* Well here's Part Six and Parts Two - Five have been edited. Additional comments, etc. are always welcome. Enjoy!*
Alex drove for what must have been five miles, then pulled over to the side of the road. She took several long breaths and tried to steady herself and come up with a plan. Simply running away was not going to be enough this time. She'd learned her lesson on that one. The nurse, whose name had turned out to be Jan, had decided to simply be a passenger on this trip and had handed her the keys to her car without a word when they had left the hospital at the end of Jan's shift. The woman had been silent the whole drive, piping in with directions every now and again and leaving Alexandra alone with her thoughts. Right now, those thoughts were threatening to drive Alex mad.
"Mah whole life Ah've been followin' mah instincts, just impulsively divin' from one moment t'the next. Ah can't afford t'do dat now wit' Theo's death squads on mah tail. It'll only be a matter o' time 'fore dey find out Ah'm alive an' kickin'. Ah gotta disappear an' quick! Gotta find someplace big where dey'll never think t'look for me."
After a few moments of deep thought, Alex was able to calm herself down and pulled back out onto the road and headed for the cemetery where Remy and Jean-Claude were buried.
"Ah'll go say g'bye, den Ah'll come up with somethin'."
It was a short drive and the cemetery was very dark and peaceful. The front gates were huge, black wrought iron affairs with scallops and sharp points at the top. They and the high, brick entrance presented no problems and Alex vaulted them without a second thought. The moon was out, a think sliver that nonetheless granted enough light for Alex to see by. The grass was well tended, just slightly damp from watering, and a gentle night hush had fallen over the graveyard, as Alex weaved her way through the graves to the place where her husband and son rested. She stood there in silence, playing with the only piece of jewelry she was wearing. Someone had collected Remy's wedding wedding ring and Alexandra had placed it with her own on a slender, braided chain of yellow and white gold. Together with a few scattered remnants, momentos from her real family that she had been able to save from where she and Remy had been living, the rings were all she had in the world. It made her sad that these few objects were all that remained of the people she had loved more than life itself.
Alex took her time, let her despair overwhelm her and let the grief wash itself out. Then, drying her tears, she knelt on the damp earth and said a brief prayer in English, French, and Spanish. Finished, she turned towards the gate and the waiting escape vehicle. The clouds all parted from the moon and the delicate, silver crescent was strewn about with gentle stars, as if trying to soften the pain coursing through her veins. Alex took one last moment and let the sight and the night air restore her to herself.
Once she was over the gate, she quickly entered her borrowed car and shut the door firmly. Jan sat in the passenger seat, calmly regarding Alexandra with sympathy and infinite patience. The nurse had not spoken, nor moved from that spot while Alex had been in graveyard, allowing Alexandra to take her time and figure things out. Hoping to help herself think, Alex turned the keys just far enough to turn on the radio. Immediately a song blared to life, a gentle, lilting song that Alex had hoped never to hear again this side of Hell.
"Since you've been gone, I've been lost without a trace.
I dream at night, I can only see your face.
I look around but it's you I can't replace.
I feel so cold and I long for your embrace...."
Alex snapped the radio off violently, her breath coming in panicked gasps, as she fought off the stark terror that threatened to assail her mind. She closed her eyes and hurriedly imagined a place where no one could hurt her, where that cursed vampire would never think to go, all the while drowning out Jan's concerned questions.
As she did so, it occurred to her exactly where she could go. There was one place that was so vast, so teaming with people of various races and nationalities that finding one lone girl would be neigh impossible and, to make things even better, it was much farther north than anyone would be expecting her. She had always claimed she would live and die in the South. Alex started the car up and took a deep breath, resolving in her own mind the plan that had just formed. She would cross the state line via bus and buy an atlas. From there, it was off to her new home, hopefully to find peace and a real life far away from all the pain and fear. For the first time in months, Alex allowed a little smile to cross her face. It was an old, familiar grin, a mischievous quirk of the lips on the left side of her mouth, a shit-eating smirk that harkened all kinds of trouble and maybe some of it the kind you wouldn't mind getting into. It was Genevieve Devereaux's smile but that didn't bother Alex at all. Her mind was too filled with possibilities to fret over her old name, her old life. Once she reached her destination, she could find a job, finish school, make something of herself, make a life for herself that had nothing to do with death, killing, or asshole vampires who thought they owned the world. The future was all in front of her and, as far as Alex was concerned, it was all coming up roses from there on out, maybe not without thorns but, sweet nonetheless. She put the car in gear, pulled out onto the road, and resumed her path towards the bus station.
Ten minutes found her standing outside the terminal, bag and ticket in hand, almost unwilling to believe that she was actually here, actually almost free of her past. Jan stood beside her, smiling. The nurse had finally opted to move, walking Alex to the ticket counter without a word and had handed over enough money for a ticket to a station in the next state. Jan looked up at Alex and placed a hand on her shoulder, as a large, sleek, gray bus pulled in behind them.
"I won't ask where you're going. That would be stupid of me. Just take care of yourself, wherever you're going," she said softly.
Alex smiled, trying not to tear up.
"I will."
The bus doors slid smoothly open and Alexandra turned, gathering up her remaining courage to climb the stairs. Handing over her ticket, Alex glanced back briefly to where Jan stood. The woman was smiling and Al knew she would never forget her as long as she lived.
Taking her seat, Alex watched Jan for what seemed only moments before the doors closed and the bus's engine roared to life. Lifting her hand, Alex gave Jan one last wave, just as the bus lurched into motion.
"Thank you," Alex whispered, knowing she would never have been able to get the words out any other way.
Jan's figure seemed to wave back briefly, a moment that was frozen in time, then the bus was cruising out of the parking lot, onto the freeway, seeking the open road. Thoughts of Remy, of the vampire, and of the uncertain new life that awaited her danced around in Alex's head, bringing with them joy, pain, and, above all, hope. As New Mexico began to shrink away in the distance, Alex thought,
"New York, here Ah come."
* Well, there you have it. This section of the story is done. Obviously Alex's story doesn't end there, however. More will be coming soon but I hope you enjoyed this Prologue. Later! *
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