Welcome to Castle Cove: A Design Your Destiny Novel

by Kory M. Shrum

  “Yes, please,” I say without hesitation.

  The nurse lifts a side table from the arm of the bed and swings it out in front of me. Then she places the brown plastic tray with the single blood bag on it as if this is the correct way to present a vampire with her meal.

  All I can do is stare at it.

  “How would you rate your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10?” the nurse asks. “It’s normal to compare it to the hunger you’re used to, so begin there.”

  I think of the semester in college where I experimented with vegetarianism. There were days when I would dream of having a big double patty burger with bacon and a side of fries. Extra ketchup and maybe even a milkshake. That would be my ten.

  “7,” I say, “Definitely hungry. But not out of my mind.”

  She seems pleased with this answer and I can’t help but feel like I’ve passed some unspoken test.

  She reaches across me and presses the call button. “Three more bags, please. Make it four just in case.”

  “How do I—?” I begin. “Like am I supposed to just bite into this thing with my teeth or…”

  She laughs. “I’ll set it up for you.”

  She inserts a tube into one end of the back, wiggling the plastic end into the socket and unrolling the coiled tubing, and cuts it, making the “straw” about four inches long. She offers me the end of the straw. “Just suck hard.”

  I don’t.

  The nurse gives me a wicked smile. “If you don’t drink this, we’ll be forced to feed you the hard way. I promise you won’t like it. If you’re feeling squeamish, just close your eyes and pretend it’s juice or wine. After that, it’ll take care of itself. Hurry up. It clogs up the tube when it’s cold.”

  I pinch my eyes closed and wrap my lips around the cold plastic.

  The blood is warmer and thinner than I expect. And the taste…

  I am not sure what I expected—the iron, metallic taste I’ve known from sucking old wounds, I guess—but this was nothing like it. What I taste is unlike anything I’ve ever had before. Have my taste buds really changed so much, that I’m now able to discern an entirely new flavor? I feel the nurse tugging on the bag and I resist.

  Someone laughs.

  Finally, I open my eyes. Four empty blood packs, clear and drained dry with only hints of red tinging their creases, lay on the tray across my lap.

  “Hungry, weren’t you?” the nurse smiles. “I thought you weren’t going to let me snap the new ones in place there for a second.”

  Dr. Grange is standing in the doorway. “How do you feel?”

  “Better,” I admit.

  A rough knock draws our attention to the door.

  “Aiden,” Dr. Grange says. “How are you?”

  He steps into the room and oh my god, he is freaking gorgeous. It’s like middle school all over again. The beautiful boy is saying hello, walking toward me and I’m just slack-jawed and mute.

  “Aiden,” he says, offering me a large, warm hand.

  “I don’t know—” I begin.

  “You don’t know your name?” he asks with a sweet smile. No malice, just gentle teasing.

  His bright smile falters.

  Dr. Grange compensates for my poor manners and introduces me. “Did you come by to sit with our guest?”

  I like how she makes it sound like I’m staying at the Hampton Inn.

  “I did,” he says. He turns toward me. “If that’s okay with you.”

  “It’s okay,” I say. My face is flushing hot now. Someone. Kill. Me.

  “Hunger?” Grange asks.

  “It’s rising, but not like it was before.”

  “Have you already fed?” he asks, leaning into the side of the bed.

  “Yes. Is it normal to be hungry again so soon?”

  “If he is your type,” Dr. Grange says. “You’ll feel a little hungry regardless.”

  Uh, he’s totally my type. But I think she’s talking about blood.

  “Vampires have a preferred diet like any other predator.”

  Easy for her to say. “I’ve just never—”

  My gaze slides down to his beautiful forearms—why are forearms beautiful at all.

  Dr. Grange checks her watch again. “I have to get going, but I will see you tomorrow when you’re discharged.”

  We both tell her goodnight and watch her leave.

  “So you’re a volunteer?” I ask, trying to fill the silence.

  “I am.” He gestures with his open palms as if to say. “Here to keep you company until the sun rises. So how is the transformation going? How do you feel?”

  I consider how to begin the story and which parts are pertinent. “There was a vampire who was…hurting a woman. I tried to help and almost died too.”

  “Oh.” Surprise flashes in his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I thought you chose to become a vampire. I didn’t realize you were attacked.”

  “It’s okay.” I’m startled by his earnest apology. God, I’m making this worse. Why do I have to be so awkward? “I survived, didn’t I?”

  “Can I ask how?” he says, tentatively leaning back in the bedside chair.

  “I maced the vampire. If I hadn’t, I’d probably be dead. Paramedics were there for the woman. One of them saved my life.”

  His eyes sparkle with wonder. “You’re the one.”

  “The one what?”

  “The paramedic who saved you is my brother, Mason,” he says. “He told me what happened.”

  God, I can only imagine that story. I was the talk of someone’s dinner table last night. An embarrassed flush makes my face burn.

  “He was worried you wouldn’t make it. He’ll be so glad to hear that you did. It’ll be good news. We need some after Jo’s death.”

  He must mean Josephine. “You knew her?”

  He nods. His features tight with emotion. “She was very loved around here. I’m worried about Dr. Grange,” he says. “She’s got to be in a lot of pain right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Dr. Grange and Josephine were together for a long time.” He presses the call button on the side of my bed. “Centuries.”

  “Together together?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Have you known her for long?”

  “Since we moved here when I was ten.”

  “What made you want to be a donor?”

  “Honestly, I wanted to donate because of my brother.”

  “The paramedic?”

  “No, I’m talking about Liam,” he says, lacing his fingers over his lap. “I have four brothers. Mason, Liam, Noah, and John. Mason, Noah and I are all human.”

  “Five sons. Your poor mother.”

  He bursts out laughing. “She’ll appreciate you saying so. Yeah, we were rowdy, but not too bad. But sometimes bad things happen to good people. Like you and Liam. He was attacked, too.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “Yeah, he was only thirteen.”

  “Thirteen. God, what a monster. To be thirteen forever…”

  “Oh, he’s not,” Aiden assured me, pausing to take a big drink of orange juice. “He has the living strain. So his body kept growing and maturing.”

  “It can do that?”

  “Living vampires can, yeah. The bigger and stronger the body the better, as far as predators are concerned. So living vampires continue to grow up until the body fully matures, so the vampire can be as strong and fast as it can be. But if his heart had stopped…” He arches his eyebrows.

  “That would’ve sucked. Even worse than the attack, I’m sure.”

  “He’s made his peace with it. We all have. Coming to Castle Cove really helped. For a long time, my mother wasn’t sure how to help him. She’d already had it hard raising five boys on her own after my father passed but she was holding it together. Right after Liam’s attack, none of us were. It was one of those things you can’t prepare for, you know? But she found out about this place and moved us here, and we were able to get Liam the support he needed. That’s whe
n things got better for us.”

  “It sounds like a great place.”

  “It is,” he says. His smile falters. “Probably not to you, considering what happened.”

  Choice 20

  I’ll stay anyway

  I plan to leave town first chance I get

  I’ll stay.

  “I came here for a new life, I tell him. “I guess I got what I wanted.”

  Not everything. Not yet, I think, looking at this beautiful guy in front of me.

  I can see his love and affection for these brothers beaming from him like warm sunlight as he prattles on.

  Warm sunlight. Something I may never see again.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks, those green eyes darkening. “You look sad all of a sudden.”

  “I was thinking about the beach,” I say. “About driving down oceanside highways in the summertime and seeing the sunlight sparkle on water.”

  He takes my hand. It’s so warm. “If you’re a living vampire, you won’t have to give that up.”

  “And if I’m not?” The first hint of bitterness creeps into my voice.

  “Then hopefully the vampire perks are so fabulous that you won’t mind the change.”

  What a consideration. Too much, in fact. I try to push all of that from my head for now. It’s harder to think anyway. Exhaustion is building in my bones.

  “Is this okay?” he asks, squeezing my hand.

  “Yes.” It’s more than okay. My face blushes red.

  “I’m pretty sure all that blood you drank is in your face,” he says with a laugh.

  “Thanks for noticing.” I’m desperate to change the subject. “Why did you say you would stay with me until dawn?”

  “It’s what I do.”

  “Oh.” I can’t hide my crestfallen face. That’s what I get for thinking I’m special.

  “And because I want to,” he says. “I could have sat with anyone.”

  Ah, so I am special. That’s more like it.

  “Aren’t you curious whether you’re a living or undead vampire?”

  “Of course.”

  “Well, dawn will tell.”

  “How does that work?” I ask, snuggling deeper into the covers.

  “Undead vampires are lifeless when the sun rises.” He makes a motion with his free hand of something falling flat. “They’re totally out. They don’t breathe. They don’t move. If you try to disturb them, they may attack you if they feel threatened, but for the most part, when they’re out, they’re out.”

  I’m wondering if that has to do with the demon inside them.

  “But living vampires don’t do that. They can’t really stay awake without a great deal of effort, but they can manage it. They still breathe. They just look about as exhausted as you do now.”

  He laughs.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, trying to flutter open my eyelids. “But it’s so hard.”

  “It’s four minutes until dawn,” Aiden says.

  “Thank you,” I tell him, feeling like the time to say so is running out.

  “What for?”

  “For not leaving me alone.”

  A moment later he squeezes my hand again, saying my name softly. I manage a grumble.

  “It’s five minutes after sunrise,” he says in a gentle voice. “Looks like you’ll get that sunny, scenic drive after all.”

  I smile. Or at least I think I do.

  When I wake the next evening, it’s to the nurses and flowers.

  Three bouquets and a single flower sit on a side table a few feet from the bed. “They’re beautiful.”

  The nurse removes her stethoscope and moves the table closer. “This one is gorgeous.”

  She’s referring to the bouquet that is twice the size of the other two. My heart skips a beat. Am I ridiculous because I hope it’s from Aiden? He doesn’t owe me flowers.

  The largest bouquet isn’t from Aiden. It’s from Ethan Benedict. I see the gorgeous red roses perched atop their long stems and wonder why in the world he’d bother. But at least he isn’t mad that I’ve missed our appointment at Labyrinth.

  Hope you are feeling like yourself again soon.

  Ethan Benedict

  Formal and polite. But still very nice.

  The second bouquet, pink and white stargazers, fill the room with its fragrant sweetness.

  From everyone in the office. Feel better! We’ll see you soon.

  Laura and the team

  Not fired. That’s a relief. Especially since now I have blood to buy.

  The adorable bouquet of bright, sunny-faced daisies is next.

  To a new life. Even better than the last.

  Aiden Carlson

  “Oh, you like that one,” the nurse says, grinning up at me with the stethoscope in her ears.

  I only smile and pull the single flower toward me. It’s one rose in a plastic cup with a note taped to the rim.

  Now you’re one of them.

  -Spencer

  A cold chill runs down my spine as I realize the note is written on a piece of stationary from the hospital. He was here. Spencer was here in this room and he left this note.

  “Did I have visitors while I was asleep?”

  “I don’t know. I came on at four. I’ll have to ask the day nurse.”

  “Where’s Dr. Grange?” I don’t have the courage to ask where Aiden is, but I want to change the subject.

  “Oh she won’t be able to come in for another two hours. It’s still light outside.”

  “Oh.” I can’t hide my surprise. “Right.”

  “But the good news is that you’re scheduled to be released today. We are just going to give you one more examination, and if all goes well, you’ll be sleeping in your very own coffin by dawn!”

  I must look absolutely horrified because she bursts out laughing.

  “Coffin joke,” she says. “You won’t actually have to sleep in a coffin. Especially since you have the living strain. Normal blackout curtains should do.”

  A knock on the door makes me lean over to see who is there. I’d be lying if I wasn’t hopeful for Aiden. However, it’s not. The doctor performs a physical, taking another sample of blood, looks down my throat, lifting my upper lip to see my upper jaw.

  The nurse who disappeared with my blood comes back and says, “Dr. Jensen says the slides look clean.”

  “Of course they do,” the doctor replies. “You’re the picture of a healthy vampire.”

  “Thank you?” I force a smile, hopefully hiding my awkwardness. “Not something I thought anyone would ever say to me.”

  “It will take some getting used to,” she concedes, pushing her black-framed lenses up on her nose. “But when you leave tonight you’ll have a lot of literature and information to help you through this transition. We’ll send you home with more pamphlets than you can read in a month.”

  And she isn’t lying. When a donor woman named Dana comes by for dinner, she does indeed have a load of pamphlets. I drink her blood through a tube while she prattles on about life as a vampire in Castle Cove.

  The strangest involves disposing of animal carcasses. If I leave them in the street, I can expect to be fined. Pets are forbidden for consumption, but rodents are acceptable. This includes rabbits and squirrels, apparently. I can’t imagine myself chasing down a rabbit to save my life. Though I’ve been told I can hunt in the Wayward Woods as long as I stay east of the territory line and south of Howler’s Hollow, private property to druids and werewolves, respectively.

  While the hospital is sending me home with some blood bags, I’ll have to visit one of the four blood depositories located in town soon. Apparently, this is where I can pick up blood packs to satisfy my daily needs. The pamphlets even give the price I can expect to pay at each stand and their specialties. Then there are the pamphlets telling me how much to drink each day in order to be healthy, and how to safely warm a blood pack. Do not microwave—there is a high risk the bag will rupture during cooking. Heating it on the stovetop is best
.

  I reread this passage at least four times, its strangeness difficult to process.

  I’m a vampire now, my brain reminds me. But it says it like a question. A disbelieving, I’m a vampire?

  “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?” Dr. Grange says. I look up from the pamphlets spread out before me and find her in the doorway. She’s pulled her hair up on top of her head tonight. Her dark blue pantsuit looks comfortable but professional. She smells like soap.

  “To say the least,” I mutter.

  “With time it will feel natural and easy,” she says, stepping into the room. “I assure you.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I do. And I hear that you’ve been cleared for discharge. Are you ready to go?”

  “More than ready,” I say. I’m out of the bed and gathering up the literature. The hospital scrubs are loose on my body, but it’s better than walking out of here naked. My clothes were ruined in the attack apparently.

  “I’m here to offer you a ride home,” Dr. Grange says. “Before I drop you off, I can help you get the necessities, if you like. Do you want my help?”

  Choice 21

  Yes, I would appreciate the help

  No, alone time sounds perfect

  Donor

  “I think I’d like to begin with a person.” I don’t think I can bring myself to suck blood out of bag.

  I am a little weirded out by the idea that a person is just going to be sitting here. Like are they going to lean over the bed? Do I have to get up and go to them? Do I introduce myself first? Hey, so, I’m gonna drink your blood now. Cool?

  So awkward.

  One problem at a time.

  A nurse appears, apparently answering Dr. Grange’s summons. She relays my request for a donor.

  “Great. We’ll take care of it,” the nurse rolls her wrist over and checks the time. “Give me 10-15, okay?”

  I tell her that’s fine and try to relax against the pillow. When they leave me alone with Dr. Grange, I notice something.

  When I turn to Dr. Grange, planning to ask her about it, I catch her smiling.