'Til Death

By David Trainor

Maximillien Marr was born a broken child, growing up in a world that he never fit in. When he met Katelyn Avenicci his life was better than ever, but when Max takes Katelyn to France to escape the pressures of planning their wedding and they both wake up after a man Kate met in France kills them, they have to deal with their new lives as vampires.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Trainor
• Release date: Dec 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301825974

David Trainor

David Trainor was born November 5, 1993 in Portland, Oregon. He was diagnosed at birth with a very rare congenital heart disease. David spent his early years dealing with his condition and coping with the outcomes. He practiced many skills in his childhood including writing, drawing and singing. He wrote many short stories throughout the years that were lost or never thought of again, until starting work on his book "'Til Death". 'Til Death sat on the back burner for a while while David focused on school. When he opted to transfer from Bend Senior High School to COIC in his senior year he was encouraged by his new teachers and peers to continue work on 'Til Death. Now he has finished writing and is a self-published author. 'Til Death is his first completed work but he plans on continuing with his love of writing.

Book preview

‘Til Death

David M. Trainor

Copyright 2012 by David M. Trainor

Smashwords Edition

Mia

Forever wasn’t as long as we thought

Chapter 1: Blood

You're going to die. A voice spoke in the darkness. Kay couldn't see where it was coming from. She was lying on her back in a puddle of her own blood and the blood of her lover Max. She tried to move her head to find the source of the voice, but she was too weak to move. Max's hand was in hers, their fingers interlaced and covered by their own blood. Max’s breathing was slow and desperate, Kay could tell he was very close to death. As his hand loosened its grip on hers she wanted to cry, but couldn't anymore.

Kay did her best to speak to Max, she had to let him know it would be OK; he didn’t know they would see each other again soon, "Max, Max please answer me. Are you still there? I love you baby, I love you. Its going to be OK.

He didn't answer, his breath was muffled and far between now, a sickening gurgle came with every blood choked gasp. Kay tried to turn and face him, but she couldn’t force her body to move. Max was dying much quicker than she was, his body weaker than hers. Keeping her grip on Max's hand was difficult now, but she wouldn’t let him go.

Don't worry, the voice came again from the darkness, You're dying, but you'll be back. This is what you wanted Kay, this is going to save him. You'll be back soon.

Kay never expected it would be like this, she wasn't told they would come so close to death, or go through so much pain.

She couldn’t hear Max breathing anymore, he forced a few last words as he slipped away; I-love, I... I lo- his voice died off. His hand was like ice on Kay's now, and she knew he was gone. Her hand fell in to the warm pool of blood. She didn't hurt anymore, her body was in shock. He didn't tell her it would be like this.

Four days before their death they arrived in Nice. Max wanted to take her on a trip to all their favorite places. Max rented a car and took her to a restaurant near their hotel. Max made her promise to keep her eyes closed, he wanted to surprise her. They were getting married next month and he wanted to give her something special. Kay knew where he was taking her when he said he wanted to surprise her, but she didn't say anything. He always was so romantic and good to her, she loved him for that.

Kay stared at Max as they sat at their table. His long hair was a mess as always, but Kay thought it was sexy. He had the most beautiful light blue eyes that were the first thing she noticed when she looked at him. He looked younger than he really was, 23 now, and he always had.

Max asked her a year ago to marry him. Kay was so excited and was busy planning before Max told her they were going on vacation. He recently got a promotion at work and had to spend more time at the office so they hadn't been able to spend as much time together as Max wanted.

You knew where we were going didn't you? Max smiled and took a bite of his food.

Yeah, I did, she laughed and looked down. This is where you proposed Max, I know you. But thank you for doing this for me. I know I haven't been spending much time with you lately, with the wedding so close I've been busy planning, and you've been working so much lately.

Yeah, I know. It's OK don't worry about it. I just wanted to spend some time with you alone.

Well thank you Max. She leaned in over the table and kissed his lips. It always took her breath away when they kissed. I love you Max, I'm so excited, I can't wait to be Mrs. Kay Marr.

Their waiter came by the table, Hello, can I get you anything else?

Max looked at Kay, Anything else?

No, I'm good.

No thank you, I think we will have our check now.

Their waiter nodded, and walked away to get their check.

Kay could feel death creeping up on her now. She called again for Max, and this time he replied. He responded with a very weak what to her calling his name. He was slowly gasping for air, but he was alive. Kay tried to think of how she was going to explain all of this to Max, but her brain wasn't working very well anymore. How could she explain to him that he had died and come back to life? That they were going to live forever; that they were vampires. Max took her hand again. He was recovering quickly now. Kay was seconds from death, she wished she had told him. He was going to have to watch her die and not know that she would return. Max sat up and hovered over Kay, staring in to her eyes. He started to cry, his tears falling on Kay's face.

Kay? Kay, baby what's going on? I thought I died. What happened, Kay? Please, please answer me! Don't leave, don't die. Don't fucking die! He couldn't see anymore through his tears.

She couldn't speak, Max could see that she wasn‘t breathing anymore. All she could do was stare up in to Max's eyes as he watched her fade away from him. The last thing she saw was Max's face filled with sadness as he watched her slip away. Her hand went limp in his and her eyes stared blankly up in to his.

What did you do! Max screamed at the darkness around him as he got up from Kay’s side. What did you do to her, where are you?

Max spun around and looked through the darkness around him. He was in a large room, the walls were bare and there was no furniture. He couldn’t see very far, but his eyes were adjusting to the darkness quickly.

I didn’t do anything she didn’t want, she asked me to kill you both, the voice came from behind Max, he turned again to face it.

He could see the man now. Max ran at him and tackled him to the ground.

What happened? What did you do to her you piece of shit? Max punched the man’s jaw with surprising force, he heard bone break under his fist.

I killed her Max, just like I killed you, the man took another punch.

He threw Max from on top of him and jumped to his feet in one motion. He grabbed Max’s arm as another punch came his way and threw him over his shoulder; pinning his arms with his knees.

I told you already Max, she asked me to kill both of you. She wanted a new life for you and her, a life where you weren’t broken.

You’re lying! Max struggled to throw the man off of him. He got an arm free and punched his face; his nose broke.

Max threw the man off of him on to his back and stepped to his feet. The man got up to face Max, wiping blood from his face.

I don’t want to kill you again Max, but you’re starting to make me mad. He threw his whole body in to a punch at Max’s stomach; knocking the wind out of him.

Max fell to his knees and took an uppercut that sent him to his back again.

Now, Max, you don’t want to die again do you? Kay’s almost back now and, I would hate to have to explain to her that you weren’t appreciative of the gift she’s given you.

Max stared at the man, he dropped his fists to his side and tried to relax. He glanced at Kay, careful not to drop his guard. She still was lying motionless in their blood. Max stared back at the man, clenching his fists.

Kay gasped for air as she came back from death She coughed and spat up her own blood, sitting up as she frantically took in air. Max wasn’t next to her anymore. She searched for him in the darkness but she couldn’t see far enough yet to see him.

Max! Max where are you? she called out for him.

Max turned away from the man and saw Kay, now sitting and searching for him. He rushed to her, sliding to her side and taking her hand in his.

Kay, Kay, baby what’s happening? I watched you- you were dead! He threw his arms around her, holding her as tight as he could.

She took him close to him, rubbing his back and setting his head on her shoulder. Shh, baby it’s OK. It’s OK Max, I’m here everything is OK. I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to tell you I’m sorry, he got us last night when you were asleep.

What did he do? Max stared in to her eyes now, begging her for an answer, something that would make all of this make sense to him.

Max, She looked down from his eyes. He made us Vampires. He saved you Max, he’s going to help us now. He’s going to teach us to live like them.

What do you mean? Max was frustrated and confused as he tried to make some sense of what was happening. We don’t even know this person.

" My name is Ansen and, actually Max, she does know me. And, you know Kay, you aren’t any different from us now, you might want to remember that above anything. No human who knows what you are is going to help you now. We’ve done our best to stay hidden from them, but there are those who know about us still and they will stop at nothing to hunt you down and kill you. You and every other person like you." The man walked over to them, his face wasn’t bleeding anymore. Max stared in amazement at how fast he was recovering from the beating he’d given him.

What are you talking about? We aren’t monsters. Max was offended.

To humans, once you died and came back you became a monster Max. Humans don’t like us, they never have. I’ve been alive for a long time, and I’ve seen them hunt and kill us ever since we first showed ourselves to them. We did our best to hide ourselves and now we are almost invisible to them, but there are still some who know we are here.

So what are we supposed to do now?

I’m going to try to teach you how to keep yourselves safe. This was all a very sudden thing for me, and to be honest something I haven‘t done in quite some time. I’d rather you two not stay with me for long but, for now, you two need to follow me.

Kay and Max got to their feet and the man turned around and led them to a door on the other side of the room. He opened it and blinding light poured through it, Max and Kay felt weak standing in the light.

It’s poison, the light He motioned them out the door. Lucky for you no one here wants to kill you he shot a glare at Max, much.

He led them down a long hall past the door, speaking to them as they walked toward another. You will want to try to avoid daylight, it isn’t as critical as we like humans to believe, but it is still dangerous. Avoid going out during the day for now, and if you need to wear clothes that cover you completely. Long sleeves, jackets, hats; you won’t be able to keep yourself completely covered, but as much as possible. They reached the door and the man stopped them in front of it. Max thought that Ansen sounded a bit nonchalant about all of this, like it really was a regular thing for him to talk about. We are going outside. You’ll be fine this time with me but try not to go out alone, unless you really need to. During the day is the only time a human will ever have a chance of killing you.

He opened the door and they stepped outside. The sun was brighter than it had ever been to Kay and Max, it burned their eyes and made them feel sick. Ansen led them away from the house, down a long driveway to a tall fence overgrown with bushes and vines. He pulled it open and led them through on to the road outside. They walked down the street in silence, Max could see the city not far in the distance, the street filled with more and more people as they got closer, and buildings began to line the street.

They came to the edge of the city. It was midday now and it was alive with people. Max and Kay were starting to feel hungry but, this was different from anything they’d felt before. It felt more urgent, more like a necessity than it ever had when they were human.

It’s blood, the man spoke to them without stopping, still leading them down the now winding streets of beach side Nice. Their blood, the humans. What you’re feeling right now, it’s a need. The absolute most important thing for you now. You need their blood. He stopped and turned to face them. " You will die without it. his voice changed when he said it, he sounded cold and grim. He began walking again, weaving them in and out of crowds, around the bodies. He approached a woman and grabbed her shoulder. Max noticed that Ansen stared in to her eyes as he spoke to her. Come with me."

Where are we going?

There’s something that you want to see over here, he started walking again and the woman followed them. Max was confused, he wanted to know how this man knew the woman and what exactly it was that she wanted to see; he had a bad feeling that it was nothing.

They led the woman away from the crowds, to a secluded area between two buildings. Max was starting to feel very nervous about this man and what he was going to do.

What is it that I wanted to see?

Come here, Ansen beckoned her to an area behind a couple of dumpsters. She approached him, and he reached out for her.

Wait! Max yelled at the man and quickly stepped between the two. What are you doing?

Do not interrupt me Max, you two need to feed and I am just helping.

No, Max stood his ground against the man, putting his arms out to protect the woman. I am not going to let you kill her.

What? Wait, I don’t want to die, the woman snapped out of the trance that she was in. Max looked over his shoulder and saw that she was very scared.

It’s ok, I’m not going to let him kill you, he turned back to Ansen and stared in to his eyes, ready for a fight.

Fine, he backed away and stepped by Max, heading back the way they came. "You are going to have to feed eventually Max, you can’t protect them anymore. You can’t be Human and Vampire." He walked away from them, apologizing to Kay as he left them there in the ally with the terrified and confused woman.

Kay walked to Max’s side and told the woman to leave. She ran away as fast as she could.

Why did you do that Max? She was irritated that he had put that woman above her, and she was very hungry.

What do you mean? He was going to kill her! I wasn’t going to stand there and do nothing, would you ?

Kay glared at him and turned away. No I guess not, but what are we supposed to do now? She searched up and down the street trying to find Ansen in the crowds.

Let’s just go back to the hotel, we can stay there until we figure out what we’re going to do.

They walked to their hotel in silence and up to their room. Max took the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. It clicked and he pushed it open, heading straight for the bed; he needed to lay down. He threw himself on to the bed, burying his face in the pillow. Kay came and sat next to him, placing her hand on him and rubbing his back.

I’m sorry Max, I know this is hard for you. It is for me too, I just couldn’t stand to lose you; ever.

He rolled over and looked at her, she had a look on her face that told him she was telling the truth.

It’s OK he sighed and pulled her close to him, laying her head on his chest. I know you only did it for us.

Kay closed her eyes and tried to relax. She thought about her life and how it never seemed to be normal. In school she had been somewhat of a trouble maker. She never really had any plans for her life and chose instead to drift wherever her life brought her. In middle school she was caught up in drugs and partying. She and her friends lived their lives to have fun no matter what the cost was, and for a while she was happy with it. When she got to high school she’d abandoned caring about what her parents and family thought was good for her, she didn’t need them to tell her anything; she knew what she was doing and was ready for whatever was thrown at her. She tried different drugs and partied with her friends, she forgot about school; deciding that she wasn’t going to need any of it anyway. Her life in that time got worse, the more time drug on, the worse she felt, and the worse she felt the more she was ready to try anything to make herself feel better.

She was interested in a few guys by the time she started feeling her worst. She liked one particularly, her was her anchor he was just as sad as she was. They shared their sadness and found what little happiness they could in it, and it was that happiness that kept them both going; they always had at least one person they could always count on. Kay wanted to make herself happy and she tried to find some happiness with other people too. Boys had never really paid much attention to her and she tried as hard as she could to find one that did. There was one boy that she thought was nice to her, he talked to her and told her that she was pretty and hung out with her, but he had a girlfriend and couldn’t be with Kay. One day he texted her and told her that he had broken up with his girlfriend. He told Kay that he was going to come and see her and asked her if she wanted to have sex with him; she did. He drove to her house and picked her up, taking her somewhere so they could be alone. They had sex in his car, but it didn’t make Kay any happier. He didn’t talk to her anymore after that. Later she found out that he never broke up with his girlfriend; she felt terrible.

Her third year in high school she had to go away. Her partying and the life she’d been living had finally caught up to her and she was caught with drugs at school. Her parents were furious, they were fed up with her and didn’t know what else to do with her. So they sent her to a program for kids with trouble, to camp out in the wilderness and learn about what she had been doing and try to teach her that she needed to change. She was sadder than ever when she had to leave.

Before she left she asked the boy who had always been there for her to wait for her, she said that she had to go away for a while, but when she got back they could be happy together again, just like they always had been. But, the boy that she knew before had changed, he couldn’t wait for her. There was something that he wanted now more than he wanted to be happy with her, and when he told her that she was going to lose him her heart was shattered. Kay was devastated, she had lost everything. The things that had kept her happy for so long, this boy, her family, drugs and parties; she’d lost them all. But, the boy was what made her most sad, he’d given up on her, something that she thought would never happen. Before she had to leave she tried to kill herself, but when she thought about her parents, about how much it would hurt them, she couldn’t do it. After everything else, after they abandoned her and gave up, it was them that saved her life.

Max didn’t like to think about his past, it was much different from Kay’s. He was born a broken child, destined to live only for a few hours. His mother and father knew before he was born that he had only small chances of living for what little time he could. Max, however had a different plan, he didn't care about destiny; he never cared about what people said he couldn't do. Less than a day old, he fought death; and he won.

Max grew up a quiet child. He was small and weak and couldn't do much without tiring. He had an older and a younger brother, and was always jealous of how much better at everything they were. As he grew up he became depressed. He knew that he was never supposed to live more than a few days; he was reminded everyday. His heart and body were broken since the day he was born, and the more he realized that the more he questioned why he was living. His parents split up before he could remember, and his mother raised him and his brothers on her own.

His mom found another man who said that he loved her when he was young. They had a daughter and the man didn't want to deal with them. They were on their own again. He fell further in to his depression. His family moved around every few years as his mother found more and more men who were exactly like every other. They all said that they loved her, that they were different from everyone else; but everyone was the same. Max vowed to be the one different man, he would never be like any of them.

His mother found a man who seemed different, for five years he was around. For a while it seemed like it might be good, but everyone is the same. Over time he became angry with Max's mother, and he started hurting her. Max was done, with everyone; He wanted blood. As he and his brothers and sister watched this man hurt his mother, he started to feel different. He wasn't depressed about his life anymore, he was different from everyone else. His mission now was to make everyone pay for everything horrible they did.

Max went in to middle school focused on showing everyone how much better he was. He did his best to excel at everything he did, and he succeeded. Anything he put his mind to, he rose above everyone else. He did well in school without much effort, he knew that he could do anything; and that was all that mattered. Girls didn't concern him, relationships were a waste of time, and that gave him the chance to focus on the things more important to him.

In his last year of middle school, his mother finally left the man who'd hurt her so much. He was never happier, that summer he found something