Blood Run – The Complete Trilogy – First Promise, Two Riders, Last Chance

by Dougherty, Christine

  But he didn’t care.

  He’d fallen over and curled into as tight a ball as he could and closed his eyes, shielding himself from the sight of her hanging jaw, empty eye sockets and the bulge of her stomach that had also shrunk almost to nothing…

  Nothing.

  He’d drifted in and out through the day and into the afternoon. He noticed the light starting to fade and part of him had cried out in despair, telling him to move, move, he was losing the light. A second battle with the vampires would not be won in open territory with the energizing moon to enliven them.

  He could hear them as they crowded against the door, whispering, moaning…waiting for darkness.

  He wanted to go–knew he should go–but he was soothed by the lethargy, the shock. He found he didn’t care. He was willing to let what was about to happen, happen.

  That’s where the Guard found him.

  They had doubled back, the commander uneasy with the way Peter had been acting, his strangeness and quiet resolve. His inability to meet the commander’s eyes.

  The commander–who knew Peter’s story–had known to check the mall first. A detail had gone in with gas masks and crossbows at the ready, and they had dragged Peter from the Woolworth’s. He didn’t realize it, but he’d lost a good deal of blood through his own wounds. That blood loss was partially to blame for the lethargy that almost got him killed.

  The day had been growing short, and Peter managed to give them directions to the small house he and Trish once shared. The Guard worked quickly to make it defensible to the coming dark, and they’d settled in. That night, the air had been filled with the howls and gibbering cries of the vampires. The house shook under the assault as they battered themselves against doors and windows. No one slept except Peter, who drifted in fevered dreams, the infected part of his brain desperate to be out with his kind, drawn by the cries of his dark kin. The Guard had had to restrain his hot and flailing limbs.

  They’d gone the next day to a closer outpost, one the commander hadn’t been intending to visit this time around. Peter needed medical attention, and the soldiers needed rest. The outpost was in a town called Hamlet. It was there that Peter found Snow.

  “They’d been taking very good care of her in Hamlet,” Peter said and smiled, remembering. “She was the pet everyone had lost, you know? Hamlet’s outpost was a school, too…smaller than Wereburg. But they had a classroom just for Snow, and people took turns grooming and feeding her. Exercising her. They told me later that when we showed up, the Guard and I, she became very agitated. She couldn’t see me, but they said she started whinnying and stomping. She’d broken away from the person who’d been holding her bridle. I had been brought into the gym, and Snow ran in there. I didn’t see it, I was too in and out, but they said she came right to my cot and nuzzled me up and down. They knew right away that she was my horse,” Peter said, and his voice broke. He ran a hand over his eyes and smiled. “It seemed like a miracle.”

  Peter had started to heal–inside and out–in the time he’d stayed at Hamlet. He’d been told by the people there of another horse rumored to be in an outpost way in upstate New York. As luck would have it, the commander told Peter, they were already headed upstate. They would make another detour to Wereburg and see if they could find the other horse.

  “That’s how I found Ash,” Peter said. “And you.” He looked at Promise, and they stared so solemnly at each other for so long that Edwards shifted and cleared his throat.

  “It’s an amazing story, Peter. And you did the right thing. By leaving here, I mean.” Edwards stood. “The body knows things, sometimes, that the mind seems late to catch up with. In your case, especially, considering your condition,” he said. “I really want you to know how sorry I am for how we ended your time here. It was uncalled for on my part.

  “Now let’s head to the labs, and I’ll show you what we’ve accomplished in your absence. I hope this can help restore me to favor in your eyes,” Edwards said, turning. His voice lowered, became self-deprecating. “It is, I think in its own way, another amazing story,” he said and opened the door.

  Then he flinched back in surprise.

  Evans stood filling the doorway, arm raised as if to strike.

  Chapter 8

  “I don’t think Edwards likes me very much,” Evans said and shrugged.

  “Not that you care,” Promise supplied, narrating his shrug. Her voice held a gentle scold. They were sitting together on the lip of concrete that surrounded a fountain in what was once the front lobby of the hospital. The plants were gone, and the fountain had been dry a long time, but it was still a pleasant space, more open than Promise was used to. It made her realize again how life–and certain expectations–had changed.

  Evans shrugged again. He was not in full gear, and Promise was having trouble getting used to it. He looked almost…almost…civilian. “I was going to knock, not knock him out,” Evans said. “Just bad timing.” He coughed out a laugh and shook his head.

  “What?” Promise asked.

  “He just looked funny. Man, was he ever surprised to see me standing there.” He laughed again then sobered. He glanced sideways at Promise. “So were you.”

  “No. I wasn’t surprised,” she said and smiled. “I was glad. I’ve been afraid you guys would just take off without saying goodbye.”

  “I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye to you. But we are leaving early tomorrow. That’s why I wanted to find you tonight.”

  “Next stop, Delaware, huh?” Promise asked. She knew they were all anxious to get to their home base.

  “Yeah, it’ll take about five or six hours. Then we’ll each get a month off. I think Miller might ask for more,” he said.

  “Because of Riker?” Promise asked, and Evans nodded.

  “Yeah, that and also it just wears you out. It takes something out of you when you have to look at it every day. The emptiness. How much is gone,” he said and sat up straighter. “We’re just…screwed. The whole country. It’s empty and ugly and–” He shook his head again. “Pointless, I guess. It just gets to seem pointless.”

  “Will you see your family during your month off?” Promise asked, trying to turn Evans’ mind from the dark road he seemed to be going down. “Your brothers and parents?”

  “Yeah, I’ll see them. They’re all still there. Right where I left them.”

  “Do you want to tell me about them? What they’re like, and the things you’ll do together once you get home?”

  He half-turned and gave her a slantwise smile. “You’re trying to cheer me up,” he said, and it was more a statement than a question.

  She nodded, serious-faced. Earnest. He felt a stirring in his chest–protective, drawn to her, wanting to make things right for her–and his heart clenched, hurting. His features turned down as the familiar anger coursed through him. He sat forward and took her arms in his hands, tight but not hurting. “If you need me…if you ever need me…send a message by Guard, and I’ll come back to Wereburg. I’d do anything for you, Promise,” he said and gripped her arms tighter.

  His intensity would have scared her before, rattled her, but she understood him better now. She knew his anger was, for him, the outward manifestation of strong emotion–any strong emotion. He made her a little sad, too, because this is what she’d been missing all those years as the older sibling–never being the recipient of that fierce protectiveness.

  There was more to his feelings than brotherly interest, and she understood that, too. She didn’t feel bad, and she didn’t feel sorry for him. The circumstances of their meeting were what they were. She was in love with Peter, no matter how odd their path to a relationship.

  “I know that, Ev,” she said and put her hands on his forearms. She tilted her forehead against his and grinned, inviting him to smile back. Eventually he did. Then he shook her lightly and sat back, letting her go.

  “I think it will probably be about five months before I see Wereburg again,” Evans said. “But when I
come back through there, I–”

  “Evans!” Miller strode across the lobby, Lu and Billet close behind. “We’ve been looking for you. Hi, Promise. We were looking for you, too. We just saw Peter with Edwards in the lab; said our goodbyes.” Miller sat on the fountain’s edge. She was glad to find Evans talking with Promise alone. You never knew–maybe Evans could woo promise away from Peter. “You know we’re leaving tomorrow?” Miller addressed Promise directly.

  “Yes, Ev was telling me. Straight on to your base in Delaware, no stops,” she said and smiled sadly. “That will be a real change of pace after dragging Peter and me behind you for more than a week.” Guilt and sorrow were evident in her voice. If she and Peter hadn’t been holding the Guard back, would Riker and Stiles be dead?

  Promise coughed into her hand.

  Lu put a hand on her forehead. “Your fever is gone,” he said. “How’s the cold?”

  She smiled up at him. “It’s okay. I’ll get some rest before we take off again; that will help. Will you guys get a chance to rest, too? Do you have to leave tomorrow?”

  Lu shrugged and looked to Miller.

  “We’re tired, but I think being home is more important for us. It was an eventful tour. Too eventful,” Miller said, her expression clouding. Billet thumped her clumsily on the shoulder, and she smiled up at him. Then she turned back to Promise. “We really weren’t going much slower than usual, and it was our honor to help you get here. If a cure or immunization is found, it will be found at this hospital,” Miller said. “This is the think tank, the smarties. Especially Dr. Edwards.” Miller stood and stretched, then turned to take both of Promise’s hands in her own. “It was good to meet you, Promise, and I’m glad we got you here safe and sound. Just remember that it’s what we do. We know the risks when we sign on. Okay?”

  Promise nodded. “Okay,” she said. Her eyes went to Lu and Billet. “Maybe I’ll see you again back in Wereburg. Next time you come through.”

  Lu shook her hand. “Take care of yourself. Bundle up on the way back, and stay out of the rain this time.”

  “I will. Thanks, Lu,” Promise said.

  Billet pulled her into an awkward half-hug. “Tell Ash and Snow we said bye,” he said, stepping back with a grin. Promise nodded again.

  “I will,” she said. She looked from Miller to Billet to Lu. “I feel like Dorothy,” she said.

  Lu laughed and tapped his head. “I already have my brain, though.”

  “Okay, let’s hit it, boys,” Miller said. “Morning will be here in no time, and tomorrow night you’ll be sleeping in your own beds.” She turned back to Promise. “Take care. We’ll see you again, okay?”

  “Okay, yes,” Promise said. She turned back to Evans where he sat on the fountain’s edge. A lump was beginning to swell in her throat, but she didn’t want to cry. Not in front of everyone. “Bye, Ev,” she said, and her voice nearly broke despite her resolve.

  Evans gazed at her a long time and then stood and took her into his arms. Promise, eyes tightly closed, rested her head on his chest and listened as the others made their way out of the lobby. Evans’ heart beat strong and steady against her cheek.

  “You’ll see me again, Promise,” Evans said. His voice lowered to a harsh, angry sounding whisper. “Remember what I told you.”

  He squeezed her once more, and then he was gone.

  ~ ~ ~

  The lab was large and well lit, and a handful of technicians worked at various machines. It was obvious that the resources of the base were concentrated here. Peter and Dr. Edwards were standing at a weird television when Promise found them. Edwards was tapping on a keyboard in front of the television, and he and Peter both watched the bulging eye of the screen expectantly. There was a small, rainbow apple on the corner of the television.

  “Anything good on?” she asked. “Or just the late, late show?”

  They turned to her, and Peter’s welcoming smile faded almost before it was begun. “Are you okay?” he asked as she closed the distance to them. Edwards spared her a quick, distracted smile and then went back to tapping on the keyboard

  “Yeah,” she said and wiped her eyes. “Just really tired. Do you realize how late it is? I’m used to being asleep by now.”

  He put a hand to her forehead. “How are you feeling?”

  “Okay. Not great. Getting some rest will help.”

  “Did Miller find you?” Peter asked.

  “Yes,” Promise said and did not elaborate. She looked past Peter to Dr. Edwards. “What is that thing?” she asked. It was obvious that it was not a television.

  Edwards turned, eyebrows raised. “This is a computer. You’ve heard of them?”

  “Kind of,” Promise said and her mind flashed up a picture of the ‘computer lab’ in Wereburg high school. Only a select few seniors had even been allowed to touch the new computers. What also came to mind for her was the walls and walls of blinking lights and bits of paper spewing forth that she’d seen on news stories. And old movies. “It’s so small, though.”

  “Yes, it’s the newest technology! Someday, every family will have one of these in their household. They will do everything…children can do their homework on it, and mom can balance the checkbook, while dad makes a schedule for the family vacation!”

  Promise looked doubtfully at the little tan box. Edwards’ words seemed a little far-fetched.

  “But of course, it is important to us for other things,” Edwards said. “This computer holds one hundred twenty-eight kilobytes of random access memory! It performs calculations that would take us a hundred times as long to figure. It has been intrinsic to helping us develop the immunization.”

  The numbers meant nothing to Promise, and she’d been rubbing her eyes, only half listening, then she caught the word ‘immunization’. She turned to Peter, and his smile was back, wide and happy. He nodded.

  “They have a serum that seems to block the virus. Dr. Edwards has been explaining it to me. Well, not really explaining. It’s pretty complicated.”

  Edwards laughed. “It is complicated. You’d need a few degrees to really understand the process and how we’ve gone from where we started to where we are now. Suffice to say that we’ve been studying Peter’s blood to find out what, exactly, holds the disease at bay in him. That was the first step…the most arduous part. But once we discovered that the vampirism was a virus–just like chicken pox or even the common cold!–then we were able to engineer a compound that had the same vampire fighting proclivities as the ones in Peter’s blood. We are currently in the animal trial stages–which we have, of course accelerated well beyond the norm–but it still takes a long time.” His eyes met Promise’s. His face was grave but compassionate. “I don’t want you to think we’ve got something that can cure your little brother, Promise. In time, yes…hopefully very soon…but not yet.”

  Promise felt her hopes melt into the floor around her, taking what little energy she had left. Her shoulders slumped, and she was blanketed by depression. This news was not what she needed after everything she and Peter had been through.

  “Well, now I’m here,” Peter said, and Promise turned to him, confused. But he was looking at Edwards. “You can try the vaccine on me.”

  Dr. Edwards eyes widened in alarm. “No, Peter, that would be extremely dangerous. Do you know how a simple flu vaccine works?” Edwards asked them both.

  Promise shrugged tiredly, and Peter shook his head.

  “In simple terms, the vaccine gives you the flu in a small, fightable dose that forces your body to develop an immunity…but the vampirism…that’s different. We have to be so precise, otherwise, we’ll just end up infecting even more people. And Peter, the vaccine could actually contribute to the virus colonizing your body more effectively,” Edwards said. “It could wipe out some or all of the immunity you already have, leaving you more fully a vampire. If that were to happen, then you wouldn’t be able to orient your…humanness…once the disease took hold. You are able now to fight off the sympto
ms, put yourself into a natural remission, as it were, but if you didn’t have the remissive abilities…” He frowned and shook his head. “You’d disappear into vampirism.”

  Promise shivered, and the overhead lights flickered almost as though sympathetic to her emotions.

  Technicians looked up in surprise.

  “The lights,” Promise said, her voice faint in her own ears.

  Then everything went black.

  ~ ~ ~

  The technician’s voices were a rising tide of bewilderment, and Promise turned blindly in the dark, her hands seeking Peter.

  “Peter?” she whispered. Fear whipped through her, stiffening her muscles.

  Hands grasped her wrists. “I’m here,” Peter said. His voice was low, too, and an undercurrent of uneasiness ran through it.

  “Everything is fine.” Dr. Edwards’ voice was gruff, slightly impatient. “Everyone just stand right where you are until they get the lights back on! I’m sure it’s just the fuses or something.”

  The murmuring voices became slightly louder and then settled into silence as everyone seemed to hold their breath.

  Promise felt Peter’s lips brush against her ear. “I don’t think it’s the fuses…do you?” he asked, barely breathing the question. She realized he didn’t want anyone else to hear…not even Dr. Edwards.

  Promise shook her head, careful to move slowly, not wanting to crash her head into his face. Then she remembered: he could see in the dark. She clutched at him. “What do you see?” she asked, and now the panic wanted to take her, but she couldn’t let it. She had to trust Peter, trust his abilities and instincts.

  “Nothing bad, just the lab…I just think…something feels wrong. Can you–” His voice cut off abruptly. She gripped his arms even tighter, the panic flaring again. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’m right here. Listen…”