by L. M. Justus
Reed had his samurai sword in hand as he stood guard, but it was clear he hadn’t had to use it. The women had exited the vehicle as well, although they stood alert, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice. As Nathaniel approached the van, everyone turned to him expectantly.
“They will grant us access,” he said.
Reed’s mouth twisted as he glanced at the prison and then back at the group. “Am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this?”
Nathaniel climbed into the van and Reed followed suit, despite his obvious misgivings. Trudy started the van and drove them up the road toward the prison’s front entrance. When they came within several feet of the gate, it swung open, allowing them to drive inside.
Trudy parked in the middle of the open area and the gates clanged shut behind them. They got out of the van one at a time with a good hundred-and-fifty pairs of eyes watching their every move. Despite the late hour, the prison’s inhabitants stood along the sides of the yard, observing. Whether they had already been awake, or had speedily arisen to examine the newcomers, Nathaniel did not know. He surveyed the thick concrete walls surrounding the yard; they were about twenty feet high and topped with curling barbed wire, but he could jump over them easily if the need arose.
Benny emerged from the crowd and ambled over, flanked by four armed men. The bright lights in the prison yard shone off his hairless scalp. The prison clearly had a functioning generator.
“How ‘bout we go make some introductions in my office,” Benny said.
Nathaniel nodded. “Lead the way.”
They followed Benny and his men out of the yard, through a series of doors, and up some stairs to his second-floor office. Papers and food wrappers littered his desk, bookshelf, and filing cabinets. Blinds hung lop-sided over the window as if they might fall off at any moment, and there was only one chair in the room, which Benny plunked himself into with a sigh. His four men moved around behind him, and everyone else squeezed into the remaining space in front of the desk.
“Are you the warden?” Sarah asked, hands on her hips. Her gaze narrowed at him. Benny did not stand a chance against her scrutiny. Not only was she a police officer, but one that could read minds.
“Well, nice to meet you too, honey,” Benny said, leaning back in his chair. “Most of my men call me the chief, but you can call me the warden if you want to. Or you can call me Benny, because that’s my name.”
“But were you the warden a few days ago, before the zombie thing started?” she said.
Benny smiled, but remained silent.
“Benny,” Nathaniel said. “This is Sarah.” He gave her a pointed look and hoped she wouldn’t anger their potential hosts with her blatant interrogation.
“Next to her is her sister, Sophie,” Nathaniel continued. “On my right are Trudy and Reed.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Benny said, leaning forward to rest his arms on the desk. “Now let’s get down to business. We get that it’s near impossible to survive outside these walls, but we have limited supplies and taking on another five people ain’t exactly what we had in mind. Unless you can offer us something in return.”
Benny’s gaze fell on Sarah. Reed’s jaw clenched and he glared at Benny. Nathaniel could smell the first waves of anger rising off the boy.
“In return for your hospitality, we are prepared to fetch whatever supplies you need,” Nathaniel said. “Fuel for your generators, food, medicine, etcetera.”
“We sent some guys out on a supply run two days ago,” Benny said. “They never came back. Your promise to get us stuff we need won’t do us any good if you get yourself killed. Although . . . you do seem to be able to hold your own against the infected humans. How is it that you’re able to fight like that? What’s the secret?”
“He’s a vampire,” Sophie said.
Nathaniel stiffened and Reed gaped at her.
Benny chuckled. “Really? What a coincidence. My men and I happen to be werewolves. Ain’t that right guys?” They rolled their eyes and shook their heads.
“We have enough food with us to last for the time being,” Nathaniel continued, trying his best to smooth over the situation and ignore his urge to throttle Sophie. “Therefore, we do not need to delve into your stores. Tomorrow night we will gather supplies for you as a show of our good faith. Until then, if you could direct us to a place within this facility where we can rest during the day, we would be in your debt.” Nathaniel hoped their hosts wouldn’t question the nocturnal habits of his group.
“All right then,” Benny said, turning serious once more. “Don’t go anywhere near the city’s outer boundaries though. They’ll shoot anything they see that moves.”
“Who’s ‘they?’” Reed asked.
Benny looked Reed in the eye. “The powers that be: the US government, the military, whatever. They want to keep the infected within the New York City area until they’ve been eliminated. Maybe then they’ll come rescue us, maybe not. We’ll be lucky if they don’t drop a bomb on our heads. Collateral damage and all that.”
Reed frowned. “I don’t understand. What do you mean they want to keep them in the New York area? I thought the revenants–the infected–I thought they would have spread across the whole world by now.”
“Nope. It’s just us lucky ones in New York.”
“How do you know that?” Reed said.
Benny gave him a look as if he thought he was dense. “We heard it on the radio.”
Nathaniel looked between Reed and the three women. A mixture of emotion played across their faces. What a relief to know the King’s plan to infect the entire world’s population had failed. Apparently, all they needed to do now was escape from New York.
“What else have you heard about the . . . infected?” Nathaniel asked.
“Well . . . some wack job infected the city’s water supply with a virus,” Benny began. “The virus didn’t survive very long, but it was long enough to infect a significant portion of the population in the city. The people who weren’t infected got eaten by the ones who were. Apparently, the virus doesn’t spread by bodily fluids and stuff, so it’s just a matter of killing all the infected people. The real question is, who the hell did this in the first place and why?”
“But New York’s been completely destroyed,” Sarah said. “I can’t believe it’s good news that only around eight million people are dead.”
“Better than seven billion,” Sophie said.
“I suppose,” Sarah said with a sigh.
“Shall we go have our rest?” Nathaniel said.
With a grunt, Benny hefted his bulk out of the chair. “Sure thing. Follow me, folks.”
He led the way down the hall and opened the door to a crowded storage room. “If you shove some of that junk to the side, there should be enough room for you to lie down and get some sleep. The room next door’s free too, and it’s not locked. I’ll see if I can get someone to bring you some blankets. Come find me later and let me know when you’re ready to head out.”
He turned and walked back down the hall, his four men falling into step behind him. Nathaniel grabbed the last one by the elbow and pulled him around to face him. “Come with me,” he whispered, staring into the man’s eyes to put him into a trance.
Benny and his other three men rounded the corner at the far end of the hallway, and either they did not notice or did not care that one of their fellow guards had failed to keep up with them. Nathaniel steered the man into the windowless storeroom where Reed and the others were waiting and shut the door.
“Do not let down your guard,” he said to Reed.
“I won’t,” Reed replied. The tips of the boy’s fangs had emerged as he anticipated witnessing Nathaniel feed.
Nathaniel looked into the man’s eyes once more. “You will not remember any of this. It will not hurt, and you will return to the others when I am done.”
He pulled on the collar of the man’s orange jumpsuit, dragging his head lower so he could reach the taller man’s neck. Hi
s fangs sprang out, and he bit down with relish. Sophie and Trudy both turned away. Perhaps they found this act repulsive, but Nathaniel could not wait another second for he was positively ravenous. He drank his fill of the man’s rich blood, savoring its taste and the delectable feel of it flowing down his throat. When he was done, he licked the puncture wounds closed and swept his tongue over his lips to clean off the excess blood. Then he released the man and went over to the corner of the room, lowering himself to the floor to get some much-needed rest.
Reed
Sophie scowled at me from across the room, arms crossed, daring me to say something about her blabbing to our hosts about Nathaniel being a vampire. I was sick of arguing with her, but seriously . . .
“What were you thinking?” I said.
“I’m a straightforward person, get over it.” Sophie shrugged.
“It doesn’t really matter,” Sarah said. “With that crack about them all being werewolves, Benny and his men thought she was joking.”
Sophie leaned back against a shelf covered with office supplies. She twisted her tall frame around slightly and flipped open the lid of a cardboard box to peek inside. After a casual glance at the contents, she let the lid fall closed. “Even if they had believed me, what’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that I don’t want an angry mob of criminals trying to drive a stake through my heart,” I said.
“Oh, come on. You’re a gazillion times stronger and faster than they are. As if they could do anything to you,” Sophie said. She blew a stray lock of blond hair off her face.
Trudy opened her mouth to speak, then paused for a moment before going ahead. “I think you guys are focusing on the wrong piece of information. Did you hear Benny say the viral problem was limited to the New York City area? It’s not the end of the world after all. That’s relatively good news.”
“She’s right,” Sarah said. “What’s happening in the city is devastating, but it could have been so much worse. If the virus had wiped out every city worldwide, we’d have nowhere to run. As it is, all we have to do is get out of the New York City area and find refuge somewhere else. Think about it, Soph. After we make it to safe ground, we can find a phone and call Mom to let her know we’re all right.”
I felt a sting of envy, knowing I’d never be able to call my own parents again. I closed my eyes and thought about my friends back home in California, and what was left of my extended family. “Speaking of calling people,” I said, “I promised my nana I would get in touch with her. She’s probably worried to death about me, and I told her I’d explain what happened.”
“You did?” Sarah looked at me, her eyebrows crinkling. “When did you do that?”
“Oh . . . yeah.” I looked up at the ceiling before my gaze dropped to my feet. Would Sarah be upset with me for not telling her I’d talked to my nana? “Um, I saw her at my family’s funeral. She came outside for some fresh air and I ran into her.”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Sarah said softly. She came closer and took my hand in hers. “It’s not like you have to report your every move to me, silly. I’m just surprised because you never said anything, that’s all. Sometimes I pick up people’s thoughts without meaning to, but I hadn’t picked up on that. Honestly, I had no idea you’d seen her.”
“I wasn’t ready to talk about it,” I said.
Trudy’s eyes flickered to Sophie and then to Sarah and me. “Maybe you two could use some time alone,” she suggested gently. “Benny said the room next door was free. Sophie and I can stay here and keep an eye on Nathaniel.” She sat down a few feet from Nathaniel’s still form in the corner and removed her glasses, cleaning the lenses with her shirt sleeve.
I looked into Sarah’s eyes, the flecks of gold within the green sparkled. The thought of getting some alone time with her was really appealing, especially if it meant getting away from her annoying sister.
“Great idea,” I said. Sarah smiled at me and I pulled her toward the door.
We stepped out into the empty hall, and tried the door of the neighboring room. It swung open easily, so we went inside and turned on the light. It was nice to have working electricity because it felt normal, even though I could see almost perfectly in the dark.
The room was full of junk–stuff that looked like it should have been thrown out, but got shoved in there instead: a couple of broken chairs, a puke-green bookshelf, some rolled-up posters, and haphazardly stacked cardboard boxes.
Sarah and I found a spot on the floor and sat down. Her hand was still in mine, and the reassuring warmth of her touch seeped into my skin.
We sat face-to-face, cross-legged and she slid her hand up my arm, pushing the sleeve of my shirt higher. Her fingers lightly caressed my pale, white skin. It would take a lot more sun exposure before the skin on my new arm and leg matched the rest of my body.
“How does it feel?” she asked.
“It feels good when you do that,” I said, blushing.
It was crazy to think it hadn’t even been a whole week since that horrible night when we’d been attacked by those two psycho vampires: the sons of the vampire who’d turned me and who I’d accidentally killed by dragging him into the sun. In their twisted version of seeking vengeance for their father’s death, they’d tried to kill me, literally ripping me limb from limb. I remembered the unbelievable pain of my horrid injuries, yet it felt like ages since I’d first discovered my arm and leg had grown back.
“I’m sorry that my sister can be kind of . . .”
“Bitchy?” I said.
Sarah frowned. “I was going to say brash.”
“Brash?”
“Yeah, as in overly straightforward, or harsh. I told you about what happened when we were little, with our mom’s boyfriend, right? He abused Sophie, and she’s had to deal with the emotional fall-out ever since. She doesn’t have much self-confidence, and she compensates for that by putting other people down, or acting like she’s somehow superior to everyone else. Inside, she’s still that scared little girl.”
“I get that, but I’m finding it hard to get along with her. You two are so different.”
Sarah relaxed and released my hands. “I guess there’s no chance of her stealing you away from me then?”
I snorted. “You’re joking, right?”
“Mostly, I guess. I have my own weak points. Want to hear a little piece of my history?”
“Sure, okay.”
“About two years ago, I was dating this guy–it wasn’t anything terribly serious, but I thought things were going pretty well. Anyway, he was at my house fairly often, hanging out, you know. He and Sophie hit it off right from the beginning, which at first I thought was great. Then his friendly teasing with her became more like flirting, and she couldn’t help reciprocating. I was blind to how little he cared about me until it was over. He broke up with me so he could start dating Sophie. Seeing them together was unbearable; it was a double whammy of hurt,” Sarah said.
“Ouch,” I said with a grimace. “I’d say I’m surprised Sophie would do something like that to her own sister, but . . .”
“Yeah, well. They broke up less than two weeks later, but I found it hard to forgive Sophie after that. We all do stupid things when we’re young and in love, but still. I love my sister, and I can’t believe she’d ever do something like that to me again, but a part of me still worries.” She looked at me, eyes questioning.
I held her face in my hands. “Sarah, I don’t know where this is coming from. I feel so lucky to have you, and half the time I wonder what the hell you see in me. I’m just some stupid kid that stumbled into your life. I’ve brought you nothing but trouble. And I swear to God, I’d rather date Nathaniel than your sister.”
We both laughed. Sarah threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. I drank in the smell of her hair, her skin, and every other part of her that mingled together into her unique scent. Her blood tempted my heightened senses, but I held myself in check to satisfy my other urges first.
Our mouths pressed together and I drowned in Sarah’s taste and feel. I was eager to make the most of our rare moment of privacy. As our kiss deepened, my fangs burst out of my gums. We didn’t stop though–Sarah had gotten pretty good at avoiding my razor-like canines so she wouldn’t cut herself.
The door banged open. “Hey, guys–”
Sarah and I jerked apart.
“Oh, of course.” Sophie rolled her eyes.
I covered my face with my hands and shook my head as I felt my fangs retract. Could we possibly have a worse track record for interruptions?
“Sophie,” Sarah groaned with a hint of warning.
“What?” Sophie said. “You guys weren’t about to you-know-what . . . were you?”
“Sophie!” Sarah said through gritted teeth.
I must not kill Sarah’s sister, I thought. I must not kill Sarah’s sister.
“Aren’t you worried about having vampire babies?” Sophie glared at me like I was corrupting her sister.
“Nosy much?” I said, face flaming. I hated to admit Sophie had a point; I had no idea if vampires could impregnate people or not.
“Anyway,” Sophie continued, “the reason I came over here wasn’t to interrupt your little make-out session. I wanted to let you know Nathaniel’s awake, so if you want to join us for the pow-wow or whatever, then you’d better cool off and come next door.” She spun on her heel and left for the other room.
Sarah and I looked at each other. Her eyes searched mine, and I wondered what thoughts she was picking up.
“I don’t want to say it, but my little sister raises a good question,” she said. “The part about getting pregnant accidentally.”
“I’ll talk to Nathaniel about it soon, I promise.” What a fun conversation that would be, I thought.
I stood up and gave Sarah a hand, pulling her to her feet. We left the room and entered the one next door. Nathaniel looked well-rested and even had some color in his cheeks.
“Now that I have had a chance to regain my full strength, we should procure a human for you to feed from, Reed,” Nathaniel said.
