Zac watched, saying nothing.
Holding onto the edge of the hole, I expertly swung my legs up like a trapeze artist until I was safely inside, when agents pounded roughly on the heavy metal door, yelling for us to open up. Hooking my legs into the vent, I reached down and grabbed Zac’s extended arms and I pulled him up with one arm, then quickly replaced the grate, propping it across the hole, buying us another minute or two.
I silently motioned for Zac to follow me through the air vents. We moved through them as quietly as possible, hearing agents busting through doors, looking for us. Then we came to the end of the air vents to one that went straight down.
I looked down it and, to human eyes, it would be completely dark all the way to the bottom. But with my vamp eyes, I could clearly see through the dark with no problem. The vent went straight down to the bottom floor, 20 floors, with no curvature at all. It was a straight drop, with barely enough room for the two of us.
Suddenly, I heard men scrambling into rooms below us.
I had no choice.
“Zac, do you trust me?” I asked, looking directly into his eyes.
“You know I do.”
“Come here,” I replied, holding him tightly within my arms in front of me. “Hold onto me and close your eyes,” I whispered into his ear. “Ready?”
“Let’s do it.”
Suddenly, there were men scrambling through the air vent behind us.
“One, two …” I began.
“Three!” Zac yelled and I jumped into the air vent, holding tightly onto Zac. The wind rushed past us as we free fell through the vent, blowing though our clothes and our hair. Within seconds, we neared the bottom, so I scraped my feet along the sides of the vent to slow us down and we landed safely at the bottom, then I set Zac lightly on his feet, steadying him.
“Are you okay?” I whispered into his ear.
“Fine,” he answered, “But I think I’m going to get sick.” Then he laughed.
At the bottom, was another vent that led to the parking garage. Men were rushing around looking for us.
“We’ll have to wait a bit until things settle down, then we can leave,” I said to Zac.
“Come here,” Zac replied. He sat on the floor, pulled me onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Zac, I’m sorry about your father,” I said, gently broaching the subject.
“I really thought it was him,” Zac replied, shaking his head.
“We’ll find him …”
“Abbey, don’t play games with me,” Zac cut me off. “He’s dead.”
“You don’t know that.”
“How else could they have gotten close enough to impersonate him?” Zac asked in disbelief.
“They might be holding him hostage,” I said, knowing it was a stretch. “They could have gotten his body print when they grabbed him.”
“What are you talking about?” Zac asked, clearly hurt. “How were they able to do that? That guy looked exactly like him.”
I sighed. “Zac, that guy was a vamp shape shifter, like me,” I replied, stroking his hair.
“Are there a lot of you?” Zac asked, trying to be open minded.
“No, we’re very rare.”
“What makes you a shape shifter?” Zac asked, then rephrased. “I mean, how do you become a shape shifter?”
“It’s in my blood,” I replied, already telling him more than I’ve ever told anyone.
“What about it?” Zac asked, clearly intrigued.
“I’m not sure, but I think it’s hereditary,” I replied, leaning back against the side of the vent. “I’ve never really thought about it before, but it’s in my blood and passed down from one generation to the next. It’s an anomaly and very few people have it.”
Zac thought for a moment, then closed his eyes, but spoke again, obviously talking to keep from thinking about the fate of his father. “Then how do you become a vampire?”
“Zac, you don’t want to know that …” I said, as I stroked his hair away from his beautiful face.
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. “Yes, I do, Abbey.”
I thought for a moment, warring with myself, wondering how much to tell him. “Well, a vamp has to bite you, then the venom spreads,” I said, then paused, remembering my own transformation.
“Is that all?” Zac asked, his azure eyes clearly interested.
“No, that’s not all,” I hedged, not wanting to tell him the rest.
“What else?” Zac asked tiredly.
“You burn for two days,” I replied, my voice merely a whisper.
Zac’s beautiful azure eyes met mine. “What do you mean ‘burn’?”
I sighed, not wanting to tell him, but then I realized he should know. Maybe knowing might deter him from ever wanting to be one. “You feel like you’re whole body is burning at the stake, but from the inside out. It feels like fire is spreading throughout your whole body and you beg for someone to kill you, but no one will. Then the fire fades and becomes manageable until it finally fades away. Then you wake with an insatiable thirst that never completely quenches.”
Zac nodded, listening. I noticed that everyone must be upstairs because it was settling down in the parking garage.
“Come on, let’s go,” I said, standing up. “But we’re going to have to run for it, in case.” Then I helped Zac get to his feet, but he wobbled a bit. “Do you think you can make it?” I asked, knowing he’d been through a lot for one day.
“Yeah, of course,” Zac replied, stretching a bit. “Sorry, I just needed a minute.”
I looked him straight in the eye, thinking of his father. “You’ve been though a lot today.”
“Let’s go,” Zac replied, clearly unwilling to talk about it.
“Ready?” I asked as he nodded, then I quietly took the vent off and looked around. Suddenly a guard hurried by, so I held the vent cover up again, undetected, until he passed by. “Come on, let’s go!”
We made a run for Zac’s black Hemi Charger RT and quickly slid into the seats. Zac immediately threw it into reverse and we sped toward the exit. Security guards stepped in front of the car with their guns drawn.
“Floor it!” I yelled at Zac, bracing myself for the impact, but we were lucky, they were humans.
Zac braced himself against the steering wheel and floored it. The hemi engine revved and snarled angrily, as the tires dug into the asphalt. “Hold on, Abbey!” Zac yelled, but didn’t let up on the gas, then at the last minute, the guards dove into the small guard house. Others had their weapons drawn and unloaded their clips into the side of the car as we passed.
Within minutes, we were driving down the long tunnel at top speed, and I hoped it was clear at the end of the tunnel. I quickly grabbed my Glock and shoved a clip into it, on the ready. “Zac,” I yelled over the rumble of the engine, louder within the narrow tunnel. “No matter what happens, just floor it and keep going.”
He nodded, but said nothing, then I smelled it. Blood. It was fresh and it was Zac’s.
“My God, Zac!” I yelled to him across the seats.
“Abbey, don’t!” Zac yelled, holding onto the steering wheel with his foot jammed onto the gas pedal. “We don’t have time for this!”
And I knew it was true. He was tougher than I thought.
“Here we go!” I yelled, viewing a lightening at the end of the tunnel. There was a barricade at the end of the tunnel, just as I feared. “Brace yourself!” I shouted over the angry growl of the engine and squealing tires.
“Hold on, Baby!” Zac shouted, bracing for the impact, as I held my Glock up on the ready. We hit the barricade and wood flew high into the air, landing across the street. Human agents jumped out of the way and a few vamp agents stood right in the way. I unloaded my clip into them, knocking them to the ground, but not killing them, hating myself for doing it. They were just on the wrong side now, to no fault of their own.
A second later, Zac expertly cut the wheel to the right and we were speeding towa
rd Cooperstown. Once we were safely back on the expressway, Zac took the first exit.
“Zac?” I asked, already knowing the answer before I asked. “Zac, how bad is it?” I asked, frantic for the first time since I’d become a vamp.
But there was too much blood for the answer to be good. I leaned him back and crimson blood stained the side of his shirt. He was shot in the side and had already lost a lot of blood.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you to a hospital,” I said, as tears slid slowly down my cheeks.
“I love you, baby,” Zac replied as he slumped over the wheel of the car.
“Don’t you dare say that!” I yelled into his face, pulling him into the backseat of the car as tears slid slowly down my cheeks. “Don’t you dare say your goodbyes to me! I love you, damn it! Don’t you leave me, Zac!”
“Abbey, there’s no time for the hospital. You’re the doctor tonight,” Zac softly said, as he slowly faded from consciousness.
And I knew it was true as the tears slid slowly down my cheeks. “Zac,” I said though my tears, but forced myself to ask this question, “If it’s the only way to save you, do you want to become a vampire?”
His eyelids fluttered, and I hated myself as I waited for his answer, but he was already unconscious, so the decision was solely mine to make.
And for the first time in years, I prayed as the tears rushed down my cheeks. God, give me the strength to make the right choice.
Chapter 14: Safe House
I rocked Zac back and forth in my arms, thinking of the choice I had to make as tears slid slowly down my cheeks and fell onto his lovely face. Then I remembered the words his father told me not yet a week before, to use any means at my disposal to save his life, if it was necessary.
And that’s what helped me to quickly make my decision.
The words ‘if it was necessary.’ I knew I had to try anything else first. I just couldn’t condemn him to a life of constant thirst unless it was necessary. I pulled the shirt from his glorious body, slid my Ballistics knife from the sheath tied tightly around my ankle, and slit my wrist.
Blood quickly coursed from the wound. At once, I held my wrist to his lips, letting my thick, crimson blood drip into his mouth. “Drink, Zac!” I yelled into his ear through my tears. “You have to drink, Zac!” My blood has healing powers for humans and I knew that if I could get him to drink it, maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t have to turn him into a vampire.
With his bare chest exposed, I could see that the bullet entered his abdomen on his left side. I hated myself for what I was about to do, but he was way beyond feeling pain now. Instantly, I made a cross cut over the wound, then reached gingerly into his side until I felt the hard steel of the bullet as blood covered my hand from his wound. As gently as I could manage, I grabbed the casing of the hard steel and pulled the bullet from his side, hoping not to do more damage than had already been done. Then with my knife, I dropped my blood drip by drip into the wound, hoping it would heal him. Then I held the skin of the opening closed, and smeared my blood over it, sealing the wound.
“Zac? I whispered into his ear, tearing his shirt into strips. I quickly tossed aside the strips covered in blood, while the clean strips I used to cover the wound, hoping to seal my blood into it. “Zac, can you hear me?”
Nothing.
Suddenly, blue lights flashed from behind the car.
Shit! That’s all I need right now, I thought to myself, but decided to use it to my advantage. I didn’t have time to run. Not with Zac’s life in the balance.
Slowly, a flash light swung by the side of the police officer in the blackness of the night as he walked to the driver’s side of the Challenger. I knew I had to be patient, but he was making it really hard.
Zac’s heart fluttered. I prayed my blood would be enough to heal him.
“What seems to be the problem, Miss?” a young officer with the name tag O’Riley asked, until he flashed his light into the back seat and saw the blood and Zac unconscious. “What the …”
“Sir, my boyfriend’s been shot!” I yelled into his face, as tears streaked slowly down my cheeks. “Call for help!”
Immediately, he ran back to his police cruiser.
“Zac?” I whispered into his ear, hoping I wouldn’t have to bite him in front of a witness, but O’Riley would be easy to deal with. “Zac, honey, can you hear me?”
His heart fluttered again. My arm was already healing, so I bit it once more, then held it to his lips, but this time, his lips gently curled around the wound.
Thank you, God!
Without opening his eyes, he sucked the blood from my arm, then raised a weak hand to hold it to his lips.
“What the hell?” O’Riley gasped, then raised his weapon, pointing it directly at my head. “Hold it right there!”
“I’m afraid I can’t,” I replied, as my eyes flared, pushing his mind, using mind control. “You never saw us here. Call off the ambulance, and tell them it was a false alarm.”
Immediately, he holstered his standard issue Smith and Wesson handgun and walked away, then got into his police cruiser and drove off.
“I’m going to have to learn how to do that,” Zac said with a weak smile.
“Zac!” I yelled, hugging him as tightly as I dared to my chest, then pulled back. “How do you feel? Do you need more blood?”
Zac laughed. “You should see the expression on your face right now.”
“That bad?”
“No, that good,” Zac replied, then coughed and winced when he did.
“Zac, I have to get you to a place where you can recuperate,” I replied. “I’ll see if I can get you something for the pain, too.” Then I thought for a moment and said, “Zac, we have to get out of here before any agents find us. We can’t trust any of them now. I don’t know who’s working for that rogue vamp and Michaels.” Then I pulled Zac back to look at his wound. It was already healing nicely, but it was going to take a few days for him to heal completely. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a truck ran over me,” Zac replied, then laughed, but winced from the pain again.
“Here, have some of my blood, just in case,” I said, then I bit my wrist again as crimson blood ran slowly down my arm and I quickly held it to his lips.
Looking deeply into my eyes, he placed his lips gingerly over the wound, then drank in my life force, which promised healing to his broken body. I felt a tad woozy from the blood loss myself, but didn’t tell him. A moment later, he closed his eyes, then pulled back.
“Abbey,” Zac replied worriedly, opening his beautiful azure eyes and it was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. Suddenly, his eyebrows pulled together in concern. “I don’t want to hurt you. You need blood, too.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, but knew I needed to feed soon. I was already feeling a bit weak, and I needed my strength for what was to come. But right now, my concern was for Zac. “Let’s get out of here. Can you travel?”
“Do I have a choice?” Zac replied, laughing, then winced from the pain. “Let’s go.”
“Try not to move too much,” I said, getting up and gingerly laying him down on the leather back seat. “I’ll see if I can get us a room.”
“No, as good as that sounds,” Zac replied, trying to smile. “Let’s go home.” Then he tried to sit up, but failed miserably.
“Zac, don’t try to move,” I countered, pushing him back down onto the seat. Then I took my leather jacket, expertly wrapped it into a ball, and placed it gently under his head. Once he was settled, I sat beside him, gently stroking his hair. “Zac, we can’t go home. Vamps are crawling all over the place. They’ll find you …”
“Abbey,” he said, then looked me square in the eyes. “My mom is there.”
I nodded, understanding. “Zac, let me get you some place safe, then I’ll check on her.”
“Abbey, no. There’s no time,” he replied, then placed his arm across his forehead and closed his eyes.
I sighed, finding it ha
rd to refuse him. “Let’s get out of here first. We’ll talk about it later.”
Zac nodded, and a moment later, he was fast asleep. The day had definitely taken its toll on him, but rest was the best medicine. It would give the blood I gave him a chance to work.
I looked around and saw nothing but an occasional passing car as I started the engine and it roared to life. Soon, I was on I-83 headed toward Cooperstown. I had no intention of taking Zac there, but he needed to be close.
I drove for a while, listening to the steady rhythm of Zac’s heartbeats, but he never regained consciousness. I knew I had to get him to a safe place. A safe house. And I knew just the place. I took the next exit, and pulled into a vacant parking lot.
Expertly, I pulled the cell phone from my front pants pocket and dialed Rick’s number.
There was no answer.
I hung up and dialed again. It was strange because usually Rick always answers on the first ring, especially when he sees that I’m calling.
Still no answer.
Then the words that the rogue vamp said ran through my mind. Quickly, I dialed Annie’s number. Still, no answer.
My God. What was going on? Then I knew Zac was right. I had to get to Cooperstown to find out what was happening. Then random thoughts ran through my mind. What if Annie really did go rogue? Could she have killed Rick? I laughed at the thought. There was no way any vamp could get to Rick without his wanting them to, let alone kill him, especially Annie. And despite their history together, if Annie tried to kill him, he wouldn’t hesitate. He’d do what he had to do to defend himself. Of that, I was sure.
I looked over my shoulder into the back seat at Zac, sleeping peacefully. I didn’t have a choice. I had to get to Zac’s mother and to Rick. I just hoped Michael’s and his boss hadn’t gotten to them first.
With Zac sleeping soundly in the back seat, I drove through the night to Cooperstown as fast as the car would go. Luckily, there were no police cruisers in sight, so I was able to push the hemi to the limit.
As I drove, I felt myself growing weak and I knew I had to feed soon. I didn’t want to wait too long, as accidents might happen. Zac’s blood permeated the air, but I pushed the thought of blood and the need of it aside, knowing I had enough strength to resist.
Star, Starland Vamp Series, Book 1 Page 20