|
A groan coming from the floor caused them to all three look over to see first, Taylor’s elbow, then finally his eyes as he pulled himself up, “God, what happened?” he asked, now with both arms on the bed, his face scrunched up as he looked toward the window.
Zac looked over at Jessica, then back to Taylor, “Um, Jessica thought a little sunshine might help you to wake up.”
A tiny smile graced his features, “Yeah, well…probably…” he said, and then they watched his eyes roll back and his head disappear with a thud as he fell backwards onto the carpeted floor.
Isaac rushed over, “No, don’t go back to sleep, get up! Jess!” He called to his sister, “Go pick out some clothes for him to wear.”
“Yes!” she exclaimed, “Finally, he’s gonna look good when he goes on MTV.” She said as she stalked past them and out the door.
Zac came over to help Isaac, “This is not going to work. There’s no way to keep them from knowing what he is.” Zac said as he pulled Taylor up on his feet. Once upright, Taylor’s head went backwards and his eyes fluttered open for a moment before closing again.
“Go turn on the shower, Zac. Make it cold.” Isaac said.
“What if he gets pissed, man?” Zac asked, “I don’t want to be trapped in a tiny little room with him when his eyes do that Blade Runner thing…”
Isaac cut him off, “Zac! We gotta do something. You got any better ideas?”
“No.” Zac admitted, then he threw his arms up, “Alright, alright.” And he went into the adjoining bathroom and turned the cold water on as far as it would go. Then, he went back and got on the other side of Taylor and he and Isaac “walked” him into the bathroom.
~~~~~
At 3:10, Sonya’s eyes opened and she looked at the clock. Closing her eyes again, she called Taylor, knowing his brothers would most likely be trying to awaken him. “Taylor, can you hear me?” She sent the message out to him.
Isaac had pulled Taylor’s shirt off of him and as Zac held him up, he attempted to get his jeans off as well. “Taylor, stand up!” he yelled at his brother. Diana had taken the youngest children to lunch, not wanting them seeing their brother’s struggle. Walker now joined the boys, bringing in the clothes Jessica had chosen for Taylor to wear.
“What?” Taylor mumbled.
“I said, stand up, man!” Isaac repeated.
It took everything he had, but Taylor managed to balance himself on his own two feet. Zac and Isaac looked at each other with relief on both their faces.
“Taylor, are you awake?” Sonya called.
“Um, sorta.” He said aloud. His father and brothers looked at each other.
“TAYLOR!” she commanded. He opened his eyes wide.
“What?!!” he said very loudly.
“What are you yelling about?” Walker asked Taylor.
“She keeps yelling at me.” He grumbled.
Walker looked at the other two boys and they shrugged their shoulders. “Who?” he asked.
Ignoring the question, Taylor looked down at himself, “Where’s my clothes?” he asked, still groggy.
“You need to get in the shower, Tay. It’s getting late.” His father said. Taylor shook his head, trying to keep his eyes open. His father tried to help him into the shower, but he could just barely raise his foot high enough to get into the tub. Once in the small space, Walker guided him back into the spray of the icy water, expecting a yelp, but getting nothing. Zac and Isaac looked at their brother, leaning into the corner of the shower, barely able to stand, his eyes closing once more. Before Walker could do anything, Taylor slid down the wall with a splat.
“Oh! Tay!” his father exclaimed, panicked.
“Dad,” Isaac said, moving in to help, “If that cold water isn’t bothering him, bumping his head a little isn’t going to either.”
Zac sighed, he understood exactly what his father was going through. The physical changes he’d watched come over his brother were astounding. “Dad, don’t worry about it, me and Ike will get him out there. Why don’t you make sure there’s a car in the parking garage. We gotta stay out of the sun.” Walker stood there for a moment, looking at Taylor, then shook his head and went back out the door.
Sonya had continued to call Taylor, attempting to stimulate his brain, but she could tell she was only mildly successful. Sometimes he would answer her with a one or two word response—other times, he sounded far away and she assumed he was not thinking his answer back to her, but probably, he was actually talking out loud. Other times, she got no reply at all. Oh well, she’d thought, I tried. It also crossed her mind that it was time for him to learn how to use those mental powers he seemed to have gotten from her.
“Taylor, please.” Isaac was pleading with his brother. He looked up at Zac, “I’m afraid he’s gonna drown or something. Like a turkey in the rain.”
Zac snickered, “I think his nostrils would have to be on top of his nose for that to happen. And so far, they’re staying where they belong.” Zac reached over and turned off the water, “I’m getting chills just watching that. It’s a good thing he can’t get a cold anymore, ‘cause this would’ve given him pneumonia a couple weeks ago.”
Isaac stood up and grabbed a towel, “What time is it now?” he asked Zac.
Looking at his watch, Zac answered, “It’s…3:17.”
“Damn.” Isaac swore, “Let’s get these clothes on him.”
Once on his feet again, Taylor was a little more aware of what was going on. He was able to pull his pants and his shirt on, but not to get the buttons done. And he was able to get his shoes on, but Zac had to tie them. With Isaac and Zac on either side of him, he was able to walk out of the bathroom.
“I made some coffee.” His father said, “And, they said they’d send a limo for you guys, so I took them up on it.”
Isaac and Zac looked at Taylor, his eyes were open, but it was obviously a struggle. “Um,” Zac started, “can you drink coffee, Tay?”
“Coffee?” he repeated.
“Yeah. Coffee. You know, it’s black and hot and tastes like crap?” Zac said.
“Um…I don’t know. I guess.” He mumbled in response.
Walker handed the cup of steaming liquid to Isaac, “Why wouldn’t he want coffee? He’s an addict.”
“Yeah, Dad, but he doesn’t eat the same now, remember?” Isaac said, looking over at Jessica watching television on the couch.
“Good grief, I keep forgetting. This is just so hard…” he said sadly.
“I know, Dad.” Isaac said, “I guess once we get into a routine, it’ll be easier.”
“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll just take it as it comes.” Walker sighed.
Just then, the phone rang and Jessica picked it up. “Hello?” she said, “Ok, thanks.” She stood up from the couch and joined her father and brothers, “They said the car’s here.” She said, looking at Taylor. There was something so obviously wrong with him and yet, no one was talking about it. It was driving her crazy. Taylor plopped down in a kitchen chair as Zac and Isaac went to the closet to get their jackets and her father went back to the bedroom to get something he’d forgotten so Jessica took the opportunity to get close to Taylor without them, “Are you alright, Tay?” she said, bending over to look into his eyes.
“I don’t know, Jess.” He said, “I just can’t wake up, it’s like, I can’t keep my eyes open.”
“I can see that.” She said, and she picked up a brush from the table and began to pull it through his hair. “Were you just gonna go be on TRL and stand next to Carson Daly without brushing your hair? And, it’s soaking wet, geez.” She said, running her fingers through a tangle. “Tay?”
“Hmmm?” he answered.
“What’s wrong? We were so scared when they told us all that stuff—why did they tell us you were dead?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even. “And, Avie kept saying weird stuff…” He pulled her closer and she sat down on his lap.
“Jess, it was…something scary, and I don’t want to talk about it, ok?” he said softly.
“Well, I missed you.” She said and she leaned into him and put her arms around his neck.
“Oh God, I missed you too.” He said, hugging her close.
“Jessica, get away from there!!” Zac exclaimed, seeing her in Taylor’s embrace.
Startled, she only held on tighter to Taylor. “Zac—“ Isaac started, but Zac’s horrified expression told him nothing he said would matter.
“Get off of her.” Zac said menacingly to his brother and he grabbed his sister’s arm and began to pull her away.
Taylor pulled his hands away from her as Zac jerked her off his lap. “You get off of me!” she cried and she tried to go back to Taylor. “What’s wrong with everybody?!” she asked as tears rolled down her face.
Isaac watched the scene, and though he understood Zac’s reaction, he also saw the hurt in Taylor’s eyes. “Zac, nothing happened, he was just giving her a hug.”
Taylor stood up slowly and faced his little brother, “I wasn’t going to hurt her. I’m not going to hurt anybody, Zac.”
Zac closed his eyes and took a breath. Jessica now ran to her father as he walked into the room, “What’s going on here?” Walker asked as she cried into his shirt.
The three boys all looked at one another for a moment, and then Taylor spoke, “Nothing, Dad. Just a little… misunderstanding.”
“Guys,” Walker asked, “do you want to just skip this whole thing? Chris is downstairs, he can just call and—“
“No. We need to do this.” Taylor stated. He was still unsteady on his feet and his eyes had a glazed expression, but he knew how important this was, not only for he and his brothers, but for the fans as well.
~~~~~
The ride to Times Square was a quiet one. Zac situated himself between Taylor and Jessica. Across from them were Isaac and Walker. Taylor had made it to the car, but once inside, the quiet and darkness sent him right back to his daily slumber. As they pulled into the private parking area, Isaac reached over and shook his sleeping brother. “Tay, come on, man. We’re here.” He said, looking down at his watch, “It’s after four already.”
Zac leaned over and shouted in his ear, “Dude, get up! Wake up!” Slowly, Taylor’s eyes opened and he looked around at the others. The driver had come around and suddenly opened Taylor’s door causing him to nearly fall out as soft sunlight entered the dark interior of the car and Zac to reach over and yank it closed again. “Are you alright?” he asked, grabbing Taylor’s hand and inspecting it, “We need to stick you in the middle next time I guess. I don’t know how long you can hang out in the sun, and I don’t wanna find out.”
“I’m ok.” Taylor said quietly, “I guess a few seconds is do-able.”
“Here,” Isaac said, tossing the hat to Taylor, “get set, we’ll make a run for it.”
Taylor nodded and reached down for the glasses hanging on his shirt. Once he had covered as much of himself as possible, Jessica opened the door and her father and two of her brothers followed her. She watched as Isaac ran to the door of the building and jerked it open, “C’mon, now!” At once, Taylor got out of the car and ran through the open door, leaving the driver watching. Jessica looked at her father.
“Jess,” he said, shaking his head, “I know you don’t understand. Just….trust me, because I don’t either.” Then he opened the door and he and his daughter followed the three boys into the studio.
Immediately, they were met by a woman who rushed them towards the make-up room. Taylor kept up, but he looked and felt drunk and sluggish.
Once all three were seated, they were surrounded by women brandishing brushes, some for hair, others for make-up to take away shine and just prepare the boys for the bright lights of the studio. Taylor seized the opportunity to close his eyes, but they soon opened again as he felt the breath of someone on his face, “Your skin is beautiful.” She remarked, “What do you wash your face with?” she asked, peering into his eyes.
“Soap.” He replied.
Isaac turned to watch the goings-on next to him.
“Well…it’s flawless…” she breathed.
“So are you.” Taylor said seductively.
“Taylor!” Isaac blurted, watching the dazed expression come over her face. “What the hell are you doing?!” he said, slapping his brother’s arm.
As Taylor’s attention turned to Isaac, the pretty girl shook her head, “Oh…I’m sorry…I sort of blanked out there for a second. Ok, well, you’re done.” She said, smiling at him and reaching for a brush, “I guess we better fix this real quick, though.” And she brushed his hair, giving it some volume after being flattened under the cap he’d come in wearing.
Isaac continued to watch Taylor, but he seemed to have lost interest in the morsel at his side and he shut his eyes for the last few seconds ‘til they were herded toward the studio. As they neared the area where the cameras and the audience were all gathered, they began to hear screams and applause as Carson introduced them. It wasn’t until they were actually led into the room and on camera that they all three remembered the large windows that graced the set. “Zac,” Isaac said, grabbing his brother’s arm. “Try and keep Tay away from those fricken windows—I totally forgot!” he hissed.
Zac nodded and looked back at Taylor, slowly coming up the rear. As they came through the crowd in order to get to the host, the girls in the audience lost all control. Many of them were there only to see Taylor, to see with their own eyes that he was actually alive and well. The sight of him caused some of them to break down into tears and others to be overcome with joy. Between the adrenaline and the hot blood flowing in their veins, Taylor’s senses became heightened and he could feel himself waking up a bit. But, as he stepped out of the shadows and into the light, he flinched and shaded his eyes with his hand. Zac and Isaac came to his rescue, stepping between him and the dusky sunlight coming in from outside. Being later in the day, the autumn sunlight was not nearly as bright as it could have been and the thick glass helped as well. Taylor was not really in any real danger from it’s rays, but it made him very uncomfortable none the less.
“Hey guys, thanks for being on the show.” Carson said, shaking hands with his three guests. “Well, they’re here, everybody!” he said to the crowd as the three boys all waved and smiled at the crowd.
It took a while for the audience to settle down and even then, some of them still had tears streaming down their faces. Taylor looked worriedly at his brothers, praying he would be able to pull off this first public appearance after the change that had been bestowed upon him. “So,” Carson began, “it’s good to see you, Taylor. Um, we’d all heard some crazy rumors about you guys, but it certainly looks like that’s all they were. Are you doing alright?”
Taylor nodded and smiled, “Yeah, uh, I’m not dead, as you can see—“ He was cut off by applause. “So, I suppose you could say the rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated…to coin a phrase.” Already, he was struggling, not knowing what to say. Under the harsh lights of the studio and the unforgiving eye of the camera, Taylor looked very pale, and having not fed for ten hours, his eyes were beginning to darken, so even though, he was obviously alive, he still appeared under the weather.
“Well, we’re glad to see that,” Carson said, “but, still, we gotta ask—what happened?” Suddenly the crowd became still, waiting to hear what had occurred to warrant his having been taken away in an ambulance and then all the other things that they’d all seen or heard about.
Isaac came to his brother’s rescue, “Well, they tell us that Taylor is suffering from exhaustion and we just felt like we needed to postpone that concert and give him a few days off, so…..that’s what we did.” He said. The crowd murmured and some of the girls shook their head, knowing it had been much more complicated than that.
“Hang on to those tickets guys, that gig is gonna be rescheduled!” Zac tried to lighten the mood, slapping Taylor on the back, “He’s been getting lots of sleep and stuff, he’ll be good as new in no time!” At that, the crowd cheered, and though they weren’t really satisfied with the explanation the guys had given, it was all they had.
“Well, can you guys wave to the crowd down on the street?” Carson asked, “A lot of those girls have been down there for a day and a half, since we first announced you’d be here.” As they turned toward the windows, Taylor stood back a bit and waved, feeling his energy wane again as the sunlight shone on his face. Stepping backwards, he stood next to Carson who patted him on the back, “Really man, how’re you doing?” he asked softly.
Taylor turned to him and shrugged, “I’ve been better, but, I’m hanging in there.”
“That’s good.” He smiled. Then, as Isaac and Zac joined them, he asked if they would mind letting a few of the fans come up and shake hands as a few of them had been terribly upset. Both his brothers looked at Taylor and he nodded. “Well, we’re going to the next video, we’re up to the #2 slot—and while you’re watching, we’re gonna have a couple girls come up that need to be reassured that the guy standing next to me is the real thing—not just some evil twin.” Carson laughed and sat down his microphone as they switched to a video. He gestured toward a few girls seated in the front row and they came up to meet the guys. As they shook hands with Isaac and Zac, they seemed to be barely holding it together, but as the first girl got to Taylor, her eyes clouded up and she couldn’t hold in her tears any longer.
“I’m sorry…” she sniffed, “I’ve just been sick ever since I saw those pictures…” Her voice broke and he reached over and put his arm around her shoulder.
“I know, but, really—it looked scarier than it was.” He reassured her, “I’m doing pretty good now, I feel much better. I’m just sorry all that stuff went out on the net and scared everybody.” By then, the other three girls had joined them. All of them felt the need to touch him, to really know he was standing in front of them. For two days, they’d felt like they’d lost a loved one—though he couldn’t possibly understand the depth of their feelings, he could tell by looking at them that they’d been very upset. Their eyes were red from crying and they just looked shaken.
“What about the blood?” One girl asked, “We saw it—and the police and stuff.”
“There was no blood.” He said, looking into her eyes, “It was just shadows.” As he calmed them, he began to feel the hunger coming on him again. He could smell the blood in their veins and feel the heat from their touch on his skin. He closed his eyes for a moment and Zac walked over and took his arm.
“You ok?” he whispered in Taylor’s ear. Taylor nodded, but when he opened his eyes, Zac saw the light reflect off them, showing that greenish tint that signaled he was about to get weird. He looked up at the monitor in front of them and sure enough, Taylor’s eyes had a strange, catlike appearance. Not knowing what else to do, he stepped on his brother’s foot with as much force as he could get by with without being obvious. As Taylor’s eyes shot to him and he hissed through his teeth, Zac prayed he wasn’t attacked and killed by his beloved brother on national television. “Oh, sorry, man.” He said, looking innocently at Taylor. As Carson began to speak again and to announce the coveted #1 slot for the show that day, Isaac stepped over between them and put his arms around both their shoulders and the girls were directed to the side, out of the view of the cameras. Though he’d pissed his man eating brother off, Zac was happy—he had also managed to keep him from growing fangs and chowing down on a fan in front of Carson Daly and the millions of viewers at home.
~~~~~
As the video ended and the lights went down, the boys said their goodbyes to the audience and to Carson, Walker rushed them off the set and hurried them off to get their things and get back to the hotel. He wasn’t sure what had gone down exactly, but he sensed they needed to get out of the spotlight.
Jessica was watching the door for her brothers to return. She had gathered all their things and was nervously tapping her foot as she sat on the couch watching the show as it aired. As she stood up to turn off the television, she heard footsteps coming down the hall. “Well, that was close.” She heard Zac saying as he stepped into the room.
“Yes, it was.” Taylor mumbled, “I’m pretty sure you broke my foot, you dildo.”
“Taylor, don’t be common.” His father scolded him, not liking his choice of words. He shot a look at his daughter, hoping she’d missed it, but the smile on her face told him otherwise.
“Can’t you control yourself? I mean, just because somebody gets close to you, you wanna eat them?” Zac accused.
Taylor sighed and leaned back against the wall, “Did you see me eat anyone?” He then shook his head and turned to Isaac, “Maybe you should take Jessica out to the car, she looks like she’s ready to go.” Isaac looked at both his brothers, wondering what was about to go down, but knowing they would have to work it out themselves.
"Dad, you ready?” he asked his father. Walker nodded and grabbed his camera bag and headed for the door. “Guys, we’ll be waiting, ok?” he said, grabbing Jessica by the hand and pulling her towards the door.
“Oh, sorry,” Zac smirked, “next time I’ll let you follow your natural instincts. That should make for lots of publicity.”
“Whatever.” Taylor muttered. Just then, the girl from the make-up room came in.
“Are you leaving already?” she asked, looking at Taylor longingly.
“Yes.” Zac stated, picking up his backpack and grabbing Taylor’s arm, pulling him towards the door where his father and sister had already exited.
“Well,” she said, pushing her long brown hair behind her ear, “how long are you going to be in New York?” she asked, following them.
Taylor looked back, flinching as Zac thrust his backpack at him, “Uh, I don’t know…”
“Tay, out!” Isaac said, “and step on it! It’s still pretty light out there.” And all three went through the doors leading out into the daylight with the girl hot on their heels.
“Well, do you think we could get together? Before you leave?” she asked sweetly, stopping just outside the door.
Isaac got in the car and Zac waited for Taylor to get in behind him. Taylor pulled the cap down to shade his face better, “Be right back!” he exclaimed and he darted back towards the building, grabbing the girl and pulling her inside as his family protested.
“What is he doing?” Walker asked.
“He forgot something inside.” Isaac said quietly, looking out the window of the car.
Zac leaned against the car with his arms folded over his chest, waiting.
Five minutes passed, then ten and Taylor finally emerged from the doors again and ran to the car, stepping inside, seating himself next to Isaac. Walker and Jessica watched as Zac got in and pulled the door shut. “Did you get it?” Jessica asked.
“What?” Taylor replied, licking his lips.
“Ike said you forgot something.” She said.
“Oh. Yeah. I got it.” He said back, pulling the hat from his head.
Walker noticed Taylor’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes were bright. Zac and Isaac both looked out their respective windows. “So, we can leave, then?” Walker asked. Taylor nodded and his father told the driver they were ready.
~~~~~
“So,” Melanie said to the strapping young man in front of her, “are you one of the lucky ones?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.” He smiled, his dark eyes twinkling. He moved closer to the small girl, “Why do you ask?”
“Well,” she said, running her fingernail down his chest, “I was just thinking….”
“Yes?” he said, picking her up and setting her on the stone fence they were standing next to. Her eyes began to shine and her teeth elongated as she spoke to him.
“Are you aware of the Lady Beatriz’ little…problem?” she asked as she leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips, running her fingertip down the small goatee he sported.
He chuckled, showing his own pointed canines, “Of course, who isn’t?”
“Well,” she said, wrapping her legs around his waist, “I was sort of hoping maybe, you might like to help me out with that.” She said, smiling sweetly.
“Hmmm,” he said, stroking his chin, “she’s been seriously stressing about that. What are we talking about here? ‘Cause I do NOT want her pissed at me.”
“She won’t be. You’ll be doing her a favor.” She reasoned.
“Hmph.” He said, backing up a little, “You’re lucky you weren’t here when she found out he got away. How the hell did you guys manage to let that happen anyway?” he asked.
Melanie’s eyes darkened, and she shook her head and waved her hands in the air, “Kirk, are you gonna help me or not?! It’s a long story, ok?” she said defensively.
“Alright, alright. How long did she give you?” he asked.
“Until dawn.” She said.
He raised his eyebrows, “Whoa. Why can’t Camille and Sonya help you? I mean, you’re all in it together, right?”
“Ha! THEY’RE the reason this whole thing got started. Besides, if it’s left up to them, they’ll bring him back in a baby carriage, sucking on a bottle of AB negative.” She spat.
He looked at her and put his hands on his hips, “Did she say how she wanted him?” he asked, peering at her.
“Alive. That’s all she said.” Melanie replied coldly.
“How big is he?” Kirk asked.
“He’s pretty tall, but he’s skinny. And, he’s a newbie.” She said brightly.
“Hmmm,” he thought again, “If I help you, you’re going to be very nice to me, right?” he said, moving closer to her again.
“Right.” She said, putting her hands on his shoulders.
“And, if anything goes wrong, you’ll tell the Lady it wasn’t my fault, right?” he asked, pointing his finger at her.
“Of course.” She said pulling him closer.
“Cool. Let’s do it. Who knows, it might be fun.” He said, jumping over the wall and pulling Melanie down on the other side.