The Cure

by Loren Schechter

  “Bunny.” Is it safer to kill this guy or turn him? An almost bloodless corpse would attract a lot of attention. But Al wouldn’t be the kind of vampire she’d want running loose along a highway. His confusion, aggression and stupidity were likely to result in random slaughter. Yet that kind of publicity would shift attention and resources away from her mission in Massachusetts. Hard to know what to do beyond bleeding him.

  Al looked in his side mirror but didn’t slow the rig as it approached the “yield” sign. Then the engine roared and her body was pressed against her seatback as the 18-wheeler accelerated onto the highway.

  “Okay, time for the money, Bunny.” He gave a grating, stuttering laugh. “That’s funny, the money Bunny.” He glanced at her and laughed again. “Don’t you think that’s funny?”

  “I think you’re an idiot.”

  “What?” Al shot her a look that asked if he’d heard correctly.

  “You’re going to need a lot of help as a new vampire. When you wake up, call 1-800-VAMPIRE. It’s an encrypted line. You better do that, because — ”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “ – because if the FBI or Homeland Security catches you, they’ll put you in a cage and torture you to get information. Once they realize you don’t have any, they’ll kill you and dissect your brain to see what they can learn that way.”

  “What kind of nut-job are you? Give me my money and get out of my cab.”

  “Not while we’re moving, but here — ” Bunny peeled a hundred dollars from her wad. “You’ll need this.”

  He snatched the money from her hand and stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans. Cursing a blue streak, he flipped on the right blinker, steered the rig into the breakdown lane and brought it to a wheezing stop. “Out!” he demanded.

  “Not without a good-bye kiss.” She bared her fangs.

  “What?“ Wide-eyed, he jerked back in his seat. He couldn’t react fast enough to block the hand that chopped into his neck. He gasped, recoiled and gulped for air but already her other hand had invaded his groin, squeezing until he screamed and doubled over onto the steering wheel. She clamped the striking hand around his neck and pulled his head down, out of sight of passing motorists.

  “Time for some serious necking,” she whispered. Then she put her fangs to work.

  18

  No Cure for That

  Bunny stood by the rig until Vendetta brought the hearse to a stop behind it. She slid into the front passenger seat and barely had time to close the door before Vendetta gunned the old Cadillac onto the highway.

  “Satisfied?” The hit man’s tone carried a hint of sarcasm. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses.

  “Never.” She buckled her seatbelt and leaned back. The tires hummed. Fields of young corn sped past her window.

  “You killed the truck driver?” asked Kathy.

  “I turned him.”

  “You made him a vampire because you don’t like to kill?” asked Soo.

  “I like it when they deserve it. This guy deserved it, but an almost bloodless corpse found in a truck would have made the national news. CNN would have led with it for a week.”

  “We have an empty casket in the back,” said Vendetta.

  She shrugged. “Didn’t think of it. But one citizen with a cell phone seeing us put a body in a casket would’ve turned us into on-line celebrities.”

  “How do you decide which people deserve it?” asked Lionel from behind her.

  “I start my list with people who ask too many questions.”

  “Just one more,” said Kathy. “Who turned you into a vampire?”

  Bunny growled. “You’re already on my list.”

  “So it doesn’t matter if I ask again. You embarrassed to tell us?”

  “What difference does it make if they know?” asked Vendetta.

  “You think I really care who knows? It was an ex-boyfriend.” Bunny dug her fingernails into her palms. “I was out of the army and in veterinary school when he found me again and bit me. Ironic, isn’t it? I was never hurt in combat, never bitten by an animal – only Steve, jealous I’d moved on. But I eventually tracked him down. Guys who betray the people they say they love don’t deserve any mercy.”

  Lionel cleared his throat. “My last question — ”

  “Last, of your life?” Bunny’s tone was sharp.

  “Just for now. You gave Kathy a last one.”

  Vendetta chuckled. “Children expect fairness.”

  “I didn’t get fairness, why should they?” She turned her head and glared at the teens. “Don’t any of you look to me for fairness. As for animals, if that’s what your question was, I’ve never hurt them. I’ve always loved animals; that’s why I went to vet school. Animals love but they don’t betray you.”

  “Self-interest and betrayal lurk within all of us,” said Vendetta. “You turned your half-brother, I turned some of my teachers and all of my rivals. Even now we think of terminating each other.”

  “That’s different,” she said. “Bart deserved to be turned. He’s always tortured animals. Starting with my pets.”

  “Your parents permitted that?” asked Soo.

  “Mostly they turned a blind eye. On the rare occasion they confronted him about it, he’d tell them he was dissecting cats and dogs because he wanted to become a doctor.” She turned her head to show them a bitter smile. “I wonder what our mother thought when he came to bleed her.”

  “He did become a doctor,” said Vendetta.

  “So what? Doctor, vampire, Legionnaire chief — the bottom line is that Bart’s a sadist.”

  “That wasn’t my question,” said Lionel.

  “Yes, it was,” said Bunny. “You’re done.”

  “No.” Soo leaned forward. “None of us can be done until we find a cure. I hunger for a normal life, not for blood. Isn’t that what you want?”

  “Of course. Why do you think I went to Dr. Quintz in the first place. I’d love to go back and finish vet school. Even to have pets without being tempted to feed on them. Right now, my craving is gone because I just drank my fill. You had your fix yesterday with the vampet. But some of those normal red cells we sucked in are already dying, and our bone marrow can’t make new ones. Give it a month, the craving will be eating at your gut. Within two, it will drive you to kill.”

  “I hate myself now,” said Soo.

  It gets worse, babe, thought Bunny. “It’s not your fault you were turned.”

  “The government could set up blood dispensaries,” said Kathy.

  Bunny laughed. “Do you know how little the government invests in treating drug addicts compared to how much it invests in putting them behind bars? And they’re just sick warmbloods, not vampires. The safest, cheapest solution to blood addiction is to kill the addicts.”

  “Once cops realize vampires are real, they’re going to say that every brother they kill is a vampire,” said Lionel. “Then the officers won’t face charges or feel the least bit guilty… Forgive me for asking maestro, but do you feel any guilt for killing innocent people?”

  She looked at Vendetta. “Didn’t I tell the kid that he asked his last question?”

  “He asked me, not you,” said the hit man. He looked up at the rear view mirror. “No one is innocent, Lionel, so I feel no guilt. For me, it is all business – the business of survival.”

  “That’s cold,” said Kathy, “not to feel any guilt at all.”

  “We undead are cold,” said Vendetta. “All that matters beyond survival is getting what we want when we want it. There will never be a cure for that.”

  19

  "I want that girl."

  “What do you mean, you won’t fly?” Clad in paper shoe covers, a white gown and paper cap, Bart Baneful looked up from inspecting the red, orange and yellow nasturtiums he nurtured in his climate-controlled flower room. A vindictive student had rampaged through this private garden, but Bart had restored the nasturtiums he used to spice up the blood of his prey to clay
pots which covered six long tables. Under the grow lights, the honey-scented, butterfly blossoms shone like jewels above their shield-shape leaves.

  Across the room, squeezed between a table and a stone wall, custodian Arthur Bulch hung his paper-capped head. “I don’t like flying.” He looked down his barrel chest to his belly, where two paper gowns worn in opposite directions barely covered his bulk.

  Bart glowered at his helper. In the big oaf’s hand, the green watering can looked like a toy. “I already chartered a plane,” said Bart in a steely tone. He rested his empty hands between two flowerpots and leaned forward. “Other than the pilot, it’s just you, me, and Angela. You can sit in two seats, on a sofa, wherever you want. We have to get to the girl before Bunny does.”

  Bulch shook his head. “I’m not getting on a plane. I’ll drive.”

  “How can you be afraid of flying? You’re practically invulnerable.”

  “Not if the plane blows up or crashes and catches fire.”

  “It’s not going to. You’ll be perfectly safe with me.”

  “You had Sperrick plant a bomb in that SUV. What’s to prevent Bunny from putting one on our plane?”

  Offering a tight smile, Bart walked toward his helper. “No need to worry. Bunny’s half-way across the country by now. And we’ll search our plane before we take off. I can give you some tranquilizers so you won’t feel any anxiety.”

  “I don’t do drugs. They numb my taste buds.”

  Bart put silk in his tone and his hand on the big man’s shoulder. “Arthur, Satan needs you to do this. If Bunny gets a path to the cure, vampires will see themselves as sick humans rather than the next wave in evolution. The Legion won’t be able to recruit new members.”

  Bulch shrugged away his hand. “That’s your thing, doc. I don’t need an army to get what I need.”

  “It’s not just about blood, Arthur. Remember how that little Korean girl took you down when they escaped?”

  “She tricked me.”

  “Yes. So terribly embarrassing. I try to stop students joking about it behind your back, but wouldn’t you like to stop all that gossip forever? Wouldn’t you like to break her and have her serve as your house girl?”

  Bulch growled. “I’ll beat the grit out of her. She’ll be coming back here with Kathy and the black kid.”

  “No, she won’t. She knows what’s waiting for her here. Bunny and Vendetta will put her on a plane to Korea. If you come with me, you can prevent that. You can have her serve you for as long as you want.”

  Bulch frowned. “Okay, I’ll come.” He thumped his watering can down on a table. “But I’m not flying. I can’t move around or get out of the plane when I want. I’m helpless up there.”

  What do you know of helplessness? thought Bart. You were never a six-year old paralyzed by Guillian-Barre syndrome, hooked up to a respirator, panicked you’d never move again.

  “You’re not helpless up there,” he said. “You just feel that way. You can transform that feeling to anger, to rage, and make others truly helpless. You can show everyone how strong and powerful you are.”

  “I don’t have to leave the ground to do that,” said Bulch. “I’m going to drive. Don’t worry. I’ll be there when you need me. But I want that girl.”

  “Certainly, Arthur. You can do anything you want with her. Bur first finish watering the flowers.”

  20

  Deep Shame

  Kathy sat in one of the hearse’s two jump-seats, watching through the window as a tree-covered hill gave way to plowed fields and a white farmhouse. Who lives there? she wondered. Do they know how lucky they are? Sure, they’d have everyday troubles, but not any worry about vampires. Certainly not about being cooped up for days with killers like Bunny and Vendetta. Their sniffing and silence since she’d started her period were so scary that she hadn’t been able to sleep. She felt like a tired swimmer, bleeding and surrounded by sharks, expecting to be bitten any second. Since starting her period, she’d even noticed a predatory glint in Soo’s eyes. Sure, their friendship still meant something to Soo, but how long before her heart became as cold as her skin?

  Impossible to sleep. How does Lionel do it?

  Scrunched on the floor behind Soo’s seat, his snores and asthmatic wheezes said he was oblivious to the mahogany coffin beside him and the danger they were in. Of course as long as his performance in his daily violin lesson satisfied Vendetta, the hit man would protect him. It never was easy to please Vendetta, but Lionel had a lot of talent. She didn’t know anything about classical music, but she was amazed at his skill in the daily lessons. Lionel worked so hard for those three hours, he needed all the sleep he could get. The problem was that Vendetta’s hearse was not meant for long distance travel. It was overcrowded with five passengers, their backpacks and the coffin that Vendetta refused to leave behind.

  “Your eyelids close but pop right up,” said Soo. “You need to sleep before we get to our destination.”

  “We still have a long way to go,” Kathy told her. “Illinois is not that close to Massachusetts.”

  “We’ll be there by noon tomorrow,” Bunny called out from behind the wheel.

  “The way you are driving, I doubt we will get there at all,” said Vendetta.

  “We have to get there before the feds,” said Bunny.

  “You weave in and out as if you were driving a motorcycle. You’ve come close to causing two accidents.”

  “I don’t need to be lectured on driving by a three hundred year-old man. I had good reflexes even before I was turned.”

  “I don’t question your reflexes. I question your judgment. I told you before, a speeding hearse attracts attention.”

  “Get off my back,” said Bunny.

  Leaning toward Soo as far as her seatbelt would allow, Kathy whispered “They sound just like my parents.”

  Soo’s eyelids squeezed closed, her butterfly lips tightened. A few strangled squeaks escaped her throat before tears leaked from her eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” Kathy reached for Soo’s hand. Feeling it’s chill, she fought the urge to pull back.

  Soo sniffled and opened her eyes. Her free hand rose to wipe away her tears. “I miss my parents. My brothers, my home…I have nothing left.”

  “That is the path of the vampire,” said Vendetta. “It gets easier over the years, but grief and isolation are always a part of us.”

  “We’re going to change that path.” Bunny’s determination was obvious.

  Soo nodded. “I don’t want to be a vampire. The death inside is worse than no longer existing. I will do anything for a cure.”

  Kathy tightened her grip on Soo’s hand. “We’ll get it for you. And for anyone else who needs it,” she added quickly.

  “Great.” Bunny’s tone was sarcastic. “Cops.”

  Vendetta unclicked his seatbelt and spun around in his seat. A second later, Soo did the same. Kathy looked out the back window. Blue lights flashing, a white police car was about ten vehicles back but moving up as drivers cleared out of the left lane.

  “I warned you,” the hit man told Bunny. “Wake up Worthington,” he ordered Soo. “Have him make sure his violin is secure.”

  Soo turned around and poked Lionel’s shoulder. He grunted.

  “With this souped-up engine, I can outrun him,” said Bunny.

  “And have him radio every trooper from here to the state line? No, we go to Plan V.”

  “With pleasure,” said Bunny.

  Soo poked Lionel harder.

  “Hey, don’t! What’s happening?” Rubbing his shoulder, Lionel thrust his head up.

  “Plan V,” Kathy told him.

  Soo flashed her a puzzled look.

  “I have no idea,” said Kathy.

  * * *

  Bunny mentally measured the state trooper’s height as he approached her window. Without his tall brown hat, he probably stood shy of six feet. Well, once out of the car I can slouch to make myself look smaller.

  “Good afternoon,
ma’am. Do you know how fast you were going?”

  She coughed, then held a tissue close to her lips. “Not exactly, but probably 80.” She handed him her license and the registration Vendetta had given her. The trooper didn’t even glance at them.

  “I clocked you at 94. The speed limit is 70 here.” His long face looked as if it was born with a frown. Bending down to see beyond her, he studied Vendetta.

  “I can’t dispute the facts, officer,” she said. “I deserve a ticket.” On the highway, rubberneckers were slowing their cars as they passed.

  The trooper peered into the rear of the hearse, where Kathy and Lionel were seated beside the coffin. His gaze shifted back to her.

  “You going to a funeral?”

  “No. They’ve had the funeral service. We’re delivering a body to be buried.”

  “From Idaho?”

  “To Cleveland.”

  “Who are the kids?”

  “Best friends of the deceased. They’ll represent the school they were in.”

  He studied the documents. “You work for the school, Miss Baneful?”

  “I’m just a relief driver. Please call me Bunny.”

  His eyes locked on hers. His tight lips communicated his suspicion.

  Bunny shrugged. “Everybody does. Baneful is such a depressing name.”

  “Could you step out of the car, ma’am?” He saw Vendetta move. “Not you, sir.” He backed off to allow Bunny’s door to open. “Who’s your partner?”

  “Mr. Vendetta?” Even slouching, she came even with the top of his hat. “He owns the hearse. It was too long a trip for one driver.”

  The trooper consulted the registration. “’Venial Funeral Services, LLC’?”

  “That’s the company he’s in.” She lowered her voice. “I’ve done a few with him, but this body we’re delivering – I don’t know, there’s something wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, it’s a — I mean she’s a – ” Bunny glanced back toward Vendetta. “Forget it. I could lose my job.”