Tristan lay in the bed, his eyes open and glossy, but clearly not seeing. Small ribbons of blood trickled from one ear and his right nostril. He was flushed, a shock of red fever splashed against his ordinarily alabaster face.

The sight was enough to shock even Emily - she couldn't believe how rapidly his condition had deteriorated in just the last few minutes.

James: "Do you think he's... still in pain?"

His voice was a hoarse whisper, cracking on the word 'still'.

No one answered. Tristan closed his eyes, setting free a blood red tear from his left eye.

Suddenly something in Emily awakened. Her heart started pounding furiously, the sound deafening in her head.

Emily: "That's IT. We are taking him to a hospital. NOW."
Mary: "THANK you."

As Mary reached for her keys, Emily looked at her, frowning.

Emily: "And Mary is NOT driving. On second thought, James- call an ambulance."

It was as if a spell had been broken- suddenly James had a purpose, something he could do to actually be useful. By this point, he didn't care if the doctors couldn't figure out how to fix a vampire. After all, if they found out what he was and wanted to do experiments they wouldn't be able to because he'd be just as dead as he would be if they did nothing.

Mary stepped back, relieved at finally having someone listen to her. Now she could get out of the way and let the professionals do their job when they finally arrived. Markus ran downstairs to flag the ambulance down to save precious seconds that could make the difference between continuing existance and death.

Emily approached Tristan's side. She reached out her hand to check his temperature again, but stopped before making contact. Beyond the din of those behind her, his complete stillness caused her breath to catch in her throat. For a split second she couldn't remember where she was, feeling she was back at her grandfather's side not even two months earlier. She fought off a wave of nausea and dizziness as she continued to reach out, this time to check for a pulse instead of a fever. A sickening sensation spread out from the very core of her being as she realized he had no heart beat.

Emily: "Tristan, sweetie?"

Her voice was hardly a whisper, nearly inaudible even to herself. James had finished his call to 911 and looked sharply toward Emily.

James: "Emily?"
Emily: "James... James, he's not breathing."