by M. Garnet
She knew that there were probably newer and better foundries that had better and cleaner ways to handle this process. But with the economy, this foundry was still doing it the old way, making money, but not going to change. She got a job working on a computer to handle labels. They needed numerous labels for each shipment, most required by government bullshit.
Her office was against the wall in the back by the loading docks and, thank all blessing, this was away from the noise and the furnaces. There was one other woman in the office with her, who hardly talked. She seemed to have some type of allergy, as she sniffled constantly. There was one window air conditioner, that rattled. The workers and drivers tried to find excuses to come in to enjoy the weak cooling.
She went with the guys at the end of the second week to the restaurant. There was a lot of talk about the restaurant. Evidently in this sad, remote area of the United States, where unemployment was so bad, there were no workers without green cards. So about twenty miles away, by itself on a corner of a couple of county and state highways, was the restaurant. It was clean, plain, and matched the Texas/New Mexico area that still had a lot of cowboys mixed in with the farmers. Cheap but good home cooked food, large steaks, but no fish made up the menu. The talk was loud, with a lot of ma’ams, thanks, and apologies for cuss words that were not that bad. There was a mild tussle for the chance for a couple of guys to sit next to her.
She made a note to keep away from one of the owner’s sons. She just didn’t need anything that would cause any trouble while she stayed in this sunny place that did not seem to have any Vampires and not many strangers except for the truckers who picked up the loads outgoing on the foundry dock. But even these were normally guys that the workers had grown to know over the years.
So she was able to stay for a couple of months. But she began to feel uncomfortable. There was no Vamp alarm—it was the dreams. At first she would wake up in a sweat, damp all over and no idea what was wrong. She had no idea of any dream, no memory. She saw the eyes. She would be in a deep sleep and they would appear, like two tiny pale lights, off in the distance as they came slowly closer.
When they came close enough for her to realize they were pale blue eyes surrounded by long dark lashes, she would bolt upright in bed still expecting to see the eyes. She was shocked to only see the dull walls of the apartment above the store that she had rented. She began to have erotic dreams. She had never had these types of dreams before. But there were hands on her, touching areas that aroused her. She would awake with the sheets tied up around her. She would stumble into the small shower and stand under the cold water, which in this southern town was not really cold but tepid.
When her co-workers started to make comments about the dark circles under her eyes, she began to think it was time to move on. Maybe the dreams were a warning. Maybe he was getting close. Experience had taught her to move on without any warning, so she took her Friday paycheck and went to the restaurant. She worked in the office on Saturday morning, went with a co-worker to the bank to get cash, normal.
She stayed in her room on Sunday and on Monday she filled her backpack. She was now used to living on very little.She put the cash that she had hidden away into several locations on her body and hid the backpack on the way to work. She had bought an old bike and used it for travel, so it was easy to take a second to hide her backpack in a drain that she had already located for just such a use.
She worked all day, eating lunch with her co-worker in the AC office and at the end of the day told her what they both would finish tomorrow. She smiled and said bye to those who caught her eye. She went back to the ditch and recovered her backpack. She next went to an old house on the outskirts of town that was empty. She took her bike inside and settled down to wait for night.
She allowed herself to doze off and when it was around midnight, she felt it was safe enough to get on the road. The town was dead. She took a couple of back roads, going west, happy that there was no traffic. It took her two days to get to a major highway and a truck stop. By that time she was down to her last water and all of her food was gone.
The trucker that let her ride was also looking for a return. Like sex. She put up with his raw jokes and the snide remarks, because as long as the truck was moving west she was safe. At the next truck stop he needed to fuel up, which was south of Vegas. She put a lot of distance between him and what he wanted from her. This became a running problem, as he was insulted that she was not attracted to his charms.
She decided to go around to front, away from the big rigs, ending up where the public filled up for gas and got food. She looked for a place to hide. She saw a rental truck, open and loaded with household furniture. She ducked in trying to squeeze between some boxes and furniture, but a man came around to see what was making the noise. She heard the truck driver cussing, not too far away.
She looked at the man and whispered a please and motioned to the trucker who was stamping around like a madman. The guy looked at her and over at the trucker. He nodded, walked away and she heard the rental truck start up, pulling away from the pumps. In a couple of moments it stopped under a streetlight, and the man came around to the back.
“Okay, he’s still back at the truck stop. It’s not safe for you to ride back there. Come on up and sit with me.” He helped her down walking around to the passenger side and opened the door. She stepped up into the cab waiting until he got in to start on down the highway.
“Thank you. He wanted payment for a ride, but it was not cash, if you know what I mean.” She looked over at him. He nodded his head and kept both hands on the wheel. She guessed he was not a truck driver and that the rental truck was the first time he had driven something heavier than a pickup.
“Where you heading?” He asked.
“West.” She decided he looked like the type that needed something more solid. “I have a cousin in California who thinks she can get me a job.”
“Great, in this economy you need all the help you can get. I’m heading to Riverside. Know where that is?” He glanced at her and she shook her head. “Southern California. I’ve moved my family there and we’re working for a small packing firm. So I picked up the last of our furniture.”
“Riverside sounds great. If you don’t mind, I could ride along and I could go north to my family.” She looked over at him to see how he was taking this. “I have some money, I could buy food or something to pay my way.”
“Just buy your own food. My wife’s family packed me a lot and I just pick up a little when I get gas.” He pointed to the back.
“Tell me about your family.” So she listened as they followed the route to California to a very proud, very tired husband and father. She dozed in the truck and he had to stop to sleep in the truck himself. By the time they reached Riverside she felt she already knew his family. Even so, he introduced her.
After meeting his family, she explained about him rescuing her, and the kids, who already thought their dad was a hero, had a great story to tell. She only stayed a night, using the excuse of getting to her own family. She moved north, then turned south, as Riverside was on the edge of the deserts, where she felt would keep away the Vampires.
She found a rundown garage that needed a bookkeeper, and she went to work three days a week. They let her stay in a room over the back for part of the pay. It stank of motor oil and overheated engines but it suited her. It only took her a couple of nights before the nightmare of pale blue eyes woke her up in a damp bed. She knew he was still searching for her.
* * * *
He had followed one trail after another. This had been the hardest hunt he had ever undertaken. It was becoming more and more a personal and urgent hunt. It had brought out a thrill he thought he had lost. This mortal was amazing. She had instinctively found ways to cover her tracks that even rogue Vampires had not thought of trying. He was not sure what was driving him the most, concern that she might be attacked by a rogue, or his own need to get close to her again.
Now, toni
ght, he was following a woman. Something was wrong. She smelled a little like Misty, but he knew she was not Misty. He needed to find out what had happened. The smell was not that strong. Besides, he could tell the woman was using drugs. He approached the woman slowly.
She looked up and smiled. He was probably the most handsome man she had ever seen outside of movies. He was leaning against a very nice BMW with his arms folded and his ankles crossed. His long legs were in black leather and when he uncrossed his arms she saw that he had on a tight matching leather jacket that was partly unzipped. He had no shirt on under it and the dark skin of his chest was adorned only with a gold amulet on a chain. He had a crooked smile that just drew her in.
She did not mind the dangerous look of his dark hair and muscular build. It was sexy and she was always ready for a little excitement. She smiled back and turned away for the man she had been walking beside. She just looked at him with an eyebrow raised in a question. He moved and opened the passenger door, waiting. She looked at him for a long moment then began to walk towards the car, swinging her hips. She knew that she had treated her body badly, but she was still drawing a crowd, like the slugger she had allowed to pick her up earlier this evening.
The guy she was with grabbed her arm. “Hey, where do you think you’re going?”
She shrugged him off. “Get lost. I have been offered a better deal.” She smiled at the tall dark man, hurried over and got into the luxury car. He wasted no time and was not gentle, just took control. She immediately put her head back and her eyes were glazed as he took her over. He drove to a dark deserted parking lot and had her offer her neck so that he could taste her blood.
He took only a little and drew back totally puzzled. It was so diluted, but it was there, along with drugs and by products that were distasteful. He would not feed from this woman. But he needed to go into her mind to find out how she seemed to be like Misty. Was she related in some way to Misty?
Her mind was a cesspool. How could someone who had a good education and a nice family do the things to her body that this woman had done? But he plowed backward, day by day, watching her put different things into her body, watching her misuse others around her. He almost missed it, but he went back, the dark stinky room, the bodies lying around. There it was, in the shadows. The drugs were already in her body and Misty was walking in, offering two needles full. He watched her grab one and push the plunger to take the entire amount into her body. The other one flew through the air as two men fought over it, then hit the floor. The glass broke and red splattered everywhere. He dwelt in her feelings, but she felt nothing and the woman, Misty, was gone. He swallowed his sickness as he heard the sick young woman laugh and look for more drugs. He broke off control to put her to sleep.
He wiped all memory of Misty, the needle and the blood. He erased all memory of him, took her out of the car and sat her up against the side of the building at the parking lot. She had passed out in a lot worse areas. He placed a call to the police about the woman before he left. He was heading for Texas and New Mexico.
He called Alex. “How goes it, Rad?” Alex was always in a happy mode until Rad brought him down.
“Where is Marco?” He used his command voice.
“Trying to keep up with all of your companies and businesses. You have more money than the Council. Why don’t you eliminate a few and relax? Or let poor Marco relax. By the way, Vasa has sent a message. She wonders where you are and would like a social visit from you. I wonder why she never asks me for a social visit?” Rad felt the relief in Alex’s voice. More than that, a whisper of doubt about Vasa began to bring out some questions in his mind.
“I will tell you, Alex, there is a heavy price to pay to be with Vasa. Be glad that she isn’t interested in you. As for Marco, it makes him feel important to handle so much. He will tell me when it’s time to close or sell a firm or company.” Rad took a deep breath.
“How goes the hunt?”
“Amazing. I wasted days following her scent. She actually took her own blood and inserted it into another. I will really pay her for that little folly, starting with those lovely lips. But I am learning her tricks. As she thought she was learning ways to stay away from me, I have learned how she thinks, and actually now I am getting closer. I’m going to Texas and New Mexico. But I won’t need to be there very long. Her scent and memory is coming to me, even this far away. I will stop only long enough to feed, read and go on.” There was calmness in Rad’s voice.
Alex knew that Rad had many talents that he didn’t share, and that the Council used Rad when Rad let them. Alex wondered if the blood from this woman would make Rad so powerful that the Council wouldn’t be able to touch him. “Rad, I’m with you no matter what, remember that. But make sure you are doing what is right for you and for all us who walk the night on your side.”
There was silence except for the noise from the phones. Finally Rad spoke. “I won’t interfere with the Council. All those of the night need a ruling body. But I won’t let the Council rule me. As for what happens when I have this lady, that might be fate. Alex, she is in my dreams. Vampires do not have dreams. I’ll need to stay in my original home. Make sure it is ready.”
Alex heard the disconnect. Alex made a couple of calls in order to get the house in New Orleans ready for Radames return. He began to think about Rad having dreams. There had to be something happening between Rad and this woman with the unusual blood antigens.
Chapter Twelve
She had been working at the little garage for about four weeks. The time had gone faster than she thought. The guys were nice, funny and flirted in a pleasant way. She picked up used clothes at a couple of church outreach stores. She left a couple of dollars each time she went. She was happy to find some that fit. She really didn’t care how much they had been repaired or faded from washes.
She had found a big t-shirt to sleep in. This one was actually a football shirt for some local team and it was huge. The short sleeves came below her elbows and it hit in the middle of her thighs. She loved it, even if it was orange and white. She had to rely on Wal-Mart for the underwear, but the stores offered all sizes and prices, so she went cheap. She still did not want to get too much because she could not take a lot with her when she had to leave. Traveling light was a necessity.
She woke up one night, aware she was having the dreams again. This time they were a little different. She would be with a friend and as he turned around, he had those pale blue eyes. She ran and ran and it got dark and the eyes were still there. Finally she would wake up. Usually it was only around three AM, but she could not go back to sleep. She tried to keep quiet, because a time or two she had made enough noise to wake up their other boarder in the room next to hers. The walls were thin and they could hear each other cough. She had apologized and Mike, the guy next door, seemed to really be concerned. Nice guy.
“You know, you eat wrong. You need to try some of the green foods that I get from the farms up in the valley. It really helps clean out your system. It will let you sleep better.” He patted her shoulder and made her a salad for lunch. It actually was pretty good.
But she was getting antsy. She did not get any Vamp tingle but something just didn’t feel right. Time to move on. She decided to wait for the paycheck, which was just one more day to do the disappearing act. The owner paid them off in cash, which was nice and everyone appreciated it.
This was one of the days she wasn’t supposed to work, so she decided to take off for the local laundromat. She yelled at Mike as he worked on a car to see if he needed anything washed. He smiled, nodded, and ran up to return with a small bag of clothes. She took the usual two hours and did both her loads along with Mike’s stuff. When she brought the everything back, Mike gave her a couple of dollars for what she had put in the machines and bought her a bottle of water for her work.
She went to her room, dug out the usual backpack to put in what she would need. She thought that she would go into the little office, get her cash and would just d
o her thing down the road. She read and took a shower down the hall, then changed into her orange and white shirt. She was restless—sleep wouldn’t settle behind her eyes. She stretched back in bed reading until she finally felt that she might get some sleep. She had even dozed off once but rolled over on her book. She woke up enough to turn off the light and went right back to sleep.
* * * *
He pulled the dark sedan up outside the door that led up the stairs to her room. He had been watching her for a couple of days. He was not sure why he hadn’t taken her the first moment he had found her. But the first sight of her had put a burning in his center that actually brought a hard on so tight, the leathers he wore chafed. He thought of the ugly minds he had been forced to fuck with, like dumping out week old garbage pails, in order to chase the trails of her memories in minds so twisted by drugs and misuse that there was no daylight in them. He gripped the wheel tightly and worked to get some control of his emotions but more important his body.
The high he had been on during the hunt was beginning to burn out. All he wanted was to throw her down on the floor, the road, anywhere and enter her body, penetrating her vein at the same time. He knew he needed to get this under control before he took her back to New Orleans. So he had watched for a couple of days. He sat here tonight, finally as much under control as he was going to get, because he had to go ahead, get her into this car, and head east, so that he felt he had some control of the whole situation.