Death

This is unedited. I wrote it probably in the span of an hour or so. I need to go back and edit it, and clean it up and add some stuff in, probably try to put more emotion in it. Did not mean for it to turn out this long but eh, I like it. I always have trouble writing Briar death scene. It wasn't originally planned and then I was driving to work and a character informed me he/she was going to kill Briar and I went with it. It works as a nice reasoning for Hayden to want to kill the DELG., 

People deal with grief in different ways. I always thought it was weird, watching a person cry and cry over a death of a loved one. I never understood it, because I rationalized that the tears would not bring a person back to life. Those tears wouldn’t solve anything, and that person would not want you to be sad. I’d never actually dealt with a close death before; I’d never even been to a funeral. When I saw Briar hanging there on the wall, nails driven into her arms and legs in a crucified sort of way; her chest torn open and her heart ripped out I couldn’t move. I could only stare and try to take it all in; rationalize what was going on before me.

Her eyes where open but all you could see where the whites; they where rolled up into the back of her head which was titled a little downward. Her face looked oddly peaceful. I would of been scared and terrified at the idea that I was fixing to die. Briar was always one to accept what was coming and not be afraid. Maybe she thought she’d lived long enough and that it was her time. She was going to be 306 soon. That was a lot of years under her.

My emotions felt numb. I was closed off from the world. I couldn’t cry, but I wanted to. I felt like a monster standing beside Ashe. He was leaning against the door frame, his eyes impossible wide as he saw his best-friend hanging above his bed. A guttural scream seemed to tear from his throat as he sank to the floor, kneeling and screaming and crying.

I was a monster with no emotions.

My brain seemed to kick into action, planning on what I needed to do right now. I couldn’t leave Briar hanging on the wall, and I needed to take care of Ashe. I couldn’t leave Ashe a mess on the floor. I kneel-d on the floor beside him, pulling at his arms until he was leaning against me. His tears were quickly soaking through my shirt; my shoulder becoming a wet mess. I didn’t complain. I pulled us both up until we were standing and leaned my head against his. I muttered non-sense that I hoped was a little soothing as I walked him to the living room and sat him on the couch. He fell on top of it like dead weight and laid there. His eyes stared straight ahead at the wall. He wasn’t screaming anymore but he was still crying. He was silent, and it was unnerving.

Ashe always had some scathing remark to make about everything.

I left him on the couch as I went back to the bedroom. I stared at the wall. I don’t think I’d want to ever seem my face at that moment as I realized what I needed to do. I walked up to that wall and I was glad my emotions felt dead at that moment as I climbed onto the bed and grabbed the first nail that was driven into her wrist.

Blood seemed to be dripping on me as I tugged at the nail, willing all that vampire strength of mine to actually come out and be useful for once. The nail seemed to slid out with a sick popping sound and I grabbed her body to make sure she stayed up right. I didn’t want her to fall and risk tearing. Her body was mutilated enough.

I took my free hand and moved to the next nail on the lower right. It seemed like a good idea. If I removed the two top ones her body would tumble downward but I couldn’t remove the two lower ones without leaving all the weight on the top ones and it possible tearing her wrist off from all the weight on her.

Did it matter? She was dead.

Yes. Because Briar was one of my best friends and it mattered. It was still her body even if she wasn’t in it anymore.

The second nail came out with another sick popping sound and I quickly discarded the nail. I made short work of the other two also, only having a slight problem with the last nail in her leg. I pulled the body down and set it gently down on the bed. I closed up her eyelids with my fingers and brushed the blood hair of her face.

What now.

I needed to check on Ashe. I left the room, left her lying there and grabbed the cordless phone off the hall wall as I made my way back into the living room. Ashe was still lying where I left him. Who could I call who might be able to help me out.

Kozue was out of the question. I didn’t want to be the one to inform him his girlfriend was dead. I didn’t want to be in the same country as him when he found out about Briar.

I called Lute. It seemed like a logical thing to do. Lute hadn’t been close to Briar. He could possibly handle this, and he was frankly knowledgeable in everything. When he was in sane mood. He picked up on the third ring.

I explained the situation to him, briefly surprised at the sound of my own voice, how dead it sounded. Lute kept trying to ask me if I was alright and I kept assuring him I was fine. I was more worried about the non-responsive Ashe.

I sat down with him on the couch as I waited on Lute. His arms seemed to wrap around my waist as he buried his head in my side. I patted his head akwardedly, not sure how to deal with a grieving person, especially when the grieving person made me feel like a monster for not being able to grieve myself.

Was it normal to feel so dead inside like this. Shouldn’t I be crying. I wanted to cry. I wanted to be able to feel something. Left to my own, without having anything to focus on all I could feel was rage. I wanted to hunt down whoever had hurt my friend and rip them apart.

I wanted to do to them what they had done to Briar. I’d enjoy it.

The knock on the door startled me out of my thoughts. I called out for Lute to enter, I could tell it was him. Hear his light breathing on the other side of the door. Green hair seemed to poke through followed by his all to pale head. He frowned at me sadly.

I smiled back at him as I pried Ashe hands off of my side and stood up.

“I’ll help you with the body if you can tell me what to do with it.”

“Hayden…”

“I’m fine Lute. Please don’t start with me.” I said as I started to walk toward the room. Lute grabbed my arm roughly and pushed me back toward the couch, an angry expression on his face though I couldn’t figure out why. “What?”

“You just pulled your best-friend off a wall Hayden, you are anything but okay.”

“I feel okay.”

“You aren’t. Trust me I’ve seen this before. Go lie down and let me deal with this okay.”

Lute all but forced me into the bedroom. I collapsed on the bed, and buried my face in my pillows. I was left to stew in my own thoughts. What next.

What did I do next.

God, how could I think such a thing at a time like this. What kind of person was I.

I hated myself.

I should call work though. I needed to inform them that I wouldn’t be coming in while I dealt with everything, maybe see if Briar had any other friends. Ashe would know. Jeeze, who was going to tell Kozue. Could I even pawn that off on Lute. Would it be fair?

The Shape-Shifter COULD probably take Kozue though. He’d at least be successful at getting the vampire thrown in jail. I was a testament to that.

My door creaked open softly. I didn’t move from my spot in the bed as I felt weight settle beside and a body lying down next to me. Arms wrapped around me as a head once again found it’s way buried into my side. I could feel Ashe breath against me as he mumbled something.

“What?”

“It’s okay.” He said, his voice louder.

“What’s okay?”

“Not crying.” He said simply. “Everyone handles it differently Hayden. You will. When you’re ready to.”

“I’m a monster.”

“You aren’t a monster.” Ashe said.

“I just pulled my best-friend off a wall Ashe. I’m a monster, and you’ve gone mental.”

“How have I gone mental?”

“You’re being nice.” I muttered out as arms squeezed me.

“Okay, I concede. I’ve gone mental.” I could feel his body shaking against mine as he laughed
lightly.

“What the hell is funny?”

“Briar was literally driving us insane trying to get us to get along, and her death is the one
thing that seemed to be able to do it. How horrible is this?”

“… She is… isn’t she.” I spoke softly, my voice hitching slightly as the reality set in. I was never going to see her again. I was never going to hear her nagging me about how I needed to learn to get along better with Ashe. How I needed to stop pushing all his buttons and asking him stupid questions.

I was never going to her that infectious laughter again. The stupid jokes about how I needed to bring her fresh blood. Her words of encouragement.

“The first thing she told me was “Do Not Pass Go” and I thought she was insane.” I broke. The tears coming unasked as I shook and sobbed and grieved for the loss of my friend. I wanted her back and I’d of given anything for it. She was a vampire. We were suppose to be the ones to live forever, immortal to the very core.

But we weren’t. No one was. We all died one way or another, it’s just that to kill a vampire meant it had to be a gruesome death. You had to rip us open and tear out our hearts, or cut off our head. Briar was a statement
I didn’t want to know what hers meant, but I was going to find out and god help the person who did this; because when I got through with them they where going to wish they where dead. 

Hayden always been written to be pretty numb when dealing with Briar death though originally he didn't pull her off the wall, Ashe has also always not handled it well because he always thought of Briar as a sister. Not to say Hayden isn't close to Briar, he is. Which is why he feels like a monster for having such a hard time grieving.