Enduring Service

by Regina Morris

  When she stood at the head of the line, she approached the cloaked man. He placed a sign around her neck, but for some reason she couldn’t read it. She wanted to ask the man to read the sign to her, but instead of asking for help, she climbed into her boat. She waited for a second person to join her, but then the tiny ship went down the stream with her alone.

  A sense of loss and sadness surrounded her. She looked ahead to the couple in front of her boat and tried to read their signs but couldn’t. As she glanced back to the shore, she could read the signs worn by the pair behind her in the line. The man wore a red outfit and the woman wore a purple one. Both of their signs read, “Matrimony.” She looked down at her sign and was finally able to read it. She read the word, “Reject.”

  She panicked as she stood up, nearly capsizing her craft. She screamed the word ’No’. The boat toppled and she fell into the cold water, which had now turned into blood. She tried to swim back to the shore. The cloaked man at the shore saw her and called out to her. In her desperation, she started to sink. The man’s words echoed in her ear as she began to lose her battle with the blood engulfing her. The man’s words repeated, “Reject! Reject!”

  Suddenly, she sat in a bigger boat docked along the shoreline and was no longer drowning. The cloaked man approached her. He told her that everything was how life was meant to be. She noticed a sign around his neck. The words read, “Unwanted.” The cloak fell off the man’s head and Dixon stood before her.

  Sulie awokened, and jumped up in the bed with a start. The dream faded into her subconscious mind as she took in the surroundings of her cell. Her heart raced and her skin became wet with perspiration. She remembered bits and pieces of the dream, but couldn’t remember how she found herself in that forest and how she came to the stream.

  She remembered the ending of the dream and sadness engulfed her. Tears ran down her aged cheeks as she lay back down on the bed and rocked herself for comfort.

  Since no one was around, she allowed herself to silently cry. Her years of government training prepared her for situations such as this, but nothing prepared her for the loneliness she now felt. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and felt her wrinkled skin. How long had she slept? How much aging had taken place as she lay there being tortured by that stupid dream? She looked at her watch and realized only a few hours had passed while she had slumbered.

  She glanced at her hands and wanted to cry more. She remained thankful not to have a mirror nearby. Even with her inability to cast a clear reflection, she would still be able to see the gray hair and wrinkles. She didn’t want to see them. She just wanted to turn Charles, Trudy, and the others to dust.

  She wiped her nose and realized a familiar scent hung in the air. Blood. Human blood. She licked her lips, her fangs brushing up against her tongue. Sitting up, she stared at the still locked door. No footsteps approached, but she noticed something else. On the floor of the cell sat a small glass. She dashed over and picked up the glass. Only a few gulps, but it was blood.

  She studied the glass to determine if it was a trap. There certainly wasn’t enough blood for her to age back more than a handful of years, so she decided to take the risk and drink it, hoping the blood was indeed a gift.

  She wondered who her new–found friend was and why they chose to help her.

  Chapter Twenty–Five

  Dixon only hesitated for a split second when Briggs told him to get into the car, but fortunately, Briggs appeared so self–involved to notice the slight pause. What worried Dixon more than getting into a car with a kidnapper was the fact that Briggs had joked about getting a quick bite on the way to see Sulie. At least, Dixon hoped the vampire had been joking.

  Dixon opened the side door of the car and loose papers flew out. He resisted the urge to stop the wind from picking them up and scattering them along the pavement. Instead, he took a seat — sitting on even more paperwork.

  Briggs pulled out of his parking spot and drove down the winding pathway to the ground floor exit of the parking garage. Dixon spotted Sulie’s car as they passed the vehicle on floor four. I’m doing this for Sulie, he thought repeatedly as he straightened in his seat and stared blankly ahead.

  The car careened onto the street and headed towards the interstate, nearly hitting two parked cars. Dixon realized that if they were to be in a car accident, only he would die. Briggs’ driving only became more reckless as they entered the freeway.

  Dixon had to bite his tongue several times during the long car ride with Briggs. The man was a driving menace and a self–righteous bore with delusions of grandeur and a God complex. If cleanliness was next to godliness, Dixon felt that Briggs stood a far cry away from being omniscient. The littered car held a carelessly tossed patient file and parking garage tickets. He saw no speeding tickets, which would have surprised Dixon, but he realized the vampire would just compel his way out of those — granted he’d have to stop first. Dixon caught a quick glimpse of Briggs as the man laughed and made fun of a slow driver ahead of him. Dixon also noticed the driver side floorboards were covered with a layer of clay mud, as were the vamp’s shoes.

  As if being scared for his life in the car wasn’t enough, he had to listen to the vampire prattle on about Sulie. He swore if the bastard commented one more time on Sulie’s body, her sexual appetites, or about any physical relationship he may have had with his best friend, Dixon was going to pull out the dagger and stab him here in his Ford Taurus.

  Pretending to be compelled proved to be a lot harder when you wanted to kill someone.

  Dixon’s jaw tightened and his lips flattened as he did his best to suppress his anger when the doctor described Sulie as bothersome and a troublemaker when it came to her loyalties and family bonds. Dixon’s hands had already balled into fists, but now his nails bit into the palms of his hands. Words of the caliber ’devoted’, ’determined’ and ’irreplaceable’ seemed more Sulie’s speed. Dixon wondered how well this man really knew her. He struggled to sit with a stiff back and a blank expression on his face as the vamp began listing Sulie’s best, and worst, body parts for pleasing a man.

  After what seemed like a lifetime of traffic, and several toll roads, the car sped down a street towards an area that must have been zoned for retail stores. Because of economic hardships, most of the stores were empty with no new renters moving in. Dixon assumed the area had probably been pleasant and thriving in better economic times. Now the place remained in disarray, with fallen fences, knee–high weeds, and broken windows in some of the shops. He didn’t recognize the area, but then again, he had little reason to be in such a heavy crime area.

  “After I park the car you will exit and follow me into the restaurant,” Dr. Briggs said as he parked the car and turned off the ignition. “I know someone who will be surprised to see you.”

  Dixon’s heart almost skipped a beat. Sulie was so close by. The restaurant operated as the hub of a mini–mall with many connecting stores. The parking lot was overrun with weeds, the store fronts were chained shut and a stench of urine and waste, from what Dixon assumed were squatters at some point in time, lingered in the air. The stench smelled so unpleasant that the place almost reeked like a farm.

  He followed the compelling to the letter and walked inside the restaurant with the doctor. The wooden entryway creaked under their weight, and the door squeaked when it opened and then shut behind them. Dixon stood still once inside. The compelling was not to take a seat or to even wander through the place. It was only to follow the man in. He stood there looking blankly into the dark dining area, but only the first few tables were visible to his human eyes.

  Hearing high heels clicking against the hard wooden floor, Dixon forced his look to remain transfixed ahead of him. With his peripheral vision, he could tell the woman entering the room was not Sulie but the midwife from the video. She stood slightly taller and had shorter hair than Sulie.

  “You ordered in?” she sneered as she took a good look at Briggs with her cold eyes. “Were enough bra
ts born today to meet your quota?”

  Dixon noticed that Briggs broke eye contact and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

  “Of course, Trudy. As always,” Briggs said.

  His voice sounded withdrawn. Dixon wondered if the flask was extra or if he was skimming off the top. Since he had the personality that used car salesmen strive to attain, Dixon figured it was the latter. The way Briggs’ ego deflated around her made Dixon believe the woman was the head honcho in the room.

  “Of course, Trudy,” she mocked. She then leaned in and sniffed his breath. “Steal from the family again and you’ll find yourself in a child’s sandbox soon enough.” A vein throbbed visibly in her forehead and Dixon noticed Briggs cower, his body slumping.

  She rolled her eyes. “Your son failed in his simple task at Camp David. He’s fucking useless. I swear, if he fails me one more time I’ll dust him myself.”

  Dixon watched as Briggs’ eyes widened. “Brent?”

  “No, you idiot. It was your son Emerson.”

  “Emerson has many good qualities,” Briggs quickly said in defense of his son. “He came up with our blood storage process, found us this hideout,” Briggs pointed around the room, “and he’s always done his best to please you.”

  “But there’s always an excuse,” she spat out. “His storage process costs us ten percent of our collections just in transportation alone.”

  “Brent came up with our transportation process.”

  When Briggs looked deep in thought, Dixon wondered where the extra ten percent was going. He also figured Emerson was Charles’ favorite by the way Briggs threw his other son under the bus so quickly.

  “So? Where is today’s blood?” she demanded.

  Briggs glanced away. “I got distracted,” he said, looking over to Dixon. “The blood is still down in the lab.”

  The sound of a door creaking almost caused Dixon to look to his left, but he stood still. A man, whom Dixon assumed was a vampire, set down a shovel and walked over. His dirty blond hair was unkempt, his clothes a mess, and he stood there silently until he was spoken to.

  Trudy let out an exasperated breath. “So that’s where you’ve been, Julian,” she said, looking at the shovel. “Do we need more?” she demanded.

  He sheepishly looked away from the woman, and locked eyes on Dixon. “We still have plenty. Two new graves were dug, that’s all. We don’t need to…”

  Dixon noticed the recognition on the vamp’s face as he paused. The slight eyebrow raise, the pursed lips… this vamp recognized him. Perhaps they had crossed paths in the hospital. Dixon couldn’t recall; he just hoped the vamp didn’t force his hand.

  “We don’t need to…” the vamp started again, this time looking away from Dixon.

  Evidently not noticing the pause, Trudy didn’t wait for the vampire to finish. She cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand.

  “Get the collections from the hospital,” she ordered.

  The male vampire’s eyes widened as he looked in disbelief from Trudy back to Briggs. “That’s his job,” he said wryly.

  Her eyes narrowed. “So?” she snapped at him with a pinched expression. “Any monkey could pick up the collections. Now do the job, Julian.”

  Dixon watched as Julian’s face grew red and his lips curled in anger as he stared back at her. The vamp took a deep breath to probably calm himself. Julian looked like a volcano ready to erupt, but then turned without saying a word and left the room.

  “Idiot,” Trudy exclaimed. Now looking at Dixon she finally acknowledged him. “Who the hell is this?”

  “Insurance,” Briggs said. “Sulie’s man of the hour and someone she cares about.”

  “Really?” She eyeballed Dixon from head to toe as he played mannequin to the best of his ability. “She’ll need at least another day or two before she becomes desperate, but it is good to have her favorite pet around.” She glanced over to Briggs, “Good to know you’re not totally useless.”

  That clinched it to Dixon. This woman was definitely the mastermind. Briggs took the abuse and showed no backbone whatsoever, which was a 180 degree turn from the bravado he had shown in the car on the ride over.

  “He is rather a silver fox,” Trudy said. When Briggs looked away, she added, “Oh, please. Like I’m willing to take her hand–me–downs.” She rolled her eyes as her fangs extended. “I’m just thinking he’d make a delicious snack.”

  Like lightening, she struck at Dixon’s neck. The pain from her fangs almost had him cry out. Instead, he stood there and took it.

  Chapter Twenty–Six

  Now that the twins were doing fine, and the hospital was talking about releasing Kate soon, Raymond’s worry and concern level dropped by half. It was time to focus on Sulie and bring his sister safely home.

  He joined Alex and Ben in the lab where they had discovered Dixon’s phone. Sterling’s decision to join them surprised Raymond, but Kate had insisted. Kate’s mother had arrived to take care of her daughter and her new grand babies. Plus, Jackie was available to help her as well. So rescuing Sulie became the top priority again.

  Raymond loved his daughter–in–law for many reasons. Today, he appreciated her strength and duty to family. Not only did she give him two grandsons, but during the delivery she asked about Sulie and if they were closer to finding her. The team needed all the manpower, or vamp power as the case may be, to find his sister and bring her home safe and sound. He appreciated Kate’s concern.

  He noticed Sterling scanning through the memory card on Dixon’s phone for any clues about Dixon’s disappearance. “Dixon took a picture in the lab. It’s of some guy I’ve never seen before.” He handed the phone to his father.

  Raymond studied the picture. His eyes squinted as he focused on the image. “There’s no way it can be him.” He fumbled with the phone until he could enlarge the picture to see the details of the man’s face better.

  “Looks like a doctor,” Sterling said, shrugging his shoulders.

  Raymond’s mouth gaped open and he lowered his hand to his side. “Unbelievable.” He took another look at the picture before Ben took the phone from him.

  Ben examined the image and enlarged it so he could read the name tag. “Dr. Briggs? Who the hell is he?”

  Taking a deep breath, Raymond said, “That is Charles Townsend.” When Sterling’s eyebrow rose in a questioning ’so what?’ pose, Raymond added, “He’s Sulie’s ex–fiance.”

  Raymond watched as his son blinked in disbelief. “Her ex–fiance, Charles? Are you sure, Dad?” Sterling grabbed the phone and stared at the picture of the man he had only heard about.

  “An arranged marriage,” Raymond informed the others in the room. “She was only fifteen at the time. He was older and his family approached our parents. The pairing seemed good at the time.” Raymond shook his head, “I don’t really know much about their courtship. They couldn’t marry until after her Jahrling Year, which remained many years away, and I was busy preparing for Sterling’s birth.” He glanced over to Sterling. The team knew the story, but he continued. “Sterling’s mother died in childbirth, leaving me to raise him alone. Shortly after that, our parents died in a fire and then Sulie’s engagement fell through.” He shook his head. “I was so involved in my own life that I barely considered what she was going through. The breakup did seem hard on her though.”

  In a soft voice, Alex asked, “Did Sulie love him?”

  “I don’t know. I only met the man a few times,” Raymond said. “It wasn’t long enough to get a feeling for who he was. My ability to read minds and compel vampires wasn’t stable at the time. Any ulterior motives he may have had, any inclination for violence… I wouldn’t have been able to pick up on that. My parents approved of him, so they must have seen it as a quality pairing at the time. He was either a nice enough guy back then or he could somehow fool my parents into believing as much. I do know he was the one who ended the engagement. I always assumed he had found someone else and had wanted to move
on.” Raymond looked down at the picture on the phone. “And now he and the midwife have my sister.”

  Raymond felt his wife place a comforting hand on his shoulder as she said, “Evidently whatever was going on during the time of Sterling’s birth and Sulie’s broken engagement was bigger than any of you realized.”

  Sterling shook his head. “There was no way of knowing what they were up to.”

  Raymond shook his head and refocused. He looked around the lab. “What was Dixon investigating in here?”

  “Cord blood,” Sterling replied as he opened a refrigeration unit. He nodded for Ben to open the one he stood next to. It was Alex who found the vials of blood — with the tracking units still in place.

  “Sterling will watch the basement and keep an eye on the lab,” Raymond began. “Alex will be Sterling’s backup and be on watch one level above the basement. Ben and I will be out in my car waiting. Someone will be picking up this blood.” When his son rolled his eyes, Raymond added. “You’re half human. You don’t give off any predator signals. You’re the only one who can be in the basement.” Now looking at Alex he said, “Keep a safe distance. No one can detect you nearby.”

  Raymond pulled up his phone and used an application that allowed him to get a visual map of the location of the trackers on the bottom of the blood vials. Once he got the location as being in the hospital, he again addressed the team. “Ben and I will follow the trail of the blood once it’s been picked up. We may need to wait a while, but it’s our only lead.”

  “I’ll set out the bait,” Ben said as he opened the cabinet door to put Kate’s blood inside. “Even if they think someone’s been poking around down here, I’m betting they’ll still come for vamp cord blood.” Before he could put trackers on the blood and place it next to the others, the team smelled the scent of another predator. It was too late. They needed a plan B. The scent grew stronger, and Sterling ran down the hallway towards the scent. He wasn’t alone, for the whole team followed in hot pursuit.