Curfew

by Samantha Stone

  I couldn’t leave him behind but he posed a threat to me just as deadly as the other Elite. Standing with my back against the wall, I slid along at a slug’s pace, hoping I moved toward the iron door and not back to the feeder pen.

  John groaned again, his pain obvious and I stopped to listen to his gasps. Oh my poor Sheriff, the man—no the hero—that saved my life on numerous occasions, and like a chicken-shit, I was leaving him behind. I’d found the door and they didn’t bother to even close it. I fell into the stairwell and started to climb the stone steps. A dim glow at the top beckoned to me. I dashed for that light.

  “Sandy. Don’t leave me, honey. Please don’t leave me.” I stopped as his quiet words pulled my heart up my throat. Standing there with freedom two steps away, heart in my mouth—I couldn’t do it. Damn it to hell, I couldn’t leave him. I didn’t want to go back into that black pit with a ravenous member of the Elite.

  I drew in a deep breath as if to suck in the very luminescence behind the hatch and I turned back for John.

  At the bottom of the staircase, I groped along just inside the basement wall and found the light switch. When I saw John’s condition, I wanted to run and throw myself into his arms. The bruises stood out in vivid color against a background of pure white skin. His head hung as if he didn’t have the strength to hold it up and his boxers, those very same boxers I teased him about just the night before, had dried blood splattered across them.

  “Oh, John.” I hobbled closer to him, afraid for my safety, but also frightened that he would die if I didn’t do something. His chest rose and fell with his ragged breaths, but it didn’t seem to move enough to draw in oxygen. I touched his hand and still he didn’t make an effort to lift his head.

  “John?” No response. “John, wake up.” Still no response. Shit. I slapped his face. That got a reaction. John cracked his eyes but I don’t think he saw me standing there. His beautiful gold eyes appeared dull, lifeless. I moved even closer until my breasts pressed against him, my throat in easy reach.

  “Come on Sheriff, take what you need.” I tensed, prepared for the pain as he tore into me. Nothing happened. Stepping away, I saw that his eyes had once again drifted closed. “Damn it John, don’t die on me.”

  His dry lips parted just a bit and I saw his teeth inside. A crazy idea came to me. I shoved my finger into his mouth and jabbed it on his sharp canine. Blood dripped on his tongue and he quickened. He closed his lips around my finger and sucked at the tiny wound. Now I had his attention.

  His chains rattled as he wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled my finger from his mouth. Staring into my face, I saw a semblance of my John return and the question in his eyes.

  “Go ahead, take what you need.” He needed no second invitation. With lightning speed, he pulled me into his embrace and sank those keen fangs into my neck. The pull on my veins rocketed through me, all the way to the ends of my fingers and toes. I held him as a lover might. Cooing to him as he stole my life force in great draughts. I gave to him with love and I sent him this sentiment with every ounce of my remaining mental strength. John gasped and pushed me away so hard that I crashed into the side of the feeder pen.

  I stumbled, clutching the chain link fencing. Clinging to the pen, I waited for the wave of dizziness to pass. The body inside the cage drew my eye. The Elite male that I’d thought of as John still slumped there. Holding the sides of the pen, I made my way to the gate and went inside. Kneeling beside the body, I stared at his chest, watching to make sure I saw no breathing. Despite the blue tint to his face, I didn’t want to take chances with any of the Elite.

  Holding my breath, I slid my hand into the pocket of his trousers and found a set of keys. Yes, this body belonged to Sal, the Elite member assigned the task of picking the next entrée from the feeder pen. Good riddance. The key to John’s shackles had to be on this key ring.

  “What have you found?” My blood contribution seemed to have given him what he needed. My heart swelled, seeing the gleam in his eyes once more and the natural flush to his skin.

  “A set of keys. Hopefully to unlock those chains so we can get out of this hellhole.” I smiled as I approached, no longer afraid that he would kill me.

  “Thank you, Sandy. You did save my life, you know.” He bent his head and kissed me on the cheek. My smile stretched wider and wider still when the first key I chose opened the lock on his wrist. I swore right then that if anyone got in our way this time, I’d kill them myself, with my bare hands.

  “Let’s go.” John took my hand in his and we climbed the stone steps together and threw open the hatch. John fell back when full sunshine burst into the tunnel. The cellar opened into a field behind a huge brick building. No shade nearby. John would get a terrible burn with no protection from the sun. But we had no choice. If we waited, the others would return.

  As thoughts of the others entered my mind, a mob of men wearing hats and sunglasses left the back door of the brick building and headed right for us.

  SIXTEEN

  “Hide John. They’re coming.” I dashed down the stairs, falling down the last several steps in my haste.

  “There is nowhere to hide. Find something to fight them off with. We won’t go without a fight. I’ll kill the bastards. I don’t care if they are fellow members of the Elite.” We rushed around the small room, picking up ridiculous things in an attempt to find a weapon.

  I felt their presence like an approaching thunderstorm—power and fury, too much to battle. John flung himself in front of me and stood there, his chest out, fists on his hips. Despite his bloodied, whimsical underpants, he did look formidable.

  Elite drifted into the shrinking room, one after another. They filled the floor like thick smoke, silent but so very lethal. My heart sank as more and more members of the terrifying clan faced us. To my surprise, no one made a move to re-capture us.

  One man stepped closer, removing his sunglasses and cap. Stefan. Shock kicked me in the chest, incredible hurt that he joined with them, the ones that chained John and meant to kill me. I opened my mouth to scream at him, but John stopped me with a quick brush of his hand and a whispered, “no.” His entire demeanor had changed as he relaxed and pulled me close to his side instead of hiding me behind his body. I gaped at his grinning face in amazement. Stefan covered the ground between us in two giant steps, taking John and I both into his embrace.

  “It’s good to see you alive and well. That’s more than I can say for the rabble that took you prisoner.” Stefan kissed me on top of the head. “Sorry it took us so long to arrive.”

  The room took on an ethereal quality, the dim light growing dimmer and dimmer still. My knees turned to water and the last thing I saw—dozens of my reflections bouncing back to me from mirrored sunglasses.

  My foggy brain registered the voice, but my body remained disconnected. Stefan warned the others away. “She’s fainted, that’s all. Someone toss me a vial.” Strong arms held me close then a pungent odor invaded my sinuses and my eyes snapped open. I pushed the ammonia away and in a few moments Stefan allowed me to slide from his embrace to my own feet.

  “I know we are an impressive lot, dumplin’, but you don’t have to go passing out on us.”

  John burst into laughter and cuffed Stefan on his muscular shoulder. “It isn’t you Stefan. She saved my life. She gave herself to me.”

  “What a good girl you are.” I basked in Stefan’s praise then realized how silly I must look to the stoic men watching our every move.

  “Oh, uh, Sandy—these men are not the ones that did this to us, to you.” John hesitated, looking over my head to Stefan.

  “Where are they then?” I had a good idea already but hearing it from Stefan’s lips would help.

  “With the help of my…employees, the Elite who did this to you have been eliminated.” Several of the men hiding behind their sunglasses snickered.

  “Normally, we don’t interfere in their business, but they went too far by invading my—uh—John’s house. Th
ere will be repercussions from this act, I’m afraid. My men are powerful though and it would be foolish for anyone to incite a battle with me.” Stefan’s boast didn’t sound like an empty threat. I could almost see the power oozing from his pores. I also knew he neglected to tell me something—something big.

  “Can we get out of here? I can’t tell you how nervous it makes me to stand in a small room with this many Elite.” I turned to whisper in John’s ear. “And I have no blood left to spare.”

  Stefan heard and it would seem the others did too. Their laughter filled the tiny prison, wrapping around me like a soothing blanket, dispelling my fears. Why they seemed so normal…

  Placing his massive hands on my shoulders, Stefan pushed me closer to his men and held me there.

  “Memorize her face, all of you. Memorize her scent.” I noticed several of them inhaling deep to do just that then one by one, they tipped their heads to Stefan and left.

  “Why did you do that?” The sick churning in the pit of my stomach made me want to take back my question, but too late.

  “To make sure they know who they are never allowed to bite.” Yep, I really did wish I hadn’t asked. That’s all these guys think about, blood and sex—sex and blood.

  I could hardly believe that Stefan came for me. Very out of character for a high-ranking member of the Elite and that is what he professed to be. Oh no, the churning in my gut just turned into a volcano spewing acid. He didn’t come for me at all. He came for John—not me—John. He still thinks of me as nothing more than a meal, ready to eat. That is the something big he hid from me.

  Just when I began to think of them by human terms, they proved how very different they were and how they thought of themselves as superior beings.

  Stefan spun me around to face him. “What are you thinking?” The blood drained from my face. I tried to blank my mind, but before I could, his cool mist invaded my brain and stole the information he wanted. He didn’t like what he found. His lips curled down into a frown and his grip on my arms tightened until I knew there would be bruises.

  “That is not entirely true.” He glanced over my head to John, almost as if he pleaded for his help. John glided to Stefan’s side and touched his fist.

  “Let’s go to my house. You don’t have to explain yourself to her, Stefan.”

  I glared at John with as much hatred as I could muster for someone I considered to be a hero. The corner of his mouth lifted as he tried to hide a grin.

  Stefan ignored the grin. “Your house is no longer safe. You’ll have to join me at the corporation.” John arched an eyebrow at Stefan. “Oh, don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine and so will Sandy. I won’t allow anyone to harm you.”

  I had no desire to speak to the pig Stefan ever again, but my mouth flew open and words spilled out before my better sense could stop them. “Why don’t you just let me go home since I’m so damn much trouble?”

  I bit my tongue when Stefan’s face flushed and his fingers dug into my flesh once more. He gritted his teeth, and when he spoke, his jaw clenched and I could hardly make out his speech. “You are a damn lot of trouble, you’ve certainly got that right.” John cleared his throat, glaring at Stefan.

  Stefan released my throbbing arms and I rubbed the damaged area. “However, I can’t thank you enough for saving John’s life. Your home is with us now.” He spun away and started up the stairs. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  No argument here. John waited for me to go ahead of him and his gaze bored into me with every step I took. I knew without looking back but I just had to see if my sexdar worked properly with him. It did. Holy Hannah. His erection made a tent out of the front of his boxers. How could he possibly be thinking about sex now?

  “We have very strong sex drives, you know.” His whisper in my ear startled me. He moved too fast for me to see. He slid his hand up my thigh to my ass and squeezed.

  “Come along John, before you roast in the midday sun.” Stefan tossed John his jacket to cover at least part of his body and we ran across the field to the building. We followed Stefan around the corner, staying in the shade of the two-story structure until we made a dash to Stefan’s car.

  John had bad sunburn from that short exposure to the sun’s blistering rays. I pressed his reddened skin and watched as that finger spot turned white, then flushed red again. “Well hell. I feel like a well done strip of bacon now.”

  I coughed to stop myself from giggling. Humans no longer called police “pigs” but decades ago, they did. I didn’t think of John that way, but I did consider Stefan a pure pork product. He should be the fried bacon.

  Stefan drove for quite some time before he turned into a winding drive lined with thick woods. The narrow drive went on for several miles until he pulled into a small parking lot in front of the largest complex I’d ever seen outside of a shopping mall. This place rivaled the airport in size. My mouth dropped open. “You work here?”

  “Not exactly.” Stefan opened his door and popped out of the car as if a spring had propelled him into the air.

  “He owns this place, honey. Stefan is a very powerful man. Come on, let’s go inside.” Stefan opened the passenger door.

  “Just a moment.” He reached behind the seat, pulled out an enormous umbrella, opened it and held it over the side of the car so John could avoid the direct sunlight. John took my hand and we climbed from the car to dash into the dark comfort of the lobby. I felt out of place with my bare feet sinking into the plush carpet until I glanced over at John in nothing but his filthy boxers.

  We entered the elevator and as the doors closed, Stefan studied us, his gaze darting from one bedraggled soul to the other. “I’ll find clothing for you both. We have every comfort here.”

  “Where is everybody?” Stefan acted like I’d just asked him the stupidest question possible.

  “It is daytime. This is an Elite facility. Everything is automated during the day.” He meant his curt words to put me in my place, but instead, my curiosity exploded.

  “What, no security during the day? No human workers?”

  Stefan’s face twisted into such a grimace I thought he’d taken ill. “You are the only human to ever step foot here.”

  “No feeders?” The door slid open and they left the elevator as if it had burst into flames. Neither of my Elite men answered my last inquiry and by the way they ignored me now, I didn’t think they would. So feeders were brought here. I knew it. I just didn’t know if they still considered me one.

  I should plan my escape before I found out. The guys walked well ahead of me and I slowed my pace even further until they turned the corner, then I bolted the opposite direction. The thick carpeting muffled my steps and I sprinted all the way to the end of the hall. I spied a small window down another long hallway and dashed toward it, hoping I could get my bearings by seeing outside.

  No such luck. The window didn’t open to the outside, but instead, I gazed down at a cavernous factory of some sort. Conveyor belts and machinery of gigantic proportions filled a room large enough to house several full-sized blimps. Not a soul in sight down there either.

  Toward one end of the factory, hundreds of cardboard cartons stacked on wooden pallets lined the wall. I had to strain my eyes to see the drawing on the boxes…a yellow sun with a red circle around it and a diagonal line crossing the sun. I’d seen that symbol before, the circle and the line, meaning no. So it meant No Sun? Holy shit, Stefan’s corporation manufactures sunscreen.

  Rough hands grabbed me from behind and slammed me against the wall. I found myself staring into the golden eyes of yet another member of the Elite. This one didn’t seem to recognize me either.

  “How did you escape?”

  SEVENTEEN

  “Escape?”

  “Okay, poor choice of words, but you know what I mean. You are not supposed to leave the human compound. This building is off limits.” He took my arm and led me toward the adjacent stairwell. Too stunned to struggle, I allowed him to pull me along.


  “Dimitri.” He stopped in an instant and turned.

  “I’m sorry sir. I don’t know how she managed to make her way into the building.”

  “It’s okay Dimitri. Go back to your station. She belongs to me.” Stefan glowered at me and I moved closer to Dimitri.

  “Sandy, get your ass over here right now.” His tone simmered with fury and I lunged away from the flustered Dimitri to cringe next to the Swine. Stefan waited for his employee to leave before he glared down at me again. I chose to keep my eyes trained on the floor.

  “I swear, if you pull just one more stunt, I’ll kill you myself and console John afterwards.” Console John?

  Stefan sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Frustration dripped from that heavy sigh and I began to think he had no idea what to do about me. I also thought he cared about me more than he would admit to himself or he would have killed me by now. I kept my head averted so he couldn’t see my smile.

  “Come along, you royal pain in my backside.” My grin spread and I covered my mouth with my hand before he noticed.

  I about fell on my face when we entered his suite. Stefan made lots of money. Again, my ragamuffin status glared me in the face. Comfortable, puffy furniture filled the room and it would seem, by his varied décor, that Stefan enjoyed exotic places.

  “Did you gather all of these pieces of art yourself?”

  “Yes, I did. I’ve been many places.” In one corner a large gold sarcophagus stood like a sentry to the rooms beyond. He followed my astonished gaze and laughed. “It is real, and no I don’t sleep in it.” Stefan laughed again. “Make yourself at home, Sandy. But, don’t leave my rooms. I don’t want to punish you—but if you insist…”

  I glanced down at my filthy shirt, well John’s filthy shirt. I would kill for a bath and some clothing that fit.

  “I’ll show you to your room and you can shower or rest, whatever you like. I’ll have something delivered that you can wear.” A wave of dizziness washed over me and I swayed. Stefan moved to hold me in a flash and led me to the nearest sofa. “Sit here a moment. I’ll get you something to drink.” He strode away, but stopped and turned back to me.