Rainbow Snippets*-- Time Stops for No One

It's been a rough week. I lost a friend (to cancer) and I have a family member who isn't doing well. Waiting for a phone call feels like being in suspended animation at times. And yet, there is work to do and bills to pay. Time doesn't stop, even if it feels like it should. 

I've finished Artie's section of Fangs for the Memories and started the next section (which will be Alex's). But I still have edits to complete on the Campfire Stories series as I get it ready to publish, so I need to set Fangs aside for a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed, I'll actually be able to do that!

I'm going to continue with the chapter I've been snipping over the last weeks. In his attempt to save Alex after he was hit by a car, Artie, a 300 year-old+ vampire, is doing what he can to make the change before it's too late. He's drained some blood from Alex but now he needs the young man to swallow some of his blood. He'd suggested that Sally wait in the truck, but thankfully she's stayed by their side. Told from Artie's POV (read part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six):

There was still the flutter of life, I could sense it, but he was unresponsive and I froze, uncertain.

            I’d forgotten about Sally, though, and she had watched it all silently, her clever mind working out what I was doing, and she grabbed my arm and pulled it to her lips. With a forceful pull, she filled her mouth and then bent over Alex’s body. She tipped his head back and, with her thumb on his chin, opened his mouth. It looked like she was doing CPR, and in a way, she was, except she was forcing blood into him instead of oxygen. She sat up and ran her fingers over his throat, compelling him to swallow. She reached for my hand to do it again. But I stopped her and did it myself--fill and feed, fill and feed. I didn’t know if it would work, but this was our last chance. I bit my already healing wrist again and laid it over Alex’s open mouth. It was light, barely there, but Alex’s tongue flicked against my skin and then I felt it, the pull as he sucked. And swallowed. It was weak, but he didn’t need to drain me, he just needed to get my healing blood into his system. 

To be continued... 

*Rainbow Snippets is a (Facebook) group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers who gather once a week to share snippets from a work of fiction–-a WIP or a finished work or even a book recommendation. If you're interested in following a diverse group of authors, check it out here.