Shit, this screws up our plan big time.
“Shit,” was my only reply.
“So you see,” she continued, “if I accept Charlie in my pack, he will know that I’m bullshitting him. And Duncan doesn’t take any bullshit from anybody.”
That last sentence was pure terror. Julie’s eyes were almost completely black now. I glanced back at Charlie, and he had the same dread on his face I’d seen in the pound shop. I was sure he’d heard Julie’s words. Seeing him standing there so lost and alone made tears well up in my eyes. I appeared to have more feelings for Charlie than I’d been aware of.
“Look,” Julie said. “I can tell you two are really attached to one another, the way he looks at you and you at him. I don’t want to stand in the way of your happiness, but you will have to make a choice here.”
My eyes shot back at her.
Choice?
I didn’t have to word it. The question mark was clearly written on my face.
“You either choose to stay with me and dump Charlie or stay with him and join Duncan’s pack,” she said.
What?!
The screams of the feeding frenzy started in the background, but my shocked brain screamed louder. I couldn’t believe what Julie had just said. I thought I’d been dragged through the puddles of hell already, but apparently, I had missed one.
How can she do this to me? She had moved heaven to earth to find me and now she wants to get rid of me? Why?
I turned away from her, and she grabbed my arm.
“You do understand my position, Kate?” she pleaded.
I yanked my arm free and walked away, trying with all my might to keep it together. Charlie called my name. The sound of his footsteps coming my way stopped abruptly.
“This is something she has to decide on her own, Charlie,” I heard Julie say.
My mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. I was in Arkansas territory. Julie thought I was in a relationship with Charlie. Charlie probably would like that, but I was in love with Caleb, who was god-knows-where, but not near Duncan. Duncan wanted a relationship with Julie, but Julie didn’t want Duncan, nor did she want Charlie in her pack. It was obvious she was terrified of what would happen if Duncan found out she accepted Charlie. I didn’t want to lose Charlie, but leaving him with Duncan on his own was the same thing as signing his death warrant. So, basically, I had no choice.
What had I expected she’d say? I knew she had an all-girls pack.
I stopped walking and wiped the tears that fell when I closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, turned around, and regarded Julie and Charlie standing there. Both were anxious to find out what was going on in my mind, both wanted to know whom I’d choose to stay with.
I strode back, their eyes never leaving mine.
“Charlie and I will join Duncan’s pack,” I said to Julie.
I didn’t get to see Charlie’s reaction as my sister threw her arms around me and gave me a big hug. “I’m so sorry, sis. I really am,” she whispered.
“It’s okay, Jules. It’s my choice.”
She let go of me and hugged Charlie.
“You take good care of her, you hear. She’s special,” Julie said to him.
“I know,” Charlie said, “and I will.” I could hardly hear him over the screams as he said it.
Julie stepped back and smiled at us, but I could spot tears welling up in her eyes as she briskly turned around and jogged away, joining the feeding frenzy.
Nobody was interested in whether Charlie and I fed or not. As both of us weren’t in the mood for mingling with others, we withdrew into the dance hall. It surprised me how small it looked on the inside. Behind the entrance area with its wardrobe on one side and public conveniences on the other, was the proper dance hall. Horseshoe-shaped booths lined both sides of the dance floor.
Charlie and I looked around and picked a booth that was furthest away from the entrance. The booths were decorated with a worn, red, plush material, which gave it all a rather melancholic look. It perfectly suited my mood. We sat down opposite each other.
“Thank you,” Charlie said.
“Charlie, I don’t…, I’m not…” I still struggled with my emotions about Julie’s betrayal and I couldn’t get the words to come out of my mouth.
So this is verbal constipation.
Charlie put his hand over mine and squeezed it. “I know,” he said, “Still… thank you,” and his expression was the same one I had seen too often lately, first on Duncan’s face and just now on Julie’s; the mouth was smiling, but the eyes were not.
Duncan’s pack began filling the dance hall, little groups at a time. Everyone took up a spot to sleep the day away, most of them on the floor. We had looks and stares from the other pack members. I heard whispers here and there, but nobody talked to us. I lay down on one-half of the bench and tried to sleep, suddenly drained of all energy. Charlie sat up for a while longer. I felt his eyes on me, and I wondered what he was thinking. Finally, he lay down too. We fell asleep with our feet touching.
The Dance Hall
That evening we were woken up early. I knew the sun couldn’t have set yet, but one of the macho-looking bolos, as I had decided to call Duncan’s right-hand men, woke us up. These bolos all had a military look and seemed to move on autopilot. Everyone got up and positioned themselves at arm’s length on the dance floor, facing the stage. Charlie and I looked at each other in wonder. We didn’t get time to ask questions as we were ushered onto the dance floor as well. One of the bolos took center-stage and began performing a series of physical exercises that everybody copied. Charlie and I followed suit.
During a back-stretch, I happened to look up at the ceiling. It was painted black. This was likely another reason why I had thought the inside of the building looked smaller than expected. A disco ball hanging in the center caught my eye. It reminded me that they must be able to play music in this place. I scanned the corners next to the stage. The left corner held the entrance to the bar and the right corner was closed off. There was a door, though. Behind it was most likely where the DJ-den was. So why didn’t they put on some music? I looked up at the ceiling again while repeating the back-stretch and noticed the black lights. An aha-moment made me realize they probably kept the door to the music control locked to prevent somebody accidentally flipping on the switch to those UV-emitting lights.
Now, why didn’t I think of black lights before?
Because the minimal school supply is not equipped with them.
I wondered about this soundless exercise and why everybody was so compliant. Nevertheless, I continued to copy the bolo on the stage, just like all the other sheep.
When it came to push-ups, I was in trouble. I had never been able to do push-ups and had always joked that I probably couldn’t do them even if my life depended on it. My life was depending on it now and, if I had been in doubt before, I was now one-hundred-percent sure I couldn’t do push-ups.
There was snickering behind us, and I felt so bad. Not only because I must have looked ridiculous trying, but because I knew I would have a problem in the long-run. I was supposed to be getting stronger by now, but I would never be able to perform these push-ups.
Give me three months of intensive training and I might.
I wished Julie had informed me more on Duncan’s pack habits. I couldn’t imagine why she was so scared of Duncan. These exercises weren’t so bad. She wasn’t scared enough not to go hunting with him. Or, maybe that’s how scared she was. She normally wasn’t afraid to say no to anybody, but she didn’t dare to stand up to Duncan. The thought was chilling, so I focused on doing the exercises as well as I could. I still felt like being the laughing stock for the rest of the hour.
After the gym session finished, everybody went their own way again, getting ready to move out. Charlie and I went back to our booth. I breathed easier now I was inconspicuous again. The relief was short-lived, however, as a bolo came up to us and told us we were summoned by Duncan. I didn’t know what Charlie was thi
nking, but I felt like a lamb being brought to the slaughter. As we walked side by side, I grabbed Charlie’s hand. He looked at me in surprise. When he saw my worried look, he squeezed my hand and gave me a short smile.
We were led in front of Duncan, who’d set up headquarters in the bar area. He sat at a table, intently studying a map. It took at least a couple of minutes before he looked up, although I had the idea he knew very well we were standing in front of him. He didn’t offer us to sit down, but there were no other chairs at his table anyway.
Jerk.
This one word kept going through my mind the whole time he had us waiting. I dismissed the thought when we finally got his attention, and I remembered that this ‘jerk’ had our lives in his hands. As he looked up, he folded his hands and laid them on the table in front of him.
“You’re Julie’s sister, aren’t you?” he asked me, his voice devoid of any sign of emotion. I had no doubt that it had been the same before he was turned.
“Yes, sir, I’m Kate,” I answered in military style.
God, I’m such a sucker.
Using the old connotation of the word that is.
“I remember Julie introducing you to me,” he said, “and you must be Charlie.” He turned his head to Charlie.
“I am, Duncan,” Charlie said, and I nearly fainted.
You will get us killed with that attitude.
Duncan kept looking at Charlie for a bit longer, and then sat back while he moved his hands to the side of the table. “I’ll be honest with you guys. I didn’t ask for you in my pack, and if I had a choice, you wouldn’t be here. However, Julie asked me to take you in and I promised her I would, so you can stay.”
Another silence followed. I thought we had gotten away with it. I was about to thank him and leave.
“There is an issue I have to mention, though,” Duncan said. Charlie and I exchanged a quick, worried glance. As we waited for Duncan to continue, you could hear a pin drop.
God, this guy loves being in control.
“It was brought to my attention that you can’t do any push-ups, Kate. Why is that?” He kept his eyes on me. It was unnerving.
“I…I don’t know, sir. I have never been able to do them, and I was looking forward to finally being able to, but somehow I’m not getting any stronger.”
Perspiration poured out of my body, and it wasn’t the after-effect of the exercises. I kept looking straight in front of me, for I was sure that if I looked at him, those cold eyes would pry the truth out of me.
“Hmm…” he said, “another one…” and he frowned at the bolo standing next to him, who just nodded.
‘Another one…’ What does he mean with that? Is there another human in the pack? Does he know?
Before I could speculate any further, Duncan gave me the answer.
“You also must have a rare blood disease preventing you from gaining strength. So be it. But I can’t have you causing any unrest amongst my pack. Ergo from now on, you take a spot at the back during the exercises. Dismissed.”
He leaned forward to study the map in front of him again. Charlie and I looked at the bolo standing next to Duncan, who indicated with his head for us to clear out.
Meeting Harry
We turned on our heels and walked back with a quick step to the booth we had slept in. I couldn’t believe our luck. We had survived another firing squad. I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants and couldn’t help smiling. Once we sat down next to each other, and I was sure nobody was paying us any attention, I whispered to Charlie.
“Did you hear what he said? There’s another one.”
I didn’t know if I should have been happy or more afraid. It would be another person to be more ourselves with, but that extra person was also another chance to slip up and get us caught.
“I know,” Charlie whispered back, “but how do we find out which one?”
As if on cue, a young man sat himself down opposite us. Charlie and I took him in without saying anything. He had a muscular build, wore camouflage clothing, and together with the flattop haircut, his vision screamed out ‘military,’ like Duncan. I was sure he was one of Duncan’s bolos and was afraid that he was sent to spy on us. His blue eyes were bright, his face bursting with excitement. He gave us a smile.
“Hi, I’m Harry.”
“Hi, Harry,” Charlie and I replied in sync.
Harry lowered his head toward me.
“I understand that you also have a… rare blood disorder,” he said in a low voice. His expression was full of hope.
No need to look any further.
“Actually, we both have,” I replied quietly. Charlie hit me in the shin under the table. It took me great effort not to shout out in pain.
Ouch, Charlie. That classifies as using unnecessary force.
“Mine isn’t a rare blood disorder. It’s a genetic disorder,” Charlie quickly corrected my stuff up.
“That’s what I thought too. Um, bummer,” Harry said as he was lost for words like most people are when confronted with another person’s medical problems. “But you’re like me, aren’t you?” he said again in my direction with a big smile on his face.
I realized that Harry was a bit of a loose cannon, and I chastised myself for almost exposing Charlie to him. Before I answered his question, I had to know for sure Harry wasn’t a sucker. I studied his fangs and noticed they were his own, real teeth, not stick-on ones like Charlie’s and mine. Blood drained from my head, and I felt queasy.
Harry saw me stare at his teeth and must have noticed the uncomfortable look on my face. He waved his hands in front of him before quickly putting them flat on the table again. “Don’t worry, I was born this way, they have always looked like this,” he whispered.
To make sure he was telling the truth my eyes drifted to his neck where I could clearly see two ‘marks’, as Julie called them.
“Self-inflicted,” Harry softly beamed as his hand touched the scars. “I am so glad I’m not the only one with a blood disorder,” he said a bit louder with a huge smile on his face.
I sighed with relief as I realized that he was a genuine human. When I turned to Charlie, I found that he didn’t appear as relieved as I was. He still eyed Harry with suspicion. Then somebody shouted, ‘Briefing!’ and all heads turned to face Duncan, who had taken to the stage. I was relieved as Harry couldn’t get us into trouble for the next few minutes.
Duncan informed us we were leaving Bullsbrook and would move on to the next village. The gathering yesterday apparently didn’t give enough of a return as there had been a gathering the night before by a rival pack. Duncan didn’t mention Caleb’s name, but there were whispers amongst the ranks. I knew the rumors were true, of course.
What exactly is the issue between Duncan and Caleb?
Marching
When we marched to the next town—and we were literally marching—I took my chance to interrogate Harry. There was so much I wanted to know, and Harry seemed eager to please. Charlie had warned me to stay away from Harry as much as possible. He was afraid that Harry would blow our cover. I understood his concern but felt a bit miffed about Charlie not having much faith in me. I, too, knew the dangers of the life we were living at the moment. Whatever I thought about the matter, I needn’t worry. It appeared harder to get rid of Harry than that red wine stain on my favorite white shirt.
Harry walked in between Charlie and me with a spring in his step. Charlie’s grunts and sighs about this somehow circumvented Harry and found their way to me, but I, too, ignored them.
“So who’s this Caleb everyone’s talking about?” I asked Harry.
“Caleb’s a bit of a celebrity amongst us.” His face lit up as he spoke. “We’ve all heard stories about him.”
“Oh, what sort of stories?” I asked. I’d never met a celebrity before and was curious about why Caleb was famous.
You already know one reason, girl.
“There are a lot of stories about Caleb; about how strong he is, about how loyal he
is to Sasha, about how he saves the children. Not everybody agrees with that one, especially not Duncan. And then there is the one about how he defied Duncan.” His voice had dropped to a whisper I could hardly hear on that last sentence.
“How does that story go?” I pushed him. This story seemed to be the most relevant one, and I couldn’t wait to hear it.
“I’d rather not talk about that one if you don’t mind,” Harry said.
Oh, I so want to know now.
“That’s okay, Harry,” I said to him while internally being eaten alive by curiosity. I wasn’t going to drop the subject, though.
“Where’s Caleb’s pack now, you think?” I said.
We both stopped and looked at Charlie as he all of a sudden made a noise as if he had swallowed a bug.
“Are you okay?” Harry asked Charlie.
“I’ll be just fine, Harry. Don’t you worry,” Charlie said as he recovered. Charlie shot me a quick glance before we began walking again. If looks could kill, I think I might have dropped dead.
What’s all that about, Charlie?
As we continued to walk, I chose to ignore Charlie’s objection, repeated my question, and Harry answered after Charlie cleared his throat but didn’t seem to choke this time.
“Well, that’s the strangest thing, you know. Normally Caleb stays out of Duncan’s way, but Caleb’s pack accidentally ‘cut in,’ so to speak, the night before we arrived in that cute little town we were in just now.”
“Bullsbrook you mean. Charlie and I lived there,’ I interrupted. I smiled at Charlie, to get in his good books again. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, but I hated conflict. Charlie, however, chose not to look at me, and my smile went unanswered.
“Oh, did you? Nice place,” Harry said, seemingly unaware of the tension between Charlie and me.
Living Like A Vampire Page 11