Vengeance (Thorn's Needles)

by P. A Ross

  I turned back, and Thorn was running at me, and she lifted me up and swung me onto her shoulders without stopping. We darted off around the corner away from the remaining guards that were closing in our position and around the back of the building. There no escape as we ran along by the high fence, we were trapped. Suddenly she arched back towards the building and ran up the wall to the first floor, and then as the momentum caught up with us, she crouched and rocketed up and outwards over the fence, arching over and back flipping into an empty field next door, landing perfectly and into her stride instantly.

  Thorn ran off into the darkness with me still on her shoulders. She was much quicker running while carrying me than I could have run along side her. After about 10 minutes police and fire engine sirens started, and there was a helicopter buzzing in the distance. Thorn ran down a dark alley on the first housing estate we came to and dropped me to the ground.

  “They will be coming for us,” she stated, looking up into the sky towards the sound of the helicopter.

  “Probably made up some random crime in order to use the police to capture us,” she continued.

  “What do we do?” I asked.

  “What time is it?”

  I had lost track of time altogether and looked down at my watch.

  “It’s 10pm,” I answered.

  “We need to hide out for a bit till tomorrow night, I doubt we can make it all the way to my house before daylight with the police hunting us down. Plus I am tried as they keep me near starvation point as a way of keeping me subdued. That’s way I took some of your blood,” she said.

  She closed her eyes and stood still for a few seconds. I guessed she was stretching out with her vampire senses to detect the surroundings.

  “They have dogs tracking us. We need to shake them off and find somewhere to hide. Can you swim?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I answered.

  She darted off through the alley way and I followed her.

  We snaked through alleys and streets, and all the time the helicopter was getting closer, and the police sirens wailing with the odd flash of blue lights cutting through the night.

  We eventually made it to a canal, and Thorn stood waiting for me at the edge.

  “We swim for a bit to lose the scent and cool our bodies down,” she said.

  I looked puzzled.

  “I burn a little hot than normal people they could detect me,” she added.

  She jumped in and swam effortlessly down the canal and out the other side.

  I jumped in, and the cold water shocked me to a stand still for a few seconds, and I front crawled in a panic down the canal towards Thorn. The water dragged me down in my leather coat and the water shot up my nose down into the back of my mouth. I coughed and spluttered forcing my arms and legs onwards keeping Thorn in sight as my motivation. I made it and she grabbed my hand lifting me out of the water straight on to me feet. I stood shivering wondering if I could carry on as my body was shutting down.

  “You will be fine,” she said, and hugged me and talked into my ear.

  “We will find somewhere warm, and get you out of those wet clothes,” she said in a mischievous tone.

  She let go and grabbed my hand, and started running and pulling me along behind her.

  It warmed me up a little, and water squelched out of my clothes and shoes as I ran slapping the floor with my wet feet. We ran across a cricket pitch and towards more houses avoiding the nearby town centre due to the CCTV cameras.

  We ran for another 10 minutes, but I started to lag behind the cold taking its toll and my body exhausted from the vampire change. We ran across a golf course and Thorn stopped next to a bunker, as I staggered forwards to keep up.

  “Rest for a second,” she said, and closed her eyes reaching out with her senses once again.

  The helicopter was close and the police cars dashed about around the other roads. She opened her eyes and looked into the sky in the direction of the helicopter, and then around.

  “They will be here soon. Strip,” she said.

  She flung her clothes off to the floor and I followed on fingers shaking and numb struggling to coordinate the movements needed to unzip my jacket and pull my jeans down. Thorn was quickly naked and rushed over to pull off the last my clothes.

  “Any excuse to get me to undress you,” she joked.

  She grabbed my clothes shoving them on the floor, and lay down on top of them face up.

  “Come on, get on top,” she said.

  She opened her legs and I lay on top of her as the helicopter flew over top.

  She rubbed her hands down my back.

  “Our bodies together and our coldness with cover my additional heat signature. I doubt they will think it is us. Hopefully they will think it’s just two young lovers.”

  The helicopter hovered for a while, and I guessed they were enjoying the sight. The trees and bushes down the side of the golf course rippled under the wave of air being blasted down onto us. The sand swirled about in the bunker covering us in a light dusting and I shut my eyes as it blew across my face. Her body was already warming up, and I readily absorbed the heat across my chest and pelvis. The wave of air forced the cold water off my body, and flapped my hair drying it off. Thorn’s hair flapped about on the clothes beneath me. The spotlight came on and Thorn grabbed my head and covered her face into my chest pretending to hide as person caught in the act would. I held still hoping to copy her pretend embarrassment of being watched. The helicopter hovered and eventually the sound of the buzzing blades sharply disappeared, as the blasted air ceased.

  She pushed me off and flung my clothes at me. She grabbed her clothes, wrung them dry and I copied. I watched her as I wrung my clothes out, her naked body in the moon light, her wet hair swept over her head as she pulled the vest top back on over her head. I was still unable to comprehend the truth that she was a vampire, and I was her rescuer and lover. I fought with the wet clothes in the dark trying to get them back on properly, but I was warmer from my skin to skin contact with Thorn and had enough feeling to force them on. With our clothes back on, Thorn picked me again and ran across the golf course and back into another housing estate. She stopped still and closed her eyes again.

  “The house on the corner is empty. We can get in from the back of the golf course,” she said.

  We ran around to a high fence at the back. Thorn scaled over it quickly and broke into the house. I waited while she checked it over and was shivering in the cold and looking around for anyone watching. She dropped back over the fence and scooped me up, and ran up the fence and over the other side straight into the house and dumping me onto a sofa

  “We should be safe here,” she said.

  “How do you know?” I asked.

  “No one has been in this house for a few days I can sense it. There are no cars outside and the calendar on the fridge says they are returning from holiday next Saturday.”

  “Oh.”

  “We both need to rest, and tomorrow night I will get us both some food and new clothes. We will go to my house the night after that. The search will have gone cold and we can scout out the surroundings properly. No need to rush we have time to get back safely.”

  “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes properly this time,” she said and pulled me off the sofa and we went up stairs. She put a hot shower on and we both stripped off and climbed into together.

  The hot water relieved the cold, and as I stood in the shower Thorn rubbed shower gel over my body and washed it slowly off. It was relaxing and pleasurable as the feelings in my body came back and thoughts turned away from running and fear, to the pleasure and fun I might have with Thorn. I repaid the pleasure to her washing her down. She enjoyed the attention closing her eyes and leaning against the shower wall as I washed her clean, and my hands felt her normal high heat return to her body.

  We dried off and found some clothes to wear while ours dried out. Thorn opened up loft hatch and pulled down a ladder.

  “We
sleep up here, out of sight and sound from any potential visitors and safe from the sunlight,” she said.

  We grabbed a couple of single mattresses and some blankets, and dragged them through the hatch and set up a bed for the next couple of days.

  CHAPTER 11

  I fell to sleep easily with the activities of the night before have taken their toll, and Thorn held me in her arms for most of the day while she slept. I couldn’t decide if this was to prevent me from escaping, or the enjoyment of my company. I was happy to sleep next to her and felt safe with her by my side, and her heat kept me warm and comfortable all day. As soon as the night started to fall Thorn was awake and sat crouched next to the hatch in the loft. I woke up just in time to see her go out.

  “I will return,” she said before disappearing off through the hole in the floor.

  I scouted around the house and found some food. I found a torch and a book, and went to read in the loft, but couldn’t. I just lay in the semi dark wondering what would happen next, realising what I had just done. I had killed 5 people and helped a vampire escape her prison, now I was on the run with her. I was alone, and I began to think about what had happened, and I realised what a monumental mess I had landed myself in. I had my revenge, except Barry, but at what cost. Surely it was only a matter of time before she killed me, and if she didn’t kill me straight away she was going to make me a vampire. At the time of breaking her out of prison, it seemed an excellent idea, but I was still under the influence of the vampire formula. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a vampire. I enjoyed the rush and the revenge on the gang, but a life as a vampire was something different, it would be an eternity with Thorn killing people for food. I needed to think of a way out. I could leave right now and run away into the dark I thought, but I knew she would probably find me. I knew UV could stop her from following me, so daylight was my best opportunity. For the moment I just waited for her return, hoping she wouldn’t come back, and I would be free.

  An hour before sunlight Thorn returned with money, food and new clothes stuffed in a big sports bag. The first I knew of her return was the hatch door opening back up and head appearing through. I was startled having expected to hear some noise of her re-entering the house first. Her head popped through the hole, and she wore a satisfied grin.

  “Food and clothes for you,” and she threw a bag containing burger and chips, and then threw another plastic bag containing new clothes to replace my blood covered ones.

  “I am having a shower, you eat and then your turn,” she said and disappeared back through the hatch.

  I tore opened the bag and devoured the food. On her return I tried not to think about escaping knowing she could read my mind, instead I thought about anything else like re-enacting scenes from Star Wars movies in my mind, so there was nothing worth her reading. When Thorn came back from her shower we swapped over, and I showered and changed and rejoined her in the loft. I was worried about what she would do next.

  “Come here darling,” she said, as I entered into the loft.

  Thorn was lying down on the mattress and beckoning me over with her hands. I walked slowly over and lay down next to her face to face, and we stared into each others eyes. My wet hair dropped across my face shielding me from her gaze. She lightly brushed it away with one hand and then placed her hand softly on my cheek.

  “My saviour,” she said and gave me a sweet smile.

  She moved towards me and kissed me gently on the lips and smiled again.

  “We sleep now, I am tried. It’s been a busy day, and I am not used to being out,” she said, “tomorrow will be better we go to my home, darling,” she added.

  Thorn closed her eyes, and she drifted off to sleep. As soon as I was in her presence again I felt comforted and reassured. I knew I was safe, and she would protect and help me. I was able to relax and fall asleep with her arms wrapped around me. Maybe I was wrong, maybe life with Thorn would be okay.

  The next night we stole a car and drove across London to her house, parking up and walking the last part to distance our selves from the vehicle. I had been into much of daze and to star stuck, in her presence, to ask her anything meaningful since the prison break, but a number of questions had started to cross my mind. On the walk to her house, I plucked up the courage to try and get some answers.

  “What are we going to do next?” I asked.

  Thorn looked around and grabbed my hand as we walked.

  “We finish your training, I promised to make you a man,” she answered.

  “What does that mean?” I asked unsure after the events in the prison cell.

  “I need to train you to look after your self, there are many skills you will need to be a good vampire. Just the superior power isn’t enough,” she answered.

  I was none the wiser to what these skills would be and just carried on walking. She sensed my uncertainty.

  “No need to turn you into a vampire as we have these ten needles, and you are young, best to spend eternity at a good physical age. Teenage vampires are very boring, all that angst and hormones for eternity, urrg,” she said pulling a face and then laughing.

  “In the mean time you can act as my daytime protector. You must learn to fight and learn the ways of the Vampire underworld ready for your final everlasting change.”

  “Okay,” I said trying desperately to take it all in.

  “Many vampires when changed don’t last the year, as don’t know the rules and how to control their powers. I can teach you all of this, and with each needle you can practice and grow.”

  “Okay, so what about other vampires are we going to meet some soon?” I asked.

  “In good time, be patient, first we have unfinished business with Barry. He has seen something and recorded something of great danger to us. He must be dealt with.”

  The idea of going after Barry again filled me with fear, and then satisfaction as I knew with Thorn and the needles I could beat him easily. I could finally have my revenge.

  We made it to the house, and Thorn disappeared out the back garden and came back with a key. For some reason, I was expecting a gothic mansion with wrought iron gates and overgrown garden, and bats flapping around in the air, but this isn’t a film. The house was situated in a normal housing estate, a normal detached 3 bed roomed house, single garage, a tidy front lawn and path. She opened up, and we walked inside.

  “Not what you were expecting,” she said.

  “No,” I answered looking around the hallway.

  “I do own a Gothic mansion with iron gates, we can visit it one day, but the garden is very tidy. Not sure if there are any bats,” she said jokingly.

  I smiled and realised I need to be more aware of my thoughts around a psychic vampire.

  “You can live in the upstairs if you like. Three bedrooms upstairs to choose from,” she said as we toured the rest house.

  The house was clean and tidy and furnished in a modern fashion, very airy with bright colours on the walls. Leather sofas in the front room with a big screen TV opposite, and a small kitchen downstairs. It looked like a showroom, but it was a house of a vampire.

  “I have people that work for me and keep it clean. They make it looked lived in and pay the bills from the money I send on in case I ever disappear. It looks like the location of my house has remained safe. I can’t sense any issues,” Thorn said, as she reopened her eyes.

  “I only come up her at night. Like I said you can live up here or live with me in my apartment,” she said and entered in a number into a combination lock on the door under the stairs.

  The door opened and Thorn descended the bare wooden stairs into the basement, and I followed. The lights came on to reveal a large bedroom with a huge king size bed in the middle of the oak flooring, and a plasma TV screen on the wall opposite. There was a fridge in a small kitchen area and another door in the corner of the room.

  “Shower room in the corner,” she said pointing over.

  “In the other corner is my wardrobe,” pointing into t
he other corner next to a large mirror, and archway leading to racks of clothes.

  “I doubt there is anything in there that would suit you. Unless you have another secret life you wish to tell me about,” she said smirking.

  I looked at her too bewildered to get the joke.

  “Uh, no,” I said.

  I walked over to the huge bed with a big red velvety blanket over the top of it and a studded black leather headboard at the back. I ran my hand across the velvety blanket feeling its soft fabric against my finger tips, wondering what future the room held for me. The walls were clean white with spotlights in the ceiling lighting the room. I stood by the bed looking around the walls at the paintings of vampires, monsters and humans in different poses of loving and fighting, and in one, it seemed to be both.

  “I am fabulously rich. This is just one of many houses I own across the world. The upstairs is for night time and show, and the basement for daytime,” she said.

  Thorn switched on the TV and the local news sprung out.

  “Police are still investigating the gang massacre in a London Park two nights ago, and an attack on a group of men late last night. The police believe these incidents are connected. They wish to talk a couple in connection with these crimes,” a newsreader said.

  A picture then flashed up on the screen, it was me.

  “If you see him please contact police, please do not approach he is considered extremely dangerous,” the newsreader continued.