by Emily Reese
While he washed, I fired up my computer and began sorting through the information on Erica Wheeler’s flash drive. All the while, Elliot’s words pulled at my thoughts. The visit with the girl’s parents left him troubled, that much was obvious. I could feel how his own limitations bothered him, given how powerful he was, even for a mortal. It was a sentiment I could relate to well.
By the time he emerged, I’d made it through the first memory stick and halfway through the second. At least my super speed is good for something.
“What did you find?” he asked sitting down next to me on the bed. He leaned over to skim the screen and what I characterized as the “Elliot” smell, plus the scent of his soap distracted me more than I would’ve liked to admit. Even more concerning, his constant presence in my personal space no longer bothered me. It just was.
“There’s three places that look promising. These two shelters are south of the city, and there’s this one just a few miles away.” I pointed to the locations on my screen.
“Let’s start with the closest, then we can head south.”
After saving the map to my cloud drive, I shut my laptop and helped Elliot pack up. Odds are we wouldn’t be coming back this way, one way or another.
“Did you call your family? Cody figure out anything from the cell phone?” I zipped our meager belongings into the one duffel, missing my favorite pink suitcase something awful.
“They’re working on it,” he told me curtly.
“Any idea when…”
“No. They’ll call me as soon as they find something. Let’s go.” Now dressed, Elliot grabbed our bag and left the room, leaving me to follow. Guess his call to the family didn’t go so well.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
When we set out that night, I expected an evening of sadness and dismay, seeing the victims of the absolute worst society has to offer. Yet when we parked in front of the final shelter, I was happy to be so very wrong.
Despite the violence that brought them there, the women I encountered were for the most part friendly and open. Instead of the despair I’d anticipated, they spoke to me with optimism, hope, and inclusion; in their great sisterhood, even a vampire felt welcomed.
“I get why she volunteered at these places,” I told Elliot as we walked towards the entrance.
“And why’s that?”
“I think seeing someone else succeed was just as rewarding to Erica as if she’d reached the goal herself.”
“You could be on to something.” He held the door open for me and followed me in.
“Heard from the family yet? What about Cody?” I whispered.
“No,” he answered gruffly. A few minutes and two of Elliot’s mind tricks later, we gained entrance to the director’s office.
“Have a seat,” said the fifty-ish woman, shaking our hands. “I’m Carla.”
“Thanks for seeing us, Carla. We were hoping you could give us a better picture of Erica Wheeler, to help with our investigation.” The woman’s worry and grief inched across my skin, making me want to shiver.
“Erica was — is a lovely young woman.” Carla’s face fell when she realized she’d used the past tense, only to return to a business like mask a moment later. “She’s very dedicated. Everyone here loves her.”
“What was she working on, in regards to her work from school?” Elliot asked.
“She was part of our hospital response team. We have people on call to go assist and support victims while they’re in the hospital, if they choose to ask for help.”
“That must’ve been difficult, being on the front lines like that,” I wondered aloud.
“Actually, Erica thrived on it,” the woman admitted. “For her, getting her hands dirty, being with the women from the beginning was what really drove her. No matter what time the call came, Erica was there ready to fight tooth and nail for these victims.” When she finished, Carla’s eyes drifted left to the window, staring out into the darkness. Her indecision wore on me, just as her teeth now chewed at her lip.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The week before she went missing, there was a girl… not much older than Erica. She’d been found behind a dumpster, barely conscious, raving. Erica was on her way out after a visit with another patient, but when she saw how frightened this girl was she stayed with her… right up until she died.”
I found myself swallowing back tears along with the director, smothered as I was by her emotions.
“The death stayed with her. She had a difficult time moving on, and eventually confessed to me she was having nightmares about the poor woman.”
“Something about this woman made her stand out?” Elliot asked leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. The tension I heard in his voice was visible in the strain of his neck muscles, the bouncing of his knee.
“It was the injuries.” Carla rose and removed a file from one of the many cabinets behind her desk. “The police gave us a copy in case we had someone come in with something similar.” Elliot stood and she handed him the file. Before releasing it, she added, “They’re nothing you ever want to see. They’ll stick in your head.”
He nodded grimly and opened the folder while we waited in silence. The subtle increase in his breathing and heart rate was all that hinted at the issue he took with what he saw. A harsh beep broke the silence after a moment.
“Carla,” another woman’s voice came from the desk phone, “you’re needed at the front desk.”
“Please, excuse me,” the director said and left. I envied her the relief she felt once she’d put a door between her and those pictures.
“Are you going to let me see those?” I finally asked Elliot.
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“I’m not a shivering violet, Pierce. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before… on myself.” I held out my hand for the file and received it after an appraising glance from my partner.
The glossy, high definition pictures left nothing to the imagination. The woman had been tortured, for some time by the looks of it. At least a year.
I knew because the scars on the woman’s arm were the exact replica of the ones I once wore, courtesy of Collin during my first life and back in New Orleans the night I killed him.
“She was one of his,” I told Elliot, proud of the steadiness with which I spoke. “He made this mark on me, in the same spot.” My hand drifted over the area, the skin now smooth thanks to Ben’s blood and the healing powers contained within. At the thought of him, a fresh pang of regret speared my heart. “This girl, she’s how he found Erica.” I told him and tried not to get sucked into worry in regards to the situation with Ben. Live first, then you can fix it.
“Come on,” Elliot said gruffly and took the file from me, tossing it on the desk. “We’ve got what we need.” When he reached for my arm to help me up, I briefly resisted. It was in that moment his emotions cracked, leaking just a little of the turmoil swirling within.
Elliot was furious. He wanted to bring Collin back from the dead, again, so he could be the one to kill him a third time.
“I thought you said you investigated Collin,” I whispered as he walked me briskly back to the car. “Those pictures shouldn’t have surprised you.” The man declined to answer, instead marching me to my side of the car, pushing me inside and slamming the door. Thudding the door closed on his side as well, he sat gripping the steering wheel, knuckles white and breathing so heavy his chest might burst.
“Elliot, talk to me.”
“What that man did… I’d never seen the pictures.”
“But how is that possible?” I asked. “I thought you said you knew all about Collin.”
“Someone’s been holding out on me,” he growled and started the car… or tried. The ignition only clicked. “What, the…?”
Several things happened very fast after that.
Elliot looked at me and I felt a brief flare of panic from him, just before he shoved me in the
chest. He pushed with such force the door popped open and I had a millisecond of flying before everything exploded.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I awoke to a ringing in my ears I couldn’t shake. Just ringing with silence underneath; I hated it. Reaching up to touch them, my hands came away from my ears with a sticky black substance: my blood.
Smoke filled the air. There were pieces of metal littering the road. A human woman helped another get up from the sidewalk. People ran in all directions. Someone put their face in mine and asked me something. I nodded quickly, even though I couldn’t hear them, gently brushing away their hands. Have to be careful with mortals. They’re fragile.
Then it hit me. Mortals. Elliot.
I pulled myself up, stumbling a little. The burning husk of our car smoldered in front of me. If a body remained in the car, I couldn’t make it out through the flames.
Someone rushed past me, nearly knocking me to my knees. Apparently the blast had done some internal damage; humans could only push me if I let them, and the stab of agony the small touch warranted told me my insides weren’t in great shape. Another person bumped me and I stumbled with a sharp intake of breath, stunned at my sudden weakness. Looking up, I could see the reason for the hustle; a group of people huddled around a man on the ground. A man I recognized.
Without thinking I was at his side, pushing the humans away, uncaring if the saw me move or felt any of my remaining strength.
“Elliot? Elliot!” My voice sounded muffled to me under the still fading ringing.
Claire? His voice echoed weakly in my head. You okay?
Yes, I lied, our mental conversation easier than answering myself out loud. I took his hand and looked down the length of him. Humans shoved clothing, paper products, even their hands into the half a dozen wounds in Elliot’s body. I... I don’t think you are.
Need to get out of here...
You need to go to the hospital. There were multiple humans standing around talking on their phones and a cop had just pulled up. Surely an ambulance would follow.
Can’t...
Of course you can, I began to argue.
No! Elliot’s eyes popped open and locked on mine. Guys from campus... they’re here! You need to go...
Quickly searching the crowd, I saw two of them stalking towards us from the left. Another waded through the crowd on the right, one I recognized: the scarred, hairless one... the one called Reave. He grinned and waved his pinky at me, the jerky movement paired with his evil smile chilling me to the core.
They’re gonna see me, I told Elliot looking back down at him, all these people.
Just go... will try to... distract them. To my surprise, he tried to sit up, only to be pushed down by the humans surrounding us. He could do nothing to resist.
As the terrible sounds of chaos came creeping back to my ears, I took a quick glance at the other vampires. They were probably thirty feet away and closing... maybe less on the leader. If my hearing was any indication, my body had already begun to heal. But will it be enough?
“Screw this,” I said, making up my mind, “I’m already in trouble.” Knocking the humans aside, I hefted Elliot into a fireman’s carry across my shoulders. Then I ran.
By the time the humans cried out, either in fear or concern, I was long gone, their voices barely reaching my ears. I ached to look back, to see if our stalkers took up the pursuit. The knowledge that I was liable to run into a building or drop my partner, due to either the differences in our sizes or the dizzying pain from pushing my body before it was ready, kept me focused ahead.
What’re you doing? Elliot asked. He’d tried to sound angry, but given his condition, it came out as more of a whine.
“Shut up,” I told him, forcing my body to pick up more speed, “I’m concentrating.” And it was the truth. I ran faster than I’d ever run before, dodging cars and eventually making it up onto the roof tops. I heard a metallic clang behind me, and I doubted my luck had held out; the other vampires still followed us.
Be my eyes, I instructed Elliot, how many are behind me?
Three. The amount of time it took him to answer worried me. Surveying the landscape as I ran, I saw something that might just be our saving grace — a train depot. I turned swiftly and headed toward it, hoping I could jump us onto a train and get away.
As we approached, my heart fell. Nothing was moving. Crap.
“Going somewhere, Dollface?” a voice yelled from behind us.
Crap, crap, crap!
Out of options, I jumped to the ground and wove my way through the empty cars. Silence thickened the air around us, giving me no indication where our attackers were.
Are they still behind us? I asked.
Can’t see them. Waves of pain buffeted me, Elliot losing the strength to control his emotions around me.
He was not in a good way. In fact, he was convinced he was dying.
Stop thinking that! I mentally yelled at him. Worried about the effects of carrying him, I found a dark car tucked away deep in the depot. I got us inside, but decided against shutting the door, fearful the noise would give away our location.
You’re going to have to fight, Elliot told me when I lowered him as gently as I could to the floor, my own muscles screaming in protest at the action.
I figured that.
Is my phone working?
I checked his pockets as quickly as I could, but came up empty. Try yours, he instructed.
Patting around, I found mine where I usually kept it in my back pocket. Miraculously, it appeared to be fine.
Give it to me.
I unlocked it and pressed it into his palm. The sound of metal creaking prevented me from asking any questions about it. Barely peeking around the door I scanned our surroundings for signs of life.
Take my ring.
I turned back to see Elliot extending his left hand to me while his other hand moved slowly across the keyboard on my phone. I shook my head and continued scanning. He would not be left defenseless.
You’ll get one good shot out of it, two if you’re lucky. Just remember they have one too.
I did my best to shut him out, the finality and weakness I heard in my head too terrifying to consider.
Claire! Elliot’s voice echoed in my head so loudly I thought my eyeballs might rattle. Take it, he told me.
In and out I breathed, scouring my brain for another, better option. Any option.
There isn’t one. Time’s up. They’re almost here. Take it, Claire.
Cursing fate, luck, hell everything, I worked the ring off his finger. It slipped off too easily — Elliot’s fingers covered in blood as they were. I put it on my thumb, having to hook the tip over just to keep the thing on.
Elliot, I — the sound of footsteps over corrugated metal stole any words I might’ve had for my partner.
Be ready, he said.
I turned the ring, letting the spike out and prayed that I was.
“Come out now,” a voice I recognized called, “and we’ll leave your bodyguard to bleed out instead of draining him ourselves.” My silence cued a few masculine chuckles before the scarred vampire Reave added, “Aw, who am I kidding? Of course, we’ll drain him. Your little goose chase hasn’t left us much time for fun, and we’re so... very... hungry.”
A heavy pair of boots hit the ground a few cars down to my right, followed quickly by two more on my left.
“You should’ve left him to die,” he yelled. “The smell of his blood is,” Reave paused while he inhaled deeply, “just delicious. We’d chase you down for a taste of that on principle.” I heard the door of the car to the right of us slide open with a crash, followed by the clucking of a tongue.
I tried to breathe as deeply and quietly as possible, listening for each of their footsteps as they approached.
“I hope you got a taste too, sugar.” The door to the left flew open. “It’d be a shame for you to miss out on such a delicacy, Jumpers being
as rare as they are these days.” Reave’s voice grew softer as they approached our door; there was nowhere else we’d be.
I listened to their footsteps and counted silently, three... two... one...
Springing out I slashed at a hand that was reaching for our door, a sharp hiss followed by a thump telling me I’d disabled one of them.
“Watch it! She’s got the toxin!” the scarred vampire yelled from my left while I lunged right toward the other one.
Elliot said I may not get two uses out of his ring, so I went for quantity rather than quality. I pushed the vampire backwards, all the while raining blows to his neck and face. He tried in vain to defend himself, and I kept pummeling. That is, until I saw his eyes widen, noticed his body relax ever so slightly. He thinks he’s being rescued.
I pulled him towards me and turned, just as Reave swiped at me with a knife. It was a close miss, but my “friend” was nice enough to take the poisoned hit for me, and crumpled to the ground a moment later.
“Alright, then,” the remaining vampire cracked his neck and threw the toxin dipped knife aside. “This’ll be more fun anyway.”
A second later he was on me, sinking his teeth deep into my shoulder while taking me to the ground hard. The pain flared, causing me to scream, a high pitched keening-sound leaving my lips. The vampire leaned back and punched me hard, stars bursting behind my lids.
“That’s right, baby,” he laughed, “scream for me.”
Filled with rage, I spat my blood back into his face. Not like this. I will not go out, screaming like this.
“If Collin couldn’t kill me, your ugly ass doesn’t stand a chance,” I told him with a spiteful albeit bloody laugh.
Reave met my defiance with elbows to my jaw. It took all my focus to keep my head and remember the martial arts Ben insisted I practice years ago. While trying to protect my still healing body, I turned slightly to my side. Hooking his ankle with my opposite leg gave me just enough space to turn and move out from beneath him. The bastard tried to move with me, but I kept our bodies close so that I could get my arms around his neck and under his arm. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I held on for dear life and squeezed.