BotC - Ch.57 - Phoebe (T) (Patreon)

*** Content warning: death, this chapter is a little intense ***

"There she is," I said as soon as I spotted Phoebe emerging from the front doors of the office building.

Sam put the SUV in gear and we pulled out from our spot on the side of the road. It was about half past five Monday afternoon, and dusk was about thirty minutes away. Sam and I had our dark sunglasses on and the SUV's windows were heavily tinted. 

It was almost the end of October, a little over two weeks had passed since we got home from Toronto. We'd spent most of that time preparing for this. The next two weeks were going to be difficult. Actually the next few months would probably be a challenge, for me at least. Sam had already been through this with me, so at least she had some experience.

Phoebe was just starting to head for home when we pulled up alongside her. She was dressed more or less the same as before, in loose dark clothes and with an oversized hoodie. She was carrying a small dark bag, probably a lunch bag or something like that.

I rolled my window down and told her, "Hop in the back seat. We'll give you a lift."

She gave me a startled look, but after a second or two she just nodded quietly and got in the back. I rolled my window up and as soon as the back door was closed Sam got us moving again.

"Hi," she said nervously from the back seat. "I wasn't expecting you to just show up at work. Are we going to meet Meg somewhere?"

I twisted around in my seat and replied, "No. It's time Phoebe. We'll get to our destination in about fifteen minutes. If you're going to change your mind, now's the time to do it."

Her eyes widened and I heard her heart-rate spike upwards. She gulped a few times and her face went a little paler than usual. She didn't say anything, but I couldn't tell if that was because she was all in or if she was just too stressed to talk.

Sam stayed quiet and let me handle it for now, she just focused on the road. 

I was dealing with my own nerves, but I did my best not to let that show. This morning I memorized everything in that old book about how to do a turn. And I'd have Sam there with me, she had some first-hand experience and knew what to expect. And Penny said it would be easier for me and Sam since we were so strong now. But I was still anxious.

After another minute or so of silence I stated, "Phoebe, turn off your phone."

She gulped again but nodded, and fished it out of her hoodie pocket. She fumbled with it before getting it switched off. I was still twisted in my seat and reached over and took it from her, then put it in the glove box for now. 

With that done, Sam took the next right, and a few minutes later another right so we were going in the opposite direction. It was probably a little paranoia, but she didn't want any chance of someone finding Phoebe through her phone.

All three of us stayed silent for the remainder of the drive. We finally came to a stop outside an abandoned industrial building near the Red River Floodway. 

We all got out of the car, and Sam went around to the back and picked up a cooler box from the cargo area of the SUV. It was full of blood, and a couple bottles of vodka cooler. She led the way, I motioned Phoebe to follow her, and I took up the rear.

The building had been empty for at least half a decade. It's one of the places we squatted when we first arrived here. It had some features that made it an ideal spot for what we were up to now, and Rueben already used it a couple years ago with Zach. 

There was a new-ish sofa in the otherwise run-down reception area, and the three of us sat there. 

Sam opened the cooler box and pulled out a bottle of the vodka drink. She handed it to Phoebe and said "If you're nervous, you may as well have a drink or two."

Phoebe nodded and accepted the bottle. She opened it and took a few gulps, then asked "What happens next?"

I replied, "You're going to tell me about your ideal body. Like height, body shape, all the details. We can't guarantee things will turn out exactly like you want, but I'll do my best. One thing I can guarantee is you're going to be smaller than you are right now."

It ended up taking three bottles of the vodka cooler before Phoebe was loosened up enough that she could talk comfortably. I'd already guessed being smaller was a big dream of hers. She wanted to be cute, she hated her tall bulky body. She also hated having dark hair, she wanted it light and friendly. Without actually saying it, she sort of described herself as being a lot like me. 

"So uh, what next?" she asked nervously.

I took a deep breath then replied, "If you're ready, if you're sure, then this is it. You'll feel a little sting at first, then you might feel good, then it's just like falling asleep."

Phoebe gulped again and asked, "Right here? In this abandoned building?"

"Right here," I nodded. "We've got this sofa, it's a quiet comfortable spot. Nobody will interrupt."

She nodded slowly, then took a couple deep breaths. Finally she said "Ok. I'm ready."

I moved closer, and actually wound up sitting on her lap. It was just easier that way. I already had a sharp knife in my pocket, and I braced myself then used it to cut open my right wrist.

We normally didn't really bleed, but as I brought my wrist up to Phoebe's mouth I started flexing and contracting the muscles in my arm. That got the blood moving, and after a few seconds she grimaced and swallowed the first mouthful.

At the same time I moved closer to her neck and I could hear her heart racing. She was equal parts scared and excited. I was about the same. 

When we bit to feed, we never went for the big veins. We only took enough blood to make a meal. Now I was going for the jugular. I wasn't just feeding, I was going to drain her. I was going to kill her.

I braced myself. My fangs pierced her skin then sliced through the vein, and I was instantly rewarded with a mouthful of blood. I'd need the full meal, I was giving her as much of myself as I could. 

As I took gulp after gulp from her I forced more of my blood out my wrist and into her mouth. She passed out after she swallowed the second mouthful but I continued pushing more of it into her mouth, to let it drain down her throat while I hungrily swallowed more and more from her. By about forty-five seconds her heart rate was way up but the flow from her neck was starting to drop.

Somewhere past ninety seconds her heart rate became irregular and the beats were much weaker, and it took longer and longer for me to get each mouthful from her.

After two and a half minutes, her heart finally stopped completely. She'd already stopped breathing. 

I let myself slip off her lap and slumped back on the sofa next to her body. A pint of blood from a willing donor was exhilarating. This wasn't. My head was swimming and my emotions were all over the place. I felt tired, anxious, guilty, sad, horrified, and excited. All at once, and one after another. 

Phoebe was dead, and I killed her. The shy nervous closeted trans girl who reminded me so much of my self that I felt obligated to help now sat lifeless next to me. My churning emotions settled into equal parts guilt, horror, and grief.

Sam moved over to me and pulled me into a hug. She obviously knew what I was going through. As she held me she whispered, "It's ok Tara. She'll be back. This is the hardest step, and you've got through it just fine."

I hugged her tight, and my body shuddered once or twice as I let out a couple sobs. 

After holding each other for five or ten minutes, we finally separated. Sam gently picked up Phoebe's body while I took the cooler. We moved deeper into the abandoned structure, down a hallway and through some doors into the main working part of the facility. It was probably a factory at one point, but whatever machinery was once here had long since been removed. 

There was a security cage in the far corner of what was now a large empty warehouse. Sam carried Phoebe into the cage and gently laid her out on the floor, while I set the cooler down next to another sofa we'd left back here. 

I let myself slump down again and watched while my girlfriend took a pair of shears to Phoebe's clothes. A garbage bag came out of one of Sam's pockets, and everything on Phoebe's body went into the bag. All her clothes, her smart watch, wallet, everything. The only thing Sam didn't toss in there was a gold ring she took from the dead girl's finger. Sam gave that to me to hold for her, incase it had sentimental value.

Finally, the cage was closed and Sam secured it with a chunky padlock. She left me to watch the body while she went out to the SUV with the trash bag. I knew she'd put Phoebe's lunch bag and phone in the trash too. Other than the ring, everything Phoebe had with her when she left work this evening would disappear. 

Sam was back after a couple minutes. She sat down next to me and slipped an arm around me. At this point all we could do was wait.

I knew from the book, and from what Sam told me of my own turn, some time in the next four to six hours Phoebe's body would start to change. My blood inside her would work its magic, and her body would begin to remake itself from a dead AMAB human to an undead feminine vampire. And when that happened, I had to be ready to take control of it.

That's the part Sam didn't have experience with. We both read about it, we both understood the theory. But I wouldn't know until it was under way whether or not I was doing it right, or if it was working.

Sam didn't leave my side that night.

The first four and a half hours my emotions kept getting the better of me and I alternated between sobbing and quietly cuddling with my girlfriend. Then it began, and all my attention was on Phoebe. 

Despite being a vampire, despite being dead for over seven years, and despite going through this process myself, it was still almost awe-inspiring to witness. It was actual real magic, and I'd never seen anything like it before.

She was still dead, she lay motionless on the cold cement floor, but her body became warm. There was heat radiating outwards from her midsection. I could see it, and she quickly became hotter than a living human. Not hot enough to cause burns or damage, but it was incredible. 

Then her features began to change. She started slowly shrinking, right before my eyes. I reached out with my mind, my awareness, and tried to find the connection. She had my blood inside her, and I was full of hers. It linked us, her life blood was sustaining me, my vampire blood was changing her.

At first I had no idea what I was doing, and I almost started to panic that I was going to screw it up. Then it was like something clicked. It was almost instinctive after that. A little pressure here, a little tweak there. A push here, a tug there. Some things were less intuitive than others, but it felt like I was quickly getting a handle on it. 

Sam remained completely silent as she watched. She still had an arm around me, and her attention was divided between me and Phoebe.

I lost track of time as all my focus remained on my charge and the goal of getting her outcome to be as close as I could to what she requested. Ironically it was the smallest things that proved the hardest to achieve. The single most difficult thing was getting her the hair colour she wanted, but after several minutes of effort I managed it. 

When I'd done everything I could, all that remained was to watch and wait for the magic to stop. A few of my modifications started to undo themselves and I had to keep putting effort in to make sure things stayed just right. I'd be able to relax once it was done, it was just while she was in flux that I had to stay vigilant.

And it eventually happened. The magic faded, her body started growing cool again, and it was done. Her new body was complete, and would never change again. 

"It's almost noon," Sam said quietly after checking her phone. "You might want to get some sleep now cutie. I'm sure you're exhausted."

I nodded, and curled up against her on the sofa. I knew she'd keep an eye on Phoebe. I woke a little before midnight, around the same time Phoebe rose. 

That was awful. Her body was awake and hungry, but her consciousness probably wouldn't return for another couple days. I knew about this stage but this was my first time seeing someone in this state. We had home-made blood bags to feed her. Blood we collected from our donors was poured it into ziplock baggies, which Phoebe could bite and tear into.

It was horrific and messy and I hated it, but Samantha was there with me the whole time, assuring me Phoebe would be all right. I had no idea how Sam managed this on her own, locked in the cellar with me. And knowing I was in that state for about two weeks, it broke my heart thinking of my girlfriend going through that for so long for me. 

Phoebe didn't keep me waiting anywhere near that long. The third day after she rose, she finally returned.

She'd passed out after another violent meal, while Sam and I were curled up together on the sofa. I wasn't exactly asleep, but I wasn't exactly awake either. 

I heard some quiet movement from the cage, then a small soft feminine voice asked "Hello?"