Allen’s face drained of color, and the dirt stood out in sharper contrast. Now he looked about eight.
Promise continued. “There are vampires around, Allen, don’t doubt that just because we take better precautions. The precautions are what keep everyone safe.”
“What would have happened if you had been bit? And we let you in?” Mark asked, leaning toward the boy. “Is it worth it? Are our lives worth the game?”
Allen shook his head, obviously upset, and brushed angrily at the tears trying to form in his eyes. Lea put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, and he turned to look at her, his face filled with misery.
“Are you still hungry? Do you want some chips or crackers?” Lea asked, and Allen smiled shakily. She smiled back and turned to the food stored on the counter.
“Can I pet Ash?” Allen asked, and Promise nodded. She didn’t smile.
Allen pushed back his chair and then hesitated. “I really am sorry,” he said.
Promise nodded again. “Be careful petting him, his back leg is sensitive,” she said. “The vamp scratched him.”
Allen looked at her in surprise and then slid off his chair. He took the package of crackers Lea offered him and then went to the family room where Ash stood, drowsing. He offered Ash a cracker even before he ate one himself, and Promise, watching, sat back and sighed.
“He’s not a bad kid,” Mark said, as if reading her mind. “Just, you know, a boy.”
“There won’t be any boys left if they all act that stupid,” Promise said, but she kept her voice low.
They worked out the sleeping arrangements. Promise elected to sleep on the couch in the family room so she could stay with Ash. Mark said he’d bunk down with Allen in the room that held two twin beds, and Lea opted for the barren master bedroom.
“You gonna be okay, Lea? Not scared of being alone in there?”
Lea looked at Mark in surprise. Scared? Of being alone? She’d always been alone, really. She shook her head and smiled. “I’ll be okay,” she said and turned away, blushing at Mark’s concern.
The bedroom was big and open. The master closet and bath doors each had a sheet of plywood over them, just like the pantry downstairs. The bed–bare of sheets but heaped with a tangle of comforters–sat in the middle of the room, under three skylights. The skylights had not been covered. As far as anyone knew or had ever seen, flight was not part of the vampire’s repertoire.
Lea kicked off her sneakers, pulled the comforters into a nest, and lay on her back, staring up at the skylights. They broke the sky up like a triptych art piece: the far left held the half-moon a third of the way up, the middle was filled with stars, and the end contained a wisp of white-lit clouds that soon drifted into the middle frame. Lea was reminded of television and smiled. This is a really boring program, she thought, the boringest! and she closed her eyes, listening to the soft rumble of boys’ voices across the hall.
“You think it was really a vampire that almost got her? Even in the day?” Allen asked Mark, the blankets pulled to his chest. Mark was glad to have company in the room and didn’t understand why the girls each chose to sleep–essentially–alone.
“I don’t know how to explain it, but I think it was, yeah,” Mark said. “Promise is…she’s pretty brave, and I don’t think she’d panic or see things that weren’t there.” He yawned. “Plus, there’s the scratches on Ash’s leg.”
Allen seemed to think that over as his eyes began to close. Mark watched him from the opposite bed and found himself getting sleepy, too. It was nice having a kid nearby. It reminded Mark of his two little sisters. His parents had taken them to visit family in Ohio when the plague had hit Wereburg. He hadn’t seen them since the day they’d driven off, the girls waving from their nest of pillows and blankets in the back seat of his dad’s Ford.
The plague, which had been on an east to west trajectory, had probably swept through Ohio within a few weeks of Wereburg’s fall. He hoped that they were somehow okay out there and that he would see them again someday. As his eyes closed and he began his descent into sleep, he saw them again…their faces white circles in the clouded rear window…their waving seemed forlorn as they were carried away.
Promise sat on the couch, her legs tucked under, and watched Ash sleep. His body was warming the room, and his breathing was rhythmic, almost tidal. Promise had never been to the ocean, but her dad had told her that Lake Ontario was almost like the ocean in the way it moved and sounded. He’d never been to the ocean either; but he’d heard as much. She became aware of a deep sadness in herself, which she tried not to notice. During the day, when everything was work and survival, it was easy to keep sad thoughts away, but at night, especially tucked out here in a safe house, she felt the full weight of the past year and her losses.
She lay on her side, pulling the blanket over her shoulder as tears began to course down her cheeks. She cried quietly using the pink scrunchie to blot her eyes. After a long time, she drifted into sleep, where she and Ash ran on and on through endless woods and her mother chased after, screeching like an animal.
Chapter 5
The high school had been an easy and obvious choice for an outpost to house what remained of Wereburg’s residents. The classrooms had been found to be easily defensible and roomy enough to accommodate small groups. They each only had one entrance into the body of the school itself and once the bottom portion of the big windows had been covered, there was no way in for vampires.
People found that they had a natural inclination to huddle together when threatened, and the school served them well in that respect, too. They could be as together as they desired, utilizing the gym or cafeteria, and yet separate each night into whichever classroom they’d set up housekeeping in. There was a very disproportionate number of children and younger adults in the new Wereburg society. Many parents had died or been changed in defense of their children.
The country itself had mobilized against the vampires, President Reagan directing the armed forces from a secret bunker that was rumored to be directly below the White House. Television was gone, and radio was spotty, but the National Guard sent groups of soldiers around to all the outposts to keep them updated as far as advancements or any new data that related to the disease itself. A cure was being sought, and along with that, an immunization was being developed. Being immune wouldn’t keep you from being killed, but it might help turn the tide if they could keep the existing numbers of vampires static.
Mr. West was generally thought to be in charge, although he made no claims to it, and there had been nothing so concrete as an election. People simply deferred to him, and with good reason. Not only was he smart, he was also fair, and calm by nature. He met with the National Guard when they came in, called assemblies, divvied work, and mediated any dispute that disrupted community life.
Along with food, water, and news, the National Guard also occasionally brought refugees. Not every town had fared as well, and as survivors were found, they were brought to the nearest strongholds, like Wereburg, which were dotted miles apart over the wasteland of America.
Promise had developed a strong attachment to Mr. West. He reminded her of one of her favorite television characters: the Professor from Gilligan’s Island. Not that their circumstances were as slapdash and funny as those poor castaways.
Ash’s hooves rang hollowly on the industrial tile of the hallway as Promise led him–soft bridled and blanketed–to their classroom. From the day she’d found him, she had insisted that Ash deserved a place inside among the rest of the survivors.
A tan mutt ran up behind them–Lea’s terrier mix, Lady–and barked at the big horse. Ash snorted and threw his head up and down. Lady barked louder and ran past Ash to bark at the horse’s front, and Ash pawed the floor and snorted again. The dog stood on her hind legs, barking sharply, front paws waving. She was a small- to medium-sized dog, with oddly curly fur on her legs and ears while the rest was straight and wiry.
“Lady, stop,” Promise said, laughing. “He
’s fine, isn’t he? I brought him back safe and sound…all one piece!” She ruffled the dog’s ears, and Lady gave her hand a quick lick and then sat staring up at Ash, her tail switching side to side in excitement.
Lady had already been at the high school when Ash arrived, and the little dog immediately loved the big horse with all her heart. She was devastated when Promise and Ash went out without her, but Promise wouldn’t put the dog in jeopardy. Not when there were so few good things–like dogs–left.
Ash lowered his nose, blowing gently, and Lady wiggled and shivered all over, licking his muzzle and pushing her body against his face and neck. Then Lady danced at Promise’s knees.
“Okay, but you won’t get much of a ride. We’re almost home.” She bent and lifted the squirming terrier onto the blanket on Ash’s back where she stood, legs braced, head up and grinning as she rode Ash down the hall.
Promise turned into 508, leading the big horse and his tiny rider. Lea looked up and smiled as they came in. She was sitting on her cot, and she still wore the flannel Mark had pulled for her last night in the safe house.
For the moment, only Promise and Lea shared the room–other people complained about the horse smell. The uncovered tops of the eight tall windows let the January sun steam in, and the classroom was bright and warm enough, as long as you kept on a few layers of clothes. In the summer, it would be unbearable.
The blackboard was riddled with snippets of poems that Lea wrote. The poems were entwined with flowers and vines and delicate-looking birds and butterflies. The style matched the painted flowers on Lea’s jean jacket.
“Oh, gosh,” she said and then huffed out her breathy little laugh. “Look at Lady!” She stood from the shoebox she’d been sorting through to lift Lady from Ash’s back. “Come on, silly girl. Come down from there.” Lady squirmed in Lea’s arms, licking her nose, until Lea put her gently on the floor.
Ash plodded to the back corner where Promise had stacked heavy mover’s blankets and dropped his nose into the bucket that hung from the wall. Lady sat nearby, shivering, and then burrowed into a corner of the blankets, nosing a place for herself where she could keep her shining brown eyes on Ash.
“Did you see the guy the Guard brought in?” Lea asked, capping the shoebox and sliding it under her cot. She’d cut a small square from the flannel and tucked it in with her other treasures. “Did you hear what everyone said about him?”
When they’d gotten to the high school that morning after their night in the safe house, Promise had looked for Mr. West. She’d wanted to tell him how she’d ridden into the woods and a vampire had chased her during daylight hours. It was unusual no matter how gloomy the woods had been.
But he’d been in the principal’s office with a soldier and another man, so she’d merely waved and passed by. She’d spent her morning grooming Ash on the football field, cleaning the cut on his leg more thoroughly. And soaking up the sunshine.
At Lea’s words, though, she recalled the man she’d seen in with Mr. West. He looked a little older than her, probably in his twenties. It was hard to tell, sometimes. People had a tendency to look older than their years.
He had a thin build, but he was tall and looked strong…it was something in the set of his shoulders. His face was very grave, almost angry, and now she recalled feeling a small shiver as his gray eyes seemed to mark her passage. His blond hair was cut very short. He had a scar starting below one ear and dwindling away below the collar of his shirt. The scar was pinkish red and looked fresh, if not new. Looking back now, she recalled that that scar had brought Ash’s scar to her mind.
She sat down near Lea to pull her boots off, disconcerted by the amount of information she had retained about the newcomer. She hadn’t realized the impression he’d made on her.
“What do they say about him?” she asked, keeping her voice even and neutral.
“Someone said he’s been bit.”
“What?” Promise couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice, and the scar on his neck glowed in her memory. “That’s not…that doesn’t make any sense.”
Lea nodded. “I know. I know, right? If you get bit, you change…it’s like a rule or something! Unless you die, I mean.” Lea paused, embarrassed, and searched Promise’s face for signs of pain regarding her little brother but found none, so she went on. “I heard that he has a few signs of being a vamp…like, he has trouble with direct sun, and he’s really strong. But he isn’t a bloodsucker. Do you think that’s possible, Promise?”
The vampire that had chased her yesterday flashed into her mind, and she nodded slowly, considering. “I guess so. It might explain some things. But it sounds creepy. What if he…I don’t know…takes a turn for the worse or something? Will he come after us?”
“Will who come after us?” Mark asked, walking into the room. He’d gathered all the boys Allen had admitted were involved in tagging-out and had a talk with them this morning. His concern was for the boys, but beyond that, it was for everyone. It was a very dangerous game.
Lea stood abruptly and then sat back down, her hands clasped beneath her chin. “Mark!” she said, and her voice was a squeak. “You…you scared me!”
Promise suspected that it wasn’t fright that made Lea jump up, but she didn’t let on. She spoke to cover the awkward moment.
“Guy the Guard brought in,” she said and stood. “Everyone is saying he was bit.” Mark frowned, and she continued: “But he’s recovered. He’s not a vampire. Not a full vampire, anyway.”
“You’re joking,” he said and looked from Promise to Lea.
Lea shook her head, and Promise said, “Nope. No joke. Maybe we should try to track down Mr. West. See what’s going on.”
“There’s something else, too,” Lea said, and Mark and Promise both looked at her.
“What is it?” Promise asked.
“He has a horse, a white one,” Lea said.
Promise looked surprised…and interested.
Mark scowled, and Lea smiled into her hand.
~ ~ ~
“I’ve been looking for you three,” Mr. West said as they walked into the bright cafeteria. The tables held a scattering of people, some reading, some eating or drinking coffee. It smelled like breakfast, and Promise’s stomach rumbled. “Did Maggie tell you? I sent her to find you.”
Mr. West was in a button down, chambray shirt with the sleeves rolled casually to the elbows and a down vest. He also wore his ubiquitous corduroys. He was sitting in the furthest, darkest corner of the cafeteria, and the man sitting next to him was the same one Promise had seen early this morning. The man from the principal’s office. He watched her steadily as they approached.
“No, but Maggie’s a flighty kid,” Mark said in answer to Mr. West’s question. He was looking from Mr. West to the newcomer. “She probably got caught up chasing the chickens around. She loves those chickens.”
Mr. West laughed and nodded and then indicated the stranger. “This is Peter Gallagher. Mark, Lea, Promise…I was telling you about Promise earlier, Peter,” he said and gestured for the three to sit. “Promise, Peter has a horse, too. An odd coincidence, you’re thinking? Yes and no. If there was one horse, then there was bound to be another, right? And it seems it has found us.” Mr. West smiled.
Mark had shaken Peter’s hand, and then Lea had done the same, but when Peter took Promise’s hand in his, he held it for a long time…until she drew it away, blushing. She turned to Mr. West to catch the end of what he was saying. “I’m sorry, I…who has found us?”
Mr. West seemed to take note of the color in her face but did not remark on it. “The horse, I was saying, has found her way to us. Snow.”
Feeling Peter’s eyes on her, Promise felt herself sinking further into confusion. “Snow?”
“My horse. Her name is Snow.” Peter’s voice was deep and quiet. Promise turned to him. He smiled. It was the first time she’d seen him smile. “We…I mean…I…called her that because she’s white. I guess that’s kind of lame.”<
br />
Promise wondered about the hesitation in his speech, but then his smile widened for a second before fading away entirely. It was almost as though he could not sustain happiness. Or was afraid to.
She smiled back. “Mine’s called Ash. Because he’s black, so I guess I’m lame, too.”
He nodded, and his smile came back. They stared at each other until Mr. West cleared his throat.
“So. Anyway,” he said. “How did you three make out last night? Any problems? I heard about the boys playing tag out.”
Mark looked impatient. “Yes, I talked to them about that this morning,” he said and then turned the discussion back to Peter. “Listen, about this…about Peter…we heard that he’d been bit. Is that true?” Mark was looking at Mr. West, almost deliberately ignoring Peter.
“According to Peter and the National Guardsman that brought him, yes, he was bit. And he survived it. They’re running tests on his blood at a military base hospital in New Jersey. In the meantime, they’ve been moving a lot of people around, and they got wind that we had a horse here, too. So they thought they’d bring Peter to stay with us. Plus, we have a very high survivor rate, higher than most of the other outposts.” He put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “It turns out that there have been a few people in Peter’s position, people with a partial immunity–the rumors were true. It’s going to help the people at the lab in New Jersey develop a vaccine.”
Mark glowered at Mr. West’s hand on Peter’s shoulder. “Well, we also heard he has some vampire traits. Is that true? And what if he, I don’t know, takes a turn for the worse? That might happen.” Mark stared a challenge at Peter.
“I have some, yes,” Peter said. “I’m stronger than I was before. I don’t like direct sunlight all that much. But I don’t think I’m going to turn into a full-fledged vampire. I was…the sickest…right after I’d been bit. I’ve gotten better, more in control, ever since.”
Blood Run – The Complete Trilogy – First Promise, Two Riders, Last Chance Page 5
