The Return: (The Eternity Road Trilogy Book 2)

by Lana Melyan

  “Which place do you think we should check next?” asked Ned. “The crypt or the warehouse?”

  “Let me know what you decide,” said Eleanor, getting up. “I have to go. I need to get out of these clothes and take a shower.”

  “Sure,” said Hanna. As Eleanor closed the door behind her, Hanna turned to Ruben. “How is she? Is she all right?”

  “She seems okay.” Ruben shrugged. “But who knows how she really feels.”

  “You’re right. It’s Eleanor. No matter what, she’ll pretend she’s fine,” said Hanna.

  Riley dropped down across from Ruben. “She’s not fine. She just fried two vampires. If she had time to find a lighter and position the trailer, I’m sure she had enough time to stake them. But she chose to burn them.”

  “I know,” sighed Ruben. “That’s what I’ve been thinking.”

  “She’s angry,” said Hanna, nodding slowly.

  “She’s not just angry,” said Riley. “She’s in pain. She doesn’t just want them dead, she wants them to suffer.”

  “Maybe if Craig were here—”

  “Well, he’s not. So we have to keep an eye on her, help her control her emotions. Her rage can get her into trouble. And not just her.”

  “Now that we’ve sorted that out,” said Ned, “which place first––crypt or warehouse?”

  Hanna, Ruben, and Riley stared at him.

  “What?” shrugged Ned. “You had your fight, I want some, too. I’m exploding here.”

  They decided to check the crypt first, but they couldn’t break into it before dark. The graveyard was located in a populated area and acted as a park during the day. People came just to sit on a bench, read a book, walk their dog, or cut across its walkway with tall, arched trees as a shortcut from one street to another.

  At night, the darkness scared the people away. And if there were vampires in those coffins, that would be the time for them to get out. The four of them agreed it would be better to go before sunset to keep an eye on the crypt and wait until dark.

  Ruben pulled out his cellphone and went to the backyard. He sent a message to Eleanor letting her know about their plan, then he called Kimberly and asked her to meet him. After their conversation at the castle’s beach, he couldn’t help thinking he was losing her. When he drove her to school that morning, she’d barely said a word, giving curt answers to his questions and excusing them with lack of sleep.

  Of course, there was a lot for her to take in. She needed time for that, and he hoped she’d let him help her instead of pushing him away. He wanted to be there for her, and not only because he cared about her. He felt responsible for turning her world upside down. She became friends with Amanda when she was nine years old. Nobody knew then that Amanda would become Eleanor, not even the Hunters. But if it weren’t for Ruben, she might never have found out who Amanda was, that the Hunters were not just a legend, and that monsters were real. It was his fault she witnessed the murder of somebody she knew, that she got in the middle of this fight. And now that Fray had seen Kimberly with him, she had become a target.

  It was hot. They walked down by the canal until Ruben noticed a bench in between the trees.

  “I can’t stay long,” said Kimberly as they sat down. “Mom and David are meeting friends tonight. They want me to look after my brother.”

  “Be careful. You know how it works. Don’t invite anyone you don’t know into your house.”

  “I won’t. Don’t worry, I’ll be okay.”

  Ruben took her hand. “Kimberly, I can’t apologize enough for getting you into this mess. I shouldn’t have let you come with me that day.”

  “You didn’t do this. You wanted me to go back to Green Hill, but I was too stubborn.”

  “I should have forced you,” said Ruben, looking at her. “I’m sorry.”

  Kimberly didn’t meet his eyes. “I’m not,” she said quietly, her gaze fixed on the motionless shadow of leaves from the branch hanging above them. “After everything that happened that day, the only thing I’m sorry about is that Melinda got killed and I saw it happen. I’m not sorry for knowing the truth about you.”

  “But you’re angry with us We’re the reason they’re here. Hanna said—”

  “I was. When I heard about Nicole, I couldn’t think straight. I needed time alone, to put my thoughts together. So much has happened in the last two days. You’re not the bad guys––they are, and because of them, everybody in this town is in danger.”

  “I know you’re scared,” said Ruben. “We can’t guarantee there will be no more deaths––there are too many vampires out there, and we still don’t know where they are. But I’ll never let anything happen to you. We’ll all look after you.”

  “I know.” Kimberly nodded. “I know my superhero friends will do everything they can to keep me safe. I’m a lucky girl,” she said with irony. “I know I’m in danger, too, but that’s not what scares me. What I’m really afraid of is one day waking up and you’re gone, and so are my friends, and I’ll have no memories of any of you.” She pushed back her long ginger hair. “I’ll be lonely, but I’ll never understand why I have a big hole in my chest, and why I feel so empty.”

  “Kimberly, what are you talking about?”

  “Isn’t that what happens when you erase someone's memory?”

  “What? Nobody is going to erase your memory.”

  “It’s not up to you to decide. You said yourself that people can’t know about your existence. Samson will never agree…”

  “Samson would never do such a thing without asking me. We are not an army, we are family, he loves us and respects our wishes and opinions.”

  Kimberly released a heavy sigh. “And then what? They were my best friends, we were just girls. It’ll never be the same. The two of them . . . they’ve known each other for so long, they have such a strong bond.”

  “I know where this is coming from,” said Ruben. “It’s because Eleanor and Hanna couldn’t be with you today.” Ruben put his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me,” he said, turning her towards him. “They are still your friends, and I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  Kimberly’s face changed and the sadness in her eyes faded.

  “Who’s Eleanor?” She squinted. “We don’t have an Eleanor in our class.” She smiled.

  “That’s better,” said Ruben, pulling her closer.

  “That’s why I tried not to look at you,” said Kimberly, resting her head on his chest. “You’re worse than a witch. You can wipe my memory with one glance.”

  10

  Three Hunters were more than enough to check out the crypt. So when Riley, Ned, and Eleanor left, Ruben and Hanna waited until dark and headed to Alec’s place to recover Nicole’s body.

  Hanna hit the brakes before they reached the house, and both of them stared at the police car parked out front.

  “Crap,” said Hanna through gritted teeth. “What do we do?”

  But before Ruben could say anything, they heard a muted pop. A gunshot. They looked at each other, then around at the empty street. They leaped out of the car and dashed toward the front door.

  The moment they walked in, a pungent, caustic smell hit their noses.

  “It’s gotten much worse.” Hanna pressed her palm to her nose. “It’s revolting.”

  They passed the threshold and stopped under the arch. The living room was illuminated by two lamps. The sheaves of yellow light they cast on the walls looked like huge dandelions. Next to one of them stood a tall, robust vampire who wrestled a policeman in his grip.

  At the spot where Mrs. Stafford’s body lay before, there now lay a long, black bag with two handles, while Mr. Stafford’s legs still stuck out from behind the couch.

  The vampire spotted Ruben and Hanna and wrapped his arm around the policeman's neck. “Ha!” he smirked. “Look who's here.”

  “I'm glad you recognized us. Now let him go before I rip your head off,” said Ruben, glaring at the vampire.

  “No,” s
aid the vampire, baring his fangs. “If you take another step, I’ll rip his off.”

  The choking policeman clung to the arm of the vampire.

  “I don’t see how it’s going to help you stay alive,” said Hanna.

  They heard heavy footsteps, followed by the sound of something rubbing against the floor. A second vampire came out from the basement, dragging another body bag by the handle.

  “Put her down,” hissed Hanna.

  The vampire gazed at her, then turned to his partner. “Roy?”

  Hanna dashed toward him and clutched his throat. “I said put her down.” As he dropped the bag, Hanna threw him across the room. The vampire slammed against the big TV hanging on the wall and crashed to the floor.

  Ruben looked at the wheezing policeman. The moment he got Ruben’s attention, the officer rolled his eye toward the window. Ruben followed the gaze and saw the policeman’s gun on the floor, under the sill.

  “According to you two, we’re gonna die anyway,” said the vampire called Roy. “So I have a last wish.” He sank his fangs into the policeman's neck.

  “Stop,” said Ruben. “I have an offer.”

  Roy pulled his head up, licking the blood from his lips. “I’m all ears,” he said, sneering.

  “We take the policeman and the girl’s body, and after you clean up your mess, you can get the hell out of here.”

  “He saw us,” said Roy, pointing at the policeman. “He saw you. We can’t let him go.”

  “It’s not your concern. We’ll take care of it.”

  “I don’t trust you,” growled Roy.

  Ruben glanced at Roy, who was almost a head taller than the policeman. He walked to the window and picked up the gun. “Like you have a choice,” said Ruben, and he shot the vampire in the forehead. Roy swayed and dropped to the floor. The policeman, who had crashed on top of him, jumped to his feet.

  Ruben turned to the second vampire, still standing next to the lopsided TV. “When he comes around, you two better do as I said, or I might change my mind.” As the vampire nodded, Ruben looked at the policeman. “Don’t try anything stupid. We can’t let you go right away, but we’re not going to hurt you. And we need your help.”

  The policeman stared at the gun in Ruben’s hand. Ruben stepped back to the sill and put the gun down.

  “Ruben,” whispered Hanna, pulling him aside. “How are we going to . . . we don’t have a witch to erase his memory.”

  “He’ll stay with us until we find one.”

  “You better hurry, then,” said the vampire, nodding toward the policeman.

  Holding the gun with both hands and pointing it at the vampire, the policeman was slowly moving to the front door. The moment Ruben moved, the policeman aimed at him.

  “Stop, or I’ll shoot,” he shouted.

  Ruben stopped. The man was around forty, had a strong body. With a gun in his hand, he seemed confident that he was back in control. But to his disappointment, Ruben took another step and then, in a flash, he stood right next to him, the gun in Ruben’s hand.

  The shocked man stared at him. “How did you do that?”

  “What’s your name?” asked Ruben. He looked at the holes on the man’s neck and the collar of his shirt, soaked in blood.

  “Mike.”

  “Listen to me carefully, Mike. This,” said Ruben calmly, putting the gun into the holster on the policeman’s belt, “can’t help you. The bullets can’t stop any of us.”

  The man closed his open mouth and swallowed. “It stopped him,” he said, turning to Roy.

  “He’s not dead.”

  “You shot him in the head,” said the policeman indignantly, pointing his hand at the vampire.

  “In a few minutes, he’ll be as good as new. Sorry.” Ruben gave a fake smile. “But you won't be here to witness the miracle. We have to do this very quickly. First–– what were you doing here?”

  “We got an anonymous call that there might be a robbery.”

  “Did you come alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” Ruben thought for a few seconds, then said, “You’ll tell everybody who asks that it was a false alarm. That Mr. and Mrs. Stafford are spending time in their cabin and needed a few things from the house. Their friends came to pick up the stuff and you even helped them.” He turned to Hanna. “Go get his car.”

  “No,” said Hanna. “His car will attract attention.”

  “Right.” Ruben frowned. “Go get yours. Park it with the trunk to the porch.”

  He walked to the black bag holding Nicole’s body. “Come here,” he said to the policeman, taking one handle. “Grab the other one.”

  “We can’t do this,” protested the policeman. “This is a crime scene. These are dead people,” he said, pointing at the bags. “What if someone heard the gunshots?”

  “There was no one outside. Besides, I have perfect hearing, and even I barely heard it.”

  “But what if…”

  “You’ll come up with something. Listen, Mike,” said Ruben firmly, “I need to get out of here. The moment I’m gone, you’ll become stuffing for one of those bags.” Still holding the handle on one side of the bag, he beckoned his head. “I said grab the other one.”

  When Hanna said that it was safe to come out, Ruben and Mike carried the bag to the car and put it in the trunk.

  “You’ll come with us,” Ruben said to Mike. “But first we need to find some place where we can park that––” he nodded toward the police car “––for a couple of hours.”

  When both cars stopped in dark alley, Ruben turned to Mike. “Do you have an emergency kit?”

  “It’s in the trunk,” said Mike grimly.

  Hanna got out of her car and walked to Ruben as he waited for Mike to rummage through his trunk.

  “Where are we going to take her?” she asked quietly.

  “Somewhere outside of town.” Ruben looked at Hanna’s tear-filled eyes. “I’m sorry, Hanna.”

  “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault,” she said bitterly. “I saw him at the party. I should have known that bastard was one of them.”

  “No, it’s not your fault. I was there, too, and I didn’t sense it either.”

  “Here,” said Mike, handing the emergency kit to Ruben.

  Ruben opened it, found a bandage.

  “Let me,” said Hanna, taking the bandage out of Ruben’s hand. She approached Mike. “Can I see your neck? You’ll have to come up with some story about how you got injured.” She put the bandage on his wound. “And you’ll have to change your shirt before getting back to the station.”

  “Why can’t I go now?” asked Mike, looking angry. “Where are you taking me?”

  “Because,” said Ruben, putting the emergency kit back in the trunk, “as I said, we need your help. Let’s go. I’ll explain on the way.”

  Pressing his lips together, Mike followed them to Hanna’s car.

  “This girl in the trunk is Nicole Price,” said Ruben as they drove.

  “Nicole Price?” Mike frowned. “That’s the girl we have been looking for.”

  “Yes. She was the innocent victim of a fight she knew nothing about. We went to the house to get her body before those monsters took her somewhere she would never be found. We did it because she didn’t deserve to go that way. We need you to see where we put her so you can call the police and tell them you found her. You can do it today, or you can do it tomorrow––it’s up to you to decide when and how. Can you do that, Mike?”

  Mike swallowed. “Yes, I can do that,” he said, running his fingers through the short, gray hair at his temples. “Did you know her?”

  Ruben looked into the rearview mirror. Sitting in the back seat, Hanna turned her head and looked at the trunk.

  “Yes. She was my friend,” she said. “We’re just trying to do the right thing. Her parents deserve to say goodbye to their daughter, to bury her properly.” She sighed. “Otherwise they’ll never find peace.”

  Mike took a deep brea
th. “Listen, I understand that you mean well, but . . . what about the other two bodies? I can still call backup, maybe we could—”

  “You can’t,” said Ruben. “Believe me. I know what I’m talking about.”

  “I’ve been a policeman for sixteen years. I’ve seen things. I’ve seen a lot of things. But what I saw today . . .” Mike gazed at Ruben. “Who are they?”

  “I can’t tell you. And even if I did, you'd never believe me.”

  “Maybe I would.” Mike shrugged. “That man bit me. I felt him sucking my blood.”

  Ruben threw a glance in the mirror. Hanna closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “What’s even more interesting, and also very disturbing,” continued Mike, “is that those men were afraid of you.” He looked at Ruben, waiting for a reaction.

  “Because we know who they are and how to fight them,” said Ruben.

  “You said that the man you shot will come back to life, that a bullet can’t stop any of you.”

  “I only said that to stop you from—”

  “Don’t.” Mike waved his hand. “Don’t do that. It’s too late to backpedal.” He took another deep breath. “Why do you think I didn’t try to escape, or fight you? I’m a policeman. I’m twice as old as you, I have a gun, and I’m not a coward.”

  “No, you’re not a coward,” said Ruben, stopping the car at a red light. “You just witnessed some very weird things, and it surprises me it didn’t scare you.” He looked at the intersection. “Which way is shorter to the highway? I think if I turn left. . . .”

  “Just drive forward,” said Mike. “You’re in the wrong lane.”

  “Nothing we can’t fix,” said Ruben, stepping on the gas pedal and turning the wheel. The car swung to the left, filling the gap between two cars as they drove across. Several horns beeped loudly around them. Mike shook his head.

  After a few more minutes, they turned into a quiet alley, leaving behind the busy streets.

  Mike began tapping the door handle with two fingers. “My father was a believer,” he said, looking absently through the window glass.