Aww.
I had to bite the inside of my lip to suppress a smile. Charlie’s answer had sounded so funny. I had just told the Major, risking my own life in the process, that I was a day walking sucker and was here to warn the army of a possible impending attack of daywalking suckers. Charlie was here because he loved me.
To Major Moore, we may have seemed like an unlikely couple who were acting like two silly teenagers in love. To me, however, Charlie’s confession of his love for me in this situation meant more than any kiss he could have given me. I glanced at him, trying to convey my love for him through my eyes. I took his hand to prove to Major Moore that the feeling of love was mutual.
Against my expectations, Major Moore didn’t react to Charlie’s answer.
“What about the blood sucking?” The Major directed the question at me again. “Is that any less?”
“No, unfortunately not,” I replied.
“Did you kill anybody?” he asked in a more serious tone.
I couldn’t blame him for asking. He was only doing his job.
“I drank Charlie’s blood, which he offered me in a cup voluntarily, and some blood from the medical practice.”
“Ah, that was you.” He smiled behind the mustache.
And Rhona, and Sasha, and Caleb.
“Look, sir, as soon as those suckers I told you about know how to turn into daylight suckers, they’ll be able to attack at any time of day. You need to find them before more lives are lost.”
I was getting a bit impatient with all the questions. We needed action, not discussion. Caleb and Sasha had to be found.
How I wish Charlie and I hadn’t wasted precious time by making love before coming here.
Really?
Oh, shut up. You know what I mean.
“We will do our job. Don’t you worry about that,” and with that, he signaled to the soldiers. “Take care of them.”
Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.
I was one step away from the door when I turned around. “Please, sir…”
Major Moore looked up from his paperwork.
“Could I ask you to find out if my sister’s okay? She’s married to a naval officer.”
Major Moore said he could try, and I gave him their names and last known location. I hoped he would keep his promise. It was the least he could do for me after what I had done for him.
The soldiers took us out of Mr. Finkle’s office and escorted us down the hallway.
Torn Apart
I don’t know what I had expected to happen next. I wanted to be let free, having done my duty, but that was wishful thinking. At the very least, I wanted to stay together with Charlie. Instead, two of the soldiers pushed me up the stairs and the other two continued to escort Charlie out the door.
“No, no, no, Charlie is staying with me,” I said, struggling to hold on to his hand.
“You’re going upstairs, Ma’am,” one of the soldiers said.
I had no idea when they had decided this, whether the Major had given the orders before we talked to him or whether this was standard procedure with all suckers they had caught. The other two soldiers continued to push Charlie out the door.
“Kate!” Charlie yelled as they kept pushing us further apart. Our hands separated. I lost control. A surge of power went through my body that needed a release. I grabbed one of the soldiers pushing me and threw him into the air. He landed at least five meters away and slid for a couple more over the slippery, yellow tiles.
Without hesitation, the other three let go of us. Suddenly, I had three guns pointed at my head. How I hated these weapons. I lifted my upper lip and showed off my fangs. I could smell the soldiers’ perspiration and their fear in it.
“Kate,” I heard Charlie say.
I whipped my head around and saw Charlie stepping between me and one of the soldiers.
“Kate, it’s okay. I’ll be okay. Just do what they want for now.”
Charlie was an ocean of calmness in my world of turmoil. An instant headache accompanied the frustration of feeling utterly helpless. I was so strong and yet so powerless. Charlie was right, though. I knew he’d be okay, that they wouldn’t hurt him, as he was still one of ‘them.’ I took a deep breath and collected myself.
“Okay, okay, I can do that.” The surge of power was gone, and with it my will to fight.
Charlie, seeing that I had calmed down, nodded to me once. I returned the nod.
The fallen soldier had gotten up and limped back to us. He joined the one who now had his gun aimed at Charlie. Together they guided him toward the doors.
“You hurt him, and I’ll hurt you!” I yelled after them. The other two soldiers pushed me up the stairs, their guns still at the ready. I looked back once more and saw them take my Charlie away from me. The veil of darkness fell over me again.
Upstairs they put me in one of the classrooms. Unfortunately, it wasn’t mine. It didn’t have a storeroom. My guards remained outside the door. I guessed they didn’t expect me to jump through a window. I crossed the classroom and leaned my head against the window. I spotted Charlie being escorted into one of the other buildings. They’d probably interrogate him further before sending him on his way. In contrast, I had no idea what they were going to do with me.
I didn’t have to wait too long for the answer. I soon heard steps coming toward the classroom. They sounded like eager steps. The person entering the classroom wore a white lab coat. He was an old man with horn-rimmed glasses and a nose like a hawk. If I’d met him on the street, I’d have taken him for a prison camp survivor.
Maybe he is a prison camp survivor.
“I’m Doctor Hayley, and I’m going to take a couple of blood samples from you,” he said.
No ‘how are you feeling today,’ or the other usual chit-chat doctors always had while you knew there were at least five more patients in the waiting room anxiously looking at their watches as their appointment times had come and gone. This guy’s communication was short and to the point. He told me to sit down and roll up my sleeve.
The old man had brought a tray with him. On it was a rack with different sizes of glass tubes, each having a different colored stopper. I found the number of tubes frightening, but apart from the initial jab, I felt no pain when he switched one tube for another tube on the back end of the needle.
I tried to read the text on the tubes. The only one I could make out said IgG/IgM. I knew from my studies that this had something to do with immunity.
While the doctor was changing out another tube, I couldn’t help but look at the veins standing out in his skinny, long neck. They were so very inviting, and my mouth started to water. I swallowed as I was appalled by myself for even contemplating putting my lips on this old man’s neck.
“Don’t even think about it,” Dr. Hayley said without looking up.
My stare went from his veins to his eyes.
Says he who is draining me of my blood.
“Can I get a replacement for that?” With my free hand, I pointed at the tubes on the tray that were already filled with my blood. I hadn’t told Major Moore that suckers get stronger when they drank more blood as newborns, so I thought it was worth trying to ask for some. Dr. Hayley looked at me briefly but didn’t answer my question.
When he was done, he stuck a bit of cotton with a Band-Aid on my arm. He told me to fold my arm to keep the pressure on it and to open my mouth. With a long cotton swab, he swiped the inside of my cheek. The swab also disappeared into a tube with a stopper.
The doctor picked up his tray and left without a word. The guard who had come in with him shut the door behind him and joined the other guard on duty in the hallway.
I walked back to the window and looked at the schoolyard. It was a lot busier than it had been earlier. For a second it appeared like a normal school day at lunchtime. However, instead of children, there were now soldiers running around. Something was afoot. I hoped they were working very hard on finding Caleb and Sasha. My worries would be over
when they were found.
I sat down next to a window and resigned myself with the thought that what I had done was the right thing, and I would soon be reunited with Charlie. I didn’t care what they did to me afterward, as long as they let me be with Charlie one more time. I needed a proper goodbye.
While watching the scene in the schoolyard, I realized the army was doing more than making war. Yes, they had soldiers, tanks, and weapons, but I also noticed they were bringing civilians in from the surrounding villages, taking them to safe places. I saw trucks loaded with water, food supplies, and blankets. They were driving off in various directions. The army was doing its best to make life possible for survivors.
***
I had been sitting in the classroom for several hours when I noted a movement in the corner of my eye. Most of the action outside was purposeful yet muted. This movement at the far corner of the parking lot, however, was chaotic.
I could make out two people being escorted from a truck by soldiers. One was tall, of muscular build, and dressed in camouflage wear; a soldier. The other, smaller one was fighting, resisting the transport. This one had two guns aimed at the head by guards, being pushed forward by them. This person was obviously not entirely agreeing with what was happening. Profanities were being yelled that I had never heard before, but it somehow sounded familiar. All of a sudden, I recognized the nasal voice.
I did a double take and couldn’t believe my eyes. They were Harry and Rhona.
What the fuck?
Clarifications
Adrenaline rushed through my blood. Why the hell were they back here? I got up and placed my hands on the window, multiple thoughts running through my head. I began banging on the glass, trying to get Rhona’s attention, hoping to warn her, to make her get out of here.
This will be a bit tricky, of course, with guns pointed at her head.
Rhona was too busy insulting the soldiers with all she had, but Harry did notice me. I stopped hitting the window when he looked up. I didn’t understand what I saw. When I read his face, it was… cold. There was no smile, and his eyes seemed as hard and dark as lava stones. He looked so unlike the kind, helpful Harry that I knew. They disappeared into the building.
I sat down hard on one of the wooden chairs. My mind raced. What had Harry done?
Would he have done a 1-80?
Why would he do that? He loves Rhona, I am one-hundred percent sure of that.
Or am I so stupid to have misunderstood him all along? He does wear army clothing.
I didn’t understand it. I couldn’t make any sense of it all. For at least ten minutes, I was racking my brain about what I had just seen when I heard Rhona coming up the stairs.
“Get your fucking hands off me, you clusterfucking scum bag!” she was shouting and much, much more. I imagined steam coming out of her ears. If I thought I had been cursing too much lately, I knew I could learn a lot more from Rhona.
Who would think that such a sweet little thing is able to utter such unpleasantness?
The door flung open. Rhona was thrown in the classroom.
“Fucking ass wipes!” she yelled back at the soldiers before they shut the door.
“Rhona,” I said and made my way over to her.
She turned around as she heard my voice. I don’t think she realized I was there when they had thrown her in. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face flushed with all the yelling she had been doing.
“Oh, Kate,” she said as we hugged each other, and her body began shaking with sobs. Before I knew it she was balling her eyes out. I let her cry for a while, but after a few minutes I tried to calm her down. Wiping the tears from her mascara-streaked cheeks, I told her to take deep breaths.
“Come, sit down. What’s happening? Why are you and Harry here?”
“They’ve taken Harry away,” she cried, tears still streaming down her face.
“What do you mean, ‘taken away’?”
My mind went into overdrive again.
Had she decided to come to the army like me, and now Harry is being questioned like Charlie?
No, that is highly unlikely. It was obvious Rhona did not come here out of her own free will.
Why would they want to split Harry and Rhona up? How did they know she was bitten?
“What do you mean, Rhona? Please tell me what is going on,” I urged her.
She calmed down a bit and in between sobs told me they had come upon an army roadblock when they wanted to cross US Highway 2. They’d thought they would get through without a problem as it was daylight but had been pulled over. The soldiers had forced them out of the car and had driven them back to Bullsbrook.
“Why would they do that? Did they think you were suckers?” I didn’t understand how this could be possible as we had discussed earlier that they would try not to talk to anybody and to hide their fangs. I knew Harry was an awesome actor and had thought he’d be able to pull it off easily.
“No, it’s much worse,” she said with hatred in her voice and her chest heaved in little bits as she exhaled. Her eyes turned cold, like Harry’s eyes earlier.
“What, Rhona? What?” I was holding my breath and almost died with her not telling me.
“Harry’s father put an APB out for him. They were looking for him.” She doubled over crying again.
I got up and walked to the window. The pieces of the puzzle were falling together. Harry’s father had put out an APB for Harry. Harry had told us before that his father was in the military. Suddenly, in my mind, I saw the eyes of Harry morph into those of Major Moore’s. Major Moore was Harry’s father.
Fuck!
I cursed under my breath. Now I realized why Moore’s eyes made me feel so at ease with him. And why he’d said having fangs didn’t mean I was a sucker. Moore must have suspected Harry was in serious trouble because of his natural fangs and probably wanted to get him off the street and into the safety of army protection. He hadn’t anticipated Harry getting a sucker girlfriend in the meantime of course, especially not one who could walk in daylight.
“That’s not all,” Rhona continued, trying very hard to stop her sobs. “There’s more you need to know.”
I turned around to face her as she didn’t continue.
“We were told they hadn’t been able to find Caleb and Sasha and are going to get all the suckers in this area tonight, to make sure none of us will ever walk in daylight.”
She had stopped sobbing and sat with her hands folded in her lap, her face emotionless, staring in front of her.
As I turned back and stared out of the window, I saw rifles being handed out to soldiers. I half sat, half fell onto a chair. Rhona was implying that all suckers in the area weren’t allowed to live, which included her and me and Julie.
No, no, no! This isn’t happening!
My hand went to my mouth and I began biting my nails while I frantically tried to think of a way to turn events around. I remembered the tubes of blood from Dr. Hayley.
They’re working on a vaccine.
And they’ll probably find one. They always do in the end.
Harry had said that being a daywalker had something to do with my immunity. If they found a vaccine, they would be able to cure all suckers in the future, only not the packs of suckers running around in this area. Not Caleb’s or Duncan’s packs, which I didn’t have a problem with, but also not Julie’s. None of these suckers weren’t given any time to wait for the cure as I had just signed their death warrant. The army would never let them get away. They'd never let the secret get out.
All because of me.
I clenched my teeth. The thought of my sister being wiped out while a cure was on its way was something I couldn’t live with. She was my sister, and I loved her. I had to stop this. I had to save her. So I made up my mind.
“Rhona, I’m getting out of here. I’ve got to warn my sister.”
Getting Out
Rhona didn’t have a chance to react to my statement as the door opened. Dr. Hayley came in, holding
another tray with empty tubes. Rhona looked at me as if to say ‘what now?’
I needed more time to come up with a plan. I slowly blinked and dipped my head which made Rhona stay seated. Dr. Hayley introduced himself to her and told her to follow his instructions, so he could take her blood.
While Dr. Hayley was doing his thing, I circled as inconspicuously as I could toward the soldier who’d followed Dr. Hayley into the classroom. He had his gun aimed at Rhona.
Since my arrival in the classroom, I had been no trouble to the soldiers. I had come here of my own free will and had given them no reason to think I wanted to get out. The second soldier remained keeping watch outside, not minding me.
Big mistake, boys.
As I neared the soldier guarding Rhona, he threw an uneasy glance at me. I was getting close, but I wasn’t close enough yet. As I walked on, I tried my cutest smile on him, tilted my head which exposed my neck, and seductively let my fingers trail a desk. I’d completely forgotten I had fangs now. They must have tipped off the soldier of my intentions. He was quick-witted and realized the mistake he and his colleague had made.
He called out to his comrade as he swung his gun at me, but I was close enough now. I lunged. A moment later, he was unconscious on the floor. The other soldier came into the room with his gun at the ready. He waved it from me to Rhona behind me, then settling on me again. I was still on top of his colleague and too far away to do anything. I got to my feet. It had all been for nothing.
The soldier unexpectedly raised his hands. I heard Rhona speak.
“Drop it or the doc gets it.”
I turned around, and there she was; this tiny, fragile little thing, so innocent looking, holding Dr. Hayley with one hand by his wrinkly neck, and with her other hand holding a needle to his jugular. She had her thumb on the back of the syringe, threatening to pump Dr. Hayley’s vein full of air.
Way to go, Rhona.
The soldier was well trained. He put the gun on the floor, kicked it in my direction, and stuck his hands in the air. I picked up the gun as fast as I could. I’d never held one before and was surprised how light it was, probably because I was stronger now than I’d ever been. I had a quick look at it. The marking told me it was a Beretta, 9mm. I aimed the gun at his head and told him to move away from the door. Rhona pushed the doctor toward the soldier and came to stand beside me.
Living Like A Vampire Page 20