Blue Skin (Book 4): Blue Skin

by Jenkins, Steven

  “You keep that attitude up, and you won’t be allowed to watch it.”

  I elbow him playfully in his side. “Seriously though, how long do you think we can stay here?”

  “I don’t know. As long as Rose lets us.”

  I rest my head on his shoulder. “What if that Neil guy doesn’t want us here?”

  “Then we’ll move on. Find somewhere else to live. We’ve done it before, so we’ll do it again.”

  “You’re right. It’s just...now that we’re here, it feels strange living in someone else’s house.”

  “Look, let’s just stick it out for a few days and see how we feel.”

  I kiss him on the lips. “I love you. You always make things better.”

  “I love you, too. As long as we’re together, no one can touch us.”

  Sean pulls me close, and we hug.

  14

  “So, how did you two lovebirds meet?” Rose asks as she pours me another glass of white wine.

  “We were neighbours in Ammanford.” I take a sip of wine. It’s a little bitter, but it’s still alcohol, and right now, it’s exactly what I need. “Since we were kids.”

  “Well, you’re a lucky man, Sean,” she says to him with a flick of her eyes. “She’s a beauty.”

  “Yeah,” Sean replies, blushing. “I’m really punching above my weight. I don’t know what I would have done without her. I used to be a huge geek.”

  I snort. “Used to be?”

  “Okay. I’m still a massive geek,” he says, laughing. “We started hanging ‘round together, then one thing led to another, and...”

  Ethan places a bottle of beer in front of Sean, and sits next to him. “Did you have a job back home?”

  Sean glances at me, a glimmer of dread in his eyes. We should have planned for moments like this. Made a list of every possible question someone might ask us. “Yeah.” He pauses for too long. Now they know there’s something off about us. Our story. They’re gonna throw us out. “I used to work for the...HCA.”

  Why did you tell them that? Why couldn’t you lie? You could have told them anything at all. A postman. A baker. A dentist.

  Anything but a bloody vampire hunter.

  Next, they’ll be asking about Ben, about The Facility.

  My father!

  “Really?” Rose’s face lights up with intrigue. Or is it suspicion? “That must have been exciting.”

  “I suppose it was at first,” he replies, sipping his beer. “But things got complicated. I fell out with my boss, so I had to quit.”

  “The HCA,” Rose says, topping up her wineglass. “Why on earth would you want such a dangerous profession?”

  A tiny lump forms in my throat as I picture Chris and Sue. Their warm welcome every time things got rough with Tony. A second home. Before everything changed. Before they were ripped apart.

  Before...

  “My parents were killed by vampires.” Sean’s shoulders hunch over, battling to hold his composure. “After that, I just felt so angry, and helpless. I just needed a way to fight back.” He takes another drink from his beer bottle. “So, I joined up.”

  “I’m so sorry, Sean,” Rose says, her eyes sparkling with tears. “That must have been awful.”

  “It was—but I got through it.” He puts his hand over mine. “Eventually.”

  I force a smile, but it only makes it harder not to cry, so I gulp down my wine, hoping to drown out another painful flashback.

  The moment Sean finishes his drink, Ethan leaps up to get him another.

  Sean waves his hand in protest. “I’m okay, buddy.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Ethan says. “Sounds like you need one.”

  “Well, okay, then, if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Dinner won’t be long, lovelies,” Rose says, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Hopefully Neil and Ellie will be back by then.”

  “So, how are you all staying at this house?” I ask, drinking my wine a little too fast. I need to slow down. Can’t let myself get drunk. Not the best idea for a first impression.

  “Well,” Rose pats Ethan on his shoulder, “this strapping young man is a friend of the family. His mother and I were good friends. But when she passed away, I couldn’t bear the thought of him living all alone in that tiny house—especially when those monsters came. That town was never safe, always had its fair share of yobs. But now it’s a whole different world.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” Sean says. “It’s a like a ghost town. Hardly any businesses left.”

  “No. There’s not. The bigger towns aren’t doing much better either.” Rose tries to top her glass up, but the bottle is empty. “That’s why I wanted Ethan to stay.” She grabs a fresh bottle from the fridge. “This house is completely cut off from the rest of the world. I never get any visitors. And I have to get my post from town. Not that there’s anything worth getting these days.” She unscrews the cap and pours another glass. “We’re totally self-reliant here. That’s the way my husband liked it. We have our own water supply from the well, a large backup generator in the shed, and a vegetable patch at the back of the house.”

  “Wow. That’s amazing,” I say. Did I just slur my words?

  “The only thing we don’t have is animals.” She tops up my glass and sits. “The plan was always to make this into a farm, but we never got ‘round to it. Life just gets in the way sometimes.”

  “Well, we’re very grateful you’re letting us stay,” Sean says. “Whatever you need us to do, we’ll happily pitch in.”

  I pick up my wineglass. “Speak for yourself. I’d rather sit with Rose and have a drink.”

  She laughs. “That’s my girl.”

  “You can help me with security,” Ethan says to Sean. “We could always use another pair of eyes—especially from a former HCA officer.”

  “Okay. I can do that.”

  Ethan taps his bottle against Sean’s. “Welcome to the team.”

  “What about me?” I ask too loudly, unable to control the volume on my voice. “What can I do?”

  Rose nudges me. “Don’t worry yourself about things like that. We’ll all pitch in.”

  Even though an easy life is very appealing, especially after everything I’ve been through, I can’t help but feel excluded. Sean is more than capable of protecting the house—but so am I. I’m not gonna just sit back, sipping wine with Rose, and play the damsel in distress. No way. That’s not me, and it never has been. In fact, I reckon I could kick both their—

  The sound of the back door opening startles me, dragging me out of my drunken thoughts, back into clarity.

  There’s a blond man standing in the kitchen, his beard scruffy, his tall stature rigid.

  I instantly stiffen in my chair, setting my glass down on the table.

  This must be Neil.

  “Hello,” he says with prudence, a deep glower across his brow. He takes off his thick red coat, his grey beanie hat and gloves, and drops them on the worktop. “You didn’t tell me you invited guests, Rose.”

  “Neil,” Ethan says with strained chirpiness. “This is Freya and Sean. They’re friends of mine.”

  Sean gets up and shakes his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Neil.”

  Neil returns the gesture, but it’s uneasy. “So, how do you all know each other? I’ve never heard you mention a Freya and Sean before.”

  “That’s because I only met them today,” Ethan replies.

  Neil’s scowl only hardens, creasing his bushy eyebrows. “Then how are they your friends?”

  Rose puts her arm around me. “Because this wonderful young couple saved Ethan’s life today. Risked their own lives in the process. You don’t see that nowadays, do you?”

  “No. I suppose you don’t,” he replies, but it’s obviously insincere.

  Through the back door, a little girl, perhaps ten or eleven years old, steps into the kitchen. This must be Ellie. Nervously, she stops at Neil’s side, looping her arm around his. “Hello,” she says, her v
oice soft, cautious.

  I throw her a subtle wave and smile, but it feels desperate. “Hello.”

  “What happened?” Neil asks Ethan, ignoring the little girl’s arrival.

  “I got attacked by some crazy guys with baseball bats and knives.”

  “Knives?” Ellie blurts out. “Did they hurt you?”

  Ethan shakes his head. “No. But they would have if these two hadn’t turned up when they did.” He pats Sean on the shoulder. “So, I said they could stay with us. Hope that’s all right.” He points to the baseball bat leaning up against the sofa. “We even brought home a souvenir. Freya stole that from one of them—right after she sprayed him with the fire extinguisher.”

  Neil releases a sigh, taking no care at all to hide it from us. “Can I have word?” He motions with his head for Ethan to follow him outside. “In private?”

  Rose stands up. “Neil, I love you dearly—I really do—but this is my house, and I said it was okay for them to stay.”

  Sean and I share a look of discomfort. I don’t know what the hell we were thinking. We should have never come here. It was a mistake. My mistake. “Maybe we should go,” I say, getting up off my chair. “We don’t want to cause any problems.”

  Rose takes my arm and guides me back down. “Nonsense, dear. You don’t have to go anywhere.”

  Neil shakes his head. “I thought we talked about this.”

  “Talked about what, Neil?” Rose asks, her tone firm, her gaze razor-sharp, even through those thick glasses.

  “About inviting people to stay here.” He turns to us. “No offence, but we don’t know anything about you. I’m sorry if that seems harsh, but I have my daughter to think about.”

  “I totally understand,” Sean says, and then looks at me. “We’re gonna head off.”

  “No, Sean,” Rose says, getting up off her chair. “You’re not going anywhere. Neil will just have to live with it. Those men would have murdered Ethan, right there in the bloody supermarket. So, they’re now my guests, and they can stay for as long as they like.”

  Neil doesn’t retort, leaving a painful silence in the room.

  This is not the welcome I was hoping for.

  Another groan leaves his throat. “Let’s go, Ellie,” he finally says, taking his daughter by the hand. He marches her out of the kitchen, and they disappear upstairs.

  Ethan lets out a sigh of relief and takes a swig of beer. “That went well.”

  “Maybe he’s right,” I say. “I mean, we are strangers, and he does have a daughter.”

  “Don’t worry about Neil,” Rose says. “His bark is worse than his bite. Give him a few hours to get used to the idea, and he’ll come ‘round.” She rests her hand over mine. “I promise.”

  With an anxious look on his face, Sean plays with the label on his bottle, peeling back the edges.

  “Another beer?” Ethan asks.

  With a subtle groan, Sean massages each temple, and then nods. “Definitely.”

  15

  I’m tipsy, trying to hold my laugh in as Sean tries to convert the sofa into a bed. I should help him, but this is the most fun I’ve had all day.

  No, scratch that—all year!

  Meeting Neil wasn’t easy. I don’t know what I was expecting really, but definitely not that. The old me would have told him to go fuck himself, and stormed out of the house. But he has got a point. Sean and I could be anybody. Psychopaths.

  I suppose that could be a good thing. Everyone at Maggie’s farm welcomed me with open arms. At least with him being wary of us, it lessens the chance that we’ve been led here under false pretences.

  “Maybe I’ll ask Ethan to help you with that thing,” I say. “Or we could look for the instructions.”

  “How about you help instead?”

  “I’m busy,” I reply, resting leisurely on the chair, my feet up on the desk.

  “Busy doing what?”

  “Watching you.”

  Sean chuckles. “I’ve almost got it, anyway.” He pushes on the back cushions, until there’s a clicking sound, and the entire sofa flattens out. “There!” he says, standing back to view his masterpiece. “Easy peasy. Told you I could do it.”

  “Well done, Sean,” I say with a small clap. “It only took you all night.”

  I gather up the pillows and quilt from the floor and lay them on the bed.

  “Urrr. What do you think you’re doing?” Sean asks, a mischievous grin across his face. “This is my bed. I made it. You can sleep downstairs with Neil. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

  I shush him. “He might hear you.”

  Sean cringes and then climbs under the quilt.

  I switch off the lamp and the attic falls into darkness. Once I’m on the bed, I huddle up tight to Sean’s body, my eyes staring up at the window.

  “It’s pretty comfortable for a sofa bed,” Sean says. “Don’t you think?”

  “Yeah. It’s not bad. But anything’s better than that bed at the hotel.”

  He snorts. “Jesus. That was a dump. Easily the worst place we’ve stayed.”

  “Yeah. Definitely.”

  I rest my hand over his. “What are we gonna do about Neil?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, do you really think we should stay if he doesn’t want us here?”

  Sean turns to me, the clear moon lighting up the contours of his face. “Look, if Rose and Ethan don’t mind, then I say we stick it out as planned. The guy hasn’t got to know us yet. Let’s just prove to him that we’re trustworthy and win him over. All we need is my good looks, and your super-strength, and he won’t be able to resist.”

  I smile and then kiss him on the lips. “Okay. If we can put up with junkies and loud music, I’m sure we can put up with Neil.”

  The moonlight distorts as droplets of rain start to hit the window. Sean pulls me in close, wrapping his arm around me. “Ethan’s right,” Sean says, his nails gently brushing along my skin. “It is cosy.”

  “Yeah. It’s beautiful.”

  Even with those horrid bars.

  16

  I let Sean sleep in because he’s probably got a bit of a hangover. For now, all I feel is thirsty, so I open the hatch, carefully lower myself down onto the rickety steps, and quietly make my way downstairs.

  Rose is sitting at the kitchen table, staring with bloodshot eyes at a bowl of uneaten muesli. “Morning, Freya,” she croaks, and then coughs to clear her throat. “How did you sleep last night?”

  “Good, thanks,” I reply, that feeling of awkwardness returning. The sense that you’re a stranger in someone else’s home.

  She takes a sip from her mug. “Not too dusty up there? I should have given it the once over before you went to bed.”

  “No, it was fine. I slept like a log.” It only now dawns on me that it could have been the best sleep I’ve had in months. “That sofa bed is pretty comfy.”

  “Oh, good. Jeff bought it years ago. Come to think of it, you might be the first to use it.”

  “I’m honoured,” I say. “And thanks again for letting us stay.”

  “It’s no bother, Freya. Glad to have you both. How about a coffee? Maybe something to eat?”

  “A coffee would be nice.”

  Rose starts to get up. “You sit down,” I say, spotting the coffee-maker next to the microwave. “I can get my own.”

  “Thank you, lovely.” She sits back down, her hand over her forehead. “You’ll have to excuse me, Freya. I’m feeling a little tender this morning. I might have had one too many glasses last night.”

  “Yeah, me, too.” I grab a clean mug from the side of the sink, and pour myself a coffee, the nutty aroma breezing past my nostrils. “I left Sean in bed. He doesn’t handle hangovers very well.”

  “I used to have a cast-iron stomach. But the older I get, the longer my body takes to recover.” She sips her coffee. “Serves me right.”

  I inspect the open-plan living room. It’s empty. “Is everybody else still asleep?�
�

  Rose nods. “Yes. Ethan’s probably got a hangover, too. And Neil was up all night on watch.”

  “On watch? Does he do that every night?”

  “No. They take it in turns. Neil seems to think we should have a shift routine in place.”

  I take a swig of coffee. “He sounds like he knows what he’s doing.”

  “He does, but he’s got a temper on him. Not violent, or anything. Just a bit of a short fuse sometimes.”

  “He sounds a little like me. I think we’re either gonna clash, or be best of friends.”

  Rose smiles. “I’m sure it’ll be best of friends.”

  “I hope so.”

  But I doubt it.

  “Is Ellie sleeping, too?” I ask, topping up my mug.

  Rose scoops out a spoonful of muesli and glares at it. “She’s in the garden.”

  “Okay. Would you mind if I went out and had a look?”

  Rose swallows the muesli with a wince of revulsion. “Of course not,” she replies, retching.

  I almost laugh, but stifle it just in case.

  Stepping out through the back door, and onto the garden path, a wonderful smell of grass and fresh air overwhelms my senses. The sight of such a vast green field almost convinces me that the outside world, the world of pain, of loss, and vampires, is just an illusion—a nightmare—and this is the real world.

  In the distance, perhaps a quarter of a mile, there’s a large patch of trees. Not as daunting or creepy as a forest, just several dotted along the grass, where nothing sinister can hide. This place is not Solace Park. This place is a utopia.

  At the side of the house, just in front of the white fence, there’s a greenhouse. I see movement inside. I give the glass door a gentle tap, and Ellie appears in the doorway.

  “Hello,” she says, her tone a little timid.

  “Do you mind if I join you?”

  “No. It’s fine,” she replies, her smile thin, clearly unsure of me.

  I hold out my hand. “I’m Freya.”

  She wipes her dirty hands on her trousers, and then shakes my hand. “Ellie.”