Hunters from the other Sanctuaries protected the two brothers as they ran toward their cars. Sarah, Scott and Craig were already there by the time they arrived.
JD thrust Simon into Scott’s waiting arms then pulled the keys from his pocket. He looked at Sarah, glancing up and down to see if he could spot any injuries, but she appeared to be unharmed.
“Go,” she said. “We’ll make the calls. Just get Katie back to Doc as fast as you can.”
JD nodded then dived into the driver’s seat while Jonathon placed Katie in the back before scrambling in after her. Sarah watched the car speed away before getting into the other one.
Scott placed Simon’s body on the back seat and Sarah climbed in beside it. Tears were flowing down her face as she took his cold lifeless hand.
Scott drove more sedately than JD; there was no need for them to hurry. Craig phoned Doc to warn him that JD was on his way and that Katie had been injured, but neglected to tell him about Simon. That was news that could wait until after Katie was out of surgery.
There was no sign of JD or Jonathon when they arrived back at the Sanctuary. Scott took Simon’s body and carried it to his room, placing it on the bed where he looked like he was merely sleeping.
Craig took Sarah in his arms, but she pushed him away. “You need me right now,” he protested.
“I know,” she said, “but you need Natalie more. Go and find her. I will be alright.”
Craig opened his mouth, then closed it again. She was right. He needed Natalie right then and for once he put his own needs ahead of Sarah’s. “Natalie,” he called out as he ran up the stairs. She appeared and Craig took her in his arms, burying his head in her hair. Sarah watched as he was led out of sight before she climbed the stairs.
She felt like someone else was controlling her as she walked into the room she shared with JD. As expected, it was empty. She had no idea where he was, but he would be with Jonathon, which is where he needed to be.
She undressed and stepped into the shower. As the water cascaded down her face, it mixed with her tears. Her legs gave way and she ended up curled up in a ball, water falling onto her as she failed to control her sobbing.
A while later she felt hands on her and JD pulled her into his arms. He held her tight, not saying a word, as he gently rocked her.
“How’s Jonathon?” she asked.
“Not good. I finally managed to persuade him to shower. I have to go back to him soon.”
Sarah reached up to place a hand on his cheek. “I know. I’ll be alright. He needs you more than I do right now.”
JD held her for a while longer, then forced her to stand up. “I was so scared I was going to lose you,” he said, then kissed her passionately.
They washed each other, enjoying the feel of their hands on wet skin, until Sarah reluctantly left JD alone. She was still drying her hair when he stepped out of the shower. Without a word he dried himself and got dressed.
“I love you,” he told her before leaving the room and returning to Jonathon’s.
Scott and Craig were in the lounge when Sarah went searching for them. Natalie was curled up on Craig’s lap, asleep. JD’s father was also in the room and as soon as he spotted Sarah, he walked up to her and hugged her tight.
“What happened?” she asked. JD hadn’t had chance to tell anyone about the conversation he had with the vampire.
“We don’t know everything,” he said as he released her. He sat down on the sofa and pulled her down beside him before placing a comforting arm around her. She wasn’t his daughter, but he was going to treat her as though she was. “I can tell you that 7 detected a large number of vampires in a warehouse and dispatched four Sanctuaries to intercept them, this one included.
“But we were sent to the woods,” Scott said in confusion. “If we were in the wrong place, how did anyone know where we were?”
“You can thank JD for that,” JD’s father said proudly. “When he went to be experimented on, he had the scientists place a long range tracking device in him so that they would know it was him whenever he fed. He didn’t tell anyone as he thought 7 secretly knowing where he was at all times might come in handy one day.”
The conversation woke Natalie up. “He didn’t even tell me,” Sarah said, surprised that he would keep anything from her.
“Tell you what?” Natalie asked, having missed the start of the conversation.
“I’ll explain later,” Craig said and kissed her cheek before signalling that Mr Albery should continue.
“Sanctuary 7 could see that JD was in the wrong place, so they called Doc, who confirmed that the entire team had left as instructed. He then checked the destination on the message that had come through and 7 said it was correct, but that wasn’t where JD had gone.”
Natalie was confused. “Why would JD go somewhere different?”
“He wouldn’t,” Craig said. “Christina gave us the wrong location.”
Natalie was still confused. “I don’t understand. How could she get it wrong?”
Realisation dawned on Sarah. “She set us up,” she said. “She laid a trap for us and sent us right into it.”
“She wouldn’t do that. How would she know any of you would survive?” Then Natalie realised what she had said and shook her head. “No. No. No. She wouldn’t. She wouldn’t take Craig away from me like that.”
Nobody contradicted her. There was no need. “I need to make a phone call,” she said, but Craig grabbed her before she could stand up.
“No,” he told her firmly. “If Christina is behind this, you can’t let her know any of us are alive. At least not yet.”
Natalie glared at him, then let her face soften. “Alright,” she said and settled back down.
“So what happened next?” Scott asked.
“Doc and Patrick realised something bad must be happening to you guys and dispatched every available hunter to your location. None of us thought we would get to you in time. It’s a miracle any of you were alive when we got there, given the amount of bodies piled up and the number of vampires still attacking you.”
“Your son trained us well,” Craig said.
JD’s father hugged Sarah tighter. “I must admit, to begin with I wasn’t sure you had done the right thing by keeping JD alive. After tonight, I will never doubt you ever again. Where is he, by the way?”
“With Jonathon,” she replied. “He really needs him right now.” Sarah saw the confused look on the older man’s face and realised that he did not know about Jonathon and Katie, so she explained, without mentioning the baby.
“Where are they?” he asked, but Sarah shrugged.
“I don’t know. Jonathon’s room I expect.”
“Will you be alright?” Mr Albery asked and Sarah nodded, so he left the room in search of his sons.
It was a long time later that an exhausted Doc walked into the lounge to find Sarah curled up on Scott’s lap and Natalie and Craig asleep on the sofa.
He cleared his throat loudly to wake everyone up. “Katie is going to make it,” he said. He saw Scott, Natalie and Craig all smile, but Sarah didn’t.
“What about...” she asked, stopping before she said something she shouldn’t.
Doc knew what she meant and sadly shook his head. He had not been able to save the foetus. “But she will make a full recovery,” he said, emphasising the full. Sarah took this to mean that she would still be able to have children and that no permanent damage had been done to any of her reproductive organs.
“Where’s Jonathon?” he asked.
“With his father and Jason,” Sarah replied. “I’ll go and tell them the news. You look like you’re ready to drop.”
“I am. Tell them that Katie won’t be awake for a while yet and is not to be disturbed.” Then he noticed that someone was missing. “Where’s Simon?”
Sarah looked at Scott, who nodded his head. He would take on the unenviable task of informing his parents that Simon didn’t make it. “Dad, there’s something I need to
tell you.” He took his father’s arm and led him from the room.
Sarah gave them a few minutes to get to Doc and Silvia’s suite, then went in search of the Albery men. She found them in Jonathon’s room. They were sitting on his bed, all of them looking like they hadn’t slept in weeks. Jonathon looked awful. He was pale and his face was still tear streaked. They looked up at her expectantly as she walked in.
She tried to smile, but failed. Too much had happened and the news was not entirely good. “Doc has finished operating. Katie will make a full recovery.”
“Thank God,” Jonathon said. JD looked at Sarah, trying to read in her face what she was not saying. She gave a slight shake of her head.
“You should get home,” he said to his father. “You need to tell mom what has happened.”
The older man didn’t argue as JD led him from the room, leaving Sarah and Jonathon alone.
Sarah walked up to the bed and took the position JD had been occupying. Jonathon didn’t react as she took his hand in hers.
“Jonathon,” she said. He raised his head to look at her. The expression on his face said he knew what she was about to say. “Doc could not save the baby.”
“I didn’t expect him to,” Jonathon said, his voice breaking as he spoke. “I saw her wound. It would have been impossible.”
“She will still be able to have children though. You can try again, once she has recovered.”
Jonathon thought he had cried all of the tears his body was able to produce, so it came as a surprise to him when they started to flow again. Sarah held him until JD returned, then left the two brothers alone.
Sarah went to bed, though she knew she wouldn’t sleep. JD joined her a short while later, having had Doc give Jonathon something to make him sleep.
“What happens now?” she asked as she settled down in his arms.
“Now, we sleep. Tomorrow we discuss what we’re going to do about that bitch Christina.”
Craig’s dead christina
When Katie woke up the next morning, Jonathon was by her side. He didn’t ask her how she was, he just looked at her and moved her hair way from her face. He was holding her hand tight.
“Marry me,” he said before she could speak.
She stared at him in confusion. “What?” She thought she must have misheard.
“Marry me,” he repeated.
He looked at her so intensely that she tried to laugh, but the movement caused her to gasp in pain. “We’re too young,” she said once she regained her breath. “We can discuss marriage after the baby is born.”
He looked away, but not before she saw the look on his face. It told her all she needed to know. A tear trickled down her cheek and when Jonathon turned back to look at her, he wiped it away.
“How am I?” she asked him in a broken voice. “Did Doc say anything about my recovery?”
“You will be fine, eventually. Though he is expecting it to take you longer than it did Sarah. Your injuries were more severe.”
“What about...” she started to say, but couldn’t put her fears into words.
Jonathon didn’t need her to. “You are going to make a complete recovery.” He emphasised the word ‘complete’. “Now, back to discussing marriage.”
She shook her head, then winced in pain. Every movement hurt her. Jonathon knew he should find Doc to give her more painkillers, but he needed to have this conversation first.
“You don’t need to marry me now,” she said, a trace of bitterness in her voice.
He smiled at her. “No, I don’t. But I want to.” She opened her mouth, but he didn’t give her chance to speak. “Think about it. We’re going to do it sooner or later and JD has given us the perfect opportunity. Preparations are already under way. Let’s make it a double wedding. That way JD and Sarah’s marriage does not have to be a small quiet affair. Everyone can be present. Nobody will suspect that it’s not just you and me getting hitched. Especially not Sarah.”
“Do I get a say in this?”
Jonathon grinned at her. “No.” He then kissed her softly on the lips. “I love you, but right now I have to go and find Doc. You shouldn’t be in that much pain. Then I have to tell JD of our plans. I’m sure he will agree.”
Katie was smiling as he left the room.
Doc wasn’t overly concerned when Jonathon told him about Katie. She had undergone major surgery so would be on painkillers for a while. He went to see her and gave her a morphine injection, while Jonathon tracked down JD. He found him in his office and shut the door before speaking.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” JD asked when Jonathon had made his announcement.
“I almost lost her JD. It made me realise that I want to make her officially mine.”
“That’s not what I meant. Are you sure you don’t want a separate wedding, just the two of you?”
“I just want to marry her as soon as possible. I don’t care where or how or what the circumstances are, just as long as I don’t have to wait too long.”
“I can understand that. Looks like we need to start organising a proper wedding.” He smiled, then let the smile fall from his face. “After the funeral.”
“Yes,” Jonathon said. “After the funeral.” He hadn’t told Katie about Simon; he didn’t know how. She would need to be informed, but not yet. She needed to concentrate on her recovery and wasn’t ready to hear such devastating news.
Scott had told both his parents. Silvia did not take it very well and broke down in tears. In the morning, Doc reluctantly made the call to the priest, only to be told that funeral preparations were already under way. Knowing that none of 14 would be up to it until daybreak, JD’s father had made the necessary calls as soon as he had returned to his own Sanctuary. By the time he made it to his bed, all Sanctuaries had been informed of Simon’s death and the fact that Katie would live.
As soon as Jonathon left his office, JD took out his phone. There was a call he had to make, but he was not looking forward to doing it. He looked up the number for the trainer from Sanctuary 5 and dialled.
“Hi JD,” the voice on the other end of the line said. “I’ve been expecting your call.”
“How’s Jane?”
“To say she’s not good is putting it mildly. She has shut herself in her room and isn’t talking to anyone.”
“Give me her number.” It was not a request and JD wasn’t expecting an argument. He was, however, surprised when she answered.
“Hello JD.” She sounded tired. “Simon gave me your number. I knew you would be calling me sooner or later, wanting to know if I still plan to move in.”
“Actually I’m calling to find out how you are.” The subject of her moving to 14 hadn’t crossed his mind. He assumed that she would no longer want to.
“I would say I have been worse, but I would be lying. The sooner I get out of here the better. Can I bring my stuff over this afternoon?”
“Of course you can,” JD said. “Are you sure you still want to?”
“Yes. I need to be with people who loved Simon and will understand how I am feeling.”
“I’ll get a room organised for you.” He thought that leaving her own Sanctuary was the worst thing she could do, but it was her decision to make so he kept his thoughts to himself.
“No. Don’t. I’ll move into Simon’s room, like we always planned. I think having his things around me will help.”
JD did not contradict her, though he wanted to. Instead he changed the subject. Finding out how she was was not the only reason he had called her.
“Jane. I am so sorry. I should have saved him.”
Before he could say more, she cut him off. “Don’t. This is not your fault. From what I’ve heard, it’s a miracle any of you survived.” He could hear her voice beginning to break. “Look JD, I need to go. I appreciate you calling, but I have nothing more to say right now.”
“I have one more question,” he said before she could hang up. “We know who is responsible for setting us up. I
plan on tracking her down and, if I find her, you get to have a say in what happens to her. What do you want me to do?”
Jane did not hesitate before answering. “Kill her.” The phone went dead. JD did not call her back. He had all he needed from her.
He looked at the phone without seeing it as he thought about what he planned to do. He hadn’t told Jonathon that the wedding would probably not be able to be a double one and that his marriage to Sarah may have to happen in secret after all. There was something he had to do and it would probably have a big impact on his and Sarah’s future.
He left his office and called a family meeting. Everyone was present, even Silvia and Natalie. The only person missing was Katie. She was asleep once more and, had she not been, she was not able to get out of bed anyway, so should a vote on JD’s next steps be needed, Jonathon would decide for her.
“I won’t ask how anyone is feeling,” he started. “There’s no point. I can see it in your faces. The next few weeks are going to be hard, but we will help each other through them. Jane will be arriving this afternoon and will need all of our support. All of us loved Simon and will miss him greatly, but we can’t let his loss stop us from performing our jobs.”
“Are you sure Jane coming here is a good idea?” Silvia asked.
“It’s her decision. She wants to move into Simon’s room and I couldn’t bring myself to say no to her.”
“Then I had better organise getting his body moved sooner rather than later,” Doc said and stood up.
“Don’t go yet,” JD said. “There is one more thing I need to discuss with you all.”
Doc sat down once more and gave JD his full attention. JD took a deep breath. He had no idea how anyone was going to react to what he had planned.
“As you all know, there will have to be an enquiry. I will, of course, be handing in my resignation. When a hunter dies, the trainer has to take full responsibility. I’m expecting it to be accepted.”
There were cries of protest. If not for JD, everyone believed that all of the hunters from 14 would be dead, so they couldn’t understand why he thought anyone would let him resign. He waited for them to quieten down before continuing.
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