The Human Race (Book 3): The Main Event

by Fritz, Tahnee

  “Bridget.” Elliot says louder, grabbing my attention, “Can you fix this?”

  I kneel in front of Ryder and slowly take his hand and the rag away from his neck. The fire is getting brighter as two others poke at it with long sticks. The shadows of the flames dance across his blood-soaked skin and that over appealing scent drifts up my nose. I stare at the crimson liquid of my desire, but don’t feel the craving for it like I have with humans before. The sight of seeing Ryder’s blood has a part of me feeling something other than weakness or hatred toward him.

  Jason comes to his side and examines the wound as well. He turns to me with sad eyes and shakes his head.

  “You can’t bite him.” he says, kneeling beside me. “He’s still human, you’d kill him.” his voice is quiet so only Ryder and I can hear him.

  I nod and say, “I know.”

  “How do you know that?” Ryder says with a shaky voice.

  Our eyes meet, but I cannot tell him what happened, “I just know.”

  He tries to smile and trusts me with his eyes. Every person in the group is watching us, waiting for me to save the day with the miracle in my blood. I don’t even know if it will work this soon. He was just scratched and is still human.

  “Let him drink our blood.” The voice suggests and I raise an eyebrow.

  “How do you know it won’t kill him if I do that?” I ask and instantly get strange looks from those around me.

  “Just trust me on this. You might not remember things, but I do.” She says.

  I sigh and reply, “Whatever you say, but if he dies it’s all on you.”

  Ryder goes pale at those words and says, “What are you talking about?”

  I shrug, “She told me to have you drink the cure. I’ll need a knife or something.”

  I hear shuffling coming from behind me. A bag gets unzipped and things get ruffled through before someone quietly says “yes” then comes to my side. A young woman hands a small pocket knife to me and I quickly take it. I pull the blade out and admire its sharpness. The metal reflects in the fire behind me, then I bring the tip of it to my arm.

  Before I break the skin, the worst possible sound we could hear right now erupts through the air around us and the group once again goes on high alert. A stick breaks and footsteps stomp through the dry grass. I hold my breath and look away from Ryder. They aren’t vampires and they certainly aren’t zombies.

  “Well, well, well,” a man’s voice breaks through the silence of our group, “look what we found.”

  I get to my feet and stare at three men dressed all in black to blend in with the night. Elliot has his gun drawn and the others are quickly getting theirs out and aimed for the strangers. I take a whiff of their skin and catch a familiar scent mixed with it.

  “Trevor will be so happy to get his hands on you again.” A dark skinned man steps forward with his eyes focused solely on me.

  I step away from Ryder and say, “Where is my old friend?”

  “He’s not too far behind us. We were sent to scout ahead and thank god we did. You certainly are a prize, especially this time of night.”

  “A prize?” I ask.

  He nods and comes closer, “You think you’re gonna get away from us again?”

  “I know I will get away from you.” I say and my group has their weapons trained on these men. “You are more than outnumbered and I can easily take you out without their help.”

  He laughs and the sound of other footsteps surrounds me. A dozen more of his men come out from nowhere, doubling our number and our guns. All of them have huge automatic shotguns and their aim is dead on with the barrel pointed at each person’s head who stand behind me.

  “You are coming with us.” He speaks again. “We’ll even let these people live if you come willingly.”

  I run my fingers through my hair and let the devilish grin cross my face, “There is just one thing you don’t know about me, I never do anything willingly.”

  The first gunshot is fired, coming from Elliot and a member of the enemy goes down with a thud against the grass. At that instant I leap through the air and plummet the dark skinned man to the earth. He slams his fist against my side, hitting my ribs and I wince from the pain. He hits me again and I am forced to roll away from him.

  Another gunshot blares through the air and is quickly met with a few more. The people in my group are scrambling around to find a safe place to hide while Trevor’s men shoot at them wildly. I can’t tell if anyone has gotten hit and I don’t have the time to waste in order to check.

  I pick myself back up and face my enemy once more. He is slowly getting to his knees and I slam my foot against his back, sending him to the grass for a second time. He gasps for the air that was stolen from him and I rush to pin him to the ground. He reaches for the small gun at the waistband of his jeans, but I grab his wrist and twist it sharply. The snap fills my ears and he screams bloody murder.

  As his scream flows through the air, I notice the rest of his men are letting out terrified shrieks as well. They are shooting wildly at something running after them and I take a short second to look over my shoulder. The zombies and vampires from the woods are rushing at them, taking a few of them out and killing them instead of biting them. Some take bullets to the chest and others get hit elsewhere on their bodies, but they come to our rescue.

  I brush off their help and look back to the man pinned on the ground. He swings his arm through the air before I could stop him and I feel a sharp pinch in my shoulder, close to my neck. He rips the serrated knife out of me and I more than wince from the pain caused by it. He grabs my jacket and throws me off of him then he gets back to his feet. This time he is able to get the gun out and aims it at me.

  I press a hand to my shoulder and press down for a moment until the pain is more tolerable. My angry eyes glare up at him and the rest of the world fades for a moment. The sounds of screaming disappear and all I hear is this man’s breathing as his chest heaves in and out. I want that movement to stop.

  I want his heart to stop.

  I take my hand away from my shoulder and thrust myself from the ground. He fires off a round that completely misses me and I plow myself against his stomach until he crashes to the grass one final time. I straddle over him and rip the gun from his grip and throw it somewhere I do not see. I take a handful of his hair and lift his head off the ground, then bring my face to his neck.

  He digs his fingers into my back as I sink my teeth into his skin. The taste of his blood flows down my throat and my chin. I hold his body tight and allow myself to suck the life out of him. I rip away more of his skin, tearing through the muscles that connect his neck to his shoulder and take in more of this great tasting thing. He struggles for a few moments but I hold him still until his body goes limp and the weight of the dead human is heavy in my grasp. I take one last slurp of his warm blood, then let go of him and allow the world around me to come back.

  Everything is silent and still. The screams that came from the enemy are over and we have won this round. The zombies and vamps who helped here tonight are retreating back to the woods.

  I feel the eyes of the humans leering at me and I slowly get to my feet and turn around. I wipe the blood from my chin and stare at the barrels of the guns aimed right for me by the very humans I intend to keep safe.

  Ryder comes out of nowhere and rushes to stand in front of me. His arms are raised in hopes of protecting me from their bullets, but they still keep their aim.

  “Get away from her, Ryder.” Elliot demands. “She’s clearly not something to be trusted.”

  Ryder shakes his head and says, “That was the enemy. She’s not going to hurt any of us.”

  “Prove it.” Elliot says.

  “We’ve gotten this far, haven’t we? If she wanted to take us out, she could’ve done that already.” Ryder replies. “You have to trust me on this, she is not going to hurt us and you can’t hurt her either.”

  Elliot comes forward, his rifle still aimed str
aight ahead of him, “You don’t know that. She killed a human. She tasted his blood and enjoyed it. There is no saying when she’ll do it again or how many of us will have to die because of her.”

  “You can’t kill the cure.” Ryder says.

  “I don’t want to.” Elliot states. “ But she is a threat to us now and I can’t risk our lives any more than we have to.”

  He holds the gun up high and motions for Ryder to move out of the way. I take a deep breath and glance over to the vampires who are still standing nearby. They look pissed off and their eyes seem focused on Elliot. They won’t let the cure slip through their fingers like that. The teenaged girl lets a shrill scream come from her throat and she lunges for the gun in Elliot’s grip. He fires off a round, sending the bullet soaring through the air above our heads. Ryder ducks and I quickly grab his hand and pull him away from the group.

  We run through the night, jumping over the dead bodies of our enemy and two of our own. I don’t look back as I hear Elliot screaming and a few gunshots echoing through the air. We just need to keep running and stay alive. That is the only plan now.

  * * *

  Ryder and I made it back to the long stretch of highway and we keep going until we no longer see the flickering light of the fire in the field. I strain my ears to listen for sounds of footsteps chasing after us or shouting coming from the humans we left behind. The wind rustles through the remaining leaves on the trees and a bat flutters through the air somewhere above us, but there is nothing that threatens our getaway.

  The highway is dark, almost pitch black with the only light coming from the scattered stars above. I stay close to Ryder and guide him down the concrete path, being his eyes and pulling him with me. He is panting heavily and slowing down, but we have to keep moving. Outside of the humans that now want to kill me and the hesitating zombies and vampires, we still have Trevor’s army to worry about. Those men said he wasn’t far behind and if that’s true we need to cover as much ground as we can.

  Our hands remain clasped together and we pump our legs for a long while until I know he can’t go on anymore. He lets go of my hand and forces his body to a stumbling stop. We have to be over a mile away from the group in the field and this road seems never ending in the darkness.

  Ryder bends over with his hands on his knees trying desperately to catch his breath. I stand a few feet from him and glance in every direction. The scattered trees are hiding no threat and the woods across from us seem empty at the moment. I don’t see or smell any signs of humans chasing us and the pavement we just ran on is empty of any living or un-living being. It feels safe enough to take a breather.

  Ryder’s wheezing grabs my attention so I turn to face him. He is still bent over and a few droplets of blood fall from the scratch on his neck. They splatter to the ground at his feet and I stare at the long scratches on his skin. He is bleeding quite a lot. If we don’t get it taken care of soon, there is the real possibility that he could bleed to death and then turn into a vampire. We have come too far and gone through so much for me to allow that to happen.

  I spin around and spot a totaled car sitting in the middle of the street. One of the windows is smashed and shards of glass are clustered together on the ground. I could use the glass to cut myself enough for him to drink. I walk to the car and break off a piece of the window. We might as well get this over with while we have a few moments to catch our breath.

  “What are you doing?” he asks between breaths.

  I lift the sleeve of my jacket and walk back to him, “I have to cure you.”

  He shakes his head and straightens his spine, “We can’t do that yet.”

  “Why? If we wait too long you will either turn or bleed to death first. The voice in my head won’t allow that to happen.” I reply.

  “I’ll pass out. That’s what happened to the last one that had just been bit. That kid was out for almost a day. We need to get to the city and be safe, then worry about me.” He states.

  So there are things the voice in my head knows more about this life than I do.

  I lower my arm and the sleeve falls back to my wrist. I toss the piece of glass to the street and it clanks against the pavement. I take a deep breath and look at his wound. The scratches are deep and the blood continues to seep through it.

  “I have to do something to stop the bleeding. We won’t make it very far if we don’t.” I say.

  I turn around and take a step closer to the car. I poke my head through the open window and search around inside. The previous owner of this vehicle is not in here rotting, but there is a bloody stain on the drivers’ seat that suggests he did not make it out of the accident alive. The front windshield is also cracked and the hood is crinkled up with the rest of the front end.

  I reach for the glove compartment and pull on the handle. It falls open and a thick book slides out and hits the floor. I ignore it then turn my eyes to the backseat. A garbage bag filled with old clothes sits open on the seat and I reach for some of the fabric lying on top. I let two, small children’s shirts fall to the floor and keep only the thin, grey shirt that seems large enough to make a bandage. It isn’t much, but it might slow the bleeding enough so we can get to the city.

  Ryder has a hand holding the side of his neck and I walk up to him with the shirt, “What are you doing with that?” he asks, nodding toward the cloth.

  “Trying to keep you from bleeding to death. Move your hand.” I demand.

  He lowers his bloody fingers and I stretch the shirt out and wrap it around his neck like a scarf. I make sure to cover the scratches, pressing the shirt against that part of his neck and he winces. I tie it gently, but I also make sure it’s tight enough to stay in place.

  “Can you breathe okay?” I ask.

  He takes a few breaths and nods slightly, then lifts the hood of his jacket over his head which masks the appearance of the shirt bandage. I try to smile then look back down the road just to make sure no one has caught up with us.

  “We should keep moving.” I say, “The faster we get to the city, the faster I can heal you.”

  He sighs then says, “So you do care about me.”

  I turn my eyes to his and reply, “The voice in my head cares about you enough to drive me insane if I let anything bad happen.”

  He nods in agreement then moves closer to me. I stare into his eyes and listen to the breaths escaping between his lips. He stands before me and reaches a hand to my face, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear. As much as I want to back away from him, my feet remain motionless and I simply stare at him.

  “Why can’t you just accept that the Bridget I fell in love with is still in there and she wants to come back?” he asks.

  I shake my head and say, “She can’t come back. Not if we want to survive.”

  “She was more than capable of keeping us both alive long before she was bitten. You might not remember it, but it’s in your head somewhere.”

  I step away from him and say, “I don’t care. Let’s just keep moving.”

  We walk instead of run and he stays by my side not saying a word. The stars are still shining brightly overhead and the sun will be rising in a few hours. The wall surrounding the city is on this road somewhere and I know once we get there, it will be a battle just to get through the gate.

  * * *

  The morning sun is starting to peak over the horizon and I slide the sunglasses over my eyes. We have been walking for hours now and I can smell humans coming from every direction. I don’t know if we are nearing the city or if Trevor’s army is right on our tail. We move as fast as we can, walking down the middle of the highway and hope to get to the city before it’s too late.

  Ryder is fading. His breathing is raspy and he shivers every few seconds despite the beads of sweat on his brow. His hands are shaking so he hides them in the pockets of his hoodie. He cannot hide the paleness of his skin though. He refuses to stop no matter how much pain I am sure he is going through. He keeps insisting that we don’t
stop walking.

  I love his strength and persistence, but there is a limit one man can take. Soon he will either succumb to his fate and become a vampire or we will make it to the city walls and they will shoot us both. The nagging voice in my head refuses to let either of those things happen and I don’t quite know how to shut her up. Her worrying is seeping right through to me and I cannot stop myself from checking on him every chance I get.

  I watch him now. He rubs at the shirt around his neck, wincing from the pain when his hand grazes the wound. That portion of the makeshift bandage is spotted with blood which still seems to be bleeding more than I want it to.

  “Are you sure you’re okay enough to walk the rest of the way to the city?” I ask.

  He nods slowly and says, “I’ll be fine. We’ve been through worse.”

  “I can’t imagine what would be worse than getting scratched by a vampire.” I reply.

  “Almost losing you is worse than anything.” He says and rubs at his neck again.

  I don’t know what to say to that. I know he still loves the version of me that isn’t a monster who kills humans by biting them. Who knows, maybe he loves me for that too. Jason looked past it pretty quickly, but that was as far as it went with him. The more I think of it, the more I know it wouldn’t have worked out. He stopped me from doing something I would have enjoyed so there was never a guarantee that he wouldn’t do something like that again.

  Ryder gasps as he scratches at the wound and he quickly pulls his hand away from his neck. Blood covers his fingertips and he starts shivering again. I glance to his hand and watch as he wipes it on his already stained jeans.

  “You need to hurry.” The voice finally makes an appearance.

  “You think I don’t know that.” I snap, turning my head away from Ryder. “We are moving as fast as we can.”

  “That’s not good enough.” She replies. “He’ll die if you don’t make it there soon.”

  “Can you not see the amount of pain he is in right now? He can only move so fast without hurting himself.” I argue.