Chapter 19

Sookie did not sleep well after Eric left. Her mind kept replaying the images she saw in Rene’s head. She sits in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee as the sun rises for the day. When Adele and Fintan come down to the kitchen, she tells them everything that happened at Merlotte’s.

Adele looks like a fish out of water. “Sookie, are you sure? Rene is so wonderful with Arlene’s kids. He attends the Baptist church and the Descendants of the Glorious Dead fundraisers. He works with Jason and Hoyt on the county road crew. I just can’t believe it!” Adele looks shocked by Sookie’s words and glances towards Jason as he enters the kitchen. He gives Gran a kiss on the check before sitting down at the table across from Sookie.

“Oh, I can believe it, Gran! That sumabitch knew about Maudette and Dawn both havin’ been with vampers. The night Dawn was killed, Dawn and I fought, so I went to Merlotte’s to drink with the guys. He said I needed to take back the upper hand in the relationship. When I asked how, he said I needed to assert my authority by any means necessary. I thought he was just kiddin’.” Jason looks down at the table with tears in his eyes. Sookie leans across the table, taking Jason’s hand in hers and squeezing.

Gran puts food down in front of everyone and tells them to eat up. Jason being Jason, shovels the food in his mouth like it’s going to disappear. Sookie pushes the food around on her plate. Fintan and Adele try to eat their food, but they too, do not have much of an appetite. The telephone rings, startling everyone at the table. Sookie runs over to the phone to answer it.

“Hello, Stackhouse residence.”

“Hello, Sookie.”

“Who is this?” She doesn’t recognize the voice.

“Drew Marshall,” the voice says harshly.

Sookie’s heart stops. Her face is frozen in her shock. Fintan moves quickly to her side, so that he can hear the conversation.

“I’m sure you’re surprised to hear from me. I’m sure you expected your fanger to handle your problem for you. But I took care of them. It isn’t the first time I’ve sent vamps to hell where they belong!”

Sookie sucks in a breath in horror. She doesn’t know who Eric sent after Rene, but she suspects that they didn’t survive. She prays it wasn’t Pam. Sookie whispers, “What do you want?”

“You. Dead,” he says with a hint of glee in his voice.

“I don’t understand. I haven’t done anything to you,” Sookie cries.

“Oh but you have. You and all the other sluts I’ve taken care of have turned your backs on your own kind. You’re the fucking freak! You spread your legs for those damn fangers. You let them drink your blood, you let them touch you…..it’s not right. You deserve to die!” Rene’s voice started quietly, but he was screaming by the end of his psychopathic tirade.

“Well, I’m not just going to give myself to you. You can go fuck yourself!” Sookie screams back; her anger and fear burn hotly inside her.

He laughs eerily. “Oh but you will. You see if you don’t come to me, then Arlene and the kids will suffer in your place.”

Sookie’s face loses all of its color. She looks at Fintan in horror. He nods his head in support. Her voice is flat when she responds. “Where should I meet you?”

“The cemetery and come alone.” Sookie hears a click and the calls ends. She hangs the phone back up on the receiver.

Adele is horrified. “Sookie you can’t meet that man. He intends to kill you!”

“He’s got Arlene and the kids Gran. What do you want me to do?”

“Well call the police. Let them handle it!” Gran shouts at her, “I’m not gonna lose you too!”

Fintan moves to Adele and wraps her in his arms. She breaks down in sobs against his chest. Fintan speaks firmly while she is crying. “Adele I swear to you, I am not going to let anything happen to Sookie. Jason and I will protect her.” Fintan looks at his grandson, and Jason nods his head in agreement.

Jason asks, “What we gonna do?”

***

An hour later, Sookie is slowly walking along the path that leads from her house to the Bon Temps Cemetery. She stops at the edge of the woods when she sees the cemetery. Rene’s truck is parked along the iron fence that marks the cemetery’s perimeter. In the bed of the truck, Sookie sees Arlene and the kids bound and gagged. The kids look to be sedated, but Arlene is struggling against her bonds and crying. Sookie moves to go to the truck to free Arlene, but Rene steps out from the cemetery.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he says with a gun pointed at her chest.

Sookie raises her hands and walks slowly forward. She stops several feet away from the truck. “Alright, you got me here. Let ’em go!”

Rene laughs insanely. “You really are a stupid fucking cunt if you think I’m going to let Arlene go. She knows too much. But at least her death will be quick. I’ll make sure she doesn’t suffer.” Tears fall faster down Arlene’s face as she hears Rene’s words.

“You know, people are going to figure out it’s you that’s been killing all these women. You can’t hide forever,” Sookie says as she starts backing up along the path.

“Stop,” Rene shouts as he pulls the safety back on the gun. “Get over here you fucking bitch! It’s time for you to pay for your crimes!”

Before Sookie can move, a shot rings out from the woods and hits Rene in the shoulder throwing him back. Fintan pops in the bed of the truck with Arlene and the kids. He slices through Arlene’s bindings with his knife. He has her grab one of the kids; he grabs the other and they all pop away.

Sookie, in the meantime, has taken off running towards the old Compton house. Sookie can hear Rene running after her.

“You filthy fucking cunt. I’m going to tear out your goddamn throat with my hands and fuck your goddamn face!” Rene screams as they run through the woods.

Sookie is running as fast as she can, but Rene is gaining on her. Her legs feel on fire as she runs for her life. She just needs to make it out of the woods. Rene lunges at her and drags her to the ground. He climbs on top of her and punches her in the face, splitting her lip. His hands move to circle her neck and he bashes her head against the ground.

“Die you fangbanging fucker!” Rene screams as his hands squeeze her throat. She is fighting and clawing at him with everything she’s got. Her body is bucking as she tries to throw him off of her, but he has her pinned.

All of a sudden, another shot rings out and a bullet goes through Rene’s head. Blood spurts everywhere and Rene’s lifeless body slumps to the side. Standing on the pathway leading to the Compton house is Detective Andy Bellefleur with his police issued revolver in his hands. He is the one that fired the shot that killed Rene a.k.a. Drew Marshall. Behind him are Sheriff Dearborn and Officer Jones, both with their weapons drawn ready to fire.

Jason and Fintan run to Sookie. They pull her up from beneath the body. The three of them are hugging and crying as they make sure Sookie is ok.

Detective Bellefleur walks over to the body to confirm that he is dead. Once he rises, he turns to the Stackhouse family. A pained expression crosses his face, but he sticks his hand out to Jason.

“I’m sorry for believing you were the killer.” Jason looks down at Andy’s hand before looking him in the eyes. He nods his head once and grips Andy’s hand. Once they shake hands, Andy turns to Sookie. “Are you all right?”

Sookie nods her head despite her obvious injuries. “I’ll be fine once I get home. Are Arlene and the kids ok?”

Kenya answers, “They are with your grandmother and Kevin at your house.” Kevin was another officer on the Bon Temps Police Department.

“If you all don’t need anything else, I’m going to take my family home,” Fintan says to the officers. Kenya offers to drive them back to the farmhouse, but the three family members insist they will walk. Sheriff Dearborn reminds them not to touch anything in the cemetery; they will need to gather everything for evidence.

As Fintan and his two grandchildren are walking, Jason tells Sookie, “We found the guards that Eric had assigned to you. It looks like Rene, Drew, whatever the hell his name was, shot them both with that gun of his and then tied them up.”

Before Sookie can interrupt, Fintan continues the story, “They’ll be fine, Sookie. Jason cut them loose, and they are already starting to heal. The bullets went straight through.”

The family emerges from the woods to find Adele and Arlene on the porch with Kevin. Adele runs down the steps to her family, hugging them all close to her. She puts her hands on Sookie’s face and looks at her wounds. She starts to tear up, but Sookie stops her.

“I’ll be fine, Gran, I promise. It’s already starting to heal thanks to Eric.”

Arlene flies down the steps and almost knocks Sookie over with the force of her hug. She’s babbling about how sorry she is, how she feels responsible, and that from now on, Sookie needs to read the minds of any guys she dates. Sookie looks at her family helplessly and they laugh at her. An ambulance is pulling up to the farmhouse. The EMTs have already been informed of the situation about the unconscious children and Arlene. They quickly get the kids inside the truck and they also insist that Arlene be checked out too. Arlene waves good-bye to the Stackhouse family through the ambulance doors as the ambulance pulls away. Kevin follows after the ambulance in the police car. The members of the Stackhouse family walk in the farmhouse and close the door to the world behind them.

***

Sookie sits on the porch steps later that evening. She leans against the railing with one leg straight out. The other is bent and she has her arms wrapped around it. She is looking up at the night sky; it’s dazzling with all the stars that are out. She closes her eyes and exhales in contentment.

A smile spreads across her face and she opens her eyes. Eric is sitting on the porch step next to her. His face is as hard as granite; his eyes are black pools in his ultra-white face. He reaches his hand out to hold her chin. The spot where Rene had punched her has healed; it is merely a faint red line. The bruises around her neck have faded as well.

“I have failed you again,” Eric states quietly.

Sookie pushes his hand away and moves to frame his face with her own hands. “You have not failed me! You did everything within your power to make sure me and my friends were safe! It’s not your fault that he was a psychopath!”

Eric’s voice is harsh as he replies, “I should have made you stay with me. You would have been safe today.”

“What about my family? What of Arlene and her kids? I never thought he would turn on them,” Sookie says quietly.

Eric sighs and maneuvers Sookie so that she is sitting on the step below him. He pulls her back against his chest and rests his cheek on her head. “I felt your fear today. It woke me from my daytime rest. I did not like feeling helpless,” he says as his arms tighten around Sookie.

“I’m fine Eric. I promise.” Sookie leans forward to place soft kisses on his hands.  The sit in silence, enjoying the peacefulness of the night.

Eric interrupts the silence to ask quietly, “What will you do now?”

Sookie shrugs. “I don’t know. I think I want to take some time off to be with my family and friends. I think I need a vacation.”

“I can picture you somewhere tropical in a very tiny bikini,” Eric says with a smirk.

Sookie laughs, “I’m surprised you pictured the bikini.”

Eric chuckles. “I have a house in Barbados you can use if you wish. We can play in the sand and ocean together. Bikini optional of course.”

Sookie turns to look at him and smiles. “I would like that. When can we go?”

Eric pushes her hair behind her ear. “I have some business I need to attend to first. It will require that I leave the area for several days. We can go when I get back.”

Sookie’s smile falters. “Oh,” she says sadly. “When do you have to go?”

“Tonight. I wanted to make certain you were safe first. I will leave from here.”

Sookie stands up from the steps and turns to Eric. She takes his hand as if she is pulling him to his feet. They walk down the steps and she wraps her arms around his waist. “I’ll miss you.”

Eric rubs her back soothingly. “I will return soon.” He gives her a gentle kiss and steps away from her. He levitates up off the porch steps, gliding higher in the night sky. He turns around and hovers in the air, waving at Sookie. She salutes him, and he takes off with a laugh.

Home                                    Chapter 18                                    Chapter 20