by Emily Knight
The officer drove Peter to the hospital, and the front desk directed him to the ICU. He found Rich at the far end of the long room with Val seated beside his bed. Val had her hand in Rich's limp palm and he thought he heard a few sniffles. Peter shuffled over to the pair and noticed the IV stuck in Rich's arm. Val looked up and smiled at him. Her cheeks were wet. "What took you?" she teased.
"The officer wouldn't put away his pen," Peter replied. He dragged a chair beside Val's and sat down. Peter nodded at Rich. "How's he doing?"
Val sighed and turned to Rich. "The doctors say he's going to recover, but he's lost a lot of blood. He'll be weak for a few days, and he'll need to eat a lot of meat."
"Has he woken up?"
She sniffled and nodded. "For a little while. There was an officer here and she tried to ask him some questions, but all he could remember was some sort of shadow." She looked to Peter. He stared at their friend with a scowl on his face. Her eyebrows knit together. "Is something wrong?"
Peter straightened and shook himself. "What? Oh, no, just thinking about something." He'd been studying the marks on Rich's neck and couldn't deny they looked suspiciously like those of a vampire. The shadow only proved his theory.
Val followed his gaze and frowned. "Creepy, aren't they? The doctors think that's where the blood loss occurred, but they don't know with what kind of machine." Peter stood and put his chair back. "You're leaving already?" she asked him.
"There's somebody I gotta see about-well, about something," he replied.
Peter left the hospital and turned his steps toward the park. The walk took an hour and the night was nearly over by the time he pulled himself through the clingy brambles and emerged from the woods and into the meadow. He took a step toward the house, but far off came the sound of howls of hell hounds. The hairs on the back of his neck rose and he scuttled backwards. Peter yelped when his back his something hard and pliable.
He jumped forward and spun around to find Roger behind him with the net still in his hands. Sharp bulges protruded from his dirty lab coat. He adjusted the bulges and smiled at Peter. "Were you looking for something?"
Peter winced. "Um, maybe?"
Roger shook his head. "You can't get in through the front door, but I know another way. Follow me." He turned and walked into the woods.
Peter held out his hand to the older gentleman. "Wait." Roger paused and half-turned to him. Peter swallowed. "Why. . why are you helping me?"
Roger chuckled. "I may be insane, but between the two of us I'm not the one who's blind. Your love is going to get you killed if you aren't more careful. Now come with me so you can see your lady friend. I'm sure she's eager to see you."
Peter frowned. He wasn't so sure after she found out why he came back.
CHAPTER 11