and mentally thanked Abby as he slipped them onto his feet. Time to eat!

Owen closed the red door behind him and shoved the dollar bills securely into his pocket. He zipped up his coat and began walking towards the entrance where he and Abby had came in the night before. His mind began to wander as he remembered Eli. Elias. What did it all mean? And who was that old woman he saw? He had many questions for Abby this evening, but for the time being, it was daytime. Time for him to clear his mind, and most importantly, time for him to find something to eat.

He began to hum the Eat some now, save some for later jingle as he walked across the parking lot. He was forgetting something, and he pushed himself hard to try and remember what it was. As he suddenly remembered, he stopped dead in his tracks and turned in the direction of the room. He had forgotten to lock the door! He sighed as he walked back towards the door, his stomach still growling quite loudly.

Owen took the room key from his pocket and locked the deadbolt on the door. He tried the door handle. Locked. With a dutiful nod, knowing that Abby would be safe inside of their locked motel room, he turned and again through the parking lot towards the street. He was walking faster this time. Owen had not eaten anything recently with the exception of several pieces of candy, and hunger had started to catch up to him.

It was a beautiful day outside, plenty of sunlight and few clouds left the sky wide open. It was; however, still extremely cold. He must have slept late! From the sun, Owen guessed that it was early afternoon. He crossed his arms over his chest and pulled them tightly against his body in defense against the bitter cold. He kept his head down as he walked out of the motel parking lot onto the sidewalk, remembering Abby's warning to try and keep a low profile. He wasn't sure where to go, so he picked a direction and began walking.

Owen walked along the road in the same direction for several minutes. Although he had absolutely no idea where he was going, he always enjoyed exploring. Besides, in order to blend in, Owen would have to pretend like he knew where he was going. With the exception of two lone cars, there were not many people around. As each of the cars passed Owen, he turned his head away to avoid letting the drivers see his face. He felt like a secret agent.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, the landscape began to change. Owen found himself in a more populated area. He even passed the occasional person. Although the town was busier than the area near the motel, it was by no means as busy as Los Alamos. There was no question about it: this was a small town.

I need to be quick. Get food and leave before someone sees me, just like Abby said!

Looking around, Owen spotted the unmistakeable golden arches. McDonalds! He was in luck! He looked around for a street sign to make sure he would know how to get back, but here were none. Directly ahead of him, Owen noticed a dilapidated, out of business gas station on the corner. To reach McDonalds, he would need to turn right at the street by the gas station and head straight. After he was sure he'd remember how to get back to the motel, he began heading in the direction of McDonalds, his pace much faster than it had been.

As he reached McDonalds, Owen's hunger level was bordering on ravenous. Unfortunately, the restaurant appeared to be fairly crowded for such a small town. There were at least seven or eight families sitting at tables eating. As he looked at the families, a wave of sadness rushed over him. In truth, he did miss his mom, but as strange as a life without her was for Owen, the thought of having to live without Abby was even scarier. Besides, he was happier with Abby than he ever was with his mom. It was something he could not endure, and it was this fact that gave him the strength he needed to make his decision to leave with her. This was a new chapter in his life, and he was deep in uncharted waters.

Owen approached the counter and placed his order. It was a pretty big order, but he was very, very hungry. Owen pretended that he was ordering for two people, figuring it would help him avoid suspicion. He sat down at a nearby table while he waited for his food to be prepared. After a few moments, he returned to the counter to get his food. After verifying it was all there, a practice his father had taught him well, he left McDonalds and began the long walk back to the Rainbow Motel.

As Owen turned the corner by the old gas station, he could no longer wait. Setting the bag of food down, Owen reached inside and took a hamburger out from inside the plastic clam shell container. He ate the entire hamburger in only a few large bites. He barely even chewed before swallowing! With a loud “BURRRRP,” Owen picked up his bag of food and continued to walk. When he had again reached a more rural area, he tossed the plastic clam shell hamburger container aside. Litterbug.

Owen began to wonder how long he and Abby would stay in this town. It seemed small and boring, with not much to see or do. He had wished he could have explored the town more, but it would have put the both of them at risk of being recognized. Tonight, he would have to speak to Abby and try and decide what they were going to do. Although they were pretty far away from Los Alamos, he felt confident that it was not far enough. They would have to continue moving, at least for the near future.

As much as he tried, Owen couldn't stop himself from thinking more about his discovery about Abby the night before. In the note she had left for him, she said that she was now Abby ever since that night. Owen wasn't sure exactly what this meant, but he knew that whatever she would reveal about her past, he would try his best to accept it. Abby was his future now, and at least of that, he was certain.

**********

Jonathan slowly drifted back to consciousness and opened his eyes. He laid there a moment while his vision came back into focus, trying to remember anything from the night before. Much of the previous night's exploits were carefully avoiding him. This was likely the result of his head throbbing in pain. Damn Hangovers. Jonathan decided it would be in his favor to not try and stand up too quickly.

He slowly lifted himself up onto his knees and noticed his wallet on the ground beside him. He picked up his wallet and slowly lifted himself up onto the edge of the bed. He looked into his wallet and sighed heavily as he noticed all of his money was missing. Details from the previous night slowly began to return to him, and he remembered coming into the motel room with a woman he had met at a local bar, then only darkness.

Guess I'm broke again. DAMN I'M AN IDIOT!

Jonathan thought about where to begin his “work day” until he remembered the strange two children from the night before and how they had paid him to rent them a room. Damn kids. Always so needy. At least on this occasion, the neediness of the children had earned Jonathan a semi-decent place to sleep last night. He began wondering if perhaps the two kids would have more things they needed help with.

I think I'll go pay them a visit.

Jonathan grinned as he weighed the pros and cons of his options. Paying the kids another visit could be risky, especially if someone saw him alone with them in a sleazy motel and thought something, but it also could potentially earn him some easy cash. He had hoped that maybe they would be out playing, or whatever the hell kids do, and he could take a look around their room and maybe find some cash for the taking. If nothing else, Jonathan figured he'd ask if he could help them with anything else they needed.

Jonathan pulled the small stool from beneath the writing table and sat down in front of the motel room window for a moment watching the parking lot. With the exception of a family that looked to be packing their things into their car, there was no activity. He watched the family a few moments as they all climbed into the vehicle and began pull away. Jonathan chuckled as he noticed the occupants being jostled around as their car road over the dilapidated concrete. He was thankful he wasn't in the car with them. His stomach could not take it.

He sat there for several moment trying to let the fog clear completely from his head before he ventured out. He had made at least one good decision last night and with childish delight, Jonathan grinned widely as he thought of it. When he rented the motel room for the kids, the clerk had given him two room keys. It was only logical that the kids would only need one, so he kept the second. Just in case. He looked directly across the parking lot at the door to the room where the kids had gone the night. He remembered seeing, what he thought was the girl, looking out of the window directly at him. Was he seeing things?

As Jonathan sat there reflecting on what he may or may not have seen the night before, his concentration was broken as the kid's motel room door opened. He could see the boy slip out from the door and begin to walk towards the exit of the parking lot. He wasn't carrying anything, which means he must have left his bags in the room. Jonathan was elated.

This could be my chance to make some quick cash.

But what about the girl?

Did she go out earlier? Is she still there?

Jonathan watched the boy for a moment to make sure he was leaving, but as he crossed in front of the large sign in the center of the parking lot, the boy suddenly stopped and turned back towards the room.

Damnit! Where's he going?

As the boy reached the door to his room, Jonathan could see him reach into his pocket and pull out something, probably the room key, and fiddle with the doorknob. Although Jonathan could not see exactly what the boy was doing, he decided that the boy had just forgotten to lock the door. His suspicions were quickly validated as the boy turned and once again began walking towards the exit to the parking lot.

Stupid kids.

He waited awhile, perhaps ten minutes, to make sure the boy was really gone before preparing himself to visit the other motel room. He wondered what he'd do if the girl was still there.

If the girl is still there, I'll just ask if they need anything else.

Its not like they're going to need help installing a duct or something, you idiot. They're kids!

I've got to try. I'm broke. Begging works sometimes, but if they have that much money, this is easier.

After several minutes had passed, Jonathan closed the curtains to his room and slipped out the front door, locking it behind him. He walked directly across the parking lot to their door.

Act normally. You're an adult, and as far as anyone is concerned, this is a second room for you.

Jonathan knocked softly on the red door to the motel room. Pressing his ear up against the door he waited for several seconds listening for any sound inside of the room. Nothing. He had seen the boy leave several minutes ago, but he wondered again about the girl? She must be gone too he decided as he slipped the key into the door, unlocked it, and opened it. Sunlight flooded into the dark room illuminating what was sure to be a mess, after all, two children had been living there alone.

What were they doing there?

Curiosity continued to grow exponentially in Jonathan's mind as he stepped into the motel room and closed the door behind him. Fumbling around for the light switch, he mentally cursed at how dark the room was. With the lamp now illuminating the room, Jonathan could see it was in surprisingly good shape with the exception of a few toys and books strewn around the bed. The kids didn't have much with them when he had met them, only a backpack and that large trunk.

I'd better go before someone sees me.

Jonathan began walking to the front door but stopped before he arrived there realizing he had to take a piss. He was undecided for a moment whether or not he should leave and piss elsewhere, but quickly decided the pressure on his bladder was bad enough to risk going where he was. He turned around and headed over to the closed bathroom door.

Opening the door, his curiosity was again peeked. Sitting right in the center of the bathroom was the kid's large trunk. It was one of those old, classic looking trunks that you don't see around too often anymore.

Was that where they kept their money?

Jonathan, why did you come here? Don't get caught.

Man up! One peek won't hurt anything. Besides, the cops would believe you over them.

Wouldn't they?

Unfortunately for Jonathan, his curiosity had won the battle over reason this time and as such, he headed over to the trunk to take a peek inside. A sense of concern suddenly washed over his mind as he knelt down in front of trunk and examined it closely for a moment. A drop of sweat slid down cheek as he reached out and slowly raised the lid to the trunk. Brushing the sweat drop from his cheek, he peered inside of the trunk. Then his heart skipped a beat.

**********

After walking for awhile, Owen could see the motel ahead of him on the left. He figured he'd finish the rest of his food for dinner later in the evening so he wouldn't have to go out again. As he walked past the motel office, something caught his eye. When he turned around to investigate, he was horrified to see MASSACRE AT LOS ALAMOS POOL as the text on the front page.

Oh no. I have to get this to show it to Abby.

Reaching into his pocket, Owen pulled out all of the coins he had been given at McDonalds after having paid for his meal. He slipped the appropriate coinage into the small machine and pulled out a copy of the news paper. Owen was very concerned, worried that someone may have seen him and would alert the police that he and Abby were here. They would have to leave again and get farther away from Los Alamos, probably even out of the state. Soon. Owen would go anywhere as long as Abby was with him.

Owen folded the paper and slipped it under his arm as he sprinted back towards the room. As he entered the parking lot, he dodged the large potholes with almost inhuman finesse. Abby would be proud. He fished into his pocket for the room key, and after several seconds of fumbling around, he managed to pull it out and unlock the door to the motel room. Owen opened the door just enough for him to slip inside. As he entered, he quickly closed and locked the door behind him, hoping that no one had seen him go inside.

**********

Jonathan froze as he saw her. Inside the large trunk was the girl he had met the night before, her back was facing him. She was laying there, as far as he could tell, completely lifeless. Panic rushed through his mind as he began to imagine several scenarios as to what might have happened to her.

Is she dead? Did the boy kill her?

My fingerprints are all over the room! The cops will try to pin this on me!

No!! You can't be dead!

Reaching into the trunk, he vigorously shook the little girl's shoulder as he exclaimed, “Wake up! Wake up!” With a soft moan, the child shrugged off his shaking and rolled over in his direction, still unconscious.

She's alive!

Jonathan breathed a collective sigh of relief. Now that he had determined the little girl was alive, he began to wonder why the hell she was sleeping in the trunk. Were they playing hide and go seek or something? Why isn't she out with the boy? Where did the boy go?

“You must be one deep sleeper,” Jonathan whispered as he stood up, preparing to leave. With a second sigh of relief, he turned and walked towards the door of the bathroom. With his back towards the trunk, he missed her eyes shooting open. As he exited the bathroom, Jonathan paused again to look around the room one final time before leaving. That's when it hit him with the force of a freight train. Before he knew what had happened, his world had dissolved into a swirling mesh of colors as his head impacted with the ground. Again. Hard.