“She was attacked by other vampires.”
“Jess, have you been drinking?” her mother asked her. “It’s true! We have to clean her up, we have to...” “Call 911.” her dad said again.
“No. She’ll heal. I think.” She turned to me. “Brynne?” “Just... bath, okay.” I said.
“Just help me get her in the bathtub!” Jessica told them. “Jessica, be serious. She’s really hurt, we’re not playing games
here.”
“Dad, I’m telling you the truth! Oh damn it! Just wait.” She sat me down on the stairs and then disappeared for a minute. Everyone is staring at me. If I were more alert and able to move, I’d probably run away. For good. Because people shouldn’t know about me. It’s dangerous. For them and me. Mostly me, I think.
“Here.” Jessica said. She stepped up in front of me. She raised a steak knife up and cut her finger.
“Jessica!” Mrs. Sloan shouted.
“Open your mouth, Brynne.” Jess said.
“Ew, gross.” Barney said.
“What are you doing?” Mr. Sloan asked.
Jess stuck her finger in my mouth. In my daze, it took me a minute to figure out what she was doing. My saliva will make her heal more quickly. As long as it doesn’t make her forget everything that happened tonight, it’ll be okay. That tends to happen, the forgetting. There’s something in our saliva that causes it.
Now the only problem... blood. You put a bloody finger in my mouth and it is sort of hard for me to stop sucking. But I’m weak, and Jess was able to pull her finger out.
“See, it’s already healing.” she said, holding her finger up. “I don’t understand anything that is going on here.” her mother said.
“I’m proving to you that she’s a vampire.”
“I’m not...”
“Oh, except she doesn’t like being called that!”
“No hospital.” I said.
The next thing I know, Jess and her mother were lowering me into the bathtub. It hurt bad. Really bad. But it washed most of the salt away. I sort of passed out somewhere in there.
Sunday, May 22
I woke up in Jessica’s bed. I could see the daylight coming through the curtains. Mrs. Sloan was standing in the doorway. “Where’s Jess?” I asked. It hurt to talk.
“You’re awake.” Mrs. Sloan said. She’s not smiling, she’s not happy, she’s sort of gloomy looking. “Jessica is eating breakfast. Her finger is completely healed.”
“Oh. Good.”
“So you are a... a... um, vampire?” she asked. She’s on the verge of tears.
“Not exactly, but close enough.”
“Does that mean that Jessica is... I mean you sucked on her finger. Will she... be one too?”
“It doesn’t work that way. She’ll be completely okay.”
“Oh.” She blew out a breath and let her tears come. “Thank goodness!”
“I should have never told her. I should have just gone away. I’m sorry.”
“Why did the others come attack you?”
“Because I tried to talk them into not killing people.”
“Jessica says you don’t do that, you don’t hurt people. Is that true?”
“No, or at least I try not to. I’m sorry.” I was crying. “I never meant to bring you guys into this. I should just kill myself so I don’t cause any more problems.”
“That would be incredibly wrong.” she said.
She was seriously scared of me, but she still came over and sat on the edge of the bed. That meant a lot to me. Nobody ever cared enough to stick around when they were scared. Not since my parents were killed, anyway.
“Brynne, I don’t think you’re a bad person, or a monster, or evil, or any of those other things Jessica said you’re worried people will think about you.”
“You don’t?” “No. I know you too well, honey. You’re a good person, you’re just different. But God has a plan for you, I’m sure.”
“Thanks.”
“Let’s see how those cuts are doing.” she said. She pulled the
sheet down and peeled back some of the bandages. “Wow. At this rate you’ll be all better in just a few days. I thought you would die through the night. How do you feel?’
“Really weak.” “Jess said you’d probably need something to eat.” She took a breath and sighed. “Or drink, I guess?”
“She did?” She got the blood from my refrigerator?
“Her and Barney went to your house and got a few things. I’ll have her bring up your breakfast. Try not to get any of the blood on the sheets, okay?”
“They went to my house? No, that’s too dangerous, they can’t do that.”
“They’re fine now. You just relax.”
I tried to get up, but I couldn’t do it. I wonder how much blood I lost. I don’t think I’ve ever been this weak before. This is bad. I can’t protect them if the others come back.
“Hey B.” Jessica said. She bounced over to my side with a huge smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Not great. But I’m alive, thanks to you.”
“Would you have died?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” She has the packet of blood in her hand, and I see it make an appearance every few seconds, before it dips back below her leg again. “Jess?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you please stop waving that around in front of me.”
“Oh, sorry!” She jumped up and went to her desk, where she grabbed some scissors. She snipped a little hole in the packet and shoved a straw into it. “Here you go, honey.”
She held it out toward me, but I couldn’t lift my arm to grab it. I’m weaker than I thought. She must have seen me struggling, because she moved closer and held the blood near my mouth and she shoved the straw between my lips.
“First time I’ve ever used a straw.” I said between sips. “What, so you’re not a civilized va... blood drinker?” “This is a little like a juice pack.” I sucked the last of it out.
“Crap.”
“That was all that was in your fridge, Brynne. I’m sorry if it’s
not enough.”
“No, it... thanks.”
“Is there any way at all that I can get more? I mean I know you
can probably just go in and steal it, but I can’t do that, and you’re not
up to it right now.”
“I’ll be okay. Maybe a sandwich, if it’s not too much trouble?” “Yeah, absolutely.” She dropped the empty blood packet in the
trash. “I have something else for you, too.” She opened the drawer of
the nightstand. “Here you go.”
“Jenna!”
“I figured she’d make you feel better.”
“I...” I couldn’t raise my arms to grab her. “I... can’t...” “Shh, it’s okay.” She brushed the hair back from my forehead,
then she nestled the doll in next to my side. “Don’t cry, honey, it’s
going to be alright.”
Jessica headed down to get my sandwich. I could hear her in the kitchen. I could also hear a very definite quiet, which is out of place in this house. They’re always lively and vibrant and noisy.
“They’re scared of me, Jenna.” I said. It felt so bad to not be able to lift her up and look at her. “I can’t blame them. If they were smart they would have shoved me out the door and let me die. If they were smart they’d take a big knife and chop my head off while I’m too weak to do anything about it. I wouldn’t really fight it anyway.”
Jessica is still down there, making a sandwich. This is apparently going to be the most elaborate sandwich of all time. And so now this is Barney coming down the hall, I guess.
“Are you alive?” he asked.
“Yeah. Sort of.”
“So how many people have you killed? A lot? Do you tear their
limbs off and suck the blood from their protruding stumps? Are you vicious and like a savage? Do you bite their neck and drink directly from them?”
&nbs
p; “No.” So that’s what he thinks I am? This really isn’t going to work. Somehow I have got to find a way to get out of here. I don’t even care about what happens to me at this point, but these people really hate what I am. They’re playing nice, or at least Mrs. Sloan and Jess are, but they really don’t want me here.
“So how old are you really?” he asked.
“That depends on how you mean that.” I can’t even roll over and look away from him. Oh yeah, and my doll is right here, and I really want to look like a little kid around people. I guess I don’t care so much about that, though. I love Jenna far more than I care about what he thinks. “Are you asking how old I am physically and mentally and emotionally, or what year I was born?”
“What year were you born?”
“Eighteen fifty-six.”
“Holy crap, you’re old.” he said. He laughed. “So Jessica said you age really slowly. So keeping that in mind, how old are you?”
“Um, like, fifteen.”
“Man, you’re just a kid.”
“Yeah.”
“You're jailbait.”
“Huh?”
“Uh, never mind.”
He retreated down the hallway. Jailbait? What a jerk. Typical. “A sandwich fit for a queen.” Jess said. She sat the plate on my stomach, but removed it when I winced. “Still sore, huh? Anyway, how do you want to do this?”
“You know what, I’ll just get it myself. Just sit it on the nightstand and go.”
“No, I can hold it up for you, that’s okay.”
“I don’t need someone to feed me!”
“O-K.”
What is happening to me? I just snap at her when she’s trying to help, and all this crying lately, it’s just not me. And she’s trying to help! She’s my only real friend, and I’m taking this all out on her. She’s going to hate me. She’s going to wonder why she didn’t just let me die.
“You should have.” I said. “Let me die.” “Get over it, you’re still alive. Damn, what a freakin' nightmare.”
“Jess, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.”
“Brynne, I know you’re not feeling well, it’s okay. Now open up.” She held a wedge of sandwich toward my mouth. “And no fingers.” she joked.
It is so humiliating to have her feed me. I’ve never been this low in my life. I never have had to be fed. And by her! Humiliating. “Would some Tylenol even help?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“Honey, you’ve got to be in a lot of pain. I can get you some
Tylenol. I’m sorry, but we don’t have anything stronger than that.” “Um, maybe. It’s really not so bad, as long as I don’t move.” “There’s no reason to be tough, Brynne, you don’t have to put
up a front right now. If you’re hurting I can get you something.” “Um... okay.”
“I’ll go grab a couple of Tylenol and we can finish eating when
I get back, okay?”
“Um... can you get... like eight.”
“Eight? Seriously?”
“It takes more than usual to have an effect on me.”
She brought the Tylenol in and stuck it in my mouth and dumped water in behind it. I want to move. I want so badly to be able to move my arms, at least. I’ve never been in such a sad state. Every time I try to budge my arms I can’t even stand the pain.
And now there’s another problem. I don’t think I’ve cried this much in a century. Just hold it in, Brynne. Just stop thinking about it. I can’t. This is so humiliating.
“Honey, you’re going to be okay.” she said, trying to comfort me.
“I hate this.”
“The way you heal, you’re going to be better in no time. Just try to sleep.”
“No, Jessica, I have to pee.”
“Oh. Um,”
“Can you help me to the bathroom?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” She pulled at the blanket that was covering me, then stopped. “Yeah, we really can’t drag you down the hall naked, can we?”
“Which makes me wonder why I have no clothes on.”
“They were so torn up, Brynne, and full of blood.”
“But... I mean you went to my house.”
“I brought some. But you have cuts all over. Maybe I’ll just get a towel and wrap it around you, okay?”
She got a towel and pulled the covers back and wrapped the towel around me. It hurt so bad when she pushed me up on my side to shove the towel under me. And then she pulled me from the bed and to a standing position.
“Ow, ow, ow.” I said. She sat me back down. “I can’t... Jess, I can’t do it.”
“Hey, it’s okay. I just can’t lift you by myself.”
“I’m not strong enough to stand.”
“Don’t cry, okay. Just relax. Oh, but not too much, not yet. I really don’t want to have to clean that up if we can avoid it.”
“I have to go.”
“Hang on, I’ll just get some help, okay.”
She went into the hall and started shouting for Barney. When I told her no, she told me he was the only one home. I didn’t hear her parents leave. How could I not have heard them leave? I guess I have been sort of out of it, but still it seems hard to believe.
Barney came in and they picked me up, and it still hurt so bad I could hardly stand it. They carried me into the restroom, and I was just dreading the idea of peeing in front of him, but they sat me on the edge of the toilet, then he disappeared. Jess helped me from there. It was so horrible. And then they put me back in bed.
“You look exhausted.” she said.
“Uh-huh.”
“Try to sleep, hon.” She wiped the sweat from my forehead.
“Brynne, you need more blood. How do we get more?” “You can’t.”
“What if we just ask the hospital?”
“Right, ‘cause they’ll just hand over blood. Sure.” “Well I don’t know!”
“Jess, you can’t. I’ll be okay.”
“I think you’d be okay quicker if you had blood.” she said. “Well I don’t have any, so that point is moot.”
“Yeah. Maybe I can steal some from a blood bank, like you
do.”
“No! Jess, you’re not doing that.”
“I’d probably be caught, anyway. We’ll think of something.
Just get some rest, okay.”
“Jess, don’t do anything. Please.”
“Relax, I’m not going to go steal blood. Just rest.” “Jess,”
“I said I’m not doing anything.”
“No, could... could you, um, give me Jenna?” It’s so
embarrassing, but it makes me feel better to have her with me. “Oh,” She smiled and grabbed the doll. “You’re so cute, with
your little doll.”
“Sto-op. I can’t help it.”
“Relax,” She tucked the doll in next to me. “You’re just a kid,
it’s okay.” She actually kissed my forehead. “You two sleep tight,
okay.”
“Thanks Jess.”
I dreamed about relaxing in their backyard, laying in the sun with Jessica while Barney grilled and Mr. And Mrs. Sloan sat on the glider reading the newspaper. I wasn’t burning, I wasn’t hurrying to the shade, I was getting a sun tan. The first one since eighteen seventyone.
“Brynne.” I heard someone saying my name. “Brynne, wake up.”
“Wha... um...” I said, brilliantly.
“Brynne, wake up.” Mrs. Sloan said. “Wake up, honey.”
“I’m awake. What’s going on?”
“I want you to drink this.” she said.
I looked down at what she was holding. A sports bottle full of blood. How did they get this? Is it human? Animal blood doesn’t work. But I can smell it now, and it smells human.
“Where... Jess promised she wouldn’t try to steal...” “She didn’t.” Mrs. Sloan held up her arm to show me a bandage. “We each gave a little.”
“You guys shouldn’t have done that.”
<
br /> “Just drink it.”
That’s so sweet of them. That’s so amazing. If I were stronger I would tell them no, I would go away. They don’t even know anything about my kind. What if I like their flavor and decide to get more, only this time directly from the source? They can’t know that I won’t.
“Why are you doing this for me?” I took a drink.
“What should we do, let you die?”
“I don’t think I’d die now. Not if you just gave me normal
food. I’d just take a long time to heal.”
“Well, Jessica thought you’d heal faster this way. Will you?” “Probably. I’ve never been this hurt, so it’s hard to say.” I took
another sip.
“We want to get you healthy as soon you can.”
“Me too. And then I can stop imposing on you.”
“What would you do? You can’t honestly think it’s a good idea
to go back to your house and stay there now.” She sounds worried. “I have to go away, Mrs. Sloan.”
“That would make Jessica very unhappy.” she said. “We’d all
miss you.”
“I don’t know what else to do. And I can’t stay around Hanton.
As long as I’m here, you’re all in danger. They might come back for
me.” “But if you’re here, with us, then they face a house full of
people willing to use firearms to protect you.” she said. “Jessica said
bullets work well on your kind.”
“They won’t usually kill us.” I told her, between sips. “But
they will hurt us.” At least me. I assume it’ll hurt the others, too. “Then you should stay here for a while, until you know you’re
safe.”
“I don’t like putting you at risk.”
“I don’t like the idea of a fifteen year old living alone.” she
said.
“Mrs. Sloan, I’ve been living alone longer than the combined
time your entire family has been alive.”
“Sounds like it would be lonely.” she said. She took the empty
bottle away. “And I don’t care if you’ve been alive for over a hundred
and fifty years, you’re still just a little girl. You said it, you don’t age.” “I’m fine by myself.”
“I don’t believe that. And I don’t think you want that, either.”
She took a tissue and wiped around my mouth. “There’s more in the
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