“That’s a lie!” he shouted. “You shut your mouth, you little—”
“Enough,” said Esme. She looked him up and down, and her gaze lingered on his swollen, bloody nose and his fly, still unzipped. “I take it she wasn’t easy prey.”
He shook his head. “I only tried to arrest her, I swear. I was gonna bring her back.”
“Liar,” said Hannah.
“Shut up!”
Esme sighed. “Well, I’m here now. I’ll take her back myself.” She held her hand out. “Give me your handcuffs.”
He looked relieved, although the look he gave Hannah was murderous as he unclipped a pair of cuffs from the back of his belt and handed them to his boss.
“And the key,” she said. He kept his eyes locked on Hannah as he dug the key out of his pocket and handed it over. He was still glaring at her when Esme slapped one end of the cuffs around his wrist. His head snapped toward her as she cuffed the other end to the rail. “What are you…?”
“Miss Jordan, come with me,” she said, ignoring him.
“Mistress Esme! What is this?”
“My dear Victor, you know we have a zero-tolerance policy about hoarding food.”
“No,” he said. “No! I wasn’t, I swear!”
Hannah just stood there, staring in surprise as the guard pulled on the cuffs. The shadow gap between the sunlight and the rail had already narrowed by a few inches. The sunlight was moving toward him.
“Miss Jordan, don’t make me come get you. I am dressed for the occasion.”
Hannah glanced at Esme, and didn’t doubt that she meant business. With one last look at her attacker, who was screaming curses at both of them as he strained against the cuffs, she turned and walked back toward the stairwell, staying in the sunlight, for all the good it would do her.
Esme walked along beside her on the shadowed path. As they reached the last window, Hannah looked out and saw the guard tower where only moments before she’d seen what Esme had done. “Hypocrite,” she muttered, unable to help herself, though she knew it was a mistake the moment it came out of her mouth.
Esme stopped. “What was that, dear?”
Hannah tore her gaze from the window. “Nothing.”
Esme studied her a moment, then shifted her gaze to the window, and the view beyond. A wry smile spread across her lips. “I see.” She looked back at Hannah. “I think you’ll be spending the rest of your short stay here in solitary confinement. You’ve stirred up quite enough trouble for one day.” She reached out a gloved hand and grabbed Hannah by the arm, jerking her out of the sun’s protection.
She led her back to the stairwell and down two flights of stairs, across another catwalk where the guard could still be heard screaming and swearing above them. Down another short corridor, they stopped in front of a lone cell with a heavy steel door. It had a small window at the top and a slot in the middle large enough to pass a tray of food. The cell itself was about the size of a closet, with a steel commode and a single bunk. Other than the one in the door, it had no windows. Esme shoved Hannah inside and held out her hand.
“The key card you stole. Give it to me.”
Reluctantly, Hannah dug the card out of her jumpsuit and handed it over. “I only wanted to find my brother,” she said. “To make sure he’s safe.”
“He is, for now. But I’m certain I told you that his remaining so depended entirely on your cooperation.”
Hannah’s eyes widened as Esme’s words sunk in. She lunged at the bitch, but Esme slammed the door shut on her. Hannah had to stand on her toes to see through the window. “Don’t you touch him!” she shouted, pounding on the door, but the only response was the sound of the guard screaming.
ELEVEN
Hannah didn’t know how long she had been in solitary. At first she lay on the bunk, trying to block out the noise from the guard. He carried on for what felt like hours. His angry shouts eventually subsided into defeated whimpering, then abruptly turned to screams of fear and pain, and then, just as abruptly, they stopped.
She wanted to feel some sense of justice at the guard’s ending, satisfaction that there was one less monster in the world. But she was too focused on something Esme had said.
…the rest of your short stay here…
She knew Esme didn’t intend to let her leave this cell alive. She knew what Esme had done, and Esme knew that she knew. Hannah didn’t know why she couldn’t just keep her head down and her mouth shut. That would have been the smart thing to do. She hoped and prayed that what Esme had said about Noah had only been a mind game. He was innocent, just a baby; but after everything Hannah had seen, she wouldn’t put it past them to kill him just to punish her.
She had already combed every inch of her cell, looking for a way out, for some kind of weapon. But it was made of nothing but smooth surfaces. The bare mattress was a block of foam, no springs, and it rested on woven nylon straps that wrapped around a solid bed frame that was bolted firmly to the wall.
She lay on it now, and waited. Her eyes and throat burned from crying, and her stomach gnawed at itself with hunger. She wished she’d taken the time to finish her breakfast that morning.
She wished she’d been smart enough to stay in the damn shelter.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor. They sounded heavier than Esme’s. Hannah stood up. Her hands balled into fists, held at the ready as she waited. She remembered her training, and that in itself was a weapon. They might be stronger, but she could damn sure cause them pain before they finished her.
The door opened, and Hannah stepped back, leaving herself more room to kick.
“Are you all right?”
The doctor stood in the doorway, and Hannah blinked at him in surprise. He’d exchanged his lab coat for a set of the black fatigues that the others wore. He was alone, and he held the door open, as if expecting her to just walk through it.
“Where’s my brother?” she asked.
“He’s safe. Come on. We’re leaving.” When Hannah didn’t move, he lifted an eyebrow. “Unless you’d actually rather stay here?”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you back to my camp.” His gaze grew concerned, and he came into the cell with her. “You have a contusion on your forehead,” he said as he took hold of her face.
She jerked away from his touch. “Yeah, that happens when you hit somebody with it. Why are we going to your camp?”
A slight smile tugged one corner of his mouth. Was that a look of amusement? Or appreciation? “I’ll explain everything when we get there. There are too many curious ears here, and they have excellent hearing.”
He exited the cell and waited for her to follow. She did, warily. As they walked through the corridor, she kept some distance between them, walking two steps behind so she could keep an eye on him as they went. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come get you sooner,” he said. “I spent all day searching for you, but Esme waited all this time to tell me where she was keeping you.” There was anger in his voice, and bitterness. He sounded weary, like this was an old battle that he was tired of fighting.
They reached the catwalk and started across the cell block. Halfway across, Hannah noticed ashes coating a spot on the rail, and looked up to see handcuffs dangling from the topmost rail. She shuddered, and stopped walking. It took him a few paces to realize it and look back.
“I’m not going anywhere without my brother.”
“Of course not. In fact, he’s the reason you’re coming.”
“How’s that?”
He looked around, as if to make sure nobody was in earshot, then moved closer and leaned in. As his lips brushed the hair next to her ear, she caught her breath and held it.
“I don’t break up families.”
He said it softly, but with such intensity that she almost believed him. But she still didn’t trust him. “What do you want with him?”
He looked around again, and shook his head. “I can’t explain here. You’ll just have to trust me.”
That got her moving. She followed him to the stairwell, where instead of going down, they went up to the top floor. They exited, and he led her through another wooden door, and down another hallway, with an exit sign at the end.
“What about those things outside?” she asked. “There are so many. How are we gonna get past them?”
He paused with his hand on the door, and looked back at her. “By going over them.” He swiped his key card and opened the door. It led onto the roof, where a helicopter waited for them.
Hannah spotted Esme standing next to it, and broke into a run as she realized the bitch held Noah in her arms. “Give him to me,” she said, holding her arms out for him. Noah smiled and squealed happily when he saw her, and lunged for her. Hannah caught him and held him tightly to her chest, glaring at Esme. “I swear to God, if you ever touch him again, I will kill you.”
Esme merely laughed. “Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you about this one, my dear,” she called. “She certainly thinks a lot of herself.”
Hannah backed away from the vampires as she checked Noah over. He looked okay. There were no visible signs of abuse, and he seemed happy enough. She even thought he might have gained a little weight.
“Who is this?” Konstantin asked as he reached them. Only then did Hannah notice the other child, a little girl who clung to Esme’s hand and peeked out from behind her skirt. She couldn’t have been more than five.
“Another orphan,” said Esme. “I know you’ll insist on taking her next time, so you might as well just have her now.”
“Why wasn’t she on the list?”
“Because it was only today that her father had his tragic accident.” She looked at Hannah as she spoke, as if daring her to reveal the truth. But judging by the suspicious look on Dr. Konstantin’s face, Hannah didn’t need to say anything.
“Far too many ‘accidents’ happen in your camp, Esme.”
Hannah knelt down and reached a hand out to the girl. “Come here, honey. Come to me.” The little girl reluctantly crept out from behind Esme. She was dressed in faded jeans that were too big for her and rolled up at the ankles, and a boy’s tee-shirt with R2-D2 on the front. Orange curls sprang from her head in every direction. “It’s okay,” said Hannah as she got closer. “What’s your name, sweetie?”
“Abby.”
“Abby, that’s pretty.” Hannah smiled. “I’m Hannah, and this is Noah.”
She looked sullenly at the baby, and wiped her nose. “Where’s my daddy?”
Hannah shot a look at Esme, who simply stood there, looking bored. Konstantin crouched down beside them. “Where’s your mommy?” he asked.
“She’s in Heaven with meemaw and Jesus.”
Konstantin glanced briefly at Hannah, and she thought she saw genuine pity in his eyes. He reached out and put a hand on Abby’s shoulder. “Your daddy needed to go be with your mommy in Heaven. But we’re going to take care of you, okay?”
She nodded, then pulled her shirt up over her head to hide her face. A high pitched wail came from underneath the shirt, and Konstantin pulled the little girl into his arms. “It’s going to be all right,” he said, standing up with her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and clung to him. He stared daggers at Esme. “Try not to make any more orphans before I return.”
“That will be easier to manage with you gone.” Esme cast another contemptuous glance at Hannah before turning on her heel and leaving them.
Konstantin watched her go, then turned to Hannah. “Do you need me to hold the baby while you strap in?”
“I’ve got it,” she said, but she didn’t move. What would happen to them if they got on that helicopter? Would they be flying to an even worse horror show than the one they were leaving?
Trust me, the doctor kept telling her. So far he hadn’t done anything to show that he couldn’t be trusted, but he hadn’t exactly demonstrated that he could, either. Except, he said he’d get you Noah, she remembered, and he did.
This was the moment of truth, then, that would shine the light on the doctor’s intentions. Sometimes, moments of truth required a leap of faith.
She had to be crazy to put any amount of faith in one of these creatures. But it wasn’t exactly like she had a choice, was it? If she stayed, Esme would almost certainly kill her and Noah, and probably not in that order.
Hannah climbed into the helicopter.
Another vampire sat in the pilot’s seat. He nodded to her as she scooted across the back row of seats. She settled Noah in her lap and strapped herself in as Konstantin buckled Abby into the seat beside her. As he climbed into the front seat he told the pilot, “Get us out of here.”
TWELVE
Hannah began to relax. As the helicopter lifted off, she remembered that she’d never flown before, and a mild sense of panic gripped her as they became airborne. She closed her eyes and clung to the children, and concentrated on the feeling of Noah’s warm little body in her arms, something she’d been afraid she would never feel again.
At last, she had opened her eyes to venture a look out the window. It was too dark to see the ground, but when she looked up, she could see the stars. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen them, and she didn’t think she’d ever seen so many of them. This high up, with no lights to compete with them and obscure them, she could see the Milky Way, a river of starlight cutting across the night sky.
A sense of calm washed over her as she gazed up at the stars. She leaned over to look back at the ground they’d covered. The prison was already out of sight. There were no lights on the ground. She didn’t know whether it was because they were flying over open countryside, or because there simply wasn’t any power this far out.
In the front, Konstantin and the pilot were both lit up by the soft, green glow of the instrument panel. They spoke animatedly to each other, and Konstantin looked angry. Hannah found a set of headphones hanging above her. She put them on and fumbled with the switch.
“—thought you were guarding it,” she heard Konstantin say.
“I was,” said the pilot. “But I could only keep watch from inside during the day, you know that.”
“Somebody must’ve gotten past you.”
“I don’t see how.”
“How else do you explain it?” Konstantin sighed. “Can you land it?”
“Sure. But it’ll be rough. I don’t think there’s enough fuel left to get us all the way down.”
“What’s happening?” asked Hannah.
Konstantin looked back at her. If he was annoyed at her listening in, he didn’t show it. “We’re losing fuel, and some of the instruments aren’t working. We have to land.” He unbuckled his seat belt and shifted toward her. “Give the baby to me.”
Hannah tightened her grip on Noah. “Why?”
“He’ll be safer with me. I’ll be able to hold onto him better. You and Abby need to brace for impact. Put your heads down on your knees and hold on.”
Her sense of panic returned, and her heart pounded as she hugged Noah tightly and kissed his forehead. Reluctantly, she handed him over to Konstantin. “Make sure your belts are tightened,” he told her, then turned to put his own seat belt back on.
Hannah reached over to check Abby’s straps, then took down another set of headphones and put them on her. “Can you hear me?” she asked after switching them on. The little girl nodded. “We’re going to land now, okay? And it might be a little scary, so you need to hold on.”
“Are we crashing?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah said, “but we need to be ready, just in case.”
“I’m scared!”
“I know. It’ll be okay. Now lean over and hold onto your knees, okay? Like this.” Hannah leaned forward and embraced her legs. Abby imitated her. “Good. Now keep your face in your lap, and close your eyes.”
The little girl buried her face between her knees, and Hannah did the same. She breathed deeply, trying to keep from hyperventilating and forcing her body to unclench as she felt the helicopter descend.
It fell too fast. The engine went silent, and the hum and steady beat of the blades slowed to nothing. Abby cried softly as Hannah said a silent prayer. “This is it,” said the pilot just before they hit the ground. The impact jarred Hannah’s entire body. Her top half flung backward, slamming her head against the wall. She flopped forward again like a rag doll, stunned and disoriented. Metal groaned as she realized they were still moving, tilting forward, and then they fell back again with a crunch, and everything went still.
***
Noah was crying. So was the little girl. Hannah’s vision swam. “Is everyone all right?” Konstantin’s voice called out.
Hannah shook her head to clear it, and regretted the movement. The back of her head throbbed with pain. She blinked until she could see straight, then looked over at Abby. “Are you okay?” she asked, checking the girl over for injuries. When she didn’t find any, she said, “We’re fine. What about Noah?”
“He’s okay.”
“Give him to me.”
Konstantin handed the baby back to Hannah. “You need to quiet him.” He glanced at Abby. “Quiet them both.”
“They’re a little traumatized right now,” said Hannah, irritated by the command. “I think they can be expected to cry for a while.”
“They’re going to hear us,” Konstantin hissed, then turned to the pilot. “The radio?”
“It’s busted.”
“Can you fix it?”
“I can try. You’d better get them out of here, though.”
Konstantin exited the helicopter and opened the back door. He unbuckled Abby and pulled her into his arms. “I know you’re scared, but you need to be quiet right now. Can you do that? Can you be a brave girl?”
She clung to him and nodded, her sobs fading into small whimpers. He held out a hand for Hannah. “We have to move.”
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