Chapter 21: BURIAL

Dale Henderson had always loved how wildly beautiful it looked when a female vampire sunk her teeth in someone's neck. Their hair curled and bouncy, their eyes thin, their lips blood red. He'd always loved the allure of a white wolf standing in the shadow of the moon, head held high, howls in the air. He also loved fantasizing about the way it would feel, the sinking of a vampire's teeth in flesh, the fur of a werewolf sifting through his fingers. He couldn't describe the wild beating of his heart when he had found out Elsa was a werewolf, then like icing on the cake, she turned out to be a hybrid.

In his last dying moments, he had seen a beautiful woman over him, her hair blonde and bouncy like he'd always imagined a vampire's to be, her eyes maintaining the hazel beauty of the werewolf form she donned at full moon. Her eyes were big with realization, but then it had been too late for him, he felt his body going cold, his brain recounting his life like a dream. Adrian, Seth, hell even Maria and Susan. His restaurant, his expensive car, his camera, Elsa, her photos, her smile, her feel, her everything. His world has drifted into darkness after those seven minutes, and he had laid there, unable to move.

He squinted up at the sky, the sun glaring in his eyes. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the rays. It looked like a mid afternoon sun and he wondered how long he slept. He could hear sniffs from around where he was lying down, and he tried to stretch, but couldn't. The place he found himself was a bit too tight and he tried to lift himself up.

"His father figure, Mr. Adrian would like to have a few words."

Adrian walked up, his eyes red and puffy, his hair scattered, his suit roughly worn. He looked devastated as he walked forward, wobbly on his feet, even with Seth's help. Seth looked devastated too as he walked calmly, trying to keep Adrian on his feet. He walked where the pastor stood and turned to the audience.

"I am not a father figure." His voice was shaky and threatening to burst out in tears. "I am Dale's father." He wiped away tears, but they still streamed down in torrents. He turned towards the open coffin and walked a bit so he could get a clearer view of what he thought would be Dale's corpse. What he saw made him take a step back.

"D-da..." And he fainted. The crowd gathered around him, and he was soon lifted into a car and taken away. Dale stretched and sat up, then turned towards the crowd who were just going back to their stands after taking Adrian away. Seth's eyes widened, and the crowd started to run in different directions, some even leaving their cars behind. Dale looked confused as he stepped out, and a single white rose fell off his body.

"What's..." His voice trailed off as he watched the scene, then turned towards the coffin. His coffin. Seth stood there, shell shocked and unable to move. "Hey, Seth. Wait." He looked around again, as if to make sure he wasn’t in a dream. "What's going on?"

Seth swallowed and took a cautious step towards him. "You're supposed to be dead."

Dale raised a brow. "Dead as in…"

Seth touched his arm and pulled the red tie he had personally put on him when they were preparing the body for the funeral. "Why the hell am I in a corporate suit and tie?"

Seth cupped his face, tears welling up in his eyes. "You came back to us."

"Hey, man, leave me alone. What are you doing cupping my face like that?" He pushed Seth away and looked around. There in the distance was a fair woman, with long blonde hair and black dress, her hands clasped in front of her, a knowing smile on her lips. He stood watching her, ignoring Seth's relieved cries, his thankful prayers and all, and focusing all of his attention only on her. That woman. The one his heart beat for. His Elsa.

Seth pulled him. "Tell me what happened. How did you just drop like that?"

"Drop? What do you mean drop?"

Seth shrugged and sniffed. "Well, she said she found you lying around. We didn't really pay attention cause, hey...you were lying there, all cold....and stiff." Seth hugged him. "I don't know what I would do without you, man. Seeing you like that hurt."

Dale nodded and patted his back. "I understand. Where is oldie?" Seth released him and shrugged. "He fainted, again. That fifty-year-old spider has fainted three times already."

Dale laughed at that. "Let's go home. We already crashed the party."

Seth shook his head and chuckled, his one-sided dimple evident on his left profile. "It wasn't a party. We crashed a funeral."

Dale laughed and got down from the slightly elevated stand where the coffin that had carried him was and turned where Elsa stood, on the distance, her hair flying behind her, her eyes squinted. He waved at her and she acknowledged it with a smile. "Hey. Elsa." He said as he jogged up to her, saying her name like he didn't quite believe she was real.

Seth had gone to take the car and Dale just stood, standing, watching her. He turned to the coffin and pointed at it. "So, I died."

She nodded, a hint of mischief in her green eyes. "Tell me about it."

She shook her head and when she spoke, he remembered all the reasons he had stayed back at the PCT. "Go home. You need to rest. I will tell you how you died, and you'll tell me what heaven looked like." She raised a brow. "Or did you find yourself in hell?"

He laughed at that. "I'm a good guy. I'll describe heaven to you, later."

She nodded. "Just don't lie to me because I have never been there. If I end up losing my way when I finally get there—"

He grabbed her hand and kissed her forehead. "I'll never lie to you, Elsa."

She nodded. "Let's go home."