Burn Falls

by Kimberly Knight

  The flight doctors had packed the wound with gauze and used compression to try to stop the bleeding, but now it was seeping through the material. I pulled the gauze away to inspect the wound, and the moment I saw it up close, my mouth gaped open. If I could have stopped breathing, I would have. To the human eye, it would look as though an animal had taken two chunks out of the patient’s neck, but I knew differently. They were vampire fang bites. I’d seen this kind of bite many times before, and I, myself, had caused this wound before—but never to the point where they ended up in the emergency room.

  “Are you okay?” Rosey, my lead nurse, asked as we wheeled the bed into the elevator.

  I knew I wasn’t hiding my shock, but this man had been bitten by a vampire, and therefore, I knew there was another vamp in Burn Falls. In the five years I’d lived in Alaska, I’d yet to come across another vampire other than my friend Athan, and that was only when he visited me.

  “Where was he attacked again?” I asked, placing the bandage back on the wound and using pressure to try to stop the bleeding again. I needed to know where, when, and most definitely who.

  “Burn Falls,” Rosey reminded me.

  “Right. But where?” I prodded as the elevator dinged opened onto the surgery floor. We rushed straight into the operating room.

  “Flight team didn’t say,” she responded.

  Of course they didn’t. I needed to talk to TJ as soon as this surgery was over.

  While the anesthesiologist started his IV to administer the anesthesia, my team and I scrubbed in so we could begin the procedure. When the anesthesiologist gave the nod, I stepped closer. “Let’s get the bandage off and see exactly what we have.” I removed the gauze and handed it to Rosey. Blood was still gushing from the patient’s neck and if I didn’t repair the artery stat, he would die on my table.

  “Ten blade,” I requested.

  I made the incision, and the crimson blood spewed profusely. Even though I’d fed recently, my mouth started to water. “Irrigation please.” I grabbed the clamp the nurse was holding and began to repair the artery after they sterilized the wound.

  As I was making the repair, a nurse came in. “The family have arrived and want an update.”

  “Tell them he’s in safe hands, and let them know that as soon as we’re done in here, I’ll go out and give an update.”

  After testing that the artery was repaired, we made the decision to put Mr. O’Bannion in a medically induced coma because of the amount of blood loss and lack of oxygen to the brain from the time he was attacked until I was able to repair the artery. I knew he wouldn’t survive, but I couldn’t make that call while he still had a pulse.

  Once I cleaned myself up enough to return downstairs to the waiting room, I left to break the news to the family and find out all the information I could. There were several people waiting when I entered the area.

  “O’Bannion?” I called out.

  “Yes?” I turned my head to see three women and one male rushing toward me. “I’m his wife, and these are my children,” the older woman stated.

  “I’m Dr. Young. Let’s go inside the hall where it’s a little quieter.” I gestured to the door that I’d just entered through.

  They all started to move as I held the door open with my hand, and when I saw the one who I assumed was the oldest of the siblings, the one who discovered her father bleeding to death, I had an uncontrollable urge to reach out and touch her. My hand went to her lower back, and feeling the heat radiate off her body sent an unfamiliar ping to my dick. I’d been with many women since my transition, but none had this instant effect on me. It was the vulnerability in her deep-green eyes, and those curves. I just wanted to pull her into my arms and comfort her.

  “How’s my husband?” Mrs. O’Bannion asked once we were all through the doorway. I noted her taking deep breaths, no doubt in an effort to stay calm.

  “He’s stable for now, but his carotid artery was severed, and he’s lost a lot of blood.”

  “Will he be okay?” the male asked, clearing his throat.

  I smiled tightly. “It’s too soon to tell. Because of the blood loss, there’s a chance he’s sustained damage to his major organs including his brain. For now, we’ve put him in a medically induced coma to give his body a chance to recover. I’d like to get more info about the attack so I have a better timeline and know how much blood he’s lost.”

  All eyes turned to the woman I’d touched. “I was the one to find him.”

  I nodded. “Can you tell me what you’ve told the police?”

  “Sure.” She rubbed the back of her neck as though she was nervous or stressed. “I’d been helping my dad at our distillery with some paperwork after lunch, and I’d lost track of time. I hadn’t realized the sun had set, but when I heard a scream, I jumped up and ran toward it.” She broke off into a sob. “I rounded the corner and saw him lying on the ground.”

  I didn’t understand why the vampire had chosen to attack someone while he was at work and while others were around. It made no sense. “Let’s have a seat,” I suggested, gesturing toward the chairs that lined the wall. After we all sat, I pulled my chair in front of the young woman. “Now, take your time. A nurse said something about a man being there?”

  “Yes … He was kneeling over my father’s body, and then he was gone.”

  “Do you know what he looked like?” Normally I wouldn’t ask this because it was a job for the police, and it was their responsibility to open an investigation, but given the circumstances, I needed to know.

  She shook her head. “No. It all happened so fast.”

  I placed my hand on her knee, needing to feel her heat again. “It’s okay—”

  “It’s not okay,” she cried, her beautiful emerald eyes rimmed with red. “How will the cops be able to catch him if they don’t know who they’re looking for?”

  The sister wrapped her arm around the woman’s shoulder and hugged her. “It’s okay, Calla. They’ll find him.”

  The mother tsked as if she were annoyed that her daughter didn’t get a full description of the guy, but I was actually surprised she’d caught even the slightest glimpse of the vampire given our amplified hearing and speed.

  “Let’s not worry about that right now,” I said. “We should focus on your father’s recovery. He’s on antibiotics to prevent a possible infection, and we’re monitoring his vital signs.” There wouldn’t be an infection from a vampire bite, but I obviously couldn’t tell them that.

  “Right,” Calla sighed. “I just don’t understand why he would be attacked.”

  “You said yourself that you don’t know how long you were doing paperwork. Is it possible he went out during that time? Maybe the guy brought him in, panicked, and then left?”

  “I guess so, but who attacks someone by biting them?”

  “Mike Tyson,” the boy scoffed.

  “Alastair!” the mom hissed and I tried to hide my smile.

  “I can’t listen to this anymore,” the younger girl said and stood.

  “Why don’t you all go grab some coffee? You don’t need to hear this,” Calla suggested.

  “Calla’s right,” the younger daughter agreed. “Let’s go find some food or something.”

  “What if your father wakes up?” the mother asked.

  “I can assure you that it won’t be for several hours if he wakes,” I stated.

  “Just go. I have a few more things to tell Dr. Young,” Calla spoke.

  I watched as the three others left, and then turned my attention back to Calla, my gaze going straight to the pulsing vein on her neck. I needed another bag of blood or Calla would find out exactly what type of people attacked others by biting them.

  “What is it that you need to tell me?”

  She looked away, and I saw a tear drop from where it had settled on her cheek and onto her black co
at. “You said that he lost a lot of blood and his organs could be damaged?”

  I nodded.

  “Do you know how much he lost?”

  “I’m not one-hundred percent sure yet, but given his carotid artery was severed and the amount of blood on the table, it was several liters.”

  “He lost a lot at the distillery.”

  I touched her knee again because I knew the chances weren’t good for him. The only way for him to survive would be if I turned him myself, but I’d never turned someone, and I wasn’t doing it now.

  “He’s getting a transfusion now, and hopefully he’ll make a full recovery once we bring him out of the coma.”

  She nodded, tears still streaming down her face.

  “Is there anything else before I go back to check on him?”

  Calla sighed. “I want you to give it to me straight, Dr. Young. Is my father going to be okay?”

  The answer was no, but for some reason, I couldn’t tell this woman the truth because a part of me wanted to prevent any more pain that she’d have to go through. “It’s too soon to tell. He might make a full recovery and we’ll know more after at least seventy-two hours. I’ll go check on him now and in the meantime, get something to eat and drink with your family, and go home if you need to. It might be several hours before we know anything.”

  She nodded. “Thank you, Dr. Young, but I’m staying.”

  After my shift ended, I changed out of my scrubs and dialed Athan. “Any chance you’re near Anchorage?”

  “I’m in Russia, working.”

  I closed my eyes for a brief second. “Fuck.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  “Human guy just turned up in my ER with a vampire bite. You know if anyone is in the area?”

  “Haven’t heard anything, and I’m flyin’ solo here in Russia as usual.”

  “Well, apparently I’m not any longer. My patient was attacked in Burn Falls, my fuckin’ doorstep.”

  “Just because no one has taken up residence in bum-fuck Alaska besides you, doesn’t mean they were never going to go there. No telling how many more humans Renzo’s army has turned since we left in ‘32. There has to be thousands of us by now.”

  “Yeah, but Burn Falls has an almost zero crime rate and a small number of residents. There are only distillery workers here, and a few people who don’t want to live in Anchorage, and that’s an hour away.”

  “Ten minutes on foot.”

  “I drive for appearances.”

  “Right. Well, you like BF, so why wouldn’t someone else?”

  “I don’t know,” I sighed. “Someone winds up on my table with a vampire bite, I get suspicious. We don’t go around killing people.”

  “Look, I’m about to go underground for the day. When I wake, I’ll call Peppe and see if he knows of anyone who wants to call Alaska home.”

  After we left Chicago, a few years passed before we came across another vampire. Luckily, he wasn’t a part of Renzo’s mob. He was actually from Italy, and like Athan and I, he moved to keep up appearances. I hadn’t seen Giuseppe (or the nickname we use, Peppe) in seventy years, but somehow he and Athan had kept in touch.

  “Do me one better and get your ass here. If it is the expansion, I’ll need your help.”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll catch a flight tomorrow night if it’s available.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out in the meantime, too.”

  “Was the victim anyone important?”

  “It was O’Bannion. He owns the distillery.”

  “Fuckin’ delicious whiskey.”

  I chuckled. While food had no nutritional value to vampires, alcohol could get us drunk once we fed and got the blood pumping through our veins. “O’Bannion was found on the ground by his daughter in a pool of blood. We have him in recovery, but you know as well as I do that given what the daughter saw, he was being fed on.”

  “You need to turn him.”

  “I’m not fucking turning him,” I snapped.

  “What will happen to his whiskey? I live off of three things: blood, pussy, and whiskey.”

  I smiled. I did too. “There are other brands.”

  “They taste like shit.”

  “You know what shit tastes like?” I joked.

  “Fuck no. All I’m saying is I prefer his whiskey. You need to save him.”

  “I’m not turning him.”

  “I will then.”

  “Athan,” I scolded.

  “Fine. When I get there, I’ll compel a worker to give me the recipe.”

  “Can we focus on the other vampire killing innocent people in my fucking town first?”

  “Yeah. I’ll call you when I’m on my way, and after I’ve made a few calls.”

  Athan had called me the night before with no leads on who could be in my town and to let me know he was on his way. We planned to meet at the distillery once I finished my shift to see if there were any reason other than O’Bannion being attacked for a feeding. I still couldn’t get over the fact that he was attacked while there were other humans nearby because there was no way he didn’t know Calla was there. We could hear and smell humans from several yards away. Plus, we could track someone in a crowd by their perfume, deodorant or lack of. Every human had a unique scent. Calla’s was lemons and lavender.

  O’Bannion was still in a coma, and Calla and her family had high hopes that he’d wake. I tried to tell them that he wouldn’t, but giving grieving family members bad news wasn’t always reciprocated correctly. I also tried to stay as far away from Calla as I could. There was something that made me want to compel her. Something that made me want to find out all her secrets. Especially her dirty ones.

  When I did my checks on her father, I could feel her eyes on me. I could also hear her heart beat faster which only fueled my attraction toward her. I could easily put an end to their hope and get them out of my hospital where I wasn’t tempted by Calla and her curves, but something inside of me told me to keep her around. Maybe it was the fact I needed to find out more about the vamp that attacked her father. She was, after all, the only one who saw him.

  When I got closer to the distillery, I saw Athan leaning against a street light. I’d known him a long time, and he was the only other vampire I trusted. He was like a brother to me, and we almost looked alike. We were both six-foot with the same finger-length brown hair, and black eyes, but where I was clean shaven, he had a light beard.

  “I had a quick look around, but there’s nothing to find,” he said as his hello.

  “Fuck.”

  “Wanna do a sweep yourself?”

  “No, I trust you. I need to get in the building somehow.” I wasn’t in the habit of breaking into places, but that was what I needed to do to see everything there was to see inside. “I also need a chance to question Miles’s daughter again. I’ll compel her so she’ll tell me something that wouldn’t have occurred to her human mind.”

  Athan nodded. “I want to know about anything you find out.”

  “Of course. Let’s get inside.”

  There were no doors unlocked, but we were able to climb onto the roof and enter through an unlocked window at the top of the building. There was nothing to see except the blood stain that was still soaked into the concrete of the floor.

  I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

  CHAPTER THREE

  My dad had been in a coma for three days. He’d missed Christmas, and Dr. Young wasn’t sure when, or if, he’d ever wake up again.

  The last two days, my brother, sister, and I had gone back and forth to Burn Falls every morning and night while my mother stayed next to my dad’s bedside waiting for him to stir. Waiting for any sign that he was getting better. Today I had finally convinced my mother to go home for the night, take a long, hot bath, and have a good night’s sleep before returni
ng in the morning. She and my siblings had left about an hour ago, and I was left to finally process everything alone before Dr. Young made his rounds.

  The police had no leads as to who attacked my father, and I couldn’t give them a full description of the perpetrator because I never got a good look in the few seconds I saw him. I couldn’t even wrap my head around how fast he’d disappeared. One second he was there, and the next he wasn’t.

  I was reading on my e-reader when a text chirped on my phone. Valencia

  How’s your dad?

  I sighed as I texted her back:

  Still the same.

  I wish I were there with you.

  Me too.

  V didn’t text back right away, so I went back to my reading. Several minutes later, my phone finally chirped with another text.

  I can catch a flight Friday morning.

  My eyes widened as I read her message.

  What? You’re not serious?

  You’re my best friend, and I want to be there for you.

  I’m spending all of my time at the hospital.

  And I’ll be there with you until they kick me out at night.

  What about Chance? Don’t you have NYE plans?

  You’re more important.

  I smiled mirthlessly at her words as they warmed my heart. Even though my mom and siblings were with me most of the time, I felt as though I was alone in this, as though all the weight was on my shoulders.

  I’m okay for now, and the hospital might not be happy about more visitors in his room. I’ll let you know if I change my mind.

  Okay, but I’m serious. Just let me know, and I’ll be on a plane.

  Love you.

  Love you more.

  I returned back to my novel as I waited for Dr. Young to make his nightly visit. His visits were always the highlight of the entire ordeal, and when he was in the room, I couldn’t help but stare at him. I couldn’t help it. He was tall, had brown hair, and hot as hell—all of the qualities I looked for in a man. He was also a doctor, so that was a plus. A man like him would never go for a chubby girl like me, but that didn’t stop me from staring at his profile as he typed on the computer. The way he’d smile warmly at me as though he could hear my beating heart pounding in my chest caused me to stutter any words I spoke to him.