When I woke up, Simon was gone. I reached out to try to find him. I couldn't even feel him. On the ground near me were drops of dried blood. I didn't smell them until I saw them. They had the taint of vampire. Now that I was a werewolf, all of them smelled the same, and they all smelled like death. There would never be another Harold or Charles for me, no beautiful lies wrapped in dead bodies smelling of summer and love.
He was hurt, I thought lazily. He had gotten hurt and I'd slept through it all. After changing in and out of wolf form it was no surprise that a fight could have happened over my head. A bomb could have gone off over my head without waking me.
I still had my bag and all my limbs, which meant that Simon won. But he would need healing. I tried to think of how he'd gotten healed before. He'd mentioned Peru. So I would go and find him. I picked my bag up and dreamily walked toward the main street. Two men blocked my path. I couldn't understand the words, but I was glad that they hadn't arrived when I was still unconscious. Their kind existed everywhere there were humans. All I was to them was an easy target with no underwear on.
Let them try.
They learned their lesson the hard way when I charged them both and took all the cash they had. At the airport, I ate at a "by the pound" buffet until I was full. It cost all of my stolen cash, but it was worth it.
At the ticket counter, I had a moment’s hesitation before I asked for a "one-way ticket to Peru, please."
"Where in Peru?" the pretty Grecian girl asked.
"Um… Wherever Machu Picchu is, I guess." It was the only thing I knew of in Peru.
The girl called to someone else and asked, "Machu Picchu? Cuzco, right?"
"Uh, yeah. Cuzco," the other girl said.
"Okay, when would you like to depart?"
"Now."
"I see. We don't have any direct flights, but we have a connecting flight that leaves in about… an hour."
"Sounds great."
"Would you like to upgrade to business or first class?"
I thought about the small amount of money I had left. "No thanks."
"Here you are, you're all set. If you need to check anything, you should get started now."
"Thank you," I said, before going through the turnstile toward security.
When I boarded the plane, I sniffed and probed for any sign of Simon. I didn't feel anything, but I didn't worry.
When we got the on-flight meal, I asked the flight attendant if he could help me out with a study I was participating in and bring me any leftover meal trays. I was actually surprised when he agreed and even more surprised when he brought three trays and a fancy plate from first class.
"One of the passengers asked where I was going with all the trays and when I told her, she wanted to send you her plate as well. She said she’s a scientist herself."
I smiled and thanked him. That was our little trick on the plane- mine and Simon’s. We always ate like kings, anywhere in the world. Later, I crept up to the first class section and looked around. No one was familiar. No one was a vampire, or a werewolf, or a serial killer. Not that I would know for sure if they were a serial killer.
Reassured, I settled back into my own seat, pulled the thin fleece blanket up onto my lap, fluffed the pillow, put on the complimentary headphones, and took a nap for the rest of the flight. I needed to save my energy for Machu Picchu. I didn't know if that's where he would be, but it was as good a place as any to start.
Special Thanks
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The Beast Page 21
