Limbo's Child

by Jonah Hewitt

  “We were hanging around outside just like you said when this emergency case showed up – a dozen or so ravers got hurt at a party or something,” Tim said shyly. “So they just rushed in and we kinda got swept up in it. So once inside we decided to just, y’know, hang out and watch and try to fit in.”

  “Fit in?” Schuyler groaned. “Could you two be any more obvious? You two fit in like a couple of corpses at a wedding.”

  “Mate, we bloody are corpses,” Miles replied.

  “I’m not.” Tim looked down like his feelings were hurt. Schuyler ignored him.

  “Well you don’t have to act like one, Miles! You two screw-ups nearly ruined the whole thing. Nearly lost my groove and everything.” Schuyler rolled his shoulders like he was trying to shake loose the icky feeling of ‘losing his grove.’

  “Lucky for you, I know how to improvise.” He paused and bit his lip in thought before continuing. “You two,” Schuyler pointed his lollipop at each of them in turn, “Are now part of the plan.” He flipped the lollipop high into the air, caught it in his mouth on the way back down and gave them a wide satisfied smile.

  Tim and Miles exchanged looks.

  “How?” they both said together.

  “Easy. I’m going to be her knight in shining armor,” Schuyler said triumphantly.

  Tim and Schuyler just gaped at each other.

  “I still don’t understand,” Tim finally piped up.

  “Me neider,” Miles admitted.

  Schuyler just sighed like a teacher who was tired of explaining things. “Look, if she knew this whole thing was a set up, she wouldn’t have trusted me. I had to make her think that that whole little romantic rendezvous back there in the gift shop was just by chance. That way, when she comes looking for me later for help, she’ll think it’s her idea. Classic con, really.”

  Miles and Tim exchanged looks. They weren’t so sure.

  “Yeah, but…what makes you think she would come running for help from you?” Miles said baffled.

  “She would if she was being chased by a couple of vampires.” Schuyler waggled his eyebrows at them.

  “Oh, bloody heck no…” Miles began, but Schuyler cut him off.

  “No, don’t you see, it’s a perfect set up! She saw you looking at her in the lobby. She already thinks you’re a couple of pervy stalkers.”

  “Aw, c’mo,n Sky!!” Miles whined. He didn’t like where this was heading.

  “No, listen… You guys will show up, flash some fangs, and chase her right to me…”

  “Oy, you’ve got to be bloody foolin’ me, Sky!!” Miles slapped his hand to his forehead.

  “And then I’ll be there to rush in and save her and take her back to Hokharty.”

  Miles tried to calm himself and talk some sense. “Sky. This is all barmy. Why don’ we just tell her the truth?”

  “You really think she’d believe us?”

  “But Hokharty said we ‘ad to persuade her!”

  “I think getting chased by a couple of blood-sucking monsters is pretty persuasive.”

  “Schuyler!!!” Miles was indignant, but Schuyler cut him off.

  “Dude, there’s no time for discussion, and unless I’m mistaken, Tim’s in charge. Tim, whaddayasay?” Sky turned to Tim who looked utterly baffled.

  “Um, guys…” Tim began, “I’m confused…if Schuyler is playing the …um…knight in shining armor,” he made quote signs in the air when he said that last part, “and Miles is going to be the first vampire, then who’s going to be the second vampire?”

  Schuyler just raised his eyebrows at him.

  “Oh, no…you don’t mean,” Tim reached up to feel his neck.

  “No. No…dude…you’re just going to pretend to be a vampire…for now.”

  “Um…but how on earth am I going to fake being a vampire?” Tim said desperately.

  “Well, fortunately for you, I have a plan for that too.” Schuyler reached into one of the side pockets of the blazer Tim was still wearing and pulled out a set of cheap, plastic, fake Halloween vampire teeth. “Check out these puppies.” He gave them a little squeeze to make them bite down.

  Miles just stared at Schuyler. “Oy, right. You carry around conditioner AND fake vampire teeth but still not a shirt?”

  “Hey man, don’t knock it, these babies are a great gag. You go to a college party, make a move, and if the move goes south and the girl freaks out, and starts screaming, ‘Vampire!! Vampire!’ you just pop these in and then take them out in front of everybody and make like it was all a big joke and everybody laughs at the girl. Saved my butt loads of times.”

  “You really are a marvel, Sky,” Miles said contemptuously.

  “Thanks,” Sky said, oblivious to Mile’s sarcasm. “Here, Tim, try ‘em out.” Sky tossed the teeth to Tim who held them a little uncertainly.

  “Ok now, Miles, a word in private if I may.” Sky turned his attention to Miles. He put his arm around his shoulders and walked him a few feet away out of earshot of Tim and lowered his voice. “Ok, now the teeth will help, but let’s face it.” Sky turned to regard Tim, who was looking at the teeth as if they were going to bite him, and then turned back to Miles. “Tim really doesn’t have the persona for this, so you are gonna have to really sell it. Ok?” Sky took his arm from around Miles’ shoulders and put his hands on his knees like he was a coach giving a pep talk in the middle of the big game. “So…c’mon, put on your game face. Show me what you’ve got. C’mon…scare me.”

  Miles sighed and rubbed his eyelids. “Do I bloody ‘ave to?”

  “Do I bloody ‘ave to?” Sky repeated in a mocking, whining tone. “Heck yeah, Ya BLOODY have to!! This scam is only going to work if you two can scare her so freaking senseless she runs right to me. And I don’t think Tim is gonna cut it. So let’s get it on!!”

  Miles looked at Schuyler’s eager face and knew there was no getting out of it.

  Miles faced Sky, took a deep breath, and roared as loud as he could in Sky’s face.

  Sky stood there in silence.

  “That’s it?” Schuyler said flatly. “Seriously? That’s the best you can do? That was pathetic. That was about the least intimidating thing I’ve ever seen. I’m more afraid of butterflies and rainbows and big fluffy pillows than I am of you. No, really. Kittens show more fang than that. Now do it for reals this time, ok?”

  Miles slumped. Sky was right. He just wasn’t very scary. He was about to try again when they heard a retching sound from behind them.

  “Blech – ack- urgh!!”

  They turned around to see Tim pulling the fake teeth out while trying to hold back the urge to vomit.

  “Dude! These things taste like blood!” He held them up at arm’s length, disgusted.

  “Oh, sorry about that guy,” Schuyler shrugged, “I guess I didn’t rinse them out after the last meal.”

  Tim looked horrified. “You don’t mean…this is a person?!” He struggled to hold back the gag reflex. “Bleeeeechh!! Who is this?”

  “Not sure,” Schuyler shrugged. “If it tastes like a double espresso, fair trade, organic, soy latte it’s probably a sophomore from Bryn Mawr, but if it tastes like a shot of wheat grass it’s probably the freshman from Haverford.” Schuyler turned back to Miles and continued talking in an offhand manner. “Personally I think the girls at the state schools taste better; they don’t have that grungy aftertaste. But the liberal arts college girls are easier pickings. The more expensive the college, the lower the self esteem.” Miles just winced. Schuyler knew college girls like butchers knew cuts of pork.

  “Um…guys?” Tim asked gingerly, “Can we rinse these off or something?”

  Schuyler turned back to Tim. “No time, dude. Take one for the team, ok? Oh! And do not throw up on the blazer.”

  Tim screwed up his face and slowly inched the fake fangs back into his mouth like he was trying to force down an eyeball sandwich.

  “Ok, back to business.” Schuyler turned his attention back to Miles. “Where were w
e?”

  Miles’ shoulders just sagged in resignation. He just wasn’t a very good vampire and there was nothing he could do about it. This was doomed to failure. Miles looked sideways at Sky and waited for the inevitable put-down. For once though, Schuyler didn’t immediately go for the insult. He must have sensed Miles’ defeatism and decided to take pity on him.

  “Ok…relax guy, you’re totally over-thinking this. All you have to do is find the source of your passion.”

  “Passion?” Miles was puzzled.

  “Yeah, passion. What is it that really moves you? Makes you want to take on the world? Shout out your barbaric ‘yawp?’ ”

  Miles just shrugged. He really didn’t have a passion, let alone a barbaric ‘yawp,’ whatever that was. There was nothing he really wanted to do. Every day since the night when Wallach had drained him dry had been just a matter of survival, one day at a time. He had never thought about what he really wanted. The only thing he really wanted was not to be vampire, but that wasn’t gonna help him here. Sky could tell this was getting him nowhere, so he tried a different tack.

  “Ok, forget passion. Let’s go with anger. What is it that really pisses you off? What is it that totally enrages you most and just makes you want to tear somebody’s head off? Find that and concentrate it, and you’ll find your game face.”

  Miles looked away. He thought of Wallach, but Wallach was dead, and somehow, he didn’t have quite the hold on him he once did. He thought of how he’d been turned all those years ago, how he’d been cheated out of a chance at being an adult, his own man, but that just made him depressed, not angry. He thought about how frustrating this whole mission was, how he still didn’t know what they were really doing here, or what Hokharty was planning, but that just made him nervous. It was no use. He had nothing. He just wasn’t that angry of a person. Then he looked back at Sky’s smug face.

  Miles wasn’t exactly certain what happened next. Something large and black and overflowing boiled up from inside him and exploded. He had a vision like a massive black dog, like the one that Wallach had turned into, and then he saw a flat plain and blue flames and blind children screaming and running everywhere and a boy with a yo-yo and a woman with long, black hair. It was really weird. He blacked out for a second or two and when he came back, all he could see was Sky standing there, wide-eyed, staring at him with the lollipop hanging loosely from his lower lip. For the longest time he’d thought he’d blown it again until Sky spoke just two words.

  “Not. Bad.”

  “Really?” Miles couldn’t believe Sky meant it.

  “NOT BAD AT ALL!!” Sky punched him hard on the shoulder in a gesture of triumph and laughed. “Woohoo!! That’s more like it!! I must be rubbing off on you!! We’re gonna make a vampire out of you yet!!”

  Miles laughed, and if he could have blushed, he would have. It was the first time since becoming a vampire that anyone had given him any gesture of approval, first time in more than a hundred years! And it felt…well…good. Seeing Sky look at him with something other than contempt was actually nice. For a moment, Miles almost felt a sense of vampire pride.

  “Hey, Tim! Did you see that?” Schuyler spoke over his left shoulder in genuine praise of Miles, “Whadya think of our boy now?” But Tim didn’t answer. “Tim?” Schuyler and Miles turned around looking around for him, but Tim was nowhere. Then they looked down. Tim was passed out, apparently from fright, white as a sheet and drooling on the dirty asphalt.

  “Aw, crap,” Schuyler muttered, “He’s still wearing the blazer.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Escape

  The whole ride up in the elevator to the fourth floor Lucy was haunted by the wide eyes of Yo-yo. She couldn’t imagine living the rest of her life with the memory of those eyes, knowing that she had broken her promise to help him. She looked up at Amanda and realized that time was running out. In a few hours, it would be midnight and Yo-yo would be waiting for her in the park, expecting them to escape together and go looking for the longhaired woman with cold eyes. Or maybe he wouldn’t! Maybe he had seen Lucy with Amanda and figured she had abandoned him. Right now he might even be deciding to take off on his own. Lucy’s mind was racing. She wasn’t certain what the right thing to do was. She really liked Amanda, but she wasn’t entirely certain she could trust her. Amanda had already committed to looking after one orphan, two might be one too many, and maybe she wasn’t ready to pick up another stray just now. Lucy bit her lip and thought. Her mother had always said that when you didn’t know what to do, do something, anything. No sense dawdling. If it was the wrong thing to do, then you would figure out what the right thing was pretty quick. Lucy decided. She would tell Amanda about Yo-yo.

  “Amanda?” Lucy started, but Amanda shut her down instantly.

  “Not now, honey, not here, it isn’t safe.” It was the cold, stern Amanda again. She put her gloved hand on Lucy’s shoulder and squeezed a little too hard and didn’t let go.

  “Safe?” Lucy thought.

  The elevator doors opened and Amanda only tightened her grip. She steered Lucy down the hall like a puppet. Lucy’s slippered feet practically skidded across the floor. She was hurting Lucy, but Lucy didn’t dare say anything. A nurse saw Lucy and said “Hi” in a falsely cheery tone. She tried to tell Amanda that visiting hours were over, but Amanda pulled rank, told her she was from corporate, dismissed her and brushed by anyone else in the hallway. Amanda could be quite rude when she wanted to. They reached Lucy’s room and Amanda practically shoved her inside. Lucy’s forward momentum didn’t stop until she hit the bed. She turned around. Amanda had dropped the packages unceremoniously. The toiletries had spilled across the floor. Amanda locked the door. She continued to face the door for a moment, adjusted her glasses and smoothed the front of her black business suit. When she suddenly spun around on her tall heels, it was the friendly Amanda again, but Lucy was just as scared as ever.

  “I’m sorry, Lucy,” she said, “It’s just that I’m a little worried.”

  “Worried?” thought Lucy, but Amanda didn’t explain.

  “And I haven’t even told you the good news yet.”

  Lucy didn’t like the way she said “good news.” She said it the same way that clueless parents on TV said “boarding school” to their kids.

  Amanda walked over to Lucy in her usual, elegant fashion and bent down to look her directly in the eye. She smiled affectionately, but it wasn’t as convincingly sincere as before.

  “I just don’t think it’s right for you to spend any more time here. I think you need someplace stable, someplace normal, someplace safe, right now.”

  Lucy was beginning to think she would never know what normal was again, but it was the “safe, right now,” that was troubling her the most.

  “Right now?” Lucy said, but all she could think about was Yo-yo.

  “Yes. Something urgent has come up and I have to go back to Philadelphia. But I just couldn’t bear to think of you alone here. Sooo…I’ve made arrangements for you to come back to Philadephia with me…tonight. Right now in fact.”

  “Tonight?!” Lucy was stunned. Amanda had already made this offer, but their departure was supposed to be tomorrow. This sudden acceleration made Lucy panic. “But…but I thought the doctors wanted to watch me for another day.”

  Amanda looked to the corners of her eyes and shook her head in that way when someone wanted to tell you they’ve done something clever. “I’ve managed to pull some strings. Lawyers are good at that.” She smiled a confident smile and Lucy felt a little more comfortable until she thought of Yo-yo.

  “Amanda…I have something to tell you…”

  “I know, honey,” Amanda put up a hand to quiet her, “and I have something to tell you too, but right now I just need you to know I would never harm you and that you can always trust me.” Amanda put her hands on Lucy’s shoulders and lovingly smoothed the robe like a mother might. “But it needs to be your choice.”

  Lucy thought about Yo-yo, and
she wasn’t certain she should tell Amanda anymore. “Ok,” she said weakly at last.

  Amanda tilted her head at her. “Okay, Okay? Or Okay like ‘I’ll think about it’ okay?”

  Lucy smiled and laughed a nervous laugh. “No…OK.”

  Amanda smiled and something cold flashed before her eyes, but she just rubbed Lucy’s arms affectionately for a moment and then stood up. The all-business Amanda was back. “Now I have to go get some paperwork signed. Once I’m back, we can leave. Until then I want you to stay here. Lock the door behind me when I go.”

  “Lock the door?” Lucy asked.

  “Yes…don’t question me, Lucy,” she said in her cold tone. “I need you to trust me. I will be back shortly, but don’t open the door for anyone but me. I will knock three short times…like this.” Amanda rapped three short times on the nightstand. “Got it?”

  “Um, I guess so.” This was all of a sudden rather cloak and dagger and it scared Lucy even more.

  “Good.” Then she strode off to the door like a drill sergeant. She didn’t even bother to pick up the toiletries or bags, but just kicked them aside. She opened the door and turned back to look at Lucy one last time. “Stay here.” Amanda pointed to the floor like someone commanding a dog and she was gone.

  Lucy froze for a moment, then she ran to the door and locked and it backed away to the bed and stared at it. Something was terribly wrong. Something bad was going to happen. She didn’t know what. She pulled at her fingers for a minute not knowing what to do. She ran back to the door and unlocked it. She took a breath, opened it a crack and peeked both ways. Amanda was gone. She had to warn Yo-yo – do something at least. She bolted for the elevators. One of the advantages of being small was being able to duck under the nurses’ counter. She slid her way underneath the edge of the counter and listened to the nurses’ gossip. She would have to come out into the open to get to the elevators. She paused a moment, then ran. She got to the button and pushed it a thousand times. The whole time she didn’t take her eyes off the nurses. Good, they hadn’t seen her yet. She danced on tiptoes and kept mashing the button. When she heard the doors finally open, she rushed in without looking, only to suddenly come face to face with Yo-yo’s giant, moony eyes.