by L. M. Justus
“Yeah, I’m just . . . stressed,” Reed answered.
Would you be this concerned and friendly with me if you knew I was a vampire?
A rush of adrenaline spurted through Sarah’s veins when she picked up Reed’s thought. Was he going to spill the beans right now?
“How did you get the nickname ‘Pickle?’” Reed blurted instead.
“Ha!” Pickle chuckled, momentarily caught off guard. “I should come up with a good story to go with the name, but honestly dude, I just like to eat pickles. My Mom used to say I’d turn into a pickle one day if I didn’t stop.”
Sarah blew out a sigh. The door off to the side opened, and the rest of the group filed into the room.
After everyone had taken a seat, Liz stood to speak. “Thank you all for being here. We have an update from our newest members, so I’ll let them fill us in. Go ahead please, Sarah.”
“Thank you, Liz. I was able to arrange a brief meeting with the King, under the pretense that I was willing to offer him a sample of my blood. As you know, he’s interested in experimenting with my DNA because of my psychic ability. We set an appointment for tomorrow night to take a blood sample.”
Pickle cleared his throat. “So if we carry out our operation tomorrow during the day, you won’t have to worry about keeping that appointment. That is, if you agree we should carry out our plan after your meeting with the King.”
“I agree to a certain extent,” Sarah said. She had to be careful with her explanation because she realized these people were dangerous. If she threatened their plan, who knew how they would react or what they would do?
“You were right about the virus,” Sarah continued. “As far as I could tell, the King is not trying to cure vampire weaknesses or further enhance themselves. His only goal is to create a virus that will infect humans, turning them into vampire-human hybrids. His interest in my psychic ability is to improve the hybrids, not the existing vampires. The King is also certifiably insane. I’ve never read a mind more jumbled or messed up. The things that make perfect sense to him make no sense at all. And the worst thing is, he’s on the verge of releasing the virus despite the fact it isn’t ready. The hybrids they’ve created so far don’t survive more than a few days at most.”
“So what part of our plan do you not agree with?” Liz asked. Others nodded as if they had the same question.
“I agree we should destroy the virus. And probably the King. But I don’t agree with destroying every vampire in the King’s manor, and certainly not every vampire in the world. Not only is that goal unrealistic and possibly suicidal, I don’t think you can generalize to the point where all vampires are evil beings that deserve to die. There are human men and women out there who are true monsters: people who have done horrible things to their own kind. And there are also good vampires: kind, helpful and generous.”
“Vampires ruined my life,” Liz said. Her gaze grew dark and she clenched her fists. “They took everything from me. They killed my husband and my daughter.”
“They took everything from me too,” Reed said. “But the vampire who killed my family is dead, and killing all the rest of them won’t bring my family back. One of the vampires has taken me under his wing and helped me out when I had no one else to turn to. He’s become like a father figure to me, and he’s my friend.”
Liz put her hands on her hips and frowned. “He must have a hidden agenda.”
“No, he doesn’t!” Reed’s voice rose and Sarah worried that his fangs might pop out if he didn’t calm down. She gripped his shoulder, and he turned to look at her.
Careful, she mouthed.
“His name is Nathaniel,” Reed continued, “and he’d probably help us if you gave him a chance. He wouldn’t want this stupid virus to get out either. And he also agrees that the older, insane vampires should die.”
“How can you sympathize with them after all they’ve done to you?” Liz asked.
“What would you do if your daughter had been turned into a vampire?” Reed asked. “Would you kill her too? Even if she seemed like the same person, and her only crime was that she was a vampire? Even if she would do anything to be human again?”
“How dare you!” Liz shouted. Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “Why the hell would you say something like that to me?”
“Because that’s what happened to me.” Reed lowered his head, but Sarah could still see the tips of his fangs poking out from under his upper lip.
Time seemed to freeze. No one moved or spoke, and it was one of those moments where a pin dropping would have seemed thunderously loud. Reed’s shoulders moved up and down with each breath, and his eyelashes fluttered.
“No,” Trudy said, shaking her head. “You can’t be one of them.”
“But . . . how . . . ? I zapped you with the UV ball,” Pickle said.
“And you walked here in broad daylight,” Joe added.
“You walked through our silver bead curtain,” Sahib said.
Reed raised his head to face the group. After several calming breaths, his fangs retracted. “I know. I’m a freak, even among vampires. That’s why the King wanted me. He wants his goddamn hybrids to be able to go out in the sun.”
“You’re the last piece of the puzzle they were talking about in that e-mail I read,” Liz said. “And hey, you don’t have super strength, you have vampire strength.”
“Listen, I want the same thing as you. I want to get rid of the virus, and I want to kill all the vampires. Except for Nathaniel. I have to warn him to get out of there before we blow the place. That’s all I’m asking.”
Liz shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. We have to eliminate all of the vampires, otherwise they can create more.”
“I don’t even know how to make new vampires,” Reed argued. “I guess that answers my question though. You really would kill your own daughter if she were a vamp. And you’re going try to kill me too, aren’t you? That’s just great. I’ve lost count of the number of people who want me dead.” He stalked towards the exit.
“Reed!” Sarah called.
“Why don’t you humans discuss your plans together? I’ll come back and pick you up before nightfall, Sarah.”
The silver beads clicked against each other. Reed had zipped away faster than their eyes could track him.
Liz pursed her lips. “Was he that much of a hot-head before he was turned?”
Sarah spun to look at Liz. “Are you kidding me? He’s been through so much the last couple of weeks. Plus, you just implied that you plan to kill him. Maybe not today, but at some point in the future. How the hell was he supposed to react?”
“How did you expect us to react? As far as secrets go, that was a real whopper. You’d better not tell us you’re a vamp too.” She glared at Sarah.
“No, I’m not. I swear.”
Trudy crossed her legs and looked at Sarah, not without sympathy. “You love him, don’t you?”
Sarah considered denying it, but her hesitation probably made the answer obvious. “I didn’t mean to let it happen, but yes, I have strong feelings for him. He’s a good kid, and I care about him. A lot.”
“Does he . . . drink blood?” Pickle asked.
Sarah grimaced. “Yes.”
“Human blood?” Liz asked. Her voice sounded like it had dropped an octave lower.
“Well–”
“It’s a yes or no question!”
“Yes, human blood for Heaven’s sake. He doesn’t have any choice. He tried to live off cow’s blood, but the vampires wouldn’t let him.”
Trudy stood up. “Okay, so he’s a vampire. So what? Does anyone here believe that Reed’s running off to the vampires to tattle on us? I don’t think so. My instincts tell me this isn’t a convoluted plan the vampires have cooked up to infiltrate our organization. There’s no way this is an act. I trust Sarah and Reed, and I think we should continue with our operation as planned. Who’s with me?” She surveyed the group, and each member raised their hand, one by one, including L
iz.
“Good. Then let’s finalize the details and get ready for the big day tomorrow.”
The bead curtain rattled, and Sarah lifted her head from the stacks of papers on the table. Reed stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe. The muted light of early evening was visible through the entryway, and Sarah realized the sun had almost set already. The day had flown by in a flurry of activity, organizing details for the next day. Sarah was responsible for the neutralization and disposal of the virus, hopefully with Reed’s help, while the rest of the group would take care of the destruction of the lair and the vampires within it.
“I’d better head out,” she said and stood to leave. “I’ll call tomorrow morning and let you know when things are a go.”
“All right, good luck,” Pickle said. “You’ve still got your UV ball, right?”
Sarah patted her jeans pocket. “Yep, still got it.”
“Talk to you tomorrow then. Take care.”
Sarah walked over to Reed and the others muttered their goodbyes. She slipped through the curtain and followed Reed out into the empty street. He started walking ahead of her, and she jogged to catch up.
Reed looked sideways at her while they continued to walk past the endless rows of warehouses and storage facilities. “I’m sorry I took off on you. That wasn’t very nice.”
She blinked and the sky grew dark as the last rays of sunlight sunk below the buildings. “I understand.”
Reed stopped walking. He curled a strand of her hair around his finger and tucked it behind her ear. “Yeah, but I still shouldn’t have abandoned you like that. My bad.”
Sarah grinned. “It’s impossible to be mad at you because you’re too darn cute. Seriously, don’t worry about it.”
“Should we kiss and make up?”
She laughed. “There’s nothing to make up for.” She slapped him on the shoulder and continued walking.
After several more minutes they had almost reached the edge of the warehouse district. Sarah sighed. “This place gives me the creeps.”
“It feels like we’re the last people on earth,” Reed agreed.
He stopped suddenly, sniffing the air. “What’s that weird smell?”
“What smell?” Sarah asked.
“It’s like . . . pine trees, or wet dirt. Or . . . shit!”
“What?”
Reed grabbed her, pulling her close. “It’s another vampire. I’m not supposed to be out at night without a chaperone, remember? Dammit, I shouldn’t have waited so long to come pick you up.”
A man appeared in the dim light of the street a few feet ahead of them. “Vampires, plural actually,” he said with an evil grin.
“You remember us, I hope?” another voice came from behind them. Reed and Sarah spun around.
Recognition pounded through Sarah, threatening to crush her flat. The vampire brothers they’d encountered outside of Vegas, Basil and Nicolas. She swore.
The taller one with shoulder-length hair, Nicolas, circled them. “I see you are still in the company of your human plaything. She is rather lovely. Does she taste good?”
“Leave her alone, she has nothing to do with any of this,” Reed growled.
“Feeling protective of your human pet, youngling? It is unwise to become attached to such fragile creatures,” Basil said, his dark eyes glinting in the moonlight.
“Why bother giving him advice, Brother?” Nicolas said. “He will be dead in five minutes anyway. Should we rip off one of his arms first, or his legs?”
Sarah could barely stand, her legs shook so badly. “He never did anything to you two. Your father killed Reed’s family. He’s the one who should be upset with you!”
“Oh, please,” Nicolas flicked his hand at Sarah. “Get rid of her, will you?”
Basil darted forward, grabbed Sarah, and flung her through the air.
“No! Sarah!” Reed shouted.
Pain knifed through Sarah’s head when she hit the brick wall of a building several feet away. She bounced off the wall onto the pavement and slid across the ground, scraping skin off her hands and arms. She rolled away from the momentum of the impact, and lifted her hand to her forehead. She was sticky and wet with blood, and it felt like someone had hit her with a sledgehammer. The world swayed and dipped, and she thought she might black out.
A heart-wrenching scream ripped through the night, and she rolled onto her stomach, her head pounding in protest. The two vampires were leaning over a dark shape on the ground, tearing and growling like wolves at a kill. Sarah spotted something that looked like a mannequin’s arm lying off to the side. An arm with a hand sticking out the end of a bloody jacket sleeve. Reed’s jacket.
Her brain felt sluggish. For a moment, time stood still while her mind connected what she was seeing with reality. Her gut lurched with a wave of nausea, and she retched, losing the contents of her stomach. A high-pitched keening noise escaped her throat, almost drowning out Reed’s agonizing cries.
She dragged herself across the ground through the blood and vomit, inching closer to the vampires. Jamming her hand into her right pocket, she felt for the UV ball. Her fingers slick with blood, she struggled to keep a grip on it as she pulled it out. She held down the button the way Pickle had shown her, and slid the small lever upwards while holding the ball above her head.
A blinding flash of light exploded from the ball, and the vampires shrieked and burst into flame. They stumbled away and disintegrated into dust. The last fire-lit pieces floated to the ground and tears poured down Sarah’s face.
She turned to Reed, and choked back a sob at the severed leg lying next to his body. “Oh, God! Somebody please help me!” she cried.
Reed’s head turned to the side, and Sarah screamed. He was still alive, but she barely recognized him. Gashes tore across his face, his fangs were fully extended, and his eyes black dots in a pool of white. He looked like a monster. He looked like he wanted to eat her.
She scrambled away on all fours, rising to stand up with difficulty. She stumbled down the road in shock, searching her pocket for her cell phone. She pulled it out and stabbed at the buttons to call Nathaniel. Too shaky to dial properly, she had to retry twice before she got it right.
“Hello, this is Nathaniel.”
Sarah gasped for breath, panting. She tried to speak, but her throat was parched. A drop of blood dripped into her eye and she blinked.
“Hello? Sarah?”
“Nathaniel!” Sarah cried.
“What is it? What has happened? Where are you?”
“Reed . . . he’s . . . oh, God,” she wailed.
“Where. Are. You?”
“I don’t know,” she whimpered. “Somewhere near Fifth and Morrison I think.”
“Wait there. I will find you. If Reed is hurt, do not go near him.” He hung up.
Sarah leaned against the wall of the building beside her, and slid to the ground. She held her hands against her head and screamed, but no sound came out.
Nathaniel
The cool, late autumn wind whipped past Nathaniel’s face while he raced through the night to find Sarah. He could not imagine what manner of trouble she and Reed had stumbled into this time. Even if a vampire on patrol had discovered Reed without a chaperone, every vampire in this region knew the King wanted him alive. They wouldn’t dare harm the boy. If humans had been the cause of Sarah’s distress, however, Reed could have handled the problem. No human was a match for even the newest of vampires. So what had upset Sarah to the extent that she could barely speak to Nathaniel on the phone?
Nathaniel smelled copious amounts of blood–mostly vampire, but some human–as he neared the location Sarah had given him. He picked up her scent and sped through the vast array of warehouses until he found her.
She was covered in dirt and a layer of vomit, and a wound on her scalp bled into her hair and down her face. His fangs emerged, the tantalizing aroma of her blood superseding all the others.
“Sarah.”
She
screamed.
“Shh . . . it is I, Nathaniel. Hold still,” he said, grasping her by the shoulders and pulling her to her feet. He leaned toward her and licked the gash on her forehead.
She struggled to escape his grip. “Stop it! What are you doing?”
“I am healing your wound. Please, be still.” He wished he could mesmerize Sarah and force her to be calm, but he knew she was immune to vampire mind control.
She sounded on the verge of hyperventilation, and her whole body shook. “You have to go help Reed. He’s . . . they . . . oh, God.”
Nathaniel took a deep breath and his fangs retracted. “What has happened?”
“The brothers . . . from Vegas . . .” she choked out and began sobbing.
“Listen to me,” Nathaniel said, holding her face in his hands, looking her straight in the eye. “Return to the King’s manor. I will call you after I have taken care of this. Everything will be all right. Do you understand? Can you make your way back on your own?”
She blinked, and her tears traced a track through the grime on her cheeks. Then she nodded.
“Good. Go now.”
Nathaniel took off, homing in on the scent of spilled vampire blood. He approached the grisly scene and paused, attempting to comprehend what lay before him. He detected the scent of the Panagos brothers, Nicolas and Basil, but there was no sign of them. There were two distinctive piles of ash on the ground, but these could not be their remains, could they?
His heart almost stopped when he realized the extent of Reed’s injuries. His left arm and leg had been literally chewed off, and his face and chest were covered with deep gashes. The poor boy whimpered and groaned as he tried to drag himself along the ground with his right arm. Then he turned his feral gaze on Nathaniel.
There was a burning sensation at the back of his throat. Nathaniel had seen many things in his two centuries of existence, but this was almost more than he could bear.
He knelt on the pavement, wet with blood. “I am sorry, but this is the best way.” He lifted Reed’s head and slammed it back onto the ground, rendering him unconscious. He wished there was a painkiller that worked on vampires, but there was not.