Anderson looked at Emma, and then glanced around the overcrowded tent. “I can’t spare you right now, but I promise as soon as the offensive is over, you can leave.”
Emma shook her head. “I’m leaving now. Under the revised United States Army Regulations of 1861, Article twenty one, subparts one hundred and eighty four through one hundred and eighty seven, I may be granted a leave of absence, not to exceed four months, for reasons of sickness.” Taking a deep breath, Emma continued. “The matter of sickness, and more importantly, who is sick, is not specified.”
“Emma - I understand - but -” Anderson stammered.
Shaking her head, Emma took the letter from her pocket, and handed it to the doctor. “My father and I parted on bad terms. He didn’t approve of me volunteering. I don’t want words spoken in anger to be the last ones he and I share.” She watched Anderson’s face closely, trying to gauge his reaction as he read over Ada’s letter.
Rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, the man exhaled. “How will you get there? The entire region is teeming with Confederate troops. If anything happened to you -”
Emma took the letter back from the doctor. “I’ll stick to the back roads, and hunting paths. I know this part of the country very well. Grafton is a four day walk from here; so I will need to take supplies from the canteen.”
“I don’t want you to do this, Emma.” The man pleaded with her. “It isn’t safe for a woman to be roaming the countryside in the middle of a war.”
“It obviously isn’t any safer for a man doctor.” She looked around at the sea of injured soldiers, and not waiting for a response, turned and left the tent.
Entering her own tent, Emma stripped down to her cotton chemise and stockings. The damp chill in the air sent a shiver up her spine as she began to layer her clothing. Pulling a pair of brown trousers on, she then pulled a cotton shirt over her head, and tucked it into the waistband of the pants. She only had two dresses to choose from, and opted for the thicker wool dress. Emma picked the tattered, black leather high boots up off the floor, and sitting of the side of her cot pulled them on and began lacing them up.
She rose from the cot, and looking around, saw very little she could take with her. She rolled her bedding up, including a five by five swath of canvas, and tucked it inside the mail carrier style leather bag she had, along with a spare pair of stockings. Exiting her tent, she ran directly into Lewis Thomas, and stumbled backwards a few steps before the man quickly reached for and steadied her.
“Oh, ma’am. I am so sorry. Are you okay?” His hand was wrapped firmly around her bicep.
“I’m okay Lewis.” She glanced over his shoulder, nervous Coleen might be with him. She couldn’t think about her now. The mixture of desire and frustration she felt toward the woman would only further intensify if she had to face her before leaving the camp.
“Are you going somewhere?” Lewis let go of her arm, and looked at the bag slung over her shoulder.
“I have to go home to Grafton. My father is ill.” Emma began walking toward the canteen and supply tents.
“That seems very dangerous.” The corporal fell into step next to Emma.
“These are dangerous times, Lewis.” Emma liked the handsome man. After all, he had saved her life, but she was tired of justifying her decision.
“Very true ma’am.” Lewis continued alongside Emma without speaking another word.
Emma knew the sergeant in charge of the canteen and supply tent from when she had helped him when his gout had flared up; so when she asked him for a pouch of matches, a dozen candles, and a week’s rations he hesitated only a second before honoring her request.
Stepping out of the supply tent, Emma saw Lewis standing nearby, leaning against a pine tree. She walked toward the young man, who wore a worried expression on his perfectly symmetrical face. “Don’t look so concerned, Lewis. I’ve lived in this area my whole life. I know the roads and the hunting paths very well.”
Lewis nodded. “I have no doubt that of all the people in this camp, you would be the most likely to succeed in this endeavor.”
Emma appreciated that he had said people and not women. “Thank you, Lewis. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Doctor Anderson is aware I’ve left.” She hesitated, not sure if she should mention Coleen. “Tell your cousin I’ll see her when I get back.”
Lewis frowned. “Coleen won’t be here. She mentioned an assignment in Pennsylvania.”
Emma struggled not to feel hurt that Coleen would initiate a physical relationship with her knowing she was leaving the camp. “Regardless, tell her goodbye for me.” Emma felt tears begin burning her eyes, and she walked away from Lewis before she embarrassed herself.
“Be careful, Emma.” Lewis’ voice was sincere and layered with concern.
Not looking back, Emma walked quickly toward the road leading west.
***
Emma sat under a canvas square she had strung up between two trees, the patter of rain the only sound in an otherwise silent forest. She had draped a blanket over her head and shoulders to ward off the night chill, and was managing to keep a small fire going, though the heat it provided was minimal.
For the past three days, she had traversed the valleys, hills and forests of northwest Virginia into West Virginia. Her legs ached and her back was in knots from the strenuous climbing. She had stayed mainly on a network of hunting paths, trying to minimize the amount of time she was on main roads. On the second day, she had heard musket and cannon fire in the distance, but other than that, the journey had been free of altercations.
She had cleared a lower ridge of the Allegheny Mountains earlier that evening, and by her estimate was less than a half day’s travel from Grafton. Huddled under the small strip of canvas, Emma leaned as close as she could to the small fire. Her hands were outstretched in front of her, trying to draw as much heat into her body as possible.
It was the early spring. Although the days were mild, the chill that set in at night, along with the rain, caused Emma to shake with cold. Pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders, she knew sleep would not come easily, if at all. Turning to lay on her side, with her back to the warmth of the fire, Emma closed her eyes, and willed the tension from her body. Just as she thought sleep might take her, she heard a cracking of tree branches, and a rustling of leaves from just outside the glow of her camp fire.
Sitting up, Emma reached for the small canteen to her right, and quickly poured water from it onto the fire. The darkness of the night enveloped her. Turning her head toward the sound, she listened closely, but all she could hear was the rain. Squinting into the darkness, Emma could see the forest was dark and deep. The shadows cluttered with trees and rocks. A shiver ran up Emma’s back, and she cringed against it, willing the sour fear that was rising to the back of her throat away.
A low growl came from behind her. Fearful any sudden movement might provoke whatever animal was upon her, Emma sat perfectly still, her eyes wide with fright. Another ominous growl, this time from directly in front of her, filled the night air. Peering into the darkness, Emma could see two iridescent green orbs fixed on her. Just as her mind registered the need to run, Emma was hit by a solid object that left her lying flat on her back.
Gasping for breath, Emma opened her eyes to see the cloudy night sky overhead. Whatever had hit her had shoved her out from under the protection of the canvas tarp. She lay now, on her back and fully exposed in the middle of the forest. The rain splashed on her face, as she sat up. Before she could roll over and get to her knees, she was struck again from the side.
The fear from earlier was replaced by a desperate need to survive. Scrambling to her hands and knees, Emma tried to stand, but to her dismay her right leg would not support her. She grabbed at the useless limb, and a stabbing pain ran up her thigh and along her hip. She pulled her hand back, and even in the darkness, she could see blood.
Dragging herself along with no destination in mind, only the need to flee whatever it was attacking h
er, Emma managed to prop herself up, and lean her back against the trunk of a large tree.
Turning her head to the left, and then quickly back to the right, Emma’s breath came in short stops and starts. Her heart raced, and in spite of the chill in the air, sweat coated her forehead and back. A sudden movement to her right was immediately followed by a sharp, searing pain in her neck. To her horror, Emma realized the thing attacking her was a woman. She was clad in a pair of dark trousers and a thin brown shirt. Her auburn hair was thick, curly and strewn wildly around her pale face.
Pushing against the narrow shoulders of her attacker, Emma tried desperately to dislodge the woman. Looking up into the woman’s eyes, Emma breath caught as iridescent emeralds stared back at her. She heard a popping and tearing sound as the other woman tore into her throat. Her own blood ran down Emma’s neck, and the warmth of the liquid contrasted with the cold night air.
A painful heat began to spread through her body, and the sound of rain and the pounding of her own heart were drowned out by a loud sucking sound. Emma realized the sound was emanating from the woman as she pulled blood from her throat in gulps.
Her head began to spin, and a wave of nausea washed over her. Tears streamed down the sides of her face as she realized she was dying. Just as quickly as the woman had been upon her, she was gone. Her vision having narrowed to a single dim point, Emma was only partially aware there was a struggle going on to her left. The sound of branches snapping, followed by low growls, and heated words ricocheted off her ears.
Emma tried to take a deep breath, but instead of her lungs filling with air, her ears filled with a wet, strangled sound coming from the gaping tears in her throat and windpipe. Bringing her hands to her throat in an effort to stem the bleeding, Emma choked and coughed as blood ran into her lungs. She was dying, and was amazed at how easy it was.
With one final gasp, Emma’s hands fell from her throat. The numbness and cold that had started in her hands and feet, was now spreading through her stomach and up into her chest. She wasn’t aware of her head being carefully lifted from the hard, cold ground before a bitter, cold liquid with the texture of syrup was forced into her mouth and down her throat. There was a faint, slow thumping in Emma’s ears as her heart seized, and she died.
***
Emma had vanished unwillingly into a vast, silent void. She had been violently ripped from her body, and thrust back into it with a jolt of electricity. The energy of the world hummed around her, until it came to a single high pitched point at the center of her brain. Ripples from that humming coursed out to her arms and legs, bouncing back into the center of her chest where it rested as an intense, torturous burning.
“Emma, it’s going to be alright. It’s Lewis. Corporal Lewis.” Emma recognized the man’s voice, but it sounded different. It was no longer comprised of a single tone, but rather infinite layers of sound, one upon the other.
Her eyes burned nearly as bad as her chest. The darkness of the night had been replaced with a brilliant sun. “Le- Lewis?” Emma managed to speak through what felt like glass in her throat.
“Shhh. It’s best not to talk for the first few hours.” The man’s hand gently stroked Emma’s cheek, the coolness of his touch from before no longer evident.
Emma needed to sit up. Hardly had the thought crossed her mind then she was on her feet, having pushed off of Lewis who now lay sprawled on the forest floor. Squinting against the light, Emma scanned her surroundings. The trees seemed to fold in on one another, the texture of their bark and leaves spiraling out from enormous trunks.
Lewis was standing in front of Emma, his hands outstretched. “It’s okay. You were attacked, and I intervened.” As beautiful as the man had been before, Emma gasped at the how flawless and perfect he appeared now.
“What’s happened?” Emma grabbed at her throat, expecting to feel the jagged edges of torn flesh and bone. Instead, the skin was smooth and unblemished.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I blame myself for leaving you unattended while I hunted.” Lewis’ blue eyes were full of worry.
“What wasn’t supposed to happen?” Emma swallowed, the burning in her throat growing painful.
“You were attacked by a - a vampire. She meant to kill you, but I managed to fight her off.” Lewis took a tentative step toward Emma. “I couldn’t let you die for my mistake.”
Emma wasn’t able to make any sense of the words Lewis was speaking. She opened and closed her mouth, her jaw popping as she stretched her neck to the left. “I’m thirsty.”
Lewis nodded. “These things usually happen under more controlled conditions. I - I don’t know what to do for you.” The man looked down. “I’ve never made anyone before.”
Emma frowned. “Made?”
Lewis looked up. “I made you into a vampire, Emma.”
“I don’t understand you.” Emma took her first breath in through her nose. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she caught a minerally, metallic scent. Without warning, her incisors extended and pushed against her lower lip. Reaching to cover her mouth, she looked at Lewis, her eyes wide with fear. “What’s happening to me?”
“Your senses are all heightened. You can smell and hear things that are miles away.” The man slowly reached out and moved Emma’s hand away from her mouth. “You feed on blood, so your teeth are sharp to aid in that.”
Emma jerked her hand away from Lewis. The mention of blood, and the visual it put in Emma’s mind, caused a tightening in her chest, and the burning in her throat raged. Swallowing several times, she stepped back from Lewis. “I’m so thirsty.” There was a slight tickle inside her left ear, and then a second later, a low, steady thudding sound filled her head.
Without warning, Emma was sprinting through the forest at speeds she couldn’t imagine. Coming to a sheer rock wall, simply wanting to scale it propelled her upward and over the twenty foot structure. Landing on a flat ledge, Emma crouched on all fours, her head turned upward as the metallic scent filled her senses.
The thudding in her ears was getting louder as she sprinted into a clearing. Emma was only vaguely aware of how long she had been running, but she knew she had traversed many miles in a short period of time. She stopped suddenly, her gaze cast skyward at the rustic cross atop her father’s church. The white paint seemed translucent to her new eyes, and seeing the sky for the first time, Emma was mesmerized by the spinning and turning of the stars and moon above her.
Looking around, Emma realized, in spite of the brightness of her own vision, that it was still a few hours before dawn. The metallic scent wafted over her again. Emma’s stomach cramped, and she doubled over in pain. While on her knees she heard the fall of footsteps from behind the church.
“Emma?” It was her sister’s husband, David. He smelled like honey and musk as he walked toward her, a wooden crutch under his left arm. Awkwardly, he knelt down next to Emma. “What are you doing here?” His hand was on her shoulder, warm and pulsing blood below the skin reverberated through Emma.
Independent of any reason, Emma turned her head, and in the blink of an eye sank her teeth into David’s hand. Crying out in pain, David stumbled backwards clutching his injured limb. The crutch lay next to Emma, forcing the terrified man to turn and with a severe limp, hobbled inside the church.
Emma heaved in a deep breath. The blood tasted of spearmint as she licked and lapped at the remnants on her lips. David’s heart beat was a steady flutter inside the church. His breathing was rapid, the breath expelling his scent out into the air where Emma inhaled it deeply. With a single thought, she was at the door of the church, the metal door latch in her hand, and a split second later, the door was flung twenty feet behind her.
She couldn’t see David, but his heart beat pounded in her ears, causing her to feel dizzy. Following the sound, Emma rounded the end of a wooden pew to find the terrified man huddled on the floor. Flipping the pew into the air, Emma rushed toward David.
Grabbing him by the throat
, she pulled him toward her, and sank her teeth into the warm suppleness of his throat. She tore through skin, muscle, and bone, swallowing the blood greedily as it gushed into her mouth. The burning in her throat and chest were replaced by a static charge of energy throughout her entire body, and a strength she had never known coursed into her muscles.
As the man’s heart stopped, Emma became keenly aware the blood began to taste bitter. Pulling her mouth away, she held David’s limp body a foot off the ground as she examined his still, expressionless face. Dropping the corpse to the wood planked floor of the church, she turned toward the doorway. Within a minute Emma stood on a modest front porch.
A single heartbeat formed a pulsating point in Emma’s mind as it was quicker than the other two slower heartbeats coming from the house. The wet minerally scent of blood, mixed with lilac, brought Emma’s senses into sharp focus as she charged through the door of the house, and up the narrow flight of steps.
Her need for blood was insatiable as she lunged toward the sleeping figure. Twisting the human’s head back, Emma bit into the sweet skin just above where the neck and shoulder met. Ripping the flesh and muscle free of the tendons, she quickly returned her mouth to the gaping wound, and began gulping the delectable blood.
Drinking to the point where she could no longer hear the human’s heartbeat, Emma dropped the limp body and stood. Breathing in through her nose, she reveled in the fading scent of living blood. Wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand, Emma looked down at the lifeless figure.
Had she still a heartbeat, it would have stopped in that moment. Emma clutched at her chest as a chasm of regret formed within her. Falling to her knees, she was consumed with wrenching sobs that shook her entire frame. Her sister Mary’s lifeless body was nestled in the blood soaked sheets.
There was a firm hand on Emma’s shoulder, and a familiar voice close to her ear. “Emma, we need to go.”
Becoming Forever (Waking Forever Series) Page 24
