by S. L. Eaves
Rex is awake when I return, peeling bloody sheets off the bed.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Better, thanks. Did you stay with me all day?”
“Wish I could say yes,” he smiles through sleep-filled eyes. “I've been helping Xan prep for tonight. I brought you blood a few hours ago, must've nodded off.”
“I think we were all exhausted from last night. You ever go up against that many wolves before?”
He shakes his head. “Never. It was a bit of a shock. They are much stronger than I expected.”
Rex hadn't participated in the werewolf war. My understanding is he was in Afghanistan trying to rejoin the Army during that time. When he realized assimilating wasn't going to work he reconnected with Vega. Since Vega avoided involvement in the war, by association, I doubt Rex had much exposure to their kind before last night.
“If Striden turned them, they were all Betas. It's the equivalent of going up against vampires turned directly by a Pureblood. It's likely that was the case given his fairly urgent need for a strong army in short amount of time. They were new but they were strong. How's Dade doing?”
“Last I checked, he hadn't regained consciousness.”
“Damn. He can't join us tonight. Even if he comes to, he won't be in any shape to fight. We're going to need you more than ever.”
Rex nods. “I feel like I'm better prepared to go up against my own kind, as reprehensible as that sounds.”
I dig the few weapons I have out of my bag. Rex picks up one of the guns.
“Regular bullets?”
“Yeah. They’ll do for tonight. I know first-hand how effective they can be at incapacitating a vampire. We’re going to be out-numbered and bullets are our best chance at disabling a high volume quickly. It gives us time to put the wood and holy water to use.”
“Good point.” He hands me the gun. “Xan and I may be able to hook you up with some upgrades.”
“Great. And ammo. We need to take stock of our inventory for tonight.”
“That's a nice pendant. I don't think I've noticed it before.” Rex points at my chest. Confused at first, I look down at the amethyst Adrian gave me. I don't even recall the last time I saw it, let alone wore it. After what happened on the roof, the pendant materializing barely registers.
“Thanks. Forgot I was wearing it,” I cover. “It was a gift.”
“Lucky charm?” he jokes.
“God if this is lucky, I prefer not to be.”
“You say that now, but Striden might beg to differ.”
“Ha, you got me there,” I concede, slipping the necklace under my shirt.
“How did you do it?” Rex asks as he polishes my knife.
When I give him a quizzical look, because let's face it, there could be a number of answers to that, he clarifies, “Rejoin society, I mean?”
“The hardest part was getting the money. I considered hiring a hacker to move funds electronically and ultimately opted for robbing banks after hours. It was easier and didn’t involve anyone else. No one was hurt. Since we can move so fast, the cameras couldn't catch more than a blur. And I could hit multiple locations in multiple states in a single night. I had millions in just a few night's work. Then it was just a matter of securing fake IDs, figuring out a place to live, and sourcing food. Money opens doors, so all the pieces came together easier than you might expect. Why?”
“So you bought a house, fortified it against the sun, and robbed blood banks?”
“Something like that.”
He waits for me to elaborate, so I tell him about the apartment I customized, the private blood bank I bought ownership in, and the nighttime gigs I'd held over the years. He sits on the cot and listens intently while I smoke and pace the room, patiently answering his questions and explaining the biggest challenges of it. When I'm done he smiles.
“It sounds like a nice life you carved out for yourself.”
“It was. I guess. Mostly it’s what I needed after everything that happened since I was turned. I needed time away to clear my head and feel a level of freedom I didn't have when Catch brought me into all this.”
He nods thoughtfully. A pensive expression on his face.
“You're thinking of doing the same.”
After a moment, he finally makes eye contact.
“First, this isn't about last night. It's something I started planning months before all the shit hit the fan.”
He digs a passport out of his back pocket and hands it to me. In it is his photo with a new name, social security number, even a couple stamps on it for authenticity. It's a good start.
“I need a change. Don't get me wrong, it's been great feeling like I was part of something, feeling needed, but my heart's not in it any more. I joined the clan to feel a sense of belonging. I was a nomad traveling with Vega, I wanted stability. I didn't sign on for all the killing. It's causing me flashbacks from when I served in the Army as a human. I feel like a soldier reliving the trauma over and over again. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up and maintain my sanity.”
I offer an empathetic smile. “Welcome to my world. That's essentially why I stepped away. The preserving sanity part, that is.”
“Please don't tell the others. I don't know how they'll react.”
“I won't. But you should at least tell Crina. Don't blindside her.”
“She won't care. What we had has fizzled out over the last year or so.”
“Still, she probably cares more than she lets on. It's kind of her M.O.”
“Yeah, I guess I should. I just don't want her - or any of them - thinking I want to leave the clan in the midst of everything. Or that I'm a liability if my heads not in it. Because it is. I want to end this. I will help carry out the plan, I will see this through. I'm no coward, I'm not walking away mid fight. But when the dust settles, I'm striking out on my own.” His tone becomes increasingly more confident with every word.
“I understand. Trust me, more than anyone here, I get it. It's your personal decision. You have the right to build a better life for yourself. Hell, when this is over I'll hand you the keys to my apartment in the city.”
“You're not going back?”
I shake my head. “No, that chapter is over I'm afraid. I loved that apartment though. It's fortified against the sunlight and it's paid for. It's even furnished. Though fair warning - the security system needs some upgrades.” I force a smile.
“Turn-key ready? Isn't that what they call it?” He slides the passport back in his pocket. “Where will you go after this?”
After a long silence filled by me taking an exorbitant amount of time lighting a cigarette, I finally tell him what, deep down, he already knows.
“This is it for me. I'm confident we can take out Malik’s vampires, but the Purebloods are another story. They have me in their grasp and there's only one way out that I can see.”
“There's got to be another way. We will find another way.”
“No. We won't do anything. You rise against them and it will only end in glass coffins and sunlight.”
Rex stands, wraps me up in his big burly arms. I rest my head on his shoulder. He starts to protest further.
“It's fine, Rex. This is where I belong,” I interrupt. “I didn't see it before because I didn't want to. Because before it wasn't my choice. Ultimately, I've come to realize that here with the clan, fighting for something better, is all I ever wanted. This violent world hasn't changed me, I've changed it.”
I kiss him. We hold it for longer than we should. The chemistry is still there, alive and well. Our relationship was never serious. It never had a chance to be. Standing here in his embrace reminds me how much I've missed him. It feels like just yesterday when I walked away.
When we finally break I rest my forehead against his.
“I should go,” he whispers. We're both slowly backing away. “Thanks for the talk. I'm glad you're healed. I'm going to check on Dade.”
“That's a good idea.
”
He heads for the door and points at the glass of blood he left on the crate. “Finish up the blood and join us okay? I have some new weapons I want you to test.” He flashes me one last big grin as he exits.
***
When I pack up my bag, the phone Abrams gave me falls out. The display shows numerous missed calls and a text that reads “Call me. Please.”
It's hard to resist the urge to toss it. But for all I know he could send men to get me if I continue to ignore him. It's well within his capabilities to bring me in if he really wants to. So I make the call.
“Lori?” He picks up on the first ring.
“Hey, Abrams, how are Hailey and Arianne doing?”
“They're good. Sullivan dropped them off at Hailey's parent's house this morning. It was at her request and I didn't see the point in keeping them at our facilities.”
“Okay, good. Thanks.”
“How are you?”
“Better. Walking.”
“Happy to hear it. Reason I called is I wanted to apologize for the heated exchange at the hospital. I've been under a lot of pressure to keep the situation contained, and the leeway I've given you and your kind hasn't sat well with my colleagues.” He sighs, takes a sip of something. Coffee, maybe scotch. Maybe both. I wait for him to get to his point.
“You're watching the news right? There's been numerous wolf attacks. We confirmed three wolves. There could be more. They've sent dozens to the hospital. We got one, but two are still out there and a number of their victims are sitting in the emergency room with bites.”
“Shit. No I didn't hear about that. I've been out of commission most of the day.”
“I saw some of the video footage of your clan taking out wolves. Four of them laid waste to a dozen wolves in a matter of minutes. It's unreal. We could really use your kind of power against the ones terrorizing the Los Angeles area right now. Any chance you can help us out?”
“If we were up for the task we'd be there at dusk, but thing is we're more than a little tied up with our own issues to resolve and we're still recovering from last night's events so I'm afraid right now the answer is no.”
Normally this wouldn't even be a question. But if we lose track of our main objective we could all end up in the sun. I've distracted them enough and I know – at least in the general sense - what will happen if we fail to do the Pureblood's bidding. So no, the wolves will have to wait.
Abrams continues to make his case, likes a salesman who's always closing.
“Abrams,” I say, cutting him off. “My clan is facing an imminent threat from our own kind. I wish we could help, I do. It's just not possible right now. Your team has to be capable of containing two wolves, though. My...comrades already made a big dent in the wolf population. And it came at great expense. Your men can take it from here. They have to.”
Abrams mumbles something incoherently. I have a thought. “Tell you what I can do. One of the guys you saw on the video, his name is Rex, he's former military and unlike most of us, he isn't opposed to working with humans. If he's agreeable to it, I'll point him in your direction. He can help your team out. But as more of a consultant than front lines.”
“That would be fantastic. We'd be grateful for his help. How soon can he join us?”
“If things go as planned, maybe tomorrow night. Give us twenty-four hours. Again, this is only if he's on board with the idea.”
“This can't wait another night. I—”
“Abrams this is the best I can do. Hopefully by tomorrow your men will have contained the situation, but either way you could benefit from his insight. Being military and all.”
“Alright, give him this number.”
“And Abrams, remember when you said you could hold Striden had we taken him alive? Use those facilities to hold anyone who's been bit. As a precaution. And give them transfusions. Immediately. Clean blood may flush out the virus. If that doesn't work, we might be able to prevent them from turning, but I can't guarantee it. Your team should be prepared to take extreme measures if necessary.”
During the war, if we encountered a human who'd been bit but hadn't turned, we could prevent the transformation by injecting vampire blood into their bloodstream. Without draining them first, vampire blood basically has no effect on the living. But vampires can't be turned into werewolves and whatever enzymes in wolf saliva trigger the mutation can't take hold of their host when they come into contact with blood from the dead. Injecting it into a human essentially tricks it.
The incubation period used to last until a full moon, but they've evolved and I'm told it now only takes a few hours for the infliction to set in. It was rare that we ever had the opportunity to save a human. I did once though, at least I think I did. I never saw the person again and I'm not sure of the outcome, but I hope it worked.
“Agreed. And that's a good suggestion. Tell me, does killing the Alpha – or the one that bit them – reverse the effect? We have that in our files.”
“Not from my experience. I think it's just a myth. Sorry to say.”
“I kinda figured as much. Just wanted confirmation. I'm heading over to the hospital now. We've started the process of quarantining them. And we have a public notice out directing anyone who has encountered a wolf to the urgent care center down here. It's not going to be pretty.”
I scoff. “It never is. But if they go back into the population it's going to get a hell of a lot uglier.”
Chapter 30
I find Xan and Crina in an office they've transformed into a mini laboratory. Xan is wearing giant yellow rubber gloves that run up past his elbows. He looks ridiculous, but given the damage holy water can do, it's a smart move.
He holds a vial to the light.
“I guess it'll work,” frustration in his voice. They look over when I enter.
“Look who is up and walking!” Xan smiles, setting the vial into a case.
“Hey guys, came to see if I could help? How are preparations going for tonight?”
Crina shakes her head. “Not great. Water separates from the blood and the scent burns our nostrils. Plus,” she says, pointing to the vials on the table, “it looks strange in the containers.”
“You see anything else in your vision that could help us?” Xan asks.
I cross the room, hold the vials to the light.
“Be careful,” Xan cautions.
Crina's right, they do look discolored. I'm not sure how much we can attribute to it being synthetic blood.
Closing my eyes, I try to recount the vision I'd received from Malik.
“I saw a room - more like a lounge – televisions, couple of small bars, a pool table. Windowless. Sparsely lit. A handful of vampires in weird attire. There were four or five total. All men. Young, maybe in their early twenties. One or two looked like cowboys.”
“Nico,” Xan nods in confirmation. “He's who Dade met in Vegas. He brought us in. Seems to have been Malik's second in command or something to that nature. He pulls a lot of weight there.”
“There's hand shaking indicating a deal. You, Rex and Quinn are there. Cardboard boxes stacked with you. Maybe crates, not sure it matters. Someone proposes a toast. It plays out much like you'd expect. They ingest the blood. They start to burn.”
I open my eyes. “Crina, you and I aren't there. Neither is Dade. Neither is Malik. Some of this makes sense now.”
“Yeah...some...” Crina looks at the vials. “Am I playing sharp shooter again, is that why I'm not there? Because that didn't work out so well earlier and I'm less equipped to snipe vampires.”
“Xan, you said before they're keeping humans there?”
“Dade said they have a room full of them.”
“Then maybe that's where we are. Maybe you're helping me free the humans,” I turn from him to Crina. She shakes her head.
“Doubtful. They're the least of our concern, Lori. This isn't a rescue mission.”
Knowing better than to argue, I offer an alternative. “Then it might j
ust be that we hang back because Nico knows them. Malik vouched for you guys last time you were there right? Use his cover story – which is somewhat true – to your advantage.”
Something clicks.
“Beer bottles!”
“What?”
“In the vision everyone is drinking out of green tinted beer bottles. We empty a few cases worth of beer and refill them. Maybe top them off with real blood if we have any left from the hospital? Use twist tops or bottle stoppers. We only need a few tainted bottles. Make them a different brand of beer so you can tell them apart from the ones that aren't tainted. Fill the other cases with weapons. And we should all carry bottles of holy water to use as weapons on the remaining vampires.”
Xan's grin grows wider at every word.
“That's sick. And bloody brilliant.”
“More importantly, if the vision is true, it works.”
At least Malik certainly thought so.
***
“This is it?” I ask as Rex brings the van to a stop a few hundred feet from a house that's barely larger than a shack. We're in the middle of the desert. We passed a few vehicles parked by the edge of a sand covered road a quarter mile back. There's a few sports bikes to the side of the shed along with tire tracks. Otherwise very little sign of activity. The house is dark.
“It's an underground bunker, what do you expect?” Quinn quips.
She's on edge about leaving Dade behind and you can hear it in her voice.
“This is a former military testing site,” Rex confirms.
“After the catacombs in Romania, this place will seem like a cakewalk. Still, I wish I had schematics to share. We only know the few rooms we've been in. There's at least two levels underground, maybe more. Unfortunately I couldn't find any blueprints.” Xan says as he hops down from the beer cases he'd been perched on; keeping them secure during transport.
