by Laura Hysell
I didn’t immediately see or hear the vampire, so I moved my head slightly. I was on my side and I rolled over onto my back, quickly surveying the situation. There was no one around. The sun was almost up now, but there were still dark clouds across the sky, blocking out what little sunlight there was. I had no idea how well vampires fared in daytime.
The phone had stopped vibrating and I pulled it out of my pocket to look at the readout. Someone had called from Jed’s house. I redialed and waited a single ring before a familiar woman’s voice answered.
“Dr. Humphry?” I asked softly.
“Yes,” she said timidly. “Isabella?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Why are you answering Hugo’s phone? What’s going on?”
“We were attacked by vampires just outside of Walla Walla,” I replied as I surveyed my surroundings. The sky was lightening quickly and I could now make out a copse of trees just on the other side of the overturned Suburban. Everything else between the Suburban and the road was open field. There was no sign of Hugo or the remaining vampire.
“Where’s Hugo?”
I didn’t know what to say. Where was Hugo? “I’m not sure,” I replied slowly.
“Hang up the phone, Isabella,” said a woman’s voice from behind me.
I whipped around and looked toward the tree line, where Patricia leaned casually against a tall fir tree. The phone slipped from my hand as I stared past her. Justin stood behind Patricia, next to the hippie vampire. They hadn’t been there a moment ago. I stood up immediately, ignoring Mirabelle’s frantic voice on the phone.
“Justin?”
“Izzy,” he said with a smile on his face. He took a step toward me, but the hippie vampire threw out a hand to stop him.
Justin wore torn, dirty jeans and a denim jacket that had what looked like dried blood on it. His sandy blond hair was a mess and he had a week’s worth of facial hair, but he was on his feet and I didn’t immediately see any injuries on him. His eyes darted around the field, settling on Jared’s still form. I was thankful the Suburban was between us and blocked his view, so he couldn’t see Kirk on the ground at my feet.
“Isabella, come here dear,” Patricia said sweetly.
I stood still, weighing my options. The sun was rising quickly now, although obscured by the thick clouds. I knew Patricia would be awake for a while yet, but I wasn’t sure how long I actually had. Patricia looked relaxed, but the hippie vampire appeared nervous, his eyes darting toward the sun rising in the sky.
I had stood still for too long. “Isabella, I said come here,” Patricia repeated. “I order you.”
She still thought I was under her influence, which might be the only reason I was still alive. I walked slowly toward her, trying to think fast. I had seen no sign of Hugo, Kirk and Jared were dead, and Jed wasn’t answering his phone. I was on my own here. I moved slowly around the Suburban, taking my time. With each step I took, the sun climbed higher in the sky. I was racing the clock. I stopped just short of the tree line, out of arm’s reach of Patricia, not that that would do me any good.
“Look at this! Brother and sister reunited!” Patricia crowed, smiling at me. She turned around to look at Justin, the fake smile slipping from her face. “Now, Justin, where is the serum?”
Justin pursed his lips and looked at me. Now that I was closer, I could see the wear on his face. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His cheekbones were disturbingly visible, and he appeared almost gaunt. He took another step toward me, but the hippie vampire pushed him back again. He swallowed visibly and locked eyes with me. I knew he was trying to convey something, but I wasn’t sure what it was. “If you want my cooperation, you’ll let my sister go unharmed,” Justin said as he turned his eyes to Patricia.
“You’re not in a position to negotiate, Justin dear,” Patricia said as she flung a hand out and grabbed me by the arm.
Patricia pulled me in front of her before I had a chance to react, one hand clutching my arm tightly while her free hand stroked my neck. I tried to push away from her, but she tightened her grip on my arm until I cried out in pain. I felt pain in my neck, and it took me a moment to realize she had bitten me. Where her previous bites had been pleasant, this one was nothing but pain. I cried out as she tore at my neck with her fangs. She pulled back and released me while the blood continued to flow at a rapid pace down my neck. I placed a hand to my neck, trying to staunch the blood but it just kept pouring out between my fingers. She had torn the artery, and I would be dead within minutes.
“She won’t heal this fast enough,” Patricia said calmly to Justin, as though she were talking about the weather. “She only has a few minutes before she loses consciousness. Then, she will die from blood loss. Is that what you want? Perhaps she still has enough vampire blood in her to become a vampire herself. That could be interesting.”
“No!” Justin yelled.
I fell to my knees as everything grew dark around me. I was losing blood too fast. Patricia was right; I was going to die. I could hear Justin and Patricia arguing, but I couldn’t make out their words any longer. The world was going fuzzy as though I was entering a long, dark tunnel. I’d noticed while Sarah had been torturing me that I wasn’t healing as quickly. Each time I was injured I healed slower and slower. The vampire blood was leaving my system. Maybe that was a good thing. At least if I died I didn’t have to worry about coming back as a bloodthirsty demon. I’d just die.
I closed my eyes and rested my head on the soft grass, ready to surrender. I could still hear Justin and Patricia, but their words were slow and muffled. Then another voice intruded, and I opened my eyes to see Henri Donovan leaning over me. “I told you to kill Patricia if you had the chance,” he said to me. He seemed rather disappointed in me, as though he had been counting on me and I had let him down.
“I didn’t have a chance,” I replied. “And now I’m too weak. I’m out of time.”
“You’re dying,” he said simply and I nodded weakly. “Are you ready to give up so quickly?”
I didn’t reply. He leaned over me and held out his wrist to me. Blood dripped from it and I shook my head. “You’re not really here. That won’t help.”
“I told you before I am the Master of Dreams. What happens in my realm affects the real world. Drink quickly. You will have strength and power, but it will only last for a short time. Use it. Kill her!”
He pressed his arm to my mouth and I drank the blood he offered. Would I turn into a vampire now if I had dream vampire blood in me? This was probably all in my head anyway. I was on my way toward death, so why wouldn’t I dream of the sexy vampire? But why would I dream of him giving me blood? That seemed rather odd. My thoughts flittered around in a jumble. If this truly were real, then why would he help me? What was I to him? Was I just a means to an end? A thousand thoughts skittered across my mind in those few brief seconds as I drank his blood.
Suddenly the world came back into focus. Henri was gone and I was still lying on the ground, staring up at Justin and Patricia. Justin was screaming at Patricia, begging her to help me. He offered to do anything, and I think that’s what Patricia was waiting for. Patricia smiled and knelt down over me, rolling me onto my back to look up at her. I didn’t feel like I was dying any more, but I didn’t feel quite normal either.
Time was moving slowly for me, or perhaps I was just in shock from blood loss. Patricia put her wrist to her mouth and bit down. Justin fell to his knees beside me, tears in his eyes as he stroked my hair. I looked up at Justin, but my mind was on the warmth spreading across my thigh. I moved my right hand across my leg, wondering what was causing the warm sensation. The knife! I had been carrying this knife around with me like a security blanket, but had never really thought about it.
Patricia leaned over me and held her bleeding arm over my face. I blinked as I saw a flash of movement behind Justin. The hippie vampire was leaving and I realized why. A small ray of sunlight was peeking through
the clouds, illuminating the edge of Justin’s face. I smiled up at him before turning my attention back to Patricia. She had moved closer, moving her wrist against my mouth until I could feel the wetness dripping on my lips.
I kept my mouth closed, not wanting her blood inside me again. This angered her and she moved closer, pushing her wrist against my mouth forcefully. I pursed my lips tighter together and refused to drink, turning my head to the side. I tossed my head dramatically, hoping to distract Patricia as I pulled the knife free of its sheath. I knew I would have one chance only. Patricia reached across me with her other hand, forcing my mouth open.
I struggled against her as I moved the knife in close to my chest. Patricia had just managed to pop my jaw open as I used all my strength to thrust upward with the knife, aiming for her heart. Patricia screamed and sat back, but I held on tight, using my whole body to push her backward onto the ground. The area of skin around the knife quickly turned black and then gray, like an old burnt piece of wood. Patricia’s movements slowed, and eventually stopped, her mouth still open in a silent scream as the blackness covered her entire body, spreading from the knife wound. I yanked the knife free and Patricia’s body turned to dust, leaving just an ash-shaped figure on the ground amidst a pile of clothes.
Justin’s arms were suddenly around my shoulders, hugging me from behind. I patted him awkwardly with my left hand until he let go. My hand holding the knife was shaking as I stared at what was left of Patricia’s body. I spit out the blood that had dripped into my mouth and timidly felt at my neck. The wound had closed up already, leaving just sticky, drying blood.
I felt strange and lightheaded, but not as though I was going to pass out. Something was different, although I couldn’t pinpoint what. The knife in my hand was no longer warm, and just felt like a normal knife, except it was completely clean of blood or ash. I stared at it briefly before putting it back in its sheath and standing up. Rain was starting to fall and the clouds had obscured the small amount of light from the rising sun. The hippie vampire wasn’t in sight, but I didn’t want to take any chances that he might come back under the cloud cover.
Justin clung to me as I stood, hugging me from behind once more. I turned in his arms, pulling myself close to him in a tight embrace. I held him for a few seconds only before pulling back. “We’re still not safe,” I said finally.
He nodded, looking toward the sunrise and the obscuring clouds. “Most of them should be asleep by now.”
“Except the older ones, like Patricia,” I added with a glance back at Patricia’s clothes. “How many vampires did she have with her? Did you see?”
Justin stared at Patricia’s remains before turning back to me. “She had four vampires with her here, and she sent five others to attack some other truck.”
I closed my eyes, soaking up this information. That explained why Jed and the others weren’t answering their phones. Vampires had attacked them as well. I counted the vampires I’d seen, and came up one short. “Did you happen to see a werewolf?”
Justin’s eyes widened and he nodded his head, pointing back toward the forest. “I didn’t know they existed until he came barreling through the woods, covered in fur. All four vamps all ganged up on him and I have no idea what happened. I could hear them fighting for a long time, but they got further and further away.” He stopped talking and suddenly turned around, his eyes going to Jared’s body. “Jared!”
“Justin, no,” I said, but Justin ran toward Jared anyway. I followed him with a heavy heart, remembering the sickening crunch I had heard when the vampire had thrown him.
Justin crawled on the ground beside Jared and placed his head on his chest. “He’s alive!” Justin shouted back to me.
My heart sped up as I ran toward Jared. His leg was obviously broken and he was covered in blood, but he was breathing. Justin was examining him quickly, assessing him to see if he had more complicated injuries. The leg would obviously need to be realigned and braced, but it could wait until we were safe.
“Is he going to be okay?” I asked as I squatted down beside my brother.
“I think so. I don’t see any obvious injuries except a head wound and his broken leg, but I’m not a doctor.”
I nodded and reached my hand out, placing it on Jared’s chest so I could feel his chest move with his breaths. I sighed in relief at the steady breaths and the heartbeat I could feel pulsing under my hand. He was still unconscious, but I felt a tiny glimmer of hope that he would survive.
“What about Kirk?” Justin asked suddenly and I blanched. I shook my head, my eyes going toward Kirk’s mangled body. Justin followed my eyes and stood up, running toward Kirk’s body. I didn’t want to leave Jared, and I really didn’t want to see Kirk’s body again. Tears were swimming in my eyes as I watched my brother kneel next to his friend, my ex.
I looked over Jared quickly to make sure he seemed stable before I followed my brother over to where I’d left Kirk. I avoided looking at his crumpled body, instead keeping my eyes on Justin. The last time I’d seen Justin cry was at our dad’s funeral, and it had torn me apart then. I didn’t know if I could bear watching him cry again. I squatted down next to my brother and put a hand on his shoulder. “We need to get Jared and get out of here before someone shows up,” I said softly. Justin sat with his eyes transfixed on Kirk. He nodded once and stood up stiffly before walking back to Jared. The cell phone still lying on the ground caught my eye. I scooped it up and hurriedly followed my brother back to Jared, casting one last glance back at Kirk. I wish I hadn’t. The sight of his mangled body would haunt me for the rest of my life.
I walked up behind my brother, my eyes scanning our surroundings constantly. More and more cars were visible on the highway, and sooner or later someone was going to report our wrecked truck. When that happened they’d come across the bodies. Then the police would arrive and we’d have to explain what happened to Kirk and the piles of clothes and ash made by the vampires. What about Hugo? Was there also a dead werewolf to add to the mix?
Together Justin and I were able to drag Jared back to the edge of the woods. Justin wanted to flag down help and get Jared to a hospital. I just wanted to get away from the scene of this mayhem. The edge of the woods offered a little shelter, and we could follow it for quite a ways back toward Walla Walla. We wouldn’t venture in deeper though, in case the vampires were lurking nearby.
As soon as we were out of sight of the wreck, we lowered Jared down and I pulled out the cell phone. I debated who I should call, but decided I’d better try Jed again first. The phone had ten missed calls on it; eight from Jed’s house and two from Jed’s cell phone. That was a good sign, I thought. I dialed the cell phone and waited, but no one answered. I tried a second time, but had the same result. I sighed in frustration before I tried Jed’s house.
Mirabelle answered on the first ring. “Isabella?”
“Dr. Humphry,” I began, but she cut me off.
“Jed and the others are on their way to your location. They’re in wolf form, so they won’t be answering the phone.”
“So they’re all okay?” I asked.
She paused before answering. “They’re all alive. What about you? You stopped talking earlier.”
“A lot happened. I don’t really have time to get into it now,” I said. I didn’t want her to start asking questions about her husband that I just couldn’t answer. “How soon will they be here?”
“I’m not sure. Jed said that if I spoke to you again to tell you to get somewhere safe. They’ll find you. Wolves have excellent senses.”
“Okay, thanks Dr. Humphry.”
“Wait, Isabella, what about my husband? Where’s Hugo?”
I had been dreading her asking that question, although I couldn’t really blame her. I took a deep breath and answered her. “I don’t know where he is. I’m sorry I don’t know any more.”
“It’s okay,” she replied softly. “Jed will find him. My Hugo is tough; I’m sure he’s just fine. Call me if you n
eed anything.” I hung up the phone and pocketed it, marveling at Mirabelle’s optimism.
Justin had been making a makeshift litter for us to drag Jared on. It wasn’t much, just a couple long branches braced against his body and tied with strips of cloth torn from his coveralls. Justin and I each took a side and drug Jared along as carefully as we could. I kept my eyes open as we traipsed through the edge of the woods, looking for any sign of Hugo or the vampires.
The rain started pouring and I was thankful for the shelter of the trees keeping us mostly dry. Unfortunately, rain meant clouds and clouds meant no sunlight. We stopped periodically to check on Jared, but there was no change in his condition. We didn’t talk much, both of us lost in our own thoughts. We’d been walking for about a half an hour when we heard the first howl. Justin stopped and looked at me with worry on his face. Another howl sounded, closer this time. I stopped and lowered Jared carefully to the ground before I sat down, feeling the strength ebb from my body. The adrenaline that had been spurring my body into action was gone, leaving me suddenly exhausted. I smiled up at Justin as a third howl sounded. Help was on its way.
The first wolf we saw came running straight toward us. He was a large gray wolf with black-tipped ears, and he skidded to a halt right in front of us. He stopped and tipped up his large muzzle, sniffing the air around us. Justin was still standing, backed up into a tree and visibly scared. I was sitting on the ground next to Jared and I think I had no fear left in me. Maybe I had no emotions left at all.
A second wolf arrived just after the first. The second wolf was just as big as the first one, but with thick brown fur. The wolf moved cautiously toward me, sniffing the air. His large head turned from side to side as he took in the scene with his wolf eyes. I stayed completely still as the wolf stepped up next to me and nuzzled my neck. “Mark,” I said softly. The wolf rubbed his head against my neck before moving several feet away and dropping to the ground.
I watched in fascination as the wolf morphed and changed. The thick fur across the wolf began to ripple, thinning out to reveal human skin beneath. The wolf’s muzzle shrunk and squashed, and the wolf made grunting noises as the joints flexed backwards. Within moments, there was no longer a wolf there, but a strange hybrid of wolf and man. The transformation progressed further and human hands and feet emerged, as the wolf seemed to dissolve into the human body, leaving a very tired Mark lying on the grass in place of the wolf.
