by Laura Hysell
“No, probably not. So, you think that’s why Mark’s missing?”
“No clue,” I replied, scraping up the last of my eggs with a piece of toast.
We were silent for a few minutes as I cleaned off the last plate. Finally, Justin spoke what had really been on his mind. “Jared, did you see Sarah?”
I licked my fingers and set my plate down, taking my time to respond. I could sense Jed and Hugo in the other room, waiting and listening. There was no way they could have known what had happened. “Yes, Justin, I saw Sarah.”
“I thought you did. I don’t know why, but I just had a feeling,” he stopped talking and looked down at his hands. “Is she dead?”
“Yes,” I said softly, not wanting to elaborate.
Of course, Justin wanted to know more. “How did she die?”
“She was a vampire, Justin. She wasn’t the same person anymore.”
“Jared, tell me.”
“She’s dead, Justin. Let it go.”
Justin looked up at me, and I could tell he was waiting for more. I’m not sure what he wanted me to tell him. It’s not like she died saving an old lady crossing the street. She hadn’t jumped into a burning house to save a baby. No, she was a psychotic, vindictive vampire who had no feelings for anyone or anything. And Justin still loved her. “Justin, she would have killed your sister,” I said slowly.
“Tell me.”
“I killed her,” I blurted out.
I should have been expecting it, but I was still surprised when his fist hit my chin. My head recoiled back, and I immediately readied myself for the next blow, but it didn’t come. Justin stood up, his eyes red-rimmed and his cheeks flushed. He stood over me, his fists clenched and anger radiating from him. “You were one of my best friends,” he said softly.
“I was saving your sister!”
“You didn’t have to kill her though,” he mumbled.
Yes, I did have to kill her. There wasn’t another option. “Justin, I’m sorry,” I said, but he was already shaking his head.
“No, you’re not. You enjoyed killing her, didn’t you?”
Fuck, what could I say? He was partly right; I had enjoyed killing her. It had been sweet revenge for the torture I had endured at her hands; the torture that still gave me nightmares. I stood up slowly, and moved closer until we were toe to toe. We were close to the same height, but I somehow felt as though I towered over him. Justin’s shoulders were slumped in defeat, but there was a fierce anger in his red-rimmed eyes. “I can’t say that I’m not happy she’s gone,” I began. “She tortured me, and your sister. Becoming a vampire was the worst thing that could have happened to her. She was dead the moment it happened, Justin. She’s just been a walking corpse, waiting to go back into the ground.”
I was ready for his blow this time, but I didn’t resist. His fist hit me square in the jaw, and I moved with the blow so that it didn’t impact as harshly. His second fist came at me, and I raised my arm up to ward off the blow. He hit my arm, but it didn’t stop his onslaught. Punch after punch landed across my arms, stomach, and occasionally one snuck through and hit me in the face. Jed and Hugo entered the room, but they stood back. Finally, Justin stopped hitting me and dropped his bloodied hands to his sides.
“Why?” he cried, and I lowered my hands to look at him. Tears slid down his cheeks as he looked at me.
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t know.”
Chapter 2- Isabella
I blinked my eyes open, feeling the gummed residue of sleep sticking the corners. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and looked around, stretching cramped muscles. The limo was dark and empty. The divider between the driver’s area and the back was down, letting in a small amount of light. I immediately looked for keys, but of course there were none. My backpack was still on the floor of the car where I’d left it. Panic seized me as I frantically felt along my side. The knife warmed beneath my hand and I exhaled in relief. My knife and guns were still in place. I searched quickly through the car, feeling between the seat cushions. The cell phone that had been in my pocket was nowhere to be found. Why would Henri take the phone, but leave my weapons? Cocky bastard, I thought as I gave up the search for the phone.
I fumbled for the door handle and yanked it open before peeking out. The limo was parked in a vast garage. A quick look revealed several other expensive vehicles. I grabbed my bag and pulled it open, rifling through the ammunition and paperwork. Everything seemed to still be in place. I refilled both clips, hoping the bullets were blessed, before I closed the bag and slung it across my shoulders. There was no way of knowing where I was, or who was waiting for me, but I knew Henri was nearby. I could feel him in my head, like a distant presence, pulling at me.
Without car keys I wasn’t driving anywhere, so I cautiously stepped out of the vehicle and looked around. The parking garage was concrete, with numbered parking spots. The only indicators of my location were signs stating this was level B5. I walked toward the nearest elevator, looking around cautiously as I did. No one came out to greet me, or attack me.
My stomach rumbled loudly and I pressed a hand to my stomach. When had I last eaten? At the thought, I felt a sudden fullness in my bladder. I stopped walking and glanced around for a bathroom sign. I spotted one across the garage and hurried toward it. My bladder ached, but I tried to ignore it as I broke into a full run toward the bathroom, with the pack bouncing on my back.
I hit the bathroom door with my hand and barreled in, dropping my bag on the floor as I rushed toward the nearest stall. My stomach ached as I relieved myself for several minutes. When I was done, I washed my hands in the sink and stared at my reflection. My skin was pale, and I had dark circles under my eyes. The left side of my face had lines from the seat cushion indented on my skin. Dried blood coated the right side of my neck. I scooped water in my hands and washed off the blood, revealing perfect skin beneath it.
My stomach still ached painfully, but I wasn’t sure if it was from my bladder or lack of food. Nothing I could do about it right now. First thing I needed to do was figure out where I was. I snagged my bag off the floor and pulled it across my shoulders as I walked out of the bathroom. Still no one greeted me as I exited the bathroom and headed toward the elevators.
I pushed the elevator button and waited for the doors to swish open, keeping a watchful eye on my surroundings. The door opened, revealing a large, plain elevator. I cautiously stepped inside and eyed the button options. The bottom set of numbers were labeled B5 through B1, which I presumed were the basement levels. After that the numbers went up through the twenty-fifth floor. I pressed the number for the number one, figuring the ground floor was my best bet.
The doors closed and I felt the subtle sensation of movement. When the number reached one, the elevator opened and I stepped out. The elevator opened into a narrow hallway. The walls were white and the floor was slate gray tile. No decorations adorned the walls, and there were no signs indicating a direction. I took my first cautious step toward the right and stopped, listening to the distant sound of footsteps hitting the tile floor. The sound grew louder, and I quickly turned the opposite direction. I tried to walk softly on the balls of my feet as I hurried away from the pounding footsteps. Whoever was coming my way was moving fast.
I picked up the pace and began running away from the sound. The hallway continued, with doors spaced out on either side. I briefly stopped and tried several handles, but they were all locked. After wasting time trying the fifth door, I gave up and began running down the corridor. Soon, I was running at full speed, with the pack bouncing on my back, not caring about the sound I was making.
The footsteps grew louder and quicker as the person began to catch up with me. I pushed myself faster, marveling at the sudden speeds I was achieving. Never had I been a runner, but now I was racing down the corridor at dizzying speeds and I hadn’t even broken a sweat yet. A break in the hallway revealed a corridor to the right, and I skidded to a stop to inspect it. This pa
ssage was similar in appearance, but I could see other hallways branching in the distance. I took the turn and began zigzagging down the winding corridors, turning right, then left, then right again in an attempt to lose my pursuer.
The corridor I was hurrying down ended abruptly and I turned to backtrack down a side path. I could hear my pursuer’s footsteps pounding loudly on the tiles, and I knew whoever it was would to catch me soon. Fatigue had started to set in, and I was soon panting hard. I wiped at the small sheen of sweat that had gathered across my brow. Slowing down, I backed into a side corridor and readied myself to face my pursuer, pulling the Glock out. At least I’d have a moment to catch my breath while my pursuer would be winded. Unless my pursuer was a vampire, of course.
The footsteps slowed suddenly, then stopped altogether just around the corner. There was no sound except my own labored breathing. A man stepped around the corner and looked at me. He was pale, tall, and thin, with dark circles under his black eyes. He wore a black suit that fit his thin frame poorly. The knife on my thigh suddenly throbbed, reminding me it was there, and alerting me to the fact that the man was a vampire. He smiled, flashing his fangs at me purposely.
“Is that supposed to impress me?” I mocked, flashing a smile of my own.
“It’s supposed to scare you,” he replied softly.
I laughed humorlessly as I took a small step backward. “The boss wants to see you,” the vampire stated. I stopped moving and eyed him, wondering at his game.
“What boss?”
“Mr. Donovan, of course,” he responded with another wide flash of fangs.
“You chased after me just to tell me that?” I asked, and he shrugged in response. “Well, where is he?”
“Top floor, of course,” he responded, pointing past me down the hallway. “There’s another elevator over there.”
“Lead the way,” I said, backing up against the wall to let the vampire pass. He grinned wider as he sauntered past me, casually tucking his hands into the pockets of his black slacks as though unconcerned about having me at his back.
“You’re pretty fast for a human,” he mused as he walked ahead of me.
I paused briefly before following him. “What do you mean by that?”
He glanced over his shoulder at me, his expression unreadable, before he faced forward again. He shrugged his shoulders, the too-big suit shifting at the movement. “You almost outran me. Almost.”
I almost outran a vampire? The thought disturbed and excited me at the same time. “Well, isn’t that what happens from drinking vampire blood?” And having vampires suck on you in your sleep, I thought, touching the side of my neck.
The vampire stopped walking, but he still didn’t turn to look at me as he spoke. “Humans gain advantages from our blood, yes, but the speed you were attaining was more than I’ve ever seen. I wonder why that is.”
I didn’t have an answer, so I didn’t respond. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, the vampire began leading me down the hallway again. I spotted the elevator in the distance, next to the first stairwell I’d seen. I didn’t like the idea of riding in an elevator with a vampire. He stopped at the elevator and pushed the button.
“I think I’ll take the stairs,” I stated bluntly.
“He’s on the 25th floor.”
“I need the exercise,” I retorted.
The vampire chuckled and looked at me. “You’re afraid.”
“Cautious, not afraid.”
“You should be afraid, little human. Mr. Donovan didn’t specify anything about the condition you needed to be in. I could snap you like a twig and deliver your bones.”
It was my turn to laugh, and the vampire raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You think you’d get out alive? Henri may not have specified anything, but do you think he went to the trouble of bringing me here just to let some peon vampire kill me?”
“Mr. Donovan would thank me, I think,” he responded, and my laughter died at the seriousness in his tone. “You don’t understand, do you, human? You would die, for a time.”
“For a time?”
“How do you think vampires are made? You think we spring up out of the ground?”
I shook my head and backed up a step as the elevator door swished open. The vampire turned toward me completely, ignoring the elevator as it closed a moment later. “The blood?” I asked cautiously, knowing it was probably the answer. It always came down to blood.
“Yes, the blood, and the bite. You are tied to Mr. Donovan. If I snapped your neck, your human body would die, but you would rise as a vampire. All the trouble Mr. Donovan has gone to keeping you around is just to cement your ties, and eventually make you like us. I’m surprised he has waited so long, but I suppose he needed a snack for the road.”
I ground my teeth together in anger at his words, knowing that this despicable vampire was probably telling the truth. He smiled widely again, and I felt my anger grow in response. The knife pulsed in time to my speeding heart. How fast was I? Was I fast enough to pull the trigger and kill him before he reached me? We were only a few steps apart, and I doubted my abilities. As it was, my arms grew tired the longer I held the gun up.
“Stairs?” he asked, his mouth quirking into a smile.
I nodded in response and watched him closely as he turned his back on me and opened the stairwell door. He stepped through, but held the door open behind him with one hand. I cautiously moved forward and used my foot to prop the door open further. The vamp shook his head in silent laughter, but I didn’t care. I watched him closely as I followed him into the stairwell.
The stairs leading upward turned sharply to the left, and I waited until the vampire had taken several steps up before I followed him. The heavy stairwell door closed with a loud thud. I glanced over the railing, attempting to peer down. The lighting was dim, making it difficult to see further than a floor below or above.
The vampire had stopped at the next landing and was tapping his foot impatiently. The stairs were simple, gray concrete and these walls too had no adornments. Everything I had seen about this place was bland and indistinguishable. It reminded me vaguely of the labs beneath the hotel. I walked up the stairs cautiously until I reached the landing. There was a heavy, metal door at the landing, with no signs indicating where it led. I could only assume by the number of stairs I had climbed, that this door led to the second floor.
As soon as I reached the landing, the vampire turned and began trekking up the stairs once more. I followed closer behind him, but still kept five steps between us. The knife throbbed and sent a radiating heat across my thigh. We reached the third landing and continued upward. The higher we climbed, the more I could sense Henri, and I didn’t like it. He was gaining too much control over me, and proximity seemed to make it worse.
I eyed the vampire’s back, wondering if I should just shoot him. A year ago, I would have cringed at the thought of shooting anyone. But vampires weren’t alive. This vamp had pretty much confirmed that for me. Still, the idea of shooting someone in the back bothered me. Although, wasn’t he just a walking corpse? Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
“What?” the vampire asked, looking at me over his shoulder, and I realized I’d said the last part aloud.
“Oh, just thinking,” I responded with a smile.
“Thinking about funerals?” he asked as he turned and began climbing the stairs once more.
“Thinking about death,” I responded as I leveled the gun at his back. He turned, but wasn’t fast enough as I fired off several shots into the center of his body. He bucked as the bullets hit him, and he stared at me in horror. The bullets were blessed, and began working their magic on his cursed body quickly. I stood rooted to the spot with my ears ringing as I watched his body turn to ash before my eyes.
The knife buzzed against my side, startling me into action. Perhaps I should have used the knife; it certainly would have been quieter. I turned quickly and headed back down the stairs, counting the floors as I went. The sound o
f a door opening below stopped me in my tracks. I turned toward the door for the second floor and quietly pulled it open.
The second floor looked just like the first, but I didn’t waste time looking around as I took off at a run down the first corridor I saw. No one was following me just yet, but I knew it would be just a matter of time. The lack of signs made it difficult to know where I was going, so I ran on blindly. After several minutes, I reached another set of elevators. There was no stairwell beside it, so I didn’t have much for options. I hit the button and waited for the elevator to open.
This elevator was immediately different on the interior, with shiny silver walls and two panels. I stepped in cautiously and looked at the panels. It reminded me of the secret elevator Henri had in the hotel. I ran my hand across the back wall, noticing the extra exit. Yes, this was definitely one of Henri’s special elevators.
The elevator swished closed and I pressed the button for the first floor. The elevator moved in response, lowering down a level. It stopped quickly and opened into a vast room. A set of large double doors stood prominently across the room, but I’d have to get through the room full of vampires to reach it. Over a dozen sets of vampire eyes turned toward me. I cursed loudly and frantically pushed the elevator button to close the door, but nothing happened.
“Mr. Donovan is expecting you,” one of the vampires said, and I looked up to see who was speaking. All the vampires were dressed the same, in black suits with shiny black shoes. The speaker nodded at me and spoke again. “Just press number twenty-five.”
