Vampire Hunters, #1

by Trudie Collins

  Jonathon took hold of JD’s hand and squeezed it tight as another wave of pain ran through him, making him scream once more. The look he gave Craig confirmed what he had feared; JD wasn’t going to make it.

  Scott raced away and Katie dived into the back of the other car. Craig took the front passenger seat and rummaged in the glove box for mobile phones. Simon jumped into the driver’s seat and was already accelerating away by the time Craig threw Katie’s phone to her.

  “Call Doc,” he said. “Tell him JD has been infected by two vampires.” Katie stared at him. She knew that JD had been bitten and his screaming told her that he now had venom coursing through his veins, but nobody had mentioned there being two vampires. “Now,” he yelled.

  He waited until she was dialling before he took out his own phone. His hand was shaking as he selected Sarah’s name and hit the call button.

  “Sarah, are you at the home?” he asked as soon as she answered. Home always referred to the Sanctuary these days, not her house.

  “Just got here. Why?”

  “Get the gate open. Now. We’re coming in hot.”

  She didn’t need to ask what that meant. One of them was injured. Badly. They needed to get them to Doc without having to stop at the gate to enter the code.

  “Who?”

  Craig paused for a second before answering. “JD.” He hung up before he could hear her reaction.

  She ran to the front door and pressed the button that would open the gate. Then she headed to the medical unit. Doc was already there, as was Silvia.

  “What can I do to help?”

  “Get me JD’s blood from storage. It’s clearly labelled.”

  “How much?”

  “All of it.” He paused before adding, “You had better get me yours as well.”

  “Why would he need that much blood? Has he been bitten?”

  Doc looked at her, wondering how he should answer. She would find out the truth sooner or later and he decided sooner would be the best way to go.

  “Yes, but they didn’t drink his blood. They injected him with venom.”

  She ran to the blood storage unit, his words ringing in her ears.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Scott slammed on the breaks outside the house and ran to open the back door of the car. JD was still conscious, though for how much longer, nobody knew.

  Scott helped Jonathon get him out of the car, then Jonathon carried him to the medical unit, where Doc was waiting for him.

  “Get his jacket off,” he said to Jonathon, but Sarah pushed him out of the way.

  “I’ll do it. I’ve done it more times than anyone else.” She removed it faster than Doc thought possible. Under different circumstances, Jonathon would have found this amusing.

  Craig ran in, looking for Sarah. He locked eyes with JD. “Craig, get her out of here,” JD said through gritted teeth. Craig grabbed hold of Sarah and pulled her away.

  “No,” she protested, fighting against him.

  “Sarah, leave now,” JD managed to gasp before another wave of agony overtook him.

  Doc shoved a needle into JD’s arm, with a blood bag attached, and the blood started to flow into him. He had already prepared a syringe filled with a painkiller that would knock JD out and was about to inject him when JD screamed, “Wait.” Doc did as requested. “Jonathon, I need you to promise me that if this does not work you will do what needs to be done.”

  Jonathon nodded his head. He knew what JD was asking and couldn’t verbalise his response.

  Sarah was still fighting against Craig, so Jonathon turned his back on his brother, knowing it might be the last time he saw him human, and assisted Craig in dragging her out of the room.

  They took her to the lounge and closed the door. Craig sat her down on a sofa while Jonathon took up a guarding stance. There was no way she was leaving the room without their permission.

  Sarah put her head in her hands. Everything was happening too fast. She began to tremble. Craig was instantly beside her, holding her tight and telling her everything would be alright. She knew he was lying.

  It took a while, but eventually she got herself under control. She looked over at Jonathon. His face looked like it was carved from stone. He was burying his emotions deep.

  “Jonathon, sit down, please. I’m not going to make a run for it.” She kept her breathing deep and steady. It was the only thing stopping her from screaming. “I need you both to talk to me.”

  “Alright,” Craig said as Jonathon moved a chair and positioned it opposite the sofa. “What do you want to know?”

  “What did Jason mean? What does he want Jonathon to take care of?”

  Craig glanced at Jonathon, who nodded his head. It was best to tell her the truth.

  “If he gets turned, Jonathon will kill him.”

  Sarah gasped. She was aware that JD being turned into a vampire was a strong possibility and that killing him might be the only course open to them, but asking his own brother to do it? That just seemed too cruel. And, despite the jokes people made about him being evil, JD was not a cruel man.

  “There’s something you need to understand Sarah,” Jonathon said, leaning forward and taking her hands in his. “We have all grown up knowing what will happen to us if ever we get infected. Becoming a vampire is just about the worst thing that can happen to a hunter. Killing JD would be the most merciful thing I could do for him.”

  Sarah didn’t want to hear any more. There had to be an alternative. “So what happens if he does get turned? Will he become a crazed killer who will try to murder us all?”

  “We don’t know for sure, but we don’t believe so.” Talking seemed to help Jonathon so Craig was happy to let him explain. “We know he will need blood, lots of it to begin with, but less after the first few days. We know he will crave it, but we don’t know how bad those cravings will get or what he will be capable of doing in order to get the blood he needs.”

  “We have plenty of stored blood. Can’t he drink that?”

  Jonathon shook his head. “It has to be fresh from a human. And before you ask, the experts at 7 are confident that animal blood can’t be used as a substitute, despite what you have read in romantic vampire novels.”

  “What else can you tell me?”

  “Not much I’m afraid. We have never encountered a vampire willing to tell us anything about themselves and keeping one alive to study against their will goes against everything we stand for.”

  “How much blood?” Sarah’s mind was racing. Maybe there was a way to save him after all.

  “What?” Craig asked.

  “How much blood will he need?”

  “Initially, a few pints a day seems to be the current thinking, based on how many people new vampires attack and what state the victims who survive are left in. After that, much less.”

  At least she had been given some figures. Now she had some research to do. She stood up. “Where are you going?” Craig asked in concern.

  “Someone needs to clean Jason’s sword.”

  They let her go.

  “She seems to be taking this all remarkable well,” Jonathon said.

  “She believes that there’s an alternative to killing him, that somehow he’s going to survive this. She’s concentrating on that.”

  “But there isn’t. What happens when she realises that?”

  “Then we lose both of them.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Sarah found JD’s sword in one of the cars, which were still parked in front of the house. Someone would move them to the garage later. She took it up to their room and cleaned it. Her hands were shaking and tears were rolling down her face by the time she finished. She was putting on a good show, but she was dying inside.

  To take her mind off what the future may hold, she got out her laptop and began researching how much blood a person could lose without it having any perm
anent affect.

  A few hours later she made her way to the medical unit. Doc was still there, sitting beside a bed which JD was strapped to by his wrists. He looked up as she walked in.

  “You look awful,” he said.

  “So do you. What are the straps for?”

  “Just a precaution.”

  She noticed the blood bag that was currently hooked up to JD’s arm had her name on it. They must have already used up all of his. “Have you ever done this before?” Her words were flat and emotionless. She felt too numb for them to be anything else.

  “Once.”

  “Did it work?”

  Doc didn’t want to give her false hope. “Yes, but the young man in question had only received a small amount of venom. From the way JD was screaming, he received a lot more.”

  She nodded her understanding. The chances of JD not being turned were very slim. Her only hope was to find a way of keeping him alive if that happened. It was a hope she was desperately clinging to.

  “This is the last bag,” Doc said. “After this, all we can do is wait for him to wake up.”

  “Can I stay with him?”

  “Of course you can. Would you prefer to be alone?”

  She nodded. She still had his sword in her hand, so she placed it on the counter to one side. It might be needed later. As soon as Doc left, she shut and locked the door, removed from her pocket the gun which she had collected from JD’s safe, then placed it next to the sword. She sat in the seat Doc had previously been occupying, took JD’s hand in hers, put her head on the mattress beside his body and closed her eyes.

  She was woken by him squeezing her hand.

  “Hey,” she said as she opened her eyes, raised her head and looked at him.

  “You should not be here,” he said. He tried to move his arm so he could stroke her hair, but was unable to do so. He looked down and saw the straps. “Doc’s being cautious I see.”

  “How do you feel?” she asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

  “I’m thirsty.”

  “I’ll get you some water.” She started to stand, but he gripped her hand tight.

  “No, the other type of thirsty.”

  “Oh.”

  “That’s an understatement.” He had been trying to raise his body, but collapsed back down onto the bed. “You had better get Jonathon.” He couldn’t believe how calm he was feeling about his imminent death.

  “No.” He looked at her sharply. She didn’t sound upset; she sounded determined.

  “Sarah, I−” She placed her fingers over his lips, preventing him from finishing the sentence.

  “Show me,” she said, her voice full of authority.

  “Show you what?”

  “Your fangs.”

  He laughed mirthlessly. The expression on her face did not change. “You’re serious?” She nodded her head. “I have no idea how.”

  He thought about blood and felt a weird sensation in his gums as two of his teeth elongated. He opened his mouth a little so she could see.

  He expected her to jump away in fright, but instead she smiled. “You are the only person I know who could make that look sexy.”

  “Oh Sarah. You really are something else. I so wish we could have spent more time together.”

  “We’re not over yet,” she said and climbed onto the bed. She straddled him and began to untie one of his wrists.

  “What are you doing?” he asked in concern. “Are you crazy? I might kill you.”

  “No, you won’t,” she said without looking up as she set to work on the other strap.

  “Sarah, this is serious. I have turned into a vampire. I need blood. Lots of it. I don’t know if I can stop myself taking yours.”

  “Then take it.” He hadn’t seen that look in her eyes since her assessment. She was challenging him again.

  He sat up, placed his arms around her and kissed her. The craving for blood was almost unbearable, but his need for her seemed to be keeping it at bay, at least for the time being.

  “You are a complete idiot,” he said, then kissed her again.

  “I untied you too quickly.” She smiled wickedly at him. “Having sex while you were still strapped down might have been fun.”

  “Sarah,” he cried out in shock. “How can you make jokes at a time like this?” He took a deep breath. “I love you dearly, but I need you to go and get Jonathon.”

  “No.”

  “You don’t understand. I want blood. I need it. If you don’t get out of here I can’t guarantee your safety.”

  “You’re always completely in control of yourself. I don’t believe that has changed.” She moved her hair out of the way, exposing her neck. She then tilted her head slightly, offering herself to him. He could see her blood pumping through her as her artery pulsed in time to her heart beat. It was calling to him. He forced himself to look away.

  “No. I could kill you.”

  “I trust you.”

  “I don’t trust myself.”

  She took his hands in hers. “You won’t hurt me.”

  Then his craving became too much for him. He placed his arms around her and sank his teeth into her neck.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Doc had fallen asleep at his desk in his office and was jerked awake by his phone ringing. It was Sanctuary 7’s land line. They had never called his mobile before. Something must be seriously wrong.

  “Frank here. What’s the problem?”

  “Hi Frank. Sorry to bother you, but we have tried to get hold of JD and there is no answer.” His phone was still in the glove compartment of the car. “We were just wondering why we’re picking up a vampire feeding in 14.”

  Doc dropped the phone and ran from the room. “Sarah,” he screamed out as he ran down the corridor toward the medical unit.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  “You are insane,” JD said as he sank back onto the bed, pulling her down with him. He had taken only enough blood from Sarah to dull his urges, but he would need a lot more, and soon. “And that was one hell of a rush. I can understand why vampires drink so often if it feels like that every time. How do you feel?”

  “Good,” she said as she cuddled up to him. “It stung a little at first, kind of like the needle going in when I give blood, but after that it actually felt quite nice.”

  He kissed her and she pulled away from him. “Yuck. You taste of blood. I guess that’s something I’m going to have to get used to.”

  “What do you mean get used to? You have given me a temporary reprieve, that is all. Jonathon will do his duty later today.”

  “We’ll see,” she said and snuggled down in his arms.

  They were disturbed a few moments later by frantic banging on the door. “Sarah,” Craig screamed through the wood. “Sarah.”

  “Sanctuary 7 must have picked up that I was feeding and called Doc,” JD said. “They think I’m murdering you. You should let them know you’re still alive.”

  Sarah picked up her phone.

  “What are you doing? Go and let them in.”

  “No way. Nobody is coming in here until I am ready.” JD knew it was pointless to argue with her.

  She dialled Craig’s number.

  “Sarah,” he said frantically as soon as he answered. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. JD is, how shall I put it, a little different. Don’t worry. He won’t hurt me.”

  “Won’t hurt you?” Craig’s voice screamed down the line. “He just fed off you for God’s sake.”

  “Craig. Calm down. He only did what I told him to do. I’ll let you in shortly. Please tell everyone not to worry about me.” She hung up before he could respond.

  “You should have let them in.”

  “Not yet. We have some things to work out first.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like how we’re going to convince your brother not to kill
you.”

  “That’s easy. We’re not.”

  “Think again.”

  He took her face in his hands. “Look sweetheart. I’m a vampire now. There is no other choice.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m a killer. I can’t be allowed out of this room alive.”

  “You haven’t killed me yet.”

  “That’s because I’m not desperate enough yet.”

  “So we keep you supplied with blood.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Why not?” She sounded so sure of herself that JD was finding it hard to argue against her. Could she be right? Was there a way to keep him alive? And if there was, did he really want to live the rest of his life as a vampire?

  “Agree to at least think about it,” she continued, “and I will think about unlocking the door.”

  “I could go and unlock it myself,” he said.

  “But you won’t.” She was right. He couldn’t bring himself to go against her wishes.

  “Alright. I will think about it.” Sarah picked up her phone once more. “By the way, you taste really good.” She was still laughing when Craig answered.

  “Sarah, what’s going on? We’re all worried sick out here.”

  “I’ll let Jonathon in, but he has to be unarmed.”

  “There is no way he’s going to agree to that.”

  “Just ask him.”

  “Alright,” Craig reluctantly said.

  Craig hung up then looked around him. Everyone was there, even Silvia. Each of the hunters were armed. “She wants Jonathon to go in alone.” He nodded his head and moved toward the door. “Unarmed.”

  Jonathon froze. “She can’t be serious.”

  “She is. And I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to be reasonable about this.”

  “Why can’t we just force our way in as soon as she opens the door?” Katie asked.

  “Good idea,” Doc said. “Jonathon?”

  He handed his sword over to Doc then knocked on the door. “Sarah, it’s Jonathon. I’m unarmed. Please open the door.”

  Sarah looked at JD, gave him a quick kiss then got off the bed. She picked up the gun from where it was lying next to his sword and checked, once again, that it was loaded and the safety was off. JD was too shocked to speak.