Bumble

by Connie Suttle

  "Honey, why do you say that?" Adele brushed hair away from Ashe's forehead.

  "Because they don't know what to look for," Ashe mumbled and fell asleep.

  * * *

  "Nothing," Aedan shook his head as he and Radomir walked into the house half an hour before dawn. Sunday, April twenty-fifth had arrived, three days before the full moon. "How's Ashe doing?"

  "Sleeping. I gave him ibuprofen and he went back to sleep, but he may be waking soon and need more." Adele hugged herself and stared out the kitchen window. Light would come soon, and Aedan would have to go to his bunker.

  "Perhaps you should petition the Council for a physician to live in the community," Radomir said. "If a vampire physician cannot be found, then perhaps one of the humans the Council employs might be willing."

  "We'll see," Aedan agreed. "I want to see my boy before dawn comes." Aedan followed Adele to Ashe's bedroom.

  * * *

  "Son?" Aedan touched Ashe's face carefully, waking Ashe.

  "Dad?" Ashe thought his voice sounded as rough as bark on a pine tree. "Mom?" Adele was standing right behind Aedan. "Can I have some water?"

  "Sure, honey. Do you need more ibuprofen?"

  "Yeah." Ashe's shoulder felt as if it was on fire. Aedan lifted him up this time, and with his strength, it wasn't as difficult. Ashe swallowed pills and gulped water thirstily.

  "Take it slow, son." Aedan's hand rubbed Ashe's back gently as Ashe did as his father asked. "Done?" at Ashe's nod, Aedan lowered Ashe into the bed. "I think Denise and Sali may come over after a bit so your mother can get some sleep," Aedan smiled. "Ask for medication if it's needed, all right?"

  "I will." Ashe closed his eyes, hoping the pain would go away soon.

  * * *

  "I got him here as quickly as I could," Winkler brought a werewolf Adele and Denise didn't know two hours later. "He works as a paramedic for the Denton Fire Department," Winkler added. "I asked him to come and take a look at our young man."

  "Thank you," Adele wiped tears away. "We've been giving him ibuprofen; that's all we had."

  "I have something a little stronger," the werewolf said. "I'm David Lang," he added, holding a hand out to Adele. His other hand gripped what looked to be a case filled with medical supplies.

  * * *

  "We'll redress the wounds," David introduced himself to Ashe and sat down to examine Ashe's injuries. Sali had come in initially, but the room had become too crowded, so he'd backed out to wait until the adults were finished.

  Ashe watched with trepidation as David produced a syringe wrapped in plastic, peeled the plastic away and expertly stuck the needle into Ashe's left arm after swiping the area with an alcohol wipe.

  "What's that?" Ashe asked.

  "Something for pain, young man. You'll feel sleepy in no time. That way it won't hurt so much when we rip off the tape and gauze. I reckon it's stuck to the wound already."

  "Great," Ashe muttered. It wasn't long before Ashe's eyes did close, and he was asleep while David removed both dressings, cleaned out the wounds and bandaged them again. Then Winkler lifted Ashe off the bed and held him while Denise and Adele changed sheets.

  "He'll sleep for three or four hours, I hope," David said, handing bottles of medication to Adele. "One of these every four to six hours for pain if he asks. This is an antibiotic," David held up another bottle. "Chances are he won't really need it, but we want to cover all the bases. Give it to him every eight hours. Clear liquids at first, but let him eat a little solid food tomorrow if he's up to it. Don't send him to school or let him do anything strenuous for two weeks. Longer if it looks like he's not healing as fast. Change the dressing every day and use those tubes of ointment with the bandages." David handed over a bag filled with bandages and medication to Adele.

  "I can't thank you enough for this," Adele said.

  "Don't worry about it. Just catch those idiots that did this." David smiled at Adele before following Winkler out of the house.

  * * *

  "Dude, your blood was everywhere, and I don't ever want to see that look on your dad's face again," Sali whispered.

  "Now you know why I don't like getting in trouble," Ashe murmured. He felt nicely numb. Whatever the paramedic had given was working; the pain in his shoulder didn't even bother him.

  "Mr. Radomir found the bullet in the dark," Sali sounded impressed. "I mean, we can see great in the dark, but I don't think we could have found that."

  "They haven't found anybody. Have they?"

  "No." Sali shook his head. "And everybody's in an uproar about it."

  "They're not targets. At least most of them aren't. Sali, what happened to James's cell phone?"

  "Nobody found it," Sali said. "Dad and Micah looked everywhere, and even upset Mr. and Mrs. Johnson when they searched James's room and stuff. But they never found it."

  "Too bad," Ashe sighed, closing his eyes. Sleep was threatening and Ashe allowed it to claim him.

  "Why does he want to know that?" Sali muttered to himself before leaving Ashe alone to sleep.

  * * *

  "He's asleep," Sali grumped, sitting at the table with his mother. Adele had agreed, after much coaxing, to lie down for a while.

  "Sali, neither of you has been sick before. It doesn't happen with our kind. But a bullet will pull one of us down, or drugs, sometimes, if they're strong enough. You saw what happened with Adele." His mother ruffled Sali's black hair affectionately.

  "Yeah." Sali drew invisible patterns on the Evans' kitchen table. "They're trying to kill the whole family," Sali said.

  * * *

  "I'm not sure how you knew to contact us," the woman eyed Winkler with distaste. Her kind didn't associate with werewolves. Nasty creatures, in her opinion. And mortal, never forget that.

  "That doesn't matter. What does matter is that your Dark cousins have discovered your attempt to increase your numbers and they're picking them off, one at a time."

  "What? That isn't true," she huffed.

  "Proof." Winkler handed over a folder full of information. Not wishing to dirty her hands on what the werewolf offered, her subordinate took it instead. He didn't seem to mind where the folder came from; he leafed through it quickly and drew in a sharp breath.

  "It's true," he gazed at his queen.

  "There are two of your cousins in Oklahoma, and who knows how many more in all these other places, killing children or attempting to do so. Did you think to do as the cuckoos and leave your eggs in another's nest, allowing them to raise your children? And then, when the time was right, were you prepared to swoop in and gather them up? When you needed more soldiers for your army, perhaps?" Winkler gave the queen a hard stare.

  "It is none of your business," the queen snatched the folder from her servant's grasp. "We will deal with this. Immediately. I'll have someone at this place," she scanned the folder to find a name.

  "Cordell. And do it quickly. There isn't much time."

  "Very well. We'll have someone there in two days."

  "And I want bodies afterward."

  "You'll have them. Feel free to do whatever you want with what's left of them."

  * * *

  Ashe slept through most of Sunday, waking for a short while when his mother brought chicken broth, water and more medication. Ashe ate as much as he could. Sali and Denise left as soon as Adele was awake and prepared to take over Ashe's care. "How do you feel, honey?" Adele asked.

  "All right," Ashe said. "The medication keeps the pain away."

  "Good. Sali tried to talk his mother into letting him stay with you tomorrow, but she refused."

  "He'd just be restless," Ashe observed.

  "I know. That child can't stay still for very long," Adele smiled.

  "And he has to eat constantly or he'll become a black hole, sucking every bit of sustenance in his direction," Ashe joked weakly.

  "Go back to sleep, hon. Your dad will probably check on you when he wakes." Adele patted Ashe's knee, picked up the bowl and walked o
ut of Ashe's bedroom. Ashe waited for the door to close before pulling the photograph out of his bedside table and staring at it.

  "Tomorrow," he promised the image. "I have to be awake enough tomorrow."

  * * *

  "Looks like more stormy weather's moving in," Ashe's father said later, as he sat on the side of Ashe's bed. "How are you feeling?"

  "I'm okay, Dad. The medication works great. I sleep most of the time."

  "That's good," Aedan said. "Go back to sleep, son."

  * * *

  What was he looking for? In Ashe's drugged state, he wasn't quite sure. Hadn't been when he'd set out. Now he flipped through papers, receipts and other scraps of this or that. This file box had been left in what looked to be a home office, with records and school papers littering the desktop. What if there wasn't anything to find? Ashe, feeling sick and in pain, desperately resumed his search. Wait, what was that? A receipt, with an address? Yes. That's what it was. Ashe jerked it from the box. Here was proof—if he could get anyone to listen to him. Ashe misted right through the roof after putting everything back as well as he could. Now there was only one more errand, and Ashe hoped he might stay conscious long enough to accomplish it.

  * * *

  "I made scrambled eggs and toast. I hope that won't upset your stomach."

  "Rather have pancakes," Ashe mumbled, pushing himself up with his left elbow. The whole right arm shook, shivered and pained him if he jogged it even a little.

  "I don't think that would be good for you right now," Adele said, setting the tray over Ashe's lap. "When you're better, I'll make all the pancakes you want."

  "Maybe Sali should pretend to be sick if it'll get him what he wants to eat," Ashe smiled weakly at his mother.

  "You look a little flushed. Are you sure you're not feverish?"

  "No, I was thinking cold and clammy. When can I take a bath?" Ashe asked.

  "I have some of those waterproof bandages that David left for you. We can cover up the wound with those. Do you think you can stand up long enough?"

  "We have that plastic stool in the kitchen," Ashe pointed out. "It's a good thing I'm left-handed. I can wash myself."

  "Then I'll get the stool and we'll see about getting you cleaned up."

  Ashe was exhausted but feeling better after the shower. He'd been embarrassed that his mother had to help him, but eventually let her shampoo his hair because he couldn't do it very well one-handed. He got a good look at his wound, too, the front one, anyway. His mother said the one on the back was worse, since it was the exit wound. The phone rang while Ashe was settling back in bed. Adele went to answer it. Ashe heard every word when Denise DeLuca explained that somehow, Randy Smith had managed to escape. Ashe smiled and closed his eyes.

  * * *

  Something was pounding on the roof in Ashe's dream. Hard. He reminded himself that he was underground and safe, but the pounding continued. Eyes popping open, Ashe heard the rush of wind.

  "Ashe, I think it's another tornado," Adele rushed in and knelt next to Ashe's bed. "That's hail hitting the roof, and it's almost the size of baseballs."

  "Mom, it's okay, we're underground," Ashe tried to soothe his mother; she was shaking. She'd been through so much, lately, and this wasn't going to help.

  "But what about the others?" Adele was worried for the rest of Cloud Chief. Not all of them had underground rooms or storm shelters.

  "The electricity is still on," Ashe said, just before it blinked and went out. "We're okay," Ashe spoke into the darkness.

  * * *

  "Into the hallway, everyone!" Mrs. Rocklin shouted as the winds rose outside. Sali, glancing through a window, saw the trees at the edge of the school grounds whipping wildly. He scooted toward the door.

  "Sali!" Marco grabbed his younger brother and shoved him into the floor against a cinderblock wall. Marco dropped on top of Sali, holding him, Cori and Wynn as tightly as he could; they'd all knelt down beside Sali. Others were doing the same, older ones hunching over the younger, teachers included.

  "It's coming!" Mr. Dodd shouted as the roof of Cloud Chief Combined lifted away and was ground to bits by whirling winds.

  * * *

  "Ashe, I have to check on the others," Adele was still frightened but prepared to go help the others if help was needed.

  "Go on, Mom, I'll be okay here," Ashe assured her. "Make sure Sali's okay. And Cori and everybody else."

  "I will. Don't try to get up by yourself, Ashe. I'll be back as quick as I can."

  Ashe nodded as his mother hurried out of his bedroom. Listening carefully, Ashe knew when his mother reached the kitchen, and moments later heard the kitchen door shut and the garage door lift up. Their house was still intact, it seemed. Normally, Adele would have set the alarm for the upper floor, but she was likely too distracted. Ashe wasn't sure he could climb the stairs to do it himself. It likely wouldn't matter anyway; his mother would be back soon. Ashe closed his eyes to sleep.

  * * *

  "No!" Denise DeLuca screamed as she flung herself out of the small car. The school was nearly gone, many classrooms had collapsed and she could find no immediate signs of life. Adele drove up moments later and nearly fell when she climbed out of Aedan's new SUV.

  "Denise, we have to go look. We have to," Adele grabbed her friend's arm and led her toward the school building. Denise had stood, petrified at what the damage might mean. Both her boys had been inside. Other vehicles were arriving as Adele found the front steps of the school amid the rubble. More than anything, Adele wished that her vampire husband were there. Lifting walls and sections of heavy brick would be nothing to his strength. Instead, they had to make do with what they had.

  "Any signs of life?" Mr. Winkler arrived with Marcus and Micah, heaving away concrete blocks and other debris, flinging it aside. "Hello!" he shouted. "Can anyone hear us?"

  "Help!" Marcus recognized Greta Rocklin's voice. More people came, including two Adele didn't recognized.

  "Not to fear, we will deal with this," one of them said. Adele stared in shock as the two of them, slightly pointed ears and all, held out their hands, lifting debris up with considerable power and sliding it through the air as if it were dandelion fluff. It fell with a crashing thump onto a deserted portion of the schoolyard.

  "What the?" Marcus stared.

  "Elemaiya," Mr. Winkler grunted, lifting away one of the heavy front doors and tossing it aside. There in the hallway, lined up along a section of cinderblock walls that still stood, was every student from Cloud Chief Combined, alive and unhurt.

  "Thank God," Denise DeLuca muttered before falling to the ground in a faint.

  * * *

  The door beeped when it opened, just as it always did. His mother was home. The sound woke Ashe, and he was just about to settle into a doze again when he heard the voices.

  "Perfect opportunity," one of the voices said. Ashe recognized it, all right. Had heard it every one of his seven years at Cloud Chief Combined. "Set the charges, and we'll still have time to get Nathan Anderson while the rest of them are at the school."

  Charges? Ashe was sitting up and frightened in the space of a blink. They were setting charges? They were going to kill him and his father. And Radomir, and Nathan Anderson. Ashe heard them walking above his head. Three of them. Terrified, Ashe gathered clothing and a few other items before he went to mist, rushing through the underground portion of his home and diving downward once he reached his parents' bedroom.

  Ashe hurtled away from his home as three men walked out of it and climbed into a vehicle Ashe recognized. Mom! He shouted mentally. Mr. Winkler! Mr. DeLuca! They're about to blow up the house, and then they're going to blow up the Andersons! Ashe was flying as swiftly as he could toward Nathan Anderson's home, hoping with everything in him that his mist would protect vampires in sunlight.

  Nathan was gathered inside Ashe's mist and he was already flying skyward when the vehicle arrived in the Anderson's driveway. Ashe heard the boom behind him as his home was destro
yed. Afraid to look back, Ashe flew high over the school and saw the devastation there while people were milling about it like ants. After the explosion marking the destruction of his home, some of those ants were loading into trucks and cars and skidding away from the school, driving swiftly toward his and Nathan Anderson's homes. Ashe hoped they'd catch the ones responsible before they got away.

  Chapter 17

  Marcus was driving like a madman, with Winkler beside him in the locksmith's van. Two others that Marcus still had difficulty coming to terms with were sitting in the back. They had nearly reached Nathan's house when the second explosion rocked the ground beneath them, almost causing the van to slide off the graveled path. Mr. Winkler uttered a curse when Marcus skidded to a stop in the Anderson's front yard and jumped from the van.

  "No," Marcus whispered, falling to his knees. The house had been blown apart, the lower levels, including Nathan's underground bunker were exposed to daylight, and the rest of the house was on fire. Lavonna Anderson, who'd driven up right behind Marcus, was screaming Nathan's name the moment she flung herself from the car. Dori and Cori, both in tears and looking frightened, were hugging against their mother.

  "Is Ashe dead, too?" Sali had come with his mother and Marco. Now, they all stared at the smoldering remains of the Anderson's house as more rain began to fall.

  "That first blast was probably the Evans' home," Winkler muttered grimly. "Come," he grabbed both of the strange men by the scruff, dragging them toward Marcus' van. "We'll be back," he said. Marcus, no longer paying attention to anything Winkler did, failed to respond.

  * * *

  "I had to sedate her." David Lang was back and talking to Denise DeLuca inside the DeLuca's kitchen. Adele Evans was lying on the sofa inside Denise's living room. She'd been screaming and crying, almost from the moment she'd seen the ruins of her home.

  "Did we really hear Ashe's voice, just before?" Marcus raked fingers through his dark hair.

  "Yeah, Dad. You did. And that's not all Ashe could do, either." Marco had an untouched bottle of soda in front of him at the kitchen table. "Dad, where are Cori and her family right now?"