A/N:
Date 7-8-17

Surprise! Here's another chapter for the day! I didn't want you guys to have to wait another two days to figure out what's wrong with Ash, so here's the chapter that explains it.

Word Count: 3214

-----------------------------------------------

Chapter 41: The Negotiation

My telepathy apparently wasn't working. And supposedly Zane was coming to rescue me. "ZANE! Come get her!" Ash yelled as he shook me again, as if Zane could see us. "Hm, I guess he needs a little more persuading." Ash said and looked at me with a creepy smile. I cowered under Ash's scary gaze, feeling weak. Why couldn't I beat him? Was I holding back because he's my friend? He stopped feeling like a friend when he turned to me again. Ash let go of my arm and pushed me to the ground.

"Call for him." Ash said. I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to bait Zane there for Ash so he could die too. Ash took a step towards me and I scrambled back again. "Call for him!" Ash demanded. I shook my head this time, refusing to speak. Ash leaned down so quickly that I didn't even see and grabbed my arm, dragging me up, face to face with him. "Call for him!" Ash growled in my face as his eyes glowed a filthy red. His fingers were digging painfully into my right arm. "No!" I spit in his face.

Ash hissed and broke my arm in one flick of his wrists. I didn't scream this time, because I knew Zane was there. I'd heard something in the woods right as Ash hissed in my face, so Ash didn't hear it. I knew it was Zane. So when I fell I turned to the left and cried silently so Zane wouldn't be able to see my face. It was contorted in pain and probably pink from crying. "Call for him!" Ash practically roared. "No." I whispered. I prayed that Zane wouldn't come out of his hiding spot. He needed to leave.

Ash kicked me in the face and blood instantly oozed out of my nose, although I knew Ash was holding back. I gasped at the pain, but didn't make any more noise. "Ask Zane for help and I'll stop, Alicia." Ash sounded like he was pleading with me. I was curled up on the ground, but I looked up at Ash. He looked in pain, like he didn't like hurting me. "I won't." I told him fiercely, looking away so he wouldn't see the hurt in my eyes. I closed my eyes as Ash put his foot on my leg. "Last chance before more pain, Alicia." I didn't say anything, just squeezed my eyes tighter. I couldn't brace myself though.

The pain shot up my whole right side as Ash applied pressure slowly. This was worse than when he just snapped my bones. "Say it, Alicia!" Ash demanded. "No!" I whispered defiantly. He added more pressure. "Say it!" "No." I whispered, not breathing anymore. "Say it!" Ash yelled at me. "No, no, no, no, no!" I said, basically whimpering like a sad puppy. I'm pretty sure I was trying to convince myself that I wouldn't do what Ash wanted. Just when I thought Ash was going to break my leg, he pulled away and left me gasping and clutching at the grass.

I decided the pain couldn't get worse, so I tried popping my arm back into place. I almost screamed and just barely held it in. I couldn't pop the bone back. So I lay on the grass, waiting for even more pain. But it didn't come. I heard Ash sigh regretfully. What was with him and his emotions? Then Ash raised his voice again. "You leave me no choice, Zane. I have to kill her now, and it'll be your fault because you were too much of a coward to face me." Ash spoke loud enough so that Zane would hear, even if he was a mile away. Vampire hearing can go pretty far.

Nothing happened. Ash didn't suddenly turn back to normal. Zane didn't jump out of the woods to save me. Instead, Ash shrugged and sat down on his knees next to me. I tried one last time to protect myself. I screamed a bloodcurdling scream in Ash's mind. He put his hands over his ears and fell on his side, yelling at me to stop it. I rolled over and started dragging myself on one arm towards the woods. Then Ash grabbed my feet and dragged me back to the middle of the clearing. "Alright, now you've made me mad." Ash said bitterly.

He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, this won't hurt as much as someone screaming in your head." I winced and knew whatever he was going to do would be pay back, which would be agonizingly slow and worse than someone yelling in your head. Ash smiled and I saw his fangs out. Why would he need those? He can't drink my blood, it'll make him sick. Then Ash leaned down and bit into my neck, and all of my thoughts disappeared. The only thing I felt was the pain, which was burning through my veins and making my broken arm throb even more.

Tears flowed freely down my face, cold against my suddenly heated skin. Through the haze of agony I felt all through my body, I grabbed Ash's shoulder and shoved at him. I pushed as hard as I could, but I was also fighting through the pain. Unlike the last time Ash bit me, he didn't drain me quickly. He was going for painfully slow, just like I'd thought he would. I shoved against Ash with all I had left, and he finally pulled away from my neck. Ash snarled and grabbed my wrist, pinning it to the ground. I tried to pull away from him but he only tightened his grip.

I sobbed as I felt my wrist bones about to snap. The pressure lessened when Ash leaned down and bit me again. He really was going to kill me. I didn't understand how he could consume my blood because it's supposed to make other vampires sick. But I didn't question it as my veins heated up again and I felt like a bomb about to explode. I wanted to scream my frustrations at Ash, but only managed a very small whimper, which made me feel even worse. Then Ash let go of my wrist and jerked away from me. I gasped from the way my veins instantly cooled down. I felt better already, and it had only been a second since Ash stopped drinking from me.

"Took you long enough." Ash said sarcastically, speaking to someone. I knew immediately that it was Zane. Why did he have to come? He's going to die along with me. I sent a thought to Zane's mind because I didn't know if I could speak. "Run Zane! Something's wrong with Ash! You need to go!" But I didn't hear Zane run, so I finally looked over at him. Just like when Zane had been escaping the vampire building with me, he looked like an avenging angel. His blond hair shifted in the wind as he stared defiantly at Ash. His eyes were shining a very bright, pissed off red.

"You wouldn't kill her." Zane proclaimed. I wasn't so sure about that anymore. Ash laughed and said, "Really? Because she's only minutes away from dying now! I only stopped because you showed up." Zane shook his head disapprovingly. "You'd never kill her, she's your friend." But when Zane looked at me, I saw his heart in his eyes, breaking at seeing me like this. I turned away to look at Ash because I couldn't stand to see the heartbreak anymore. "If you'd like, I could finish the job now." Ash said enthusiastically.

"It would only take a moment." He added helpfully. I didn't know if I was about to die in a minute, but I did feel pretty terrible. And my vision was starting to flicker. "No! Don't touch her!" Zane yelled at Ash protectively. It was ironic because what Zane said was right on the same line as what Ash said when he started all of this. Ash took a step towards me. "You'd better come make me." Zane growled at Ash and moved closer to us. But not near enough. Ash flashed next to me and grabbed my good arm, dragging me up next to him.

His hand snaked up to my neck just as Zane flashed forward. "Stop!" Ash yelled at Zane. Very reluctantly, Zane stopped. He was only a couple of feet away, but I could tell it wasn't enough. If Ash decided to kill me, he would rip out my throat before Zane got to us. I could barely stand with the pain coursing through me, so I couldn't defend myself. "One wrong move and I'll kill her right here." Ash warned, pressing his fingernails into my neck to prove his point. His nails pierced my skin and blood trickled down my neck. It wasn't enough to kill me, but it still stung.

"What do you want?" Zane asked carefully. Ash grinned and said, "Get on your knees." Zane obeyed after one look at me. I tried not looking pitiful, but I was filthy and my arm was hanging weirdly at my side. Plus I was leaning against Ash to stay upright. I tried again to get Zane to run by talking in his mind. "Run Zane! I've seen him like this before. Just go!" Zane thought back to me, "How did you get him to be himself again?" "I said his name." I answered. It only took us a split second to have the conversation, so Ash didn't seem to notice.

"Ash, you don't have to do this." Zane spoke to Ash. Ash laughed and said, "But I want to!" "But Ash-" Zane said, but was interrupted. "Shut up and lay down! Or I'll kill her right now!" Ash demanded, tipping my head up slightly. I was panting as I watched Zane start to lay on his stomach. I couldn't believe he was going to let Ash kill him. But Zane stopped and yelled suddenly. "Ashton Nelson Wilton!" Ash growled at Zane and snapped my neck abruptly, flooding my vision with darkness that swallowed me up.

~*~

I awoke with my head in Zane's lap and Zane stroking my hair. I sighed and closed my eyes again, not wanting to wake up. His fingertips felt good on my forehead, light and cool. "Hey sleepyhead." Zane said endearingly. I smiled but kept my eyes closed. "Hey." I murmured in a lazy greeting. "How are you feeling?" Zane asked tentatively. I finally opened my eyes and stared up at Zane. His eyes were dark blue again and sparking with concern. I shifted slightly to see if I was hurting anywhere, but I couldn't tell because I felt numb. I noticed that I was in my bedroom at the cabin.

"I have no idea." I told Zane, feeling confused. Zane smiled and shook his head. "It's alright, you should be a little numb right now. It means the medicine is working." I frowned for a moment before answering. "What medicine?" "Some that Ash keeps around that he got from a vampire doctor awhile back." There was a crease on Zane's forehead that told me he wasn't happy with Ash. "Did you-?"  "I didn't kill him, I stopped him." Zane said quickly. "Is he-?" "He's back to normal. Well, mostly." Zane said. "He's brooding in his room." "I better go talk to him." I said, sitting up.

My head spun for a moment, but it corrected itself. "You should really lay down and rest." Zane tried telling me, but I wouldn't listen. I pulled myself away from him and swung my legs off the bed and onto the floor. "You shouldn't get up." Zane protested again. "I have to-" I said, but cut myself off when I almost fell over. My legs were wobbly and didn't want to work properly. Zane was there in a flash, grabbing my arm to steady me. "Alicia, you should listen to me first." "What?" I asked a little too sharply.

"Please, sit down before you fall." Zane practically demanded, pulling me back onto the bed. We sat next to each other, and I leaned against Zane with my head on his shoulder. "What is it?" I asked him, careful to be more gently with my words this time. "Ash explained to me what happened." Zane said with a sigh. I straightened up and looked Zane in the eye. "What? Tell me what happened!" I said, completely shocked. I finally get to know what's wrong with Ash so we can fix it.

Zane looked away uncomfortably. He didn't like talking about Ash. I put my hand in his, loving the reassuring squeeze of his palm. "Ash said that when he was human, he was diagnosed as bipolar. And it carried on when he was turned." I thought for a moment, thinking about how abruptly Ash's moods changed. "He says it's much worse than when he was human, but it only happens every once in awhile." Zane sounded bitter, and I could guess what he was thinking. It was probably the same thing I was thinking. Why did it have to happen to us?

"Then it wasn't his fault!" I exclaimed happily. I could talk to Ash and get this solved. It wouldn't happen again. "No, it was my fault." Zane said so quietly that I barely heard and he let go of my hand. "No! It's not your fault! You didn't start the fight!" "But I didn't end it either, did I? I let myself be angry and I didn't stop him before it was too late." Zane sounded dejected, and I couldn't believe it. "It's not your fault, and I will never blame you for this." I told Zane confidently. Zane just shook his head and glanced away from me. His voice was filled with anger.

"He told me to come out and I didn't! I just watched him torture you! I thought he'd stop." I turned my body to completely face Zane and sat on my knees. "You didn't do anything wrong, Zane!" He didn't respond, so I grabbed his chin and pulled his face towards mine. "Listen to me! You did absolutely nothing wrong." My voice was steady and strong, showing no sign of dishonesty. Zane stared into my eyes, and I got lost in his. They were so full of emotion that he hid behind a wall when anyone else was near.

Zane only ever opened up to me, and even then it wasn't like we sat and shared our feelings. Zane looked confused and out of breath. I made a quick decision, then I let go of Zane's chin. I put both of my hands on his arms and leaned forward to close the space between us. It was a light kiss at first, a reassuring one that was supposed to help Zane. But it turned into something more when Zane responded. He deepened the kiss, pulling me closer as I wrapped my arms around his neck. One of Zane's hands was on my back, pressing us closer together, and the other was in my hair.

I put one of my hands on Zane's chest and pushed him down onto the bed. I landed on top of him and laughed nervously, putting my hands on the bed to lift myself off of him. I hadn't meant to do that and I thought I might've hurt him. But Zane just grabbed me and pulled me back down on top of him. Our kiss grew even more intense, and fortunately, I didn't need to breathe. I leaned my head back when Zane removed his mouth from mine and started kissing down to my neck. I shivered as his warm lips met my cold skin, but Zane suddenly stopped.

He put his hands on my shoulders and gently pushed me away. "Zane?" I said in confusion, not knowing what to ask. The first thing that popped into my head was, "Why did you stop?" But I didn't say that. We were both sitting up by then, and he was running his fingers through his hair. "You should be resting." Zane told me. I thought about what I'm supposed to be resting for. Ash had broken my arm, bit me, and snapped my neck. I reached up to feel my neck to make sure it was okay, and I felt a bandage on the side where Ash had bitten me.

"Why hasn't it healed?" I asked Zane in surprise. "It's a vampire bite, which doesn't heal as fast as normal injuries. It's taking this long because Ash almost drained you completely." Zane said with revulsion. "But when I was turned, the marks healed quickly." I urged on, trying to understand. "Yes, well that's different." Zane said. It was silent for a second. We just sat there, thinking about vampires. Then I remembered a question I had earlier. "How did he drink my blood? I thought vampires can't drink vampire blood."

It had bugged me because I'd been told that, and the times I accidentally had a taste of vampire blood, I got really sick. Zane just stared at me for a second, heat in his eyes that made me think he didn't want to sit and talk. Zane blinked that away, then took my hand with his. "There's something else you need to know about Ash." Zane said slowly. "What?" I asked curiously. Zane sighed and stared at the wall in front of us. "It was so hard to get him back to normal because he didn't want to be normal anymore. He didn't care at all."

"Of course he cared! Ash wouldn't just stop caring!" I said confidently. Zane shook his head while answering. "It wasn't Ash anymore. He let the monstrous side of him take over. That side of him can handle drinking vampire blood. That's also why he didn't care anymore." Zane sounded as if he wanted to go beat up Ash. I held tightly to his hand but stayed silent. I didn't know what to say. "I need to go talk with Ash." I said quietly, not wanting to anger Zane. "I don't want you to. He's dangerous, Alicia!" Zane almost sounded like he was pleading. "He won't hurt me, Zane." I said earnestly.

"That's what you said when the fight just started." Zane pointed out. It was true, but Ash is back to normal. "I'm going." I stood up, finally able to stand without feeling too dizzy. Zane stood with me, keeping ahold of my hand. When I took a step forward he didn't let me go. "Zane." I pleaded, hoping he would understand. "I can't let him beat himself up over this. Let me talk to him." Zane let go of my hand. "Fine, but I'll be listening closely. If you need me, just yell." I nodded, then walked out of my room to go talk to Ash.